Category Archives: Politics

National, Politics

Tharoor bats for Rahul as LoP; says he was ‘man of match’ of LS polls

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Shashi Tharoor said the message of the mandate was that the electorate has given a ‘comeuppance’ to the BJP’s ‘overweening arrogance’

PTI,  New Delhi, Jun 07 2024 : Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday hailed Rahul Gandhi as “the man of the match” of the Lok Sabha polls and said it would only be fitting that he takes on the mantle of the Leader of Opposition in the house.
In an interview with PTI after his fourth-straight Lok Sabha polls victory, Tharoor said the message of the mandate was that the electorate have given a “comeuppance” to the BJP’s “overweening arrogance” and its “my way or the high way attitude”.
“It will be a challenge for Mr (Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah who have not been used to consulting very much in running their government and I think this is going to test their ability to change their way of functioning and be more accommodative and more conciliatory within the government and also I hope with the opposition,” Tharoor said on the incoming coalition government of the NDA.
The former Union minister said this time the Modi-led NDA government could prove to be a ‘majboor sarkaar’ (helpless government) on some issues because the parties that are part of the NDA will have to agree on everything.
“Already we have questions being raised by one party on the Agniveer scheme, saying that it needs to be reviewed and they have been supported by a second party namely the JD(U) and Chirag Paswan. Both in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, there are leaders who have demanded special category status for their states which the BJP government had hitherto refused to grant, that will have to be re-examined,” he said.
Tharoor said suddenly now there will have to be a more consensual model governance coming up.
He accused the Modi government of treating Parliament like a notice board in the last 10 years and expecting it to be a rubber stamp for all their decisions which, he said, was not viable now with a robust opposition of more than 230 MPs.
Batting for Rahul Gandhi to take on the mantle of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor said the former Congress president was unquestionably the star of this Lok Sabha performance.
“He and Congress president (Mallikarjun) Kharge campaigned extensively throughout the country, but Mr Kharge is in the Rajya Sabha where he leads the Opposition and it would only be fitting that Rahul Gandhi does the same in the Lok Sabha. I have certainly conveyed my view both publicly and privately in that regard,” Tharoor said.
“I think we have a strong number now to stand up to the government and it (Leader of Opposition) should be a leader who is undoubtedly the most popular in the party,” he said, referring to Gandhi.
Using cricketing analogies, Tharoor further said Gandhi was “unquestionably, indeed the man of the match” of the polls and in a number of places the Congress “hit the ball out of the park”.
“In some places we had a tight finish. In my case there was a super over at the end of the T20 in my constituency. Lot of cricketing analogies all over the place but as we are seeing in the World T20, there are some concerns about the pitch we had to bat on and I would say that we had no choice but to play on the pitch we were given but it could certainly have been a far more level playing field than it was,” he said.
In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor beat Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar by over 16,077 votes.
Asked about the close fight and if the Left made it difficult for him, Tharoor said the CPI candidate Pannyan Raveendran took two and a half lakh votes.
“But the other is the three areas that are represented by the CPI(M), the CPI candidate came last and the BJP candidate came first. There are some legitimate questions being asked as to how exactly and why exactly that happened. But you know at the end of the day, a victory is a victory and we are savouring it as sweet,” Tharoor said.
Talking about the message of the 2024 mandate, Tharoor said the message is very clearly that the Indian voter will not allow democracy to be taken for granted in this way.
“We’ve seen everything from the demonetisation, that was declared without the cabinet even been consulted or informed, to the stringent lockdown that came with a few hours’ notice, with not even the state chief ministers consulted. All of which suggest to me that we are looking at an end to a kind of autocratic rule that had brought discredit to our democracy, not just at home but internationally,” Tharoor said, adding that is the biggest take away.
The government is now a coalition and the prime minister will have to consult alliance partners before major decisions, failing which the government may not survive, the Congress leader said.
Hailing the gains made by the Congress that improved its tally to 99 in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor said it was a very good performance and the leaders were very pleased that the numbers showed up according to “what we saw on the ground”.
“As for what we can improve, there is always room for improvement. Certainly we did not expect to lose every seat in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Those are areas where there would need to be certain introspection within those state units as to what went wrong and headquarters will have to weigh-in as well,” he said.
“On the other hand, we have done well in most other places and if you look at the number of states we have improved our performance, we have vastly outstripped the number of states we remained stagnant in or we’ve gone down,” he said.
Tharoor also credited Gandhi’s two Bharat Jodo Yatras and its alliance strategies for the party’s performance.
National, Politics

Balance regional aspirations, national interests: TDP chief at NDA parliamentary party meet

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 7, 2024 : Key BJP allies — TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar — on Friday endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance with a message to balance regional aspirations and national interests.

    
Speaking at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting here, BJP allies JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi among others supported the proposal moved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to elect Modi as the leader of the NDA.
    
The meeting in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, the old Parliament House, saw a lot of bonhomie as well as lighter moments among the leaders with Shinde describing the alliance as a “Fevicol bond”, Kumar trying to touch the feet of Modi, who stopped him midway and the prime minister patting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on his shoulder.
    
LJP(Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, who repeatedly referred to Modi as ‘Sir’ while supporting the resolution, received a warm embrace from the prime minister. Jana Sena Party Pawan Kalyan received a special mention in Modi’s speech when he said that “Pawan was not wind but a storm”.
    
Paswan credited Modi for the NDA victory, while Kalyan asserted that India would not bow down before anyone as long as Modi was the prime minister.
    
At the outset, as soon as Modi entered the Central Hall for the NDA meeting, he bowed before a copy of the Constitution placed there, and lifted it to his forehead reverentially.
    
Another ally, RLD chief Jayant Singh, who was seated in the audience with other leaders, later posted on X: “NDA (New – Developed – Aspirational India) has chosen our Prime Minister for a historic third term, Shri Narendra Modi ji!”
    
