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Election campaigns come alive in Kerala

Modi appears to have come to terms with reality and did not speak about the numbers…reports Asian Lite News

Election campaigning has picked up in Kerala now after a slow start, as the leaders of the big three parties contesting in the state are taking on one another. Kerala goes to the polls on April 26 to elect 20 new Lok Sabha members.

The big three – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress stalwart and Wayanad sitting Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, were in top gear on Monday.

The three star campaigners for their parties did what they do best; attack each other in order to impress not just their voter base but the fence sitters, who eventually turn the deciding factor.

Modi appears to have come to terms with reality and did not speak about the numbers.

Before this, whenever Modi came to Kerala, starting from early this year, he always asserted that this time the BJP-led NDA would get seats in double digits.

On Monday, when he addressed mammoth election rallies at Trissur and at the state capital, PM Modi was quiet about the numbers and requested voters in Kerala to help him by sending their candidates to Delhi to help him run the country for the next five years.

To add force to his requests, Modi went hammer and tongs against CM Vijayan more than the Congress. Modi slammed Vijayan, his daughter for corrupt deals and a section of the CPI(M) for robbing the poor by running away with their deposits in cooperative banks run by it.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who for the first time went around parts of his constituency spread over three districts of the state, accused PM Modi of dividing the country besides harping on one leader, one religion and one language.

Attacking the Kerala Chief Minister, Rahul Gandhi asked why Vijayan was attacking him and not PM Modi. Rahul Gandhi also questioned why the BJP had jailed two non-BJP Chief Ministers and allowed Vijayan to go scot-free.

Unsettled by his political opponent’s remarks, Vijayan said all what Modi said should be taken with a pinch of salt as it is baseless and the BJP-led NDA will not even end up in second place in all 20 constituencies.

“I have been to 13 constituencies and this time the result for the Left will be totally different to what happened in 2019. The voters will teach the Congress-led UDF a lesson and place the BJP in third place,” said Vijayan.

In the 2019 polls, the UDF won 19 seats, the Left got one and the BJP finished second just in Thiruvananthapuram and a distant third in rest of the seats.

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-Top News UK News

‘Election may take place on Nov 14 or 21’

Michael Gove, the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office visits 123 St Vincent Street which will house the new temporary Cabinet Office in Glasgow, Scotland. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

Tory insiders have long suggested that autumn is the most likely option in the wake of falling inflation and the possibility of an interest rate cut…reports Asian Lite News

The next general election is likely to take place on Nov 14 or 21, Michael Gove has predicted. Gove said he had “no inside knowledge” about the date of the poll, but his comments will add to a consensus that it will be held in the autumn.

The Levelling Up Secretary made the remarks in an interview on Political Currency, a podcast hosted by George Osborne, the former chancellor, and Ed Balls, who was his Labour counterpart.

Asked when he believed the election would take place, Gove said: “I think November the 14th or the 21st… I have no inside knowledge at all.”

Challenged by Ed Balls on the fact that he had been to see the Prime Minister that day, Gove replied: “We did not discuss the election – we were discussing policy.

“If he had told me, I couldn’t tell you. Therefore, the fact that I’ve told you what I think is proof that I didn’t know.” Osborne, a close ally of Rishi Sunak who has previously provided advice to the Prime Minister, has previously predicted that the next election will be held on Nov 14.

He told podcast listeners to “save the date” and claimed to have been informed by a “little birdie” in Downing Street that “various work programmes” were based on the assumption of a mid-November poll.

Sir John Curtice, Britain’s foremost polling guru and a professor of politics at Strathclyde University, also suggested Nov 14, claiming Oct 2 – set to be the final day of the Conservative Party conference – could see Sunak fire the “starting gun” on the contest.

Rumours in Westminster that the general election could be held on May 2, the same day as the local elections, grew to the point that Sunak had to rule out the date in the clearest sign yet that a ballot will not be held this spring.

A general election must be held by January, and the decision about when to go to the public is in the gift of the Prime Minister. He has previously said an election in the “second half” of this year is his “working assumption”, although that has not stopped Labour figures talking up the chances of a spring election in an attempt to describe Mr Sunak as a “bottler” and a “chicken”.

