Archives for June 2024

New Delhi: Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.

In his first speech after the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Modi laid out his vision for the third term saying it would be a tenure of big decisions and key emphasis would be on uprooting corruption.

“The fight against corruption is becoming tougher by the day. Corruption is being shamelessly glorified for political interest. In our third term, NDA will focus a lot on rooting out corruption of all kinds,” Modi said.

Modi’s speech did not refer to its reduced numbers in Parliament but focussed on the “clean sweep” victories in assembly elections as well as Lok Sabha wins in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Modi also said that the Congress has been wiped out in several states and pointed out that the combined number of seats won by the opposition alliance was less than that of the BJP alone.

Modi’s victory speech at the BJP headquarters, however, was thin on politics and heavy on the future roadmap of his government, which he noted was coming for the third consecutive time, a first in six decades.

“Our Constitution is our guiding light. I want to assure that the Centre will work with all states, irrespective of the party in power there, to work towards our resolve to make India a developed country,” Modi said.

The prime minister arrived at the BJP headquarters to a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters who chanted ‘Modi, Modi’. He was greeted by BJP President J P Nadda and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah on the dais.

The backdrop on the stage had ‘Dhanyawad Bharat’ written in various languages, including Urdu.

Modi began his speech with ‘Jai Jagannath’ and thanked the people of Odisha for giving BJP a clear mandate for the first time.

He also thanked TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar — his NDA allies – for the electoral successes in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately resign “accepting moral defeat” because he campaigned in the Lok Sabha polls claiming that the BJP would win over 400 seats but in reality, it failed to get a majority on its own.

Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said she would try to ensure that Modi is out of power from the Centre, and the “INDIA bloc is in”.

“PM Modi has lost all credibility, he should immediately resign. India has won, Modi has lost. The PM broke many parties and now people have broken his morale. Modi is now falling at the feet of TDP and Nitish (Kumar) to form the government,” she said.

Even in Varanasi, Modi suffered initial jitters, while the BJP lost in Ayodhya despite building the Ram Temple which shows people have rejected his religion-based politics, Banerjee claimed.

She said the saffron party failed to gain the majority on its own.

“In a brute show of autocracy, they (BJP) suspended 147 opposition MPs in Parliament. Now they cannot repeat such attempts any more as they will face a vocal INDIA bloc in the parliament now,” she added.

“Atrocities and misuse of central agencies stand defeated today. We will not spare the BJP, which used to intimidate us using central agencies and the two-thirds majority in Parliament. Neither will we forgive them, nor will the other parties of the INDIA bloc,” the TMC boss added.

To a question, she said she wants the Centre to release funds due to West Bengal and stop harassing people through ED and CBI.

She said her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC’s national general secretary, would join the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday but lamented that her party has not been informed about it yet.

“They (BJP) are now praying to Nitish (Kumar) and TDP. But as much as I know them, they will not listen to BJP’s machinations,” she said.

“I have texted Rahul (congratulating him), maybe they were busy. They haven’t contacted us yet, but it doesn’t matter if they do or they don’t,” she said.

Banerjee said she had spoken to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and congratulated NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray.

She said that Modi has insulted Bengal and the women of the state by constantly harping on the “false allegations” of atrocities of women in Sandeshkhali,

Banerjee said “I can never pardon this BJP led by Modi and Amit Shah. There are good elements in RSS and BJP, I had good ties with Atalji (Atal Behari Vajpayee). Till the time I am alive, I won’t tolerate Bengal’s defamation by BJP leaders like Modi.”

Banerjee said she will soon file a defamation suit against the falsehood and personal attacks made by BJP leaders and some others who want to defame Bengal.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah should quit on moral ground after making “so many false claims and projections about Bengal”, she said.

A “traitor in BJP camp” has controlled the election process in West Bengal, Banerjee claimed.

She alleged that the scrapping of jobs of 26,000 teachers and the cancellation of over one lakh OBC certificates showed the sinister gameplan of the BJP to conspire against Bengal.

Banerjee congratulated the people of state for TMC’s superlative show in the Lok Sabha polls fighting negative and false propaganda by BJP and a section of the media.

“People are the real man of the match today,” she said.

Banerjee claimed that the exit poll results were fake and manufactured by the BJP.

The TMC chief alleged that the EC acted at the behest of the BJP.

On the INDIA bloc, she said, “I had offered them a few seats. I was ready to make adjustments for the cause of INDIA. However, due to the arrogance of some leaders, that did not happen. Anyway, we will be attending the INDIA bloc meeting and putting up a united fight against BJP. We are happy that INDIA won and BJP lost.”

