werajkaranbureau-blog

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Gunfight breaks out between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian

A gunfight started on Wednesday between security forces and holed-up militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said. Following specific information about presence of militants in Baderhama village of Zawoora area in Shopian, security forces launched a cordon and search operation, a police officer said. "As the cordon around the hiding militants was tightened, they fired at the security forces triggering a gunfight which is going on," the police officer said.-IANS news  http://rajkaran.com/gunfight-breaks-out-between-militants-and-security-forces-in-jammu-and-kashmirs-shopian/ https://rajkaran.com/83-of-local-youths-who-picked-up-weapons-in-valley-were-stone-pelters-lt-general-k-j-s-dhillon/ Read the full article

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Karnataka: Yediyurappa takes oath as CM, changes his spelling

Bengaluru: Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Friday night and he has several hurdles to clear in the coming days. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to 76-year-old Yediyurappa in the Glass House of Raj Bhavan in the presence of top BJP leaders. Yediyurappa, who took oath alone and in the name of God, is expected to expand his Ministry after the Vote of Confidence on July 29. In a departure of sorts, outgoing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah stayed away from the swearing-in function, saying that it was undemocratic and unconstitutional government as it did not enjoy the majority in the Assembly. The Congress had openly asked its legislators to stay away from the swearing-in ceremony. Kumaraswamy government lost the Confidence Vote on Tuesday last. Yediyurappa, who staked his claim to form the government on Friday morning following clearance from Party President Amit Shah, is a firm believer in numerology and astrology. One of the first things the fourth time Chief Minister did was to change his name from Yeddyurappa to Yediyurappa, which was his original spelling. However, he had changed the spelling some 10 years ago on the advice of numerologists as he was facing troubles during his first innings as the head of the government in the state. Though he had fixed the swearing-in between 6-615 PM, he delayed it by a few minutes as some astrologers had predicted trouble for him if he took oath in the appointed time slot. This was ridiculed by Congress leaders and many people. “What can you expect from a person who is superstitious,” was the refrain. Yediyurappa’s claims that he would not resort to witch-hunting had few takers as he has ordered a review of all major decisions taken in the last one month. The Chief Minister also claimed that he would follow “forget and forgive” policy. Leaders knowing him well say that the words lack conviction. Political observers feel that the government may not last long considering the current political scenario. They think that the BJP may resort to horse-trading and that would open a new front for problems like in the BJP’s first innings in the state. The first-ever BJP government in the South had three chief ministers. Yediyurappa, who chaired the customary Cabinet meeting, told media persons that he will seek Vote of Confidence on July 29. He is expected to sail through it with 14 rebel legislators indicating that they would not attend the House. In a big relief to him, they “celebrated” the oath-taking of Yediyurappa. They are expected to return only on Monday evening after the Trust vote. The BJP, which has been openly saying that it had no role in the rebellion in the coalition, had despatched senior leader R Ashoka to shepherd the dissident legislators. Television channels were beaming pictures of them in Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur in Maharashtra. With the disqualification of three legislators, the strength of the House has come down to 221 and the BJP has 105 members, still seven short of the half-way mark. One independent has openly supported the BJP. The Assembly is expected to pass the Finance Bill on the same day as the administration needs money for its functioning. If he proves his majority, the Finance Bill, which involves voting, will also go through without any hitch. Another major headache for him will be dealing with Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, who was elected on a Congress ticket. The Speaker, who is expected to be apolitical, can be his Achilles heel as he has to decide on the resignation of 13 rebel legislators and disqualification of another Congress MLA. His removal process is also lengthy. It has to be seen how Yediyurappa is going to handle the situation. The Chief Minister is expected to face stormy times as there are a large number of ministerial aspirants. Also, he would have to accommodate the rebels, who helped the BJP in bringing down the coalition government, headed by Kumaraswamy. But the BJP High Command, which has been keeping a close eye on the developments in the state from the beginning of this month, is very strong and can take firm decisions. Yediyurappa is not expected to have a free hand in the ministry formation. “Everything will be decided in Delhi,” a senior leader said. It is a virtual throwback to the Congress High Command culture in its heydays a couple of decades ago when that party was very strong and decisions were taken in the national Capital. In the first Cabinet meeting, Yediyurappa took two major decisions-- to distribute funds to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana and waive weavers loans. In a development that could warm the cockles of Yediyurappa’s heart is that many JD(S) leaders are veering around the idea of impressing Kumaraswamy to extend support to the current dispensation. With the Congress keen on dumping the alliance with the JD(S), they are exploring this route. Will that happens, is beyond anybody’s guess. Karnataka Yediyurappa takes oath as CM, changes his spelling. http://rajkaran.com/karnataka-yediyurappa-takes-oath-as-cm-changes-his-spelling/ Read the full article

