New Delhi, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) During the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on December 19 to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the 28-party opposition grouping decided to launch its joint campaign in January.

The INDIA bloc leaders also decided to finalise the seat sharing talks by December end.

The fourth meeting took place in the national capital on December 19 and discussed several crucial issues.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took a soft stand towards the Congress and proposed the name of Mallikarjun Kharge as the opposition bloc Prime Ministerial candidate.

Even Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal endorsed Banerjee's move to announce Kharge as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

However, Kharge downplayed the request of Banerjee and Kejriwal and asked all the 28 parties to focus on winning more seats across the country first and decide on the Prime Ministerial candidate after the elections.

The message was clear as Kharge wants the regional parties to focus on winning seats against the BJP and the NDA across the country.

Kharge, in view of the demands from the alliance partners of the INDIA bloc over finalising the seat sharing deal, announced a five-member National Alliance Committee with senior party leader Mukul Wasnik as its chairman and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Mohan Prakash and Salman Khurshid as its members.

During the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on December 21, former party chief Rahul Gandhi asked the leaders to give space to the regional parties.

The party agrees that the seat sharing talks in the states of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Even as the party leaders are in a huddle with the other alliance partners emphasizing on completing the talks by December 31, the Congress feels that the seat sharing talks will take at least three weeks to reach a conclusion.

A source in the grand old party said that the seat sharing talks will be smooth as it is ready to show a big heart and play the role of a big brother.

The Congress faces delicate alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh where the alliance involves the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Similar is the case.in Punjab and Delhi where it involves the AAP and in West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress along with the Left parties.

In Uttar Pradesh with the Samajwadi Party as the principal Opposition being the most dominant player, relations have not been most cordial in the politically crucial state which sends the maximum number of 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress had drawn the Samajwadi Party’s ire for not sharing seats with it in the recent Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, with the latter then warning that the grand old party would get the “tit-for-tat treatment” in Uttar Pradesh.

The RLD was also unhappy when it was given just one seat by the Congress in the Rajasthan polls. The Congress was decimated in both the states.

The source said that several Congress state leaders want the party to stake claim to 20-25 seats, as it had won 21 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress has also been at loggerheads with the Congress state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who despite the alliance at the national level has been targeting the Mamata Banerjee government in the state.

In Punjab and Delhi, the alliance involves the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and many Congress leaders have openly voiced going it alone in the states instead of having an alliance with the party.

In Bihar, where the alliance involves the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United and the Left parties, the Congress wants at least 10 seats out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats.

The INDIA bloc has also decided to hold eight to ten joint public meetings in crucial states to give a message of unity ahead of the high octane battle in 2024.

After Tuesday's meeting of the INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi spoke to Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

According to sources in the Janata Dal (United), Rahul clarified the Congress's stance on Kharge's name being proposed for the prime ministerial face by Banerjee and Kejriwal on Tuesday.

Rahul Gandhi and Nitish Kumar discussed the strength of the alliance during their telephonic conversation.

After the coming together of Nitish Kumar-Tejashwi Yadav at the residence of Kharge along with Rahul Gandhi for the first time in April this year, Kharge had dubbed it as "historic" and said that they aim to unite all the opposition parties for the upcoming polls.

Source: IANS

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Kolkata, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) It seems as of now that the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in the northern sector of West Bengal is heading for an extremely interesting three-cornered contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

According to political observers, Darjeeling will be one of the few Lok Sabha seats where polling for a national election will be held under the shadow of local issues with the “son of the hills” sentiment playing a prominent factor in election campaigns.

Considering that there will be a three-cornered contest in the hills between the BJP, the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) alliance and the Congress-Left Front bloc, political observers say that the most crucial factor might be a probable Left Front-backed Congress candidate.

There are strong rumours in the hills that influential and estranged TMC hill leader, Binay Tamang, who joined the Congress recently, might be fielded by the country’s oldest national party in Darjeeling next year as a Left Front-supported Congress candidate.

There is information that the CPI(M), the principal force in the Left Front, is agreeable to the proposal of the Congress on this count.

From the time Tamang has joined the Congress, he has been constantly fuelling the “son of the hills” sentiments as he is constantly claiming that the real development for the people of the hills will never be possible unless a local gets the chance to represent the people in Parliament.

Tamang has also said that as the successive BJP Lok Sabha members were not “sons of the hills,” they were not serious about the issues exclusively relating to development of the hills.

The possibility of the Congress projecting Tamang as its Lok Sabha candidate has been made stronger by state Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, appointing Tamang as in charge of the Congress’ organisational affairs in the hills as the state General Secretary.

Political observers are of the opinion that with Tamang constantly fuelling the local sentiment issue, other burning issues like price rise and financial corruption in West Bengal have taken a back seat in the hills.

“As the election draws near, Tamang will surely fuel the local leader issue and in case he is finally nominated as the Left Front-backed Congress candidate, he will ramp it up even further. This is something which the parties opposing the Congress and Tamang will not be able to ignore,” said a political analyst.

However, political observers feel that the existing situation might change in case the Congress enters into a seat-sharing understanding with the TMC after snapping ties with the Left Front. As part of the understanding, the Congress will have to sacrifice the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in favour of the TMC-BGPM combine.

“In that case, officially, there will be a three-cornered contest between the BJP, the Congress-TMC-BGPM combine and the Left Front. However, in reality the contest will be mainly between the BJP and the Congress-TMC-BGPM combine, considering that the organisational strength and popularity of the Left Front in the hills are negligible. And in the absence of Tamang in that eventuality, the hype over the “son of the hills” issue will also fade out to a great extent,” the political analyst said.

However, barring that remote eventuality, the “son of the soil" hype created by Tamang, has already started having its effect on the other political forces in the fray in the hills.

An indication on this count has come from the BGPM founder Anit Thapa who has given a loaded but extremely significant message to the TMC leadership about the choice of the candidate for the alliance for the 2024 polls.

“Let there be the TMC symbol in the hills but not the party leaders to that extent” was the message from Thapa last week. Thapa’s signal was clear that the TMC might field its candidate in the hills in 2024 but the BGPM’s preferences in candidate-selection should be honoured by the ruling party leadership.

Source: IANS

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Agartala, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Emerging as a strong political force specially in the vital tribal areas, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) led by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman is likely to be a big challenger for both the ruling BJP, the opposition Left parties and the Congress in the 2024 polls.

As one third (20) of the Tripura assembly’s total 60 seats and one of the two Lok Sabha constituencies are reserved for the tribals, the all important tribal vote bank is very crucial in the electoral politics of the northeastern state.

In the February 16 assembly elections, the tribal based party TMP securing 13 seats and 19.69 per cent votes got the second position after the ruling BJP, which bagged 32 seats and a vote share of 38.97 per cent.

The two-year old TMP, after capturing the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April 2021, has been demanding elevation of the areas of the autonomous body by granting a 'Greater Tipraland State' or a separate state status under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

The sensitive ‘Greater Tipraland State’ or a separate state demand helped the party to a large extent to gather the tribal votes in a big way pushing the CPI-M led Left parties and the Congress into third and fourth position respectively.

Since 1978, the CPI-M dominated Left Front, which governed Tripura for 35 years (1978 to 1988 and 1993 to 2018) has strongholds in the 20 tribal reserve and 10 scheduled caste reserve seats in the 60-member Tripura assembly.

In the February assembly polls, the CPI-M got only 11 seats including a tribal reserve seat and the Congress, which also ruled Tripura for many years in different terms, managed only three seats.

The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), another tribal based party and an ally of the ruling BJP, raising the demand for a separate state secured 8 seats and a 7.38 per cent vote share in the 2018 assembly polls, but in the February 16 (2023) assembly polls the party managed only one seat and a 1.26 per cent vote share as they diluted their demand, being highlighted since 2009.

The TMP in its maiden electoral battle in the assembly fielded 42 candidates, including 20 on tribal reserved seats in February and indirectly helped the BJP to get more seats due to a division of votes among three challengers – BJP, CPI-M-Congress and TMP.

The Left parties and the Congress fought the February assembly polls in a seat sharing arrangement.

Highlighting the ‘Greater Tipraland State’ demand and throwing a big challenge to all the national parties -- BJP, CPI (M) and Congress -- the TMP, the first tribal-based party in Tripura since 1952, emerged as the principal opposition in the state in the February assembly polls and is now the main stakeholder of the vote share of tribals, who always played a vital role in the electoral politics of Tripura

TMP’s founder supremo Deb Barman said that the party would continue to fight for its core demand of “Greater Tipra Land” for the tribals, who according to him are deprived of basic facilities in education, health and all other areas.

The BJP keeping in mind the tribal votes also requested the TMP leaders to join the BJP led ministry and kept three ministerial berths vacant for the tribal party.

After attending the BJP-IPFT ministers' swearing in ceremony on March 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Tripura counterpart Manik Saha held a marathon meeting with Deb Barman and other TMP leaders to persuade the TMP to enter the cabinet.

