The Congress is in trouble in Punjab because anger against the government is reinforced by perceptions of winnability….reports Asian Lite News
There is no doubt that anti-incumbency, and often outright anger with the existing ruling party, plays a big role in voter decisions that lead to final election results.
There can also be no doubt that “perceptions” about who will win the elections affects voter behaviour.
This was revealed by final results of the CVoter-ABP News opinion poll released on Monday evening. A large number of voters seemed upset and angry with their existing governments in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa. But perceptions about who will win differed in many states.
The Congress is in trouble in Punjab because anger against the government is reinforced by perceptions of winnability. The poll revealed that 65.4 per cent of the voters were angry and wanted the government out. At the same time, only 12.2 per cent of voters “perceived” that the Congress will win the elections. This is a clear double whammy for the party.
In Goa too, a majority 50.4 per cent of voters were upset and wanted the current government out. Yet, close to 40 per cent of voters perceived the BJP will win the elections. That is giving some comfort to the BJP which seems decidedly unpopular in the state after ten years of rule.
In Uttar Pradesh too, 46.8 per cent of voters, close to a majority, are upset with the BJP government and want it out.
At the same time, 48.1 per cent of the voters perceived or felt that the BJP will win the elections. Could this be a reason for the C Voter ABP News projections that the BJP will win a simple majority in Uttar Pradesh.
In Uttarakhand, 43.3 per cent of voters want to change the government while 51.8 per cent feel that the BJP will retain power. This could be an interesting area of research for social scientists.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand BJP is leaving no stone unturned to gain political benefits by cornering rival Congress over the reportedly promised ‘Muslim University’ in the state in the Assembly polls.
The BJP claims that the Muslim University controversy has been intensely created by the Congress to polarise the minority votes ahead of the February 14 Assembly polls.
Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Akil Ahmad claimed former Chief Minister Harish Rawat assured that a Muslim university would be set up in Uttarakhand. The Congress party and former chief minister Rawat have denied Ahmad’s claims, the BJP has said that the opposition party is trying to ‘polarise Muslim voters’ in certain Assembly segments by promising to set up the Muslim University in the state for the community.
A senior Uttarakhand BJP leader claimed that the Congress leaders as part of well planned strategy said that Harish Rawat has promised setting up a Muslim University in the state. “Seeing the humiliating defeat, Congress is trying to polarise the election on religious lines,” he said.
BJP chief J.P. Nadda also attacked the Congress for promising the Muslim University and said that by building ‘community specific university’, the Congress is spreading poison of appeasement in the state.
“In the name of community specific university, the Congressmen are now spreading the poison of appeasement. What message do these people want to give to the people of Uttarakhand at the time of elections? In the name of the university, Congress leaders are destroying the society,” Nadda said addressing a public meeting in Dehradun Cantt Assembly seat on Monday evening.
BJP Rajya Sabha member from Uttarkhand Naresh Bansal said that the Congress is treating the Muslim community as ‘vote bank’ and by promising a university they are trying to appease the minority community.
The directions of the Supreme Court have apparently had no impact on the political parties in selection of candidates in Phase one of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections…reports Asian Lite News
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which has analysed the affidavits filed by 615 candidates out of the total 623 for the first phase of polls in Uttar Pradesh, has found that almost all parties have fielded candidates with a criminal background.
Among the major parties, 21 out of 28 candidates analysed from Samajwadi Party, 17 out of 29 candidates from Rashtriya Lok Dal, 29 out of 57 candidates from BJP, 21 out of 58 candidates from Congress, 19 out of 56 candidates from BSP and 8 out of 52 candidates from AAP, have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
There are 12 candidates with declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 12 candidates, one candidate has declared cases related to rape (IPC Section-376).
Those having serious criminal cases against them include 17 from SP, 15 from RLD, 22 from BJP, 11 from Congress, 16 from BSP and five from AAP.
The directions of the Supreme Court have apparently had no impact on the political parties in selection of candidates in Phase one of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Releasing the report, ADR said that all major parties contesting in the first phase of elections have given tickets to 15 per cent to 75 per cent candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves.
The Supreme Court in its directions dated February 13, 2020 had specifically instructed political parties to give reasons for such selection and why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. As per these mandatory guidelines, the reasons for such selection have to be with reference to qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned.
