#BJP party members back to TMC

[angel0news]

"No Tie-Up With Congress": Mamata Banerjee's Bengal Twist Stuns INDIA Bloc

The Trinamool Congress will contest the elections for Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own steam, and only consider a pan-India alliance with the Congress after results are declared, a furious Mamata Banerjee declared Wednesday. Ms Banerjee's words deliver what appears to be a final blow to hopes the two parties - widely seen as important members of the INDIA opposition bloc - will reach any agreement.

"I had no discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I gave them (the Congress) many proposals… but they rejected them. I am not concerned about what will be done in the (rest of the) country… but we are a secular party and, in Bengal, we alone will defeat BJP."

In further signs of fraying tempers, she also hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which is expected to enter Bengal on Thursday but might skip Kolkata.

"They are coming to my state… but did not have courtesy to inform me, even though I am part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no relations with me, as far as Bengal is concerned," she told reporters.

Ms Banerjee has a good rapport with Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi, but her ties with Mr Gandhi are seen as strained. She has made it clear, earlier too, she is against allowing her 'ally' to contest in Bengal.

"INDIA will be present in India (but) in Bengal the Trinamool Congress will fight. In Bengal it is only Trinamool that can teach the BJP a lesson. It can show the country the path to victory…" she had said.

Minutes later the Congress responded through comms boss Jairam Ramesh.

Mr Ramesh, who is with Rahul Gandhi and the yatra in Assam, said his party "cannot imagine INDIA bloc without Mamataji". Mr Ramesh insisted "all INDIA partners will unitedly fight Lok Sabha polls in Bengal".

Ms Banerjee's announcement has drawn a scathing jibe from the BJP's Amit Malviya, who called it a "sign of desperation". "Unable to hold her political ground, Mamata Banerjee wants to fight all seats, in the hope that she can still be relevant, after the polls…" the BJP's IT Cell boss posted on X.

The Trinamool vs Congress squabble over seat-sharing, and the larger picture of how INDIA might defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP, has rumbled on for weeks with no apparent resolution, with neither side willing to back down. The Congress has, so far, ignored deadlines to close a deal.

On Tuesday Ms Banerjee criticised the Congress' "unjustified" demand for 10-12 Lok Sabha seats in her state; she had offered two, pointing to its' abysmal record. It won four seats in 2014 and only two in 2019.

A senior Trinamool leader, on condition of anonymity, told news agency PTI, "(Ms Banerjee) said, 'Don't think about seat-sharing with Congress'… she said she offered two seats but they demanded 10-12".

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh last week warned the Congress against "unjustified bargaining".

Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee, in a show of strength, has directed party leaders in Birbhum and Murshidabad district to begin planning for the combined five Lok Sabha seats on their own. The latter is key because one of its three seats is Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's constituency of Berhampore.

Mr Chowdhury, the Congress' state unit boss, is fiercely opposed to sharing seats with the Trinamool, and has repeatedly attacked Ms Banerjee, despite efforts from leaders on both sides to stitch an alliance. He responded to the offer by declaring Ms Banerjee owed her success to the "mercy" of the Congress.

Rahul Gandhi, asked about these attacks, played them down, insisting "Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party" and that it is "natural", sometimes, for the two sides to criticise each other.

But they are not going to disrupt the relations between the Congress and the TMC," he insisted.

Meanwhile, away from Bengal, the Trinamool is also unhappy over the Congress' refusal to play second fiddle to regional parties when required. The Congress has already been criticised for this by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav after it refused to share seats for November's Madhya Pradesh election.

Ms Banerjee on Monday said the Congress was welcome to fight 300 seats on its own, but urged the party to surrender some seats to regional parties that will have the best chance of defeating the BJP.

"Particular regions should be left to regional parties. They can fight 300 seats alone… I will help them, I will not contest those seats… but they are adamant about doing what they want," she said.

"I have the power to take on the BJP, but some people don't want to listen to us about seat-sharing. If you don't want to fight the BJP, then at least don't give away seats to it," the fiery Trinamool leader said.

Ms Banerjee is one of the few opposition leaders to have enjoyed electoral success against the BJP in recent years, after orchestrating a statement win over the saffron party in the last Assembly election.

In 2019 too she ensured her party had an edge, winning 22 seats. That, though, was less than the 34 from five years ago. Ominously, BJP went from two to 18.

