Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan was the minister who removed from the post and replaced by Mehmet Mus…reports Asian Lite News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed the Trade Minister and appointed chiefs of two newly established Ministries, according to a presidential decree.
Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan was removed from the post and replaced by Mehmet Mus, Xinhua news agency quoted the decree as saying on Wednesday.
Derya Yanik was appointed as head of the Family Ministry, and Vedat Bilgin took the post as the Labour Minister.
Ministries of labor and family had been under the same roof before the decree separated them.
The Congress, Left and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) of cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui are part of the Samyukta Morcha…reports Asian Lite News
To ensure division of non-BJP votes among the ruling Trinamool Congress and the ‘Samyukta Morcha’, the saffron party will start attacking the Congress in the remaining fives phases of Assembly elections in the state.
The Congress, Left and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) of cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui are part of the Samyukta Morcha. The BJP strategists believe that a triangular contest in the last five phases will benefit the party, while a direct fight with the Trinamool may go against it.
“Division of non-BJP votes among the Trinamool and the Congress-led alliance will help us improve our position. On the other hand, consolidation of non-BJP votes only in favour of the Trinamool will help the ruling party in Bengal,” a senior BJP leader said.
Another senior saffron party leader explained that the last five legs of Bengal Assembly polls will be crucial, and consolidation of all non-BJP votes in favour of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool will not do the BJP any good.
Bihar BJP workers .
“Division of non-BJP votes among the Trinamool and the Congress or its alliance partners will brighten up our chances,” he said.
To divide the non-BJP votes among the Trinamool and the Congress-led alliance, the saffron party is all set to launch an attack on the grand old party.
“Congress has its presence in many areas where polling will be conducted in the coming phases. They also have sitting MLAs there. Shifting of Congress votes in these seats to the Trinamool in a close contest will strengthen the ruling party and we have to stop this,” the BJP leader said.
As per the strategy, the BJP will now start attacking the Congress-led Samyukta Morcha so that the voters start taking them seriously.
“Non-BJP votes going to the Samyukta Morcha will weaken the Trinamool. Also, Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui might corner the minority votes for the alliance which Mamata Banerjee is eyeing,” he said.
The BJP also believes that now senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may campaign in West Bengal after the completion of elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, something which they haven’t done till now.
“The likely presence of Gandhi siblings in West Bengal will also give us an opportunity to attack the Congress which will ultimately benefit us,” a BJP leader said.
The BJP has identified a few areas that will go to the polls in the remaining phases where the Congress has presence, like Hooghly, Howrah, Noapara, Krishna Nagar, Raiganj, Malda, Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.
“We have to stop shifting of Congress votes to the Trinamool camp in these areas,” a Bengal BJP leader said.
Leaders of various political parties, several movie actors and general public were seen voting early…reports Asian Lite News.
Medium level turn outs were reported in the major election centers of India. Over 39 per cent of the 6.28 crore voters have cast their votes across the 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu where Assembly elections are underway.
According to the Election Commission of India, 39.61 per cent of votes have been polled in the state till 1 p.m.
Polling began at 7 a.m. and would end at 7 p.m.
A total of 3,998 candidates are in the fray, seeking the 6.28 crore voters’ favour to enter the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
With 77 contestants, the Karur Assembly seat sees the highest number of Assembly aspirants.
Leaders of various political parties, several movie actors and general public were seen voting early.
Chief Minister K.Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, DMK President M.K. Stalin, PMK Founder S.Ramadoss, Congress leader P. Chidambaram, DMDK Treasurer Premalatha Vijayakant, NTK leader Seeman, MNM leader Kamal Haasan, AMMK leader T.T.V.Dhinakaran and others cast their votes.
Similarly, the Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo, who is managing the poll show in the state, too cast his vote.
Rajnikant and Kamal Hasan with daughters Akshara and Shruti Hassan during voting in Chennai,April 6,2021 (Photo: Pallav Paliwal)
From the movies field, Rajinikanth, star couple Ajit Kumar and Shalini, Vijay, Surya, Karthi, Sivakumar have cast their votes.
Ajit Kumar and Shalini had reached their polling booth about 20 minutes before the start of polling to vote early in order to avoid the fan crowd.
He, in fact, never fails to vote in any election. In the past polls too, he was seen standing in the queue to cast his vote.
