National, Politics

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

Leave a comment
 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

Leave a comment
 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

Leave a comment
 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

Leave a comment
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

Leave a comment
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…’

Leave a comment

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
Crime, Regional

Man gets 10 yrs rigorous jail in POCSO case

Leave a comment

MP, 6 June 2024, Jalpaiguri: The Jalpaiguri POCSO Court sentenced one Sanjiv Das (25 years at the time of arrest) to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl, leading to pregnancy. 

Judge Induvar Tripathi pronounced the verdict on Wednesday. The accused was fined Rs 5,000 along with three months’ additional imprisonment for non-payment. 
Debashish Dutta, special assistant public prosecutor, mentioned that the incident took place in May 2015 in Jalpaiguri. 
Following this, a complaint was lodged at a police station and the accused was arrested. 
As many as nine witnesses were examined in the case. 
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/pocso-case-man-gets-10-yrs-rigorous-jail-566775
Regional

3 killed as car rolls 500 feet from hill near Lava

Leave a comment

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, JUNE 5, 2024 : Three people were killed on the spot early on Wednesday when a Maruti vehicle which was coming from Patharjhora in Doors and going to Fikle in Kalimpong Sangse via Lava, fell almost 500 feet down the road after the driver lost control. 

Driver Divesh Chhetri (34), Bimal Chhetri (35) and Abhivan Chhetri, a three-month-old child, died on the spot.
Bimal Chhetri’s wife Neha Tamang Chhetri (24) and Abhi Chhetri (4) were seriously injured in the incident. Neha Tamang Chhetri is currently undergoing treatment at Kalimpong District Hospital, while Abhi Chhetri has been referred to North Bengal Medical College, Siliguri, from Kalimpong District Hospital for treatment. 
The bodies of those who died in the incident were sent to the Kalimpong District Hospital for post-mortem and later handed over to the family. 
Lava police station in-charge Prateek Subba, Pedong CI Partho Roy along with a police team reached the spot at midnight and retrieved the bodies and rescued the injured passengers with the help of local people
Politics, Regional

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

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment
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.”
Politics, West Bengal

Mamata to hold meeting with newly elected Trinamool MPs on Saturday

Leave a comment

PTI, Kolkata, Jun 5, 2024 :  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called a meeting of newly elected Lok Sabha MPs of TMC on Saturday, party sources said.

    
The TMC maintained its dominance in the state as Banerjee led her party to a resounding victory by bagging 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, whereas the principal opposition BJP was down to 12 and the Congress to one seat.

“The party supremo has convened a meeting of our newly elected MPs on Saturday. During the meeting, the political situation will be discussed,” a TMC leader said.

Banerjee had walked out of the INDIA bloc in West Bengal in January but asserted that the TMC would continue to be part of the opposition alliance at the national level.
National, Politics

Modi all set for 3rd term as PM: NDA leaders meet at his residence

Leave a comment
 The resolution said the NDA government will continue working to lift people’s living standards for the country’s all-round development while conserving its heritage


PTI, New Delhi, Jun 05 2024 : Preparing to take oath for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s members who unanimously elected him as its leader.
 
NDA MPs will meet on June 7 to formally elect Modi as their leader and the alliance leaders will then go to the President to submit their letters of support, HAM (Secular) leader and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said after attending the meeting.
 
The new government may be sworn in over the weekend, some sources said, adding that there is a view to wrap up the formalities quickly to not allow any mood of uncertainty to build up, something a buoyant opposition may push.
How soon the BJP and its allies reach an agreement on matters like the share of ministries each party may get and other terms of negotiations could also be a factor in deciding the timing of the swearing-in or they could put off the tricky issues for resolution at a later stage.

TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan, JD(S) leader H D Kumarawamy, Jana Sena’s Pawan Kalyan, AGP’s Atul Bora and NCP’s Praful Patel were among the 21 leaders from 16 parties who attended the meeting besides Modi and BJP’s Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda.
 
Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Jha, who was present in the meeting, said the formalities related to the formation of the government at the Centre under Modi are expected to be over soon.
 
All parties expressed confidence in Modi’s leadership, he added.
 
A resolution passed at the meeting said the NDA government will continue working to lift people’s living standards for the country’s all-round development while conserving its heritage.
 
“We are all proud that the NDA fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls unitedly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and won. We all NDA leaders unanimously elect Narendra Modi as our leader,” it added.

The resolution also said that people have seen the country being developed in every sector in the last 10 years due to the pro-people policies of the NDA government under Modi.
 