However, the TMP chief later claimed that Shah has assured him that like in the case of Nagaland, an interlocutor would be appointed to study and resolve the demands of the party within three months.

On November 28 the Centre's envoy and advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs A.K. Mishra held a meeting with Deb Barman and other TMP leaders and discussed their demand.

The TMP supremo said that his party is sticking to its ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand and the “Centre should fulfil our demand and they should come out clearly with their views about our demand”.

“Pakistan tried to impose the Urdu language on the people of East Pakistan and then the language movement started (in 1948) leading to the creation of sovereign Bangladesh. Similarly, tribal language should be respected by all and we need our own script for the language of the indigenous people,” he told IANS.

To display the TMP’s strength and popularity, the party held a mega rally in TTAADC headquarters at Khumulwng in western Tripura on October 14 and Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad K. Sangma addressed the gathering.

Sangma had said that all tribal and indigenous communities in the northeast must be united and raise their voice jointly to protect the life, culture, language and traditions of the people of the region.

“We have to protect the future of our youths. We would not remain silent against any deprivation to the tribals and indigenous people,” Sangma had said, adding "we have to be confident that one day our dream would be fulfilled”.

Deb Barman said “I have sold my royal properties in Kolkata to organise agitations for the interest of the tribals. Personally I do not want to get any government post. My only aim is to secure the future of the backward tribals.”

Now the TMP also highlights the introduction of roman scripts for the tribal “Kokborok” language at all academic levels from school to university.

During the past over five-and-a-half decades, tribal based parties in Tripura tried to play a crucial role in the state's politics but due to their issue based politics sans any ideology they became nonexistent after their issues were resolved or when they raised irrelevant demands.

In June 1967, the Tripura Upajati Juba Samity (TUJS), a former ally of the Congress, was formed as the first tribal based political party raising some tribal centric demands including creation of the tribal autonomous body.

After the TUJS, over a dozen tribal based political parties including the Tripura Hills People's Party, Tripura National Volunteers (a militant outfit turned political party), Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), Tipraland State Party (TSP), IPFT, National Conference of Tripura (NCT) have been created but over the years these parties suffered a premature death or had to merge with other parties.

In 2002, the TUJS and the TNV merged with the INPT and in 2021 the INPT merged with the new tribal based party TMP led by Deb Barman, a former Tripura state Congress president.

Political commentator and writer Satyabrata Chakraborti said that the tribal parties in Tripura ahead of all elections always raised sensitive, pro-tribal and impractical demands to woo the tribal voters but after electoral gains, they forgot their original demands.

“This is a well accepted reality that tribals in Tripura and the other states in India are backward in almost all aspects Health, education, basic necessities, and infrastructure are inadequate in the tribal areas.

"The tribal based parties forgetting the realistic issues raised sensitive and unrealistic demands only for electoral gain," Chakraborti told IANS.

He said that many tribal leaders did not live in tribal and remote areas, staying in capital city Agartala or in towns, and did not have proper knowledge about the daily needs and problems of the common and poor tribals.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Guwahati, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Although winning at least 20 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the northeast is a difficult challenge, the BJP is optimistic that it will succeed in Mission 20 plus for 2024 in this region. The saffron party's poll performance in Assam, which accounts for 14 LS seats, will determine whether or not this goal is achieved.

In Assam, the BJP secured nine of the fourteen seats in the general elections of 2019. AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal defeated the party in Dhubri, and the Congress won three seats -- Nagaon, Kaliabor and Barpeta. The United People's Party Liberal, a BJP partner, emerged victorious in the Kokrajhar assembly seat.

The BJP is anxious to win more seats in the state this time around.

Apart from retaining all the seats it won in the previous Lok Sabha election, the party has set its sights on three seats currently held by Congress MPs.

Pradyut Bordoloi’s Nagaon seat is the BJP’s first target. The saffron party won this seat more than once, even before becoming a strong force in 2014. Rajen Gohain served consecutively four times in the Lok Sabha — in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014 — representing Nagaon constituency.

In 2019, Gohain was not given a ticket, and the BJP fielded a younger face in Rupak Sarma to replace the four-time MP. Gohain, who served as a Union minister in the first Modi cabinet. He was unhappy over the ticket distribution and showed his anger. This created some displeasure at the local level as well, which ultimately cost the BJP the seat to Bordoloi.

According to recent remarks made by Rajen Gohain, the AIUDF now has the upper hand in this situation and the Nagaon seat would become increasingly harder for the BJP to win after the delimitation exercise.

But according to party sources, Himanta Biswa Sarma is committed to regaining the Nagaon seat, and the BJP has set the stage for a strong performance.

Gaurav Gogoi, the son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, is the MP from the Kaliabor constituency. During the delimitation process, this seat was eliminated, and Kaziranga, a new Lok Sabha seat, was created.

A prominent BJP leader claimed that the new seat has a majority of Hindu voters and the party will easily win it in the upcoming general election.

In Barpeta and Dhubri, the Muslim population is more than 50 percent. In its internal meetings, the BJP has discounted the chances of winning these seats and has decided to strongly contest the remaining 12 seats.

The heavyweight minister and Chief Minister’s close aide Pijush Hazarika sarcastically said, "We have intentionally left a few seats for the Congress and the AIUDF and are going to win in 12 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats."

Meanwhile, Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah told IANS that the "BJP knows their situation is very bad in most of the seats in the state. I bet that if elections are held today, the Congress will win at least seven Lok Sabha constituencies here."

Apparently, at this point, the BJP is riding high in the state on the popular image of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Assam has a nearly 30 percent Muslim population, and this chunk is unhappy with Sarma’s way of functioning. Incessant eviction drives in Muslim-dominated areas, cracking down on madrasas, a large number of police encounters, and recent action against child marriage — the Muslims in the state feel that they have been the administration’s target in almost all things. They will definitely vote against the BJP in the 2024 general elections.

Himanta Biswa Sarma knows it very well and has repeatedly said that he does not need ‘Miya’ votes, a term coined by the Assam Chief Minister to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims in the state.

Given that there are more Hindus than Muslims in the upper Assam region, the BJP may have an easy time winning the seats there. In the Barak Valley and lower Assam, where Muslim votes typically determine victory or defeat, the situation would be different.

In six seats in Barak Valley and lower Assam, the circumstances are the same. A united candidate from the opposition parties would be a formidable force against the BJP. However, the AIUDF's exclusion from the "INDIA" alliance is an advantage for the BJP.

The most recent delimitation exercise has demonstrated that the BJP conducted an extensive internal assessment of Assam's demographics and attempted to "tweak" the process to its advantage by eliminating four districts shortly before the ECI released the dates of the delimitation exercise.

To come up with a promising outcome from the northeast in next year's polls, the BJP must do extremely well in Assam. In some of the states here, like Meghalaya, Mizoram, and even Nagaland, the BJP cannot win on its own strength. It would have to rely on allies. Therefore, Sarma’s strategy is to go all out to win the maximum number of seats in Assam.

If the BJP fails to do well in Assam, the entire dynamics in the northeast for the saffron camp would change dramatically.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Congress, which started the year on a high after a grand victory in Karnataka, had to face a huge setback in the assembly polls in the three Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with Telangana being the only consolation. However, it is hopeful of coming back to give a tough fight to the ruling BJP-led NDA at the Centre in the 2024 general elections.

Even as the BJP-led NDA is targeting 350 seats for its third consecutive term with the strong face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress has decided not to announce its Prime Ministerial candidate and has left the decision to be taken after reaching the majority mark along with the INDIA bloc partners.

Despite Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee proposing the name of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the INDIA bloc face for the top post, which was also endorsed by Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Kharge downplayed it asking all the partners to first focus on winning more seats and then deciding the face after the poll results.

Even as the talks for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc parties are currently underway to decide the seat sharing formula, the Congress is preparing on a massive scale to improve its tally in the 2024 elections, as the party lost in the general elections badly in 2014 and 2019.

The Congress, which lost in the recent Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, is hopeful that the results will not have any effect on the party's performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as it has retained its vote share.

In the meantime, the Congress is focusing on strengthening the organisation ahead of the crucial battle next year.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi have already held meetings with the leaders of 24 states in the last two months to discuss poll preparedness.

The Congress leadership has emphasised on taking the ideology of the party to the grassroots through various programmes.

During the Congress Working Committee meeting held on December 21, the party decided to hold state level conventions of the party leaders and workers to discuss the party's preparations and give them training.

The Congress has also roped in party strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who had joined the party in May last year and worked to ensure its victory in Karnataka and Telangana with his aggressive campaign and strategy to reach to the voters with people centric guarantees.

The aggressive stand of the party is visible in its strategy as the Congress announced a 16-member Manifesto Committee with former Finance Minister P Chidambaram as its chairman.

The party also announced a five-member National Alliance Committee on December 19 with Mukul Wasnik as its chairman to take forward the seat sharing talks with the regional partners in all the states.

The party leaders feel that there is strong anti-incumbency against the government at the grassroots level over the soaring inflation, unemployment, widening gap between the rich and the poor and its demand for a caste-based census.

