Statewide and National runup to 2014 General elections

bhargava · Post by **bhargava** » 29 Jan 2014 16:41

Detailed analysis of Karnataka w.r.t 2014 polls by @albatrossinfo Karnataka: The confusion of alter-narrative

Guru log, please take a look and comment

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 Jan 2014 17:16

Atul Kadhyan ‏@monsieur_inde 1h
NDA in TN/Puducherry: Hectic seat sharing negations on. Likely outcome: 12seats – DMDK; 8 – PMK; 6 – MDMK; 11 – BJP; 3 - Others

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 29 Jan 2014 18:53

bhargava wrote:Detailed analysis of Karnataka w.r.t 2014 polls by @albatrossinfo Karnataka: The confusion of alter-narrative

Guru log, please take a look and comment

Its a very detailed survey with a sample size of 10000, just for the state of KA, with about 400 samples in each seat. The msm surveys that came out recently had just 800-900 as sample size for an entire state. So kudos to praveen patil. I am sure the survey must have been a very expensive exercise.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 29 Jan 2014 19:19

Altair wrote:I have been informed through sources that Rahul Gandhi's views on Pakistan are not exactly friendly or conciliatory. Atleast he is not like Farziwala. The Nationalists in Congress( Yes!!! It appears they do exist!!) ally with Rahul Gandhi on matters of Pakistan and US. His views on Pakistan were not exactly welcomed by many in Core itself.
I am looking for any iota of evidence in MSM on his views. Can anyone please help?

Your source is spouting BS, if you have forgotten so quickly then let me remind you that in the just concluded interview of mukku he had also "clearly" given his views regarding Chavan to AICC or whoever and what came out of that ??? In the same interview he also claimed to have given many views to higher ups which were contradictory according to his claim, what came out of that ??? Zilch, Nada, Zero unsurprisingly. So what gives that we should believe mukku has harsh views about Pakistan. Even if he does why hasn't he been able to stop the GoI (which he rules through backdoor) from bending backwards to appease Pakistan ???

Your source is fooling you to gain some sympathy for mukku.

archan · Post by **archan** » 29 Jan 2014 19:25

Don't forget wikileaks, he said Hindu terror is more of a threat to India. I am sure Hindus are the ones blowing up things in India, in the name of Raam or Krishna.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 29 Jan 2014 19:35

RajeshA wrote:Atul Kadhyan ‏@monsieur_inde 1h
NDA in TN/Puducherry: Hectic seat sharing negations on. Likely outcome: 12seats – DMDK; 8 – PMK; 6 – MDMK; 11 – BJP; 3 - Others

This is interesting. It means that the BJP is giving in to the demand of the DMDK that Captain's party contest the max. no. of seats. What is even more interesting to me is that the BJP is bringing in even more partners, so that 3 seats are being left to the others. We already know that IJK has joined BJP and KMK was bargaining hard. There was another party in Pondicherry that the BJP was negotiating, and the Pondicherry seat may be left to it. There is a huge NaMo wave in Kerala and TN, but BJP lacks an organised cadre to capitalise on it. I genuinely wish that the BJP makes a strong effort to build a cadre in the Malabar (Hindus here are terrified - they are in the late 50%s and early 60%s in most districts. Already Mallapuram is gone, and Wayanad is borderline (Hindus around 45-50%). The presence of old Christians is very negligible in this region - is probably less than 2-3%. Unless the BJP builds a cadre in the region in this decade, this region will be lost totally).

Western and southern TN are the best bets for the BJP in TN, in addition to Chennai city. Coimbatore-Tiruchirapalli-Salem districts in the west, and everything south of Madurai-Thanjavur districts in the south, and lastly, the Chennai city should see the BJP focus. The allies (particularly MDMK) are around only because it is their vote that the BJP will end up taking, if they are not part of the NDA. This is particularly true for the MDMK, since both BJP and MDMK draw their cadres from the same fishing communities on the coast For this elections, they are necessary, but in the longer run, Subbu Swamy is absolutely right. It will be necessary for the BJP to subsume these smaller outfits' cadres in its own party.

I am waiting to see which 11 seats the BJP contests (if this report happens to be true, that is).

