News Analysis India

Tag: Election

  • Upcoming civic polls to be multi-cornered contest in Uttar Pradesh 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: All the mainstream political parties of Uttar Pradesh namely the ruling BJP, Samjwadi Party (SP), Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have got into poll mode for the urban local body polls due this year end. The UP civic polls are being witnessed as the semi-final before the big battle of 2024.

    However, the BJP and SP have to go through another litmus test at the bypoll to three crucial seats—Mainpuri Lok Sabha, Rampur and Khatauli Assembly segments – in the first week of December before going into the civic polls.

    All the mainstream parties are gearing up to field the candidates in civic polls on their respective party symbols. While the ruling BJP, SP and Congress have started the process of identifying the probables by appointing in-charges in different districts, smaller players like Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)of OP Rajbhar and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party -Lohia of Shivpal Yadav are also getting ready to register their presence. Even Aam Admi Party (AAP), which had contested the UP Assembly polls-2022 on all seats and lost the deposit on all – is also preparing to fight the civic polls with might.

    At present, the delimitation process of municipal wards is going on a war footing and completed in 53 districts of the state till Saturday. In rest 22 districts, the process is on with the urban development department giving final touches to the proposals received from those districts. This will lead to theissuance of notification for the civic polls.

    As per the highly placed sources in BJP, the ruling party would contest the civic polls with a new strategy by fielding or supporting Muslim candidates in wards dominated by a population of minority communities. “The party is weighing both the options of extending support or fielding candidates on party symbol,” said a senior party leader.

    The sources claimed that the BJP’s game plan is to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims in civic polls and win them over for Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The BJP, recently, has been quite vocal over the issues of Pasmanda Muslims who are believed to be lagging behind in terms of development in the community.

    However, the main opposition Samajwadi Party is gearing up to contest the civic polls in alliance with its tried and tested partner Jayant Chaudhury-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Both parties will field the candidates in coordination with each other. A committee has been set up on the instructions of SPchief Akhilesh Yadav. This committee comprises of senior SP and RLD leaders like Shahid Manjoor, ex-MLA Sanjay Garg, Prof Sudhir Panwar, SP MLAs Atul Pradhan and Pankaj Malik, ex-MLC Rakesh Yadav and Shokindra Tomar.  The panel has the mandate to select the alliance candidates in western UP and other districts across the state.

    However, Shivpal Yadav has already made an announcement to go it alone in civic polls. The rift between Shivpal and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav has been out in open since 2022 UP Assembly elections. Shivpal had parted ways with Akhilesh a couple of months back and was suggested by Akhilesh to focus on his own party- PSPL.

    On the other, the Congress party, which got a new state chief in Brijlal Khabri a month ago, is also preparing for the upcoming civic polls. Although the UPCC has yet to get its new executive committee, it has cautiously kept away from the upcoming Mainpuri, Rampur and Khatauli bypolls. The sources claimed that since the party was focusing on civic polls, it decided not to contest the bypoll.

    Meanwhile,  BSP’s preparations for civic polls are going on in full swing. Party chief Mayawati has entrusted the district committees with the task of screening candidates. The committee will forward three names for each post of the corporator in Nagar Nigams as well as members of Nagar Palika Parishads and Nagar Panchayats to the sector in charge of final selection.

    The candidate’s winnability is the main criterion for selection. The candidates aspiring to contest the election have been directed to submit their biodata to the district committee. The candidates for mayoral and chairpersons posts will be finalised by the party’s central committee, said a BSP leader.

    According to senior BSP leader Akhilesh Ambedkar, meetings to review preparations for urban local bodies election are being held in each division across Uttar Pradesh.

    LUCKNOW: All the mainstream political parties of Uttar Pradesh namely the ruling BJP, Samjwadi Party (SP), Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have got into poll mode for the urban local body polls due this year end. The UP civic polls are being witnessed as the semi-final before the big battle of 2024.

    However, the BJP and SP have to go through another litmus test at the bypoll to three crucial seats—Mainpuri Lok Sabha, Rampur and Khatauli Assembly segments – in the first week of December before going into the civic polls.

    All the mainstream parties are gearing up to field the candidates in civic polls on their respective party symbols. While the ruling BJP, SP and Congress have started the process of identifying the probables by appointing in-charges in different districts, smaller players like Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)
    of OP Rajbhar and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party -Lohia of Shivpal Yadav are also getting ready to register their presence. Even Aam Admi Party (AAP), which had contested the UP Assembly polls-2022 on all seats and lost the deposit on all – is also preparing to fight the civic polls with might.