The NDA has won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha election, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member House, paving the way for Modi to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.
 
However, it will be a different act for him this time as the BJP has fallen well short of the majority and depends on allies for the government-formation after enjoying a comfortable majority on its own in the previous two terms of his government.
 
Hosting the meeting, the BJP presented a picture of collective partnership with its allies with Naidu, Kumar and Shinde seated to the left of Modi while Nadda, Singh and Shah flanked the prime minster on his right.

In terms of their parties’ strength, Naidu, Kumar and Shinde are the three biggest NDA constituents in that order after the BJP.
The parties of Naidu and Kumar, who together command the support of 28 MPs, have rubbished speculation on their future moves. Naidu has reiterated his support to the BJP, a view echoed by JD(U)’s Jha as well.
 
Asked by a reporter if he is in the NDA, Naidu shot back,”We contested the elections together. Why do you doubt.” All leaders congratulated the PM for his leadership and the strides our nation has made under him. They appreciated the PM’s hard work and efforts in nation-building, he said.

Modi said at the meeting that it was a historic mandate for the NDA’s third consecutive government which, he noted, was last received in the country over 60 years back.
 
His allies lauded Modi for his clear vision for “Viksit Bharat” and asserted that they are partners in this goal.
 
They also praised him for enhancing India’s pride in the world, besides his efforts towards poverty eradication and pledged to continue the good work, the sources said. 
Politics, West Bengal

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Sweeps Bengal: Claims 29 Seats Out of 42, Deals Blow to BJP

Leave a comment
Despite its tall claims about ‘uprooting’ the Trinamool Congress from Bengal and getting ’30-plus seats’, the BJP ended a poor second with 12 seats and 39 per cent votes

Devadeep Purohit, TT, 5.06.24 : Trinamool has vanquished the BJP in Bengal cornering around 46 per cent votes and bagging 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, cementing Mamata Banerjee’s position as the country’s most formidable Opposition leader for the second time in three years after the 2021 Assembly polls.

Despite its tall claims about “uprooting” the Trinamool Congress from Bengal and getting “30-plus seats”, the BJP ended a poor second with 12 seats and 39 per cent votes.
As in 2021, Mamata has beaten heavy odds at a time when most pundits and pollsters had written her off following the corruption scandals engulfing her party and the Sandeshkhali charges of atrocities on women.

The chief minister braved age and injury to crisscross the whole of Bengal, addressing 107 rallies and 20-odd road shows, to eventually have the last laugh.

“Bengal was tortured the most…. They inflicted the CBI, ED, income-tax department and even the media,” Mamata said at a news conference at her 30B Harish Chatterjee Street home on Tuesday evening, while listing the challenges she had been up against.

“They used the courts to take away the jobs of 26,000 people. Then the OBC certificates of about 15 lakh people were cancelled.”

She also cited other constraints, from the central agencies’ role to the money power the BJP brought into play against her party.

“They threatened my ministers, my MLAs, my councillors…. They sent money to buy us, but still couldn’t do anything,” she said, with nephew and political heir apparent Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s all-India general secretary, by her side.

This election has witnessed Abhishek’s rise as Trinamool’s principal poll strategist, a task performed by Prashant Kishor in 2021. Abhishek played a key role in picking the candidates and working out the campaign planks.

The Bengal verdict holds significance for both the state and beyond. It means the BJP, which won just 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections, will have to make a fresh start for the 2026 battle.

The BJP had fielded its topmost leaders in the Bengal campaign, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressing 22 rallies since the polls were announced.

While Modi’s personal appeal didn’t work, the results also flagged the BJP’s organisational weakness in Bengal.

Multiple sources in the BJP said the murmurs of discontent against senior state leaders, heard in the party office on Tuesday afternoon, would only grow louder now with demands for some heads to roll.

“Our organisational weakness, caused by factionalism, is well-known. This drubbing will surely make things more difficult for us as factionalism will intensify in the coming months,” a BJP insider said.

The Bengal outcome is likely to have ripples in Delhi, too. Although Mamata made it clear she “didn’t want anything” — pre-empting questions on whether she wanted to lead the INDIA bloc if the NDA failed to form the government — her growing stature in national politics is beyond doubt. “I will certainly help the INDIA team. I have already spoken to so many people. I invite others to the INDIA team. I will try to see Modi is out. I want to keep the country safe,” she said.

Mamata is unlikely to go to Delhi in a hurry to meet the INDIA partners: she is sending Abhishek to Wednesday’s huddle in the capital. But there is little doubt that the next steps taken by the fledgling alliance would bear a strong Kalighat imprint.

