News Analysis India

Tag: Elections

  • Husbands take oath in place of elected wives at Madhya Pradesh Panchayat

    By ANI

    DAMOH: In an incident that raises many questions, the husband of a newly elected woman sarpanch allegedly took the oath of office instead of his wife in a gram panchayat in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district following which the district authorities have sought a detailed report in the matter.

    The matter pertains to the Gaisabad Panchayat of Damoh district, where after the three-tier panchayat election, a woman sarpanch of the scheduled class was elected and some other women panches also emerged victorious.

    However, the swearing-in ceremony became a subject of controversy after there were allegations that instead of the women, their husbands had presented themselves at the time of the oath-taking. The elected sarpanch and other women were to be administered the oath of office and secrecy, for which a program was organised in the village Panchayat.

    Web series Panchayat seems happening from Day One in some gram panchayats of MP, where panchayat polls were held last month. Instead of newly elected women members of gram panchayats, it was their male kin who took oath of office. @NewIndianXpress @NewIndianXpress @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/p1RxVK8UUU
    — Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) August 5, 2022
    However, there were allegations that the concerned official allowed the husbands to be present in place of the elected women representatives, who according to some claims, were altogether missing from the event.

    After the allegations gained strength, the district administration decided to ascertain the truth and take suitable action.

    Speaking to media persons, Ajay Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Damoh Panchayat said this incident appears against the rules and strict action will be taken against the guilty after the matter is looked into.

    “We had received information that some men had taken oath instead of their elected wives…We have ordered a detailed report on the matter, once the report will come out the Panchayat secretary will be punished (if guilty),” he said. 

    DAMOH: In an incident that raises many questions, the husband of a newly elected woman sarpanch allegedly took the oath of office instead of his wife in a gram panchayat in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district following which the district authorities have sought a detailed report in the matter.

    The matter pertains to the Gaisabad Panchayat of Damoh district, where after the three-tier panchayat election, a woman sarpanch of the scheduled class was elected and some other women panches also emerged victorious.

    However, the swearing-in ceremony became a subject of controversy after there were allegations that instead of the women, their husbands had presented themselves at the time of the oath-taking. The elected sarpanch and other women were to be administered the oath of office and secrecy, for which a program was organised in the village Panchayat.

    Web series Panchayat seems happening from Day One in some gram panchayats of MP, where panchayat polls were held last month. Instead of newly elected women members of gram panchayats, it was their male kin who took oath of office. @NewIndianXpress @NewIndianXpress @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/p1RxVK8UUU
    — Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) August 5, 2022
    However, there were allegations that the concerned official allowed the husbands to be present in place of the elected women representatives, who according to some claims, were altogether missing from the event.

    After the allegations gained strength, the district administration decided to ascertain the truth and take suitable action.

    Speaking to media persons, Ajay Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Damoh Panchayat said this incident appears against the rules and strict action will be taken against the guilty after the matter is looked into.

    “We had received information that some men had taken oath instead of their elected wives…We have ordered a detailed report on the matter, once the report will come out the Panchayat secretary will be punished (if guilty),” he said. 

  • MP local polls: BJP claims ‘historic’ win, Congress terms its performance ‘best’ in over two decades

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: With the counting of votes for the second phase of the local bodies polls in Madhya Pradesh getting over on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed its performance as “historic”, saying that it has won over 300 out of 347 urban civic bodies.

    The Congress also said this was the party’s best performance in this civic bodies poll in more than two decades.

    Both the parties celebrated their performances.

    The three-tier urban civic body elections in MP for 347 municipal bodies, including 16 municipal corporations, 76 municipal councils and 255 Nagar Parishads, were held in two phases – on July 6 and 13.

    The first phase results were declared on Sunday, while the counting of votes for the second phase of polling was held on Wednesday.

    In the results declared on Sunday, the BJP had managed to retain seven out of the total 11 mayoral seats, the Congress had wrested three seats from the saffron party, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had bagged one seat.

    On Wednesday, the BJP and Congress won two mayor’s seats each, while an independent candidate bagged another post.

    Talking about the overall results, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters, “Besides winning nine out of 16 mayoral elections, BJP got a clear majority in 185 out of total 255 nagar parishads.

    In addition, the party is also forming its body in 46 other nagar parishads, where our position is better than the Congress.”

    The chief minister was quoting the State Election Commission’s data.

