Tag: 2024 LS polls

  • The Mandi Battle: Will Kangana Ranaut Be Able To Fight The Monarch’s Realm? |

    New Delhi: In the 18th Lok Sabha elections of the country, the ‘Mandi’ seat of Himachal Pradesh has not only attracted the attention of the nation but has also been buzzing with its spectacular entry into Bollywood politics. Mandi, which used to be the market of kings, is seeing a new bloom of stage politics.

    By fielding the Rajput Bollywood actress Ranaut in this excellent and already highly favourable seat, the BJP has courted several controversies. It was also a convenient seat for the BJP because out of the 10 assembly constituencies in Mandi district, 9 were already in the BJP’s kitty, and the BJP’s vote margin in the remaining assembly constituencies of the Mandi parliamentary seat was very low in 2022. However, by fielding Kangana Ranaut from this seat, the BJP suddenly found itself embroiled in controversies at the national level, especially since Kangana already had many well-wishers from Bollywood. The direct impact of the “Jagati Samaj” of Himachal Pradesh on this actress and candidate who is constantly trolled on social media is evident. It is another matter that Kangana’s social media guardian is also putting up a tough fight.

    However, the Congress has not yet clarified its cards regarding its probable candidate. As soon as the candidate is announced, the star attraction will take on a new form.

    The politics of the Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh has been controversial as well as interesting because those contesting from here have never been from an ordinary background. Maheshwar Singh from the royal family won three times, Virbhadra Singh twice, his wife Pratibha Singh twice, former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram three times.

    Virbhadra belonged to the Bushehar princely state, Maheshwar to Kullu, and Sukh Ram hailed from Mandi district. Moreover, even Jairam Thakur was defeated from here. However, after becoming the Chief Minister, he gained such a strong foothold in Mandi that Ram Swaroop, associated with the RSS, won handsomely in 2019. But when he committed suicide in Delhi, Pratibha Singh won again with 49.23 percent of the votes, even though the BJP’s Jairam government was in power in the state at that time.

    Overall, the Mandi seat elections take on a new direction and dimension every time. The BJP has placed its bet on celebrity Kangana. However, even before Kangana’s candidature was announced, Pratibha Singh had declared that she would not contest. It was believed that Pratibha did not want to come forward due to the Modi wave. That’s why she also talked about the neglect of workers in her own government in Mandi. Amid this, as soon as Kangana’s candidature was announced from Delhi, accompanied by a blitzkrieg of social media commentary, the Mandi seat became super hot. While the party workers in Mandi were thrilled to see the superstar in person, the senior party leaders in Mandi were overshadowed by Kangana’s presence. Although the outspoken Kangana refuted the allegations in Mandeali, the local voters who speak Pangi, Lahul, Rampur, Chhatri, Saraj, and Mandi dialects were perplexed by her mixed Bilaspuri and Sarkaghati dialect. After all, Kangana’s next challenge would be to speak these local dialects as well.

    In fact, the Mandi parliamentary constituency has 17 assembly segments, including four from Kullu district and one each from Chamba, Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, and Shimla districts. Mandi has 9 seats, which means that the Mandi parliamentary area covers 6 districts, and all 6 districts have different dialects.

    In these 17 assembly constituencies, there is a close contest between the two parties. However, the BJP gets a substantial vote share from Jairam’s seat in Saraj, Anil Sharma’s seat in Mandi, Janak Raj’s seat in Bharmour, and Rakesh Jamwal’s seat in Sundarnagar. Kangana’s weight also increases due to these BJP seats in Mandi district.

    But the challenges are not few either. As the campaign picks up pace, the Congress will launch a full-fledged attack. Whether it’s Kangana’s pictures, her outspoken statements, or issues related to her diet and lifestyle that go against the ideology of the Sangh and the party, they will create hurdles for her.

    The influence and resentment of the large Dev community led by BJP’s senior leader and former MP Maheshwar Singh from Kullu will not make Kangana’s path as smooth as it could have been for an ordinary worker like Ram Swaroop. If the Virbhadra family jumps into the fray, then the unity of the royal family and the Devlu community will also show its impact in the region.

    Due to Kangana’s glamour, the charm of any big local leader is fading. As a result, the importance of big leaders standing on the stage has diminished. This issue could also impact the elections. However, as a bold actress, Kangana is also the favorite of the youth. From this perspective, even if Ranaut does not get the workers’ votes, the fan votes might be enough.

    It is being said that the Congress is still gauging the mood. It will announce the candidate after a little delay. Stalwarts like the mother Pratibha Singh, or the son Vikramaditya will be the Congress’s weapons. If Vikramaditya takes over his father’s mantle, then Kangana’s difficulties could increase. Like his father, Singh is also quite popular among the youth.

    It is worth mentioning that in the 2021 Lok Sabha by-election, Congress candidate Pratibha Singh received 365,650 votes, while BJP’s Khushal Singh got 356,664 votes, with a vote margin of only 1.18 percent. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma received 647,189 votes, while Congress’s Aashray Sharma got 241,730 votes, with a vote margin of 43 percent. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Ram Swaroop got 362,824 votes, while Congress’s Pratibha Singh received 322,968 votes, with a vote margin of 5.5 percent.

