Statewide and National runup to 2014 General elections

[nawabs]

http://www.lucknow.amarujala.com/featur ... elections/

भाजपा नए ठिकानों और ऐसे साथियों की तलाश में जुट गई हैं जो उनकी चुनावी नैया पार लगाने में मददगार बन सके।

अपना दल की अनुप्रिया पटेल और भाजपा के नेताओं के बीच दोस्ती की बात सबसे ज्यादा चर्चा में है। दोनों तरफ से बातचीत भी हो चुकी है, पर विलय व गठबंधन पर पेंच फंसा हुआ है।

भाजपा चाहती है कि अपना दल का उसमें विलय हो जाए। वहीं, अपना दल विलय के बजाय गठबंधन पर जोर दे रहा है।

[nawabs]

http://www.lucknow.amarujala.com/news/p ... m-varansi/

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के सरसंघचालक मोहन भागवत के काशी प्रवास ने संघ परिवार में एक बार फिर नरेंद्र मोदी के वाराणसी से लड़ने के कयासों को बल दे दिया है।

हालांकि समन्वय बैठक में संघ प्रमुख ने मोदी का नाम नहीं लिया, पर उन्होंने जिस तरह युवा नेताओं को कमान सौंपने का समर्थन किया, उसका सीधा लाभ मोदी के पक्ष में ही जाता दिख रहा है।

शायद इसीलिए लोगों को लग रहा है कि इन बातों का मकसद मोदी के लिए काशी में संभावनाएं तलाशना है। बैठक में आम आदमी पार्टी ‘आप’ को लेकर भी फिक्र मुखर हुई।

जानकारी के मुताबिक, संघ परिवार के विभिन्न संगठनों से जुड़े प्रमुख लोगों ने संघ प्रमुख से अनौपचारिक बातचीत में मोदी को वाराणसी से लड़ाने का आग्रह किया।

भागवत ने उन्हें सीधे-सीधे तो कोई आश्वासन नहीं दिया, पर यह जरूर कहा कि वे काशी के लोगों की इस इच्छा को उचित मंच पर रखेंगे। दरअसल, मोहन भागवत शुरू से ही युवा नेतृत्व के पक्षधर रहे हैं।

संघ प्रमुख बनने के बाद उन्होंने कई बार युवा नेतृत्व को कमान सौंपने का आह्वान भी किया है।

कुछ इस तरह कही भागवत ने बात
भागवत ने बैठक में जो बातें कहीं, उनसे साफ हो गया कि उनकी जुबान पर भले ही मोदी का नाम न आया हो लेकिन दिमाग में मोदी का रास्ता आसान बनाने की ही चिंता हलचल मचाए है।

उन्होंने कहा कि फलदार पेड़ की जड़ मजबूत होगी तो वह बढ़ेगा भी और फल भी देगा। इसलिए जड़ की चिंता करना जरूरी है। इससे यह साफ हो गया कि वे संगठन के मौजूदा ढांचे से निश्ंिचत नहीं हैं।

वे चाहते हैं कि संघ से लेकर संघ परिवार के सभी संगठन अपने-अपने ढांचे को दुरुस्त करें और जनता के बीच अपनी पकड़ व पैठ मजबूत बनाएं।

भाजपा को भी मिली नसीहत : भागवत, इशारों-इशारों में भाजपा को नसीहत देने से भी नहीं चूके। साथ ही भाजपा में दागियों को जगह देने पर भी अपनी नाराजगी भी जता दी।

उन्होंने समझाया कि लोगों का समर्थन पाने की पहली अनिवार्य शर्त बेदाग होना है। इसके साथ दृढ़ता और विनम्रता भी जरूरी है। इनकी अनदेखी करके लक्ष्य नहीं हासिल किया जा सकता।

आप का असर भी दिखा
बैठक में शामिल लोगों पर आम आदमी पार्टी ‘आप’ का असर भी दिखाई दिया। एक सवाल आया कि ‘आप’ के कारण चुनाव में होने वाले नुकसान से बचने के लिए क्या करना होगा?

सरसंघचालक ने इसका सीधा जवाब नहीं दिया। कहा, ‘एक समय महाराष्ट्र में शरद जोशी बहुत बड़े नेता हुआ करते थे, पर आज वह कहां हैं। उनका प्रभाव सीमित क्षेत्र में सिमट कर रह गया।

इसलिए लोगों के आवेश व भावनाओं को आधार बनाकर मुकाम हासिल करने की कोशिश ठीक नहीं होती। रही बात संघ की, तो हमारा समर्थन सिर्फ देशहित के लिए काम करने वाले व्यक्ति व संगठन को ही है’।

http://www.lucknow.amarujala.com/news/p ... aranasi-1/

इस बार लोकसभा चुनाव में भाजपा प्रत्याशियों के चयन में राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ (आरएसएस) की पहले से ज्यादा दखलंदाजी रहेगी।