NDA coalition partners Kumar and Naidu wholeheartedly praised Modi for his leadership and also reminded him not to ignore the development of states.
    
“Balancing regional aspirations and national interests must run parallelly while ensuring holistic development for all strata of society,” Naidu said.
    
Naidu said Modi’s rallies in Andhra Pradesh helped the TDP win 16 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
    
“Today, India is having the right leader at the right time, that is Narendra Modi. This is a very good opportunity for India. If you miss now, you will miss forever. That is why we are having a wonderful opportunity today,” Naidu said.
    Kumar expressed confidence that Modi will develop India in a big way and also pay attenti
on to Bihar.
    
“We are confident that Modi will develop India and we will wholeheartedly support him every passing day,” Kumar said.
    
“All the pending works of Bihar will be done. It is a very good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you. … we will all work under your leadership,” he said.
    
The Bihar chief minister slammed the opposition and expressed confidence that they will be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections.    
    
“I have noticed that a few people have won (Lok Sabha elections) here and there by saying useless things. They haven’t done any work and never served the country. Next time when you win, they all will be defeated,” Kumar said.
    
Shinde said Shiv Sena and BJP were ideologically similar. “The Shiv Sena-BJP coalition forged under the leadership of Balasaheb Thackeray is a ‘fevicol bond’ which will not break,” he said.
National, Politics

NDA dispensation is strongest alliance govt opposition worked to erode faith in democracy :PM Modi

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 7, 2024 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the opposition of seeking to erode people’s trust in democracy and casting a shadow of defeat over the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s poll win, asserting that the ruling bloc scored a grand victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

    
“If you see in the context of alliances and statistics, then this is the strongest alliance government,” Modi said while addressing newly-elected MPs and leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from across the country following his election as leader of the ruling bloc ahead of his government’s swearing-in on Sunday.

He flayed opposition INDIA bloc leaders for casting suspicions on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission throughout the poll process, alleging that they wanted to stoke fire across the country if the results did not suit them.

However, the EVMs silenced them by June 4 evening, he said in an apparent reference to the opposition’s better-than-expected showing.

Modi said the world will also be drawn towards appreciating the diversity and expansiveness of Indian democracy following these results.

The prime minister projected the results as a nationwide popular endorsement of his government’s agenda, moving to quell any sense of pessimism among his own party members after the BJP fell short of a majority.

He cited people’s increased support to the alliance in south India and Odisha, where the BJP is also set to form its maiden government, to laud its performance.

“The Congress has not got as many seats in three Lok Sabha polls since 2014 as we have got in these elections. It has not been able to touch even the 100 mark this time,” he said.

“People know that we had not lost and have not lost,” he said, adding that even a child would tell that it is the NDA that was in power before the polls and which is in power after the polls. “Where did we lose? The NDA was there yesterday, is there today and will be there tomorrow.”

By every parameter, the world recognises that the results reflect the NDA’s grand victory, he said.

At the ceremony held in the Central Hall of the Parliament complex, it was NDA all the way in optics as well as substance as nine leaders of as many allies flanked Modi, besides three BJP leaders on the dais.

It was the NDA that Modi repeatedly mentioned while highlighting his government’s policies and programmes, and how its different members, including the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, have ushered in development in their respective states.

After Modi’s election, leaders of different parties met President Droupadi Murmu to submit to her their letters of support to him.

In his speech, the prime minister claimed that attempts were made to not accept the NDA’s win and overshadow it with a sense of defeat.

Buoyed with its tally of 234 seats, the opposition alliance has projected the results as a defeat for Modi. The NDA tally stands at 293, comfortably above the majority mark of 272.

“I can see clearly, though the INDI Alliance does not know. They were earlier sinking slowly but are now hurtling down the abyss,” he claimed.

Modi said he asked someone on June 4 when the results were being announced if the EVM is “still alive or dead”.

These people (opposition) had made up their minds to ensure that people’s trust in Indian democracy is broken, he claimed.

“I thought they would take out a funeral procession for EVMs. However, as the results were declared by June 4 evening, they were silenced. This is the strength of Indian democracy, its objectivity, and the election system. I hope questions will not be raised on EVMs for five years. Probably, they may make a fuss again in 2029,” Modi said.

Opposition parties tried to obstruct the Election Commission’s work by filing many petitions in the Supreme Court, he said, adding that it showed how despondent they were in the electoral field.

They conspired to defame India globally, he said. “The country will never forgive them.”

Modi said the opposition parties belong to the last century in their mindset as they are opposed to any technological intervention, be it UPI or Aadhaar. “The INDI Alliance is fundamentally opposed to progress, modernity and technology.”

While he is beating the drum about India being the “mother of democracy”, the opposition is telling the world that there is no democracy in India, Modi added.

He accused his rivals of making comments between the last day of polling on June 1 and the counting day on June 4 as part of a conspiracy to stoke violence.

Attempts were made to mislead and divide people, he claimed. 
National, Politics

Did BJP strike rate improve after Modi’s ‘anti-Muslim’ rhetoric? Here’s how it fared in all 7 phases

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 Overall, BJP won 240 of 440 seats it contested in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This meant a cumulative strike rate at 54.5 percent.

AMOGH ROHMETRA, The Print, 06 June, 2024: New Delhi: BJP’s strike rate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls held in seven phases over 44 days ranged from 35 to 70 percent, declining between the third and seventh phase, an analysis by ThePrint shows.

The Opposition attributed this decline to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “anti-Muslim” rhetoric and the BJP’s showing in the 77 seats it contested in the first phase. Of these 77, the BJP won 30 — a strike rate of 39 percent.

