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BJP govt wins trust vote in Maharashtra Assembly

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fadnavis_bjp

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ minority government Wednesday won the vote of confidence of the state assembly by a voice vote, while the Shiv Sena opted for the role of opposition here.

The development was preceded by the unanimous election of BJP leader Haribhau Bagde as the new Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly.

The Congress and Shiv Sena cried foul over the newly-elected speaker’s decision to reject the demand for balloting in the trust vote and instead to settle for a voice vote.

State Congress president Manikrao Thakre alleged that the government has failed to prove its majority as per Governor C.V. Rao’s directives.

“This is a murder of democracy and the entire state has witnessed it. This government continues to be in minority and must resign immediately,” Thakrey demanded.

Shiv Sena’s Ramdas Kadam and other leaders also demanded a count of the voice votes to ascertain how many were in favour of the BJP government.

Thakre said a delegation of all parties would meet the governor to apprise him of the developments.

“We will urge the governor to either order a fresh of vote of confidence since today’s vote was not done properly. The A.B. Vajpayee government in the past at the Centre had fallen because of just one vote. Here, this government fell short of at least 25 votes and has no right to continue. We will not allow the government to work,” he declared.

Congress Legislature Party leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said the ruling party violated rules and must seek a fresh vote of confidence of the house.

Modi expands cabinet, inducts 21 new faces

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cabinet-expansion-modi

New Delhi: Marred by a Shiv Sena’s boycott, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday expanded his union council of ministers, inducting 21 new faces, including four with cabinet rank, giving wide representation to several northern and central states and keeping the age limit well under 68.

The much-anticipated first ministry expansion was marred with ally Shiv Sena calling off participation in the government at the last minute – exacerbating their already strained ties.

Those who were sworn-in as cabinet ministers were former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Shiv Sena’s Suresh Prabhu, senior BJP leader Jagat Prakash Nadda and former Congressman Birender Singh.

BJP MPs Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mahesh Sharma and Bandaru Dattatreya would be ministers of state with independent charge.

Those who took oath as ministers of state were Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ram Kripal Yadav, Haribhai Parthibhai Choudhary, Sanwar Lal Jat, Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya, Giriraj Singh, Hansraj Ahir, Ram Shankar Katheria, TDP’s Y.S. Chowdary, Jayant Sinha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Babul Supriyo, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Vijay Sampla.

Former Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu was sworn-in as a cabinet minister. Prabhu, who is the prime minister’s interlocutor for the G20, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is expected to become a Rajya Sabha member.

The Sena at the last minute recalled Anil Desai, who it had nominated for induction in the union ministry. According to reports, Desai arrived in Delhi for the oath-taking ceremony but was ordered to return. The growing bitterness could have further ramifications in Maharashtra, where the two former long-time allies have failed to reach an agreement over government formation.

This also puts a question mark on the continuance of lone Shiv Sena representative Anant Geete in the Modi ministry. Geeta is cabinet minister for heavy industries and public enterprises.

With the new induction, Modi’s 45-member ministry now totals 66. He inducted four cabinet ministers, three ministers of state with independent charge, and 14 ministers of state (MoS).

Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is widely tipped to get the defence portfolio, was the first to take oath at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda, who is known to be close to Modi and party chief Amit Shah, and Birender Singh, who left the Congress ahead of the recent Haryana assembly elections to join the BJP, were administered oath as cabinet ministers by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Modi also brought into his ministry the party’s known Muslim face in Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, adding to Najma Heptullah, who is minority affairs minister. Naqvi is an MoS.

He also added to the representation of women by inducting Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, BJP MP from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, taking the number to eight.

Giriraj Singh, 61, who courted controversy with his comment while campaigning for the national elections that “those who oppose Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan” and was also booked for the hate speech, also got a place as minister of state.

The new ministry has most people in their 50s, with the oldest being Bandaru Dattatreya, MoS independent charge, at 68.

The youngest is well-known singer Babul Supriyo, the only face in the ministry from West Bengal. The Asansol MP, who was inducted as MoS, is 43, while Olympian shooter Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is 44.

The only National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally to get a berth in Sunday’s expansion was Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Rajya Sabha MP, Y.S. Chowdary as an MoS.

Among those who were widely tipped to get a berth and were inducted are Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MoS independent charge, Ram Kirpal Yadav, a former Lalu Prasad aide who quit the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jayant Sinha, son of BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha, and Vijay Sampla, BJP Hoshiarpur MP.

Sinha’s entry into the government marks the coming in of the second generation of BJP politicians. The IIT-Delhi and Harvard-educated Hazaribagh MP is an investment fund manager and management consultant. His entry is likely to give a fillip to the BJP’s chances in Jharkhand which goes to the polls in November-December.