इसके संकेत संघ की अखिल भारतीय कार्यकारिणी की बैठक में शुक्रवार को मिले। संघ सूत्रों के अनुसार लोकसभा चुनाव के लिए प्रत्याशी चयन करते समय विशेष सावधानी बरतने की संघ की ओर से भाजपा को नसीहत दी गई है।

उम्रदराज प्रत्याशियों को लोकसभा की बजाय राज्यसभा में भेजने की भी सलाह दी गई है। शुक्रवार को प्रदेश भाजपा अध्यक्ष डा. लक्ष्मीकांत वाजपेयी की भी बंद कमरे में संघ प्रमुख मोहन राव भागवत से मुलाकात हुई।

सूत्रों की मानें तो लंबी मंत्रणा में संघ प्रमुख ने जिताऊ और अनुभवी प्रत्याशियों को तरजीह देने की बात कही है। खासकर युवाओं और महिलाओं को पहले से ज्यादा हिस्सेदारी पर भी चर्चा हुई।

हालांकि प्रदेश भाजपा अध्यक्ष डा. वाजपेयी ने संघ प्रमुख से मुलाकात के दौरान किसी भी राजनीतिक चर्चा से इनकार किया।

हां, उन्होंने यह जरूर कहा कि निर्विवाद छवि वाले जिताऊ और अनुभवी युवाओं और महिलाओं को टिकट वितरण में वरीयता दी जाएगी। बकौल वाजपेयी, मैं प्रदेश अध्यक्ष की हैसियत से नहीं, बल्कि संघ के स्वयंसेवक की हैसियत से संघ प्रमुख से मिला।

कई विषयों पर उनसे चर्चा भी हुई मगर राजनीतिक विषय चर्चा से दूर रहे। वहीं, संघ प्रमुख ने प्रांत प्रचारकों के साथ बैठक कर संघ द्वारा चलाए जा रहे कार्यक्रमों पर सामूहिक चर्चा की।

पूर्वोत्तर सहित देश के अलग-अलग हिस्सों में चल रहे कार्यक्रमों को लक्ष्य तक पहुंचाने में आ रही कठिनाइयों के बारे में भी स्वयंसेवकों से चर्चा की।

इस बैठक में कानपुर प्रांत के प्रचारक आनंद कुमार, अवध प्रांत के प्रचारक संजय कुमार, काशी प्रांत के अभय कुमार और गोरक्ष प्रांत के अनिल कुमार शामिल थे।

[muraliravi]

मोदी की हवा, पर जमीनी हकीकत भी

राजनीतिक समीक्षकों का मानना है कि मोदी की हवा चलने के बावजूद उत्तर प्रदेश की जातीय गणित की अनदेखी नहीं की जा सकती है।

भाजपा के नेता भी जानते हैं कि चुनाव के दौरान जिस तरह प्रत्याशियों की जाति को लेकर लामबंदी होती है, उससे ऐन वक्त पर चुनावी समीकरण गड़बड़ा जाते हैं।

यूपी में लोकसभा चुनाव के दौरान उनका मुकाबला मुलायम सिंह यादव और मायावती से होना है, जिनके पास अपनी-अपनी जाति का बहुत मजबूत वोट बैंक है।

इसीलिए उनकी कोशिश है कि कुर्मियों में अच्छी पकड़ रखने वाले अपना दल को साथ लेकर जातीय गणित को भी दुरुस्त कर लिया जाए।

दूसरी तरफ अपना दल के नेता भी इस सच्चाई से अनजान नहीं हैं कि वह कुर्मियों का वोट भले ही हासिल कर लें लेकिन अकेले दम पर उनका बहुत विस्तार होने की संभावना नहीं है। इसीलिए वे भी भाजपा के साथ सफलता का सफर तय करने में दिलचस्पी ले रहे हैं।

So I guess BJP will tie up with Apna Dal to get Kurmi votes

http://www.lucknow.amarujala.com/featur ... ns/?page=2

I guess BJP wanted merger but they want alliance.

[SwamyG]

Jagan tore Sonia and Rahul on NDTV - interview with Burkha. He must be getting inputs from SM; he called INC as Italian National Congress. He said he will support Modi if BJP supports United AP. Which way is the wind blowing? Can both TDP and Jagan co-exist in NDA? Or is it just one? And is Jagan a creation of Congress for Andhra votes?

[Aditya_V]

SwamyG-> There is always pre election drama and post election drama. You shoud have seen the INC leaders and PRP leaders Language before 2009 elections and after that they promtply jumped in bed with each other

[Lilo]

Jagan tore Sonia and Rahul on NDTV - interview with Burkha. He must be getting inputs from SM; he called INC as Italian National Congress. He said he will support Modi if BJP supports United AP. Which way is the wind blowing? Can both TDP and Jagan co-exist in NDA? Or is it just one? And is Jagan a creation of Congress for Andhra votes?

Jagan is an EJ snake - modi must not touch him even with a barge pole unless its to crush its poisonous head.

Further TDP too should not be allowed back into its fold unless Hindutva aspects (Common Civil Code, 371 , anti minority appeasement etc) are reflected in its preelection manifesto.

[KJo]

This is from the local paper.