#MamataBanerjee #Congress #2024loksabhaelection

[werindialive]

“We are committed to the INDIA bloc,” says TMC in West Bengal. Open to talk with top-brass

On Thursday, some insiders from Congress and Trinamool Congress party disclosed that the latter has refused to further negotiate the seat offering with the former for the upcoming West Bengal elections. For the uninitiated, The Trinamool Congress has already agreed to give two Lok Sabha seats to Congress in West Bengal. Now, they refuse to give any more but are open for discussion between the top-level leaders of the Congress party.

The seats offered by TMC are currently held by Congress Party which makes the deal tough to accept for the latter. A member of Congress’s alliance panel on Thursday accepted in a statement the same. The same member also told the press that TMC has asked for a seat in Meghalaya, arguing that it bagged 13.8% vote share in the last assembly polls, marginally higher than the Congress.

So far, the national alliance committee led by Congress veteran Mukul Wasnik has had meetings with Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav), Nationalist Congress Party, and Samajwadi Party and held talks about the seats.

“Backed by data and the ground reality in Bengal, the TMC’s offer for two seats was communicated to the Congress three weeks ago. Therefore, at this stage, any other meeting with a committee will serve no purpose,” said a senior TMC lawmaker, who is involved in the party’s strategy.

From the TMC end, it is being signaled that Congress must accept that they are weak in West Bengal.

“In 39 of the 42 seats, the Congress got less than 4% votes. It won two seats and in another seat, it got less than 10% votes in 2019,” said the leader.

“The TMC has already conveyed our view to the top Congress leadership. It’s the same. We are committed to the INDIA bloc and pledge to work together to defeat the BJP. We sincerely wish the Congress leadership to acknowledge the limitations and weaknesses of the Bengal unit and allow us to lead the fight in the state,” said a second senior TMC leader, requesting anonymity.

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#werindia #leading india news source #top news stories #top news headlines #top news of the day #national news #latest national news #latest politics news #indian politics #political news

[alwaysfirst]

Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha terms Presidential polls a big battle

Jun 27, 2022 18:14 IST New Delhi , June 27 (Always First): Opposition Presidential election candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday thanked the parties for choosing him as their candidate for the polls which he called a big battle. "I'm thankful to all the opposition parties who came together and chose me as their candidate. It's being said that I am the fourth choice but I want to say even if I was at the tenth number, I would have accepted because it is a big battle," Sinha told reporters. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "All opposition parties unitedly supported Yashwant Sinha. Of course, we support the individual but the real fight is between two ideologies. RSS's ideology of anger and hatred is on one side, while the ideology of compassion of the other parties (Opposition) is on the other side." "Over 17 parties are backing us. In order to save Indian democracy, and to defend our Constitution, we must all be united in our fight against BJP. We are all rooting for Yashwant Sinha," said Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge said. Notably, Sinha filed his nomination for the presidential election at the Parliament in the national capital, in the presence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and Telangana Minister K. T. Rama Rao, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. The election for the office of the President of India is scheduled for July 18 and the counting of votes, if needed, will be done on July 21. TRS on Monday announced support for joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the upcoming Presidential polls. Taking to Twitter, KTR had written, "President of @trspartyonline Sri KCR Garu has decided to extend support to the candidature of Sri @YashwantSinha Ji in the election for President of India Along with our Members of Parliament, I will be representing the TRS at the nomination today." Earlier on Friday, Sinha promised to raise his voice for farmers, workers, unemployed youth, women, and all marginalized sections of society, if he wins the election. In a letter to Opposition parties on Friday, Sinha thanked them for choosing him unanimously as their common presidential candidate and assured them that he will conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideals of the Constitution. "I am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude towards you and leaders of all the Opposition parties for choosing me unanimously as your common candidate to contest the Presidential Election, to be held on July 18, 2022. I thank you for the trust and confidence reposed in me. I assure you -- and the People of India --- that, if elected, I shall conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideals of the Indian Constitution. In particular, as the Custodian of the Constitution, I shall not allow the light of democracy and secularism to be dimmed by the executive," Sinha said in a letter. Sinha was named as the common candidate of the Opposition for the Presidential elections on June 21. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had made the announcement of his name as the presidential candidate of the opposition during a meeting. The announcement came shortly after Sinha hinted at the acceptance of the proposal by a section of Opposition leaders to make him their presidential candidate. Sinha had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2018 and joined the TMC last year. He was later appointed as the party's vice-president. However, NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu filed her nomination for the election on June 24. (Always First) Read the full article

[shararsblog]

Bharatiya Janata party celebrates selection of Basavaraj Bommai as Karnataka chief minister as gangwars continue unabated on the streets of Bengaluru.

