Delhi polls: Kejriwal, Bedi or another hung assembly? Voters to decide today

February 7, 2015

New Delhi, Feb 7: A year after the Arvind Kejirwal-led government hastened the flashpoint on Jan Lokpal Bill and abandoned the people's verdict, Delhi votes again on Saturday in a keenly watched contest.

delhi poll

Voters will decide whether to give Delhi a decisive mandate in favour of the AAP or the BJP, or keep it a hung assembly even after a year of President's Rule.

Political parties are desperate for a clear verdict, pleading with voters with slogans like 'Poorn Bahumat (absolute majority)', 'Sthir Sarkar (stable governmnet)', 'Chalo chale Modi ke sath (Let's go with Modi)' and Paanch Sal Kejriwal (FIve years for Kejriwal)'. It has been a hard-fought campaign. A year under President's Rule, parties could never really take it easy. It was like a prep break between two exams.

Winning a state is always important for a national party. But Delhi's battle for the ballot is a different ballgame. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already flagged it as an election the "world is watching". An Obama or a Merkel would not be interested in how the elections pans out in Patparganj or Matiala, but they just might be following the BJP juggernaut. For the party and its leader, it is a battle of honour.

For one, it will be a big popularity test for the PM, right at his seat of power. Many believe that the BJP, albeit late, anointed Kiran Bedi as the CM candidate not just to provide a counter-balance to Kejirwal but to insulate Modi from the embarrassment of an electoral defeat.

As successive opinion polls pointed in favour of the AAP, the BJP got all boots on the ground. Twenty two ministers, 120 MPs and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states were all in town for campaigning and taking charge of media briefings. BJP president Amit Shah and his colleague Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu have already urged the media not to judge the outcome of Delhi polls as a referendum on the Modi government.

Just nine months back, the Modi wave won the BJP all seven Lok Sabha seats and a 46% vote share in the Capital. At a rally in Dwarka, Modi exhorted voters to throw their lot with his "lucky" government. Delhi's multiple jurisdictions may make a tempting case for electing the party in Delhi that rules at the Centre. Would Delhi want to ride his luck?

Delhi electorate would also decide if it has forgiven Arvind Kejriwal who it embraced with much love just 14 months ago. His Aam Aadmi Party made a spectacular debut in the Delhi assembly, winning 28 of the 70 seats by selling a strong brand of political activism.

But once in government, AAP's unorthodox ways earned them uncharitable tags of being populists and anarchists. The party's tryst with power lasted only 49 days. Riding the high horse, Kejriwal thought he scored a moral victory. But the 'bhagoda' (deserter) tag stuck on, costing him the middle-class vote and a chance to score in the Lok Sabha polls last year.

All through the campaign this election, Kejriwal has been profusely apologising to the voters for abandoning the people's verdict. Projecting himself as politician who is not afraid to admit he made a mistake, he has played an emotional card while his party quickly went back to the drawing board.

A second chance is always hard to come by, but if the opinion polls are anything to go by, AAP's mopping up efforts has worked. The working class seems to be rooting for the party. The minority vote also seems to have slipped out of the Congress's hands.

For the grand old party, the fight is for survival, to remain politically relevant. More than its own leadership, it is the BJP which is hoping against hope that the Congress does well. A split in minority and working class vote may hurt the AAP.

The contest remains tight. In the absence of a talking-point agenda, eventually it may come down to credibility, and therefore, again to personalities. With political name-calling making daily headlines, who will Delhi trust to deliver is the big question the city voters will answer on Saturday. Let's hope it will be a clear mandate this time around.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after two new cases of novel coronavirus that included one from Delhi were reported, the Health Ministry on Tuesday said six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation. The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, and they include his family members.

According to government sources, the man, who is a resident of Mayur Vihar, had visited them in Agra.

The six have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples are being sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.

Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the ministry said in a statement.

Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

His other family members have been asked to stay alert and look out for symptoms. One accountant, who came in contact with the man and some of his family members, was also quarantined, they said.

India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed 2,912 people in China.

On Monday, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said that an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The first sample collected from him on February 29 tested negative but his condition deteriorated, so a second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding, "Since there is a variation in the reports, the samples have been sent to the NIV, Pune for testing".

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

The infected person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection is from Telangana and had recently travelled to Dubai.

Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms.

"They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored," ministry said on Monday.

The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Jan 18: Days after the arrest of Deputy SP Davinder Singh along with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, Shiv Sena on Saturday questioned the role of police in the Kashmir Valley.

"Cross border infiltration is ongoing in Kashmir. But the police machinery is being used to help the terrorists in Kashmir to safely cross the border (to Pakistan) and a President's medal awarded Deputy SP was arrested for doing so. In Kashmir (it seems), the government is using the police for some other purposes, what will the country's Home Ministry say if somebody has a doubt in connection with the Pulwama attacks," Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, read.

This was in reference to the incident in which Jammu and Kashmir police intercepted a vehicle on Sunday and arrested DySP Davinder Singh along with two top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, who were travelling together.

The Sena mouthpiece asserted that the impact and acceptance of the Centre removing Article 370 should be visible "through the people" during the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.

"Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory. It is being ruled by the Centre through President's Rule. The government had removed Article 370 in a historic decision...The joy and excitement in the people over the removal of 370 should be visible in the Republic Day celebrations this time. The tricolour should be seen flying over all houses in Kashmir, it is the least that can be expected," it added.

The Sena mouthpiece further said that with the arrest of terrorists in the recent days, it hoped that "Republic Day will be celebrated safely in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir".

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Agencies
July 2,2020

Mumbai, Jul 2: The Shiv Sena on Thursday termed the ban on 59 Chinese apps by the Indian government as a "digital strike" and asked if these apps were a threat to the national security, how did they operate for so many years.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' sought to know when did the Centre realise these apps were a threat to the national security.

By banning the Chinese apps, Prime Minister Narendra Modi protected the interests of Indian internet users and his courage has be lauded, the Marathi publication said.

India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok, UC Browser, SHAREit and WeChat, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

"If these apps were a threat to national security, how is it that these apps were functioning without any hurdles for so many years. If the opposition says the government neglected national security,then what will the Centre's stand be?" the Shiv Sena asked.

It said questions should be raised on all the previous governments for "allowing national data to go out of the country".

China has expressed displeasure over the Indian government's decision, the Marathi daily said, adding that Chinese soldiers are "still not ready to leave the Galwan Valley (in Ladakh)".

The Sena said it took the sacrifices of 20 soldiers for the government to realise Indian data was being illegally taken out of the country.

"The government took revenge by a digital strike," it stated.

There have been complaints earlier that users' data on Chinese apps was illegally sent out of the country, and apps like TikTok were "promoting vulgarity", it said.

"Many TikTok stars had reportedly joined the BJP," the Sena claimed. "What will happen to them?" it asked.

There is a need to break China economically, but that will not happen by banning its apps. The issue is about trade and investment between the two countries, it said.

"The largest Chinese investment is in Gujarat.

Chinese company Huawei has got the contract to set up 5G network in India. This company having keys to India's digital economy is akin to the Chinese Communist Party owning the Indian economy in future," it said.

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