AHMEDABAD: Polling began at 8 am on Thursday for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 out of the total 182 seats across 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch region and southern parts of the state to decide the fate of 788 candidates.

The voting is being held across 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in the urban and 11,071 in rural areas, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.

Live webcasting is being done from 13,065 polling stations to keep a close eye on the process, it said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the state for the seventh term in a row.

If it succeeds, it will equal the record of the Left Front government which won the West Bengal elections for seven consecutive terms till 2011.

This time, the BJP faces competition not just from its traditional rival Congress but also the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has tried to position itself as the main challenger of the ruling party.

The BJP and the Congress are contesting in all 89 seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting in 88 seats.

Its candidate from Surat East constituency had withdrawn his candidature, leaving the party with one less seat to contest in the first phase.

Apart from the BJP, Congress and AAP, 36 other political outfits including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) have also fielded candidates in various seats up for grabs the first phase.

The BSP has fielded 57 candidates, BTP 14 and CPI-M four candidates. As many as 339 independents are also in the fray in the first phase. In the 2017 elections, the BJP won 48 out of these 89 seats, the Congress won 40, while one seat was bagged by an independent candidate.

Of the total 788 candidates in fray, 70 are women including nine fielded by the BJP, six by the Congress and five by the AAP.

Out of the total 4,91,35,400 registered voters in Gujarat, 2,39,76,670 are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase.

There are 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years, and 4,945 above the age of 99 years who are eligible to cast their votes, the state CEO’s office said.

The election body has set up 89 ‘model polling stations’ and as many eco-friendly polling stations. There are 89 stations run by differently-abled and 611 by women.

A total of 34,324 ballot units, an equal number of control units, and 38,749 Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines are being used for the election in the first phase, the release said.

It also said that 2,20,288 trained officers and employees have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the election process.

Besides, 27,978 presiding officers and 78,985 polling officers are also on duty, it said.

The AAP has anchored its campaign around a host of “guarantees” such as free electricity up to 300 units a month, unemployment allowance and government jobs.

The Congress has made a similar pitch while promising a cooking gas cylinder for Rs 400, free electricity and English medium schools, among others.

The BJP seems firm on the ground with its development and Hindutva agenda, the promise of 20 lakh jobs, setting up of an ‘anti-radicalisation’ cell, and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned extensively for the BJP in the run-up to the election.

The first phase of election will decide the fate of AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, who is contesting from Khambhalia seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district.

AAP state unit president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam in Surat. Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, is another prominent contender from Jamnagar (North).

BJP MLAs Harsh Sanghavi and Purnesh Modi (both contesting from different seats in Surat) as well as five-time legislator Parshottam Solanki (Bhavnagar-Rural) are also contesting in the first phase.

Sitting Congress MLAs like Lalit Kagathara, Lalit Vasoya (both from seats in Rajkot) and Mohammad Javed Pirzada are also in the fray in the first phase from seats in Saurashtra region.

Seven-time MLA and veteran tribal leader Chhotu Vasava is contesting from Jhagadia in Bharuch.

With 54 seats, the Saurashtra-Kutch region is crucial for Congress as it seeks to improve its performance. In the region, the Congress won 30 seats in 2017 compared to 16 in the 2012 election.

The BJP, on the other hand, was reduced to 23 seats in 2017 as against 35 won by it in the previous election.

In south Gujarat, the Congress in 2017 improved its tally to 10 compared to six in the previous polls, while the BJPs tally dropped to 25 in the last election from 28 earlier.

South Gujarat also comprises Surat city with 12 seats which have remained the BJP’s bastion since a long time. Voting for the second phase in 93 seats will be held on December 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.

NETRANG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of having no respect for the tribal community in the country, and said it even opposed the candidature of Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election held earlier this year.

Addressing a public rally at Netrang, a tribal area of Bharuch district in poll-bound Gujarat, Modi also said that the entire world was amazed at how India has come out of such a big pandemic of COVID-19 in such a short span.

“Congress has no respect for tribals in the country…We decided to make our tribal daughter (Droupadi Murmu) the president of the country. We went to Congress with folded hands to accept her (support her candidature), but they opposed. We put all our might and made the tribal daughter win the election,” Modi said.

“Be it, Birsa Munda or Govind Guru, the Congress did not give respect to tribal leaders of the country,” he further alleged.

The PM said the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in a big country like India was terrifying.

