After Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP said the states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group for solar power deals, as mentioned in the US indictment, were ruled by the Opposition. 

While addressing a press conference on Thursday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi for attempting to tarnish the Prime Minister’s image. The Congress MP alleged that Narendra Modi was hand in glove with Gautam Adani in corrupt activities.

Sambit Patra underlined that none of the four states mentioned in US charges against Adani Group had a BJP CM. He added that Congress and its allies were in power in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

The US prosecutors recently said the Adani Group paid $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023. However, the Adani Group has called the allegations baseless.

The states named in the US indictment are Odisha (then ruled by Naveen Patnaik’s BJD), Tamil Nadu (under DMK), Chhattisgarh (under Congress), and Jammu and Kashmir (under Central rule). Andhra Pradesh was then helmed by Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress.

Criticizing Rahul Gandhi, Sambit Patra said that it was the Leader of the Opposition’s usual tactic to attack India and structures that defend the country.

The Puri MP further added that Rahul Gandhi had raked up the Rafale issue in 2019 in a similar fashion, mentioning that the Congress leader had claimed that a big revelation would be made. During the Covid pandemic, Rahul Gandhi used to do press conferences in a similar fashion over vaccines, Sambit Patra continued. 

Speaking on Rahul Gandhi’s claim that the Congress was doing the work of the judiciary, the BJP spokesperson stressed that both the Congress MP and Sonia Gandhi were out on bail in the National Herald case.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday announced its first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, which is due in February next year.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said the party has released the first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. He said the names were finalised in the political affairs committee meeting chaired by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.  

Rai noted that most of these 11 seats were not held by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at present.

The 11-candidate list includes Brahm Singh Tanwar fielded from Chhatarpur; Anil Jha from Kirari; Deepak Singhla from Vishwas Nagar; Sarita Singh from Rohtas Nagar; BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar; Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur; Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad from Seelampur; Veer Singh Dhingan from Seemapuri; Gaurav Sharma from Ghonda; Manoj Tyagi from Karawal Nagar and Sumesh Shokeen from Matiala.

The list of candidates includes six defectors: former BJP leaders Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi, along with former Congress members Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad, Veer Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen, who have recently joined the AAP.

This announcement from the party led by Kejriwal comes shortly after a significant loss, as key member Kailash Gahlot resigned to join the BJP. Gahlot, who served as a minister in the AAP cabinet, departure is seen as a major blow ahead of the February 2025 Delhi elections.

Kejriwal on Sunday called the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections a “dharmayudh” (righteous war), encouraging his party workers to focus not on individual candidates but to act as if he is contesting all 70 seats in Delhi himself.

The former Delhi chief minister criticised the BJP, claiming that despite its vast resources, the party has failed to serve the people of the national capital due to a lack of will.

“We may be a small party with limited resources, while the BJP has enormous funds and power, but they have done nothing for the people of Delhi because they lack the will to serve. Don’t focus on the individual candidates. Work as if I am contesting all 70 seats in Delhi,” Kejriwal urged his supporters.

With the voting concluded in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and EVM and VVPAT being sealed and secured for the November 23 counting day, the focus shifts to what exit polls predict for the states. NDA is likely to form government in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, while exit polls predict setbacks for the INDIA alliance.

According to exit polls, the Mahayuti alliance (BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) will cross the majority mark with 150-160 seats in Maharashtra, while Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP) at 110-120.

In Jharkhand, the BJP-led alliance is likely to snatch away power from the JMM-led alliance, as per the exit polls, projecting 44-53 for NDA and  25-30 for the Opposition INDIA.

A gentle reminder on the exit polls prediction that in recent Assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the results turned out completely different and surprising from what was being predicted.

In Jharkhand, the BJP contested on 68 seats, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) 10 seats, Janata Dal (United) 2 seats, and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 1 seat, while Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) of Chief Minister Hemant Soren contested in 41 seats, Congress 30 seats, RJD 6 seats, and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) 4 seats.

In Maharashtra, under Mahayuti, the BJP contested in 149 constituencies, Shiv Sena in 81, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP fielded 59 candidates, while under MVA, Congress contested in 101 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) fielded 86 candidates.

“Who can be a bigger surveyor in Jharkhand than us? We have been in Jharkhand for the last 3 months. We have seen how people wished for change. I am sure that the people have voted for BJP-NDA. We are going to form the government with a huge mandate,” said Union Minister and BJP’s Jharkhand election-incharge Shivraj Singh Chouhan on exit polls prediction.

“As per the trends that we have received from several agencies, BJP-led NDA has an edge in the state and we will form the government,” said state BJP chief Babulal Marandi.

“The trends are in favour of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and we will win more than 175 seats in the state,” said state Congress chief Nana Patole.