Category: Articles

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.

Facing a mounting attack from the BJP, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday again rebuked his party’s overseas unit chief Sam Pitroda, saying he should be “ashamed” for his “totally wrong” remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and should seek apology from the country. His remarks came at his first poll rally in Punjab in an apparent damage control exercise after an uproar over Pitroda’s “hua to hua” response to a query on the riots. He had earlier tweeted his disapproval and the party had distanced himself from Pitroda’s remarks.

“What Sam Pitroda said about 1984 was totally wrong and he should seek an apology from the country. “I am saying this publicly and I also told the same to him over phone. Pitroda ji, what you had said was completely wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself. You should seek a public apology,” Gandhi said towards the end of his speech here.

The BJP stepped up offensive against the Congress over Pitroda’s remarks as the 1984 riots is an emotive issue in Punjab which is going to poll on May 19.
During campaigning in Haryana’s Rohtak district and in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, PM Narendra Modi on Friday had said the comments reflected the “character and arrogance” of the opposition party. On Sunday in Punjab’s Amritsar, BJP chief Amit Shah had asked Gandhi whether the matter has ended with Pitroda tendering an apology for “justifying” the “Sikh genocide. Gandhi was addressing a rally in favour of Congress candidate and former bureaucrat Amar Singh who is pitted from Fatehgarh Sahib (reserve) against SAD nominee D S Guru.

Getting personal in an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday asked how a man, who had abandoned his “innocent wife” for “political selfishness”, be expected to respect women.

Ms. Mayawati’s strong words came in the context of the rape of a Dalit woman in Alwar, Rajasthan. Mr. Modi had referred to the incident at a rally in Uttar Pradesh and asked Ms. Mayawati why she was still supporting the Congress government in Rajasthan where the incident took place.

“What will he understand the honour of other’s sisters and daughters,” she said. She accused Mr. Modi of playing politics over the rape case.

Ms. Mayawati added that she had come to know that married women in the BJP were apprehensive of letting their husbands go close to Modi, as they feared he might separate them like how he ‘abandoned’ his wife. She appealed women to “not vote for such a person.”

“ Mamata Didi – Democracy has become a casualty in Bengal. Opposition workers are murdered, candidates are attacked, polling booths are captured and Opposition leaders are not entitled to organise rallies,” he said, adding that “Behan Mayawati” was “unfit for public live”.

“She is firm on becoming a Prime Minister. Her governance, ethics and discourse stoops to an all-time low. Her personal attack today on the Prime Minister exposes her as unfit for public life,” he tweeted.

The Capital’s political grapevine is abuzz with possible scenarios after the election results on May 23. Some like TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu are already active. The Congress camp believes that if the party crosses 125 and the BJPgets less than 200 seats, the BJP cannot stake claim to form government. The Congress, as the largest party in the anti-BJP coalition, will take the lead in spearheading a mahagathbandhan government with Rahul Gandhi as potential prime minister. If the Congress gets less than 100 seats, then regional party leaders will stake their claim to head an anti-BJP coalition. However, if the BJP wins more than 230 seats, it will be on the threshold of government formation. With the numbers from the three major NDA allies, the JD(U), Shiv Sena and Akali Dal (the AIADMK may not count for much) and potential backers such as Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress, Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi and some Independents, it could reach the half-way mark of 272 fairly comfortably.

But what happens if the BJP gets somewhere between 200 and 220 seats? Some believe that the BJP could still hope to get support from other political parties if it agreed to replace Narendra Modi and settle for a more pragmatic and conciliatory leader, such as Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh or Devendra Fadnavis. The BJP brains trust dismisses such talk as nonsensical kite-flying. Whatever the strength of the BJP, it will be entirely due to Modi and no replacement for him is possible. In any case, Modi and Amit Shah have ensured that the majority of the BJP candidates owe loyalty to them. The BJP is convinced that the NDA will cross the half-way mark on its own. In this election, Modi has completely overshadowed his party. Supporters seldom mention the BJP, they simply say they are voting for Modi.

At his Ghazipur rally, prime minister Narendra Modi blamed the Congress government in Rajasthan for shielding the Alwar gang-rapists because they did not want the news to come out during the polls. In sharp language, Modi also attacked what he called the “award wapsi gang” and said the light of their protest candles have long since gone out.

A BJP youth leader in West Bengal’s Howrah, Priyanka Sharma, was detained and remanded in 14 days’ police custody after a complaint was lodged with police over a meme she had posted, where TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s face was morphed onto a photo of Priyanka Chopra’s from the Met Gala.

At the end of his Robertsganj rally, prime minister Narendra Modi made the customary request for votes, this time for Apna Dal (Sonelal) candidate. He then said, “You know me, I was a chaiwala and had to live off washing cups and plates from which others had eaten. But now, as your chowkidar, I am asking for votes for the same symbol which has been a part of my life for so long,” he said. The analogy drew appreciative applause from the crowd and laughs from the likes of Yogi Adityanath on the dais.

