<p>Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacked the Congress Party for their unparliamentary language, saying the outcomes of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state polls are a lesson for those who forget political courtesy.</p>

<p>Yogi stated that BJP&#39;s performance in both the states is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s policies and economic reforms.</p>

<p>&quot;Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh results are a lesson to those who forget political courtesy and indulge in unparliamentary language. Those raising question mark on the Prime Minister will now have to accept his leadership,&quot; Yogi said.</p>

<p>&quot;We, on behalf of the people of UP congratulate Modiji and Amit Shahji. It&#39;s victory of economic reforms. Modi&#39;s leadership has established country economically. Those who raised questions on Gujarat model should now look at the results. It&#39;s victory of policies of Modiji,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Yogi reiterated that Congress President Rahul Gandhi showed casteist, divisive and despicable thinking during his campaigning for the state elections, ending up losing Himachal Pradesh, one of the strongholds of the Congress party.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Chief Minister stressed that change in Congress leadership is a positive sign for the BJP and will help them win other Congress strongholds also.&nbsp;</p>

<p>During the elections campaigning, Rahul Gandhi had criticised the prime minister for ignoring the poor people and farmers and implementing policies to benefit only the rich people of this country.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


BJP's performance is a victory of PM Modi's policies and economic reforms.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacked the Congress Party for their unparliamentary language, saying the outcomes of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state polls are a lesson for those who forget political courtesy. Yogi stated that BJP's performance in both the states is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and economic reforms. "Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh results are a lesson to those who forget political courtesy and indulge in unparliamentary language. Those raising question mark on the Prime Minister will now have to accept his leadership," Yogi said. "We, on behalf of the people of UP congratulate Modiji and Amit Shahji. It's victory of economic reforms. Modi's leadership has established country economically. Those who raised questions on Gujarat model should now look at the results. It's victory of policies of Modiji," he added. Yogi reiterated that Congress President Rahul Gandhi showed casteist, divisive and despicable thinking during his campaigning for the state elections, ending up losing Himachal Pradesh, one of the strongholds of the Congress party. The Chief Minister stressed that change in Congress leadership is a positive sign for the BJP and will help them win other Congress strongholds also. During the elections campaigning, Rahul Gandhi had criticised the prime minister for ignoring the poor people and farmers and implementing policies to benefit only the rich people of this country.

People questioning PM Modi's policies will now have to accept his leadership: UP CM Yogi on election results

<p>The Congress&#39;s Virbhadra Singh said Monday that he accepted the BJP&#39;s victory in the HImachal elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Congress is set to lose Himachal to the BJP.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here. I hope Vikramaditya (Singh) keeps winning in future, like he won today: Virbhadra Singh <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HimachalPradesh?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HimachalPradesh</a> <a href="https://t.co/ImNkW32qdy">pic.twitter.com/ImNkW32qdy</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942702342645755904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/himachal-pradesh-elections-prem-kumar-dhumal-loses-bjp-to-choose-new-cm-face-27069">Himachal Pradesh elections: Prem Kumar Dhumal loses, BJP to choose new CM face</a></p>

<p>The latest figures from the Election Commission show the BJP leading in 28 seats and the Congress in 13.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Himachal&nbsp;has a total of 68 seats. A party needs to win 35 seats to be declared winner.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/amit-shah-hails-gujarat-himachal-results-has-eyes-set-on-2019-27079">Amit Shah hails Gujarat, Himachal results; has eyes set on 2019</a></p>

<p>Virbhadra also added that he took full responsibility for the Congress loss.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here,&quot; said Virbhadra.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/i-bow-to-people-of-gujarat-and-himachal-modi-27072"> I bow to people of Gujarat and Himachal says Modi</a></p>


The Congress is set to lose Himachal to the BJP

The Congress's Virbhadra Singh said Monday that he accepted the BJP's victory in the HImachal elections. The Congress is set to lose Himachal to the BJP. I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here. I hope Vikramaditya (Singh) keeps winning in future, like he won today: Virbhadra Singh #HimachalPradesh pic.twitter.com/ImNkW32qdy — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × Also read: Himachal Pradesh elections: Prem Kumar Dhumal loses, BJP to choose new CM face The latest figures from the Election Commission show the BJP leading in 28 seats and the Congress in 13. Himachal has a total of 68 seats. A party needs to win 35 seats to be declared winner. Also read: Amit Shah hails Gujarat, Himachal results; has eyes set on 2019 Virbhadra also added that he took full responsibility for the Congress loss. "I accept the victory of BJP. I, being the CM, take full responsibility of our performance here," said Virbhadra. Also read: I bow to people of Gujarat and Himachal says Modi

Himachal election results: 'I accept victory of BJP,' says Congress's Virbhadra Singh

<p>The BJP is on course to take Gujarat, and most of Surat with it.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congratulations to all candidates in Surat for winning 12/12 seats! The people of Gujarat have rejected those who tried to divide us in the name of caste! The vision of Shri <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> ji &amp; Shri <a href="https://twitter.com/AmitShah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amitshah</a> ji will march ahead! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BJPWinsGujarat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BJPWinsGujarat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GujaratVerdict?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GujaratVerdict</a> <a href="https://t.co/JOeQnkWEis">pic.twitter.com/JOeQnkWEis</a></p>
&mdash; Darshana Jardosh (@DarshanaJardosh) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarshanaJardosh/status/942671566835367936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Surat was being closely watched because of the trader protests there against the GST.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They had not been happy with the Goods and Services Tax.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(It is important to note though that counting is still underway in Surat and the results of all 16 assembly seats in Surat have not yet been declared.)&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the Election Commission, which has declared leads, is at the moment giving the BJP the lead in at least 12 seats in Surat.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Surat is the hub of the baniya or trader community, which makes up 14% of Gujarat&#39;s population.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The protest that really got the BJP&#39;s attention was the one by Surat&#39;s textile traders. Surat is the country&#39;s largest man-made fabric hub.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BJP was quick to act on the disenchantment.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It cut the GST rate on yarn from 18% to 12%, increased the customs duty on fabric by 25% to curb imports from China, and offered relief in the filing of GST returns.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It also cut the tax rate on khakhra, a popular Gujarati snack, and some namkeens.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And announced a number of relief measures for exporters.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Surat was being closely watched because of the trader protests there against the GST

The BJP is on course to take Gujarat, and most of Surat with it. Congratulations to all candidates in Surat for winning 12/12 seats! The people of Gujarat have rejected those who tried to divide us in the name of caste! The vision of Shri @narendramodi ji & Shri @amitshah ji will march ahead! #BJPWinsGujarat #GujaratVerdict pic.twitter.com/JOeQnkWEis — Darshana Jardosh (@DarshanaJardosh) December 18, 2017 × Surat was being closely watched because of the trader protests there against the GST. They had not been happy with the Goods and Services Tax. (It is important to note though that counting is still underway in Surat and the results of all 16 assembly seats in Surat have not yet been declared.) But the Election Commission, which has declared leads, is at the moment giving the BJP the lead in at least 12 seats in Surat. Surat is the hub of the baniya or trader community, which makes up 14% of Gujarat's population. The protest that really got the BJP's attention was the one by Surat's textile traders. Surat is the country's largest man-made fabric hub. The BJP was quick to act on the disenchantment. It cut the GST rate on yarn from 18% to 12%, increased the customs duty on fabric by 25% to curb imports from China, and offered relief in the filing of GST returns. It also cut the tax rate on khakhra, a popular Gujarati snack, and some namkeens. And announced a number of relief measures for exporters.

