City News

Bihar By-Poll: JD(U) Wins Both Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur Seats

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 18:24:20 +0000

The RJD was unsucceful in its attempts to expand its voter base.

Patna: The Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] retained both the Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly seats that had a by-poll on October 30.JD(U) candidate Aman Hazari won in Kusheshwar Asthan with a margin of 12,695 votes, improving the party’s previous margin of 7,222 votes. While the RJD and JD(U) seemed to be in a close contest, as the hours passed, the latter pulled away.

Kusheshwar Asthan, a constituency reserved for candidates from Scheduled Castes, is in the Darbhanga district. The JD(U) has held this seat since 2010. In the 2020 assembly elections, JD(U) candidate Shashi Bhushan Hazari won the seat. His death in July due to illness had necessitated the by-poll. His son Aman Hazari has now been elected.

In Tarapur, the battle was closely fought. The seat, which is in the state’s Munger district, has also been hed by the JD(U) since 2010. Mewalal Chaudhary had won the seat in the 2020 assembly elections. He died due to COVID-19 in April this year.

Until the 18th round of counting on Tuesday, the RJD was leading with a margin that had been narrowing with each round of counting. But from the 19th round, the JD(U) started leading. The JD(U)’s Rajeev Kumar Singh started pulling away around the 21st round, but the RJD surged back, cutting the lead to just 308 votes at one point.

However, after the 24th round, the JD(U)’s lead increased to 1,622 votes. The ruling party won a margin of more than 2,000 votes. In the 2020 assembly elections, the JD(U)’s margin in Tarapur was 7,225 votes.

Did RJD fail litmus test?

The by-polls were seen as a litmus test for the RJD to look beyond its traditional Muslims and Yadav (M-Y) support bases. According to sources, Tejashwi Yadav’s decision to field a Baniya candidate in Tarapur, despite knowing that the community had traditionally supported the BJP, was to gain new voters.

Similarly, in Kusheshwar Asthan, the party had tried to woo Musahars, a Scheduled Caste community which had voted for the NDA in the 2020 assembly elections.In Tarapur, the RJD’s calculation seems to have but the JD(U) also managed to increase its vote share. In the by-poll, the RJD got 44.35% of votes, which is an increase of 13% from the assembly elections. However, the JD(U)’s vote share increased from 36.93% to 46.62%.

A JD(U) leader who has been active on the ground told The Wire that the RJD’s decision to put up a Bbaniya candidate helped it make it a neck-and-neck contest. The leader, requesting anonymity, said that while the RJD also retained its traditional Muslim-Yadav base, the NDA was also able to retain the supports of upper-caste voters, its traditional vote base.

In Kusheshwar Asthan, Musahar and Paswan voters, especially women, supported the JD(U). In the 2020 assembly elections, Nitish Kumar’s party got 39.55% of votes which increased by around 6% in the by-poll.

In this constituency, the Congress seemed to suffer a major setback. In the assembly elections, the party’s candidate Ashok Kumar, as part of the grand alliance, got 34.26% of the votes. The Congress, which fought this election separately, got just 4.28% of the votes. The RJD got 36.02% of the votes.

File image of Rahul Gandhi with Tejashwi Yadav.

What helped JD(U)?

According to sources, a few factors worked in favour of the JD(U) in Kusheshwar Asthan.A local panchayat level leader, on the condition of anonymity, told The Wire, “The JD(U) candidate Aman Hazari was not very popular because his father Shashi Bhushan Hazari did not work for the welfare of the local people. The party knew this, so almost all ministers camped there. Aman Hazari was also not very involved in the campaign, with ministers going for door-to-door campaigns instead. The ministers told the voters to forget about Aman Hazari and instead keep faith in them.”

The local leader added that even water resource minister Sanjay Jha, who did not visit waterlogged areas of Kusheshwar Asthan, promised people that work would begin once the water recedes. “This worked in the JD(U)’s favour,” he said.

The leader said, “The third feature was the support of women voters. Male members of the Musahar and other backward communities had migrated to other states for livelihood, so not many of them voted. Female members have been voting for the JD(U) and did so this time too.”Another leader said, “The RJD and Congress’s split also impacted the grand alliance’s prospects. If they had fielded a single candidate, the result could have been different.”

Congress’s poor performance

The Congress had a negligible impact in both seats, coming fourth place with a vote shares less than 5%. Kanhaiya Kumar, who recently joined the Congress, had campaigned in Kusheshwar Asthan. But it did not seem to yield any electoral improvement.

Interestingly, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) did better than the Congress. It stood third.The Congress believes that if the RJD had left Kusheshwar Asthan for the Congress, the alliance could have emerged victorious.

Kaukab Quadri, PCC Bihar working president and election in-charge of Kusheshwar Asthan, told The Wire, “Since the RJD and the Congress fought separately, our voters got confused and voted for the JD(U). On the other hand, the NDA’s votes remained solely with them.”

“It was unfortunate that we (Congress and RJD) could not resolve our issues and contested separately,” Quadri said. “The Congress high command will sit with the RJD leadership to analyse the poll results.”Hinting that there would be a patch up with the RJD, he said, “The Congress will form alliances with like-minded parties to fight the BJP. Lalu Prasad Yadav himself has suggested this.”

Clean sweep by Congress in Himachal Pradesh bypolls; Pratibha Singh elected as MP from CM’s home turf Mandi

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 18:13:32 +0000

The Congress also registered wins in all three Vidhan Sabha by-elections held for Jubbal-Kotkhai, Arki and Fatehpur Assembly constituencies.

The BJP-led Himachal Pradesh government has received a major setback with the Congress making a clean sweep in the by-polls held in the state. The Congress not only won the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency but also registered wins in all three Vidhan Sabha by-elections held for Jubbal-Kotkhai, Arki and Fatehpur Assembly constituencies.