    At present, the delimitation process of municipal wards is going on a war footing and completed in 53 districts of the state till Saturday. In rest 22 districts, the process is on with the urban development department giving final touches to the proposals received from those districts. This will lead to the
    issuance of notification for the civic polls.

    As per the highly placed sources in BJP, the ruling party would contest the civic polls with a new strategy by fielding or supporting Muslim candidates in wards dominated by a population of minority communities. “The party is weighing both the options of extending support or fielding candidates on party symbol,” said a senior party leader.

    The sources claimed that the BJP’s game plan is to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims in civic polls and win them over for Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The BJP, recently, has been quite vocal over the issues of Pasmanda Muslims who are believed to be lagging behind in terms of development in the community.

    However, the main opposition Samajwadi Party is gearing up to contest the civic polls in alliance with its tried and tested partner Jayant Chaudhury-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Both parties will field the candidates in coordination with each other. A committee has been set up on the instructions of SP
    chief Akhilesh Yadav. This committee comprises of senior SP and RLD leaders like Shahid Manjoor, ex-MLA Sanjay Garg, Prof Sudhir Panwar, SP MLAs Atul Pradhan and Pankaj Malik, ex-MLC Rakesh Yadav and Shokindra Tomar.  The panel has the mandate to select the alliance candidates in western UP and other districts across the state.

    However, Shivpal Yadav has already made an announcement to go it alone in civic polls. The rift between Shivpal and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav has been out in open since 2022 UP Assembly elections. Shivpal had parted ways with Akhilesh a couple of months back and was suggested by Akhilesh to focus on his own party- PSPL.

    On the other, the Congress party, which got a new state chief in Brijlal Khabri a month ago, is also preparing for the upcoming civic polls. Although the UPCC has yet to get its new executive committee, it has cautiously kept away from the upcoming Mainpuri, Rampur and Khatauli bypolls. The sources claimed that since the party was focusing on civic polls, it decided not to contest the bypoll.

    Meanwhile,  BSP’s preparations for civic polls are going on in full swing. Party chief Mayawati has entrusted the district committees with the task of screening candidates. The committee will forward three names for each post of the corporator in Nagar Nigams as well as members of Nagar Palika Parishads and Nagar Panchayats to the sector in charge of final selection.

    The candidate’s winnability is the main criterion for selection. The candidates aspiring to contest the election have been directed to submit their biodata to the district committee. The candidates for mayoral and chairpersons posts will be finalised by the party’s central committee, said a BSP leader.

    According to senior BSP leader Akhilesh Ambedkar, meetings to review preparations for urban local bodies election are being held in each division across Uttar Pradesh.

  • Himachal Assembly polls: Political fate of 412 candidates to be sealed today

    By ANI

    SHIMLA: The day for the electorate to decide the political fate of the leaders across parties in Himachal Pradesh has arrived with the polling for the assembly elections all set to begin at 8 am on Saturday. 

    The high-voltage political campaigns came to an end on November 10, setting up the stage for the voters to cast their vote to elect the new government. The voting will go on till 5 pm today. The votes will be counted on December 8.  

    Voting is all set to take place on all the 68 Assembly seats of the state, the majority of which (44) had come in the BJP’s bag in the 2017 Assembly polls, with Congress being restricted to just 21 seats.

    The voters need to carry their Electors’ Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and show it at the polling booth. They may also carry one ID beside their photo voter slips.

    According to the Election Commission, a total of 55,92,828 electors of which 27,37,845 are women, 28,54,945 men and 38 were third-gender, will decide the faith of 412 candidates. This time, the representation of woman candidates is 24.

    The state, which has seen the power alternate between the BJP and Congress over the past several elections, will go to the polls on Saturday. While the BJP has expressed confidence in returning to power on the basis of the performance of state and central governments and its vision for the state, the Congress is hoping that some of its electoral promises will be a major draw among the electorate.

    Aam Adami Party (AAP) too hopes to create a mark in the state and is contesting on all 68 seats.

    Besides these three parties, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party (RDP) are in the fray.

    BJP brought star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also campaigned in the hill state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit the ground along with other top leaders of the party including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

    Today’s polls also carry much significance for JP Nadda since Himachal Pradesh is his native state.

