Will a Community Agitating for its Tribal Status Determine the Faith of a Former Maoist Bastion in Bengal?

A key factor for the electoral fate of Jhargram – which was at the heart of Left wing extremism in West Bengal for decades – will be the potential split of the Kurmi community, an agrarian OBC community that has long been demanding that they be given ST status.

While exit polls largely predicted that BJP would make inroads in Bengal, the deciding factor at Jhargram is likely to be the extent to which TMC, BJP and Left were able to convince the ‘Adivasi Kurmi Samaj’.


The community was also the key political force that helped Mamata Banarjee defeat the Left Front candidate after 42 years in 2014. CPI (M) was in power in Jhargram from 1977 to 2014 but TMC’s Uma Soren changed the tables by defeating CPI(M)’s Pulin Bihari Baske by 3,47,883 votes. The community accounts for nearly 35-40 per cent of the votes. The community was classified as a Notified Tribe by the British under the terms of the Indian Succession Act introduced in 1865 and subsequently in 1913 were classified as a Primitive Tribe – only to be dropped in the ST list of 1931 and the consequent 1950 list. In 2019, Banerjee has fielded Birbaha Soren from this ST-reserved constituency after sitting MP Uma Soren was accused of failing to live up to the expectations of the Kurmi community. Both Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held public rallies, with the specific aim of targeting the community, on May 6 at Jhargram and Gopiballavpur.

Each elections, the community leaders claimed, political parties would promise to fulfil the demand for granting the community ST status – but to little avail.

“First, we were fooled by the Congress, then Bangla Congress (1967-71) came in and then there was the CPI (M). The ruling TMC tried but failed. No one so far has managed to get our communities listed in the ST category. This time we have decided to vote for those who will stand beside us in granting the ST status,” said Rajesh Mahato, secretary, West Bengal Adivasi Kurmi Samaj.

Hinting that this time the wind is in the BJP’s favour, Mahato said, “As per the Shimla notification in 1913, Kurmis were listed in the ST category. In 1931, they were dropped from the ST list. A fresh list was prepared in 1950 but our community was not listed in the ST category. Since then we have been agitating but despite submitting memorandums to former president Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, no action has been taken. This is why you will find graffitis in every hut here which reads – ‘Fight for ST, Jai Guram’.”

Last year, the saffron party had managed to make a visible surge in Jhargram during the Panchayat elections, securing nearly 35 per cent votes. The ruling TMC got about 45 per cent votes but trailed in the Jhargram district due to a division in the Kurmi votes. In most areas dominated by the Maoists — including Jhargram and Lalgarh – BJP won the Panchayat polls. This verdict is a strong indication that Kurmis are looking for a new political option to get their ST demand fulfilled. Given the present circumstances, the BJP has emerged as a strong force against the TMC.

To cement its chances, the BJP has fielded a strong candidate in IIT-engineer Kunar Hembram. CPI (M), on the other hand, is banking on YouTube star Debalina Hembram. Jogeshwar Hembram is contesting on a Congress ticket and Birbaha Hansda, an actor-turned-politician from the Santhal film industry, is contesting for Jharkhand Party (Naren).

However, the Trinamool Congress argued that the BJP – with little organization on the ground – and a “bad history of not being able to keep up the promises that it has made” would not be able to gain traction among the community.

“The BJP making this promise isn’t surprising. What have they done since 2014, but make promises. It is Mamata Banerjee who has actually done something about the issue,” said a TMC spokesperson, while referring to the Bengal government’s February 2018 letter to the Union Tribal Affairs Minister arguing that the Kurmi Mahato to be included in the tribal list.

The assembly constituencies that fall under Jhargram are Nayagram, Gopiballavpur, Jhargram, Garbeta, Salboni, Binpur and Bandwan. Polling is underway in Jhargram and it would be interesting to see which way the Kurmis swing to get their demand of ST status fulfilled.?
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Delhi Court Reserves Order on Complaint Seeking FIR Against Rahul Gandhi for Remarks Against PM Modi

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved for June 7 order on a complaint seeking lodging of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged ‘Khoon ki Dalali’ remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal reserved order on the complaint, filed by advocate Joginder Tuli, which has sought direction to the police to register an FIR against Rahul for allegedly making derogatory remarks in 2016 against PM Modi, accusing him of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and cashing in on their sacrifice.


