The Election Commission of India is “encouraged” by high voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir and will move towards holding assembly polls in the Union Territory “at the earliest”, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said.In a first such statement, the CEC told ET that ECI was “heartened” and “more confident” of holding polls in the Union Territory and would start work on it right after the Lok Sabha elections.”The commission is encouraged to go for assembly polls in the Union Territory at the earliest possible. For the same, the process will be initiated soon after parliamentary elections,” Kumar told ET.”While I would like to thank the electors of J&K for coming out to vote, they have also sent out a clear message. The people of J&K are eager to exercise their franchise and feel invested in the democratic ethos and system of governance. The poll panel is deeply encouraged by the voter turnout in Lok Sabha polls and will work towards holding assembly polls at the earliest,” he said.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesThe CEC’s reaction came hours after Baramulla parliamentary constituency reported a record turnout on Monday. Phase 4 turnout in Srinagar constituency at 38.49% was highest in many decades.In his March 16 press conference when schedules for Lok Sabha elections were announced, CEC had asserted that ECI was committed to holding assembly polls in J&K soon after the parliamentary polls and before the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court.
Tag: assembly polls
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‘Didn’t even know where he was’: Kalpana Soren details harrowing experience of Hemant Soren’s arrest – The Economic Times Video
Kalpana Soren was thrust into the limelight after ED arrested the erstwhile Jharkhand CM in an alleged land scam case. Whispers of a CM-seat takeover by Soren family are doing rounds after Kalpana Soren filled nominations for assembly by-polls. Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren has filled her nomination as the JMM candidate from Gandey in Jharkhand’s Giridih. In an exclusive interview with The Economic Times, Kalpana Soren talks about Hemant Soren’s arrest, Jharkhand, and her entry into electoral politics. Watch!
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Speculation mounts as Congress MLAs close to Kamal Nath arrive in Delhi amid rumors of BJP switch
Around half a dozen Madhya Pradesh MLAs, known for their allegiance to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, arrived in Delhi on Sunday amid speculation that both Kamal Nath and his MP son Nakul Nath are poised to join the BJP.
Out of these MLAs, three hail from Chhindwara, with another three from the same region reportedly en route to Delhi, sources close to the seasoned leader told PTI. Kamal Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara and the current MLA from the constituency, faced the removal as the state president of the Congress after the party’s lackluster performance in the November Assembly polls.
Despite attempts to contact these MLAs, they remained elusive, and it is suggested that Lakhan Ghangoriya, a Nath loyalist and former state minister, is accompanying them in Delhi.Expressing discontent over Kamal Nath’s removal, Deepak Saxena, a former MP minister and Nath loyalist, emphasized the need for the leader to be treated with respect. Saxena asserted that regardless of Nath’s decision, their support would remain unwavering.
“We want out leader to be accorded all respect. Whatever decision he takes, we will be with him,” Saxena said.
Another Nath loyalist, former state minister Vikram Verma, wrote ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in his X profile.”I will follow Kamal Nath,” Verma, a former MP, had told reporters on Saturday.Amidst these developments, efforts are underway by the Nath camp to secure the backing of 23 MLAs to avoid the application of anti-defection laws. Currently, the Congress holds 66 seats in the 230-member Assembly of Madhya Pradesh.
This situation draws parallels with the events of March 2020 when another senior Congress leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with several loyal MLAs, defected to the BJP, resulting in the downfall of the Congress-led government helmed by Kamal Nath. The political landscape in Madhya Pradesh continues to witness dynamic shifts as these political developments unfold.
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BJP names 39 candidates in its second list for Madhya Pradesh, including 3 ministers and seven MPs
By Express News Service
BHOPAL: Springing a strategic surprise for the second time in 39 days, the ruling BJP came out with its 39-strong second list of candidates for the coming assembly polls. The candidates include seven sitting Lok Sabha MPs, including three union ministers and the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
With this, the ruling party has so far named 78 candidates against the total 230 seats in the state ruled by it for 19 years. Earlier on August 17, the BJP had named 39 candidates in its first list for the state, where polls are likely in November. The list was released just a few hours after PM Narendra Modi left Bhopal after addressing the BJP’s Karyakarta Mahakumbh.
Political watchers in the state feel that by fielding seven Lok Sabha members and Vijayvargiya (four of them have been MLAs in the past), the party may be trying to open up the race for CM post among various probable candidates on the poll battleground. Importantly, the party hasn’t till now named its longest serving CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, or any other leader as its CM face in MP and is contesting the polls with PM Modi’s face in the center.
The ruling party also seems to be eyeing to strike a balance between its various senior regional leaders on the election battlefield, to gain maximum out of their experience and influence in specific regions and castes.
The three union ministers include Kshatriya caste leader and union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar (fielded from Dimani in Morena district, part of his Lok Sabha constituency), Prahlad Patel (fielded from his ex-minister and sitting MLA brother Jalam Singh Patel’s Narsinghpur seat) and Faggan Singh Kulaste (who will fight from his old Vidhan Sabha seat Niwas in Mandla). Patel’s sitting MLA brother Jalam Singh Patel, reportedly doesn’t want to contest the polls, just a few months after his son Monu Patel’s death.
Four other MPs, including Ganesh Singh (fourth-time MP from Satna), will be contesting from the Satna assembly seat, four-times Jabalpur MP and ex-state party chief Rakesh Singh will be contesting from Jabalpur-West seat of his LS constituency, while second-time Brahmin woman MP Riti Pathak will be in the fray from Sidhi seat.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the six-time former MLA from different seats of the native Indore district and an ex-MP minister has been fielded from Indore-1 seat (currently with Congress’s Sanjay Shukla). He makes his return to contesting Vidhan Sabha polls, ten years after he last won from Mhow-seat of Indore district. The party has not only named him a candidate for Indore-1 seat to wrest the urban seat of Indore, but also to use his poll management experience and political influence on other seats of Indore district as well as the entire Malwa-Nimar region that houses a maximum of 66 seats. Vijayvargiya has been lying in the cold, despite being national general secretary, particularly in the wake of the 2021 Bengal assembly election debacle.
On the other hand, multiple times Lok Sabha member and union minister Narendra Singh Tomar (last contested and won Vidhan Sabha polls 20 years back from home district Gwalior) has been fielded from Dimani seat of Morena district, to not only influence seats of his Morena parliamentary constituency but also to send a positive message to upper caste Thakurs and Brahmins in the 34-seats strong Gwalior-Chambal region.
By fielding powerful Lodhi OBC caste leader and union minister Prahlad Patel from the native Narsinghpur seat, the party is eyeing the OBC Lodhi vote which is significant on 40-50 seats.
Not only has the party fielded MPs, including union ministers to strengthen the party in the battlefield of different regions, but has also given them the additional challenge of proving their mettle back in the assembly poll battleground.
Another sitting MP who has been given an assembly poll ticket is Jat community leader and third-time MP from Hoshangabad constituency Uday Pratap Singh, who will contest from Gadarwara seat of his parliamentary constituency. He last won the assembly polls in 2008 as a Congress candidate from Tendukheda seat.