On his part Vijay pedalled his way from his residence to the polling booth with a large number of people following him on their two wheelers.
After voting he went back home on a two wheeler.
Speaking to reporters after voting, Stalin said, “people were casting their votes enthusiastically and the May 2 result will be great”.
A total of 88,937 polling booths are there in the state and over 1,59,165 electronic voting machines have been deployed.
About 1.58 lakh security personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Similarly, voting is underway at the lone Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat where bypoll is being held simultaneously.
Meanwhile Puducherry recorded 54.30 per cent at 1.30 p.m.
The Puducherry Union Territory has just over 10 lakh voters and the fight for the 30-member Assembly is majorly between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) consisting of Congress (contesting in 14 seats), DMK (13), CPI, VCK (one seat each) and an Independent.
The rival National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprises of All India N.R. Congress (16 seats), BJP (9) and AIADMK (5).
The AIADMK government later took over that house to convert it into a memorial after Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016…reports Asian Lite News.
V.S Sasikala alleges that her name was removed from the voters list and it was not informed to her. At a time when eligible voters of Tamil Nadu are casting their vote to elect a new government in the state, V.K.Sasikala, the close aide of late Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa, could not vote as her name was removed from the electoral rolls, said her counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian.
According to him, Sasikala’s name figured in the Thousand Lights assembly constituency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNL3i1wUzFQ
She was residing at Jayalalithaa’s residence at Poes Garden here.
The AIADMK government later took over that house to convert it into a memorial after Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016.
Sasikala, who was jailed for four years on corruption charges was released couple of months back.
Though she had said that she would get into active politics, Sasikala later announced that she would stay away from it.
Her counsel said officials in the poll body had informed him that Sasikala’s name was struck off from the electoral rolls in January 2019 after the rolls were revised.
Later the deadline for inclusion of Sasikala’s name in the voters list got over.
He also wondered why the Election Commission had not sent her a notice at Parapana Agrahara Prison in Bengaluru.
The technocrat may garner a few BJP votes, but does not seem to be a winning candidate, reports Ashok parameswar
As the state gears up for polling on April 6, emotions and aspirations remain high. Despite the beating heat, voters in Palakkad are all set to usher in more development to the district. Voters across the constituencies look forward to a complete facelift of the district that has long been to be on a par with other districts of the state.
There are 12 constituencies in Palakkad district, Palakkad, Chittur, Nenmara, Tarur, Mannarkkad, Malampuzha, Alathur, Thrithala, Ottapalam, Pattambi, Kongad,and Shoranur with 73 candidates. According to Palakkad constituency, it was alternately represented by the UDF and the LDF since 1957.
Sitting MLA Shafi Parambil of the UDF who defeated BJP’s Sobha Surendran by 17,483 votes in 2016, is fully confident of representing the constituency for a third term in the legislative assembly and his rival LDF’s Pramod promises to keep up the government’s policies.
Though technocrat E Sreedharan has drawn national attention with his candidature, his political line may not necessarily translate to a win. He may garner a few BJP votes, but does not seem to be a winning candidate. Another determining factor is how the Palakkad municipality, which is being headed by the BJP since 2015 will exercise its vote.
Palakkad stands out as the urban areas align itself to the BJP and beyond it, there’s an unflinching affiliation to the Leftist ideology.
The UDF might find a challenge in the vote share since the candidature of E Sreedharan might draw up the BJPs vote share a few notches. The UDF might find a challenge in the vote share since the candidature of E Sreedharan might draw up the BJPs vote share by a few margins.
Shafi Parambil
Chittur constituency which shares a border with Tamil Nadu is another seat that is likely to witness a tight contest LDF and UDF. K Krishnan Kutty who was a UDF ally in earlier polls, but won 2016 assembly election in the LDF banner. Tamil votes will be a crucial factor in the upcoming polls because of its lion’s share in Chittur.
According to recent surveys, the UDF camp is likely to win 7 out of the 12 seats in Palakkad district while LDF would be able to bag 5 seats only. UDF’s V T Balram’s tight fight with LDF’s MB Rajesh would be another factor that grabs the attention of Kerala electoral politics. The promise of the prosperous state as put forward by the present government is yet to receive complete realisation in the district. This will decide its fate.
