News Analysis India

Tag: Presidential election

  • Samajwadi Party signals end of alliance with Omprakash Rajbhar, Shivpal Yadav

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go, signalling a break-up after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded polls.

    Rajbhar said he has “accepted the divorce” given by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav too gave similar indication.

    In a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Omprakash Rajbhar, the SP said while they are fighting the BJP, Rajbhar “has a partnership” with the saffron party and was helping it.

    It said he is free to go if he feels he will get more respect there.

    In a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President Shivpal Singh Yadav, the SP said that “he can go where he gets more respect”.

    The SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handle.

    Shivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SP’s move.

    pic.twitter.com/qc7T8GJAlr
    — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) July 23, 2022
    “Although I was always free, I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey,” he tweeted in Hindi.

    Rajbhar hit out at Akhilesh Yadav.

    “It is bad if I meet Yogi (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” he said, and warned the SP chief that the effect of his action “will be known by the 2024 elections”.

    Asked about his next step, he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    He also said that “Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with him”.

    The development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the opposition nominee supported by SP.

    In 2018, Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh Yadav.

    Akhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol.

    However, the ties remained strained between the two.

    The Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, Rajbhar’s SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party.

    But after the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP, there was much speculation about it falling apart.

    The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP.

    The SP is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) as alliance partners.

    In the letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar, the SP said, “Shri Omprakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP. If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.”

    The letter to Shivpal read: “Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.”

    READ HERE | Don’t need anyone’s advice: Akhilesh Yadav on Rajbhar’s advice for SP, BSP to join hands

    Om Prakash Rajbhar’s proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election.

    Meanwhile, the UP government has provided ‘Y category’ security to Rajbhar.

    After the SP’s defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

    Rajbhar’s party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Rajbhar, a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts, fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways and joined the SP-led alliance.

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go, signalling a break-up after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded polls.

    Rajbhar said he has “accepted the divorce” given by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav too gave similar indication.

    In a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Omprakash Rajbhar, the SP said while they are fighting the BJP, Rajbhar “has a partnership” with the saffron party and was helping it.

    It said he is free to go if he feels he will get more respect there.

    In a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President Shivpal Singh Yadav, the SP said that “he can go where he gets more respect”.

    The SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handle.

    Shivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SP’s move.

    pic.twitter.com/qc7T8GJAlr
    — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) July 23, 2022
    “Although I was always free, I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey,” he tweeted in Hindi.

    Rajbhar hit out at Akhilesh Yadav.

    “It is bad if I meet Yogi (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” he said, and warned the SP chief that the effect of his action “will be known by the 2024 elections”.

    Asked about his next step, he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    He also said that “Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with him”.

    The development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the opposition nominee supported by SP.

    In 2018, Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh Yadav.

    Akhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol.

    However, the ties remained strained between the two.

    The Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, Rajbhar’s SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party.

    But after the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP, there was much speculation about it falling apart.

    The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP.

    The SP is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) as alliance partners.

    In the letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar, the SP said, “Shri Omprakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP. If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.”

    The letter to Shivpal read: “Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.”

    READ HERE | Don’t need anyone’s advice: Akhilesh Yadav on Rajbhar’s advice for SP, BSP to join hands

    Om Prakash Rajbhar’s proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election.

    Meanwhile, the UP government has provided ‘Y category’ security to Rajbhar.

    After the SP’s defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

    Rajbhar’s party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Rajbhar, a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts, fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways and joined the SP-led alliance.

  • Presidential election: Shiv Sena to support NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu

    By Online Desk

    The Shiv Sena on Tuesday announced that it will support the NDA’s Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu vis-a-vis the non-BJP Opposition’s nominee Yashwant Sinha.

    Sena President Uddhav Thackeray made the formal announcement after a series of consultations with the party MPs, MLAs, and other leaders including tribals.

    “There has been absolutely no pressure from the MPs, as claimed in the media. However, many Sena leaders and office-bearers from tribal communities have requested us. We have taken a decision to support Draupadi Murmu for the President’s elections,” Thackeray told media persons.

    The decision to support Murmu comes a day after 16 MPs told Thackeray to support her as she is a “woman from a tribal community.”