The Delhi Police had on May 15 filed an action taken report before the court in which the police had said that Gandhi allegedly made the defamatory statement against the prime minister for which a suit may be filed.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)
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Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2019 LIVE: Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSRCP Decimates TDP, Chandrababu Naidu Likely to Resign as CM Today

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy is heading to a big victory in Andhra Pradesh over his arch rival and incumbent chief minister, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu as his party has taken in 149 seats, while the TDP is ahead on 24 seats in the assembly based on initial trends. Click here for all the latest updates on the Lok Sabha election results 2019. The polls were a direct contest between the TDP (Telugu Desam Party) and the YSRCP (YSR Congress Party), with the Congress and the BJP (Bharatiya) pushed to the sidelines. Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, which joined hands with Mayawati’s BSP and the Left parties, was hailed as the X-factor in the assembly election and may play spoiler on some seats.

Security at the houses of the three-time chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief, and Reddy, son of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, have been beefed up for the counting of votes today over fears of repeat of the violence that had hit the state during polling on April 11. Elections for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly constituencies were held simultaneously in the state. The political heat in the southern state has risen over the last couple of days as exit polls were divided over the outcome. While some have projected victory for YSRCP, others have predicted that the TDP will retain power.

YCP Supremo and Opposition Leader in Andhra Pradesh, YS Jaganmohan Reddy who is on cloud nine extends his thanks to the people for trusting him as he prepares to become the next CM of AP. He attributed the YCP victory to the people and said. that the entire state has upheld the spirit of a democracy. As the YCP symbol Fan has blown away the TDP, Reddy says that the electors have exercised their franchise in the right spirit. 

Chandrababu Naidu will address the media at 1 pm and then fly to Hyderabad to tender his resignation to the Governor of Telangana and at Raj bhavan Somajiguda later in the evening. 

YSR Congress Party has been steadily making progress towards sweeping all the ten assembly constituencies in Kadapa, the native district of Jaganmohan Reddy. The same trend is visible in the two parliamentary constituencies of Kadapa and Rajampet too.  Reddy leads by 23834 votes in Pulivendula

 Polling for all 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats was held simultaneously. For the 175 Assembly seats, 2,118 candidates and for the 25 Lok Sabha seats 319 contestants are in the fray. This is the first general election in the state after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and formation of Telangana, in June 2014.

Naidu Likely to Tender His Resignation Today | Andhra Pradesh assembly election trends: YSRCP leading on 149 seats, TDP leading on 25 seats and Janasena Party leading on 1 seat. As Jaganmohan Reddy readies himself to dethrone Naidu as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is likely to tender his resignation today. 

Chief Minister of neighboring Telangana, K Chandrashekar Rao also backed Jagan. Again unofficially. KCR had to settle personal scores with his old friend-turned-foe Naidu. Above all, Jagan had the backroom and strategy support of Prashant Kishore of I-PAC. Two years ago, he had hired him to run his campaign. I-PAC had set up a state-of-the-art office in Hyderabad to counter Naidu’s hi-tech campaign. Finally Naidu, a media savvy leader had met his match.

How Jaganmohan Reddy Rose from the Ashes of His 2014 Defeat to Decimate Chandrababu Naidu | Jagan, a restless and moody person, is quiet reserved. After deliberating with his close circles, he changed the strategy and focused his entire energy and campaign on bringing his party to power at any cost. For every strategy of Naidu, Jagan had a counter strategy. He took him head on, challenging the CM to defeat him this time, reports DP Satish. Naidu coming out of National Democratic Alliance, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being unfair to Andhra Pradesh has also helped Jagan to some extent. An angry BJP sided with Jagan to teach a lesson to Naidu who made all sorts of allegations against them. But there was no official alliance between the two for strategic reasons. Both kept attacking Naidu, separately.

