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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.”
National, Politics

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

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 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. 
National, Politics

Elected in numbers: An inspired Opposition

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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.
National, Politics

BJP wins 240 seats, Congress 99, all Seats Declared,

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Results and trends indicate that the National Democratic Alliance is set to secure 291 Lok Sabha seats, while the INDIA alliance is expected to have a tally of 234.

PTI  |  June 05, 2024, New Delhi  :

 The Election Commission of India has declared results for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99.
The result for the Beed constituency in Maharashtra — where the NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate Bajrang Manohar Sonwane is leading the BJP’s Pankaja Munde — is still awaited.

While the Lok Sabha has 543 members, counting was held for 542 seats after the BJP’s Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed.

According to the results declared early on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.

The BJP, whose candidates contested in the name of Modi, won in 240 seats, falling short of the 272 majority mark and needing the support of allies in the party-led NDA for government formation, a far cry from the 303 and 282 seats it had won in 2019 and 2014, respectively, to have a majority on its own.
With support from key allies N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA crossed the halfway mark.

The Congress, which is part of the opposition INDIA bloc, won 99 seats compared to 52 it won in 2019, eating into the BJP’s share in Rajasthan and Haryana.

As the Samajwadi Party kept the INDIA bloc’s morale high in Uttar Pradesh with 37 seats, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), another key member of the opposition alliance, won 29 seats in West Bengal, higher than its 2019 tally of 22. The BJP, which had won 18 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections, won 12 seats.

The results did not throw up a landslide victory the BJP-led NDA had hoped for and what was projected by the exit polls.
More than 640 million votes were to be counted in the world’s largest democratic exercise, conducted from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases.
National, Politics

Priyanka: Cong talisman who countered Modi

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 4, 2024 : She scoffed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s barbs by delivering her own piercing jibes. She revived painful memories of her father’s assassination to emphasise her family’s sacrifices and patriotism. Drawing immense crowds in rally after rally, she emerged as the mobiliser-in-chief for her party.


With the Congress putting up a surprisingly good show in the Lok Sabha polls, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has cemented her position as her party’s talisman.

“The Congress for a long time was in search of an effective campaigner and in the 2024 elections Priyanka Gandhi has been a revelation in the way she has responded to Modi. Priyanka Gandhi showed Modi can be countered and played a key role pan-India,” said Rasheed Kidwai, who has authored several books, including “24 Akbar Road: A Short History Of The People Behind The Fall And Rise Of The Congress”.

The INDIA bloc may end up falling short of the magic mark to form government but gave the country an opposition to contend with. At 3 pm, trends showed it ahead in 230 seats and the Congress leading in 98 seats, almost double of what it got last time. Priyanka Gandhi in large part was at the centre of the Congress’ action, giving a number of enduring images from this election campaign.

Who can forget her emotional outburst in Bengaluru when she lashed out at Prime Minister Modi over his “gold and mangalsutra” remarks, saying her mother Sonia Gandhi sacrificed her “mangalsutra” for the country.

The speculation was intense as was the spotlight on everything she said. But the Congress general secretary did not take the electoral plunge this time, opting instead to be the party’s go-to star campaigner and anchor for the elections in Rae Bareli, from where her brother contested, and Amethi, where the family’s aide Kishori Lal Sharma took on Union minister Smriti Irani.

Irani was trailing behind Sharma by more than 95,000 votes, giving the relatively unknown Sharma an easy win. Rahul Gandhi was poised to win with trends showing him ahead by 2.86 lakh votes.

Much of this is attributed to Priyanka Gandhi, who stayed camped in the two family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi for two weeks. If there was ever a non-playing captain in the rough and tumble that is the electoral arena it has to be the leader who was here, there and everywhere in the two constituencies.
     
Discussing her childhood, the pain of her father Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and her mother’s grief, she steered the Congress campaign, adroitly walking the tightrope between striking a familial chord and discussing national level issues.

The spotlight firmly on her, Priyanka Gandhi was strategist, orator and mass mobiliser.

As the curtains came down on Election 2024, analysts totted up the numbers. She took part in 108 public meetings and roadshows. She also gave more than 100 media bites, one TV interview and five print interviews during her marathon election campaign.

She campaigned in 16 states and one union territory. Priyanka Gandhi also addressed two conferences of workers in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

At a packed party workers’ meeting in Amethi, the Congress leader narrated the story of a woman sitting in the audience who wanted to educate her daughter but her father-in-law was against it. Undeterred, she stitched sari falls to fund her daughter’s education and managed to make her a graduate.

Priyanka Gandhi told the woman that she was inspired by her and then called her over to sit on stage. There were plenty of smiles all around and a few cheers too as the audience responded to a meeting that appeared to go beyond being just politics.

It was just one of the many instances in the campaign during which Priyanka Gandhi went on a charm offensive with speeches centred around anecdotes from past elections — when she campaigned for her mother Sonia Gandhi or brother Rahul, or from her childhood when she accompanied her father Rajiv Gandhi who fought multiple elections from Amethi.

In one meeting, she said she would fast for her father’s safety after he lost power and was in the opposition.

“I started keeping ‘maun vrats’ and my father asked why I was doing it on Sundays and told me, ‘it is the only day when I get some time to speak with you’,” Priyanka Gandhi narrated.

In her well-attended corner meetings, she sometimes talked about her mother’s pain when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. “I have never seen my mother smile like she used to when my father was around.”

Most of her speeches were akin to a conversation with the crowd, establishing a connect and giving people the impression that this is someone they know, someone sharing her feelings and thoughts with them.

