Central News Hub

Category: Politics

  • Goans have rejected Trinamool’s aggressive politics: Fadnavis

    Goans have rejected Trinamool’s aggressive politics: Fadnavis

    Listing the social welfare measures of the BJP government in the state, Fadnavis said, “Goa’s social security expenditure has increased by six times to Rs 903 crore from Rs 191 crore in 2012 when we came to power.”…reports Asian Lite News

    Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP in-charge for Goa, Devendra Fadnavis, on Thursday lashed out at the opposition parties and said that Trinamool Congress came to the coastal state with a ‘suitcase’ to expand the party thinking Goa is a market and the leaders are for sale.

    Fadnavis also claimed that people of the state have rejected the aggressive politics of Trinamool.

    “Trinamool Congress came to Goa and formed an alliance with the MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party). Goa has already rejected Trinamool’s aggressive politics. The party came to Goa with a suitcase to expand its base as if Goa is a market and the leaders of the state are for sale. But leaders are not for sale in Goa,” Fadnavis said.

    Referring to the post poll-violence in West Bengal last year, Fadnavis said, “People of Goa are not trusting Trinamool for its anti-Hindu, anti-national and anti-democratic stance. Such politics is not suitable for Goa. It created resentment in the Trinamool alliance due to which many MGP leaders are joining the BJP.”

    Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Fadnavis said, “AAP is a party of lies. It stands on the foundation of lies and that’s why Goans rejected them in the last Assembly polls. AAP’s lies and false promises have been exposed in Delhi.”

    Talking about the BJP government in Goa, Fadnavis said, “BJP has brought stability and development in the state. It has given stable government and development to the state. Today, BJP is working to fulfil the dream of a golden Goa as seen by (late) Manohar Parrikar.”

    Listing the social welfare measures of the BJP government in the state, Fadnavis said, “Goa’s social security expenditure has increased by six times to Rs 903 crore from Rs 191 crore in 2012 when we came to power.”

    He mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi allocated Rs 4,000 crore for Goa for infrastructure development in five years between 2014 and 2019, while during the UPA tenure from 2009 to 2014, only Rs 120 crore was released by the Centre.

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  • It’s Yogi vs Azad in Gorakhpur

    It’s Yogi vs Azad in Gorakhpur

    The Bhim Army chief and his party have no base in Gorakhpur or even eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Gorakhpur Sadar assembly seat has been with the BJP continuously since 1989, except once when it was won by Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, reports Asian Lite News

    The first candidate to be declared against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur is Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad.

    The Dalit leader had said earlier he would contest against Yogi Adityanath in the February-March election. Today, his party formally announced it, days after the BJP declared that Yogi Adityanath would contest the UP election from Gorakhpur Sadar.

    Yogi Adityanath is running for MLA for the first time. But his main rival will be the Samajwadi Party candidate, not announced yet.

    This will also be Chandrashekhar Azad’s first election.

    The 34-year-old had famously backtracked after announcing in 2019 that he would contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He later explained that since he had no party at the time, it was best to support Mayawati’s party and the Congress.

    Now that he has one, he would take on Yogi Adityanath, he had said.

    “It is not important for me to win a place in the UP assembly. It is important for me that Yogi Adityanath should not get to be in the assembly. So I will contest wherever he is contesting,” he had said last year.

    The Bhim Army chief and his party have no base in Gorakhpur or even eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Gorakhpur Sadar assembly seat has been with the BJP continuously since 1989, except once when it was won by Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. In 2017, the BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal won the seat back by a margin of over 60,000 votes.

    Chandrashekhar Azad recently declared that his party would not tie up with the Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav, after their seat share talks collapsed.

    He declared that he felt cheated by the Samajwadi Party and that it had reneged on its promise to offer his party 25 seats to contest.

    Akhilesh Yadav said he would try to ensure that two seats were set aside for Azad’s party but he was told the Bhim Army chief was no longer interested.

    The Chandrashekhar Azad-led Bhim Army drew attention during the May 2017 clashes between Dalits and upper caste Thakurs in Saharanpur.

    Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested after the clashes. Though he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested him under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). He was released in September 2018 after 16 months in jail.

    On January 18, Azad who is a staunch BJP critic, said his political outfit – Azad Samaj Party – is open to stitching an alliance with others and maintained that his fight has always been with the ruling party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

    The seven-phases polling for the UP election will commence from February 10 and will continue till March 7. The Gorakhpur urban seat will go to vote in the sixth phase, on March 3.

    The votes will be counted on March 10.

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  • Congress poster girl to join BJP

    Congress poster girl to join BJP

    Maurya said she has been relentlessly working in the Sarojini Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency for over a year, but was denied a ticket…reports Asian Lite News

    Priyanka Maurya, the face of Congress ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ poster in Uttar Pradesh, may join the BJP soon.

    BJP sources said that she visited the party headquarters in Lucknow on Wednesday, triggering speculation of her joining the saffron party.

    Maurya said, ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon’ has been rendered as a mere slogan because “as a ‘ladki’, I was not allowed to contest elections because I could not pay bribe’.

    She claimed that instead of giving the ticket to her, it was given to a person who joined the party just a month back.

    “I completed all formalities but the ticket was pre-planned and was given to a person who came just a month back. I want to send this message to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi that such things are happening on the ground,” said Maurya.

    Maurya said she has been relentlessly working in the Sarojini Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency for over a year, but was denied a ticket.

    “We were used as a pawn to woo women and people from the backward community. Very soon you will see me and members of my community with the BJP,” she said.

    Maurya’s social media profile, categorically describes her as Mahila Congress vice-president, doctor and social worker. It also refers to 170, Sarojini Nagar Vidhan Sabha, an Assembly seat in Lucknow.

    In a ‘pinned’ tweet posted on January 14, Maurya alleged Congress’ ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon’ campaign was nothing, but a hoax. “People will say if you do not get the ticket, then you are bound to say this. Investigate and find out yourself. We were told to prepare for 2024. Congress has not been able to beat the ‘jumlas’ of BJP,” she said in the tweet.

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  • This man will contest his 94th election

    This man will contest his 94th election

    Ambedkari contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri seats, but forfeited his deposit. He fought the zila panchayat elections in 2021…reports Asian Lite News

    The Kheragarh Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra will witness a unique contestant — 74-year-old Hasanuram Ambedkari, who is all set to contest his 94th election this time. He has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate.

    Ambedkari said he works as a farm labour and has a MNREGA job card. He does not have any formal schooling, but can read and write Hindi, Urdu, and English. A member of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) founded by Kanshi Ram, Ambedkari said that he fought all elections according to the ideology of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

    He has been unsuccessfully contesting elections since 1985 for various bodies, including the Lok Sabha, state Assembly, and panchayat elections from different seats.

    In 1988, his nomination for the post of the President of India was rejected. He said, “I contest elections to lose. The winning politicians forget the masses. I want to set a record of losing elections 100 times. I do not care who my opponents are as I contest elections to give an option to voters who believe in Ambedkar’s ideology.”

    Ambedkari contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri seats, but forfeited his deposit. He fought the zila panchayat elections in 2021.

    He secured the highest number of votes (36,000) in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections from the Firozabad seat. Ambedkari has started door-to-door campaigning with his wife and supporters. He said, “My agenda has always been impartial and corruption-free development and welfare of the marginalised in society.”.

    He was also briefly a member of the BSP as well. “I was a dedicated worker of BAMCEF and also worked for the BSP to strengthen its roots in UP. In 1985, when I asked for a ticket, I was ridiculed and told that not even my wife would vote for me. I was deeply disheartened and since then, I have been contesting every election as an independent candidate,” he said.