A party leader, wishing not to be quoted, said that it plans to raise people-centric issues, as inflation has already broken the back of the poor and the middle class in the country and it will work in its favour in the elections.

He added that the increasing atrocities against the poor, the marginalised, Dalits and women will also work in the party's favour besides the issue of unemployment which is at a 40 year high.

The parry leader said that the Congress will raise these issues prominently before the people to attract the votes of the poor and the middle class by highlighting the failures of the Modi government.

The leader said that the party is hopeful that highlighting the other issues like the suspension of 146 MPs from Parliament for demanding a detailed statement by Home Minister Amit Shah in both the Houses on the December 13 security breach and then the passage of crucial Bills like the three criminal laws Bills and the Telecommunications Bill that will have a huge impact on the common people will also help the grand old party to revive its fortunes across the country.

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) There is confusion, contradiction and chaos in the Samajwadi Party (SP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

As the main challenger to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the SP seems caught in a web of its own making. The party leadership remains in a state of confusion, allowing political strategies to be ruined by personal likes and dislikes.

There is complete chaos in party ranks and the leaders end up contradicting themselves.

Akhilesh Yadav may be an unchallenged leader in his party but he remains confused about his own status, strategies and political moves.

As a member of the INDIA bloc, SP is keen not to isolate itself among Opposition members. However, it also wants to remain in the driving seats in Uttar Pradesh -- both of which cannot exist simultaneously.

Akhilesh's relationship with the Congress is caught in a blow-hot-blow-cold situation and this lack of clarity on the issue has left his party cadres perplexed.

“We do not know what our relationship with the Congress is. There is a strange distance between the two parties at the ground level which will make an electoral alliance unpalatable during elections if the differences are not ironed out now. As opposition parties, we do not speak the same language and neither are we on the same page where major issues are concerned,” said a senior party MLA.

Akhilesh has been peddling soft Hindutva and is now equally wary of speaking out on issues related to minorities, especially Muslims. However, senior SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya is working as a one-man demolition squad on Akhilesh’s Hindutva policy by making anti-Hindu statements with regular frequency.

Maurya’s stand on Ramcharitmanas verses being "anti-Dalit", his questioning the appearance of Goddess Laxmi and his comments on Sanatan Dharma have not gone down well with upper caste Hindus within his own party.

Upper caste leaders in the Samajwadi Party are said to be upset over Akhilesh’s failure to rein in Maurya and some of them have even spoken out against this.

Akhilesh, meanwhile, refuses to utter a word against Maurya who is his current favourite in the party these days.

The alienation of Hindus -- even among OBCs -- could prove dear for the SP in the elections.

The BJP has been focussing on its ‘Hindus First’ card which will wean away the Dalits and OBCs who may be in the SP but still have strong religious beliefs.

Muslims, on the other hand, are upset with the SP leadership that tends to avoid issuing statements on matters related to Muslims -- whether it is the crackdown on Mohd Azam Khan, the ban on ‘halal’ meat or the manhandling of Kashmiri vendors.

SP MPs including S.T. Hasan and Shafique Rehman Barq have not shied away from speaking on issues concerning their community and have even slammed the party for its silence in such matters.

The BSP also remains a sore point with the SP, ahead of the polls.

Mayawati has been trying to ensure that the SP does not make a dent in her vote bank through Akhilesh’s PDA (Picchda-Dalit-Alpasankhyak) formula. Akhilesh, on the other hand, is not too keen on ensuring BSP’s presence in the INDIA bloc.

In a situation where policies, seat sharing and strategies remain unclear, the SP can be seen struggling to find a firm foothold in the shifting political sands of Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Source: IANS

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Aizawl, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) The recent scintillating victory of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) in the Mizoram Assembly polls has further established the regional parties’ domination in northeast politics.

Of the eight states, four states – Meghalaya, Mizoram Nagaland and Sikkim – have been dominated by the regional parties mostly due to the declining strength and organisational weaknesses of the Congress, which once governed most of the states of the region.

The National People’s Party (NPP) led by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma dominating the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio heading the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government in Nagaland and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, though are allies of BJP-led NDA, but these parties have strong bases in their states.

Mizoram Chief Minister and ZPM supremo Lalduhoma has already announced that his party would not be a partner of the NDA or Opposition's INDIA bloc; and will give issue-based support to the national parties.

The November 7 Mizoram Assembly polls were a political test for the anti-Congress Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) led by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as both the BJP and NEDA ally Mizo National Front (MNF) bitterly fought against each other.

The ZPM, which was registered as a political party in 2019, voted out the Mizo National Front government in the polls, securing 27 seats in the 40-member Assembly.

The four-year-old party got eight seats in the 2018 Assembly polls when its candidates contested the elections as independents.

The BJP, which got one seat in the 2018 polls, managed to win two seats this time and the Congress, which governed Mizoram for more than 22 years in different terms since 1984 under the Chief Ministership of party stalwart Lal Thanhawla, performed disastrously and secured only one seat.

The Congress fielded candidates in all 40 seats. However, only C. Ngunlianchunga, the party's candidate from Lawngtlai West seat, could win the election. His victory margin was 432 votes.

In the 2018 elections, the MNF bagged 26 seats, but the militant outfit turned political party this time bagged only ten seats.

Before the 2023 polls, Mizoram was governed only either by Congress or by the MNF since it became the 23rd state of the country on February 20, 1987, after the signing of the Peace Accord in 1986 ending two decades of strife and insurgency.

Mizoram also scripted history in the 2023 polls as for the first time, three women candidates were elected to the 40-member Assembly in one go.

ZPM candidate Lalrinpuii won from Lunglei East constituency and her party colleague and television presenter Baryl Vanneihsangi was elected from Aizawi South-3 seat.

The relations between the BJP and the just-ousted MNF sharply deteriorated after the saffron party-led NDA mooted the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as well as the ethnic violence in Manipur which erupted on May 3.

The MNF accused both the BJP-led Central and the state governments of “failing to protect the Kuki-Zo-Chin tribals in Manipur”.

Around 13,000 Kuki-Zo-Chin tribals, including women and children sheltered in Mizoram after being displaced from Manipur, where the ethnic riots between Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Chin broke out around eight months ago.

Political pundits said that like MNF, the ruling ZPM would also oppose the UCC and take a similar stand in dealing with the refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Though Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has opted to be out of the opposition parties’ INDIA bloc for the Lok Sabha elections, but her statement has yet again kept the hope of the BSP joining it alive.

The political meaning of Mayawati's recent advice targeted at the Samajwadi Party (SP) that “one can never say who will need whom in the future”, is also being explored. This is being seen as a signal from Mayawati to keep the window open for an alliance.

Recently, Mayawati in a statement said, “It is not appropriate for anyone to make unnecessary comments about the parties which are not part of the INDIA bloc, including BSP. My advice to them is that they should avoid this, because nobody knows who might need whom in the future for the sake of public interest and the country. In this situation, these people will have to feel shameful at a later stage. The Samajwadi Party is a living example of it.”

Mayawati’s BSP has shared a complicated relationship with the SP over the last three decades.

Political analysts said that Mayawati knows very well how to make political moves. She knows very well what to say and when… which will impact politics.

A senior leader of the Samajwadi Party said, “SP is not in a favour to include BSP in the opposition alliance of 28 parties, because in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the SP and the BSP had contested the elections together. The BSP gained and the SP suffered losses as the BSP got 10 seats, while the SP won only five seats.”

Though some leaders in the Congress have often favoured the BSP's entry into the INDIA bloc, the BSP has been reiterating time and again that it will go solo in the 2024 elections.

Political analyst Ratanmani Lal stated, “Mayawati has not decided with whom she will form an alliance in the Lok Sabha elections as she wants to keep all options open. Mayawati is more candid than other parties. That’s why she has warned all the parties that she can join any alliance. But she will not reveal her cards now.”

Another political analyst Virendra Singh Rawat said, “Akhilesh is also aware that his central politics may fade if the BSP joins the INDIA bloc. The BSP will also ask for more seats. This is the reason why the Congress, which was trying to include the BSP in the alliance, now seems to be giving in to the pressure of Akhilesh.”

Rawat says that Mayawati will not do anything in haste as of now. She will make alliances thoughtfully, because she doesn't want anyone to accuse her of being a B-team, nor would she want to have any political dispute with the BJP due to which she might have to face troubles like investigation (by central agencies). For this reason, Mayawati has supported the opposition on some issues and has also been seen standing with the government on other issues.”

“In a democracy, everyone has the right to express their views, what Mayawati has said is absolutely true. We have been saying this from the beginning that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are an election to save the country's Constitution and democracy. We want people who believe in the same ideology and stand with the Constitution to come together, this is in the interest of the country and the people of the country,” Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said.

Source: IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) On the eve of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, as things stand now, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala is in pole position, for more reasons than one.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF won 19 seats and the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) just one.

