The BJP’s minorities wing is currently engaged in a massive outreach drive, identifying 60 minority-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies across the country where the party will directly interact with such communities, the Pasmanda (the ‘left out’/backward) Muslims, in particular. That’s quite an effort given the perception as well as the projection of the party’s adversaries about the party’s image.

“Neither the BJP nor does the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) nurture enmity or hatred towards Muslims. They want welfare of the marginalised people belonging to the Pasmanda and other minority communities,” Jamal Siddiqui, national president of the BJP Minority Morcha, tells Rajesh Kumar Thakur in an interview.

What’s the current campaign of the party’s Minority Morcha about?
The BJP is a party that works for everyone’s development irrespective of caste and religion. The BJP’s Minority Morcha has planned a comprehensive four-month-long outreach programme across 60 minority-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies across the country. We will be meeting people belonging to minority communities, including Muslim Pasmandas, and inform them about the Modi government’s welfare schemes for their all-round development.

The outreach programme is due to begin after February 10. This will be preceded by an in-depth discussion at the national executive meeting of the Minority Morcha in Chhattisgarh, due February 1 and 2. We will identify 5,000 prominent minority community members, including spiritual leaders and mentors and local traders’ unions. They will be informed about the government’s development schemes.

Which states are you focusing on?
We have a comprehensive outreach schedule for 60 identified minority-dominated LS constituencies. There are13 Lok Sabha seats each in UP and West Bengal to be covered by us. Besides, there are 10 LS constituencies identified by us in Kerala that have a strong presence of minority communities, including Muslims.

In the Lok Sabha constituency of Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad), the Morcha will be conducting a wider outreach programme. Similarly, we have identified J&K’s five LS constituencies — Baramulla, Anantnag, Srinagar, Ladakh and Udhamapur.

The general perception is that the BJP and RSS are anti-Muslim…
It is a totally wrong assumption. It is a politically motivated propaganda fuelled by the Opposition to mislead the minority communities. Neither BJP nor does the RSS nurture enmity or hatred towards the Muslims or any other minority community. They want inclusive development and that’s why the PM has decided to bring changes to the lives of Pasamanda Muslims and other poor and marginalised sections.
I am a Muslim; I never faced discrimination or hatred. The RSS chief encourages us to serve the people of minority communities.

Who will you specifically interact with during the outreach programme?
The PM has directed us to meet Sufi saints, influential people of minority communities, including Pasmandas and Bohras, and traders. The PM has also told us that “India will not develop until every section is developed. So, our objective is to bring everyone in the mainstream of development and not use them for electoral gains only. This outreach is not meant to garner minority votes but to link them with economic and social development.

Is there any plan to explore potential leadership among the Muslim youth?
The BJP is not untouchable to anyone as evident in the recent elections in UP and Gujarat. What all communities want is development, equality and safety. The BJP has been promoting representation of Muslims in the party. The party has many leaders like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and others. I also get equal participation in the party. But, yes, the Minority Morcha has started exploring potential leadership among the Muslim youth.’

The BJP has not given nomination to Muslims in many elections…
Those who blame the BJP for not giving the party ticket to Muslims are perhaps unaware of our party’s criteria of giving nominations in any election. A deserving candidate can be decided on the winnibility factor. Castes and other factors do come in. The fact is that the BJP accords equal value to Muslims.

Congress and others often accuse PM Modi of neglecting the Muslims and other minority communities…
The Congress is a misled party.  If the party wants to compete with Modi-ji, then you will have to talk about development. The PM has done a lot of hard work and has brought Indian politics into developmental mode; he has freed the people from the grips of ‘parivarvad’ (dynasty) and ‘Jativad’(casteism). Rahul Gandhi has made himself a laughing stock. I see him misleading the youth through Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress holds a record of communal riots. We know what had happened in Muzaffarnagar and Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) riots during the Congress regime. If they continue to raise Gujarat riots to create hatred among people, we will have to speak about other riots that took place in the Congress rule.

NEW DELHI: As filing of nominations for the Erode East Assembly by-election is set to start in next four days, Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to recognise his appointment as AIADMK’s interim general secretary and acknowledge the lapse of post of coordinator as per the decisions taken at the party general council meeting held on July 11, 2022.