RAHUL’S ROAD SHOW A SUCCESS IN CITY

Delay did not deter party workers

AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddharamaiah waving to the public during Rahul’s road show in city yesterday.

AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in city by road last evening, is seen with the State leaders of Congress party who accorded him a warm send-off at the Mandakalli airport in Mysore, before boarding a special flight to Delhi yesterday at 8.45 pm. Rahul was accompanied by AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh to Delhi. Seen in the picture are Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, KPCC President Dr. G. Parameshwar, Ministers V. Sreenivasa Prasad and T.B. Jayachandra, MPs A.H. Vishwanath and R. Dhruvanarayana, MLAs Tanveer Sait, Vasu, S. Jayanna (of Kollegal) and M.K. Somashekar.

Mysore, Feb.17 - AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s road show in city yesterday had its share of excitement for his party workers as it attracted a good response from the public despite unprecedented security.

The cavalcade comprising Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, KPCC President Dr. G. Parameshwar and others passed through the Mysore-Bangalore road, Millennium Circle, Nelson Mandela Road, Highway Circle, Sayyaji Rao Road, K.R. Circle, Siddappa Square, Vani Vilas Road, RTO Circle, JLB Road and Chamundipuram Circle before heading to the Mandakalli Airport on Mysore-Nanjangud Road with Rahul Gandhi waving at thousands of party workers and public lined up on either side of the 20 km. route.

The Mysore leg of the road show, which began three hours behind schedule with Rahul Gandhi arriving at Kalasthawadi at 7.30 pm where he was given a rousing welcome by party workers who raised slogans, reached the Office of the District Congress Committee on Sayyaji Rao Road amidst security where thousands of party workers had assembled to have a glimpse of their leader.

The entire 20 km. stretch of the road show was decorated with buntings and flexes right up till the Mandakalli Airport where CM Siddharamaiah, KPCC Chief Dr. G. Parameshwar, Ministers Sreenivasa Prasad and T.B. Jayachandra, MPs A.H. Vishwanath and R. Dhruvanarayan, MLAs Vasu, Tanveer Sait, M.K. Somashekar and S. Jayanna and others saw off Rahul Gandhi when he left for Delhi at about 8.40 pm.

Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, City Police Commissioner Dr. M.A. Saleem, MCC Commissioner P.G. Ramesh, Zilla Panchayat President Koorgalli Mahadevu and many Congress leaders welcomed Rahul Gandhi on his arrival at Kalasthawadi.

Rahul promises more representation to women

Tumkur, Feb.17- “As empowering women only can bring about development in the country, women will be given due representation during the coming Lok Sabha polls,” said AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi here yesterday. Addressing an all-women rally of Congress workers after inaugurating the six-lane 189 km. stretch of Bangalore-Pune NH linking Tumkur with Chitradurga, he said that women need to be introduced in political activities to enable them to join the mainstream.

He also lauded Siddaganga Seer Dr. Shivakumara Swamiji for his efforts in promoting education and also showered praises on Belawadi Mallamma, Kittur Rani Chennamma and others who laid down their lives during the freedom struggle.

[nawabs]

लोकसभा चुनाव दस्तक देते ही यूपी में फिर तेज हुई जाति की राजनीति

http://www.bhaskar.com/article/UP-LUCK- ... 1-PHO.html

यूपी में सामाजिक न्याय की लड़ाई नई करवट ले रही है। इसमें अति पिछड़ी जातियां केन्द्र में आ गई हैं। जीत के लिए दम लगा रहे दलों में इन जातियों को लेकर जंग तेज होती जा रही है। प्रदेश में लगभग 32 प्रतिशत हिन्दू और 8 प्रतिशत मुस्लिम अति पिछड़ी आबादी है। नरेंद्र मोदी के अति पिछड़ा होने के कार्ड ने इस लड़ाई को धारदार बना दिया है। यूपी की 17 अति पिछड़ी जातियों को अनुसूचित जाति का दर्जा देने की लड़ाई सपा संसद में लड़ऩे की तैयारी में है।

अति पिछड़ों की 17 जातियों को सपा ने 2006 में अनुसूचित जाति में शामिल कर दिया था, जो तकनीकी रूप से गलत था। बाद में हाईकोर्ट ने प्रदेश सरकार के आदेश को रद्द कर दिया। बसपा सरकार ने केन्द्र सरकार से इन जातियों को अनुसूचित जाति में शामिल करने के लिए संसद में प्रस्ताव पास कराने की मांग की थी। यूपी में वोट बैंक बढ़ाने के लिए सपा के निशाने पर 17 अति पिछड़ी जातियां हैं। पिछले दो महीने से पार्टी रथयात्रा के जरिए इनको जागरूक करने में लगी है। वहीं, भाजपा, बसपा और कांग्रेस भी पीछे नही रहना चाहती हैं।

