News Analysis India

Tag: Assembly Elections

  • JP Nadda: BJP chief and Union Minister JP Nadda to be Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha

    BJP President and Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda will now also handle the important role of Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. He succeeds Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who has now moved to the Lok Sabha as a representative of Mumbai North constituency.

    The decision to appoint Nadda, 63, as Leader of the House was expected since the Lok Sabha election results came out and Goyal quit his membership of the Upper House on June 10. Among the BJP members in the House, he qualifies on the basis of his experience and seniority.

    Nadda is into this third term in the Rajya Sabha. He entered the Upper House for the first time on April 3, 2012 from his home state Himachal Pradesh and was given a second term in 2018, again from HP. His current term began in April, 2024 when he was elected from Gujarat, putting at rest speculations that he may contest the Lok Sabha polls.Nadda is on extension as BJP chief, having completed his term last year. With his appointment as Leader of the House and responsibilities as Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, there is a likelihood of BJP choosing an acting party chief before a full-time President is elected in January 2025. The forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year are a formidable challenge for the BJP as the Opposition has emerged stronger in these states after the Lok Sabha polls.

    It is not clear if Nadda will be asked to continue till January as BJP Chief or be replaced. He had himself stepped into the role of Working President of BJP in June, 2019 when Amit Shah quit the post to become Home Minister. Later he was duly elected as BJP Chief in January 2020.

    Nadda has vast political experience and has risen through the ranks in the BJP. Hailing from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, the veteran leader served as a minister in the BJP government in the state in different portfolios- Health, Forest, Parliamentary Affairs and so on. He has also worked as national general secretary of the BJP.This is Nadda’s second stint in the union Health ministry. He held this portfolio from November 2014 to May 2019 in the first Narendra Modi government.As Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Nadda will play a crucial role in the NDA 3.0 government where the ruling coalition has a thin majority with 293 seats in the Lok Sabha. In the Upper House, BJP has 90 members in a House of 231. BJD and YSRCP, parties which used to extend issue-based support to BJP, have now turned against it in the changed political equations. The Opposition will make the going tough for the government in both Houses. The demand for sending Bills to the parliamentary committees for scrutiny and for holding discussions on current issues plaguing the country are set to increase.

    Nadda will have his hands full as Leader of the House while also juggling two important ministerial portfolios as well as the role of BJP Chief till the party finds a replacement.

  • Arunachal state Cong chief to continue in his post

    Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, a day after resigning from the post of state Congress President, on Saturday said that he would continue to discharge his responsibilities in that post.

    According to him the party high command yet to accept his resignation letter.

    Tuki, also Congress MLA from the Sagalee assembly constituency, said that he had offered to resign from the post of PCC President on Friday because he is unable to assist those who intend to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and campaign for them as he would also be contesting the polls.“Hence, I thought I should resign from the post of state party President for the convenience for me and other possible candidates,”

    He dismissed media reports that he had quit from the post of state party President “on moral grounds” after the recent defection of three MLAs to the BJP.

    Tuki has been at the helm of the APCC for several years, overseeing the party’s strategies and engagements.Congress Legislature Party leader Lombo Tayeng, a six-time MLA from Mebo constituency in East Siang district, joined the BJP after the two other party legislators — Ninong Ering and Wanglin Lowangdong — also joined the BJP.After the three MLAs joining the BJP, Tuki is the lone legislator in 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly.

  • Arabinda Dhali: Odisha: Jayadev MLA Arabinda Dhali quits BJD, to join BJP

    Sitting MLA of Jayadev Assembly seat in Odisha, Arabinda Dhali resigned from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Saturday, ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.

    Former state minister Dhali tendered his resignation to BJD Supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

    “I tender my resignation on the dated 01.03.2024 from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal.You’re requested to kindly accept my resignation. This is for your information and necessary action,” he wrote in his resignation letter.Jayadev Assembly Seat is one of the 7 assembly segments of the Bhubaneswar Parliamentary Constituency.

    While speaking to ANI, Arabinda Dhali said on Saturday that,” I gave my resignation yesterday (01.03.2024) from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal, sent my letter to honourable CM Naveen Patnaik, and decided to join the BJP. I was in the BJP earlier and now am returning to my home Party. I interact with several leaders of Odisha, including the state BJP president, all are given green signal to join the BJP party. I was inspired by the Honourable PM Modi’s work and Bharat is going to be Viswa Guru. The whole world is giving respect to Narendra Modi. I will dedicate the rest of my life to the BJP and work accordingly for the betterment of the people.”

    He said that he didn’t get the comfort of working in the BJD party, so he decided to join the BJP. He said that, along with him, two thousand workers would join the BJP.Arabinda Dhali is a five-term member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and, his political career started with the BJP, and he represented Malkangiri in 1992, 1995 and 2000.Later, he joined BJD and successfully contested the Jayadev constituency in 2009 and 2019.

    He had also served as the Transport and Corporation Minister in the BJD-BJP alliance government (2000-2004).

    He left the BJP in April, 2006 with Rama Chandra Panda, a former Deputy Speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly, and joined the Bharatiya Janshakti Party of Uma Bharatee . Then, in 2008, he joined the Samajwadi Party and later jumped ship and joined Biju Janata Dal.

    Recently, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and former Odisha minister Debasis Nayak have also joined the BJP.

  • BJP trying to woo BSP’s dalit vote bank in Uttar Pradesh

    BJP, which has been constantly working to expand its base among the SC voters, finds itself in an advantageous position with the waning hold of BSP, which once enjoyed considerable support among Dalits in the state. As of now, BSP has not aligned with any party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and has decided to go solo on all 80 seats in the state.

    BJP, which won 62 seats in the 2019 LS elections in UP, is eyeing to maximise its tally in the state by crossing 70. To achieve that goal, BSP vote bank becomes crucial for the party. SCs account for 20% of the state’s population and BSP has more or less managed to hold on to this vote bank. However, in the 2022 assembly elections, BSP lost its vote share from around 19.43% in 2019 Lok Sabha to 13%.

    BJP’s internal calculation is that in the absence of any alliance, most BSP voters are looking for options and the saffron party considers itself the most suitable party.”SC community has got maximum benefits from Modi government’s schemes. The government policies are formulated keeping in mind the welfare of the SC community,” Lal Singh Arya, BJP SC Morcha president told ET. “If you look at the recent assembly elections, SCs have voted for BJP in large numbers. Now, our job is to convince SC voters that BJP should be their natural and preferred choice.”

    Starting from Ravidas Jayanti on February 23, BJP SC Morcha will kickstart ‘Basti Sampark Abhiyan’ in different parts of the state. As part of the campaign, BJP leaders will visit nearby SC areas to discuss Modi government’s welfare schemes and present a future roadmap for the development of their localities. The PM will visit Varanasi to take part in Sant Ravidas Jayanti programme on February 23.

    A national convention of BJP SC Morcha will take place in Agra in March which will be attended by BJP SC leaders, Union ministers and leaders from other states. BJP president JP Nadda will make a special address during the meeting. Agra has been chosen considering the high concentration of SC voters in West UP, where BSP performed well in last LS polls.

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