News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP leaders meet PM Modi amid ongoing exercise for government formation in 3 states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Top BJP leaders, including party chief J P Nadda, and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the ongoing exercise for government formation in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

    The meeting is underway at the prime minister’s residence and it is also being attended by BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.

    In the recent round of assembly polls, the BJP won in these three states and Manipur, while the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab.

    Earlier in the day, the BJP reposed faith in N Biren Singh and nominated him as the chief minister of Manipur.

    In Uttarakhand, the newly elected BJP MLAs will meet in Dehradun on Monday to choose their leader who will be the next chief minister of the hill state where the party has stormed back to power for an unprecedented second successive term.

    Though the party won the Uttarakhand polls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost his assembly seat.

    In Uttar Pradesh and Goa it is almost certain that the party will repeat Yogi Adityanath and Pramod Sawant as chief ministers, but it has to take a call on the structure of the cabinet in these states.

    In case of Uttar Pradesh, the party has to take a call on who to appoint as deputy chief minister, as Keshav Prasad Maurya, who held the post in the previous BJP government, lost his assembly seat.

    It is expected that by the end of next week, the BJP will complete government formation process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

  • BJP to meet governor, stake claim to form government in Goa on Monday

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The BJP will meet the Goa governor on Monday and stake a claim to form the next government, state unit resident Sadanand Shet Tanavade said on Sunday. The much-awaited BJP legislature party meeting will also be held on Monday to select the leader of the House, who will be the next chief minister.

    “BJP president JP Nadda has informed that the legislature party meeting would be held on Monday after which party leaders will meet Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and stake a claim to form the next government,” Tanavade told a press conference.

    The legislature party meeting will begin at 4 pm on Monday. BJP’s observer Narendra Singh Tomar and co-observer L Murugan, Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis, desk in-charge CT Ravi will attend the legislature party meeting, Tanavade said.

    He said the date of swearing-in of the new government would be decided after meeting the governor on Monday. In the recently-held elections in Goa, BJP won the majority by bagging 20 of the total 40 seats. Three Independents and two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have already extended their support to BJP.

  • Who will be Uttarakhand CM? Top BJP leaders in huddle ahead of legislature party meeting

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand acting Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday said that the procedure for government formation is underway and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership will take a decision on the next leader of the legislature party in the state.

    Dhami, the state unit BJP chief Madan Kaushik and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Sunday reached the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital to discuss government formation.

    The BJP President JP Nadda and party leaders BL Santhosh and Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj also arrived at the residence of Shah.

    “The procedure for government formation is underway…the BJP central leadership will take a decision (on CM face),” said Dhami, at Uttarakhand Bhawan in Delhi.

    Uttarakhand legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held later today.

    Meanwhile, the BJP MLA and former minister Rekha Arya has supported Dhami as the next Chief Minister.

    Several MLAs, including Ganesh Joshi and Arvind Pandey, have given their consent for the name of Dhami as the leader of the legislature party.

    Till now six MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party have announced their willingness to vacate their Assembly seats to help Dhami get elected to the House.

    Dhami had lost to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Dhami got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent as against Kapri who got 48,177 with a huge vote share of 51.89 per cent.

    The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

  • Biren Singh, BJP MLA rush to Delhi again; Manipur CM name likely to be known soon

    By PTI

    IMPHAL: Manipur caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh and senior BJP MLA Th Biswajit Singh, who were seen as contenders for the CM’s post after the saffron party returned to power for the second time in a row, on Saturday left for Delhi in separate flights to meet the central leaders, sources said.

    The two leaders left for the national capital after being summoned by the party top brass and who will be the chief minister this time is likely to be known by Sunday, BJP sources said.

    After the election results were announced, Biren Singh, Th Biswajit and BJP state president A Sharda Devi had gone to Delhi on March 15 amid reports of “groupism” within the party and returned to Imphal on March 17.

    Social media was abuzz with speculations about which one of the two will become the next chief minister. The decision will be made by the BJP Parliamentary Board.

    The BJP returned to power in the insurgency-affected Manipur, picking up 32 seats in a house of 60.

    It had managed to form a government in 2017 despite having just 21 seats compared to Congress’s 28 by joining hands with two local parties – NPP and NPF.

