Sanchita Aich Bag, MP, 12 June 2024, Siliguri: Firhad Hakim, minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal and TMC leader expressed concern over the Lok Sabha election results in North Bengal.
He stated that the BJP has been manipulating people of North Bengal, especially those living in hills. The minister, on a tour of North Bengal, visited offices of Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) and Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday where he held meetings with the SJDA Chairman and SMC Mayor.
Talking to mediapersons, Hakim stated: “Papiya did a good job in North Bengal but BJP is misleading the people of North Bengal, especially in the Hills. While BJP has lost in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, it is politics in the name of religion in North Bengal. Actually, hoodwinking is a practice that the BJP has been using on innocent people. However, many people have now realised their conspiracy thereby resulting in the dip in the margin of votes this election,” said the minister talking to mediapersons during his visit to the SJDA office in Siliguri.
“All the development work in the hills has been done by our Chief Minister. The BJP has not done anything. Every time before the election, Gurung’s party arrives on the scene and manipulates the people.
People of hills are being used for political gains,” he added. Hakim also suggested that Sourav Chakraborty, the chairman of SJDA, expand the jurisdiction of the SJDA along with focussing on green development by preserving nature.
From SJDA, the minister visited the SMC office. There Mayor Gautam Deb and Tshering Y. Bhutia, Commissioner of SMC requested for funds for several ongoing works of the SMC. Hakim assured of all necessary help.
Meanwhile, he advised the Trinamool Congress councillors to focus on public participation in development works. “People’s participation is one of the most important factors but they deeply rely on councillors. Councillors are the only entities who can connect with the people at the grassroots level.
Every councillor should involve people in all the development projects that are being undertaken in their wards. This will result in residents supporting the councillor and the councillor will never lose an election,” Hakim added.
Tshering Y Bhutia, Commissioner, requested the minister to sanction a fund of Rs 15 crore for the renovation work of Kanchenjunga Stadium.
She also requested him to sanction funds for the work of elevated corridor near Mahananda River which will cost about Rs 250 to 300 crore; work of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) 1; AMRUT 3 project; new building for the SMC and river cleaning work.
The minister asked the SMC to install a biochemical waste management plant using their resources.
PTI, New Delhi, Jun 12, 2024 : The Congress on Wednesday claimed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has become “irrelevant” and said the Constitution, democracy and society do not need the Sangh or its chief Mohan Bhagwat as they can protect themselves.
The opposition party’s assertion came after Bhagwat’s remarks on a host of issues, including on the Manipur violence and the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Congress’ media and publicity head Pawan Khera said, “Mohan Bhagwat ji, you reap what you sow. The fault is not of the soil, the fault is of the gardener.”
“When farmers were facing the wrath of the weather and police just outside the capital, you were silent. When a Dalit girl was raped and murdered in Hathras, you were silent. When the rapists of Bilkis Bano were released and your ideological brothers welcomed them, you were silent. When Dalits were being urinated upon, you were silent. When Pehlu Khan and Akhlaq were killed, you were silent. When Kanhaiya Lal’s killers’ links with the BJP were exposed, you were silent,” Khera said of Bhagwat.
“Your silence and Narendra Modi have made you and the Sangh irrelevant. You’ve been made irrelevant by Amit Shah and the BJP. Your last chance was when the BJP leaders were talking about changing the Constitution, you should have spoken out but you remained silent,” the Congress leader said.
“What is the use of speaking now?” Khera added.
The Constitution, democracy and this society does not need the RSS or Bhagwat as they can “protect and reboot” themselves, he asserted.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also hit out at Bhagwat and posted on X a Hindi couplet by Kabir — “‘Karta raha so kyon kiya, ab kari kyon pachtaye, boye pedh babool ka, amua kahan se paye’ (loosely translating to ‘you shall reap what you shall sow’).”
Bhagwat had on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year and said the situation in the strife-torn north eastern state must be considered with priority.
Addressing a gathering of the RSS trainees at the concluding programme of organisation’s ‘Karyakarta Vikas Varg- Dwitiya’ at the Dr Hedgewar Smriti Bhavan premises in Reshimbagh in Nagpur, he said the conflict in various places and in the society is not good.
Bhagwat stressed on unity among all communities in the country, which he said was very diverse though people understand it is one and not separate.
He emphasised the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.
Speaking about the recently held Lok Sabha polls, Bhagwat said the results were out and a government had been formed so unnecessary talk on what and how it happened etc. can be avoided.
The RSS does not get involved in such discussions of “kaise hua, kya hua”, he said, adding that the organisation only does its duty of creating awareness on the need to vote.
Bhagwat stressed on the need for consensus between the ruling side and the opposition so that work for common good (of the masses) can be carried out.
There are always two sides in an election but there should be dignity about not resorting to lies to win, the RSS chief asserted.
Lies were spread using technology (an apparent reference to deepfakes etc.), he added.
June 12, 2024 : The 2024 national elections braked India’s slide into authoritarianism but did not halt it. The Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 240 of 543 parliamentary seats even as, diminished by voter pushback, the BJP lost 63 seats. Failing to secure the requisite 272-seat majority, Modi forfeited the ability to command a solely BJP national government. Reliant on partners in the seemingly unsteady National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on June 9, Modi assumed office as prime minister of India for a third term.
On June 4, in his victory speech, Modi underscored the religionisation of state and government, rallying: “Bharat Mata ki [Jai]” (Hail to Mother India), a slogan promoted by Hindu nationalists. Bharat Mata, the nation as goddess, objectifies and feminises the state wherein control over women is critical to nationalist assertion. Bharat Mata is associated with Akhand Bharat (undivided India), the delusive once-future homeland of Hindus.
Modi spoke of Odisha and the BJP’s sweep of the 2024 elections, taking 20 of 21 seats. Commending the state’s excellent performance, Modi extolled that, for the first time, the land of the “great god Jagannath” would install a BJP chief minister. A male Odishan tribal figure, Jagannath has been deified, Hinduised, as a manifestation of the deity Krishna.
Modi omitted to note the BJP’s downturn, focusing instead on the exceptionalism of a third consecutive win, stating, “In the third term, the country will write a new chapter of big decisions, and this is Modi’s guarantee,” continuing, “the NDA government will put a lot of emphasis on uprooting all kinds of corruption.” The reference to eradicating corruption was incongruous, given the BJP’s reported recent collusion in the electoral bonds scandal.
The NDA secured a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha, with support from BJP partners, Telugu Desam (TD), Janata Dal (United), and the ultranationalist Shiv Sena. Modi’s allies include incoming Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, of TD. Following initial criticism of Modi in 2002 relating to the Gujarat pogrom, Naidu had acquiesced to the BJP leadership. In Delhi, in 2024, the BJP won all seven seats, lost 14 seats in Maharashtra, lost six seats in West Bengal, gained one seat each in Chhattisgarh and Kerala, and secured nine of 14 seats in Assam. Considering the 2019 revocation of Article 370 and India’s continued siege on Kashmir, what does it mean for Kashmiris to have the BJP secure 2 of 5 seats in the 2024 elections?