Reason for win

After analysing the state and national poll outcomes through the day with Abhishek, Mamata emerged for the news conference immediately after Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge wrapped up their media interaction in Delhi.

In her trademark style, she was at her humble best, quoting from Tagore in her opening remarks. “I thank the people of Bengal and will forever be indebted to all of you,” she said with bowed head.

She also thanked the voters for not giving any credence to the BJP’s narrative of sexual abuse of women in Sandeshkhali. “They tried to defame Bengal in front of the country on the Sandeshkhali issue…. I thank the people for foiling their plan,” she said.

She cited no specific reasons for the Trinamool sweep. Several analysts said that Lakshmir Bhandar — the Rs 1,000 monthly assistance scheme for general-caste women and Rs 1,200 for SC/ST women — was a big reason for her victory.

That Mamata had the women voters’ support was apparent from the turnout data released by the Election Commission, which showed 81.22 per cent women, against 77.96 per cent men, had voted in the first six phases.

When this correspondent asked Mamata whether she owed the victory to this specific scheme, her reply implied she owed it to all sections of society. “Lakshmi, Saraswati, Rehana, Maria, they all are my friends,” she said, underscoring the inclusive character of her politics.

Mamata’s tireless attempt at projecting a secular and inclusive model of governance has been an important reason behind her party’s success in a state with around 30 per cent Muslim voters.

“The fishermen, the workers, the youths, they all are my friends. I have earmarked 10 lakh jobs for the people of the state,” she said, stressing her commitment to job creation.

Another reason could be the state government’s decision to use its own money to pay the over 59 lakh MGNREGA workers denied wages because the Centre had frozen funds over alleged irregularities.

Trinamool’s narrative was that the Centre had stopped sending funds under various schemes out of anger at failing to win the 2021 Assembly polls.
National, Politics

Elected in numbers: An inspired Opposition

Leave a comment
Modi is still leader of the treasury benches in the Lok Sabha but the electorate has sent him back leashed by the limitation of his numbers and at the mercy of his allies
Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi flash the victory sign after Rahul won from Rae Bareli and Wayanad on Tuesday.: PTI picture

Sankarshan Thakur, TT, 05.06.24 : PEOPLE’S POWER: Hubris has a habit of returning to haunt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who proclaimed himself “not biological” but “sent by God” mid-May, has been found to be a mortal among us, shrinkable at no more than a jab of the finger. Modi’s “400-paar” vanity has been shredded, the NDA lost wind short of 300, the BJP has lost its majority in the Lok Sabha.

Modi is still leader of the treasury benches in the Lok Sabha but the electorate has sent him back leashed by the limitation of his numbers and at the mercy of his allies.

The Indian voter has heaved out a breath; that breath has punctured the pretence of Modi’s invincibility and scattered the ambitions of cultist absolutism. The 2024 verdict has effected corrections on the democracy scale, bringing in a spirited and inspired Opposition which may yet not count itself out of the power stakes in New Delhi.

The Congress, spearhead of the INDIA bloc, has not overruled the possibility of adventurist intervention in the rattled NDA ranks, trying to wean away Modi allies like Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh and Nitish Kumar of Bihar, and leaving him even more emaciated.

But Modi, diminished beyond expectation, emerged from daylong silence betraying not a shaken nerve, wearing a brave demeanour instead and brazenly claiming a historic win.

“People have placed their faith in the NDA for a third consecutive time!” he exclaimed on X. “This is a historical (sic) feat in India’s history. I bow to the Janata Janardan for this affection and assure them that we will continue the good work done in the last decade to keep fulfilling the aspirations of the people.”

The Prime Minister arrived at the BJP headquarters in Delhi mid-evening to a surreal, almost farcical, tableau of celebration that must have been curated in the expectation of a huge mandate. Modi, his face frown-ridden, his margin of victory in Varanasi drastically slashed, walked up to the stage, waving to gathered party workers in a hail of rose petals and golden confetti. The tone of the evening beggared the tone of the verdict.

Modi must be acutely aware, though, that his forthcoming stint in power will be unlike any other terms he has held, either as chief minister of Gujarat or as Prime Minister since 2014. Few would dispute that his persona and political mien — unlike the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s — are not tailored to the demands of coalitions and consensus-building. Neither is going to be easy with an Opposition that has rediscovered spirit and heft.

The Opposition waged its campaign pushed to the wall and braving unprecedented odds.

Two chief ministers were arrested as electioneering gathered momentum, the threat of raids or arrest by agencies like the ED and CBI hung over many others in the INDIA ranks.