Accountability was a constant refrain in her campaign speeches across the country. In her campaign speeches, Priyanka Gandhi also made it a point to appeal to people to not vote on emotive issues based on religion and caste and vote for bread and butter issues to improve their daily lives.

Political observers say Priyanka Gandhi took on Modi and countered his attacks on the Congress during her whirlwind campaign.

Going forward, her role in the party would be in focus as the wait continues for her electoral debut. If the Congress has to build on its pluses this election, she will have to be more hands-on in future with a bigger organisational role perhaps. 
National, Politics

INDIA gains 11% in Hindi heartland, NDA loses 13% votes in West,

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INDIA gains 11% in Hindi heartland, NDA loses 13% votes in West,

PTI, New Delhi, Jun 4, 2024 :  The INDIA alliance made a major comeback in several politically crucial Hindi heartland states on Tuesday with its constituent Samajwadi Party registering a significant resurgence in Uttar Pradesh and the bloc making steady headway in Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand.


However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP-led alliance is set to retain power for a third consecutive term but not with an overwhelming majority as predicted by various exit polls.

According to results and trends, the National Democratic Alliance is set to get 291 Lok Sabha seats while the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) is expected to have a tally of 234.

The most unexpected performance put up by the INDIA was in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party has won in 30 seats and was marching ahead in seven more while Congress came out victorious in six constituencies.

The BJP won in 29 seats and is leading in four while its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal won in two constituencies and Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) came out victorious in one each.

The opposition bloc’s performance in Uttar Pradesh is being seen as a big surprise for the BJP that had almost swept the polls in 2014 with a stunning performance of coming out victorious in 71 seats and held its ground in 2019 by winning 62.
    
In 2019, the Samajwadi Party won in five seats, Congress in one and Bahujan Samaj Party in 10.

The Indian alliance also made significant gains in Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand but could not spring a surprise in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.

In Rajasthan, BJP won in 14 seats, while Congress came out victorious in eight while CPI(M), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Bharat Adivasi Party scored one seat each.

The BJP had won all the 25 seats in the 2019 polls.

The INDIA alliance also made inroads into Bihar with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning in two seats and marching ahead in two more while Congress emerged victorious in three seats and CPI(ML) in two seats.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won in 26 seats with BJP scoring 10 and ahead in two, JD(U) winning in 11 and ahead in 1 and Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) winning four and ahead in one seat.

In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar with BJP coming out victorious in 17 seats, JD(U) in 16 and Lok Janshakti Party in six.

In Haryana, both Congress and BJP won three seats each and ahead in two each. The BJP had won all 10 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In Jharkhand too, INDIA alliance’s Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won one and three seats respectively. The Congress is ahead in one seat. BJP’s ally AJSU Party won one seat.

The BJP won six seat and ahead in two more.

The BJP won 11 seats in 2019 polls while its ally All Jharkhand Students Union came out victorious in one seat. The JMM and Congress won one seat each.

The NDA continued its dominance in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

The BJP won all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and all four seats in Himachal Pradesh.

In Delhi, it won five seats and is ahead in two.

The BJP is all set to sweep Uttarakhand as it won three seats in the state while marching ahead in the remaining two seats.

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP won eight seats and is leading in two more while Congress won in one.

In 2019, BJP won 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh while Congress won one. In that year, the BJP had won all four seats in Himachal Pradesh, all five in Uttarakhand, all seven in Delhi and nine out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh.

Congress won two seats in Chhattisgarh in 2019.

In total, the Hindi heartland states comprise 225 Lok Sabha seats.
National, Politics

Poll results mandate against PM Modi Kharge

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 4, 2024 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections was a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a political and moral defeat for him.

    
Addressing a press conference here, he termed the results as victory of the people and of democracy.

The BJP-led NDA was ahead in over 290 seats, while the opposition INDIA bloc was leading in 232 parliamentary seats.

“This is the victory of the people and that of democracy. We had been saying that this was a fight between the people and Modi. We humbly accept the people’s mandate,” Kharge told reporters at the AICC headquarters flanked by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

Kharge said the voters had not given a complete majority to any single party, particularly the BJP that sought votes on the basis of ‘one person, one face’.

“The voters have not given a clear mandate to any single party. This mandate is against Modi. This is his political and moral defeat. It is a big defeat for a person who sought votes in his own name. He has suffered a moral setback,” he said.

Kharge said Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra reached out to lakhs of people and supported the election campaign.

He said the Congress and INDIA bloc contested the elections in adverse circumstances and accused the BJP-led government of capturing constitutional institutions to create hurdles in the path of the opposition.

“Our bank accounts were seized and a campaign was launched against our leaders. Yet, the Congress carried out a positive election campaign raising issues such as inflation, unemployment, farmers’ and workers’ distress, misuse of Constitutional institutions,” Kharge said.

He said people connected with the Congress on these issues and clearly understood the campaign launched by the prime minister.

“People very well understood the lies spread by Modi about the Congress manifesto,” Kharge said.

He said the arrogance of the BJP led to the capture of constitutional institutions, which were used to target political opponents.

“Those who felt the pressure joined them, while those who resisted found their parties in disarray and leaders in jail,” he said.

“People were confident that if Modi was given another term, the next assault would be on the Constitution and democracy,” Kharge said, adding that the evidence of this will be seen in the upcoming Parliament session.

He thanked the INDIA bloc partners for standing together, campaigning jointly and helping each other.