    Live : प्रदेश कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष एवं पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कमलनाथ जी नगरीय निकाय चुनावों में प्रचंड जीत के बाद पत्रकार वार्ता को संबोधित कर रहे हैं। https://t.co/LfsqaQnzmX
    — Congress (@INCIndia) July 20, 2022
    The Congress has managed to win only in 24 nagar parishads, he said.

    The BJP’s winning percentage in nagar parishads in the 2014 civic bodies polls was 58, which now grew to over 90 percent, he said.

    Chouhan said that the BJP is also forming its body in 65 out of 76 municipal councils or municipalities.

    “We have a clear majority in 50 out of the 76 municipalities. The BJP is ahead in 15 other municipal councils. So our party is forming the body in 65 municipalities, which is 85 per cent of the total seats. On the contrary, the Congress is reduced to only 11 seats,” he said.

    He said that the BJP had won 54 out of 98 municipal councils during the 2014 elections, but this time its percentage grew to a new high.

    Chouhan said that the BJP’s corporators have won in majority even in the municipal corporations, where the mayoral candidate of the Congress registered victories in cities like Gwalior, Rewa and Jabalpur.

    “BJP had never registered such a huge victory earlier. It’s historic,” he said.

    State Congress chief Kamal Nath termed that it was his party’s “best” performance in the past 23-years.

    READ HERE | BJP retains seven out of 11 mayoral seats in Madhya Pradesh, loses three to Congress, one to AAP

    While congratulating and thanking the party workers and the voters, Nath told reporters at the party’s state headquarters that the Congress has won in mayoral elections of five municipal corporations, which is the best performance since 1999 when a direct election for the mayor’s post was introduced.

    Although people had voted in favour of the mayoral candidates of Congress in Burhanpur and Ujjain, they were defeated due to conspiracy and misuse of the administration by the government, Nath said.

    “In 1999 and 2004, the Congress had won two mayoral seats and three in 2009. The Congress failed to win even a single seat in 2014, but this time, the party registered victories in five mayoral seats,” he said.

    He said that the BJP had won 16 municipal corporations in the last civic bodies polls, but lost on seven seats this time, he said.

    “But despite their defeat, the BJP has been celebrating. The BJP starts distributing the sweets whenever a child is born to another’s home,” he said.

    Nath said that the performance of the Congress in Gwalior and Chambal region has been best in the last 57 years, while it also won the mayoral seat in Rewa of Vindhya region.

    He said that several top BJP leaders belong to Gwalior Chambal region, where the ruling party is defeated.

    Accusing the BJP government of misusing the police and administration for its victory, the MP Congress chief expressed confidence that his party will come to power after the 2023 assembly elections.

    BHOPAL: With the counting of votes for the second phase of the local bodies polls in Madhya Pradesh getting over on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed its performance as “historic”, saying that it has won over 300 out of 347 urban civic bodies.

    The Congress also said this was the party’s best performance in this civic bodies poll in more than two decades.

    Both the parties celebrated their performances.

    The three-tier urban civic body elections in MP for 347 municipal bodies, including 16 municipal corporations, 76 municipal councils and 255 Nagar Parishads, were held in two phases – on July 6 and 13.

    The first phase results were declared on Sunday, while the counting of votes for the second phase of polling was held on Wednesday.

    In the results declared on Sunday, the BJP had managed to retain seven out of the total 11 mayoral seats, the Congress had wrested three seats from the saffron party, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had bagged one seat.

    On Wednesday, the BJP and Congress won two mayor’s seats each, while an independent candidate bagged another post.

    Talking about the overall results, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters, “Besides winning nine out of 16 mayoral elections, BJP got a clear majority in 185 out of total 255 nagar parishads.

    In addition, the party is also forming its body in 46 other nagar parishads, where our position is better than the Congress.”

    The chief minister was quoting the State Election Commission’s data.

    Live : प्रदेश कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष एवं पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कमलनाथ जी नगरीय निकाय चुनावों में प्रचंड जीत के बाद पत्रकार वार्ता को संबोधित कर रहे हैं। https://t.co/LfsqaQnzmX
    — Congress (@INCIndia) July 20, 2022
    The Congress has managed to win only in 24 nagar parishads, he said.

    The BJP’s winning percentage in nagar parishads in the 2014 civic bodies polls was 58, which now grew to over 90 percent, he said.

    Chouhan said that the BJP is also forming its body in 65 out of 76 municipal councils or municipalities.

