Counting underway in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh: BJP takes early lead over Cong

News Network
December 18, 2017

The results, which will forecast the fortunes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi 15 months ahead of Lok Sabha polls, either way, will have a huge impact on national politics. It would set the tone for the Assembly elections in mid-2018, including in Karnataka, while also indicating whether Modi would think of preponing the Lok Sabha elections by 6-7 months, as speculated by some quarters.

Exit polls have given the BJP a comfortable edge in Gujarat, where it is predicted to retain power, and in Himachal Pradesh where it is expected to dethrone Congress.

All eyes will be on Gujarat where both Modi and Gandhi, who took over as Congress chief on Saturday, campaigned vigorously. The campaign saw Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah targeting the Congress on issues like Ram Temple and allegations of Congress leaders using Pakistan to influence polls while Gandhi attacked Modi for not talking about development.

At least eight exit polls have suggested a clear victory for BJP with 99 to 146 seats in 182-member Gujarat Assembly. Analysts, however, said the Congress is likely to fare better than what the pollsters have predicted (36 to 82 seats).

Results from Saurashtra, where traders were upset with BJP over demonetisation and GST and North Gujarat where its MLAs were facing anti-incumbency would be watched keenly, as the performance in these regions would seal its fate.

For the Congress, an impressive show would increase the confidence of Gandhi besides boosting the Opposition prospects of taking on the BJP.

The result will also show whether Congress' rainbow coalition of Patidars, OBCs and Dalits and its reliance on three youth icons Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani worked in its favour. Gandhi will also be tested on his strategy to visit temples, giving rise to accusations that the Congress was indulging in soft Hindutva.

An adverse result for the Congress could mean that it may get alienated from secular and Left parties, who already have silently expressed objections. However, an impressive show would obviously add more power to the efforts to stitch an umbrella Opposition coalition for the Lok Sabha polls.

On the other hand, a victory in Gujarat would further boost the confidence of BJP to face the Assembly polls in Karnataka and other states. This would also come 15 months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls while some speculate that Modi may think of advancing the General Election in case BJP gets a decisive mandate.

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News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday accused Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party of not implementing the central government's schemes in the national capital.

Addressing an election rally in Moti Bagh, he also sought to allay fears over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), assuring the gathering that the legislation will not take away anyone's citizenship.

Singh alleged that the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government did not do anything in the last five years.

The AAP had promised to add 5,000 buses to the fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but instead the number has come down by 1,000, he claimed.

The Union minister said the AAP dispensation did not implement central schemes in Delhi fearing that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will grow among Delhiites.

Pension schemes and the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, are some of those that the Kejriwal government did not allow to be implemented in Delhi.

On the anti-CAA protests, Singh said that the opposition parties have been spreading "lies" about amended citizenship law and the National Population Register (NPR).

"The CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship. The opposition parties are spreading lies about the CAA. There should be no such politics over this. Some people are trying to write the history of the country with the ink of hatred," he said.

The culture of India is such that it considers the entire world one family, he said.

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

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News Network
June 4,2020

New Delhi, Jun 4: India on Thursday witnessed a record single-day spike of 9,304 coronavirus cases taking the country's tally to 2,16,919, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The ministry informed that 260 more deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2,16,919 including 1,06,737 active cases, 1,04,107 cured/discharged/migrated and 6,075 deaths.

Maharashtra has so far reported 74,860 cases, more than any other state in the country.

In Tamil Nadu, 25,872 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 23,645 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,39,485 samples were tested in the last 24 hours whereas 42,42,718 samples have been tested till date.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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