Gujarat election results: Hub of trader protests, BJP on course to winning most seats in Surat

<p>Patidar leader Hardik Patel has&nbsp;claimed that there has been tampering in EVMs in Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad.</p>

<p>He said that the gap between the rival candidates was very less in places wherever tempering happened.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">There has been tampering in EVMs in Surat,Rajkot and Ahmedabad, hence the gap is very less wherever tampering happened. EVMs are hackable: Hardik Patel <a href="https://t.co/cPNaItPrbw">pic.twitter.com/cPNaItPrbw</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942691759900975105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Before the announcement of election results on Monday morning, the Election Commission had assured that there could not be any tampering of EVMs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti had assured that no tampering could have been done with the EVMs. He said questions being raised about EVMs were already answered in the media.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said that there was VVPATs in every polling stations in Gujarat which enabled voters to see whom they voted for and therefore&nbsp;raising of issues was not a right thing.</p>

<p>The Chief Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma also said that the matter was &quot;tried and tested&quot; and&nbsp;should be closed once and for all.</p>

<p>He said, &quot;I firmly believe that our EVMs, VVPATs cannot be tampered with. This matter should be closed once and for all as it is tried and tested. EVM is a standalone machine, question of hacking doesn&#39;t arise&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;I firmly believe that our EVMs, VVPATs cannot be tampered with. This matter should be closed once and for all as it is tried and tested. EVM is a standalone machine, question of hacking doesn&#39;t arise&quot; says former Chief Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma <a href="https://t.co/3PwBqP8IA7">pic.twitter.com/3PwBqP8IA7</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942663065358626816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Former CEC Naveen Chawla,&nbsp;also clarified that EVMs cannot be tampered with, not even in future.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said &quot;EVMs cannot be tampered with, even in the future.I am very clear about this. During my time, BJP had raised doubts on EVM so we had also held a demonstration like earlier this earlier this year for all to come and try rig it.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EVMs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EVMs</a> cannot be tampered with, even in the future. I am very clear about this. During my time, BJP had raised doubts on EVM so we had also held a demonstration like earlier this year for all to come and try rig it&quot; says Naveen Chawla, former CEC <a href="https://t.co/xXRpduibUK">pic.twitter.com/xXRpduibUK</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942666671801503744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>N. Gopalaswami, former CEC also assured that EVMs cannot be tampered with.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said that EVM are&nbsp;standalone machines and that they are not connected to any network and therefore they cannot be influenced over Bluetooth or wireless messages.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He further said that EVMs were only a glorified calculator and it goes dead after it is opened.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;EVMs are stand alone machines, aren&#39;t connected to any network, can&#39;t be influenced over Bluetooth or wireless message,so to say EVMs have something wrong is absolutely incorrect. It&#39;s only a glorified calculator, moment you open it, it goes dead&quot; says N Gopalaswami, Former CEC <a href="https://t.co/jKWQiV5Gky">pic.twitter.com/jKWQiV5Gky</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942667680091213825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The clarifications over Electronic Voting Machines came after the accusations of opposition parties. The Congress and Patidars had accused during the elections that the EVM machines were tampered with. They claimed that the tampering was manipulated by BJP and would help the party to win over the other.&nbsp;</p>


The gap he said was very little wherever tampering occurred

Patidar leader Hardik Patel has claimed that there has been tampering in EVMs in Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad. He said that the gap between the rival candidates was very less in places wherever tempering happened. There has been tampering in EVMs in Surat,Rajkot and Ahmedabad, hence the gap is very less wherever tampering happened. EVMs are hackable: Hardik Patel pic.twitter.com/cPNaItPrbw — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × Before the announcement of election results on Monday morning, the Election Commission had assured that there could not be any tampering of EVMs. Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti had assured that no tampering could have been done with the EVMs. He said questions being raised about EVMs were already answered in the media. He said that there was VVPATs in every polling stations in Gujarat which enabled voters to see whom they voted for and therefore raising of issues was not a right thing. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma also said that the matter was "tried and tested" and should be closed once and for all. He said, "I firmly believe that our EVMs, VVPATs cannot be tampered with. This matter should be closed once and for all as it is tried and tested. EVM is a standalone machine, question of hacking doesn't arise". "I firmly believe that our EVMs, VVPATs cannot be tampered with. This matter should be closed once and for all as it is tried and tested. EVM is a standalone machine, question of hacking doesn't arise" says former Chief Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma pic.twitter.com/3PwBqP8IA7 — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × Former CEC Naveen Chawla, also clarified that EVMs cannot be tampered with, not even in future. He said "EVMs cannot be tampered with, even in the future.I am very clear about this. During my time, BJP had raised doubts on EVM so we had also held a demonstration like earlier this earlier this year for all to come and try rig it." "#EVMs cannot be tampered with, even in the future. I am very clear about this. During my time, BJP had raised doubts on EVM so we had also held a demonstration like earlier this year for all to come and try rig it" says Naveen Chawla, former CEC pic.twitter.com/xXRpduibUK — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × N. Gopalaswami, former CEC also assured that EVMs cannot be tampered with. He said that EVM are standalone machines and that they are not connected to any network and therefore they cannot be influenced over Bluetooth or wireless messages. He further said that EVMs were only a glorified calculator and it goes dead after it is opened. "EVMs are stand alone machines, aren't connected to any network, can't be influenced over Bluetooth or wireless message,so to say EVMs have something wrong is absolutely incorrect. It's only a glorified calculator, moment you open it, it goes dead" says N Gopalaswami, Former CEC pic.twitter.com/jKWQiV5Gky — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × The clarifications over Electronic Voting Machines came after the accusations of opposition parties. The Congress and Patidars had accused during the elections that the EVM machines were tampered with. They claimed that the tampering was manipulated by BJP and would help the party to win over the other.