Tory insiders have long suggested that autumn is the most likely option in the wake of falling inflation and the possibility of an interest rate cut, as well as giving voters time to feel the benefit of the tax cuts unveiled in November’s Autumn Statement and last month’s Budget.

Speaking after Sunak confirmed the election would not take place on May 2, Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, hinted that it could instead be held in October.

Meanwhile, a new poll has suggested that Conservatives are on course for their worst election result, winning fewer than 100 seats.

The seat-by-seat analysis gives the Tories 98 constituencies compared with Labour’s 468, giving Starmer a 286-seat majority, the Sunday Times has reported.

The 15,000-person poll, conducted by agency Survation on behalf of Best for Britain, gives Labour a 45% vote share with a 19-point lead over the Conservatives.

Sunak’s party is on track to win 98 seats with none in Scotland or Wales, according to the research. It also suggests the prime minister is at risk of losing his own constituency, the new Richmond & Northallerton seat in North Yorkshire, to Labour with his lead less than 2.5 percentage points.

The analysis forecasts that Reform UK will come second in seven seats and achieve an overall vote share of 8.5%, just behind the Liberal Democrats on 10.4%

The poll also suggests the Scottish National Party would pick up 41 seats, the Liberal Democrats 22 and Plaid Cymru two.

Naomi Smith, Best for Britain’s chief executive, said: “With the polling showing swathes of voters turning their backs on the Tories, it’s clear that this will be a change election.”

In 2019 the Conservatives had 365 seats, Labour 203, the SNP 48, the Lib Dems 11 and Plaid four.

The findings come after Labour sources said the party’s overall financial position remained strong despite membership subscriptions falling off because donations were healthy and unions were expected to give very substantial backing to the election effort.

Labour has suffered more than a 23,000 fall in membership over the past two months after controversies over its policy on Gaza and its U-turn on green investment, according to figures released to its National Executive Committee (NEC).

The party’s general secretary, David Evans, revealed that membership, which had stood at 390,000 in January, had plummeted to 366,604 at the latest count, with more than 11,700 of these being in arrears. Labour membership reached a peak at the end of 2019 when it hit more than 532,000.

ALSO READ-Tory rebels warn Sunak on poll date

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-Top News UK News

Hunt hints at Oct election

The chancellor also hinted that he would like to freeze fuel duty again and said he hoped to hold another fiscal event before the election…reports Asian Lite News

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has suggested a general election could be held in October. Speaking in the House of Lords, Hunt said the Treasury would need time to push through a review of Whitehall budgets before next spring, making an October date the last time when an election would be possible.

“This particular spending review has to be completed before next April, when the next financial year starts. And if the general election is in October, that will mean it’s very, very tight,” he said.

Whitehall budgets were agreed for three years in 2021 and the Treasury has been under pressure to conduct a review since last year to give departments some certainty about their income at least five years ahead.

Hunt’s comments came as No 10 announced that Rishi Sunak would host a European summit in July where he will try to corral leaders to take tougher action on illegal migration.

The next meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) will be held in Oxfordshire on 18 July at Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born.

The date is a further sign that Sunak is not planning to call an election before July. Hunt also hinted that he would like to freeze fuel duty again and said he hoped to hold another fiscal event before the election. The chancellor has not included the expected annual £5bn cost of freezing fuel duty in his five-year budget.

Under questioning by peers on the House of Lords economic affairs committee, Hunt dismissed criticism that his forecasts were “a fiction’ when they excluded the extra cost of fuel duty freezes.

“I know people call it a fiction. I don’t accept that, actually. It’s a decision that we take at every budget,” he said. “I can be quite open with you and say that I hope that if I do another fiscal event this parliament and, indeed, if I am returned as a chancellor after the next election, I would hope to continue to freeze fuel duty. But I would take that decision on the basis of the public finances at the time. It is not something that is pre-decided.”

Hunt said higher than expected immigration had increased the costs of providing state services, adding to departmental budget constraints, but he said that gave a further impetus to push through initiatives to increase productivity.

The government’s delay in setting a date for the EPC meeting was blamed on uncertainty in No 10 about when to go to the polls. European diplomats had privately expressed frustration that the UK’s domestic political considerations were holding up the summit.