(03/08/2021)

Prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP should not celebrate Bommai's elevation to chief minister's post, they should be mourning for the pitiful state that so called world class city Bengaluru is in today. And predecessor Yeddyurappa's failure to free Bangalore from gangsters grip.

Basavaraj Bommai - New Chief Minister of Karnataka.

So finally the BJP parliamentary board on Yeddyurappa's recommendation choose Basavaraj Bommai as CM. That the chief minister's responsibility is towards all the cities within the state, but in Karnataka's case the problem of one city Bengaluru has been gigantic more than compared to cities like Hubli-Dharwad Mangaluru, Mysuru, Belgaum and others. And 61 year old mechanical engineering graduate Mr Bommai is well versed with Bengaluru's problems and who better than him, as he was the home minister before. And as rowdies go on wreaking havoc in city, my question is who is going to stop them? The hardworking family of Bengaluru and poor people who are struggling to provide the best for their families have completely lost faith in the Bengaluru police and it is they who get caught in the cross hairs of these gangsters. Can the new chief minister end the rowdies menace in Bengaluru? Can Basavaraj Bommai make a difference and show he has it in him to wipe out the rowdies from Bengaluru's every nook and corner unlike his predecessors Yeddyurappa, Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Jagadish Shettar and SM Krishna who were mere fence sitter chief minister's.

Why are the Bengaluru police hesitating to go in an aggressive mode against the gangsters? One reason here can be attributed to lack of support from the chief minister or home minister, and the political patronage provided by politicians to criminals. 6 out of every 10 MLA's in Karnataka assembly have links with notorious rowdies in their own constituencies. BJP on its part cannot wash hands off its sins here, because BJP is the party in power in Karnataka and Amit Shah holds the home portfolio here in central government. But the shame and irony within BJP remains and so does lawlessness in Bengaluru. The only good thing that Amit Shah has done in his capacity as home minister is to target opposition parties in rule in states like Kerala, West Bengal etc. He has continuously targeted West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over law and order issues in Bengal and goondaism by Trinamool Congress leaders, true that TMC leaders have indulged in goondaism and also urged it's party workers to create terror, but Mr. Shah before pointing fingers at others, you should first clear garbage in your own backyard. Amit Shah being the home minister of central government, you are right in your concerns of lawlessness in West Bengal, but what about the lawlessness in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Also police reforms which needs to undergo a gigantic change here in India despite the Supreme court of India clearly stating that it be done at the earliest, the Modi government seems unperturbed and casual in its approach. Police reforms are a slew of measures that need to be undertaken to break the police-criminal nexus at lower ranks and many more problems in police department. But despite the police reforms remaining unchanged, that cannot be the yardstick of excuse for police commissioners for failure to bring down crime in their respective cities. In my view the police chiefs leave Bengaluru city but in any part of the world, their foremost priority should be to bring down crime to zero, if not zero but at the level at least where people can breath easy and feel safe, they must instill fear in the minds of criminals for law enforcement agencies, and above all no political interference in working of police. All these things are completely missing in Bengaluru. Its high time Bengaluru's police stop flexing their muscles on innocent public, I wish they take on rowdies seriously. Because the rowdies of Bengaluru have gone beyond the police lathis, it has no more effect on them, the only language they understand now is the language of bullets. Also we need to understand here that the servants learn what their masters teach. Now look at how much rotten subsequent Karnataka governments have become in terms of corruption, either it is congresses Siddaramaiah who was the chief minister or Kumaraswamy's tenure as CM and BJP's Yeddyurappa, these very Chief minister's who before elections blabbered about good governance, various schemes for poor people and other promises, once they got elected showed their true colours. For instance, post covid and the brutal second wave that led to lockdown all over India, in Karnataka things have come to such a pathetic state, that police have been entrusted with imposing fines on people without masks, I have no objection in them imposing fines for those without masks, but when these very politicians and their rowdy party workers did break the covid protocol by not following rules, the same police remained mute spectators. So law in Karnataka is only for common public the minister's, rowdies are free to break law. The police machinery in Bengaluru has been turned into hafta collection force more than law enforcement force. Increasing harrasement of motorists by Bengaluru's traffic police for fines, is another indication of frustration of Karnataka government. That the biggest investors in real estate industry in Bengaluru have been the Karnataka's politicians and it is not a hidden secret. Malls, flats and commercial complexes in every nook and corner of Bengaluru city, you name it and some other minister's, MLA'S are involved in investment. Also Bengaluru being an IT hub the main buyers or customers for real estate sector are the software professionals, post lockdown many of these IT employees played safe by not buying these properties, also those who came to Bangalore from other states went back to their homes as companies started work from home policy. And new upcoming real estate projects with huge investments by politicians faced the brunt, with construction work stopped and losses to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. Now this has resulted in more frustration for government with fresh property registrations going down in huge numbers and extremely low income from real estate market. The frustrated Karnataka government has now taken to loot the public through police, by way of targeting motorists, for false traffic violations, wearing of masks etc, whereas rowdies have a field day on the streets of Bengaluru.

