News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • EC issues notice to Bengal minister Firhad Hakim for his speech allegedly inciting violence

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to senior Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim for his speech allegedly inciting violence.

    He has been given 24 hours to explain his remarks.

    The BJP had recently moved the commission with a complaint alleging that Hakim had incited voters to carry out violence against the party.

    According to a portion of his speech made part of the notice, the senior TMC leader had asked people to hit BJP members.

    He also made remarks against a central police force deployed in the state.

    Besides citing provisions of the model code, the notice also referred to advisories issued by the EC to political parties on their conduct during polls.

    The campaigning for the West Bengal polls has ended and the last phase of voting will take place on April 29.

  • Bengal parties welcome EC’s ban on victory processions after poll results

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Cutting across differences, political parties in West Bengal Tuesday welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to ban all victory processions after the declaration of results of the assembly polls in four states and a union territory in order to check the surge in coronavirus.

    The EC on Tuesday decided to make more stringent the provisions to be followed during the process of counting.

    “No victory procession after the counting on May 2 shall be permissible,” an order issued by the poll body to chief electoral officers of all states and UTs said.

    Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy said the decision was welcome though the party had put it to practice after winning the 2011 assembly election.

    Roy further said the EC decision, taken after the Madras High Court lambasted the poll panel for rise in corona cases in the poll-bound states and UT, would be followed in letter and spirit by his party.

    The Madras High Court had on Monday castigated the Election Commission over the COVID-19 second wave in the country holding it ‘singularly’ responsible for the spread, called it the “the most irresponsible institution” and had even said its officials may be booked under murder charges.

    BJP state vice-president Joy Prakash Majumder said due to the surge in Covid-19 cases the EC took the right decision of not allowing victory rallies.

    “We welcome the EC directive. BJP will ensure no victory procession will be taken out during and after counting is over,” he added.

    CPI-M leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said the EC decision is welcome.

    “However processions should have been banned by the EC earlier during the last phases of the assembly poll when the COVID-19 surge started,” he said.

    WBPCC President Adhir Chowdhury also praised the EC decision in view of the situation.

    “We had earlier urged the EC to stop the gathering of people during campaign meetings when the COVID-19 surge became prominent. We are happy the EC prohibited the victory processions,” he said.

    While the eighth and last phase of election will be held in West Bengal on April 29, the voting exercise is over in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and in the union territory of Puducherry.

  • ‘COVID-19 wave hit poll-bound states in the end’: MP minister backs high-voltage campaigns

    By PTI
    INDORE: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday claimed it was improper to draw a link between the current surge in COVID-19 cases in the country and elections held in some states.

    States which saw elections were the last one to be hit by the pandemics fresh wave and it was improper to link the two, the BJP leader said.

    There are no elections at present in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan or Delhi but still they are hit hard by coronavirus.

    “Look, this is a pandemic and nobody should put a blame of it on others,” Mishra told reporters in reply to a question.

    He said the fresh wave of COVID-19 first hit states where there were no elections.

    Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for cancelling his poll rallies on the ground of COVID-19 crisis, Mishra asked whether the pandemic had disappeared in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam, where polling took place recently.

    The moment Rahuls rallies flopped in West Bengal, coronavirus entered that state.

    The Congress is going to lose there and it will blame electronic voting machines for its defeat, he remarked.

    While the eighth and last phase of election will be held in West Bengal on April 29, the voting exercise is over in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

    Counting of votes polled in these elections will take place on May 2.

    The BJP minister alleged the Congress is playing low- level of politics on the issue of vaccination.

    Till date (Congress leaders) Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Digvijaya Singh have not made public a single photo of them receiving the vaccine,” he said.

    Earlier, the minister reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Indore with public representatives and officials and also inaugurated a 50-bed COVID-19 care centre for policemen and their families.

  • ‘Keep COVID beyond politics’: BJP to Trinamool ahead of last phase of polling

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Blaming the ruling Trinamool Congress for engaging in politics over the spike in COVID-19 cases in the country and West Bengal, the BJP on Tuesday said it is not the right time for the Centre and the state to be involved in a conflict.

    BJP state spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya told reporters here that the ruling party, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is continuing its diatribe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah “unfairly blaming them for the crisis”.

    “While a new state government will be formed after May 2, for the remaining days, the outgoing Trinamool Congress government should keep the COVID-19 issue beyond politics as saving lives of people is the most important thing at this juncture,” Bhattacharya said.