The EPC was created by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, as a forum to discuss pan-European challenges, such as the war in Ukraine. This will be its fourth meeting, after gatherings in the Czech Republic, Moldova and Spain.

Sunak said in a statement: “It is an important forum for cooperation across the whole of Europe on the issues that are affecting us all, threatening our security and prosperity.

“From putting our full support behind Ukraine to stopping the scourge of people-smuggling and illegal migration, under the UK’s leadership the meeting will bring together our European friends, partners, and neighbours to address our shared challenges.”

At the last EPC meeting, hosted by Spain in October, Sunak teamed up with Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, to force illegal migration on to the agenda.

Labour leading as election looms

After 13 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer’s Labour has been consistently ahead in the polls since the start of 2022. The latest a general election could be called is January 2025. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has the power to call a general election at any point before then, but facing a potential loss, experts think that he will put it off to stay in power for longer.

In Great Britain-wide polls, the SNP vote sits between 2% and 4% of national vote share. But its geographical concentration in Scotland means it will win many more seats than other small parties with a similar national vote share, such as the Greens. Targeted Scotland-only polls give a much better indication of how well it will do in the next election than the nationwide polls above.

Polls only go so far in predicting who will win in the UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system. What matters is the number of seats each party wins in parliament, which is decided by individual races in 650 constituencies.

Seat predictions differ, but the one we show above is from the pollster Electoral Calculus. It conducts its own polls, in which it also gathers demographic data from the people it surveys.

This data is fed into a mathematical model, called a multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) model, with the goal of estimating the connection between characteristics such as age, gender and the area where a person lives, and which party they will vote for.

ALSO READ-Hunt hits landlords with stealth capital gains tax raid

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India News Politics

BJP releases second list of 72 candidates

Banto Kataria from Ambala, Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa, Chaudhary Dharambir Singh from Bhiwani-Mahendargah, Rao Inderjit Singh Yadav from Gurgaon, and Krishanpal Gurjar from Faridabad…reports Asian Lite News

The Bharatiya Janata Party released the second list of Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday, consisting of 72 candidates, including three former Chief Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Basvaraj Bommai as well as four Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Thakur, and Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi.

The BJP has fielded former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat. Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier resigned from the position of Haryana Chief Minister on Tuesday.

In Himachal Pradesh, Union Minister Anurag Thakur will contest from the Hamirpur constituency. Suresh Kashyap has been fielded from Shimla seat.

In Karnataka, the party has fielded Union Minister Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad. Tejaswi Surya will contest from the Bangalore South constituency. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai has been given a ticket from the Haveri Lok Sabha seat, while PC Mohan will contest from Bangalore Central.

In Maharashtra, the BJP has decided to field Union Minister Nitin Gadkari from the Nagpur seat. Piyush Goyal will contest from Mumbai North. Pankja Munde has been fielded from Beed.

The BJP also announced the candidature for two seats in Uttarakhand.

The party has fielded former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat from the Haridwar seat while Anil Baluni, who is the National Chief Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to contest from the Garhwal seat.

Also, BJP announced that Harsh Malhotra will contest from East Delhi constituency, a seat which was held by former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir. Yogendra Chandolia will contest from North West Delhi.

Meanwhile, Kalaben Delkar will contest from Dadar and Nagar Haveli.

In the second list, the BJP has announced the names of candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.

In Gujarat, the party has fielded Hashmukhbhai Somabhai Patel from Ahmedabad East, Dhawal Patel from Valsad, Mukeshbhai Chandrakant Dalal from Surat, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt from Vadodara, Nimuben Bambhania from Bhavnagar, Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakor from Sabarkantha and Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathwa from Chhota Udaipur.

Six names have been announced from Haryana.

Banto Kataria from Ambala, Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa, Chaudhary Dharambir Singh from Bhiwani-Mahendargah, Rao Inderjit Singh Yadav from Gurgaon, and Krishanpal Gurjar from Faridabad.

BJP has fielded Raghvendra from Shimoga and V Sommana from Tumkur in Karnataka.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has fielded Vivek ‘Bunty’ Sahu from the Chhindwara seat where he will face Congress leader Nakul Nath. Shankar Lalwani will contest from Indore.