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP lost 29 seats. Modi had consecrated the temple in Ayodhya in January on the wreckage of Babri Masjid, a momentous marker for the Hindu Nation. To do so, land was appropriated from local communities, while BJP policies disaffected Muslim, Dalit, and other caste-oppressed groups, impacting electoral decisions against the party.
People attending Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, 2023. Photo: X (Twitter)/BJP4India.
Speech-Acts
Between 2014 and 2024, Narendra Modi’s words sought to remake India. The speeches attest to Prime Minister Modi’s unrestrained power within his government to reconfigure a gigantic electorate. Modi’s words conjured a world wherein aggrieved Hindus across India may believe in his salvific power to lead India to glory. Modi’s speeches – fervent, narcissistic, significant – became the locus of engagement between him and his “subjects”. Modi’s domineering oratory marshalled crowds, turning his government’s repeated incapacity and misconduct into grievances against those who critique and oppose his positions, his party, and its ideological and political agenda.
Innumerable speech-encounters between Modi and his subjects were formative in delivering India for the Hindu Nation in 2014 and 2019. His rallies were thronged with people, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. His speeches extended the illusion of intimacy between him and the people while simultaneously reflecting the rising grandeur and drama of his role. Modi spoke to Hindus as a people, a unitary collective. He narrativised political messaging to create fear. The Prime Minister used speech-acts to ostensibly command, convey, scold, accuse, threaten, pledge, endorse, educate, amass, convince, mobilise, and govern. A vortex of emotions and meanings, catalysed to emit strength, induce behaviours, and exhort masses of people.
How have Modi’s obfuscations of state power misled the public? In 2023, the Indian Penal Code (IPC, 1860) was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS, Indian Justice Code), effective July 1, 2024. Modi termed it: “A watershed moment in our history…the end of colonial-era laws. A new era begins with laws centred on public service and welfare.” In actuality, the BNS broadens the definition of terrorist actions beyond what the extreme Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) encompasses, curtails freedoms, targets political opponents and dissent, and criminalises “intentions” and “feelings”.
Modi’s speeches and appearances, carefully crafted, fashion an iconography of allure and invincibility. The deification of Modi, an elected leader, has been self-purposed to induce attachment and ecstatic merger between Modi’s aura and people’s aspirations. Modi presents himself as the spiritual force able to realise people’s yearnings. Modi professes to stand for India’s fulfilment. To those who feel powerless, he bestows the promise of power. To those who feel belittled, he bestows the promise of pride. To those who feel wronged, he bestows the promise of retribution. To oppose Modi, the leader, therefore, is to betray the nation. To unite with the leader promises the achievement of greatness.
The intensity of the speech-encounters between Modi and his Hindu subjects has become the performative mechanism for creating a shared social world for his acolytes that simultaneously serves to exclude “Others”. Stronger than the sum of its making, this habitus has repeatedly inflamed Hindutva adherents to vengeance and redemption. Violence is promoted as a form of personal and national purification.
On May 26, in a televised interview, Modi stated that “Parmatma [god] sent me for a purpose…I have completely dedicated myself to god.” In asserting that his presence on earth as divinely ordained, does Modi see himself as a messiah incarnate? Was Modi seeking to imply that his grip on India’s prime ministership is without end?
Like others before him, Modi relies on repetition to orate the import of an idea and stir an audience. His words codify national enemies, seek to mobilise, and expand Hindutva’s base, and guide “ordinary people” away from the disarray in the political and economic life of the country. In the time of social media, these exhortations reverberate, amplified through platforms such as WhatsApp and X, rendering Modi omnipresent across India.
Fascistic collusions
Modi has been vigorously supported by henchmen, old cronies who helped deliver the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 and newer disciples of the current regime. His calls to action were repeatedly prolonged by Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati/Giri, and others. A wave of emergent front runners responded, using virulent speech, even calls to genocidal violence, to gain prominence and contend for power within the party’s hierarchy. Repeatedly, the prime minister failed to call them to order.
Taken together, the Hindutva leadership’s sinister and public vilification of minorities, the political opposition, dissenters, and “seditious” Hindus; comprehensive engineering of social facts; and demagoguery have reified fascistic Hinduism and architectured its manifesto. Most distressing is how this massive and malicious enterprise has found deep resonance among millions and millions of people of dominant descent in India. Irrespective of social conditions, such predilection is not a given and cannot be normalised. It is the dangerous outcome of the collision between authoritarian rulers and majoritarian desires, built upon the fault lines of an inveterate casteist, classist, gender oppressed, and segregated society.
The Hindu Sena, one of Hindutva organisations which filed the intervention application in the case seeking a probe into hate speeches by Muslim leaders. Photo: Facebook/HinduSenuOfficial
Hindu nationalists have used hate speech to provoke grassroots proponents and fence-sitters, using hostile messaging to proliferate political institutions and social media and target opponents, media, and vulnerable communities. The BJP-led government routinely exploited dishonest speech, illiberal governance, and toxic masculinity to militarise the state and massify the Hindu Right’s cadre. Hindu nationalist leaders manipulated the escalating participation of Hindutva-inclined civil society into colossal, riotous actions to exact retribution and discipline voters. Many who did not actively participate, acquiesced through silence.
In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state of over 250 million, 19% of whom are Muslims, the BJP’s 2024 losses also attest to voter concern regarding incumbent head of state, Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu nationalist hardliner. Adityanath has directed various campaigns to override the rights of Muslims and other vulnerable communities. In a video that surfaced in 2014, he reportedly stated that: “If [Muslims] take one Hindu girl, we’ll take 100 Muslim girls. If they kill one Hindu, we’ll kill 100 Muslims.” Adityanath enabled Hindu right-wing activists to make significant inroads within the state machinery. The National Crime Records Bureau data shows that 23,612 riots were reported in UP from 2017-2019.
The Hindu nationalist sweep of Odisha in the 2024 elections is a contrary case in point. Addressing a series of public events in Odisha, in May 2024, Modi, the prime minister of a constitutionally secular republic, started a meeting by invoking Hindu gods: “Jai Jagannath! Jai Sri Ram!” At another, he claimed that the people had developed a “deep emotional connection” with the BJP. At yet another event, Modi spoke of “unprecedented achievements” to be heralded by his government in the next five years.
In Odisha, Hindutva workers were inspired by the BJP’s coalition with the Biju Janata Dal as early as March 2000. Just before, in August 1999, Sheikh Rahman, a male Muslim garment merchant, was tortured in Padiabeda, Mayurbhanj district, his hands severed, burned to death. Approximately 10 percent of the state’s population was conscripted by Hindutva organisations between 2000 and 2008. Dalits and Adivasis were criminalised for their beliefs, practices, and counter-memory, and refusal to be forcibly assimilated into dominant Hinduism. Adivasis across Odisha were forced to chant, “Garbh se kaho hum Hindu hai” [Say with pride that I am a Hindu] at majoritarian rallies. Dalits who elected to convert to Christianity were brutalised to “return” to Hinduism. Massified violence against Christians of Dalit and Adivasi descent erupted in 2007 and 2008, in continuum with the ferocious targeting of Muslims in the state. The absence of accountability to these events bolstered the BJP’s electoral incursion in Odisha.