Also when I am saying false traffic violation cases, people may say it as an exaggeration of comment, but this is the fraud being committed by Bengaluru traffic cops for some time now. An incidence of proof of this fraud by police, was highlighted by my own family member, whose friend who had been staying in France for close to three months on his return back to India, received a slew of messages from Bengaluru traffic police for violations relating to traffic in various areas within Bangalore, irony as it is when the concerned person was not even present in India, just look at the desparate attempt to loot the public by the police and government. This is just a tip of the ice berg in corruption within Bangalore police. So deep rooted has the rot of corruption become in Karnataka state, that not just the Police department but even BBMP, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has officials neck deep in corruption, I will come to the blog on irregularities in BBMP later on.

Left to right: Karnataka state BJP affairs incharge Arun Singh, former Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and newly appointed CM Basavaraj Bommai.

Also Arun Singh the incharge for BJP party affairs in Karnataka needs to urgently address the happenings in Bengaluru to Prime minister Narendra Modi, if BJP on its part is serious in removing the dent on reputation of the city, which has happened not only at national level but at international level too, then they should take steps to turn it into a world class city as claimed by Yeddyurappa which in reality is not, also focus on one objective to end rowdies menace which has spread its ugly tentacles throughout Bengaluru.

(Above news of crime in 'Times of India' edition Bengaluru section dated 29th July 2021). Complete Lawlessness: Rowdy Harish Kumar who was murdered by his rivals in broad daylight.

Prime minister Narendra Modi who on every Sunday gives his opinion to the people of India through government run 'Doordarshan' channel titled, 'maan ki baat' is far away from reality of problems that the public faces. His speech can best be described as chest thumping of his governments scheme's, though there is nothing wrong in the prime minister of a country reach out to people and air the good work done by govt and it's benefits to the people, but will the prime minister be transparent and speak out his maan ki baat about the rising crime graph in Bengaluru? His own party rules Karnataka and his own partyman former Chief minister Yeddyurappa has called Bengaluru as a world class city. So honourable prime minister, what does your inner subconscious mind tells you? Do you agree with Mr. Yeddyurappa's comments? Prime minister Modi you need to rise above politics first, and talk about increasing lawlessness in your own party ruled state. But despite my severe criticism of BJP rule in Karnataka and it's failure of law and order in Bangalore, I must admit that Narendra Modi is the best prime minister India has had till date. Uri surgical strike and Balakot airstrikes go on to prove that he stood by his words before coming to power, about befitting reply to Pakistan, also aggressive combing operations in Jammu and Kashmir to flush out Pakistani terrorist's, shows the free hand given to Indian army by Prime minister Modi. The result in the past 2 years the highest number of Jaish and Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist's including their top commanders have been killed. So PM Narendra Modi has delivered on his promise of hammering terrorist's, the result today we see is Pakistan became wary and quiet and Kashmir largely peaceful. So his efficiency in fighting terrorism has been largely successful, but when it comes to rising crime graph within India, and especially Bengaluru the Modi government has failed miserably. Now that Bengaluru is officially India's crime capital, looking at Bharatiya Janata party and it's leaders lethargic attitude, the city will very soon become the world's no 1 crime city.