Also important to note is that Tamil Nadu, where the BJP has been a marginal player, was among the states where all seats went to the polls in the first phase. If one were to discount the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, of which it contested 23, BJP’s strike rate in the first phase was 55 per cent. 

Referring to the speech Modi made in Rajasthan’s Banswara on 21 April, two days after the conclusion of the first phase, the Opposition claimed then that Modi’s “anti-Muslim” rhetoric was prompted by low voter turnout and the BJP’s “poor” performance in the first phase.
As ThePrint reported earlier, there was also a decline in the mention of BJP’s “400 paar” slogan in Modi’s speeches after the first phase.

In the second phase, the BJP’s strike rate increased by 35 percentage points to 67 percent — it won 47 of the 70 seats it contested in this phase. This included all 20 seats in Kerala, of which the BJP secured one.

In the third phase, the BJP improved its strike rate further to 70 percent. This was highest for the BJP among all seven phases. Its strike rate in this phase can also be largely attributed to Gujarat, where it won 25 of 26 seats.

However, from the fourth phase onwards, the BJP’s strike rate began to decline — barring one exception. In the fourth phase, the BJP’s strike rate declined, by 15 percentage points from the previous phase, to 55 percent.

This decline continued in the fifth phase, where its strike rate was only 45 per cent. Of the 40 BJP candidates in the fray in this phase, only 18 won.

The sixth phase was where the party managed to stage a revival of sorts by winning 31 of the 51 seats it contested in this phase — a strike rate of 61 percent.

But it could not keep up the momentum in the seventh phase where its strike rate declined, by 26 percentage points from the previous phase, to 35 percent. It won only 18 of the 52 seats it contested in this phase.

Overall, the BJP won 240 (including Surat) of the 440 seats it contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — a cumulative strike rate of 54.5 percent.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Crime, Politics, West Bengal

Calcutta HC expresses concern over post-poll violence allegations in Bengal, issues directive to submit complaints to DGP

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 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

PTI, Calcutta, 06.06.24 : Expressing concern over alleged post-poll violence in certain areas of West 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 email.

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.

Stating that similar allegations had come up after the 2021 assembly elections, the court asked whether incidents of post-poll violence happened in any other state.

Expressing dismay at reports of post-poll violence following the general elections, the court emphasised the state’s responsibility to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

A division bench comprising justices Kausik Chanda and Apurba Sinha Roy directed that complaints can be sent to the DGP by email by persons who are allegedly affected by incidents of post-poll violence.If the complaint indicated a cognizable offence, the DGP would forward it to the relevant local police station for FIR registration.

The petitioner claimed that affected individuals were hesitant to visit local police stations to file complaints.

The court instructed the DGP to provide a report within 10 days detailing the number of complaints received, FIRs registered, and actions taken.

State counsels argued that the incidents mentioned by the petitioner might not be directly linked to the elections.

Following the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election process, the Election Commission decided to maintain a substantial presence of central forces in the state for some more time.

In August 2021, a five-judge bench of the high court had ordered a CBI probe into all cases of alleged murder and crimes against women, including rape or attempted rape, related to post-election violence in West Bengal following the state assembly elections. PTI AMR RBT NN The bench, in response to PILs seeking an independent probe into alleged violence following the assembly elections, had also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising three IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre to oversee investigations into all other cases.
Politics, Regional

The moment is opportune for BJP to deliver on its promise to people of Darjeeling hills

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Editorial, EOI, 7 June 2024 : The indifferent result of the BJP in the LokSabha elections in West Bengal may be a boon in disguise for the people of the hill regions of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

This will make it easier for the next BJP-led government at the Centre to fulfil its promise of arranging a permanent solution of the political problems of these hills. 
The BJP has been making this promise since the Lok Sabha election in 2009when it won for the first time the Darjeeling seat; but it still remains unfulfilled.
It is not a surprise that the Gorkha National Liberation Front has made it clear that the BJP must deliver on its promise before the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal or face the possibility of losing its support. 
“I have said earlier that this will be our last support for the BJP. If they betray us again, the result will not be good for the BJP next time,” GNLF President Mann Ghisingh has said. “The BJP has to seriously work from day one to deliver on its commitment made to the Gorkhas. Promises have been made and now it’s time to deliver.
Only promises will weaken the faith and trust of the hill people.”
The central leadership of the BJP had obviously been dragging its feet on the issue of a permanent political solution in the hills with the hope that in the coming days it would form the government in West Bengal. 
Any political solution in the hills that will give more autonomy to Darjeeling — be it a separate state or bringing the hill council under the sixth schedule of the Constitution — will not be liked in the plains areas of the state and make it difficult for the BJP to come to power in West Bengal. 
Now with the setback of the BJP in West Bengal and the control of the party over the next government to be formed at the Centre considerably weakened, the possibility of any change in the political scenario in West Bengal in 2026 has become remote. 
There is no reason why the BJP-led government at the Centre should not deliver on its promise made to the people of the hills now. In fact, it is high time they should do so because Darjeeling has elected to the Lok Sabha BJP candidates four times in a row: 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. 
It will be an injustice to the people of the hills if the next Narendra Modi government continues to ignore the demand which has much justification. It will also be relatively easy for them to do so as West Bengal is going to be poorly represented in the next government and there will be no pressure group within the government to prevent it from happening. 
While taking a decision on the the issue of permanent political solution, the Centre will of course have to take into account the broader national perspective; especially in view of the fact that the hill regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are close to the disputed borders with China and the Nepal border across which movement of people is free in view of an agreement between India and Nepal. 
These Gorkha-dominated hills harbour in their bosom other communities too, living since time immemorial. The solution that may be worked out should not leave them dissatisfied either.
Politics, West Bengal

Dilip Ghosh’s oblique statement sparks speculations on inner-party factions in Bengal BJP

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PTI, Kolkata, Jun 6, 2024 : At a time when fissures within the BJP West Bengal unit have started to show in the wake of the party’s ‘disappointing’ performance in the parliamentary polls in the state, a social media post of veteran leader Dilip Ghosh sparked speculations on whether the ‘old-versus-new’ debate is about to get reignited.


