News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP curveball: Eknath Shinde new Maharashtra CM, Fadnavis Deputy as Uddhav gets cornered further

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: With the BJP on Thursday pulling off a massive surprise by offering the chief minister’s post to rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and persuading a reluctant Devendra Fadnavis to be his deputy, it appears to have killed multiple birds in one stone.

    From his humble beginnings as an auto driver to that of the CM, the rise of the four-time MLA and twice minister has indeed been meteoric.Also read: Eknath Shinde: Former auto driver and Sena street fighter now in driving seat in MaharashtraAt the oath-taking ceremony, Shinde invoked Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe saying his government will follow in their footsteps. Sources saw in the day’s developments a masterstroke by Union home minister Amit Shah.

    “By making Shinde the CM, the BJP has not just engineered a vertical split in elected representatives of the Shiv Sena, it also divided the party. More importantly, it has diminished the Thackeray brand and reduced him to a caricature. And Shinde will be controlled by the top leadership of the BJP for future manoeuvres,” said a source requesting anonymity.

    Besides, Shah clipped the wings of Fadnavis, the source said.

    “Fadnavis was CM from 2014 to 2019. He was also projected as a potential prime ministerial candidate after Narendra Modi. And he has tacit support from the RSS. He was not ready to work as Shinde’s No 2. But Shah persuaded Modi that the Shinde-Fadnavis team would be best in the larger interests of the BJP in Maratha-dominated Maharashtra. Modi then called Fadnavis and persuaded him to take the job.”

    Shinde was lightweight minister in the Fadnavis cabinet earlier. The roles reversed on Thursday with Shinde becoming his boss.

    Fadnavis was hoping to be the new CM.

    “But it appears that the party leadership decided to not only rub salt on his wounds but also humiliate him by asking him to be deputy CM,” sources said.

    Pawar quip on Fadnavis

    NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the body language of Devendra Fadnavis showed he was not happy with being asked to be the deputy CM but accepted it against his will because of the discipline RSS inculcated in him.

    He also said drawing as many as 38 Shiv Sena rebels is not easy but Eknath Shinde pulled it off.

    “I have spoken with him over the phone and congratulated him.”

  • Capt Amarinder Singh all set to join BJP, merge his Punjab Lok Congress with saffron party

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Former Punjab CM Captain Amrainder Singh will formally join the BJP on his return from London where he is convalescing after a lower back surgery last week. He is likely to be back in India late next week when the process of his induction would begin.

    Amrinder Singh had formed a new political party – Punjab Lok Congress – after he quit the Congress party following his removal from the post of CM late last year. Sources said that the Congress stalwart from Punjab would merge his new party into the BJP.

    After Amrinder’s exit last year, senior Congress leaders close to him have quit the party and joined the BJP. Among them are former Punjab Pradesh Congress President (PPCC) and state minister Sunil Jakhar, and four top ministers from Captain’s Cabinet – Raj Kumar Verka, a Dalit leader from Majha, Sundar Sham Arora, working president of PPCC, and Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, a prominent Jat-Sikh leaders.

    Sources said that the main challenge before the BJP is how to accommodate Amrinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur, who is a former Union minister and sitting Member of Parliament from Patiala. Preneet Kaur has reportedly decided to hang her boots and hand over the mantle to her daughter Jai Inder Kaur. She wants the BJP to promise the Patiala Lok Sabha ticket to Jai Inder Kaur.

    The BJP leadership is reportedly not happy with the fact that Perneet Kaur has not left the Congress even as her husband and most of his friends have deserted the party.

    Sources said that the BJP is also not keen on accommodating Jai Inder Kaur because of the involvement of her husband’s company Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd in alleged misappropriation of bank money and the resultant cases in CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Jai Inder is married to Gurpal Singh of the Sansi royal family who owns and runs the Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd in Uttar Pradesh, the ITC Welcomhotel in Amritsar, besides other businesses.

    Jai Inder has been helping her parents in elections and recently became the president of the All India Jat Mahasabha replacing Navjot Kaur, wife of former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu.

    The details of the merger of Captain’s party with the BJP would be worked out on his return from London. The decision of Preneet’s entry into the BJP would be taken by the BJP in consultation with him.

  • ‘Governments not toeing Hindutva ‘not safe’ under BJP-led dispensation at Centre’: Yashwant Sinha

    By PTI

    CHENNAI: Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition nominee for the next month’s Presidential election, on Thursday alleged that any government which believes in the Constitution and secularism and does not believe in Hindutva is not safe in this country.