#bengaluru police #bengaluru #politics #karnataka bjp #bs yeddyurappa #kamal pant #crime news #bengaluru crime #basavaraj bommai #karnataka #karnataka politics

[economyandfinancialnews]

Opp to back Bill giving States,UTs power to make OBC list

Decision was taken in meet held by 15 Opp leaders in Parl

The Opposition on Monday said it will extend its support to the Constitution amendment bill which seeks to give power to States and UTs to make their own OBC lists.

The decision by the Opposition, which has been consistently protesting in Parliament over a range of issues ever since Monsoon Session,  was taken at a crucial meeting of 15 Opposition leaders, including Congress, TMC, RJD, DMK, Shiv Sena, SP and others before the day’s proceedings started.

The meeting happened at the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi too came to Parliament for the first time in the ensuing Monsoon Session to express her full support and solidarity to the unity of Opposition to take on Modi Government in the next Lok Sabha polls.

“The Government is going to introduce the constitutional amendment bill in Parliament. We all leaders of various parties will support this bill, and we want this bill being introduced today (Monday) to be passed immediately after a discussion on it,” Kharge said in his address to the media after the meeting.

“We will peacefully support this bill. This issue is in the interest of backward classes and the country,” Kharge said.

RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha said that this has been a big issue, and added that the Opposition would support the Centre on it. “And we will also push for caste-based census,” he said.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha, is significant to parties, including the ruling BJP which faces an Assembly elections early next year in Uttar Pradesh. The Bill aims to clarify provisions in the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Bill to restore the power of States to have their own lists of backward classes after identifying them.

The leaders met at the Parliament complex to formulate a common strategy on this as well as issues like the Pegasus snooping controversy and farmers’ concerns as the Monsoon Session of Parliament entered its final week. This comes a day after the Opposition leaders released a video expressing their anguish over the Modi Government’s reluctance to discuss the issues being raised by them since July 19 when the Monsoon Session started. The scheduled ending is on Friday.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was among those who attended the meeting held at the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Besides the Congress, leaders of the DMK, TMC, NCP, Shiv Sena, SP, CPM, RJD, AAP, CPI, NC, IUML, LJD, RSP, and the KC(M) were present.

In a related development, former Haryana Chief Minister & INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala met with former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and discussed the formation of the third front. Last week RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav had called on Mulayam Singh Yadav and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Earlier, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had met Sonia and Rahul.

The Opposition parties have come together in seeking a discussion on the Pegasus snooping issue and the farmers’ problems. Parliament has failed to transact any significant business since it met on July 19 for the Monsoon session. Some bills, however, have been passed amid the din.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2021/pioneer-exclusive/opp-to-back-bill-giving-states-uts-power-to-make-obc-list.html

[newsmatters]

Poll Result Outcome? After Sonali Guha, 2 More TMC Leaders Appeal to Didi for 'Ghar Wapsi'

Poll Result Outcome? After Sonali Guha, 2 More TMC Leaders Appeal to Didi for ‘Ghar Wapsi’

After former TMC MLA Sonali Guha, who joined the BJP, expressed her desire to return to the party, two more leaders have sought West Bengal Chief Minister’s Mamata Banerjee’s “forgiveness” and appealed to her to take them back. According to Times of India, Malda Zila Parishad member Sarala Murmu said that she has realised her “mistake” while North Dinajpur MLA Amol Acharya said that he is leaving…

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[bbcbreakingnews]