Senior counsel for Palnaiswami, C Aryama Sundaram made a mention to this effect before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.  He said the ECI was not allowing Palaniswami to sign the forms required for the by-election including authorisation of candidates. 

Palaniswami has sought the direction as an interim relief since the SC has reserved orders on the case challenging the Madras HC verdict that upheld the election of EPS as interim general secretary of the AIADMK.  (If Palaniswami’s appointment as interim general secretary is recognised by the ECI, then his faction would get the ‘two leaves’ symbol.)

Considering his submissions, the CJI said, “Let’s see whether we can give orders on the AIADMK general council case before the last day for filing nominations (February 7).” “If the order is delayed, then will decide on providing interim relief,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said while asking the senior counsel to come back on Monday with a proper mentioning memo.

In his application, EPS said the fact that a majority of the office-bearers supported the resolution to elect him as the interim general secretary is indisputable.  Palaniswami also said he has been discharging his duties as the party leader and interim general secretary. He also argued that he is authorised to sign Forms A and B to allocate the ‘two-leaves’ symbol to the candidate contesting on behalf of the AIADMK. The application also said irreparable injury and hardship would be caused to the AIADMK and its members if the application was not allowed since the party cannot contest in the upcoming by-elections owing to the hyper-technical objections of the ‘unauthorized persons’.

“It is clear that O Paneerselvam has a vested interest in ensuring that the image, interest, and welfare of the AIADMK are harmed and injured in every possible manner. The directions now sought are for the AIADMK’s interest alone and not for the private interest of any person. Hence it is just and fair that the present application is allowed in the interest of democracy as it would allow the largest opposition party in the state to contest the bye-election,” the application said.

Commenting on the fresh plea made by Edappadi K Palaniswami before the SC, political analyst Tharasu Shyam said “When the court has reserved its orders on a particular case, no further application with a fresh prayer can be moved. Even if the SC considers this a special case, the ECI has to act in accordance with the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, giving opportunities for both factions to present their cases. It is a time-consuming process. So, when a dispute is raised, there is zero chance for either of the factions to get the symbol.”

Meanwhile, asked about the EPS faction’s move, TTV Dhinakaran said, “Since both OPS and EPS are seeking the ‘two-leaves’ symbol, the situation will lead to the freezing of the symbol.” 

Ramgarh bypoll to define BJP-AJSU ties
Though the date for the Ramgarh by-election is declared, BJP and AJSU have not reached a consensus on seat-sharing. According to party insiders, being its traditional seat, AJSU wants to field its candidate in Ramgarh, while the BJP is wary of this decision. Observers perceive that if BJP and AJSU fielded a joint candidate in Ramgarh, they will contest 2024 Assembly polls together, but if they fail to reach any consensus now, there are very bleak chances of reaching any consensus in 2024. Notably, BJP-AJSU alliance had contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls together, but they parted their ways after the Assembly polls.

Women participation rises in MGNREGS
Proportion of women workers participating in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has increased in Jharkhand. According to officials, this is helping secure economic independence of women, as most women who benefit under this scheme are single, destitute or abandoned. During 2019-20 the percentage of women workers in MGNREGS was 41.31, which increased to 42.56 per cent in 2020-2021, 45.58 per cent in 2021-22, and currently stands at 47.1 per cent in 2022-23. Notably, this increase was witnessed despite the spate of lockdowns during the pandemic. 

Ranchi Met centre judged best in India
The Ranchi Meteorological Centre has been adjudged the country’s best weather facility. The IMD Ranchi station has received the honour for the first time this year – also the occasion of the 148th Foundation Day of the IMD. The performance of the Ranchi centre in disseminating weather-related information to its stakeholders in time with a higher accuracy, has been appreciated by the IMD. Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge, Abhishek Anand, received the award from Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences.

New Delhi: A series of assembly polls this year are being considered as semi-finals to the Lok Sabha election slated to be held in the summer of 2024.

Key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year, besides states from the North-East.

The northeastern states of Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya will be the first to have assembly polls, most likely in February-March. The terms of their respective legislative assemblies is ending on different dates in March.

While Tripura has a BJP government, in Nagaland, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party is in power.

National People’s Party, the only party from the North-East to have a national party recognition, runs the government in Meghalaya.

Sources in the Election Commission had indicated in December that the elections in the three states will be held together, followed by polls in Karnataka later.

