KHAMMAM: Stating that regional parties are going to play a key role in the coming days, Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao said the interests of states are going to be protected only if there are regional players.

Addressing election meetings in Khammam and Kothagudem on Sunday, he stated that the Congress and BJP are cut from the same cloth. “Did they (BJP and Congress) ever raise the flag of Telangana? Did they ever take the Telangana struggle on their shoulders? They only insulted us, fired at us and put us in jails whenever we started (Telangana struggle). Why would they have love (towards the state),” he said.

Stating that Khammam was in extremely bad shape when he visited during the Congress regime, the chief minister said the BRS government had transformed the city by spending thousands of crores of public funds. “During the Congress regime, people were suffering due to the shortage of power and water supply. However, people are now getting uninterrupted power supply and ample drinking water,” he added.

“After the BRS wins a record third time and forms a government in Telangana, I will inaugurate the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project (SRLIP),” KCR declared. Switching to Urdu, he urged the minorities to vote for the pink party, which, he said, stood up for their rights. The Congress had spent “only Rs 900 crore” for minorities during its regime while the BRS government had already allocated over Rs 12,000 crore, he averred.

Targeting Congress leaders Thummala Nageswara Rao and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, he termed them ‘Karkataka damanulu’ (cunning). KCR mentioned that Khammam had become peaceful now that both the leaders had left the pink party.

The BRS chief said Srinivasa Reddy had earlier prevented party candidates from contesting for an Assembly seat from the erstwhile Khammam district. “People will not tolerate such antics and taught him a befitting lesson,” he remarked.

Additionally, he urged the residents to vote for Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, who is the BRS candidate from Khammam. Addressing the crowd in Khammam, Ajay said, “I did my utmost during my nine-year tenure as the minister for Khammam. If the people bless me again, I will continue to work for development and address the concerns of the people.”

Khammam MP Nama Nageswara Rao, Rajya Sabha member Vaddiraju Ravichandra, MLAs Kandala Upender Reddy and Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, MLC Tata Madhu and others also participated in the event.

KCR says BRS govt transformed SCCL

At the meeting in Kothagudem, the chief minister stated that the BRS government had successfully turned the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), which was ignored by the Congress during its regime, into a profitable enterprise. He highlighted that under the State government, the company’s turnover had increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 33,000 crore. Furthermore, the government implemented a 3% increment to employees and created about 15,256 dependent jobs. Additionally, the compensation for the death of employees increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under the BRS government, KCR added. Approximately 22,000 house site pattas were distributed under GO 76 in Kothagudem, he stated.Kothagudem BRS candidate, Vanama Venkateswara Rao, and other party members were also in attendance at the event.

Ajay in no position to criticise others: Thummala

Former minister and Congress candidate for Khammam, Thummala Nageswara Rao, responded to BRS leaders over their allegations and remarks.He pointed out that Ajay Kumar had changed parties four times and, as a result, does not have the right to criticise others.

He also mentioned that due to Ajay Kumar, his father, Nageswara Rao, had become unpopular. Additionally, he stated that he had attempted to protect the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) until the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. It was only when KCR requested his support that he joined the BRS, he added.

Thummala drew an analogy, likening KCR to a non-useful “vayyari bhama” and suggested that a “tumma” tree would be more beneficial for farmers. He further alleged that Ajay Kumar had misappropriated funds related to Gollapadu channel works and accused him of installing central lighting systems on small streets for commissions.

Additionally, the Congress leader claimed that he had played a role in KCR obtaining a ministerial position in former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinet.He said that lying was not a new occurrence for the BRS supremo, and thus, his statements should be taken with caution. Tummala said people are ready to vote against Ajay Kumar on November 30.

HYDERABAD: Women in Telangana can benefit up to Rs 4,000 if Congress is voted to power in the November 30 assembly polls, by way of social pension, savings on LPG cylinder and free travel in government buses, AICC former chief Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday.