पसमांदा मुस्लिम संगठन फिलहाल सपा के साथ है। राज्य की 80 में से 45 लोकसभा सीटों पर अति पिछड़ी जातियों की तदाद लगभग डेढ़ से चार लाख तक है। भाजपा के प्रधानमंत्री पद के दावेदार नरेंद्र मोदी के अति पिछड़े तेली वर्ग से होने की चर्चाओं ने उप्र में अति पिछड़ों की राजनीतिक लड़ाई तेज कर दी है।

'मोस्ट बैकवर्ड कास्ट आफ इंडिया' (एमबीसीआई) नाम की नई पार्टी भी सामने आ गई है। पार्टी के अध्यक्ष डॉ. राम सुमिरन का दावा है कि यह जातियां पहले बिखरी थी अब एकजुट होने से राजनीतिक दल इनपर डोरे डाल रहे हैं। वह कैंची चुनाव चिंह के साथ प्रदेश की 30 लोकसभा सीटों पर उम्मीदवार उतारेगें। 15 सीटों पर उम्मीदवारों के चयन हो गए हैं। डॉ. राम का दावा है कि पिछड़ों के 27 प्रतिशत अति पिछड़ों को कुछ नही मिलता। अति पिछड़ों में मुस्लिम जातियां भी हैं। आरक्षण का पूरा लाभ यादव, कुर्मी, लोधी जाट और गूजर के हिस्से में चला जाता है।

इनका दावा है कि सपा धोखा कर रही है। अति पिछड़ों को अनुसूचित जाति का हिस्सा नही चाहिए, बल्कि पिछड़े वर्ग में अपना हिस्सा चाहिए। मंडल कमीशन में एलआर नायक ने इसे 14 प्रतिशत के रूप में दिया था, लेकिन तत्कालिन वीपी सिंह सरकार ने इसे लागू नही किया। डॉ. राम ने कहा कि यूपी के गांवों में भाजपा मोदी के अति पिछड़े तेली वर्ग से होने का प्रचार कर सहानुभूति पाने की कोशिश कर रही है।

[RajeshA]

I can understand BJP flirting with Jagan to get a good deal from TDP, but otherwise a Christianist Jagan is not really one who would be supportive of the Hindutva agenda.

BJP should not have anything to do with him!

[sum]

^^ So Rahul babu is sponsored by Religare ( going by logo on his private plane in 3rd pic)?

[Arjun]

^^ So Rahul babu is sponsored by Religare ( going by logo on his private plane in 3rd pic)?

That is the logo of the group's air charter company.

[ramana]

Muraliravi, Thanks for the great effort in compling the surveys and assessing them. Once elections are announced please start hsoting them on a blog for wider audience. As you know I ask hard questions to bring out your knowledge.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 5#p1595235

Here you say that C-Voter survey collapsed. What were the factors that led to such an error? Methodology or mind set?
Then look at the Maharastra surveys and again C Voter is the red flag one.
Should we put a bias factor on them to obtain the actual?

[Suraj]

Talk in the family is that BJP has a good chance to bag the Thiruvananthapuram LS seat in Tharoor's absence if they plan right. That's the only one they have a realistic chance in, and should focus on getting it. The best way to create a long term base is to start with one strong seat. Once the binary equation between LDF and UDF is broken there, things will become fluid elsewhere.

[muraliravi]

Muraliravi, Thanks for the great effort in compling the surveys and assessing them. Once elections are announced please start hsoting them on a blog for wider audience. As you know I ask hard questions to bring out your knowledge.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 5#p1595235

Here you say that C-Voter survey collapsed. What were the factors that led to such an error? Methodology or mind set?
Then look at the Maharastra surveys and again C Voter is the red flag one.
Should we put a bias factor on them to obtain the actual?

Ramana Sir, Hard questions are welcome; Answers to such questions bring out the real picture.

Now, on C-Voter; Let me be blunt on them, not a great survey company, I am not saying they are trash, but not great. The ONLY reason I put their numbers is because, that was the only survey agency where I could get data points from 3 different time periods with 3-4 month intervals and vote share on a state by state basis.

As far the UP election of 2012 is concerned, when I remarked that their survey has collapsed, if a survey cannot capture the general drift (meaning if it cannot even catch the direction of the wind, in this case, everyone knew that BSP was on losing wicket and SP was heading towards victory), then they have lost it. I dont think it is the mindset, they have really nothing to gain by propping SP/BSP, nor can they have a psephological mindset of the incumbent being strong in a state like UP where really nothing was done for 5 years. I would by and large blame it on their methodology. There have been snippets which claim that barring csds none of the surveys do ground level surveys (instead they do a larger telephonic sample and claim that the larger sample compensates for that weaker mode of surveying).

On Maharashtra, I would say that the july survey captured the fact that a huge chunk of the SS vote had gone to MNS, but they seem to have anyway bungled it with a 14% vote share for MNS. Of course they did some course correction in future surveys (combined with the ground reality that MNS again weakened and SS got stronger). Overall in MH, i think they have not done that bad. If you look at jul-13 in MH, both cvoter and csds predict a clear UPA advantage (the only goofup from cvoter was the MNS factor which can hard to gauge when they dont have a state wide presence). In fact Cvoter even got the turnaround time in Oct -13 when NDA beats the UPA rightly confirmed by csds in jan-13. So I would not blame them that much in MH. In fact in their latest survey, to get the MNS factor right, they did poll all MNS voter on the extent to which they support Namo and the response was 93%.