Weaponising acrimony
In weaponising majoritarian subjects as agents of hate, the imaginary of India as a Hindu State is fait accompli. In propagating its mandate, between 2014 and 2024, the BJP government sought to amalgamate prejudice with discrimination. State policy and practice focused on the intersections of racism and cultural nationalism. In doing so, Hindu nationalists erected a “deeper state” establishing crime zones and regulated anarchy to fortify structural racism and criminality, and forge robust proximities between Hindu Right cadres and militias, government, and law enforcement.
India’s Muslim communities and cultures are foremost among those fallaciously presented as causal to India’s historical, present, and future malfunctions. Islamomisia and racialisation of Muslims serves to homogenise Hindus as a “race”. Hatred (of Muslims) has been justified based on concocted behaviours (i.e., hypermasculinity) and falsified evidence (i.e., “love jihad”). Fascistic Hinduism, portrayed as patriotic nationalism, became the war to save and fabricate the Hindu Nation, carried out via malevolent operations that polarised and religionised the body politic, like “bulldozer justice,” anti-conversion campaigns, and the prejudicial citizenship experiment privileging Hindus.
Representative image of a bulldozer demolishing a settlement. Photo: By arrangement/File
In Dumka on December 15, 2019, Modi asserted that the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), protests: “were a “conspiracy against the country,” calling protesters “conspiracy makers.” On December 18, 2019, BJP leader Kapil Mishra stated, “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko [Shoot the traitors of the nation, shoot the */derogatory].” On December 22, another BJP leader, Anupam Pandey, reiterated on Facebook Live: “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko.”
Between December 12 and 23, 2019, police fired on civil society dissenters across India who were protesting the ratification of the CAA on December 12, 2019, resulting in the deaths of 25 persons, a majority of whom were Muslim males. On December 24, Mishra recorded a public message, stating, “Will your eyes open up when the fire has reached your homes?” On December 25, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati used slurs against Muslims, labelling them “jihadis” and “pigs.” He described anti-CAA protesters as “enemies,” calling for them to be incarcerated, and should they still not conform, for them to “be sentenced to death.”
In Rajasthan, where the BJP lost 10 seats in the 2024 national elections, Modi had stated in April 2024, that a Congress win would lead to the redistribution of people’s wealth [possessions] among “those who have more children” and to “infiltrators,” reportedly referring to Muslims. In May 2024, in Uttar Pradesh, Modi alleged that the “Congress and the [winning] Samajwadi Party tried to spread lies in the name of CAA. They tried to push Uttar Pradesh and the entire country towards riots.”
The right-wing is still in power
The 2024 elections were not a decisive victory for India’s right-wing and the right-wing is still in power. Upper caste urbanite Hindus reportedly voted for the BJP in large numbers. Dissenting votes were driven by minority and marginalised communities, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Adivasis, and their allies. Among and beyond them, millions of wage labourers, farmers, and economically shattered communities–devastated by the government’s policies, discourses, and practices—voted to oust the BJP.
Following his investiture on June 9, Modi proposed to “move forward with new energy and new courage.” Can Modi, who has been politically narcissistic, stabilise a coalition government and keep in power those that have abetted him since Gujarat, such as Home Minister Amit Shah? Among the nerve centre of the Hindu Right, the RSS, and its affiliate organisations, many are disgruntled with Modi, and may seek to assert control. This may engineer a crisis within the ranks of the BJP, and lead to the incurable disempowerment of Narendra Modi and a party governed by his ideals. However, this will not halt the march of Hindu nationalism in India. Rather, it may prompt the Hindu Right to rely upon its grassroots infrastructure to optimise previously deployed and new strategies of mass violence and aggressive social disruption.
The electoral gains by the I.N.D.I.A. alliance reflect immense voter discontent with the BJP’s blatantly despotic policies, securitization, dog whistling that provoked social violence, information insecurity, economic implosions, and democratic backsliding. The political terrain is ideologically discordant. Can the I.N.D.I.A. alliance amend its own frailties, to halt the rightward trend and recuperate India’s democracy?
The majoritarian deluge into the country’s bloodstream has induced disorder and caused extensive damage across the education sector, law and order, judiciary, and development, and will require forceful political and social reform. The decade-long divisive and violent transformation of society heralded by the Modi-led BJP and the Hindu Right has led the onslaught on India’s already conflicted democracy and engineered severe estrangements and alienation between neighbours, communities, and peoples who rely on each other in everyday life. Targeted communities and nonbelievers are ruptured from the impact, which like slow-release poison, has galvanised a savagery that has spread to terrify and destroy life-worlds.
In modern history, authoritarian regimes have been unable to retain their stranglehold on power. But they have often not gone quietly. The longer the Modi regime endures, the more likely will be its desperation to grasp at domination and the more hazardous its actions. For the Modi-led BJP government surely fears that, once dislodged, accountability is to come.
SANDIP C. JAIN, EOI, 12 June 2024 : The beautiful hills, forests, ravines and rivers of North Bengal have developed into a happy hunting ground for tourists from across the globe. Tourism has rapidly changed the economy and way of life of this area in drastic ways.
Politically too, this area has for the past decade, become a happy hunting ground for the BJP which now considers this region as its own backyard.
Having won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the region in 2019 and six of the eight this time, north Bengal is a BJP fortress though the dream of the party of conquering the rest of West Bengal has received a setback.
With a total of 12 seats in its tally from the state in the Lok Sabha poll from a total of 42, it has been a disappointing performance for the BJP in the rest of the 34 seats in south Bengal.
The Darjeeling seat is one which the BJP has been dominating for the last three general elections and this time round was no exception.
From Jaswant Singh to S S Ahluwalia to Raju Bista, the Darjeeling seat seems to have become a safe seat for the BJP over the years. Raju Bista, the sitting MP, has won the Darjeeling seat for a second time; though with a much reduced margin.
There of course was no doubt that Bista would win again once his name was declared. Riding on the back of several developmental projects that he has brought into Siliguri, like the Balasan-Sevoke highway and the Bagdogra International Airport project, it was definite that the Siliguri voters would once again prefer Bista over Gopal Lama, the Trinamool Congress candidate.
Bista of course did not have too much to show to the population of the Darjeeling hills by way of any development projects but then the hills anyway vote on sentiments, not development. Even on the subject of sentiments, there was a growing dissent against the BJP in the hills for the hill voters felt that they had been taken for a ride more times than they could digest. Despite exploiting the emotive issue of a separate state and tribal status for the remaining 11 communities, the BJP has nothing to show on this account. This was in some ways responsible for its reduced vote share in the hills.
Bista polled 679,331 votes this time which was about 70,000 votes less than in the last elections. This figure shows that the BJP lost almost 9 percent of the votes to what it polled in 2019. In 2109 BJP polled 59.2 percent of the total votes cast whereas this year the percentage of the total votes it received was about 51.
Trinamool candidate, Gopal Lama on the contrary polled 500,806 votes which was a big rise from the 336,624 votes that the Trinamool candidate polled in the 2019 elections.