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 29 Jan 2014 19:44

It's completely superficial

The only thing that is superficial is Modi. He presided over Gujarat massacre and hasn't apologized.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 29 Jan 2014 19:47

BJP in Kerala is a lost cause because of more leaders than cadre kind of situation. There is not much ideology driven party base anyway. There are some pockets but a state wide vision, leadership and coordination is visibly absent.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 29 Jan 2014 19:49

Pappu telling the Americans that "Hindu terror" is India's main danger supercedes and over rides anything he may say or feel for the rest of his life. Period.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 29 Jan 2014 19:53

Dilbu wrote:BJP in Kerala is a lost cause because of more leaders than cadre kind of situation. There is not much ideology driven party base anyway. There are some pockets but a state wide vision, leadership and coordination is visibly absent.

This was true until the arrival of NaMo. While BJP has little support, NaMo does have enormous support even among traditional Left voters (and most Hindus in the Malabar vote for the Left). But the Left is dying slowly (except in exceptionally violent districts like Kannur), and this is the best chance the BJP will have to build up its base. A good leadership thanks to NaMo and a membership drive will lead to very handsome dividends.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 Jan 2014 19:57

nageshks wrote:
RajeshA wrote:Atul Kadhyan ‏@monsieur_inde 1h
NDA in TN/Puducherry: Hectic seat sharing negations on. Likely outcome: 12seats – DMDK; 8 – PMK; 6 – MDMK; 11 – BJP; 3 - Others
This is interesting. It means that the BJP is giving in to the demand of the DMDK that Captain's party contest the max. no. of seats. What is even more interesting to me is that the BJP is bringing in even more partners, so that 3 seats are being left to the others. We already know that IJK has joined BJP and KMK was bargaining hard. There was another party in Pondicherry that the BJP was negotiating, and the Pondicherry seat may be left to it. There is a huge NaMo wave in Kerala and TN, but BJP lacks an organised cadre to capitalise on it. I genuinely wish that the BJP makes a strong effort to build a cadre in the Malabar (Hindus here are terrified - they are in the late 50%s and early 60%s in most districts. Already Mallapuram is gone, and Wayanad is borderline (Hindus around 45-50%). The presence of old Christians is very negligible in this region - is probably less than 2-3%. Unless the BJP builds a cadre in the region in this decade, this region will be lost totally).

Western and southern TN are the best bets for the BJP in TN, in addition to Chennai city. Coimbatore-Tiruchirapalli-Salem districts in the west, and everything south of Madurai-Thanjavur districts in the south, and lastly, the Chennai city should see the BJP focus. The allies (particularly MDMK) are around only because it is their vote that the BJP will end up taking, if they are not part of the NDA. This is particularly true for the MDMK, since both BJP and MDMK draw their cadres from the same fishing communities on the coast For this elections, they are necessary, but in the longer run, Subbu Swamy is absolutely right. It will be necessary for the BJP to subsume these smaller outfits' cadres in its own party.

I am waiting to see which 11 seats the BJP contests (if this report happens to be true, that is).

BJP needs to build up presence at the panchayat, taluk and corporations level.

Just as AGP is being sucked up in Assam, similarly BJP could do something similar in TN. Main thing is BJP should remain aggressive.

I would in fact say, from long term view, BJP should give more LS seats to allies and bargain for more Assembly seats for itself, in all these states - TN, AP, PB, HR, MH. That is reverse the focus. This would give ally leaders more prestige in the medium term but hollow out their state cadre, and when it is hollowed out, and cadre has moved to BJP, then again one can demand more LS seats.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 29 Jan 2014 19:59

Americans dealing with Taliban selectively and not attacking those terror orgs that target India exclusively is by USA PoV. However a person of stature like RaulG making such statements is not yet caused alarmed it seems.

Was he giving USA an excuse to not act against terror orgs that exclusively target Indians outside India? At the same time justifying failure to do the same within India by UPA?

What are the compulsions for RaulG to utter such absurd comments and why USA diplomat bought such nonsense.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 29 Jan 2014 20:33

vishvak wrote:Americans dealing with Taliban selectively and not attacking those terror orgs that target India exclusively is by USA PoV. However a person of stature like RaulG making such statements is not yet caused alarmed it seems.