Malappuram likely to be a sweep for UDF, which is depending on IUML to sweep 16 seats, reports Ashok Parameswar
Surprises seem unlikely in Kerala’s Malappuram district this election. The 16 constituencies — the highest number in any district — has been a stronghold of the United Democratic Front (UDF). In the 2016 assembly elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won just four seats here. The remaining seats were wrested by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key constituent of the UDF. The district which has a 70% Muslim population is the bed rock of IUML’s support base in Kerala.
Adding more head to the campaigning, the district is also witnessing a Lok Sabha bypoll. While the LDF has fielded Student’s Federation of India (SFI) national president VP Sanu to take on IUML’s PK Kunhalikutty and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) AP Abdullakutty.
For the assembly polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is fielding 14 of its candidates and 2 from Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS). Meanwhile the CPI(M) has fielded five Independents candidates, of the nine the Left coalition is fielding across the state. CPI on the other hand has three candidates with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Indian National League (INL) fielding one each.
The LDF, however, is looking to repeat its 2006 showing, when it swept all the seats in the segment. But the UDF is confident that it will not lose any of its strongholds. The Left’s calculations for defeating the UDF has gained momentum.
The fact that the UDF has put up strong candidates in Thavanur, Ponnani, Tanur and Nilambur constituencies also gives confidence in the formation’s supporters. The contest is stronger than that of the previous election of 2016. It is likely to be a fierce battle in Perinthalmanna and Mankada where the Left Front had lost by a slight margins last elections.
The fight in Thavanur between KT Jaleel and Feroz Kunnamparambil is one of the heated political battle that Kerala is looking forward to. The strongholds of the Muslim League in Malappuram, Kottakkal, Vallikunnu, Vengara and Ernad are unlikely to be shaken.
Malappuram is crucial for the UDF to gain power in Kerala. But unlike other elections, the Muslim League will have to put in sincere work to overcome the challenge posed by the LDF.
Prime Minister Oli is in a difficult position inside his own party, Nepal Communist Party-UML, as Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to seek his resignation nd initiate the formation of a new government under its leadership, reports Asian Lite News
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who is in trouble inside his own party, is likely to face tougher days ahead as the primary opposition, Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to seek his resignation and initiate the formation of a new government under its leadership.
The decisions were taken at a Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the NC.
NC spokesperson Bishaw Prakash Sharma said the part has decided to seek Oli’s resignation as he has not taken any initiative of a way forward despite the House of Representatives, which he dissolved in December 2020, being restored.
Prime Minister Oli himself is in a difficult position inside his own party, Nepal Communist Party-UML.
A section of the party led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is forming parallel party structures within the UML after Oli suspended four senior leaders, including Nepal, for six months.
Oli accused Nepal and other leaders for being involved in anti-party activities and violating rules and norms.
After Oli dissolved the House on December 20, 2020, a section of party leaders upped the ante against the Prime Minister and sought his resignation.
On February 23, the Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the House but Oli refused to step down.
The apex court on March 7 dropped another bombshell invoking the 2018 party merger between Oli’s UML and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s Nepal Communist Party-Maoist Center.
Nepal, who was earlier close with Prachanda, returned to his mother party but Oli refused to incorporate them for supporting Dahal when the party was united under the banner of Nepal Communist Party.
After Oli refused to welcome Nepal and his faction inside the old party, the Prime Minister’s party has once again landed in fresh trouble.
After the Supreme Court split the Nepal Communist Party into two, the UML and Maoist Center, now, the Prachanda-led Maoist Center is also preparing to withdraw support lent to Oli in 2018 before the party unification.
If Maoist Center withdrew its support, Oli’s party will automatically reduce to a minority government.
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli
In that case, either Oli has to take a vote of confidence or face a no-confidence motion.
Nepali Congress’s decision to seek Oli’s resignation is a welcome step and time has come to remove Oli, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said on Saturday.
Time has come for other opposition parties to play their role, Bhattarai said, adding, today our foremost priority is to remove Oli.
Meanwhile, Oli said that he was also aware of what the opposition are doing.
“First withdraw your support to the government. Then I will resign,” he said, adding that this is not the first time that his resignation has been sought.
“I cannot resign to meet each and every demand.”
Meantime, the Nepali Congress’ decision to seek Oli’s resignation and unseat him, could create a new political equation in Nepal.