“In the coming days, we have to fight to protect the rights of the people, to protect the Constitution and democracy, the progress of the country and to secure the borders. We have to ensure that Parliament runs smoothly and issues raised by the opposition get priority, they are discussed in parliament,” Kharge said. 
National, Politics

Modi gets majority; with partners as props :Oppn INDIA bloc gets 232 as Cong bounces back

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 4, 2024 :  The BJP was poised to be the single largest party on Tuesday but could be well short of an absolute majority, leaving it dependent on its NDA partners to form government, while the opposition INDIA bloc appeared set to be a formidable force.

As votes were counted for the Lok Sabha elections and the hours passed by, the trends did not show up the clear-cut picture the ruling alliance had hoped for and what was projected by the exit polls.

Signifying a shift in the dominance of single-party rule and back to coalition politics, the BJP was ahead or had won in 246 seats, well below the magic number of 272 in the house of 543. The NDA number was 300. At the other end of the spectrum, the INDIA bloc was ahead in 227 seats with the Congress leading or winning in 96 seats, almost double its 2019 score.

In the last elections, the BJP had 303 seats on its own, while NDA had over 350.

Narendra Modi was on track to equal Jawaharlal Nehru’s record as prime minister for a third consecutive term but this time with far reduced numbers as his BJP took a knocking in Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party could trump it, Rajasthan and Haryana and did not make the gains it expected in the south.

With plenty of greys in a scenario that was expected to be black and white, few leaders spoke up immediately.

BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said, “It is not a close contest. The BJP-led NDA is going to form its government with a massive majority. Let the counting finish, it will be clear. People of the country are with Modi.”

Congress’ Jairam Ramesh took the opportunity to hit out at Modi saying, “He used to pretend that he was extraordinary.”

“Now it has been proved that the outgoing prime minister is going to become former. Take moral responsibility and resign. This is the message of this election,” he said in a post on X.

Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most politically significant state with 80 seats, threw up a stunning verdict.

The alliance of SP and Congress turned the tables on the BJP in its strongest bastion by ensuring a consolidation of anti-BJP votes, limiting the party to leads in only 36 seats as against 62 it had won last time. The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP was close behind with leads in 34 seats, a massive jump from the five in 2019. The Congress could win six seats.

Modi was ahead by 1.52 lakh votes in Varanasi. However, his party colleague Smriti Irani was trailing behind Congress candidate and the relatively unknown Gandhi family aide Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi by more than 1.31 lakh votes.

Among those leading from the state, where Yogi Adityanath had steered the Hindutva ship for his party, were Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow and Akhilesh Yadav from Kannauj.

As SP chief Akhilesh Yadav kept the INDIA bloc morale high in Uttar Pradesh, the Trinamool Congress, another key ally of the opposition alliance, was leading in 29 seats in West Bengal, a tad higher than its 22 in 2019. The BJP, which had 18 seats in the last Lok Sabha election, was ahead in 12 seats.

Madhya Pradesh went fully saffron with the BJP winning or leading in all 29 seats. In Gujarat, too, BJP was winning or leading in 25 of 26 seats.

The situation was not as decisive in other states.

In Bihar, the BJP was ahead in 12 and its partner JD-U in 13, a vote of confidence for its leader Nitish Kumar who swung from INDIA back to the NDA ahead of the elections. The RJD was poised to win four seats.

In Rajasthan, BJP was ahead only in 14 seats, against all 25 its alliance won last time. The Congress was ahead in eight.

Haryana also threw up a shock result for the BJP, where the party was leading only in five and the Congress in five. In 2019, the saffron party had bagged all 10.

It appeared that the election marked a return to regular politics, where voters were more concerned about bread and butter issues, especially in some Hindi heartland states where the opposition INDIA alliance managed to rally supporters around the issues of unemployment and price rise.

Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, saw the Shiv Sena split down the middle since the last election. The BJP, which won 23 seats five years ago, was down with leads in 11 seats, while its ally Shiv Sena could get seven.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Congress was ahead in 12 seats, up from one, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in 19. The NCP Sharad Pawar faction could get seven seats, giving the INDIA alliance, forged together by the common dislike of the BJP, a possible 38 seats.

However, a silver lining was provided by Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal who appeared on course to easy victories in Nagpur and Mumbai North respectively.

In Odisha, the BJP was doing spectacularly well, with leads in 19 out of 21 seats, while the ruling Biju Janata Dal was down to just one. It was also ahead in the Odisha assembly elections, leading in 76 out of 146 seats, a success show in the state it had never succeeded in capturing.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP was ahead in 16 seats of 25, the BJP in three and the YSRCP in four.

Trends for Karnataka showed potential gains for the Congress, with leads in nine seats, up from one last time. The BJP, which got 25 seats in 2019, was ahead in 17.

Deeper south in Kerala, the BJP could make its much debated electoral entry with trends showing actor Suresh Gopi way ahead in Thrissur. The Congress, which got 15 seats last time, was ahead in 14, including in Wayanad from where Rahul Gandhi was contesting. The CPI-M had gains in one.

Tamil Nadu seemed to be scripting another story, not ceding any space to the saffron party. The ruling DMK was ahead in 22 and ally Congress in nine, a notch higher than their 2019 positions.

Assembly elections also wrote their own narrative.

In Odisha, Naveen Patnaik-led BJD was headed for an unexpected defeat, stymieing Patnaik’s bid for a record sixth term as chief minister. The BJP established early leads in at least 79 assembly seats in Odisha. The BJD nominees, on the other hand, were leading in 48 constituencies 147 assembly seats in the state.

In Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party raced towards power with leads in 135 seats in the house of 175, poised to dislodge Y S Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP, which was ahead only in 11 seats. The BJP had leads in eight seats.