Jaganmohan Reddy to Address Media Shortly | Jaganmohan Reddy, YSRCP chief and potentially the next chief minister of Andhra Pradesh as the initial leads suggest, is expected to address the media shortly. He is currently leading with a stifling majority of 2/3rds of the 175 member Assembly and is also set to win 21 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. 

Naidu Regains Lead | After suffering an initial setback, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has regained his lead in his bastion, the Kuppam assembly constituency of Chittoor. However, his son Nara Lokesh is trailing with a margin of 10,000 votes in Mangalgiri. 

As initial leads suggest that a landslide victory awaits for Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP chief says, “This is the victory of Andhra Pradesh people.”

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is heading for a landslide victory in the assembly elections and a spectacular performance in the Lok Sabha elections, leads from Andhra Pradesh indicate. Of the 175 assembly seats in the state, he is ahead in 136, compared to the 36 of the ruling Telugu Desam Party. The majority mark in the assembly stands at 88. He is also leading in 16 of the state’s 25 seats. The Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu is leading in only seven. The BJP and the Congress are nowhere in the picture.  All parties fought the election on their own without any alliance, unlike in 2014 when the TDP-BJP sailed together

Pawan Kalyan Trails | Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan slips to third position from Gajuwaka assembly constituency. The actor-turned politician has made his electoral dubut in the battlefield of Andhra Pradesh on the promise to provide an alternative to “dynastic politics and corrupt parties.” The actor is contesting on two Assembly seats, Bhimavaram in West Godavari district and Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam district.

 A freshly minted, glinting name plate boasting YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh has been unveiled by his party workers. Reddy is heading to a big victory in Andhra Pradesh over his arch rival and incumbent chief minister, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu as his party has taken in 145 seats, while the TDP is ahead on 29 seats in the assembly based on initial trends. 

Who will win the “battle of ballots” in Andhra Pradesh?  Few more hours and it will be clear that who is going to form the next Lok Sabha. Along with the Lok Sabha elections 2019, four states — Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also voted to choose their next assemblies. The verdict will be out today. 

The assembly election seems to be bringing a regime change in Andhra Pradesh with YSR Congress leading in 141 Assembly seats, while the TDP is languishing with 32 leads. 

Meanwhile, The Narendra Modi wave has swatted away any challenge posed by the Congress or the united opposition as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set to improve on its humongous 2014 tally to attain a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha once again. The BJP is currently ahead on over 280 seats, with the partners in NDA pushing the total tally to over 340 seats, leads show as results of the general elections pour in. 

YSRCP Inches Closer to Victory | YSR Congress crosses 100 seats in Andhra Pradesh and are now leading in 127 seats. TDP on 29 whereas Janasena is leading on 2. TDP ministers Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Ayyannapatrudu and K Acchennaidu are all trailing from their respective constituencies

Headache is mounting for Chandrababu Naidu with his son Nara Lokesh trailing in Mangalagiri  Interestingly, actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena has picked up the lead in two assembly seats. Pawan is a Kapu, and the Jana Sena’s impact is visible in the southern parts of East Godavari district, where the community has a large presence. He is following in the footsteps of Chiranjeevi, who had launched the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in August 2008, and in the Assembly polls a year later, won 18 seats in a combined Andhra and 17 per cent of the votes. 

Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress is heading to a big victory in the Lok Sabha results in the state, leading in 16 of 25 seats. Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP is ahead in five constituencies. Celebrations are underway at the YSRCP party office in Amaravati. Slogans of ‘Jagan CM, Bye Bye Naidu’ can be heard reverberating around the party office.

Naidu, who has been pushed TDP to the wall this election, resorted to a slew of welfare schemes and sops announced in the last few months that have, in some sense, revived his fighting chance. One of the schemes the TDP expects to be a gamechanger is 2BHK housing. Under it, the Naidu government allotted houses to beneficiaries or, if the beneficiaries owned land, gave money for building a house. With beneficiaries required to bear a portion of the cost, many are opting for bigger flats by taking bank loans.