Addressing a women gathering at Ambatipalli village near Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage of Kaleshwaram project, he also said the Congress has decided to “give back” all the money allegedly “looted” by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

He said, as the first step, every month, Rs 2,500 will be deposited as social pension into women’s bank accounts.

Also, Rs 1,500 will be saved as the Congress, if voted to power, will supply a LPG cylinder, which is now costing Rs 1,000, at Rs 500 and another Rs 1,000 by way of free travel on government buses.

“With all these you will benefit Rs 4,000 every month. This is called Parajala sarkar (people’s government),” he said.

Alleging that Rs 1 lakh crore was looted in Telangana, the Gandhi scion said the BRS, BJP and MIM are contesting on one side in the upcoming polls even as the fight is between Congress and the KCR-led party.

“MIM and BJP are supporting BRS. So you will have to support Congress fully to remove Dorala sarkar (feudal regime) and establish Parajala sarkar (people’s regime),” he said.

Alleging that the Kaleshwaram Project has become like an “ATM” for KCR for making money, Rahul said in order to run this machine, all the families in Telangana would have to “shell out Rs 31,500 per annum till 2040”.

NEW DELHI: Once known for his stylish flicks and sharp catching on the cricket field, Mohammed Azharuddin has entered the electoral fray in Telangana as the Congress candidate from Jubilee Hills, saying he will bat aggressively and field properly to win on this new pitch.

A swashbuckling batsman from Hyderabad, Azhar made a mark in the cricketing arena with his inimitable swagger and stylish stroke play.

Like the explosive start he had to his cricketing career with three back-to-back centuries, he also began his political innings with a win from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009.

He lost from Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur in 2014 and after waiting in the wings patiently he is now entering the state electoral contest for the first time by seeking to wrest the Jubilee Hills constituency in the Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment from the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

the former India cricket captain said he was yearning to contest from his home state and do something for the people of Telangana after being an MP from Uttar Pradesh and then unsuccessfully contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur.

“I was very happy to get the ticket this time from my own state. I must thank my high command – Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Sonia Gandhi ji. Rahul ji, Priyanka ji and most importantly our PCC chief A Revanth Reddy – for giving me this opportunity. Insha Allah (God willing) we will try our best and win the election,” said Azhar, who is a veteran of 99 Test matches and 334 One Day Internationals.

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president said, “Winds of change are blowing in Telangana in the Congress’ favour and we will definitely prevail.”

“It is the right time, we have the right people, we are working very hard and the public also wants the Congress to come to power. Development that has happened is only in some urban areas and not elsewhere, so we will focus there and the six guarantees we have made, we will definitely abide by them and implement them,” Azhar told PTI.

Asked about him sticking with the Congress since he got the parliamentary polls ticket from Moradabad in 2009, he said loyalty has been very important to him since the beginning.

“I have always felt that whenever someone gives you the opportunity one should be loyal,” the 60-year-old said.

Azhar cited the example of how he stuck with the bank that gave him a job even before he broke into the Indian team.

“When I made the three hundreds in the first three matches to set a record I had various opportunities and people were willing to give me any amount of money and jobs but one has to be loyal. When I was nothing, the bank gave me the much needed job. Similarly the Congress gave me the opportunity and I fought two elections, so you have to be loyal because loyalty is the most important thing ” the former India cricket captain said.

“Sometimes things do not go according to how you want them to go but that means it was not meant to be because destiny also plays a very important role,” he said.

Azhar said people have seen what the BRS has done and they know that the Congress has done much more for them in the past.

All the development that happened was under the Congress rule since Independence, he said.

“So, we will definitely develop Telangana, especially the areas which have been left behind,” he said.

Rich people are becoming richer and the poor poorer so justice has to be done for them, he asserted.

“The people want change and development. Especially in the case of minorities nothing has happened and there is only talk. The backward classes, their development has also not happened,” Azhar said.

On the contest he has at hand in Jubilee Hills, the Congress leader said he has the confidence of the people of the constituency as whenever he spoke with them, he got an overwhelming response.

