News Analysis India

Tag: Gujarat Elections

  • AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia detained by Delhi Police

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police detained Gopal Italia, Aam Aadmi Party’s chief in Gujarat for his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the office of National Commission for Women (NCW) here.

    He was earlier summoned by the National Commission for Women (NCW) for using derogatory words against women.

    On Thursday, Italia was at the NCW office where a team of Delhi Police arrived and took him to the Sarita Vihar police station in South East Delhi.

    As of now, the officials have not given any official statement on the status of his detention.

    Further details were awaited.

    Recently, two old videos of Italia had surfaced, one in which he criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “neech” politics, and another in which he makes derogatory remarks against women.

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police detained Gopal Italia, Aam Aadmi Party’s chief in Gujarat for his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the office of National Commission for Women (NCW) here.

    He was earlier summoned by the National Commission for Women (NCW) for using derogatory words against women.

    On Thursday, Italia was at the NCW office where a team of Delhi Police arrived and took him to the Sarita Vihar police station in South East Delhi.

    As of now, the officials have not given any official statement on the status of his detention.

    Further details were awaited.

    Recently, two old videos of Italia had surfaced, one in which he criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “neech” politics, and another in which he makes derogatory remarks against women.

  • Congress intimidated by AIMIM, AAP? Party urges Muslims in Gujarat not to get ‘swayed’

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Congress leaders in Gujarat on Wednesday urged the members of the Muslim community to support the party in the upcoming state polls in order to defeat the “devious” agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    They also urged the minority community not to get carried away by the propaganda of the new entrants in the fray – All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which they termed as the BJP’s “B and C teams”, saying that doing so would divide its votes and ultimately help the ruling party.

    They were speaking at a function to felicitate Kadir Pirzada, the newly-appointed working president of the party’s Gujarat unit, and other leaders.

    Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled Gujarat are due by the end of this year.

    Speaking on the occasion, state Congress president Jagdish Thakor urged Muslim leaders, including Pirzada, to frame a time-bound programme targeting 60 Assembly seats with a sizable Muslim population.

    He also called for an election manifesto for the minority communities.

    “All of us know who are behind the communal riots happening in the country, and how they benefit from it. We know and still fall prey to it. We should stay cautious about not falling into the trap,” he said.

    Thakor said the Congress has always stayed with the minorities and never changed its ideology, irrespective of whether it occupies power or not.

    “A Congress prime minister used to say with confidence that minorities have the first right on the country’s treasury. Congress knows how much saying so has hurt the party, but it will still not compromise on its ideology,” Thakor said, addressing the function organised by the party’s state minority department.

    Remembering late Congress leader Ahmed Patel on the occasion, party veteran Arjun Modhwadia said that as the head of the family, Patel kept the party leaders united.

    “But when he is not with us, it is our responsibility to remain united,” he said.

    He also cautioned the Muslim voters to stay united and not to get swayed by the two parties that have entered the fray “to divide votes”.

    “The two parties have come once again, and we are all concerned. It is because we are ourselves not confident of our unity. But we should defeat these A and B teams,” he said.

    “We have to ensure that our complaints with each other are resolved and in 2022 (election), the A team does not return to power with the help of B and C teams,” he said.

    Jignesh Mevani, who has also been appointed as a working president of the Gujarat Congress, remembered arrested social activist Teesta Setalvad and her struggle “for justice to the Muslims of Gujarat.”

    He said he always stood with the minorities and struggled for them.

    Mevani said the 2002 Assembly election is crucial for the future of the country and will have implications on the country’s Constitution.

    During his address, Pirzada demanded representation for the community and claimed that Congress formed the government with the help of the Muslim votes.

    “If a community with 3-4 per cent population demands its representation, then why should we, being 1 crore in the population of 6.5 crore, not demand our representation?” he asked.

    “The community is at times at a loss as to who it should talk to. On the one hand, we have no government, while on the other there is no representation. You ran after Hardik (Patel, the former Congress leader who joined BJP), and forgot that these (Muslims) are the people who formed the Congress government,” he said.

    The party leaders urged the Muslim community to step out in large numbers to cast their votes during the Assembly polls.

    Meanwhile, AAP head Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting and a press conference on Thursday in Surat city of Gujarat where the Assembly polls are due this year.