    According to Election Commission, a total of 7,881 polling stations have been set up for the polls. The Kangra district has a maximum of 1,625 polling stations while the Lahaul-Spiti district has the lowest 92. There are 7,235 polling stations in rural and 646 polling stations in urban areas. Besides, three auxiliary polling stations will also be set up at Sidhbari (Dharamshala), Bara Bhangal (Baijnath) and Dhillon (Kasauli).

    The key constituencies include Seraj from where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is contesting again. Congress has put up Chetram Thakur who had contested from the seat last time also. Mahinder Rana is the CPI-M candidate.

    Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri is contesting his fifth election from the Haroli assembly segment in the Una district. BJP has pitted state spokesperson Ram Kumar against him.

    Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, seen as a chief ministerial aspirant, is contesting from Nadaun. The BJP has fielded Vijay Agnihotri.

    Former Himachal Minister and Congress leader Asha Kumari is contesting from Dalhousie. She is pitted against BJP’s DS Thakur and AAP’s Manish Sareen.

    Senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur is again fighting from his traditional seat of Darang against BJP’s Puran Chand Thakur and AAP candidate Sunita Thakur.

    Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is recontesting from Shimla rural. BJP has fielded Ravi Mehta from the seat.

    In Shimla Urban, Congress’ Harish Janartha is taking on BJP’s ‘chaiwala’ candidate Sanjay Sood. AAP’s Chaman Rakesh Ajta and CPI-M’s Tikender Singh Pawar are also in the fray.

    In Nurpur, BJP has fielded a new candidate Ranveer Singh who is fighting against Ajay Mahajan of Congress and Manishi Kumari from AAP.

    Bhawani Paathania, who won the recent by-election from Fatehpur, is fighting against BJP minister and candidate Rakesh Pathania. AAP has fielded former Himachal minister Rajan Sushant.

    In Nagrota, Congress candidate RS Bali is fighting against BJP candidate Arun Kumar Mehra and APP candidate Umakant Dogra.

    Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Vipin Parmar is fighting from Sulah against Jagdish Sapheia and AAP candidate Ravinder Singh.

    In Sujanpur, Congress has again fielded Rajinder Singh Rana who defeated former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 elections. BJP has fielded Ranjit Singh from the seat and AAP has fielded Anil Rana.

    Dr Janak Raj of BJP is taking on senior Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmauri from Bharmaur. AAP has fielded Prakash Chand Bharadwaj.

    In Jubbal Kotkhai, the Congress has fielded sitting MLA Rohit Thakur. He is fighting against Chetan Singh Bragta of the BJP. CPI-M has fielded Vishal Shangta and Shrikant Chauhan is an AAP candidate.

    Former Congress state chief Kuldeep Rathore is pitted against CPI-M’s Rakesh Singha, BJP’s Ajay Shyam and AAP’s Attar Singh.

    Minister Suresh Bhardwaj was shifted from Shimla to Kasumpti. Congress candidate Anirudh Singh and CPI-M candidate Kuldeep Singh Tanwar are also in the fray. (ANI)

    Meanwhile, 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprising 6,700 personnel and 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies have been deployed to hold free and fair Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.

    Besides this, 50,000 government employees have been put on poll duty. As many as 25,000 police officers are also stationed across the state.

    Teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) comprising 800 personnel have also been posted.

    In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats. 

    SHIMLA: The day for the electorate to decide the political fate of the leaders across parties in Himachal Pradesh has arrived with the polling for the assembly elections all set to begin at 8 am on Saturday. 

    The high-voltage political campaigns came to an end on November 10, setting up the stage for the voters to cast their vote to elect the new government. The voting will go on till 5 pm today. The votes will be counted on December 8.  

    Voting is all set to take place on all the 68 Assembly seats of the state, the majority of which (44) had come in the BJP’s bag in the 2017 Assembly polls, with Congress being restricted to just 21 seats.

    The voters need to carry their Electors’ Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and show it at the polling booth. They may also carry one ID beside their photo voter slips.

    According to the Election Commission, a total of 55,92,828 electors of which 27,37,845 are women, 28,54,945 men and 38 were third-gender, will decide the faith of 412 candidates. This time, the representation of woman candidates is 24.

    The state, which has seen the power alternate between the BJP and Congress over the past several elections, will go to the polls on Saturday. While the BJP has expressed confidence in returning to power on the basis of the performance of state and central governments and its vision for the state, the Congress is hoping that some of its electoral promises will be a major draw among the electorate.