EVMs tampered in Surat, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, says Hardik Patel

<p>As the BJP prepares to form the government in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-2017-live-results-27014">Gujarat</a> and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/2017himachal-pradesh-elections-himachal-poll-live-results-27015">Himachal Pradesh</a> -- as suggested by the ongoing counting trends -- Union Minister Smriti Irani, among many other party leaders, expressed delight over BJP&#39;s performance in both states.</p>

<p>Smriti Irani praised Congress&#39; performance and noted that in the end what matters is who won. &quot;<em>jo </em><em>jeeta</em><em> </em><em>wohi</em><em>&nbsp;</em><em>sikandar</em>. It is the victory of every booth worker&#39;s hard work &amp; the people who trusted development,&quot; she told ANI.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;It is a matter of happiness for us, this is the victory of development,&quot; says Union Minister Smriti Irani, on a question about Congress giving a tough fight she said, &quot;jo jeeta wohi sikandar. It is victory of every booth worker&#39;s hard work &amp; the people who trusted development&quot; <a href="https://t.co/oJMQKK45NV">pic.twitter.com/oJMQKK45NV</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942652473495379968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>BJP headquarters in New Delhi and party offices all across Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat is in a festive mode with party workers, supporters and royalists celebrating the much-anticipated win.&nbsp;</p>

<p>PM Modi was seen flashing the victory sign as he reached Parliament earlier today.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Home Minister Rajnath Singh looked exhilarated and noted, &quot;Will form <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/assembly-poll-results-bjp-on-victory-march-in-gujarat-himachal-pradesh-27047">Government in both</a> Himachal and Gujarat with a clear majority&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;Will form Government in both Himachal and Gujarat with clear majority&quot; says Home Minister Rajnath Singh <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HimachalPradeshElections2017?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HimachalPradeshElections2017</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GujaratVerdict?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GujaratVerdict</a> <a href="https://t.co/TZymBvklV7">pic.twitter.com/TZymBvklV7</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942623391869124609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


Surprisingly, Congress put an impressive fight even overturning the leads for a bit earlier today

As the BJP prepares to form the government in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh -- as suggested by the ongoing counting trends -- Union Minister Smriti Irani, among many other party leaders, expressed delight over BJP's performance in both states. Smriti Irani praised Congress' performance and noted that in the end what matters is who won. "jo jeeta wohi sikandar. It is the victory of every booth worker's hard work & the people who trusted development," she told ANI. "It is a matter of happiness for us, this is the victory of development," says Union Minister Smriti Irani, on a question about Congress giving a tough fight she said, "jo jeeta wohi sikandar. It is victory of every booth worker's hard work & the people who trusted development" pic.twitter.com/oJMQKK45NV — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × BJP headquarters in New Delhi and party offices all across Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat is in a festive mode with party workers, supporters and royalists celebrating the much-anticipated win. PM Modi was seen flashing the victory sign as he reached Parliament earlier today. Home Minister Rajnath Singh looked exhilarated and noted, "Will form Government in both Himachal and Gujarat with a clear majority". "Will form Government in both Himachal and Gujarat with clear majority" says Home Minister Rajnath Singh #HimachalPradeshElections2017 #GujaratVerdict pic.twitter.com/TZymBvklV7 — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 ×

'Jo jeeta wohi sikandar', says Smriti Irani after BJP's win

<p>The state of Himachal Pradesh is all set to welcome the new BJP government.</p>

<p>The results announced on Monday morning showed favourable results for BJP. The BJP is leading in over 40 seats, while Congress fluctuating in twenty plus seats.</p>

<p>Haryana Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who contested from Arki assembly seat is leading.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BJP chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal has also regained the lead&nbsp;after trailing by&nbsp;over 1700 votes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Election Commission has said that the vote share of BJP in the elections is 48.6 per cent, which is 10 per cent more than the assembly elections held in 2012.</p>

<p>The vote share of Congress came out as 41.8 per cent votes, reducing to 1 per cent from the 2012 elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There was a close battle between the BJP and the Congress in the assembly election held in the state in 2012. The Congress won 36 seats while the BJP bagged 26 seats.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since the past 24 years, Himachal Pradesh has had alternative governments between the BJP and the Congress.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The state underwent single phase polling&nbsp;on November 9. The total number of seats in the state is 68. For winning the elections a party needs to win 35 seats or more.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The elections were fought by 337 candidates which include 19 women.</p>

<p>The voter turnout in the election this year was recorded to be 74.61 per cent, which is the highest ever turn out for assembly election in Himachal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The results announced on Monday morning showed favourable results for BJP. The BJP is leading in over 40 seats, while Congress fluctuating in twenty plus seats

The state of Himachal Pradesh is all set to welcome the new BJP government. The results announced on Monday morning showed favourable results for BJP. The BJP is leading in over 40 seats, while Congress fluctuating in twenty plus seats. Haryana Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who contested from Arki assembly seat is leading. The BJP chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal has also regained the lead after trailing by over 1700 votes. The Election Commission has said that the vote share of BJP in the elections is 48.6 per cent, which is 10 per cent more than the assembly elections held in 2012. The vote share of Congress came out as 41.8 per cent votes, reducing to 1 per cent from the 2012 elections. There was a close battle between the BJP and the Congress in the assembly election held in the state in 2012. The Congress won 36 seats while the BJP bagged 26 seats. Since the past 24 years, Himachal Pradesh has had alternative governments between the BJP and the Congress. The state underwent single phase polling on November 9. The total number of seats in the state is 68. For winning the elections a party needs to win 35 seats or more. The elections were fought by 337 candidates which include 19 women. The voter turnout in the election this year was recorded to be 74.61 per cent, which is the highest ever turn out for assembly election in Himachal.

BJP set to form government in Himachal

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-2017-live-results-27014" target="_blank">Amid the unfortunate din around the authenticity of Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s faith, a video appeal from the young Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani went viral on social media</a>. The bespectacled young man with a trademark stubble appealed for funds to support his campaign as an independent candidate in the upcoming Gujarat state elections. Mevani said neither he nor his organisation wished to draw funds from corporates or NGOs, his campaign was to be part of a people&rsquo;s movement funded by the people.</p>

<p>The appeal was for funds to defeat the Hindutva forces in Gujarat and to provide interim relief to the people of the country and help them prepare for a larger fight in 2019. The ultimate objective of this fight would be the annihilation of caste and the establishment of an egalitarian social order.</p>