The Congress’s bank accounts were briefly frozen and IT indemnities slapped on the party, formations like the Shiv Sena and the NCP were splintered and verdicts twisted in smash and grab adventures.

But they stayed the course, determined not to be trapped into the BJP’s discourse, intent on voicing their own concerns — the peril to the Constitution if the BJP was granted its “400-paar” demand, the hollowing out of key institutions and agencies, the fraud pulled off by the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme, the many concerns over national security including the reverses in eastern Ladakh and the rollout of the Agnipath scheme.

The Prime Minister and his senior colleagues — Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda in the main — lavished disdain upon the Opposition and made arrogant claims of a sweeping victory way ahead of the the pronouncement of the people.

The night the laughably off-the-mark exit polls were broadcast, Modi claimed from his off-shore retreat in Kanyakumari: “I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to elect the NDA government…. They have seen our track record and the manner in which our work has brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, marginalised and downtrodden.”

People in large parts of the nation have rebuffed that claim and posted their rejection. Nowhere as emphatically as in the key heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, land of the Ayodhya temple and chief minister Adityanath’s unabashed majoritarian bulldozer politics.

Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) scored a spectacular rally in UP and, in league with the Congress, left the BJP licking sore wounds. Akhilesh and wife Dimple won their seats handsomely; the Congress’s Kishori Lal Sharma, a relatively unknown manager of the Gandhi family interests in their pocketborough, drubbed the fancied Smriti Irani, and Rahul Gandhi took Rae Bareli.

But there was a larger message ringing out of UP — that divisive politics predicated on minority bashing doesn’t always pay dividends, especially not in the absence of essential delivery to the people.

As reporters of The Telegraph reported consistently from multiple datelines during the campaign, there was extreme distress and unease on the ground — over unemployment, over prices, over the widening gulf between the rich and the poor, which has become easily visible thanks to communication technology.

In several pockets, such as eastern UP, where Modi himself contests from, the anger was palpable. “Modi ki guarantee” had become a slogan that not only evoked ire on the ground, it became a thing to mock.

As an entrepreneur in Varanasi told me: “How long can one live off lies and promises? How much more of this mandir-masjid must be fed? Okay, forget the Rs 15 lakh in each account, accepted it was a jumla; but what happened to achchhe din? Don’t know what will happen in this election, but things are no longer the same.”

Likewise, a youngster in Gh­azipur close to Varanasi said: “Lagega jhatka, time aagaya vote ka tamacha lagane ka, bhaashan, bhaashan, bhaashan.”

Now we know.
Politics, West Bengal

Krishnanagar Seat Landslide Victory for Mahua; Reclaims Honor Post Parliament Suspension

Leave a comment

MP, 5 June 2024, Kolkata: The electoral battle in Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday ended with the people of the constituency rejecting ‘regality’ as the BJP’s candidate ‘Rajbarir Rajmata’ Amrita Roy was trumped by Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Mahua Moitra who had vowed to avenge her “wrongful suspension” from the “saffron brigade-dominated Parliament”. 

For Amrita Roy, who belongs to the Krishnanagar royal family, the proverb ‘morning shows the day’ apparently eluded her. Roy, though was leading from the constituency in the morning, quickly fell behind as Mahua Moitra’s vote began to climb. 
By afternoon, Moitra was leading with 57,083 votes and she eventually emerged victorious with 56705 votes compared to Roy who gained 5,67,628 votes. A
With her party workers raising slogans, Moitra told the media that she is happy that the BJP received a “deserving blow” in Bengal. She said only the people of Bengal can teach the (PM) Modi-led BJP a lesson. 
“The country does not deserve such a Prime Minister who is a liar,” Moitra said. Criticising the BJP’s “regal invocation” by choosing to field a candidate from a royal family, Moitra, during her campaign earlier, had said: “We are living in an independent democratic country where people of Bengal only recognise one “raja” (king) which is Raja Ram Mohan Roy and one “rani” (queen) Rani Rashmoni. 
Apart from them, who is a king or queen in this independent democratic country I do not know.” Political analysts pointed out that BJP’s trump card of getting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call his party’s candidate Amrita Roy did little to propel her in her first quest to win an electoral battle. 
In the telephonic conversation that was made viral, PM Modi was purportedly heard promising that he would return all the money that was looted from the poor and attached by the Enforcement Directorate. 
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/mahua-sweeps-the-krishnanagar-seat-avenges-wrongful-suspension-from-parl-566614
error: Content is protected !!
Exit mobile version