    Aam Adami Party (AAP) too hopes to create a mark in the state and is contesting on all 68 seats.

    Besides these three parties, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party (RDP) are in the fray.

    BJP brought star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also campaigned in the hill state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit the ground along with other top leaders of the party including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

    Today’s polls also carry much significance for JP Nadda since Himachal Pradesh is his native state.

    According to Election Commission, a total of 7,881 polling stations have been set up for the polls. The Kangra district has a maximum of 1,625 polling stations while the Lahaul-Spiti district has the lowest 92. There are 7,235 polling stations in rural and 646 polling stations in urban areas. Besides, three auxiliary polling stations will also be set up at Sidhbari (Dharamshala), Bara Bhangal (Baijnath) and Dhillon (Kasauli).

    The key constituencies include Seraj from where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is contesting again. Congress has put up Chetram Thakur who had contested from the seat last time also. Mahinder Rana is the CPI-M candidate.

    Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri is contesting his fifth election from the Haroli assembly segment in the Una district. BJP has pitted state spokesperson Ram Kumar against him.

    Former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, seen as a chief ministerial aspirant, is contesting from Nadaun. The BJP has fielded Vijay Agnihotri.

    Former Himachal Minister and Congress leader Asha Kumari is contesting from Dalhousie. She is pitted against BJP’s DS Thakur and AAP’s Manish Sareen.

    Senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur is again fighting from his traditional seat of Darang against BJP’s Puran Chand Thakur and AAP candidate Sunita Thakur.

    Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is recontesting from Shimla rural. BJP has fielded Ravi Mehta from the seat.

    In Shimla Urban, Congress’ Harish Janartha is taking on BJP’s ‘chaiwala’ candidate Sanjay Sood. AAP’s Chaman Rakesh Ajta and CPI-M’s Tikender Singh Pawar are also in the fray.

    In Nurpur, BJP has fielded a new candidate Ranveer Singh who is fighting against Ajay Mahajan of Congress and Manishi Kumari from AAP.

    Bhawani Paathania, who won the recent by-election from Fatehpur, is fighting against BJP minister and candidate Rakesh Pathania. AAP has fielded former Himachal minister Rajan Sushant.

    In Nagrota, Congress candidate RS Bali is fighting against BJP candidate Arun Kumar Mehra and APP candidate Umakant Dogra.

    Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Vipin Parmar is fighting from Sulah against Jagdish Sapheia and AAP candidate Ravinder Singh.

    In Sujanpur, Congress has again fielded Rajinder Singh Rana who defeated former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 elections. BJP has fielded Ranjit Singh from the seat and AAP has fielded Anil Rana.

    Dr Janak Raj of BJP is taking on senior Congress leader Thakur Singh Bharmauri from Bharmaur. AAP has fielded Prakash Chand Bharadwaj.

    In Jubbal Kotkhai, the Congress has fielded sitting MLA Rohit Thakur. He is fighting against Chetan Singh Bragta of the BJP. CPI-M has fielded Vishal Shangta and Shrikant Chauhan is an AAP candidate.

    Former Congress state chief Kuldeep Rathore is pitted against CPI-M’s Rakesh Singha, BJP’s Ajay Shyam and AAP’s Attar Singh.

    Minister Suresh Bhardwaj was shifted from Shimla to Kasumpti. Congress candidate Anirudh Singh and CPI-M candidate Kuldeep Singh Tanwar are also in the fray. (ANI)

    Meanwhile, 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprising 6,700 personnel and 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies have been deployed to hold free and fair Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.

    Besides this, 50,000 government employees have been put on poll duty. As many as 25,000 police officers are also stationed across the state.

    Teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) comprising 800 personnel have also been posted.

    In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats. 

  • EC declares 2-phase Gujarat poll dates, counting on December 8

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases. The polling for 89 seats under the first phase will take place on December 1 and voting for the remaining 93 seats is scheduled on December 5, announced Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday. The counting of votes will be on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh.

    On October 14, the Election Commission (EC) declared the date for elections in Himachal but didn’t announce Gujarat election schedule. Dismissing the criticism for intentionally delaying the poll announcement for Gujarat, allowing the ruling BJP to roll out more welfare schemes before the model code of conduct comes into effect, Kumar stated that the Commission had to take multiple factors into consideration including weather, last date of the term of the assembly and the number of days the model code of conduct should be in force.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been visiting Gujarat to unveil a slew of schemes and lay the foundation for various projects ahead of the polls. The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on February 18, 2023 and the elections have been announced 110 days in advance, Kumar said. 

