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EC TO ISSUE GUIDELINES ON POLLS SOON

The contours of Election Commision’s new plan for elections in the “new normal” are being adopted even as political parties have offered varied suggestions to the constitutional body, from deferring polls altogether to holding them in one phase.

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Election Commission

The contours of Election Commision’s new plan for elections in the “new normal” are being adopted even as political parties have offered varied suggestions to the constitutional body, from deferring polls altogether to holding them in one phase, from reverting to ballot papers to allowing physical and not just virtual rallies, and from increasing the limits on poll expenditure by candidates to exempting those expenses incurred while enhancing Covid-19 precautions.

While elections have taken place in other countries since the pandemic, including in Sri Lanka recently, elections in India have only been confined to polls to the Rajya Sabha and legislative council seats, which involve a limited set of voters. Experts believe that the election paradigm adopted for Bihar will have significant implications for political contests, and have a medium-term impact since other state elections are due in the middle of 2021.

Election Commission, which reviewed suggestions received from political parties for conducting elections to the 243-member Bihar assembly, is likely to issue the guidelines over the next three days. The guidelines will broadly centre around three primary subjects — polling stations, counting halls and public meetings.

A key area of concern for political parties is rallies, which have traditionally served as a key political tool for mobilising voters and communicating messages by leaders. With the pandemic and the push towards digital campaigning, parties have expressed concern that the direct interface with voters, especially those who lack digital access, will get affected if physical rallies are not allowed.

The BJP, which is part of the ruling dispensation in Bihar, has asked the poll panel to allow physical meetings and rallies in rural and semi-urban areas since voters may not have access to mobile devices and the internet. In its submission to EC, the party has said that all party workers, campaigners and leaders must have the Aarogya Setu app downloaded on their phones at all times, and adequate social distancing has to be maintained during roadshows and processions. Other parties such as the RJD and a BJP ally, the LJP,  have said that till physical rallies are not allowed, elections must not take place.

Read Also: NON GANDHI AS CONG CHIEF, SAYS PRIYANKA.

Arguing that digital campaigning and virtual rallies allow the ruling party an upper hand because these cost more money, the CPI and CPI-M have also demanded public meetings. The Congress has sought permission for house-to-house campaigns. In its submission to EC, the party said, “We are in favour of an election based on face-to-face campaign where the candidate and party workers can meet the voters.”

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Amit Shah says there will be jungle raj in the country if INDIA Bloc is voted to power

The Union Home Minister asserted that, if INDIA Bloc alliance comes to power, there will be a complete jungle raj in the country as well as in Bihar.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that there will be jungle raj in the country if INDIA bloc partners – Congress and RJD – are voted to power. He was addressing an election rally in favour of senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in Bihar’s Samastipur district where he said that the latest recovery of Rs 30 crore and more from the house of a minister in Jharkhand proves INDIA bloc alliance leaders are corrupt.

The Union Home Minister asserted that, if INDIA Bloc alliance comes to power, there will be a complete jungle raj in the country as well as in Bihar. Earlier the Enforcement Directorate on Monday recovered a huge amount of unaccounted cash during searches at the premises of a domestic help who was allegedly linked to the secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam.

Shah asked the people at the rally that who will be the prime minister of the INDIA bloc? He asked if Sharad Pawar  would become the prime minister? Or Will Mamata Banerjee will become the PM of the country or MK Stalin or Uddhav Thackeray? He jokingly took at dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said that he would like to take another name. He asked the people not to laugh and said can Rahul baba become the PM?

Shah accused the leaders of the RJD and the Congress of not attending the Ayodhya Ram temple Pran Pratishtha because of vote bank politics.  He further added that RJD’s Lalu Prasad and Congress always opposed the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Shah pointed out that Congress has always opposed reservation for the backward classes. Sarairanjan block comes under the Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency where Rai is seeking a reelection. Rai, who is the NDA nominee, is up against RJD’s Alok Mehta.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Union Minister Anurag Thakur lashes out at Congress, accuses party of receiving support from Pakistan

Anurag Thakur was speaking to the media during an event in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district

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Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday alleged the influence of foreign powers in the Congress manifesto and accused the grand old party of receiving support from Pakistan. He said the BJP never believes in politics in times of disaster and emergencies, but the Congress has stooped so low that it is doing politics in such matters as well.

Anurag Thakur was speaking to the media during an event in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district on Monday. He also applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for its proactive role during disastrous floods and rains in Himachal Pradesh. The Union Minister said that the Modi government has distributed crores of rupees in Himachal Pradesh during the disaster.

Thakur took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said that the Wayanad MP forgot to follow his own slogan of daro mat. He said that Gandhi is running from one seat to another while fearing defeat in the ongoing Loksabha elections. Thakur further added that Rahul Gandhi first ran from Amethi to Wayanad and now he is contesting from Rae Bareli and the Congress will be wiped out from Rae Bareli as well.

Anurag Thakur targeted the Congress and said the grand old party is living in fool’s paradise of winning the elections on false promises. The Union Minister claimed that the Congress’s dreams will be shattered on June 4 after the election result announcement.

Anurag Thakur is contesting Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Hamirpur seat. He said he was confident that BJP will win the election this time as well. He claimed of having support of the people of the constituency. He also said that his victory margin this time would be more than the previous margin of about 4 lakh votes. Thakur who is a 4 time MP also expressed optimism that the BJP-led NDA will win more than 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Rahul Gandhi challenges PM Modi to lift 50% cap on reservation

Rahul Gandhi today addressed a rally at Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, where he said this election is being fought to save the Constitution.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced today that the party would raise quota benefits for members of Dalit, backward, and tribal communities and lift the 50% restriction on caste-based quotas imposed by the Supreme Court.

Speaking at a election campaign in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi said, the Constitution is being defended in this election. “BJP and RSS wish to bring this to a close and alter it. And this is being saved by the Congress and the INDIA bloc. You have rights on jal (water), jangal (forest), and zameen (land) under this Constitution. With a copy of the Constitution in his hand, he declared, “Narendra Modi wants to get rid of them and have total power.

He claimed that if the BJP won, its leaders would change the Constitution. They used the slogan 400 seats for this reason. However, they won’t be getting 150 seats; forget about 400, he added. They promise to eliminate reservations. He would like to inform that going forward, they will surpass the 50% reservation cap. Congress will reserve as much space as is necessary for the underprivileged, the backward, Dalits, and Adivasis, he said.

Gandhi’s comments come with a heated campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and contentious discussions about reservations between the NDA and the INDIA alliance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP has claimed that the Congress intends to modify the backward class reservation in order to benefit Muslims. The claims have been refuted by the Congress. At a rally in Gujarat, Banaskantha, the PM said, he challenges the shehzada of the Congress as well as his party and its supporters to announce they will never misuse reservation in the name of religion, nor will they play with the Constitution or grant reservation in the name of religion.

Gandhi claimed during the Ratlam rally that stories about crimes against Adivasis are not covered by the media. The media does not report on the rape of your children or the seizure of your land. These media companies do not employ Adivasis, he said.

Meanwhile, Ratlam will vote in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 13. Former MP and former Union Minister Kantilal Bhuria has been named by the Congress for Ratlam seat. The BJP’s choice from the seat they won in the 2019 election is Anita Nagar Singh Chauhan.

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