News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Rajya Sabha polls: Papers of Independent candidate rejected; BJP, SP nominees set to get elected unopposed

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The nomination of Independent candidate Mauni Falhari Bapu was rejected for the Rajya Sabha elections on Wednesday while papers of 11 BJP and Samajwadi Party candidates were accepted, paving the way for the unopposed election of nominees of the two parties.

    A statement from the office of Chief Electoral Officer here said that nomination of the Independent candidate Bapu was cancelled during scrutiny.

    It, however, did not mention the reason for the rejection.

    With the rejection of the Independent candidate’s papers, 11 candidates, eight of the BJP and three from SP camp, are left in the fray for as many seats of Parliament falling vacant by July from the state.

    June 3 is the last date for the withdrawal of nomination while June 10 is the poll date if necessary.

    Those who submitted their papers from the ruling BJP are OBC Morcha national president K Laxman, former state party chief Laxmikant Vajpayee, Mithilesh Kumar, Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal, Surendra Singh Nagar, Baburam Nishad, Darshana Singh and Sangeeta Yadav.

    The Samajwadi Party has fielded Javed Ali Khan and supported Independent candidate Kapil Sibal and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhury Among the BJP candidates, Mithilesh Kumar is a former Lok Sabha MP from Shahjahanpur.

    He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

    He is also a two-time MLA from Shahjahanpur’s Powayan Assembly constituency, which he had won once as an independent and later on the Samajwadi Party ticket.

    K Laxman is the national president of the BJP’s OBC Morcha.

    He was also the former president of BJP’s Telangana unit.

    Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal, a former party MLA, had vacated the Gorakhpur Urban Assembly seat for Yogi Adityanath.

    Laxmikant Vajpayee is a former state unit chief and Surendra Nagar is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP.

    Bauburam Nishad is the chairman of UP Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.

    With 273 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the BJP-led alliance will easily be able to get eight members elected to the Upper House of Parliament while the SP and its allies (RLD and SBSP), with a strength of 125 legislators, will be able to ensure the victory of three candidates.

    Uttar Pradesh sends 31 members to the Rajya Sabha.

    The BJP has selected its nominees keeping in mind the social equation with an eye on the 2024 General Election.

  • Will abide by the party’s instructions: BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A day after being cautioned by the central leadership, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said he will abide by instructions from the party leadership.

    Taking exception to Ghosh’s “critical” comments against the party’s state unit, the BJP top brass warned him against speaking out as he had done in the past.

    “I will abide by the party’s instructions,” Ghosh told reporters.

    He, however, maintained that he would take up the matter with the leadership on how confidential party communication was leaked to the media even before it reached him.

    Ghosh among other things had urged the state president Sukanta Majumdar to take everybody along besides speaking of Majumdar’s inexperience as a leader.

    This saw BJP national general secretary Arun Singh cautioning Ghosh on speaking against party leaders in public forums in a strongly-worded letter.

    Maintaining that the letter has been issued on the instructions of BJP president JP Nadda, Singh said he wished to convey the party’s deep anguish and concern at the issuance of such statements and “advise you (Ghosh) to always refrain from going to the media or any public fora about your own colleagues either in the state of West Bengal or anywhere else”.

  • BJP workers seek FIR against Deepali Sayed for ‘derogatory’ language against PM Narendra Modi

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: Women workers of BJP on Wednesday filed a complaint with Nagpur Police seeking action against Shiv Sena leader and actress Deepali Sayed for allegedly using derogatory language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Sitabuldi police station inspector Atul Sabnis said the complaint was sent for a legal opinion.

    A group of 40-50 women workers of BJP, led by the party general secretary of the women cell Ashwani Jichkar, submitted a written complaint this afternoon.

    They cited a viral video clip of Sayed criticising the prime minister after BJP’s Kirit Somaiya had slammed Maharashtra chief minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

  • If charges are wrong then get them quashed from courts: BJP chief JP Nadda on ED summoning Sonia, Rahul

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summonses to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for questioning in a money-laundering case, BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday said an honest person moves court to get the charges quashed.

    “Have you ever heard any criminal saying that he is dishonest? No criminal ever says that he is dishonest. Even after being punished and spending years in prison, they (criminals) say they were framed,” Nadda told a press conference when asked if the ED summoned Sonia and Rahul in the National Herald case to harass them.

    “The man who is standing in a witness box and on bail…why can’t they get the charges removed. They are not doing so because papers against them were true and papers are permanent and they are forcing him (the person in the witness box) to stand there,” Nadda said.

    It is like your face is not good and you are cleaning the mirror, he said.

    “It is a corruption case and courts are looking into it. Why should I comment? But I feel that if a chargesheet is filed against you, then you move the court to get it quashed as you are an honest person. Those who are not honest, they secure bail and use other provisions,” Nadda said when asked to comment on the ED summoning Sonia and Rahul.