    The Delhi chief minister arrived here late Wednesday night and said that in the next few weeks, his party would share with the people of Gujarat its agenda on what it plans to do for them if voted to power in the state.

    This is his second visit to the state so far this month.

    “I visited Gujarat several times in the recent past, and people of the state have given a lot of love. The people of Gujarat are fed up with 27 years of the BJP rule and want a change,” Kejriwal said after landing at the Surat airport.

    “We have talked to the public about what they want and in the next few weeks, we will put before them our agenda, as to what our agenda will be when voted to power,” he said.

    Before Kejriwal arrived in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat unit chief C R Paatil warned people that they should not get misguided by the “revadi culture” of freebies as it could eventually turn the state and India into Sri Lanka, which is currently going through a severe economic crisis.

    Though Paatil did not name anyone, he was apparently targeting the AAP and its national convener Kejriwal, who has promised free electricity if voted to power in Gujarat.

    Kejriwal last visited Gujarat on July 3, when he held a town hall on the issue of free electricity in Ahmedabad.

    During the interaction with people, he then said free electricity was possible in Gujarat and that he would soon visit the state with a formula on how his party can provide it if voted to power.

    Presenting the “Delhi model,” he had said free electricity is possible in Gujarat if corruption is eliminated.

    The AAP has made free electricity a major poll plank in Gujarat, where polls are due in December.

    The party has positioned itself as a major contender in the state, where elections have traditionally seen a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress.

    AHMEDABAD: Congress leaders in Gujarat on Wednesday urged the members of the Muslim community to support the party in the upcoming state polls in order to defeat the “devious” agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    They also urged the minority community not to get carried away by the propaganda of the new entrants in the fray – All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which they termed as the BJP’s “B and C teams”, saying that doing so would divide its votes and ultimately help the ruling party.

    They were speaking at a function to felicitate Kadir Pirzada, the newly-appointed working president of the party’s Gujarat unit, and other leaders.

    Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled Gujarat are due by the end of this year.

    Speaking on the occasion, state Congress president Jagdish Thakor urged Muslim leaders, including Pirzada, to frame a time-bound programme targeting 60 Assembly seats with a sizable Muslim population.

    He also called for an election manifesto for the minority communities.

    “All of us know who are behind the communal riots happening in the country, and how they benefit from it. We know and still fall prey to it. We should stay cautious about not falling into the trap,” he said.

    Thakor said the Congress has always stayed with the minorities and never changed its ideology, irrespective of whether it occupies power or not.

    “A Congress prime minister used to say with confidence that minorities have the first right on the country’s treasury. Congress knows how much saying so has hurt the party, but it will still not compromise on its ideology,” Thakor said, addressing the function organised by the party’s state minority department.

    Remembering late Congress leader Ahmed Patel on the occasion, party veteran Arjun Modhwadia said that as the head of the family, Patel kept the party leaders united.

    “But when he is not with us, it is our responsibility to remain united,” he said.

    He also cautioned the Muslim voters to stay united and not to get swayed by the two parties that have entered the fray “to divide votes”.

    “The two parties have come once again, and we are all concerned. It is because we are ourselves not confident of our unity. But we should defeat these A and B teams,” he said.

    “We have to ensure that our complaints with each other are resolved and in 2022 (election), the A team does not return to power with the help of B and C teams,” he said.

    Jignesh Mevani, who has also been appointed as a working president of the Gujarat Congress, remembered arrested social activist Teesta Setalvad and her struggle “for justice to the Muslims of Gujarat.”

    He said he always stood with the minorities and struggled for them.

    Mevani said the 2002 Assembly election is crucial for the future of the country and will have implications on the country’s Constitution.

    During his address, Pirzada demanded representation for the community and claimed that Congress formed the government with the help of the Muslim votes.

    “If a community with 3-4 per cent population demands its representation, then why should we, being 1 crore in the population of 6.5 crore, not demand our representation?” he asked.

    “The community is at times at a loss as to who it should talk to. On the one hand, we have no government, while on the other there is no representation. You ran after Hardik (Patel, the former Congress leader who joined BJP), and forgot that these (Muslims) are the people who formed the Congress government,” he said.

    The party leaders urged the Muslim community to step out in large numbers to cast their votes during the Assembly polls.

    Meanwhile, AAP head Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting and a press conference on Thursday in Surat city of Gujarat where the Assembly polls are due this year.