Now, why is their MH survey more trustworthy than UP or even Bihar. My guess is that since MH is a relatively developed/urbanized state, telephonic surveys maybe be able to get a decent representative sample, while that may not be the case in UP/Bihar/Jharkhand.

[Kati]

Overall popularity percentage of a party means very little actually in terms of seats.
One needs to look at seat by seat popularity, compute the standard error (based on
sample sizes) then calculate the probability of winning a seat. I'm sure the pollsters
in each party are busy doing the calculations.

[Shanmukh]

Talk in the family is that BJP has a good chance to bag the Thiruvananthapuram LS seat in Tharoor's absence if they plan right. That's the only one they have a realistic chance in, and should focus on getting it. The best way to create a long term base is to start with one strong seat. Once the binary equation between LDF and UDF is broken there, things will become fluid elsewhere.

There is actually considerable polarisation in favour of the BJP in Malabar, if what I hear is true. The Muslims are becoming more and more assertive (Kozhikode and Kasargod have approximately 35% Muslims), and Hindus have been at the receiving end. Except in Kozhikode, the Indic Christians don't matter much. I suspect that the BJP will breach the 2 lakh vote mark in Kozhikode, Kasargod, and Palakkad seats (though whether they can win or not depends on other factors). Complicating the problem for the BJP is the NSS (Nair caste organisation) is refusing to endorse the BJP openly.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bjp- ... 43088.html

It boils down to diplomacy. If the RSS, which has a very strong network in Kerala, can broker a peace between the upper castes (which make up a considerable portion of the RSS organisation) and the OBC and Dalit organisations, then the BJP may just be able to win in the Malabar as well. We shall have to see.

I am not so familiar with south Kerala (my contacts are mainly in the Malabar), the talk is that the Thiruvananthapuram candidate for BJP will be O Rajagopal. He has a lot of personal goodwill, and may be able to win (but there is talk that the Left and the Congress are doing a match fixing deal to keep the BJP from winning). The only downside with Rajagopal is that he is 80+. Will younger folk find him attractive enough to vote?

[Suraj]

Yes, the Malabar is not a lost cause, but the RSS folks need more presence there, interacting with NSS and SNDP on a day to day basis to enable BJP to build a base there.

The TVM seat depends on LDP/UDP denial - they need to keep telling themselves BJP cannot harm them, while the BJP does so. They already state how they're surprised by the recent opinion poll and don't believe BJP can win TVM. That's the complacency that the BJP should use to their advantage.

Elsewhere in Kerala, nothing will happen unless the BJP state unit wakes up. I get irritated when people post asking why Kerala has no Modi wave. Hello ? There's no state presence worth the name. People are well aware of him, but if the BJP either does not contest or gives a ticket to a Nobody Nair or Maybe Menon, what do you expect ? Politics is ultimately local. Making it an entitlement issue is pointless.

That's also true at the national level. Take away Modi's influence and the next election would be all about the turd front, with the BJP nowhere in contention to win. They wasted 10 years doing nothing and depend on one man to lead them first past the post now - both through his own charisma and his ability to ensure proper ticket assignment.

[Singha]

2004 and 2009 were routs for the BJP due to the genius influence of Loh Purush and his durbaris.

I was a in college when the RJB rath yatra thing was on and Loh Purush reached his pinnacle. perhaps he was a charismatic man then, but his NDA and thereafter stint was devoid of all charisma except holding on to his lutyens priviledges and unable to anything when Madam ji mocked and taunted him.

[ramana]

Nice synopsis of political events of last six months:

SIFY

Maximize LS seats

With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, all political parties have their eyes firmly on winning as many seats as possible. Most of the questions raised about these parties have exactly the same answer...

Q1: Why did the BJP take back Yedyurappa?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

BS Yedyurappa may have built the BJP in Karnataka, but he also destroyed it. First he refused to quit over corruption charges involving the Reddy brothers. Then when his replacement Sadananda Gowda was doing well, he foisted his choice Jagadish Shettar. If that wasn’t enough, he quit the party soon after and destroyed the BJP in the Assembly elections.

Despite that the BJP have taken back Yedyurappa. And despite taking him back they are not making much use of him as of now. So what purpose did it serve?

The answer is simple. In the 2013 elections, the Congress got 36.6% vote share and the BJP was way behind with 20%. Yedyurappa’s KJP may not have won many seats, but it did get a 9.8% vote share. They just wanted that vote share back for the Lok Sabha polls.



The gambit seems to have worked. Every successive opinion poll is showing the BJP getting more and more LS seats and in the last one it finally got a greater vote share than the Congress despite getting lesser seats!

Q2: Why is the Congress pushing Telangana so hard?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

The people of Seemandhra don’t want Telangana. Most Congress MLAs don’t want Telangana.Most AP Congress MPs don’t want Telangana. The State is being destroyed by indecision, inaction, agitations and lack of long-term vision over Telangana.