Was he giving USA an excuse to not act against terror orgs that exclusively target Indians outside India? At the same time justifying failure to do the same within India by UPA?

What are the compulsions for RaulG to utter such absurd comments and why USA diplomat bought such nonsense.

Who cares...It's the Gandhi family. They live for power and cash. Everything else is time pass for them. At this point there is no point dissecting these guys. We all know what all these politicians do behind closed doors. Were people really shocked with Rahul's performance during the interview? For god sakes, the country has moved on from this fellow barring a few media groups. I didn't even find the interview all that funny. I guess like most people, I just want to see Modi's inauguration ceremony and his policy decisions. This is the real meat. I find all this bloody "Lalu uttered this" and "Abdullah hinting at this" irritating. Like mice running around in a chaotic fashion to avoid being stepped on.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 29 Jan 2014 20:36

The former BRF moderator Maverick had defended Rahul saying Hindu backlash could have led to unchecked mayhem and chaos.I will not discount that version.Theres lot of rage in India against muslims.Also giving into one rage can lead to other issues,though they will be of lesser magnitude.

Rauls real mistake was not recogonising root cause but missing it for the symptoms.Cong under Ahmed Patel,Margaret Alva,Oscar Fernandez promoted short sighted OBC/BC leaders who were sacrificing the nation for populism.Mrs IG,Rajiv cultivated muslim vote banks but ensured muslims remained at margins of society.Mandal unleashed muslim potential as a vote bank and Cong encouraged seccessionism.Also Cong turned blind eye to muslim and christian population explosion and actively appeased mleccha cults while doing propoganda against Sanatana Dharma.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 Jan 2014 20:38

Let's all try to restrict this thread to electoral discussions only and let national political matters be discussed in the ideas thread.

member_20317 · Post by **member_20317** » 29 Jan 2014 20:47

archan wrote:Don't forget wikileaks, he said Hindu terror is more of a threat to India. I am sure Hindus are the ones blowing up things in India, in the name of Raam or Krishna.

Watch Aaj Tak. AAP has declared an SIT on the 84 massacre and Aaj Tak has gone ballistic on it. Target Punjab and Delhi.

I won't be surprised if the pitch in next few days says BJP kept quite and hence 84 is also Hindu-Sikh riots.

One thing I must say. Congress is exceedingly good at what is their core strategy. And sometimes I worry that PIF are still learning the ropes of their own core strategy. I guess this too shall pass and PIF will be able to uphold desh and dharm.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 29 Jan 2014 21:04

The SIT will find nothing on 1984 riots.Kejriwaal is a paid anti-national.People like me are 'natural' Congress supporters,coming as I do from TN.Even we can see kejriwaal and Raul are partners in bed.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 29 Jan 2014 21:11

I think NDA will win minimum 10 seats in TN.
a)Cong/DMK are finished.
b)Fatigue is setting in with ADMK.
c)The dravidian movement has run its course.It has little MORE to offer now.The populism is now starting to take the toll.The dravidian ideology is no longer a deterrent to BJP,though BJP will have to earn its spurs.
d)Power situation is worsening in TN
e)TN has a distinct linguistic identity but not so much a different culture inspite of certain distinct markers.TN doesnt like missing out on national mainstream as evinced by DMK not rejecting BJP hand of friendship in 1998 or the alliances DMK/ADMK have had with Congress over decades.The Congress sun is setting and people in TN sense it.
f)The internal differences in Tamil society are also making an impact.Both Vijaykanth and Vaiko are telugu tamils though of different ideologies.PMK is tamil tamil.There are other tamil tamils who do not like vanniar domination.Tamizh nationalism is not strong enough.We have no idea about Hindu nationalism as a binding factor in TN.But it is a possible candidate though there are ifs and buts.

bhargava · Post by **bhargava** » 29 Jan 2014 21:13

disha · Post by **disha** » 29 Jan 2014 21:15

archan wrote:Don't forget wikileaks, he said Hindu terror is more of a threat to India. I am sure Hindus are the ones blowing up things in India, in the name of Raam or Krishna.

I think his dimpled cheeks comes in the way for his followers to see the above logic through.