    The Delhi chief minister arrived here late Wednesday night and said that in the next few weeks, his party would share with the people of Gujarat its agenda on what it plans to do for them if voted to power in the state.

    This is his second visit to the state so far this month.

    “I visited Gujarat several times in the recent past, and people of the state have given a lot of love. The people of Gujarat are fed up with 27 years of the BJP rule and want a change,” Kejriwal said after landing at the Surat airport.

    “We have talked to the public about what they want and in the next few weeks, we will put before them our agenda, as to what our agenda will be when voted to power,” he said.

    Before Kejriwal arrived in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat unit chief C R Paatil warned people that they should not get misguided by the “revadi culture” of freebies as it could eventually turn the state and India into Sri Lanka, which is currently going through a severe economic crisis.

    Though Paatil did not name anyone, he was apparently targeting the AAP and its national convener Kejriwal, who has promised free electricity if voted to power in Gujarat.

    Kejriwal last visited Gujarat on July 3, when he held a town hall on the issue of free electricity in Ahmedabad.

    During the interaction with people, he then said free electricity was possible in Gujarat and that he would soon visit the state with a formula on how his party can provide it if voted to power.

    Presenting the “Delhi model,” he had said free electricity is possible in Gujarat if corruption is eliminated.

    The AAP has made free electricity a major poll plank in Gujarat, where polls are due in December.

    The party has positioned itself as a major contender in the state, where elections have traditionally seen a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress.

  • Congress’ dual challenge in 2022 Gujarat elections: To take on BJP & keep vote bank intact, say experts

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The forthcoming Gujarat Assembly polls are likely to be one of the toughest for the opposition Congress as it is facing a dual challenge – of defeating the ruling BJP in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and protecting its base from parties like the AAP and AIMIM, which are also trying to make inroads into the state, say political experts.

    However, a state Congress spokesperson claimed people will vote for their party, in the Gujarat elections due later this year, as they are fed up of the BJP’s “misrule” for over two decades.

    But, political observers feel the Congress is plagued by a dearth of strong local leaders, infighting and depleting work force in the state.

    “This will be one of the toughest election for the Congress in Gujarat,” Rajkot-based political observer Suresh Samani told PTI, noting the party has not won the state Assembly polls since 1995.

    In 2017, the Congress won 77 seats in the 182-member Assembly, and a high vote share, largely due to rural distress, he said.

    The BJP had won 99 seats in the Assembly in the last election.

    “The farming community was not happy as it was not getting a good price for crop produce. In the last five years, the BJP government in the state purchased every farm produce, including commercial crops like groundnut, by paying a reasonably good return as the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The rural population now has nothing to complain about,” Samani said.

    Also, the urban middle class and higher middle class voters have stood firmly behind the BJP due to various reasons, including Hindutva, despite the rising inflation, he said.

    “So, the Congress’s plan to make inroads into the state’s urban areas is not likely to make much headway,” he said.

    The Congress strongholds of north Gujarat and some tribal region have also been breached as many of its strong leaders have crossed over to the BJP in the last five years.

    “The Congress has a problem of depleting party work force and infighting, among others issues,” he said.

    The other challenge before the Congress is contenders like the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Asaduddin Owaisi headed All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which are also “vying for a pie of the traditional Congress vote bank,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Maharashtra: Hit by cross-voting in Council polls, absenteeism during trust vote, Congress orders probe

    AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, during his recent campaign rallies in Gujarat, targeted the Congress by appealing to voters not to waste their votes on the opposition party, claiming it cannot defeat the BJP.

    The AAP is eyeing to cut into the Congress’s vote share to challenge the BJP, as it had done in Delhi.

    The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) of Chotu Vasava has also announced an alliance with the AAP to give a fight to the Congress for tribal votes.

    AIMIM chief Owaisi recently visited some Muslim-dominated constituencies in Ahmedabad, Vadgam in north Gujarat and Kutch with an aim to woo the minority community.

    His party is aiming to open its account in the state Assembly in constituencies where the Muslim population is comparatively higher than other communities.

    Another political observer Hari Desai said the Congress can give the BJP a tough fight if it sticks to cater to the KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi (tribal) and Muslim) vote bank and gets votes of disgruntled Patel community members.