During the recent state assembly elections held in 2020-21, it was observed that political parties gave unfounded and baseless reasons like popularity of the person, good social work, cases are politically motivated etc. These are not sound and cogent reasons for fielding candidates with tainted backgrounds.
At Rs 4,847.78 Cr, BJP has the highest assets among thetop 7 parties, Bahujan Samaj Party a distant second with declared assets worth Rs 698.33 crore, reports Asian Lite News
The total assets declared by seven national and 44 regional parties during FY 2019-2020 amounted to Rs 6,988.57 crore and Rs 2,129.38 crore respectively, of which, the highest assets were declared by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Rs 4,847.78 crore (69.37 per cent) among the national parties.
This was followed by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which declared assets worth Rs 698.33 crore (9.99 per cent) and Indian National Congress (INC) that declared assets worth Rs 588.16 crore (8.42 per cent), an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found.
Among the 44 regional political parties, the top 10 parties declared assets worth Rs 2,028.715 crore or 95.27 per cent of the total assets declared by all the regional parties for the FY 2019-20.
The highest assets were declared by Samajwadi Party (SP) at Rs 563.47 crore (26.46 per cent), followed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) worth Rs 301.47 crore and All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) worth Rs 267.61 crore.
Fixed Deposits / FDR constituted the largest share of Rs 1,639.51 crore (76.99 per cent) of the total assets declared by regional parties in the FY 2019-20, the analysis said.
“The national and the regional parties failed to adhere to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) guidelines that direct parties to declare details of the financial institutions, banks or agencies from whom loans were taken. The guidelines specify that the parties should state the ‘terms of repayment of term loans’ on the basis of the due date such as a year, 1-5 years or payable after 5 years,” observed ADR analysts.
Details of fixed assets received as donations by the parties should be declared such as the original cost of the asset, any additions or deductions, depreciation is written off, cost of construction, etc. “The same should also be declared of fixed assets purchased by the political parties – not all political parties declared this information,” the analysis said.
None of the parties declared details of loans given by the parties in cash/ kind, especially if it constitutes more than 10 per cent of the total loans.
The assets declared by political parties fall under six major heads: Fixed assets, loans & advances, FDR/ deposits, TDS, Investments, and other assets.
Among the national parties, the BJP and BSP declared the highest assets under FDR/Fixed Deposits, Rs 3,253.00 crore and Rs 618.86 crore respectively while Congress declared the highest assets under FDR/Fixed Deposits, Rs 240.90 crore for the FY 2019-20.
Among the regional parties, the highest assets were declared under FDR/Fixed Deposits by SP (Rs 434.219 crore), TRS (Rs 256.01 crore), AIADMK (Rs 246.90 crore), DMK (Rs 162.425 crore), Shiv Sena (Rs 148.46 crore) and Biju Janata Dal, BJD (Rs 118.425 crore) among others, the ADR said in a release.
The total liabilities declared by the seven national and 44 regional political parties for the same duration amounted to Rs 134.93 crore. The national political parties declared the total liabilities of Rs 74.27 crore, Rs 4.26 crore under Borrowings and Rs 70.01 crore under Other Liabilities.
The Congress declared the highest total liabilities of Rs 49.55 crore (66.72 per cent) followed by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) declaring Rs 11.32 crore (15.24 per cent). The regional political parties declared the total liabilities of Rs 60.66 crore, Rs 30.29 crore was declared under Borrowings and Rs 30.37 crore under Other Liabilities. Amongst them, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) declared the highest total liabilities of Rs 30.342 crore (50.02 per cent) followed by DMK which declared Rs 8.05 crore (13.27 per cent).
The ICAI guidelines on auditing of political parties, which have been endorsed by the ECI in order to improve transparency in the finances of political parties, remain guidelines only and have not been actively taken up by the political parties as a mandatory procedure to disclose details of their income, the ADR said. It added, “These guidelines were meant to standardise the format of financial statements of parties apart from improving disclosure of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of the unique association, political parties.”
Registered unrecognised political parties doubled in 2010-2021
The number of registered unrecognised political parties increased more than twice between 2010 and 2021 and disproportionately during the year of parliamentary elections, poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said.