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B.S. Yediyurappa sworn-in as Karnataka CM

BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa was on Friday sworn-in as the Karnataka Chief Minister. Yediyurappa, who had earlier on Friday staked his claim-three days after the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led JD-S-Congress government fell- was administered the oath by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan in a ceremony boycotted by the Opposition. No other minister was sworn-in with him. The 75-year-old leader from the politically dominant Lingayat community becomes Chief Minister for the fourth time. The BJP's first Chief Minister in south India, he headed the state first in November 2007 for a week after the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) withdraw support to his party, from May 2008 to July 2011 and for three days in May 2018.-IANS news  Read the full article

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Maharashtra polls: Balasaheb Thorat says Congress ready to negotiate with Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Balasaheb Thorat on Wednesday announced that his party has decided to hold alliance talks with Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar, in a bid to ensure all secular parties come together to take on the communal parties. Thorat admitted that owing to the division of votes, a lot of damage had been done to the Congress in Loksabha elections (by VBA). “We have sought time from him for the meeting,” he said and added that the Congress will revive as it had revived in 1980. "Earlier, the Congress had written a letter to the VBA in this regard. In response, the VBA wrote a similar letter to Congress. Now, the Congress has sought time for a meeting and it will send a letter to the VBA in this regard," said a source in the party. The VBA is an alliance that had been formed between Prakash Ambedkar leader of Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh and Assaddudin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) just ahead of Loksabha election. The VBA had contested all 48 seats, damaging the chances of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 10 seats where they polled over one-lakh votes. The Congress held a meeting review meeting over seat-sharing with the NCP on Wednesday. The source said that Ambedkar has responded "positively" to the letter inviting him for talks with the Congress and NCP leaders for the state polls. The source also claimed that Ambedkar wants the Congress to clear the perception that his faction was the BJP's "B-team", as alleged by the Congress and NCP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign in April. A senior Congress leader said that if the VBA joins hands with the opposition parties then there is no question of calling it the "B-team" of BJP. Notably, Ambedkar had recently said the VBA is ready to offer the Congress 40 seats and that if negotiations failed, the VBA was ready to contest all 288 assembly constituencies. "Considering the strength of Congress in the state, we have offered them 40 seats. Now they have to decide what to do about our proposal. There is no one to make any decisions at the Centre and in the state," Ambedkar had said. Thereafter, newly appointed Maharashtra AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Imtiyaz Jaleel had said the party has identified 100 seats, where it would like to contest and preliminary talks have been held between Owaisi and Ambedkar. Read the full article

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BJP MP wants action against celebs, greedy builders who cheat home buyers

New Delhi: Equating cheating of home buyers by greedy builders with rape, BJP leader Vijay Goel on Thursday demanded stringent action against them. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, he also sought action against celebrities endorsing housing projects of such builders. Goel said that lakhs of home buyers had invested their hard-earned money in booking flats. But the greedy builders had cheated them. "The builders have cheated and defrauded these home buyers... These greedy builders should get capital punishment because the crime they have committed is no less than rape," said Goel, who formerly headed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi. He said that some celebrities have been associated with these builders. "As there is penal provision for celebrities endorsing a product in case the product turns out to be inferior, the brand ambassadors of builders should also be punished," Goel said.-IANS news  Read the full article

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Chandrakant Patil says Sena can 'dream' to get chief minister's post