    “Delay is also because of the recent unfortunate incident (Morbi bridge collapse). There was state mourning in the state till Wednesday and there are also multiple factors,” Kumar added. The notification for the assembly elections will be issued on November 5 and November 10 for the first and the second phases respectively.

    The last date for filing of nominations will be November 14 and November 17 for the first and second phase respectively. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 15 and November 18. The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase is November 17 and for the second phase it is November 21. These elections along with a few more in other states in  2023 are being seen as crucial in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    NEW DELHI: The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases. The polling for 89 seats under the first phase will take place on December 1 and voting for the remaining 93 seats is scheduled on December 5, announced Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday. The counting of votes will be on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh.

    On October 14, the Election Commission (EC) declared the date for elections in Himachal but didn’t announce Gujarat election schedule. Dismissing the criticism for intentionally delaying the poll announcement for Gujarat, allowing the ruling BJP to roll out more welfare schemes before the model code of conduct comes into effect, Kumar stated that the Commission had to take multiple factors into consideration including weather, last date of the term of the assembly and the number of days the model code of conduct should be in force.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been visiting Gujarat to unveil a slew of schemes and lay the foundation for various projects ahead of the polls. The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on February 18, 2023 and the elections have been announced 110 days in advance, Kumar said. 

    “Delay is also because of the recent unfortunate incident (Morbi bridge collapse). There was state mourning in the state till Wednesday and there are also multiple factors,” Kumar added. The notification for the assembly elections will be issued on November 5 and November 10 for the first and the second phases respectively.

    The last date for filing of nominations will be November 14 and November 17 for the first and second phase respectively. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 15 and November 18. The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase is November 17 and for the second phase it is November 21. These elections along with a few more in other states in  2023 are being seen as crucial in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

  • HC stays Rajasthan Cricket Association election

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday stayed the state cricket association election in which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot was in the fray for the post of president.

    A single judge bench of the high court presided by Justice Mahendra Goyal passed the order on a petition filed by District Cricket Associations (DCAs) of Dausa, Nagaur, Sriganganagar and Alwar.

    The election of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) was scheduled to be held on Friday (September 30).

    It was alleged in the writ petition that the election officer of the RCA, Ram Lubhaya, is a retired IAS officer who is not an “independent” person.

    The counsel appearing for the DCAs argued that Lubhaya was in the active engagement of the state of Rajasthan and was working under the chief minister whose son Vaibhav Gehlot is not only outgoing president of RCA but is also contesting for the same post again.

    It was alleged that in March this year, Lubhaya was appointed chairman of a high-powered committee for delimitation of the districts in Rajasthan for a period of six months and subsequently as an election officer on September 8 this month.

    Later the state government extended his term in the committee up to 2023 only on September 13 to “influence” the elections of RCA.

    The petition alleged that the election officer is not a “fair and independent” person, as contemplated by the Supreme Court while approving Justice (retd) Lodha Committee report in 2016 in the matter of BCCI.

    It was argued by the RCA counsel that if mere father is the criteria to say that elections are being influenced then Jay Shah is secretary of BCCI and his father is Union home minister, thus it cannot be said that even BCCI is reeling under political pressure.

    The court brushed aside the contentions of RCA and proceeded to stay the election scheduled to be held on Friday. The matter will now be heard on Friday which is the last working day before the break. The court will reopen on October 10.

    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday stayed the state cricket association election in which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot was in the fray for the post of president.

    A single judge bench of the high court presided by Justice Mahendra Goyal passed the order on a petition filed by District Cricket Associations (DCAs) of Dausa, Nagaur, Sriganganagar and Alwar.

    The election of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) was scheduled to be held on Friday (September 30).

    It was alleged in the writ petition that the election officer of the RCA, Ram Lubhaya, is a retired IAS officer who is not an “independent” person.

    The counsel appearing for the DCAs argued that Lubhaya was in the active engagement of the state of Rajasthan and was working under the chief minister whose son Vaibhav Gehlot is not only outgoing president of RCA but is also contesting for the same post again.