Either newly registered parties or those which have not secured enough percentage of votes in assembly or general elections to become a state party, or those which have never contested elections since being registered are considered unrecognised parties.
In a new report, the ADR said from 1112 parties in 2010, the number spiked to 2,301 in 2019 and now in 2021, the number rose to 2,858.
“It is important to note that the number of such parties increases disproportionately during the year of Parliamentary elections especially. Between 2018 and 2019, it increased by over 9.8 per cent while between 2013 and 2014, it increased by 18 per cent,” the report said.
The ADR said the annual audit reports of only 230 or 8.23 per cent registered unrecognised parties and the annual contribution reports of only 160 or 5.72 per cent of the total 2,796 registered unrecognised parties are available in the public domain for 2019-20.
Of the 889 registered unrecognised parties analysed belonging to five states going for polls in 2022, the annual audit reports are available on the state CEO websites for only 90 or 10.12 per cent of such parties belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand while they are unavailable for the unrecognised parties of Manipur and Goa for 2019-20.
“The annual audit reports of 10.69 per cent or 82 out of 767 parties of UP, 9.09 per cent or 6 out of 66 parties of Punjab and 5.41 per cent or 2 parties of 37 parties of Uttarakhand are available in the public domain,” it said.
During 2019-20, only 25 of these 90 registered unrecognised parties submitted their audit reports without any delay, while the remaining 65 parties submitted their audit reports after the due date, with a delay ranging from 1 day to 318 days, the report said.
The 90 registered unrecognised parties of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab analysed in this report, whose audit reports are available, declared a total income of Rs 840.25 lakh while the total expenditure declared was Rs 876.76 lakh for 2019-20. During 2019-20, these unrecognised parties spent Rs 36.51 lakh more than their total income for that year.
The Jan Raajya Party of Uttar Pradesh declared the highest income of Rs 338.01 lakh while the total expenditure declared by the party was Rs 332.16 lakh for 2019-20.
Anarakshit Samaj Party and Apna Dal (Soneylal) of Uttar Pradesh declared the second (Rs 157.68 lakh) and the third-highest income (Rs 76.05 lakh) during this period, it said.
He said in the second and third phase they will open the price for the Congress and the AAP. In the first phase they have not given any option for these two parties…reports Atul Krishan
Ahead of the first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh the Hapur market has predicted the return of the BJP to power — the first time since the last 21 years as no government could return to power. The satta bazaar which operates very secretively has betted on the BJP. The prediction is that after early losses the BJP will emerge as the winner with an absolute majority.
The bookies who run the satta bazaar are giving 230 seats to the BJP in the UP Assembly elections in their early trends. They are also taking the help of various professionals to run the satta bazaar and to keep themselves safe from the clutches of the police.
They are buying paid service, betting only with trusted customers and relying on professionals to run their racket.
They told that as of now they were looking at the BJP as the strong player in the elections, the Samajwadi Party was their second choice to which they were giving 130 seats. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were not given any seats as of now in the first phase of the elections. They told that after the first phase of election the trend might change but it would not be a major change. As per their trend the BJP is getting fewer seats than in the previous elections but also becoming a major party.
“We are offering 1000 for 1000 as of now for BJP. After the first phase of elections, this might change into 1000 to 5000 or 10,000 depending on the current trends,” said the bookie.
He said in the second and third phase they will open the price for the Congress and the AAP. In the first phase they have not given any option for these two parties.
“After each phase the situation will change. We will be able to comment on the Congress after the third phase. This phase will give us an idea about how many seats the Congress is going to bag. The seats of the BSP will also be decided in the third phase. The fourth phase will make it clear to us whether the AAP is going to affect the elections or not. The rest of the phases of the elections will only swing the betting price,” said the bookie.
The satta bazaar is saying that the BJP will suffer a loss of 60 to 70 seats but as of now the saffron party was a strong candidate. That the Samajwadi Party will be able to bag more than 130 seats or not will be clear in the fourth phase of the elections.
Voters would be provided hand gloves for signing on the voter register and pressing the EVM button for voting…reports Asian Lite News
The assembly elections for five states from notifications to the counting day are going to be a tough nut to crack for the Election Commission, which, has laid out an elaborate protocol for voters and voting booths and of course, its officials.
