Author: News Analysis India

Exit polls are pointing to another term for Narendra Modi in India, but don’t expect overseas investors to be as pumped up by his victory as they were five years ago. Before he offers any new promises, they would like the prime minister to fulfill his pledge to make the tax system less capricious.

In its 2014 election manifesto, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the then Congress Party-led government for unleashing “tax terrorism and uncertainty,” which it argued, “not only creates anxiety among the business class and negatively impacts the investment climate, but also dents the image of the country.”

The transaction in question was an eight-year-old reorganization. Cairn Energy transferred ownership of its Indian oil field in 2006 to Cairn India Ltd., to prepare for the local unit’s initial public offering. But in January 2014, the Indian tax department began questioning the internal transfer of shares, weaponizing a 2012 law that allowed for windfall gains to be probed retrospectively, going all the way back to 1962. Cairn has been contesting the government’s right to tax the transaction.

Modi’s party – looking to unseat the Manmohan Singh government on charges of corruption, policy paralysis and economic mismanagement – managed to latch on to the angst caused by retrospective taxation.

A day before the counting of votes, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has urged party men to be “alert in the next 24 hours” and be fearless in a tweet similar to his sister Priyanka Gandhi’s audio message on Sunday, when exit polls predicted a dismal scenario for the party. He also called the exit polls fake.

“The next 24 hours are important. Be alert and vigilant. Don’t be afraid. You are fighting for the truth. Don’t be disheartened by what the fake exit polls are propagating. Have faith in yourselves and the Congress. Your hard work will not be in vain, Jai Hindi,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Exit polls after the last day of voting for the national election on Sunday predicted 300-plus for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and 122 for the Congress and its allies. “Non-aligned” parties were given 114.

The same night, Priyanka Gandhi said in a message to party workers that they should not fall for “rumours” intended to make them drop their guard ahead of the counting of votes.

“My dear Congress workers, sisters and brothers… Don’t let rumours and exit polls discourage you. This is being done just to break your determination. It is very important that you remain alert amid all this. Please continue to keep vigil outside strongrooms and counting centres. We are confident that our combined efforts will bear fruit,” she said in the audio message.

RAIPUR : Mr. Bhupesh Baghel has praised the bravery of Bludabajar-Bhatapara conscious master district Nishad. He – conscious Master at the age younger than is presented example of heroism. It is a matter of pride for the state. Other children of courage state master conscious will always inspire bravery.  It may be recalled that in August 2017 the 16 year-old Chetan Bhatapara village Kodwa Nishad saved then killed Tekram 10 years drowning in Connie Anikt became Sivanath river but lost his life in Sivanath vortex. The Government of India awarded the Best Survival medal for valor to animate them. District Headquarters Best Survival Medal Bludabajar tomorrow collector Mr. Cartikeya Goyal India parents Mr. Shiv Kumar Nishad and Mrs. funds by the Master conscious. Was as respected them citation, Czech medal and two million dollars.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday ‘saluted’ women for playing a key role in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections as candidates as well as for turning up in large numbers to vote.

“Today is the 7th and last phase of polling. Our mothers and sisters have played a key role in these elections, not just as candidates, but also as committed voters whose voices must be heard. I salute them all,” Gandhi tweeted.
Gandhi had earlier met Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday in which both the leaders reportedly discussed the possibility of forming an alternative government at the Centre if the BJP does not get enough numbers to retain the power.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the Election Commission just as theLok Sabha polls ended on Sunday, alleging that it had yielded to the ruling BJP despite having the constitutional responsibility of providing a level playing field to all political parties.

“From electoral bonds and EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, Modi’s Army & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Through the course of the elections, many opposition leaders – including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu and Rahul Gandhi himself – accused the poll body of going easy on the BJP. It was also accused of giving clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah despite “irrefutable evidence” of poll code violations.

Soon after Rahul Gandhi’s tweet emerged, Congress leader P Chidambaram hit the social media platform to air his grievances against the poll body too. “Our charge had been that the Election Commission was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that it completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!” he tweeted.

Voting will be held on Sunday for 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, which will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking re-election from Varanasi.

Polling will be held in Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC).

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

The BJP has pitted Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan from Gorakhpur against Congress’s Madhusudan Tripathi and Rambhual Nishad of the Smajwadi Party.

Gorakhpur MP Pravin Nishad, who had won the seat on a SP ticket in bypolls last year, has joined the BJP. The party has fielded him from Sant Kabir Nagar seat.

Gorakhpur was represented by Yogi Adityanath in the Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2017, before he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The electioneering saw Priyanka holding two back-to-back roadshows in Kushinagar and Mirzapur during the day and Union minister Smriti Irani riding a scooty in Gorkahpur.

The final phase of the Lok Sabha polls in the state will also decide the fate of eight SP and five BSP candidates.