With such a strong show by the Congress, alarm bells have started ringing for the BJP government in the hill state led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, especially as he had been camping in his home turf Mandi to campaign for the party’s candidate.

Thakur, however, accepted the mandate. He tweeted: “I accept the results and congratulate the winners. The BJP fought hard, but the results are not in keeping with our expectations. We will definitely study the lessons learned in these bypolls and learn for the future... for the 2022 election."

As per reports, the Congress defeated the BJP by a thin margin of 8,766 votes in the Mandi parliamentary constituency. Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, widow of six-time HP Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh,who passed away in July this year, defeated BJP’s candidate Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), a Kargil war hero.The Mandi by-poll was necessitated due to the demise of sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop in February this year.Virbhadra Singh’s death had led to a by-poll at the Arki Vidhan Sabha seat, which the Congress has retained.

The outcome of the by-polls is being considered as a precursor to the 2022 Assembly elections. It is a clear indication that the BJP government is losing its grip at the root levels.The Jai Ram Thakur government has been accused of failing to resolve issues like price rise, unemployment and local development during its tenure, feel political analysts, which tilted the table in favour of the Congress.

Congress candidate Sanjay Awasthy won the Arki (Solan) Assembly by-poll by 3,277 votes. He secured 30,493 votes against BJP candidate's Rattan Pal 27,216 votes.

In Fatehpur (Kangra), Congress candidate Bhawani Singh Pathania defeated his nearest rival Baldev Thakur of BJP by 5,652 votes. Pathania got 23,932 votes, while Thakur got 18,280 votes, with Rajan Sushant, an independent candidate, managing to get 12,679 votes.The constituency went to bypolls due to the demise of Pathania’s father Bhawani Singh Pathania, a former minister in the state.

Congress' Rohit Thakur registered his victory at Jubbal-Kotkhai seat. BJP candidate Neelam Seraik remained on the third position with Chetan Singh Bragta, an independent candidate, being the first runner up.The by-poll for this seat was necessitated due to the demise of sitting BJP MLA Narinder Bragta in June this year.

Nationwide Bypolls: Who Is Contesting Where and What's at Stake?

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Sat, 30 Oct 2021 18:50:10 +0000

Lakhs of voters will vote for by-elections to 29 assembly constituencies and three Lok Sabha seats spread across 13 states and a Union Territory.

New Delhi: By-polls to three Lok Sabha seats and 29 assembly constituencies spread across 13 states and Dadra and Nagar Haveli will be held on Saturday with many contests seen as prestige issue for parties hit by defections.

Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.In majority of the seats, the main fight will be between BJP and Congress candidates.The counting of votes will take place on November 2.Though a bypoll was also announced for the Shamator-Chessore assembly constituency in Nagaland, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party candidate S Keoshu Yimchunger was declared elected uncontested on October 13.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

The by-election to Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the death of Mohan Delkar, the independent MP from the constituency, in February this year.There are three candidates in the fray, including Delkar’s widow Kalaben Delkar, who is contesting as a Shiv Sena nominee. From the BJP, Mahesh Gavit is fighting the bypoll, while the Congress has fielded Mahesh Dhodi.

Voting is underway across 333 booths and tight security arrangements have been made with the deployment of 10 companies of paramilitary forces, officials of the Election Commission said.There are a total of 2.58 lakh voters in the constituency, including 1.22 lakh female voters, the officials said, adding that around 1,500 people were deployed for election duty.The Shiv Sena and the Congress are constituents in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, but they are contesting against each other in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Late Lok Sabha MP Mohan Delkar.

Mizoram

The bypoll to the Tuirial assembly constituency in Mizoram’s Kolasib district is being held after the death of sitting MLA Andrew H Thangliana of Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM).The ruling MNF has fielded K Laldawngliana, while the ZPM candidate is Laltlangmawi. The Congress has fielded Chalrosanga Ralte and BJP K Laldinthara for the by-election.The contest will, however, be between MNF, Congress and the ZPM.

Chief Electoral Officer P Jawahar told PTI that at least one company of central paramilitary force has been deployed, besides the state forces.A total of 17,911 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll across 27 polling stations.

Meghalaya

Three assembly constituencies in Meghalaya, Mawryngkneng, Mawphlang and Rajabala, were necessitated following the demise of the sitting MLAs of the three seats.A total of 13 candidates are in the fray for the by-polls to the three seats. Five candidates each are contesting from Mawryngkneng and Rajabala constituencies, while three are in the fray in Mawphlang constituency.

Over 1 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypolls.Mawryngkneng with 60 polling stations has 36,751 voters, while Mawphlang with 50 polling stations has 33,194 voters and Rajabala with 58 polling stations has 32,750 voters.

Polling parties leave for poll duty ahead of the bypoll to Mandi Lok Sabha seat, in Kullu, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.

Himachal Pradesh

Voting for bypolls to the Mandi Lok Sabha and Arki, Fatehpur, and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are taking place across 2,484 polling stations and 312 auxiliary polling stations.A total of 12,99,756 voters for Mandi Lok Sabha, 87,222 for Fatehpur, 92,609 for Solan and 70,965 voters for Jubbal-Kotkhai Vidhan Sabha seats may exercise their right to franchise.

The by-elections were necessitated following the death of sitting members.A total of 18 candidates are in the fray, including 12 for the three assembly seats and six for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.A direct contest is expected between the ruling BJP and Congress on all seats except Jubbal-Kotkhai where rebel BJP candidate Chetan Singh Bragta is trying his luck as an independent candidate.