With approximately 164,000 more votes this time, the Trinamool can take some solace in this year’s performance, despite losing the electoral battle.
If this increase in Trinamool votes is analyzed, it clearly shows that it has gained both in the hills and in the plains.
It has gained approximately 102,000 votes in the four assembly segments in the plains, Siliguri, Matigara, Phansidewa and Chopra; while in the three hill assembly segments of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong it has gained about 62,000 votes. On a percentage basis, in 2024, Trinamool gained almost 60 percent votes in the hills over what it received in 2019. In 2019 it received a meager 103,500 votes in the hills while this time round they polled 165,494 votes.
Percentage wise, the Trinamool received just 26.56 per cent votes in the Darjeeling seat in 2019 while getting 38.5 percent votes this time, recording a substantial increase of over 12 percent.
An analysis of the BJP vote share in the hills shows that in 2019, the saffron party polled 344,100 votes from the hills while managing to get 258,978 votes this time. This shows a significant drop of over 85,000 votes. This means that the BJP has lost almost 25 percent votes this time in the hills in comparison to the last elections.
The BJP leadership in the hills must take note of this big drop in vote share and try to analyze the cause of this vote loss.
Of course the Anit Thapa led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha which is in alliance with the Trinamool is now a stronger force in the hills than what it used to be earlier; with it stranglehold over the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the panchayat bodies in the hills but the loss of BJP votes has more to do with just this.
The fact that the overall image of the BJP across the country has taken a beating on bread and butter issues of the public also has contributed to the BJP vote loss in the hills.
With the BJP now no longer in absolute control of things at the Central level, having to share power with conservative politicians like Chandra Babu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the dream of the hills of a separate state or even scheduled tribe status for the 11 communities seems unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future.
There is no way that the BJP will rock the already fragile boat that it will have to sail for the coming few years.
Another aspect that needs to be discussed is the better than expected performance of the Congress candidate this time. Polling 83,374 votes, Munish Tamang the Congress candidate supported by the CPI (M) did himself proud especially for the fact that he was brought into the election fray at the very last moment with almost no time to prepare.
Many in the hills had considered him to be the best of all the candidates in the election lineup. But the Congress has practically no grass-root infrastructure in the area.
Hence he had always been just a marginal player in these elections. There is little doubt though that someone of his calibre, representing the hills in Parliament would have been a big plus for the entire Darjeeling region.
The BJP will have to do some serious thinking if it wants to remain relevant in the hills in coming years. It has to realize is that the 258,978 votes it received in the hills this time were not just BJP votes but boosted by voters of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists and a host of smaller parties.
(The writer of this article is the Editor of Himalayan Times,Kalimpong)
PTI, Kolkata, Jun 11, 2024 : Senior TMC leader Saket Gokhale on Tuesday claimed that three BJP MPs from West Bengal are in touch with the party and the saffron party’s tally in Parliament would soon come down to 237.
The comments drew sharp reactions from the West Bengal BJP unit, which dubbed the claim as “baseless” and asserted that the state unit stands united.
The Trinamool Congress secured 29 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
The BJP, in contrast, faced a significant setback, dropping to 12 seats from the 18 it won in 2019.
“As of today, the numbers in the Lok Sabha are BJP: 240 INDIA: 237. Three BJP MPs in West Bengal are in touch with us and there will be a nice surprise soon. After that, BJP: 237 INDIA: 240.
“Modi’s creaky coalition is a temporary structure which isn’t going to last very long,” Gokhale, a Rajya Sabha MP, posted on X.
In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP with 240 seats fell short of a majority but the NDA secured the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress bagged 99 seats while the INDIA bloc got 234 seats. Following the polls, two Independents who won have also pledged support to the Congress, taking the INDIA bloc tally to 236.
Reacting to Gokhale’s claim, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC is “daydreaming”.
“Since 2014, the TMC has been daydreaming of becoming the pivotal force in the union government but its hopes were dashed not once but thrice. The BJP and NDA stand united. No BJP MP from Bengal is in touch with the TMC,” he said.
Among the ministers, six stand out for their particularly high asset declarations, each exceeding Rs 100 crore, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said
PTI, New Delhi, 11.06.24: Seventy out of 71 or 99 per cent of the ministers in the new council of ministers are crorepatis with average assets among them amounting to Rs 107.94 crore, according to poll rights body ADR.
Among the ministers, six stand out for their particularly high asset declarations, each exceeding Rs 100 crore, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said.
Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development and Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications, tops the list with a staggering total asset declaration of Rs 5705.47 crore. His assets include Rs 5598.65 crore in movable assets and Rs 106.82 crore in immovable assets.
Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has declared total assets worth Rs 424.75 crore. His portfolio comprises Rs 62.57 crore in movable assets and Rs 362.17 crore in immovable assets.
Minister of Heavy Industries and Minister of Steel H D Kumaraswamy from the Janata Dal (Secular) has total assets valued at R. 217.23 crore. His assets include Rs 102.24 crore in movable assets and Rs 115.00 crore in immovable assets.
Minister of Railways, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has declared assets totaling Rs 144.12 crore, which include Rs. 142.40 crore in movable assets and Rs 1.72 crore in immovable assets.
Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, has total assets amounting to Rs 121.54 crore. His assets comprise Rs 39.31 crore in movable assets and Rs 82.23 crore in immovable assets.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, another BJP minister from Mumbai North in Maharashtra, has declared assets worth Rs 110.95 crore. This includes Rs 89.87 crore in movable assets and Rs 21.09 crore in immovable assets.
About 99 per cent of the new ministers are crorepatis. Out of the 71 ministers analyzed, an overwhelming 70 have declared assets in the crorepati range, highlighting a significant concentration of wealth among the country’s political leadership.
The report, which provides a detailed financial overview of these ministers, indicates that the average assets among them amount to Rs 107.94 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with his 71 ministers, took oath on Sunday as the new coalition government was formed after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
Echoing the sentiment of the BJP allies in Darjeeling, Neeraj Zimba, Darjeeling MLA and secretary-general of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), said that it was now long overdue that a Gorkha community member be represented in the Union ministry
Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 10.06.24 : Discontentment brewed in Darjeeling hills and across the Gorkha diaspora in the country as no representative from the community found a place in Narendra Modi’s ministry announced on Sunday.
The BJP’s Raju Bista was re-elected as the Darjeeling MP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Echoing the sentiment of the BJP allies in Darjeeling, Neeraj Zimba, Darjeeling MLA and secretary-general of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), said that it was now long overdue that a Gorkha community member be represented in the Union ministry.
“The Gorkhas have been voting for the BJP since 2009 despite the BJP not having fulfilled any of its promises to the community. Our representative should be included in the ministry without us even demanding it,” said Zimba, who successfully contested the Assembly polls on a BJP ticket twice.
In the past, the BJP had promised a tribal status to 11 Gorkha communities and a permanent political solution (PPS) for the region. Although the BJP did not define PPS, most in the hills perceive it as statehood.
Both the tribal and PPS promises remain unfulfilled.
“Our representation in the Union ministry is long overdue now. We cannot always be taken for granted. Our Darjeeling MP Raju Bista won with one of the highest margins in Bengal and a better margin than our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Zimba.