    The KHAM combination of castes and communities was devised as a winning formula by former Gujarat chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki.

    “Parties like the AAP and the BTP can grab votes of the BJP and harm the ruling party equally, and not just the Congress,” Desai said.

    He also said that the AIMIM is likely to cut the Congress’s votes in the state.

    However, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi claimed the people of Gujarat were fed up of the “arrogance and misrule” of the BJP for over two decades and that it will reflect in the 2022 Assembly elections as they will vote out the ruling party.

    READ HERE | Gujarat Assembly polls: Congress won’t project CM face during campaigning

    “The Congress has formed a strategy, and the party’s central leadership is observing everything minutely and directing us on how to go about the polls. We have decided to make this election a fight against Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and BJP state unit president C R Paatil,” Doshi said.

    The Congress does not want the state election to be a fight between PM Narendra Modi and the opposition party, he added.

    On the AAP and other parties also gearing up to contest the Gujarat polls, Congress national spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said a third party has never succeeded in the state.

    “Since its formation, Gujarat has seen contests only between the Congress and the BJP and it will remain so. The AAP will not be able to cut ice with the people of Gujarat,” he claimed.

  • Ahmedabad Diary

    Express News Service

    Who is stopping Hardik Patel’s saffron camp entry?Recently, Congress working president and Patidar leader Hardik Patel changed his tone and tenor against his leadership, signalling that he would join the BJP. The misfortune of Congress is that from the ward level, the state leaders are threatening to join the BJP. Interestingly, there exists another group in the party which firmly believes against Hardik joining BJP. According to sources, former CM Anandiben Patel and her camp is strongly irked with Hardik’s entry into the BJP. Now, if Hardik has to join BJP he has to line up with Narendra Modi. Back in 2016, the Patidar agitation spearheaded by Hardik had unsettled affairs of the then Anandiben Patel government – eventually leading to her resignation. 

    Defectors insecure as BJP mulls ‘no-repeat’ theory Lobbying by leaders vying for candidature for the Assembly elections of the BJP has begun in full swing. However, Congress defectors to the BJP are in a catch-22 situation for it’s very difficult to get a BJP ticket because of the party’s plan for a ‘no-repeat theory’. If this happens then many veteran leaders of BJP will have to take a step back. According to the source, the tickets of more than 100 leaders who are currently BJP MLAs will be cut. If this happens then their political career is doomed. With less chances of repatriation of such leaders, may are also considering joining the Aam Aadmi Party if the grand old party refuses to welcome them back. 

    Cong’s Ashwin Kotwal likely to join BJPGujarat Congress is in for another setback in the run up to the Assembly polls. According to sources, Khedbrahma’s Congress MLA Ashwin Kotwal will leave the party and join the BJP on May 3. Tribal leader Ashwin Kotwal has been an MLA for 3 consecutive terms. If Ashwin Kotwal leaves Congress, the party could suffer huge losses in the tribal belt. However, he has been upset with the Congress ever since tribal leader Sukhram Rathwa was elevated as opposition leader. Earlier, Ashwin Kotwal had met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Kotwal was absent from Congress’ Adivasi Satyagraha programme despite being a tribal leader. He was also inactive in assembly sessions. 

    Dilip Singh KshatriyaOur correspondent in Gujarat [email protected]

  • BJP to play ‘social justice’ card for Gujarat elections 

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Buoyed by the success in Assembly elections in four states earlier this year, BJP is gearing up to retain Gujarat, which goes to polls towards the end of this year. The plan is to highlight schemes and achievements of the government.

    Gujarat is likely to see a triangular battler this time. Other than BJP and Congress, AAP is also in the fray. Traditionally, elections in the state have been fought in the name of religion and caste. This time, BJP has changed its plan and decided to highlight the developmental work done by the government. As part of the plan, the party will observe “Samajik Nyay Pakhdeva” (Social Justice Fortnight) from April 7-20.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Gujarat for two days later this month and address public rallies in Saurashtra and north Gujarat. He is also likely to visit the tribal-dominated district of Dahod. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also visit Gujarat on April 10 and 11. Then, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will lay the foundation stone of the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Kutch on April 13.

    BJP spokesperson Rutvij Patel said, “On April 7, promotion of Ayushyaman Bharat Yojana started. Promotion of PM Awas Yojana started today (April 8). Similar programmes on Nal Se Jal Yojana will start on April 9.  After that, the free Covid vaccination scheme promotion will be launched on April 12.”