    It has to be observed whether Kangana’s Bollywood image and her social media management would dilute the Modi’s wave on development and the simplicity of Himachal’s former CM Jai Ram Thakur, in the constituency? Or will she make her own way into politics, keeping aside all the controversies as an actress?

  • LS Polls: Congress Finalises Most Candidates For Six States, First List Likely Today |

    New Delhi: Congress election committee, headed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, met on Thursday night and finalised most of the candidates for six of the ten states it was considering for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The first list of candidates will be released on Friday, sources said to Zee News Television.

    Senior party leader KC Venugopal, who attended the meeting along with former chief Sonia Gandhi, said that a formal announcement will be made soon. “We finalised seats from Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Lakshadweep… The procedure is going on, formal announcement will be made very soon,” he told reporters.

    Zee News’ sources said that Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Jaipur, did not join the meeting virtually as he was expected to. His name for the Wayanad seat in Kerala has been suggested by the party’s screening committee. He is likely to contest from the seat again, as he is the sitting MP from there.

    However, it is not clear yet if Rahul Gandhi will also contest from Amethi, his old bastion, or if Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party’s general secretary, will make her electoral debut. There is a strong demand among Congress workers for Priyanka Gandhi to contest from Raebareli, the seat vacated by her mother Sonia Gandhi to contest Rajya Sabha polls.

    Some of the likely names in the first list are Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, Tamradhwaj Sahu from Durg, Jyotsna Mahant from Korba, and Shiv Dehariya from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh. All the key leaders from Chhattisgarh will be in the fray, sources said to Zee News TV.

    In Karnataka, which has a Congress government, the party has not decided on 4-5 seats yet. The party will not field state ministers, sources said, as most of them are reluctant to contest the national elections. Two ministers have openly expressed their reservations. Only one minister could be a candidate if he chooses to contest, sources added.

    Among the candidates from Karnataka is DK Suresh, the brother of state party chief DK Shivakumar and a party MP. The party has not taken a decision on Kalburgi, the seat of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. There were reports that Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani was a frontrunner for the ticket, but the seat was not discussed at the meeting

    The Delhi Congress unit submitted a long list of candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in the capital. The high command asked the unit to shortlist some names and come back for the final approval. Sources said that the names of JP Agrawal, Sandeep Dikshit, and Alka Lamba were considered for the Chandni Chowk seat.

    From Northeast Delhi, the names of Arvinder Singh Lovely and Anil Chowdhary were proposed. From Northwest Delhi, the names of Rajkumar Chauhan and Udit Raj were in contention. The committee will meet again on Monday to finalise the remaining candidates.

  • PDA – Pichde, Dalit, Alpasankhyak – can defeat NDA in 2024 LS polls, says Akhilesh Yadav 

    Through PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Birthday celebration President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday stated the BJP-led NDA shall be defeated within the subsequent yr’s common elections by means of “PDA”, which he outlined as a “Pichde (backward categories), Dalit and Alpasankhyak (minorities)”.

    At NDTV Conclave in Lucknow, the previous Uttar Pradesh leader minister stated, “The BJP shall be defeated in all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh if larger nationwide events again us.

    ” Yadav asserted that he has at all times maintained that seat distribution will have to be made up our minds taking into account which alliance spouse is the most powerful in a selected state.

    When requested about his view on efforts being made to sew a grand united opposition, the Samajwadi Birthday celebration leader stated that his best slogan is, “Assi harao, BJP hatao (defeat 80, take away BJP). “

    Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats.

    The SP had best received 5 in 2019 and misplaced two of them — Rampur and Azamgarh — to the BJP within the by-elections.

    Speaking about his celebration’s alliance with Congress and Bahujan Samaj Birthday celebration within the 2017 meeting and 2019 common election respectively, Yadav asserted that the Samajawadi Birthday celebration has at all times been a decent and accommodating alliance spouse.

    “Anyplace the Samajwadi Birthday celebration has been in alliance, you would not pay attention folks combating over seats,” he stated.

    Yadav additionally hit out on the BJP govt within the state and alleged that it has did not deliver building whilst the law-and-order scenario has deteriorated.

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Birthday celebration President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday stated the BJP-led NDA shall be defeated within the subsequent yr’s common elections by means of “PDA”, which he outlined as a “Pichde (backward categories), Dalit and Alpasankhyak (minorities)”.

    At NDTV Conclave in Lucknow, the previous Uttar Pradesh leader minister stated, “The BJP shall be defeated in all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh if larger nationwide events again us.

    ” Yadav asserted that he has at all times maintained that seat distribution will have to be made up our minds taking into account which alliance spouse is the most powerful in a selected state.googletag.cmd.push(serve as() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

    When requested about his view on efforts being made to sew a grand united opposition, the Samajwadi Birthday celebration leader stated that his best slogan is, “Assi harao, BJP hatao (defeat 80, take away BJP). ”

    Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats.

    The SP had best received 5 in 2019 and misplaced two of them — Rampur and Azamgarh — to the BJP within the by-elections.