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said the Shiv Sena has the right to "dream" of getting the post of Chief Minister and that while he was unaware of who would get the coveted position, however his party’s national president, Amit Shah, would take the final call. Patil, who is also the state's Revenue Minister, also said the "Maha Janadesh Yatra" was aimed at eliminating Opposition parties. The Shiv Sena consistently claimed that the BJP, as part of the alliance formula, had agreed for a rotation of the chief minister's post. Replying to a query over whether the Sena was trying to project Aditya Thackeray as the next chief minister during the Jan Aashirwad Yatra across the state, Patil said, "There is nothing wrong in demanding the Chief Minister's post, having a wish and aspirations for the same. But all the dreams can not turn into a reality." Referring to the claim of the Sena over the rotation of CM post, he added, “if it has been decided, I do not about it and if at all, it has been decided, then we will see (post-election). My nature is to do what I have been asked to." The BJP state president said that the issue pertaining to the chief minister’s post does not pertain to him, but party president Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fandavis are supposed to handle it. The first phase of the "Maha Janadesh Yatra" will be from August 1 and 9, covering Vidarbha and North Maharashtra. The second phase will begin from August 17 and end on August 31. The second phase will cover areas between Aurangabad and Nashik. In total, the yatra will cover a distance of 4,232 kilometers, across 30 districts of the state. Patil said the party has sent an invitation to party president Amit Shah and prime minister Narendra Modi and are confident of their participation in the Yatra. The Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray is also holding ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in the state. When asked if both the ‘Yatra’ will clash, Patil said there will be no clash as the aim of both Yatras is to bring the saffron allies to power again. Last Sunday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had reiterated that he would be back after the state Assembly election. Earlier, senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut stirred up a hornet’s nest by stating that his party will bag the chief minister’s position after the Assembly election. Ever since both parties announced their plan to contest the Assembly election in an alliance, their leaders have been making statements over the chief minister’s post. Both parties have been laying their claim on the coveted position. (Edited by Prashant Hamine and written by Murtaza Merchant) Read the full article

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M.S. Dhoni fulfils promise, begins training with Parachute Regiment

New Delhi: Former Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni has begun his two-month training with Indian Armys Parachute Regiment. On Wednesday, Dhoni joined a battalion, which has its headquarters in Bengaluru. Speaking to IANS, sources in the know of developments said the plan was in the pipeline for a while. "Just like Dhoni has been one of the greatest servants of Indian cricket, his love for the armed forces is also wellknown. This idea that he would go and spend time with his regiment was in the pipeline for a while but it took a backseat due to his cricketing commitments. "This will also help increase awareness among the youth about the armed forces and that is what Dhoni wants," the source said. The 38-year-old holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA battalion). The honour was accorded to him by the Indian Army in 2011. Dhoni was given this honour along with Abhinav Bindra and Deepak Rao. In 2015, the Ranchi lad became a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircrafts in the Agra training camp. Earlier, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman had made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour where India will be playing three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches beginning August 3. Ever since the culmination of World Cup in the UK where India reached the semi-finals, speculations have been rife about Dhoni's retirement, but the team management has asked him to hang around as they groom Rishabh Pant with an eye on the 2020 World T20 in Australia.-IANS news  http://rajkaran.com/m-s-dhoni-fulfils-promise-begins-training-with-parachute-regiment/ Read the full article

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Pointing to Andhra Pradesh law Sena demands 80 percent jobs for locals in Maharashtra

