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  • BJP govt will fall soon, says Akhilesh at TMC rally

    BJP govt will fall soon, says Akhilesh at TMC rally

    The TMC observes its annual Shahid Diwas (Martyr’s Day) in remembrance of the 13 people who were shot dead in Kolkata in 1993 during a protest by the West Bengal Youth Congress…reports Asian Lite News

    At the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Dharamtala rally in Kolkata, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav and TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee delivered strong criticisms of the BJP government, accusing it of using underhanded tactics to stay in power and predicting its imminent downfall.

    “The government just wants to grab the position by any means. The people of Bengal have fought with the BJP and left them behind. The people sitting in the government in Delhi are only in power for the next few days,” Akhilesh Yadav said at the rally on Sunday.

    He further added, “I said this in the Lok Sabha and will say it again today: the BJP government will fall very soon. The Delhi government is not going to stay; it is going to fall very soon.”

    Additionally, General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stopped all their funds to Bengal and that in the Lok Sabha elections, the people taught them a lesson. He also mentioned that the BJP government could not achieve 400 seats and only stopped at 240.

    “BJP has stopped all funds to Bengal. In the Lok Sabha elections, people taught them a lesson. They said they would cross 400 seats but stopped at 240. They used the ED and CBI against the TMC but did not get victory.”

    Further, he said, “Sandeshkhali is an example. They created a fake narrative, but the people of Sandeshkhali supported us. The BJP used Sandeshkhali as a weapon to defame Bengal. In the same Lok Sabha seat, the BJP lost by 3.50 lakh votes.”

    The TMC observes its annual Shahid Diwas (Martyr’s Day) in remembrance of the 13 people who were shot dead in Kolkata in 1993 during a protest by the West Bengal Youth Congress.

    A large crowd had gathered in Esplanade for the rally on Sunday. (ANI)

    ALSO READ-Kharge warns BJP-led NDA on train accidents

  • Kharge warns BJP-led NDA on train accidents

    Kharge warns BJP-led NDA on train accidents

    Kharge also criticised the BJP-led NDA government for making the budget without consulting others and deciding things on their own…reports Asian Lite News

    Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday criticized the BJP-led NDA government for recent train accidents, saying that the government should address the issue or face public consequences.

    He added that there are numerous vacancies in the railway department, and if crucial technical positions remain unfilled, the railway will weaken naturally.

    “The train accidents are happening because the railway department has been weakened. There are lakhs of vacancies in the railway department… If important technical positions are not filled, then the railway will become weak naturally. The railway department has become so weak that accidents are happening one after another. The railway department is not getting money on time… When the railways were not merged in the Finance department, they used to function on their own and whenever they needed anything, they asked the central government for it… Hundreds of people have died, the government should think about this otherwise the people will teach them a lesson,” Kharge told ANI.

    Recently, several coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda, causing three deaths and leaving 30 injured. Additionally, a freight train derailed on the Mathura track early on Sunday.

    Kharge also criticised the BJP-led NDA government for making the budget without consulting others and deciding things on their own.

    “In this government, they consult no one. They do whatever they want to do. And then when the budget is presented, everyone comes to know which state got what and what the government gave to the people. BJP does not have the tradition of asking anyone about their thoughts,” he told ANI.

    Notably, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present Budget for 2024-25 in Lok Sabha on July 23.

    The Congress Chief also accused the BJP-led NDA government of ignoring the opposition in Parliament, not letting them raise important issues to hide their failures.

    He said, “This government always neglects the opposition and never gives them a chance to raise valid points. Suppose there are issues of public concern that the opposition wants to raise in Parliament or the Rajya Sabha. In that case, they are never given an opportunity because the government doesn’t want people to know about their failures. That’s why they don’t allow it. Blaming the Speaker or the Chairman isn’t right because they act according to the agenda set by the government. It’s the government’s pressure tactics that lead to actions like adjourning the house or cutting short debates.” (ANI)

    ALSO READ-Kharge attacks Centre over China’s border incursion

  • Cracks in UP BJP?