At his Robertsganj rally, prime minister Narendra Modi mocked Sam Pitroda’s hua so hua remark on the 1984 Sikh riots, for the second straight day running. Using the Hindi line as a refrain as he described the reported faults of the Congress governments that have been in power earlier, Modi said people will soon tell people like these that they should disappear. “People will say hawa ho jao, hawa ho jao,” Modi said. Modi also criticised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over his claims that he hugs in reply to vitriol.

Aam Aadmi Party’s West Delhi candidate, Balbir Singh Jakhar’s son Uday Jakhar said on Saturday that his father joined politics about three months ago and had had nothing to do with the AAP’s original movement. He further alleged that Balbir had paid Arvind Kejriwal Rs six crore for a ticket and said he had “credible evidence” that cash was directly handed over to the Delhi chief minister. Uday also said that when he had asked his father for financial assistance to complete his education, his father had refused. “I don’t know how my parents will react or if I will be allowed back into my house after this,” he said.

As many as 770 companies of Central forces will be deployed in West Bengal in the sixth phase of elections on Sunday. The state has seen violence and bloody clashes in every one of the five phases of the election so far.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra took up the issue of the TIME article on prime minister Narendra Modi, where he was called “divider-in-chief” by writer Aatish Taseer, at his press conference on Saturday. He said, “The man who called Modi divider-in-chief is a Pakistani man, he is a Pakistani citizen. You all know what Pakistan is like. They hate Narendra Modi because he did the two surgical strikes on them. What else can be left to say?” said Patra. Taseer is the son of journalist Tavleen Singh. His father is late Punjab governor, Salman Taseer, who is Pakistani.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu over his comment on Friday evening, when he called prime minister Narendra Modi a ‘kale angrez‘ (black English). “Kale hain toh kya hua dilwale hain,” he said, adding that the comment made by Sidhu, “upon Rahul Gandhi’s instructions” prove that he is a racist. Patra also quoted more lines from the song to express that Modi had won the hearts of Indians.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday once again tore into the SP-BSP alliance by likening SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to Aurangzeb, who had imprisoned his father, emperor Shahjahan. Adityanath alleged that Akhilesh has “cornered” his father, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, and tied up with Mulayam’s enemy, BSP.

Not one to ever make politically correct statements, Navjot Singh Sidhu delivered on Saturday yet another criticism of prime minister Narendra Modi, this time using a trope which can assuredly be called misogynist. Dubbing Modi “liar-in-chief and divider-in-chief”, Sidhu then went on to compare the prime minister to a wife who rather than making bread, prefers to clink her bangles together so that the whole neighbourhood can hear and surmise that she is working hard.

Leaders of the Uttar Pradesh gathbandhan Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati tore into both the BJP and the Congress, a day before polling in key constituencies of the state. Both leaders accused the BJP and Congress of trying to cut into the SP-BSP alliance’s vote share, and colluding to defeat the gathbandhan.

With the Congress party facing flak for Sam Pitroda’s “jo hua so hua” remark on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has finally intervened. Rahul has said that Pitroda’s comment was ‘completely out of line’. Reports also said that Rahul has asked his political guru to issue an apology. Pitroda’s comment was also condemned by Congress veteran and Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that ‘red cards’ are being issued only to the SP and BSP, adding that BJP is conspiring to scare people against voting. The SP chief also predicted that the BJP and Congress would win zero number of seats in Sunday’s phase six polling while the BJP would win just one seat in the seventh and final phase.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s mega meeting to strategise on government formation may not take place on May 21 as several regional leaders now wish to wait for the election results on May 23. According to reports, PM hopeful and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reportedly told Andhra counterpart Chandrababu Naidu that the meeting can be held after the results and that current focus should be on keeping a close watch on EVMs and strongrooms.

Banerjee and Naidu held a closed-door discussion yesterday on future plans for the Mahagathbandhan. The meeting between Banerjee and Naidu took place for over 15 minutes, according to a well-placed source in the Trinamool Congress. On whether Banerjee will be attending the proposed meeting of the opposition parties, the TMC leader said that the date of the meeting was yet not decided.

“It’s not decided that the meeting will be held on May 21… it seems that it might be deferred by a couple of days and take place after May 23. Didi May be taking part in it,” he said.

Naidu and Banerjee are believed to have also talked about the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) issue and the probable voting percentage in the so far held five phases of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, the TMC leader said.

Earlier, Naidu joined Banerjee at a campaign meeting of TMC at Kharagpur on Thursday where he spoke high about her and urged people to vote for Trinamool to oust the BJP from the power.

Later, Naidu participated and delivered a speech for TMC North Kollkata Lok Sabha consituency candidate Sudip Bandyopadhyay at Sithi in the city.

Banerjee, who has floated the idea of federal front of regional parties, has been playing an important role for unity of anti-BJP bloc.