Tag: Uttarakhand polls

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BJP holds 4 states, AAP sweeps Punjab

The AAP’s broom swept away the ruling Congress in Punjab, which was saddled by incumbency and infighting. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led alliance and BJP failed to dent the prospects of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, reports Asian Lite News

The BJP’s lotus bloomed again in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while AAP’s broom swept away opponents in Punjab as results for five states were declared on Thursday. The BJP also won in Manipur and emerged as the single-largest party in Goa.

In Uttar Pradesh, the saffron party-led alliance is close to winning 270 seats in the 403-member assembly. In Uttarakhand, it is leading in over 40 seats, comfortably above the majority mark of 36.

While the results are the same as in 2017, the “verdict” is slightly different. The BJP is winning UP but the margin is not as handsome as it was in 2017. It had won 312 seats alone in the state in the previous elections.

In Goa and Manipur, the BJP had won fewer seats in 2017 but managed to form the governments. This time, it is the single largest party but hasn’t been able to cross the majority mark yet.

AAP’s big win

The AAP’s broom swept away the ruling Congress in Punjab, which was saddled by incumbency and infighting. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led alliance and BJP failed to dent the prospects of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party

Whether it’s a bigger victory for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal or its Punjab CM candidate Bhagwant Mann, the jury will be out on that. But the clear mandate in Punjab is sure to stoke the party’s national ambitions, which it had been harbouring since getting its first taste of victory nearly 7 years ago. And while buoyant AAP supporters are busy celebrating Punjab’s victory, there is a somber silence in the Congress ranks.

Congress in a spot

The grand old party, which continues to lose its footprint in India, has lost another state. In Uttarakhand, it failed to take the fight to the BJP despite the saffron party changing its CM not once but twice.

In Manipur and Goa too, the Congress failed to topple the BJP.

And in UP, the party’s spirited women-centric campaign led by Priyanka Gandhi failed to impress the voters with its seat share depleting from 7 in 2017 to 1 in 2022, as per available trends.

Churn in opposition

The electoral landscape of India is more or less the same as it was before the results, save Punjab which has flipped from Congress to Aam Aadmi Party.

But the flip could have a far-reaching impact on national level politics as the vacuum to emerge as the national alternative to the BJP is yet to be filled by any opposition party.

With Punjab now in its kitty, the AAP is in power in two states. Interestingly, the Congress too has only two states to its name where it is in power on its own.

While AAP has firmed up its position as a potential national force in the future, it still has a long way to go. The AAP is in power in states which together make up 20 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress is in power in states that together send 36 members to the lower house.

The party understands this and is working to expand itself beyond Punjab and Delhi.

Setback for Mayawati

The party, which was once a major player in UP elections, has been reduced to just 5-odd seats this year with a vote share of over 12%. This is a direct depletion of over 10 percentage points compared to 2017.

In essence, Mayawati’s BSP has been reduced to a party that cuts into the votes of SP candidates. SP scores big but fails to trouble BJP Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav could take heart from today’s result as he managed to pull his party from a dismal show in 2017 to a fighting performance in 2022.

The SP won 126 seats while its allies are leading in 14. This is nearly thrice the number of seats Akhilesh had won in 2017 when he contested in alliance with Congress. The party also managed to boost its vote share by nearly 10 percentage points to 31% – its highest ever in the state.

Unfortunately for Akhilesh, the performance wasn’t good enough to topple the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government. The result, however, could set the stage for SP to emerge as a solid alternative force in the state.

In the previous elections, SP’s decision to contest with Congress (2017 assembly) and BSP (2019 Lok Sabha) had failed to impress the voters.

Yogi breaks 37-year jinx

Besides AAP, UP chief minister is another big winner of the 2022 elections. In 2017, the BJP had contested the elections without declaring a chief ministerial candidate. In 2022, Yogi was the

clear-cut choice and the face of BJP’s campaign.

Leading the BJP to a historic victory in UP will come as a shot in the arm for Yogi, who is considered as one of the most popular faces in the BJP’s ranks.

BJP creates history in Uttarakhand

The saffron party has also managed to create history by winning a consecutive term in a state which alternates between Congress and BJP. Power has changed hands every five years since the formation of the hill state in 2001.

The results are a big thumbs up to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who had assumed power just seven months before the elections. Moreover, the constant infighting in BJP’s Uttarakhand unit and two changes did not have a big impact on the poll results either.

Advantage BJP in 2024?

Coming just two years ahead of Lok Sabha elections, today’s results augur well for the BJP. Uttar Pradesh is the top bellwether state in India vis-à-vis national polls and another big victory in the state bodes well for the BJP, which is eyeing a third straight term in Lok Sabha.

The state sends the maximum number of MPs to Parliament at 80.

“Forget 2019 and start planning (and) hoping for 2024,” National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had tweeted this in 2017 when the BJP stormed to power.

Now, with another victory under its belt in the numerically crucial state, the BJP will find itself on a strong footing as it gears up for the national poll,

Brand Modi bankable

As always, the BJP reaped rich dividends in UP and Uttarakhand by banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and national appeal.

Besides Yogi, the Prime Minister led BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh and addressed as many as 28 rallies in the seven-phase elections. This was more than the number of rallies he had addressed in 2017.

ALSO READ-FUTURE TENSE FOR CONGRESS

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India News Politics

Congress changes seat of Harish Rawat in U’khand poll

The party on Monday had released the second list of 11 candidates, fielding senior Harish Rawat from Ramnagar in Nainital district…reports Asian Lite News

The Congress on Wednesday changed the seat of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat for the February 14 Assembly election and he will now contest from Lalkuan, instead of Ramnagar.