<p>The appeal was poignant both in tone and substance. More so as it was released on a day a non-bailable warrant was issued against him for organising a rail roko movement a year earlier as part of the statewide protests against the flogging of four Dalit youths with iron rods at Una. The use of state force on Mevani at a time when his campaign has just acquired momentum is indicative of the fact that he represents a clear and present danger to the ruling party&rsquo;s narrative of development in Gujarat.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While Hardik Patel&rsquo;s demands for jobs and educational reservations for Patidar youth have been seen to be untenable and self-indulgent, Mevani&rsquo;s political discourse poses a distinct challenge.</p>

<p>If Rahul Gandhi has focused on the fall out of &lsquo;spectacular&rsquo; policies such as demonetisation, GST and Hardik Patel, on Patidar grievance, Jignesh has sought to formulate a sharper attack on the systemic failures of Gujarat&rsquo;s developmental model and on the material and symbolic structures of Dalit oppression. Identity politics for him could not be divorced from fundamental livelihood issues.</p>

<p>Part of the reason for the intellectual depth of Mevani&rsquo;s discourse is its rootedness in a long tradition of Dalit mobilisation in Gujarat. Drawing inspiration from Marx and Ambedkar, Dalit activists and organisations in Gujarat have long sought to combine questions of Dalit identity with those of livelihood.</p>

<p>While the resurgence of caste politics has invited adverse comment in the media, what remains unaddressed is the fact that conversations about caste and primordial affiliations resonate much more intensely in contexts where neither the market nor the state is able to secure livelihoods nor promote social harmony. What is equally worrying for the BJP-ruled government is that the broader tent of Hindutva seems to have less meaning today than it had five years ago. The project of the Hinduization of Dalits touted as among the key to BJP&rsquo;s success in Gujarat remains both uneven and unfinished.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Notwithstanding the gestures of welcome accorded to Dalits into the larger Hindu fold, the entrenched structures of caste prejudice continue to play out in the lives of Dalit communities both in rural and urban Gujarat, despite the incremental material improvements in the lives of many. Gujarat stands fourth in the country in the number of atrocities against Dalits in the country.</p>

<p>Mevani and his followers are affiliated to Navsarjan the oldest NGO in Gujarat advocating Dalit rights and offering legal services to members of the community facing atrocities. Mevani articulates Navsarjan&rsquo;s demands for justice for the Una victims, and urges the government to provide alternative livelihood options for landless Dalits, and finally pleads for a more committed implementation of the land re-distribution scheme initiated several years earlier. Combining the critical issue of land rights to the larger problems of discrimination and atrocities against Dalits has been Mevani&rsquo;s singular contribution to the present campaign.</p>

<p>Mevani reminds us that the 1950s land reforms in the state of Gujarat have been skewed against the interests of Dalits and other marginal communities.&nbsp;</p>

<p>An argument long endorsed by sociologists like Ghanshyam Shah who also argue that corrective measures such as land redistribution among landless Dalits carried out between 1962-1998 have been implemented shoddily. Most redistribution remained on paper and only a few landless groups got actual possession. The demand for land resonates deeply with the vast majority of Dalits who remain small or marginal farmers or those who survive on traditional caste-based occupations, such as scavenging, tanning or weaving.</p>

<p>Yet the hope for 5 acres of land for every landless Dalit remains elusive. Gujarat&rsquo;s Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016, which became a law in August 2016 has, finally, removed the social impact assessment and consent clauses to facilitate ease of acquisition. The rush to implement the law was triggered by demands for lands for industrial development and more significantly for the 1,500 km Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor. The wasteland or common grazing lands redistribution schemes also remain mired in intra-caste rivalries between Dalits and OBCs.</p>

<p>Mevani argues that the demands for the 5 acres of land are actually for the implementation of what is due to landless Dalits. For him, land rights on paper need to translate into actual possession. Yet, there is debate whether land by itself would address larger problems of livelihood, particularly, in the face of prolonged agricultural distress and suppression of wage incomes. For Mevani, however, the possession of land allows the imagination of alternative livelihoods particularly for those engaged in traditionally stigmatised occupations, such as scavenging or tanning.</p>

<p>It may well be a long and arduous battle for land and dignity for marginalised Dalits in Gujarat but Jignesh Mevani has drawn larger attention to the question of &lsquo;inequality&rsquo; in a rapidly developing state. His invocation of the Ambedkarite notion of &lsquo;graded inequality&rsquo; in the Hindu caste structure together with his focus on the structural inequalities generated by a neo-liberal economic regime are in essence a call for solidarities around questions of economic privation and marginalisation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mevani reminds us that &lsquo;graded inequalities&rsquo; impedes the forging of sustainable solidarities against oppression.</p>

<p>Little wonder then that he has been able to persuade the OBC leader Alpesh Thakore and the Patidar maverick Hardik Patel to come together in mutual recognition of the shared experience of economic hardship.</p>

<p>In an election in which appeals to religion and caste seem to be dominating political discourse, Mevani&rsquo;s appeal for such solidarities offers hope for a return to a less divisive politics.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


Jignesh has formulated a sharper attack on the failures of Gujarat?s developmental model and on the material and symbolic structures of Dalit oppression.