The Lok Sabha has been plunged into anarchy thanks to the Congress infighting. And yet the Congress is pushing Telangana as if there is no tomorrow. At this stage it’s more practical for the next Central government to handle it.

But then they won’t get more LS seats now would they? The Congress was getting wiped out in AP, but if they gave statehood to Telangana, then they could at least get MPs from that region (the TRS was talking of merging with the Congress), the rest of the State be damned.

Q3: Why did the AAP quit from Delhi?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

States have a Lokayukta. India has a Lokpal. So how can you foist a Jan Lokpal over these two? It’s impractical and sounds silly and no wonder they couldn’t introduce it in the Assembly. Also if the AAP feels so passionately about the Jan Lokpal, then they could have spent a great deal more time pushing it. But they withdrew at the first given opportunity.

Kejriwal wanted to focus on the LS polls and he has been trying to quit desperately ever since he took over and this gave him the chance. Kejriwal gives two hoots over the problems of the citizens of Delhi and just wants to campaign nationally and get more Lok Sabha seats.

Q4: Why did the SP shut down the riot camps?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

The UP riots were dragging on too long for the SP government and clouding everything from junkets and film shows. Then there were stories of cold and other problems in riot camps. So they simply shut the riot camps.

Haven’t you noticed how all the stories dried up after they shut down the camps? Now they can concentrate on the elections and get more seats.

Q5: Why did the JD(U) part ways with BJP?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

With a BJP-JD(U) alliance, the latter couldn’t contest all the LS seats in Bihar and what if Narendra Modi chased away the Muslim vote? That’s why Nitish Kumar decided to go it alone in the hope of sweeping Bihar. This seems to have backfired spectacularly.

Q6: Why is the MNS suddenly launching a high-profile toll campaign?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

The MNS was formed in 2006 and toll problems have been around for donkey’s years, ever since tolls were first introduced in the country in fact: So why this sudden urgency now? It’s simple. You can beat poor taxi drivers for only a few days, but you can conduct a toll campaign for months well into the LS elections and hope to pick up 5-6 seats in the process as so far only the BJP-Shiv Sena seemed to be cashing in on the anti-Congress-NCP sentiment.

Q7: Why did the NCP and NC suddenly praise Modi?

A: So that they can win more Lok Sabha seats.

Imagine a BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP grand alliance sweeping all the seats of Maharashtra. NC is still strong in the Valley and BJP is gaining traction in Jammu. An alliance could sweep J&K. All this sounds far-fetched, but must have been at least discussed and that’s why the parties suddenly started praising Modi. The same goes with DMK and Tamil Nadu though that won’t happen for now.

Like this there are many more questions relating these and many other parties and they all have the same answer.

[Shanmukh]

AASU leader Rituparna Baruah quits, to join BJP. BJP considering fielding him from Dibrugarh.

http://www.assamtimes.org/node/9740

This is a very good development. The BJP, thus far, had never been able to break into the upper Assam vote banks on any extended basis. The Congress has been winning Kaliabor-Jorhat-Dibrugarh belt for a very long time. The Nazira-Amguri-Tinsukhia belt has always been pro-Congress/AGP, with the BJP being a distant third. With Rituparna, the BJP can hope to break into the AGP votebanks in upper Assam. If the BJP fields him from Dibrugarh, it means that Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (the home grown BJP bigwig in upper Assam) will likely contest from Jorhat. Let us see if the BJP can take one or more of the upper Assam constituencies.

[VinodTK]

AAP offers Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat to Zahid Ali Khan

HYDERABAD: In an interesting development, AAP has offered Siasat editor Zahid Ali Khan a ticket to contest the Hyderabad LS seat in the general elections. Sources said Khan, a TDP politburo member, received an email from AAP senior leader Prashant Bhushan on Monday.

informing him that AAP's political affairs committee (PAC) had named him as a candidate and that the party would be "privileged" if he accepted their offer.

"With reference to our telephonic conversation, we had a discussion within the PAC of our party today. Please let us know. The AAP would feel privileged to welcome you to the party and would to invite you to be our candidate from Hyderabad city. Please let us know how you would like us to proceed in the matter," the email from Bhushan read.

Sources confirmed that the party and Bhushan, for the first time, had contacted Khan early last week with the invitation to join the party. He said that he would send a "formal letter" to Khan after the PAC meeting.

When contacted Khan said, "I have not taken any decision so far. I am consulting my advisors and those who voted for me in the 2009 elections. The current political scenario in the state is such that I will have to think twice before deciding."

[suryag]

So now that Delhi is headless can Bhajpa make an attempt to form a govt with breakaway legislators of AAP and Congies?

[muraliravi]

So now that Delhi is headless can Bhajpa make an attempt to form a govt with breakaway legislators of AAP and Congies?

If BJP does that, they will lose this 2014 LS the next minute. Even that thought should not enter their mind and Dr. Harshvardhan is doing the right thing by asking for elections again.