But with the Kerala Congress-M, led by its Rajya Sabha member Jose K Mani, crossing over to the LDF ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls, the LDF technically has two seats, Alappuzha and with the KC-M crossing over, Kottayam.

Even though the poll battle will be between the traditional rivals the UDF and the CPI(M)-led Left, the BJP-led NDA will also be in the fray, making it a triangular contest.

If one looks at the 2019 results and percentage of votes, the BJP at the moment appears only to be making sounds that this time they will open their account. In fact, the top BJP leader in charge of Kerala Prakash Javadekar was heard saying the other day that the saffron party has a strong chance of not just winning one, but a few seats in the state.

However, the 2019 Lok Sabha poll statistics don’t paint a very cheerful picture given that the Kerala BJP-led NDA finished a distant third and managed a mere 15.64 per cent vote share.

While the UDF won 19 seats securing a vote share of 47.48 per cent, the then ruling Left Front got 36.29 per cent votes and one seat.

State Congress President K Sudhakaran who represents Kannur in the Lok Sabha and is also the fiercest political rival of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has already announced that if in 2019 it was 19, this time it will be a clean sweep.

With K Sudhakaran having health issues and being slated to fly out to the US for a check-up for an undisclosed ailment as soon as he gets his visa, he is rearing to return as he has already announced a statewide yatra from Kasargod to the state capital to rev up his party ahead of the polls.

Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan is another Congress leader who has declared war on Vijayan and has vowed to teach the arrogant Chief Minister a lesson by making a clean sweep.

"The people of Kerala will give a befitting reply in the Lok Sabha polls as Vijayan has gone down as the worst Chief Minister the state has ever seen. This was evident in the recent poll results to the local bodies and even the two Assembly by-elections,” said Satheesan.

To top this all, Tariq Anwar, the AICC General Secretary in charge of Kerala, has already dropped enough hints that Rahul Gandhi will seek re-election from Wayanad, which he won with a margin of over four lakh votes. The message has gone to 14 sitting Congress Lok Sabha MPs to get ready for the 2024 polls and this is to the advantage of the party, as there won’t be any confusion over candidate selection.

The Congress will just have to find a replacement for Sudhakaran, in case he decides not to contest.

While the CPI(M) -- in order to put up a good fight and increase its tally -- is banking on seasoned veterans ranging from two-time former finance minister Thomas Isaac and sitting legislators, the BJP is expected to spring a surprise.

The names of Union Cabinet Ministers are being heard and it became evident that the BJP is gearing up to fight when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made a quick tour of the state and issued a warning to the BJP leaders engaged in factional fighting, to behave and work for the party.

The party cut a sorry figure when in the 2021 Assembly polls in Kerala, the BJP’s vote share went down by 2.60 per cent to reach 12.36 per cent as compared to the 2016 Assembly polls and the party lost the only sitting seat.

So as things stand, it appears to be a tough task for the BJP to be able to open their account in the Lok Sabha from the state. And, with the image of Vijayan and his government at its lowest ever since he took over in 2016, for now the Congress is definitely in the pole position.

Source: IANS

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Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Riding on the flagship social welfare schemes, and with a strong loyal women voter base, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is eying for a smooth sailing in the general elections, as well as the Assembly polls, scheduled next year.

The regional party registered a landslide victory during the three-tier Panchayati Raj elections last year, proving its supremacy. The party won 766 Zilla Parishad seats of the 852 with a vote share of 52.73 per cent. It also acquired 95 out of 108 municipalities and notified area councils in the urban local body polls in 2022.

“The BJD is engaged in the service of the people throughout the year. The party, under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has worked dedicatedly to fulfil the commitments it made in the manifesto for the 2019 elections. So, our party is ready to face elections anytime, and we are confident to win this time too,” said senior BJD leader and former minister Samir Ranjan Dash.

Dash said the party has set the target to increase the seat tally from 112 in 2019 to 130 in 2024.

The party has also tuned into election mode by launching several people-oriented schemes like Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha, LAccMI and Nua-O, etc.

The Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha scheme aims at augmenting rural digital infrastructure and preservation of cultural heritage sites and temples in rural Odisha. Similarly, the party hopes to further strengthen its rural stronghold by offering affordable transport facilities through the LAccMI scheme.

The government is also likely to announce several other big-ticket projects like the irrigation projects in the run-up to the general elections in 2024.

Besides, the party hopes to gain substantially from the success of its flagship programmes like Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, Srimandir Parikrama Project, renovation of major temples and heritage spots across the state.

Meanwhile, the state urban local bodies and panchayat elections held last year proved that the traditional women vote bank has also remained intact with the ruling party.

“One of the biggest reasons for BJD’s exceptional electoral success is its strong support base among the female voters through the women self-help groups under the aegis of the Mission Shakti department,” political analyst and veteran journalist, Rabi Das, said.

Meanwhile, political analysts also point out several drawbacks which may spell trouble for the ruling BJD in the general elections. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress will leave no stone unturned to corner the ruling party by raking up issues such as non-Odia leadership, tribal land rights, and so on.

It is being widely speculated that ex-IAS officer V. Karthikeyan Pandian may succeed CM Patnaik.

“The party may see internal conflicts either before the elections or after that over transfer of baton to V.K. Pandian, a non-Odia,” said Rabi Das.

The experts opined that the simmering internal discontent over the issue is suppressed under the fear of losing power. Meanwhile, the succession plan was reportedly put on hold following opposition raising a hue and cry over the issue of an outsider being at the helm of affairs.

A former bureaucrat, Pandian, who recently joined the ruling BJD after taking voluntary retirement from service, announced during the state executive body meeting of BJD that he will not contest the upcoming elections and serve the party under Patnaik.

The opposition parties are also planning to target the BJD over tribal land rights issues.

The BJD came under severe backlash after the cabinet gave nod to allow the sale of tribal land to non-tribals in the state’s Scheduled areas in November. The government later reversed the decision and sent back the proposal to the Tribal Advisory Committee for review amid sharp criticism from the opposition parties.

Source: IANS

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Ranchi, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) As the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) coalition government led by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is set to complete four years in power on December 29, entering into the election year 2024, will be quite challenging legally and electorally for the government.

To begin with, this is the longest term that a non-BJP government has been in power in the 23-year-long history of Jharkhand.

On the legal front, Soren faces massive corruption cases and will be facing his toughest political challenge as part of the Opposition INDIA bloc member to take on the BJP, which is buoyed by the poll victories in three Hindi-heartland states.

Soren has been questioned once by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a mining scam in the state and he has been summoned six times for questioning in a land scam case.

However, Soren did not appear before the central agency for questioning and approached the High Court and the Supreme Court against the ED's order, but did not get respite from the courts.

According to ED sources, the central probe agency is now preparing to get a warrant from the court asking for Soren's arrest.

The question now arises, if Soren goes to jail, will the current Jharkhand Government remain united in 2024 in his absence?

Even if all the constituent parties supporting the JMM such as the Congress and the RJD remain united till 2024 Lok Sabha elections, then who will take over as chief minister if Soren goes to jail?

In such a situation his wife Kalpana Soren or father Shibu Soren could be made the chief minister.

Soren has reiterated that a conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP and Central Government to send him to jail but he is not afraid.

He knows that even if he goes to prison it will hardly harm his reputation politically and his party JMM could gain sympathy from his core vote bank on the plea of political vendetta.

Where electoral challenges in 2024 are concerned, Soren is well-prepared.

Issues related to the interest of tribals and the indigenous people of Jharkhand have been at the centre of JMM's politics.

It will certainly try to raise the political heat by raking up these issues in 2024, which is clear in several of the decisions taken by the Soren Government.

Last week, the Jharkhand Government moved the Domicile Policy Bill for passage by the state Assembly for the second time, ignoring the amendments suggested by the Raj Bhavan that had returned the legislation twice for reconsideration.

As per the Bill, people who have their names or their ancestors' name in the 'khatiyan' (land records) of 1932 or earlier, will be considered local inhabitants of Jharkhand, and only such people would be eligible for Class III and Class IV jobs in the state.

This Bill was also passed in the Special Session of the Jharkhand Assembly on November 11 last year, but the Governor returned the Bill with the opinion of the Attorney General and asked the state government to reconsider it.

The Jharkhand Government rejected the Attorney General's opinion and the objections based on it and got the Bill passed again in its entirety. Through this Bill, the Soren Government has tried to send the message that it will not back down from its agenda of protecting the identity of the people of Jharkhand.

However, this Bill will not be able to become a law without the nod of the Centre because the state government has proposed to include it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution and has requested the Governor to send it to the Central government. Now, unless the Central government gets it passed by Parliament, it cannot become a law.

If the Central government does not agree to this Bill, then the Jharkhand Government will target the BJP during the election campaign on the issue. It will tell the electorate that the BJP wants to deprive the indigenous people and tribals of Jharkhand of their rights. During the forthcoming election campaigns, the BJP will have to counter this political move by the Soren Government.