Amid the unfortunate din around the authenticity of Rahul Gandhi’s faith, a video appeal from the young Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani went viral on social media. The bespectacled young man with a trademark stubble appealed for funds to support his campaign as an independent candidate in the upcoming Gujarat state elections. Mevani said neither he nor his organisation wished to draw funds from corporates or NGOs, his campaign was to be part of a people’s movement funded by the people. The appeal was for funds to defeat the Hindutva forces in Gujarat and to provide interim relief to the people of the country and help them prepare for a larger fight in 2019. The ultimate objective of this fight would be the annihilation of caste and the establishment of an egalitarian social order. The appeal was poignant both in tone and substance. More so as it was released on a day a non-bailable warrant was issued against him for organising a rail roko movement a year earlier as part of the statewide protests against the flogging of four Dalit youths with iron rods at Una. The use of state force on Mevani at a time when his campaign has just acquired momentum is indicative of the fact that he represents a clear and present danger to the ruling party’s narrative of development in Gujarat. While Hardik Patel’s demands for jobs and educational reservations for Patidar youth have been seen to be untenable and self-indulgent, Mevani’s political discourse poses a distinct challenge. If Rahul Gandhi has focused on the fall out of ‘spectacular’ policies such as demonetisation, GST and Hardik Patel, on Patidar grievance, Jignesh has sought to formulate a sharper attack on the systemic failures of Gujarat’s developmental model and on the material and symbolic structures of Dalit oppression. Identity politics for him could not be divorced from fundamental livelihood issues. Part of the reason for the intellectual depth of Mevani’s discourse is its rootedness in a long tradition of Dalit mobilisation in Gujarat. Drawing inspiration from Marx and Ambedkar, Dalit activists and organisations in Gujarat have long sought to combine questions of Dalit identity with those of livelihood. While the resurgence of caste politics has invited adverse comment in the media, what remains unaddressed is the fact that conversations about caste and primordial affiliations resonate much more intensely in contexts where neither the market nor the state is able to secure livelihoods nor promote social harmony. What is equally worrying for the BJP-ruled government is that the broader tent of Hindutva seems to have less meaning today than it had five years ago. The project of the Hinduization of Dalits touted as among the key to BJP’s success in Gujarat remains both uneven and unfinished. Notwithstanding the gestures of welcome accorded to Dalits into the larger Hindu fold, the entrenched structures of caste prejudice continue to play out in the lives of Dalit communities both in rural and urban Gujarat, despite the incremental material improvements in the lives of many. Gujarat stands fourth in the country in the number of atrocities against Dalits in the country. Mevani and his followers are affiliated to Navsarjan the oldest NGO in Gujarat advocating Dalit rights and offering legal services to members of the community facing atrocities. Mevani articulates Navsarjan’s demands for justice for the Una victims, and urges the government to provide alternative livelihood options for landless Dalits, and finally pleads for a more committed implementation of the land re-distribution scheme initiated several years earlier. Combining the critical issue of land rights to the larger problems of discrimination and atrocities against Dalits has been Mevani’s singular contribution to the present campaign. Mevani reminds us that the 1950s land reforms in the state of Gujarat have been skewed against the interests of Dalits and other marginal communities. An argument long endorsed by sociologists like Ghanshyam Shah who also argue that corrective measures such as land redistribution among landless Dalits carried out between 1962-1998 have been implemented shoddily. Most redistribution remained on paper and only a few landless groups got actual possession. The demand for land resonates deeply with the vast majority of Dalits who remain small or marginal farmers or those who survive on traditional caste-based occupations, such as scavenging, tanning or weaving. Yet the hope for 5 acres of land for every landless Dalit remains elusive. Gujarat’s Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016, which became a law in August 2016 has, finally, removed the social impact assessment and consent clauses to facilitate ease of acquisition. The rush to implement the law was triggered by demands for lands for industrial development and more significantly for the 1,500 km Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor. The wasteland or common grazing lands redistribution schemes also remain mired in intra-caste rivalries between Dalits and OBCs. Mevani argues that the demands for the 5 acres of land are actually for the implementation of what is due to landless Dalits. For him, land rights on paper need to translate into actual possession. Yet, there is debate whether land by itself would address larger problems of livelihood, particularly, in the face of prolonged agricultural distress and suppression of wage incomes. For Mevani, however, the possession of land allows the imagination of alternative livelihoods particularly for those engaged in traditionally stigmatised occupations, such as scavenging or tanning. It may well be a long and arduous battle for land and dignity for marginalised Dalits in Gujarat but Jignesh Mevani has drawn larger attention to the question of ‘inequality’ in a rapidly developing state. His invocation of the Ambedkarite notion of ‘graded inequality’ in the Hindu caste structure together with his focus on the structural inequalities generated by a neo-liberal economic regime are in essence a call for solidarities around questions of economic privation and marginalisation. Mevani reminds us that ‘graded inequalities’ impedes the forging of sustainable solidarities against oppression. Little wonder then that he has been able to persuade the OBC leader Alpesh Thakore and the Patidar maverick Hardik Patel to come together in mutual recognition of the shared experience of economic hardship. In an election in which appeals to religion and caste seem to be dominating political discourse, Mevani’s appeal for such solidarities offers hope for a return to a less divisive politics. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Jignesh Mevani leading. What did he promise?

<p>Here is a person who is addressing political rallies, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-2017-live-results-27014" target="_blank">taking on the Prime Minister as well as incumbent BJP in Gujarat </a>and is seen by many as the face and focal point of the Patidar agitation. But surprisingly he isn&rsquo;t contesting the elections. So why sue adroit campaigning, such heavy lifting &mdash; merely for the gains of some other political entity or to embarrass a party that&rsquo;s held power in Gujarat for over two decades?</p>

<p>Even a scandalous sex CD a month ago has had little or no impact on this &lsquo;overnight&rsquo; leader who has used the demand for reservations for the influential Patidar community to catapult him to national fame. 24-year-old Hardik Patel, it seems, is using these state polls to address his constituency - the influential Patidar (Patel) community - and test waters for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.</p>

<p>Today, he did not miss a beat when he took on Prime Minister on his seaplane ride from the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, suggesting that the plane perhaps may be put to better use if it helps spray pesticides for farmers.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">sea plane ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ?? Plane ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?????</p>
&mdash; Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) <a href="https://twitter.com/HardikPatel_/status/940457143190335488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">12 December 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>A day earlier the gracious Mr Patel had taken on the BJP&rsquo;s claims of development by likening the state of Gujarat to the Lanka of Ramayana-fame - Ravana&#39;s city that was said to be made of gold. (Not sure who Hardik sees as Raavana but here I leave it to the discerning readers to hazard a guess).</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??,????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? !!! <a href="https://t.co/lVnhrEEUjJ">pic.twitter.com/lVnhrEEUjJ</a></p>
&mdash; Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) <a href="https://twitter.com/HardikPatel_/status/940443684067250177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">12 December 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>On the campaign trail in Patan, in north Gujarat, a crowd of over 40,000 chanted his name as Hardik took the stage. In 2012, BJP won 3 of the 4 assembly seats from Patan but insiders are sceptical this time. North Gujarat, on the whole, isn&rsquo;t a BJP stronghold and the party could see itself lose the foothold that it had created in 2012 come December 14 - blame it on the Hardik factor.</p>

<p>The Congress seems to have conveniently hitched a ride on the Hardik-wagon - here is a Patel who keeps harping on the BJP&rsquo;s arrogance and how the party has taken Gujarat for granted. Behind the scenes Congress leaders will concede that this has been one &lsquo;helluva&rsquo; Patel to deal with &mdash; no one would have expected that someone who can&rsquo;t hold elected office would show such political acumen.</p>

<p><strong>Also read</strong><strong>:</strong><strong>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/opinion-gujarat-assembly-elections-2017-bjp-remains-buoyant-congress-rides-a-wave-hardik-patel-does-some-heavy-lifting-26524">Opinion: BJP remains buoyant in Gujarat, Congress rides a wave, Hardik Patel does some heavy lifting</a></strong><br />
<br />
In a recent interview with a TV channel, Hardik indicated that he was looking to play a larger role &lsquo;<i>dedh saal baad</i>&rsquo; (one-and-a-half years later). Parliamentary elections are due in April-May 2019. The arithmetic seems spot on. Patel has been canoodling with the Congress but has so far stopped short of joining the party. He says&nbsp;he will if the entire Patidar community asked him to &mdash; and I&rsquo;m not sure entirely how all the Patels in the state are supposed to do that considering that they form about 14 per cent of the 6 crore people of Gujarat.</p>