Ghosh on Thursday posted on X a quotation of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: “Keep one thing in mind, even one old Karyakarta of the party should not be neglected. If necessary, let ten new Karyakartas get separated. Because the old workers are the guarantee of our victory. Trusting new Karyakartas too quickly is not advisable.”

The post came in the wake of Ghosh’s shocking defeat from the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat in the hands of TMC’s Kirti Azad by nearly 1.38 lakh votes.

Ghosh also told reporters that it was now established that sending him to contest from his old constituency to a new one was “a mistake”.

While the BJP had publicly proclaimed its target of winning 30 Lok Sabha constituencies or more from Bengal this time, it had to ultimately settle for 12 seats, six less than its 2019 tally.

Ghosh, former party state president and 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.

The reshuffle of candidates, though finalised by the party’s central election committee, is widely believed to have been brought about at the instance of the state’s leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who jumped ship from the TMC ahead of the 2021 state polls.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Ghosh said, “It’s established now that the decision to send me to fight from Durgapur was a mistake.”

“The party trusted me with the job of winning from Durgapur, which I failed. We will look into what went wrong. But I had come to this party empty-handed and the fortunes have turned a full circle with me getting empty-handed once more. Let’s see where things go from here,” he told the media elsewhere.

Ghosh, a leader with strong RSS roots, who had earlier shied away from questioning the party’s decision to change his seat and maintained he did his best to overcome the fresh challenge, sounded out of sync with his previous statements for the first time.

Speaking on the development, senior TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “I have always considered Dilip Ghosh a true BJP man. It’s unfortunate for him that his party failed to make a proper assessment of his qualities. It’s good for us since we defeated him but he deserved better from his party.”

Banerjee added, in tangential reference to Adhikari, that he was “certain” that the saffron party under its current state leadership would wither away during the 2026 state polls.
National, Politics

Modi’s allies want funds, cabinet positions as NDA gears to form new govt

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 Besides special status and cabinet positions, TDP is also seeking more funds for irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and to complete the building of its new capital, Amaravati
Reuters, Jun 06 2024 :  Parties in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance on Thursday demanded more funds for their regional states as well as federal cabinet positions as negotiations began to form a coalition government.
 
Modi was named leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Wednesday, after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its outright majority and found itself reliant on support from regional parties – mainly the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United).
 
The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament, where 272 constitutes a simple majority.
 
But Modi’s BJP won only 240, making TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U) head Nitish Kumar, also the chief minister of the eastern state of Bihar, kingmakers in the alliance with their 16 and 12 seats respectively.
 
TDP also won a regional election in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Naidu is set to become chief minister there.

Both parties are pushing longstanding demands to grant special status to their states, according to one TDP spokesperson and five NDA sources.
 
Special status allows states to receive more federal development funds, and on simpler terms. While Bihar is India’s poorest state, Andhra Pradesh lost some of its resources in 2014 when the new state of Telangana was carved out of it.

Besides special status and cabinet positions, TDP is also seeking more funds for irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and to complete the building of its new capital, Amaravati, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
 
“This is not the first time we are in NDA, so we are confident that we will get what is due to us,” TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari said.
 
“In our earlier terms with NDA, we had ministerial berths and also the Lok Sabha [lower house] speaker from our party. This time we are a strong partner and share a clear vision for the country,” she said.
 
JD(U)’s Kumar also wants support for new industrial projects in Bihar along with federal cabinet positions, one NDA source said.
 
COALITION NEGOTIATIONS SET TO START
 
Top BJP leaders were due to discuss ministerial portfolios with the allies on Thursday, a day before Modi is expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu to present his claim to form the next government, one BJP source said.
 
The negotiations are a throwback to an era before 2014 – when Modi swept to power with an outright BJP majority – in which alliance partners haggled for positions and benefits in exchange for supporting coalition governments.
 
The BJP’s loss of its majority unnerved markets and raised the prospect of a government less stable and sure-footed than the outgoing one.
 
But Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a top BJP leader and newly elected lawmaker, told the CNN-News18 TV channel that Modi’s new government would last its full five-year term and “come back with a better performance”.
 
A survey published on Thursday suggested that a lack of jobs, high inflation and falling income had cost Modi votes, even though he personally still commanded wide support.
 
Some 30% of voters said they were worried about inflation, compared to 20% prior to the election, according to the Lokniti-CSDS post-election survey published by the Hindu newspaper.
 
In a survey for the Hindu conducted before the election, unemployment had been the main concern of 32% of respondents.

Decreasing income and the government’s handling of corruption and fraud were other issues of concern, according to the survey.
National, Politics

NDA MPs to meet today to elect Modi as their leader

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 Preparing to take oath for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Modi had on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the ruling alliance’s members who unanimously elected him as its lead