Another new face is Hansraj Ahir, BJP MP from Maharashtra. Ahir is well-known for having unearthed the coal mining scam. He took oath as an MoS.

The states to get wide representation are Maharashtra, where the BJP has formed government for the first time, with two ministers — Suresh Prabhu and Ahir, adding to the prominent names already in the cabinet, including Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar.

In Haryana, where it won in the recent assembly elections and formed the government, has a new minister in Birender Singh.

Keeping in mind the forthcoming elections in Bihar, the council has three new faces from the state – Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ram Kirpal Yadav and Giriraj Singh. Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Ravi Shankar Prasad are from Bihar.

Uttar Pradesh got the largest representation, with four new faces — Mahesh Sharma, a doctor who owns Kailash Hospital and is an MP from Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida); Naqvi, who is a Rajya Sabha member; Ram Shankar Katheria, Agra MP; and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.

Gujarat, where Modi was thw chief minister for three terms, got two new faces in Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, and Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundarya.

(IANS)

Why alarm over Majlis win in Maharashtra is unwarranted

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Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

by Advocate S. Warsi and Faisal Ahmed Khan

Even though the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has succeeded in winning only two seats in the just concluded Maharashtra assembly polls, it has won the hearts of lakhs of people and is now able to walk hand in hand with the minorities and people from backward communities.

The party has not only demonstrated its ability to contest elections outside its stronghold of Hyderabad and Telangana/Andhra Pradesh but also proved that the Muslim voter is no longer a puppet of the “secular” parties. The Muslim voter, overwhelmingly young, is no longer prepared to bear the burden of secularism all by himself.

The General election results early this year have had a direct impact on the assembly elections in which the Muslim voters saw secularism at its weakest with the majority of voters openly polling in the name of religion!

After the Maharashtra verdict, some people who supported reasoned saying as to how long the Muslim voter will carry the burden of secularism on his shoulders and allow himself to be taken for a ride time and again.

After all, Muslims have all these years voted for the parties of Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Mulayam, Ajit Singh, Lalu Yadav, Communists and Mamata and elected them and their party candidates in the name of Hindu-Muslim unity and secularism.

In the general elections this year, the Hindu voters in north India chose the hardline Hindutva candidates who openly spewed venom against Muslims amidst unprecedented communal polarization. Under the circumstances, why is it surprising if Muslim voters choose to vote for candidates who are seen as protecting their interests?

Many in the community feel that the so-called secular parties have largely ignored their problems all these years and in fact instead of solving them they’ve muddled them up. Now in this scenario if they witness someone from their own ranks came forward to take up their problems and concerns then there should be no objection from any quarter.

MIM Asaduddin Owaisi

MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, who has been a very successful parliamentarian and a good orator, completely demolished Samajwadi Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray in Maharashtra and performed well. His party’s success deserves to be acknowledged and seen in its right perspective, instead of being portrayed as a mere “Muslim party”.

Many people have chosen to see the Majlis success in Maharashtra polls as a threat to secularism and even the country’s integrity. What do they think about the role of the BJP unabashedly devoted to the Hindus, Kerala Congress of Christians or the BSP which is dedicated to the welfare of the Dalits?

This is not to argue that the Majlis should and would be an answer to these parties catering to a particular community or group. However, until and unless all sections of the society get their due and their representatives in the parliament to convey their viewpoint, no democracy can truly claim to be one.

Some suggest that the MIM is nothing but the Shiv Sena of Indian Muslims. But this argument doesn’t fly. Shiv Sena’s existence has always been on the ground of promoting regional chauvinism and hatred towards non-Maharashtrians and openly indulging in violence at each and every opportunity.

This hasn’t been the case with the MIM. Shiv Sainiks have been found guilty in a number of communal riots and violence all over the country.  The Justice Sri Krishna Commission held them responsible for the 1992-93 Bombay riots in which more than 900 people died.

So comparing the MIM’s championing of the minority rights with the violent politics of Shiv Sena isn’t fair. Of course, Akbaruddin Owaisi’s controversial speeches do not help and cannot be defended by anyone. But then, as the MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has repeatedly asked, why Togadias and Adityanaths roam free in spite of their continuous hate speeches and venomous propaganda? In the wake of Muzaffarnagar carnage, BJP president Amit Shah openly asked Hindu voters to take revenge for ‘love jihad’ and other crimes.

Given the disappointment with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and others and lack of trust in the other available options, it’s hardly surprising if Muslims voted for the parties like the MIM.