    “We have a clear majority in 50 out of the 76 municipalities. The BJP is ahead in 15 other municipal councils. So our party is forming the body in 65 municipalities, which is 85 per cent of the total seats. On the contrary, the Congress is reduced to only 11 seats,” he said.

    He said that the BJP had won 54 out of 98 municipal councils during the 2014 elections, but this time its percentage grew to a new high.

    Chouhan said that the BJP’s corporators have won in majority even in the municipal corporations, where the mayoral candidate of the Congress registered victories in cities like Gwalior, Rewa and Jabalpur.

    “BJP had never registered such a huge victory earlier. It’s historic,” he said.

    State Congress chief Kamal Nath termed that it was his party’s “best” performance in the past 23-years.

    READ HERE | BJP retains seven out of 11 mayoral seats in Madhya Pradesh, loses three to Congress, one to AAP

    While congratulating and thanking the party workers and the voters, Nath told reporters at the party’s state headquarters that the Congress has won in mayoral elections of five municipal corporations, which is the best performance since 1999 when a direct election for the mayor’s post was introduced.

    Although people had voted in favour of the mayoral candidates of Congress in Burhanpur and Ujjain, they were defeated due to conspiracy and misuse of the administration by the government, Nath said.

    “In 1999 and 2004, the Congress had won two mayoral seats and three in 2009. The Congress failed to win even a single seat in 2014, but this time, the party registered victories in five mayoral seats,” he said.

    He said that the BJP had won 16 municipal corporations in the last civic bodies polls, but lost on seven seats this time, he said.

    “But despite their defeat, the BJP has been celebrating. The BJP starts distributing the sweets whenever a child is born to another’s home,” he said.

    Nath said that the performance of the Congress in Gwalior and Chambal region has been best in the last 57 years, while it also won the mayoral seat in Rewa of Vindhya region.

    He said that several top BJP leaders belong to Gwalior Chambal region, where the ruling party is defeated.

    Accusing the BJP government of misusing the police and administration for its victory, the MP Congress chief expressed confidence that his party will come to power after the 2023 assembly elections.

  • Bypolls underway for 10 seats, battle of prestige for AAP in Punjab

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Bypolls for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats spread across five states and one union territory were underway on Thursday, with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha among the prominent candidates in the fray.

    Counting of votes for the bypolls in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand will be taken up on Sunday.

    In the bypoll for Punjab’s Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, all eyes are on the AAP which is facing its first test of popularity after its impressive performance in the assembly elections.

    The bypolls come at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is facing Opposition heat over the law and order issue and the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

    ALSO READ | Voting begins for Rajinder Nagar bypoll in Delhi

    The main opposition Congress has fielded former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy in the bypoll while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made former Barnala MLA Kewal Dhillon its candidate, who joined the saffron party on June 4.

    Kamaldeep Kaur, the sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case, has been fielded by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann is also in the fray.

    The Sangrur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Bhagwant Mann resigned as MP after winning Dhuri seat in the February 20 Assembly polls.

    Uttar Pradesh is witnessing bypolls in Azamgarh and Rampur, the two Lok Sabha seats considered as the bastions of the Opposition Samajwadi Party.

    An average of over eight per cent votes were polled in the first two hours of polling in Uttar Pradesh.

    The bypolls to the Azamgarh seat were necessitated by the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly as an MLA in the elections earlier this year.

    The Rampur seat was vacated by senior SP leader Azam Khan, who too was elected to the state Assembly. From Rampur, the BJP has fielded Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, who recently joined the party, while the SP has fielded Asim Raja, handpicked by Khan.

    ALSO READ | Delhi CEO office on full swing to make Rajinder Nagar bypoll inclusive, accessible

    The Mayawati-led BSP is not contesting from Rampur. The Azamgarh seat is seeing a triangular contest among BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirhua’, a famous Bhojpuri actor-singer, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav and BSP’s Shah Alam, also known as Guddu Jamali.

    All four assembly constituencies–Azamgarh, Mubarakpur, Sagdi, Gopalpur and Mehnagar–falling in this Lok Sabha seat were won by the SP in the recent assembly elections.

    Tripura is witnessing bypolls to four assembly seats of Agartala, Town Bardowali, Surma and Jubarajnagar seats.

    The bypolls in Agartala and Town Bardowali constituencies were necessitated after Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha quit as BJP MLAs and joined the Congress in February.

