No chief minister has returned to power in Rajasthan in 25 years

Rajasthan has alternated between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in the last five assembly elections. Voters here haven’t elected the same party to power for two terms in a row. This is the Congress’s biggest advantage and BJP’s biggest challenge in this year’s assembly elections.

The Congress is upbeat over its recent victories in bypolls to two Lok Sabha — Alwar and Ajmer — and one assembly (Mandalgarh) seats. The seats were held by the BJP. In terms of assembly segments, this translates to 17 seats, including eight each in the two Lok Sabha constituencies.

The Congress hopes to carry the momentum into the state polls riding on anti-incumbency sentiment. However, it also faces a leadership challenge as people are unclear about who will lead the government if the party is voted to power. While state Congress chief Sachin Pilot is being credited for the party’s bypoll victories, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot enjoys mass popularity. The party hasn’t named a chief ministerial face.

The BJP won a record 163 seats in the 200-member assembly in 2013 elections. The party, however, is facing unrest among its workers and traditional vote banks such as the Rajputs and the Gujjars. Party cadres feel ignored claiming that chief minister Vasundhara Raje remained inaccessible to them.

After the bypoll losses, Raje started an outreach initiative and travelled across the state, first holding Jan Samvads (public meetings) at different locations and then launching the Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra to showcase the work done by her government. Rajasthan was also high on the agenda of BJP president Amit Shah, who held several meetings with party workers. Shah told the party workers to keep their dissatisfaction and other issues aside and work to break the myth that no party can win Rajasthan twice in a row.

Though the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced that it will contest all seats in Rajasthan, there has been little scope for a third force in the state. Non-Congress, non-BJP parties have never got more than 10% of the votes.

Former faculty member of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Manohar Lal Yadav said the BJP knows that its electoral prospects are not too good in Rajasthan. “The party is aware, after the rout in by-elections, about its poor show in the state. It needs more time to campaign; that is why probably the polling in Rajasthan has been kept to the last and there’s a gap of nine days between voting in MP and Rajasthan,” he said.

Rajasthan and Telangana go to polls on December 7. Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will vote on November 28 will Chhattisgarh will have two-phase polls on November 12 and 20.

Main issues

Farm crisis: Rajasthan, for the first time, witnessed suicides by farmers following crop failure and low costs for the produce in the local markets. Farmers protested in several parts of the state and the police used force against them in some places.

Governance and accessibility: The election will be a test for Vasundhara Raje’s special focus on empowering women through social schemes such as the Bhamashah card meant to provide free medical care for the poor. The BJP has faced flak for the chief minister, senior ministers and MLAs being inaccessible to people.

Caste indifference: Four communities — Gujjars, Jats, Meenas and Rajputs —who together can decide who’ll form next government, have flexed muscle before the polls making several demands.

Key players

Vasundhara Raje (BJP): The chief minister is leading the BJP’s pack. She faces people’s anger in an election in which one of the slogans is ‘Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhara teri khair nahi’ (We have no malice towards you, Modi, but won’t spare Vasundhara)

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (BJP): The party MP from Jodhpur was Centre’s choice for the state unit chief’s post, but Raje stalled his appointment. Shekhawat was then made convenor of the election management committee and Amit Shah has chosen him to be one of the six lieutenants he is sending out to get a ground report that will form the basis of candidate selection.

Ashok Gehlot (Congress): The former CM is Congress’ most popular face in Rajasthan. He has been made chairman of the coordination committee for all election panels. Gehlot is seen as a political adviser to Congress president Rahul Gandhi

Sachin Pilot (Congress): The state party chief is credited with steering the Congress to three major bypoll victories in February this year. Since the 2013 elections, the party has won 25 assembly segments in bypolls under his leadership.

 

 

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December polls favourable to TRS, says KCR

Telangana Caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao told his cabinet ministers that the December elections in the state would be favourable to their Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

KCR discussed the issue of early election and required poll strategies with senior leaders after the Election Commission of India announced the poll schedule for the five states including Telangana.