Since the BJP came into power, there has been a hysterical hate campaign against the Muslims in the name of ‘love jihad’ and other imagined conspiracies. This has been visible almost in every state. Inflammatory speech has become an everyday job and the RSS has been aggressively enforcing “Hindu” identity and agenda.

No wonder Muslims are forced to turn to their own parties. If they continue to vote in support of a particular party, then the worth and strength of this party with even a handful MLA’s increases. Hopefully, there would be more representatives of Muslims in the parliament who could raise and voice their opinion freely.

However, the party articulating minority concerns and interests could and should work for the betterment of the society as a whole. So the initial MIM success in Maharashtra needs to be seen from this perspective and viewed as a good development for democracy. After all, it is the right of everyone in a democracy to choose their representatives and voice their opinion.

Advocate S. Warsi and Faisal Ahmed Khan are lawyers based in New Delhi. Views expressed here are personal.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) debuts with victory in Maharashtra, will now focus on UP, West Bengal & other states

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MIM Asaduddin Owaisi

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen, scored a stunning victory in Maharashtra by winning two seats, marking a relatively assured debut in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

In its first attempt to expand outside Hyderabad and have a pan-India presence, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party bagged the prestigious Byculla seat in Mumbai and the Aurangabad Central and East seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Waris Yusuf Pathan became the party’s first member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in the state when he was declared the winner in Byculla, over rivals Madhu Chavan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and gangster Arun Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS).

However, the big gain for the AIMIM came in the Aurangabad Central seat, where its candidate, former NDTV journalist Imtiaz Jaleel, defeated sitting Shiv Sena MLA Pradeep Jaiswal by 19,982 votes.

In neighbouring Aurangabad East, the AIMIM’s Abdul Gaffar Quadri led for most of the counting, opening up a lead of nearly 30,000 votes before being upstaged by the BJP’s Atul Save by a slim margin of 4,260 votes. Quadri, too, managed an impressive tally of 60,268 votes.

Aurangabad was a part of Hyderabad state during the Nizam’s rule.

In Nanded South, in the initial rounds of counting, the party’s Moin Mukhtar led the BJP’s Dilip Kandkurte by 4,000 votes, but Kandkurte managed to bounce back. By the end of counting, Mukhtar was relegated to third place, finishing with 34,590 votes. Hemant Patil of the Shiv Sena won the seat. Likewise, in Parbhani, in a riveting battle for second place, the AIMIM’s Syed Khalad Syad Sahebjan finished ahead of the BJP’s Anandrao Bharose by nearly 3,000 votes. Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Patil won the seat.

The AIMIM also managed creditable third place finishes in Nanded North and the four Mumbai-Thane constituencies of Kurla, Mumbra-Kalwa, Versova and Mumbadevi. And, for a party known to represent Muslims, the AIMIM fielded a Hindu candidate in Avinash Barve from Kurla.

Scores of supporters of the party celebrated the victory at Darussalam, the party headquarters in Mumbai. A stream of workers and supporters were seen congratulating the MIM chief and his younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, who aggressively campaigned in Mumbai and parts of Marathwada.

The MIM leaders felt it was a big achievement for the party considering that it did not have any organisational structure in the state and majority of its candidates were political novices.

“It is a good beginning. We will now build on this victory and expand the party to other states,” a senior party leader told the media. He said the results reflect the disillusionment of Muslims with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

“The Congress-NCP alliance was in power for 15 years but did nothing for the development of Muslims. It even failed to protect the community. In fact, Muslim youths were arrested and tortured after blasts in Malegaon in which right-wing fundamentalist groups were involved,” the leader said.

He pointed out that the condition of Muslims, who constitute over 13 percent of the state’s population, went from bad to worse during the last 15 years. “The Muslims were looking for an alternative so that their voice can be heard in the legislature and the MIM provided them the platform,” said another leader.

Focus on other states

Claiming that the poll campaign in Maharashtra witnessed Dalit-Muslim unity, the MP said the party will spread this message to Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other states.

MIM leader in Telangana assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi termed the party’s victory Maharashtra as historic. Akbaruddin, who led the poll campaign, said it was for the first time that a party went to another state and won two seats in a short span of 15 days.

He said despite the hurdles created in MIM’s campaign by the police, people backed the party. He assured the people that MIM will work hard to live up to their expectations by raising their voice in the legislature.

BJP wins power on own in Haryana; to rule Maharashtra

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Mumbai/Chandigarh: The BJP Sunday created history in Haryana by getting a clear majority on its own for the first time and said that it would form the government in Maharashtra too where it finished the single largest group in a hung assembly but has been offered support by the NCP.

The Congress was humiliated in both Haryana and Maharashtra which it had been ruling for two and three consecutive terms respectively.