‘G-23’ leader slams Congress tie-up with ISF

NEW DELHI: The dissenting ‘G-23’ bloc’s showdown with the Congress leadership sharpened significantly on Monday with deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma slamming the party’s alliance negotiations with Indian Secular Front (ISF), a Muslim outfit headed by a firebrand cleric, in West Bengal, saying it went against the “Nehru-Gandhi secularism”. Sharma’s strong comments, coming a day after another leading ‘G-23’ member, Ghulam Nabi Azad, praised PM Modi for being “upfront” about his roots, dealt an embarrassing blow to Congress in the middle of seat-sharing negotiations for the election campaign in five states. Referring to the joint Kolkata rally of Congress, Left and the ISF of Furfura Sharif cleric Abbas Siddiqui, Sharma tweeted, “Congress’s alliance with parties like ISF and other such forces militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism, which forms the soul of the party. These issues need to be approved by the CWC.” He added, “Congress cannot be selective in fighting communalists but must do so in all its manifestations, irrespective of religion and colour. The presence and endorsement of the West Bengal PCC president is painful and shameful, he must clarify.” In Jammu over the weekend, where G-23 leaders attended a function to felicitate Azad, the J&K leader said though he and Modi were opposed politically, the PM did not “hide his reality”. The comments are a spoiler for Congress which was optimistic that the massive show in Kolkata would help it position itself credibly in the polls that have otherwise turned bipolar between Trinamool Congress and BJP. This also came after the letter writers, at a public rally in Jammu, expressed concern that Congress was weakening by the day. Sharma’s barb suggested that tensions between Congress and the G-23 may be coming to a boil. “It may explode if the leadership does not become inclusive and listen to dissenters who are being blocked by a coterie,” a letter writer said. While Congress and Left announced a deal among themselves last month, the ISF emerged as a late entrant in the alliance talks as the former were encouraged that its presence would consolidate Muslim votes in favour of the combine. The two parties also put a condition that the ISF should not join hands with the AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi. Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was quoted as saying, “We are in charge of a state and don’t taken any decision on our own without any permission.” It implied that the state unit was going by the nod from the headquarters. Interestingly, Congress and ISF have not held talks and only the Left has negotiated seats with Siddiqui. The red flag from within Congress may hurt the party’s morale in Bengal and Assam as Sharma’s denunciation rings close to the campaign theme of BJP that Congress is partisan towards “minority communalists”. It also came on a day Congress’s Bihar ally RJD, led by Tejashwi Yadav, junked the ‘grand alliance’ to throw its lot with Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and urged “Biharis” to vote for TMC. While G-23 members refused to react on the issue, Punjab MP and dissenter Manish Tewari said, “My foremost objective is to defeat BJP. Like earlier, wherever the party asks me to campaign, I will be more than eager and willing to do so.” The back-to-back comments from Azad and Sharma triggered unease in the dissenters’ bloc even as Congress wrestled with how to react to the developments. A senior letter-writer said negotiations with “minority or majority communalists” could be questioned but “the timing was bad and could not be supported”. There was talk about Sharma spoiling for disciplinary action from the party and also resigning as deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha.

source https://bbcbreakingnews.com/2021/03/02/g-23-leader-slams-congress-tie-up-with-isf/

[gkt49]

Will Quit If Centre Brings Law Against Dynastic Politics: Trinamool MP

Will Quit If Centre Brings Law Against Dynastic Politics: Trinamool MP

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday hit back at the BJP over accusations of nepotism in his party, daring the Centre to bring a legislation allowing only one member of a family in…

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[bigyack-com]

Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and TMC spar over CAA protesters’ murder in Bengal - india news

Two of the most trenchant critics of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) – the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) now find themselves pitched against each other over the murder of two anti-CAA protesters in Bengal’s Murshidabad district on January 29. The AIMIM which has emerged as a challenger to the TMC in Murshidabad district has said that it will launch a movement in the district’s Jalangi community block if police fail to arrest Tohiruddin Mondal, the TMC Jalangi (north) block unit president who is the main accused and has been named in the FIR.Muslims comprised 66.27 per cent of the district’s population during the 2011 census. Both the victims were Muslims.“We will launch a bigger movement this month if police fail to arrest the accused. People have understood that TMC leaders are stabbing the movement against CAA and national register of citizens (NRC) in the back,” said AIMIM’s Murshidabad unit president Asadul Sheikh.District police superintendent A S Yadav said, “On the basis of two FIRs we have already arrested three persons and they are in police custody. Mondal and some other accused men are on the run. Raids are on to nab them.”The AIMIM is said to have that set up the platform, CAA Birodhi Nagorik Mancha (citizens’ forum against CAA) that called a bandh to protest the citizenship law. Two of its supporters, Anarul Biswas (55) and Salauddin Sheikh (17) died when Mondal’s associates allegedly attacked the protesters with guns and bombs.AIMIM leaders warned that said they will not wait indefinitely for the police to arrest Mondal. Sheikh said, “We have come to know that the TMC is spreading a rumour that our party members were involved in the violence.”“On January 29, Maulana Sajjad Nomani of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the bandh and members of the Manch were supporting it. Mondal and his associates opened fire on them in front of eyewitnesses. Two innocent people were killed,” said Sheikh.Local TMC legislator Abdur Razzak claimed that there were some AIMIM supporters in the anti-CAA movement on January 29. He said, “We cannot deny that MIM tried to spread its base in Murshidabad. But most of their supporters returned to mainstream parties when they understood the ideology of AIMIM.”He said, “I have information that some youths from the Sahebnagar area, where the violence took place, are still supporting AIMIM. They might have been involved in the violence. Like the police, I am also clueless about Mondal’s location.”The AIMIM district president said, “Right now we have more than 4.5 lakh members in Murshidabad district and 11,000 of them are from Jalangi.”“In the last one year, the number of AIMIM members has drastically increased in Murshidabad. We are going to field candidates in more than 70 seats in the seven municipal bodies of the district in the coming elections,” said Sheikh. AIMIM did not field any candidate in Murshidabad in the previous civic polls.Sheikh said, “People of Murshidabad saw the real face of TMC in the Jalangi bloodshed. We are ready to lead the movement against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this district.”BJP’s Murshidabad (north) unit president, Gouri Shankar Ghosh described both the TMC and the AIMIM as terrorists for opposing the CAA. “Those who oppose a law passed by Parliament are nothing but terrorists. The TMC and AIMIM, along with some other parties, are working against the nation for the sake of votes,” he said. Read the full article