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  • Betting market gives BJP 230 UP seats in early trends

    Betting market gives BJP 230 UP seats in early trends

    He said in the second and third phase they will open the price for the Congress and the AAP. In the first phase they have not given any option for these two parties…reports Atul Krishan

    Ahead of the first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh the Hapur market has predicted the return of the BJP to power — the first time since the last 21 years as no government could return to power. The satta bazaar which operates very secretively has betted on the BJP. The prediction is that after early losses the BJP will emerge as the winner with an absolute majority.

    The bookies who run the satta bazaar are giving 230 seats to the BJP in the UP Assembly elections in their early trends. They are also taking the help of various professionals to run the satta bazaar and to keep themselves safe from the clutches of the police.

    They are buying paid service, betting only with trusted customers and relying on professionals to run their racket. 

    They told that as of now they were looking at the BJP as the strong player in the elections, the Samajwadi Party was their second choice to which they were giving 130 seats. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were not given any seats as of now in the first phase of the elections. They told that after the first phase of election the trend might change but it would not be a major change. As per their trend the BJP is getting fewer seats than in the previous elections but also becoming a major party.

    “We are offering 1000 for 1000 as of now for BJP. After the first phase of elections, this might change into 1000 to 5000 or 10,000 depending on the current trends,” said the bookie.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o65xwUEQNI

    He said in the second and third phase they will open the price for the Congress and the AAP. In the first phase they have not given any option for these two parties.

    “After each phase the situation will change. We will be able to comment on the Congress after the third phase. This phase will give us an idea about how many seats the Congress is going to bag. The seats of the BSP will also be decided in the third phase. The fourth phase will make it clear to us whether the AAP is going to affect the elections or not. The rest of the phases of the elections will only swing the betting price,” said the bookie.

    The satta bazaar is saying that the BJP will suffer a loss of 60 to 70 seats but as of now the saffron party was a strong candidate. That the Samajwadi Party will be able to bag more than 130 seats or not will be clear in the fourth phase of the elections.

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  • No MVA in Goa; Shiv Sena, NCP to go without Congress

    No MVA in Goa; Shiv Sena, NCP to go without Congress

    Congress Senior observer of Goa, P. Chidambaram said the people are voting either for the BJP or for a regime change…reports Asian Lite News

    The hope of stitching an MVA like alliance in Goa has not taken off as Congress is unwilling to ally with the Shiv Sena and NCP. The three parties have formed Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra but in Goa the Congress is already in alliance with Goa Forward Party.

    The Congress is not willing to concede more seats to the allies and sources say it thinks that the NCP and the Shiv Sena in the fray will split BJP votes.

    Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP said, “NCP and Shiv Sena tried to form an MVA like alliance in Goa but did not get positive response from the Congress.”

    The Shiv Sena leader in the past had met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the same but things did not work out as Congress assessment is that people will vote for a change. NCP leader Praful Patel has said that his party will contest with Shiv Sena in the state.

    The Congress had alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress were contesting in Goa to split the opposition vote and help the BJP.

    Congress Senior observer of Goa, P. Chidambaram said the people are voting either for the BJP or for a regime change.

    Chidambaram in a statement said, “My assessment that the AAP (and the TMC) will only fracture the non-BJP vote in Goa has been confirmed by Mr Arvind Kejriwal. The contest in Goa is between Congress and BJP”.

    “Those who want a regime change (after 10 years of misrule) will vote for the Congress. Those who want the regime to continue will vote for the BJP. The choice before the voter in Goa is stark and clear. Do you want a regime change or not? I appeal to the voters of Goa to vote for a regime change and vote Congress,” he added.

    The Congress is facing a tough battle in Goa while trying to be ahead of the BJP as the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are spoiling the grand old party’s game in the state.

    The Congress is trying to put up a strong face and has denied any alliance talks with the Trinamool despite speculations in the political circles. Jittered by the Congress stance, the Trinamool has launched an offensive against the Congress.

    “The Trinamool has been saying that they are open to alliances, but Congress is not willing to accept and behaving like an emperor,” Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra said, adding: “Need of hour in Goa is to defeat BJP – no one should be on their high horse. AITC will not, repeat not, shy away from walking the last mile.”