National

Important to critique, record and lift veil from journalism: Ravish Kumar

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The documentary records Ravish’s last months in NDTV India where he constantly battled staff exodus, doxing, abuse and death threats during the course of his anchoring and reporting.
PTI, New Delhi, Jun 3, 2024 : If a housing society starts to collapse, people start looking for better options and move out, says journalist aThe documentary records Ravish’s last months in NDTV India where he constantly battled staff exodus, doxing, abuse and death threats during the course of his anchoring and reporting.nd YouTube star Ravish Kumar about the debate over the decline of mainstream media and the rise of alternatives.
     
The schisms between different kinds of journalism and alternative platforms that have come up in the last few years are no longer a matter of discussion just for media insiders. From village squares to big city drawing rooms, the issue has been dissected thoroughly, more so in these elections. And, according to Ravish, this is being recorded whether through documentaries or song.
     
The journalist, who has over 10 million followers on his YouTube channel and is considered a trailblazer, is also the central protagonist of Vinay Shukla’s riveting 2022 documentary “While We Watched”.
     
“If a housing society starts to collapse, people start moving to a better one. It is not like it is no longer needed. Which is why you will find the reflection of the times in many films, songs and in other ways,” Ravish told PTI in an interview.
     
“I don’t see this documentary as the story of one journalist. I can’t even see myself in it. I see different things, sometimes I remove myself and imagine a female protagonist or a journalist like Siddique Kappan (who spent two years in jail) and the story starts to appear more horrific,” he said.
     
Vinay’s documentary, which has fans such satirist-host John Oliver, won a Peabody award last month. It records Ravish’s last months in NDTV India where he constantly battled staff exodus, doxing, abuse and death threats during the course of his anchoring and reporting.
     
The 49-year-old, one of the most recognised faces in Hindi journalism, said he sees the documentary as a sort of “intervention” as it focuses on recording the near beginning of the crisis in his profession.
     
He said people in journalism know the decline it has suffered and how the larger picture is disturbing.
     
“Many have stopped watching news on television and they are searching for alternative mediums. I am not going into the merits or disadvantages of the alternative medium but the work that’s being done… for example, people who worked on the story of electoral bonds, were from alternative media,” he said, adding that he worries about new journalists joining mainstream journalism.
     
“Vinay keeps saying that more than one film is needed to record this process in depth,” he said, giving the example of senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s songs on ‘Godi media’, a term that has come to be associated with those supporting the government.
     
“… most senior journalists, what are they doing? Their work is mostly the critique of the profession… At least, it is being recorded which is a good thing. It was time to lift the veil from this profession and I am sure something good will come out of it,” he added.
     
Vinay, whose documentary is streaming on MUBI India, likened it to “Titanic”. Instead of this being the story of Jack and Rose (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), his protagonists are the musicians who went down with the ship playing their violins.
     
“Making this film was heartbreaking for me. This film is a love letter to journalists and the profession, but not to the legacy media. Some people keep obsessing that this has happened in the last 10 years but I would say that this process began much earlier, it just became fast in the last decade,” Vinay said.
     
In November 2022, Ravish left NDTV India after the company changed hands and went on to start his own YouTube channel.
    
Vinay, who with Khushboo Ranka has previously documented the rise of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in his 2016 documentary “An Insignificant Man”, shadowed Ravish for more than a year, capturing him at his job, saying goodbye to his colleagues one by one, writing, anchoring and worrying about his relevance.
     
“Those cake cutting scenes (when journalists were leaving the organisation) are humorous but also heartbreaking… I wanted people to know that tragedy happens in today’s time while a chocolate cake is being served,” Vinay said.
     
The filmmaker said he was curious about the world of journalism and wanted to show the nuts and bolts of the profession today. “The people who are still in it and trying to do their work honestly, how it is becoming increasingly hard for them,” he said.
     
Ravish added that he has learnt a lot from legacy media but it is not for journalists to “generate false hope” and people should be made aware about the kind of journalism that they should not accept, an issue he kept highlighting while on television.
     
The Magsaysay Award winner said he was familiar with filmmakers as he had seen them during his coverage of AAP and its beginning but found it strange that they wanted to record his life.
     
“I thought they would leave after 10 days or a month because I live a boring and lonely life so there is not much variation in it… It was a time when my family constantly worried about my safety. After a while, their presence became a comfort of sorts. Looking back, I am surprised they managed to record so much.”
     
Ravish said he didn’t worry that they were capturing him warts and all. Some days, his family would remind him to at least wear better shoes or clothes.
     
“But I kept doing what I was doing and also I didn’t have much time to think about their cameras… Anyone could guess my frustration at that time just by looking at my face. People in the office knew how I was barely managing.”
     
He loved watching Hindi movies but left that after 2014.
     
“I won’t say I was watching great movies. I actually came to know about Satyajit Ray later. Before that, there was no one better than K C Bokadia (‘Teri Meharbaniyan’, ‘Laal Badshaah’ and ‘Pyaar Jhukta Nahi’ fame) for me,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek.
     
“I caught up with some of Ray’s films only during the pandemic. I was just buried in work and I think Vinay’s film somehow has captured that intensity and anger.”
     
He is still writing and working as an independent journalist on YouTube and jokingly refers to it as “Dublin devi ki kripa” as some of his cheques come from the Irish city. He has written books, including “Ishq Me Shahar Hona” and about things beyond politics and the state of the country, but it’s now in the past.
     
