News Analysis India

Tag: Assembly Elections

  • Congress releases party manifesto for HP assembly polls

    By PTI

    SHIMLA: The Congress on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 12 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections in the presence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

    The party has promised to implement the old pension scheme, 30 units of free power and Rs 10 crore ‘StartUp fund’ in each constituency.

    Others present at the party’s poll manifesto release included AICC in-charge for Himachal Rajeev Shukla, former PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and AICC secretaries Tejinder Pal Bittu and Manish Chatrath.

    Party’s poll manifesto committee chairman Dhani Ram Shandil said the BJP has failed to live up to the expectations of people and has not fulfilled the promises made five years ago.

    “This is not just a poll manifesto but a document prepared for the development and welfare of the people of Himachal Pradesh,” Shandil said.

    The Congress is banking on the anti-incumbency factor and urging voters not to reelect the BJP in the state.

    SHIMLA: The Congress on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 12 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections in the presence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

    The party has promised to implement the old pension scheme, 30 units of free power and Rs 10 crore ‘StartUp fund’ in each constituency.

    Others present at the party’s poll manifesto release included AICC in-charge for Himachal Rajeev Shukla, former PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and AICC secretaries Tejinder Pal Bittu and Manish Chatrath.

    Party’s poll manifesto committee chairman Dhani Ram Shandil said the BJP has failed to live up to the expectations of people and has not fulfilled the promises made five years ago.

    “This is not just a poll manifesto but a document prepared for the development and welfare of the people of Himachal Pradesh,” Shandil said.

    The Congress is banking on the anti-incumbency factor and urging voters not to reelect the BJP in the state.

  • Ex-journalist Isudan Gadhvi is AAP’s CM face for Gujarat assembly elections

    By Online Desk

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has declared Isudan Gadhvi as their chief ministerial candidate for the Gujarat assembly elections. 

    The announcement was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who said the 40-year-old Gadhvi got as many as 73 per cent votes in a poll conducted by the party. Kejriwal said the party conducted the poll by asking people to call a phone number and listen to a recorded message which asked them to choose their chief ministerial face.

    Gadhvi was pitted against state party unit chief Gopal Italia, who played a key role in the Patidar community agitation.

    Gadhvi is AAP’s National Joint General Secretary and a member of its National Executive team. 

    A well-known TV journalist, Gadhvi was the former editor of VTV News and used to anchor the channel’s popular news show Mahamanthan.

    He hails from a farmers’ family in Dwarka district’s Pipaliya village and belongs to the other backward castes, which account for 48 per cent of the state’s population.

    Elections to the 182-member state assembly will take place over two phases on December 1 and 5, the Election Commission announced on Thursday in the backdrop of the Morbi bridge collapse four days ago.

    All eyes are on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as well as his party leaders who have made a high decibel entry into the field, giving voters a third option in a state that has for decades been bipolar in its politics.

    AAP is stirring interest with its aggressive campaigning and long list of attractive pre-poll “guarantees”.

    The AAP is banking on ‘welfarism’, the fact that it is a new alternative and its stress on day to day people issues to woo voters.

    OPINION | One disruptor and two old foes perk up Gujarat polls

    Kejriwal has anchored his party’s campaign around a slew of sops, including 300 units of free electricity per month, free education in government schools, unemployment dole, Rs 1,000 allowance to women and monthly stipend to new lawyers.

    The party began campaigning much ahead of the BJP and other parties.

    The 10-year-old outfit has also left other parties far behind as far as announcement of candidates are concerned.

    So far, the AAP, which is likely to contest all 182 seats, has announced names of candidates for 73 Assembly segments.

    The BJP has 111 seats and the Congress 62 in the current assembly. The NCP has one, BTP two, Independent one and five seats are vacant, including three after Congress MLAs resigned.

    The elections are crucial for BJP, which has won six successive terms and aims at retaining power in Modi’s home state, as well as for AAP, hoping desperately that a win in Gujarat will propel it to a pan-India political force, the third state in its bag after Delhi and a victory in Punjab in March this year.