PTI,  New Delhi, Jun 06 2024  : Newly elected MPs of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are expected to meet on Friday to elect Narendra Modi as their leader, paving the way for him to take oath as prime minister for a third term.
Sources said after Modi’s election as the leader of NDA MPs, senior members of the alliance like TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar will join the prime minister for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present her the list of parliamentarians supporting him.
He may be sworn in over the weekend, possibly Sunday, they added. The NDA has 293 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, held deliberations through the day on Thursday as the party set in motion government formation efforts.
They met at BJP president JP Nadda’s residence in what was seen as part of the party’s exercise to reach out to allies over issues like their share of ministerial berths and pick the probables from within their party for the coalition government.
Preparing to take oath for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Modi had on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the ruling alliance’s members who unanimously elected him as its leader.
Leaders of the BJP’s ally Janata Dal (United) also held deliberations with party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Though the regional party has not said anything officially on the issue, sources said it is looking to get some key ministerial berths to reclaim some of the lost ground in Bihar where it has performed well after being seen to have fallen way behind the BJP and the RJD over the last few years in political strength.
With 12 MPs, the JD(U) is the second biggest BJP ally after the Telugu Desam Party’s 16. The new BJP-led government will depend critically on these two parties for survival.
Naidu is keen that the Centre provide Andhra Pradesh financial assistance in building its capital in Amravati. He also wants the new government to take steps to fulfil the Centre’s commitment to the state when Telangana was carved out of it, sources said.
Politics, Regional, West Bengal

BJP’s attempt to govern the Opposition led to their downfall: Pol analyst

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 While the debate is still on about what caused the Trinamul Congress increase its tally of seats from the 2019 tally and why the Bharatiya Janata Party lose its share of seats

Ashok Chatterjee | SNS  |  Kolkata | June 6, 2024 : hile the debate is still on about what caused the Trinamul Congress increase its tally of seats from the 2019 tally and why the Bharatiya Janata Party lose its share of seats, Prof Asis Mistry, Calcutta University says there are that first-time voters have played a role, both in national and state level to defeat the BJP and the Trinamul Congress successfully managed to hold on to its women voters with the hike in Lakshmir Bhandar money.


Pointing out another important observation about the saffron party, Prof Mistry said, “In 2014, nationally BJP’s vote share was 31 per cent but they won with majority because they managed to ‘play’ with the Opposition. In 2019, they ‘managed’ the Opposition. This time, they wanted to ‘govern’ (or mal-govern) the opposition. Examples are, sending opposition CMs to jail and defending their own party leaders despite their glaring offences. This is called post-democratic syndrome. This was first coined in Britain by Colin Crouch. He said this is an evolving trend and it has now been seen in India. Institutions are being moulded. Within democracy, an undercurrent of authoritarian tendency could be seen. This is called ‘governing the Opposition’.”

Around 22 lakh first-time voters were added in the voters list in 2024. This section has not voted for the BJP, feels the political science professor.

He explains that there was 6 per cent addition of first-time voters (18-25 years). Their performance in the seats with less margin of victory played a major role. “The young voters were a lot influenced by YouTube influencers. This played a role in swinging votes against the BJP.”

Explaining further, the professor said that nationally, in the 2019 polls, there were 97 seats, where the margin of victory was less than 5 per cent. BJP won 41 of these seats. This time, of these seats, the BJP retained only seven. Taking a sample of 22 seats out of those 97 seats, the professor found that not only the BJP lost these seats, it lost by a good margin. And, he feels the young voters played a role in these seats.

“In the 2021 election, TMC’s vote share was 48.02 per cent. In this LS election TMC pooled 45.76 per cent votes share. So, we see TMC’S vote share has come down. In 2019 TMC’s vote share was 43.7 per cent, which means vote share rise for TMC is only 2.06 per cent. Whereas the Left and Congress combined vote share has been reduced by 1.4 per cent, while we were expecting Left vote share to go up this time. BJP’s vote share has remained more or less intact. They lost only 1.87 per cent,” said Prof Mistry.
National, Politics

NDA allies seek their pound of flesh: Unfamiliar terrain for Modi, hard bargaining begins

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A BJP statement released after the afternoon meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence said Modi had been ‘unanimously’ chosen leader, with the partners hailing his ‘hard work and efforts (at) nation-building’

J.P. Yadav, TT, New Delhi, 06.06.24 ; Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar.: File Photo.
An NDA meeting on Wednesday endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the alliance leader as hard bargaining by partners for key portfolios and concessions for their states played out in the background, sources said.

A BJP statement released after the afternoon meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence said Modi had been “unanimously” chosen leader, with the partners hailing his “hard work and efforts (at) nation-building”.
Modi will be formally elected leader of the NDA at a meeting of the newly elected MPs on Friday, and is likely to be sworn in for a third term on Saturday, BJP leaders said.

Sources within key partners Telugu Desam Party and JDU, however, revealed the hard bargaining — the hallmark of a coalition government — that lay behind the leaders’ smiling faces at the meeting, thereby indicating the unfamiliar pressures Modi 3.0 is up against.

Desam boss Chandrababu Naidu, a master at extracting his pound of flesh in a coalition government, wants the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post for his party in addition to “special category status” for his state Andhra Pradesh, his party sources said.

They added that Naidu had also demanded the home and defence portfolios, held by Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, respectively, in the outgoing government.

Bihar chief minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar too pressed for a similar concession for his “backward state”, smelling an opportunity like never before to realise
a longstanding demand, sources said.

A JDU leader said that Nitish also wants the central government to carry out a countrywide caste census, similar to the one he has conducted in Bihar.

The Desam’s 16 MPs and the JDU’s 12 are crucial for the BJP, which has only 240 seats in a House where the majority mark is 272.

Naidu, set to become chief minister of Andhra, had walked out of the NDA in 2018 over the issue of special category status, which ensures a state gets more central funds, grants-in-aid, and industrial incentives.

“For the TDP, a special category status for Andhra is a must as the state has been left high and dry after Telangana was carved out of it (in 2014),” a Desam leader said.

The Desam is firm on its demand for the Speaker’s post since it knows how adept the BJP is at breaking parties to acquire a majority of its own, sources said. When members defect, the Speaker decides on disqualification.

Less than a month after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, four of the six Desam members in the Rajya Sabha had joined the BJP — a history that appears to be very much on the Desam’s mind.