“Vo sab chhoot gaya hai. What I do is boring but I take interest in it, sometimes beyond the scope of exhaustion with whatever my ability and resources are… I don’t remember the past much but worry more about the future,” he said.
National, Politics

Modi eyes record-equalling feat, Opposition hopes for rebound : People’s Verdict Today

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 3, 2024 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyes a record-equalling third straight term in power amid the INDIA opposition bloc’s hope of springing a surprise as the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election is set for Tuesday, bringing an end to a marathon polling exercise stretching over 80 days.


While most experts have long seen the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the favourite in the polls, a lot is at stake for the ruling combine in terms of the scale of victory it can pull off and new territories it can conquer. The opposition’s stakes are higher still amid its reducing national footprint.

Exit polls have been, however, unanimous in their prediction that the NDA is closer to realising Modi’s ambitious target of “400 paar” for his alliance than the INDIA bloc is to crossing even the 180 mark, one-third of the total number of seats.

Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission (EC).

In the run-up to the counting, the campaign acrimony between the two battling camps has spilled over into the post-poll trading of accusations after the exit polls predicted a massive win for the incumbent alliance, a forecast summarily dismissed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as “Modi media poll”.

INDIA bloc leaders, who have been raising doubts over the electronic voting machines (EVMs), have accused the prime minister of sending a signal to the bureaucracy through these “fantasy” exit polls and marched to the EC, urging the poll watchdog to follow the counting guidelines.

In its counter-attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused its rivals of trying to undermine the integrity of India’s electoral process and asked the EC to prevent any attempt of “violence and unrest” during the counting of votes.

Modi framed the BJP’s campaign around the opposition’s “appeasement politics”, accusing the Congress and its allies of handing over a chunk of the reservation meant for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to Muslims and allegedly eying people’s family assets to further its “redistribution of wealth” agenda.

The issues of national and cultural pride, the government’s welfare schemes and the overall political stability and economic growth also figured prominently in the speeches of BJP leaders, even though they were accused by the opposition of running a divisive and communal campaign to polarise votes.

The EC has dismissed the opposition’s attack on its conduct of polls, with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar daring it on Monday to share evidence of attempts to influence the polling process.   

The results will show if the Congress has it in its organisation and leadership to challenge the BJP amid its reducing footprint across the country since 2014. It has failed to get even the main opposition party status in two consecutive Lok Sabha polls and has been reduced to a pale shadow of itself in a number of states, especially in the Hindi heartland.
    
Its leaders, including president Mallikarjun Kharge and principal campaigner Rahul Gandhi, have claimed that their alliance will get 295 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, marking an end of the Modi era.
    
INDIA bloc leaders believe that their alliance has been able to shape the poll narrative around its planks of welfarism and an alleged threat to the Constitution from an all-powerful saffron onslaught, and will get popular support.
    
Modi will equal the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of leading his party to three straight electoral victories if the BJP retains power.
    
An uncertain future also hangs over the fate of the Left, besides many regional parties including the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress, which are in power in West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh respectively.
    
Modi has spearheaded a concerted BJP push to gain further in strength in the two eastern states, where the party surprised everyone by emerging as the powerful second force in 2019, and the exit polls have suggested that it may topple the two regional parties from the top position in these polls.
    
Assembly polls were held in Odisha alongside the national election and the BJP and the BJD, which has been in power in the state since 2000 under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s leadership, are locked in a fierce battle for power. Assembly polls were also held simultaneously in the YSRCP-ruled Andhra Pradesh.
    
Another issue that has drawn the limelight is whether the BJP will be able to emerge as a strong force in Tamil Nadu and the Left-ruled Kerala, two states where it has currently no seats but is predicted to win a few this time.
    
A poor show by the Left will further darken its prospects nationwide as Kerala is the only state where it remains a strong force after being knocked of reckoning in its former strongholds of Bengal and Tripura.
    
Always confident of his return to power, Modi has already penned an article about his vision for the country, posted on X about people’s support to the NDA and rejection of the opposition, and held a meeting with top officials on the “new government’s agenda” for the first 100 days.
    
The results are also expected to spell out the people’s verdict on the fate of regional stalwarts like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, whose parties have joined hands with the BJP and who have run an intense campaign to win over people’s support for their factions.
    
The verdict will also be out on a number of Union ministers, including Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Sarbananda Sonowal and Dharmendra Pradhan, all Rajya Sabha members asked by the BJP to contest the polls, and former chief ministers, such as the BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Trivendra Singh Rawat and the Congress’s Digvijay Singh and Bhupesh Baghel.
    
Besides Modi, who contested the election from Varanasi for a third straight term, senior members of his cabinet, such as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, are in the fray, and the margins of their win will be watched out for as well.
Health, National

Heatwave singes 90 per cent of country; 19,000 heat stroke cases, 46 deaths recorded

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Scientists have attributed the long heatwave to a persisting anti-cyclone — a large mass of wind with a flow reverse to that in a cyclone — over central India and strong dry northwesterly winds that, one scientist said, made the temperatures rise “higher and higher”

G.S. Mudur, TT, New Delhi, 03.06.24 : Over 90 per cent of India’s land area experienced heatwave conditions that lasted six to 16 days during May, a month that weather scientists say was marked by one of the most widespread heatwaves ever documented.

A new map released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has shown that heatwaves gripped 27 of the country’s 36 meteorological subdivisions during May, sparing only the northeastern states and western coastal regions.
A nationwide disease and illness surveillance network maintained by the Union health ministry’s National Centre for Disease Control has recorded over 19,000 suspected heat stroke cases, including 46 confirmed heat stroke deaths, between May 1 and May 30.