The EC announced poll schedule for five states — UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa on Saturday.
Starting with face masks during the election-related activities and maintaining social distancing norms, the Commission has asked all its polling personnel/security personnel/counting staff to be doubly vaccinated before being deployed/engaged in election-related activities.
The polling agent/counting agent etc. would not be allowed to enter the counting hall/polling station without full vaccination and in case of those who are not, an RT-PCR test within 48 hours would be required. All the entry points to such hall/room/ premises used for election purposes would have a provision for thermal scanning of all persons and sanitizer at all entry points.
One nodal health officer shall be designated for the State Level, the District Level, and the Assembly Constituency Level to oversee Covid-related arrangements and preventive measures during the entire electoral process, the EC said.
The other protocols include gloves for officials handling EVM/VVPAT and election material Kit to be prepared and distributed from in a spacious and sufficiently large hall following all safety, sanitation, and social distancing measures. The Kit for the Polling Officer will include PPEs if needed, a mask, sanitizer, face shield and gloves.
Similarly, the EC has issued orders for polling arrangements following the Covid protocol.
The assured minimum facilities at each polling station will have mandatory sanitization of Polling Station, preferably, a day before the poll; thermal scanner at the entry point of every polling station location; thermal checking of voters at the entry point of polling station location/Polling station, either by polling staff or Para Medical staff or Asha worker; markers to demonstrate social distancing for queue; earmarking circle for 15-20 persons of 2 yards (6 feet) distance for voters standing in the queue depending on the availability of space with separate queues for males, females, and PwD/ Senior citizen voters.
While sanitizer should be provided at the entry/exit point of every polling station, EC said, it also suggested keeping face masks in reserves for those electors who are not carrying the masks.
“During the process of identification of voter, the voters will be required to lower the facemask for identification,” the EC guidelines said, adding, at any given time, only one vote shall be allowed to stand in front of each polling official maintaining social distance.
Voters would be provided hand gloves for signing on the voter register and pressing the EVM button for voting.
“Most importantly, Covid patients and all others who may be under quarantine will be allowed to cast their vote at the last hour of the poll day at their respective Polling Stations, under the supervision of health authorities,” the EC said.
“Needless to add that anybody violating instructions on COVID-19 measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, besides legal action under Section 188 of the IPC, and other legal provisions as applicable. District Election Officer should bring this to the notice of all concerned,” Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said.
The CEC said service electors including Security Forces deployed in far-flung places, Mission staff, and others are about 5.29 lakh…reports Asian Lite News
Women participation in the electoral process has increased in all the five states going to polls — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur as compared to the last assembly elections with UP witnessing the maximum participation of the fair sex at 29 points, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said on Saturday while announcing the poll schedule.
As many as 18.34 crore electors from the five states will take part in the democratic exercise and out of that 8.55 crore are women electors. In the women participation, UP is followed by Goa with 24 points, Manipur with 19 points, Uttarakhand with 18 points, and Punjab at 10 points. In the gender ratio, Goa recorded 1056, Manipur 1065, Punjab 902, Uttarakhand 928, and UP at 868, Chandra said.
Notably, out of the 24.9 lakh first-time voters, 11.4 lakh are also women.
Nearly 13.01 lakh are differently-abled voters and 31.47 lakh senior citizens mostly above 80 years will exercise their franchise and this will inspire the younger generation, he said.
The CEC said service electors including Security Forces deployed in far-flung places, Mission staff, and others are about 5.29 lakh.
Polling time has been increased by one hour in all the states. The final electoral rolls were published on January 5. The EC has made an effort to increase the number of voters and as a result, all states have seen an increase, with the maximum voter increase in Uttar Pradesh.
The EC has capped the number of voters per booth to 1,250, resulting in an increase in the number of polling stations to 30,334 as the average number of voters per polling booth has decreased.
The next state Assembly elections could also be a gamechanger in terms of the political careers of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the old warhorse of BJP in the state, as well as the Opposition leader Siddaramaiah…reports Asian Lite News.