    Addressing a meeting of DMK and its allies which extended support to him, Sinha said they (BJP) have found a scapegoat to occupy the ‘exalted chair’ of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

    Sinha said, “But what does this show? This shows that this ruling party at the Centre and the government of India have absolutely no respect for the federal structure of our Constitution.”

    They are violating one convention after convention of the Constitution, he alleged.

    “I was listening to the speech of the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and he was constantly talking of Hindutva and he was saying that we brought down this government because it did not believe in Hindutva. Which means that any government which believes in the Constitution, which does not believe in Hindutva but believes in secularism is not safe in this country,” he said.

    “Me agreeing to contest the Presidential election is ‘a continuous struggle’ against the alleged excesses of the Central government and the BJP that runs it. Until 2014, I was heading the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance,” Sinha said and added that it was in sync with the tradition that a person from the Opposition should be helming it.

    “Now, a ruling party member heads that committee. It is another matter that he happens to be my son (Jayant Sinha). But I have no hesitation in saying that this is a wrong practice,” he said.

    Sinha assured that he would strictly uphold the Constitution and its provisions if elected to the office of the President.

    On his arrival at the DMK headquarters ‘Anna Arivalayam’, Sinha was welcomed and taken into the party office by Stalin and he presided over a meet of his party and its allies which extended their support to the former Union Minister.

    While Stalin hailed Sinha as a ‘man of eminence’, MDMK chief and Rajya Sabha member Vaiko said, ‘We all are with you’.

    Leaders of DMK’s alliance parties, including the Congress party’s (legislature party leader) K Selvaperunthagai, spoke assuring whole-hearted support to Sinha.

    Representatives of the Left parties and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi also promised support to Sinha.

  • ‘Money meant for schools, hospitals being used to buy legislators’: AAP on Maharashtra crisis

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: Money meant for establishing schools and hospitals is being used to buy legislators, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi alleged on Thursday, reacting to the current political developments in Maharashtra.

    Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Nagpur, Atishi said that in present-day politics of the country, legislators elected by the people jump from one party to another.

    “You see any state, how the BJP has formed government in Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Manipur. Selling and purchasing of legislators has become a common phenomenon,” the AAP leader claimed.

    “If thousands of crores of rupees are being spent to buy and sell legislators, where is this money coming from? This is public money. The money meant for building schools and hospitals is being used to purchase legislators,” she said.

    Asked about the AAP’s move for the upcoming civic elections in Nagpur, where it has no presence, Atishi pointed out that though the party did not have presence in Delhi, Punjab and Surat (Gujarat), it was successful in each of these elections.

    “People of Nagpur want change from the BJP. They voted for the BJP all these years because they had no alternative. Now they have a choice and the AAP is an alternative which will provide high-quality education and healthcare,” she said.

    The party will contest on all seats on its own to give the Delhi model to the people in the upcoming municipal elections, she said.

    “The AAP has given its first guarantee to the people of Nagpur on June 18 to provide 15,000 litres of pure water free of cost. Today, we are giving them another guarantee, quality education,” Atishi said.

  • Maharashtra crisis: BJP to hold meetings in Mumbai to decide next course of action

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The BJP, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings here on Thursday to decide the future course of action, where party’s state in-charge C T Ravi will remain present, party sources said.

    Ravi, who has arrived in Mumbai on Thursday morning, will attend a meeting at ‘Sagar’ bungalow, the official residence of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis with senior party leaders, including its state chief Chandrakant Patil. The BJP has also asked all of its MLAs to remain in Mumbai city till the next steps are taken, they said.

    Following Thackeray’s resignation on Wednesday night, Chandrakant Patil had said that Fadnavis and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who claims to have the support of 39 rebel Sena legislators and 11 independent MLAs as well as small parties, would decide the next court of action.

    “While BJP has 106 MLAs of its own and support of some 10 independent MLAs, it will have to undertake a lot of deliberations and negotiations for seat sharing formula with rebel Sena MLAs and independents. It will take some time, but a clear picture would emerge by Friday,” Patil had said.

    Thackeray had resigned soon after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor B S Koshyari’s direction to his government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday.

    His resignation capped over a week-long drama of resort politics, where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led Shinde camped in luxury hotels and hopped on chartered jets from Mumbai to Surat and Guwahati, before landing in Goa on Wednesday night. Fadnavis is expected to make a comeback as chief minister after holding the post from 2014 to 2019.