    As per international commitment, India had to export some vaccines to the neighbouring countries but that cannot be linked to the virulent second wave of coronavirus which has engulfed other nations as well, the party spokesperson said.

    Referring to the the TMC leader’s “outsider jibe” at BJP workers from other states who are campaigning for the ongoing assembly polls in West Bengal and blaming them for the rise in COVID-19 cases, the BJP leader asked “Does she consider the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister to be outsiders?” Asserting that such comments are “alarming and pose a threat to the country’s integrity”, Bhattacharya said, “Many people from Bengal, including migrants, students and professionals are living in other states. The ‘outsider campaign’ of the Trinamool Congress may create adverse effect on them.”

    He also alleged that the state government did not inform the Centre about its COVID-19 management and planning in past three months.

    On the tirade of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against the Election Commission, Bhattacharya said “Attacking EC is akin to attacking a constitutional body. Uttering EC’s name along with the BJP is unacceptable.”

    Claiming that voters were happy with the polling exercise this year, Bhattacharya asked “Did anyone allege before TV cameras that we couldn’t vote? “Compare this to the situation few years back or during last panchayat and municipal elections held under State Election Commission.”

    Objecting to the oft-repeated charges levelled by the Trinamool Congress against EC that clubbing the remaining three phases of assembly polls could have checked spread of COVID-19, he said, “There was no election in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh.

    “Then why are those states affected by the second wave of COVID-19? The EC took all safety protocols. Did the TMC strictly abide by the guidelines in its rallies?” Rubbishing the claim made by the TMC chief about COVID-19 vaccines being given from BJP party offices in Gujarat, Bhattacharya described it “as absurd and a pack of lies.”

  • Sidhu’s outbursts against his own government total indiscipline; he may be leaving for AAP: Amarinder

    The Punjab CM also dared the ex-Punjab minister and Amritsar MLA to contest Assembly polls against him from Patiala.

  • Turnout 75.02 per cent in seventh phase of Bengal elections, polling by and large peaceful

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: An estimated 75 per cent votes were cast on Monday in West Bengal in the seventh and penultimate phase of the assembly election, which was by and large peaceful, Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Aftab said.

    He said that 75.06 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in 34 seats where polling was held and is expected to go up as the polling ended at 6.30 PM.

    “Polling was entirely peaceful today and there was no incident of violence anywhere in the state,” Aftab told reporters.

    “The seventh phase is the most quiet and incident-free phase. There was no bomb blast from anywhere during today’s polling, not even from sensitive places. We are extremely happy. The police and the central forces have done a commendable job,” ADG (Law and order) Jag Mohan said.

    Voting began at 7 am in 12,068 polling stations spread over nine assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman districts, six each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda and four in Kolkata, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s home turf Bhabanipur.

    Malda, Murshidabad and Dakshin Dinajpur are minority dominated and the fight in these districts is between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress-ISF-Left alliance, except in a few pockets where the BJP has gained strength.

    Till 5 pm, the highest voters’ turnout of 80.30 per cent was registered in the Murshidabad constituency, and the lowest polling percentage of 59.91 per cent was recorded in the Kolkata Dakshin seat, the CEO added.

    Although the polling passed off more or less peacefully, there were a few incidents of scuffle between rival party workers in some parts of the state.

    A few such incidents were reported from Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district where TMC candidate Sayoni Ghosh claimed that BJP activists tried to jam booths in the constituency.

    The allegation was dubbed as baseless by BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul, who asserted “Ghosh is making excuses sensing defeat”.

    There was a commotion in the Rash Behari constituency in the city after BJP candidate Lt Gen (retd) Subrata Saha’s agent Mohan Rao was accused of molesting women voters inside a polling booth, police said.

    The agent was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them by holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said.

    Rao rubbished the allegations and said no such incident had taken place.

    “We have received a complaint in this regard and a probe is underway,” the official said.

    The TMC candidate for the constituency, Debashis Kumar claimed that he was stopped from entering a booth in the area by central forces.

    The central forces, however, denied the allegations.

    In the Jamuria seat, Left Front candidate Aishe Ghosh alleged that agents of CPI-M were stopped from entering a booth by TMC workers, a charge which was denied by the ruling party.

    In Murshidabad, TMC district president and MP Abu Taher was heckled by party workers when he was touring the area.

    Taher, however, claimed that Congress activists had heckled him.

    The Congress dubbed the allegations as baseless.