The term of the 224-member Karnataka legislative assembly ends on May 24. Polls in the BJP-ruled state to form a new assembly could be held in late April or early May.

The last part of 2023 would witness a series of assembly polls with terms of legislative assemblies of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana ending on different dates in December this year and January 2024.

While the term of the 40-member Mizoram assembly ends on December 17, the tenures of the Chhattisgarh and the Madhya Pradesh legislative assemblies conclude on January 3 and January 6, 2024, respectively.

The tenures of the Rajasthan and Telangana assemblies end on January 14 and January 16, 2024, respectively.

Polls in these five states being held together cannot be ruled out at this stage.

Besides the nine scheduled polls, assembly elections in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir can also not be ruled out this year.

On December 9, sources had said that elections in Jammu and Kashmir may be held in the summer of 2023 after winter conditions subside, and the timing would depend on the security scenario.

The final electoral roll of Jammu and Kashmir was published on November 25 last year paving the way for polls, the first since Article 370 provisions were abrogated and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into Union territories in 2019.

GUWAHATI: The BJP, which rules Tripura, suffered yet another blow on Wednesday when its Karamchara MLA Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl resigned from the Assembly as well as the party.

He is the fifth BJP legislator to have ditched the party and eighth overall of the BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) coalition. The state is expected to go to elections in February. 

Hrangkhawl, 67, is a tribal leader and four-time MLA who was first elected in 1988. He told reporters he had resigned from the Assembly and the party on personal grounds. “I will soon decide my future course of action,” he said.

Congress sources later said he would join the party at a programme in state capital Agartala on Thursday. He has a Congress past. Hrangkhawl was reportedly livid that the BJP leadership did not consider him for ministership or any other important responsibility.

Some Congress leaders, including Ashish Kumar Saha, accompanied Hrangkhawl when he went to submit his resignation to Assembly secretary Bishnu Pada Karmakar in the absence of Speaker Ratan Chakraborty.

GUWAHATI:  The upcoming polls in three states of the Northeast will be a battle for survival for the Congress, which once ruled the entire region but has got reduced to a shadow of its glorious past. The Congress’ slide in the Northeast began after the BJP’s emergence as a powerhouse in 2014. Simultaneous elections in the 60-member Assemblies of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura are expected in February. As it appears now, Congress is not in the race to power in any of the states. It lacks leaders after many of them embraced the ruling party or other parties over a period of time amid the BJP’s juggernaut.

The Congress does not have a single MLA in Nagaland, just one in Tripura and five in Meghalaya. However, the five in Meghalaya were suspended earlier this year by the party’s central leadership for cosying up to the Conrad K Sangma government where the BJP is a component. The Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 Meghalaya elections but the National People’s Party-led motley alliance kept it at bay by forming the government. 

In November last year, 12 of the 17 Congress MLAs, led by former CM Mukul Sangma, jumped ship and joined Trinamool Congress (TMC). Their desertion had relegated the grand-old party to a smaller party and made the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, the state’s principal opposition party overnight. Shillong MP, Vincent H Pala is now the Congress’ lone prominent face in the Christian-majority state. The Congress will not, perhaps, have a single MLA by the time it goes to elections as the five suspended legislators have more or less ditched the party and are likely to contest the polls on the tickets of other political parties.

In Tripura, Sudip Roy Barman is the Congress’ only MLA. He had won the last election on the BJP’s ticket and was inducted into the ministry but he resigned from the Assembly and the party in February this year after falling out with the then CM Biplab Kumar Deb.

Later, he won a by-election, necessitated by his resignation. The Congress had failed to win a single seat in the 2018 Tripura elections, which the BJP swept, decimating the Left.  The Congress had also drawn a blank in the Nagaland elections in 2018. “So what if we have one MLA? Atal Bihari Vajpayee had just two MPs but he went on to become the PM,” said Tripura Congress chief Birajit Sinha. 

GUWAHATI: The upcoming elections in three states of the Northeast will be a battle for survival for the Congress which once ruled the entire region but has now gotten reduced to a shadow of its glorious past. The Congress’ slide in the Northeast began after the BJP’s emergence as a powerhouse in 2014

Simultaneous elections in the 60-member Assemblies of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura are expected in February.