    ALSO READ-AAP candidate from Ferozepur resigns, joins Congress

  • Rajnath writes to Mamata, Stalin over tableau controversy

    Rajnath writes to Mamata, Stalin over tableau controversy

    In his letter to both the leaders, Rajnath Singh stated that of the 29 proposals from states and union territories, 12 were accepted, reports Asian Lite News

    Putting an end to politics of tableau ahead of the Republic day parade, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin explaining the reasons for rejection of their states’ tableaux.

    Politics of tableau heated up after the Centre rejected the proposals of Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu tableaux in the Republic Day parade. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention after the Centre rejected her state’s Republic Day tableaux on Subhas Chandra Bose.

    In his letter to both the leaders, Rajnath Singh stated that of the 29 proposals from states and union territories, 12 were accepted.

    Tableaux Delhi state and others State take part in Republic Day full dress parade rehearsal, at Rajpath in New Delhi, India on Saturday, January 23, 2021. (Source: IANS)

    Singh said: “I would like to bring to your kind attention that there exists a well established system for selection of tableaux for participation in the Republic Day Parade, as per which Ministry of Defence invites proposals for tableaux from all States/UTs and Central Ministries/Departments.”

    The minister said that tableaux proposals received from various States/UTs and Central Ministries/Departments are evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee comprising eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc.

    “The Expert Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations. As per the time slot allotted for tableaux in overall duration of the parade, short listing of tableaux is done by the Expert Committee.”

    He told Banerjee that West Bengal tableaux were part of 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021 parades.

    Nandi, Naga, Ganesha, Lepakshi to feature in AP’s tableaux (Source: IANS)

    He also said that the government has celebrated 2018 Republic Day in honour of Subhas Chandra Bose and this year also the Republic Day celebrations will begin from January 23 marking his 125th birth anniversary.

    To Stalin, Singh explained, “The tableaux from the State Government of Tamil Nadu was considered in the first three rounds of meetings. After the third round of meeting, the tableaux could not make it to the final list of 12 selected for participation in the RDP-2022.”

    Singh told Stalin that Tamil Nadu had representation in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Republic Day parades.

    ALSO READ: Stalin calls for unity among global Tamil diaspora

  • BJP to finalise candidates for Assembly polls tomorrow

    BJP to finalise candidates for Assembly polls tomorrow

    Shortlisted names of the candidates recommended to the CEC have been already discussed by the top leadership with the state units, reports Asian Lite News

    The BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) will meet on Wednesday to finalise candidates for Goa, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

    Shortlisted names of the candidates recommended to the CEC have been already discussed by the top leadership with the state units.

    Sources said that the meeting will be held on January 19 and names for Goa, and Uttarakhand are to be approved. “Names for a few more phases of Uttar Pradesh will be approved by the CEC,” sources said.

    On Monday, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders discussed the shortlisted names with the Central leadership before the CEC. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh discussed the shortlisted names for the state with Nadda, Shah and others.

    The BJP central leadership also discussed the names of probable candidates for Punjab on Monday. Union minister and party election in-charge for Punjab Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, election co-in-charge Meenakshi Lekhi, national general secretary and state in-charge Dushyant Gautam, Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma were present in the meeting.

    BJP National President JP Nadda with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

    On Sunday, Goa and Uttarakhand BJP leaders met the central leadership and discussed the names recommended by the state units. BJP chief Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah discussed the shortlisted names for Uttarakhand and Goa with respective states units. Both the chief ministers — Pushkar Singh Dhami and Pramod Sawant — attended the meeting with their respective state leaders.

    In its first meeting last week, the BJP CEC finalised candidates for 172 Assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh where polling will be held in the first three phases. The BJP, however, released the first list of 107 candidates for Uttar Pradesh.

    Last Thursday, the BJP CEC meeting was held in a hybrid mode as few of the CEC members, including party chief Nadda, have tested positive for Covid-19. Nadda, however, recovered from infection and attended meetings on Monday at party headquarters.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the Assembly polls will be held in seven phases in February-March starting from February 10, while Goa and Uttarakhand elections will be held on February 14, and in Manipur, it will also be in two phases — on February 27 and March 3. Punjab assembly polls will be held on February 20. Counting of votes will take place on March 10.