By fielding Satna MP Ganesh Singh from Satna assembly seat of his LS seat Satna and the second time MP (from Sidhi constituency) in Sidhi assembly seat, the party is eyeing to consolidate its base among the OBC Kurmi and Brahmin upper caste voters – the two powerful blocks of population in the Vindhya region, which was swept by the BJP in 2018.
Also, the party is trying to eye the crucial tribal votes in tribes dominated Mahakoshal region by fielding union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. The party had fared badly in 2018 in this region, which also houses state Congress chief Kamal Nath’s pocket borough Chhindwara’s assembly segments.
The party has denied a ticket to third-time MLA from Sidhi seat Kedarnath Shukla, seemingly due to the controversy generated by his alleged supporter Pravesh Shukla’s 2019 video clip of urinating on a tribal man. Shukla’s close relatives say that being denied a BJP ticket, he might contest polls from Sidhi only, either as an independent or on any other party’s ticket.
Two other sitting MLAs not considered for tickets, include sitting MLA and Prahlad Patel’s brother Jalam Singh Patel, who lost his son just a few months back, and the Maihar MLA Narayan Tripathi, who has now formed his own party for the cause of a separate Vindhya state.
The list includes names of just three Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist MLAs, including former MLAs Raghuraj Singh Kansana (Morena) and Imarti Devi (Dabra-SC) and Hirendra Singh ‘Bunty Bana’ from ex-CM Digvijaya Singh’s pocket-borough Raghogarh, which since two-times is being represented by Singh’s ex-minister son Jaivardhan Singh.
Out of the 39 candidates named in the list, six, including two-times MP Riti Pathak, former minister and ex-MLA Imarti Devi, Jyoti Dehria (Parasia-SC), Ganga Bai Uike (Ghodadongri-ST), Nanda Brahmane (Bhikangaon-ST) and ex-MLA Sangeeta Charel (Sailana-ST) are women candidates.
BHOPAL: Springing a strategic surprise for the second time in 39 days, the ruling BJP came out with its 39-strong second list of candidates for the coming assembly polls. The candidates include seven sitting Lok Sabha MPs, including three union ministers and the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
With this, the ruling party has so far named 78 candidates against the total 230 seats in the state ruled by it for 19 years. Earlier on August 17, the BJP had named 39 candidates in its first list for the state, where polls are likely in November. The list was released just a few hours after PM Narendra Modi left Bhopal after addressing the BJP’s Karyakarta Mahakumbh.
Political watchers in the state feel that by fielding seven Lok Sabha members and Vijayvargiya (four of them have been MLAs in the past), the party may be trying to open up the race for CM post among various probable candidates on the poll battleground. Importantly, the party hasn’t till now named its longest serving CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, or any other leader as its CM face in MP and is contesting the polls with PM Modi’s face in the center. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The ruling party also seems to be eyeing to strike a balance between its various senior regional leaders on the election battlefield, to gain maximum out of their experience and influence in specific regions and castes.
The three union ministers include Kshatriya caste leader and union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar (fielded from Dimani in Morena district, part of his Lok Sabha constituency), Prahlad Patel (fielded from his ex-minister and sitting MLA brother Jalam Singh Patel’s Narsinghpur seat) and Faggan Singh Kulaste (who will fight from his old Vidhan Sabha seat Niwas in Mandla). Patel’s sitting MLA brother Jalam Singh Patel, reportedly doesn’t want to contest the polls, just a few months after his son Monu Patel’s death.
Four other MPs, including Ganesh Singh (fourth-time MP from Satna), will be contesting from the Satna assembly seat, four-times Jabalpur MP and ex-state party chief Rakesh Singh will be contesting from Jabalpur-West seat of his LS constituency, while second-time Brahmin woman MP Riti Pathak will be in the fray from Sidhi seat.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the six-time former MLA from different seats of the native Indore district and an ex-MP minister has been fielded from Indore-1 seat (currently with Congress’s Sanjay Shukla). He makes his return to contesting Vidhan Sabha polls, ten years after he last won from Mhow-seat of Indore district. The party has not only named him a candidate for Indore-1 seat to wrest the urban seat of Indore, but also to use his poll management experience and political influence on other seats of Indore district as well as the entire Malwa-Nimar region that houses a maximum of 66 seats. Vijayvargiya has been lying in the cold, despite being national general secretary, particularly in the wake of the 2021 Bengal assembly election debacle.
On the other hand, multiple times Lok Sabha member and union minister Narendra Singh Tomar (last contested and won Vidhan Sabha polls 20 years back from home district Gwalior) has been fielded from Dimani seat of Morena district, to not only influence seats of his Morena parliamentary constituency but also to send a positive message to upper caste Thakurs and Brahmins in the 34-seats strong Gwalior-Chambal region.
By fielding powerful Lodhi OBC caste leader and union minister Prahlad Patel from the native Narsinghpur seat, the party is eyeing the OBC Lodhi vote which is significant on 40-50 seats.
Not only has the party fielded MPs, including union ministers to strengthen the party in the battlefield of different regions, but has also given them the additional challenge of proving their mettle back in the assembly poll battleground.
Another sitting MP who has been given an assembly poll ticket is Jat community leader and third-time MP from Hoshangabad constituency Uday Pratap Singh, who will contest from Gadarwara seat of his parliamentary constituency. He last won the assembly polls in 2008 as a Congress candidate from Tendukheda seat.
By fielding Satna MP Ganesh Singh from Satna assembly seat of his LS seat Satna and the second time MP (from Sidhi constituency) in Sidhi assembly seat, the party is eyeing to consolidate its base among the OBC Kurmi and Brahmin upper caste voters – the two powerful blocks of population in the Vindhya region, which was swept by the BJP in 2018.
Also, the party is trying to eye the crucial tribal votes in tribes dominated Mahakoshal region by fielding union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. The party had fared badly in 2018 in this region, which also houses state Congress chief Kamal Nath’s pocket borough Chhindwara’s assembly segments.
The party has denied a ticket to third-time MLA from Sidhi seat Kedarnath Shukla, seemingly due to the controversy generated by his alleged supporter Pravesh Shukla’s 2019 video clip of urinating on a tribal man. Shukla’s close relatives say that being denied a BJP ticket, he might contest polls from Sidhi only, either as an independent or on any other party’s ticket.
Two other sitting MLAs not considered for tickets, include sitting MLA and Prahlad Patel’s brother Jalam Singh Patel, who lost his son just a few months back, and the Maihar MLA Narayan Tripathi, who has now formed his own party for the cause of a separate Vindhya state.
The list includes names of just three Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist MLAs, including former MLAs Raghuraj Singh Kansana (Morena) and Imarti Devi (Dabra-SC) and Hirendra Singh ‘Bunty Bana’ from ex-CM Digvijaya Singh’s pocket-borough Raghogarh, which since two-times is being represented by Singh’s ex-minister son Jaivardhan Singh.