    It was alleged that in March this year, Lubhaya was appointed chairman of a high-powered committee for delimitation of the districts in Rajasthan for a period of six months and subsequently as an election officer on September 8 this month.

    Later the state government extended his term in the committee up to 2023 only on September 13 to “influence” the elections of RCA.

    The petition alleged that the election officer is not a “fair and independent” person, as contemplated by the Supreme Court while approving Justice (retd) Lodha Committee report in 2016 in the matter of BCCI.

    It was argued by the RCA counsel that if mere father is the criteria to say that elections are being influenced then Jay Shah is secretary of BCCI and his father is Union home minister, thus it cannot be said that even BCCI is reeling under political pressure.

    The court brushed aside the contentions of RCA and proceeded to stay the election scheduled to be held on Friday. The matter will now be heard on Friday which is the last working day before the break. The court will reopen on October 10.

  • BJP announces state in charges, Tawde in Bihar and Mangal Pandey in Bengal

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Friday appointed in charge of various states and union territories including poll-bound states like Tripura and Telangana.

    Vinod Tawde has been appointed as General Secretary in Bihar, while Harish Dwivedi continues to be the co-in-charge.

    Om Mathur who had been recently appointed to the Parliamentary board has been made in charge of Chhattisgarh.

    Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has been given an organisational responsibility and made in-charge of Haryana.

    Vinod Sonkar who was in charge of Tripura, which goes into election next year, has been replaced by former union minister and Noida MP Dr Mahesh Sharma.

    Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also been given organisational responsibilities in Punjab and Chandigarh. National General Secretary Tarun Chugh continues to be in charge of Telangana.

    Bengal has found a new in charge in the form of Bihar MLC Mangal Pandey whereas Amit Malviya continues to be the co-in charge.

    Kerala has a new in charge in the form of former union minister Prakash Javadekar. General secretary Arun Singh also continues to be in charge of Rajasthan.

    National general secretary Dilip Saikia has been replaced by Laxmi Kant Bajpai in Jharkhand. Recently Bajpai was brought to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and has also been made the chief whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha

    Sources aware of the development say that these appointments have been made keeping in mind various combinations of caste and keeping people who have previously held positions of power engaged in organisational work.

    The year 2023 will be full of electoral battles in which states like Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland are going to the polls in the first part of the year. The mid-year will be the Karnataka assembly elections.

    While the BJP is in power in the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland in alliance with NDA partners, the party which stunned everyone with the Tripura elections in 2018 is looking at a repeat term.

    Amid the backlash that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has been facing recently, Karnataka will be a stiff challenge for BJP.

    It is already known that the mother of all battles will be Telangana, where the BJP is pitted against the ruling TRS party and the party has been constantly making its presence felt on the ground.

    While the BJP continues to be in power in Madhya Pradesh with Shivraj Singh Chauhan at the head, it will be a stiff challenge for them to come back to power in the states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan which they lost in the last election.

    Incidentally, former Rajasthan chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Chhattisgarh CM Dr Raman Singh continue to be the most powerful and strong faces.

    BJP national spokesperson Sumit Batra has been entrusted with the responsibility of being the coordinator for the north-east region.

    NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Friday appointed in charge of various states and union territories including poll-bound states like Tripura and Telangana.

    Vinod Tawde has been appointed as General Secretary in Bihar, while Harish Dwivedi continues to be the co-in-charge.

    Om Mathur who had been recently appointed to the Parliamentary board has been made in charge of Chhattisgarh.

    Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has been given an organisational responsibility and made in-charge of Haryana.

    Vinod Sonkar who was in charge of Tripura, which goes into election next year, has been replaced by former union minister and Noida MP Dr Mahesh Sharma.

    Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also been given organisational responsibilities in Punjab and Chandigarh. National General Secretary Tarun Chugh continues to be in charge of Telangana.

    Bengal has found a new in charge in the form of Bihar MLC Mangal Pandey whereas Amit Malviya continues to be the co-in charge.

    Kerala has a new in charge in the form of former union minister Prakash Javadekar. General secretary Arun Singh also continues to be in charge of Rajasthan.

    National general secretary Dilip Saikia has been replaced by Laxmi Kant Bajpai in Jharkhand. Recently Bajpai was brought to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and has also been made the chief whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha

    Sources aware of the development say that these appointments have been made keeping in mind various combinations of caste and keeping people who have previously held positions of power engaged in organisational work.