    The Congress, on its part, hopes to end its 27-year stint in the Opposition but has so far been quiet with its national leaders conspicuous by their absence.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    (With PTI inputs)

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has declared Isudan Gadhvi as their chief ministerial candidate for the Gujarat assembly elections. 

    The announcement was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who said the 40-year-old Gadhvi got as many as 73 per cent votes in a poll conducted by the party. Kejriwal said the party conducted the poll by asking people to call a phone number and listen to a recorded message which asked them to choose their chief ministerial face.

    Gadhvi was pitted against state party unit chief Gopal Italia, who played a key role in the Patidar community agitation.

    Gadhvi is AAP’s National Joint General Secretary and a member of its National Executive team. 

    A well-known TV journalist, Gadhvi was the former editor of VTV News and used to anchor the channel’s popular news show Mahamanthan.

    He hails from a farmers’ family in Dwarka district’s Pipaliya village and belongs to the other backward castes, which account for 48 per cent of the state’s population.

    Elections to the 182-member state assembly will take place over two phases on December 1 and 5, the Election Commission announced on Thursday in the backdrop of the Morbi bridge collapse four days ago.

    All eyes are on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as well as his party leaders who have made a high decibel entry into the field, giving voters a third option in a state that has for decades been bipolar in its politics.

    AAP is stirring interest with its aggressive campaigning and long list of attractive pre-poll “guarantees”.

    The AAP is banking on ‘welfarism’, the fact that it is a new alternative and its stress on day to day people issues to woo voters.

    OPINION | One disruptor and two old foes perk up Gujarat polls

    Kejriwal has anchored his party’s campaign around a slew of sops, including 300 units of free electricity per month, free education in government schools, unemployment dole, Rs 1,000 allowance to women and monthly stipend to new lawyers.

    The party began campaigning much ahead of the BJP and other parties.

    The 10-year-old outfit has also left other parties far behind as far as announcement of candidates are concerned.

    So far, the AAP, which is likely to contest all 182 seats, has announced names of candidates for 73 Assembly segments.

    The BJP has 111 seats and the Congress 62 in the current assembly. The NCP has one, BTP two, Independent one and five seats are vacant, including three after Congress MLAs resigned.

    The elections are crucial for BJP, which has won six successive terms and aims at retaining power in Modi’s home state, as well as for AAP, hoping desperately that a win in Gujarat will propel it to a pan-India political force, the third state in its bag after Delhi and a victory in Punjab in March this year.

    The Congress, on its part, hopes to end its 27-year stint in the Opposition but has so far been quiet with its national leaders conspicuous by their absence.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    (With PTI inputs)

  • SWOT analysis: BJP eyeing seventh straight win in Gujarat

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) will battle anti-incumbency and slug it out with traditional rival Congress and aggressive new player Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) in the next month’s high-octane Assembly elections in Gujarat.

    After winning Gujarat for a record six times in a row since 1995, here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the BJP in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

    STRENGTHS:

    *The mass appeal of Prime Minister Modi who remains BJP’s trump card.

    *BJP is banking on its outreach to the Patidars after facing the community’s ire in the 2017 polls over the quota agitation.

    Its decision to make Bhupendra Patel chief minister in September last year and bring the quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel into its fold may work in the party’s favour.

    *The Gujarat unit of the BJP has a formidable organisational setup till the booth level.

    *The ruling party is counting on the plank of Hindutva, development and ‘double engine’ growth.

    Home Minister Shah, considered a master strategist, has been overseeing the preparations.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    WEAKNESSES:

    *The BJP lacks a strong local leader who can fill Prime Minister Modi’s shoes.

    Gujarat had three chief ministers including the incumbent Bhupendra Patel since 2014 after Modi became prime minister.

    Modi was chief minister for 13 years.

    *Besides facing allegations of corruption in the state levelled by the AAP and Congress, the party may face heat on issues like inflation, unemployment and economic distress.

    *AAP’s aggressive campaign has sought to pick holes in the state’s education system and health infrastructure.

    OPPORTUNITIES:

    *A weak opposition could present the BJP with a chance to win seven Assembly elections in a row and match the CPI-M-led Left Front’s feat in West Bengal.