For the first time, the Bharatiya Janata Party got a clear mandate in Haryana, winning 47 seats in the 90-member assembly with a 33.2 percent vote share.

The BJP Parliamentary Party Board met in New Delhi Sunday evening to discuss chief minister probables for Haryana and Maharashtra. The party later announced it would send senior leaders Rajnath Singh to Maharashtra and Venkaiah Naidu to Haryana to take a decision on the chief ministerial candidates.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, general secretary J.P. Nadda said he would accompany Rajnath Singh.

On the offer of support from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, Nadda said no call has been taken yet.

The names doing rounds in Haryana include Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh activist Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma and party spokesperson Abhimanyu. Other names were of leaders, who did not contest, including union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal. Congressman-turned-BJP leader Birender Singh is also in the running.

Senior party sources told IANS that the new government could be sworn in before Diwali this week. The Hindu festival of lights falls on Oct 23.

In Maharashtra, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member assembly, falling well short of the 145 seats required for a simple majority. Its ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha won one.

With the NCP, which won 41 seats, offering BJP “outside support”, leaving the runner up and former ally Shiv Sena high and dry, BJP president Amit Shah said in New Delhi that his party would “form the next government” in the state.

NCP leader Praful Patel said Maharashtra needed stability and so his party was ready to prop up a BJP government.

The Shiv Sena, which ended up with 63 seats, had earlier said it was ready to make up with the BJP, a sentiment shared by some of the latter’s leaders, including L.K. Advani, one of those who was not happy with the decision to dump its ally of 25 long years after a row over seat sharing ahead of elections.

The Congress, which, with the NCP, ruled Maharashtra for 15 years until their alliance collapsed before the elections, finished third with 42 seats.

Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray said that nobody from the BJP has approached his party for support, and his party would not approach it with any proposal.

“If (the BJP) they make any proposal, we shall consider it,” he said.

Earlier, Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that while no discussions had taken place with the Sena, “if the need arises, we expect our friends to support us”, while Sena leader Anil Desai added that the acrimony between the parties was history.

Amit Shah said the victory in Haryana and the near victory in Maharashtra proved that the “Modi wave” which catapulted the BJP to power in the Lok Sabha battle was still intact.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena cut a sorry figure and is likely to end up with just three seats. Independents and smaller parties could have 19 members. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) made an impressive debut winning two seats while losing three by narrow margins in its first attempt to expand its base outside Hyderabad.

The NCP blamed the Congress for the Maharashtra verdict. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan accepted responsibility for the Congress rout.

Outgoing Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda also accepted defeat and submitted his resignation to Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki to pave way for formation of the new government.

The BJP’s win in Haryana is a big achievement considering it had won only four seats in the 2009 assembly polls.

Kailash Vijayvargiya, in charge of the BJP’s party affairs in Haryana, said: “People of Haryana wanted a change. Our party cadres and leaders worked very hard. The credit for our success has to go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.”

The Congress won only 15 seats, down from its tally of 40 last time. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ended with 19 seats, down from 31 seats in 2009.

“This is the Janadesh (public mandate). I accept this and wish well for the incoming government,” said Hooda, who has at been at the helm since March 2005.

“The result is a surprise for us (INLD). We will review where we went wrong. People have given their mandate to the BJP. We will extend our support to the government for Haryana’s progress,” INLD leader Abhay Chautala told media after his party’s defeat.

A record 76.54 percent of Haryana’s 1.63 crore electorate voted in the assembly polls this time, while around 64 percent of the 8.35 crore electorate turned out in Maharashtra.

(IANS)

10 percent of Maharashtra polling stations 'hyper-sensitive'

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FEATURES

Mumbai: With barely 24 hours left for polling in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Election Commission has identified over 9,900 or nearly 10 percent of the 91,376 polling stations in the state as “hyper-sensitive”, officials said here Tuesday.

Adequate police and paramilitary forces will be deployed in the vicinity of these polling stations to prevent any incidents of violence or threats.

The security would include over 35,000 state police personnel, 12 companies of State Reserve Police Force, 17 companies of Central Industrial Security Force, 11,500 Home Guards, Quick Response Teams, Flying Squads and others at the polling stations.

The Election Commission, in its standard directives, has also banned use of mobile phones within 100 metres from the polling stations. Political parties can set up their tables outside 200 metres with two chairs to help the voters.

Even the media will be kept out of polling stations and any surveys or exit polls would be allowed to be released only after the polling hours end.

Around 8.35 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise from 7 am to 6 pm Wednesday (Oct 15) to elect 288 representatives from among 4,119 candidates in the state.