As it appears now, the Congress is not in the race to power in any of these states. It lacks leaders after many of them embraced the ruling party and other parties over a period of time.

The Congress does not have a single MLA in Nagaland, just one in Tripura and five in Meghalaya.

However, the five in Meghalaya were suspended earlier this year by the party’s central leadership for cosying up to the Conrad K Sangma government.

The Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 Meghalaya Assembly elections but the National People’s Party (NPP)-led motley alliance formed the government. 

In November last year, 12 of 17 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, led by former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, jumped ship to wear Trinamool Congress (TMC) colours. Their desertion relegated the grand old party to a more minor party and made the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC the state’s principal Opposition party overnight. TMC had no base in the state prior to that.

Shillong MP H Pala is now Congress’s lone prominent face in the Christian-majority state. The Congress will not, perhaps, have a single MLA by the time it goes to elections as the five suspended legislators have more or less ditched the party and are likely to contest the polls on the tickets of other political parties.

In Tripura, Sudip Roy Barman is the Congress’ only MLA. He had won the last election on the BJP’s ticket and was inducted into the ministry but he resigned from the Assembly and the party in February this year after falling out with the then-Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. Later, he won a by-election, necessitated by his resignation.

The Congress had failed to win a single seat in the 2018 Tripura elections which the BJP swept, decimating the Left. 

The Congress had also drawn a blank in the Nagaland elections of 2018. The party, which had won many elections under former Chief Minister SC Jamir, is now virtually lost in the state which is ruled by a coalition of BJP, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, and Naga People’s Front. All MLAs in the state are from these three parties.

The elections in the three states are around the corner but not many people are talking about the Congress.

Party leaders, however, try to put up a brave face. “So what if we have one MLA? Atal Bihari Vajpayee had just two MPs but he went on to become the Prime Minister,” Tripura Congress chief Birajit Sinha told this newspaper.  “There is a lot going on in Tripura. People will vote us to power,” he said confidently, just days after seven Congress leaders, led by former state chief Pijush Kanti Biswas, joined the TMC in Tripura.

The Congress in Nagaland sounded equally optimistic. “The Congress is the only alternative and people will vote for it. Not only has the Naga political issue remained unresolved, but the state, under the present government, is also facing bifurcation,” state Congress president K Therie said referring to the demand of an influential tribal organization for the creation of “Frontier Nagaland” state in eastern Nagaland.

PATNA:  Even as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to assert that he is not a PM aspirant in the next Lok Sabha election, his close aides have been obliquely speaking about it, triggering speculation whether JD (U) may take a tough stand on the leadership issue.

While addressing the JD-U’s plenary session in the state capital on Sunday, Nitish said, “There is no scope for a third front in 2024 as there will only be the ‘main front’ against the BJP.” He said anti-BJP parties could win the 2024 Lok Sabha election with a huge majority if they came on a single platform.
“I will keep making efforts to make it possible. It depends on opposition parties,” he said.

Nitish also accused the BJP of working against the JD-U in the 2020 assembly elections even when his party was in the NDA. He said it was the reason his party could not perform “satisfactorily” in the previous assembly elections.

Taking a dig at BJP without naming it, he said, “They should be reminded that never before had our party won fewer seats, either in assembly polls of 2005 or 2010. In 2020, we got fewer seats as they (BJP) made attempts to ensure the defeat of our candidates.”

Reiterating his demand for according special status for Bihar, the CM alleged that Bihar was denied all help by the Centre. He said the country could not be put on a growth trajectory until poor states were developed.

Meanwhile, senior JD (U) minister Sanjay Jha, considered close to Nitish, told party leaders and workers in the plenary session that “we should work for achieving two goals – one that the JD (U) is accorded the status of a national party, and second, we should ensure that Nitish unfurls the national flag at the Red fort.” He said the Opposition was clueless as to what would happen in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and how democracy would be saved.

“After Nitish has snapped ties with NDA, there is a glimmer of hope as they understand only Nitish is capable of saving the situation in 2024,” he remarked. Similarly, state JD-U chief Umesh Kushwaha called Nitish a ‘yug purush,’ asserting that no leader could compete with Nitish, indirectly advocating for his projection as the PM nominee for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Meanwhile, calendars with a slogan that the country should have a Nitish-like leader were also distributed among party leaders participating in the plenary session. Nitish’s Mahagathbandhan partner RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had praised him in August, saying Nitish could emerge as a “strong candidate” for prime minister in 2024 if opposition parties agreed to consider him for the job.