However, all eyes are on the Mandi parliamentary bypoll as the constituency is the home turf of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.The BJP has fielded Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Singh Thakur from Mandi against Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, the wife of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

Karnataka

Bypolls are being held at Sindgi and Hangal assembly constituencies in Karnataka where a total of 19 candidates are in the fray – six from Sindgi and 13 from Hangal. Two candidates from Sindgi are women.There are a total of 4,39,148 eligible voters, including 230 service voters from both the constituencies, who can cast their votes at 560 polling stations.The by-elections have been necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the death of Sindgi JD(S) legislator M.C. Managuli and BJP’s C.M. Udasi from Hangal.

While Ramesh Bhusanur, who came second behind Managuli in 2018 polls, is the BJP candidate from Sindgi, Shivaraj Sajjanar is its candidate from Hangal constituency.The Congress has named M.C. Managuli’s son Ashok Managuli, who has joined the party, as its candidate from Sindgi, while former MLC Srinivas Mane is its candidate from Hangal.

The JD(S), which was the first to announce its candidates, has fielded 33-year-old post graduate Naziya Shakeel Ahmed Angadi from Sindgi and 35-year-old B.E, M.Tech graduate Niyaz Shaikh from Hangal.This is the first electoral challenge for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after taking charge.

Haryana

Voting for the bypoll to the Ellenabad assembly constituency in Haryana was necessitated by INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala’s resignation as MLA from the seat in January over the Centre’s farm laws.Over 1.85 lakh voters will decide the fate of 19 candidates in the fray for the bypoll.A total of 211 polling booths have been set up, and 121 of these have been categorised as vulnerable and most vulnerable, the officials said.

Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, joined the BJP recently and has been fielded by the BJP-JJP combine.Pawan Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly poll against Abhay Chautala, recently switched over from the BJP to the Congress. He is in the fray as the candidate of the main opposition party.

Bihar

Polling is underway for Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats in Bihar where by-elections have been necessitated by the deaths of sitting MLAs, both belonging to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).Altogether 17 candidates are in the fray for the two seats, eight in Tarapur and nine in Kusheshwar Asthan.The JD(U)’s bid to retain these seats is being challenged by the RJD headed by Kumar’s arch rival Lalu Prasad.

The JD(U) has placed its bet on fresh faces in both seats. In Tarapur, which has fallen vacant upon Mewa Lal Chaudhary’s demise, the party has fielded Rajiv Kumar Singh while in the reserved Kusheshwar Asthan, debutant Awadh Bhushan Hazari seeks to retain for his party, the seat his father Shashi Bhushan Hazari had won three times in a row.

The RJD, which boasts of a formidable support base in the form of the Muslim-Yaadav (MY) combination, has made the battle harder for JD(U) with its deft play of the caste card in both seats.

In Tarapur, which has so far sent only Yadavs or Koeris to the assembly, the RJD has fielded Arun Sah, a Vaishya, seeking to win over a community that has traditionally been with the BJP and its allies.

The JD(U) has been sharing power with the BJP for more than a decade and a half. It started off as a senior partner in the coalition, but of late has ceded the upper hand to the saffron party which has emerged as a near hegemonic force in the Hindi heartland.Similarly, in Kusheshwar Asthan the RJD has fielded Ganesh Bharti, who belongs to the Musahar community which aspires to get its due among the Dalits.

Lalu Prasad Yadav addressing a public meeting ahead of bypolls in Bihar on October 27, 2021.

However, in both seats the Congress and the Chirag Paswan-headed faction of Lok Janshakti Party could to play a decisive role if the contest between JD(U) and RJD turns out to be a close one.The Congress, which has for long remained content as a subservient junior partner of the RJD in Bihar, decided to pull itself by its bootstraps after being humiliated by the domineering senior ally.

The RJD’s announcement of candidates for both seats, without taking into confidence the Congress which had contested Kusheshwar Asthan in assembly polls last year, proved to be the proverbial last straw.

The party has fielded Atirek Kumar, son of Ashok Ram who gave Shashi Bhushan Hazari a tough fight a year ago. In Tarapur, which the Congress had never intended to fight until the decision to call off the alliance, it has fielded Rajiv Kumar Mishra, a well-known social worker who is an upper caste Brahmin and had polled about 10,000 votes when he fought in the assembly polls as an Independent.

Another upper caste candidate in Tarapur is Kumar Chandan, a Rajput, who is contesting on the ticket of LJP (Ram Vilas) which Chirag heads. For Chirag, the by-polls in both seats would be a test of his strength after the split in the party founded by his father of which a major chunk has rallied with his rebellious uncle and cousin, Pashupati Kumar Paras and Prince Raj respectively.

While Tarapur falls within Chirag’s own Jamui Lok Sabha constituency, Kusheshwar Asthan is a part of Samastipur which Prince Raj represents.Chirag’s candidate in Kusheshwar Asthan Anju Devi is the only woman in the fray.

Rajasthan

Voting for bypolls to the assembly constituencies of Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) in Rajasthan to decide the fate of 16 candidates were necessitated by the death of Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar Gajendra Singh Shaktawat and BJP legislator from Dhariawad Gautam Lal Meena.A total of 638 polling booths have been set up in both the constituencies, and 119 of them are sensitive. Webcasting will be done in 64 sensitive booths and videography in 29.

In Vallabhnagar, the ruling Congress party has given its ticket to Gajendra Shaktawat’s wife, Preeti Shaktawat, while the BJP has fielded Himmat Singh Jhala.The Congress has fielded Nagraj Meena in Dhariawad against BJP candidate Khet Singh Meena.

Madhya Pradesh

As many as 48 candidates are in the fray in to one Lok Sabha and three assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh where straight fights are expected between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.Altogether 26,50,004 voters are eligible to exercise franchise during the bypolls.Sixteen candidates each are in the fray for by-polls to Khandwa Lok Sabha seat and Raigaon (SC) Assembly constituency.