    The Surma seat in Dhalai district fell vacant after BJP legislator, Asish Das, was disqualified by Speaker Ratan Chakraborty and bypoll to Jubarajnagar was necessitated following the death to sitting CPI(M) MLA Ramendra Chandra Debnath.

    Chief Minister Saha, who is not a member of the assembly, is contesting from Town Bardowali constituency against Congress nominee Asish Saha. Trinamool Congress and Left Front have fielded candidates in all the four seats.

    In Andhra Pradesh, nearly 12 per cent voting was recorded in the first two hours of voting in the bypoll to the Atmakuru Assembly seat. The bypoll is being held to fill the vacancy caused due to the death of then Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy in February.

    His brother Vikram Reddy is the ruling YSR Congress candidate and he is locked in a contest with BJP’s G Bharat Kumar Yadav.

    In Delhi, the voting is being held for the Rajinder Nagar seat.

    The two major contenders — the AAP and the BJP — have exuded confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious in the bypoll with a huge margin.

    Six companies of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel have been deployed for security arrangements during the bypoll necessitated in the wake of AAP leader Raghav Chadha leaving the seat after being elected to the Rajya Sabha recently.

    Chadha was the MLA from the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat.

    While the AAP has exuded confidence that it will register a “record victory” in the bypoll and hand out a crushing defeat to the BJP, the saffron party is hopeful of westing the seat from the ruling party that had bagged 62 of the 70 seats in the 2020 Delhi polls.

    According to the residents of the area, the AAP government’s liquor policy and water shortage are among the main issues in the bypoll.

    In Jharkhand, bypoll to Mandar assembly seat began amid tight security arrangements.

    Voting is taking place in 433 polling stations, with 141 booths having been declared hyper-sensitive, 218 as sensitive, and 55 as vulnerable.

    The by-election was necessitated after the disqualification of Bandhu Tirkey as an MLA in the wake of his conviction in a corruption case.

    The Congress has fielded Bandhu’s daughter, Shilpa Neha Tirkey, as the common candidate of the JMM-led alliance, while BJP has nominated former legislator Gangotri Kujur from the seat.

    An independent candidate Dev Kumar Dhan, with backing from Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), is also in the fray.

  • Voting begins for Rajinder Nagar bypoll in Delhi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Voting began Thursday morning for the bypoll to Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, largely being seen as a battle between a confident AAP and a spirited BJP for the crucial assembly constituency.

    A total of 1,64,698 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election, in which 14 candidates are in the fray, with water shortage and the city government’s liquor policy among the key election issues.

    The two major contenders — the AAP and the BJP have exuded confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious in the bypoll with a huge margin. Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and is scheduled to be held till 6 pm.

    “Mock polls were held at all polling stations, and voting has begun under tight security arrangements for the Rajinder Nagar bypoll. Actor Sonam Kapoor has released a video message to appeal to voters to exercise their franchise,” Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh told PTI.

    To raise awareness, Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor has been chosen as an icon, and her images have been used on posters and social media to reach out to greater number of voters, especially the youth.

    Six companies of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel have been deployed for security arrangements during the bypoll necessitated in the wake of AAP leader Raghav Chadha leaving the seat after being elected to the Rajya Sabha recently.

    ALSO READ | Rajinder Nagar goes to vote today, 14 candidates in fray

    Chadha was the MLA from the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat. The Counting of votes will take place on June 26, and poll authorities here are hopeful that turnout in this bypoll will exceed the voting percentage recorded in the 2020 election.

    In the 2020 polls, the voter turnout in Rajinder Nagar was 58.27 per cent — 58.09 per cent male voters and 58.5 per cent female voters.

    In addition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress candidates, there are three others from unrecognised parties and eight Independent nominees.

    A total of 190 polling stations, including 13 auxiliary ones, have been set up at 21 locations, equipped with all necessary facilities and amenities for differently-abled people too such as ramps and drinking water, besides creches for mothers if they come to vote with their children.

    Of the total number of eligible voters for the bypoll, 92,221 are male, 72,473 female and four belong to the third gender. Also, 1,899 voters in this assembly seat are in the 18-19 age group.

    The number of eligible voters in the Rajinder Nagar assembly seat for the 2022 bypoll is less than the count of electors in this assembly seat that was for the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, as death and migration of voters have been factored in.

    ALSO READ | Deputy CM Manish Sisodia reaches out to Rajinder Nagar voters

    AAP, which enjoys a reigning popularity in this key assembly constituency, has fielded Durgesh Pathak while BJP has fronted Rajesh Bhatia as its candidate. Prem Lata is the Congress nominee.