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[swedna]

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

On Sunday, a bypoll will be held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March. Bye-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases. The whole elections were spread over 38 days.

In Uttar Pradesh, all eyes will be on Varanasi, where besides Modi, 25 other candidates are in fray. Modi's main challengers are Congress's Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav.

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in Punjab on Sunday.

Besides Punjab, more than 6 lakh voters in the union territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates in the fray.

On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

A conglomeration of several political outfits, the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) led by AAP rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira, is also contesting on all 13 seats while SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of SAD, has fielded one candidate from Anandpur Sahib.

In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.

An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats of West Bengal -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a contest among the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.

The high-voltage campaign for the final phase saw poll meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday was marred by violence and destruction of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust in a college in north Kolkata.

In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday, in the wake of the violence between the BJP and the TMC during Shah's roadshow.

As many as four Union ministers -- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey -- are among the 157 candidates in Bihar.

Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan".

One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA.

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat.

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha. He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha - the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday in Jharkhand.

Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a eighth term sitting MP is in the fray from Dumka seat once again. He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh. Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa, the latter seeing a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Polling will also be held in all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh where as many as 45 candidates, including five legislators, are in the fray.

#Lok Sabha

[thecontemporarian]

De-coding the Mahagatbandhan

The entire political flock sans BJP, Congress and the Left descended in Kolkata in what appeared to be a grand exhibition and a show of strength to unseat Modi led BJP government in the coming general election. While the idea of a Mahagatbandhan or grand coalition has been mooted by the regional satraps like Chandrababu Naidu & Mamata not only to regain their lost political relevance in the National Capital, but also to safeguard their turfs back home. A full majority for the BJP in 2014 ensured very little role for the regional parties, which otherwise thrived in the era of coalition politics. 

Moreover for few others like Mamata, its a roadshow showcasing her Prime Ministerial ambitions in case the election turns into a hung Parliament. Remember, many regional parties like the TMC, BSP & SP see BJP as their direct threat in the local politics and this kind of a grand coalition is a matter of survival for many of them. However the key question remains about the eventual outcome or success of this grand coalition which has been stitched together by ambitious regional leaders. 

In the 90s, this kind of kichdi political formation took shape in the absence of a strong Congress & BJP in the national political space. But 2019 is no 90s, given the fact that BJP wields enormous political influence in the large parts of India, though the Congress's fortunes have been dwindling during the same period. While leaders like Mamata & KCR are wary of taking Congress in Mahagatbandhan as they do not want to be part of a Congress led coalition which may curtail their leadership ambitions in Delhi and also they compete in their respective states. Many regional leaders have strong reservations to work under Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress party is also feeling a bit shy to get into a Mahagatbandhan type of formation as it risks loosing its whatever little relevance it has left with, as a strong alternative to BJP in the national space. With Rahul getting projected by Congress as a future PM, some of the grand coalition members have strong reservations about this idea. The optics of the Mahagatbandhan looked impressive with the host of regional satraps getting together under one roof, but the event turned out to be a confluence for Modi bashing, with leader after leader taking on Modi and his policies during the last 5 years. 