    Cracks in UP BJP?

    Party seeks to set the house in order before 10 assembly bypolls in the state. While the state BJP chief met Modi, talks held between UP Deputy CM and party president JP Nadda…reports Asian Lite News

    Amid a review of the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, state BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Wednesday.

    The meeting pointing to various factors for the party performing far below its expectations in the crucial Hindi heartland state. Chaudhary is learnt to have briefed the Prime Minister on the party’s organisational matters. The sources said the meeting lasted for about an hour.

    While the BJP is looking to address various factors to put up a strong show in the 2027 assembly polls, the immediate challenge for the party is 10 assembly bypolls in the state for which Election Commission has not yet announced a date. There is speculation that the Samajawadi Party (SP) and Congress will have an alliance for these bypolls also.

    Samajwadi Party won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls and BJP won 33 seats. Congress won six seats in the state in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

    Chaudhary and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya met BJP president JP Nadda separately on Tuesday. Chaudhary is learnt to have apprised him about the reasons for the party’s poor performance.

    Sources said BJP central leadership is taking feedback from various leaders on the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

    Opposition leaders have talked of dissonance in the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh following the results of Lok Sabha polls.

    They commented on a post by the Office of Keshav Prasad Maurya that “organisation is bigger than the government”.

    However, Maurya retorted to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s jibe at the party and said that the BJP is strong at the state level and national level and will win the 2027 assembly polls.

    “Sapa Bahadur Shri Akhilesh Yadav ji, BJP has a strong organization and government, both at the national level and state level, SP’s PDA is a fraud. The return of SP’s hooliganism in UP is impossible, BJP will repeat 2017 in the 2027 assembly elections,” Maurya said in a post on X on Wednesday.

    Earlier, the post by Maurya’s office had caused a flutter in political circles. Maurya, who is seen as a leader who has risen from the ranks, talked of the pain of party workers.

    “The organization is bigger than the government, the pain of the workers is my pain. No one is bigger than the organization, the workers are the pride,” the office of Keshav Prasad Maurya said in a post on X.

    Maurya is in his second term as the Deputy CM of the state. In 2017, he was the state BJP chief when the party registered a spectacular victory in assembly polls and won 312 seats. Following the victory, Yogi Adityanth was chosen as the Chief Minister.

    In 2022, Maurya lost the assembly polls but continued in his position as Deputy CM. He was later elected to the Legislative Council.

    BJP leader and Union Minister BL Verma played down Maurya’s earlier remarks and said organisation and the government complement each other.

    “I am also a party worker. We all respect the party workers. Organisational work is done by organisations and the government does the governmental work… Organisations and governments are working together for the development of the state (UP). Both the organisation and the government have their place. The organisation and government complement each other,” he said.

    Regarding meetings of Maurya and Chowdhary with JP Nadda, Verma said that these formal and informal discussions and meetings keep happening.

    “‘We will move forward. Contemplation and brainstorming are essential, regardless of the outcome. Our goal for 2027 is to emerge victorious,” he said.

    In his remarks, Akhilesh Yadav alleged that there was a “fight for power” in the BJP and the party was not thinking about the people.

    “In the heat of the BJP’s fight for power, governance and administration in UP have been put on the backburner. The work of sabotage politics that the BJP used to do in other parties is now being done inside its party. That is why the BJP is sinking into a quagmire of internal conflicts. No one in the BJP thinks about the public,” Yadav posted on X.

    Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that the same thing had happened when Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister of UP and only time will tell if there is another Kalyan Singh in the making or not.