The bitter month-long campaign ended here Monday evening by the main contenders – Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Shiv Sena – besides other parties like the Bahujan Saman Party, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI-M, and other regional and local parties and 1,699 Independents.

Of the 288 seats, 29 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 25 for the Scheduled Tribes candidates, with a majority of the constituencies having five- or six-cornered contests.

(IANS)

BJP-Shiv Sena alliance of 25 years on verge of collapse

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Mumbai: The 25-year-old alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena was on the verge of collapse Friday with both parties adopting a tough stance on the issue of seat-sharing for the Oct 15 state assembly elections, party officials said.

Both the warring partners are holding a series of crucial meetings during the day to take a final call on continuing the alliance.

“It’s on the verge of breaking – Only a formal announcement is awaited,” a senior state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, requesting anonymity, told IANS early Friday.

Similarly, a senior Shiv Sena functionary hinted to IANS that the alliance “is over”, but the party has decided to wait for further developments before declaring its stand.

However, a ray of hope emerged Friday morning for the feuding partners with union Minister Nitin Gadkari meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi over the issue.

Gadkari is expected to arrive in Mumbai Friday afternoon with a compromise formula intended to save the alliance.

The crux of the issue is primarily seat-sharing, besides projecting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as the next chief ministerial candidate.

The BJP is demanding both parties contest 135 seats each with the remaining 18 in the house of 288 being allotted to other smaller alliance partners.

The Shiv Sena’s latest offer is 119 seats to the BJP, including the share of the other smaller partners, which the BJP rejected outright.

There has also been no commitment from the BJP on who the next chief ministerial candidate will be or from which party.

After BJP president Amit Shah gave indications in his public rallies in the state Thursday that the “BJP will form the next government” without mentioning its allies, the party reportedly served a 24-hour ‘ultimatum’, which Shiv Sena dismissed late Thursday night.

The Shiv Sena also resolved after an emergency meeting that any final decision on the issue – to snap ties or to continue the alliance – would be left to Uddhav Thackeray’s discretion.

Both parties were fully prepared to start filing nominations of candidates from Saturday without finalising the contentious issue of seat-sharing between them.

The sharp tussle between the allies has suddenly changed the political scenario with optimism brewing in the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party camps over their prospects in next month’s elections.

As the BJP-Shiv Sena remained at daggers drawn, smaller partners like the Republican Party of India (A) and Swabhimani Sanghatana squirmed with apprehensions over their fate and future if the matter remained unresolved or the alliance collapsed.

The leaders of the smaller partners have been making desperate attempts to persuade both Shiv Sena and the BJP leadership to work out a compromise solution to the crisis.

(IANS)

Bypoll results a shock: Shiv Sena

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Mumbai (IANS): The Shiv Sena Wednesday described the Sep 13 bypoll results as an “unexpected shock and surprise” and said there are lessons to be learnt from it for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.

“Don’t take the voters for granted… They are very intelligent. Keep your feet on the ground and don’t indulge in sword-fights from the air… Otherwise, the people will skin you,” the party said in an oblique reference to ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in an edit in the party organ ‘Saamana’.

The edit came a day after the BJP suffered a setback in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan bypolls.

“This was entirely unexpected, a shock and a surprise for all,” said the editorial.

The Sena said that for the second time in two months, first in Bihar and now in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the BJP has suffered shocking reverses, and the surprise beneficiaries have been the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

“It is a mystery – the voters’ mind,” the edit admitted.

In the Lok Sabha polls last May, the BJP secured 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh for which credit went to Amit Shah, who later took over as the party president. But the results of the recent bypolls tell a different story.

Even in Rajasthan, where the Congress was completely buried, it is now sprouting as it managed to grab three assembly seats “in Modi’s Gujarat, which was entirely unexpected”, the editorial said.

In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, the much-discussed issue of ‘love-jihad’ raked up by Yogi Adityanath had no impact and instead offered an opportunity to the SP to revive itself after the Lok Sabha debacle.

Nevertheless, ‘Saamana’ said the defeat in the bypolls cannot be attributed to a decline in the “Modi wave” just as nobody is crediting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi for the victory the Congress notched.

“Usually, after every election, the winds change… Lok Sabha results cannot influence assembly outcome or the assembly results have no bearing on municipal polls outcome as the issues differ each time,” it said.

It lauded Modi for doing a great job on the national and international levels and working to enhance national security and improving the country’s image globally.

“He went to Japan, Bhutan, Nepal… played drums and flute with Japanese children, signed agreements for a bullet trains and development of his constituency Varanasi, and is now preparing to meet US President B. Obama,” the edit said.

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