“The whole world faced such a terrifying pandemic. If someone gets sick at our home, we take four to five years to come out of it (financial effect). We faced the pandemic in such a big country. But the way we came out of it, the entire world is amazed. They are not able to understand how it happened,” Modi said.

“Factories got closed; people had to go back to their villages. In such circumstances, our first concern was there should be enough food for poor people; a child of a poor should not go to sleep without food. So we have been providing free ration to 80 crore people for the last three years,” he said.

“Secondly, to fight the pandemic, vaccination was crucial. Even now, many countries are struggling to vaccinate their entire population. We have given more than 200 crore doses of anti-coronavirus vaccine. After two doses, we provided a booster dose also free,” Modi said.

The prime minister said that the Digital India campaign has brought about a revolution in the country.

If the Congress was in power, your mobile bill could have been around Rs 4,000 to 5,000 per month, which is minimal now. “We made data affordable,” he said.

Speaking on the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), he said that in the past, specifications of houses built under government schemes were set by the people sitting in Gandhinagar or Delhi.

“But we changed the rules. How can a person sitting in Delhi know what is the requirement of a tribal person who is in poultry farming? We said that you should trust our people as nobody will build an inferior quality home for themselves,” the prime minister said.

BHARUCH: It’s been two years since the Congress’ veteran leader and troubleshooter Ahmed Patel passed away.

But this electoral season in Gujarat, he is still the party’s ace in his native Bharuch district.

While the AAP strives to project itself as the BJP’s main rival in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, the Congress is a significant factor for a seizable section of the people in Bharuch.

“All the developments that you see in Bharuch today are the result of his (Patel’s) efforts. Ahmed Bhai was such a tall figure that no one can ever forget him. He took care of everyone here,” asserts Kashif Malik, a scrap dealer in Piraman the ancestral village of the late Congress leader.

Sarfaraz, another resident of the village who runs a two-wheeler repair shop, echoed Malik’s claim.

“Nobody here in Piraman will vote for any party other than the Congress,” he said.

Patel passed away in a Gurugram hospital on November 25, 2020, due to multi-organ failure post-COVID-19 infection.

The Congress’ top strategist was laid to rest in his native village Piraman the next day in presence of Rahul Gandhi and many other senior leaders of the grand old party.

Piraman village falls under the Ankaleshwar assembly seat which has been with the BJP for 22 years.

It is set to witness a battle between two brothers.

While the BJP has fielded sitting MLA Ishwarsinh Patel from the seat, the Congress has pitted Patel’s elder brother Vijaysinh against him.

But the Aam Aadmi Party’s entry into the fray has turned the elections this time into a three-cornered fight.

In the Ankaleshwar seat where the largest chunk of voters is from the Patel community and Muslims are roughly 30 per cent of the electorate, locals feel the AAP may dent the poll prospects of the Congress most by cutting into its votes especially those of the minority community.

Piraman village borders the Bharuch assembly segment where the people belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) form the largest chunk of voters.

Muslim voters are roughly pegged at about 38 per cent in the Bharuch assembly segment.

The Bharuch district being one of the most industrialised regions in Gujarat, the assembly seat also has a large number of migrant and urban voters.

A few kilometres from Piraman, Mausam Shaikh, who runs an eatery in the Bharuch assembly segment, also remembered the late Congress veteran Ahmed Patel and his “contributions”, but said, “Many here are thinking of voting for the AAP party this time.”

“People want change. Let’s see which way the wind blows.”

While the BJP, which has had the Bharuch Assembly segment with it since 1995, is confident of retaining it, the Congress is banking on the anti-incumbency factor to wrest the seat from the saffron party which is ruling the state for 27 years.

But, the AAP’s foray in Gujarat may upset the electoral calculations this time with many of the locals in the Bharuch assembly segment indicating that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party would eat up the spaces of both the BJP and the Congress in the three-cornered fight.

“The AAP party is seen by many here as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP. But the BJP will eventually emerge victorious here as Bharuch is the party’s stronghold. The AAP will only end up cutting Congress votes here,” Aakash Patel, a local, said.

While the BJP has named Rameshbhai Mistry, a former MLA, as its candidate for the seat, the Congress has fielded Jaykantbhai Patel.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate is Manharbhai Parmar.

Congress district president Parimalsinh Rana said, “We do have some problems in Bharuch city but we are on the strong footing in rural areas. The AAP’s foray will not make much difference to us. Our poll campaign is in full swing in Bharuch and going well.