    However, this time around, the BJP contested alone and managed to win a majority on the plank that a vote for the party would bring peace to the troubled state, both in the valley and the hills where tribals hold the ground.

  • Delhi BJP leaders, Kishan Morcha to protest near CM’s residence demanding subsidies tomorrow

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Delhi BJP leaders, along with party MPs, legislators and farmers, will stage a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Sunday morning to press their demands related to subsidies on agricultural equipment and fertilisers among others.

    According to a statement by the Delhi BJP, the protest march will begin from Chandgi Ram Akhara at 11.15 am under the banner of Kisan Morcha, affiliated to the Delhi BJP, and will culminate at the chief minister’s residence on Flagstaff Road.

    State BJP president Adesh Gupta, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, MPs and MLAs, along with thousands of farmers, will participate in the protest march, the statement said.

    Delhi BJP’s Kisan Morcha president Vinod Sherawat said farmers have been sitting on an indefinite dharna since 40 days but neither Kejriwal nor any of the officials have met them yet.

    “Despite Delhi being the nation’s capital, the farmers are not getting their rightful due. They get no subsidy on tractors, fertilisers or other farm-related items and end up paying commercial rate for power use for irrigation. This is gross injustice to them and shows Kejriwal’s inhuman attitude towards farmers,” Sherawat said in the statement.

  • Have ‘Kashmiri Pandits’ become ‘Kashmiri Migrant Employees’? Centre thinks so

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Have Kashmiri Pandits become ‘Kashmiri Migrant Employees’ in the eyes of the Government of India?  At a time when there’s a growing sentiment on the plight Kashmiri Pandits fuelled by Bollywood film ‘The Kashmir Files’, the Ministry of Home Affairs has called them ‘Kashmiri Migrant Employees’. 

    In a written reply to a zero-hour question raised by Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits on February 4, Nityanand Rai-the minister of state for Home Affairs called “Kashmiri Migrant Employees”.

    The Shiv Sena MP, reacting to Kashmiri Pandits being called ‘Kashmiri Migrant Employees’ said: “The letter speaks of Kashmiri Migrant Employees. Kashmiri Pandits are not migrants sir, Kashmir is their home and they continue to wait to return with dignity and honour”.

    According to the written response received by Chaturvedi, out of 6,000 Transit Accommodations (TAs) approved by the government to house Kashmiri Migrant Employees in Kashmir valley, only 1,025 units have been completed while 1,488 units are in different stages of completion.

    “In the initial phase the private land was to be acquired for construction of these transit accommodations. However, due to cost escalation and time overrun in land acquisition process, Govt of J&K in 2019 to acquire state land with the aim to speed up the construction works,” the ministry noted in the written reply.

    “It is expected that construction will be completed by 2023,” it said. 

    Category ‘Y’ cover for the kashmir files maker

    Film director behind The Kashmir Files Vivek Agnihotri has been given ‘Y’ category security with CRPF commando cover in light of the threats to his security following the release of the film.

  • Decision to quit BJP prompted by politics of hatred practised in party: Babul Supriyo

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: TMC candidate for Ballygunge assembly by-poll, Babul Supriyo, who switched over to the Mamata Banerjee-led party from the BJP last September, on Friday said his decision to quit the saffron party was prompted by politics of “hatred and divisiveness” practised by its members.

    The former MP had left the BJP shortly after losing his ministerial berth at the Centre.

    Often trolled on social media over his decision to switch camps, Supriyo on Friday, tagging Bengal BJP’s official page, tweeted, “My decision to quit was prompted by the politics of hatred, divisiveness (practised in the saffron camp). I could no longer reconcile to such brand of politics.”

    Asserting that he would do whatever was needed to protect the heritage, culture and secular values of Bengal, Supriyo said, “People of Asansol know I had never practiced the sectarian and narrow 70:30 or 80:20 politics in Bengal and will never do that.”

    The Left had accused the former minister of fuelling communal sentiments following a riot in Asansol area of Paschim Bardhaman district in 2018.

    Alleging that he was betrayed by the BJP leadership in Bengal, Supriyo stated, “I would work to uphold the motto of unity in diversity.” He also said that “he could not accept the regular insults made to Bengalis, the refusal to acknowledge the good work of a Bengali”.