  • Day after Rajasthan ‘beheading’, expelled BJP spokesperson Naveen Jindal claims death threats

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Delhi BJP media head Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his tweet on Prophet Mohammad, on Wednesday demanded security for himself and his family after he allegedly received death threats via e-mails, which also had videos of the Udaipur “beheading” incident.

    Around 6.45 am, I received three e-mails with videos of tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s murder in Udaipur and a threat of similar treatment to me and my family, Jindal said.

    “This is not the first threat. I have received hundreds of threats through social media, phone calls and messages in the past one month but Delhi Police has not strengthened my security cover although I have written half a dozen times to officials, including the commissioner of police,” he said.

    Kumar was expelled from the BJP, where he headed media cell of party’s Delhi unit, while national spokesperson of the party Nupur Sharma was suspended last month, over their remarks on the Prophet.

    “This morning around 6.43 am, I have received 3 emails with a video of brother Kanhaiya Lal’s throat being slit. They (accused) threatened me and my family with such threats. I have informed the Police Control Room,” Jindal tweeted. He also attached screenshots of the alleged e-mail threats.

    Jindal’s Y+ security cover was withdrawn in September last year. He said he has been currently provided with only two policemen although he felt “real danger” after the Udaipur incident.

    “I live with my wife and mother. I have shifted my children to some other place since the threats were issued to me. I have to often go out when I am exposed to any eventuality as only one policeman accompanies me while the other stays back at my house,” he said.

    Two men with a cleaver killed Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur city’s Dhan Mandi area on Tuesday and posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam.

  • Maharashtra crisis: Uddhav Thackeray has lost majority, floor test imperative, says BJP to Governor

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: The delegation of BJP leaders that includes Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshayari on Tuesday and requested to ask the Uddhav Thackeray government to go for the floor test because it has lost the majority.

    The BJP delegations including Devendra Fadnavis, Ashish Shelar, Pravin Darekar, et al met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshayari and conveyed him to call the special session and tell Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray that he has lost the majority and floor test should be called. 

    After meeting with Governor, Devendra Fadnavis said, as per the news in media, it seems Shiv Sena’s 39 MLAs are not happy with Maha Vikas Aghadi and they pulled out from this government. He said after this decision of Sena MLA, the Uddhav Thackeray government is in the minority so he should be asked to floor the majority on the floor of the house.

    “We met the Governor and conveyed to him the current political situation of Maharashtra. Now, he has to take the decisions. We also conveyed that as per various supreme court ruling, he can call the special session,” said Fadnavis.

    Sources said that the Governor will seek the legal opinion and take the decisions over conveying special session of the Maharashtra state assembly. 

    Earlier in the day, Devendra Fadnavis was in Delhi and met Union home minister Amit Shah along with senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani and others leaders to discuss the political situation and further strategy to form the government in Maharashtra. Devendra Fadnavis before meeting to Governor had called senior BJP leaders and discussed various options. Besides, the Eknath Shinde camp also called all Rebelled Sena MLA’s meetings at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati to discuss political developments. Shinde camp discussed whether to leave Mumbai or wait for a few more days till Governor convey the special session.

    Meanwhile, one unsigned letter of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshayari asked Vidhan Bhavan’s secretary to call the special session and ask Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the house on June 30. However, Governor’s office denied such a letter and termed it a fake letter.

    Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday after the cabinet meeting denied stepping down, he said that they will fight the legal battle if BJP brings no-confidence motion against them. 

  • ‘Tripura CM likely to take oath as MLA after presidential election’: Speaker

    Congress's Sudip Roy Barman, who won the Agartala seat, and BJP's Mailna Das (Jubarajnagar) and Swapna Das (Surma) were swron in as MLAs by Speaker Ratan Chakraborty.

  • Will BJP seize the oppurtunity? Fadnavis meets Nadda to discuss Maharashtra crisis

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met BJP president J P Nadda here on Tuesday amid the spiralling political crisis in the state threatening the three-party Maha Vikas Adhadi government’s existence.

    Fadnavis is believed to have briefed Nadda about the unfolding political developments in the western state.

    He arrived in the national capital earlier to discuss the issue with the party’s top brass, with 39 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and at least 10 independent legislators from the state lodged in a five-star hotel in Assam and working on overdrive to bring down the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led government.

    The BJP has denied any role in the rebellion but Fadnavis is being seen to be playing a key role in working out a post-MVA dispensation which he may head with support from the Sena rebels.

    Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Tuesday suggested that the saffron party is waiting for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to declare that they don’t have the numbers.

    He reiterated that the BJP is in a wait-and-watch mode and that it does not need to prove a majority on the floor of the House as of now.

    The political crisis triggered by Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde’s rebellion with a majority of MLAs of his party entered the next phase with the Supreme Court on Monday keeping in abeyance the disqualification proceedings of 16 rebels before the Deputy Speaker till July 11 and also refusing to pass any interim order on the state government’s plea that there should not be any floor test in the Assembly.

    Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Mungantiwar said, “We have decided to wait and watch. Considering the present situation, a core team will be formed in the coming days, which will deliberate on the subject and then a decision will be taken.”

    The former finance minister further said that the BJP does not need to prove the majority as of now.

    “The party is now waiting to see when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will declare that it is in minority (that they lacked numbers in House)”.

    Asked if BJP MLAs from the Vidarbha region will be herded to Mumbai after holding a meeting of legislators in Nagpur, Mungantiwar maintained that he had not come to take the MLAs to Mumbai, and it was an organisational meeting to discuss ways to take welfare schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to people.

    Talking about the Maharashtra crisis, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday said his party was watching the turmoil in the ruling Shiv Sena from a distance.

    The main constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the neighbouring state plunged into disarray on June 21 after senior leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and was now in Guwahati with a sizable number of dissidents.

    “We have no role in the current turmoil in Maharashtra. This (rebellion) is internal strife of the Shiv Sena. We are just standing at a distance and watching it,” Vijayvargiya told reporters.

    Speaking about reports of Sainiks loyal to Thackeray attacking offices of rebel MLAs, he said efforts were being made to create a “West Bengal like situation” in Maharashtra by spreading fear and terror.

    Vijayvargiya, who was one of the key strategists for the BJP for the WB polls, added that people of Maharashtra would not want the state to fall prey to anarchy.

  • Mayawati’s Dalit-Muslim formula helped BJP win Azamgarh easily

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  While Samajwadi Party lost its bastions Rampur and Azamgarh to the BJP, the performance of BSP stands out, indicating that party chief Mayawati succeeded in re-stitching the Dalit-Muslim formula. It made the BJP’s win easy, especially in Azamgarh, where BSP fielded Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali. However, the party did not field its candidate in Rampur, leaving it to be a straight BJP-SP fight.

    An upbeat Mayawati on Monday exhorted her cadre to maintain the fervour with which they worked in Azamgarh for 2024. In the bypolls, winner Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirauhua’ of BJP got 3,12,768 votes while the runner up, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, got 3,04,089 votes. Jamali got a considerable chunk of 2,66,210 votes. The margin of Nirhaua’s win indicates that Jamali garnered a major chunk of Muslim and Dalit votes, reducing Yadav’s tally.

    Hence, while the defeat has put the SP under distress, the BSP is elated at the return of Muslim votes into its kitty. A few months ago, SP had wrested all 10 Assembly segments in Azamgarh, securing 4.35 lakh votes, followed by the BJP which got 3.30 lakh votes and BSP with 2.24 lakh votes. The Muslim consolidation in favour of SP had led to its victory on all seats, while the BSP had got only a small number of Muslim votes.

    As per political experts, Mayawati’s Dalit-Muslim formula led to the rise in BSP’s vote share from 2.24 lakh to 2.66 lakh in the bypoll. However, the vote share of SP dwindled from 4.35 lakh in the Assembly polls to 3.04 lakh in the bypoll.

    “The BSP put up an impressive show dealing a major dent to SP in Azamgarh as it had turned into a battle of local leader versus an outsider. Jamali has a good influence due to his accessibility, irrespective of the caste and religion. Also, the support extended by Rashtriya Ulam Council and AIMIM to Jamali made the fight more difficult for Dharmendra Yadav,” says Prof AK Mishra of the Political Science Department of Lucknow University.

    In Rampur, the BSP didn’t field any candidate against SP’s Asim Raja and BJP candidate Ghanshyam Lodhi. The saffron party got a majority of Dalit votes, and Lodhi defeated the SP candidate by 42,192 votes.

    Three-way fightIn Azamgarh, Mayawati succeeded in re-stitching the Dalit-Muslim formula, making the BJP’s win easy. The BSP did not field its candidate in Rampur, leaving it to be a straight BJP-SP fight