If three opposition parties, Nepali Congress, Maoist Center and Janata Samajbai Party come together, they will easily unseat Oli.
And party leaders have said that now time has come to expedite talks between the opposition to unseat Oli.
With the rise of strong triangular competition in many constituencies, the outcome is unpredictable, reports Aravind Rajeev.
With hardly two weeks left, the electioneering is in full pace as ninety-nine candidates are in the fray for the 14 Assembly constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district.
With the rise of strong triangular competition in many constituencies, the outcome is unpredictable with many candidates who secured victory now face stiff competition.
Two of the 14 assembly constituencies — Nemom and Kazhakoottam — turned to be the focal points in the election which is scheduled to be held on April 6.
Nemom, the lone sitting seat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, is one of the most-watched constituencies in Kerala with an unpredictable triangular contest.
BJP is going with former Mizoram governor and senior leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, who had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvanathapuram.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, Nemom rode into national headlines, when the BJP opened its account in the Kerala Assembly when its star candidate — former Union Minister O. Rajagopal defeated CPI(M) leader V. Sivankutty and left the Congress-led UDF candidate, a former state Minister V. Surendran Pillai of the then Janata Dal (U), a poor third.
But now, winning will be not that easy for BJP since the Congress has fielded its all-time ‘failsafe’ – K. Muraleedharan, son of late leader K. Karunakaran and sitting Member of Parliament from Vatakara constituency.
Congress decision to field Mureleedharan came after a huge drama with names of opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy flooded the news channels, social media, and also in the official political speeches as proposed candidates.
The CPI(M) has put up V Sivankutty, who won from Nemom in 2011. However, it will be the most keenly fought triangular contest in the state.
The highest number of 11 candidates are contesting in the Nemom Assembly constituency followed by 10 candidates each in Thiruvananthapuram and Vamanapuram.
With the arrival of BJP leader Sobha Surendran as the candidate in Kazhakkuttam, the electoral predictions in the constituency have completely changed. A tough triangular contest is expected in the constituency, where, last time, the BJP finished in second place.
As expected, Surendran has played the BJP trump card — the controversy surrounding women’s entry in Sabarimala — to woo Hindu voters largely. She is pitted against the LDF’s Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who is now at the receiving end of criticisms related to Sabarimala.
Speaking to the media, Surendran said that the Sabarimala issue remained an emotive one and will have a major impact on the elections. However, Kadakampally is blocking this by highlighting the developments made in the constituency.
While on the other hand, Congress’ surprise pick of Dr S.S. Lal may change the polls results its course on UDF favour. Dr Lal is also the state president of All India Professional Congress.
Unlike the previous election, the sitting MLAs in the district, seem to have fears about the outcome of the results as the newcomers almost succeeded in the first place to create the impression that there is strong competition in many constituencies.
In the constituencies including Vamanapuram, Parassala, Kattakada, Neyyattinkara, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Aruvikkara, Chirayinkeezhu, Varkala and Vattiyoorkavu, the ground has been set for close battles.
Most of the new faces have close relationship with the constituencies they are contesting. UDF candidates Ansajitha Russell of Parassala, Anand Jayan from Vamanapuram, and Venugopal from Malayinkeezhu in Kattakada, were members of District Panchayats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPRosFqf46g
LDF candidate OS Ambika is the Block Panchayat President in Attingal and Janadhipathya Kerala Congress candidate for Thiruvananthapuram Antony Raju and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate for Kovalam A. Neelalohitadasan Nadar are former state legislators.
In Nedumangad, candidates PS Prashanth of the UDF and GR Anil of the Communist Party of India (CPI) have got personal connections in the constituency, which they try to turn into votes.
Same is the case in Neyyattinkara. Congress candidate R. Selvaraj is a former MLA from Neyyattinkara. LDF candidates G. Stephen of Aruvikara was CPI-M’s Area Secretary.
Increase of 50k voters
According to the latest voters list released by the Election Commission last week, the number of voters in the district has increased by more than 50,000.
The list, which was published on January 20 last year, had 27,69,272 voters. This year, the number has been increased to 28,19,710 with 50,438 additional voters.
Of these, 13,40,691 are male electors, 14,78,958 female electors and 61 are transgender voters. Transgender voters figure on the list in all constituencies except Varkala and Parassala. With 61 transgender voters, Thiruvananthapuram is also the district with the highest number of voters in this category.