Out of the 39 candidates named in the list, six, including two-times MP Riti Pathak, former minister and ex-MLA Imarti Devi, Jyoti Dehria (Parasia-SC), Ganga Bai Uike (Ghodadongri-ST), Nanda Brahmane (Bhikangaon-ST) and ex-MLA Sangeeta Charel (Sailana-ST) are women candidates.
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AAP appoints Sandeep Pathak as national general secretary
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The AAP has appointed its senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak as national general secretary (organisation), after it recently became eligible for national party status.
Pathak was the party’s election in-charge for Punjab as well as for Gujarat, where assembly polls were held this month.
In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrested the state from the Congress in polls held in March.
Though the Arvind Kejriwal-headed AAP had won only five of the 182 seats in the Gujarat polls, it got a nearly 13 per cent vote share.
On the party’s performance, Kejriwal had said that the AAP has not won many seats but the votes the party got helped it attain national party status.
“The party hereby appoints Shri @SandeepPathak04 as the Rashtriya Sangathan Mahamantri (National General Secretary Organisation). He will also be a Permanent Invitee to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of AAP. Congratulations on your new role!” the party tweeted from its official handle.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTThe party hereby appoints Shri @SandeepPathak04 as the Rashtriya Sangathan Mahamantri (National General Secretary Organisation).He will also be a Permanent Invitee to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of AAP.Congratulations on your new role! pic.twitter.com/Zy0FIQoRXT
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 13, 2022
Sources in the AAP also said the appointment has been made eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Quoting provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, a former Election Commission official had said that a party needs State Party status in four states to automatically become a national party.
The AAP is already a recognised state party in Delhi, Goa and Punjab. It is in power in Delhi and Punjab. A party needs eight per cent of votes in a state to get State Party status, he had said.
NEW DELHI: The AAP has appointed its senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak as national general secretary (organisation), after it recently became eligible for national party status.
Pathak was the party’s election in-charge for Punjab as well as for Gujarat, where assembly polls were held this month.
In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrested the state from the Congress in polls held in March.
Though the Arvind Kejriwal-headed AAP had won only five of the 182 seats in the Gujarat polls, it got a nearly 13 per cent vote share.
On the party’s performance, Kejriwal had said that the AAP has not won many seats but the votes the party got helped it attain national party status.
“The party hereby appoints Shri @SandeepPathak04 as the Rashtriya Sangathan Mahamantri (National General Secretary Organisation). He will also be a Permanent Invitee to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of AAP. Congratulations on your new role!” the party tweeted from its official handle.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
The party hereby appoints Shri @SandeepPathak04 as the Rashtriya Sangathan Mahamantri (National General Secretary Organisation).
He will also be a Permanent Invitee to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of AAP.
Congratulations on your new role! pic.twitter.com/Zy0FIQoRXT
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 13, 2022
Sources in the AAP also said the appointment has been made eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Quoting provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, a former Election Commission official had said that a party needs State Party status in four states to automatically become a national party.
The AAP is already a recognised state party in Delhi, Goa and Punjab. It is in power in Delhi and Punjab. A party needs eight per cent of votes in a state to get State Party status, he had said.
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Gujarat: After staying away from BJP in 2017, Patidars back ruling party to the hilt in 2022 polls
By PTI
AHMEDABAD: The Patidar community, a section of which had voted against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2017 Assembly polls held in the backdrop of the quota agitation in Gujarat, returned to the ruling outfit in the 2022 elections, helping it win most of the seats dominated by the influential social group.
The BJP has done extremely well in the Patidar-dominated constituencies of the state, winning almost every seat that has significant Patel population.
Polling for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly took place on December 1 and 5, and votes were counted on December 8.
In the Saurashtra region, the Congress had won Patidar-dominated seats of Morbi, Tankara, Dhoraji and Amreli, among others in 2017. However, all these Assembly segments this time went in the BJP’s kitty.
In Patidar-dominated Surat, where the AAP was banking on the community to bag a few seats, the social group by and large backed the ruling party. The saffron outfit won Patidar seats of Varachha Road, Katargam and Olpad with huge margins.
In North Gujarat, the Congress had won Patidar-dominated Unjha seat five year ago, but this time it was wrested by the BJP. The BJP, ahead of the 2022 elections, reached out to the Patel community.
The party replaced its Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with incumbent Bhupendra Patel in September 2021.
The ruling outfit brought in Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel to its fold from the Congress and fielded him from the Viramgam Assembly seat from where he won by a handsome margin.
ALSO READ| Gujarat: Clinching Viramgam seat in poll debut is no cakewalk for Patidar face Hardik Patel
The biggest move of the BJP at the state and central level which placated the community was giving 10 per cent quota in jobs and education to the poor (economically weaker sections or EWS) among “upper castes”.
The 2017 polls were fought in the shadow of Hardik Patel-led quota agitation launched to secure OBC status for the community. In the 2017 elections, despite setting an ambitious target of winning 150 out of the 182 seats, the BJP bagged just 99 seats.
Thanks to the Patidar quota agitation and whirlwind campaign by Hardik Patel against the BJP, the opposition Congress had then emerged victorious on 77 seats.
As per community’s estimate, there are nearly 40 seats in Gujarat where Patidar voters play a decisive role. These seats are scattered across rural as well as urban landscapes of the state.
Though Patels account for nearly 18 per cent of Gujarat’s population, 44 Patidar MLAs were elected in 2017, which showed their influence on electoral politics in Gujarat.
Some of the seats having high concentration of Patidar voters in Saurashtra region are Morbi, Tankara, Gondal, Dhoraji, Amreli, Savarkundla, Jetpur, Rajkot East, Rajkot West and Rajkot South.
While Vijapur, Visnagar, Mehsana and Unjha seats in north Gujarat have considerable number of Patidar voters, at least five seats of Ahmedabad city – Ghatlodia, Sabarmati, Maninagar, Nikol and Naroda – are also considered Patel-dominated segments.
In south Gujarat, several seats in Surat district are considered Patidar bastion, including Varachha, Kamrej, Katargam and Surat North.
For the 2022 polls, the BJP had given tickets to 41 Patidars, one more than the Congress’s tally. The AAP had also given tickets to a significant number of members from the community.
To keep the community happy, the saffron outfit had also declared that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will be retained on the post after the elections.
Ahead of the polls, the Jamnagar-based Sidsar Umiyadham Trust, which represents the Kadva Patidar sect, had demanded that the BJP field at least 50 Patidar candidates.
AHMEDABAD: The Patidar community, a section of which had voted against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2017 Assembly polls held in the backdrop of the quota agitation in Gujarat, returned to the ruling outfit in the 2022 elections, helping it win most of the seats dominated by the influential social group.
The BJP has done extremely well in the Patidar-dominated constituencies of the state, winning almost every seat that has significant Patel population.
Polling for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly took place on December 1 and 5, and votes were counted on December 8.