    Responding to his allegations, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh wondered why he “woke up to the true character of the BJP this late”. “We never saw such a treacherous personality before,” he said.

    “If he thinks Bengalis are not getting due recognition, how come he was made a union minister by Shri Narendra Modi in 2014, despite being a new entrant in politics? He was a singer and had no political background. Has he forgotten how he was defeated by the TMC in Tollygunje last year?” Ghosh said.

    Echoing him, BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said it was “ironical that Supriyo did not discover these traits and vices” when he was a minister “We are lucky to have got ridden of such unprincipled unethical person,” Hazra said.

  • BJP nominates MLA Agnimitra Paul against Shatrughan Sinha of TMC for Asansol LS by-poll

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The BJP on Friday named fashion designer turned MLA Agnimitra Paul as the party candidate for the by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency to contest against Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress.

    For the by-poll to Ballygunje assembly seat in Kolkata, the BJP’s women’s wing leader Keya Ghosh, a known face in television panel discussions, has been nominated as the party candidate. She was pitted against former union minister and TMC candidate Babul Supriyo.

    The names were announced by the BJP central leadership in Delhi, the party’s West Bengal spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told PTI. By-polls in both seats will be held on April 12 and votes will be counted on April 16.

    Paul had been elected to the state assembly from the Asansol South seat in Paschim Bardhaman district last year on BJP ticket.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee nominated actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha to contest from the industrial city of Asansol having a sizeable Hindi speaking population.

    The Left Front fielded senior CPI(M) leader Partha Mukherjee as the candidate for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat. It named Saira Shah Halim of the CPI(M) as its candidate for the bypoll in the Ballygunge assembly seat. She is a known face on prime time debate shows on national news channels.

    The bypoll to Asansol was necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the BJP MP after joining the TMC in September last year.

    The Ballygunge Assembly seat is going to the by-election as incumbent MLA and state minister Subrata Mukherjee died in November 2021. Paul could not be contacted for her comment as she did not reply to calls and text messages.

    Keya Ghosh alleged that Supriyo had acted in the most unethical manner by switching loyalties. “Besides fighting against the TMC’s misrule and attack on democracy, my job will be to unmask Supriyo. He will be defeated in the by-poll,” she added.

  • Swearing-in ceremony of Uttar Pradesh government to held on March 25

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will be held in the state capital on March 25, a senior government official said on Friday.

    The ceremony will take place at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ikana stadium in Lucknow at 4 pm on March 25, he said.

    Before the ceremony, Yogi Adityanath, who led the party to a thumping victory in the just concluded elections, will be elected as the leader of the House, party sources said. This is the second consecutive term of Adityanath.

    Senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president J P Nadda, are likely to attend the event, sources said.

    Besides chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states are also expected to attend the function, they said, adding that top leaders of opposition parties will also be extended the invitations.

    Massive preparations for the function have already started wherein beneficiaries of various schemes of the previous Yogi Adityanath government, including women, will be invited, they said.

    The size of the ministry or who all will be taking oath on the day is not clear as of now, they added.

    The BJP won 255 seats in the 403-member assembly and its allies won 18 seats, paving way for the saffron party to return to power for the second consecutive term.

    Elections in the northern state were held in seven phases and the results were announced on March 10.

  • SP alliance lost Uttar Pradesh polls because of dishonesty and cunningness of BJP: Shivpal Singh Yadav

    By PTI

    ETAWAH: Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday claimed that the Samajwadi Party-led alliance lost the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly elections because of “dishonesty and cunningness” of the BJP.

    He said the alliance has the backing of the people and it will face the challenges firmly.

    “Our (SP alliance) seats and vote percentage have increased in the elections. The people of the state did not defeat the SP. It was because of BJP’s dishonesty and cunningness that we lost,” Yadav, who got elected from his traditional Jaswant Nagar seat, told newspersons here.

    Some ministers in the BJP-led central government as well as many officers of the state government are involved in “this design of the BJP”, he alleged.

    The people of the state are with us, so we are not afraid.

    We will face the challenges and problems firmly and will continue to work to provide justice to people, Shivpal Yadav, who is the uncle of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav asserted.

    Shivpal Yadav had got into a tussle with Akhilesh Yadav and formed the PSP before the assembly polls in 2017 but contested the 2022 elections in alliance with the SP.