In 2019, Bista won by a margin of over 4 lakh. This year, the margin was 1.78 lakh. Modi won his Varanasi seat by a 1.52 lakhs this time.
The demand for a ministry for a Gorkha representative has come up strongly this year as the community has been increasingly feeling betrayed by the BJP for failing to address the community’s concerns. The drop in victory margin of Bista this year is an indicator, said an observer.
Not just Zimba and BJP allies, but even other hill leaders not directly linked with the BJP have sought a ministerial berth for Darjeeling MP Raju Bista.
“The BJP owes a debt to Darjeeling…. It is only fair that Raju Bista be included in the ministry,” said Binay Tamang, a well-known face in Darjeeling politics.
In this Lok Sabha, the Gorkha community is also represented by Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) MP Indra Hang Subba. The SKM is an NDA constituent.
However, the pitch is more for Bista, as Darjeeling is considered to be the epicentre for Indian Gorkhas in all aspects, from cultural to political.
In the previous Modi government, three BJP MPs from north Bengal were included in the cabinet as junior ministers — Nisith Pramanik, John Barla and Debasree Chaudhuri. None of them is an MP this time.Courtesy & source- The Telegraph
PTI, Kolkata, Jun 9, 2024 : Shantanu Thakur, a second-time BJP MP from West Bengal’s Bangaon Lok Sabha constituency and a leading figure of the backward Matua community in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, was inducted into the Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
Thakur has been a strong advocate of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) since 2019, asserting it would grant “legal citizenship” to members of the Matua community.
He sought to alleviate confusion among the Matuas regarding the submission of applications for citizenship under the CAA, weathering all opposition attacks from the TMC and other parties.
He further claimed that while Aadhaar cards do not grant constitutional citizenship upon the Matuas, the CAA would rectify this.
Thakur consistently highlighted the importance of the CAA, stating that no opposition leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, could safeguard the community in the event of an NRC exercise in the future.
The Matuas, originally from East Pakistan, are a marginalised Hindu community that migrated to India during the Partition and after the creation of Bangladesh due to religious persecution.
Thakur first became a member of the Lok Sabha from Bongaon constituency in 2019.
He had been at odds with family member and rival Matua community leader Mamatabala Thakur, who was elected from the seat in the 2015 byelections, but was defeated by Shantanu in 2019.
Shantanu Thakur, the second son of former West Bengal minister and TMC leader Manjul Krishna Thakur, entered politics in 2015 when he unsuccessfully contested the Bangaon Lok Sabha bypolls from the BJP, finishing third.
The 42-year-old was successful in his second attempt in 2019 and wrested the seat again in 2024.
Appointed as the MoS for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways by Modi in 2021, Thakur told reporters, “Since taking on this responsibility, I have done my best to harness the vast network of navigable waterways and worked towards developing and utilizing the infrastructure and true potential of the ports in the east, including Bengal.”
He added, “As a loyal worker of the party, I am ready to fulfill any responsibility entrusted to me to the best of my ability. I am thankful to the BJP and my leader Narendra Modi for everything. I will discharge my responsibilities to the best of my ability.”
Despite the BJP’s tally decreasing to 12 amid a poor performance by party stalwarts like former Union minister Nisith Pramanik and Dilip Ghosh, who were defeated by their TMC counterparts, Thakur retained his seat with a margin of 73,693 votes.
Despite strong campaigns by the TMC against Thakur, questioning his nationality, the president of the All India Matua Mahasangha received the majority’s backing in his constituency.
Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S. Jaishankar and others sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately after being sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Sunday. PTI
TT, New Delhi, 09.06.24 : H D Kumaraswamy, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan lallan singh, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu take oath as ministers.
Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sarbananda Sonowal, Virendra Kumar, Pralhad Joshi, Jual Oram, Giriraj Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu
Narendra Modi sworn in as Prime Minister for historic third term
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Rashtrapati Bhawan for oath-taking ceremony
“We are going to attend this ceremony because of our constitutional duty. It is my duty as I am the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha,” says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as he heads towards Rashtrapati Bhawan to attend the oath-taking ceremony of new government
Billionaire businessmen Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani arrive at Rashtrapati Bhawan to attend the swearing-in ceremony
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrives at Rashtrapati Bhavan to attend the swearing-in ceremony
Bollywood celebrities Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Vikrant Massey, Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani arrive at Rashtrapati Bhawan
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Rajya Sabha MPs Nirmala Sitharaman, Ashwini Vaishnaw arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony, reports Indian Express
BJP leader Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said he will take oath as the Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and vowed to serve the nation with zeal and devotion. “I will take oath as Cabinet Minister around 7.30 pm on 9th June 2024,” Rijiju, the Earth Sciences Minister in the outgoing government, said in a post on X. Rijiju said that he had taken oath as Minister of State in 2014, Minister of State with Independent Charge in 2019 and as the Cabinet Minister in 2021.”Thank you Arunachal Pradesh, @narendramodi Ji, @BJP4India and people of India. I will serve the nation with greater zeal and devotion,” he said. Rijiju won the fourth term from Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat in the recent general elections
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Ludhiana in Punjab, said Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has chosen him for the council of ministers to ensure Punjab’s progress, according to media reports
Prior to the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with a group of NDA leaders, many of whom are likely to be appointed as ministers in the central government, reports PTI. During the meeting, prominent figures from the BJP and leaders of NDA coalition partners were seated in the front row as the Prime Minister addressed the gathering
Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
Hectic parleys involving BJP leadership and allies were on over the share of berths of different constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the new government.
Senior BJP leaders such as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh besides party president J P Nadda have been consulting the allies, including Telugu Desam Party’s N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, to finalise their share of representation in the government.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
While leaders like Shah and Singh are seen within the party as a certainty in the new Cabinet, former chief ministers who have won the Lok Sabha polls like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders for joining the government.
Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP, Lalan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be a part of the new government, sources said, adding that either Singh or Jha will be accommodated from the JD(U) quota.
Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance has fared poorly, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of revival, may be in the focus during the government-formation exercise.
Assembly polls are due in the western state in October, while polls will be held in Bihar next year.
Impending changes within the BJP’s organisation will also be on the mind of its brain trust in finalising the names of ministers from the party.
Nadda’s term was extended due to the Lok Sabha polls, and organisational imperatives will be an important consideration for the party as the poll results have sent signals that all may not be well within its vast machinery.
This opens the possibility of some seasoned hand being sent to the party and Nadda being given a berth in the government, the sources said.
The desertion by a section of voters, especially from the Scheduled Castes and other deprived sections of society, may also be a guiding factor in government formation even though Modi had made a point to increase their relative representation in his outgoing term.
Nehru is the only prime minister who held the post after three consecutive elections after independence.
The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the Lok Sabha polls as its seat tally fell to 240 from 303, considerably short of the majority mark of 272.
The government has announced that leaders of several neighbouring countries, including from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Mauritius, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony slated to take place at 7:15 PM on Sunday at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose a white kurta and churidar with a blue chequered jacket as he took oath for the consecutive third time on Sunday.
