News Analysis India

Tag: Gujarat polls

  • 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.

  • I will work as Narendra Modi’s soldier, tweets Hardik Patel ahead of joining BJP 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Once a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Congress leader Hardik Patel, who is set to join the ruling BJP in Gujarat on Thursday, posted a tweet in the morning saying he would work as a “soldier” of PM Modi and start a “new chapter”.

    Patel is set to join the BJP at 12 pm on Thursday.

    “Today, I am going to start a new chapter keeping in mind the interest of the nation, region, society and community. I will work as a small soldier in the development work of the nation being carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said in the tweet.

    Elections to the 182-member House of the Gujarat Assembly are due by the end of this year.

    Patel had earlier led an aggressive agitation to demand quota for the Patidar community and targeted the BJP government time and again.

    He was a very vocal critic of the BJP in the past.

    But the BJP government had slapped several cases against him, including that of sedition.

    Patel, who had joined the Congress in 2019, resigned from the party recently.

    After that, there was a speculation that he might join the ruling BJP.

    He had even praised the BJP’s decision-making capacity and style of functioning, while severely criticising the Congress leadership.

    Before quitting the Congress, Patel had written a scathing letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, claiming that the Congress “only played the role of a roadblock” over certain key issues in the country and was “merely reduced to opposing everything”.

    Patel first came into limelight in 2015 when he spearheaded the movement demanding reservation for the Patidar community in government jobs and educational institutes.

    Although he joined the opposition Congress in March 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha election, contesting the parliamentary election was not possible for him due to his conviction in a rioting case.

    He positioned himself as a vocal critic of the BJP and kept targeting the party and its governments in the state and at the Centre for being “anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-youth”.

    Since he was convicted in rioting and arson cases, it affected his chances of contesting an election.

    However, the Supreme Court recently stayed his conviction.

    Patel, who was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 124(A) (sedition), 121 (A) (conspiracy to wage war against government) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), has been out on bail since 2016.

    The BJP government has recently taken steps to withdraw several cases lodged against Patel and others related to the 2015 reservation agitation and the violence that broke out in which 10 persons, including a policeman, were killed and public properties and vehicles damaged.

  • 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]

  • Assembly polls: Kejriwal plays anti-corruption card in Gujarat; seeks a chance for AAP 

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Fresh after the huge victory in the recently held assembly elections in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is betting big on Gujarat where assembly elections are slated to be held in December this year.

    Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann arrived in Ahmedabad on Friday night on a two-day visit for a roadshow, “Tiranga Yatra.”

    During the day, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann held a mega roadshow in Eastern Ahmedabad. The 1.5 km long roadshow covered the Nikol and Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, dominated by Patidar, Hindi-speaking people, and laborers.

    Kejriwal began his speech in Gujarati asking, “Kem Cho?” (how are you) “Majama?” (fine). 

    He said that his aim is to end corruption in the country. He claimed that Delhi is free of corruption and claimed that he has not come to Gujarat to do politics.

    “BJP is ruling Gujarat for 25 years but corruption is still prevalent in the state. I have not come here to defeat BJP or Congress but I came to win Gujarat and Gujaratis. Give the Aam Aadmi Party a chance. These people ruled for 25 years but were not able to do anything. Delhi and Punjab gave us a chance. Give us a chance in Gujarat. If you don’t like it, you can party our party out in the next elections after five years,” he averred.

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mane said the question paper leak is common in Gujarat. This has to be stopped. Education is sold here, he claimed.

    He further asked the crowd, “Where does the lotus flower grow?” and replied himself saying, “in swamps, a broom (Zaddo) is used to clean the swamp, so swamps have to be cleaned. The swamp of corruption has to be cleared.”

    Reacting to the AAP roadshow, Cabinet Minister Jitu Waghani said “Gujarat welcomes every guest, But the people of Gujarat always support the BJP. 

    Earlier in the day, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Panjab CM Bhagwant Mann visited the Sabarmati Ashram and took a tour of Hriday Kunj, the place where Mahatma Gandhi used to stay on the Sabarmati Ashram premises, and also visited museums there and bowed down before the statue of Gandhiji. They also spun the customary wheel kept at the Ashram.

    Talking to Media, Kejriwal said, “This is my first visit to Sabarmati Ashram after becoming Delhi chief minister. Earlier, when I was an activist, I had visited this place several times.” “Whenever I come here, I get inner peace,” he said.

    Bhagwant Mann said, “I come from a land of freedom Fighters-Punjab. I got to see a lot here. Gandhi Ji’s letters and the various movements he spearheaded. Charkha is part of every other household in Punjab. My mother and grandmother also use it. I have seen the Charkha being used since my childhood. We are nationalist people and we love the nation. This is my first visit to Gujarat since I became Punjab CM.”

    AAP leaders’ visit to the BJP-ruled Gujarat is being seen as an attempt to prepare the groundwork for their party ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections. This visit is also crucial for the AAP members to assess party strengths and work on faults ahead of the elections. On Sunday, Kejriwal is expected to meet various political and social leaders in the state to discuss key strategies. He is also scheduled to visit the Swaminarayan temple on Sunday.

  • 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.

  • BJP promoting ‘The Kashmir Files’ with eye on Assembly polls in Gujarat, Rajasthan: Shiv Sena

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday accused the BJP of promoting ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie with an eye on the forthcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and also alleged that an attempt has been made in the film to suppress several “harsh truths”.

    In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut said it was the BJP’s promise to ensure the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir, but the same has not happened despite the abrogation of Article 370, and sought to know whose failure it was.