In the Saurashtra region, the Congress had won Patidar-dominated seats of Morbi, Tankara, Dhoraji and Amreli, among others in 2017. However, all these Assembly segments this time went in the BJP’s kitty.
In Patidar-dominated Surat, where the AAP was banking on the community to bag a few seats, the social group by and large backed the ruling party. The saffron outfit won Patidar seats of Varachha Road, Katargam and Olpad with huge margins.
In North Gujarat, the Congress had won Patidar-dominated Unjha seat five year ago, but this time it was wrested by the BJP. The BJP, ahead of the 2022 elections, reached out to the Patel community.
The party replaced its Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with incumbent Bhupendra Patel in September 2021.
The ruling outfit brought in Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel to its fold from the Congress and fielded him from the Viramgam Assembly seat from where he won by a handsome margin.
ALSO READ| Gujarat: Clinching Viramgam seat in poll debut is no cakewalk for Patidar face Hardik Patel
The biggest move of the BJP at the state and central level which placated the community was giving 10 per cent quota in jobs and education to the poor (economically weaker sections or EWS) among “upper castes”.
The 2017 polls were fought in the shadow of Hardik Patel-led quota agitation launched to secure OBC status for the community. In the 2017 elections, despite setting an ambitious target of winning 150 out of the 182 seats, the BJP bagged just 99 seats.
Thanks to the Patidar quota agitation and whirlwind campaign by Hardik Patel against the BJP, the opposition Congress had then emerged victorious on 77 seats.
As per community’s estimate, there are nearly 40 seats in Gujarat where Patidar voters play a decisive role. These seats are scattered across rural as well as urban landscapes of the state.
Though Patels account for nearly 18 per cent of Gujarat’s population, 44 Patidar MLAs were elected in 2017, which showed their influence on electoral politics in Gujarat.
Some of the seats having high concentration of Patidar voters in Saurashtra region are Morbi, Tankara, Gondal, Dhoraji, Amreli, Savarkundla, Jetpur, Rajkot East, Rajkot West and Rajkot South.
While Vijapur, Visnagar, Mehsana and Unjha seats in north Gujarat have considerable number of Patidar voters, at least five seats of Ahmedabad city – Ghatlodia, Sabarmati, Maninagar, Nikol and Naroda – are also considered Patel-dominated segments.
In south Gujarat, several seats in Surat district are considered Patidar bastion, including Varachha, Kamrej, Katargam and Surat North.
For the 2022 polls, the BJP had given tickets to 41 Patidars, one more than the Congress’s tally. The AAP had also given tickets to a significant number of members from the community.
To keep the community happy, the saffron outfit had also declared that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will be retained on the post after the elections.
Ahead of the polls, the Jamnagar-based Sidsar Umiyadham Trust, which represents the Kadva Patidar sect, had demanded that the BJP field at least 50 Patidar candidates.
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AAP, AIMIM split minority votes of Congress in Gujarat, BJP gains
By PTI
AHMEDABAD: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM seem to have dented the Congress’s sway over votes of minorities in Gujarat in the just concluded Assembly polls, bringing down the main Opposition party’s vote margin considerably in various seats across the state.
Assembly polls were held on December 1 and 5, and votes were counted on December 8.
The minorities, primarily Muslims, have been loyal voters of the Congress for the last several decades, especially after the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
According to Congress sources, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on most occasions post the 2002 riots, has made electoral calculations keeping in mind the consolidation of Hindu votes irrespective of castes.
This prompted the main Opposition party to secure its minority votes, one of the last components of the Congress’s old strategy of KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim) social engineering, which once used to be its winning formula in the state, they said.
However, the entry of the AAP and the Hyderabad-headquartered All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has not only disturbed Congress’s minority vote bank but has also helped the ruling BJP, which did not field a single Muslim candidate in the elections, at the cost of the Congress.
In the 2022 Assembly polls, traditional political parties fielded very few Muslim candidates in Gujarat, which has a 182-member Assembly.
The Congress had fielded six Muslim candidates, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP gave tickets to three members of the minority community.
The AIMIM contested 13 Assembly seats and fielded Muslim nominees on 12 of them. The AIMIM might have failed to win a single seat and the AAP might have won just five, but they derailed the Congress’s prospects and vote share in numerous seats by splitting their traditional votes.
In the minority-dominated Dariapur seat, considered a Congress bastion, sitting Congress MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh lost to BJP’s Kaushik Jain by a margin of 5,243 votes. Shaikh polled 55,847 votes, whereas his nearest BJP rival bagged 61,090 ballots. The winning difference was made by AAP and AIMIM candidates, who polled 4,164 and 1,771 votes, respectively.
In Jamalpur-Khadia, the Congress’s Imran Khedawala got a third consecutive term, but with a reduced mandate of 58,487 votes, down from 75,000 in 2017. AIMIM’s state president Sabir Kabliwala bagged 15,677 votes and the AAP 5,887 in the constituency in Ahmedabad district.
In the Bapunagar seat, sitting Congress MLA Himmatsinh Patel lost to BJP’s Dineshsinh Kushwaha by a margin of 12,070 votes. AAP and Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Muslim candidates made the difference in margin between the Congress and the BJP. The AAP and the SP polled 6,384 and 3,671 votes, respectively.
In the Mangrol seat, two-time sitting Congress MLA Babubhai Vaja lost to BJP’s Kargatiya Lakhabhai by 22,501 votes.
The AAP and the AIMIM polled 34,314 and 10,789 votes, respectively, thus contributing in the defeat of the grand old party in the Assembly segment in Junagadh district.
The Congress won the Muslim and Dalit-dominated Danilimda Assembly segment in Ahmedabad, despite the AAP and the AIMIM cutting into its votes and the BJP putting up a strong fight.
Sitting Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar won by defeating his nearest rival, BJP’s Nareshbhai Vyas, by a margin of 13,525 votes.
Parmar polled 68,906 votes as compared to 55,381 ballots cast in favour of Vyas.
AAP candidate Soma Kapadia polled 22,934 votes, while AIMIM’s Kaushika Parmar garnered 2,464.
Although Parmar won, his victory margin was much lower than in 2012 and 2017.
In the Godhra seat, Bharatiya Janata Party’s C K Raulji defeated his Congress rival Rashmitaben Chauhan by 35,198 votes. Raulji bagged 96,223 votes, while Chauhan got 61,025. In 2017, the BJP’s victory margin was just 358 votes.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajeshbhai Patel secured 11,827 votes, while the AIMIM’s Hasan Kachaba garnered 9,508 ballots, eating into Congress traditional votes in the communally-sensitive Assembly seat of Godhra, where the burning of an express train had triggered state-wide communal riots 20 years back.
BJP MLA Sangita Patil registered a third straight win in Surat’s Marathi and Muslim-dominated Limbayat constituency. She defeated her nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party’s Pankaj Tayede, by a margin of 58,009 votes. The AAP elbowed out the Congress, the traditional main Opposition in this seat, to a distant third position. Patil polled 95,696 votes as compared to 37,687 votes in favour of Tayede. Congress candidate Gopalbhai Patil finished third with 29,436, whereas the AIMIM was a distant fourth with 5,216 votes.