Soren has swung into election mode by organising 'Public Connect programmes' and before the Jharkhand Government completes its fourth year in power, under the ‘Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar’ campaign, camps are being organised in more than 4,300 panchayats and all municipal bodies across the state from November 24 to December 29.

Under this campaign, Soren has taken the initiative of visiting all districts across the state and communicating directly with the people. In the last 26 days, he has visited 20 out of 24 districts in the state and addressed more than two dozen public meetings.

Soren is taking up this campaign of 'Public Connect' extremely seriously, which can be understood from the fact that he did not even attend the core committee meetings of the Opposition INDIA bloc on December 6 and December 18 respectively, citing his busy schedule.

Soren, who is the Chief Minister as well as the Working President of the JMM, has already started a campaign to strengthen his ties with district, block and panchayat-level leaders and workers.

On December 14, he invited leaders and workers from Ranchi along with seven adjoining districts to his residence and interacted with them and told them to get the party cadre ready for 2024 election.

Soren said, "2024 is an election year. Opposition parties will try to break our integrity and unity in the name of dividing us on the basis of religious and community lines. There is a need to be cautious about this agenda. Our party workers should gear up for the upcoming Lok Sabha and state elections."

In the coming months, Soren is also going to interact with the leaders and workers of other remaining districts of the state.

While connecting with the people as well as JMM leaders and workers, Soren is also making his election agenda clear.

Soren has directly held the previous BJP governments in the state and at the Centre responsible for the backwardness of Jharkhand. He is prominently raising the issue of outstanding dues of Rs 1,36,000 crore with the Central Government in lieu of mineral royalty of the state and land acquired for mines, through public rallies.

Plus, the JMM's special election package is ready for the election year. Many populist schemes have been brought for this. An ambitious scheme called ‘Abua Awas Yojana’ was launched in the state in November.

The Soren Government is calling it a better welfare scheme than the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Under this scheme, people of the state have been promised a house with three rooms and a kitchen.

The Jharkhand Government is publicising that under this scheme, houses will be given to eight lakh poor people and these houses will be bigger and more convenient than the two-room houses allotted to people under the PM Awas Yojana. For this, applications are being taken by setting up camps and applicants are being informed about receipt of applications on their mobile phones. This is being considered a big election masterstroke by the Soren Government.

Similarly, under the ‘Guruji Credit Card Scheme’, loans of up to Rs 15 lakh on simple interest without guarantee will be availed to poor students who have passed class 10th and 12th for higher education.

Other populist schemes like free buses for women, elderly and students under the CM Gram Gaadi Yojana, have been launched.

The scheme to provide free bicycles to school students in the state was on hold for the last three years. Now, the Jharkhand government has sent an amount of more than Rs 220 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer to the bank accounts of 4,90,000 students studying in various government schools to buy bicycles.

In the last six months, the Jharkhand Government has been steadfastly conducting examinations for appointments to vacant posts in the state. The dates for conducting graduate-level examinations for appointment of 26,000 assistant teachers, 5,000 Constables and for filling 2,000 class III posts have been announced.

The BJP has been vociferously raising the question of the failure of the government in providing employment for the last three years. As the poll bugle for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections sounds Soren will counter the BJP's allegations by citing these appointments.

Soren and the JMM are also well-prepared to handle the internal challenges existing within the Opposition INDIA bloc. This time, the claim staked by Soren and his party regarding the Lok Sabha seats is bigger than in 2019 as the party has staked claim on eight out of 14 seats in the state as against the four in the last Lok Sabha elections as part of the Congress-led UPA.

The remaining seats were distributed between the Congress, RJD and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. However, the UPA alliance was defeated on 12 out of 14 seats and the JMM won only in Rajmahal seat and Congress in Chaibasa.

The JMM will try to improve its poll performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but its primary focus is on the state Assembly elections scheduled in October-November 2024. In the 2019 Assembly elections, JMM was successful in becoming the single largest party by winning 30 seats on its own. This time, along with retaining the seats it has won, it has started working on a strategy to increase this tally.

Soren considers tribals and indigenous people as his core vote bank. Last time, the JMM-led alliance had won 26 out of 28 tribal-dominated seats in the state.

While the BJP is trying its best to woo the tribal population in the state, the JMM is doing all it can to keep its core vote bank united.

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh remains unstoppable. Modi’s guarantee, Yogi’s magic, beneficiary loyalty, topped with the Ram temple construction provide the perfect recipe for success in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

From 'Modi hai to mumkin hai', the BJP in Uttar Pradesh now firmly believes in 'Yogi hai to magic hai'.

The Yogi factor has been working overtime in the by-elections and the recent municipal polls to ensure a sweeping win for the BJP.

BJP cadres are confident that Yogi Adityanath's growing stature as a Hindu leader, his tough image as an administrator and his all-pervasive charisma will ensure a resounding victory for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

A fragmented Opposition will only make things easier for a saffron wave to sweep the state.

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh, so far, has only one strategy and that is to keep the party cadre mobilised for elections and to revisit each booth with regular frequency.

"We have charismatic leaders like Modi and Yogi and all we need to do is prevent our foot soldiers from becoming complacent. Our 'panna pramukhs' and ‘vistaraks' are on the job and our leaders are working on the seats where the party is comparatively weak," said a party functionary.

On the organisational front, the BJP leaders are not taking any chances to ensure the party’s victory and overcome the anti-incumbency factor, if any.

The BJP is also preparing to change candidates in order to counter the anti-incumbency factor.

Party sources claim that some candidates may be dropped for having crossed the age bar of 70-plus while others may not get tickets for under-performing in their constituencies.

Though the BJP is focussing on caste arithmetic and wooing OBCs with a vengeance, it is mainly focusing on a group that transcends the caste carrier.

The BJP is eyeing the vote bank of beneficiaries which the minorities and Dalits form a large chunk of.

"These are the groups that have benefitted from the schemes of the Central and state governments and we are reaching out to them. It is not a question of caste or religion but a question of have-nots receiving benefits," the party functionary said.

For the middle class and the upper castes, Yogi's bulldozer campaign against the mafia is a part of the party's election strategy.

"Traders and builders are no longer complaining of extortion and land is not being usurped by the mafia. This will be used to advantage in the campaign," the functionary added.

The BJP has been quietly working to win the Other Backward Castes and is using the ‘Hindu First’ card to dilute the Opposition’s demand for a caste census.

Interestingly, the BJP is not looking towards celebrity campaigners in 2024. “When our leaders are our biggest stars, why should we reach out to film stars?” asked a party functionary.

Besides, the BJP has firmly put the spotlight on the Ram temple and the Yogi Government is sparing no efforts to make the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple on January 22 the biggest event of the century.

The total revamp of Ayodhya will be a major tourist attraction for years to come.

"I told you that 'Yogi hai to magic hai' and Modi is an added advantage. Need we say more?" Moreover, the opposition has nothing to offer except drawing room chatter and it is the BJP which is seen working on the ground,” the functionary remarked.

And nothing could be closer to the truth this time.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) As the Narendra Modi government is set to complete its second term in office at the Centre, with several months left before the 2024 general elections scheduled to be held in May this year, aiming to target 350-plus Lok Sabha seats.

The year 2024 is considered extremely crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the party wants to consolidate power right from winning elections at the panchayat level while marching towards the Parliament.

The BJP not only wants to form a government at the Centre with absolute majority for the third time by winning the 2024 general elections as it will send out a clear message that the people of India have clearly reposed their faith in the government at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, adding that there is no political alternative to counter the BJP's politics of development in the country.

After BJP comes back to power at the Centre by securing a third term in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party will create a new record in the country equalling that of the country's first Prime Minister and Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the PM for three consecutive terms by winning three consecutive Lok Sabha elections after India's independence in 1947. By coming back to power in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also equalise that record.

The BJP, which single-handedly won 303 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by securing nearly 38 per cent votes, has set a target of winning 350 plus seats in BJP has set a target of 350 plus seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. For this, the party is working on several fronts simultaneusly. If BJP alone achieves the target of 350 plus seats then together with NDA allies, its seat tally in the upcoming general elections will reach around 400.

BJP had started preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections more than a year ago to form its government at the Centre for the third consecutive term. On the one hand, the party is completely focusing on the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while on the other hand, it is also making special preparations on 160 "weak seats" in the country.

These 160 Lok Sabha seats include Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli, Akhilesh Yadav's family stronghold Mainpuri, Sharad Pawar's family stronghold Baramati, besides those seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and South India where the party has either lost or did not win in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Focusing on these 160 Lok Sabha seats, the saffron party has been running the 'Lok Sabha Migration Scheme' campaign for a long time by deploying its veteran Ministers and leaders in these parliamentary constituencies. Not only this, it has also been decided to deploy local party leaders on each Assembly seat in all these 160 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Nearly 1,000 seats of the state Assembly come under these 160 Lok Sabha constituencies. BJP had earlier decided that it would deploy observers even before the announcement of elections on 160 Lok Sabha seats of the country which were considered as "weak seats" for the BJP . Later its number kept increasing and now BJP is deploying observers on all 543 Lok Sabha seats of the country.