While the earlier formations of grand coalition were against specific parties, mainly Congress, but this grand coalition seems to be stitched just to take on one individual called Modi and also to promote their respective leadership ambitions in Delhi. These kind of personal agenda could actually make Mahagatbandhan a damp squib in front of the people. Moreover, in a Parliamentary election BJP would always want to pitch Modi Vs the rest and Mahagatbandhan has just done that giving enough ammunition to BJP to raise the pitch. 

With too many Prime Ministerial aspirants, Mahagatbandhan will not project a PM face, virtually giving a walk over to Modi. Post poll scenario could be very interesting to watch, in case of a hung Parliament. Many of the Mahagatbandhan players could actually break ranks to lend their support to a BJP government at the Centre, if in case BJP falls short of the majority mark. In a sense, BJP would benefit from the Mahagatbandhan which actually makes the coming election, a triangular contest without a strong PM contender. Mahagatbandhan neutralizing Congress will also benefit the BJP. 

Many within the grand coalition know its impossible to repeat the 90s wherein a dark horse PM emerged from the grand coalition, but people like Mamata and KCR are preparing for 2019 to extract their pound of flesh if in case of a bad hung Parliament. Mahagatbandhan, for sure, is not in the interests of the people but its been formed only in the interest of the regional leaders. 

V GOPALAKRISHNAN

[bbcbreakingnews]

BJP to organise ‘Paribartan Yatras’ in Bengal ahead of assembly polls

KOLKATA: With an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal in the next few months, the BJP is set to take out ‘Paribartan Yatras’ across the state, a senior party leader said on Sunday. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told a press meet here that the yatras with a message of ‘paribartan’ (change) will be held in different zones to bolster the party’s connect with people before the polls. Elections to the 294-member state assembly are due in April-May. “We had wanted to bring out similar ‘Jan Sampark Abhijan’ across the state two and half years back but were not allowed by the administration. This time before the elections our ‘Paribartan Yatras’ will strengthen the ties of the BJP with people of Bengal, who are angry with the corrupt Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime,” Ghosh said. A senior party leader said, the rallies will be taken out in five zones, each to be led by a central leader of the saffron party. Talking to reporters after day-long deliberatons among state party leaders about the future strategy to fight the polls, Ghosh said, booth committees will be formed everywhere by January 31. “Our aim is to strengthen booth-level organisations,” he said. Among others BJP Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, leaders Babul Supriyo, Kolkata observer Sovan Chatterjee attended the organisational meeting. State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said, party workers will reach out to every household to campaign for ‘Aar Noy Annyay’ (Misdeeds won’t be accepted any more) before the polls. Asked about the appointment of TMC MP Satabdi Roy as vice-president of the state unit of the ruling Trinamool Congress shortly after she voiced her grievances over the state of affairs in the party, Ghosh said, “with leaders deserting the party, the TMC is frantically trying to please the dissenters by offering them posts.” Faced with disintegration and “civil war within itself”, the TMC is “desperately” bringing the names of icons such as Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda to attack the BJP now and again and harping on the issue of Bengali heritage, Ghosh said. On seat-sharing talks between the Left Front and the Congress, the BJP leader said “everyone knows what happened to the seat sharing alliance between them in 2016 assembly polls. How many seats had they won? Even in 2019 Lok Sabha polls the Left and the Congress could not make much dent. The two parties have been reduced to virtual non-entities here.” During the 2016 assembly elections, the two parties had stitched an alliance and bagged 76 seats. However, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the two parties had fought separately and while the Congress won two seats, the Left Front, which ruled the state from 1977-2011, drew a blank. Leaders of the TMC have called upon the Congress and the Left to join the battle against the BJP as “they are scared to face us alone. By such antics they are only exposing themselves before the people of the state”, he said. Asked about comments by TMC strongman in Birbhum Anubrata Mondal to “beat up the BJP and throw them away beyond boundaries (thengiye pagarpar),” Ghosh said, “the people of Birbhum will give a befitting reply to Mondal”. BJP leaders claimed that around 200 TMC workers from South 24 Parganas district joined the saffron party on Sunday.

source https://bbcbreakingnews.com/2021/01/17/bjp-to-organise-paribartan-yatras-in-bengal-ahead-of-assembly-polls/