Candidates of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for the upcoming assembly polls have been asked by the party high command to set up back-end offices for better coordination and assessment of the campaigning in every assembly segment, as part of their preparation.
The directive was issued on Sunday to all the 105 candidates whose names have been declared out of 119 assembly seats after a nearly five-hour-long meeting of the TRS in Hyderabad.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Telangana caretaker deputy chief minister and senior TRS leader Kadiam Srihari said candidates have been asked to avoid wasting time and to also avoid even a day’s break before the polls, slated for 7 December.
Srihari said about 60% of voters in each of the 119-assembly seats are in support of the TRS. “KCR (present caretaker chief minister and TRS president) will address about four to five meetings in each of the assembly constituencies in the coming days,” he added.
The caretaker deputy chief minister also said candidates should meet all beneficiaries of government schemes introduced by the earlier TRS government and added the party will start heavy campaigning in the districts of Khammam, Warangal and Karimnagar in the coming days. Srihari was also confident that his party would win about 100 of the 119 assembly seats in the coming polls.
A day before the meeting on Saturday, the TRS also held another meeting to discuss the party’s social media strategy and chalk out a plan, informed a TRS functionary who did not want to be quoted.
He said there is a feeling within the party that its online presence is a little weak, and needs to be improved. Elections in Telangana, which were earlier supposed to be held in April-May 2019, are scheduled for 7 December. The results will be announced on 11 December along with four other states.
The polls were advanced by six months after Rao called for dissolving the assembly on 6 September, citing “political fragility”.
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Three Naxals were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, police said.
The skirmish took place around 9.30 am in the forest near Madpal village under Mirtur police station limits when a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police, Mohit Garg told PTI.
“After getting the information that a group of Naxals was holding a meeting to chalk out strategies to disrupt the next month’s assembly elections, a squad of DRG was dispatched to the area,” he said.
After spotting the security forces near Madpal, located around 450 km away from capital Raipur, the ultras opened fire on them that led to the gun-battle, Garg said.
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The decision was taken after the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the party. Chief Minister Raman Singh is set to contest from Rajnandgaon seat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party released its first list of 77 candidates for the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh on Saturday and announced to contest polls on 38 out of 119 seats in Telangana.
Among the 77 candidates announced out of a total of 90 Assembly segments, 14 are women candidates and 14 sitting MLAs have been replaced with new names, Union minister J P Nadda said. The list was finalised at the BJP’s central election committee meeting that was chaired by party president Amit Shah and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others.
Among those fielded by the BJP include former IAS officer O P Chaudhary and tribal leader Ramdayal Uike, who recently left the Congress and joined the BJP.
Announcing the list, Telangana BJP election in-charge Nadda further said that BJP will also contest Mizoram Assembly elections on 13 seats.
Eighteen naxal-affected constituencies will go to polls in the first phase on November 12, while the rest of the 72 constituencies would go to polls in the second phase on November 20.
Earlier in the day, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party had also released its second list of 12 candidates. The party has forged an alliance with former chief minister Ajit Jogi’s Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and the Communist Party of India, and will contest 33 Assembly seats.
Meanwhile, nine more candidates have filed nomination papers for the first phase of Chhattisgarh polls. This takes the number of candidates who have filed their papers to 11.
On Saturday, two candidates each filed their papers for Rajnandgaon, Antagarh and Dantewada seats and one each for Khairagarh, Dongargarh and Dongargaon, an official said.
For Dantewada seat, Congress’s Devti Karma and Communist Party of India’s (CPI) Nanda Ram Sori filed their papers. Karma is the sitting Congress MLA from Dantewada. Others who filed nomination papers Saturday included Dinesh Singh (Shiv Sena) from Khairagarh and Rajkumar Sahu (Shiv Sena) from Dongargaon.
Nominations cannot be filed on Sunday, it being holiday, so only two days — October 22 and 23 — are now left for filing of nominations for the first phase, the official said.
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday announced its first list of 63 candidates for the Assembly election in Rajasthan, while inviting suggestions from the public on its draft manifesto, which would also be released shortly. The party would contest from all the 200 seats in the State.
AAP State coordinator Devendra Shastri said here that three of the declared candidates would shortly be changed for various reasons. The lists comprising the rest of the candidates would be released after the meetings of the party’s campaign committee to be held during the next few days.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would address a public rally at Ramlila Maidan here on October 28 amid indications that several disgruntled leaders of the both the BJP and Congress might join the AAP at the event. Mr. Shastri said the rally would be a significant occasion for spelling out the party’s vision and policies for Rajasthan.