Pointing at the recent law enacted by Andhra Pradesh that has made it mandatory for existing and upcoming industries in the state to reserve 75 percent jobs for local, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) chairman and Shiv Sena MLA, Uday Samant on Wednesday demanded that the Maharashtra government also enact a similar law guaranteeing 80 percent of the jobs in private companies to local youth. Sensing the importance of the issue as Assembly elections are fast approaching, the Sena has stolen the march over its rivals by first making the demand. Late Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena on June 19, 1966 out of his anger over the domination of south Indian community in local jobs. The Sena soon thereafter formed the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti to further its sons-of-the-soil theory. In February 2008 the Sena was first to launch attacks on youth from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who came to Mumbai in search of jobs. Not to be left behind, its arch rival the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in October 2008 attacked youth from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at Kalyan railway station who had come to appear for Railway Recruitment Board jobs here. However, now with the MNS courting the opposition Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led alliance, it will be difficult for the Raj Thackeray led MNS to revive its sons-of-the-soil plank. In August 2010 the MNS cadres had attacked Taxi drivers from North India in Mumbai. The YSR Congress Party led government of Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday passed the Andhra Pradesh Employment of local candidates in the Industries-Factories bill, 2019. The new law mandates existing and upcoming industries in the state to reserve 75 percent jobs for local youth. Andhra Pradesh is the first state in the country to enact such a law . Speaking to newspersons here, MHADA chairman and Sena MLA Uday Samant stated that he would soon be writing to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging that Maharashtra too enact a similar law which guarantees 80 percent jobs in private companies for local youth. He said that such a law will make it binding on the companies to give jobs to local youth and help in reducing unemployment. He urged Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray to take the lead in pushing for such a law in Maharashtra. As per the Economic Survey of Maharashtra for 2018-19, about 1,67,641 unemployed youths had participated in one of the job fairs organized by the government. It must be noted here that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government after coming to power in 2014 had winded up the State Employment Exchange and hence there are no official authentic figures available on unemployment in Maharashtra. Read the full article

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GDP growth to be flat at 6.8% in FY20: Report

Mumbai: The economy will not be able to achieve the official forecast of 7 percent growth GDP growth to be flat at 6.8% in FY20, making it a second consecutive year of sub-7 percent expansion, says a report. Singaporean lender DBS estimates in FY20 growth to stay at 6.8 percent, the same as FY19. The economic survey earlier this month had pegged growth to rise to 7 percent. "FY20 growth is likely to be sub-7 percent for a second straight year," its economists led by Radhika Rao, said in a note Wednesday. The report said growth will "soften" in the first half of the fiscal and rise in the second half on base effect. Alluding to the Reserve Bank's three successive rate cuts, the note said lower rates will also help prop up growth number in the second half. It can be noted that the RBI has cut its key rates by a cumulative 0.75 percent so far in 2019 and has also shifted its stance to accommodative which will result in at least a 0.25 percent more reduction, as per governor Shaktikanta Das. The report expects the focus on fiscal consolidation and low inflation will help the monetary policy to be more growth-oriented. Listing out its reasons for slower growth, DBS said rural income and consumption will be pressured by the persistent negative terms of trade in the agricultural sector and a poor monsoon and said the income transfer scheme will help demand only at the margins. FY19 growth was supported by public sector participation and the same will continue this year as well, especially as the election-related uncertainties ease up.-PTI news  Read the full article

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Lok Sabha 2019: 25 Muslim Parliamentarians, but none from the BJP

NDA ally, the Ram Vilas Paswan -led LJP, sends the lone minority community MP Despite the minority community polling around 14 per cent of the total vote share, their representation in the lower house is less than five per cent, going by the results of 2019 general election. This time, around 25 Muslim Parliamentarians have been elected to the Lok Sabha – a marginal increase from the 23 MPs elected in the last Lok Sabha election. All the six Muslim candidates fielded by the BJP failed to get elected to the lower house even as the saffron party led on a staggering 303 seats. In stark contrast, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have each given three Muslim MPs in the House. These include Kunwar Danish Ali (Amroha), Afzal Ansari (Ghazipur) and Haji Fazlur Rehman (Saharanpur) of the BSP and S. T. Hassan (Moradabad), Shafique Rehman Barq (Sambhal), and Azam Khan (Rampur) from the SP. Along with Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, too, has given six Muslim MPs - five of them from the TMC and one from Congress. Meanwhile, The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi won the Hyderabad seat and his party’s candidate, Imtiaz Jaleel Syed, contesting from Aurangabad in Maharashtra is leading by a thin margin over sitting MP Chandrakant Khaire of the Shiv Sena. The Left Front only managed to win the Alappuzha seat in Kerala and the lone winner was the CPI (M)’s A. M. Ariff. In Kerala, the Indian Muslim League’s E T Mohammed Basheer (from the Ponnani constituency) and P K Kunhalikutty (from Malappuram) have been elected. In the valley, all three seats went to the National Conference. The winners were Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone, and Hanani Masoodi. The Congress has four Muslim candidates who are leading: Abdul Khaleque (from Barpeta in Assam), Mohammad Jawed (from Kishanganj in Bihar), Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury (from Maldah Dakshin in West Bengal), and Mohammad Sadique (Faridkot in the Punjab). Read the full article

