News Analysis India

Tag: Anil Baluni

  • Lok Sabha Polls 2024: BJP’s Anil Baluni Headed For Landslide Win In Pauri Garhwal, Says Survey |

    New Delhi: With the country poised for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are on the electoral battlegrounds, including the vibrant discussions surrounding Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand. Here, the BJP has put forth its seasoned leader, Anil Baluni, into the political fray. Baluni’s candidacy has stirred considerable public interest, evident from pre-election surveys. Pauri, historically significant for Uttarakhand, has been a cradle of leadership, contributing five Chief Ministers to the state.

    In this political fervour gripping Uttarakhand, the Pauri Lok Sabha seat remains a focal point. Since the election announcement, BJP’s candidate, Anil Baluni, has been actively engaging with constituents, addressing their concerns and aspirations. Remarkably, prevailing political dynamics overwhelmingly favour Baluni in Pauri Garhwal, solidifying his standing as a beloved leader among the populace.

    Electoral Dynamics Favour BJP In Pauri Garhwal

    The pulse of the electorate, as reflected in the survey conducted by Matrize News Communication, underscores Baluni’s ascendancy. BJP’s vote share is on an upward trajectory, while Congress faces a decline. Pauri Lok Sabha encompasses 14 assembly constituencies, each pivotal in shaping the electoral landscape. Examining the projected voter turnout across these constituencies provides insights into the shifting political tides leading up to the elections.

    According to Matrize News Communication’s survey data, the BJP is projected to receive 65.02% of the vote in the Badrinath assembly constituency, with Congress expected to secure 30.09%. Other parties are estimated to receive 3.09% of the vote. Similarly, in Tharali, the BJP’s projected vote share stands at 66.08%, compared to Congress’s 28.07%. In Karnaprayag, the BJP is expected to lead with 71.07% of the vote, while Congress trails with 25.04%. Notably, across all three constituencies, the BJP’s vote share appears to be on the rise, while Congress faces a decline.

  • BJP leaders, including ex-CMs, given responsibilities in Uttarakhand poll management panels

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: The BJP has given responsibilities in Uttarakhand state election management committees to prominent party leaders, including four former state chief ministers.

    The BJP has roped in former chief ministers Trivendra Singh Rawat, Tirath Singh Rawat, Vijay Bahuguna, and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in different capacities to oversee the next year’s assembly election, party state general secretary Kuldeep Kumar said on Sunday.

    The party has announced 33 election-related committees at the direction of party president Jagat Prakash Nadda and state party president Madan Kaushik.

    Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, another former chief minister of the state, hasn’t found a place in any of the committees. He has not participated in party activities for a few years.

    Lok Sabha MP from Almora Ajay Tamta has been chosen as the convener of the election management committee.

    National party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni and former CM Tirath Singh will be the co-conveners in this seven-member committee, Kumar said.

    Pokhriyal has been tapped to head the manifesto committee.

    Tourism minister Ajay Bhatt and ex-CM Bahuguna will jointly lead the special outreach committee with former CM Trivendra Singh.

    Besides these, several cabinet ministers in the state government have been assigned election-related responsibilities.

    Satpal Maharaj, Yashpal Arya, Dhan Singh Rawat, Bishan Singh Chufal, Subodh Uniyal, Harak Singh Rawat, and Banshidhar Bhagat will also be part of the state elections committees.

  • Union Minister Santosh Gangwar, two BJP MPs test positive for COVID-19

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Union Minister Santosh Gangwar on Tuesday informed that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

    “I want to inform you that my “Corona test report has come positive”. I don’t have any kind of symptom, I request that all the people who came in contact with me, please follow the Corona safety rules. Together we will win this epidemic,” tweeted Santosh Gangwar.

    BJP Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni on Tuesday informed that he has tested positive too for COVID-19.

    Taking to Twitter, the MP urged people to take all precautions.

    “Friends, today my COVID-19 report has come positive. I have started immediate treatment. COVID-19 cases are increasing. All of you also take care of yourself,” he tweeted in Hindi.

    His colleague from Chhattisgarh’s Durg, Saroj Pandey, on Tuesday informed that she has been tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to AIIMS, Delhi.

    Taking to Twitter, she informed about her coronavirus report and urged the people who have come in contact with her to get tested.

    “My reports for COVID-19 have come positive today. In consultation with the doctors, I have been admitted to the AIIMS, Delhi. All the people who have come in contact with me in the last few days please get tested,” Pandey tweeted.

    Meanwhile, India has reported over 1.61 lakh new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

    According to the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 1,61,736 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. With this fresh surge, the total number of infections has reached 1,36,89,453.

  • Will Trivendra Rawat be axed? Uttarkhand CM meets BJP top brass amid questions over his future

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/DEHRADUN: Taking a grim view of the poll prospects in Uttarakhand next year, the BJP is exploring leadership change in the hill state, while incumbent Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is camped in Delhi trying to somehow avert his ouster. The BJP is likely to name Rawat’s successor after calling a meeting of all legislators in Dehradun.

    Union home minister  Amit Shah is learnt to be acting on a report given by party vice president Raman Singh who was sent to Dehradun on Saturday as a Central observer along with party leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam. BJP chief J P Nadda has also reportedly briefed Shah about the Uttarakhand situation. Later, Rawat met Nadda. 

    The embattled CM also called on the BJP media head and the Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni at his residence on Monday evening. Baluni, who is known to enjoy the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, is also reckoned as a contender for the chief minister’s position. 

    “Leadership change appears imminent, for the BJP doesn’t want to repeat the Jharkhand experience when it persisted with the chief minister despite adverse reports against Raghubar Das. A section of the BJP MLAs in Uttarakhand has been up in arms against Rawat due to his working style,” said a senior BJP functionary.

    However, another section of the senior party leaders discounted the possibility of any leadership change in the state while acknowledging that a section of Uttarakhand leaders may have issues with the chief minister.

    BJP MP Ajay Bhatt, a senior party leader from the state, told PTI that “all is well” in the state and added that the two central leaders had visited Uttarakhand regarding preparations for the three-day state BJP executive meeting from March 12 and the Rawat government’s fourth anniversary on March 18.

    Gautam had also spoken on similar lines on Sunday.

    The state BJP on Monday said there has been no formal announcement about any meeting of the legislature party in Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

    “As far as my knowledge goes, no formal announcement has been made yet about any state legislature party meeting here tomorrow,” state BJP Chief Spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan told PTI in Dehradun.

    However, when asked whether a major change was in the offing as the sudden turn of events on the political front in Uttarakhand indicated, Chauhan briefly said, “Let us see.”

    He said the chief minister would return to Dehradun at noon on Tuesday.

    A section of state leaders are reportedly miffed with Rawat’s leadership and are of the view that the party’s electoral prospects under him may not be very bright.

    The party may also go for a cabinet reshuffle in the state, sources said.

    Rawat was named the chief ministerial candidate by the BJP after it stormed to power in 2017, winning 57 of 70 seats in the state assembly.

    Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” is seen as a frontrunner to replace Rawat. Nishank counts on the support of RSS leaders and the top BJP leadership. State BJP chief Ajay Bhatt and Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj are also nursing CM ambitions, sources said.

    “The immediate trigger was the police caning in Gairsain against people who were protesting against the widening of a road,” sources said.  

    Why he’s a liability?

    While the trend is to vote out the incumbent government, the BJP is keen to reverse it. The CM’s over -centralisation and lack of access to MLAs may play the spoiler, party leaders feel.

    Rawat is also accused of not addressed the concerns of people hit by infrastructure projects, including roads and highways.

    (With PTI Inputs)