He said the poll schedule came out as per his expectations and now the party leaders should begin giving major focus to poll preparations in all the districts and on how to go about intensifying campaign by holding public meetings to cover every assembly segment.

TRS has already announced names of its candidates for 105 out of the total 119 segments. The names for remaining 14 segments will be announced in three to four days.

While TRS is marching ahead in high speed, Congress and its Mahakutami (Grand Alliance) partners are still struggling to reach an agreement on seat sharing and finalisation of contesting candidates.

Congress leaders like Revanth Reddy and DK Aruna are hogging limelight by attacking KCR in strong language but that was not enough as there were issues like seat adjustments and also that of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) led by activist Kodandaram seeking more seats.

Some leaders like Marri Sasidhar Reddy have complained against irregularities in preparation of voter lists by TRS leaders in Hyderabad and other places and the issue was raised before the court. It showed the anxiety and unpreparedness of Congress to make a full-fledged attack on TRS.

Moreover, AP CM Chandrababu’s announcement that his party may be called a part of Mahakutami and not to be termed as an ally of Congress came as a disheartening news for Grand Alliance. Chandrababu has also ruled out possible alliance with Congress in AP in 2019 elections.

Seeing all this, analysts feel that the Mahakutami is all likely to face more serious problems in coming days.

Obviously, KCR is giving one blow after another to rivals by coming out with his surprise strategies.

 

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Biggest Qualcomm project outside US to generate 10,000 jobs in Telangana

Even as the Assembly elections near, another major investment has come knocking on Telangana’s door. Qualcomm Telecommunications on Saturday announced that it would set up its largest campus outside the United States in Hyderabad, investing `3,000 crore for the project and creating 10,000 employment opportunities. The firm has proposed to start construction work in 2019.

Delegates from Qualcomm called on caretaker IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao to discuss plans of starting operations in Hyderabad. “Qualcomm will invest $400 million to set up their campus in Hyderabad. This is one of the largest investments by a marquee company after the formation of the State,” an official release said.

The proposed campus will focus on driving technology leadership in 5G, IoT and mobile platforms research, Rama Rao said. Phase-1 of the project will stand on a built-up space of 1.7 million sq ft, housing about 10,000 employees, Qualcomm engineering vice-president Shashi Reddy and director for operations Chandra Shekar Kumili informed the TRS leader. Qualcomm plays a key role in driving the wireless revolution by making mobile communications accessible and affordable.

The Qualcomm facility in Hyderabad will be its largest campus globally after its San Diego headquarters. Qualcomm, a world leader in 5G technology, is working on the next big change in cellular technology and aiming at creating a new era of intelligent devices focusing on remote delivery of healthcare services and IoT.

IT Minister Rama Rao noted that by setting up a mega-campus in Hyderabad, its largest globally after the HQ in San Diego, Qualcomm had joined the elite list of companies that had their largest presence globally outside their headquarters in Hyderabad. “We have Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and now Qualcomm. The list will only get bigger as there are a few more companies that have evinced interest and we are working actively with them,” Rama Rao said.

 

 

 

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Telangana selects cohort of 10 start-ups for govt mentorship programme

The Telangana State Innovation Cell has launched a Government Mentorship Programme by selecting the first cohort of 10 start-ups. The programme has been rolled out for the ITE&C Department, focusing on big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, media, content and several other emerging technologies, which are potentially useful for solving various problems for the Government.

This is a unique programme in the country, which aims to build familiarity between start-ups and government officials. The programme has received over 200 applications from all over the country, of which 19 were invited for the launch to present their ideas before the panels consisting of government officials and industry experts from 50K Ventures, which is the programme partner.

Selected start-ups for the first cohort of the Government Mentor Programme include Lakeer, Precily, Stumagz, Kaarmic Education Services, Raasta Studios, Red matter, RHPD Software Solutions, Thanos, Legitdoc and IOT Research Labs.

As part of the programme, this cohort of start-ups will be mentored by government officials for a period of three months, where they will be guided to develop products for better governance.