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UP Congress chief Raj Babbar sends resignation to Rahul Gandhi over party's performance in LS polls

After acquiring 303 seats in the Lok Sabha and returned in power for the second time Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has scripted history. However, now taken the responsibility Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar has send his resignation to Rahul Gandhi over party's performance in Lok Sabha polls. “The results are depressing for the Uttar Pradesh Congress. I find myself guilty of not discharging my responsibility in a proper manner… I will meet the leadership and apprise it of my views. Congratulations to the winners for winning the confidence of the people," Babbar tweeted. Of 80 seats in UP, Congress only managed to secure Sonai Gandhi’s Rae Bareli seat Babbar, who contested from Fatehpur Sikri, lost by a margin of over 4,95,065 votes to BJP's Rajkymar Chahar. However, the major setback to the party was Rahul Gandhi lost his Amethi seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani. Accepting moral responsibility for Gandhi’s defeat, the Congress’ Amethi unit chief Yogendra Mishra, too, tendered his resignation. Read the full article

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BJP-Shiv Sena script spectacular saffron success

Mumbai: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine marched to a spectacular victory in Maharashtra, leading in or bagging (as of 6 pm) 41 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha constituencies here on Monday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the success by saying: “Its not just a ‘Modi-wave’, it’s a tsunami.” “There are no differences between us (BJP-Sena).. The people have given us a clear verdict. We shall go among the people and work for development and other issues,” Fadnavis said. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, who warmly welcomed Fadnavis at his home in the evening, attributed the results to the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies. “Our alliance will continue further, even after the upcoming assembly elections in October…” Thackeray assured. To question on his estranged cousin Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray’s famous campaign (“Laav re te video” Play that video), Thackeray declined comment, but said mockingly: “Laav re te fataakde” – ‘burst the crackers’. As per latest trends, the BJP was on way to winning 22 seats and the Shiv Sena 20 seats, of the 25 and 23 seats respectively, they contested, which Fadnavis termed as well within their expectations and which “increased the responsibility thrust by the people on the saffron alliance”. The electoral bloodbath in Maharashtra claimed at least two union ministers – one from the BJP (DESK: Final announcement awaited) and one from Sena – falling to the Congress and NCP respectively candidates respectively. There are two former chief ministers – Ashok Chavan in Nanded and Sushilkumar Shinde in Solapur – both from Congress who were felled by the BJP surge. However, the Congress is still pinning hopes of winning one seat – Chandrapur, while its ally Nationalist Congress Party has bagged four seats so far – Baramati, Raigad, Shirur and Satara, one opposition-supported independent, south Indian film actress Navnit Kaur R. Rana – Amravati. In Aurangabad, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen candidate Imtiyaz Jaleel Syed who was leading with significant margins since morning, suddenly trailed in the evening behind his Shiv Sena rival Chandrakant Ahire, and the ding-dong battle between them continued in each round. NCP President Sharad Pawar said he humbly accepted the peoples’ verdict, while a bewildered MNS chief Raj Thackeray termed the outcome “as beyond rationale”. For the state’s numero uno political clan, the shocking defeat of Parth Ajit Pawar in Maval was first ever tasted by any family member in any elections in the past over five decades. Another former chief minister and President of Maharashtra Swabhimani Party Narayan Rane’s son and former MP Nilesh Rane was trounced by the Sena candidate Vinayak Raut in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, with the Congress controversial nominee Navinchandra B. Bandivadekar faring a poor third. The country’s commercial capital saw the Congress-NCP dreams crumble once again after 2014 when they lost all the six seats in Mumbai, stunning the recently-appointed city party chief Milind M. Deora. Similary, the much-anticipated Dalit-Muslim unity experiment of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) was totally rejected by the people, with VBA President Prakash Ambedkar – grandson of Architect of Indian Constitution B. R. Ambedkar – losing in both Akola and Solapur seats which he contested, though the AIMIM candidate in Aurangabad held out hopes of a victory. Bouyed by the outcome, a confident BJP Minister Chandrakant Patil even announced that the state assembly elections would be held in mid-October and that month, the BJP-Sena alliance would again rule Maharashtra. Read the full article