    Raut also labelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being the main promoter of the film. Attacking the BJP further, the Rajya Sabha member asked the NDA constituent what happened to its promise of integrating Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) with India.

    Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

    Since its release on March 11, the film has sparked a debate among political parties. Several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have exempted the film from entertainment tax. “The story based on the fleeing of Hindu Pandits in Kashmir, their killings, atrocities inflicted on them and their anger disturbs one’s mind. But what disturbs even more is (the attempt) to divide Hindu-Muslims out of it (the story) again and win the upcoming elections. The Kashmir file has been opened to win the (forthcoming) elections in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan,” Raut said.

    Raut said that films like ‘The Kashmir Files’ should be created, but – he alleged – the agenda of such movies has now been to spread hatred and confusion about (political) opponents.

    The Shiv Sena leader said the makers of ‘The Kashmir Files’ had earlier produced ‘The Tashkent Files’, through which, he alleged, it was implied that only the Gandhi family was responsible for the death of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

    “In ‘The Kashmir Files’, an attempt has been made to suppress several other harsh truths while showing true news. Thirty-two years ago, the atmosphere in Kashmir was bad not only for Kashmiri Pandits, but for all, and the Kashmiri Pandits were the most-affected,” Raut said.

    The Rajya Sabha member noted that Kashmiri Sikhs and Muslims, too, were among those killed in Kashmir at that time, besides Kashmir Pandits. Raut said that the first political murder in Kashmir was of National Conference leader Mohammed Yousuf Halwai in August 1989.

    Before that, an attack was made on the inspector general of police, in which the officer’s bodyguard was killed, he added. “Several such truths are hidden through ‘The Kashmir Files’,” he alleged.

    Raut said that Kashmiri Pandits were not impelled to flee Kashmir for 43 years after the Independence. He further added there was a BJP-supported VP Singh government at the Centre when the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had to leave Kashmir in 1990.

    “BJP leader Jagmohan was the Governor of Kashmir (then). The Kashmir file was in cold storage when the Hindus were dying in the Valley and fleeing it,” Raut said, adding only late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray was voicing support for the Kashmiri Pandits at that time.

    Raut further also asked the BJP how it formed a government with the PDP (in March 2015) “which had shaken hands with militants”. “These people (BJP) did not even condemn the displacement and killings of Kashmiri Pandits at that time,” Raut said.

    He asked why were the BJP ministers in that government were silent when the PDP had termed 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as “freedom fighter” and questioned the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani by security personnel.

    Raut also asked the BJP what happened to its announcement of integrating PoK with India.

    The Shiv Sena leader said Thackeray had ensured five per cent reservation for children of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in medical and engineering education in Maharashtra and asked why BJP-ruled states never took such a decision.

    Referring to the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans in the 2019 Pulwama attack, Raut said the security personnel may not have been “pandits” and asked whose fault was it that they lost their lives in the incident. “Isn’t the file of Kashmir incidents smeared with our blood due to attacks like Uri, Pathankot to Pulwama?” he asked.

  • Gujarat polls: With just one candidate in fray, 1,267 gram panchayats become ‘fully uncontested’

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A total of 1,267 gram panchayats have been declared as “fully uncontested” ahead of polls slated for December 19, the State Election Commission (SEC) said on Tuesday.

    On the last day for withdrawal of nominations, the SEC said only one candidate was remaining in the fray in 1,267 gram panchayats, thus making them fully uncontested.

    Incidentally, the Gujarat government offers incentives and additional grants to village panchayats which become fully uncontested or “samras”.

    The gram panchayats polls are not fought on party symbols, and candidates need to contest in their personal capacity, with voters electing one sarpanch and a specified number of panchayat members.

    Last month, the SEC had announced polls on December 19 for 10,879 gram panchayats, with results being declared on December 21.

  • Congress will fight 2022 Gujarat assembly elections with strength: Raghu Sharma

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Newly appointed Congress in-charge for Gujarat, Raghu Sharma, on Saturday said he would work to make sure that his party fights the upcoming assembly elections in the state with strength and comes out victorious.

    He said despite having been a common party worker, the Congress party trusted him with the responsibility and it would be his resolve that a change comes in Gujarat.

    “Strategy would be that the party stands strongly, fights election strongly. With agitational and training programmes, the party forms the government in coming times,” Sharma told reporters during a presser.

    Sharma holds medical and health department portfolio in Rajasthan government and his appointment as incharge ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat in 2022 is seen as a hint towards a possible reshuffle in Rajasthan government cabinet.

    He will be on a three-day tour to Gujarat to meet party leaders and workers.

    Sharma said: “I am not a son of any big political leader and don’t have a background of any political family. I am a common grassroots party worker. Party has trusted me and given the responsibility so I am also going with a resolve that a change is seen in Gujarat.”

    Sharma said his priority is Congress party and its organisation.

    Replying to a question on how Congress would tackle sitting BJP government in Gujarat, he said that there has been no development, governance and performance in the state.

    “If there would have been governance or development, what was the need to change Chief Minister, Deputy CM.

    If the BJP has accepted that it has proved useless and has not performed then they should apologise to the people of the state,” Sharma said.

    He said the BJP should give reasons as to why the CM was changed and the state cabinet reshuffled.

    The BJP has formed the government by unconstitutional means in Gujarat in 2017 with the support of 18 Congress MLAs, he said.

    “Now, the MLAs who were given portfolio in BJP government in Gujarat too have been ousted,” he said.

    Asked about speaking with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, who was earlier the in-charge of Gujarat Congress, he said he is yet to do that.

    “He is a senior party senior leader and will seek his advice whenever needed,” Sharma 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.

  • 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.