Government Mentor, GTV Rao, Commissioner E-Governance said: “The Government Mentor Programme is reflective of Telangana government’s commitment to work with start-ups to provide better governance and help start-ups in their growth.”

Konatham Dileep, Director, Digital Media, after the pitch sessions by the start-ups said, “We are taking forward two smart solutions and giving them a PoC, and we liked two other digital media solutions, where we will provide mentoring, to make their solutions relevant to work with government or large-scale organisations.”

Vineel Nalla, co-founder, 50k Ventures said, “It was great to collaborate with the TSIC’s initiative of Government Mentor Program, to bridge the gap between government and start-ups.”

 

 

 

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Election dates for Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana out, results on Dec 11

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  • Chhattisgarh will go to polls in two phases on November 12 and November 20
  • Telangana and Rajasthan will go to polls together on December 7
  • MP and Mizoram will go to polls together on November 28

The Election Commission of India today announced election dates for assembly elections in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana.

Chief Election Commissioner, OP Rawat, announced the election dates for the five states.

Election in Chhattisgarh will take place in two phases. Election in phase one (18 seats) will take on November 12. For the second phase (72 seats) voting will be held on November 20.

For Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram voting will be held in a single phase on November 28.

For Rajasthan and Telangana voting will be held in a single phase on December 7.

Results for all the five states will be out on December 11.

These five assembly elections would be crucial for the BJP as it gears up for the Lok Sabha election next year. The BJP is in power in three of these states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. While the Congress is in power in Mizoram, Telangana Rashtra Samithi was in power in Telangana before the assembly was dissolved.

The election code of conduct comes into play with immediate effect in these states.

Here is the complete schedule for assembly elections in the five states:

 

CHHATTISGARH

Elections will be held in two phases. Phase one includes the left-wing extremism-affected areas with 18 seats and phase two includes 72 seats.

Phase 1

Last date of filing nomination – October 23

Date of scrutiny – October 24

Last date for withdrawal of candidature – October 26

Date of voting – November 12

Counting date – December 11

Phase 2

Last date of filing nomination – November 2

Date of scrutiny – November 3

Last date for withdrawal of candidature – November 5

Date of voting – November 20

Counting date – December 11

 

MADHYA PRADESH and MIZORAM

Election schedule in Madhya Pradesh (230 seats) and Mizoram (40 seats) will be the same. Elections will be held in a single phase in both states.

Last date of filing nomination – November 9

Date of scrutiny – November 12

Last date for withdrawal of candidature – November 14

Date of voting – November 28

Counting date – December 11

 

TELANGANA and RAJASTHAN

Telangana and Rajasthan will go to polls together. Elections will be held in a single phase in both states.

Last date of filing nomination – November 19

Date of scrutiny – November 20

Last date for withdrawal of candidature – November 22

Date of voting – December 7

Counting date – December 11

Assembly Election Rallies Live Updates: PM Modi In Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi To Address Rally In Madhya Pradesh

With the Election Commission expected to announce the dates for Assembly Elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh among other dates, political parties are sending their star campaigners to these states to better their chances in the upcoming elections. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Rajasthan today, his political rival Rahul Gandhi will visit Madhya Pradesh.

BJP chief Amit Shah will also head to Madhya Pradesh, where he is expected to make multiple visits over the next few days to meet party workers, respective spokespersons of the two parties said. The Congress chief will arrive in Morena via Gwalior to take part in Ekta Parishad conclave, a party spokesperson said. He will proceed to Jabalpur on the same day where he will perform’ Narmada Puja’ at Gwari Ghat and later hold a roadshow.

Amit Shah will visit Indore today where he will meet party workers from Indore and Ujjain regions, a BJP spokesperson said. He will visit Gwalior on October 9 to meet party workers.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is in Madhya Pradesh for a day-long visit to the poll-bound state. Here, posters can be seen in Jabalpur where Rahul Gandhi will perform a Narmada Puja at Gwari Ghat today. He will also address a public gathering in Jabalpur. This is Rahul Gandhi’s third visit to Madhya Pradesh in less than 20 days.