    ALSO READ: UTTAR PRADESH: Yogi to contest from Gorakhpur
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  • AAP candidate from Ferozepur resigns, joins Congress

    AAP candidate from Ferozepur resigns, joins Congress

    Ashu Bangar alleged AAP is being run like a private company by leaders from Delhi. “Candidates are pressurised with threats that their ticket would be cancelled, so no one speaks up.”…reports Asian Lite News

    Hours after quitting as the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Ferozepur (Rural) constituency in Punjab on Monday, Ashu Bangar was inducted into the Congress by party Chief Minister Charanjit Channi.

    Channi in Chandigarh announced that Bangar would be party’s candidate from the Ferozepur (Rural) seat as he is young with dreams to serve society.

    Earlier, poll debutant Bangar told the media in Ferozepur that he was being “humiliated and pressurised” by the AAP leadership to spend more on electioneering.

    He alleged AAP is being run like a private company by leaders from Delhi. “Candidates are pressurised with threats that their ticket would be cancelled, so no one speaks up.”

    He said AAP was functioning like a private company under state in-charge Raghav Chadha, “who was behaving like a dictator and mentally torturing AAP volunteers”. “All decisions are being taken from Delhi without taking local Punjabis taken into confidence.”

    He also took objection to the AAP’s charge that Balbir Singh Rajewal-led Samyukt Samaj Morcha is in league with the BJP.

    He said people were angry with Chadha over his remarks against farmers when they refused to support the AAP.

    Responding to Bangar’s allegations against AAP, Congress spokesperson Alka Lamba, in a video message, said: “History repeats itself once again. In 2017, similar allegations were made against AAP and Punjabis never forgave them. It shows that only faces have changed but their modus operandi remains the same.”

    Refuting Bangar’s allegations, Chadha said: “There is a conspiracy to hurt the AAP and I’m told that a senior leader of the Congress had called up the Ferozepur candidate and put pressure on him to quit the party.”

    Punjab will go to the polls in a single phase for the 117-member assembly on February 20.

    ALSO READ: HS Rawat sacked as Uttarakhand minister, expelled from BJP

  • Akhilesh announces sops for farmers, takes pledge to defeat BJP

    Akhilesh announces sops for farmers, takes pledge to defeat BJP

    Yadav said that all this would be included in the Samajwadi manifesto which would be released after the BJP released its manifesto…reports Asian Lite News

    Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on Monday, said that when his party comes to power, he would ensure minimum support price for all crops for farmers.

    He said that he would create a farmers’ revolving fund to ensure payment of cane dues besides making adequate arrangements for ensuring free irrigation, loan, pension and insurance for them. He also said that he would withdraw all cases lodged against farmers and the families of those who had died during the agitation would be given Rs 25 lakhs each.

    Yadav said that all this would be included in the Samajwadi manifesto which would be released after the BJP released its manifesto.

    Farmer leader Tajinder Virk, who was among those injured in the October 3, 2021 Lakhimpur incident, administered a pledge with fistful of wheat and rice to defeat ‘those who had heaped atrocities on farmers.’

    Comparing the Lakhimpur incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Akhilesh Yadav said that by mowing down innocent farmers, the BJP had committed an unpardonable crime.

    He said that it was the unity of farmers that had forced the BJP to take back the farm laws.

    The SP president further said that the BJP and its leaders had been openly violating the model code of conduct. He said that he would soon lodge a formal complaint with the Election Commission and hoped that they would take action accordingly.

    Replying to a question on the failure of alliance talks with Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar, Akhilesh Yadav said that he had offered two seats but does not know why the same was turned down.

    “Chandra Shekhar should know that Dr Ambedkar and Dr Lohia worked together and he should also work together in a positive spirit with us and as a brother,” he said.

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