Chandragupta · Post by **Chandragupta** » 29 Jan 2014 21:51

How can the Congress 'ban' BJP?! Rubbish.

bhargava · Post by **bhargava** » 29 Jan 2014 22:00

I thought so too..but the teetar guy over there is an advocate in SC. Thought something interesting/stupid may come out

bhargava · Post by **bhargava** » 29 Jan 2014 22:21

TimesNow @ 10 PM today was a football match. Only one goal post. HS Puri (BJP), Naresh Gujral (SAD) & HS Phoolka (AAP) were footballing Sanjay 'Takloo' Jha one after the other..being actively aided by Judge Arnab.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 29 Jan 2014 22:33

BJP wins Kasargod corporation ward by-election with 86% of the total votes. If this is not a sign of polarisation in Malabar, I don't know what is.

http://themangaloretimes.com/news/bjp-c ... n-election

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 29 Jan 2014 22:43

BJP will have to make inroads in the South if it wants to sustain itself for the next decade or two.

vivek.rao · Post by **vivek.rao** » 29 Jan 2014 22:48

nageshks wrote:BJP wins Kasargod corporation ward by-election with 86% of the total votes. If this is not a sign of polarisation in Malabar, I don't know what is.

http://themangaloretimes.com/news/bjp-c ... n-election

BJP contestant Sandhya Mallya won with difference of 432 votes from CPM candidate Pushpalatha. Ikyaranga independent candidate got 35 votes. This election was held due to resignation of BJP candidate Jyothi. - See more at: http://themangaloretimes.com/news/bjp-c ... N89Ho.dpuf

This is just a ward election guys! Hope it is like this everywhere else!

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 29 Jan 2014 22:50

@chinmaykrvd - Devesh Chandra Thankur:Even a baccha in Bihar knows the position of JDU.Nitish wanted to finish my career by asking me 2 contest LS election.
------------
This is Vijaywada, if people attends in this large without NaMo (in person), then something is happening that speleologists are not seeing.

vivek.rao · Post by **vivek.rao** » 29 Jan 2014 22:54

any entrepreneur want to start a NaMoTea stall chain?

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 29 Jan 2014 23:01

Hand chopping PFI runs recruitment drives for the AAP. Anti national Aadmi party of India is the perfect name for these shameless thugs. Racists, thugs, traitors - all lumpen elements are finding a home in the AAP. And we thought that SP was the worst any party could descend to. NaMo may have to focus more on these overt traitors before he will have the chance to go after the covert traitors of the Congress.

https://twitter.com/jothishnair1010/sta ... 56/photo/1

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 29 Jan 2014 23:35

vivek.rao wrote:any entrepreneur want to start a NaMoTea stall chain?

This is a great idea vivekji. email?

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 30 Jan 2014 05:32

Please see below my summary where I have collated all surveys (prominent ones) for UP and Bihar. I will do Maharashtra and one more large state in the next 2 days. IBTL is also a very good survey org with ground level staff for survey (they have proven very accurate in the 4 state election results, you can follow IBTL on twitter also)

IBTL has taken into account the possible UPA alliance in Bihar. Please also note that the CSDS surveys also partly takes the alliance into account. They were seen as natural allies, so you can just add the cong, rjd, ljp vote shares for a UPA vote share in all surveys.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 30 Jan 2014 06:11

Satyapal Singh set to join BJP, contest elections from UP?

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cove ... 569506.cms

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 30 Jan 2014 08:15

kmkraoind wrote:@chinmaykrvd - Devesh Chandra Thankur:Even a baccha in Bihar knows the position of JDU.Nitish wanted to finish my career by asking me 2 contest LS election.
------------
This is Vijaywada, if people attends in this large without NaMo (in person), then something is happening that speleologists are not seeing.

Venkiah Naidu speech was very good. This is Vijayawada in Seemandhra where I couldn't believe we can bring more than a 1000 folks for a BJP meet. This was a good meet. There is something really cooking in SA and I don't will they be able to sustain it if a decisive state split happens next month.

johneeG · Post by **johneeG** » 30 Jan 2014 08:33

Muppalla wrote:
kmkraoind wrote:@chinmaykrvd - Devesh Chandra Thankur:Even a baccha in Bihar knows the position of JDU.Nitish wanted to finish my career by asking me 2 contest LS election.
------------
This is Vijaywada, if people attends in this large without NaMo (in person), then something is happening that speleologists are not seeing.