On the one hand, BJP is running the traditional means of campaigning i.e. directly connecting with the voters through campaigns like 'Lok Sabha Migration Scheme', 'Vistarak Yojana' and 'Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra' and is trying to reach out to people at the booth level. On the other hand, the saffron party is also making full use of modern means of communication like 'NaMo App' by setting up 'call centres' across the country.

As per BJP sources, the party may start announcing the names of its candidates even before the official announcement of Lok Sabha elections by the Election Commission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will consecrate the inauguration ceremony of Lord Ram at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

The first list of BJP's Lok Sabha candidates may be announced in January-end or the first week of February. BJP will also form the election manifesto and election campaign committee for the Lok Sabha elections soon in the new year.

BJP has also spelt clear its agenda for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that on one hand, the party will target the welfare scheme beneficiaries to highlight the achievements of the Modi government and its development agenda before the people, while on the other hand it will focus on Ayodhya temple.

On the other hand, the BJP, while addressing the opposition INDIA bloc as 'arrogant alliance' and 'INDI Alliance', will continuously focus on the issues of Sanatan Dharma, building of Ram temple, national security and corruption so that the voters, especially the youth, reach out to the saffron party.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The dawn of 2024 will herald the much-anticipated Lok Sabha election year for which all political parties in India -- whether ruling or in the Opposition, at the Centre or in the states - are earnestly preparing for and aiming for victory at all costs.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Nationalist Congress Party (AP) as well as the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP), and their respective allies/partners, are raring to lunge at each other’s political jugular vein and go for the electoral kill.

While the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh has the highest Lok Sabha seats (80), Maharashtra is next with (48), West Bengal (42), Bihar (40), Tamil Nadu (39), Madhya Pradesh (29), Karnataka (28), Gujarat (26), Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan (25 each) and Odisha (21) constituencies.

The BJP state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule has already set an ambitious goal to bag “at least 45 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats” here along with allies, amid sniggers from the Opposition.

On the other side, the Congress with just one seat (Chandrapur) in the current Lok Sabha, is hobbling into the 2024 big race with highly emasculated partners, the SS-UBT and NCP(SP) after they suffered vertical splits in June 2022 and July 2023, respectively.

Despite the stark drawbacks, the MVA parties manage to put up a brave front, with Congress state President Nana Patole boldly setting a target to win at least 35 seats along with SS-UBT and NCP (SP).

Easier said than done, as some leaders cautiously concede, given the ‘posturing’ by the partners ahead of the crucial seat-sharing talks likely to be taken up soon.

For instance, of the 48 seats, Congress leaders stake a claim to contest from 24, while SS-UBT MP Sanjay Raut is eyeing 25 seats, but the NCP(SP) has kept mum on the numbers it desires to contest.

A SS-UBT leader said that tentative formulae are being considered, like the Congress 18, NCP-SP and SS-UBT 15 each, or 16 seats each for the three top partners, or 15 each with 3 seats left for smaller parties, or a similar permutation-combination without resulting in an avoidable bloodshed among the allies.

However, after the recent outcome in the five state Assembly polls and the INDIA bloc meeting which decided to finalise the national-level seat-sharing by the year-end or early-January 2024, the MVA seems to have sobered up to the ground realities.

Now, the partners are talking of ‘realistic’ demand for seats in the state, setting ‘achievable’ targets and adopting an ‘inclusive’ attitude towards the smaller/weaker partners in the MVA.

They are also wary about the potential ‘party-poopers’ like Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) who may enter the fray in a big way and create headaches in certain key constituencies that would prove advantageous to the BJP-plus-allies.

Incidentally, while the MNS is perched on the fence, the VBA and AIMIM have openly offered to jump onto the INDIA bandwagon, but so far they have been kept at a safe distance.

The VBA, led by Prakash Ambedkar, which allied with SS-UBT last year, has already threatened to contest all 48 seats solo, if it’s kept out of the INDIA bloc.

A senior NCP-SP leader admits that left to the state level, the seat-sharing talks may result in much bad blood – with potential ramifications for the MVA’s unity and poll prospects.

However, he expressed optimism that despite the current ‘stances’ of the MVA allies, ultimately seniors like Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Mallikarjun Kharge would succeed in ironing out the differences amicably – well before the Election Commission of India (ECI) sounds the poll bugle.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Patna, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The results of the Assembly elections in three states have been a reality check for the Congress and the JD(U) in Bihar and eventually it has forced the Opposition parties to get united before the Lok Sabha election in 2024.

After the three meetings of the INDIA bloc in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai it was clear that the Congress party had an upper hand and leaders of other parties were thinking that it would dominate the seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections. However, the losses in the three states have weakened the position of the grand old party.

For the JD(U) Nitish Kumar was expecting at least a post of convener of the INDIA bloc till the 2024 Lok Sabha election but his anti-women and anti-Dalit statements during the Winter Session of Bihar Assembly went against him and he returned with empty hands from the fourth meeting held in New Delhi on December 19.

There is a general perception that Nitish Kumar changes his goal post according to situations but it is too late for him this time and he has to stay with the INDIA bloc at least till the Lok Sabha elections.

This is actually an ideal situation for the JD(U) and the Congress party to go with the ‘one seat, one candidate’ formula in Bihar to challenge the BJP.

“The meeting of the INDIA bloc in New Delhi was successful and we will finalise the seat sharing formula within three weeks across all states. The work is in progress and we will select candidates who are capable of defeating the BJP in the Lok Sabha election 2024,” said Lalan Singh, JD(U) National President.

“BJP leaders are saying that the INDIA bloc has not proposed the name of Nitish Kumar as a prime ministerial candidate, I want to ask the BJP that did Nitish Kumar tell you that he is a prime ministerial candidate. They talk without any base,” Singh said.

However, as it is clear to observers that Nitish Kumar still believes that he did not get the desired result from the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc, he will do hard bargaining with the RJD and the Congress.

Sources said that Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi talked to Nitish Kumar over the phone after the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc but the contents of the conversation were not revealed.

However, the general perception is that he tried to convince Nitish Kumar to fight the election with full vigour like he did in the 2015 Assembly election.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats and the JD(U) and RJD will contest on the maximum seats in Bihar.

The leaders of the JD(U) and RJD have not said anything but sources say that the JD(U) wants 17 to 18 seats in Bihar and the RJD leaders are thinking the same way. The leaders of these two parties may go for the formula of the 2015 Assembly elections when they had contested on 100 seats each and the remaining 43 seats were given to the Congress party.

This time they want to contest 17 to 18 seats each and give the remaining six or four seats to the Congress and Left parties.

There is also a possibility that the JD(U) who has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha might agree for 16 seats and the RJD will get 16 and the remaining eight seats will be distributed among Congress and the Left parties.

Bihar has three political forces, i.e. the RJD, JD(U) and the BJP and everyone knows that whenever two forces are on one side they win the election unless anyone underperforms or bats for the BJP just like the LJP did in the 2020 Assembly election in Bihar.

The Mahagathbandhan easily defeated the BJP in the 2015 Assembly election when the JD(U) and the RJD were alliance partners along with the Congress party. At that time, the Modi wave was much stronger than now. Similarly when the JD(U) and the BJP were together in the 2020 Assembly elections, they won it convincingly. The Lok Sabha election of 2019 was also an example of it when the JD(U) and the BJP contested together along with the LJP and won 39 out of 40 seats of Bihar.

Though the morale of the saffron brigade is high after the thumping victory in the three Assembly elections, it needs to be cautious ahead of 2024, especially in Bihar.

The BJP always loves to find gaps in the Opposition camp to create confusion and if the RJD and the JD(U) will fight together like they did in the 2015 Assembly election, the BJP might struggle here.

The BJP is raking up the issue of rising crimes and hooch tragedies due to the failure of the liquor ban in dry Bihar and is saying that Jungle Raj has returned to the state under Nitish Kumar.

“Under the rule of Nitish Kumar, not only the common man but the cops are also in the target zone of criminals. The murder of an ASI in Begusarai is a prime example of this as the liquor mafia mowed him down on duty,” said Bihar BJP president.

However, in an under-developed state like Bihar, caste factor is the only thing that voters keep in mind during any election and other issues like jobs, industrialisation, farmers and other problems are secondary.

This is the reason why the RJD is in a comfortable zone as everyone knows that Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav will fight against the BJP at any cost.

Lalu Prasad never compromised with the BJP and RSS in his entire political career and this could be the reason why Muslims and Yadavs, who have higher number of votes as per the recently-concluded caste survey (Muslim 17.7 per cent and Yadavs 14 per cent) in Bihar, will vote decisively for the RJD. If the Koiri having 4.21 per cent and Kurmis having 2.87 per cent voters (Lav-Kush) in Bihar, will join hands then the BJP can easily be defeated.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka is all set to witness high-voltage politics in 2024 with the Congress Government attempting to consolidate its ground by implementing all five of its poll guarantees.

