Tag: polls

Top NDA Leaders Campaign Together For Bihar By-Polls

Source: ndtv.com


PATNA: Top leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar have hit the campaign trail together for the upcoming by-polls, also called the “semi-finals” ahead of the assembly elections due next year.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), Union minister and LJP founding president Ram Vilas Paswan and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi a BJP veteran on Thursday shared the stage at rallies in Duraunda and Kishanganj assembly segments and Samastipur Lok Sabha seat.

The itinerary seemed to highlight the coherence within the ruling coalition, with each constituent backing the others to the hilt.

This is in stark contrast to the five-party Grand Alliance which is riven by infighting and may end up posing a feeble challenge.

Duraunda is being contested by the JD(U) which has fielded Ajay Singh, husband of Kavita Singh whose election to the Lok Sabha from Siwan has necessitated the by-poll. Ajay Singhs mother Jagmata Devi had been the MLA from the seat until her death in 2011.

Kishanganj, a Muslim-dominated seat, is being fought by the BJP which has reposed its trust in the runner-up of 2015 assembly polls Sweety Singh who seeks to wrest the seat from the Congress which has fielded the septuagenarian mother of the previous winner Mohd Jawed, now representing the Lok Sabha seat of the same name.

Samastipur, a reserved seat, has fallen vacant upon the death of Ram Chandra Paswan, younger brother of the LJP chief who was serving his second term. The deceased leaders
son Prince is making his debut from the seat.

In addition to the three seats, by-polls are also scheduled in Belhar, Nathnagar and Simri Bakhtiyarpur all of which were won by the JD(U) in the assembly polls and have fallen vacant upon the incumbents getting elected to the Lok Sabha.

In Nathnaagar and Simri Bakhtiyarpur, Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha and Mukesh Sahnis Vikassheel Insaan Party respectively have put up candidates despite candidates of the RJD which leads the opposition coalition being in the contest.

The Grand Alliance also includes the Congress and the RLSP which has not fielded its candidate in any of these constituencies.

Discord within the five-party formation was evident at the rallies with Manjhi and Sahni launching attacks on RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav.

Yadav, on his part, remained conspicuous by his absence at a rally held in Samastipur where Congress candidate Ashok Kumar the runner-up of the last two elections, is once
again in the contest.

The RJD-Congress ties are nearly two decades old and Yadavs’ father Lalu Prasad has been known to be a trusted ally of AICC president Sonia Gandhi

BJP kicks off preparations for Jharkhand Assembly polls

Source: newsd.in

Ranchi, July 29 (IANS) Speculations are rife that Jharkhand polls, due early 2020, may take place along with Haryana and Maharashtra by the end of the year. The ruling BJP has not officially said anything but has begun its preparations, ensuring benefits of schemes reach people and launching a membership drive.

The tenure of Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies are ending on November 2 and 11, respectively and that of Jharkhand on January 5, 2020. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP favouring simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, the party may set an example by holding Assembly polls together.

The party, however, says that no decision has been taken on holding Assembly polls, along with the two other states. “There is no information of advancing the Assembly poll in the state,” BJP leader Ravi Bhatt told IANS.

Asked about the timing of polls, state BJP spokesman Shivapujan Pathak told IANS that the “party has started poll preparations. It is up to the party’s central leaders to decide whether polls will be held on schedule time or advanced”.

“Our membership drive is going at large scale…. We have set target of 25 lakh new members in the state,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raghubar Das has swung into action, with the state government fixing September 30 for distributing free gas cylinders to the remaining 14 lakh families.

Jharkhand, which has already distributed free gas cylinders to 29 lakh families, has also announced to refill the cylinder at free of cost.

The state is focusing to cover all its people under the Ayushman Bharat and other social schemes.

The Chief Minister has directed the officials to complete major state and centre sponsored schemes by August 31 and September 30, respectively.

Government sources also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to make two to three visits to the state in August and September to launch agriculture-related schemes and inaugurate the multi-modal terminal on the Ganga in Sahebganj district.

On the International Day of Yoga, Modi had chosen Ranchi to attend the programme, which was attended by more than 35,000 people.

The BJP is enthused by the Lok Sabha poll outcome, where it won 12 of the state’s 14 Lok Sabha seats, defeating the grand alliance of the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. While the Congress and the JMM managed to win one seat each, JMM President and former Chief Minister Shibu Soren lost his traditional Dumka seat.

Meanwhile, the membership drive is carried out on an intensive level, especially among the rural areas. BJP Working President J.P. Nadda had also recently visited the state to participate in membership drive campaign and discuss poll preparations with local leaders.

BJP national Vice President Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is in charge of the membership campaign in Jharkhand, has also visited the state twice.

Even, the opposition parties have started their poll preparations. Not deterred by the Lok Sabha defeat, the grand alliance is again gearing to fight the Assembly polls together.

“We are ready to face the Assembly poll. Let BJP manipulate the poll dates. The assembly poll will be different from Lok Sabha. In the 2014 Assembly polls, despite the ‘Modi magic’ and the divided opposition, the BJP did not get a majority on its own,” JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told IANS.

The BJP had won 37 seats in the 81-member Assembly and came to power with the help of ally, the All Jharkhand Students Union.

BJP starts early preparation for polls in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

New Delhi: After its massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is eyeing to repeat the success in the assembly polls to be held later this year in three states. 

It has started preparation for the elections in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana. BJP working president JP Nadda has already started visiting the states to take stock of the preparation and further strategy of the party. 

Nadda visited Jharkhand on July 13-14, and held a meeting of the core group of the state BJP discussing the party’s preparation and candidates for the upcoming assembly elections. 

He is scheduled to visit Maharashtra on July 20-21. Other than meeting party leaders, Nadda would also visit BJP workers at a particular booth to motivate them before the elections. The central leadership has nominated a new president for Maharashtra, Chandrakant Patil, on Tuesday. 

Usually a new state president forms his own team. However, considering the assembly elections in less than six months, sources told ET that there would be no further change in the state committee. 

Meanwhile, BJP’s Maharashtra in-charge Saroj Pandey has already toured five districts. “I shall be visiting every district before elections,” Pandey told ET. 

While the BJP is preparing for elections, NDA partner Shiv Sena too has started campaigns projecting Aditya Thackrey as the next chief minister. 

But Pandey said the CM would be of the BJP and that “there is no second though about that”. The party has assigned private agencies to conduct four state-wise surveys to assess the mood of the people and select candidates. 

Nadda plans to also visit Haryana, but the dates have not been finalised. In the meantime, chief minister Manohar Lal would embark on a state-wide yatra beginning August 15. “We are focusing on the yatra of the chief minister,” Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala told ET. 

“Apart from that work has begun to connect with party workers at the booth level and all the party MLAs are working on the tasks assigned to them.”