The Chhattisgarh

Tag: Lok Sabha elections 2024

  • Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Is AAP Making Same Mistake As Samajwadi Party And RJD By Allying With Congress? |

    Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came into existence opposing the Congress and BJP. In the true sense, that X-factor has been a key to the grand success of AAP in Delhi and Punjab. In Delhi, it gave AAP three consecutive successes and Punjab a victory greater than Congress and Akalis. The Aam Aadmi Party has managed to increase its vote share in many other states like Gujarat, Haryana and Goa. But ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the AAP appears to have fallen into the trap of the Congress-led INDIA bloc and it may hurt the party’s prospects in the Parliamentary polls.

    AAP-Congress Seat Sharing Deal

    In Delhi (7 seats), Congress will contest three seats and AAP on four while in Gujarat, Congress will contest 24 seats and AAP on two seats – Bharuch and Bhavnagar. Of the 10 seats in Haryana, Congress to contest nine and AAP on one -Kurukshetra. In Chandigarh, the Congress will contest on the lone seat while in Goa, the Congress to contest on both seats. The AAP had already announced a candidate for one of the two seats in Goa but withdrew it after a deal with the Congress.

    Delhi | Congress and AAP announce seat-sharing in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Chandigarh and Goa

    In Delhi (7 seats), Congress to contest on 3 and AAP on 4
    In Gujarat (26 seats), Congress to contest on 24 and AAP on 2 (in Bharuch and Bhavnagar)
    In Haryana (10 seats), Congress to… pic.twitter.com/vCauAdvkUm
    — ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2024

    Historical Data From Delhi 2019 Polls

    In Delhi, where the AAP is multiple times stronger than Congress, the ruling party has given three out of seven seats to the grand old party. The Congress has been continuously witnessing an erosion of its vote bank in the national capital in favour of the AAP. By joining hands with Congress, AAP has sent out a message that both parties are the same and thus it is bound to alienate those voters who support AAP for its distinct ideology. In fact, on all the seven seats, the combined vote share of AAP-Congress was less than that polled by the BJP in the 2019 polls with the Congress securing second position and the AAP at third rank. 

    Learnings From RJD, Samajwadi Party

    In Bihar, during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and even during the 2020 assembly elections, the RJD was in alliance with the Congress. It gave nine seats to the Congress in the Parliamentary polls but the alliance failed to win even a single seat. In the 2020 assembly polls, the RJD contested 144 seats and won 75 of them while the Congress contested 70 seats and won just 19. The lower strike rate of Congress was considered one of the reasons that the RJD lost out on power by a whisker. In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party had allied with the Congress during the 2017 Assembly polls. The Samajwadi Party contested 298 seats and the Congress on 105 seats. The Congress won just seven seats while the SP bagged 47 of them. 

    In the 2022 assembly polls, Akhilesh Yadav opted not to ally with the Congress and contested 347 seats on its own by allocating 56 seats to the regional parties. Due to this, the SP managed to increase its winning seats to 111 while the Congress despite contesting 399 seats, won just two seats. This shows that allying with Congress hurts the regional parties’ prospects. Whenever a party, strong in a particular region or state allies with the Congress, its winning chances decrease while helping the Congress survive extinction threat. If the trend continues, AAP may witness a decrease in its vote share while that of Congress may increase slightly. This may further hurt the AAP’s effort to increase its presence across the country.

  • Gautam Gambhir Opts Out Of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Urges BJP President To Relieve Him From `Political Duties`

    Gautam Ganbhir urged to be relieved from his political duties as he wishes to focus on his cricket commitments.

  • Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Left’s Wayanad Bid Throws Another Challenge For Rahul Gandhi, Congress-Led INDI Alliance |

    In a move that hints at more rifts in the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, the CPI(M) today announced its candidate fro the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, curently held by Rahul Gandhi. The CPI(M) indirectly asked Congress to vacate the seat for the Left pary. The move puts the Congress on backfoot once again as the INDIA bloc parties have been posing a new challenge to the grand old party every other day.

    CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said, “CPI has declared its candidate for the seat in Wayanad, Comrade Annie Raja, who has played a key role in ‘Mahila Andholan’. Now she will be the candidate from the side of the whole LDF. Rahul Gandhi and Congress need to think, they say that their fight is against BJP. In Kerala, if you come and fight against Left, what message are you giving? So they need to think about their seat once again.”

    In the 2019 elections, the CPI had fielded 4 candidates but lost on all seats. Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, Congress bagged 15, the Indian Union Muslim League two and the CPI(M), KC(M), and RSP won 1 seat each.  

    Kerala Dare For Congress

    The Communist Party of India (CPI) has announced its first list of four candidates for Lok Sabha elections in Kerala yesterday. The CPI fielded Pannian Raveendran from Thiruvananthapuram, Annie Raja from Wayanad, VS Sunil Kumar from Thrissur and Arun Kumar from Mavelikara. Notably, all of the four seats are currently held by the Congress party – Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad and Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram, T. N. Prathapan from Thrissur and Kodikunnil Suresh from the Mavelikara seat. By announcing the candidate for these seats first, CPI has played a similar card like Akhilesh Yadav did in Uttar Pradesh. Now, the ball is in Congress party’s court whether it accepts or rejects the Left party’s offer.

    The Left party has urged Congress to not contest from Kerala and insteat focus on North where the BJP is very strong. Just like Trinamool Congress in Bengal, Left and its allies want Congress to leave Kerala to them only. 

    Congress On Backfoot

    Congress is already on a backfoot when it comes to seat sharing as part of the INDIA bloc. While Mamata Banerjee has already refused to ally with Congress or Left in Bengal saying that TMC will contest all 42 seats alone against the BJP. Similarly, the AAP said that it will contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab alone. While the AAP and SP sealed seat sharing deal with Congress for some states, that made Congress minorty shareholder. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress has just got 17 seats out of the 80 while in Delhi, it has got 3 out of seven seats.

    Will Rahul Gandhi Quit Wayanad?

    It’s unlikely that Rahul Gandhi will leave the Wayanad seat. Recently, Rahul Gandhi rushed to the Wayanad after elephant attacks happened in the region. Also, Gandhi won from the Wayanad seat but lost from Amethi. There are very low chances of Rahul Gandhi contesting from Amethi once again. Thus, it’s likely that while Congress may agree to take one or two step back in Kerala to appease the Left, but it may go for a friendly fight from the Wayanad seat.

  • ‘1st Step Will Be Caste Census…’: Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi Sound Poll Buggle In Uttar Pradesh |

    Congress Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday joined the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by party MP Rahul Gandhi in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. While addressing the crowd the brother-sister duo slammed the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) over various issues, some of the top ones were the caste census and paper leaks in UP Police Constable Examinations.  

    Taking a dig at the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi said that if the majority wants to have the caste census, then the first step after the election will be the caste census. “In this country there are 50% backwards, 15% minorities, 15% Dalit, and 8% Adivasi… How many of these are in media, none… You’ll see them in the list of MGNREGA but not in the big companies,” Gandhi said, adding that 90% of people don’t get any participation. 

    Slamming PM Modi for his political tactics, Rahul said that the Modi government is distracting Indians by launching gimmicks like Bollywood and surgical strikes and ignoring crucial issues like unemployment, paper leaks, and the true well-being of the citizens. He said, “This is what the BJP system is.” He further added that patriots unite the country and do not work to disintegrate it (Deshbhakt mohabbat ki dukaan kholte hain, nafrat ke bazaar nahi chalaate).  

    Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a shot at the rising unemployment rates under the BJP’s rule. “As the BJP’s government is formed in the centre and state, unemployment rates have increased,” she asserted. She linked unemployment to a lack of facilities and persistent paper leaks, making it clear that development hinges on gainful employment. She said that the brass industry is stagnant, there is no development after the BJP’s rule.  

    As the UP Police Constable examinations are scheduled for a re-examination, Priyanka Vadra said that “the 28 lakh students wrote the exam but the paper was leaked.” She said that until the paper leaks are stopped, there will be no development. She urged the voters to cast their votes based on their experiences.