    *The main opposition Congress appears to be missing from the campaign with party leaders apparently preoccupied with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    *If the BJP is able to halt AAP’s march in Gujarat by restricting it to less than five seats in the 182-member Assembly, it has a chance to limit the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s ambitions to emerge as the main challenger at the national level.

    THREATS:

    *The recent bridge collapse in Morbi in which 135 people were killed may have an impact on BJP’s electoral fortunes.

    *Infighting within BJP has largely been kept under wraps due to strong central leadership, but a defeat may see the fissures come out in the open.

    *In the event of a hung Assembly, the ruling party may find it difficult to find an ally to cobble a majority.

    *If the AAP manages to win in some places, it could pose a challenge to the BJP.

    The saffron party’s seat tally has been declining in each election since 2002.

    It won 127 seats in 2002, 117 in 2007, 116 in 2012 and 99 in 2017.

    AHMEDABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) will battle anti-incumbency and slug it out with traditional rival Congress and aggressive new player Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) in the next month’s high-octane Assembly elections in Gujarat.

    After winning Gujarat for a record six times in a row since 1995, here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the BJP in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

    STRENGTHS:

    *The mass appeal of Prime Minister Modi who remains BJP’s trump card.

    *BJP is banking on its outreach to the Patidars after facing the community’s ire in the 2017 polls over the quota agitation.

    Its decision to make Bhupendra Patel chief minister in September last year and bring the quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel into its fold may work in the party’s favour.

    *The Gujarat unit of the BJP has a formidable organisational setup till the booth level.

    *The ruling party is counting on the plank of Hindutva, development and ‘double engine’ growth.

    Home Minister Shah, considered a master strategist, has been overseeing the preparations.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    WEAKNESSES:

    *The BJP lacks a strong local leader who can fill Prime Minister Modi’s shoes.

    Gujarat had three chief ministers including the incumbent Bhupendra Patel since 2014 after Modi became prime minister.

    Modi was chief minister for 13 years.

    *Besides facing allegations of corruption in the state levelled by the AAP and Congress, the party may face heat on issues like inflation, unemployment and economic distress.

    *AAP’s aggressive campaign has sought to pick holes in the state’s education system and health infrastructure.

    OPPORTUNITIES:

    *A weak opposition could present the BJP with a chance to win seven Assembly elections in a row and match the CPI-M-led Left Front’s feat in West Bengal.

    *The main opposition Congress appears to be missing from the campaign with party leaders apparently preoccupied with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    *If the BJP is able to halt AAP’s march in Gujarat by restricting it to less than five seats in the 182-member Assembly, it has a chance to limit the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s ambitions to emerge as the main challenger at the national level.

    THREATS:

    *The recent bridge collapse in Morbi in which 135 people were killed may have an impact on BJP’s electoral fortunes.

    *Infighting within BJP has largely been kept under wraps due to strong central leadership, but a defeat may see the fissures come out in the open.

    *In the event of a hung Assembly, the ruling party may find it difficult to find an ally to cobble a majority.

    *If the AAP manages to win in some places, it could pose a challenge to the BJP.

    The saffron party’s seat tally has been declining in each election since 2002.

    It won 127 seats in 2002, 117 in 2007, 116 in 2012 and 99 in 2017.

  • ‘Outsiders’ ran poll-related hawala racket in Gujarat

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Police has unearthed a network of around 30 people from outside the state who are being allegedly used by the Aam Aadmi Party for distributing hawala money for the assembly elections.

    The statement given by AAP’s Bardoli assembly constituency candidate Rajendra Solanki to the Surat Rural Police has led to this disclosure. Solanki told the police in a written statement that the person who has been identified as his driver was actually an AAP worker from outside the state.

    “Saurabh has been identified as my driver. But he is not my driver. He is working for AAP, and I have met him just two or three times. He was sent from Delhi by the party,” said Rajendra Solanki. “When I went to the police station to help Saurabh, he told me the money was meant for AAP party’s campaign expenses and that he had brought it from an angadia (hawala operator),” said Solanki.