With an eye on assembly polls due later this year, BJP president Amit Shah in Indore will formally launch the party’s mass contact campaign in the crurcial Malwa-Nimad region of Madhya Pradesh to woo voters especially traders, tribals and farmers. Amit Shah will launch the ‘Maha Jansampark Abhiyan’ from historic Rajwada area and walk for nearly 15 minutes up to Krishnapura Chhatri area to appeal people in the dense commercial area to vote for the BJP.
The Congress had won the Ajmer Lok Sabha seat by defeating BJP’s Ramswaroop Lamba who is the son of former Ajmer MP Sanwar Lal Jat in the bypolls held earlier in 2018. The seat went to bypoll after the then sitting MP Sanwar Lal Jat died due to cardiac arrest last year.
Poll-bound Rajasthan’s Ajmer district has eight assembly constituencies and seven of them are represented by BJP MLAs while the Congress has one seat of Nasirabad. The BJP, which had lost the Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency to Congress in bypolls held earlier this year, is trying to build a favourable atmosphere and mood among the voters by holding the rally of PM Modi, who had addressed an election rally in Ajmer in 2013 also.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Ajmer in Rajasthan today, marking the conclusion of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s state-wide ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra’ which she had begun from Rajsamand’s Charbhujanath temple.
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Amit Shah: Congress colluded with Maoists to retain power in Chhattisgarh

Targeting the Congress ahead of the state Assembly polls over various issues, Shah challenged the opposition party to an open debate on its development track record.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday accused the Congress of forging “ties with Naxals” to remain in power in Chhattisgarh before 2003.

The BJP government in the state had succeeded in containing the Maoist menace, Shah said, addressing a tribal convention at Narharpur in the insurgency-hit Kanker district.

Targeting the Congress ahead of the state Assembly polls over various issues, he challenged the opposition party to an open debate on its development track record.

The convention marked the conclusion of the Atal Vikas Yatra campaign launched by Chief Minister Raman Singh to highlight the achievements of his 15-year rule.

“Chhattisgarh once reverberated with the sound of bullets…. I have no hesitation in saying that the earlier Congress government (before the BJP came to power in the state in 2003) had forged ties with Naxals to stay in power. We broke that nexus and cracked down on Naxals.

“Entire Chhattisgarh is gradually getting rid of Naxalism and heading on the path of development,” Shah said.

When Chhattisgarh came into existence, it was dubbed as one of the “Bimaru (backward/sick) states and despite being in power for the initial three years, the Congress did nothing to boost its economic growth, he alleged.

The Congress did nothing to maintain law and order, curb Naxalism, eradicate hunger and uplift the forest-dwellers, despite being in power for 55 years at the Centre, the BJP chief said.

“Atalji (then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) founded the state and Raman Singh developed it,” he said.

Shah mentioned the 24-hour power supply, road connectivity in the interior villages, purchase of forest produce at a minimum support price and other development works as some of Singh’s achievements in the last 15 years.

He slammed the Congress over a scandal triggered by the circulation of a “sex CD”, purportedly featuring state Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat. Munat has filed a case against state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel for allegedly trying to malign his image by circulating the CD.

“The BJP will be contesting the polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Singh, but I want to ask Congress president Rahul Baba (Rahul Gandhi), who will lead the Congress? Will it be those who shamefully manufacture fake CDs for character assassination?” Shah asked.

“Are you (Gandhi) going ahead with a leader, who allegedly indulged in character assassination through fake CDs for seeking the mandate in Chhattisgarh?”

“Our mothers and sisters here are waiting to settle the score over the CD issue and rout the Congress,” he said.

The BJP never indulged in the politics of “chaturai” (cunningness), Shah said.

He challenged the Congress to a debate on the work done during Modi’s four-year rule and Raman Singh’s 15-year tenure as against the opposition party’s “55-year rule”.