  • Lok Sabha Election 2024: Modi Led BJP To Finalise UP Roadmap In Delhi Today; Adityanath, Amit Shah, JP Nadda To Attend |

    NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to finalize its comprehensive strategy for Uttar Pradesh today. The decision comes at a crucial time as the party gears up for the electoral battle in one of India’s most politically significant states. Uttar Pradesh has a total of 80 Lok Sabha seats and is considered key to power in Delhi. The state has played a key role in keeping Narendra Modi at the helm in Delhi.

    Electoral Strategy and Rally Plans

    As the electoral code of conduct is about to be enforced, the BJP’s plan will outline the number of rallies to be held across Uttar Pradesh. The strategy aims to cover every Lok Sabha constituency in the state, ensuring a widespread campaign led by the party’s top leadership.

    Key Leaders to Convene

    The meeting, expected to be the largest before the announcement of candidates, will feature prominent figures such as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda. Their discussions will focus on organizing rallies that encompass every constituency, setting the stage for a comprehensive electoral campaign.

    Pre-Parliamentary Board Meeting

    Ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary Board meeting, today’s gathering in Delhi marks a pivotal moment for the UP BJP unit. The session aims to align state-level strategies with the central leadership’s directives, ensuring a unified approach to the elections. Attendees include Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Baijayant Panda, Dharmapal Singh, Bhupender Chaudhary, both Deputy Chief Ministers, and various regional and state officials.

    Responsibilities and Agenda

    The Delhi meeting’s outcomes will guide the BJP’s efforts in Uttar Pradesh, with officials tasked with implementing the agreed-upon agenda. This strategic planning session is essential for the BJP as it seeks to consolidate its presence and campaign effectively in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

    2019 And 2014 Poll Results

    In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 71 seats riding on the Modi wave while in the 2019 elections, the party managed to won 62 seats, nine down from the 2014. Thus, the BJP is planning to win all the 80 seats this time to keep its mission 400 on. The BJP is aiming to win 370 seats itself and at least 30 seats for its allies thus hoping to achieve its objective of ‘Abki Bar 400 Par’.

  • Smriti Irani Vs Rahul Gandhi Face-Off In Amethi Today But Will RaGa Contest From UP Seat Again? |

    Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Rahul Gandhi is on the last leg of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Rahul Gandhi will be in Amethi today and the current MP from the seat Smriti Irani will also reach her constituency on a four-day tour today. Irani had defeated Gandhi from the seat in the 2019 parliamentary elections. While Rahul Gandhi lost from Amethi, he won the Wayanad seat thus retaining his Lok Sabha membership. Now, with the two leaders again touring the hot seat, the question is – whether Rahul Gandhi will again challenge Smriti Irani from the seat.

    Rahul To Contest From Amethi?

    For quite some time, there have been rumours within the Congress that Rahul Gandhi might contest elections from Amethi once again. Not contesting from here may send a wrong message in the Hindi-speaking region. Reacting to the question, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “CEC will decide on who will contest from Amethi. Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from Amethi thrice. His father Rajiv Gandhi also used to contest from Amethi. It is a very important constituency for the Congress party.”

    With Sonia Gandhi moving to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, the Congress party has shunned its lone Lok Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. Now, it will be important to see who will be Congress candidates from the Amethi and Raebareli.  

    Smriti’s Challenge From Kerala

    A few days ago, Smriti Irani had said during her visit to Kerala that she sent the current Wayanad MP to the seat from Uttar Pradesh. She urged the voters to ensure that he did not get another opportunity for the seat again. On the other hand, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to hold a rally at 4 PM in Babuganj, Amethi. 

    Amethi Remains A Hot Seat

    While Rahul may stay in Amethi for around 12 hours, Irani will stay put in the constituency for four days. This is perhaps the second time when both will be present in Amethi at the same time. However, the possibility of a face-to-face encounter between Rahul and Smriti is low as their schedules are different.