Venkiah Naidu speech was very good. This is Vijayawada in Seemandhra where I couldn't believe we can bring more than a 1000 folks for a BJP meet. This was a good meet. There is something really cooking in SA and I don't will they be able to sustain it if a decisive state split happens next month.

I said it as soon as kongis went with separate T stand: this is a goddess-sent opportunity for the lotus to make inroads into AP. Such opportunities don't come again and again. Lotus are wasting their time with separate T stand. Modi, Hindhuthva and United AP stand will give them handsome returns in AP. Infact, within a decade they can be a mainstream party in AP. But, they are going with the same old failed formula of support for small states.

I don't think separate T sentiment is as strong as is being made out by the media. And if there a sentiment, then TRS will be the major beneficiary of that sentiment. Not kongis, TDP or even lotus. Only TRS will gain due to that. So, other parties trying to get votes on that sentiment is very funny and self defeating exercise.

On the other hand, there is no political champion of united AP. This vaccum can be filled by either TDP, Gajan or lotus. TDP has interests, so it is unable to go either way. Gajan is a puppet of the one in power at center because of the corruption cases. Lotus has no interests in AP, so it has nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is a national party that can decide the fate of AP(atleast theoretically). So, why leave the united AP stand to the TDP? Why not make full use of it and gain? AP is ready to go full on saffron. Instead of blaming the south, lotus should use its head and make some changes to its silly policy of small states.

Even now, the lotus position is shaky in the small states of punjab, hariyana and uttarakhand. It is the big states like Raj and UP that are giving advantage to lotus. Similarly, it was the big state that provided stability to UPA. So, big states give political stability. It is upto the parties to make good use of it. Lotus should stop blaming the south or east and make changes to its bad policies. I though Modi would change this silly policy which was introduced during NDA times after they softened their stand on Hindhuthva.

[youtube]DaC4_QuJ5Co#t=0[/youtube]
Thirumala is constantly under the assault of the non-Hindhu missionaries. Lotus can take up that issue and project themselves as the only champion of Hindhu rights and self-respect. Similarly, Ovaisies insults towards Hindhu Gods and Goddesses and open challenge of genocide went without political criticism from all the political players in AP. At that time, lotus could have taken up the issue in big way. Some national leader should have taken it up at center level. That would have helped them in making a huge impact in AP.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 30 Jan 2014 09:07

Captain's wife hints at DMDK-BJP tie up,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 579956.cms

Ex Babus, industry heads join BJP in WB

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... in-bengal/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Jan 2014 10:46

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140130/j ... unnmvna6M5

Jan. 29: A backlash has begun in Assam against the decades-old practice of foisting carpetbaggers on states to facilitate their entry to Parliament without contesting popular elections.

The flashpoint has been the Congress’s decision to field Uttar Pradesh MP Sanjay Singh as a Rajya Sabha candidate from Assam.

Multiple organisations have demanded that the party withdraw the candidate who has no connection with the northeastern state, and the supporters of at least one group tried to enter the hotel room where Sanjay Singh was staying after he filed his nomination papers yesterday.

The groups — as diverse as a farmers’ organisation and a students’ union — are tapping into perceived latent disquiet building up over the years in Assam.

Assam has been repeatedly used by the Congress as a haven for indirect elections — sending none other than the Prime Minister to the upper House five times since 1991. One of the biggest blots on the otherwise enviable — and impeccable — resume of Manmohan Singh has been his reluctane to contest a Lok Sabha election after his first term as Prime Minister.

Unlike the Lok Sabha elections where the people directly elect their representatives, elected MLAs choose Rajya Sabha MPs on the directive of their parties.

The original high objective behind the upper House was to put in place a system free of popular pressure so that it will act as a restraining force on the lower House. However, over the years, the system has been used by most political parties to offer patronage or to ensure the selection of the “unelectable”.

The Congress’s decision to send Sanjay Singh to Assam is also shrouded in similar suggestions. Sanjay Singh now represents Sultanpur, one leg of the tripod on which the world’s most enduring dynasty has reaffirmed its democratic credentials.