<p>Hardik may not have been seen visiting temples (Rahul Gandhi seems to have called dibs on that one) but hasn&rsquo;t shied away from bringing up the Ram Mandir issue is Ayodhya. At a recent gathering near Ahmedabad, he said: &ldquo;Ram is in our hearts. The people go Gujarat have even given bricks for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. But have they given any account of what they did with the bricks?&rdquo;</p>

<p>So here is the curious case of Hardik Patel: A man who is too young to contest the elections, a man with no political party, a man with no specific vision outlined for the movement (<em>Patidaar Andolan</em>) that he claims to represent, a man who is full of rhetoric and a man, who might galvanise the Patel&rsquo;s enough to give the BJP sleepless nights.</p>

<p>In the final analysis, even if the BJP&rsquo;s vote percentage shrinks, their margins of victories fall, some of their heavyweights miss out, the number of seats notwithstanding, Hardik Patel would have announced his candidature for 2019.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


Hardik Patel, a man with no political party, a man with no specific vision outlined for the movement might give the BJP sleepless nights

Here is a person who is addressing political rallies, taking on the Prime Minister as well as incumbent BJP in Gujarat and is seen by many as the face and focal point of the Patidar agitation. But surprisingly he isn’t contesting the elections. So why sue adroit campaigning, such heavy lifting — merely for the gains of some other political entity or to embarrass a party that’s held power in Gujarat for over two decades? Even a scandalous sex CD a month ago has had little or no impact on this ‘overnight’ leader who has used the demand for reservations for the influential Patidar community to catapult him to national fame. 24-year-old Hardik Patel, it seems, is using these state polls to address his constituency - the influential Patidar (Patel) community - and test waters for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Today, he did not miss a beat when he took on Prime Minister on his seaplane ride from the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, suggesting that the plane perhaps may be put to better use if it helps spray pesticides for farmers. sea plane ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ?? Plane ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? — Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) 12 December 2017 × A day earlier the gracious Mr Patel had taken on the BJP’s claims of development by likening the state of Gujarat to the Lanka of Ramayana-fame - Ravana's city that was said to be made of gold. (Not sure who Hardik sees as Raavana but here I leave it to the discerning readers to hazard a guess). ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??,????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? !!! pic.twitter.com/lVnhrEEUjJ — Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) 12 December 2017 × On the campaign trail in Patan, in north Gujarat, a crowd of over 40,000 chanted his name as Hardik took the stage. In 2012, BJP won 3 of the 4 assembly seats from Patan but insiders are sceptical this time. North Gujarat, on the whole, isn’t a BJP stronghold and the party could see itself lose the foothold that it had created in 2012 come December 14 - blame it on the Hardik factor. The Congress seems to have conveniently hitched a ride on the Hardik-wagon - here is a Patel who keeps harping on the BJP’s arrogance and how the party has taken Gujarat for granted. Behind the scenes Congress leaders will concede that this has been one ‘helluva’ Patel to deal with — no one would have expected that someone who can’t hold elected office would show such political acumen. Also read: Opinion: BJP remains buoyant in Gujarat, Congress rides a wave, Hardik Patel does some heavy lifting In a recent interview with a TV channel, Hardik indicated that he was looking to play a larger role ‘dedh saal baad’ (one-and-a-half years later). Parliamentary elections are due in April-May 2019. The arithmetic seems spot on. Patel has been canoodling with the Congress but has so far stopped short of joining the party. He says he will if the entire Patidar community asked him to — and I’m not sure entirely how all the Patels in the state are supposed to do that considering that they form about 14 per cent of the 6 crore people of Gujarat. Hardik may not have been seen visiting temples (Rahul Gandhi seems to have called dibs on that one) but hasn’t shied away from bringing up the Ram Mandir issue is Ayodhya. At a recent gathering near Ahmedabad, he said: “Ram is in our hearts. The people go Gujarat have even given bricks for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. But have they given any account of what they did with the bricks?” So here is the curious case of Hardik Patel: A man who is too young to contest the elections, a man with no political party, a man with no specific vision outlined for the movement (Patidaar Andolan) that he claims to represent, a man who is full of rhetoric and a man, who might galvanise the Patel’s enough to give the BJP sleepless nights. In the final analysis, even if the BJP’s vote percentage shrinks, their margins of victories fall, some of their heavyweights miss out, the number of seats notwithstanding, Hardik Patel would have announced his candidature for 2019. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: How Hardik Patel is benefitting the Congress

<p>New Congress President Rahul Gandhi has his work cut out for him.</p>

<p>Following the election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Monday, the Congress -- the country&#39;s &quot;grand old party&quot; -- is now left in power in only four states in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The four states are Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/election-results-bjp-wins-gujaratand-himachal-27098">Election results prove country ready for reform: Modi after Gujarat win</a></p>

<p>Since coming to power at the Centre -- Modi had at the time promised to deliver a &quot;Congress- mukt Bharat&quot; -- the BJP has wrested Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Manipur from the Congress.</p>

<p>The Congress had ruled Maharashtra for over 15 years, and Assam for over 10.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/it-is-a-temporary-and-face-saving-win-for-bjp-says-mamata-banerjee-27094">It is a temporary and face-saving win for BJP, says Mamata Banerjee</a></p>

<p>The next battleground will be Karnataka, which is expected to go to the polls sometime in April or May next year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Victory in Gujarat and Himachal shows people have once again accepted PM Modi, his policies and Gujarat model. They&#39;ve voted for development and against corrupt Congress. It&#39;ll have positive impact in Karnataka,&quot; Karnataka BJP President said Monday after the BJP won Gujarat and HImachal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had attacked Karnataka&#39;s Congress government over what he said was the deteriorating law and order situation.</p>

<p>He cited the murder of the&nbsp;journalist Gauri Lankesh, saying if&nbsp;the&nbsp;BJP came to power in the state it would catch her killers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There have also been killings of members of right-wing Hindu groups in Karnataka in recent months.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Singh also accused the&nbsp;Siddaramaiah government of trying to &quot;divide&quot;&nbsp;society, saying the state government should have refrained from celebrating Tipu Sultan&#39;s birthday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The &quot;divide&quot; though is really between two different forms of nationalism.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Karnataka has been mulling the adoption of a state flag and there have been protests in the state against Hindi signboards.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Commentators say&nbsp;Siddaramaiah will deploy this &quot;sub-nationalism&quot; to counter Modi and the BJP&#39;s exhortation of &quot;nationalism&quot;.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The four states are Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, and Mizoram