Mr. Shastri said the Jaipur Municipal Corporation had “deliberately delayed” the allotment of venue for the rally on the pretext of seeking permission from the Election Commission. “The municipal officers, under pressure from the BJP government, harassed the AAP functionaries for more than a week. There is no provision for getting the EC’s permission for allotment of a place for a public meeting,” he said.
The AAP State unit was in a confident mood after the BJP leader and Kisan Mahapanchayat founder, Rampal Jat, joined the party earlier this week. Mr. Jat, a former BJP general secretary, said the ruling party had failed to keep its promises made to the farmers and had “completely ignored” the rural populace facing difficulties in all spheres of life.
The 63 candidates declared by AAP so far include farmers’ ideologue Giriraj Singh Khangarot (Malpura), National Council member Sunil Agiwal (Bhilwara), chartered accountant M.P. Choyal (Ladpura), medico Bharat Gupta (Malviya Nagar, Jaipur) and activist Ashok Jain (Anta). Mr. Shastri, a former journalist, will contest the polls from Civil Lines constituency in Jaipur.
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In an unprecedented move, BJP is contemplating dropping more than half its sitting MLAs in Rajasthan to cushion its prospects in the assembly polls from the discontent against incumbent legislators. Well-placed party sources said 80-100 of the 160 sitting MLAs might be replaced in what could arguably be the biggest-ever political culling of incumbent MLAs belonging to any party.
The party move is also to send a message to lawmakers in other states as well as members of Lok Sabha about the risk of being dropped on the basis of feedback about their performance which is being gathered, apart from traditional channels, through PM Modi’s Namo app. The app is being increasingly used by people to give feedback on the performance of their representatives directly to the PM. “Voters could be revengeful as a large number of MLAs continued passing the buck and didn’t serve the electorate as per expectations,” said a source privy to the decision to replace a majority of sitting MLA .
Sources said the party will field young first-time candidates to stem anti-incumbency as new faces, who have been involved in serving the people for years, can water down the anger among people and assure them of a better performance. Performance is a major issue in BJP deciding new candidates but changing caste equations in the state are an equally important factor to replace existing MLAs.
The Rajput community, traditional BJP supporters, seems to be drifting towards Congress whereas the Meenas in eastern Rajasthan are veering towards BJP after community leader Kirori Lal joined the party recently and was made Rajya Sabha MP. Among the three-poll bound states ruled by BJP, the party is said to be struggling the most in Rajasthan thanks to the state’s over three-decade trend of changing the government every five years.
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The BJP would be roping in magicians to highlight the work done by it in the last 15 years and compare it with that of the previous Congress government, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Rajnish Agrawal said.
Seeking a fourth straight term in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intends to cast a ‘magic spell’ on voters during the upcoming state Assembly polls.
The party would be roping in magicians to highlight the work done by it in the last 15 years and compare it with that of the previous Congress government, MP BJP spokesman Rajnish Agrawal told PTI.
“We have plans to hire magicians for campaigning and publicity,” he said, adding that magic shows would be organised at market places to reach out to voters, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.
The number of magicians to be utilised for this is yet to be decided. But, the BJP hopes to start the magic shows soon and budget allocation for these activities is also being worked out, Agrawal said.
“With this art, we are going to tell people about what the BJP government has done for people, especially the weaker sections of society in Madhya Pradesh in the last 15 years,” the spokesman said.
The magic shows would also highlight the “poor condition” of roads, electricity supply and basic amenities during the 10-year Congress government headed by Digvijay Singh between 1993 and 2003 in the state, he said.
The MP Assembly polls will be held on November 28 and counting of votes will take place on December 11.
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IT minister KT Rama Rao slammed Rahul Gandhi for criticising the TRS party at Bhainsa and Kamareddy public meetings on Saturday and asked the AICC chief to read up on the history before addressing a public meeting.
Terming Rahul’s words as lies at a press meet in Telangana Bhavan, Rao refuted the allegations of removing Dr BR Ambedkar for Pranahita-Chevella project in the pretext of redesigning it. He also said that the project is being constructed aiming to provide water to erstwhile Adilabad district and the TRS government has not increased its cost to Rs 1 lakh.
KTR also said that the ruling party has not shown any favouritism to any party like Congress party, which targetted Muslim community for their votes. Recalling the attacks on Sikhs in 1984, KTR lambasted Rahul saying that he does not have any right to speak about minorities.