The Vejalpur seat in Ahmedabad district, which includes the large Muslim ghetto of Juhapura, has a 35 per cent vote share of the minority community.
According to political analysts, the voting pattern in Muslim-dominated seats shows minorities have shifted loyalties as the Congress has failed to emerge as an alternative to the BJP.
“The Congress’s silent campaign was a complete flop show as it failed to put up an alternative, and just like any common voters, a large section of minorities appeared to have switched to the AAP. The Congress lacked the momentum in the entire election,” political analyst Hemant Shah said.
Echoing him, political analyst Dilip Gohil maintained the poll results reflect voters yearning for an alternative have found the AAP as a replacement of the Congress.
“Be it minorities or the commoner, they were looking for an alternative, and they have found it in the AAP. The problem for the Congress is they might have secured the distant second position, but they have lost the perception battle to the AAP. And this would prove politically fatal for the Congress as they would find it hard to revive themselves,” he said.
AHMEDABAD: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM seem to have dented the Congress’s sway over votes of minorities in Gujarat in the just concluded Assembly polls, bringing down the main Opposition party’s vote margin considerably in various seats across the state.
Assembly polls were held on December 1 and 5, and votes were counted on December 8.
The minorities, primarily Muslims, have been loyal voters of the Congress for the last several decades, especially after the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
According to Congress sources, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on most occasions post the 2002 riots, has made electoral calculations keeping in mind the consolidation of Hindu votes irrespective of castes.
This prompted the main Opposition party to secure its minority votes, one of the last components of the Congress’s old strategy of KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim) social engineering, which once used to be its winning formula in the state, they said.
However, the entry of the AAP and the Hyderabad-headquartered All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has not only disturbed Congress’s minority vote bank but has also helped the ruling BJP, which did not field a single Muslim candidate in the elections, at the cost of the Congress.
In the 2022 Assembly polls, traditional political parties fielded very few Muslim candidates in Gujarat, which has a 182-member Assembly.
The Congress had fielded six Muslim candidates, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP gave tickets to three members of the minority community.
The AIMIM contested 13 Assembly seats and fielded Muslim nominees on 12 of them. The AIMIM might have failed to win a single seat and the AAP might have won just five, but they derailed the Congress’s prospects and vote share in numerous seats by splitting their traditional votes.
In the minority-dominated Dariapur seat, considered a Congress bastion, sitting Congress MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh lost to BJP’s Kaushik Jain by a margin of 5,243 votes. Shaikh polled 55,847 votes, whereas his nearest BJP rival bagged 61,090 ballots. The winning difference was made by AAP and AIMIM candidates, who polled 4,164 and 1,771 votes, respectively.
In Jamalpur-Khadia, the Congress’s Imran Khedawala got a third consecutive term, but with a reduced mandate of 58,487 votes, down from 75,000 in 2017. AIMIM’s state president Sabir Kabliwala bagged 15,677 votes and the AAP 5,887 in the constituency in Ahmedabad district.
In the Bapunagar seat, sitting Congress MLA Himmatsinh Patel lost to BJP’s Dineshsinh Kushwaha by a margin of 12,070 votes. AAP and Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Muslim candidates made the difference in margin between the Congress and the BJP. The AAP and the SP polled 6,384 and 3,671 votes, respectively.
In the Mangrol seat, two-time sitting Congress MLA Babubhai Vaja lost to BJP’s Kargatiya Lakhabhai by 22,501 votes.
The AAP and the AIMIM polled 34,314 and 10,789 votes, respectively, thus contributing in the defeat of the grand old party in the Assembly segment in Junagadh district.
The Congress won the Muslim and Dalit-dominated Danilimda Assembly segment in Ahmedabad, despite the AAP and the AIMIM cutting into its votes and the BJP putting up a strong fight.
Sitting Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar won by defeating his nearest rival, BJP’s Nareshbhai Vyas, by a margin of 13,525 votes.
Parmar polled 68,906 votes as compared to 55,381 ballots cast in favour of Vyas.
AAP candidate Soma Kapadia polled 22,934 votes, while AIMIM’s Kaushika Parmar garnered 2,464.
Although Parmar won, his victory margin was much lower than in 2012 and 2017.
In the Godhra seat, Bharatiya Janata Party’s C K Raulji defeated his Congress rival Rashmitaben Chauhan by 35,198 votes. Raulji bagged 96,223 votes, while Chauhan got 61,025. In 2017, the BJP’s victory margin was just 358 votes.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajeshbhai Patel secured 11,827 votes, while the AIMIM’s Hasan Kachaba garnered 9,508 ballots, eating into Congress traditional votes in the communally-sensitive Assembly seat of Godhra, where the burning of an express train had triggered state-wide communal riots 20 years back.
BJP MLA Sangita Patil registered a third straight win in Surat’s Marathi and Muslim-dominated Limbayat constituency. She defeated her nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party’s Pankaj Tayede, by a margin of 58,009 votes. The AAP elbowed out the Congress, the traditional main Opposition in this seat, to a distant third position. Patil polled 95,696 votes as compared to 37,687 votes in favour of Tayede. Congress candidate Gopalbhai Patil finished third with 29,436, whereas the AIMIM was a distant fourth with 5,216 votes.
The Vejalpur seat in Ahmedabad district, which includes the large Muslim ghetto of Juhapura, has a 35 per cent vote share of the minority community.
According to political analysts, the voting pattern in Muslim-dominated seats shows minorities have shifted loyalties as the Congress has failed to emerge as an alternative to the BJP.
“The Congress’s silent campaign was a complete flop show as it failed to put up an alternative, and just like any common voters, a large section of minorities appeared to have switched to the AAP. The Congress lacked the momentum in the entire election,” political analyst Hemant Shah said.
Echoing him, political analyst Dilip Gohil maintained the poll results reflect voters yearning for an alternative have found the AAP as a replacement of the Congress.
“Be it minorities or the commoner, they were looking for an alternative, and they have found it in the AAP. The problem for the Congress is they might have secured the distant second position, but they have lost the perception battle to the AAP. And this would prove politically fatal for the Congress as they would find it hard to revive themselves,” he said.
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Congress seeks to bolster hold on key MP region with Rahul’s yatra; BJP launches counter campaign
By PTI
BHOPAL: The politically crucial Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh played a key role in propelling the Congress to power in 2018 after a gap of 15 years and the party is utilising the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra to strengthen its position in the belt a year ahead of the Assembly polls.
The yatra’s focus on Malwa-Nimar during its Madhya Pradesh leg will help the party revive its organisation at the grassroots level and also allow it to reap electoral benefits, according to a section of Congress leaders and political observers.
Mindful of the political significance of the region, which accounts for 66 of the total 230 Assembly seats, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), too, has stepped up its efforts to consolidate its position in Malwa-Nimar and retain its hold on power in the state.