The BJP’s Bharuch district president Marutisinh Atodariya said it’s a contest between his party’s candidate and that of the Congress in the assembly seat, and the AAP does not stand anywhere.

“There is no Aam Aadmi (Party) here. All (of them) are ‘gair aadmi’ (outsiders),” he told PTI when asked if the entry of AAP in the fray makes any difference to electoral calculations in the assembly segment this time.

The AAP has been wooing the voters in the constituency by showcasing Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi model of governance and making a host of pre-poll promises which include a “guarantee” to provide free electricity up to 300 units per month, healthcare services, free and quality education.

“We have been carrying out door-to-door campaigns in the constituency and getting very good responses from the people, including those from the minority community. People are upset with the 27-year-long BJP rule and want ‘parivartan’ (change) this time,” AAP candidate Parmar said Polling in Bharuch will be held in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly polls on December 1.

LUCKNOW:  Days ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bye-election due December 5, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has taken the first step towards family reconciliation. On Thursday, he and his wife Dimple reached out to his estranged uncle and Prgatisheel Samajwadi Part Lohia chief Shivpal Singh Yadav at his Saifai residence 

The SP chief has entrusted the responsibility of taking over the legacy of his father late Mulayam Singh Yadav to Dimple by making her the party candidate from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat. Dimple is a former MP from Kannauj. The 45-minute closed-door meeting among the family members assumes significance as the by-election is caused by the passing away of Mulayam Singh. The constituency was considered Mulayam’s bastion which he represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Akhilesh was accompanied by his wife Dimple and cousin Dharmendra Yadav. Shivpal was flanked by his son Aditya. Sources said the meeting took place in the presence of Shivpal’s elder brother Abhay Ram Yadav. After meeting Shivpal, Akhilesh took to Twitter to post his photograph with Shivpal. “Along with the blessings of Netaji and elders of the family, the people of Mainpuri are also with us,” Akhilesh tweeted.

New Delhi: A former AAP councilor Haseeb-ul-Hasan on Sunday climbed a transmission tower after the party reportedly denied him a ticket for the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) poll. Minutes after climbing the tower, the councilor went live on Facebook and made several controversial remarks against the party and its leaders.

Haseeb-ul-Hasan climbed the transmission tower near Shastri Park Metro Station in the city. He added that he felt cheated as the party had denied the ticket to him at the last minute.

Speaking about the party leaders Durgesh Pathak and Atishi he alleged they were not returning his documents and said if something happens to him, the two senior leaders of the party will be responsible.

In the video, he said, “Durgesh Pathak and Atishi will be responsible if I die. All of my papers, original documents, and my bank passbook have been seized. Tomorrow is the last day for filing nominations but they won’t give my documents to me even when I beg them to.”

Haseeb-ul-Hasan added that he was not concerned with the party denying his tickets – he just wanted his documents back.

Later, when the media arrived, he told the reporters, “Had the media not come, Durgesh Pathak, Atishi, and Sanjay Singh wouldn’t have returned my paper. They sold the ticket to Deepu Chaudhary for Rs 3 Cr, and demanded money from me but I don’t have any.”

LUCKNOW: The by-poll to Gola Gokarannath Assembly constituency in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh is set for a straight encounter between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Samajwadi Party as the Congress and the BSP have opted out of the electoral battle.

The by-poll to the constituency has been necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA Arvind Giri on September 6. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Arvind Giri’s son Aman Giri, 26, for the by-poll while the Samajwadi Party (SP) has given a ticket to the former MLA from the seat Vinay Tiwari.

Treating even a low-key and insignificant by-poll with utmost sincerity, the ruling BJP had pitched almost eight ministers of the Yogi cabinet 2.0 to campaign in favour of their candidate Aman Giri.

While CM Yogi Aditynath himself campaigned for Giri on Monday, others who camped in Gola to campaign for Giri included Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, state finance minister Suresh Khanna and PWD minister Jitin Prasada, both from adjoining Shajahanpur, and social welfare minister and ex-IPS officer Asim Arun.

Moreover, ministers like Baldev Singh Aulakh, Suresh Rahi and Union Minister Kaushal Kishore also put their weight behind Aman Giri in Gola.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, kept away from the active campaign in Gola. The main opposition party, equipped with a vote appeal issued by Akhilesh, kept its focus on door-to-door campaign for its candidate.

However, Akhilesh Yadav was expected to visit Gola, at least, once to campaign for party candidate after returning from Saifai following the end of mourning period after demise of party patriarch Mulayam Sigh Yadav, but the SP chief decided to keep away from campaigning. Tiwari was the runner-up in the 2022 Assembly polls.