The Desam had been given a cabinet post and a junior minister’s berth in the first Modi government of 2014, but it now wants a bigger share of the pie given the BJP’s dependence on its support.

Nitish too is learnt to be eyeing a few important ministries that would help him get projects to Bihar, particularly in the fields of agriculture and rural development.

Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, which has five MPs, wants the railways, a portfolio his late father Ram Vilas Paswan held for a long time.

The BJP leadership has assigned Rajnath, Shah and party president J.P. Nadda to hold talks with the allies and work out the contours of the government.
Politics, Regional

TMC vote share goes up in hills thanks to Thapa, but Darjeeling seat still out of reach

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Raju Bista of the BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2019 and 2024. His vote share has dipped in the Darjeeling hills and the entire Lok Sabha
Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 06.06.24 : Anit Thapa can afford to put up a brave face although Trinamool Congress’s Gopal Lama, who was backed by the hill leader’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), lost the Darjeeling Lok Sabha.
 
Trinamool has never won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Amar Singh Rai of Trinamool enjoyed the support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Binay Tamang faction, of which Thapa was the general secretary, in the Darjeeling segment.
 
That year, Trinamool bagged 1,02,702 votes from the three hill Assembly constituencies of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
 
In 2024, Lama polled 1,65,494 votes in the three hill Assembly segments, which is higher by around 62,000 compared to the 2019 result.
 
Raju Bista of the BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2019 and 2024. His vote share has dipped in the Darjeeling hills and the entire Lok Sabha constituency.
 
If Bista’s victory margin was a whopping 4.02 lakh in 2019, it has come down to 1,78,525 this time.
 
The BJP’s vote share in the hills has plummeted by around 79,000 from 3.38 lakh in 2019 to 2.58 lakh in 2024.
 
In the campaign for the just-concluded polls, Thapa ensured that no Trinamnool flag or the pictures of the ruling party’s leaders were used in the hills. Many believe such a move was to negate the “trust deficit” that hill people had with Trinamool, which has been more pronounced since the Mamata Banerjee government crushed the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation.
 
Thapa, instead, tried to project Lama as a candidate of the BGPM in the hills.
 
“With absolute control of the administration of local bodies in the hills and the BJP’s failure to deliver on previous Lok Sabha election promises, Thapa did manage to increase the vote share of Trinamool in the region though it was not enough,” said an observer.
 
In the 2019 general election manifesto, the BJP had promised tribal status for 11 hill communities and a permanent political solution (PPS) for the region. None of the promises has been fulfilled.
 
A BGPM leader told this newspaper that the party had hoped that Lama would lead at least in the hill Assembly segments. “If Lama had lost because of the votes in the plains, it would have been acceptable to us,” said the BGPM leader.
 
The BGPM does not wield clout in the plains of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.
 
Bista, the winner, said there was not much significance in discussing the victory margin. “If they (BGPM) see a victory in their defeat just like the Congress leaders feel at the national stage, I have little to say,” said Bista.
 
The Darjeeling MP said there was a dip in the voting percentage in the constituency this time. “Moreover, around two per cent of the votes from the CPM and the Congress went to the TMC across Bengal this year,” said Bista, who added that he suspected large-scale rigging in the Chopra Assembly constituency.
 
In Chopra, which is in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, Trinamool led by 92,131 votes. The party trailed in all other six Assembly segments.
 
“Since they (BGPM and Trinamool) have more panchayat and civic representatives, their votes were bound to increase slightly,” said Bista. “Nevertheless, our vote share in the constituency was more than 50 per cent.”
 
Courtesy & source- The Telegraph
https://www.telegraphindia.com/elections/lok-sabha-election-2024/tmc-vote-share-goes-up-in-hills-thanks-to-anit-thapa-but-darjeeling-lok-sabha-seat-still-out-of-reach/cid/2024928
Politics, Regional

‘Recently-concluded polls an uphill task…’

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Amitava Banerjee, MP, 6 June 2024, Darjeeling: It had been an uphill task for the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), the lone ally of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Hills of the Darjeeling Constituency.

Though they lost the battle to the BJP, they managed to bring down the difference in the winning margin. 
While Raju Bista, BJP candidate, had won by a margin of 302228 votes in 2019, this time the margin was of 1,78,525 votes (including the postal ballot). 
The Darjeeling Lok Sabha Constituency consists of 7 Assembly segments, including Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong in the Hills and Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari, Phansidewa and Chopra in the plains. 
While the BJP had won Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari and Phansidewa in the last Assembly election, the TMC had won Chopra and the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, then named the GJM (Binoy faction) had won the Kalimpong seat. 
This Lok Sabha election in the Kalimpong segment, Raju Bista of the BJP secured 77,745 votes and Gopal Lama secured 54,113 votes. 
In the Darjeeling segment, Bista got 87,252 votes and Lama 55,907. In the Kurseong segment, Bista secured 93,981 while Lama secured 55,474 votes. 
In the Hills, Raju Bista secured a total of 2,58,978 votes while Lama secured 1,65,494 votes. Bista led by 93,484 votes in the Hills. 
In the plains in the Matigara-Naxalbari segment, Bista secured 1,54,140 votes while Lama got 70,185 votes. 
In the Siliguri segment, Bista got 1,14,570 votes and Lama secured 48,561 votes. 
In the Phansidewa segment, Bista got 1,06,491 votes while Lama secured 81,273 votes. 
In the Chopra segment, Bista got 41,145 votes while Lama secured 1,33,276 votes. 
Raju Bista secured a total of 4,16,346 votes in the plains while Lama got 3,33,295 votes. 
Bista led with a margin of 83,051 votes. 
In the postal ballot, Raju Bista got 4,007 votes and Lama secured 2,017 votes. 
In total Raju Bista got 6,79,331 votes and Lama 5,00,806 votes, Bista won by 1,78,525 votes. 
While the TMC was backed by the BGPM in the constituency, the BJP was backed by the Gorkha National Liberation Front, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, CPRM and other hill political outfits. 
Despite having sway over the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the Panchayat and the Hill Municipalities, the reason for the defeat is being critically analysed by the BGPM leadership. 
“It was definitely an uphill task for us and we gave our best shot. While we were the lone alliance partner of the TMC, the BJP had the support of different Hill parties that have their vote shares. 
All this went to the BJP kitty. Despite all odds, we retained our votes and even managed to lessen the winning margin of the BJP considerably,” stated Keshav Raj Pokhrel, BGPM spokesperson. 
The spokesperson said that the dent was mainly in the urban areas. “The urban votes went down considerably for us. 
The BJP and allies had launched a propaganda showing TMC as the antagonists of the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation. 
With most of our people watching national media, BJP’s propaganda of crossing the 400 mark had an impact in the 1st and 2nd phase of polls. 
Darjeeling went to polls in the 2nd phase. The Congress candidate even could not make a sizable dent which would have then gone to our favour,” added Pokhrel. 
Munish Tamang of the Congress backed by the Hamro Party and Left Front secured 83374. 
Interesting 18021 votes also went to NOTA. 
Courtesy & source- Millennium Post
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/recently-concluded-polls-an-uphill-task-566771
Politics, Regional