New Congress President Rahul Gandhi has his work cut out for him. Following the election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Monday, the Congress -- the country's "grand old party" -- is now left in power in only four states in the country. The four states are Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. Also read: Election results prove country ready for reform: Modi after Gujarat win Since coming to power at the Centre -- Modi had at the time promised to deliver a "Congress- mukt Bharat" -- the BJP has wrested Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Manipur from the Congress. The Congress had ruled Maharashtra for over 15 years, and Assam for over 10. Also read: It is a temporary and face-saving win for BJP, says Mamata Banerjee The next battleground will be Karnataka, which is expected to go to the polls sometime in April or May next year. "Victory in Gujarat and Himachal shows people have once again accepted PM Modi, his policies and Gujarat model. They've voted for development and against corrupt Congress. It'll have positive impact in Karnataka," Karnataka BJP President said Monday after the BJP won Gujarat and HImachal. On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had attacked Karnataka's Congress government over what he said was the deteriorating law and order situation. He cited the murder of the journalist Gauri Lankesh, saying if the BJP came to power in the state it would catch her killers. There have also been killings of members of right-wing Hindu groups in Karnataka in recent months. Singh also accused the Siddaramaiah government of trying to "divide" society, saying the state government should have refrained from celebrating Tipu Sultan's birthday. The "divide" though is really between two different forms of nationalism. Karnataka has been mulling the adoption of a state flag and there have been protests in the state against Hindi signboards. Commentators say Siddaramaiah will deploy this "sub-nationalism" to counter Modi and the BJP's exhortation of "nationalism".

After Himachal loss, Congress left in power in only four states

<p>The Gujarat and Himachal election results show the country is ready for reform, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after winning Gujarat.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Modi was speaking at BJP headquarters in Delhi after the win.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: PM Narendra Modi at BJP HQ in Delhi <a href="https://t.co/Yf3azqwLW9">https://t.co/Yf3azqwLW9</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942738207036207104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The BJP has reached the victory mark of&nbsp;92 in Gujarat -- but is looking like it will struggle to reach the 100 mark</p>

<p>The BJP has also won Himachal, getting to the victory mark of 35.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/congress-accepts-verdict-of-the-people-rahul-gandhi-27081" target="_blank">Congress accepts verdict of the people, says&nbsp;Rahul Gandhi</a></p>

<p>The election results and &quot;in this day and age, for a party to keep winning for so long,&quot; Modi said, &quot;are historic&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Recent elections results have proven that the country is ready for reform, is looking towards things that perform in a positive way and believes in transformation,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;After 2014, there is hunger for development. Even if you do not like BJP, do not try to derail the progress being made towards development,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/people-questioning-pm-modis-policies-will-now-have-to-accept-his-leadership-cm-yogi-on-elections-results-27083" target="_blank">People questioning PM Modi&#39;s policies will now have to accept his leadership, says Yogi</a></p>

<p>He also added that &quot;So many conspiracies were hatched in Gujarat by Congress, misinformation was being spread.&quot; But &quot;People cannot bear if anyone makes fun of vikas&nbsp;(development)&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Development was the key theme of Modi&#39;s speech, with a few exceptions:&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">30 years back, poison of caste was spread so badly in Gujarat that it took workers like me 30 years to get rid of it. In last few months there were attempts again to sow seeds of casteism, but people rejected it,I congratulate them, but ppl must be alert: PM Narendra Modi <a href="https://t.co/srlI5bsa3Y">pic.twitter.com/srlI5bsa3Y</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942746690645237760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Taking of the Himachal elections, he said the results there &quot;show that if you don&#39;t do development and are embroiled in all wrong acts then after five years people will not accept you.&quot;</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/amit-shah-hails-gujarat-himachal-results-has-eyes-set-on-2019-27079" target="_blank">Amit Shah hails Gujarat, Himachal results; has eyes set on 2019</a></p>

<p>And he thanked the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for choosing the path of development.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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The Gujarat and Himachal election results show the country is ready for reform, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after winning Gujarat. Modi was speaking at BJP headquarters in Delhi after the win. #WATCH: PM Narendra Modi at BJP HQ in Delhi https://t.co/Yf3azqwLW9 — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × The BJP has reached the victory mark of 92 in Gujarat -- but is looking like it will struggle to reach the 100 mark The BJP has also won Himachal, getting to the victory mark of 35. Also read: Congress accepts verdict of the people, says Rahul Gandhi The election results and "in this day and age, for a party to keep winning for so long," Modi said, "are historic". "Recent elections results have proven that the country is ready for reform, is looking towards things that perform in a positive way and believes in transformation," he added. "After 2014, there is hunger for development. Even if you do not like BJP, do not try to derail the progress being made towards development," he said. Also read: People questioning PM Modi's policies will now have to accept his leadership, says Yogi He also added that "So many conspiracies were hatched in Gujarat by Congress, misinformation was being spread." But "People cannot bear if anyone makes fun of vikas (development)". Development was the key theme of Modi's speech, with a few exceptions: 30 years back, poison of caste was spread so badly in Gujarat that it took workers like me 30 years to get rid of it. In last few months there were attempts again to sow seeds of casteism, but people rejected it,I congratulate them, but ppl must be alert: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/srlI5bsa3Y — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × Taking of the Himachal elections, he said the results there "show that if you don't do development and are embroiled in all wrong acts then after five years people will not accept you." Also read: Amit Shah hails Gujarat, Himachal results; has eyes set on 2019 And he thanked the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for choosing the path of development.

Election results prove country ready for reform: Modi after Gujarat, Himachal win

<p>The BJP has won the Gujarat election but failed to cross the 100 mark.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It won 99 of the state&#39;s 182 seats, while the Congres won 77.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In Himachal, the BJP won 44 of the state&#39;s 68 seats, while the Congress won 20.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Counting is still underway in Himachal in two seats -- with the Congress leading in one of them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/election-results-bjp-wins-gujaratand-himachal-27098" target="_blank">Election results prove country ready for reform, says Modi</a></p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/congress-slowly-losing-power-ruling-only-four-states-following-election-27109" target="_blank">After Gujarat, Himachal losses, Congress left in power in only four states</a></p>

<p>An independent candidate is leading in the other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the last elections, the BJP had won 115 seats in Gujarat. Which means it has won 16 fewer seats than last time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Anti-incumbency of course might have been to blame; the BJP has been in power for 22 years in the state.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the BJP has probably taken a bigger hit because of the various protest movements against it led by Hardik Patel (the Patidars), Jignesh Mevani (the Dalits), and Alpesh Thakor (the OBCs).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav was quick to pick on the drop in the BJP&#39;s tally, saying it pointed to the hollowness of the Gujarat model of development.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Commentators have also pointed out that the Gujarat model of development (one which sees high growth) has not been accompanied by a growth in jobs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>That they say is what explains the Patidar agitation for reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In Himachal, the BJP won 18 more seats than last time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But in Himachal, anti-incumbency would have worked for the BJP and not against it.&nbsp;</p>