Banerjee accused Modi and Amit Shah of threatening her party leaders of arrests and raids and even offering them money.

Banerjee said “I am offering support to all my INDIA bloc members. Let’s fight BJP together. BJP only knows to offer money to divide but we will not allow them to implement their plan.”

Pledging support to jailed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, she said when she will visit Delhi next time “I will meet his wife.”

Asked about the defeat of state Congress chief Adhir Choudhury at the hands of TMC candidate Yusuf Pathan, she said, “He (Chowdhury) is a BJP man. People have spurned his arrogance”

Lucknow: From putting up a decent performance in the last Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 seats stitching an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led BSP drew a blank in the current general elections, dealing a severe blow to its reputation of representing the voice of Dalits in the state.

The BSP’s selection of candidates reflected its attempt to doom the chances of the opposition grouping, but the Samajwadi Party emerging as the single largest party in the state and the Congress doing better in partnership with it show that Mayawati’s factor has lost its electoral charm.

After drawing a blank in the 2014 general elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won a decent 10 of the 38 seats that it contested under the alliance.

Emerging as the second-largest party, it polled over 19 per cent votes which has remained loyal to Mayawati almost all through, thereby maintaining her relevance in UP’s electoral politics, especially as it has been considered a transferable vote.

This time round, the BSP chief faces an uphill task as she has not only announced of going solo in the coming polls, but also the fact that some of her MPs have either drifted away or shown signs of it. Besides, the political opponents have also branded Mayawati’s party as the ‘B’ team of the saffron party based on the public stand taken by her on various issues. In the recent Rajya Sabha elections, her lone MLA Uma Shankar Singh’s vote for the BJP further put a stamp on the accusations.

The BSP’s core Dalit vote bank makes it relevant in the electoral politics in the state which sends maximum 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The Dalits constitute over 20 per cent of UP electorates. The BJP is trying to neutralise her influence by making a fellow Dalit Baby Rani Maurya a senior minister in the state and Akhilesh Yadav roping in Chandra Sekhar Azad “Ravan” to diminish Mayawati’s political influences.

The results show Mayawati’s BSP has lost its relevance. Mayawati has been neither a constituent of the ruling NDA alliance nor of the opposition INDIA coalition and already decided to go alone in the upcoming polls.

The majority of its 10 MPs have either moved to the BJP or some to the SP in the current polls. The BSP supremo fielded new faces this time. BSP MP Ritesh Pandey (Ambedkarnagar) has already joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary and party’s in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Baijayant Panda.

In his resignation letter to Mayawati, Pandey alleged that it had been a long time since he had been called to attend party meetings and has also not been able to establish any kind of a dialogue with the leadership despite him trying to meet Mayawati and other senior leaders. With Pandey joining the BJP, four out of ten Lok Sabha MPs have either switched sides or made it clear that they plan to do so.

Earlier this month, the SP had announced Afzal Ansari, BSP MP from Ghazipur, as its candidate from the seat for the Lok Sabha polls.

Danish Ali, BSP MP from Amroha, was suspended last year by Mayawati for speaking in favour of TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

Kozhikode: Several saffron-clad BJP activists reportedly attacked Malayalam News Network MediaOne Tv’s headquarters here on Tuesday night amid victory celebrations, reports Maktoob Media.

The workers allegedly attempted to vandalize the premises by throwing firecrackers and tried to trespass on the channel’s studio premises.

A video claimed to be off the incident is going viral across social media platforms.

The channel had faced a ban in 2022 for its coverage critical at the RSS and the ruling BJP, however the ban was lifted by the Supreme Court of India, calling it arbitrary and unjust

Popular Malayalam Actor Suresh Gopi opened the National Democratic Alliance’s account in Kerala with a thumping majority of 74,686 votes from the Thrissur seat, prompting the BJP to celebrate the historic victory.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi acknowledges supporters during a procession before filing his nomination from the Jorhat constituency

Guwahati: Hailing Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s win from Assam’s Jorhat as “amazing and significant”, BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia on Tuesday said the political strategy adopted by his opponent, which is his party, did succeed in the elections.

Taking a dig at his party, Saikia said that money, huge publicity, presence of many leaders in the constituency and arrogant speeches by leaders campaigning for the candidate contesting against Gogoi did not yield any positive result.

Gaurav Gogoi snatched the Jorhat seat from the ruling BJP by defeating Topon Kumar Gogoi with a margin of 1,44,393 votes, according to the Election Commission.