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Congress stares at obliviation in Maha after LS polls

Mumbai: The Congress, led by its national president Rahul Gandhi stares at its political obliviation in Maharashtra, after suffering its worst ever defeat in the state, once considered its stronghold. The Congress could win just one, out of 48 seats, while the combined total of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance could wrest only six seats along with allies in all, compared to the 41 that the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The only seat the Congress won was of Suresh Dhanorkar from Chandrapur, who became the giant killer as he defeated Hansraj Ahir, union minister of state for home. Two former chief ministers of the Congress, including Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde lost the polls. The Lok Sabha election results have virtually wiped out the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, leaving political pundits stunned as the Congress lost all seats but one. Ironically, the only saving face for the Congress, led by Ashok Chavan in the state was its candidate Dhanorkar, a former Shiv Sena legislator, who quit the party before Lok Sabha polls and joined the Congress, fought on its ticket and won the Chandrapur seat. Dhanorkar is a leader of the Kunbi (farmer Marathas) community and the Chandrapur is a Kunbi dominated constituency, while his opponent Ahir is from the Gavali community. It was for the first time a political party gave a ticket to a Kunbi, the community, along with Muslim and Dalit possibly voted in favour of Dhanorkar. In Chandrapur, the DMK (Dalit-Muslim-Kunbi) factor worked against four-times BJP MP and minister Ahir and led to his defeat. The wipeout is a dramatic shift from 2009 when Maharashtra had contributed a major chunk of 25 MPs to the Congress-led United Progressives Alliance (UPA) government. In 2014 however, the opposition Congress-NCP could win a mere six seats in 2014 polls amidst the "Modi wave." The Congress came down from two in 2014 to one in 2019, all others receiving a severe drubbing. The NCP, that was nearly written off, managed to win four seats of its own - the Maratha centric seats of Baramati, Shirur, Satara and Raigad. The NCP succeeded in adding one more seat from Amravati as the party had supported independent candidate Navneet Kaur Rana, who won the seat defeating outgoing Shiv Sena MP Anand Adsul. The saffron BJP-Sena combine inflicted massive wounds on heavyweights from the Congress and the NCP including Shinde from Solapur and Chavan from Nanded, Milind Deora from Mumbai South, Eknath Gaikwad from Mumbai South-Central and Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana. In Nanded, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Yashpal Bhinge secured over 1.60 lakh votes, that resulted in Chavan’s defeat by a margin of around 50,000 votes. While accepting the result, Chavan blamed the VBA for his defeat and division of secular votes. I admit the wipe-out of the grand old party was unexpected, even with people generally talking of being fed up with dynasty rule. The shocking results for the Congress were from Mumbai city and suburbs, with political pundits expecting the Congress-NCP to retain the seats like in 2009 polls. I had not really seen the pro-Narendra Modi wave on ground, except in pockets of suburbs like Borivali, Kandivali in the Mumbai North constituency, some parts of Mulund and other pockets. It was predicted that Congress has favourable situation in Mumbai South as industrialist Mukesh Ambani had openly endorsed candidature of Milind Deora in there. What then prompted people to go all out and reject the Congress-NCP candidates, despite being disappointed with the Modi government over demonetisation and GST issues? Now, the NCP chief will have to introspect what went wrong, as with all the efforts of his party could pull off only four seats and the Congress received a drubbing. The only leader who is responsible for the debacle of Congress is its state chief Ashok Chavan who would possibly be replaced in upcoming days as the party cannot take the risk of facing the Maharashtra assembly polls scheduled in October this year under his leadership. Chavan meanwhile has taken responsibility of his party's debacle, saying they raised people’s issues in the run-up to the polls but failed to succeed. To a query on whether he will continue as the state Congress chief, Chavan told reporters in his constituency that the party central leadership would take a call on his future role. “I will present my views to the party leadership. I accept responsibility for our defeat. We relentlessly raised people’s issues and took on the government, but it is sad that we did not get success,” he said. Chavan appealed to party workers to not to get disheartened and rather start preparations for the state Assembly polls due later this year. In Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the BJP emerged victorious in 23 seats while the Sena won 18 seats. Read the full article

