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In poll-bound Gujarat, CM Rupani links ISIS case with Ahmed Patel, Congress says BJP frustrated

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Vijay Rupani alleged that two arrested ISIS suspects worked at a hospital where Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was once a trustee

As the heat for Gujarat Assembly polls intensifies, the two key political forces vying for power – BJP and the Congress – have begun to play an ‘allegation ping-pong’. And with the stakes as high as they could be, considering that the state is no longer being viewed as an impregnable BJP fortress, the manner of allegations too are more specific and not purely political rhetoric in line with the infamous ‘Maut ka Saudagar’ jibe.

At a hurriedly convened press conference late on Friday evening, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani fired the first allegation salvo at the Congress, targeting party chief Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary and Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Ahmed Patel.

Rupani sought Patel’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha over what he termed as the latter’s alleged links with two men arrested earlier this week by the state’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) for being suspected Islamic State (ISI) operatives. The Gujarat chief minister also demanded an explanation from Rahul Gandhi, the Congress key campaigner for Gujarat, and Patel over the allegations terming the case as one that involved a “matter of national security”.

Two suspected IS operatives were arrested by the Gujarat ATS two days ago. According to an FIR, one of the accused, Mohammed Kasim Stimberwala, earlier worked as a echo technician at Sardar Patel Hospital in Ankleshwar town of Bharuch in Gujarat, the home district of Ahmed Patel.

Ahmed Patel had been associated with the foundation of the hospital where on October 23, 2016, the then President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated the renovated Sardar Patel Hospital and Heart Institute. In 1986, when Ahmed Patel was the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee chief he had reportedly helped raise funds for the hospital and had served as one of the trustees of the hospital for some time.

According to Rupani’s allegation, Patel was guilty of links with the arrested IS suspects as he was associated with the hospital where Timberwala was employed till October 24, when he was relieved of his duties. Timberwala had reportedly submitted his resignation from the job to the hospital management on October 4 on the grounds that he was moving to Jamaica where he had secured a job at a hospital to work as an echo technician. Stimberwala was arrested by the Gujarat ATS on October 25 – a day after being relieved from his job at the hospital – from Ankleshwar railway station in Bharuch district.

According to Rupani, the charges leveled by the ATS against the two arrested IS suspects –lawyer Ubaid Mirza (29) and Kasim Steamerwala (31) – the duo had planned to attack a Hindu Godman, Hindu shrines and a synagogue. “They were well-prepared with passports and visas to flee abroad,” Rupani claimed.

“This is a serious issue, as a terrorist was arrested from a hospital which is being run by Patel… It has been revealed that though Patel had resigned as a trustee of that hospital in 2014, he is still at the helm of the hospital’s affairs,” the Gujarat CM alleged. Rupani wondered “what would have happened if these two terrorists were not arrested… Patel, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress must come clean on the issue. We also want Patel to resign as Rajya Sabha MP.”

Jayesh N Patel, a trustee of the hospital has denied that “Ahmed Patel or any of his family members are connected with the hospital and the trust in any away’’. In a statement issued on Friday evening, shortly after Rupani making the allegations, the hospital trustee said that “some elements are levelling baseless allegations against the hospital”.

In a series of tweets, Ahmed Patel too denied the allegations made by Vijay Rupani, terming them “completely baseless”.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The Congress party’s in-charge of communications Randeep Singh Surjewala too rubbished the allegations made by Rupani, insisting that “a frustrated BJP facing imminent defeat in Gujarat is resorting to levelling reckless and baseless allegations against Ahmed Patel.”

Rupani’s charges against Ahmed Patel come at a time when the Congress is aggressively questioning the BJP to come clean on allegations that Jay Shah, son of the saffron party’s national president Amit Shah, had made windfall gains in his wealth ever since Narendra Modi steered his party to victory in the 2014 general elections. The Congress has turned the meteoric rise in Jay Shah’s wealth into an electoral issue in Gujarat – the home state of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah – which goes to polls in two phases, first on December 9 and then on December 14.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Lok Sabha Elections: Voter turnout 62.02% in Tamil Nadu till 5pm

The voter turnout in Tamil Nadu stands at 62.02%, while Uttar Pradesh records a turnout of 57.5%. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, voter participation surges to 77.5% as of 5 pm.

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The Lok Sabha elections 2024 began today, marking the onset of the world’s largest electoral event. Voting ended in all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu with a total voter turnout of 62.02%. State BJP chief and Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency candidate K Annamalai said, they were getting complaints from a large number of voters that their names were missing from the voters’ list.

This incident happened in many places. Annamalai said they are demanding re-poll in places where the names of a large number of voters were missing.He said they had a doubt that there was some political interference because the names of a large number of BJP caders were missing from the voters list.