In Maharashtra, Anup Dhotre will fight the polls from the Akola seat on the BJP ticket, and Kapil Moreshwar Patil from Bhiwandi.

In Telangana, Godam Nagesh will contest from Adilabad, DK Aruna from Mahbubnagar, and Saida Reddy will contest from Nalgonda.

From Tripura East, Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma will contest on BJP ticket.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday had released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi again.

Meanwhile, Congress has so far announced names for 82 Lok Sabha seats.

The BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats.The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year. (ANI)

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-Top News UK News

No general election in May, says Hands

But expectations have been raised of a May election ahead of mooted tax cuts in Wednesday’s budget and the potential deportation flights to Rwanda could take off within weeks…reports Asian Lite News

A Tory Minister has appeared to rule out a May general election, suggesting voters will go to the polls this autumn. With Rishi Sunak’s party lagging Labour in the polls by 20 points, Greg Hands said the contest will be “later this year”.

The trade minister was asked about mounting speculation the PM could call a snap election in May, to coincide with local elections around the country, but ruled the prospect out.

At the same time, Labour’s shadow paymaster general was making a bet with Sky News presenter Kay Burley that the contest would be in May.

Jonathan Ashworth said: “After 14 years of the Tories… I think the British people will say it’s time for a change and will want to get rid of the Tories.

“And by the way, this election is coming in May. I think it is definitely coming in May… the Conservatives are planning for that.”

Ashworth accepted a £10 bet for a children of alcoholics charity and called on Mr Sunak to “name that date”.  Sunak has previously said his “working assumption” is that he will call the election in the second half of this year, but has refused to set out a date.

But expectations have been raised of a May election ahead of mooted tax cuts in Wednesday’s budget and the potential deportation flights to Rwanda could take off within weeks.

There are also growing fears Sunak faces a tough set of results at the May local elections, which could destabilise his leadership. And some suggest the government could opt for a May election to limit the damage to the Conservatives, with no evidence the party can expect a turnaround in the polls.

Former Tory leader Lord Hague urged the PM to “keep his options open” on the timing of the election, but added that it is “much more likely” to come late this year. Sunak’s deadline to dissolve parliament in time for a 7 May election is 26 March. It comes after a shock survey on Monday revealed the party is on course for one of its worst election defeats in history.

It showed for the Conservative Party has plunged to the lowest level since 1978 with just a fifth of British voters now backing Sunak’s party.

The Tories were 27 points behind Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which would spell electoral oblivion for Sunak’s party if replicated at a general election.

The Ipsos poll, published on Monday, shows Mr Sunak could hold on to as few as 25 seats – 351 fewer than Boris Johnson won in 2019 – in what would be a historic defeat.

It also predicts Sir Keir could secure as many as 537 seats – 340 more than Jeremy Corbyn managed at the last election and equating to a landslide which would eclipse Sir Tony Blair’s 1997 win.

The survey showed support for the Tories at just 20 per cent, the lowest since 1978 when Ipsos started tracking the poll. Ipsos is a multinational market research firm and the poll is the latest in its monthly independent Political Monitor.

In the latest survey, Labour’s support has dropped to 47 per cent from the 49 per cent it had in January. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats were backed by 9 per cent of the electorate, while support for both the Green Party and Reform UK was at 8 per cent – double what it was in January.

Ipsos’s previous lowest score for the Conservatives was 22 per cent, recorded by John Major in December 1994 and May 1995, only a few years before Sir Tony’s election win.

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India News

3.40 lakh personnel to be deployed for elections

The Election Commission of India has sent a proposal seeking the deployment of around 3,400 companies (3.40 lakh personnel) of the paramilitary wings in all states and Union Territories…reports Asian Lite News

A total of 3.40 lakh Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel are likely to be deployed during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well as the assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, officials said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) would decide to deploy the CAPF following consideration of a proposal sent by the Election Commission seeking the deployment of around 3,400 companies (3.40 lakh personnel) of the paramilitary wings in all states and Union Territories in a phased manner to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections.