    While investigating the source of the stolen black money, the police found that for the 182 seats in Gujarat, more than 30 people from outside Gujarat have been hired by AAP to allegedly to collect hawala money from angadias and distribute to partymen for meeting election expnses. Santosh Parasar alias Saurabh Pandey, named in the police complaint in connection with the Rs 20-lakh loot, is one such person who was given the responsibility of handling cash for nine South Gujarat seats.

    Police said that during transfer of money from one place to another, special care is taken to ensure that the local party leaders remain unaware of the operation. This is done to keep the money trail a secret.The incident that blew the lid off the hawala operation was the October 12 loot in Surat.

     Santosh Parashar, the alleged driver of Rajendra Solanki had parked Solanki’s car near Bardoli police station when two unidentified persons with covered faces broke a window of the car and looted the bag containing Rs 20 lakh cash.

    A man named Aadil Memon saw the loot. He chased the robbers on his motorcycle for a couple of km, and called for help. After trying to escape, the robbers threw the bag on the road and fled. Aadil carried the bag full of cash to the police station. 

    Candidates spills the beanA statement given by AAP’s Bardoli assembly constituency candidate Rajendra Solanki to Surat Rural Police has led to the disclosure that outsiders used to run a hawala network. Solanki told the police in a written statement the person who has been identified as his driver was actually an AAP worker from outside the state. 

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Police has unearthed a network of around 30 people from outside the state who are being allegedly used by the Aam Aadmi Party for distributing hawala money for the assembly elections.

    The statement given by AAP’s Bardoli assembly constituency candidate Rajendra Solanki to the Surat Rural Police has led to this disclosure. Solanki told the police in a written statement that the person who has been identified as his driver was actually an AAP worker from outside the state.

    “Saurabh has been identified as my driver. But he is not my driver. He is working for AAP, and I have met him just two or three times. He was sent from Delhi by the party,” said Rajendra Solanki. “When I went to the police station to help Saurabh, he told me the money was meant for AAP party’s campaign expenses and that he had brought it from an angadia (hawala operator),” said Solanki.

    While investigating the source of the stolen black money, the police found that for the 182 seats in Gujarat, more than 30 people from outside Gujarat have been hired by AAP to allegedly to collect hawala money from angadias and distribute to partymen for meeting election expnses. Santosh Parasar alias Saurabh Pandey, named in the police complaint in connection with the Rs 20-lakh loot, is one such person who was given the responsibility of handling cash for nine South Gujarat seats.

    Police said that during transfer of money from one place to another, special care is taken to ensure that the local party leaders remain unaware of the operation. This is done to keep the money trail a secret.
    The incident that blew the lid off the hawala operation was the October 12 loot in Surat.

     Santosh Parashar, the alleged driver of Rajendra Solanki had parked Solanki’s car near Bardoli police station when two unidentified persons with covered faces broke a window of the car and looted the bag containing Rs 20 lakh cash.

    A man named Aadil Memon saw the loot. He chased the robbers on his motorcycle for a couple of km, and called for help. After trying to escape, the robbers threw the bag on the road and fled. Aadil carried the bag full of cash to the police station. 

    Candidates spills the bean
    A statement given by AAP’s Bardoli assembly constituency candidate Rajendra Solanki to Surat Rural Police has led to the disclosure that outsiders used to run a hawala network. Solanki told the police in a written statement the person who has been identified as his driver was actually an AAP worker from outside the state.
     

  • RJD claims reservation within party structure is implemented

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Days after the patch-up with Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed on Sunday to have become the first party in the country to implement ‘reservation’ in its organizational structure. This has been done at a time almost national and regional parties, especially in Bihar BJP included, are working on this equation to create a strong vote-bank on the basis of social engineering ahead of the 2024 LS and the 2025 assembly elections. 

    This reservation roster in the organisational elections of RJD will continue in effect further with an aim to make what RJD chief calls-‘samata-mulak samaj’.(egalitarian society).

    Sharing details with this newspaper here, Chittaranjan Gagan- assistant national chief electoral officer of RJD, said that reservation has been implemented in the party for organisational structure with the purpose of giving special representation to the most backward and scheduled castes and tribes in the organizational structure.