    “I have an experience of 44 years in UP… The same thing is happening now when Kalyan Singh was removed by the BJP and only time will tell if there is another Kalyan Singh or if Kalyan Singh can overpower. We will have to wait and see why all this is happening. But one thing is sure: the honest BJP workers are really sad from within,” he said. (ANI)

    ALSO READ-Over-confidence caused harm in polls, says Yogi

  • Cong slams govt over 8 crore new jobs claim

    Cong slams govt over 8 crore new jobs claim

    Since the ’80 million new jobs’ headline elides discussion on the quality of jobs, the government touts the ‘creation’ of these low-productivity, poorly paid jobs as an achievement, he said…reports Asian Lite News

    The Congress on Monday countered the Centre’s claim that eight crore new jobs have been created, alleging that the government has done some “artful statistical jugglery” to claim job creation as it has failed to pay attention to the “quality and circumstances” of employment.

    Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that at a time when India faces a “severe Modi-made unemployment crisis”, when lakhs of young people apply for each and every job, “the self-anointed non-biological PM is busy reacting the only way he knows — by applying his patented 3D model of denying, distracting, and distorting”.

    He said that based on new RBI estimates, the government is claiming a booming job market.

    “The self-appointed divinity himself has chimed in with the claim that the economy created 80 million jobs,” Ramesh said in a statement.

    The truth is that the alleged growth in employment figures doesn’t square up to the grim realities of the Modi era economy, where private investment has been weak and consumption growth sluggish, he said.

    “The government has done some artful statistical jugglery to claim job-creation, by adopting a very expansive definition of employment, without paying attention to the quality and circumstances of employment: A large part of the claimed ’employment growth’ is just recording unpaid household work done by women as ’employment’,” Ramesh claimed.

    “Amidst the poor economic climate, the share of salaried, formal employment in the labour market has decreased. Workers are moving to low-productivity informal and agricultural jobs – this is an economic tragedy,” the Congress leader said.

    However, since the ’80 million new jobs’ headline elides discussion on the quality of jobs, the government touts the ‘creation’ of these low-productivity, poorly paid jobs as an achievement, he said.

    “This deception is also why the RBI’s data shows an increase in employment during the COVID-19 pandemic years, when large sections of the economy fully shut down. While crucial sectors like education saw 12 lakh fewer jobs in 2020-2021, a whopping 1.8 crore ‘jobs’ were ‘created’ in agriculture,” Ramesh said.

    Thus, factory workers, teachers, miners, etc. who returned home during the pandemic and had to fall back upon farming in their family’s fields or as tenants for a richer farmer registered as a “job created” in agriculture, he argued.

    “This travesty is the non-biological Prime Minister’s economic legacy,” Ramesh said.

    He said the forthcoming Budget will also undoubtedly make use of the RBI data to paint a rosy picture of the economy.

    “The reality on the jobs front, however, is extremely grim – both because of mass unemployment and an abundance of low-quality employment. This dual tragedy will certainly get overlooked in the Budget speech next Tuesday,” Ramesh said.

    His remarks come after Prime Minister Modi on Saturday emphasised that creation of eight crore new jobs in the last three to four years has “silenced” those spreading fake narratives about unemployment.

    BJP MLA urges students to open puncture shop

    Known for making controversial statements, Pannalal Shakya, the BJP MLA from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, advised students Monday to open “motorcycle puncture repair shops”, since nothing would be gained by obtaining degrees. This, while addressing an event to inaugurate a ‘PM College of Excellence’.

    Earlier, at a function held in Indore on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had e-inaugurated similar PM College of Excellences in 55 districts of the state. Following this, separate events were held in the respective districts, including Guna, on Monday. The initiative had been announced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav during his first Cabinet meeting, with the state government taking extra measures to ensure the project took off on time.

    “We are opening a PM College of Excellence today. I appeal to everyone to keep one sentence in mind — that nothing is going to be achieved with these college degrees. Instead, open a motorcycle puncture repair shop to at least earn a livelihood,” said Shakya.