The EC has sent the proposal to the ministry following requests from the chief electoral officers of all the states and the UTs for the deployment of CAPFs for election-related duties such as area dominance, confidence-building measures, poll day-related duties, guarding of EVMs and strong room centres and counting centre security during the forthcoming general elections and the assembly elections in four states–Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim–and the officials privy to the development.

“The CAPFs will be distributed from the center and retained at different intervals.”

As per a proposal, the Election Commission has sought a maximum of 920 CAPF companies for West Bengal, followed by 635 in Jammu and Kashmir, which will witness its first Lok Sabha elections after scrapping Article 370 from the erstwhile state.

Besides, 360 companies of CAPF are sought for their deployment in Chhattisgarh during the polls; 295 in Bihar; 252 in Uttar Pradesh; 250 each in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand; 200 each in Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu; 175 in Odisha; 160 each in Assam and Telangana; 150 in Maharashtra; 113 in Madhya Pradesh; 100 in Tripura; 95 in Haryana; 75 in Arunachal Pradesh; 70 each in Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Delhi; 66 in Kerala; 57 in Laddakh; 55 in Himachal Pradesh; 48 in Nagaland; 45 in Meghalaya; 17 in Sikkim; 15 in Mizoram; 14 in Dadra and Nagar Haveli; 12 in Goa; 11 in Chandigarh; 10 in Puducherry; five in Andaman and Nicobar; and three in Lakshadweep.

The MHA, however, would make decisions based on the availability of CAPFs as sought by the election watchdog.

The Lok Sabha elections are expected in April-May, to the 543-member House for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win 370 seats alone and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will cross 400 seats. (ANI)

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-Top News PAKISTAN

‘Lack of Election Transparency to Cause Instability in Pakistan’’

PTI founder said that another petition he registered against violations of human rights was also pending before the Supreme Court for a long time. Imran Khan said there was no rule of law in Pakistan…reports Asian Lite News

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has sought a level playing field for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the run-up to general elections and warned that lack of transparency in elections would cause more “instability,” Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

Speaking to reporters at Adiala Jail after the hearing of the Toshakhana case, Khan warned that if fair elections were not carried out, then it would result in further “instability and uncertainty.” He further said that PTI candidates “are being harassed and detained” by the authorities to stop them from contesting polls. Speaking about the crackdown on PTI, Imran Khan said the establishment could not “dismantle the party since it has roots in the masses.” He warned ‘turncoats’ that their politics would end if they left PTI, according to Dawn report. The cricketer-turned-politician accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of deliberately delaying the matter related to the PTI’s intra-party elections to take “stern and sudden action” to deprive the political party of its electoral symbol. Highlighting the efforts of Pakistan’s President to bring down the political temperature, Khan said Arif Alvi tried to mediate but to no avail.

Expressing his views about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan said that Pakistan would suffer “irreparable loss” if attempts were made to impose an “absconder” on Pakistan. PTI founder said that Nawaz Sharif cancelled his rally in Layyah as PML-N did not have the strength to organise a power show. He claimed that the PTI will hold the ‘biggest ever’ gathering even if he is released from jail only a couple of days before the polls. Speaking about his cases in courts, Imran Khan said that despite the disposal of his plea by the Lahore High Court regarding the rejection of nomination papers, the order in this regard was not released, Dawn reported. He said that his plea against disqualification was not being heard and added that Nawaz Sharif had been given a clean chit by the courts and allowed to contest polls.

PTI founder said that another petition he registered against violations of human rights was also pending before the Supreme Court for a long time. Imran Khan said there was no rule of law in Pakistan. However, he added that he would not take the law into his own hands as a politician and would “play till the last ball.” Meanwhile, the internet services in Pakistan were interrupted at about 7 pm (local time), an hour prior to the “virtual power show” of the PTI broadcast on social media websites, especially YouTube. In a post shared on X, Global Internet Monitor Netblocks stated that live metrics showcase “a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube,” Dawn reported.