The new candidate from Ramnagar is Mahendra Pal singh.

The Congress released its third list of candidates and made changes for three seats -Lalkuan, Ramnagar, and Kaladhungi where Mahesh Sharma is party’s new candidate.

The party on Monday had released the second list of 11 candidates, fielding senior Harish Rawat from Ramnagar in Nainital district.

In the second list, the party has given ticket to Anukriti Gusain Rawat, the daughter-in-law of Harak Singh Rawat, who recently rejoined the Congress from the BJP after being expelled by the saffron party. She will contest from Lansdowne.

There were discussions to field Harak Singh Rawat from Chaubhhatkal but finally Kesar Singh Negi has been given ticket.

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HS Rawat sacked as Uttarakhand minister, expelled from BJP

Rawat was said to be nursing a grouse against the BJP leadership for quite some time, and even expressing his resentment publicly…reports Asian Lite News

Amid speculation that he was likely to rejoin the Congress, Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat was on Sunday sacked from the government and expelled from the BJP for “anti-party activities” for six years.

BJP sources said that Rawat was asking for tickets for three of his family members including his wife in the assembly polls, but had been told that the party had made it a rule that only one member of a family would be fielded.

“He has been dropped from the Dhami cabinet and expelled from the party for six years,” a source said.

The development came barely a month before the Assembly election in the hill state, slated for February 14.

It is learned that Rawat, present in the national capital, is likely to join Congress on Monday. “Rawat is in touch with the Congress leadership and is likely to join the party. His daughter-in-law may also join the party with him on Monday,” sources said.

Rawat had switched over from the Congress to the BJP before the 2017 Assembly polls.

Rawat was said to be nursing a grouse against the BJP leadership for quite some time, and even expressing his resentment publicly.

He had skipped the party meeting to select candidates in Dehradun on Saturday. As he met a senior Congress leader on Sunday and indicated that he would join the party on Monday, the BJP took action against him.

Similarly, last month, Rawat had left a cabinet meeting and announced his resignation. He threatened to resign demanding a budget for a medical college in assembly constituency Kotdwar and said that Rs 5 crore has been sanctioned for the medical college but with that fund,only the boundary can be constructed.

Two days later, after a dinner meeting between Dhami and Rawat, the Uttarakhand BJP had claimed the crisis created after the latter’s threat to resign from the state cabinet had been resolved.

After the meeting, Rawat had said that Dhami is like his “younger brother” and they had a “long relationship.”

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‘Uttarakhand polls contest between Harish Rawat and BJP’s misrule’

The election will be against the BJP which has imposed this useless government in Uttarakhand…Harish Rawat speaks with Arvind Malguri

The Assembly elections in Uttarakhand are a contest between Harish Rawat and BJP’s misrule, former Chief Minister of the state Harish Rawat said in an exclusive interview. The Himalayan state is set to go to the polls on February 14. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Who do you think is the contest with — Pushkar Singh Dhami vs Harish Rawat or BJP vs Congress?

This contest will be Harish Rawat vs the BJP. Because Pushkar Singh Dhami is just a small pawn, whom the party has put forward to dodge anti-incumbency and to avoid questions being raised within the BJP.

Are you sure that you will come back to power with full majority?

Yes, we will come back with a very good majority, and we have told the voters that if you are happy with us, then vote so that we can easily form the government and give you a good government.

So can we say if Congress comes to power, then Harish Rawat is going to be the next Chief Minister of Uttarakhand?

Right now all I can say is that a Congressperson is going to be the next Chief Minister in March, and it is my responsibility to ensure this. But who will be the Chief Minister, the party will decide.

Have the internal bickerings in the party for quite some time ended? Or is it still going on?

There is no tension in the party, but whatever it is, it will not affect the party’s prospects in the elections. That much I can say.

BJP says that PM has a lot of influence in Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat will not be able to overcome that. What do you think?

Look, if Modi ji was contesting the election here then people would be comparing Modi ji with Harish Rawat. People here have to choose their chief minister, and in the last five years people have been disappointed. A double engine government was formed on the call of PM Modi, but that government failed on all fronts. Now if Modi ji apologizes to the people that he made a mistake then, people may consider his appeal. But people are saying that if double engine government comes again, it will be a disaster. That’s why people are now looking towards Harish Rawat.

What do you think about digital campaign, will you be able to use it, that too in a place where there is no good internet connectivity in many areas?

Look, we will face all the challenges which come our way. The challenge may come in any form. I have also started addressing digitally. Yesterday I did the first digital address, in which more than 20,000 people joined. Even today I am holding an election meeting in Haldwani. We are adapting ourselves to the emerging challenges.

You say that Dhami is a pawn, the election will be between BJP and Harish Rawat. That is, between Harish Rawat and Modi?

The election will be against the BJP which has imposed this useless government in Uttarakhand.

On what issues you will be fighting the election?

Obviously unemployment is a big issue in Uttarakhand, yet there are other issues — law and order, inflation, misgovernance, indiscriminate mining. Health and medical infrastructure has collapsed in the state, this is a big issue. The issues are many, the thing is that development has been stalled for five years. And the state’s economy has completely collapsed.

The people of your party say that under Harish Rawat, small leaders do not get opportunities, they are not able to move ahead, what would you like to say?

This is not true. I have helped all the leaders of this generation to move forward from time to time. So it’s not like that, and there are challenges in politics, and everyone has to face this. And I want to wish all my friends the best that they should face the challenges bravely.

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