Ten candidates are in the fray in Prithvipur and six in Jobat (ST) assembly constituencies.The Khandwa parliamentary seat and Raigaon assembly seat in Satna district were held by the BJP while Jobat in Alirajpur and Prithvipur in Niwari districts were with the Congress.

In Khandwa, the BJP has fielded former district panchayat president Gyaneshwar Patil, denying the ticket to Harshvardhan Chauhan, the son of sitting MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan whose demise necessitated the bypoll. The Congress has fielded former MLA Rajnarayan Singh Purni.

Deceased BJP Lok Sabha member from Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan.

In Jobat, Sulochana Rawat is the BJP’s nominee against Congress candidate Mahesh Patel. The seat fell vacant due to the death of sitting Congress legislator Kalawati Bhuria.Rawat, a former MLA, joined the BJP recently after quitting Congress. She had won from Jobat on Congress’s ticket in 1998 and 2008.

In Raigaon (SC) seat, the BJP has fielded Pratima Bagri, the daughter-in-law of MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri whose death necessitated the bypoll. She will face Congress’ Kalpana Verma.Verma had been defeated by Jugal Kishore Bagri in the 2018.

In Prithvipur, the BJP has fielded former Samajwadi Party leader Shishupal Singh against Congress’s Nitendra Rathore, the son of former minister Brajendra Singh Rathore whose death necessitated the bypoll.

Bengal

By-polls to the four assembly constituencies of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, Shantipur in Nadia, Khardah in North 24 Parganas and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas districts will be taking place in West Bengal.In Dinhata, TMC’s heavyweight north Bengal leader Udayan Guha is fighting to reclaim the seat which BJP had snatched from him by a whisker in polls held last April.

The by-election at Dinhata were necessitated by the resignation of Nisith Pramanik, now Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, who favoured keeping his Lok Sabha membership over sitting in the opposition in West Bengal’s assembly.Guha, a two-time MLA from Dinhata, is up against BJP’s Ashok Mandal, who as a TMC candidate had defeated him, a Forward Bloc candidate then, in 2006.

The bypoll to Shantipur was necessitated by the resignation of BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who too resigned from the assembly seat in favour of retaining his Lok Sabha membership.State minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who resigned from Bhabanipur to facilitate Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election to the Assembly, is fighting from Khardah, where TMC’s Kajal Sinha died due to COVID-19, just days after polls to the seat were held Bypoll to the Gosaba seat in Sunderbans was also necessitated by the death of TMC’s Jayanta Naskar, who too was suffering from Covid.

Assam

Polling for bye-elections to five Assam assembly constituencies will see 7.96 lakh voters decide the electoral fate of 31 contestants.Voting will take place in 1,176 polling stations, including 285 in Gossaigaon, 213 in Bhabanipur, 322 in Tamulpur, 183 in Mariani and 173 in Thowra constituencies.

The prominent contestants include Rupjyoti Kurmi, Sushanta Borgohain, Phanidhar Talukdar (all BJP); Luhit Konwar, Jowel Tudu, Sailendra Nath Das, Bhaskar Dahal, Monuranjan Konwar (all INC); Krishna Gogoi (CPI); Jiron Basumatary, Jolen Daimary (both UPPL); Dhruba Kumar Brahma Narzary (BPF); Jubbar Ali and Khairul Anam Khandakar (both AIUDF).Bye-election in Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to death of the sitting MLAs, while the incumbents of Bhabanipur, Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP.

Andhra Pradesh

Bypolls will also be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Badvel seat, which fell vacant following the death of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) legislator Gunthoti Venkatasubbaiah.The ruling YSRCP’s candidate is Venkatasubbaiah’s widow, Dr Dasari Sudha. The TDP candidate is Dr. Obulapuram Rajasekhar.

Maharashtra

As many as 12 candidates, including of main contenders Congress and the BJP, are left in the fray for the October 30 bypoll to the Deglur-Biloli assembly seat in Nanded district of Maharashtra.As many as nine candidates opted out of the race on the last day of withdrawal of nominations on Wednesday.

The Congress has fielded Jitesh Raosaheb Antapurkar, the son of the deceased MLA, while the BJP has nominated Subhash Sabne, a former Shiv Sena legislator who recently joined the main opposition party in the state.

Telangana

The by-election to Huzurabad assembly constituency in Telangana sees the ruling TRS, opposition BJP and Congress locked in a triangular contest.As many as 2,37,036 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, district collector RV Karnan said on Friday. They include 1,17,933 male and 1,19,102 female voters.The polls were necessitated by the resignation of Eatala Rajender in June following his removal from the state Cabinet over allegations of land grabbing.

Rajender, who dismissed the allegations, has quit the TRS and joined the BJP. He is seeking re-election on BJP ticket.Though as many as 30 candidates are in the fray, the main contest is among Gellu Srinivas Yadav (TRS), Eatala Rajender (BJP) and Venkat Balmoori (Congress).

Himachal Pradesh Bypolls: As Infighting Troubles BJP, Congress Hopes for a Revival

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 21:24:43 +0000

The October 30 bypolls – votes will be cast in one parliament and three assembly constituencies – are being viewed as 'mini election' before the state heads for assembly election in late 2022.

Chandigarh: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not only faces a daunting task ahead of the crucial assembly and parliament bypolls in Himachal Pradesh, with factionalism coming to the fore, but a poor performance might spell danger ahead of next year’s assembly election in the hill state. The Congress party sees an opportunity in the bypolls to energise its cadre and revive prospects ahead of next year’s statewide polls.

Three assembly constituencies – Jubbal-Kotkhai, Fatehpur and Arki – and one parliamentary constituency – Mandi, under which 17 assembly constituencies fall – will go for polls on October 30. The votes will be counted on November 2.

The bypolls assume significance given that the state will have assembly polls in less than a year from now. Journalists with whom The Wire spoke to see the October 30 bypolls as a sort of mini election, the outcome of which will give a fair idea about the electoral mood in the state.

