News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP names former IAS officer AK Sharma its MLC candidate in UP

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Friday named BJP’s candidate for the upcoming legislative council polls in Uttar Pradesh.

    Sharma had joined the BJP on Thursday, days after he opted for voluntary retirement from the IAS.

    There is a strong possibility that Sharma after his election as a legislator will be given a key position in the state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, sources have said.

    A Gujarat cadre officer hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Sharma had long been one of the trusted bureaucrats of Modi since his tenure as Gujarat chief minister.

    He also served in key positions in the PMO after Modi became prime minister in 2014.

    Besides Sharma, the BJP also named Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, its state president Swatantra Dev Sing and Lakshman Prasad Acharya as its candidates for the polls.

    Polling for 12 legislative council seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held on January 28.

    In the 100-member UP Legislative Council, the SP has 55 MLCs, BJP has 25 MLCs, BSP has eight MLCs, Congress and ‘Nirdaliye Samooh’ have two MLCs each and Apna Dal (S) and ‘Shikshak Dal’ have one MLC each.

    There are three independent MLCs and three seats are vacant.

  • JD-U to RJD: Cross-defection fears drive Bihar’s political parties into a frenzy

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Despite the end of ‘kharmas’ (a period under which no auspicious work is done as per Hindu calendar) on Makar Sankranti, the fear of cross ‘defection’ continues to plague all political parties in Bihar.

    On Thursday, state’s JD-U chief Umesh Kushwaha dropped a bombshell predicting a major breakup within the RJD-led Grand Alliance in the next few days.

    Recently, an ex-MLA from Congress, Bharat Singh, had also expressed worry that 11 out of 19 MLAs could switch over to the saffron side.

    Senior RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari however denied any possibility of distress in the party and claimed that many from the ruling alliance instead were keen on jumping ship after being disgruntled with the state of affairs. 

    Shyam Rajak also claimed that 17 MLAs of the ruling party were hobnobbing with him to switch over to RJD after January 14, a claim JD-U quashed.

    The NDA has formed the government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar with a thin majority and support of two smaller allies – with 4 MLAs from VIP, another 4 from HAM, and 1 independent.

    Concerns over defection, both in the NDA and opposition, gained momentum after the Arunachal Pradesh incident, and have since caught the parties by a frenzy. 

    For RJD in particular, fear of a split has intensified in the wake of JDU MP of Lok Sabha Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s (alias Lallan Singh) support to Bhupendra Yadav’s claim about major desertion of MLAs from RJD.

    Inside sources from both GA and NDA however claim that all parties are treading with caution.

  • Land deal: NCP leader Eknath Khadse arrives at ED office in Mumbai

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse on Friday arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office here for recording his statement in a 2016 land deal case.

    Khadse was seen entering the central agencys office at Ballard Estate in South Mumbai around 11 am to appear before ED officials in connection with the land deal of his family in Bhosari area near Pune city.

    Talking to the media outside his home before leaving for the ED office, Khadse, a former BJP leader who joined the NCP last year, said he will cooperate with the agency.

    Policemen in large numbers were deployed outside the ED office and barricades were put to avoid any gathering by his supporters.

    Besides the Mumbai police, personnel from the SRPF were also deployed.

    Khadse (68) was summoned by the ED on December 30, but he skipped appearance citing health reasons.

    ED officials had agreed to give him 14 days time to appear before the agency.

    Earlier, the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had investigated the matter and submitted a closure report.

    The Income-Tax department also had sought information in the matter.

    Khadse had resigned from the then Devendra Fadnavis- led Maharashtra cabinet in 2016 after facing allegations regarding the same land deal.

    It was alleged that he misused his official powers to facilitate the purchase of government land by his family.

    Khadse has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

  • Facing rape charges, Dhananjay Munde to continue as minister in Uddhav Cabinet for now

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: In a relief for Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde, who is facing rape allegation by a woman, his party NCP has decided to let him continue in the cabinet post for now, sources said on Friday.