    The MLA also seemed to take a swipe at the mega sapling plantation drive held in Indore on Sunday, during which a world record 11 lakh-plus saplings were planted in a span of 24 hours, a programme overseen by Madhya Pradesh Minister for Urban Development Kailash Vijayvargiya. “People are planting trees, but not interested in watering them,” Shakya said.

    When contacted by The Indian Express, the MLA said, “I did not make any statement against anyone. My statement has been taken out of context.”

    An RSS worker most of his life, Shakya was chosen by the BJP as its Guna candidate in the 2023 Assembly elections over supporters of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. This came soon after he urged the party to “not give tickets to bikau (sold) leaders”, and to choose a “tikau (loyal)” leader instead.

    ALSO READ-Congress MP Gogoi named deputy leader in LS

  • BJP’s tally in RS dips to 86, NDA below majority

    BJP’s tally in RS dips to 86, NDA below majority

    It means the government is still reliant on non-NDA parties – like AIADMK, YSRCP and nominated MPs to pass bills in Upper House…reports Asian Lite News

    The BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha fell by four Saturday after as many nominated members – Rakesh Sinha, Ram Shakal, Sonal Mansingh, and Mahesh Jethmalani – completed their term.

    All four were chosen – as non-aligned members – by President Droupadi Murmu on the advice of the ruling party, and formally allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government afterwards.

    Their retirement brings the BJP’s strength down to 86 and that of the party-led National Democratic Alliance to 101, which is below the current majority mark of 113 in the 245-member House. The NDA does, however, have the support of the seven remaining nominated MPs and an independent.

    The current strength of the Rajya Sabha is 225.

    The Congress-led INDIA bloc has 87, of which the Congress has 26, Bengal’s ruling Trinamool 13, and the Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK, in power in Delhi and Tamil Nadu, have 10 each.

    Parties not aligned with either the BJP or the Congress – such as ex-Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s BRS – nominated MPs and independents hold the rest.

    It means the government is still reliant on non-NDA parties – such as ex-ally AIADMK of Tamil Nadu and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party – and others, like nominated MPs to pass bills in the Upper House. This will be the case till the BJP can fill the four nominated seats and an election for 11 vacant seats, due this year, is completed.

    The BJP is expected to win at least eight of these seats. As of now the BJP needs NDA parties’ 15 votes and 12 more to pass bills.

    Seven of those 12 could come from the remaining nominated MPs. An eight could come from an independent member, leaving the ruling party just four short of the magic mark of 113. To hit that mark the YSRCP (11) is the BJP’s two most obvious option.

    Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP has lent issue-based support to the BJP in the past, so those 11 votes seem assured for Modi’s party. Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD lent similar support too but, since it was beaten by the BJP in the May-June state election, has said it will not do so now. The BJD has nine Rajya Sabha MPs.

    As far as the nominated members are concerned, there can be a maximum of 12. Although non-aligned when brought in, since they are chosen by the government they tend to support the ruling party.

    There are a total of 20 seats vacant at this time, including 11 held by elected members for which polls are expected this year. Of these, there are two seats each in Maharashtra, Assam, and Bihar, and one each in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Tripura.

    The BJP-led alliance has the numbers to win seven – from Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura. And if it can keep its flock together in Maharashtra, it will win two more from there.

    This could give the BJP as many as nine extra seats. If it wins those, and with the nominated members’ votes, as well as the YSRCP’s, it will have more than enough to cross the majority mark.

    There are also four seats vacant from Jammu and Kashmir, which is expected to hold an Assembly election by September 30, in line with a Supreme Court order.

    The Telangana seat is likely to be won by the Congress, which swept to power last year.

    This is crucial because it will give the party enough votes to claim the Leader of the Opposition post in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress will then hold the LoP seat in both Houses.

    The government will also nominate four new members to the upper house. Such nominated members usually support the agenda of the government that selects them, even though they may remain independent in the house in terms of party affiliation.

    The government may still be able to get the key legislations passed even before the byelections with the support of seven non-aligned members.