Western Rajasthan, an arid region dominated by the Thar desert, had 16 days marked by heatwaves, defined by the IMD as days on which the maximum temperature exceeds 4.5°C from the long-term average for that region. The maximum temperature in Churu, a town known as a gateway to the Thar, had touched 50.5°C on Saturday, marking the highest maximum for this summer season.

“We’ve had slightly higher maximum temperatures in western Rajasthan in the past, but the geographic extent and the duration of the heatwave across the country this year distinguishes it from earlier years,” a weather scientist who requested anonymity said. “What we’re seeing is quite unprecedented.”

Eastern Rajasthan had 14 days of heatwaves, the second worst hit state measured in terms of the heatwave duration, followed by Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi with 12 days. Uttar Pradesh had 10 days of heatwave conditions, while Bengal had five days.

Scientists have attributed the long heatwave to a persisting anti-cyclone — a large mass of wind with a flow reverse to that in a cyclone — over central India and strong dry northwesterly winds that, one scientist said, made the temperatures rise “higher and higher”.

Earlier studies have suggested that the frequency and duration of heatwaves in India’s central and northwestern regions will rise significantly by four to seven extra heatwave days per decade.

“The heatwave we’ve seen over the past month is a taste of things to come in future years too,” said Suman Mor, professor of environmental sciences at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and co-author of a research review of heat wave trends in the country.

The review by Mor and her colleagues, published in the journal Heliyon earlier this year, had predicted that the likelihood of heatwaves “would increase dramatically in the near future for all districts” under intensified global warming.

The nationwide surveillance data from the NCDC has also recorded 605 confirmed cardiovascular deaths between May 1 and May 30. Experts say it is unclear yet what proportion of those deaths might have been triggered by exposure to extreme heat.

A multi-city study of heatwave mortality conducted by scientists at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, had found that longer and more intense heat waves are linked to an increased mortality risk from all causes.
Crime, National, Politics

Delhi court sends Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till Jun 5

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 2, 2024 :  A court here on Sunday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5 in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.


Duty judge Sanjeev Aggarwal passed the order after the chief minister was produced before the court through video conference after surrendering at Tihar jail upon the expiry of his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls.

The judge passed the order on an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate, seeking extension of judicial custody by 14 days.

The application was moved by the ED on May 20 while Kejriwal was out on interim bail.

The court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5, noting that the judge concerned was scheduled to pass an order on his interim bail plea on health grounds on that day.
National, Politics

Cong, INDIA bloc trying to undermine electoral process, alleges BJP; urges EC to take action

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 2, 2024 :  The Congress and its INDIA bloc allies are trying to undermine the integrity of India’s electoral process, the BJP alleged on Sunday and urged the Election Commission to prevent any attempts of “violence and unrest” during the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on June 4.

    A BJP delegation comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal also urged the poll panel to take cognisance of the “systematic attempts” being made to undermine the electoral process and initiate stringent action against those responsible.
    The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission (EC) in this regard.
    “We had to call upon the Election Commission today in light of the repeated attempts by a section of political parties, like the Congress and their INDI alliance partners, and also by certain motivated civil society groups and NGOs who are trying their level best to undermine the integrity of India’s electoral process,” Goyal told reporters after meeting EC officials.
    Their efforts against India’s “very robust” electoral process are a direct attack on the country’s democratic institutions and pose a risk to public order and trust in the electoral system, he said.
    The BJP delegation urged the EC to ensure enhanced monitoring and security measures are put in place during the counting of votes to prevent “any attempts at violence or unrest”.
    Earlier in the day, a delegation of opposition INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi, met the EC and urged it to ensure that all the guidelines, including declaring the postal-ballot results before the outcome of the EVMs is announced, are followed on June 4.
    Union minister Goyal said, “I think the mandate given by the people of India both in 2014 and 2019 and the likely mandate of the 2024 general elections expected on June 4 has unnerved the opposition parties and certain non-governmental organisations, so-called civil society groups, who cannot accept a popular leader of the masses who has delivered for the well-being of 1.4 billion Indians.”
    Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
    Terming the exit polls “bogus”, the Congress on Sunday said they were a “deliberate attempt to justify rigging” of the elections and part of “psychological games” being played by Prime Minister Modi to lower the morale of the INDIA bloc workers. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi dubbed the exit polls as “Modi media poll”.
    Goyal said the BJP delegation urged the EC to ensure that every official engaged in the counting process is fully conversant with the “minutest details” of the exercise and engages diligently with all protocols of counting so that there can be no deviation whatsoever.
    The delegation also urged the poll panel “to ensure safety and security of the electoral process during the counting and announcement of results, including enhanced monitoring and security measures to prevent any attempts at violence or unrest”, he said.
    Goyal said the BJP delegation asked the EC to take cognisance of the “systematic attempts” being made to undermine the electoral process and take stringent action against those responsible.
    “We also urged the EC to issue a public statement affirming the integrity of the electoral process and warning against any attempts to disrupt the democratic process,” he added.
    Goyal lashed out at Gandhi for terming the exit polls “Modi media poll” and said the Congress leader has passed “very uncharitable comments about the media”.
    “I strongly condemn the effort to put pressure on the media, the effort to try and paint the media black and to undermine the work that the media is doing,” he told reporters.
    Those who are not able to accept Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and his government’s work in the last 10 years are continuously coming out with a toolkit to undermine India’s institutions, be it the Supreme Court, various regulatory bodies or the EC, he said.
    “The toolkit has now come out with a Delhi resolution of May 28, we don’t know who are the parties and the people behind this Delhi resolution, there are no signatories, no names but certain political parties tend to now support such an effort to undermine India’s democracy,” he charged.
    “This is a regular sinister attempt carried out by certain bodies in the guise of civil societies who are very often fronting for the opposition,” Goyal said adding, “The BJP and the NDA strongly condemn such efforts by the opposition parties and certain civil society groups.”
    The senior BJP leader said Indians are “extremely proud” that for 30 years now the country has had an unblemished track record in which elections are held in a free and fair manner.
    The world today looks up to India’s electoral system as one of the most robust, transparent and high-integrity election systems, he said.
    “We strongly condemn the Congress and the toolkit and their associates who are working against India’s interest and are damaging India’s credibility and India’s rich tradition of democracy across the world. We are proud of our electoral process,” Goyal said.
National, Politics