While the election is a litmus test for Congress after the recent death of its main leader Virbhadra Singh, stakes are high for the ruling BJP as well. If the BJP fails to perform well in the bypolls, the ruling government may be heading for serious trouble due to the existing government policies and overall perception.

The fact that Himachal is the home state of BJP national president J.P. Nadda makes the bypolls even more interesting.While BJP’s co-incharge for Himachal affairs Sanjay Tandon told The Wire that the party will win all four seats, what worries the party is the open revolt in Jubbal-Kotkhai, an assembly segment in Shimla district.

Apart from it, there are silent rumblings in the Fatehpur assembly seat as well as the Mandi parliament seat, which is also the home segment of BJP chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.The party’s heavyweight leader in the upper Himachal region Narinder Bragta held the Jubbal-Kotkhai constituency until his death in June 2021.

Chetan Bragta.

Former banker Chetan Bragta, Narindra Bragta’s son, was believed to be the strong contender and it was almost certain that he would be the BJP candidate from the seat.But the ticket went to Neelam Saraik, a former Zila Parishad member, prompting Chetan to file his nomination as an independent candidate despite the efforts of senior BJP leaders, including CM Thakur, to pacify him.

While Neelam is still hopeful that Chetan will step down, when The Wire spoke to the latter, he clarified that he will not only fight the election but will also win with a heavy margin.Chetan said that the people of his father’s constituency had requested him to contest.“The BJP may have its own reason to field another candidate, but there is a huge sentiment among people who wanted me to fight to carry forward the legacy that my father built over the past 40 years,” he said.

He said that the assembly constituencies in and around Shimla district had been Congress bastions until his father made inroads here and “lent voice to apple growers through government policies”. “Now it is my time to take their voice further,” he said.

Chetan said that all other candidates in the fray have no vision of how to increase the income of apple growers. “I have entered the fray with a clear vision and that is the reason I have so much support on the ground. Mark my words, we are winning this seat on November 2,” he told The Wire.

There is a growing perception that Chetan may end up ruining the BJP’s chances. However, Tandon, the co-incharge, told The Wire that the party will be in control of the situation in three-four days.“Senior members of the party are seized of the ground situation. The party is taking all necessary steps to handle the situation,” he said.

Situation in other constituencies is no different

Trouble is also brewing for the BJP in Himachal’s Fatehpur constituency in Kangra district.

Kripal Parmar.

In the 2017 election, the party fielded Kripal Parmar, former Rajya Sabha MP, who has been nurturing the constituency for a long time.However, he lost the election by a slender margin of 1,200 votes after another aspirant, Baldev Thakur, filed his nomination as an independent candidate and secured more than 13,000 votes.Baldev Thakur is now the BJP’s candidate for the constituency, where a bypoll has been necessitated by the death of Congress MLA Sujan Singh Pathania. He was the party’s popular leader in the area.

While Congress has fielded Pathania’s son Bhawani Singh Pathania to make sure that the party retains the seat, the BJP is again in a fix due to the internal tussle between Thakur and Parmar.While Parmar has been silent after the party refused to field him again, his supporters made a lot of noise after Thakur was announced as the party’s official candidate last week.

Several of Parmar’s supporters, including the Fatehpur BJP mandal president, the BJP-supported chairman and vice-chairman, besides 40 pradhans, up pradhans and members of the panchayat samiti of Fatehpur, resigned in protest.

Parmar and his supporters relented after the intervention of senior party leaders, including chief minister Jairam Thakur. However, a leader close to Parmar told The Wire that the party’s decision to field Baldev Thakur has not been well received by the cadre. They are unhappy that the party chose a person who fought against the its official nominee in the 2017 assembly elections, resulting in his defeat.

“Instead of throwing him out of the party, the senior leaders rewarded him with a ticket, insulting the loyalty of people who always respected the party’s decision,” he added.When contacted, Parmar refused to comment. He said if needed, he would take up matters within the party forum. He also said that he expected the BJP to win the seat with a heavy margin.

However, sources close to him confirmed that he is not actively campaigning for the party’s official candidate. This may dent the BJP’s chances, given that the Congress candidate, Bhawani Singh Pathania, is better placed than the BJP candidate.Bhawani’s father, Sujan Singh Pathania, had won seven elections from the seat, a clear indication of his popularity. The fact that his son is in the fray after his demise should make it easier for the Congress to win again.

On the other hand, the BJP also faces a challenge from Rajan Sushant, a former BJP MLA, who is also contesting.Sushant had contested as an independent in the 2017 election too and polled more than 6,000 votes. This time around, he has floated his own political outfit ‘Hamari Party Himachal Party’, and is again in the fray. He is likely to harm the BJP’s prospects again.

Mandi parliament seat: A cynosure of all eyes

When the results for the bypolls are announced, the focus will be on the Mandi parliamentary constituency that fell vacant after the demise of BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.While the BJP has fielded Kargil war hero Brigadier (Retd) Khushal Thakur, the Congress has played its trump card by fielding Pratibha Singh, a former MP and the widow of Virbhadra Singh. The former chief minister’s demise has left a leadership void in the party.

BJP candidate Brigadier Khushal Thakur (L) and Congress nominee Pratibha Singh (R).

Here too, internal rumblings are visible. The BJP’s Maheshwar Singh, a scion of the Kullu royal family and one of the aspirants for the Mandi MP seat, is believed to be upset.Singh has considerable influence in and around Kullu, thanks to his ancestry. His silence may hamper the party’s poll prospectus.Maheshwar went against the party earlier, when he floated the Himachal Lokhit Party with other dissidents of the BJP. This party later merged with the BJP before the 2017 assembly polls.