[chandrasekhar.m]

Any concrete info about the dates for the elections in Andhra Pradesh/Hyderabad area? The best dates I could gather online was from a Hindustan Times article that it will most probably be in mid-April to 1st week of May timeframe. I want to make a trip then and also cast my vote, but have a short vacation onlee . Hence, the request.

[Virupaksha]

Any concrete info about the dates for the elections in Andhra Pradesh/Hyderabad area? The best dates I could gather online was from a Hindustan Times article that it will most probably be in mid-April to 1st week of May timeframe. I want to make a trip then and also cast my vote, but have a short vacation onlee . Hence, the request.

rumours swirling that assembly elections might be postponed.

[Manu]

To June. It is not a rumor.

[M Joshi]

Did something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. I've compiled a list of some of the people who've joined BJP in the last few months, especially after Namo was brought to the forefront:

1) Rao Inderjit Singh, Lok Sabha member from Gurgaon, said he would join BJP.
2) AASU’s assistant general secretary Rituparna Baruah joins BJP.
3) Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh has tendered his resignation and the IPS officer is expected to join BJP.
4) Lok Sabha MP from Hoshangabad seat, Rao Uday Pratap Singh, resigned from Congress and joined BJP along with some of his supporters.
5) Ex-BJP leader and current Congress legislator from Lathi Assembly constituency in Amreli district, Bavku Undhad today resigned as MLA and primary member of Congress to rejoin BJP.
6) Raghurama Krishnam Raju quits YSRCP, joins BJP.
7) A prominent leader from Doda district Ishtiaq Wani joined BJP on Wednesday in a function held at party headquarters after quitting PDP.
8 ) Pushpa Leela quits Congress and Joins BJP.
9) BSP MLA from Morena Parasram Mudgal on Friday resigned from the party membership and joined BJP.
10) Former minister and senior RJD leader from Madhepura in the Kosi river belt, Ravindra Charan Yadav, joined BJP along with hundreds of his supporters.
11) Kalyan Singh, the former chief minister of UP is going to join the Bharatiya Janata Party officially on March 2.
12) Lyricist and scholar Jonnavitthula Ramalingeswara Rao exhorted the people to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after launching ‘One note and vote for BJP’.
13) Bavku Undhad, Congress MLA from Lathi-Liliya Assembly constituency in Saurashtra, joined the BJP.
14) Music director Bappi Lahiri joins BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
15) Swabhimaani Shetkari Sanghatana, led by Lok Sabha member Raju Shetty joins BJP-SS alliance.
16) Retired IAS officer RPS Pawar joined the BJP.
17) Former Dainik Jagran CGM Nishikant Thakur joins BJP.
18) R.K. Handa, who retired as director general of police after 35 years of service, officially joins in the BJP in WB.
19) Dilip Kumar Chaudhuri, president of Tax Bar Association of Bengal joins BJP.
20) Former DGP R.K. Mohanty officially joins in the BJP in WB.
21) Former Joint Director of the CBI Sujit Ghosh officially joins in the BJP in WB.
22) Former State Election Commission officer S.K. Madan officially joins in the BJP in WB.
23) Bengali film actor Nimu Bhowmick officially joins in the BJP.
24) Ex-Trinamool MP Bikram Sarkar joins BJP.
25) Former Gujarat Congress spokesperson Aashifa Khan joins BJP.
26) Former Additional Chief Secretary Radha Kant Tripathy officially joins in the BJP in WB.
27) Retired Assistant Commissioner, RPF, R N Das officially joins in the BJP in WB.
28) Former Chief of Customs and Excise Department Bishwajit Dutta officially joins in the BJP in WB.
29) Industrialist Sushil Kumar Agarwal joins in the BJP in WB.
30) Former MD of Tata Group R N Das joins in the BJP in WB.
31) Former CMD of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Ltd S C Saxena joins in the BJP in WB.
32) Former Home Secretary RK Singh joins BJP.
33) Former Petroleum Secretary Raghav Sharan Pandey joins BJP.
34) Former Indian Railway Service officer Dharam Singh joins BJP.
35) Sunil Shastri, son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Congress party member joined the BJP.
36) Keshubhai Patel's son Bharat Patel joins BJP.
37) Ex-UN envoy Hardeep Singh Puri joins BJP.
38) Former JD-U leader Sachchidanand Rai joins BJP in Patna.
39) After a lot of speculations, celebrities Rajasekhar and Jeevitha formally joined the BJP.
40) Subramanian Swamy joins BJP.
41) BJP officially announced joining of Laishram Jatra along with 300 members of MPP.
42) Kamalchand Bhanjdeo, the scion of Bastar's royal family, joined BJP.
43) Former Arunachal Pradesh home, finance and civil supplies minister James Lowangcha Wanglat joins BJP.

I'm sure there are many others & the list will keep getting longer now.

[KLP Dubey]

Did something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. I've compiled a list of some of the people who've joined BJP in the last few months, especially after Namo was brought to the forefront:
I'm sure there are many others & the list will keep getting longer now.