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10 reasons why Modi became PM again

Mumbai: The 10 reasons why Narendra Modi is going to become Prime Minister again. The first Indian PM who has secured more seats in his second term than the first one. Aggressive face: Modi was the BJP’s aggressive face who took over on each of the Opposition leader such as Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, N. Chandrababu Naidu and Rahul Gandhi to an extent Coordinated campaign: The BJP had the best coordination for campaigning right from choosing venues for rallies and selecting appropriate leaders at appropriate places Strong organisation: The BJP was the only party which had workers at more than 90 percent polling booths Clean image: The Modi government’s clean image gave the BJP an advantage over the tainted Opposition Nationalism appeal: The Modi government’s thrust on nationalism, national security and sentiments attached with the Hindus paid off for the BJP Scattered opposition: Though 22 opposition parties had come together under one roof they were divided on several issues from leadership to the issues to be raised in the campaign Wooing the youths: The BJP succeeded in wooing the youths especially the first time voters based on Modi’s charisma Reminding the past: Modi utilised each and every opportunity to show Congress in poor light by raking the controversies surrounded with its leaders Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi Friendship club: The BJP managed to keep its friends Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), Akali Dal, AIADMK and others together Goodwill: The BJP created goodwill for Modi insisting that the anti-national forces would become stronger if Modi is defeated Read the full article

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Don’t lose your heart by the exit poll results: Priyanka Gandhi to party workers

Congress party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday appealed to party workers to be vigilant near the ‘strong rooms’ on the vote counting day on May 23.  In an audio message, ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 results, Priyanka said: “Don’t lose your heart by the exit polls as these are being spread to lower your morale.” “Your attention is required more. Be strong and remain alert near the counting centre and the strong rooms. I am hopeful that your hard work will pay,” she added. Her audio message to the party workers comes amid reports of new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being brought to the strong room in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur. Congress’ candidate from Mirzapur, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi wrote to the Election Commission, complaining the strong room where the EVMs were kept for counting have 300 additional EVMs which is against the fair elections. In his letter, Tripathi also said that the arrival of several senior officials is raising suspicion over the fair and transparent elections. Read the full article

[werajkaranbureau-blog]

Mamata Banerjee rejects exit polls, says ‘game plan is to manipulate EVMs’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed exit polls and said she doesn’t trust such surveys as the “game plan” is to use them for “manipulation” of EVMs. The Bengal BJP was quick to response over Mamata’s remark and said “stop living in denial” as the days of her TMC government in West Bengal are numbered. Most exit polls forecast a majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA in Lok Sabha elections with varying numbers, as the seven-phase democratic exercise ended Sunday. “I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together,” Banerjee said in a tweet. The BJP West Bengal unit in a tweet asked Banerjee to stop giving lame excuses. “Stop living in denial.@mamataofficial didi. You are confirming the exit poll results by coming up with bad excuses for an enormous defeat. Your days are numbered and only @bjp4bengal can build the new ‘Sonar Bangla’. TMC defeat will ensure a new beginning for West Bengal,” the BJP said. In West Bengal, some of the exit polls suggested the TMC getting 24 seats, the BJP bagging 16, the Congress two and the Left Front drawing a blank. Read the full article

[werajkaranbureau-blog]

Exit poll results: Stock market opens on high note, Sensex up by 950 points

After the announcement of exit polls, the domestic stock market opened on a high note. While S&P BSE Sensex jumped over 950 points, Nifty went over 280 points in what seems to be a repeat of 2014 when markets cheered a clear mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Sensex surged as much as 962.12 points to hit 38,892.89 in early trade while NSE Nifty soared above 11,600 points after a 286-point jump. According to reports, the exit poll results have made investors richer by Rs 3 lakh crore. According to trade analysts, the upward climb in the market will continue as the NDA government has got a huge boost from the exit polls-something the markets had earlier predicted. Analysts expect the market rally to continue till the results of the election are finally out on Thursday. Some analysts said that the exit poll results turned out better than what the markets were expecting. Read the full article