Poll pundits in the state believed that the Congress’s decision to field Pratibha Singh is a masterstroke as she may get sympathy votes.Meanwhile, from the Arki seat, which fell vacant after the demise of Virbhadra Singh, the BJP has fielded Ratan Singh Pal against the Congress’s Brahim leader Sanjay Awasthi. Ratan Singh had lost the 2017 elections to Virbhadra Singh and is trying his luck again.

Congress state president Kuldeep Rathore told The Wire that the BJP is a divided house ahead of bypolls. “They are facing dissidents in all the seats. In Kotkhai, there is an open revolt. In Mandi, Maheshwar Singh is unhappy. So is the situation in Fatehpur. On the other hand, the Congress is fighting unitedly.”

“We have a clear vision for the state, whereas the past four years of the BJP’s rule are riddled with mismanagement and corruption. We are confident that the party will win all seats. You will see that the results of the bypolls will be the beginning of the end of the BJP’s rule in the state,” Rathore added.

BJP’s Sanjay Tandon, on the other hand, said that the Congress is a ‘sinking party’. “Its leaders are fighting internally all across the country. Look at what is happening in Punjab. The BJP has given a stable government to the people of Himachal, and the state has prospered under our governance.”

Madhya Pradesh byelections: 25 defectors, 12 ministers and Scindia on test

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:47:28 +0000

While BJP needs to win just eight of the 27 seats to retain the majority, the results will determine the political future of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Kamal Nath.

Madhya Pradesh ended its 65th foundation day on a “quiet” note as the noise for one of the crassest election campaigns died down by Sunday evening. Voters in 28 constituencies across the state have a day to reflect over their choice. Tuesday’s polling will decide whether BJP that regained power through large scale defections, stays in power or hands it back to Congress.

The ruling BJP and opposition Congress and the BSP (which faces allegations of striking a secret deal with BJP) tried to make the most of the slog overs ahead of Tuesday’s polling. In an unprecedented scenario 12 Ministers are among 355 candidates in the fray to re-enter the House they left seven months ago.

Just over 12 per cent seats of the state assembly going for by-elections could redefine the future of former chief minister Kamal Nath, former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Scindia, who is unable to let go of his royal title of Maharaj has been conspicuous with a tone that would embarrass the worst critics of Congress and the most loyal supporters of BJP.

He claimed that Kamal Nath had called him a dog. “Yes, I am a dog. I will bite anyone trying to harm my master, the people of this state,” Scindia said. A shocked Kamal Nath said he never used the word and would never use it for any political rival. The campaign would be remembered for indecent words like “item’ for a woman minister and epithets Gaddar (betrayer), Bikau (saleable) and Tikau (loyal and durable).

SC relief to Kamal Nath

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Election commission’s order delisting Kamal Nath as the star campaigner. Congress had moved the court against the decision. The election commission controversially delisted Kamal Nath as star campaigner Kamal Nath just a day before the campaign ended. The result was that his campaign expenses would be the liability of the candidate and not the party.

Kamal Nath's petition said the Election Commission violated his statutory rights. It was the party's right to nominate someone as a star campaigner and Commission cannot interfere in the party's decision. The Commission can take a decision after due notice which was not served on Kamal Nath. The bench of Justice V Ramasubramaniam held the hearing and stayed the Commission's decision.

The Congress claims the Election Commission booked Kamal Nath because he has rattled the BJP with his intensive campaigning. Kamal Nath had toured each constituency twice through the past couple of months.

A direct fight between the BJP and Congress is expected on the majority of seats. In two or three seats of Gwalior – Chambal region, a triangular fight is on the cards due to BSP’s influence. Since the seats in contention in Gwalior-Chambal region were mostly held by the Congress, then led by the Scindias, the general view is that BSP could upset that party’s calculations. But there is another dominant section of political observers which suggests it could affect the BJP too.

The Congress now has 87 MLAs in the House, while the ruling BJP has 107. The total strength of the House was 230 but a Congress MLA Rahul Lodhi has resigned and joined the BJP during the last week of campaign. Till two days before he joined the BJP Lodhi was all fire and brimstone against that party. In a video that went viral he said he would not like to go down in history as a betrayer and would continue to be loyal to Kamal Nath and the Congress.

Lodhi’s resignation pegs the magic figure for power at 115. BJP needs to win only eight seats to get the majority. With 87 MLAs the Congress will have to win all 28 seats to regain power on its own. The four Independents, two BSP and one SP legislator had propped up the Congress till March. If the balance tilts in Congress’ favour they might return. The Congress can wrest power even with 22 out of 28 seats.There are half a dozen seats among the 28 where the margin of victory and defeat in the 2018 elections was very low. They will be watched keenly.

State chief electoral officer Arun Tomar says polling will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on Tuesday to adhere to the COVID -19 restrictions. The last hour of voting will be for coronavirus patients and people suffering from respiratory disease. The by-elections will involve 63.67 voters.

There will be 250 flying squads, 173 static surveillance team and 293 police check-posts in place and 33,000 security personnel have been deployed in 19 districts. He said 9361 booths have been set up of which 3038 were placed under critical category.

Meet Congress's Star Campaigner Who is Pulling Crowd in MP Bypoll Rallies

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 20:08:50 +0000

As the bypoll campaign is single-handedly being run by MPCC chief Kamal Nath, a Dalit youth women leader, who recently joined Congress after resigning from the BJP couple of years ago,

is proving to be an unofficial star campaigner drawing huge crowds for the party in poll meetings in Gwalior-Chambal region.Sanju Jatav, a post graduate in political science, had been taking whirlwind tours in poll-bound constituencies of Gwalior-Chambal and is in great demand as a campaigner from those in the fray.

With Jatavs, the community represented by Sanju, is having sizable presence in many seats in the region, her party is also utilising her youth appeal to draw crowds to poll rallies and public meetings. Young voters also line up to get clicked in selfies with the woman campaigner.