The highest number of voters is in Parasala constituency – 2.19 lakh and the lowest is in the nearest constituency, Neyyattinkara – 1,86,705.
Ernakulam district has 14 constituencies with including 2649340 voters. This consists of 1,29,5142 male voters and 1,35,4171 female voters and 27 transgender voters…writes Shelja Pallath.
Ernakulam constituency is a crucial district for every political party in Kerala and for the newly mushroomed “non-political” players.
These include 20-20, V for People’s Party among others. If the recently concluded civic polls are an indicator, both LDF and UDF face concerns with the rising vote share of these “non-political” parties.
Ernakulam district has 14 constituencies with including 2649340 voters. This consists of 1,29,5142 male voters and 1,35,4171 female voters and 27 transgender voters.
According to some election surveys, UDF may win at least eight seats in the district and the rest may go to the CPI(M)-led LDF. Perumbavoor, Ankamali, Paravur and Aluva constituencies are predicted as a must win places for UDF.
LDF’s Aluva constituency candidate Shelna Nishad has been repeatedly rising unresolved issues the area faces under 10 years of Congress rule.
Ernakulam is known as a UDF safe zone, but it has another history too. The last by poll is the best example for its uncertainty. The victories of M.K Sanu and Sebastian Paul are also notable points to remember even in the 2021 election. Pollution and waterlogging in the monsoon period are the same issues of Kochi Corporation for many years.
In most of these major constituencies the vote difference between the two parties is very low and the chances for unpredicted victories and failures are common in the district.
Thrippunithura is another major constituency at which the three main parties are fighting for. While M. Swaraj is the sitting candidate, UDF’S K.Babu is busy recapitulating his image which took a dent over alleged bribery. The NDA candidate Dr. K.S Radhakrishnan is also an important player.
LDF is highlighting its Rs 1000 Cr developmental initiatives including, LIFE mission and school renovation programs in Muvazttupuzha as the campaign pitch.
Similarly in the high rage area Kothamangalam, a strong fight is expected between the two major parties, which can be challenged by 20-20 and BJP to an extent.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power…reports Asian Lite News.
Congress is setting a new approach for the upcoming election . Be it Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or top Congress leaders, one thing is common — all of them have placed high hopes to make a comeback in Assam in the coming Assembly elections.
Rahul Gandhi (Pallav Paliwal)
Assam, which will go to the polls in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, is a highly sensitive state which throws up a tough contest between the two main parties in every election.
While the Congress is focusing on Assam, it is not putting in much effort in West Bengal, which will also go to the polls in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. No high profile Congress leader has visited West Bengal so far, though Rahul Gandhi has been on a campaign trail in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, apart from Assam.
While Rahul Gandhi ended the first leg of his poll campaign in Assam on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hit the campaign trail in the northeastern state from Sunday where she is expected to address six public meetings. While Priyanka Gandhi had already visited the poll-bound state once earlier this month, sources said that Rahul Gandhi may turn up for another leg of campaigning in Assam.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been camping in the state since the past two weeks, personally monitoring the Congress’ affairs in the state.
The Congress is banking on the elections on the basis of five guarantees, including non-implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to counter the BJP.
Releasing the party’s manifesto for the poll-bound state on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said that if the Congress is voted to power at the Centre in the next general elections, its government would nullify the CAA.
“Assam was hit by violence 20 years ago, but after the Congress came to power in the state, it ensured peace, harmony and development. ‘BJP ka kaam hai todna, hamara kaam hai jodna’ (BJP’s task is to divide, but our job is to unite the people),” Rahul Gandhi said.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power. These include five lakh government jobs to the youth in five years, up to 200 units of free electricity per household, Rs 365 daily wage to tea garden workers and Rs 2,000 per month to housewives, besides the guarantee of not implementing the CAA in the state.
The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP-led alliance came to power in 2016, has formed a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ or ‘Mahajot’ with three Left parties — CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) — along with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and two community-based parties – Jimochayan (Deori) People’s Party and Adivasi National Party.
The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.
Rahul Gandhi doing lunch at chubwa tea estate with tea plantation workers and also addressing a rally to tea plantation workers at Dibrugarh Assam. (Photo: Pallav Paliwal)