    The Sena said Monday, Thackeray had discussed the Presidential polls issue and other matters in detail at a meeting of most Sena MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha besides some other top leaders.

    “In the past even Balasaheb Thackeray used to hold such consultations with party leaders on major issues and the decisions were made on the basis of the view of their colleagues. At yesterday’s meeting, the candidature of Murmu was also discussed,” said Shiv Sena MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut.

    While emphasising that supporting Murmu doesn’t imply backing the BJP, he said the Sena has all the goodwill for Sinha.

    “Such decisions are based on peoples’ sentiments and even in the past we had supported the candidature of Pratibha Patil (2007), Pranab Mukherjee (2012) when we were with the NDA,” Raut pointed out, suggesting a repeat of its stance in 2022.

    He also rubbished speculation in a section of the media that the Sena is on the verge of a split with even MPs preparing to revolt and join the group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    “A majority of our MPs were present at yesterday’s meeting barring Shinde’s son, Dr. Shrikant Shinde and Bhavana Gawali. The party does not take any decisions under pressure and whatever is finally decided, would be binding on all MPs and MLAs,” Raut said.

    Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, the other Maha Vikas Aghadi — of which the Sena is a part — have not yet reacted to the developments.

    Meanwhile, both Murmu and Sinha are expected to be in Mumbai this week to campaign for the President elections and are likely to meet the top leaders of all political parties.

  • Yashwant Sinha files nomination for presidential election

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday filed his nomination papers for the July 18 election.

    Sinha handed over four sets of nomination papers to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the returning officer for the presidential election.

    Top opposition leaders including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, DMK’s A Raja and NC leader Farooq Abdullah were present when Sinha submitted his nomination papers.

    Sinha was named as the common opposition candidate for the presidential election on June 21. NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu has already filed her nomination papers last week.

  • Droupadi Murmu likely to begin Presidential campaign from July 1 in a tribal-populated state: Sources

    Sources said discussions are being held to finalise the state from where she will launch her campaign for the July 18 presidential election.

  • Presidential election: BJP authorises JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh for talks with other parties

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday authorised party chief JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to consult other political parties for next month’s Presidential election.

    In a statement, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said, “In view of Presidential election, the BJP has authorised BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for consulting. They will hold consultations with NDA partners, UPA constituents and even Independent Members of Parliament,” Singh said.

    Singh further stated that Nadda and Rajnath Singh will soon start process of consultation.

    Sources said that consultation will focus on a proposed BJP-led NDA nominee for the post of President of India.

    Presidential polls, if required, will be held on July 18 and counting of votes will take place on July 21. In an electoral college of around 10.86 lakh votes for the polls, the BJP and its alliance partners are a little short of the halfway mark

  • Despite numbers not in its favour, Oppn likely to put up joint candidate for presidential poll

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The opposition is likely to put up a joint candidate for the July 18 presidential election despite not having numbers on its side and consultations in this regard have already begun.

    Sources said that Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has reached out to leaders of some opposition parties and sought their views for a joint opposition candidate who can be fielded.

    Some opposition parties are of the view that they should not give a walkover to the ruling dispensation but put up a fight, the sources said.

    CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam said the Congress had reached out to him to discuss a “common candidate”.

    “Mallikarjun Khargeji called and consulted about a common candidate for the presidential election. I told him that the CPI would support a common candidate with secular credentials and progressive outlook. He replied that Madam Soniaji and the Congress Party also have the same position,” Viswam said in a tweet.

    “Consultations for the presidential election have begun among various opposition parties,” a senior opposition leader told PTI, adding that once a consensus is arrived at, a joint candidate may be put up.

    The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed to win the presidential election with its vote share touching the 50 per cent mark of the total electors.

    While there are 776 MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, each having 700 votes, there are as many as 4033 legislators in states with different votes who will also elect Ram Nath Kovind’s successor.

    Though the final list of electors will be notified after the bye-elections to three Lok Sabha seats and the Rajya Sabha polls to 16 seats, the NDA has 440 MPs in its favour while the opposition UPA has around 180 MPs, besides 36 MPs of Trinamool Congress who normally support the opposition candidate.

    The Congress and the BJP are likely to win six more Rajya Sabha seats in the June 10 election and the UPA partners may bag three seats more.