Apart from this, the elderly in the state have been receiving pension of Rs 2,00 per month since February 2018. Another hit are separate corporations for Kapu, Backward Classes, SCs, STs, and Brahmins, which give subsidised loans.

On November 6, 2017, Jagan had embarked on a Praja Sankalpa Yatra, from YSR’s native village Idupalapaya in YSR Kadapa district. Over the next 14 months, he covered all the 13 districts of Andhra by foot, walking 3,648 km. The march has generated a lot of goodwill for the YSRCP chief, just like the late YSR’s 1,400-km padayatra in 2004 that had swept the Congress to power.

What Makes Jagan the Popular Choice | Jagan drew massive crowds with his speeches delivered in his distinct style. His mother YS Vijayamma and sister YS Sharmila also campaigned for the party. Jagan promised to usher in ‘Rajanna Rajyam’, a reference to the rule of his late father YS Rajasekhara Reddy during which several schemes were implemented for welfare of poor and weaker sections. The 46-year-old targeted Naidu for enjoying power with BJP for four years and then severing ties with that party to draw political mileage.

Despite an unsaid understanding with the regional parties, the Congress and the BJP contested on their own, but both the national parties looked more or less like ringside spectators of the Naidu-versus-Jagan fight.The TDP chief tried to play the ‘Andhra pride’ card by alleging that Modi has hatched a conspiracy against the state in collusion with Jagan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. 

YSRCP Camps Holds Talks on Jagan’s Swearing-in Dates | Confident of a victory and bouyed by initial trends, the YSRCP camp is already in the talks of finalising dates for Jagan’s swearing-in as the new Andhra chief. Sources say that a YSRCP legislature party meeting is going to take place on May 25, while Jagan’s swearing-in is likely to happen on May 30. 

The TDP lost that advantage this time, after it severed its ties with the BJP in March 2018 over its special status demand and the entry of Jana Sena into the battlefield. That could well be the clincher for the YSRCP, which is making a desperate attempt to capture power, having missed the chance by a whisker of 2 per cent of votes in 2014.

In 2014, of the 175 Assembly seats, the TDP won 101, YSRC 68, BJP 4, Navodayam Party 1 and an Independent. Of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, the TDP bagged 15, YSRC 8 and BJP 2. In the Assembly polls, the TDP polled 44.61 per cent of votes while the YSRC got 44.58 per cent. The BJP’s 2.18 per cent vote share in the Assembly election made all the difference, enabling the TDP to clinch power. Also, one caste (Kapu and its sub-sects) and two districts (East and West Godavari) tilted the scales in TDP’s favour in 2014.

As of now, YSRCP leads on 102 Assembly seats, while TDP rallies behind at 20.  Chandrababu Naidu termed the elections a “life and death issue” for the people of the state while YSR Congress propagated that this would be the final electoral battle for the former, the self-styled “senior-most politician” in the country.

 The Bharatiya Janata Party and its partners in the NDA have taken an early lead in over 300 seats, crossing the halfway mark of 272 seats, as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai all set to go in the BJP camp based on initial trends as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks re-election. Follow News18’s Lok Sabha Election liveblog for minute-by-minute updates. 

Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu Trailing | Chandrababu Naidu is trailing from his contituency Kuppam in his native Chittoor distirct, from where he is seeking re-election to the Assembly for the ninth term. He is pitted against YSRCP’s Krishna Chandra Mouli and till now has won with a handsome margin from here. 

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‘pm’ : ‘am’;hours = hours % 12;hours = hours ? hours : 12; // the hour ‘0’ should be ’12’minutes = minutes Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2019 LIVE: Jaganmohan Reddy's YSRCP Decimates TDP, Chandrababu Naidu Likely to Resign as CM Today
The pollsters were also divided over the Lok Sabha election result in the state, with most predicting an even split. This was the first full-fledged Lok Sabha election in Andhra Pradesh as the 2014 polls were conducted before bifurcation and creation of Telangana. Confident of coming to power in the state this time, Jagan Reddy, along with his family, moved to his house at Tadepally on Wednesday with YSRCP leaders saying he would remain there to monitor results.