    The ED has summoned the Congress president and her MP son Rahul Gandhi for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said.

    While Sonia Gandhi (75) has been asked to depose before the federal agency at its headquarters in central Delhi on June 8, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to appear on Thursday (June 2).

  • KK’s demise: BJP alleges lapses from Mamata government; Trinamool hits back

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The demise of Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, in Kolkata kicked off a political debate on Wednesday with the opposition BJP blaming the West Bengal administration for lapses and demanding an impartial probe, drawing a sharp retort from the ruling TMC which asked the saffron camp not to politicise death.

    KK performed at a concert organised by Gurudas College at Nazrul Mancha in south Kolkata on Tuesday evening.

    He was “feeling uneasy” after reaching his hotel and collapsed soon after, officials said.

    The singer was taken to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead on Tuesday night.

    “There should be an impartial investigation into the incident as there was a complete lapse on the part of the administration to ensure proper security arrangements.”

    “Around 7,000 people were reportedly present at the venue of the programme where the seating capacity was around 3,000 people. He was mobbed there, which means security arrangements were not in place for a VIP,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    Reacting sharply to his comments, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the BJP should stop its “vulture politics” and should not politicise an unfortunate incident.

    “His death is really unfortunate, and all of us are really sad about it. But what the BJP is doing is not at all expected. The saffron camp should stop its vulture brand of politics. They should stop politicising death. We won’t be astonished if BJP starts claiming that KK was their party leader,” he said.

    Ghosh said the administration is taking all measures and an investigation is underway.

    An initial probe has revealed that the 53-year-old singer, who was on a two-day tour to Kolkata to perform at two college programmes, was “almost mobbed” by fan followers at the hotel where he had returned after performing at Nazrul Mancha auditorium in the southern part of the city, officials said.

    A post-mortem examination will be conducted during the day to ascertain the exact cause of his death.

  • BJP announces 22 candidates for Rajya Sabha polls; to support 2 Independents

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP has announced 22 candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls and the party has decided to support one Independent candidate each from Rajasthan and Haryana.

    Though the party’s list of Rajya Sabha candidates includes the names of Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, some other prominent names such as that of minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and senior leaders Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and OP Mathur were missing.

    Senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar’s name was earlier wrongly mentioned among those missing from the list.

    His current Rajya Sabha tenure is till 2024.

    The BJP has fielded eight candidates from Uttar Pradesh, three each from Maharashtra and Karnataka, two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and one each from Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Haryana.

    The saffron party will support two Independent candidates – Subhash Chandra from Rajasthan and Kartikeya Sharma from Haryana.

    Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje met Chandra in the Assembly lobby earlier in the day.

    His tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana will end on August 1.

    On the other hand, BJP’s ally Jannayak Janata Party has also announced its support for Sharma’s candidature.

  • BJP seeks resignation of Kejriwal, Satyendar Jain after AAP minister’s arrest in money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and health minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case, alleging that the AAP chief’s stand on the issue shows that he not only condones corruption but is also involved in it.

    BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also rejected the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegation of “political vendetta” and that Jain’s arrest was linked to upcoming polls in Himachal Pradesh.

    No court has quashed any proceedings of central agencies in a corruption case, he asserted.

    ALSO READ | Satyendar Jain arrested in ‘fake’ case as BJP is afraid of losing Himachal polls: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia

    The BJP government at the Centre has zero-tolerance against corruption and will continue to target graft, Bhatia said, adding that polls keep taking place in the country, and probe agencies cannot be asked to step back from acting despite evidence because of elections.

    Both Kejriwal and Jain should resign, he said at a press conference, alleging the health minister had been acting at the behest of the AAP supremo. It is clear that Kejriwal has been left with no morality, he claimed.

    Noting that former Punjab health minister Vijay Singla was also arrested in a corruption case recently, Bhatia alleged that the AAP has maintained a “100 per cent corruption” record.

    The allegations of money laundering against Jain are serious, Bhatia said and noted that he had so far got no relief from any court.

    Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with a money laundering case.

  • Exaggeration about party’s strength in grassroots: Bengal BJP on radar of top brass 

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Following the completion of an internal survey to gauge the organisation’s strength in booth level before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP high command came down heavily on BJP’s Bengal chapter for submitting exaggerated report on party’s strength in the grassroots.

    In the internal survey, the central leadership found booth committees do not exist at many places though it was mentioned in the state unit’s report that was placed ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections in the state.

    The BJP’s Bengal unit has now been asked to take certain steps to cross-check the report again. 

    Meanwhile, BJP’s West Bengal unit general secretary Agnimitra Paul, who had unsuccessfully contested the recent Asansol Lok Sabha bypoll, on Monday said the role of party leaders who were in charge of the by-election should be looked into.

    Her comment came at a time when the saffron camp in the state is witnessing infighting among its leaders.