Gandhi’s cross-country march reached Baroda Ahir village, the birthplace of tribal icon and revolutionary Tantya Bheel in Pandhana tehsil in Khandwa district on November 24, a day after the yatra entered Madhya Pradesh in Burhanpur district.
ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra proceeds further in MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes part in it for second day
The Congress MP addressed a rally at Baroda Ahir where he batted for the restoration of the rights of tribals and paid rich tributes to Tantya Bheel.
However, a day before that, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived at the village in tribal-dominated Nimar and flagged off Janjatiya Gaurav Yatra, an outreach programme of the BJP which is aggressively wooing adivasis.
Chouhan also offered floral tributes to Tantya Bheel and met his family members during his visit.
Known as the Indian ‘Robin Hood’, Tantya Bheel is hailed as a revolutionary who waged an armed struggle against British rule for 12 years.
It is said the tribal leader used to loot the treasuries of the British government and distribute the plundered wealth among the poor.
A BJP leader said the party is focusing not just on Malwa-Nimar, but the entire state, where the Assembly polls are due by 2023-end, and reaching out to different segments of the society.
State BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI, “Our party is not only working in the Malwa-Nimar region for long but also in other parts of the state to consolidate its position among people. Six Janjatiya Gaurav Yatras are being taken out in MP and a separate march to spread awareness about the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act), too, is underway,” he said.
Agrawal said these events were planned by the BJP in advance as part of a strategy and they have nothing to do with Gandhi’s unity march, which started in Tamil Nadu on September 7.
The central government had last year declared November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas to mark the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda and remember the contribution of tribal freedom fighters.
The PESA Act was formulated to prevent the exploitation of the tribal population.
It gives special powers to gram sabhas in scheduled areas, especially in the management of natural resources.
“The yatra is not gaining much support from the people and it will not benefit the Congress party,” Agrawal claimed.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, out of the 66 seats in the Malwa-Nimar region, the Congress had bagged 35 (the total count was 114), a tally which helped the party form its government in Madhya Pradesh in December that year under the leadership of Kamal Nath.
The BJP had got 28 seats, while three were won by Independents.
In 2013, the BJP had won a whopping 56 seats in Malwa-Nimar, the Congress 9, and Independent 1.
However, after the fall of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in March 2020 due to the resignation of 22 party MLAs and subsequent bypolls in 2020-2021, the BJP’s strength in the region rose to 33.
On the other hand, the Congress tally was reduced to 30.
Out of these 66 seats, 22 are reserved for scheduled tribes (STs) and nine for scheduled castes (SCs).
The total number of reserved seats in the region is 31 and among them, the Congress has 20 in its kitty and the BJP 10, while one Assembly segment is represented by an Independent.
Out of the total 22 ST seats, the Congress has 14 with it, while the BJP has seven and Independent one. The nine SC seats are distributed between the Congress (6) and the BJP (3).
Though Congress leaders have maintained that the purpose of the yatra was not to seek electoral gains, the route planned by its managers in Madhya Pradesh clearly indicates the foot-march is focused on the Malwa-Nimar region.
During its stay in MP, the yatra will be passing through through Burhanpur, Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Ujjain, and Agar Malwa districts of the region before entering Rajasthan in the first week of December.
However, the unity march’s impact will also be felt in other districts of Malwa, including Shajapur, Dewas, Barwani, Jhabua, Dhar, Alirajpur, Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch, and beyond them to the entire state, Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary JP Dhanopia said.
It will benefit the party not only in the next Assembly polls in the state (2023), but also in the parliamentary elections (2024), Dhanopia said.
However, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the 3,570km long Kanniyakumari to Kashmir yatra is above electoral politics and its objective is to save the Constitution and democracy in the country.
“We are not seeking votes through this yatra. There are few things that cannot be related to elections,” the Rajya Sabha MP, the main organizer of the march, said in Burhanpur after the yatra entered for its 380km long Madhya Pradesh leg.
Senior journalist Prakash Hindustani said though Congress leaders are saying the yatra is not related to elections, Gandhi, during his interactions, is touching upon subjects that will certainly benefit the party in future polls.
The Congress’s mass outreach programme will benefit the party in the Malwa-Nimar region and also revive its organisation at the ground level, he said.
BHOPAL: The politically crucial Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh played a key role in propelling the Congress to power in 2018 after a gap of 15 years and the party is utilising the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra to strengthen its position in the belt a year ahead of the Assembly polls.
The yatra’s focus on Malwa-Nimar during its Madhya Pradesh leg will help the party revive its organisation at the grassroots level and also allow it to reap electoral benefits, according to a section of Congress leaders and political observers.
Mindful of the political significance of the region, which accounts for 66 of the total 230 Assembly seats, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), too, has stepped up its efforts to consolidate its position in Malwa-Nimar and retain its hold on power in the state.
Gandhi’s cross-country march reached Baroda Ahir village, the birthplace of tribal icon and revolutionary Tantya Bheel in Pandhana tehsil in Khandwa district on November 24, a day after the yatra entered Madhya Pradesh in Burhanpur district.
ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra proceeds further in MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes part in it for second day
The Congress MP addressed a rally at Baroda Ahir where he batted for the restoration of the rights of tribals and paid rich tributes to Tantya Bheel.
However, a day before that, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived at the village in tribal-dominated Nimar and flagged off Janjatiya Gaurav Yatra, an outreach programme of the BJP which is aggressively wooing adivasis.
Chouhan also offered floral tributes to Tantya Bheel and met his family members during his visit.
Known as the Indian ‘Robin Hood’, Tantya Bheel is hailed as a revolutionary who waged an armed struggle against British rule for 12 years.
It is said the tribal leader used to loot the treasuries of the British government and distribute the plundered wealth among the poor.
A BJP leader said the party is focusing not just on Malwa-Nimar, but the entire state, where the Assembly polls are due by 2023-end, and reaching out to different segments of the society.
State BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI, “Our party is not only working in the Malwa-Nimar region for long but also in other parts of the state to consolidate its position among people. Six Janjatiya Gaurav Yatras are being taken out in MP and a separate march to spread awareness about the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act), too, is underway,” he said.
Agrawal said these events were planned by the BJP in advance as part of a strategy and they have nothing to do with Gandhi’s unity march, which started in Tamil Nadu on September 7.
The central government had last year declared November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas to mark the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda and remember the contribution of tribal freedom fighters.
The PESA Act was formulated to prevent the exploitation of the tribal population.
It gives special powers to gram sabhas in scheduled areas, especially in the management of natural resources.
“The yatra is not gaining much support from the people and it will not benefit the Congress party,” Agrawal claimed.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, out of the 66 seats in the Malwa-Nimar region, the Congress had bagged 35 (the total count was 114), a tally which helped the party form its government in Madhya Pradesh in December that year under the leadership of Kamal Nath.
The BJP had got 28 seats, while three were won by Independents.
In 2013, the BJP had won a whopping 56 seats in Malwa-Nimar, the Congress 9, and Independent 1.
However, after the fall of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in March 2020 due to the resignation of 22 party MLAs and subsequent bypolls in 2020-2021, the BJP’s strength in the region rose to 33.