Karnataka is all set to witness high-voltage political slugfest in 2022 as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress have already locked horns over the controversial Anti-Conversion Bill, Cow Slaughter Bill and the National Education Policy (NEP).
The battle for power is only expected to grow fierce as the year 2022 becomes crucial in the run-up to the 2023 state Assembly elections.
Political pandits are predicting that Karnataka is going to witness high drama in the socio-political scenarios as there is a stiff competition between the national parties — BJP and the Congress. There is an equal rift among leaders within the party circles for the coveted post of Chief Minister.
The next state Assembly elections could also be a gamechanger in terms of the political careers of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the old warhorse of BJP in the state, as well as the Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
With Congress taking a pledge before the people that all controversial laws such as the Cow Slaughter Bill, the Anti-Conversion Bill and the NEP will be rolled back, the Assembly poll results would also have a reasonable impact on the people of the state.
The Congress has alleged that the ruling BJP is encouraging moral policing in the state. On the other hand, the BJP has refused to respond to such charges.
The 2023 state Assembly elections would be the second time for the BJP since its inception in the state to shun the leadership of party veteran Yediyurappa and face elections.
The first time BJP in the state got decimated was in 2013 as Yediyurappa was estranged with the party and had formed his own — Karnataka Janata Party and the Congress got a majority enabling the coronation of Siddaramaiah to the coveted Chief Ministerial post. However, this time the BJP has taken the baton from him and handed it over to the present Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Though, everything seems to be fine from outside, but BJP sources claim that all is not well within the party. The party leadership has decided not to be under the mercy of Yediyurappa anymore and it wants to attain power through a fierce Hindutva agenda in the state. Fingers are crossed over the moves of the veteran leader and the BJP seems to be okay to take on the challenge.
Basavaraj Bommai, the blue-eyed boy, who was powered to the post by Yediyurappa and RSS leaders, has to go a long way in establishing himself as a mass leader to match the charisma of Yediyurappa. After taking oath as 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28, he made a good beginning and it seemed that he could emerge as a mass leader with support of the BJP high command.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the BJP would fight the 2023 state Assembly elections under Chief Minister Bommai’s leadership. When everything was going smoothly for him, the allegations of the Bitcoin scandal and corruption charges by the contractor’s association seemed to ‘upset his cart’ (spoil everything). On both the occasions, letters were written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress, however, raised the issue in New Delhi and questioned Prime Minister Modi over the Bitcoin scandal. The defeat of Hangal bypoll at Bommai’s native district Haveri and losing the MLC seat in Belagavi seems to have affected his political image.
Soon the change of leadership talks surfaced in state politics after the debacle faced by the BJP in the Hangal bypoll. However, the BJP seems to be backing Bommai, as the state party in-charge Arun Singh declared that the next state Assembly elections would be fought under the former’s leadership. The list of aspirants for the Chief Ministerial post in the BJP camp is long and it is to be seen how the party is going to balance the situation.
On the other hand, the Congress is clearly divided into two factions in Karnataka. Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, who angered the BJP central leadership is time and again proving his loyalty to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and his son Rahul Gandhi and even went to jail. He is on a mission to attain the Chief Minister’s chair.
Shivakumar is highly resourceful and hails from the dominant Vokkaliga community. He is touted to be capable of turning things around for the Congress.
Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister, is clearly aiming at the coveted CM post and doing everything to prove his abilities over Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah, presently though has a commendable hold over the Congress MLAs, suffered a humiliating defeat in the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency during 2018 state Assembly elections and managed to win by a thin margin in the Badami Assembly constituency.
The local candidate B.B. Chimmanakatti had directly asked Siddaramaiah to lookout for a new constituency. He is said to be considering the option of contesting from the Chamarajpet constituency in Bengaluru, presently represented by his close associate B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Modi, Shah
Siddaramaiah, a fierce critic of the RSS and Hindutva philosophy, takes on Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah boldly. According to sources, if the Congress high command fails to find a solution to counter the infighting within the party, it is going to have disastrous poll implications for the party in Karnataka.
Instead of infighting, the Congress has received a major boost in the state after the Bitcoin allegations against the ruling BJP leaders surfaced. Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have undertaken 10-day ‘padayatra’ demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project. The campaign was planned to reach out to the people of all 26 Assembly constituencies of Bengaluru and surrounding districts as well.