BJP must deliver on promises before 2026 assembly poll, says GNLF

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EOI, DARJEELING, JUNE 5, 2024 :  A day after helping incumbent Raju Bista retain his seat from the Darjeeling constituency in the Lok Sabha election, the Gorkha National Liberation Front sent on Wednesday a message to the BJP to deliver on its promises before the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal or face the possibility of losing its support.

Bista defeated his closest rival Gopal Lama of the Trinamool Congress- Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha by over 160,000 votes. 
“I have said earlier that this will be our last support to the BJP. If they betray us again then the result will not be good for the BJP next time,” GNLF president Mann Ghisingh said. 
Before the Lok Sabha election, the GNLF, one of the primary alliance partners of the BJP, had found itself in an embarrassing situation; with the BJP reluctant to clarify its stand vis a vis the demand for a Gorkhaland state and not mentioning anything about the Gorkha community of the hills in its election manifesto. 
In its 2019 election manifesto, the BJP had said it was committed to finding a permanent political solution for the hills and granting tribal status to the 11 left-out communities. The commitments have not, however, seen the light of day. “
The BJP has to seriously work from day one to deliver on its commitment made to the Gorkhas. Promises have been made and now its time to deliver. Only promises will weaken the faith and trust of the hill people,” Ghisingh said. 
Explaining why he GNLF had kept its trust on the BJP when it had failed to deliver on its promises made since 2009 when it managed to win a seat in West Bengal for the first time from Darjeeling, Ghisingh said it was prudent to put trust and faith on the political party that headed the government at the Centre. 
“The BJP is in the Central government which is highest agency of the country. We have to believe on the BJP to deliver this time around,” said Ghisingh. 
“In the last five years and before we have submitted memorandums and appraised the BJP about our aspirations. The BJP and the Centre are fully aware of our demands. Now they must act,” he said. 
The GNLF president said he would go to Delhi as one of the partners of the NDA alliance, if he received an invitation f from the BJP for the June 8 swearing-in ceremony.
National, Politics, Regional

Congress wins both Lok Sabha seats in strife-torn Manipur

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PTI, NEW DELHI, 5 June 2024: The Congress on Wednesday said the long-suffering people of Manipur have sent a “very powerful signal” by electing its leaders as MPs in both constituencies of the state, and asserted that this was a tribute to Rahul Gandhi’s visits to the violence-hit state.


The Congress won both the Lok Sabha seats in strife-torn Manipur on Tuesday.

Alfred Kanngam S Arthur won the Outer Manipur seat by 85,418 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF.

In the Inner Manipur seat, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam defeated his nearest rival Thounaojam Basantakumar of the BJP by 1,09,801 votes. Akoijam got 3,74,017 votes andSingh received 2,64,216 votes.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The long-suffering people of Manipur, whose resilience and strength has been under major strain since the state began burning on the night of May 3rd 2023, have sent a very powerful signal by electing Congress MPs in both Inner and Outer Manipur.”
It is also a tribute to Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Manipur on June 29 and 30, 2023, and to the launch of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on January 14, 2024 from Thoubal, when the state government refused permission for it to start from Imphal, Ramesh said.

“It is also a tight slap on the face of Mr. Narendra Modi, who simply refused to reach out to the people of Manipur and did not visit the state even for a few hours,” the Congress leader said.

The two Congress MPs have a huge responsibility, and with their election, hopefully, the process of reconciliation will get a big boost, Ramedh added.


Manipur has been strife-torn since May last year when ethnic violence broke out after a march by Kuki tribals in the hill districts to protest against the valley-dominant Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribes status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the communities, including security personnel, have been killed in the continuing violence.

BJP-led government has been in power in the state since 2017.

After the results were announced, state Congress president K Megha chandra said Chief Minister N Biren Singh should take responsibility for what has been happening in the state and resign on moral grounds. 

“We are victorious because of the support of the people who have been suffering. We are thankful to the people for showing their trust in our two candidates who have won with massive margins,” he told reporters at the state Congress headquarters. 

Meghachandra said corruption was the root cause of the prevailing situation in Manipur. “The people have given a strong message through this election. We will definitely make sure that the trust reposed on us by the people will be transformed into work, and we will do what we have said in our manifesto,” he added.

” The government should take responsibility for the present conflict. The chief minister should take moral responsibility and resign,” he said. 

After his victory, Akoijam said his top priority was to ensure that the people displaced in the conflict returned to their homes and lived a normal and dignified life. 