Rae Bareli, Amethi and Sultanpur not only share boundaries in Uttar Pradesh, they are also associated with some of the most famous names in Indian politics. If Feroze Gandhi, his wife Indira Gandhi and their daughter-in-law went to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli, the late Sanjay Gandhi, his brother Rajiv Gandhi and Rajiv’s son Rahul won elections from Amethi.

But Sultanpur also came to be identified as part of the family fief because Amethi fell in Sultanpur district when Sanjay Gandhi represented the constituency. Periodic delimitation exercises have seen some regions of Amethi, Sultanpur and Rae Bareli becoming part of one or the other constituency, prompting the Nehru-Gandhis to view the three parliamentary seats as a cluster.

Another Sanjay, who was extremely loyal to his far more famous namesake, now represents Sultanpur but doubts have been expressed whether he would be able to retain the seat in the current anti-Congress atmosphere in the country. Adding to Sanjay Singh’s woes, Varun Gandhi, the son of the original Sanjay, is said to be planning to contest from Sultanpur in the coming general election.

The Congress does not want to take a chance because an upset Sanjay Singh can play some sort of spoilsport in Amethi, where the Aam Aadmi Party has vowed to leave no stone unturned to defeat Rahul.

Some BJP MLAs were spotted at Sanjay Singh’s birthday celebration in November, sowing seeds of apprehension in the Congress. The party then decided to offer him the Assam safe haven and is said to be in the process of persuading his wife Amita, a former badminton player, to contest against Varun.

This carefully laid out plan has been jolted by the protests in Assam.

Sanjay Singh appeared to defend his nomination and affirm his credentials by saying in Guwahati: “I have been here before.” But he did not elaborate.

The Congress declined to react on record but suggested that as a national party, it was expected to field candidates from all states.

Such an objective would have carried more weight had the Congress fielded Manmohan Singh or Sanjay Singh in a Lok Sabha seat from Assam.

The Congress is no stranger to such a tradition. Both Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have won landmark elections from southern India. V.K. Krishna Menon, the Nehru-era defence minister and a Malayali, had won elections from Bombay as well as undivided Midnapore. In the Bengal seat, Menon was supported by the Left as he had fallen out with the Congress by then.

Today, members of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a farmers’ organisation that puts its membership at 11 lakh, attempted to enter Sanjay Singh’s room at Nakshatra Hotel in Guwahati. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has also declared an agitation against the nomination.

“Had we managed to get into Room 505 where Singh was staying, we would have thrown him out of Assam,” Akhil Gogoi, the president of the KMSS, later said. “We were, however, prevented by the hotel and the police.”

“It was this colonial attitude of the Congress that made Manmohan Singh a Rajya Sabha member from the state. If the Congress has to press forward with its decision on Sanjay Singh this time, it will make people disillusioned with mainstream politics,” Gogoi said.

AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya said that chief minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam PCC chief Bhubaneswar Kalita had “totally surrendered before the Congress high command by fielding Sanjay Singh as a Rajya Sabha member”.

The student organisation, which had spearheaded the six-year-long Assam Agitation in the 1970s and 1980s, burnt effigies of Congress leaders. “Our agitation will only grow stronger if Sanjay Singh’s nomination is not withdrawn,” Bhattacharjya said.

Congress insiders said Sanjay Singh was persuaded to accept the Rajya Sabha ticket by Priyanka Gandhi, who considers him her “uncle” because of his past proximity to Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi.

Priyanka’s cousin Varun, currently the BJP MP of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, has reportedly been instructed by Narendra Modi to contest from Sultanpur. The Congress feels Amita, Sanjay Singh’s wife, would give the BJP general secretary a tough time in Sultanpur.

Sanjay Singh, a perpetual “contender” for a Union cabinet berth and the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief’s post, had reportedly got disillusioned with the Congress last year. On November 12, 2013, he celebrated his 63rd birthday at Bhupati Bhavan in Amethi where a number of BJP MLAs were present.

Amita, who had played host, had sought to underplay the BJP leaders’ presence. “Leaders of different political parties attended the birthday celebrations, which need not be read with political overtones,” she said.