The SP campaign was largely headed by SP state unit chief Naresh Uttam stressing on the local issues like inadequate relief to farmers who lost their crops to untimely floods in October.

The SP chief in his vote appeal urged the people of Gola to choose between ‘Lok Tantra’ (democracy) and ‘Jhoota Tantra’ (administration riddled with lies) claiming that the people were fed up with the BJP government under which both the corruption and inflation were rising, making the life of a common man difficult.

However, the highlight of the entire BJP by-poll campaign was that the party kept Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni out of the scheme mindfully. The opposition has been belligerent and demanding resignation of Teni for the last one year as his son Ashish Mishra’s complicity emerged in the killing of four farmers crushed under his SUV during a protest under Tikuniya police station on October 3, 2021.

In all, eight persons had lost their lives in that incident as after the crushing of four farmers, the protestors had turned violent and lynched three BJP workers. A journalist was also killed in the melee.

As per political experts, if the BJP wins the Gola bypoll, it would come as a boost to party cadre ahead of two more crucial bypolls in SP strongholds.

The  Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat was vacated due to the demise of Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Rampur (Sadar) assembly segment seat was vacated due to the disqualification of sitting MLA Mohammad Azam Khan.

JAIPUR: Former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot broke his silence on Wednesday and made a direct attack on CM Ashok Gehlot for the first time.  

Taking a jibe at PM Modi’s praise of CM Gehlot, Pilot said that Modi had praised Ghulam Nabi Azad in the same way and everyone knows what happened later.

Reacting to Pilot’s statement, CM Gehlot reminded that nobody should use such rhetoric as AICC Organization Secretary KC Venugopal has issued an advisory asking all leaders not to make statements against each other.

Pilot, who has been silent for a long time in the midst of the ongoing political turmoil in the Rajasthan Congress, spoke to the media in Jaipur on Wednesday.

“PM Modi praised the CM yesterday. This is an interesting development. At one time PM Modi had also praised Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament and everyone knows what happened after that.  It should not be taken so lightly,” remarked Pilot.

After Modi’s praise, when the Congress did not send Ghulam Nabi Azad to the Rajya Sabha, he broke ties with the Congress and later formed his new party which will contest the next assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. While praising CM Gehlot in a program at Banswara on Tuesday, PM Modi had said that “Ashok Gehlot and I had worked together as Chief Ministers. He is even today the senior most among our Chief Ministers.”

Besides taking a dig at PM’s praise for CM Gehlot, Pilot also demanded action against all the three pro-Gehlot leaders who allegedly broke the party discipline on September 25 when many Congress MLAs boycotted a CLP meet in the presence of two AICC Observers in Jaipur. “Notices were given to 3 people and their answers have also been given. Ours is a disciplined party and we have the same rules and regulations for all. Decisions should be taken quickly even on those notices as discipline is applicable to all. Kharge ji has taken over, and a decision needs to be taken on the indiscipline that day,” added Pilot.

Pilot also broke his silence on the discussions of changing the CM and said that action should be taken on it soon. “KC Venugopal had said that it will be decided soon.  We are all busy in elections, soon the announcement of Gujarat elections will also be made.The entire issue of  Rajasthan situations should be taken soon,” claimed Pilot.

On 25 September, a meeting of the CLP was called for the selection of the new Chief Minister by AICC, amid plans CM Gehlot’s election as the new AICC President. But a vast majority of pro-Gehlot MLAs boycotted the meeting and even submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker, CP Joshi.  After its investigation, the AICC had issued a show-cause notice to three leaders of the Gehlot faction for boycotting the CLP meeting of the MLAs.

Dharamshala: Two senior BJP leaders here resigned from the party and filed nomination papers as independent candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.

Vipin Naihariya, the party’s ST Morcha vice president, and BJP district chief Anil Choudhry were ticket aspirants but the party chose OBC leader Rakesh Chaudhary over them and sitting MLA Vishal Naihariya.

Meanwhile, the sitting MLA said he is with the party and expressed confidence in Rakesh Chaudhary.

Vipin Naihariya, a Gaddi community leader, claimed that all office-bearers of the BJP’s Dharamshala Mandal have put in their papers in protest against party ticket to Chaudhary.

Tuesday was the last day for the filing of nominations, which can withdrawn till October 29.

The voting will take place on November 12 and the results will be declared on December 8.