In the no-holds-barred campaigning, Jagan Reddy did everything in his command to pin down Naidu. From a record-breaking political walkathon of over 3,000 km to having a tacit understanding with the BJP, he left no stone unturned. He has also promised to support any national party that gives special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Given the critical caste dynamics and the role of money power in the outcomes of the election, the YSR Congress has reached out to the BCs, the traditional vote bank of the TDP, in addition to consolidating strengths in Rayalseema, minorities, SC/ST. The tacit understanding with the BJP and role of TRS are expected to add up too.

But the veteran Naidu has also mounted a strong campaign after being written off due to strong anti-incumbency in the state due to failing to deliver a world-class capital city, providing jobs and making the state economically strong. He resorted to blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government at the Centre for the shortfalls and invoked “Andhra pride” to offset voters’ ire. In 2014, Naidu in an alliance with the BJP scraped through with 106 of the 175 Assembly seats. In the 25 Lok Sabha seats, the TDP won 16 and BJP 2. The YSR Congress secured 68 seats and 7 MPs.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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VVPAT Counting May Delay Declaration of Results for Delhi Lok Sabha Seats by at Least 5 Hours

New Delhi: With VVPAT counting to be introduced in this Lok Sabha election, the results on May 23 are likely to get delayed by five to six hours, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh has said.

He said after the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) counting is over, the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) will be counted as per the Supreme Court guidelines.


Speaking about the assembly constituencies of Delhi, Singh said, “From every assembly constituency, five (VVPATs) will be randomly selected and they will be counted. There is a special VVPAT booth in every counting hall. It will take place in five rounds.” Delhi has 70 assembly constituencies and in all 350 VVPATs will be counted. “Every assembly segment had 200 polling stations and five polling stations will be selected randomly. This will delay the formal results. But trends will be out early. Formal declaration of results will be delayed by five to six hours,” Singh told PTI.

He also briefed Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev about the expected delay in results, officials said.

Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik was present during the briefing and he apprised them about the security arrangements that will be made in accordance with the Election Commission guidelines.

Delhi has seven parliamentary constituencies and there is one counting centre in each of them. The counting centres will have one counting hall for each of the 10 assembly segments, officials said.

In each counting hall, a maximum of 14 tables can be put and machines that would come in the first round, their results will be compiled and uploaded on the ‘Suvidha’ app of the Election Commission.

The counting will commence at 8 am with postal ballots. Officials will have to ensure that the postal ballot counting is over with at least two rounds of EVM counting yet to be done.

After the EVM counting is over, the VVPAT counting will commence.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs will take place in five polling booths per assembly segment. Accordingly, the exercise will be held in 20,600 of the 10.35 lakh polling stations across the country.

Nearly 39.6 lakh EVMs and 17.4 lakh voter-verifiable paper trail machines (VVPAT) are being used in these polling stations. These include reserves.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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As Exit Polls Predict Crisis for Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Advises Workers Not to Fall for Rumours

Congress’ eastern UP incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has released an audio message advising party workers to not fall for “rumours” ahead of counting of votes on May 23, a day after exit polls predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha polls.

“My dear Congress workers, sisters and brothers… Don’t let rumours and exit polls discourage you. This is being done just to break your determination. It is very important that you remain alert amid all this. Please continue to keep vigil outside strong-rooms and counting centres. We are confident that our combined efforts will show positive results,” Gandhi was heard saying in the clip.


Exit poll results released on Sunday have pointed at not just an existential crisis for the Congress but an unprecedented influence of the BJP, a party that sees itself as an antithesis to the grand old party. The results have also shown a disdain for dynastic politics. In these Lok Sabha polls, which were unambiguously fought under Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, he was clearly barking up the wrong tree all the time. NYAY clearly did not find resonance on the ground. The charges of being a ‘Shahzada’, ‘Prince’, which till now Rahul Gandhi seemed to duck successfully, may stick now. Which is why a solution even in the form of appointing Priyanka Gandhi, if such a proposal is raised again, will not ease many anxious Congress workers. The results, however, have been rubbished by opposition parties, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee terming it “gossip”, while NCP supremo Sharad Pawar called them “nautanki”.