The BJP, buoyed by its victories in three north India states and alliance with the JD(S), is talking confidently of sweeping all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

On the other hand, the Congress camp in Karnataka is galvanised by the victory of the party in Telangana polls despite the campaign blitzkrieg by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Karnataka Congress focussed on implementing its guarantees of free power, free 10 kg of rice, free travel for women and Rs 2,000 allowance for women who are heads of the family.

Now, the Congress Government is all set to implement the fifth and last guarantee i.e. allowance for fresh graduates and diploma holders.

The coming together of the BJP and the JD(S) against the Congress in the state and the appointments of senior Vokkaliga leader R Ashoka as Leader of Opposition and former CM BS Yediyurappa’s son, BJP MLA BY Vijayendra as state President by the BJP high command indicates a close fight between the ruling Congress and the Opposition in the state.

The stage is also set for a political struggle between forward communities and others in the state.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is championing the cause of Ahinda groups and is all set to accept the caste census report much to the chagrin of forward communities.

The Vokkaliga and Lingayat community leaders and pontiffs, considered to be influential in state politics, have warned the Siddaramaiah Government not to accept the report.

The ministers and MLAs from both communities have met Siddaramaiah in this regard and have openly stated their reservations.

AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had made a statement in the Rajya Sabha that forward castes are opposed to the caste census and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar from Karnataka is no exception. The thinking of all forward community leaders is the same, he said.

Shivakumar later had to clarify that he was not opposed to the idea of delivering justice to the Backward Classes and the objection was about conducting a proper census.

Former MLC and senior BJP leader Captain (Retd) Ganesh Karnik talking to IANS, stated that Karnataka’s politics in the last 25 to 30 years shows the trend of voters reacting distinctly for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

From 1991, whenever it came to the Lok Sabha polls, it has always gone in favour of the BJP. This is the first factor. The second one is, in the last Assembly election of Karnataka, if the total votes are counted, the BJP did not lose its vote base.

“In fact we polled 8.65 lakh more votes than in the 2018 polls. In 2018, though the BJP got 110 seats, the Congress polled 6.25 lakh votes more than BJP then. It got fewer seats. BJP did not lose its vote base in the last elections, contrary to what everyone said,” he explained.

He added, “What happened is, the Congress got 6.25 lakh votes more than the BJP in 2018. The votes of the JD(S) have come down by 15 lakh in the 2023 Assembly elections. The major chunk of these votes had gone to the Congress. The ruling party got 24 lakh votes additionally this time. It is the shifting of the JD(S) vote base that tilted the results. The projection of Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar was a well thought out strategy. The supporters of the JD(S) and former PM HD Deve Gowda in Mysuru region shifted to the Congress.”

Siddaramaiah made a statement about banning Bajrang Dal during elections that was majorly played up by the saffron party. It was assumed that it would help the BJP, but the development shifted the Muslim votes of the JD(S) to the Congress.

Now, six months after polls, many developments have taken place, the major one being the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya that will create a huge wave for the BJP.

“The guarantee schemes are denting the image of the Congress because of confusions. Differences have cropped up now between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah,” Karnik stated.

“MLAs and Ministers are in no mood to work for the Lok Sabha polls. No funds for development have resulted in a sense of betrayal among the people. The victories of the BJP in three states will have an impact. The victory of the Congress in Telangana is insignificant,” he opined.

“We will win not less than 20 seats. Today, in the whole nation there is a feeling that the BJP will come to power. This will drive fence sitters also to vote for the BJP. The votes are cast in the name of PM Modi. The central budget will be presented in February, it will also have an impact,” he explained.

Political analyst B Samiulla stated that Karnataka politics is witnessing a polarisation between the Vokkaligas and Linagayat communities. The Congress is searching for potential candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP has the option of fielding former ministers as candidates. In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had won one seat, this time it may go up to six, seven or eight seats. It is yet to be seen whether the minorities, Dalits and Backward Classes will come together with regard to the caste census. It is too early to predict, he explained.

Former CM HD Kumaraswamy had stated that there are Eknath Shindes and Ajit Pawars in the state politics hinting at dramatic developments similar to Maharashtra in the state. His repeated statements in this regard and predictions about the collapse of the Congress Government in a short span, indicate heavy political activity in the coming days.

Former CM Basavaraj Bommai has predicted that because of the guarantee schemes, Karnataka’s economy will be destroyed as there is no plan for generating additional revenue, while Ashoka has maintained that there is no need to carry out operation lotus and the Congress Government would collapse by itself.

What political developments will unfold in the state in the next few months leading up to the Lok Sabha polls only time will tell.

Source: IANS

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Kolkata, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) As the Congress is yet to give any assurance on joining hands with the Trinamool Congress for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the major concern of the state’s ruling party is the probable division in minority votes as against the increasing consolidation of majority mandates in different pockets of the state.

The concerns of the Trinamool Congress leadership on this count have been aggravated by the All India Secular Front’s (AISF) decision to field candidates independently from a number of Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal where the percentage of minority votes are enough to decide the fate of the candidates there.

Naushad Siddique, the lone AISF representative in the West Bengal Assembly has already announced that he is keen to contest from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency in South 24 Parganas constituency, where the percentage of the minority voters is the principal deciding factor and where the sitting Lok Sabha member is the Trinamool Congress’ General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee.

An analysis of the results of Diamond Harbour constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls revealed that Banerjee’s landslide victory there last time was mainly because of 95 per cent of voters’ consolidation in favour of Trinamool Congress in the minority-dominated pockets as against partial consolidation of majority voters against the state’s ruling party in the majority-dominated pockets.

As of now, besides Diamond Harbour, AISF wants to contest from at least nine other Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal in the districts of Malda, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Nadia districts, where the minority are in substantial numbers to decide the fate of any candidate.

Siddique ruled out the possibility of having any kind of understanding with the Trinamool Congress. He has even gone to the extent of saying that he would have loved to be a part of the grand Opposition INDIA bloc had the Trinamool Congress not been a part of it.

“Considering the skyrocketing popularity of Siddique among the minority youth since the panchayat elections this year, it will be difficult for Trinamool Congress to undermine the AISF factor in 2025 especially as regards to division in minority votes. That is precisely why Trinamool Congress leaders had been constantly trying to identify AISF and Siddique as the clandestine agents of the BJP in West Bengal just as the Asaduddin Owaisi-founded All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen is in other states,” pointed out a senior city-based political analyst.

Understanding the threat posed by AISF with regards to the division of minority votes, Trinamool Congress is desperate to have a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress to ensure consolidation of the minority vote bank which stands solidly behind the grand old party, especially in the Muslim-dominated districts of Malda and Murshidabad, say political observers.

Political analysts here noted a sudden change in the stance of the Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee just before the INDIA bloc meeting on December 19 and just after that.

“Before the meeting, the Trinamool Congress leadership started propaganda over the face of the INDIA bloc and even the chief minister said that Bengal will lead INDIA. However, during the meeting, Mamata Banerjee proposed the name of the Congress’ National President Mallikarjun Kharge as INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate,” pointed out a political observer.

According to him, there can be two reasons behind this changed stand of Mamata Banerjee. “The first reason is that by proposing Kharge’s name she tried to give a subtle message to the Congress of assured support in case of favourable results for the INDIA bloc in the 2024 polls. The second reason might be that in case of any disaster for the INDIA bloc, the responsibility of that disaster will rest on the Congress’ shoulders,” he added.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) Even as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) is puffing and panting in the Hindi hearland and in some states down south, Tamil Nadu is certain to retain the suprmeacy of the DMK in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

With 39 Lok Sabha seats ,Tamil Nadu has a major say in the general elections and in the 2019 general elections, the DMK led front romped home with 38 of these 39 seats.

The lone winner from the opposition side was P. Raveendranath Kumar from Theni Loksabha constituency in an AIADMK ticket.

The Lok Sabha seat of Raveeendranath Kumar has been nullified by the Madras High Court in July 2023 citing that he had surpresed information regarding his assets.

It is to be noted that the 43-year-old Raveendranthan Kumar is the son of O. Pannerselvam (OPS) who was the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and coordinater of the AIADMK who is now expelled from the party.

While the DMK leadeeship and the parry is in an embarassing situation after ministers from the party being sentenced by courts in corruption charges and arrested and jailed, the failure of the opposition AIADMK to put its act together has led to the DMK getting away.

The DMK Minister and strong man from Karur, Shenthil Balaji was arrested and jailed in a case related to job for cash scam and this has led to the party losing popularity in the area. Senior DMK leader and state Higher education minister,. K.Ponmudi is the second casualty with the Madras High Court sentencing him and his wife for three years imprisonment again embarassing the DMK and its leadership.

With the AIADMK turning into a divided house after the expulsion of OPS, VK Shashikala and TTV Dhinakaran - all from the powerful Thevar community that has a huge clout in South Tamil Nadu politics, things have become easier for the DMK.