    “A provision has been made for special reservation for these classes in the constitution of RJD.  According to the constitutional provisions of the party, 28 per cent of posts of party office bearers at the block and district levels including the party district presidents have been reserved for the most backward classes and 17 per cent for the scheduled castes and tribes now”, he claimed.

    He further elaborated that the same roster of reservations has been implemented in the organizational election year 2022-2025, which was earlier implemented in the organizational election year 2019-2022.

    The category, for which the posts of block president and district president were reserved in the last organizational year, would continue same for the same category in this organizational year also. “There has been no change in the previous roster”, he said.

    At present, the RJD has around 50 organizational district units in Bihar. “Among these units, 17 district units, the party president post has been reserved for the most backward classes whereas in 7 district units, the president’s post has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

    Sharing details, he said that  Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga,Samastipur, Begusarai , Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Purnia , Munger, Bhagalpur , Banka, Biharsharif , Jehanabad and Patna Mahanagar(metropolis) have been reserved for the most backward, whereas  Navgachia, Arwal, Kaimur, Nalanda, Araria, Siwan and Bagaha have been reserved for SC and ST.

    “Along with this, provision has been made for co-opted members to ensure proper representation of special interests in the organization.  Under which, out of the total co-opted members at various levels, except the initial unit, the participation of minimum of 25 per cent women, 25 per cent minorities, 30 per cent scheduled castes/tribes and the remaining 20 per cent of those sections which have not got representation will be ensured”, he added.  In the primary unit, one member of the SC/ST will be represented as a ‘sahvarit’ (co-opted) member.

    NEW DELHI: Days after the patch-up with Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed on Sunday to have become the first party in the country to implement ‘reservation’ in its organizational structure. This has been done at a time almost national and regional parties, especially in Bihar BJP included, are working on this equation to create a strong vote-bank on the basis of social engineering ahead of the 2024 LS and the 2025 assembly elections. 

    This reservation roster in the organisational elections of RJD will continue in effect further with an aim to make what RJD chief calls-‘samata-mulak samaj’.(egalitarian society).

    Sharing details with this newspaper here, Chittaranjan Gagan- assistant national chief electoral officer of RJD, said that reservation has been implemented in the party for organisational structure with the purpose of giving special representation to the most backward and scheduled castes and tribes in the organizational structure.

    “A provision has been made for special reservation for these classes in the constitution of RJD.  According to the constitutional provisions of the party, 28 per cent of posts of party office bearers at the block and district levels including the party district presidents have been reserved for the most backward classes and 17 per cent for the scheduled castes and tribes now”, he claimed.

    He further elaborated that the same roster of reservations has been implemented in the organizational election year 2022-2025, which was earlier implemented in the organizational election year 2019-2022.

    The category, for which the posts of block president and district president were reserved in the last organizational year, would continue same for the same category in this organizational year also. “There has been no change in the previous roster”, he said.

    At present, the RJD has around 50 organizational district units in Bihar. “Among these units, 17 district units, the party president post has been reserved for the most backward classes whereas in 7 district units, the president’s post has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

    Sharing details, he said that  Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga,Samastipur, Begusarai , Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Purnia , Munger, Bhagalpur , Banka, Biharsharif , Jehanabad and Patna Mahanagar(metropolis) have been reserved for the most backward, whereas  Navgachia, Arwal, Kaimur, Nalanda, Araria, Siwan and Bagaha have been reserved for SC and ST.

    “Along with this, provision has been made for co-opted members to ensure proper representation of special interests in the organization.  Under which, out of the total co-opted members at various levels, except the initial unit, the participation of minimum of 25 per cent women, 25 per cent minorities, 30 per cent scheduled castes/tribes and the remaining 20 per cent of those sections which have not got representation will be ensured”, he added.  In the primary unit, one member of the SC/ST will be represented as a ‘sahvarit’ (co-opted) member.

  • After Punjab victory, AAP now shifts focus to South; to launch massive membership drive

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to launch a massive membership drive in the southern states to build on the momentum of its stupendous victory in the Punjab Assembly polls.

    The party will start its membership drive in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti said on Friday.

    “After the thunderous victory of the AAP in Punjab, people from the southern regions have started showing interest in the politics of our party. We are receiving an unprecedented response from southern India,” he told reporters here.