    According to rough calculations, the NDA has around 5,35,000 votes out of a total of 10,86,431 votes of all electors. This includes 3,08,000 votes with the support of its MPs along with that of its allies.

    The NDA candidate may get the support of some regional parties including the AIADMK, the BJD and the YSRCP for its candidate in the presidential poll. Among the states, the BJP has the maximum of 56,784 votes from Uttar Pradesh where it has 273 MLAs. Each MLA in Uttar Pradesh has the maximum vote of 208.

    The NDA will get its second-highest votes among states from Bihar where with 127 MLAs, it will get 21,971 votes as each legislator has 173 votes, followed by 18,375 votes from Maharashtra where it has 105 MLAs and each has 175 votes.

    With 131 MLAs, the NDA will get 17,161 votes from Madhya Pradesh, 16,464 votes of 112 MLAs from Gujarat and 15,982 votes of its 122 MLAs in Karnataka.

    The UPA, on the other hand, has a little over 1,50,000 votes from among its MPs and will get around the same number of votes from its legislators in states.

    Opposition candidates in the past too have been getting a little more than 3 lakh votes in the previous elections for the highest post in the country. The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in the presidential polls this time due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The value of the vote of an MP in a presidential election is based on the number of elected members in legislative assemblies of states and union territories, including Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

    Election will be held on July 18 to elect incumbent Kovind’s successor, the Election Commission announced on Thursday. The nominations can be filed after the issue of notification on June 15 till June 29, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference.

  • 16th Presidential polls to be held on July 18, counting of votes on July 21: Election Commission

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The 16th Presidential election will be held on July 18 and the counting of votes will be held on July 21, said the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India said the term of office of President Ram Nath Kovind will be ending on July 24.

    Kumar further said, “The value of the vote of an MP will be 700. Those in preventive detention can vote and those in jail will have to apply for parole and if they get parole, they can vote.”

    He stated that the total value of votes for MLAs for the 16th Presidential Election is 5,43,231. The total value of votes for MPs is 543200. The total value of the vote of electors for the Presidential Election, in 2022 is 10,86,431.

    According to the ECI, the date for notification call is June 15, while last the date for filing nominations is June 29. The ECI further announced that the date for the scrutiny of nominations is June 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is 2 July.

    As per Article 62 of the Constitution, an election for the next president must be held before the completion of the incumbent’s term. “A total of 4,809 electors to vote in the Presidential elections in 2022. No political party can issue a whip to its members,” said Kumar.

    As per Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

    The nominated members of either Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies of the States are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College and therefore, they are not entitled to participate in the election. Similarly, members of the Legislative Councils are also not electors for the Presidential election.

    The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution. Previously, the Presidential election was held on July 17, 2017, while the declaration of the winner was made three days later on July 20.

    Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of election to the office of the President of India in the Election Commission of India.

  • Despite victory in assembly elections, winning presidential polls won’t be easy for BJP: Mamata

    The game is not yet over. Without our support, BJP won't sail through.  They don't have even half of the total MLAs in the country, she added.

  • Not a candidate for presidential election: Sharad Pawar trashes media reports

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has ruled out contesting the Presidential election due in 2022, sources in his party said on Wednesday, an assertion coming in the wake of speculation about the veteran politician becoming the opposition nominee for the top post.

    The sources said Pawar (80), a multiple-time CM of Maharashtra and a former Union minister, has rejected media reports about him becoming a candidate in the Presidential election.

    According to the sources, Pawar feels election result for someone contesting against the candidate of a party which has overwhelming numbers in Parliament will be a foregone conclusion.

    Apparently, poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s two meetings with Pawar a few days ago and his (Kishor) recent meetings with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi fuelled speculation in the media that these meets explored the possibility of the Maharashtra politician becoming the opposition candidate for India’s highest office.

    A source from the NCP, which is part of the coalition that rules Maharashtra, however, said Pawar has termed these reports as “false” and ruled out jumping into the Presidential poll fray.

    Pawar has reportedly said he did not have any discussion over the Presidential poll or about the 2024 general elections with Kishor.

    Such reports in the media are mere speculation, the sources said.

    NCP minister Nawab Malik said there has been no discussion within the party on the Presidential poll.