On the other hand, the Congress tally was reduced to 30.
Out of these 66 seats, 22 are reserved for scheduled tribes (STs) and nine for scheduled castes (SCs).
The total number of reserved seats in the region is 31 and among them, the Congress has 20 in its kitty and the BJP 10, while one Assembly segment is represented by an Independent.
Out of the total 22 ST seats, the Congress has 14 with it, while the BJP has seven and Independent one. The nine SC seats are distributed between the Congress (6) and the BJP (3).
Though Congress leaders have maintained that the purpose of the yatra was not to seek electoral gains, the route planned by its managers in Madhya Pradesh clearly indicates the foot-march is focused on the Malwa-Nimar region.
During its stay in MP, the yatra will be passing through through Burhanpur, Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Ujjain, and Agar Malwa districts of the region before entering Rajasthan in the first week of December.
However, the unity march’s impact will also be felt in other districts of Malwa, including Shajapur, Dewas, Barwani, Jhabua, Dhar, Alirajpur, Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch, and beyond them to the entire state, Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary JP Dhanopia said.
It will benefit the party not only in the next Assembly polls in the state (2023), but also in the parliamentary elections (2024), Dhanopia said.
However, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the 3,570km long Kanniyakumari to Kashmir yatra is above electoral politics and its objective is to save the Constitution and democracy in the country.
“We are not seeking votes through this yatra. There are few things that cannot be related to elections,” the Rajya Sabha MP, the main organizer of the march, said in Burhanpur after the yatra entered for its 380km long Madhya Pradesh leg.
Senior journalist Prakash Hindustani said though Congress leaders are saying the yatra is not related to elections, Gandhi, during his interactions, is touching upon subjects that will certainly benefit the party in future polls.
The Congress’s mass outreach programme will benefit the party in the Malwa-Nimar region and also revive its organisation at the ground level, he said.
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Himachal Assembly polls: Political fate of 412 candidates to be sealed today
By ANI
SHIMLA: The day for the electorate to decide the political fate of the leaders across parties in Himachal Pradesh has arrived with the polling for the assembly elections all set to begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The high-voltage political campaigns came to an end on November 10, setting up the stage for the voters to cast their vote to elect the new government. The voting will go on till 5 pm today. The votes will be counted on December 8.
Voting is all set to take place on all the 68 Assembly seats of the state, the majority of which (44) had come in the BJP’s bag in the 2017 Assembly polls, with Congress being restricted to just 21 seats.
The voters need to carry their Electors’ Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and show it at the polling booth. They may also carry one ID beside their photo voter slips.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 55,92,828 electors of which 27,37,845 are women, 28,54,945 men and 38 were third-gender, will decide the faith of 412 candidates. This time, the representation of woman candidates is 24.
The state, which has seen the power alternate between the BJP and Congress over the past several elections, will go to the polls on Saturday. While the BJP has expressed confidence in returning to power on the basis of the performance of state and central governments and its vision for the state, the Congress is hoping that some of its electoral promises will be a major draw among the electorate.
Aam Adami Party (AAP) too hopes to create a mark in the state and is contesting on all 68 seats.
Besides these three parties, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party (RDP) are in the fray.
BJP brought star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also campaigned in the hill state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit the ground along with other top leaders of the party including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Today’s polls also carry much significance for JP Nadda since Himachal Pradesh is his native state.
According to Election Commission, a total of 7,881 polling stations have been set up for the polls. The Kangra district has a maximum of 1,625 polling stations while the Lahaul-Spiti district has the lowest 92. There are 7,235 polling stations in rural and 646 polling stations in urban areas. Besides, three auxiliary polling stations will also be set up at Sidhbari (Dharamshala), Bara Bhangal (Baijnath) and Dhillon (Kasauli).
The key constituencies include Seraj from where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is contesting again. Congress has put up Chetram Thakur who had contested from the seat last time also. Mahinder Rana is the CPI-M candidate.
Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri is contesting his fifth election from the Haroli assembly segment in the Una district. BJP has pitted state spokesperson Ram Kumar against him.
Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, seen as a chief ministerial aspirant, is contesting from Nadaun. The BJP has fielded Vijay Agnihotri.
Former Himachal Minister and Congress leader Asha Kumari is contesting from Dalhousie. She is pitted against BJP’s DS Thakur and AAP’s Manish Sareen.
Senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur is again fighting from his traditional seat of Darang against BJP’s Puran Chand Thakur and AAP candidate Sunita Thakur.
Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is recontesting from Shimla rural. BJP has fielded Ravi Mehta from the seat.
In Shimla Urban, Congress’ Harish Janartha is taking on BJP’s ‘chaiwala’ candidate Sanjay Sood. AAP’s Chaman Rakesh Ajta and CPI-M’s Tikender Singh Pawar are also in the fray.
In Nurpur, BJP has fielded a new candidate Ranveer Singh who is fighting against Ajay Mahajan of Congress and Manishi Kumari from AAP.
Bhawani Paathania, who won the recent by-election from Fatehpur, is fighting against BJP minister and candidate Rakesh Pathania. AAP has fielded former Himachal minister Rajan Sushant.
In Nagrota, Congress candidate RS Bali is fighting against BJP candidate Arun Kumar Mehra and APP candidate Umakant Dogra.
Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Vipin Parmar is fighting from Sulah against Jagdish Sapheia and AAP candidate Ravinder Singh.
In Sujanpur, Congress has again fielded Rajinder Singh Rana who defeated former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 elections. BJP has fielded Ranjit Singh from the seat and AAP has fielded Anil Rana.
Dr Janak Raj of BJP is taking on senior Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmauri from Bharmaur. AAP has fielded Prakash Chand Bharadwaj.
In Jubbal Kotkhai, the Congress has fielded sitting MLA Rohit Thakur. He is fighting against Chetan Singh Bragta of the BJP. CPI-M has fielded Vishal Shangta and Shrikant Chauhan is an AAP candidate.
Former Congress state chief Kuldeep Rathore is pitted against CPI-M’s Rakesh Singha, BJP’s Ajay Shyam and AAP’s Attar Singh.
Minister Suresh Bhardwaj was shifted from Shimla to Kasumpti. Congress candidate Anirudh Singh and CPI-M candidate Kuldeep Singh Tanwar are also in the fray. (ANI)
Meanwhile, 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprising 6,700 personnel and 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies have been deployed to hold free and fair Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.
Besides this, 50,000 government employees have been put on poll duty. As many as 25,000 police officers are also stationed across the state.
Teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) comprising 800 personnel have also been posted.
In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats.
SHIMLA: The day for the electorate to decide the political fate of the leaders across parties in Himachal Pradesh has arrived with the polling for the assembly elections all set to begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The high-voltage political campaigns came to an end on November 10, setting up the stage for the voters to cast their vote to elect the new government. The voting will go on till 5 pm today. The votes will be counted on December 8.