Modi paired his dress with black shoes for the swearing-in ceremony at the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
When he took oath as the prime minister for the first time in 2014, Modi had worn a cream linen kurta-pyjama with a beige golden jacket. For his 2019 swearing-in ceremony, the prime minister had chosen a similar dress paired with a beige jacket.
Kurtas and bandhgala jackets are Modi’s popular choice on important occasions. He is also known for sporting flamboyant and colourful turbans during Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations.
Modi chose a multi-coloured “bandhani” print safa for his Republic Day look in January this year.
He is the second PM after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for a third consecutive term.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah also took oath as the cabinet ministers, while party president J P Nadda returned to the cabinet after five years, indicating the prime minister’s focus on continuity and experience in his third term.
PTI, June 9, 2024 : Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut on Saturday criticised people praising the CISF woman constable who allegedly slapped her, asking if they also justify “rape or murder”. Ranaut, in a video message on Thursday, said she was hit in the face and abused by the constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport. “If you are aligned with the criminals strong emotional impulse to commit a crime violating all laws of the land.
“Remember if you are ok with breaking in to someone’s intimate zone, without their permission touching their bodies and assaulting them then deep down you are ok with rape or murder also because that’s also just penetration or stab only what big deal, you must look deeper in to your psychological criminal tendencies (sic),” the 37-year-old posted on X. In her video message, Ranaut said she was hit in the face and abused by a CISF constable, who appeared to be upset with the actor over her stance on the farmer protests, during security check at the Chandigarh airport.
The ugly fracas broke out two days after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Kulwinder Kaur, the accused CISF personnel, has been suspended and an investigation has been launched. The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.
In her latest post, Ranaut also advised people to “take up yoga and meditation or else life will become a bitter and burdensome experience”.
“Don’t carry so much grudge, hate and jealousy please , free yourself,” the actor added.
Earlier on Saturday, Ranaut found support from cinema veteran Shabana Azmi, who said security officials should not take law into their hands.
In a post on X, Azmi said though she has “no love lost” for Ranaut, she wouldn’t join people who are celebrating the “slap”. “I have no love lost for Kangana Ranaut. But I can’t find myself joining this chorus of celebrating ‘the slap’. If security personnel start taking law into their hands, none of us can be safe,” Azmi wrote.
Azmi’s husband, veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar, has filed a defamation case against Ranaut over her remarks that he had threatened her. The case is still in court.
CISF cop to get gold ring engraved with Periyar’s image
COIMBATORE: Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) in Coimbatore is planning to send a gold ring engraved with Periyar’s image to CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur who slapped actor and newly elected BJP MP Kangana Ranaut at Chandigarh airport a few days ago.
TPDK general secretary Ku Ramakrishnan on Saturday said, “We are planning to send an eight gram gold ring on Monday to appreciate Kulwinder Kaur who stood up for the farmers. Her mother was among the farmers holding a sit-in protest against farm laws.”
“We will send the ring to Kulwinder Kaur’s home address. If the courier services won’t accept gold ring, we will send one of our members to her home, either by train or flight, to hand over the ring along with some books about Periyar,” he said.
CISF woman constable gets offer of legal assistance
CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur, who has been booked under IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) for allegedly slapping actor and BJP MP-elect Kangana Ranaut, has got legal assistance support.
According to Times of India, Kulwinder has received support from individuals and organisations, some of whom offered her monetary and legal help if she was arrested or dismissed from service.As per TOI, 82-year-old farm activist Mohinder Kaur, who had previously filed a defamation suit against Kangana for her remarks on the farm protest, has offered support to the suspended constable.
“Kangana has no of how to speak. Since she has been elected as an MP, she should be polite. She tried to brand Punjabis as extremists. She used derogatory words for us,” the octogenarian told the paper.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to have a third term in the post
Vasudha Mukherjee, Business Standard, New Delhi, Jun 09 2024 : Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for a third term on Sunday evening, marking a historic moment in Indian politics. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in New Delhi at 7:15 PM, attended by over 9,000 guests, including heads of state from neighbouring countries and the Indian Ocean region.
At 73, Narendra Modi becomes the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to have a third term in the post. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, won the post in 1952, 1957 and 1962 General Elections.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in a grand ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Who attended PM Modi’s oath-taking ceremony?
Notable foreign leaders in attendance included Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu, Seychelles’ Vice President Ahmed Afif, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.
Special invitees included workers who contributed to the construction of the New Parliament House and other key projects. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco-pilot of the Vande Bharat Express, was among the 10 loco-pilots invited. Representatives of the transgender community and beneficiaries of various central government welfare schemes were also likely to attend.
Ahead of the ceremony, Modi visited Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. At 73, Modi has equalled the record of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who won the 1952, 1957, and 1962 general elections.
BJP coalition government: Who will be on the Cabinet?
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Modi, formed the government alongside its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners after failing to secure a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 240 seats, falling 32 short of the required majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament, marking its weakest performance in a decade.
Alongside the Prime Minister, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP President J P Nadda, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Shivraj Chauhan also took their oaths as Union Cabinet Ministers.
Coalition members, especially larger parties, are expected to have demanded concessions from Modi, including ministerial posts in the cabinet. Leaders of the 15-member coalition, such as Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar’s political leader Nitish Kumar, began negotiations in New Delhi earlier this week to provide the necessary numbers for Modi to govern for a third five-year term.
PTI, New Delhi, 09.06.24 : Banners of Prime Minister-Designate Narendra Modi are put up ahead of his swearing-in ceremony as PM for the third consecutive term, in New Delhi, Sunday, June 9, 2024.
Prior to the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with a group of NDA leaders, many of whom are likely to be appointed as ministers in the central government. During the meeting, prominent figures from the BJP and leaders of NDA coalition partners were seated in the front row as the Prime Minister addressed the gathering
Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
Hectic parleys involving BJP leadership and allies were on over the share of berths of different constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the new government.
Senior BJP leaders such as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh besides party president J P Nadda have been consulting the allies, including Telugu Desam Party’s N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, to finalise their share of representation in the government.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
While leaders like Shah and Singh are seen within the party as a certainty in the new Cabinet, former chief ministers who have won the Lok Sabha polls like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders for joining the government.
Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP, Lalan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be a part of the new government, sources said, adding that either Singh or Jha will be accommodated from the JD(U) quota.
Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance has fared poorly, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of revival, may be in the focus during the government-formation exercise.
Assembly polls are due in the western state in October, while polls will be held in Bihar next year.
Impending changes within the BJP’s organisation will also be on the mind of its brain trust in finalising the names of ministers from the party.
Nadda’s term was extended due to the Lok Sabha polls, and organisational imperatives will be an important consideration for the party as the poll results have sent signals that all may not be well within its vast machinery.
This opens the possibility of some seasoned hand being sent to the party and Nadda being given a berth in the government, the sources said.
The desertion by a section of voters, especially from the Scheduled Castes and other deprived sections of society, may also be a guiding factor in government formation even though Modi had made a point to increase their relative representation in his outgoing term.
Nehru is the only prime minister who held the post after three consecutive elections after independence.