(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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Leader of Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party to be Chosen After May 23, Confirms Mallikarjun Kharge

Mumbai: A new leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) will be chosen after Lok Sabha poll results are declared on May 23, the party’s Maharashtra in charge Mallikarjun Kharge said Monday.

Kharge held a meeting of party MLAs and MLCs here to know their views and choice of a new leader.


Sources said senior Congress leader and former revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, former minister Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai and Sunil Kedar from Nagpur are in the fray. The post of CLP leader in the Maharashtra Assembly fell vacant after the resignation of Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Vikhe Patil had quit after his son Sujay joined the BJP when the NCP refused to the leave Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat for ally Congress.

In Monday’s meeting, a resolution was passed giving complete authority to the party high command to choose a new CLP leader.

“I spoke to MLAs and MLCs and we discussed issues. We also discussed expectations from a leader,” Kharge said.

“Social engineering was also discussed during the meeting,” Kharge said, hinting that an OBC or Dalit MLA could also get a chance to become CLP leader.

The CLP leader will have only one Assembly session since the state is scheduled to go to polls later this year.

(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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BJP’s ‘Historic Victory’ Due to PM Modi’s ‘Astute’ Leadership, Shah’s ‘Dynamism’: Rajnath

New Delhi: With early trends indicating BJP’s return to power, senior leader and Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday termed it “historic” and credited it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “astute” leadership and party chief Amit Shah’s “dynamism”.

In a series of tweets, Singh said the people of India have once again given a decisive mandate to the BJP-led NDA and reposed their faith in Modi’s leadership and vision of New India.


“Spoke to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the BJP National President Shri @AmitShah over the phone and congratulated them for @BJP4India led NDA’s stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. “This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji’s visionary leadership, Amit Shahji’s dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground,” he said. The home minister said Modi is now all set to build a New India.

Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.

Singh, who is contesting from the Lucknow seat, himself is leading by over 1.5 lakh votes as per available trends.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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Will Ashok Gehlot’s Efforts to See His Son Vaibhav Rise in Jodhpur Payoff?

One of the most keenly awaited contests in Rajasthan will unfold in Jodhpur, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot is making his political debut. Ashok Gehlot was heavily criticized by the BJP for spending most of his time in the constituency promoting his son. According to several media reports, out of Ashok Gehlot’s 236 meetings in Rajasthan, 193 were conducted in Jodhpur alone.

Follow all the live updates of Lok Sabha election results here: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Will Modi Get Second Term as PM Or Will NDA Fall Short? India to Have Final Say Today


Vaibhav Gehlot, a Mali (OBC), is pitted against Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a Rajput, BJP’s candidate and Minister of State, Agriculture in the Union Government. The seat has a sizeable percentage of OBC voters followed by Rajputs. Follow all the live updates of Rajastan election results here. Speaking with News18, Shekhawat had last month questioned Ashok Gehlot on the number of meetings he held seeking vote for his son. He further alleged the Chief Minister has been misusing the government machinery in this election, which is not acceptable. Shekhawat had won the Jodhpur seat by more than 4 lakh votes in 2014.

Read: In Rajasthan Lok Sabha Election Result 2019, BJP and Congress Try to Ride High on the Spirit of Nationalism

Jodhpur is typically known to be a bastion of Ashok Gehlot, the current Chief Minister, who has served as CM twice earlier also. He had been elected to Parliament for five terms from the seat between 1980 and 1998.

Interestingly, Jodhpur is the only seat in Rajasthan where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah—both came to campaign. However, Singh downplayed it saying it was just a coincidence that both visited the constituency from where he is contesting.

Also read: With Exit Polls Predicting Big Win for BJP in Rajasthan, Will Congress Finally Deliver in Churu?