“Special congratulations to Gaurav Gogoi for your amazing win. This result is very significant in Jorhat in many ways.

“The outcome proved that – Money, Big Publicity, Over Doses of Leaders and Arrogant Speeches does not always help to win elections,” Saikia, the MLA from Khumtai Assembly constituency, said in a post on X.

Gogoi, in return, acknowledged the BJP leader’s message and appreciated his “commitment” to the people.We may be on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but I respect your commitment to the people of Khumtai, especially during the times of floods, and your interest in agro-tourism,” he said.

Till 9:30 pm, the Election Commission website showed that the Congress leader was leading by 1,44,393 votes against BJP’s sitting MP Topon Kumar Gogoi.

For the BJP candidate’s campaign in Jorhat, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma spent several nights there, and many of his ministers, MLAs and other leaders camped for weeks at the constituency.

The entire campaign for Topon Kumar Gogoi was led by Sarma, who addressed multiple meetings and held several roadshows covering all the 10 assembly constituencies under the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat.

New Delhi: At least five candidates, including four from the BJP, crushed the previous record for the highest victory margin in the Lok Sabha elections, with Indore’s incumbent MP Shankar Lalwani of the BJP topping the list with a winning margin of 11.72 lakh votes.

The Congress’ Rakibul Hussain scored the second-highest victory margin with 10.12 lakh from Dhubri in Assam.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan won from Vidisha by 8.21 lakh votes — the third highest margin — followed by the BJP’s CR Patil, who recorded a margin of 7.73 lakh from Navsari in Gujarat.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah won from Gandhinagar by a margin of over 7.44 lakh votes.

The previous record for the highest winning margin was held by Pritam Munde, also from the BJP, who had won a bypoll in October 2014 from Beed in Maharashtra by more than 6.96 lakh votes.

Patil, a three-term MP from Navsari, held the record for the second-highest margin after he won by 6.89 lakh votes in 2019.

He has now broken his own record.

Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia won from Guna in Madhya Pradesh by more than 5.40 lakh votes.

Among other candidates who won by a margin of over 5 lakh votes are the BJP’s Gujarat candidates Rajpalsingh Jadav from Panchmahal (5.09 lakh) and Hemang Joshi from Vadodara (5.82 lakh), its Bhopal nominee Alok Sharma (5.01 lakh) and Sudheer Gupta from Mandsour (over 5 lakh).

The BJP’s Mahesh Sharma won from Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar by 5.59 lakh votes while the saffron party’s candidate from Raipur in Chattisgarh Brijmohan Agarwal secured a margin of 5.75 lakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi won by more than 1.52 lakh votes from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi bettered Sonia Gandhi’s 2019 victory margin from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, winning by more than 3.90 lakh votes.

Gandhi also won from Wayanad in Kerala by a margin of more than 3.64 lakh votes.

Former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb of the BJP won from Tripura West by a margin of more than 6 lakh votes while Kriti Dev Debbarman of the saffron party won the Tripura East constituency by more than 4.86 lakh votes.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has cast doubts on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) claim of victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stating that the party has not secured a majority on its own. Speaking to the media a day after the votes were counted, Raut emphasized the fragile nature of the potential NDA government.

Raut pointed out that the BJP has only won around 235-240 seats, falling short of the majority needed to form the government independently. “They were talking about bringing Modi ki Sarkar. Where is Modi Sarkar?” he questioned, suggesting that the BJP’s claims of dominance were overstated.

Highlighting the dependence on allies such as Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, Raut warned that the NDA government could be unstable. “If the NDA government is formed with the support of these two pillars – Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar – it can fall anytime,” he asserted. He also criticized the BJP, stating that the party has lost respect and that the “Modi brand is finished.”

Raut accused the BJP of using government agencies to secure their seats. “The seats BJP has won are all because of ED, CBI, and IT,” he alleged, referring to the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Income Tax Department. Despite this, he acknowledged the BJP’s right to form the government if they can secure the necessary support. “If they are going to form the government, let them. We welcome it because it is a democracy. They have the right to form the government,” he conceded.

However, Raut also emphasized that the opposition, under the INDIA alliance, has been given a significant mandate by the people. “People have given us 250 seats and we have a mandate to form the government,” he stated, suggesting that the INDIA alliance is also in a position to claim leadership.

He further questioned the loyalty of BJP’s allies, hinting at possible defections. “If Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar decide that they do not want to support a dictator and stand with democracy, what will they do?” he asked, implying that these leaders might reconsider their support for the BJP.