The woman leader has a personal grudge as well.

A former BSP leader, Sanju Jatav, was elected as Janpad Panchayat member in year 2015 but later when she shifted to the BJP, she got elected as Janpad Panchayat head. Eyeing ticket for assembly polls from Gohad, she had got into good books of senior BJP leader Arvind Bhadauria, an RSS man.

However, during then CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s visit to Ater in bypolls in 2017, Sanju’s husband Gajraj Jatav tried meeting the CM and in the process got entangled with the security personnel. This incident infuriated the senior BJP leaders and soon Garjraj Jatav also started speaking openly against upper castes in Bhim Sena rallies.

Afterwards the BJP got Sanju sacked as Janpad Panchayat head’s post through a no-confidence motion and an infuriated Sanju resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress party in June this year. Gajraj was also arrested by police later on charges of delivering inflammatory speech during sectarian clash in 2017.

Despite Congress party giving her a snub for ticket from Gohad, she has been campaigning for the grand old party relentlessly.

You were denied a ticket but still you are quite active in campaigning?

Like others, I also aspired for candidature, but I am trying to convey a message that one has to work for strengthening the party. We need plenty of MLAs to form the government, and mere one or two wins won’t help. When I joined the party, Congress had offered me no post or ticket.

Do you think you are able to pull women to political rallies?

I think not only women, I am trying to reach out to every section of voters maybe it’s young or old, male and females, both.

Are you focusing on entire Gwalior-Chambal region?

Given the limited time ahead of voting, I am trying to reach out constituencies in our region, at least twice. Till now, I have campaigned in Gwalior, Gwalior East, Ambah, Sumawali, Joura, Mehgaon, Gohad and Pohari.

You think old uproar of SC/ST Act amendment issue will again impact polls in the region?

Yes, it was a prominent issue back in year 2018 but the intensity of the issue is not the same this time round. But the issue had benefitted Congress in 2018 and will again work in our favour in bypolls.

If cases of atrocities on Dalits, especially at Hathras in neighbouring UP will have any impact on bypolls in MP?

These cases in neighbouring UP don’t have no direct bearing in MP but yes, such incidents tarnish the image of the Bharatiya Janta Party.

Would you like to comment on Kamal Nath vs Imarti Devi controversy?

It was purely a controversy created by the BJP to vitiate atmosphere ahead of bypolls. Kamal Nath ji had clarified his stand still Imarti Devi engaged in high drama. BJP leaders also called me fuse bulb and junk when I had resigned from the BJP but I never played the victim card. The BJP is deviating from issues but still for the public in the region, the issue will be bikau v tikau (saleable v dependable).

How complicated is politics for a woman in Gwl-Chambal region known for violence and muscle-power?

Yes, being a girl it was difficult for me to pursue education and enter politics since I belong to the Dalit community where women have limited freedom. But still you need to hold your values and position, others won’t be able to defame you easily in politics.

Police officials trying to influence by-elections in the state at BJP’s behest, alleges MP Congress

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 09:22:43 +0000

In three different complaints to State Election Commission, Congress alleged that some police officials were trying to influence elections to give an advantage to the ruling party

The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress on Friday alleged that after ‘buying’ 26 MLAs of the Congress party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now trying to ‘buy’ police officials in the state to win the by-polls.

In three different complaints to the State Election Commission, the Congress alleged that some police officials were trying to influence the elections and misusing their powers to give an advantage to the ruling party.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh met with the state chief electoral officer Veera Rana on Friday and inquired about the action taken on complaints filed by the Congress.

In a complaint, the Congress alleged that some police inspectors were threatening Congress workers to vote for the BJP, assaulting Congress candidates’ kin while an ADG rank official was using his power to influence elections in his native district.

Providing a list of police officials with the documents, the Congress leader demanded removal of the police officers who were misusing their posts. In a complaint seeking removal of inspectors and ADG Bhopal Zone, Upendra Jain, Digvijay Singh claimed, “Since the ADG, Bhopal zone, Upendra Jain is a native of Rajgarh district and the district falls under his zone, he has been trying to influence the by-poll on the Biaora assembly seat of the district.”

He also provided a list of police officials allegedly working for the BJP in these by-elections in his complaint. “Many of the police officials are working like BJP workers,” he alleged.

In another complaint to the Election Commission, the Congress alleged that the brother of Congress contestant from Dimni assembly seat was beaten up by the police.

‘Gaddar, bikau’ — Congress campaign buzzwords in MP bypolls to target Scindia, defector MLAs

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 13:49:59 +0000

Congress politicians in MP are peppering their speeches, social media posts, press notes with pejoratives such as gaddar (traitor) beiman (dishonest), bikau (saleable).

Bhopal: Gaddari (treachery) has become a recurrent theme of the Congress party’s campaign in Madhya Pradesh as it targets Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyal legislators whose resignations, and subsequent defection, brought down the Kamal Nath government earlier this year.

The Congress government lasted for just 15 months, having returned to power in 2018 after a long gap of 15 years. Apart from gaddar (traitor), Congress politicians are peppering their speeches, social media posts and press notes with pejoratives such as beiman (dishonest), bikau (saleable), saudebaazi (wheeler dealer) too.

Given that Scindia was among the tallest Congress leaders in the state, the opposition party took a while to reconcile to the fall of its government in March and chose not to immediately launch a broadside against his “treachery”. They began by calling him ambitious before warming up to a vicious attack, and now even call him the “biggest bhu-mafia (land shark)”.

“Is Madhya Pradesh ka sabse bada bhu-mafia koi hai to Jyotiraditya Scindia hai (Jyotiraditya Scindia is Madhya Pradesh’s biggest land shark),’’ former Union minister and PCC chief Arun Yadav said at a campaign rally in Ashoknagar Sunday.