    In Telangana, the Congress hopes to win the lone seat at the expense of the BRS. However, the grand old party is likely to lose the seat in Rajasthan vacated by K.C. Venugopal, given the BJP’s strong majority in the state. Venugopal vacated the seat after he won the Lok Sabha polls from Alappuzha in Kerala.

    In Haryana, the BJP is confident of winning the lone Rajya Sabha seat vacated by its member Deepender Singh Hooda after his victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

    The Election Commission (EC) is yet to announce the date for elections to fill the vacancies.

    ALSO READ-BJP to appoint new national president by December

  • Over-confidence caused harm in polls, says Yogi

    Over-confidence caused harm in polls, says Yogi

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister urges party workers to use social media platforms as much as possible to refute rumours…reports Asian Lite News

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that everyone will have to be active from now on for the Assembly by-elections to be held on 10 seats in the state and the 2027 Assembly elections.

    Addressing the state working committee meeting held at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Auditorium of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, CM Yogi emphasised that they have to hoist the BJP flag once again in the state.

    “Everyone will have to be active from now on for the assembly by-elections to be held on 10 seats in the state and the 2027 assembly elections,” adding that along with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, MLAs, MLCs, District Panchayat Presidents, Mayors, Block Pramukhs, Chairman and Councilors, everyone should start preparing for the 2027 assembly elections from today itself.

    “We have to hoist the BJP flag in the state once again. BJP leaders and workers will have to be super active on social media and immediately refute any kind of rumours,” he said.

    Yogi said that under the leadership of Modi, the state had maintained constant pressure on the opposition in UP, achieving great success in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

    “The percentage of votes that was in favor of BJP in 2014 and subsequent elections, BJP has been successful in getting the same number of votes in 2024 as well, but the shifting of votes and overconfidence have hurt our expectations. The opposition, which had earlier accepted defeat and sat down, is again jumping and dancing today,” he added.

    The Chief Minister said that in 2022, the opposition had resorted to violence after the elections. Then all our workers felt that, in reality, our government’s Mafia-free UP’s dawn is for these goons.

    “Today, with your support, we have succeeded in making UP Mafia-free. Apart from this, when Shri Ramlala was seated in his temple in Ayodhya, the wait of 500 years has also ended,” the UP CM said.

    The Chief Minister said that we have to use social media platforms as much as possible.

    “Using this social media, opposition forces and foreigners were engaged in conspiracy, in which they became successful. We are people with a nationalist mission. BJP workers have to see what is going on social media. We have to immediately refute the rumours,” Yogi asserted.

    XXXX

    Chhattisgarh CM seeks review of bypoll results

    XXX

    BJP leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said that the recent Assembly bypoll results, in which the BJP suffered a setback, need to be reviewed.

    The opposition INDIA bloc won 10 out of 13 seats in the by-polls in seven states and the BJP won only two seats.

    Sai said that there are different political situations prevalent in the country and in a democracy, the decision lies with the people.

    “There are different situations. In a democracy, the decision lies with the people. The results need to be reviewed,” he said.

    Meanwhile, reacting to the bypoll results, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that if the Lok Sabha election schedule had been advanced 6-8 months, the BJP would not have won more than 120 seats.

    “Right after the look Sabha elections, we have won 12-13 seats in 4-5 states, which clearly indicates that the BJP’s graph has been falling. Had the Lok Sabha elections been organised after 6-8 months, BJP would not have won more than 120 seats,” he said.

    “For the first time, NDA parties are performing better than the BJP in their respective states and the BJP is absolutely relying on them… The BJP has multiple organ failures and is failing in multiple states. It is soon headed to an ICU,” he further stated.

    The results of the assembly by-polls came as a setback for the BJP, where the party won only two of the 13 seats, with the INDIA bloc winning 10 seats and an independent candidate winning a seat in Bihar.

    Polling took place on July 10 for the assembly seats in seven states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

    The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of West Bengal.