Even though the advent of IPS officer turned politician, K.Annamalai has been makng waves in Tamil Nadu after being anointed as the president of the state BJP, the lack of a strong grassroot organisation is preventing the saffron party to catapult to a higher position in Tamil Nadu politics.

The DMK government led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has done commendably well since it assumed office in 2021 and has initiated several welfare measures that the party had promised in its election manifesto.

The ‘Makkale Thedi Marutham’ (health to door steps) scheme of the state government providing routine health checkups at the door steps of people across the state has become a major hit among the people of the state and Stalin has become more popular.

The free bus services for women has also become hugely popular among the public as women who works as daily helps and hopping into three or four houses a day in cities saves a lot of money in travel thus endearing the government and party to the people of the state.

With Tamil Nadus biggest festival ‘Pongal’ coming up in mid January and the state providing free kits including provisions that can sustain a family for more than a month, saris and dhotis , the impact will be big among the families who recieves these free kits.

The calculated move by the DMK leader and state minister for Youth and Sports Affairs, Udayanidhi Stalin who is also the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin raking up the Sanatana Dharma controversy has endeared him to the Dalit and OBC communities of the state which are the voting populace of Tamil Nadu.

The fight between the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and the DMK government with the former holding many bills passed by the state legislature has not gone down well with the people of the state. The Supreme Court of India has also come down heavily on the state Governor in this issue.

C. Rajeev,Director of Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a think tank based out of Chennai while speaking to IANS sakd ,“. The DMK is far ahead of the opposition in the state and many of its people friendly schemes has endeared it to the masses. While there are several allegations against the DMK and its government by and large the DMK. is much better placed than the opposition in Tamil Nadu and rhis will be a purely one sided fight with DMK in a much higher pedestial in the 2024 general elections. “

However the DMK repeating the 39 seat victory in the general elections are unlikely and the AIADMK has a possibility of winning a few seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Source: IANS

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Imphal, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The ethnic violence in Manipur between non-tribal Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribals was one of the key issues in the November 7 Mizoram Assembly polls and the ethnic hostilities and their associated political facets would certainly be major topics in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls not only in northeastern states but across the country.

The eight-month-long ethnic unrest in Manipur jolted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after seven of its MLAs along with three other legislators of another party not only demanded ‘separate administrations’ (equivalent to a separate state) for the tribals but repeatedly asked Chief Minister N Biren Singh to quit and slammed the BJP leaders for the prevailing unrest.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Central and state BJP leaders and the Chief Minister on a number of occasions summarily rejected the ‘separate administrations’ demand of ten MLAs and various tribal parties, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM).

All Opposition parties, led by the Congress, also severely criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on the Manipur violence.

Making the protracted ethnic bloodshed a major national issue, the Opposition parties also slammed Amit Shah for his “wrong handling” of the issue.

Modi, who was scheduled to visit Mizoram for the Assembly election campaign on October 30, had cancelled his trip and the BJP had said that the Home Minister would campaign for the party candidates but he also did not visit the Christian-dominated state ahead of the polls.

Commenting on the cancellation of Modi’s visit, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh had said that the PM cancelled his Mizoram election rally due to his silence over the Manipur violence.

Ramesh had said in a post on X, “The Prime Minister was to address an election rally in Mizoram on October 30. But now there are reports that he has cancelled his visit. Could it be because questions would be raised that he had not found time to visit the deeply-troubled neighbouring state that has been on the deep edge for almost 180 days… with what face would he go to the rally in Mizoram?”

Ten like-minded parties' bloc in Manipur led by the Congress, held rallies and many other agitational events and submitted memoranda to the state Governor Anusuiya Uikey and the Central Government claiming that the Central and state governments have “chosen the path of non-intervention to the crisis of clash between the ethnic groups.”

The leaders of ten parties, led by former three-time Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh (2002-2017) had told the Governor that despite the crisis in Manipur stretching over several months, no meaningful peace talks with the stakeholders were in sight.

“The Centre and the state government are trying to sideline the main reasons behind the crisis by taking shelter behind the theory of a conspiracy by outside militant organisations to attack India. Finding a solution by correctly analysing the causes behind the crisis requires no emphasis. It is high time that the Centre and the state authorities engage in a peace process to bring normalcy to the state,” the memorandum to the Governor said.

They added that because of the inability of the state and Central machineries to manage the failure of law and order in the state, local civil societies were trying to fill the gap of missing governance by resorting to agitations and pronouncements.

The ten parties, which also include the Aam Aadmi Party, TMC, CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP, Shiv Sena-UBT, Janata Dal-United and Nationalist Congress Party, demanded that the Government talk to all stakeholders for an amicable settlement of the crisis and bring lasting peace in Manipur.

The BJP returned to power in Manipur for the second-consecutive term in the 2022 February-March Assembly polls with a comfortable majority while in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls the BJP’s Rajkumar Ranjan Singh won the Inner Manipur parliamentary seat and Naga People’s Front leader Lorho S Pfoze won the Outer Manipur seat.

Singh, who is Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education and whose house in Imphal was vandalised and burnt by a mob on June 16, had earlier expressed dissatisfaction over the law and order situation in Manipur.

The BJP leader, however, held the Congress responsible for the unrest in Manipur stating that the state was ruled by the Congress till 2017 and blunders committed by them have had their fallout in the ethnic violence in the state.

“During the Congress regime, corruption, misgovernance, lack of developmental initiatives and improper educational system pushed Manipur to a backward place,” the Union Minister had said.

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur nearly eight months ago after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The ethnic riot between non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki communities has so far claimed 182 lives, injured several hundred and displaced more than 70,000 people of both communities.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals - Nagas and Kukis - constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

Of the 60 Assembly seats in Manipur, 19 seats are reserved for the tribals belonging to Naga, Kuki-Zo-Zomi communities. The remaining 41 seats are mostly in the Meitei-dominated valley areas.

As Manipur is now divided between hills, where the tribals reside and the valley where the Meiteis live, the ruling BJP may face a big challenge in the 2024 parliamentary polls.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, Dec 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the caste cauldron -- respectably known as social engineering -- is on the boil in Uttar Pradesh.

The only difference is that from casteism it has gone on to sub-casteism.

Political parties in Uttar Pradesh are wooing caste leaders and unabashedly organising caste and sub caste conferences, ignoring the 2017 Supreme Court order that said that “religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process”.

The BJP which till now had put Hindutva on its priority list is also wooing sub-castes from the OBC category with a vengeance.

The party apparently feels that addressing Hindus, in general, may not bring in adequate numbers in the elections and hence specific caste groups need to be addressed collectively as well as separately.

In the recent past, the BJP has been holding sub-caste conferences in Lucknow under the leadership of its OBC leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya -- an OBC himself.

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) President Om Prakash Rajbhar is the new self-proclaimed leader of OBCs and is also pushing the envelope to muster backward support for BJP.

Sanjay Nishad, who heads the Nishad Party and is a minister in the Yogi government, is also trying to bring his community into the BJP-led fold.

The Apna Dal, a Kurmi-centric party, is already a key ally of the BJP in UP.

The BJP is keen to wean away a part of the Samajwadi Party’s vote base and also make a dent in BSP’s following by wooing Most Backward Castes.

There are over 200 sub-castes among the OBCs that constitute 40 per cent of the state’s population.

The OBC population is dominated by Yadavs (15 per cent) and followed by Kurmis (9 per cent). The remaining sub-castes constitute one to two per cent of the population.

The BJP, till now, has held conferences for sub-castes that include Nishad, Kashyap, Bind, Kurmi, Yadav, Chaurasia, Teli, Sahu, Nai, Vishwakarma, Baghel, Pal, Lodh, Jat, Giri, Goswami, Jaiswal, Kalvar, Saini, Mali, Gangwar and even Halwai that has a population of .02 per cent.

The party is assuring these sub-caste groups that it would protect their interests.

A senior BJP functionary admitted that the party was keen to add on to its present vote base since that would make up for any depletion due to the anti-incumbency factor.

“This is a conscious effort to bring marginalised sections of society into the party fold. What is wrong if we are trying to expand our vote base?” said the functionary.

Seeing the BJP making a concerted effort to woo the sub-caste groups, the Samajwadi Party that had so far remained content with its Yadav vote bank, has also started reaching out to non-Yadav OBCs. Its slogan of PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) is a manifestation of its new strategy.

Samajwadi Party spokesman Sunil Sajan, however, denies that the Samajwadi Party was following in BJP’s footsteps.

“We are not holding sub-caste Sammelans like the BJP and becoming blatantly casteist in approach. We are holding a social justice programme for OBCs in general,” he said.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, on the other hand, is wooing various Dalit sub-castes through its Bhaichara committees. The party’s efforts to win back Brahmins with the slogan 'Sarvajan hitay, sarvajan sukhay' (that sounds similar to BJP’s ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’) has taken a beating with the sidelining of the party’s tallest brahmin leader Satish Chandra Mishra.

The Congress has also jumped on to the social engineering bandwagon by holding OBC outreach programmes.

Source: IANS

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