    In Bhabanipur constituency TMC candidate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay claimed that he too was stopped from entering the booth in his area by central forces.

    The security forces denied the allegations and the office of the chief electoral officer intervened and sorted out the issue.

    Security was tight in view of the violence in the previous phases, particularly the death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, including four in CISF firing, in the fourth phase of polling on April 10, an EC official said.

    The ECI has ordered repoll on April 29 at booth No.

    126 of the Sitalkuchi seat where voting was cancelled after the four were killed in the firing.

    The poll panel has deployed at least 796 companies of central forces in the seventh phase to ensure free and fair voting, he said.

    Each company of central armed police force has around 100 personnel and officers.

    The EC also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence to health protocols during the election process, including wearing of face masks and maintaining social distancing to check the spread of COVID-19.

    The state registered its highest single-day spike of 15,889 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, while 57 more people succumbed to the virus.

    Election to two assembly constituencies Samserganj and Jangipur in Murshidabad district where polling was originally slated on Monday – has been adjourned following the death of two coronavirus-positive candidates.

    The EC has fixed May 16 as the date for polling in the two seats.

    The eighth and final phase of polling is scheduled for Thursday, April 29.

    Votes will be counted on Sunday, May 2.

  • ‘Holding election constitutional obligation, BJP followed all EC protocols’: Nadda

    Expressing confidence that the BJP will win the polls in Bengal with a thumping majority, he said that the election, this time, was #39;unprecedented and unique #39;.

  • Campaigning ends for the final phase of poll in 35 Bengal constituencies

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Campaigning for the eighth and final phase of polling for 35 assembly constituencies in West Bengal, scheduled to be held on April 29, ended at 6.30 pm on Monday.

    A total 84,77,728 voters — 43,55,835 male, 41,21,735 women and 158 of the third gender are eligible to decide the fate of 283 candidates in Thursday’s polling which will be held in six constituencies of Malda, 11 in Murshidabad, seven in Kolkata North and 11 in Birbhum, Election Commission sources said.

    The polling will be held between 7AM to 6.30 PM in 11,860 polling stations, they said.

    While 11 candidates each have been fielded by Trinamool Congress, BSP and BJP, CPI(M) is contesting in four seats, Congress in three, AIFB in 2 and RSP (1), the EC sources said.

    There are four Independent candidates in the fray as well, they said.

    The focus in this phase of polling will be on five assembly constituencies in Kolkata north — Beleghata, Jorsanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala, Kashipur-Belgachia — as neck and neck contest is expected between TMC heavyweights and BJP challengers.

    In Shyampukur seat, state minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Shashi Panja is contesting against BJP’s Sandipan Biswas and AIFB’s Jiban Prakash Saha.

    In Beleghata, TMC has fielded Paresh Paul against BJP’s Kashinath Biswas and CPI-M’s Rajib Biswas.

    In Jorasnko, BJP has named Meena Devi Purohit against TMC’s Vivek Gupta and Congress’ Ajmal Khan.

    The TMC has named Atin Ghosh in Kashipur-Belgachia against BJP candidate Sibaji Sinha Roy and CPI(M)’s Pratip Dasgupta.

    A close contest is also expected in Maniktala assembly seat where state Consumer Affairs Minister TMC veteran Sadhan Pandey will fight former India footballer and BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey and CPI(M)’s Rupa Bagchi.

    Political experts are sensing a tough fight in Bolpur assembly seat of Birbhum where the BJP has fielded Anirban Ganguly against state minister Chandranath Sinha.

    Keen contest is also expected in Nanoor, Murari and Labhpur.

    They are also expecting a similar contest between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP and Samyukta Morcha (Cong- CPI-M-ISF alliance) candidates in Malda district and 11 seats in Murshidabad district.

    With the EC banning road shows and vehicle rallies in the state after the recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the country as well as in West Bengal, leaders of political parties chose to either campaign virtually or hold small rallies with a maximum of 500 participants.

    The EC has booked and show-caused several candidates for flouting the COVID-19 safety norms.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and her party MP Abhishek Banerjee held virtual campaigns as did Prime Minister Narendra Modi from New Delhi.

    BJP president J P Nadda, it’s West Bengal head Dilip Ghosh, Bollywood superstar Mithun Chakraborty and other star campaigners like Smriti Irani held small rallies to campaign for the party’s candidates contesting in the eighth phase of polling.