BJP returns to power in Arunachal Pradesh, secures 46 seats in 60-member assembly: EC

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 Votes were counted for 50 assembly segments for which elections were held in the northeastern state along with Lok Sabha polls on April 19, the rest 10 seats were won by the saffron party uncontested

PTI, Itanagar (Arunachal), 02.06.24 : The BJP on Sunday returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, as the party won 46 seats in the 60-member assembly and secured a majority, Election Commission officials said.

Votes were counted for 50 assembly segments for which elections were held in the northeastern state along with Lok Sabha polls on April 19. The rest 10 seats were won by the saffron party uncontested.

Of the 50 seats, the BJP secured 36 seats and Chief Minister Pema Khandu is one of the 10 candidates who won unopposed.

Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Thank you Arunachal Pradesh! The people of this wonderful state have given an unequivocal mandate to politics of development. My gratitude to them for reposing their faith in @BJP4Arunachal yet again. Our Party will keep working with even greater vigour for the state’s growth.” The PM also said, “I would like to appreciate the hardwork of the exceptional @BJP4Arunachal Karyakartas through the election campaign. It is commendable how they went across the state and connected with the people.” The saffron party had won 41 seats in 2019.


The National People’s Party (NPP) bagged five seats, while the People’s Party of Arunachal won two seats and the NCP secured three.

The Congress won one seat, and Independent candidates emerged victorious in three constituencies.
National, Politics

INDIA bloc leaders meet as count down to results begins; Kharge says grouping to get over 295 seats : TMC and PDP skip meeting

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PTI, New Delhi, Jun 1, 2024 :  Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met on Saturday to take stock of the opposition’s preparations leading up to the June 4 counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections, and claimed they will get more than 295 seats, enough for them to form the next government.

    Addressing the media after a two-and-a-half-hour confabulations here, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted the INDIA bloc has arrived at the figure after feedback from people.

    Kharge said the leaders of the alliance met at his residence and dwelled upon a host of issues, including the precautions to be taken on the counting day on June 4. He said they have instructed their party workers to not leave the counting halls till all formalities are completed.

    He said the opposition parties have sought time from the Election Commission on Sunday to raise their concerns and urge the poll body to address them.

    The meeting began at Kharge’s residence this afternoon as voting in the last phase of the seven-phase general elections were underway for 57 seats. The counting for all the phases will be held on June 4.

    “The INDIA bloc will get more than 295 seats. We have arrived at this figure after speaking with all our leaders,” Kharge told reporters. “This is a survey of people. People have given this information to our leaders. The government surveys are there and their media friends also inflate figures and put it out. Therefore, we want to tell you about the reality,” the Congress president said.

    Targeting the BJP, he said, “They are trying to give a narrative through government exit polls and we want to tell the people the truth.”

    Senior leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, CPI(M), CPI, DMK, JMM, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) were present at the meeting.

    TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already said they would not attend the meeting as polling was to take place in some Lok Sabha seats in the state. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti did not attend the meeting due to personal reasons.

    Opposition leaders who attended the meeting included Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Anil Desai, Sitaram Yechury, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, Champai Soren, Kalpana Soren, T R Baalu, Farooq Abdullah, D Raja, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Jitendra Awhad and Mukesh Sahani.

    Congress leaders Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the meeting.

    Kharge said the leaders of INDIA parties met informally to take stock of the preparations leading up to the counting day. He said they discussed and analysed the feedback received from different sources.

    The INDIA bloc parties have also given instructions to their workers about Form 17 C — which contains the break-up of number of votes polled — and not to get out of the counting hall until he or she gets the certificate of election, he said.

    “The fight is still not over, and the leaders and workers of all the parties are extremely alert. I thank each one of them for their esteemed presence.,” he said.

    “We have fought the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 with all our might and are confident of a positive outcome, as the people of India have supported us,” he said in a post on X.

     Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that after taking feedback from everywhere “we believe that the INDIA bloc will win more than 295 seats, while the BJP will get around 220 seats. The NDA, meanwhile, will get around 235 seats. The INDIA bloc is moving forward to form a strong government.”

    Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav said, “The INDIA bloc is going to form the government. He (PM) has gone to see the sea and he has his back towards the people, who are now against him”.

     “The results are in favour of the INDIA alliance and the big thing is that the BJP is losing,” he said.

    Jharkhand CM Champai Soren said, “We (INDIA bloc) will do very well in Jharkhand and win more than 10 seats. The INDIA bloc is winning 295 seats.”

    “The people are winning, and INDIA will win. We have been saying that we will get 295-plus seats,” said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

    Asked about who would be their PM candidate, he said, “We will decide about the rest together after June 4”.

    CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury said a common minimum programme will be chalked out once the numbers come and that will be the basis of the new government.

    Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc parties also announced they will participate in the exit poll debates on TV this evening after the grouping’s top leaders met and deliberated on the issue.