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When a senior Congress leader was asked about his party’s prospects in the three poll-bound Hindi heartland states, he had this assessment to offer: “We should win Rajasthan, it’s touch-and-go in Madhya Pradesh but I am not sure about Chhattisgarh… we are in trouble there.”
In Chhattisgarh, Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 12 and November 20. Madhya Pradesh will vote on November 28 and Rajasthan on December 7. The votes will be counted on December 11.
Reports from Chhattisgarh corroborate the Congress leader’s assessment. The Raman Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party government has been in power for three consecutive terms. After 15 years at the helm, it would be safe to assume that the government faces anti-incumbency pressure and voter fatigue, which should make it easy for the Congress to dislodge it. On the contrary, the Congress has failed to get its act together and may just end up gifting another term to the BJP.
“It is a fact that the Congress campaign against the BJP here lacks punch,” said Chhattisgarh-based social activist Vikram Singhal. “Its leaders have not raised issues with the ferocity expected of an Opposition party that has been out of power for 15 years.”
Congress leaders have been attacking individuals and pointing to their misdemeanours but there is no concerted effort to take on the government’s anti-people policies and build a larger narrative, he said. “For instance, the Congress has failed to expose how this government has virtually sold the state’s rich natural resources to corporates and industrial houses,” he said. “No one talks about the large sums of money spent on building a new capital city, which is barely occupied by a handful of families.”
Chhattisgarh Congress leaders speak in the same vein. They admit that though there are a host of subjects on which they can pin down the BJP, their attack has, at best, been lacklustre. They say many senior party leaders have shied away from taking on the ruling dispensation because they are dependent on government handouts while others are virtually seen as an extension of the Raman Singh cabinet.
Weak leadership
Most importantly, the Congress is handicapped by a weak state leadership.
Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel had barely settled into his job when he found himself in the eye of a storm. He was arrested in September in connection with the distribution of a pornographic CD allegedly featuring state minister Rajesh Munat. Munat has claimed that the CD is fake and an attempt to defame him.
Days later, Baghel was in the dock again, this time over an audio sting in which he is allegedly heard demanding money for tickets. The audio clip was delivered to Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi set up a five-member committee to scrutinise the recommendations of the state unit for the distribution of tickets – undermining Baghel’s position.
While the Congress is struggling to set its house in order, the BJP is moving ahead confidently, aware that it has several advantages over its political opponent. The party has ample resources, a well-oiled organisation, and governments both in the state and at the Centre. In addition, Raman Singh’s personal popularity has not been dented.
Poaching strategy
On the flip side, there is growing anger against BJP ministers and legislators. Taking note of this, BJP president Amit Shah announced that 50% of sitting MLAs would not be repeated. The party hopes to duck anti-incumbency against individual legislators by denying them tickets and fielding fresh faces. At the same time, BJP strategists are said to have identified seats where the Congress has a strong base with the express purpose of poaching the rival party’s candidates from these constituencies.
The BJP set the ball rolling with the induction of Ram Dayal Uike, working president of the Congress state unit and a top Adivasi leader, on October 13. Others could join him as the BJP’s “Operation Congress todo” (Operation break the Congress) is expected to gather momentum as the election draws near. It can be assumed that money power will be used for this campaign. The focus will be on Adivasi leaders as the Congress had done well among this community in the last Assembly election.
In fact, there is a growing fear in the Congress that the BJP will whisk away its candidates close to the date of filing nominations. This had happened twice in 2014. A day after the Congress had declared Bhagirath Prasad its candidate from Bhind Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, he had switched sides and contested as a BJP candidate. Months later, Manturam Pawar, the Congress candidate from Antagarh Assembly seat in Chhattisgarh, had ditched the party for the BJP after filing his nomination.
The Ajit Jogi factor
There is a common factor in these developments: former chief minister and rebel Congress leader Ajit Jogi. Both Uike and Pawar are known to be close to Jogi, who launched his party, the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, in 2016. Known as the BJP’s B-team, Jogi worked in tandem with Raman Singh even when he was with the Congress. Now that he is out of the party fold, his primary aim is to destroy the Congress, political watchers say.
“Jogi will go to any length to ensure the defeat of Congress candidates and it is the same with the Congress,” said Singhal. In the process, he will help the BJP. Since the difference of vote share between the BJP and the Congress is a mere 0.7% and the margins of victory are narrow, the presence of a third party in a bipolar state will work to the saffron party’s advantage. The BJP is banking on Jogi to disturb the Congress’ Adivasi vote as the former chief minister has a substantial following among the Satnami community.