The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the Lok Sabha polls as its seat tally fell to 240 from 303, considerably short of the majority mark of 272.
The government has announced that leaders of several neighbouring countries, including from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Mauritius, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony slated to take place at 7:15 PM on Sunday at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Besides the victors, there are ‘many’ among 30 defeated BJP candidates in Bengal who have been attempting back-channel parleys for induction into Trinamool, said the sources
Meghdeep Bhattacharyya, TT, Calcutta, 08.06.24 : The supreme leadership of the Trinamool Congress, according to sources, is considering the prudence in allowing in two or three of “at least five” of the BJP’s 12 MPs from Bengal, who are in touch with Mamata Banerjee’s party with hopes of switching sides before any of those elected to the 18th Lok Sabha is sworn in.
Besides the victors, there are “many” among 30 defeated BJP candidates in Bengal who have been attempting back-channel parleys for induction into Trinamool, said the sources.
“Two, if not three, of the BJP’s 12 Lok Sabha members from Bengal might actually be allowed in even before anybody is sworn in as an MP this time,” said a source in the senior leadership of Trinamool, aware of deliberations currently underway in the topmost tiers of Bengal’s ruling party.
The swearing-in is likely to take place by mid-June, which is in about a week.
“There are at least five of the 12 who want to jump ship, but a couple of them are waiting to see if they are offered Union cabinet berths by their national leadership, in order to keep them from leaving,” the source added.
If Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee ultimately allow it, the BJP’s national tally would sink to the 230s, from the current 240, and make Narendra Modi — about to be sworn in as a much weakened Prime Minister for his third term — even more dependent on unreliable allies of the NDA to stay ahead of the majority mark of 272 in the Lower House.
Nitish Kumar’s JDU (12 MPs) and N. Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP (16 MPs) are constituents of the NDA whose current tally is 293. The JDU and the TDP had left the NDA before.
“Mind you, there are more than 10 MPs of NDA allies who are already in touch with various INDIA partners in several other states, similarly exploring possibilities of defection,” said a source in Trinamool aware of discussions within the INDIA space in Delhi over the past 72 hours.
“Trinamool is confident of winning bypolls, if necessary. But not everyone is. Such MPs are looking to make use of a grey area in the defection rules, which leave scope for convoluted litigation instead of immediate resignation if the defections take place between the election victory and the swearing-in,” the source said.
With 29 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha members, Trinamool is already the third-largest force in INDIA, after the Congress and the SP which has 37 MPs.
“Kalighat (home of the aunt and the nephew) is considering this only for the sake of the further weakening of the BJP, and not just nationally. In Bengal, they are in the very real danger of slipping to nine or seven MPs even before the monsoon is able to arrive properly,” said a reelected Trinamool MP.
He said there was no reliable indication yet on what would be done with the defeated BJP candidates who wanted to defect, but a handful of them might be accepted on the basis of their usefulness. “Because the top two are looking to strengthen our position ahead of 2026 (the Bengal Assembly elections), and some of them will change equations locally, for Assembly seats,” added the MP.
The BJP state leadership responded with sarcasm to the reports on the possibility of the party’s MPs defecting to Trinamool.
“Trinamool got the number wrong. Instead of saying two or three, they should have said all BJP MPs are yearning to switch to Trinamool,” said BJP’s chief spokesperson for Bengal, Samik Bhattacharya, also a Rajya Sabha member currently in Delhi.
A source said the meeting, scheduled at 3pm at Mamata Banerjee’s residence, 30B Harish Chatterjee Street, will take place in the presence of the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee
Snehamoy Chakraborty, TT, Calcutta, 08.06.24 : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will meet the party’s 42 Lok Sabha candidates — both victorious and vanquished — and district presidents and coordinators at her Kalighat residence on Saturday to brief them on the party’s strategies inside and outside Parliament.
A source said the meeting, scheduled at 3pm at Mamata’s residence, 30B Harish Chatterjee Street, will take place in the presence of the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee.
Abhishek has begun playing a larger role at the all-India level after the Lok Sabha polls in which Trinamool bagged 29 of the 42 parliamentary seats in Bengal.
“Apart from congratulating the new MPs and complimenting the defeated candidates for putting up a good fight, Didi and Abhishek are likely to give directions to the party leaders for the future course of action. As the party will begin preparations for the next Assembly elections without wasting time, the meeting will be very important,” said a TMC source.
A senior TMC leader said that Abhishek wants to change the existing practice of political activism by the TMC leadership only ahead of the polls.
Abhishek considers that the battle with the BJP, which has a robust election machinery, cannot be won unless a system is put in place in which Trinamool leaders remain active 24/7 through the year.
“The party wants to keep its leaders active throughout the year…. Political activities will certainly increase during the election period, but there will be no leisure window,” the leader said.
Sources in the TMC’s election management team said that the party has already taken note of the detailed poll outcome, which has revealed that it was ahead in 192 Assembly segments, which was 21 less than the actual number of Assembly seats it had bagged in the 2021 polls.
A senior TMC leader said that though the party is in a celebratory mood after the June 4 results, its leadership is not taking this statistic — the lower number of leads in Assembly segments — lightly.
Abhishek, who met with leaders in most districts before this crucial Lok Sabha election, had warned that if they failed to give a lead to the Lok Sabha nominees from their areas, they would lose their posts.
He had also mentioned in a few review meetings of the election committees that those MLAs who do not manage to give a lead from their constituency, would not be given poll tickets in the 2026 Assembly polls.
He proposed the same strategy for public representatives in rural and civic bodies.
“In Purulia, the Trinamool candidate, Santiram Mahato, was defeated by a margin of 17,000 votes. In Purulia town, Trinamool trailed by over 20,000 votes. The chairman of the Purulia municipality has to accept responsibility for this defeat,” a TMC leader explained.
Amid the buzz on whether the party would take action against its leaders for failing to provide leads in their respective segments, some heads have already begun rolling.
On Friday, the chief and deputy chiefs of four gram panchayats in Hooghly’s Chinsurah submitted their resignations to the local BDO, a party source said.
MP, 7 June 2024, Kolkata: Expressing concern over alleged post-poll violence in certain areas of Bengal following the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday issued a directive allowing affected people to submit complaints to the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) via e-mail.
The order came following a petition in the high court seeking direction to police to ensure protection to opposition party workers in the wake of alleged post-poll violence in some places of the state following the elections.
The court cautioned that if the state machinery fails to protect the lives and property of the citizens, appropriate orders will be passed on the next date of hearing.
The division bench presided by Justice Kausik Chanda said the matter will be taken up for hearing again after 10 days.
The bench, also directed that complaints can be e-mailed to the DGP by persons allegedly affected by incidents of post-poll violence, apart from the normal process under the CrPC.
It directed that in the event the complaints disclose any cognizable offence, the DGP will immediately direct the police station concerned to register an FIR under relevant provisions of law.
PTI, Chandigarh, Jun 7, 2024 : Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar Friday termed the alleged attack on actor and BJP MP-elect Kangana Ranaut by CISF woman constable “most unfortunate” and said any form of violence as a means of expressing dissent was unacceptable.