“It signals that most of the Opposition parties recognise the larger challenge before the country — the hegemony of the BJP, where on the back of money, media, and (administrative) machinery power, they are determined to stamp out all diversity from the Indian society as well as from the political spectrum,” the RJD leader had said.

TWO days after the MCD poll results, the mood in the vanquished BJP camp on Friday appeared one of realism, a climb-down of sorts from the growing pitch for having the party councillor as the mayor.
State BJP chief Adesh Gupta said the top MCD post “belongs to AAP as the mandate is in their favour. 

The Delhi BJP said it would play the role of ‘strong opposition in the local body. Until yesterday, the dominant voice within the BJP camp was that the party would not hesitate to get the support of any councillor to keep the top post. Many party leaders cited the absence of anti-defection law in the MCD rulebook to strengthen their claim about councillor coming along and accepting the party mayor.

The saffron U-turn brought smiles back to the AAP camp. MCD in charge of AAP and Delhi MLA Durgesh Pathak called the BJP decision a good gesture. “The mandate is in AAP’s favour. The BJP has to sit in opposition. They should be a constructive opposition in MCD,”said Pathak.

On Friday, Gupta was circumspect. “The BJP will serve the people of Delhi by becoming a strong opposition and will expose corruption linked to AAP in the corporation in the way they did in the Delhi government,” he said.

He accused the Congress ofplaying a “friendly match” with the AAP in the MCD polls. Gupta referred to BJP increasing its vote percentage in the elections by 3% in comparison with the 2017 elections. “We
had a 36.08% vote share. This time, it has increased to 39.09%,” he said.

He said CM Kejriwal and AAP stood “exposed” due to JP’s anti-corruption campaign. “People have rejected AAP candidates in the assembly segment of Manish Sisodia. The situation was just the same in
the assembly constituency of incarcerated Delhi minister Satyendar Jain,” he said.

BJP leaders said that in many seats the party won by a small margin. He expressed his gratitude to the people of Delhi for showing respect for the services the party has rendered with dedication and  determination. “Compared to the last time, the only visible change is that the Congress has bowed before the AAP,” said a BJP leader.

NEW DELHI: Finally, what AAP thought happened, not in the exact measure, but in its historical proportion. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party ended the BJP’s 15-year rule over the MCD, bagging 134 of the 250 seats, forcing the BJP to settle at 104 and Congress at a distant 9 seats.

For AAP, it is a wish fulfilled: it now rules Delhi and the civic body whose unification from three separate bodies a few months back was thought to be a pro-BJP move.On Wednesday, the BJP could draw solace from a fragile fact: it has fared better than what was projected by exit polls. 

The results humiliated the Congress as it won only nine seats and, worse, 188 of its 247 candidates lost their deposits. An element of history joined AAP’s win. It is for the first time that the AAP has managed to wrest power from the BJP in any of the battles of the ballot since the party’s birth a decade ago.

AAP has won two other elections the Delhi Assembly (2015 & 2019) and Punjab (2022). In all these polls, AAP swept the Congress off, while it faced defeat in BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.

In Delhi, AAP singularly targeted the city’s ever-rising three landfill sites, promising to remove the muck and squalor from Delhi’s midst. The BJP got back at AAP by selectively leaking video clips on the so-called corruption cases, including the Delhi excise scam.

In the previous elections, the BJP had trounced both the AAP and the Congress by winning 181 of 272 wards of the three municipal corporations. Kejriwal termed the “decisive victory” to be an affirmation for his party’s honest politics. “People of Delhi have now entrusted their son to clean Delhi and rid MCD of corruption. I won’t let them down,” he said at the AAP headquarters.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said the people have given them almost 40% vote share along with 104 wards and responsibility as a strong opposition. As for the dispirited Congress, it claimed that the people have rejected the BJP.

Mayor watch

Tenure of MCD mayor is 1 year

Rules mandate that the first mayor is a woman while the third mayor has to be from the reserved category

AAP may field SC woman councillor for mayor

If she wins, she’ll have tenure of about four months as new mayor is sworn in every April