    Uttarakhand witnessed the BJP losing both the two seats and saw the victory of Congress. In Badrinath, Lakhapat Singh Butola defeated Rajendra Singh Bhandari by a margin of 5224 votes, whereas in Manglaur, Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin secured victory against the BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 422 votes.

    In Himachal Pradesh, Congress secured a win on two out of three seats, where Kamlesh Thakur from Dehra and Hardeep Singh Bawa from Nalagarh secured victory. Ashish Sharma from the BJP secured victory in Hamirpur.

    In Punjab, the INDIA alliance’s partner, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), secured victory in Jalandhar West. In Tamil Nadu also, INDIA alliance partner DMK secured a win from Vikravandi.

    In all four seats of West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress, which is the partner in the INDIA alliance, secured victory and defeated the BJP. In Bihar, neither the JDU of the BJP-led NDA nor the RJD of the INDIA alliance managed to secure a victory. (ANI)

    ALSO READ-For SP, mafia was a vote bank, Yogi cleaned them up: Modi

  • BJP to appoint new national president by December

    BJP to appoint new national president by December

    From November 1 to November 15, the BJP will hold elections for the Mandal (local unit) presidents. This will be followed by district president elections from November 16 to November 30…reports Asian Lite News

    The tenure of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) National President, JP Nadda, has come to an end. Although his term was extended until June 2024, he has now been assigned significant responsibilities within the government. As a result, the BJP is now in search of a new president.

    The BJP aims to appoint a new national president by December this year. The election process for this position will commence on August 1. Before the election of the national president, a comprehensive membership drive will be conducted, along strengthening the district and state units.

    The process to elect a new BJP national president will begin on August 1. Initially, a membership drive will be launched, which will run until September 15. Following this, an active membership campaign will take place from September 16 to September 30. From October 1 to October 15, the verification of active membership will be conducted.

    According to the BJP party constitution, every member is required to renew their membership every nine years. This year, the membership campaign will require the Prime Minister, the party president, and all party leaders to renew their membership.

    From November 1 to November 15, the BJP will hold elections for the Mandal (local unit) presidents. This will be followed by district president elections from November 16 to November 30.

    Sources within the BJP indicate that after the Mandal and district president elections, members of the state council and central council will be elected. Only after these elections will the process for selecting the state presidents begin.

    The election process for state presidents will commence on December 1. Once the elections in 50 per cent of the states are completed, the official process to elect the national president will begin.

    This systematic and phased approach ensures that the BJP’s organisational structure is robust and ready for the leadership transition. The upcoming elections are crucial for the party as it prepare for future political challenges and opportunities.

    Notably, Nadda has been appointed Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. Nadda was elected Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat and holds the Health, Chemicals and Fertilizers portfolio in the Modi 3.0 cabinet, post 2024 Lok Sabha polls. (ANI)

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  • INDIA bloc wins 10 seats, BJP gets two in assembly bypolls

    INDIA bloc wins 10 seats, BJP gets two in assembly bypolls

    The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of Uttarakhand…reports Asian Lite News

    The results of assembly bypolls came as a setback for BJP which won only two of 13 seats with INDIA bloc winning 10 seats and an independent candidate winning a seat in Bihar defeating the ruling NDA.

    The results brought a lot of comfort to Congress, which won two of three seats in Himachal Pradesh and two seats in Uttarakhand. Congress winning two seats in Himachal Pradesh has increased the comfort factor for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government which now has 40 MLAs against 28 of BJP.

    The Congress had failed to win any seat in the two states in the Lok Sabha polls.Some of those who lost the assembly polls were leaders who had joined BJP after quitting their parties.

    Polling took place on July 10 for the assembly seats in seven States: Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

    Congress leader KC Venugopal targeted the BJP and said that the results of the bye-elections in the country reflects a resounding victory for democracy and a strong rebuke to the BJP’s divisive politics.