    The BJP leaders attacked Banerjee and her nephew and other party leaders alleging that they were involved in the Saradha and Narada tapes scams.

    The saffron party also claimed that they were responsible for siphoning of funds allocated for Amphan cyclone and COVID-19 pandemic relief.

    The BJP leaders maintained that corruption and anarchy are prevalent in West Bengal and that the party will put an end to it after coming to power in the state.

    The TMC supremo hit out at the BJP for the rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG and also held it responsible for the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

    She also alleged that the prime minister in order to capture West Bengal had forgotten about the entire country which is facing a crisis because of the COVID-19 second wave.

  • West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP candidate’s agent detained for molesting women voters in Kolkata

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP candidate from the Rashbehari assembly constituency Lt Gen Subrata Saha’s agent was detained on Monday for allegedly molesting a few women voters inside a polling booth in the city’s New Alipore area, police said.

    Mohan Rao was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said.

    “We have received a complaint in this regard and a probe is underway,” he said.

    Rao, however, rubbished the allegations and said no such incident had taken place.

    “TMC activists are trying to create disturbance in the area. This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt the peaceful polling process,” Saha said. Polling is underway for 34 seats in the seventh phase of the assembly elections in the state.

  • Bengal polls: Ex-India goalie Chaubey hopes to clinch it this time against Trinamool veteran Sadhan Pande

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Kalyan Choubey, the ex-India goalie who is in the poll fray in the city’s Maniktala seat in the ongoing West Bengal poll, feels his out of the box thinking and 24×7 work commitment to nation building will give him an edge over TMC heavyweight and state minister Sadhan Pande.

    Polling in the seat will take place in the eigth and last phase on April 29.

    44-year-old Chaubey has learnt his political lessons the hard way after having lost to TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    Chaubey says this time round he has come doubly prepared to contest against Pande, who is the two-time sitting MLA from Maniktala and a six-time Congress MLA from neighbouring Burtola seat.

    “People want a change in West Bengal and they will act wisely before casting their votes for someone (Pande) who is 70 plus, is no more active and undergoes regular dialysis. I pray for his long life,” Chaubey told PTI in an interview.

    He feels that given the situation, voters will definitely think about who can deliver for them.

    Their choice is between him, who is young and energetic and Pande who has been a sitting MLA for 40 years and has been in the government for the last 10 years in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet.

    “When I talk to people, I feel that they need a change. I also feel that this time round I’ve got an image,” Chaubey said.

    The former soccer player claimed that despite his loss in Krishnanagar, he is committed to the voters of his former constituency and has facilitated in providing jobs for 18 unemployed youths in a major IT services company by organising a special 100-hour CSR programme.

    “They were happy and never expected such an initiative from someone who had lost the (Lok Sabha) poll fight.

    You have to think out of the box if you wish to usher in a change,” he said.

    Chaubey blamed TMC for rigging during the parliamentary polls and claims that he had himself faced it when a polling officer had reportedly gone missing in Krishnagar.

    “Their (TMC’s) rigging machinery is systematic. They are a master at it. The polling officer had later told me it was a gameplan to rig the EVMs,” he said.

    Chaubey claimed that there is widespread violence on a regular basis in Maniktala constituency between the rival TMC and Congress.

    “You only see such things when a political change is in the horizon . The political scenario in West Bengal has changed so much now,” he said.

    The former soccer player said he is more experienced as a political worker now and is regularly involved in party work.

    “I can feel the law and order crisis in West bengal as almost everyday I’m out for party work till about 2am,” Chaubey asserted.

    Asked, he said providing basic amenities like toilets is his main priority in Mankitala.

    There are 2.11 lakh voters in Maniktala constituency, out of whom 1.35 lakh live in slums and do not have access to basic amenities like washrooms which force women to bathe in the open, he said.

    “But at the same time sports is in my blood and that’s my identity. Definitely I will have a role to play in the Rs 2000 crore sports budget and will look to give it back to sports in the best possible way,” said Chaubey, who represented India in the early 2000s including in the SAFF Championships.

    He said the youth of today have no option to join sports due to the proliferation of illegal constructions.

    “Giving them infrastructure and motivating them to join sports will be in my agenda,” Chaubey who played for Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Salgaocar and JCT Mills, said.

    Competing in the Olympics or international events like the SAFF games evokes pride for the country among the participants.

    As he can no more go back to the field, “this is the perfect platform to serve the nation in ‘Rashtra Nirman’ – that’s our (BJP) ideology,” he said.