Nice list. Would be even better to organize it by state, and have a national-level category for people who are not particularly associated with a state.

[chandrasekhar.m]

Any concrete info about the dates for the elections in Andhra Pradesh/Hyderabad area? The best dates I could gather online was from a Hindustan Times article that it will most probably be in mid-April to 1st week of May timeframe. I want to make a trip then and also cast my vote, but have a short vacation onlee . Hence, the request.

rumours swirling that assembly elections might be postponed.

To June. It is not a rumor.

Thank you both. What about the dates when Lok Sabha elections will be conducted there?

[Saral]

49 days of Aapturdism documented in 25 pages

link to pdf: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v82kf3av3j2wq ... nation.pdf

[IndraD]

Post poning Delhi elections by 6 months is simply to see which way the wind blows in LS election and if there is return of turd front + con, which can influence out come of Delhi election. Con knows it can't win Delhi elections even 5 yrs after from now. AAP has replaced them.

[muraliravi]

Did something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. I've compiled a list of some of the people who've joined BJP in the last few months, especially after Namo was brought to the forefront:

I'm sure there are many others & the list will keep getting longer now.

Awesome, this is a great list. I think there are some more in Bihar. I will probably pull it up in a couple of days.

[Atri]

Any concrete info about the dates for the elections in Andhra Pradesh/Hyderabad area? The best dates I could gather online was from a Hindustan Times article that it will most probably be in mid-April to 1st week of May timeframe. I want to make a trip then and also cast my vote, but have a short vacation onlee . Hence, the request.

they declared 2009 elections on 3rd march 2009.

it is constitutionally impossible to postpone elections. A new govt has to be in place by 20th of may.

[chandrasekhar.m]

Any concrete info about the dates for the elections in Andhra Pradesh/Hyderabad area? The best dates I could gather online was from a Hindustan Times article that it will most probably be in mid-April to 1st week of May timeframe. I want to make a trip then and also cast my vote, but have a short vacation onlee . Hence, the request.

they declared 2009 elections on 3rd march 2009.

it is constitutionally impossible to postpone elections. A new govt has to be in place by 20th of may.

Atri saar, Wikipedia for 2009 Lok Sabha elections and 2009 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections shows none of them were finished by 3rd Mar 2009. Vote counting itself was done on 16 May 2009.
But, your point about the constitutional provision is correct. This HT article I linked to earlier also says almost the same but it mentions June 1 as the deadline by when new Lok Sabha should be constituted.

The EC is working on a multi- phase, probably five, election schedule with the states in the warmer parts of the country expected to go to polls in April and first week of May.

The remaining states, mostly in the north and hilly region, would have polling days between the first week and the middle of May.

“The exact dates have not been finalised as yet.

We are working at a schedule keeping in view a month-long window of mid-April to mid-May,” a senior EC official said.

The counting of votes is expected to be between May 15 and May 20.

The commission is required to complete the election process by end of May as the 16th Lok Sabha has to be constituted by June 1.

My confusion still remains about when to visit Hyderabad for Lok Sabha elections.
I guess I will have to wait for more news from Election Commission.

[Atri]

What I meant was that the EC declared election dates on 3th of march 2009.. most probably they will do so around same time this year as well..

[krishnan]

mamta didi also going to declare PM candidate, i think BRF should also nominate someone

[gandharva]

It's going to be 2nd March 2014.

[chandrasekhar.m]

What I meant was that the EC declared election dates on 3th of march 2009.. most probably they will do so around same time this year as well..

Sorry for my misunderstanding.

It's going to be 2nd March 2014.

Atri and gandharva saars, thanks.

[RajeshA]

mamta didi also going to declare PM candidate, i think BRF should also nominate someone

Anna Hazare has come out in support of Mamata Banerjee and rejected supporting Kejriwal or Modi.

I think this is good tactics. Chances of a Third Front rising are directly proportional to strength of Left Front and Congress. Mamata would be the most hesitant of the lot to throw her weight behind a Third Front govt, especially one led by another Devi and supported by Left Front. Also his presence would encourage AITC to keep away from Congress in WB and Center.

So all in all a good development. Also Anna Hazare needed to get away from these pulls and counter-pulls by Kejriwal/AAP on one hand and Kiran Bedi and Gen VK Singh supporting Modi.

[ramana]

mamta didi also going to declare PM candidate, i think BRF should also nominate someone

Anna Hazare has come out in support of Mamata Banerjee and rejected supporting Kejriwal or Modi.

I think this is good tactics. Chances of a Third Front rising are directly proportional to strength of Left Front and Congress. Mamata would be the most hesitant of the lot to throw her weight behind a Third Front govt, especially one led by another Devi and supported by Left Front. Also his presence would encourage AITC to keep away from Congress in WB and Center.

So all in all a good development. Also Anna Hazare needed to get away from these pulls and counter-pulls by Kejriwal/AAP on one hand and Kiran Bedi and Gen VK Singh supporting Modi.

Real Balarama type decision.
But good to keep Mamata humored.