    The year 2023 will be full of electoral battles in which states like Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland are going to the polls in the first part of the year. The mid-year will be the Karnataka assembly elections.

    While the BJP is in power in the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland in alliance with NDA partners, the party which stunned everyone with the Tripura elections in 2018 is looking at a repeat term.

    Amid the backlash that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has been facing recently, Karnataka will be a stiff challenge for BJP.

    It is already known that the mother of all battles will be Telangana, where the BJP is pitted against the ruling TRS party and the party has been constantly making its presence felt on the ground.

    While the BJP continues to be in power in Madhya Pradesh with Shivraj Singh Chauhan at the head, it will be a stiff challenge for them to come back to power in the states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan which they lost in the last election.

    Incidentally, former Rajasthan chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Chhattisgarh CM Dr Raman Singh continue to be the most powerful and strong faces.

    BJP national spokesperson Sumit Batra has been entrusted with the responsibility of being the coordinator for the north-east region.

  • BJP forcing State Election Commission to defer municipal polls: AAP

    The party had plans to gherao the BJP headquarters but failed to do so as police had put up barricades. Their protest led to a traffic jam in the area.

  • BJP adopted scientific ways for campaigns in five states: Amit Shah

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Claiming to be the world’s largest political party, the BJP senior leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the entire election campaigns across all the five states, including the country’s biggest state UP, were conducted for assembly elections in very” systematic and scientific” ways making a start amid the third wave of Covid-19.

    “Right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji to even booth level workers of the party worked went down to the last people of society for knowing their aspirations and problems to solve them out through good governance”, Shah claimed, speaking to the media on the eve of the last phase of assembly elections here.

    Definition elections not mere a way to go in governance, Shah said the BJP goes in elections with a motif to share its ideologies, share the people’s problems and show that the party cares for each and every one of the country without any discrimination on caste and creed.

    “The way PM Modi ji has replaced politics of polarization and class with politics of performance has not just defined the BJP, but the entire nation’s politics for the future”, he claimed, adding that for the first time in UP, democracy is being seen flourishing till the bottom.

    “Now, we are seeing democracy flourishing for the first time in UP by freeing the state from casteism, dynasty and appeasement-all three ills of society”, he boasted.

    Shah further claimed that the BJP take all the people as one without dividing them into castes and  religion-wise.

    Speaking on the nature of election campaigns, Shah said:”In the history of independent India, this election was a somewhat new and strange type of campaign. But the BJP did campaigning in a very scientific way”.

    He said that the BJP went before the people with a new resolve to make a new India after implementing all the schemes on the ground. “Goa is now in a good position with a lot of development and infrastructure works worth Rs 60000 crore done by the BJP government. In the same way, other states including UP, ruled by the BJP, have excelled well in development works”, Shah said.

    Lauding works of development done in Manipur, Shah said that the BJP will form the govt in Manipur again.

    “The state has transformed from blockades, bandhs, violence, drugs to organic farming, medical institutions and more. PM Modi and our CM of Manipur have worked hard to end the differences between hills and valleys”, he claimed.

  • Battle for UP: 7th phase marks end of fiercely contested poll

    By IANS

    LUCKNOW: As the curtain comes down on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with just a few hours left for the final and seventh phase of polling on Monday, the stakes have reached an all-time high for major political players in Uttar Pradesh.

    A total of 54 Assembly constituencies of Purvanchal will go for polling on March 7 while counting for all the phases will be done on March 10.

    The districts going to polls in the final phase are Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi and Sonbhadra.

    According to the Chief Electoral Officer, Ajay Kumar Shukla, all necessary arrangements have been made for free, fair and transparent polling in the seventh phase.

    A total of 613 candidates will be trying their luck in this phase on the 54 seats which include 11 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two for the Scheduled Tribes by an electorate consisting around 2.06 crores.

    This final round will also be a test of the alliances carved by both the BJP and Samajwadi Party with small caste-based parties.

    BJP’s allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party and Akhilesh Yadav’s new friends Apna Dal (K), Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) of Om Prakash Rajbhar and others have been trying to rally their supporters.

    Once considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, the region saw BJP making inroads in 2017 by winning 29 seats along with its allies Apna Dal (4) and SBSP (3).

    The BSP got six seats and Samajwadi Party 11 seats.

    For the Samajwadi Party, its patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav made another rare appearance in Jaunpur to drum up support for Lucky Yadav, son of his long-time associate late Parasnath Yadav in the fray from Malhani seat.