    Smriti usually visits Amethi frequently. This time, she is planning to stay for four days. Smriti will listen to people’s issues through a Jan Samvad program. She will be present at her homecoming program on February 22. Smriti Irani is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi again. She has been consistently criticizing Rahul Gandhi. 

  • More Trouble For INDIA Bloc; AAP Offers Just 1 Seat To Congress In Delhi |

    New Delhi: The INDIA bloc has been virtually confined to the history books, after the RLD walked out of the alliance in UP it was turn of the AAP to snub the Congress in Delhi. On Tuesday the Aam Aadmi Party offered the Congress Party a single Lok Sabha seat in Delhi. This is contrary to earlier reports that had suggested a 3-4 formula between Congress and AAP in Delhi.

    Further, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said that even though the Congress party does not merit even a single seat in Delhi, in the spirit of alliance, the AAP party is willing to offer one seat.

    The AAP plans to field candidates in the remaining six seats in Delhi, Pathak added. “You must have seen in the Delhi elections that the Congress party has zero seats in the Lok Sabha, zero seats in the Vidhan Sabha, and in the MCD elections, out of 250, only 9 seats have come to the Congress party. If you look at this data on a merit basis, the Congress party does not get a single seat, according to this data. But data is not important; keeping in mind the dharma of the alliance and the respect of the Congress party, we offer them one seat. So we propose that the Congress party fights on one seat and the Aam Aadmi Party fights on six seats,” he said.

    The AAP MP added that the candidate’s announcement is not being made today. He expressed hope that a meeting will soon commence in Delhi, and the conclusion of this meeting will determine the next steps.

    “Today, we are not announcing the candidate. I hope that the meeting will start in the context of Delhi soon, the conclusion of the meeting will come out, we will all get on with our work and if the conclusion does not come out, then in the next few days we will announce the candidate on the six seats we are saying and we will start our preparation and our work, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said,” he said.

    AAP also threw the gauntlet at the Congress by announcing Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas’ name as the candidate to contest LS poll from South Goa seat. This is a seat that is currently held by Congress MP Francisco Sardinha. AAP has also named Chaitar Vasava from Bharuch and Umesh Bhai Makwana from Bhavnagar as candidates from Gujarat. It was reported that Congress was considering late Ahmed Patel’s daughte Mumtaz Patel for Bahruch.

    Pathak also expressed his disappointment over the lack of progress in seat-sharing discussions with the Congress party; he added that despite two official meetings, no concrete outcomes have been achieved.

    “We had two official meetings with the Congress party regarding seat sharing but there was no result of these meetings. Other than these two official meetings, no other meeting has taken place in the last month. We have been waiting for the next meeting; even the leaders of Congress are not aware of the next meeting. Today, I am sitting here with a heavy heart. We announced three candidates from Assam and I hope the INDIA alliance will accept them,” he said.

    As the Lok Sabha elections approach, political parties across the spectrum are ramping up their efforts to connect with voters. With the BJP bringing on new partners like the RLD on its platform the INDIA bloc is sinking in its efforts to put up a united front. 

  • Eye On Mission 80 In Uttar Pradesh, BJP Seals Seat Deal With Jayant Chaudhary`s RLD; Check Power-Sharing Formula

    Jayant Chaudhary’s party will get two ministerial positions, one as a cabinet minister and the other as a minister of state with independent charge. 

  • Who Benefits From Shinde-Sena Vs Sena-UBT And NCP-Ajit Vs NCP-Sharad Battle In Maharashtra? |

    The Election Commission of India yesterday ruled in favour of the Ajit Pawar faction terming it the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The order came as a setback for Sharad Pawar as his party is set to challenge the order in the Supreme Court. However, it’s the BJP which may emerge as a winner in the battle of Shiv Sena and NCP. The BJP has allied with both the rebel factions – Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and NCP led by Ajit Pawar. This will boost the party’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls 2024. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats and it will be crucial in BJP’s mission ‘Abki Bar 400 Paar’.