“People talk about it being an upscale area. But there are areas which need development. Local Congress cadre is also working very hard and we have the confidence of the people,” he said.

“I want to tell the people about the guarantees of the party and fight on those lines,” he said.

Asserting that he wanted to work for his home state, Azhar said he wanted to do something for the people of the state and is really looking forward to campaigning.

Asked about what inspiration he would draw from cricket in his electoral battle, he said one has to be aggressive in these things and campaign aggressively.

“Once you are out on the field you have to face everything and you can’t be docile,” he said and added that he has to win the hearts of the people.

“We will do the fielding properly and win on this pitch which is very big, not just 22 yards,” Azhar said in a lighter vein.

BRS’ Gopinath Maganti is the sitting MLA from Jubilee Hills from where Azhar has been fielded.

Azhar pipped P Vishnuvardhan Reddy to bag the Congress ticket from Jubilee Hills.

Reddy had won the seat in 2004 and 2009, but lost to BRS’ Maganti Gopinath in 2014 and 2018.

The Congress is seeking to replace the BRS government in the state.

Voting for 119 assembly seats in Telangana is set to take place on November 30 and results will be declared on December 3.

BHOPAL:  As the ruling BJP prepares to release its fifth list of candidates – which could be its final list – for the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh scheduled on November 17, political circles are abuzz with the possibility of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia or a close aide being named to enter the election fray.

The BJP which was waiting for PM Narendra Modi’s return from Uttarakhand for the final seal of approval on the next list, has already named candidates for 136 out of 230 seats and the next list could have the names of remaining 94 candidates.

The possibility of Scindia or someone very close to him, had been triggered last month, after his aunt and MP sports minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia (fourth-time sitting MLA from Shivpuri seat) announced to opt out of the assembly polls race, reportedly on health grounds.

As per speculation, the union minister and four times former MP from Guna Lok Sabha seat, may be asked by the party to make his assembly polls debut from any of the three seats, Shivpuri, Kolaras (both in Shivpuri district) or Bamori seat of Guna district, currently held by his loyalist minister Mahendra Sisodiya.

But with the party’s next list likely to be the one in which 25-30 out of the 67 remaining sitting MLAs may be denied ticket (including Scindia loyalist ministers OPS Bhadoriya, Suresh Dhakad, Brijendra Yadav and Mahendra Bhadoriya), speculations gained momentum about Scindia being fielded from one of the three seats. With successive internal surveys of the BJP believed to be not suggesting a rosy picture for the party in the 34-seats strong Gwalior-Chambal region, Scindia or someone close to him being fielded in next month’s polls. 

3 possible seats
The Union minister could be asked to make his assembly poll debut from any of the three seats, Shivpuri, Kolaras or from Bamori 

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday changed the date of polling for the Rajasthan assembly elections from November 23 to November 25 citing “large-scale” weddings and social engagements.

In a statement, the EC said the decision was taken following representations made by various parties and social organisations for a change of the date of poll “considering large-scale wedding/social engagements on that day (November 23) which may cause inconvenience to large number of people, various logistic issues and may lead to reduced voters participation during poll”.

“The Commission, having considered these factors and representations, has decided to change the date of poll from 23rd November, 2023 (Thursday) to 25th November, 2023 (Saturday),” it added.

The counting of votes will take place as scheduled on December 3, along with the same for four other state assembly polls.

The poll panel announced the assembly poll schedule for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram on Monday.

RAIPUR:  The ruling Congress party in Chhattisgarh on Monday launched a day-long ‘Bharose Ki Yatra’ (journey of trust) in all 90 constituencies of the state to showcase the performance and accomplishments of the Bhupesh Baghel government ahead of the Assembly polls.