    All these programmes will be attended by party MLAs, MPs and Cengtral ministers. By talking about the benefits of these schemes, BJP wants to protray a people-friendly image, which it thinks, worked in its favour in Uttar Pradesh. It has to be seen to what extent this ploy works in Gujarat. 

  • BJP faces no challenge in upcoming state elections, work done speaks for itself: Gujarat CM

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: “The BJP is not a party which has come into existence only for contesting elections. It has come with a new political character of working for the people and with the people on the time-tested and much-needed mantra of ‘Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas’. The nation and the people come first for us, only after that anything else,” Chief Minister of poll-bound Gujarat Bhupendra Patel told The New Indian Express on Sunday in Ahmedabad.

    Exuding confidence that the BJP would win the upcoming assembly polls, Patel said the work done by the state government under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks for itself. “The people here are the judges of our work. So, there is no chance for any one (read other parties),” said Patel, adding that the state has set an example of developmental politics with the ‘Gujarat model’.

    Answering queries, Patel claimed that the BJP is the only party that has always stood with the people here during adverse times and will stand with them in future too. “Be it the times of COVID-19 pandemic or other troubled times, the BJP government here has stood with the people. We have worked and we are still working to take the state to a new height of prosperity and peace through inclusive world-class development work,” he claimed.

    On being asked whether the BJP takes the Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a challenge in the upcoming assembly elections, Patel said, “There is no one who can challenge the BJP. It is a democracy and anyone can come and fight the elections. It is the collective wisdom of people that decides the fate of the state. And truly speaking, the collective wisdom of people here has always been with the BJP and undoubtedly, it would further continue with the BJP.”

    Asked what would be the main issues on which the BJP would seek a mandate for a seventh term in the upcoming assembly elections, Patel again said it would be on the basis of the work done by the government. “Now we are also working on green energy on a wide scale. We have recently signed an MoU of Rs 10,400 crore with Japan and another MoU of Rs 5000 crore with Reliance to work on green energy. This would make Gujarat the state with the maximum utility and availability of green energy,” the CM said. He also said Gujarat is speedily becoming “Aatmanirbhar’ with all-round development through good governance.

    “Gujarat has topped in the competitive ranking of good governance working on the guidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others. We are ensuring citizen centric services to all,” Patel said.

  • Don’t think Gujarat polls will be advanced: CM Vijay Rupani

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday ruled out the possibility of the early holding of the Assembly elections in the state, saying the ruling BJP believes in working among the people for full five years.

    The state Assembly elections are due in December next year.

    “I do not think that the Gujarat Assembly elections will be held early. They will be held on time. We are people who work constantly. The BJP never launches any scheme to win polls. The BJP is among the people for the entire five years so there is no question of early elections,” Rupani told reporters when asked if there was any possibility of holding Assembly polls in Gujarat along with Uttar Pradesh, where polls are due early next year.

    Rupani was speaking to reporters at Rajpipla in the Narmada district after the conclusion of nine-day celebrations to mark his five years in office as chief minister.

    Taking a dig, he said the Congress’ existence in Gujarat is felt only at the time of elections.

    “Some movement is seen in the Congress during elections. Their activities are election-centric,” Rupani said.

    Speculation is rife in some quarters that Gujarat elections may be advanced so that it can be held along with UP elections.

    Rupani said he was happy that the celebrations, joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on different days, concluded on the occasion of the World Tribal day among the tribal population.

    “The celebrations were held on different subjects and we were able to dedicate development work,” he said.

    Queried on Congress’ opposition to the celebrations, the CM said people have not taken note of the programmes organised by Congress against the celebrations.

  • AAP begins membership drive to take on BJP in 2022 Gujarat elections

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Upbeat after performing well in the recent local bodies polls in Gujarat, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday launched a drive to increase its membership to 50 lakh in 50 days as part of preparations for the 2022 Assembly polls.

    Under its ‘Mission 2022’ plan, the party will open 55,000 booth-level committees over the next six months and take efforts to strengthen its district set up, state unit chief Gopal Italiya said at a press conference here.

    “We are launching a mobile number, 72800-38003, for people to give a missed call and become AAP members. We will contest the 2022 election with full strength and will not let the BJP win this time,” he added.