    With the recent political developments in Bihar, the BJP has already got an upper hand there and now it’s trying to better its poll prospects in Maharashtra. In the 2019 Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of the 48 seats. At that time, Shiv Sena was its ally, and it secured 18 seats. Thus the NDA had bagged 40 of the 48 seats. But since Uddhav Thackeray left the NDA and joined the Congress-NCP alliance, the BJP has recalibrated its strategy this time, sidelining Shiv Sena-UBT and Sharad Pawar-led NCP. With the NCP and Shiv Sena already splitting into two factions, the BJP stands to gain the seats where it has been traditionally weak earlier against NCP and Shiv Sena.

    Sharad Pawar, who separated from Congress to form the NCP in 1999, is now at the centre of a political storm. The recent political developments, including Ajit Pawar’s rebellion and NCP’s affiliation with Congress, have created uncertainty about how Sharad Pawar will lead the new party forward. While it is certain that Ajit Pawar’s entry and his leadership may attract the youth, the future remains uncertain.

    Sharad Pawar is still active in politics, but his influence is limited to certain regions. With the departure of prominent leaders like Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal, even his nephews joining politics has left a gap in his leadership. The split in the massive vote bank of the NCP is likely to benefit the BJP-led coalition. Sharad Pawar has mentioned bringing in new faces to the party, but for now, his nephew seems to be dominating the political scene.

    The split between Shiv Sena and NCP has significantly benefited the BJP. Not only did they come to power in the state, but they also weakened the opposition considerably. BJP’s leaders have gained a strong foothold. The impact of this realignment will be evident in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, it’s likely that Ajit Pawar’s NCP, if pitched against Sharad Pawar in the latter’s stronghold may not do well in some of those seats. Opposite to that, Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena is likely to do better against Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena because traditionally the Shiv Sena supporters have been against the Congress.

    The alliance with NCP in Maharashtra is expected to benefit the BJP in various regions, especially in western Maharashtra, where NCP has had a stronghold. The BJP’s strategy, if successful, could lead to achieving its goal of 45 seats and further consolidating its position in the state. The alliances with Shiv Sena and NCP may pave the way for an easier accomplishment of the “Mission 400+” in the upcoming elections.

  • With ‘GYAN’, BJP Clears Its 2024 Poll Strategy To Counter Congress’ Caste Census Plank |

    Congress and Rahul Gandhi’s pitch for caste-based census across the country in a bid to counter BJP’s Hindutva poll plank, the saffron party has played two major cards – one was ‘poor’ caste and now the ‘GYAN’. Reacting to the opposition’s demand for a caste census, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during assembly polls in November that there is only one caste for the government and that is ‘poor people’. He said that the NDA government has been working for the welfare of this caste.

    Now, two months later, ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that ‘GYAN’ encompasses the Modi government’s four main focus points. Explaining ‘GYAN’, FM Sitharaman said that G stands for ‘Garib’ (Poor), Y for ‘Yuva’ (Youth), A for ‘Annadata’ (Farmer) and N for ‘Nari’ (Women). She said that PM Modi believes in focusing on these four ‘castes’ and the government is committed to the progress of these four sections. While some may have taken it lightly, this is a broader narrative on which the Modi government is working and is wooing the voters of this section.

    The government has already been running various programs for these four sections and some of them are the SAUBHAGYA electricity scheme, Ujjwala LPG cylinder scheme, Skill India or Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), promotion of sports through TOPS and Khelo India, and Kisan Samman Nidhi. These are just some of the schemes of the Modi government that cater to these four sections and if taken a holistic view, any poor family. 

    Women and youth form a majority of the Indian voters and the NDA government has been able to keep this section happy in the 2019 polls and the continuation of such schemes is likely to help the ruling party in the upcoming polls as well. Congress, which has been talking about caste-based census each day ahead of the assembly polls in November, has not only toned down on the issue but now talks about it very rarely. Most probably, the grand old party may have realised that the narrative did not work in its favour and rather gave the BJP a chance to further highlight the schemes run by its government. Now, the question here is, can Congress find a fix to BJP’s ‘GYAN’ and ‘poor’ caste narrative? In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress is not only facing an issue on the alliance front but it will have to find poll planks that resonate with the common people.