The regional party JD(S) has given a clarion call to fight the elections independently, maintaining distance from the BJP as well as the Congress.
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy rejected the offer of a poll alliance during the recent MLC elections. With its legislators jumping into the fold of national parties in the state, the party is facing a huge challenge in terms of its appeal within the people. The party candidates in Hangal and Sindgi have lost their deposits. The JD(S) wants a situation of hung Assembly and wants to play the role of a kingmaker. Senior leaders of both national parties — BJP and the Congress — agree to this possibility.
Prithvi Reddy, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State President, said his party has captured a political narrative which is reflected in the recent Chandigarh and Surat local body elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah ridiculed the AAP, but promised free electricity and water in Hyderabad. People are bound to ask what they are doing in Karnataka where the BJP is in power, Reddy added.
The three parties — BJP, Congress and the JD(S) — in the state have no difference in terms of corruption and candidates with criminal backgrounds, the AAP leader said.
“I am very positive about the upcoming elections to the BBMP (Bengaluru local body). Even the hardcore BJP worker is saying the party has let them down in terms of infrastructure, condition of roads and drains in the city. If BBMP elections are to be held after the results of the Punjab and Goa Assembly elections, the scenario is going to be totally different in Bengaluru,” he added.
“As 2021 is closing and 2022 is coming closer, we (Congress) hope the state and the country will see better days. Covid-19 crisis ends and people are financially able to pick themselves up. Yes, the Congress is super confident about winning the 2023 state Assembly elections. The way BJP is mismanaging the state administration and the way people are fed up with its misrule is a clear indication that the Congress under the guidance of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will win the elections.
“The Congress workers are in an upbeat mood and they are very hardworking. If you have noticed the Covid crisis, the Congress workers were everywhere going door-to-door helping people. The people will remember all of this while they are voting,” says Lavanya Ballal, AICC Spokesperson and party’s Social Media Coordinator.
Tanveer Ahmed, the JD(S) National Spokesperson, said that JD(S) is not a kingmaker party and regional parties are very important for the country. “When the Kannada flag was burnt and Maharashtra Ekikarana Samithi (MES) activists resorted to violence in Belagavi, the BJP was hesitant as they had to go to the polls in Maharashtra and Congress was even more hesitant as it is preparing for the polls in Goa.
“If at all there is any party which deserves to fight for local Kannadigas, it is the JD(S). How the BJP is bringing ‘Indianism’ and Congress pursuing ‘Congressism’, JD(S) will always have local identity,” he added.
Polls
“As many as 23,000 bank jobs have gone to the Hindi-speaking people in the rural areas of the state. In railways and other avenues, the local people are totally neglected. People are observing these developments and know only JD(S) can vouch for them without fear or favour,” he said.
Anwar Manappadi, a senior BJP leader, told: “BJP government has totally failed in the concept of ‘Sab ke Saath, Sabka Vikas’ coined by Prime Minister Modi. The concept is not happening at all. It’s a joke, such a good concept has gone to waste. In fact, they are going against it by neglecting the minorities, especially the Muslims.”
The BJP will take out ‘Rath Yatra’ in 403 Assembly constituencies to persuade the electorate in its favour. Central and state ministers are likely to join the yatra…reports Asian Lite News.
Political parties are making all out efforts to woo voters in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, which will decide the political fate of many of them.
Leaving no stone unturned, the ruling BJP has appointed in-charges in the state to lead the party’s campaign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his parliamentary constituency Varanasi twice this month and dedicated various welfare schemes to the people. Foundation stones for various schemes are continuously being laid.
Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani have also entered the political arena to campaign for the saffron party.
The BJP will take out ‘Rath Yatra’ in 403 Assembly constituencies to persuade the electorate in its favour. Central and state ministers are likely to join the yatra.
Shah will not only hold public meetings and roadshows from December 26 to 31 but also organisational meetings, during which he will give tips to the cadres.
He will stay for the night at those places and study the ground realities.
Shah, who is the BJP’s chief strategist and is considered a poll expert, especially for Uttar Pradesh, has a significant contribution in bringing the party to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, 2019 Assembly polls and the 2019 general elections.