The Congress uses Jaichand, a 12th century Rajput ruler whose name is synonymous with treachery, to describe its legislators who resigned and later joined the BJP. On other occasions, the Scindia loyalists have been labelled as ‘bikau’ or ‘beiman’. Explaining the campaign strategy, Congress leader Bhupendra Gupta told ThePrint that most poll-bound seats fall in the Gwalior-Chambal belt once ruled by baagis (rebels). “Gaddari (treachery) is unacceptable there. People there don’t stab in the back but attack from the front,” he said. “They (former legislators) betrayed the trust of voters and hurt their pride. They (voters) do not like it.’’

Unrelenting on social media

The Congress has also been unrelenting in its attack on social media. “28 mein se 25 beiman, fir bhi BJP mahan,’’ the party tweeted on 11 October referring to the 25 Scindia loyalists. Of the 28 seats were votes will be cast on 3 November, three have fallen vacant due to incumbent MLAs’ death.

Sample some of the other recent tweets: “Gaddaro Ki ek toli loktantra ko kha gayi (a gang of traitors has devoured democracy”; “Loktantra ka samman karenge Jaichnado ke khilaf matdan karenge (we will respect democracy and vote against Jaichands”; “Jaichando ne socha tha 35 crore lekar janadesh bech denge aur janta chup rahegi. Sun lo gaddaro, agli saat pidhi tak janata sawal karegi. Kyo biken? (Jaichands thought they could sell the mandate for Rs 35 crore and voters would keep silent. For seven generations, questions will be asked why did you sell yourselves).”

BJP leader Deepak Vijayvargiya told ThePrint that even six months later, the Congress leadership has not been able to reconcile to the fact that it has lost power. “They have lost their mental balance and are so frustrated that they are using language not used in political and social space,” he said. “They don’t have political issues. Voters make demands like basic amenities, governance and health on which the Congress record was bad. What else will they talk about?’’

To malign them further, the Congress recently shared videos showing at least two former Congress legislators distributing cash and gift. The BJP called the videos either old or doctored even as the Congress insinuated that the leaders were distributing part of the money they got for switching loyalty.

The BJP and Scindia have been forced to hit back using the same terminology. Scindia called former CM Kamal Nath a traitor for not keeping the promises made ahead of the 2018 assembly elections. Responding to the now ubiquitous traitor charge, Scindia Sunday referred to himself as a kala kauwa (black crow) while recalling a famous Hindi song ‘Jhooth bole kauwa kaate’ to accuse the Congress of lying.

Byelections on November 3: BJP vs BJP in Madhya Pradesh as oldtimers resent ticket to defectors

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 13:13:57 +0000

BJP has to win 9 of the 28 bypolls on Nov 3 to retain majority support. But with the party fielding 25 defectors from the Congress, party old-timers are out to ensure the defeat of defectors.

Barring three seats that fell vacant due to the death of incumbent MLAs, the electoral exercise on November 3 will be due defections engineered by BJP in March to topple the Kamal Nath Government. But BJP which was gloating over the “big catch” Jyotiraditya Scindia and his 22-member flock, is now worried about the lasting damage it may have caused itself in the Gwalior-Chambal region, where byelections are being held for 16 seats.

The party would never admit it but its leaders privately concede they feel like spiders caught in their own web.

BJP is also finding it difficult to explain its conduct in March. The then health minister Tulsiram Silawat in the Congress Government disappeared in the middle of March and surfaced in a Bengaluru hotel huddled with other defectors. Deserting the ship when he should have been at the forefront of the war against the pandemic is being held against both Silawat and the BJP. Sanwer in Indore, the area Silawat represented in the assembly, is among the worst affected in the state.

Silawat who has been winning the seat for the Congress for many terms is now struggling to save Sanwer and his own political future. Jyotiraditya Scindia was insisting on making Silawat the deputy chief minister in Kamal Nath ministry and subsequently in the Chouhan Ministry too. State BJP leaders are now keen to ensure his defeat. The seizure of Rs 51 lakh near Sanwer from a man claiming to be a BJP worker has added to the stink around BJP as the man failed to satisfactorily account for the cash.

BJP has been downplaying the intra-party differences since the arrival of Scindia and his band of defectors. The resentment has been so widespread that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had to make three trips to Bhopal to placate the Sangh cadre.

After wresting power in the state BJP has tried to use its unending battle against the coronavirus to hide administrative failures. Shivraj Chouhan, the first chief minister to test positive, was treated in a private hospital. He was criticized for patronizing a private facility when the government was pumping massive money to treat patients in government hospitals.

WATCH: BJP minister in MP distributing money among voters

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:51:30 +0000

A video has gone viral of Bisahulal Singh of BJP In Madhya Pradesh. In the video, he can be seen distributing money among people. He currently serves as a minister in Shivraj Government.

A video has gone viral of Bisahulal Singh of BJP In Madhya Pradesh. In the video, he can be seen distributing money among people. He currently serves as a minister in Shivraj Government. He is a probable candidate of BJP from Anuppur Assembly Seat.

Congress leader and former minister Omar Singh Markam shared the video on Twitter and asked Election Commision to take necessary actions.

आदर्श आचार संहिता में इस प्रकार रूपये बांटना कानूनन अपराध है। जिस पर मैं @ECISVEEP का ध्यान आकर्षित करना चाहता हूं। इस वायरल फोटो की जांच कर कड़ी कानूनी कार्यवाही की जावे।।

On September 29, Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced bypolls at 28 Assembly segments in Madhya Pradesh.

As per the schedule, nominations would begin on October 9 along with the notification of the polls. Last date for filing nominations would be October 16, scrutiny would be held on October 17. The last date for withdrawal would be October 19 while voting would be held on November 3. The votes will be counted on November 10, along with the counting for the Bihar assembly elections.