“What is even more concerning is that a person wearing a security uniform indulged in such an unlawful violent act,” he said.
Ranaut, in a video message on Thursday, said she was hit in the face and abused by the constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport.
Another video circulating on social media had shown the agitated constable talking to people presumably after the incident.
“Kangana made a statement (earlier) that farmers were protesting in Delhi because they were paid Rs 100 or Rs 200. At the time, my mother was one of the protesters,” she said in the purported video.
Some farmer outfits on Friday threw their weight behind the woman constable, saying the entire sequence leading to the incident needs to be properly investigated.
“The statement was made by Kangana Ranault three years ago on protesting farmers. Her statement may be insensitive and not in good taste but a security staffer resorting to physical assault by slapping the MP in resentment of the hurt she felt sets a wrong precedent,” Jakhar said in a statement
Such acts tend to defame Punjab and its people, he said.
Jakhar not only questioned the timing of the incident but also the outpouring of support from certain quarters for a person who took law in her hands.
He said the statement was made three years ago by Ranaut and its aftereffect surfaced now in the form of an attack on the BJP parliamentarian.
“The timing makes the incident curious. It comes at a time when Punjab is undergoing an undercurrent of overt radical posturing. The narrative of support being played out in support of the security staffer, instead of being condemned, endangers the social order.
“It may have far reaching consequences. Such discourse is potent enough to incite hotheaded minds to resort to more similar acts in future endangering harmony and lives,” Jakhar said.
PTI, Kolkata, Jun 6, 2024 : Several West Bengal BJP leaders have blamed the dismal performance of the party in the Lok Sabha polls in the state on “inexperienced leaders” ruling the roost and hinted at “conspiracy” behind the loss of seats where winning chances were high.
The Trinamool Congress led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee swept the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, winning 29 of the 42 seats in the state. The BJP’s tally, on the other hand, dropped to 12 from 18 in 2019.
The outcome has raised questions regarding the party’s campaign strategy, organisational effectiveness, and narrative coherence.
“When those without any proper political experience of fighting elections call the shots in the organisation, this is the result that you get. There has to be some sort of accountability of the state leaders who decided everything in this election,” newly elected BJP MP Saumitra Khan told reporters.
Khan managed to hold on to his Bishnupur seat by a slender margin. The state unit also struggled to reach double digits, winning several seats by narrow margins.
Former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who lost from the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat to TMC’s Kirti Azad by nearly 1.38 lakh votes, hinted at a “conspiracy” to ensure his defeat.
“A conspiracy was hatched to ensure that I got defeated or why else would I be sent to Bardhaman-Durgapur. It seems the party had sent me to Bardhaman-Durgapur from Medinipur to ensure that I lost the elections,” he said.
Ghosh, while speaking to a Bengali news channel, said there has been no proper introspection in the party after the 2021 assembly poll debacle.
“No one was held accountable for the loss in 2021. If there is no course correction or introspection even now, this debacle will be repeated in 2026. In the last few years, the party did not have any growth in West Bengal; rather its support base has eroded in the last five years,” he said.
Ghosh, former MP from the Medinipur constituency, was relocated to Bardhaman-Durgapur, a seat where the battle against TMC was perceptively tough, where he replaced outgoing MP SS Ahluwalia.
The latter, in turn, was moved to Asansol. The party’s sitting MLA from Asansol Dakshin, Agnimitra Paul, replaced Ghosh at Medinipur. All three BJP candidates were trounced by their TMC counterparts in the recently concluded polls.
Former BJP MP from Hooghly Locket Chatterjee, who failed to win the seat for the second consecutive time, sought a proper introspection in the party.
West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, although agreed that there is a need for introspection, said the party has increased its vote share by one per cent as compared to the 2021 assembly polls.
“It is not that the party is not moving ahead. Our vote share has increased when compared to the 2021 assembly elections, although it has gone down when compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress registered a 45.77 per cent vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, up by more than two per cent from the 43.7 per cent vote share it received in 2019.
The BJP, on the other hand, registered a vote share of 38.73 per cent in the state this time which, unlike what the pollsters had predicted, was down by over two per cent as compared to the 40.6 per cent votes it received five years ago.
The TMC alleged that the saffron camp has realised that it could not fight the Mamata Banerjee-led party in the state.
“It is good that they have at least realised that they can never fight Mamata Banerjee in the state. I hope they will convey this message to their central leadership,” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
The court accepted Rahul’s apology and granted him bail on a surety of Rs 75 lakh. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were also present in the court along with the Congress leader.
PTI, 07 June 2024 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday was granted bail by a special court here in connection with a case filed by the BJP’s Karnataka unit for issuing “defamatory” advertisements in mainstream newspapers.
As reported by PTI, the advertisement ahead of Assembly polls last year accused the then BJP government in the state of indulging in large-scale corruption during its 2019-2023 rule.
The court had on June one granted bail to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the State Congress chief, after they appeared before it in connection with the defamation case, PTI reported.
Judge K N Shivakumar had directed Gandhi to appear before the court on June seven without fail.
In February, the Congress leader attended court proceedings related to the defamation case and was granted bail.
The complaint against Gandhi was lodged by BJP leader Vijay Mishra. Last December, a warrant was issued against Gandhi, prompting him to suspend his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi and appear in court on February 20, where he obtained bail.
The complaint stemmed from remarks Gandhi made during a press conference in Bengaluru in May 2018, during the Karnataka elections. Gandhi’s comments referred to the BJP’s claim of upholding honest politics despite having a party president who was accused in a murder case.
Amit Shah was the BJP president at the time of Gandhi’s statement.
Four years before Gandhi’s remarks, Shah was acquitted by a special CBI court in Mumbai in connection with a 2005 fake encounter case during his tenure as Minister of State for Home in Gujarat.
Gandhi apologised to the court on Friday for seeking exemption from personal appearance in the last two hearings. The court accepted his apology and granted him bail on a surety of Rs 75 lakh.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were also present in the court along with Gandhi.
The BJP had in its complaint filed in June 2023 alleged that false and reckless allegations were made in the advertisements issued by the accused persons on May 5, 2023 in all the mainstream newspapers in Karnataka during campaigning for the Assembly polls, under the title “Corruption rate card”, and “40 per cent Commission Sarkara (government)”.
It was alleged in the complaint that the advertisements were issued by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee through Shivakumar, in his capacity as its president and by Siddaramaiah, as the then Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
Gandhi had put up a post of this “defamatory advertisement” on his social media ‘X’ account, it pointed out.
In a post on ‘X’ after Gandhi personally appeared before the court, the BJP said: “Accused out on bail in the National Herald case, Mr. @RahulGandhi, you are welcome to Namma Bengaluru. We also invite you to experience the consequences of Indian laws for all the misleading and defamatory advertisements you used against our leaders here in Karnataka, which you have failed to prove till today.”
&w=1038&resize=1038,576&ssl=1 "Modi takes 3rd time oath as PM in white kurta, churidar with blue jacket")
)
&w=1038&resize=1038,576&ssl=1 "TMC glare on underperformers, meeting today on accountability with eye on 2026 Assembly polls")