Addressing rallies across Rajasthan, Modi had earlier hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot, saying they are busy promoting their families at the cost of people. He had further added, “these Congress leaders are not concerned about the children of common citizens of the country.”

Predicting a near clean sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan, the News18-IPSOS Lok Sabha Exit Poll handed 22-23 seats to the saffron party, despite the gains made by the Congress in the desert state in Assembly polls in December.

The News18-IPSOS Exit Poll predicted a mere two to three seats for the Congress, which is currently in power in Rajasthan. The exit poll numbers suggest a repeat of BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha performance in the state when the party had won all 25 seats in poll fray.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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Maharashtra: Ex-NCP Minister Jaidutta Kshirsagar Quits Party, Set to Join Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra minister and disgruntled NCP MLA Jaidutta Kshirsagar Wednesday said he has quit the Sharad Pawar-led party and would join the Shiv Sena. Kshirsagar, said to be engaged in a turf war with senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde who also hails from Beed, said that he had resigned as a legislator too.

During the Lok Sabha election, he had backed the BJP’s Beed candidate Pritam Munde, Dhananjay Munde’s estranged cousin.


Kshirsagar said he would join the Shiv Sena in the presence of its chief Uddhav Thackeray later in the day at the Sena’s headquarters here. The NCP made light of the development, saying it was in the offing for long, and would not affect the party in Beed. “I felt suffocated within the NCP. Hence I have decided to quit as MLA and resign the party’s primary membership,” Kshirsagar said.

“I think I will be able to work freely in the Shiv Sena and that’s why I am joining that party,” he added. The NCP’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said Kshirsagar had mentally left the party long ago and continued to remain a member formally only to save his position as MLA.

“Kshirsagar quitting the NCP will not have any bearing on the party’s prospects. He is a leader who will not be able to retain even his own seat,” Malik said.

According to NCP insiders, Kshirsagar felt sidelined within the party. He was upset that Dhananjay Munde carried more weight in the party’s Beed affairs, a source said.

“He also felt his nephew Sandip was being encouraged by the NCP leadership at his cost,” a party leader said. Reacting to the development, Dhananjay Munde recalled that Kshirsagar had campaigned for the BJP-Sena during the Lok Sabha election against the NCP’s candidate from Beed, Bajrang Sonawane, and also met Uddhav Thackeray around the same time.

Kshirsagar sought to join the Sena a day before the Lok Sabha poll results are declared as the NCP is set to get a big lead from Beed Assembly segment, Munde claimed. “No party would have accepted him after the result was out. Therefore the hurry to join the Sena Wednesday,” Munde said.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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TMC Asks Workers to Guard Strongrooms Fearing EVM Manipulation

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress leadership has asked its workers in West Bengal to guard strongrooms in their respective areas, fearing that the BJP
might try to smuggle out EVMs, TMC leaders said on Wednesday. “We have asked our cadres to be on high alert and guard strongrooms in their respective areas… so that the BJP can’t indulge in any sort of mischief,” a senior TMC leader said.

“We apprehend that the BJP might try to manipulate the EVMs. Therefore, our party supremo (and chief minister Mamata Banerjee) has ordered us to be high on alert,” another TMC leader said.


The Trinamool Congress, which has dubbed exit polls as “gossip”, had said as per its internal reports from districts, the party was comfortably placed to win.

The BJP’s West Bengal leadership, however, has alleged this to be a ploy by the TMC to unleash violence if the results go against it.

Unfazed by exit poll projections, the TMC also exuded confidence that it would play a major role in the formation of a new government, for which it is in touch with various opposition parties.

Some of the exit polls have suggested the TMC getting 24 seats, the BJP bagging 16, the Congress two and the Left Front drawing a blank.

West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, third highest after Uttar Pradesh (80) and Maharashtra (48).

At the national level, too, exit polls have forecast a second term for Narendra Modi as prime minister.

Banerjee had on Sunday said she did not trust such surveys as the “game plan” was to use them for “manipulation” of EVMs.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)


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