Taking to X, Netblocks stated, “The incident comes as persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan’s political party, PTI, launches its second virtual gathering.” With regards to these blackouts, some internet service providers (ISPs) informed their customers that they might face internet issues due to a “degradation” in their network. An Islamabad-based ISP said in a message, “Our teams are already working for the earliest resolution. Inconvenience is regretted,” Dawn reported. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has, however, connected these disruptions to its virtual event. PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan said, “Shame on the caretakers that are causing damage to Pakistanis only, and this was the proof of what they intend to do on February 8, but the people are aware of all such moves.” (ANI)

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-Top News Politics USA

DeSantis, Haley Battle for Second Spot in Iowa Caucus Amidst Trump Dominance

Recent polls of Iowa Republican caucus-goers put Haley and DeSantis in the teens, with the Florida Governor slightly leading and with both well behind Trump…reports Asian Lite News

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley are pitted against each other to secure the 2nd berth after the Iowa caucus on January 15 when former President Donald Trump is likely to fend off their competition, but it would signal the potential of both candidates to be catapulted into the 1st position in 2028.

Although DeSantis and Haley have little chance to defeat Trump in Iowa, both see a strong second-place finish iks key to becoming the last person standing between Trump and the 2024 nomination. Pre-empting expectations in Iowa would signal potential for the 2028 campaign, when the GOP field could be wide open, media reports said .

Recent polls of Iowa Republican caucus-goers put Haley and DeSantis in the teens, with the Florida Governor slightly leading and with both well behind Trump. But late shifts in momentum are common in Iowa, so either candidate could finish well ahead of the other on caucus night, CNN reported.

With the Iowa caucuses less than a fortnight away, the big question is not who will win on January 15, but who will be placed second. Groups backing the contenders for the runner-up spot – DeSantis and Haley – have spent millions of dollars on ads targeting the rival for second, while making little effort to bring down the front-runner, says Laura Belin, the publisher and primary author of website “Bleeding Heartland”, where she has been covering Iowa politics since 2007, and the co-host of “Capitol Week” on KHOI Radio in Ames, Iowa.

Belin said: “One thing I’ve learned observing many presidential candidates in Iowa: Voters are far less predictable than journalists. It’s likely Haley and DeSantis have rehearsed a sound bite (or a pivot) for any question a reporter may ask at a campaign event or televised forum. But you never know what a politically engaged audience member will bring up.

“We saw that play out last week in New Hampshire. Unfortunately for Haley, she fumbled the question about the Civil War and the slavery aspect on an otherwise slow news day, meaning far more people saw the video, and more journalists covered the candidate’s awkward response and attempted clean-up.”

CNN’ has arranged back-to-back town hall meetings with Haley and DeSantis in Des Moines on Thursday and that could be important — not only for the undecided caucus-goers, who tune in live, but because many more voters will hear newsworthy sound bites later, media reports said .

Gaffes have the awkward tendency to go viral more often than clips of a candidate really nailing an answer to a difficult question. Certainly, DeSantis and Haley will want to avoid missteps. They should most importantly try to create mic-drop moments that their campaigns can promote on social media, or in a closing Iowa digital or television ad, she observed.

This cycle’s GOP debates have had a bit of a “kids’ table” feel. But with just Haley and DeSantis on stage (Trump will instead participate in a Fox News town hall), the CNN-hosted debate in Des Moines on January 10 could generate more viewership interest.

It will probably be the last chance for Haley and DeSantis to reach a nationwide television audience before the caucuses, and they won’t have to fight for speaking time — or deal with Vivek Ramaswamy’s attention-seeking behaviour, Belin said.

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Business

Markets Soar on Ruling Party’s Election Wins, Nifty Touches 21K

The common theme was inclusive growth, a no-nonsense approach and good governance. On the economic front, there has been growth all around, a stable economy and policies and a control on inflation which has hit many western countries quite badly…reports Asian Lite News

Markets are on cloud 9 and all it took was the ruling party at the Centre to win the three state elections in the Hindi heartland. Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh were the three states and of them only MP was ruled by the BJP.

Opinion polls got the outcome completely wrong and the success saw markets rallying very strongly. They first rallied on the outcomes of the exit polls and then on the results itself.

NIFTY which was trading at 20K plus saw 21K being briefly touched before settling marginally lower at 20,969.40 points. BSESENSEX on the other hand which was trading at around 67K saw 68K, 69K taken out and almost touched 70K, all within six trading sessions to make a high of 69,893.80 points and close at 69,825.60 points.