To come to power, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has stitched together alliances with small parties to set the caste equations right.
Besides Akhilesh patched-up with estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Shivpal has also accepted Akhilesh as his leader.
In Western UP, the SP has an alliance with Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD. Akhilesh had addressed a joint rally with Jayant.
On one hand, BJP is using full administrative machinery to bring people in their political rallies on Public tax money & still flop shows whereas on the other hand big crowd is showing up during @yadavakhilesh Vijay Rath Yatras. #Fark_Saaf_Hai Pradhanmantri ji! https://t.co/SYkW3XWghq
The SP chief took out “Vijay Rath Yatras” in Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Banda, Mahoba, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Rai Bareli, Jaunpur, Mainpuri, Etah, but whether this will convert into votes is yet to be seen.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati kicked-off her poll campaign by organising a prabudh sammelan.
Mayawati’s party is eyeing the bastions of other political parties, but whether it will succeed in its endeavour or not will be known in the times to come.
The Congress is also claiming that it will win the Assembly polls. The grand old party has announced schemes for women in a bid to woo the fairer sex. It has roped in chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states for campaigning.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi is scrambling to win a few seats in the polls.
Political analyst PN Dwivedi said that an interesting poll battle is in the offing as all parties are putting their best foot forward to emerge victorious.
Mayawati will launch the party’s campaign after the Election Commission announces the election schedule…reports Asian Lite News.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has finalized candidates on 100 seats in Uttar Pradesh for the 2022 assembly elections.
The names of the selected candidates are being announced in public meetings organised by the party leaders in various districts.
The candidates have also been made in charge of the assembly segments from which they will be contesting the upcoming elections.
According to party sources, the BSP plans to finalize the candidates on the remaining 300 seats by mid-January.
Mayawati will launch the party’s campaign after the Election Commission announces the election schedule.
The BSP president has been accused of staying away from the political arena and has been limiting her activities to press statements and tweets.
According to party national general secretary, Satish Chandra Mishra, “The BJP, SP and Congress are luring leaders with tickets for the assembly elections.
“The rival parties have promised tickets to 10 candidates on a single seat, but their tactics had been exposed as the prospective candidates are now being pressured to bring people to public meetings. The rival parties are apprehending a revolt in the party and are, therefore, delaying announcement of candidates,” he said.
Mishra said that the BSP was working on social engineering formula of ‘sarvajan hitaye – sarvajan sukhaye’ to win the elections. The members of all communities were being given adequate representation in distribution of tickets, he said.
Mayawati is also screening and finalizing the candidates for the 70 assembly seats in Uttarakhand where the party will contest on its own as well as Punjab where the BSP is contesting assembly elections in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Meanwhile, BSP district unit president Akhilesh Ambedkar said the party had finalized tickets on seven assembly seats out of the nine seats in Lucknow district.
To enlist the support of the minority community, Mayawati has fielded Muslim candidates on four assembly seats — Lucknow North, Lucknow West, Bakshi Ka Talab and Sarojini Nagar.
The BSP had managed to win only 19 seats in the 2017 assembly polls and is now left with merely six legislators since others have either left or have been expelled.
Libyan PM Libyan election laws designed to obstruct polls
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections face a major problem of “laws that are designed to obstruct the electoral process”…reports Asian Lite News
“The elections are going through a very big problem. The demand for the Libyan people to elect cannot be waived,” Dbeibah addressed the gathering of youth and student organisations in the capital Tripoli.
He accused the House of Representatives (Parliament), which drafted the election laws, of obstructing the electoral process.
Libyan PM Libyan election laws designed to obstruct polls
The prime minister stressed the need to hold elections based on “constitutional base and laws agreed upon by all”.
Libya plans to hold general elections on December 24 this year, as part of a roadmap adopted by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) with the aim to bring stability to Libya.
The House of Representatives in September approved the presidential election law, and approved the parliamentary election law in October.
However, the two laws spark controversy among some political parties that claim the laws were passed without “consensus” among the parties.
Candidates in the fray for the presidential election include Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late ousted Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi; warlord Khalifa Haftar, who previously led an insurgency from his eastern base against the UN-backed government in Tripoli; Prime Minister al-Dbeibah and Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh.