“It is a clear mandate against those people who have threatened Manipur. This is a clear message by the people not to take the state for granted. The people have spoken. I have fought this election for my state. Now we should all come together,” he said. 

“We have a crisis in the state for the one last year. People are homeless. My top priority is to ensure that those people go back and live a normal and dignified life, and this crisis is resolved,” said Akoijam, a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. 

He urged his supporters to restrain themselves from celebrating the victory as along with the conflict the state was hit by a flood. Akoijam’s rival Basanta kumar is a state cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Education, and Law & Legislative Affairs.
Politics, West Bengal

Strategic moves, welfare schemes and minority consolidation help TMC seal huge win

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PTI, Kolkata, Jun 5, 2024 :  The TMC’s victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal was facilitated by strategic manoeuvring, welfare schemes, consolidation of minority support and division of votes.

    
The result solidified the party’s hold over the state ahead of the assembly polls to be held two years later.

Three years after halting the BJP’s advancement in the state in the assembly election, the TMC coasted to another memorable victory in parliamentary elections, defying exit-poll predictions, securing triumph in 29 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.

Despite facing numerous challenges including internal conflicts and scandals such as the school jobs scam and the Sandeshkhali issue which threatened the party’s image, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured a striking victory.

Apart from strategic manoeuvring and minority consolidation, the TMC leaders attributed a critical factor in its success to welfare schemes targeting women like ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ and ‘Kanyashree’, pivotal in securing support from female voters, which compromise 50 per cent of the state electorate, and mitigating the repercussions of corruption allegations while bolstering grassroots backing.

“The people of Bengal restored faith in the developmental politics of the state government. The schemes aimed at the women of the state yielded positive results for us,” TMC MP Sougata Roy, who got elected for the fourth term, told PTI.

Out of the 29 newly TMC MPs, 11 are women which make up 38 per cent of the total party representatives in Lok Sabha.

According to a TMC leader, with the BJP’s tally going down both at the state and its government at the Centre likely to be dependent on allies, “the TMC will further solidify its stronghold over Bengal ahead of the assembly polls in 2026.

A significant aspect of the TMC’s success was its strategic electoral manoeuvring. The breakdown of seat-sharing talks between the TMC and the Congress in January worked to the TMC’s advantage, setting the stage for a three-cornered contest.

This fragmentation of opposition votes allowed the TMC to consolidate nearly 30 per cent of the minority and anti-BJP votes, which proved decisive in many constituencies.

According to TMC leader Santanu Sen, the breakdown of the alliance enabled the party to emerge as the strongest alternative to the BJP in the state.

“The Left and the Congress were decimated. But as we emerged as the strongest alternative to the BJP in the state, we won even in seats which were considered BJP strongholds,” Sen said.

This strategic positioning helped the TMC capture votes that might have otherwise gone to the fragmented opposition.

Local issues like the cancellation of school jobs, and the contentious implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), significantly reshaped election dynamics as the BJP’s propagation of corruption allegations failed to resonate with voters, while the CAA, intended as a BJP electoral strategy, unexpectedly prompted minorities previously undecided between the TMC and the Left-Congress alliance to consolidate behind the Trinamool Congress.

“Once the tainted leaders including Partha Chatterjee, Sahajahan Sheikh, Jyotipriyo Mullick were put behind bars, the allegations of corruption subsided and took the winds away from the corruption narrative of the BJP,” political analyst Maidul Islam said.

Mamata Banerjee’s comments against certain sections of the Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha, and the OBC reservation issue, where the Calcutta High Court recently struck down the OBC status of several classes including 77 Muslim communities, helped solidify the TMC’s minority support base.

People belonging to the minority community helped TMC sweep Muslim-majority pockets in the southern region of West Bengal while the division of their votes facilitated BJP’s victories in the northern part of the state, political analysts said.

Several parliamentary seats in both north and south Bengal, such as Raiganj, Cooch Behar, Balurghat, Malda North, Malda South, Murshidabad, Diamond Harbour, Uluberia, Howrah, Birbhum, Kanthi, Tamluk, Mathurapur and Joynagar, have significant Muslim populations.

The BJP retained Balurghat, Raiganj and Malda North, riding on the division of minority votes between the Left-Congress combine and the TMC, an analyst said.

“In south Bengal, the TMC, as expected, performed well in minority belts. But in some seats in north Bengal, the party faced tough competition from the Left-Congress alliance for a bigger pie of the minority votes,” Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said.

Although these issues intensified communal polarization, they also helped the TMC reach out to liberal and elite Bengalis who had been drifting towards the Left and Congress.

“These issues also helped the TMC reach the 2-3 per cent Bengali elite and liberals, which just like 2021 in 2024 helped the TMC in the fight against the BJP,” Islam 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 of votes it received in 2019.

The BJP, on the other hand, registered a vote share of 38.73 per cent in the state this time around which, also unlike what the pollsters had predicted, was down by over two per cent compared to the 40.6 per cent votes it received five years ago.
National, Politics

Kharge invites parties to join INDIA bloc after meeting with alliance leaders

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Kharge invites parties to join INDIA bloc

PTI, New Delhi, Jun 5, 2024 : The INDIA bloc would welcome all parties that share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble of Constitution, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday at the first meeting of the opposition grouping after its impressive gains in Lok Sabha polls.

     
Addressing the opposition leaders who converged at his residence, Kharge said all INDIA alliance partners fought well, unitedly and resolutely.
     
“The mandate is decisively against Mr Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well. However, he is determined to subvert the will of the people,” he said.
     
“The INDIA alliance welcomes all parties which share its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice,” the Congress chief said in his opening remarks.
     
Thanking the INDIA bloc partners, he said, “I welcome all INDIA alliance partners. We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely.”