 The voters in South Chennai showed lukewarm interest to participate in the election process and had a total voter turnout of 57.04% till 5pm. Although the overall percentage is poor, some areas like Thiruvanmiyur witnessed brisk polling from 7am onwards. Elderly, middle aged and young voters turned up and it was a family outing for many as they cast their vote.

Corporation volunteers assisted senior citizens with wheelchairs and guided them to their respective polling booths. The hot weather also had an impact on the polling as it reduced the voter turnout as many booths in the corporation school in MGR Nagar were seen deserted around noon. Senior citizens showed courage as they reached the polling booths in private vehicles to exercise their franchise.

Most of the polling booths had shamianas for voters so that they could wait in a queue. Some people even found refuge in the nearby buildings to save themselves from the scorching heat. The polling officials gave instructions to the voters to keep their phones switched off while they exercised their franchise. The security personnel at the polling booth also regulated traffic outside the polling booth in MGR Nagar.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Deserted by key supporters, the Kamal Nath story looks set to wind to an end in Chhindwara

Nath’s closest allies in his near 50-year reign—Deepak Saxena and Kamlesh Shah—have deserted him. His local team of corporators has also decided to jump ship leaving a gaping hole in Nath’s campaign trail.

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By Neeraj Mishra

The Congress has lost Chhindwara only once since Independence when the wily Sunderlal Patwa was sent there by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to test Kamal Nath’s hold on the constituency. Patwa won the 1997 by-election by a slim margin in the backdrop of Nath having forced his wife to first contest and later vacate the seat for him. Nath, however, returned to his winning ways the very next year and has won the seat nine times.

It seems possible that Chhindwara, the lone surviving Congress seat, will be lost again this time and may be forever. A day ahead of polling, the town was drowned in saffron. Not so much the effect of vigorous campaigning by Vivek Sahu of the BJP but the Ram Navami festival which brought out saffron flags on every rooftop.  The effect is likely to last since the polling is today. At 77, Nath is unlikely to contest another election here and his son Nakul seems like a pale shadow of his father unable to even make a forceful speech. The days of running Chhindwara from Shikarpur kothi are gone.

Nath’s closest allies in his near 50-year reign—Deepak Saxena and Kamlesh Shah—have deserted him. His local team of corporators has also decided to jump ship leaving a gaping hole in Nath’s campaign trail. Nakul had won by a margin of 37,000 votes in 2019 and the biggest lead had come from Kamlesh’s Amarwada Assembly segment. With Saxena in control of Chhindwara and forced to show his strength in his new party, it is highly likely that Nakul will not be depending on these segments. Instead, the Congress campaign was focused on Pandhurna, Parasia and Chaurai.

Amit Shah was in the region a couple of days ago and warned all BJP workers—old and new—against lethargy. His message was clear, the BJP wants all 29 seats this time. Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya is camped here and using all his political acumen for the desired results. One such tactic was to raid the Shikarpur Kothi of Kamal Nath for his assistant Miglani who handles almost everything for him. With Miglani temporarily neutralised, BJP is best placed to repeat its win in Chhindwara in 1997.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Lok Sabha Elections 2024:  Nearly 40% voter turnout till 1pm

Chennai recorded an average voter turnout of 34% as of 1 pm on Friday. According data released by the Election Commission of India, Chennai (North) recorded 35%, Chennai (Central) recorded 32.3% and Chennai (South) recorded 34%.

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The first phase of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections started taking place in 21 states and Union territories on Friday. Nearly 40% voter turnout was recorded till 1pm across the states. Seats in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry go to elections on Friday.

There has been a substantial increase in the voter turnout charts across the Northeast states, with Tripura leading at 53.04% until 1 pm, as per the data released by the Election Commission of India. Other northeast states like Manipur (46.92%) and Meghalaya (48.91%) are also witnessing high voter turnout. After Tripura, West Bengal is experiencing a high voter turnout of 50.96%.

Chennai recorded an average voter turnout of 34% as of 1 pm on Friday. According data released by the Election Commission of India, Chennai (North) recorded 35%, Chennai (Central) recorded 32.3% and Chennai (South) recorded 34%.

Over 33% voter turnout was recorded in the first 6 hours of voting on Friday in 12 parliamentary constituencies of Rajasthan. According to the Election Commission, voting started at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and 33.73 % voting took place till 1 pm. The highest voter turnout of 40.72 % was recorded in the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat while Karauli-Dholpur saw the lowest turnout of 28.32 %. Jaipur recorded a poll percentage of 39.35 %.

Over 37 % voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the Lok Sabha election being held for five parliamentary constituencies in Uttarakhand on Friday. Elections began at 7 am and the five constituencies recorded an overall poll percentage of 37.33 % up to 1 pm. The Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat recorded the highest turnout of 40.46 %, followed by Haridwar with 39.41%, Pauri Garhwal with 36.60 %, Tehri Garhwal with 35.29 % and Almora with 32.29 %.

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