    According to the sources, the decision was taken considering the complaints of harassment made against the woman by some leaders from the opposition BJP and the MNS.

    Top NCP leaders, including party president Sharad Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil and senior leader Praful Patel, met here late Thursday night to discuss the issue.

    The meeting was held at Patel’s residence.

    Munde (45), the social justice minister in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government, has refuted the rape charges and dubbed them as blackmail attempt.

    BJP leader Krishna Hegde on Thursday claimed that the Mumbai-based woman had been harassing him for several years.

    An MNS politician, too, has made similar allegations against her.

    Munde had levelled blackmailing charges against the woman.

    Now other party politicians, too, have levelled such charges against the woman concerned.

    The allegation by BJP and MNS leaders somewhere seems to strengthen Mundes claims.

    A police probe is going on in a case relating to Munde.

    “We will need to wait for its conclusion. So, it was decided that Munde will continue in the post for now,” the sources said.

    On Thursday, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar said that the allegation against Munde was serious and added the party will discuss the issue and decide on it “as soon as possible.

    Pawar told reporters that Munde met him on Wednesday and explained his side of the episode.

    State NCP president Jayant Patil said on Thursday that Munde would not resign just because someone has made allegations, but asserted the issue would be discussed inside the NCP and a decision would be taken based on facts.

    Patil had also said that any conclusion should be reached only based on police probe outcome into the matter.

    The NCP leader had also claimed that the state government was not interfering in the police probe.

    Munde, an NCP leader from Beed district, has denied the rape allegations, claiming he is being blackmailed by the woman and her sister.

    Munde, however, has acknowledged that he was in a relationship with the complainant woman’s sister and has two children with her.

    The BJP has demanded Munde’s resignation.

  • Another turncoat Congress MLA gets key post in Madhya Pradesh

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL:  Another former Congress legislator who switched over to the BJP has been rewarded by the ruling party with a key post in the Madhya Pradesh government.

    Rahul Singh, a first-time Congress MLA from Damoh of Bundelkhand region, who quit the Vidhan Sabha and the Congress party and joined the ruling BJP, just a few days before the crucial November 3, 2020 Assembly bypolls, has been appointed the chairman of MP Warehousing and Logistics Corporation.

    In the 2018 Assembly polls, Rahul had done the giant killing by defeating BJP veteran and state’s incumbent finance minister Jayant Malaiya by a wafer-thin margin from Damoh seat of Damoh district.

    Bypolls are yet to be held for the Damoh which fell vacant due to Singh’s resignation.

    A few months ago, Rahul’s uncle and another first-time Congress MLA, Pradyuman Singh Lodhi, too, was made the chairman of MP Civil Supplies Corporation, just a few hours after he quit the Congress to join the BJP.

    Pradyuman was among the 18 former Congress MLAs, who later won the bypolls, which gave the BJP comfortable majority on its own.

    At present, 11 ministers in the 30-strong Shivraj Singh Chouhan Cabinet are former Congress MLAs.

    Meanwhile, sources within the ruling BJP confided to TNIE that 4-5 Congress MLAs are in touch with the BJP and eager to join the saffron camp.

    However, now enjoying a comfortable majority with 126 MLAs in the 230 member House, the BJP isn’t too keen to invite them.

  • Development vs Hindutva: Didi to follow Kejriwal-style poll campaign to counter BJP

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: In lessons drawn from the campaign style of Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP in the Delhi Assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has asked her party workers to initiate work for the 2021 manifesto highlighting development projects implemented by her government.

    The CM has sought suggestions from her party workers, MPs and MLAs to focus on specific issues to be showcased in the manifesto ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

    “We will follow the AAP model as it proved effective against BJP’s aggressive campaign in Delhi. In the manifesto, the CM wants to highlight a slew of government schemes implemented in the last 10 years. She also wants the party document to mention TMC’s promises made in the 2016 polls and how these were fulfilled on the ground,” said a senior TMC leader.