    Speaking about his celebration’s alliance with Congress and Bahujan Samaj Birthday celebration within the 2017 meeting and 2019 common election respectively, Yadav asserted that the Samajawadi Birthday celebration has at all times been a decent and accommodating alliance spouse.

    “Anyplace the Samajwadi Birthday celebration has been in alliance, you would not pay attention folks combating over seats,” he stated.

    Yadav additionally hit out on the BJP govt within the state and alleged that it has did not deliver building whilst the law-and-order scenario has deteriorated.

  • Tug of conflict amongst Maha Vikas Aghadi allies over seat sharing, ‘giant brother’ standing forward of 2024 LS polls

    Specific Information Provider

    MUMBAI: The tug of conflict over seat sharing for Lok Sabha 2024 and Maharashtra Meeting elections has begun some of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance companions.

    The 3 main constituents of the MVA alliance are preventing over the ‘giant brother’ standing.

    Senior NCP chief and chief of Opposition Ajit Pawar stated that previous Congress was once the ‘giant brother’ of their alliance, however now the NCP has got the standing as they’ve upper MLA rely within the Maharashtra Meeting. 

    The NCP has 54 MLAs and 4 Lok Sabha individuals from Maharashtra whilst Congress has 44 MLAs and just one Lok Sabha member from the state

    Pawar stated that Congress used to get extra seats than the NCP however now NCP will call for extra seats at the foundation of its present MLA energy within the state.

    Alternatively, former Maharashtra leader minister and senior Congress chief Prithviraj Chavan stated that there’s no level giving significance to Ajit Pawar’s commentary. He stated that during alliance, the leaders need to make any such commentary to encourage their cadre forward of the elections.

    Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole stated there’s no such factor as giant brother and more youthful brother.

    “Congress is a countrywide birthday celebration and has at all times received the perfect numbers of seats in India and in Maharashtra, however by no means handled its alliance companions with a large brother perspective. We by no means did injustice to alliance companions. Maha Vikas Aghadi has to paintings in combination to defeat the BJP,” Patole stated.

    Then again, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut stated that if the alliance companions of MVA wish to defeat the BJP, then all of them must be able for compromise and sacrifice.

    He stated Uddhav Thackeray rallies are pulling an enormous crowd plus there’s a sympathy wave for Uddhav Thackeray after BJP snatched the birthday celebration, and its image after toppling the MVA govt.

    “Within the MVA assembly at NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s place of dwelling at Silver Oak, no seat distribution method was once mentioned and finalized. We’re all able to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha and state meeting elections. Karnataka has proven the best way.

    Prithviraj Chavan stated that there’s a wave of exchange in India.

    “Folks need exchange and there’s a massive present in opposition to the existing BJP regime in India. BJP were given decimated in Karnataka so issues are very a lot transparent that persons are in opposition to the BJP and its anti-farmers and commonplace guy insurance policies,” Chavan added.

    MUMBAI: The tug of conflict over seat sharing for Lok Sabha 2024 and Maharashtra Meeting elections has begun some of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance companions.

    The 3 main constituents of the MVA alliance are preventing over the ‘giant brother’ standing.

    Senior NCP chief and chief of Opposition Ajit Pawar stated that previous Congress was once the ‘giant brother’ of their alliance, however now the NCP has got the standing as they’ve upper MLA rely within the Maharashtra Meeting. googletag.cmd.push(serve as() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

    The NCP has 54 MLAs and 4 Lok Sabha individuals from Maharashtra whilst Congress has 44 MLAs and just one Lok Sabha member from the state

    Pawar stated that Congress used to get extra seats than the NCP however now NCP will call for extra seats at the foundation of its present MLA energy within the state.

    Alternatively, former Maharashtra leader minister and senior Congress chief Prithviraj Chavan stated that there’s no level giving significance to Ajit Pawar’s commentary. He stated that during alliance, the leaders need to make any such commentary to encourage their cadre forward of the elections.

    Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole stated there’s no such factor as giant brother and more youthful brother.

    “Congress is a countrywide birthday celebration and has at all times received the perfect numbers of seats in India and in Maharashtra, however by no means handled its alliance companions with a large brother perspective. We by no means did injustice to alliance companions. Maha Vikas Aghadi has to paintings in combination to defeat the BJP,” Patole stated.

    Then again, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut stated that if the alliance companions of MVA wish to defeat the BJP, then all of them must be able for compromise and sacrifice.

    He stated Uddhav Thackeray rallies are pulling an enormous crowd plus there’s a sympathy wave for Uddhav Thackeray after BJP snatched the birthday celebration, and its image after toppling the MVA govt.

    “Within the MVA assembly at NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s place of dwelling at Silver Oak, no seat distribution method was once mentioned and finalized. We’re all able to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha and state meeting elections. Karnataka has proven the best way.

    Prithviraj Chavan stated that there’s a wave of exchange in India.

    “Folks need exchange and there’s a massive present in opposition to the existing BJP regime in India. BJP were given decimated in Karnataka so issues are very a lot transparent that persons are in opposition to the BJP and its anti-farmers and commonplace guy insurance policies,” Chavan added.