Voting is all set to take place on all the 68 Assembly seats of the state, the majority of which (44) had come in the BJP’s bag in the 2017 Assembly polls, with Congress being restricted to just 21 seats.
The voters need to carry their Electors’ Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and show it at the polling booth. They may also carry one ID beside their photo voter slips.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 55,92,828 electors of which 27,37,845 are women, 28,54,945 men and 38 were third-gender, will decide the faith of 412 candidates. This time, the representation of woman candidates is 24.
The state, which has seen the power alternate between the BJP and Congress over the past several elections, will go to the polls on Saturday. While the BJP has expressed confidence in returning to power on the basis of the performance of state and central governments and its vision for the state, the Congress is hoping that some of its electoral promises will be a major draw among the electorate.
Aam Adami Party (AAP) too hopes to create a mark in the state and is contesting on all 68 seats.
Besides these three parties, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party (RDP) are in the fray.
BJP brought star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also campaigned in the hill state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit the ground along with other top leaders of the party including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Today’s polls also carry much significance for JP Nadda since Himachal Pradesh is his native state.
According to Election Commission, a total of 7,881 polling stations have been set up for the polls. The Kangra district has a maximum of 1,625 polling stations while the Lahaul-Spiti district has the lowest 92. There are 7,235 polling stations in rural and 646 polling stations in urban areas. Besides, three auxiliary polling stations will also be set up at Sidhbari (Dharamshala), Bara Bhangal (Baijnath) and Dhillon (Kasauli).
The key constituencies include Seraj from where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is contesting again. Congress has put up Chetram Thakur who had contested from the seat last time also. Mahinder Rana is the CPI-M candidate.
Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri is contesting his fifth election from the Haroli assembly segment in the Una district. BJP has pitted state spokesperson Ram Kumar against him.
Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, seen as a chief ministerial aspirant, is contesting from Nadaun. The BJP has fielded Vijay Agnihotri.
Former Himachal Minister and Congress leader Asha Kumari is contesting from Dalhousie. She is pitted against BJP’s DS Thakur and AAP’s Manish Sareen.
Senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur is again fighting from his traditional seat of Darang against BJP’s Puran Chand Thakur and AAP candidate Sunita Thakur.
Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is recontesting from Shimla rural. BJP has fielded Ravi Mehta from the seat.
In Shimla Urban, Congress’ Harish Janartha is taking on BJP’s ‘chaiwala’ candidate Sanjay Sood. AAP’s Chaman Rakesh Ajta and CPI-M’s Tikender Singh Pawar are also in the fray.
In Nurpur, BJP has fielded a new candidate Ranveer Singh who is fighting against Ajay Mahajan of Congress and Manishi Kumari from AAP.
Bhawani Paathania, who won the recent by-election from Fatehpur, is fighting against BJP minister and candidate Rakesh Pathania. AAP has fielded former Himachal minister Rajan Sushant.
In Nagrota, Congress candidate RS Bali is fighting against BJP candidate Arun Kumar Mehra and APP candidate Umakant Dogra.
Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Vipin Parmar is fighting from Sulah against Jagdish Sapheia and AAP candidate Ravinder Singh.
In Sujanpur, Congress has again fielded Rajinder Singh Rana who defeated former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 elections. BJP has fielded Ranjit Singh from the seat and AAP has fielded Anil Rana.
Dr Janak Raj of BJP is taking on senior Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmauri from Bharmaur. AAP has fielded Prakash Chand Bharadwaj.
In Jubbal Kotkhai, the Congress has fielded sitting MLA Rohit Thakur. He is fighting against Chetan Singh Bragta of the BJP. CPI-M has fielded Vishal Shangta and Shrikant Chauhan is an AAP candidate.
Former Congress state chief Kuldeep Rathore is pitted against CPI-M’s Rakesh Singha, BJP’s Ajay Shyam and AAP’s Attar Singh.
Minister Suresh Bhardwaj was shifted from Shimla to Kasumpti. Congress candidate Anirudh Singh and CPI-M candidate Kuldeep Singh Tanwar are also in the fray. (ANI)
Meanwhile, 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprising 6,700 personnel and 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies have been deployed to hold free and fair Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.
Besides this, 50,000 government employees have been put on poll duty. As many as 25,000 police officers are also stationed across the state.
Teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) comprising 800 personnel have also been posted.
In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats.
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New Law Commission likely to take up UCC
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Union government has constituted the 22nd Law Commission after nearly three years amid a push from some BJP-ruled states on implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) ahead of Assembly polls.
The government on Monday announced the appointment of former high court chief justice Rituraj Awasthi as the chairperson. Awasthi headed the bench of the Karnataka High Court which pronounced the verdict that hijab is not essential to Islam.
The members of the commission are Justice KT Sankaran, Prof Anand Paliwal, Prof DP Verma, Prof Raka Arya and M. Karunanithi. In 2009, Justice Sankaran of Kerala High Court had propounded the theory of “love jihad” in the country for the first time.
The setting up of the panel assumes significance as Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Parliament in February that the Commission will examine issues related to UCC. However, experts say that as the Commission’s term ends in three months, it will be pressed for time to deal with the issue. The tenure of a law commission is three years and the panel was notified in February 2020.
The Law Commission has been inactive since the term of the 21st Commission, headed by retired judge B S Chauhan, ended on August 31, 2018. It had prepared a report titled ‘Reform of family law’ on UCC after consultation with various stakeholders, which suggested that UCC is neither necessary nor tenable at this stage.
Chauhan says three months is a short time for any commission to look into framing a common law, and the government may consider reappointing the panel after its term is over. “Our panel took two-and-a-half years to prepare a working paper on UCC. It needs wide consultation as it deals with personal laws of various religious communities,” he said.
NEW DELHI: The Union government has constituted the 22nd Law Commission after nearly three years amid a push from some BJP-ruled states on implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) ahead of Assembly polls.
The government on Monday announced the appointment of former high court chief justice Rituraj Awasthi as the chairperson. Awasthi headed the bench of the Karnataka High Court which pronounced the verdict that hijab is not essential to Islam.
The members of the commission are Justice KT Sankaran, Prof Anand Paliwal, Prof DP Verma, Prof Raka Arya and M. Karunanithi. In 2009, Justice Sankaran of Kerala High Court had propounded the theory of “love jihad” in the country for the first time.
The setting up of the panel assumes significance as Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Parliament in February that the Commission will examine issues related to UCC. However, experts say that as the Commission’s term ends in three months, it will be pressed for time to deal with the issue. The tenure of a law commission is three years and the panel was notified in February 2020.
The Law Commission has been inactive since the term of the 21st Commission, headed by retired judge B S Chauhan, ended on August 31, 2018. It had prepared a report titled ‘Reform of family law’ on UCC after consultation with various stakeholders, which suggested that UCC is neither necessary nor tenable at this stage.
Chauhan says three months is a short time for any commission to look into framing a common law, and the government may consider reappointing the panel after its term is over. “Our panel took two-and-a-half years to prepare a working paper on UCC. It needs wide consultation as it deals with personal laws of various religious communities,” he said.