The day-long event, which is seen as a continuation of the public meetings in recent weeks as “Bharose Ka Sammelan’ by the Congress government organised in some of the districts. ‘Bharose Ki Yatra’ of the Congress is a mass-contact programme to gain the confidence of the people in the election year. Besides the CM, the state ministers, MLAs, party leaders, cadres and office bearers actively participated during the course of the yatra in their respective constituencies on Gandhi Jayanti.

“Congress’ Bharosa Yatra is symbolic representation of the people’s sentiments. Today people have placed their  trust on Congress rule because the party has fulfilled their aspirations,” said the CM Bhupesh Baghel, who led the motor cylce yatra at his Patan constituency

The BJP took a dig at the proposed programme of the Congress. “The Congress party is shaken by the response the BJP got in its parivartan yatra from the people. So they are forced to take out such yatra”, said Arun Sao, BJP state president.

The opposition BJP has launched two ‘parivartan yatra’ and both culminated at Bilaspur  where PM Narendra Modi attended the occasion on September 30. “BJP shouldn’t be worried about us. They neither have leaders nor policy but only engage in jumlebazi to misguide people”, stated Selja, who hinted that Congress will give more tickets to women in the polls.

Kolkata: Repolling began at 7 am on Monday in 696 booths across 19 districts of West Bengal where voting for the panchayat elections was declared void amid allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence that left 15 people dead, officials said.

The repolling will be held till 5 pm amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each of those booths, besides state police, they said.

Among the districts where repolling was being held, violence-hit Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 109, they added

Repolling was also being held at 89 booths in Nadia, followed by Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31) and Hooghly (29), officials said.

No repolling was ordered in Darjeeling, Jhargram and Kalimpong districts, they said.

The decision for repolling in these 696 booths was announced by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening after reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers, they said.

Polling was held on Saturday in over 61,000 booths for the three-tier panchayat elections.

In several places, ballot boxes were looted, set on fire and thrown in ponds, leading to violence.

A total 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the panchayat system.

GUWAHATI: Senior BJP leaders of 12 states in east and northeast India will meet in Guwahati on Thursday to strategise on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting will be attended by BJP’s national general secretary BL Santosh, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Tripura CM Manik Saha, party MPs and MLAs, and state unit presidents, among others.

A meeting of the party’s core committee was held on Wednesday night to discuss the issues that will be taken up at the day-long Zonal Committee meeting, Assam BJP president Bhabesh Kalita said.

The meeting also held a detailed discussion on the impact of the month-long ‘Maha Jana Sampark Abhiyan’, held in June to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, he said.

The eight northeastern states have a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats with Assam having the highest of 14.

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura have two seats each, while Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim have one seat each.

Among the eastern states, West Bengal has 42 seats, Bihar has 40 seats, Odisha has 21 and Jharkhand has 14 seats.

The meeting is also likely to discuss the assembly elections in Mizoram, which would be due later this year.

BJP leaders of the northern, central and western states will meet in New Delhi on July 7, and those of the southern states in Hyderabad on July 8.

CHANDIGARH: Amid signs of differences between the BJP and its ally JJP, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Friday said the alliance between the two parties after the 2019 assembly polls was forged to form a stable government in the state and not due to any compulsion.

The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader asserted that the alliance was finalised after the October 2019 polls in the presence of senior BJP leader and now Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Both outfits, who had fought against each other, forged a tie-up and formed the government.

In the present House, BJP has 41 seats, Congress 30 and JJP 10.

While six out of seven Independents support BJP, one each member belongs to Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), which, too, is supporting the M L Khattar-led government.

On Thursday, four independent MLAs from Haryana, all of whom are supporting the Khattar government, met BJP in-charge for the state Biplab Kumar Deb in Delhi.

On Friday, HLP chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, whose party is also supporting the government, met Deb in the national capital.

On asking whether differences have cropped up between the two allies after some statements were made by the leaders of the two sides, Chautala said, “Both the parties had discussed ways to maintain a stable government in the state and only after that the alliance was forged with a mutual consent. It was neither my nor BJP’s compulsion.”