    In a statement issued by the party’s General Secretary (Organisation), Venugopal said, “Today’s by-poll results stand as a resounding victory for democracy and a strong rebuke to the BJP’s divisive politics. Out of the 13 seats contested across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, the INDIA alliance has secured an impressive 10 seats demonstrating the rejection of the BJP’s anti-people, anti-youth policies, and divisive politics.”

    Stepping up his attacks on the BJP, he said, “Even amidst their attempts to undermine our democracy, the truth and the will of the people have prevailed. Today’s results are a tight slap on the BJP’s face, showcasing the public’s strong disapproval of their pro-rich, dictatorial politics.”

    He added, “The defeat of those who abandoned our cause for the BJP in Himachal and Uttarakhand underscores the rejection of opportunism over principled governance. Not only that, they used all their dirty tricks departments, be it ED or CBI, to intimidate our leaders. The people, however, rejected this dangerous politics resoundingly.”

    Elaborating on the number of seats won by the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, Venugopal said, “In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress party has won two out of the three seats in Dehra and Nalagarh, reclaiming our position with a total of 40 seats. This triumph is a testament to the unwavering faith of the people of Himachal who have rejected the BJP’s politics of horse trading and defections.”

    The Congress leader in his statement also talked about the results in Uttarakhand and said that the party in the state emerged victorious in both Badrinath and Mangalur. “This significant win sends a clear message that the misuse of religion for political gains, as seen in Ayodhya and now in Badrinath, will not be endorsed by the electorate,” Venugopal said.

    The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of Uttarakhand.

    The constituencies included Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.

    In Himachal Pradesh, Congress secured a win on two out of three seats, where Kamlesh Thakur from Dehra and Hardeep Singh Bawa from Nalagarh secured victory. Ashish Sharma from BJP secured victory in Hamirpur. Thakur defeated BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh by a margin of 9,399 votes. Meanwhile, Bawa defeated BJP’s KL Thakur by a margin of 8,990 votes. On the other hand, Sharma defeated Dr Pushpinder Verma of Congress by a margin of 1,571 votes.

    In Punjab, the INDIA alliance’s partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured victory in Jalandhar West. AAP’s Mohinder Bhagat defeated BJP’s Sheetal Angural by a margin of 37,325 votes.

    In Tamil Nadu also, INDIA alliance partner DMK secured a win from Vikravandi seat. Anniyar Siva defeated Anbumani C. of Pattali Makkal Katchi party by a margin of 67757 votes.

    Uttarakhand, which is ruled by BJP, witnessed the party losing both the two seats and saw the victory of Congress. In Badrinath, Lakhapat Singh Butola defeated Rajendra Singh Bhandari by a margin of 5224 votes, whereas in Manglaur, which saw a very close competition, Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin secured victory against BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 422 votes.

    In all the four seats of West Bengal, All India Trinamool Congress, which is the partner in the INDIA alliance, secured victory and defeated the BJP. In Raiganj, Krishna Kalyani defeated BJP’s Manas Kumar Ghosh by a margin of 50,077 votes. Ranaghat Dakshin, TMC’s Mukut Mani Adhikari secured a win against Manoj Kumar Biswas of BJP by a margin of 39,048 votes. In Bagda, Madhuparna Thakur defeated Binay Kumar Biswas of BJP by a margin of 33,455 votes. In Maniktala, Supti Pandey secured a win against BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey by a margin of 62,312 votes.

    In Bihar, neither the JDU of the BJP-led NDA nor the RJD of the INDIA alliance managed to secure a victory. The Rupauli seat in Bihar saw the win of independent candidate Shankar Singh, who defeated JDU’s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by a margin of 8,246 and RJD’s Bima Bharti. Notably, the bye-election in Rupaul was necessitated by the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who had won the seat for JD(U) several times in the past but quit the party recently to contest Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket. (ANI)

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  • Kharge accuses BJP-RSS of promoting ‘Education Mafia’

    Kharge accuses BJP-RSS of promoting ‘Education Mafia’

    Kharge also reiterated the demand for a re-examination of the NEET-UG…reports Asian Lite News

    Amid the ongoing controversy over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2024 exam, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the central government, claiming that the BJP-RSS administration has promoted an “education mafia” by taking control of the entire education system.