    “Seeing the mood of the people and taking into account the response that our teams in the southern states have been receiving, we have decided to launch membership campaigns throughout the region,” he added.

    Bharti said the membership drive will be carried out by the party’s local teams.

    “These campaigns will actively penetrate deep into Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep,” he said.

    “I call upon all those who feel the need to bring a change in India’s politics to join the AAP and be a part of the revolution,” he said.

    Bharti said the party has also decided to take out foot marches across the southern states in phases.

    “This sequence will begin on April 14 on B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary with our first foot march in Telangana. We will cover each and every Assembly constituency of the region. Through these foot marches, we will take the politics of (Arvind) Kejriwalji and the ideals of Babasaheb and Bhagat Singh to every resident of the region,” he added.

    Bharti said the party will highlight the difference it has made in the lives of the people of Delhi.

    The AAP has its units in Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

    The party had contested the Karnataka and Telangana Assembly polls in 2018 as part of its efforts to make inroads into south India but could not open its account.

  • ‘Battle for India will be decided in 2024, not in any state poll’: Prashant Kishor’s jibe at Modi

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A day after the BJP’s emphatic win in assembly elections in four states, poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday said the results will not have any bearing on the next Lok Sabha elections as the “battle for India would be fought and decided in 2024 and not in any state elections”.

    Bulldozing a resurgent rainbow coalition led by the Samajwadi Party, the BJP on Thursday stormed back to power in Uttar Pradesh and also retained Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, while Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP scripted a stellar victory in Punjab, winning a three-fourth majority pulverising its rivals.

    Kishor’s comment came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the next Lok Sabha polls, scheduled for 2024, saying he hopes that political pundits will note that his party’s win in the four states has also made clear the verdict for the next general elections as they had linked its win in 2019 to its sweep of the Uttar Pradesh polls in 2017.

    “Battle for India will be fought and decided in 2024 & not in any state #elections Saheb knows this! Hence this clever attempt to create frenzy around state results to establish a decisive psychological advantage over opposition. Don’t fall or be part of this false narrative.” Kishor said on Twitter.

  • ‘People’s decision paramount, hope governments work for farmers’: Rakesh Tikait on assembly polls results

    By PTI

    NOIDA: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said the decision of people is paramount as he hoped the new governments in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand will work for farmers and labourers.

    The remark of the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) came late on Thursday after the BJP won majority seats in four states, including Uttar Pradesh, while the Aam Aadmi Party stormed to power in Punjab.

    “In the great festival of democracy, the decision of the people is paramount. The farmers’ movement showed its effect. We hope that all the governments that have been formed will work for to uplift farmers and labourers in their respective states. Congratulations to all on the victory,” Tikait tweeted in Hindi.

    Tikait’s BKU was part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers unions which had spearheaded the 13-month-long protest in Delhi in 2020-21 against three contentious farm laws, which now stand repealed.

    In the aftermath of the iconic protests, the SKM had launched a “punish BJP” campaign in Uttar Pradesh, where farmer leaders toured several places and highlighted the anti-agriculture policies of the saffron party and issues like inflation, alleged corruption and the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which a Union minister’s son is among the accused.

  • Those behind Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination opened fire at me: Owaisi 

    The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief also alleged that those behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi were the ones who opened fire at him.

  • BJP taking country towards ‘danger’, wants only one ideology to rule in country: Rahul

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: In a scathing attack on the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the saffron party of taking the country towards “danger” and said that along with the RSS, it wants only one ideology to rule over all states, languages and history which can never happen.

    Reiterating what he said in Lok Sabha a day ago, Gandhi said the “grave danger” is that the BJP is dividing the nation into two countries — one belonging to select billionaires and the other to the crores of common people.

    “I made a speech in Lok Sabha yesterday in which I talked about the two-three challenges facing the country. The BJP and its ideology are taking our country towards danger. What is the danger — the first grave danger is that the BJP is dividing the country into two countries,” he said while addressing a function at Science College ground in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur.

    “One country is of selected billionaires, where there is everything including planes, wealth and high technology, while the second one is of crores of the people of the country,” he said.