But both Sonia and Rahul received feedback from local Congress leaders that Sanjay was upset over being “sidelined” by Rahul.

In the past, Sanjay Singh had been associated with rebellion. In 1988, Sanjay Singh joined hands with V.P. Singh, the uncle of his first wife Garima. A decade later, Sanjay Singh joined the BJP and defeated the Nehru-Gandhi family aide Satish Sharma in Amethi. But in 1999, Sanjay Singh lost to Sonia by a margin of over 3 lakh votes.

Sanjay Singh eventually returned to the Congress and campaigned extensively for Rahul in Amethi.

Varun sounded dismissive about the possibility of Amita taking him on in Sultanpur. “The Congress is extremely weak in UP. I am not bothered about who is fielded from the Congress side. The BJP is going to do exceptionally well,” he said.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 30 Jan 2014 14:33

Hari Seldon wrote:Well, if its rumor season, lemme do my bit...

chaiwala sources say buzz is that Kiran Bedi may be approached to stand LS polls from New Delhi constituency. Has a decent shot of winning too. May be made Min. of state for Home in a modi administration if all goes well, and charged with implementing 'em police reforms and all or so I hear....

This is something that made perfect sense the whole time.

But it is important that her candidature be announced before the K-Turn Kejri opts to contest for LS too, as seems to be the pressure on him. If her candidature is announced after Kejri makes similar announcement, then Kejri fans would go out and make noise that Kiran Bedi is obsessed with Kejriwal like "#YoBediSoJealous".

If however Kejriwal's candidature is announced after Kiran Bedi's and that too from New Delhi LS Constituency, then it would look awkward for Delhites, who would see Kejriwal trying to stop an icon in her own right. If he contests from elsewhere, many would say he is afraid of Kiran Bedi.

Chandni Chowk could also be a possible seat for Kejriwal.

niran · Post by **niran** » 30 Jan 2014 14:40

RajeshA wrote: Chandni Chowk could also be a possible seat for Kejriwal.

unless Sibal baba already has plans to flee along with the dynasty Chandni Chowk is his,
so if AK420 contests from CC then it means Sibal and family flees together with dynasty,
until now the data show he is not.

bhargava · Post by **bhargava** » 30 Jan 2014 15:26

wheels are coming off..

aadhaar hua niraadhaar ?

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 30 Jan 2014 19:23

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140130/cth1.htm#1

BJP, Cong infighting in the open
Saffron workers come to blows at meeting
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 29
The rift among BJP workers over finalising the name of the candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat came to the fore when they clashed with each other at Punjab BJP Bhawan in Sector 37 today.

The fight took place in the presence of senior BJP leaders, including party national secretary and in charge of the party affairs in Chandigarh Aarti Mehra.

A meeting was called by the Chandigarh unit of the BJP to seek the views of BJP workers on the party candidate. At the meeting, it was proposed that the party would suggest four names to the workers and they could select one of them. The names were those of city BJP president Sanjay Tandon, former MP Satya Pal Jain, former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan and Bollywood actress Kirron Kher.

As soon as the announcement was made, some BJP workers objected to it and demanded that this time the party ticket should be given to an SC candidate. They said the party should seek the views of all BJP workers instead of office-bearers since a majority of the office-bearers were from the Sanjay Tandon camp.

While party workers were raising their voice, BJP worker Narinder Chaudhary, along with his supporters, started walking towards the stage to meet Aarti Mehra. BJP spokesperson Gurpreet Singh Dhillon tried to stop them. Within no time, workers of both groups gathered and started beating each other. Some of the workers even reached the stage. The fight continued for around 15 minutes. Finally, the meeting was cancelled and Aarti Mehra left the venue.

Before the fight, Deputy Mayor Davesh Moudgil of the BJP objected to Aarti Mehra’s statement in which she said the party was losing the elections in Chandigarh for the past 15 years. Moudgil said instead of issuing such a statement, senior leaders should encourage the party workers.

BJP divided into three camps

The city BJP is divided into three camps. Three big shots, city BJP president Sanjay Tandon, former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan and former city MP and chairman of the BJP National Legal Working Group Satya Pal Jain, are working separately. The leaders have gone to the extent of setting up media cells.