In all, there are 167 candidates in the fray for the 13 seats. The highest number of 26 candidates in the fray are from Varanasi, while Bansgaon has the least number of four candidates fighting the polls.    Over 2.32 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in this phase in UP. As many as 25,874 polling booths have been set up in 13,979 polling centres in the final phase, the Election Commissionsaid.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in the state, securing 42.63 per cent of the votes. BJP ally Apna Dal bagged two. The Samajwadi Party had won five seats with a vote share of22.35 per cent. The BSP did not win any seat while securing19.77 per cent votes. The Congress registered wins on two UP seats, bagging 7.53 per cent of the votes.

On the last day of the 2019 election campaign, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke to Sunetra Choudhury about the big controversies of the day, her political debut, and the possibility of seeking election to the Lok Sabha. Edited excerpts:

What is your reaction to the Prime Minister’s remark today that he can’t forgive the remark by Pragya Thakur that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was a patriot?

It’s a cop-out. You are the Prime Minister of the country, there is a question of somebody stating that the person who killed the founder of this country and created its democratic foundation, is a patriot. It’s not enough to say that in your heart, you will not forgive them. You are a political leader, you have to state your political position. What is your position on the killer of Mahatma Gandhi?

I believed very firmly that my children should have as normal and simple a childhood as possible. Bringing up children in Delhi, as it is, is full of challenges.

Rahul and I grew up under the shadow of violence and loss. I did not want my children to have to face that. Often, the burden of a political career is carried by the family, especially the children. I felt I needed to protect my children from this. As it happens, recently they became keen that I should enter politics and they were quite happy that I did.

Did they say, ‘Mom you should fight’?

Yes, my son would tease me by saying, you are wasting your political skills trying to solve problems between the cook and the electrician, put them to better use! In the last couple of years, both of them were encouraging me to enter politics.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday attempted to establish an emotional link with local voters by describing herself as a Punjabi ‘bahu’ (daughter-in-law), saying she felt at home in Punjab and among its people.

While hailing the valour of Punjabis and their ability to remain happy in all circumstances, she launched a vitriolic attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by asking the audience whether they wanted a Prime Minister who was using martyrs for political purposes or some one who was son of a martyr.

“Do you want a Prime Minister who does politics of martyrs or want to make a martyr’s son (Rahul Gandhi) the Prime Minister?” she asked, addressing a rally in Bathinda in support of Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

The Congress leader urged people to teach a lesson to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for harassment meted out to them.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will on Thursday visit a woman who was gang-raped in Alwar in Rajasthan last month by six men who also beat up her husband. The April 26 incident has provoked anger and protests across the state and, in the middle of a fierce election campaign, attacks on the Congress government by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as BSP chief Mayawati.

Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to visit Alwar this morning, but due to bad weather his helicopter could not land.

The woman, a Dalit, was riding with her husband on a motorcycle when a group of men on two bikes stopped them and dragged them to a field. The attackers tied her husband and thrashed him before raping her. The family has accused the police of delaying action because of the national election, which has led to allegations that the Congress was trying to cover up the case to avoid a backlash in polls.

The gang-rape survivor’s husband had said the police were informed on April 30, but the First Information Report was filed on May 2. Rajasthan voted in the Lok Sabha polls in two phases on April 29 and May 6.

PM Modi tweeted on May 12: “Today the daughters of Uttar Pradesh are asking Behen-ji (Mayawati) that the government in Rajasthan is running with your support and there, a girl from Scheduled Castes got raped. So Behen-ji, why have you not withdrawn your support?”

Mayawati, whose two lawmakers in Rajasthan are supporting the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot, had threatened to withdraw support, prompting allegations of “crocodile tears” from PM Modi.

Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Alwar is being seen as damage control and an attempt to send a message to Dalits that his party will fight for them.

The police said they have arrested all the six accused, including a man who filmed the crime and threatened the survivor he would share the clip on social media if she went to the police.

Shah’s rally was scheduled for Monday in Jadavpur, which goes to polls on May 19 in the last phase, but permission for it was denied at the last minute by the state administration, the BJP claimed on Monday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to address three public meetings in Neemuch, Ujjain and Khandwa. His sister, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is expected to address meetings in Shimla, Bhatinda and Gurudaspur.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will today hear the plea of Priyanka Sharma, a BJP activist who was arrested on Friday in West Bengal for allegedly sharing a morphed photo of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.

The bench posted the plea for hearing on Tuesday after the senior lawyer submitted that there has been a complete strike in West Bengal and it has forced the woman to challenge her arrest in the apex court. The senior lawyer said the woman activist is in judicial custody following her arrest by the police.

Sharma, against whom a complaint was filed at Dasnagar Police station, has been sent to two weeks’ judicial custody. She is seeking bail. Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and other social media users.