“People have two options in the coming polls. The first is the Congress which only talked about ‘garibi hatao’ (remove poverty) but removed the poor instead, while the other is the BJP, which, without raising slogans, ensured power supply to every house, provided houses for all, built toilets and gave bonus to the Tendu leaf collectors,” Shah said.

Earlier, after arriving at the Raipur airport, Shah flew in a helicopter to Sihawa, the origin of the Mahanadi river in Dhamtari district, where he offered prayers at the Mahamai Temple at Farsia village.

Shah’s visit to Sihawa and Narharpur is being seen by political observers as an attempt to woo the tribal population of Chhattisgarh.

The Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in the state later this year.

 

 

 

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Amit Shah To Start BJP’s Mass Contact Campaign In Madhya Pradesh Today

Amit Shah will launch the ‘Maha Jansampark Abhiyan’ from historic Rajwada area and walk for nearly 15 minutes up to Krishnapura Chhatri area to appeal people in the dense commercial area to vote for the BJP, a party spokesman said.

 

With an eye on assembly polls due later this year BJP president Amit Shah will arrive in Indore today to formally launch the party’s mass contact campaign in the curcial Malwa-Nimad region of Madhya Pradesh to woo voters especially traders, tribals and farmers.

Amit Shah will launch the ‘Maha Jansampark Abhiyan’ from historic Rajwada area and walk for nearly 15 minutes up to Krishnapura Chhatri area to appeal people in the dense commercial area to vote for the BJP, a party spokesman said.

From Indore, Mr Shah will go to tribal Jhabua district to address ‘Adivasi Sammelan’ and later visit Jaora in Ratlam district for addressing farmers, he said.

Mr Shah will also interact with party functionaries at Indore and Ujjain divisions to charge them ahead of crucial assembly polls, the spokesman said.

 

 

 

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Election Commission grants conditional nod to Telangana’s Rs 6000-crore cash assistance scheme for farmers

Election Commission’s poll code came into effect in the state from September 6, the day the Telangana assembly was dissolved.

The Election Commission (EC) on Friday granted conditional approval for the Rs 6,000 crore Rythu Bandhu scheme of Telangana government, which promises to offer cash assistance to farmers during the upcoming Rabi season, notwithstanding the commission’s electoral code of conduct enforced in the state.

SK Rudola, principal secretary, EC, said the scheme could be implemented subject to certain conditions. As per conditions, Rythu Bandhu scheme would be applicable only to existing beneficiaries and no new beneficiaries would be added to the list of. Moreover, the cash had to be credited directly into the accounts of the farmers through electronic transfer and not distributed in the form of cheques. The EC also ruled out publicity for the implementation of the scheme apart from directing political parties not to distribute cash to farmers at public functions.

The first phase of Rythu Bandhu scheme was implemented in May this year, for the Kharif season. Under this, each farmer would be paid a cash assistance of Rs 4,000 per acre for the purchase of agriculture inputs. The scheme was designed to benefit 57.17 lakh farmers across 10,874 villages.

EC’s poll code came into effect from September 6, the day the state assembly was dissolved. The Congress, meanwhile, clarified that it would never stop any welfare and development activity in the state. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy said Rythu Bandhu scheme should be implemented under the direct supervision of EC and official machinery without any political interference or influence.

 

 

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praja ashirvada sabha Live :TRS public meeting at Wanaparthy today

After Husnabad, Nizamabad and Nalgonda, the ruling TRS party is organising another public meeting today at Wanaparthy of Mahabubnagar district.

TRS leaders of Mahabubnagar has been entrusted with the task of overseeing the arrangements at the venue.

The Praja Ashirwada Sabha is learned to be held at Nagavaram in a 100 acres of open land. Around 600 acres has been allocated to the parking of vehicles. A helipad is arranged at a distance of 200 metres from the venue.

At least 3,00,000 people are expected to attend the meeting. Three superintendents of police, 27 CIs, 63 SIs and 1500 staff are deployed at the meeting.