    While AAP has exuded confidence that it will register a “record victory” in the bypoll and hand out a crushing defeat to the BJP, the saffron party is hopeful of westing the seat from the ruling party that had bagged 62 of the 70 seats in the 2020 Delhi polls.

    From setting up specialised polling stations, including an all-women one, to deployment of security personnel and running awareness campaigns, the Delhi CEO office has made all preparations to ensure that the bypoll is held in an inclusive, accessible and fair manner.

    According to the residents of the area, the AAP government’s liquor policy and water shortage are among the main issues in the bypoll. The bypoll is taking place amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the national capital.

    All safety norms will be followed, and hand sanitisers and masks would also be kept at all booths, in case some has forgot to bring them, officials said.

    “For visually-impaired voters, facilities have been created too. The EVM machines will have Braille markings and also on dummy ballot to allow a voter with visual impairment to cast his or her vote independently. Even voters slip will have Braille markings to facilitate them,” Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh had earlier said.

    There are 591 electors, who are persons with disability, 39 voters are visually impaired, 64 are service voters, and 2,486 voters who are in the age group of 80 and above.

  • Maha Vikas Aghadi 4th candidate losses to BJP candidates in high voltage biennial RS elections

    Express News Service

    Big set back to Maha Vikas Aghadi in Rajya Sabha elections. Shiv Sena’s second candidate Sanjay Pawar got defeated by BJP candidate Dhananjay Mahadik in the second preference of vote counting on the early morning of Saturday.

    Union minister Piyush Goel, BJP leader Dr Anil Bhonde and Dhananjay Mahadik won the Rajya Sabha elections while NCP leader Praful Patel, Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut won the election while Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar lost it again BJP candidate Dhananjay Mahadik.

    In a neck and neck fight, union minister Piyush Goel and Dr Anil Bhonde secured 48 votes while Dhananjay Mahadik got 26 as first preference votes against the winning quota of 41 seats. On the other hand,  NCP leader Praful Patel got 43 votes, Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi secured 44 votes, Sanjay Raut got 41 votes and Sanjay Pawar got 33 votes. Mahadik and Sanjay Pawar could not compete the required quota in the first round, therefore, the second preference votes were counted and BJP’s additional first preference votes got transferred to him which helped Mahadik to win the elections in the second round.

    BJP was able to get additional 12 votes against its actual numbers. BJP successfully pursued independent MLAs and smaller parties to cast their votes for BJP candidates. Independent was king maker and BJP used them properly.

  • Ensure your vote doesn’t turn invalid due to some mistake: Fadnavis tells party MLAs on RS polls eve

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: On the eve of elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday held a meeting here with the MLAs of his party, where he advised them to ensure that their votes do not turn invalid due to some mistake.

    The former chief minister was speaking to the BJP MLAs at a hotel. “You have been instructed on how to exercise the preferential voting for the Rajya Sabha. You will have to ensure that your vote will not become invalid due to some mistake,” the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly said.

    “We have told you how to vote and you should do it accordingly,” he added.

    Union Railway Minister and election in-charge for the BJP Ashwini Vaishnav was also present at this meeting.

    Fadnavis, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, days after being found infected, joined the meeting and addressed the MLAs.

    After more than two decades, Maharashtra will witness a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls as there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats.

    Polling will be held at the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex, here between 9 am and 4 pm.

    Union minister Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde, Dhananjay Mahadik (BJP), Praful Patel (NCP), Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar (Shiv Sena) and Imran Pratapgarhi (Congress) are in the fray for the six seats of the Upper House of Parliament.

    The contest is for the sixth seat – between BJP’s Mahadik and Sena’s Pawar. Every vote has become crucial after BJP decided to field its third candidate in the election.

    The BJP has 106 MLAs in the lower house of the Maharashtra legislature while it claimed to have support of some independent and small parties as well.

  • Kejriwal promises free pilgrimage, free power if AAP forms govt in Gujarat

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday promised free pilgrimage for senior citizens to various religious places, including Ayodhya, if the AAP was voted to power in Gujarat, and accused the ruling BJP of “failure” on multiple fronts despite being in power in the state for nearly three decades.

    He also promised free electricity, better schools and hospitals if the AAP forms the next government in Gujarat, where the Assembly polls are due by the year-end.