    Mulayam Singh had earlier campaigned for his son and party president Akhilesh Yadav on Karhal seat in Mainpuri.

    Prominent contestants in this phase include UP ministers Neelkanth Tiwari, Anil Rajbhar, Ravindra Jaiswal, Girish Yadav and Rama Shankar Singh Patel.

    Dara Singh Chauhan, who had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and joined the Samajwadi Party, is also contesting from Ghosi in Mau.

    SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar (Zahoorabad), Dhananjay Singh (Malhani-Jaunpur) as JD(U) candidate and Abbas Ansari, son of mafia turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, from Mau Sadar seat are other prominent candidates in the final phase.

    The BJP is going all out to retain its bastion while the Samajwadi Party is eyeing to regain the constituencies it won in the 2012 Assembly elections.

    Also, the seventh and last phase of UP Assembly elections will be a litmus test for allies on both the sides– from Anupriya Patel in the BJP-led alliance to Om Prakash Rajbhar in the SP-led alliance.

    In this election, the BJP has fielded 48 candidates out of 54 seats on the party symbol while its ally Apna Dal (S) and Nishad Party have fielded 3-3 candidates each.

    On the other hand, Samajwadi Party has fielded 45 candidates on its symbol while its ally SBSP has fielded 7 candidates and Apna Dal (K) has fielded two candidates.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP president J.P. Nadda, Union Ministers, Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, have been extensively campaigning in Purvanchal to repeat its 2017 success story.

    Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been camping at Kabir Chaura Math in Varanasi in an attempt to galvanise the Dalit voters in Purvanchal, who are in significant numbers here.

  • Good sign that issues like inflation, unemployment dominating election scene: Mayawati

    Mayawati had led the BSP government of the state between 2007 to 2012. The fifth phase of polling on 61 seats is slated for Sunday.

  • Samajwadi Party vows to make UP farmers debt-free by 2025, BJP promises 3 crore jobs

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  Two days before the first vote is cast in the Uttar Pradesh elections, the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party, the biggest players in the ring, promised loads of freebies primarily targeted at farmers, women and the marginalised sections. The BJP, of course, garnished its offering with Hindutva.

    In all, the BJP’s manifesto had 130 promises as against 200 in 2017, 92% of which it claimed it had fulfilled. Both parties courted farmers in a big way, the BJP to tamp down their anger and the SP to maximise its agrarian vote potential. Both offered free power for cultivation, the minimum support price regime and payment to cane farmers within a fortnight. The SP went many paces ahead to promise making farmers debt-free by 2025.

    Similarly, both parties offered two LPG cylinders free for each connection every year, with the BJP specifying when they will be provided — on Holi and Diwali, injecting a subtle Hindutva element. To counter the narrative of soaring unemployment, the BJP promised three crore jobs, including a job to a member of each family, in the next five years.

    To draw young voters, the BJP promised free Scooty to college going meritorious girls. It also promised two crore tablets and smart phones to graduate and Class 12 students and free coaching to those preparing for competitive exams. Besides, free travel in all government buses to women above 60 years of age was promised.

    As for the SP, it assured 33% reservation to women in government jobs, including in the police department. The party’s manifesto also promised free education for girls from primary classes till post-graduation. Laptops to all clearing their Class 12 Boards with additional cash doles to girls who do so were part of the wishlist.

    The BJP’s hard Hindutva was reflected in the promise to jail violators of the state’s ‘love jihad’ law for 10 years. It also promised to set up a Ramayan University for research on culture, shastras and Lord Ram in Ayodhya. A board for welfare schemes for saints, priests and purohits was also promised.

    Who is offering what

    Bharatiya Janata PartyFree travel to women over 60 years of ageTo double the number of women workforce in UPPSC and other govt jobsModernisation of 30,000 secondary schools and collegesAt least one job/job opportunity to each familyFilling of all vacancies in govt sectorHiring 6,000 doctors, 10,000 para medsMedical college in each district

    Samajwadi PartyFarmers to be made debt-free by 2025Families of farmers killed during farm agitation will get Rs 25 lakh eachUrban employment guarantee Act to be brought in on the lines of the MGNREGSRs 36,000 one-time dole to girls clearing Class 12 BoardsSamajwadi Pension Yojana of Rs 18,000 per annum for 1 crore familiesSamajwadi Canteen to offer Rs 10 thali