Author: News Analysis India
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today declared that she has not returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s calls to discuss Cyclone Fani, as she “does not want to share dais with expiry-PM”. Earlier today, PM Modi had accused Ms Banerjee of “playing politics” over cyclone relief, triggering a political storm over the superstorm that left a trail of devastation across Odisha and parts of Bengal over the weekend. At a rally in Bengal’s Tamluk today, PM Modi said he had tried to dial the Chief Minister before the cyclone hit as he felt “worried” about the people of Bengal. “I tried…
The Election Commission (EC) Friday cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah in four complaints of alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), of which at least one decision was not unanimous. The disagreement in the poll panel was on Shah’s speech in Nagpur on April 9 when he likened Wayanad, the second seat from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting, to Pakistan. The Commission’s decision favouring Shah, was taken by a 2-1 majority, The Indian Express has learnt. (And this Rahul baba, for the sake of his alliance, has gone to such a seat in Kerala where when a procession…
In the heat of election campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, the formal introduction of another member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Avantika Nehru, went largely unnoticed. Congress’ political arithmetic notwithstanding, Avantika Nehru’s political foray is significant in another way as it marked the end of a bitter family feud triggered three decades ago when Arun Nehru, a cousin of Rajiv Gandhi, rebelled and left the Congress. But all that is history now. The hatchet was buried this week at an election meeting in Rae Bareli when Congress general secretary for UP East Priyanka Gandhi introduced Avantika Nehru to her mother’s constituency. “Avantika…
One fallout of conducting the Lok Sabha polls in seven phases is that political parties, through their own commissioned exit polls, start getting an idea of how they are performing. Accordingly, they recalibrate their campaign messaging in different phases, as BJP has been doing – from Pulwama to Pragya Thakur. The media also conducts its own exit polls and adjusts its political commentary. All this seeps into the larger political grapevine – after the first few phases, a prominent news TV anchor suggested that the real election might begin after May 23. No wonder there is a growing murmur after the first four phases of polling…
Ahead of his visit to Rajasthan to address poll rallies today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a brief clip of his last meeting in Jaipur on Twitter and said, “it is clear the state wants BJP”. In the clip, people are seen waving at the prime minister with flashlight of their mobile phones on. “Looking forward to visiting Rajasthan today. Will be campaigning in Hindaun, Sikar and Bikaner. In order to gauge the mood of the state, here’s a short clip from my last rally in Jaipur. It is clear people of the sate want BJP,” Mr Modi tweeted.
At the end of the fourth phase of polling, Congress is confident of crossing the three-digit mark in the 17th Lok Sabha polls. According to an internal assessment, Congress will significantly improve its tally compared to the 2014 election when it bagged just 44 of the 543 seats. That was its lowest tally in any Lok Sabha election, beating the previous low of 114 seats in 1999. In 2014, Congress failed to open its account in 13 states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Odisha, and could not cross the double-digit mark in any state. It did…
Hours after BSP chief Mayawati accused the Congress of colluding with the BJP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she would rather die than benefit the BJP in this election. “I’ve not said I am putting weak candidates. I’ve said very clearly Congress is fighting this election on its own strength. I’d rather die than benefit BJP. We have chosen candidates that are either fighting very strongly or cutting BJP votes,” she said. One soldier was killed and another injured in a gunfight today at a central force base in Bagnan in West Bengal’s Howrah district. Central forces have been…
Prime Ministry Narendra Modi attacked the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance on Tuesday and said that they worried about the BJP’s popularity among the masses. Addressing a rally at Ambedkar Nagar near Ayodhya, PM Modi said, “Whenever they see the support for me among the people, the blood pressure of SP and BSP shoots up.” The Prime Minister accused the SP and BSP of using BR Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia’s name for political gains and not implementing their ideals. “Be it SP, BSP or Congress, they all did the same. Behen ji (Mayawati) used the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar…
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that about 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs were in touch with him and would switch sides once the BJPwins the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called him “shameless” and that his candidature should be cancelled for encouraging horse-trading during elections. Advertising Addressing an election rally at Bhadreswar in Hooghly district, she described Modi’s remarks as “unconstitutional” and said, “Yesterday he came here to hold election rallies. He said that about 40 MLAs are in touch with him. He is a shameless Prime Minister. A Prime Minister is encouraging horse-trading. His party is not like our…
Silence speaks louder than words. And that was evident at a recent rally of the prime minister when his Bihar ally Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remained seated while Narendra Modi led his supporters in fervently chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”. The video of the rally at Darbhanga that has gone viral shows Modi and others standing and repeatedly raising the BJP’s battle cry “Vande Mataram…” while thrusting their clenched fists into the air. Those following the lead included LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.