“State needed a stable government and we delivered on that. Today, Haryana is making progress…I dont think anyone did any favour on anyone,” he added.

He said right from the beginning of this alliance he has been hearing that it won’t last three months with others saying that it will break within a year. “The day there will be any “talkhi” (bitterness in relations), I think you (media) people won’t even get a chance to ask,” the deputy CM said.

“I am very clear that state should have a stable government and it should progress and with this thought, I am doing my work and I think others, who are a part of this government, are also doing the same,” he said.

When asked if BJP and JJP will fight the next year’s polls together, he replied, “that will be decided by the leadership of the two parties and I think both parties want to walk together.”

When asked whether he see any fissures in the alliance, Sombir Sangwan, one of the four Independent MLAs who met Deb, said, “As far as I am concerned, BJP is at loss with the continuation of this alliance.”

He claimed that people are unhappy with the JJP and if this alliance continues, the BJP will have to bear the loss.

“Twenty-five per cent more people will connect with BJP if this alliance breaks,” Sangwan further said, claiming that BJP did not need JJP for a stable government as it enjoyed the support of most Independents.

Deb had recently said the JJP did no favour to the BJP by supporting it as the regional party also joined the government. Some JJP leaders had later made counter statements.

Both parties have been non-committal on whether they would contest the 2024 assembly polls together.

Gopal Kanda said right from the start his party is supporting the BJP. He said during his meeting with Deb they discussed the state’s political scenario and how to take forward the policies and programmes of BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state.

Like Sangwan, Kanda also felt that BJP did not need JJP’s support. “Even if JJP is not with BJP, there is no danger to the government and it will still run,” Kanda said.

Meanwhile, Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan took a potshot at both parties, saying, “We have been saying this right from the beginning that the BJP-JJP alliance is not a ‘gathbandhan’, but a ‘thug bandhan’, one based on interest and not based on any ideology”.

“BJP has always betrayed their allies, be it INLD, now is the turn of JJP, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Nitish Kumar, whoever worked with them, their party has been finished,” he said.

“BJP is adopting the use and throw policy for JJP,” Bhan claimed.

BHUBANESWAR: Along expected lines, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) retained the Jharsuguda Assembly seat with a big margin of 48,721 votes by trouncing its nearest rival the BJP.

BJD nominee Deepali Das, daughter of slain former minister Naba Kishore Das, secured 1,07,198 votes as against 58,477 votes cornered by BJP candidate Tankadhar Tripathy. Congress candidate Tarun Pandey lost the deposit as he could manage to bag only 4496 votes.

The BJD candidate was leading from the first round and continued her dominance till the final round of the counting making it amply clear that the BJD is still the favourite among the voters.

While the BJD secured 60.93 per cent votes, BJP polled 33.24 per cent votes. The vote share of Congress dropped to 2.56 per cent.

By securing 8,578 more votes than what her late father, a popular leader and a three-time MLA, had polled in the 2019 elections, Deepali proved the opposition’s calculation of making the deteriorating law and order situation a major poll plank wrong.

Though Tankadhar got 5,556 more votes than that of the BJP’s nominee in the last assembly elections, he failed to stop the BJD juggernaut. Congress lost over 14,000 votes. Interestingly, 2073 votes went in favour of NOTA.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Deepali over the phone and congratulated her for the resounding victory.

In response to her victory, Deepali said that this was possible due to the love of the voters to her father and the blessings of her father and the Chief Minister.

Dubbing the Chief Minister as a father figure, Deepali said she will continue all the developmental work her father had initiated.

BJP candidate Tankadhar said there was a fight between ‘parishram‘ (hard work) and ‘paisa‘ (money) in the by-poll and the former was defeated by the latter.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan conceded defeat in the Jharsuguda by-election and congratulated Deepali on her victory. He, however, thanked the voters for supporting the BJP and pushing the party’s vote share up.

The by-election was necessitated following the sensational murder of the former Heath Minister Naba Kishore Das by an ASI of police on duty.