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Maharashtra Assembly polls: It’s BJP vs the rest

October 14, 2014

Modi Maharastra

Mumbai, Oct 14: With the end of campaigning on Monday, Maharashtra braces for an epic poll battle. With a riveting and unprecedented five-way contest, even Mumbai’s bookies are hedging their bets. The splintering of long-standing political alliances, just three weeks before the polls, set the stage for an election which could dramatically alter the State’s political map.

The big question is whether there will be a clear verdict. Much depends on who will benefit from the anti-incumbency factor against the 15-year rule of the Congress-NCP government, and to what extent.

BJP has the edge

Pollsters see a clear edge for the BJP that could emerge as the single-largest party. The BJP has banked heavily on the Narendra Modi juggernaut, with the Prime Minister’s blitzkrieg of 25 rallies in 10 days. By contrast the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed four rallies and vice-president Rahul Gandhi six.

“There is a definite edge for the BJP because Mr. Modi’s honeymoon period has not yet ended. But whether it will get a clear mandate is not clear. Much depends on whether it has a pan-Maharashtra impact and whether the splitting of both alliances will swing votes towards the BJP,” says B. Venkatesh Kumar, political science professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 23 of the 24 seats it contested from Maharashtra. With the Prime Minister’s larger than life presence, the campaign became Modi versus the rest. The BJP had to fight off the sentiment of wounded Marathi pride fanned by its former ally the Shiv Sena.

Win will strengthen Modi-Shah as poll mascots

With the Prime Minister’s larger than life presence, the campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly polls became Modi versus the rest. The BJP had to fight off the sentiment of wounded Marathi pride fanned by its former ally the Shiv Sena.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the NCP and the Congress accused him of trying to divide Maharashtra, forcing the Prime Minister to issue an uncharacteristic denial.

The BJP is hoping for a repeat of its Lok Sabha success, an antidote to its recent by-election reverses. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 23 of the 24 seats it contested from Maharashtra.

“There is a definite edge for the BJP because Mr. Modi’s honeymoon period has not yet ended. But whether it will get a clear mandate is not clear. Much depends on whether it has a pan-Maharashtra impact and whether the splitting of both alliances will swing votes towards the BJP,” says B. Venkatesh Kumar, political science professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

A win in this key State will cement the position of both Mr. Modi and party president Amit Shah as election mascots within the BJP.

However, the lack of strong leadership within the State after the death of Gopinath Munde and the party’s going back and forth on the issue of Vidarbha’s statehood could upset the party’s calculations.

If no clear mandate emerges, the post-poll picture will depend entirely on the numbers with each party. The party with the largest number of seats could form the government with the help of Independents and smaller parties. The BJP and the Shiv Sena could patch up, setting aside the bitterness during the campaign. Or non-BJP parties could try and form an alliance, with signs of a rapprochement between the Shiv Sena and the MNS. Many feel the NCP could join this camp though the party has strongly denied this. If all else fails, the State could well be in for another spell of President’s Rule.

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Maharashtra Assembly polls: It’s BJP vs the rest

Mumbai, Oct 14: With the end of campaigning on Monday, Maharashtra braces for an epic poll battle. With a riveting and unprecedented five-way contest, even Mumbai’s bookies are hedging their bets. The splintering of long-standing political alliances, just three weeks before the polls, set the stage for an election which could dramatically alter the State’s political map.

The big question is whether there will be a clear verdict. Much depends on who will benefit from the anti-incumbency factor against the 15-year rule of the Congress-NCP government, and to what extent.

BJP has the edge

Pollsters see a clear edge for the BJP that could emerge as the single-largest party. The BJP has banked heavily on the Narendra Modi juggernaut, with the Prime Minister’s blitzkrieg of 25 rallies in 10 days. By contrast the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed four rallies and vice-president Rahul Gandhi six.

“There is a definite edge for the BJP because Mr. Modi’s honeymoon period has not yet ended. But whether it will get a clear mandate is not clear. Much depends on whether it has a pan-Maharashtra impact and whether the splitting of both alliances will swing votes towards the BJP,” says B. Venkatesh Kumar, political science professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 23 of the 24 seats it contested from Maharashtra. With the Prime Minister’s larger than life presence, the campaign became Modi versus the rest. The BJP had to fight off the sentiment of wounded Marathi pride fanned by its former ally the Shiv Sena.

Win will strengthen Modi-Shah as poll mascots

With the Prime Minister’s larger than life presence, the campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly polls became Modi versus the rest. The BJP had to fight off the sentiment of wounded Marathi pride fanned by its former ally the Shiv Sena.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the NCP and the Congress accused him of trying to divide Maharashtra, forcing the Prime Minister to issue an uncharacteristic denial.