    Gulab Singh, AAP MLA from Delhi and the party’s Gujarat in charge said its south zone in charge in the state, Manoj Sorathiya, had been made general secretary as reward for the wonderful performance in the Surat municipal corporation polls.

    “The 2022 Assembly election will be a direct contest between the BJP and AAP,” Sorathiya said.

  • People’s trust, affection for Modi endure: BJP on Gujarat local poll win

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday cited its sweeping victory and the Congress’ rout in Gujarat local body polls to assert that farmers have voted for reforms brought in by the Modi government and rejected the opposition campaign on the issue as well as on LPG price.

    Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters that the BJP’s massive victory in the polls underscores that people’s trust and affection for Modi endure and that they have rebuffed the Congress’ negative campaign.

    For the BJP to get such a mandate after being in power in the state for so long is a rare feat in politics, he said, adding that the Congress has been wiped out.

    The BJP has been in power in Gujarat since 1995, except for a couple of years due to rebellion by Shankersinh Vaghela.

    The ruling party has recorded a massive victory in the polls by getting a clear majority in all 31 district panchayats as well as in 196 out of 231 taluka panchayats and 74 out of 81 municipalities.

    The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, could win a majority in only one municipality and 18 taluka panchayats.

    The BJP’s success followed its victory in all six municipal corporations, where polls were held in the first phase of the local body elections on February 21.

    These results mean that people vote for development and that farmers are with reforms, Javadekar said, noting that the Congress in its campaign often used LPG cylinders, a reference to the rising petroleum prices, but in vain.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to “defame” Gujarat, he said while referring to his speech in Assam in which he had targeted Gujarati traders for low wages of tea workers in the eastern state.

    People have rejected his negative campaign, the BJP leader said.

    Javadekar noted that the Gujarat win follows a trail of BJP victories in various polls, including the Bihar assembly election and bypolls and local body election across the country in the last few months, and asserted that this shows people’s support for the party.

    A Congress MLA and relatives of several legislators of the opposition party also lost the local body polls in Gujarat, he said.

    While the BJP had win 368 out of 976 seats in 2015, it has now won 800 of them, amounting to over 80 percent of seats, he said.

    “This is a very big success,” he added.

  • Gujarat polls: BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav threatens reporters over son’s nomination

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: A BJP MLA in Gujarat on Monday threatened to “finish off” reporters when they sought his reaction on whether his son, who had filed nomination papers for upcoming elections to Vadodara municipal corporation, has three children which is the violation of poll norms.

    The nomination of Deepak Shrivastav, son of the MLA Madhu Shrivastav, was finally rejected on Monday evening over the issue of the number of children, a poll official said.

    Deepak Shrivastav had filed the nomination papers as an Independent candidate from Waghodia ward in Vadodara city, after he was refused a ticket by the BJP.

    “Nomination of Deepak Shrivastav was declared invalid over the issue of the number of children,” said Vadodara’s assistant returning officer MS Solanki without elaborating.

    BJP candidate Ashish Joshi had raised objection to Deepak Shrivastav’s nomination before the returning officer, claiming the MLA’s son had three biological children but he showed having only two children in his nomination form.

    The Gujarat Local Authorities (Amendment) Act, 2005, prescribes disqualification as well as rejection of nomination forms for local body elections if a candidate has more than two children.

    “If you again tell me that my son has three children, then I will sue you. He has only two children and not three. He had one child when he won an election for the second time, and now he has two children,” MLA Shrivastav told reporters hours before his son’s nomination was declared invalid.

    “He does not have three children. Bring me the proof if you have. Think before you talk….Better do not ask this question, otherwise I will not even let you stand here. Be careful….Do not ask anything, otherwise I will finish you here. I will ask somebody to finish you off, so be careful,” the MLA told reporters.

    He said his son had submitted proof to back his claim.

    Deepak Shrivastav was denied ticket as the ruling BJP had decided against fielding relatives of the party leaders for the civic elections.

    The MLA had earlier expressed his displeasure over the BJP’s decision to not give the ticket to his son.

    The BJP had also declared that it will not give tickets to candidates above the age of 60 years and those who have completed three terms as councillors.

    Elections to six municipal corporations, including Vadodara, are scheduled to be held on February 21.