    It will also mention the time taken to complete the government projects which were announced before the 2016 polls.

    Party sources said results of a survey conducted by election strategist Prashant Kishor and his team would also find a place in the manifesto, which will be designed considering the BJP as the main rival.

    “The saffron camp’s divisive agenda will also be mentioned,” said another TMC leader.

    The TMC chief ’s focus on young foot-soldiers is due to the fact that the number of young voters aged between 18 and 25 is sizable in all the 294 Assembly constituencies.

    The sources said after filtering the opinion from cadres and elected representatives, a draft manifesto would be prepared.

    “The CM on several occasions has hit out at the BJP for bringing into Bengal leaders from outside. We’ll take it up ahead of the polls,” said a TMC leader.

  • Kailash Vijayvargiya claims 41 MLAs in West Bengal ready to join BJP

    By PTI
    INDORE: BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed on Thursday that he has a list of 41 MLAs “who support” the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal but are ready to join the BJP.

    Assembly elections in West Bengal are due this year and the BJP is aiming to dislodge the Trinamool Congress government in the state.

    “I have a list of 41 MLAs who want to join the BJP. If I take these legislators in the BJP’s fold, the Mamata government will fall.”

    “But we are looking at who should be admitted in the party and who should not be,” the BJP leader told reporters at his hometown.

    “We have decided that among these legislators, we will not take those whose image is not good,” he further said.

    Politics of violence is going on in West Bengal and “infiltrators” are attacking BJP cadres, he said.

    “They feel that if the BJP comes to power in the state, then it will identify them and they will not be able to continue their illegal activities,” Vijayvargiya said.

    He also alleged that Banerjee wanted to take credit of the COVID-19 vaccination program.

    The BJP-led Union government was going to bear the expenses of the first phase of vaccination but Banerjee has claimed that her government is giving the vaccine free in the state, he alleged.

  • TMC’s appeal to Congress, Left Front sign of desperation: Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh Thursday said TMC’s appeal to Congress and the Left Front to rally behind Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her fight against the saffron party reflected desperation of the ruling party apprehending imminent defeat.

    Ghosh said the TMC has “lost the plot” even before commencement of the elections in the state.

    “They (the TMC) can’t fight us alone, and so they are seeking the help of other parties. It also proves that the BJP is the only alternative to TMC,” he said.

    His comments came in the backdrop of the TMC making an appeal to the Congress and the Left Front to rally behind Mamata Banerjee in her fight against the “communal and divisive” BJP, a suggestion the two parties rejected outright.

    “The TMC has lost the plot and are looking for lifeboats to remain afloat. But, the people of the state has made up their mind to oust this undemocratic government”, Ghosh said.

    The Congress proposed that the TMC should merge with it instead to put up a united fight against the BJP.

    “If the Left Front and the Congress are genuinely anti- BJP, they should rally behind Mamata Banerjee in her fight against the communal and divisive politics of the saffron party,” senior TMC MP Sougata Roy had said.

    Speaking on the issue of TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, Ghosh said he is welcome to join the party.

    “He is a very senior leader. If he wants he can join us,” he said.

    Close on heels of his son Suvendu Adhikari crossing over to the BJP, his father and Trinamool Congress MP Sisir Adhikari was on Wednesday removed as East Midnapore district president.

    The development followed Adhikari senior ouster from the post of chairman of Digha-Shankarpur Development Authority (DSDA).

    Slamming the ruling TMC over its opposition to the new farm laws, Ghosh said it is a “well-scripted” drama to divert people’s attention from its failures.

    “The TMC, Left and the Congress are opposing the new farm legislations. But, not a single farmer has joined their protest in West Bengal. This only shows that they don’t have public support on the issue,” he said.

    Polls to 294-member Bengal Assembly are due in April-May this year.

  • BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee alleges phone tapping by TMC government

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The BJP’s Kolkata zone observer Sovan Chatterjee on Thursday alleged that his mobile phone was being tapped by the Trinamool Congress government.

    Chatterjee also claimed that the BJP could have won 23-24 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, had the Trinamool Congress, his former party, not used muscle power.

    The saffron party bagged 18 seats in that election.

    “I had suddenly noticed that the phone was kept under surveillance. It was being done to help one person or the administration in general,” the former Kolkata mayor told a press conference.

    He, however, did not say who that “one person” is.

    That number is being used as his WhatsApp contact only, the former minister said.

    He said that there are 51 assembly constituencies under the BJP’s Kolkata zone, of which he was made the observer in December, and the party has to ensure that voters reach their polling booths during the assembly election due in April-May.

    “In the last Lok Sabha polls, we have got 18 seats. It could have been 23 or 24 easily had the TMC not used muscle power,” he claimed.

    He also announced a series of programmes, including an initiative called ‘Samadhan’ for solving problems of people, which will be conducted in the Kolkata zone.

  • Ex-IAS officer and Modi’s trusted lieutenant AK Sharma joins BJP, likely to get crucial role in UP

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Believed to be a trusted lieutenant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AK Sharma, the Gujarat cadre former IAS officer of 1988 batch, joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Lucknow on Thursday. He was inducted into the party by UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh in the presence of Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dr Dinesh Shrma along with other senior office-bearers of the party.

    While Sharma is tipped to be a BJP candidate in the upcoming council elections scheduled for January 28, the political corridors are abuzz with speculations of he (Sharma) taking up a crucial role in the state with UP Assembly elections just a year away.

    Speaking to reporters after the induction, Sharma said that he was happy to join the party and would be happy to work for the welfare of the people. UP BJP chief expressed confidence that the BJP would benefit from Sharma’s administrative experience gained while working with the PM closely — especially the six years which he spent in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    A Bhumihar by caste, Sharma is a postgraduate in political science from Allahabad University and hails from Kajha Khurd village in Muhammadabad Gohna tehsil in Mau district in eastern UP. He joined Modi as the secretary in October 2001 when the former took over as the Gujarat CM. He continued to work with him in the PMO from 2014 onward as well and took over as the MSME secretary in April 2020.

    While top leadership of the state BJP seemed to be tight-lipped over the possible role Sharma would be playing in UP, those who have followed his stint as a bureaucrat as Modi’s lieutenant believe that he would not come to UP just for becoming an MLC. While the BJP’s state unit is keeping a guarded silence over the role of Sharma, those privy to the developments, said, he may be entrusted with the deputy chief ministership in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

    However, in such a situation, the sword of suspense would hang existing deputy CMs – Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma – and the responsibility they would be entrusted with in future. “Obviously, the party leadership must be having a bigger plan behind sending Sharma to UP Council,” said a senior BJP functionary seeking anonymity.

    Nominations for the Parishad polls are being filed till January 18 and BJP is sure to win 10 out of 12 seats falling vacant. The party is likely to announce the list of its candidates in a day or two. The political experts feel that if Sharma gets a key role in the government, he would be the second most trusted person of the PM in Lucknow after Governor Anandiben Patel.

     A low-profile officer, Sharma is known for delivering time-bound results. He earned Modi’s trust as the secretary in his CMO and by successfully handing Vibrant Gujarat campaign to get investment to the state. Before taking voluntary retirement, he was handling affairs in MSME (micro small and medium enterprises), a crucial department that was working on PM Modi’s plan for revival of the economy post-Covid lockdown.

    While there are precedence of top bureaucrats joining the government at the Centre, like foreign minister S Jaishankar and civil aviation and urban development minister Hardip Puri, it’s a rare instance of an officer of Sharma’s stature being elevated in the state unit of the BJP. It seems that the reshuffle of Yogi cabinet is close on the cards .