The rally so far has been sharp and markets are enthused with not only the performance but more importantly, going forward that the ruling dispensation would win the general elections as well. It is this belief that is powering the markets.

What has enthused the markets is that they believe the ruling party will come back. What this means is continuity, focus on growth, infrastructure and by and large a period where development continues to happen across sectors.

The common theme was inclusive growth, a no-nonsense approach and good governance. On the economic front, there has been growth all around, a stable economy and policies and a control on inflation which has hit many western countries quite badly.

The other important factor which is hurting developed economies is rising interest rates which have made life difficult for the common man. Fortunately, India has weathered the storm and we are now in a situation where it appears that interest rates have peaked. They may not fall immediately but a further rise could be easily ruled out.

To add comfort is the fact that in the latest RBI bi-monthly meeting held on December 8, the central bank has raised the forecast for GDP and it is indeed heartening and promising.

Historically, markets in India have done well in the period leading into general elections. The best is six months prior to the elections and six months post the results. The latter depends on the outcome of the polls and could always be a variable or subject to conditions.

In the run-up to the polls, the incumbent would be odds-on favourite after the first round of state elections and would be expected to do well in the general elections as well.

Second, the opposition bloc INDIA which was created would have its issues under the leadership of the Congress after the state poll results. All of this points to the strong position that the incumbent is currently in.

Where can the markets go from here is a moot question. They have gained close to 4.5% and have room to gain another 10% +/- 2% from here on in the next six months up to mid-May when the general elections would be near completion.

The rally would be broad-based and would see participation across sectors. One salient feature of the rally would be that the retail investors who have made good money in the markets with midcap and smallcap stocks outperforming the large cap stocks on a ratio of 3.5x would be the leaders in investing.

Interesting data from the mutual fund industry show that the midcap and smallcap mutual funds have a market share of close to 25% in the total equity corpus as of October 31, 2023.

This is a big number and clearly demonstrates the power of the small or retail investor. He typically invests in smallcap and large cap stocks and is a risk taker. His risky bets, relatively speaking, have paid off significantly and he has made disproportionately large amounts of money.

Another case in point is the huge subscription witnessed in the recently completed mother of IPOs week when we had five IPOs open and close in the same week.

The number of applications received were at a new lifetime high and in a single week, subscription of over 2.6 lakh crore was received by five mainboard IPOs. They had planned to raise Rs 7,400 crore cumulatively. Further, FPIs have had a negative outlook on India and have now turned big buyers. They could fuel our markets in the short to medium term.

In conclusion, we have an economy which is firing, political stability being witnessed over the last 9 and a half years and looks likely for another five-year term. The economy is in a decent shape with interest rates which have peaked, GDP showing strength and registering rising growth.

Stock markets are well placed and retail investors have made money. In such a scenario, expect good times to continue and markets to cross many more milestones over the next six months.

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Almost Full Turnout in North Korea’s Local Elections

North Korea’s local elections are held every four years, and the number of seats is determined by the population of each area…reports Asian Lite News

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cast his ballot in local elections held over the weekend to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation, with voter turnout recorded at almost 100 per cent, state media reported Monday.

Kim visited a polling station set up in South Hamgyong Province on Sunday and voted for candidates who ran in the elections in the region, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea’s local elections are held every four years, and the number of seats is determined by the population of each area.

But the elections are widely viewed as a formality, as the candidates are hand-picked by the North’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and rubber-stamped into office, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The KCNA said Kim met with the candidates and encouraged them to become “genuine representatives and true servants for the people who strive to defend and realize their rights, interests and requirements”.

He was accompanied by Premier Kim Tok-hun and key party officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo-jong and Hyon Song-wol, vice director of the propaganda and agitation department, it added.

According to the KCNA, the voter turnout for Sunday’s elections was 99.63 per cent. Those who are in foreign countries or working at sea did not take part in the elections.

North Korea has revised an election law in a way that allows two candidates to be recommended in some constituencies for local elections and holds a preliminary election to decide on a final candidate.

At polling stations, North Korea set up two separate ballot boxes of different colours — one for approval and the other for disapproval — a move that hampers the principle of secret voting as it is easy to see whether people vote for or against, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.

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