    The development came a day after the Congress said it has decided not to participate in any Lok Sabha exit poll debates on television channels. The party does not want to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP, it had said.

    “After considering factors for and against participating in the exit polls, it has been decided by consensus that all the INDIA (bloc) parties will participate in the exit poll debates on television this evening,” Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said in a post on X.

    In another development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah has been calling up district magistrates and collectors and indulging in “blatant and brazen” intimidation.

    “The outgoing home minister has been calling up DMs/Collectors. So far he has spoken to 150 of them. This is blatant and brazen intimidation, showing how desperate the BJP is,” he said in a post on X.

National, Politics

Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections: BJP wins 13 assembly seats, National People’s Party wins one

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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was leading in three seats, while the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) was ahead in two

PTI, Itanagar, 02.06.24 : The ruling BJP won 13 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh while the National People’s Party (NPP) got one, officials said on Sunday.

The counting of votes for the 50 Assembly seats began at 6 am on Sunday.
The saffron party had already won 10 seats in the 60-member assembly unopposed. Elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in the first phase on April 19.

Tesam Pongte of BJP won from Changlang North defeating his nearest rival Dihom Kitnya of NPP by a margin of 2,002 votes, while the party’s candidate Wangki Lowang won from Namsang seat defeating his nearest rival Ngonglin Boi of NCP by 56 votes.

Balo Raja of BJP won from Palin constituency defeating his nearest rival Mayu Taring of NPP by 5,040 votes.

Hayeng Mangfi of BJP won from Chayang-Tajo seat defeating his nearest rival Kompu Dolo of Congress by a margin of 6,685 votes. Mangfi retained the seat.

Chakat Aboh of BJP won from Khonsa West by defeating her nearest rival Yang Sen Matey of NCP by 804 votes. She retained the seat.

BJP’s Tsering Lhamu won from Lumla constituency defeating her nearest rival Jampa Thirnly Kunkhap of Congress by a margin of 1,531 votes. Lhamu retained the seat.

Puinnyo Apum of BJP won from Dambuk constituency defeating his nearest rival Raju Tayeng of People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) by a margin of 222 votes.

BJP candidate Rode Bui won Dumporijo seat defeating his opponent Tabe Doni of NPP by 1,591 votes. Bui retained the seat.

Ealing Tallang of BJP won from Seppa East seat defeating Tame Gyadi of Congress by 5,600 votes.

BJP’s Mahesh Chai won the Tezu-Sunpura seat defeating NPP candidate Karikho Kri by a margin of 2,805 votes.

Rotom Tebin of BJP won from Raga constituency defeating Ajay Murtem of NPP by 2,934 votes.

NPP candidate Pesi Jilen won from Liromoba defeating his opponent Nyamar Karbak of BJP by a margin of 1,698 votes.
National, Politics

Several exit polls predict big win for BJP-led NDA in LS elections

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‘Opportunistic INDI Alliance’ failed to strike chord with voters, says PM 

PTI, New Delhi, Jun 1, 2024 : Several exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls. 

The ruling alliance in all likelihood will open its account in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and sweep Karnataka but may see a fall in its tally in states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana, according to these pollsters. 
The Republic TV-P Marq poll claimed that the ruling alliance will win up to 359 seats and the opposition INDIA bloc will bag 154 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. 
The Republic TV- Matrize poll gave 353-368 seats to the NDA and 118-133 seats to the Opposition. 
The Jan Ki Baat poll gave 362-392 seats to the ruling NDA and 141-161 to the Opposition alliance. 
The India TV-CNX gave them 371-401 and 109-139 seats respectively, while the corresponding tally predicted by News Nation was 342-378 and 153-169. In the 2019 polls, the BJP won 303 seats, while the NDA tally was 353. 
The Congress had bagged 53 seats and its allies 38. The ‘INDIA’ bloc was formed by Opposition parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. 
After the seventh and last phase of voting ended on Saturday, Modi exuded confidence that people have voted in record numbers to re-elect the NDA government and said the “opportunistic INDI Alliance” failed to strike a chord with the voters who rejected their “regressive politics”. 
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters after a meeting of the Opposition INDIA bloc that the alliance will win more than 295 seats. 
“We have arrived at this figure after speaking with all our leaders. This is a survey of people. People have given this information to our leaders. The government surveys are there and their media friends also inflate figures and put it out. 
Therefore, we want to tell you about the reality,” he said. BJP president J P Nadda, however, asserted that people have voted for a capable, powerful, developed and self-reliant India and to put aside appeasement, nepotism and corruption, exuding confidence that his party will win more than 370 Lok Sabha seats and the NDA over 400. 
The counting of votes will take place on June 4.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exuded confidence that people have voted in record numbers to re-elect the NDA government and said the “opportunistic INDI Alliance” failed to strike a chord with the voters who rejected their “regressive politics”.
Modi said the people have seen his government’s track record and the manner in which its work has brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, marginalised and downtrodden. “India has voted! 
A heartfelt thank you to all those who exercised their franchise. Their active participation is the cornerstone of our democracy. Their commitment and dedication ensures that the democratic spirit thrives in our nation. 
I would also like to specially appreciate India’s Nari Shakti and Yuva Shakti. Their strong presence at the polls is a very encouraging sign,” Modi said in a series of posts on X. 
The Prime Minister said he can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to re-elect the NDA government 
A few other exit polls, including those from Axis My India and Today’s Chanakya, were yet to forecast the full results by 8.40 pm. 
The counting of votes will take place on June 4.