    Addressing a rally in Rajkot city, Kejriwal accused the BJP of “failing” on education, health and employment fronts in Gujarat during its long rule in the state.

    “Though the BJP is in power for 27 years in Gujarat, it has never sent a single person on pilgrimage. In Delhi, we sent 50,000 persons on pilgrimage in three years under our scheme. If voted to power here (in Gujarat), we will take each and every elderly citizen to religious places for free,” said Kejriwal.

    The AAP leader, whose party recently formed its government in Punjab, asked the people of Gujarat to give his outfit a chance to govern the state, a BJP stronghold.

    “The AAP is a party of educated, honest and patriotic people. I urge the people to give us one chance, at least to break the ego of the BJP. If you do not find our work satisfactory, you are free to choose any other party afterwards,” he added.

  • Sonia discusses reasons for poll debacle in Punjab with Congress MPs from state

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday held a meeting with party MPs from Punjab and sought their views on the party’s debacle in the just-concluded assembly polls.

    Sources said the MPs stressed that infighting and indiscipline led to the party’s poor performance at the hustings and this must come to an end.

    Gandhi heard the views expressed by the parliamentarians and was learnt to have admitted that some mistakes were made in the state, where the party lost power to the Aam Aadmi Party.

    Among the MPs who attended the meeting in the Parliament Complex were Preneet Kaur, Manish Tewari, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Shamsher Singh Dullo, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Santokh Singh Chaudhary and Amar Singh.

    Mohammed Sadique and Ambika Soni were, however, not present in the meeting which lasted about an hour.

    Incidently, Manish Tewari and Preneet Kaur attended a meeting of leaders of the G-23, which has been critical of the party leadership, later in the evening at Ghulam Nabi Azad’s residence.

    The MPs, the sources said, are learnt to have told Gandhi that the party must remain united and efforts should be made to bring everyone together to strengthen it further.

    They said some MPs blamed the Punjab leadership, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harish Rawat, Harish Chaudhary and Sunil Jakhar, for the poll debacle.

    The Congress could win only 18 seats in the 117-member assembly in the just concluded polls.

    Some MPs also said that some leaders proved to be liabilities and infighting between top leaders cost the party dearly.

    An MP reportedly told the Congress chief that projecting Charanjit Singh Channi as the Dalit chief ministerial face also did not help and proved counter-productive as other sections got alienated from the party.

  • Time to reform Cong’s organisational leadership in manner that inspires people: Tharoor

    “One thing is clear — Change is unavoidable if we need to succeed,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

  • Assembly poll results put BJP on firm wicket for Presidential elections

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP’s victory in the assembly polls on Thursday has put the party on a stronger wicket for the election for the post of President expected later this year.

    The big victory for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has given Prime Minister Narendra Modi a free hand to decide on the successor to President Ram Nath Kovind, who will complete his tenure on July 24, 2022, political analysts said.

    Had the Uttar Pradesh election results gone in favour of the Samajwadi Party, the BJP would have had to rely on the support of fence-sitters such as Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) who together control a sizeable chunk of votes.

    The electoral college for the presidential election comprises elected members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and elected members of state legislative assemblies and that of NCT Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry.

    Members of Legislative Councils and nominated members do not form part of the electoral college.

    “It is advantage NDA now,” former Lok Sabha secretary general P Sreedharan told PTI.

    In terms of numbers, the electoral college is made up of 233 members of Rajya Sabha, 543 members of Lok Sabha and 4,120 members of legislative assemblies – a total of 4,896 electors.

    The value of the vote of every MP has been fixed at 708, while among states the value of the vote of an MLA is the highest at 208.

    The total value of votes of the Uttar Pradesh assembly is 83,824, Punjab (13,572), Uttarakhand (4480), Goa (800) and Manipur (1080).

    The string of victories in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur have turned the presidential elections a cakewalk for the BJP, a political observer said.

    A section of the opposition had projected NCP supremo Sharad Pawar as a possible candidate for the presidential election.

    TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had met a section of opposition leaders, apparently with an eye on playing a key role in the presidential election.

    In a bid to create a divide in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the NCP has even proposed the name of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a joint opposition candidate in the presidential election, should he part ways with the BJP.

    The presidential elections follow the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

    The value of each vote is pre-determined in proportion to the population of the respective state based on the 1971 census.

    The total value of the electoral college, comprising 4,896 electors is 10,98,903 and the winning candidate has to get at least 50 per cent plus one vote to be declared as elected.