    Paul suffered a humiliating defeat to TMC candidate and Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha who won the bypoll by a margin of over 3,00,000 votes.

    She apparently hinted at party leader Jitendra Tiwari, who had switched over to the saffron camp from the TMC ahead of the 2019 assembly elections, and said it is for the BJP leadership to look into the role of those who were in charge of the by-election as the next Lok Sabha elections are just two years away.

    “I want to know what our workers were doing as we were confident of winning the seat by a margin of at least 30,000-40,000 votes. But the result was terrible. Yes, it is true there was rigging. At many places, we were unable to field booth agents. The role of such leaders needs to be looked into by the party. The next Lok Sabha elections are just two years away,” Paul told reporters.

    Reacting to her comments, Tiwari said one should express one’s view in the party forum.

    “She could have asked me instead of making such statements in the media. All of us should air voices in the party forum,” he said.

    The BJP in the state has been fighting hard to keep its flock together after former union minister Babul Supriyo and five legislators, including its national vice president Mukul Roy, switched over to the ruling TMC since the assembly poll results were announced in May last year.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • BJP announces 4 more candidates for RS polls, fields party’s OBC wing head K Laxman from Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday announced four more candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.

    The BJP’s OBC wing chief K Laxman has been fielded from Uttar Pradesh, Sumitra Valmiki from Madhya Pradesh, Lal Singh Sirhoya from Karnataka and Mithilesh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, according to a statement issued by the party.

    With this, the BJP has announced a total of 22 candidates for the election on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from various states.

    The BJP had on Sunday announced 18 candidates for the polls.

    Names of some prominent BJP leaders, including Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Prakash Javadekar and O P Mathur, were missing from the list.

  • HP: Champawat goes to polls on Tuesday to decide fate of Dhami as CM

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: Bypoll for the Champawat assembly seat in Uttarakhand will be held on Tuesday deciding the fate of four candidates, including Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s, whose continuance in office depends on its result.

    Although he steered the party to a big victory in Uttarakhand assembly polls in February, Dhami had lost from Khatima – a seat he had won twice since 2012. His defeat was attributed by political analysts to his inability to focus on his own constituency, as he was preoccupied with the party’s overall performance as its chief ministerial face.

    Dhami must win from Champawat to make it to the state assembly as an MLA – a constitutional requirement for him to remain a CM. The seat had gone to the BJP in the state assembly polls. When the party made him chief minister once again despite his loss, Champawat’s sitting MLA Kailash Gehtori was the first to offer to vacate his seat for him.

    Keeping his word, he resigned as an MLA from Champawat on April 21 to pave the way for the chief minister to make a fresh bid for the state assembly.

    The BJP, which won the state polls for a second term in a row with a two-thirds majority, is sure of Dhami’s victory with a record margin. Its optimism is hinged on the young chief minister’s popularity, as well as the past trend, according to which chief ministers in Uttarakhand have never lost a bypoll.

    Former chief minister ND Tiwari, for instance, had won comfortably from Ramnagar in a bypoll in 2002.

    Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri had won it from Dhumakot in 2007, Vijay Bahuguna from Sitarganj in 2012, and Harish Rawat from Dharchula in 2014.

    “The Chief Minister is sure to win by a historic margin. The Congress is nowhere in contest. It is going to be a one-sided affair. People are going to vote for development and the young and dynamic leadership of Dhami,” Pradesh BJP vice president Devendra Bhasin said.

    “We are confident of a big victory in Champawat. Congress will lose its deposits,” Pradesh BJP spokesman Shadab Shams, who offered a Chadar in Piran Kaliyar Sharief praying for Dhami’s victory, told PTI.

    “People in Champawat are wise enough to understand that the bypoll is for the election of a chief minister, not only an MLA,” he said.

    Though starting with an advantage, Dhami reportedly worked very hard during campaigning in Champawat, holding a slew of public meetings and road shows along with Gehtori.

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was the most prominent among the party’s star campaigners to canvass for Dhami.

    Yogi had held a road show and addressed a public meeting in Tanakpur with Dhami sharing the stage. He appealed to voters in Champawat to vote overwhelmingly for Dhami, who is still relatively younger at 46 among his other state counterparts.

    Yogi asked the public to see the bypoll as an opportunity to elect a CM, not just an MLA.

    “Don’t waste this chance of electing a CM who has come to the people of Champawat for the first time after it became a district in 1997,”   he had said.

    Congress’ lack of enthusiasm during campaigning has been evident with no big leader of the party canvassing for the party candidate, except Harish Rawat, who is optimistic about the party giving a tough fight to Dhami.

    Dhami is pitted against Congress’ former district president Nirmala Gehtori in a straight contest.

    Two others in the fray are Samajwadi Party’s Manoj Kumar Bhatt and Independent candidate Himashu Gadkoti. A total of 96,213 voters will cast their votes in the bypoll scheduled to begin at 8 am on Tuesday.