The BJP is hoping for a repeat of its Lok Sabha success, an antidote to its recent by-election reverses. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 23 of the 24 seats it contested from Maharashtra.

“There is a definite edge for the BJP because Mr. Modi’s honeymoon period has not yet ended. But whether it will get a clear mandate is not clear. Much depends on whether it has a pan-Maharashtra impact and whether the splitting of both alliances will swing votes towards the BJP,” says B. Venkatesh Kumar, political science professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

A win in this key State will cement the position of both Mr. Modi and party president Amit Shah as election mascots within the BJP.

However, the lack of strong leadership within the State after the death of Gopinath Munde and the party’s going back and forth on the issue of Vidarbha’s statehood could upset the party’s calculations.

If no clear mandate emerges, the post-poll picture will depend entirely on the numbers with each party. The party with the largest number of seats could form the government with the help of Independents and smaller parties. The BJP and the Shiv Sena could patch up, setting aside the bitterness during the campaign. Or non-BJP parties could try and form an alliance, with signs of a rapprochement between the Shiv Sena and the MNS. Many feel the NCP could join this camp though the party has strongly denied this. If all else fails, the State could well be in for another spell of President’s Rule.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

Jammu & Kashmir, Feb 7: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from NC and its arch-rival PDP were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials said.

A magistrate accompanied by police served the order to Mufti at the bungalow where she has been detained, the officials said.

Abdullah was also booked under the PSA, they said.

National Conference general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar, who wields a support base in downtown city, was served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities.

Similarly, senior PDP leader Sartaj Madani was booked under the PSA. Madani is the maternal uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Both Sagar and Madani were detained in the aftermath of August 5 crackdown by the Centre on politicians following abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state, besides its bifurcation into two union territories.

Their six-month preventive custody was ending on Thursday.

Earlier, the officials had said that former NC legislator Bashir Ahmed Veeri was also booked under the PSA but later it turned out that he had been released.

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News Network
May 11,2020

New Delhi, May 11: Shares of Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) jumped 5 per cent in early trade on Monday after the Indian Railways said it will gradually resume passenger train services from May 12.

The company's shares gained 5 per cent to Rs 1,302.85 -- its highest trading permissible limit for the day -- on the BSE. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), it rose 5 per cent to Rs 1,303.55 -- its upper circuit limit.

Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website.

The Indian Railways will gradually resume passenger train services from May 12 and will ask passengers to arrive at the station at least an hour before departure, the national transporter said on Sunday.

Initially, the all air-conditioned services will begin on 15 Rajdhani routes and the fare would be equivalent to that of the super-fast train, it said.

The special trains will run from New Delhi to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

All passenger services were suspended due to a lockdown announced on March 25 and the railways later started the on-demand Shramik Specials to ferry migrants stranded across the country. It, however, has been running freight and parcel services.

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: Despite repeated assurances by the Centre and state government of no shortage of food and essential services in Delhi, many daily wage earners have started fleeing the national capital on foot to return to their native villages in nearby Uttar Pradesh and other states because of the hardships being faced by them.
Most daily wage earners who are fleeing have complained that they are doing so because they will die of hunger due to lack of resources at their disposal.
"I am going to Azamgarh, my native place which is more than 800 kilometers from here. We have started walking towards our village. On the roads, if we get some vehicles then it will be all right otherwise we will continue on foot. I used to work in the construction sector but all work has stopped, we therefore have no other means to buy our rations. Atleast, food is guaranteed in our homes," Ghanshyam, a daily wage earner, told ANI here.
Rani, another daily wage earner, who was fleeing Delhi along with her family said, "Who would want to leave on foot, but what other options do we have. Our children will die of hunger, even if they are saved from the disease. That is why we are leaving."
While the government has been assuring that it will provide food and other essentials to the low-income groups, the people complained that they are yet to receive any help.
The departing of people has started despite repeated warnings by governments to prevent the influx of persons living in other states to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Prince, who used to reside in Mongolpuri area of Delhi, said, "If we continue to stay the landlord will pester us for rent. The prices of all commodities are rising with each passing day, this way we will have nothing left to survive. We did not get any help from the government. I am, therefore, returning to Kasganj, which is close to 300 kilometres from Delhi. We will at least get food served twice a day in the village, nobody is offering us even water here."
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced Rs 5,000 for each construction worker under Construction Workers Welfare Board Fund.
Addressing a video conference here, he said, "The Delhi government will give Rs 5,000 to each construction worker as their livelihood has been affected due the outbreak of coronavirus."
He also said that the number of night shelters in the city has been increased and more food is being distributed to homeless people.
He also said that due to curfew, several people were not able to get food, and urged the public to send such people to the nearest shelters of the Delhi government, where food was being arranged.

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