Moreover, Jogi’s partnership with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has added a fresh dimension to electoral dynamics in Chhattisgarh. The two leaders have the potential to wean away a chunk of Adivasi and Dalit votes, which will hurt the Congress as it is also wooing the same social constituency. It was with an eye on consolidating the Dalit vote in its favour that the Congress had approached Mayawati for a tie-up in the Assembly polls. But the talks fell through and Mayawati announced in September that she had decided to go with Jogi instead.
While the Jogi-Mayawati alliance deals a blow to the Congress’ plan of winning over the Scheduled Castes, it could also have consequences for the BJP, which made major gains in Scheduled Caste reserved constituencies in the 2013 election. The BJP is, therefore, taking no chances and has set its sights on Congress candidates who can be persuaded to switch sides.
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The Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP is planning to contest all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan, which is going to polls on December 7.
The party won three seats in the 2013 assembly elections by securing a 3.37 per cent vote share, which was 7.60 per cent in the 2008 elections, when the party had won six seats.
“Our preparations are in full swing and we will contest on all 200 seats in the forthcoming elections,” state party vice president Dungarram Gedar said.
In the last assembly elections, the party had contested in 195 constituencies.
He informed that the tickets will be finalised soon and BSP chief Mayawati will hold rallies in the state.
“We are expecting to increase our tally in the 2018-elections because people are unhappy with both the BJP and the Congress. There is a resentment against the ruling BJP and people are not seeing any hope in the Congress,” another BSP leader Bhagwan Singh said.
He informed that the party chief will hold rallies in different parts of the state during elections.
Districts in eastern Rajasthan like Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar and in northern parts like Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar, Bikaner has significant number of Scheduled Castes (SC) population, which is the vote bank of the party.
In the state, there are 34 Scheduled Castes and 25 Scheduled Tribe seats out of the total 200 seats.
“The BSP is contesting solo and the Congress is going to suffer a loss,” he said on Mayawati’s recent announcement of not having alliance with the Congress for contesting assembly polls in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
The party is contesting assembly elections in the state since 1990, but it registered its first victory in 1998 by winning two seats.
In 1998, the party had fielded 108 candidates and secured 2.17 per cent vote share.
In 2003 elections, the BSP fought in 124 constituencies and won two seats and increased its vote share to 3.98 per cent.
The biggest victory of the party in the state was in the 2008 elections when six of the party’s candidates won elections and the vote share increased to 7.60 per cent.
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Congress president Rahul Gandhi will visit all major temples in Madhya Pradesh as part of his election campaign as the party believes more than half-dozen prominent temples have influence over voters in nearly half the seats in the state.
State party president Kamal Nath and the campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia are accompanying Gandhi on all these temple visits. Former Congress chief minister Digvijaya Singh, now the party’s coordination committee chief, who has raised issues such as Hindu terrorism, has however been kept out of such engagements of Gandhi.
The Congress president has already been to three such temples – the Kamtanath temple in Chitrakoot last month and the Pitambara Peeth in Datia and Ankaleshwar temple in Gwalior on Monday. He also did a Narmada Aarti at Gwari Ghat in Jabalpur earlier this month. Gandhi’s next stops later this month, during his visit to the all-important Malwa region, are expected to be the two jyotirlingas in the state – the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain and Omkareshwar Peeth in the Omkareshwar district. A party functionary said a plan was also in the works for Gandhi to visit the Ram Raja Temple and Laxmi Narayan Temple in Orchha in Niwari district at a later date.
“Rahul Gandhi also went to Moti Masjid and a gurudwara in Gwalior during his present trip,” a Congress functionary said, stressing on the “secular nature” of his trips. Gandhi also put out a picture on Instagram of his recent visits to Ankaleshwar temple, Moti Masjid and a gurudwara with the message, “The idea of India begins with acceptance that India thrives on diversity. The idea of India is in all of us. The idea that we are one people and will always be.”
Gandhi shared a picture in which he is seen wearing a skull cap at the Moti Masjid. The Congress functionary also said it was part of the Gandhi family’s tradition to visit the temples in Madhya Pradesh. “Indira Gandhi had visited the Pitambara Peeth in Datia thrice in her life and Rajiv Gandhi had visited once,” the leader said.
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