    Kharge also reiterated the demand for a re-examination of the NEET-UG.

    On ‘X’, Kharge wrote, “The Modi Government has told the honorable Supreme Court that no paper has been leaked in NEET-UG! This blatant lie is being told to lakhs of youth. Their future is being ruined. The Ministry of Education has said that ‘irregularities/cheating have taken place only in a few places.’ This is misleading. The BJP-RSS has promoted the education mafia by taking control of the entire education system.”

    He further claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government is “bent on destroying our education system.”

    “Be it NCERT books or leakage in exams, the Modi government is bent on destroying our education system. We reiterate our demand that: 1) NEET-UG should be conducted again. It should be conducted online in a transparent manner. 2) All paper leak scams should be thoroughly investigated under the supervision of the Supreme Court, and strict action should be taken against the culprits.”

    “The Modi government cannot escape from its misdeeds,” Kharge added.

    The Central government has told the Supreme Court that, in the absence of any proof of a large-scale breach of confidentiality in the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination.

    Scrapping the NEET-UG exam held on May 5 entirely would “seriously jeopardize” the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024, said the Ministry of Education.

    The Centre has filed an affidavit on a batch of petitions pending before the apex court seeking direction to recall NEET-UG 2024 results and conduct the examination afresh, alleging paper leakage and malpractices in the test held.

    The apex court had already refused to stay the counselling of NEET-UG 2024.

    The top court will hear the cases on July 8.

    Responding to the petitions, the Ministry said that prayers raised in the petitions for the cancellation of the exam and the re-test based on “surmises” and “conjectures” must be rejected.

    It also informed the apex court that a high-level committee has been constituted to suggest measures for effective, smooth, and transparent conduct of the examinations by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

    Meanwhile, NTA has also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam and said that the alleged malpractices were only in Patna and Godhra centers and that the entire exam should not be cancelled based on individual instances.

    The sanctity of NEET-UG cannot be impeached by sporadic instances of alleged paper leaks, which are confined to a very small number of candidates, it said.

    Earlier, while hearing the case, the top court told the Centre and NTA that if there is any negligence in conducting the NEET-UG exam, it should be dealt with thoroughly.

    The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the NTA, is the pathway for admissions into MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

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  • Goyal dismisses speculations on Maharashtra BJP leadership change

    Goyal dismisses speculations on Maharashtra BJP leadership change

    During the meeting, Bhupender Yadav was appointed as the in-charge for Maharashtra and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the co-in-charge for the state…reports Asian Lite News

    Union Minister and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal rejected speculations on a change of leadership in the party’s Maharashtra unit following the party’s dismal performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

    Goyal said that the BJP leadership has no such idea and no such discussion has taken place in the party’s core committee meeting. There were speculations that Rao Saheb Patil would be made the state president.

    Earlier on Tuesday, a meeting of the Maharashtra BJP core committee was held at the BJP national headquarters under the leadership of BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    According to sources, the party’s central leadership has given a road map for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. The reasons for losing the Lok Sabha elections were also discussed in the meeting, they said.

    After the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that all such issues were discussed, including those that had impacted the Lok Sabha election results, and how to overcome those shortcomings in the upcoming assembly elections.

    Fadnavis said that the BJP will enter the fray to contest the assembly elections with full force.

    Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav, Ashwini Vaishnav, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde, State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Pankaja Munde, Ashish Shelar, Chandrakant Patil, and Rao Sahib Patil were present in the meeting.

    During the meeting, Bhupender Yadav was appointed as the in-charge for Maharashtra and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the co-in-charge for the state.

    The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.

    The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) got nine seats while the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar won eight seats. (ANI)

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