    “They think that by making two countries, the country which belongs to the poor is powerless and will remain quiet. They think the poor of the country are afraid. But the poor of the country are not afraid of anyone, rather they are the ones who have built the country,” Gandhi said.

    “If someone has taken India to this point and ensured the progress, it is not a party, but the farmers, labourers and the poor. So when it is asked what has happened in 70 years, it is an insult to farmers, their parents, labourers, and small businessmen, not to the Congress party,” he added.

    He said that the 100 wealthiest people in India have more money than 40 per cent of the population.

    “While 40 per cent struggle with hunger and poverty, 5-10 capitalist friends of the prime minister amass all the wealth, we don’t want a country like this. We will not allow the country to become so,” Gandhi asserted.

    “If there is progress in this country – then everyone will be part of it, not just some industrialists. If there is progress in the country, then everyone will benefit,” he said.

    On the occasion, Gandhi launched the Chhattisgarh government’s ‘Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhoomihin Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojana’, under which landless labourers in rural areas will be given financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year in three installments. The first installment of Rs 2,000 was deposited into the accounts of nearly 3.55 lakh landless families of labourers, barbers, blacksmiths, priests, forest produce collectors and shepherds, among others, on the occasion under the scheme.

    ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi launches welfare scheme for landless labourers in Chhattisgarh

    He laid the foundation stone of a memorial here that will house an eternal flame on the lines of the ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ as a tribute to soldiers and security personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

    Gandhi also laid the foundation stone of ‘Gandhi Sevagram’ ashram to be built in Nava Raipur, similar to the one in Wardha (Maharashtra). In his remarks, Gandhi said this country is like a bouquet and people of different ideologies live in it.

    “The ideology, history, and culture in one state is different from that of the other. But if we say that there will be only one ideology in the whole country then it will be wrong,” he said adding that this will harm the country.

    “The BJP and RSS want that only one ideology should rule over all states, languages, and history in the country, which can never happen. For example, people of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh cannot tell people of Chhattisgarh how they should live, what should be the relation of tribals here with forests, and what should be the relation of farmers here with their land. Likewise, you cannot go to Vidarbha and tell farmers there that ‘you should live in this way,” the former Congress chief said.

    This is the bouquet of our country and this feeling of love and brotherhood, is what we call India, he said. Gandhi alleged that the BJP has been “attacking this India” and the Congress will oppose this attack and will show them the “real India”.

    The Congress leader also accused the BJP of spreading hatred in the country and making one religion fight with the other. 

    ALSO READ: BJP, RSS want rule of only one ideology, but it can never happen: Rahul Gandhi

    “They have spread hatred in the country. They are making one state fight with the other and one religion fight with the other religion. The powers outside India look at us and say that India is getting weak. The Chinese army could enter Ladakh because the BJP and our prime minister said after their entry into our territory that no one has entered,” he said.

    “Our work and the work of patriotism is to strengthen the country, help the poor and unite the country, not to spread hatred. So it is a battle of ideology. This is not a fight between one party and the other,” he said.

    Gandhi praised the Chhattisgarh government and said it is fulfilling its promises.

    Talking about his promise of providing Rs 2,500 to farmers, the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad said that the state government had fulfilled the promise of paying the actual amount for farmers’ hard work to them.

    He said the state government’s move to provide financial assistance to landless labourers working in farms is a big step towards the welfare of the poor and urged the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to increase the amount to be given to labourers under the scheme.

    In his remarks, Baghel said that the state managed to shield itself from the slowdown impact as it followed the directives of Rahul Gandhi to empower the masses by putting money in their pockets.

    Baghel said that the farmers in Chhattisgarh were content even as they were protesting in other parts of India. He said that one more step has been taken towards making Chhattisgarh a public welfare state.

    Gandhi also launched a coffee table book “Jo Kaha So Kiya” on the achievements of the Chhattisgarh government in the last three years.

    After an inspection of an exhibition on the development in the state, Gandhi suggested to the chief minister to take the “magic of Chhattisgarh” beyond the country so that the world gets the taste of the state’s products, knowledge, and history. Gandhi also tried his hand at pottery and ‘charkha’.