In Gujarat, the BJP won 16 fewer seats than last time

The BJP has won the Gujarat election but failed to cross the 100 mark. It won 99 of the state's 182 seats, while the Congres won 77. In Himachal, the BJP won 44 of the state's 68 seats, while the Congress won 20. Counting is still underway in Himachal in two seats -- with the Congress leading in one of them. Also read: Election results prove country ready for reform, says Modi Also read: After Gujarat, Himachal losses, Congress left in power in only four states An independent candidate is leading in the other. In the last elections, the BJP had won 115 seats in Gujarat. Which means it has won 16 fewer seats than last time. Anti-incumbency of course might have been to blame; the BJP has been in power for 22 years in the state. But the BJP has probably taken a bigger hit because of the various protest movements against it led by Hardik Patel (the Patidars), Jignesh Mevani (the Dalits), and Alpesh Thakor (the OBCs). Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav was quick to pick on the drop in the BJP's tally, saying it pointed to the hollowness of the Gujarat model of development. Commentators have also pointed out that the Gujarat model of development (one which sees high growth) has not been accompanied by a growth in jobs. That they say is what explains the Patidar agitation for reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. In Himachal, the BJP won 18 more seats than last time. But in Himachal, anti-incumbency would have worked for the BJP and not against it.

BJP wins Gujarat but does not cross 100 mark, takes Himachal easily

<p>Defying the early morning trends, Sensex&nbsp;recovered and surged over 100 points.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the early morning trade, the Sensex was down 867 points&nbsp;as the BJP began trailing&nbsp;in Gujarat election polls.</p>

<p>Nifty also slumped 258.45 points to 10,074.80 as early leads in Gujarat&nbsp;assembly polls began to trickle in.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/2017himachal-pradesh-elections-himachal-poll-live-results-27015">Though the BJP took the lead immediately after the counting started,</a> the trend reversed with Congress closing the gap. However, the BJP established its lead in the polls and is now leading in more than 100 seats.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Rupee tumbled&nbsp;68 paise to 64.72 against the dollar after early trends in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh poll results.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Rupee tumbled?68 paise to 64.72 against the dollar after early trends in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh poll results

Defying the early morning trends, Sensex recovered and surged over 100 points. In the early morning trade, the Sensex was down 867 points as the BJP began trailing in Gujarat election polls. Nifty also slumped 258.45 points to 10,074.80 as early leads in Gujarat assembly polls began to trickle in. Though the BJP took the lead immediately after the counting started, the trend reversed with Congress closing the gap. However, the BJP established its lead in the polls and is now leading in more than 100 seats. Meanwhile, Rupee tumbled 68 paise to 64.72 against the dollar after early trends in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh poll results.

Sensex recovers after early shock, surges over 100 points

<p>Mamata Banerjee on Monday&nbsp;congratulated the people in Gujarat for their &#39;balanced verdict&#39;, following the election results.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She further claimed that this is just a &#39;temporary and face-saving win for BJP, however, it shows their defeat&#39;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She posted a Tweet saying: &quot;I congratulate Gujarat voters for their very balanced verdict at this hour.&nbsp;It is a temporary and face-saving win, but it shows a moral defeat for BJP.&quot;</p>

<p>The Trinamool Congress leader further added: &quot;Gujarat voted against atrocities, anxiety, and injustice caused to the common people. Gujarat belled the cat for 2019&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I congratulate Gujarat voters for their very balanced verdict at this hour.<br />
It is a temporary and face-saving win, but it shows a moral defeat for BJP.<br />
Gujarat voted against atrocities, anxiety and injustice caused to the common people. Gujarat belled the cat for 2019</p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/942705505042014208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The BJP is in the lead in 99 seats in Gujarat and Congress is trailing with 80 seats in the state.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/himachal-election-results-i-accept-the-bjps-victory-says-congresss-virbhadra-singh-27075">Himachal election results: &#39;I accept victory of BJP,&#39; says Congress&#39;s Virbhadra Singh</a></p>

<p>Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted expressing his gratitude towards the people of Gujarat and said that he <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/congress-accepts-verdict-of-the-people-rahul-gandhi-27081">&quot;accepts the verdict of the people</a>&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He further told his supporters that they have demonstrated to everyone that the &#39;Congress&rsquo;s greatest strength is its decency and courage.&#39;</p>

<p>Also&nbsp;read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/i-bow-to-people-of-gujarat-and-himachal-modi-27072"> I bow to people of Gujarat and Himachal: Modi</a></p>

<p>BJP has taken a clean sweep from Congress in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


BJP has taken a clean sweep from Congress in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh

Mamata Banerjee on Monday congratulated the people in Gujarat for their 'balanced verdict', following the election results. She further claimed that this is just a 'temporary and face-saving win for BJP, however, it shows their defeat'. She posted a Tweet saying: "I congratulate Gujarat voters for their very balanced verdict at this hour. It is a temporary and face-saving win, but it shows a moral defeat for BJP." The Trinamool Congress leader further added: "Gujarat voted against atrocities, anxiety, and injustice caused to the common people. Gujarat belled the cat for 2019" I congratulate Gujarat voters for their very balanced verdict at this hour. It is a temporary and face-saving win, but it shows a moral defeat for BJP. Gujarat voted against atrocities, anxiety and injustice caused to the common people. Gujarat belled the cat for 2019 — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 18, 2017 × The BJP is in the lead in 99 seats in Gujarat and Congress is trailing with 80 seats in the state. Also read: Himachal election results: 'I accept victory of BJP,' says Congress's Virbhadra Singh Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted expressing his gratitude towards the people of Gujarat and said that he "accepts the verdict of the people". He further told his supporters that they have demonstrated to everyone that the 'Congress’s greatest strength is its decency and courage.' Also read: I bow to people of Gujarat and Himachal: Modi BJP has taken a clean sweep from Congress in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Temporary and face-saving win for BJP, says Mamata Banerjee

<p>Incumbent Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani says that he is confident of an easy victory for ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).</p>

<p>&quot;I am confident that the results will be in favour of BJP. BJP will form the government and will get more than two-thirds of the (182 Gujarat Assembly) seats,&quot; ANI reported Rupani as saying.</p>

<p>He also added, &quot;Gujarat public has preferred politics of development, and development was brought in by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and the BJP,&quot; ANI reported.</p>

<p>Rupani also the called the allegations of Congress tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) &quot;baseless &nbsp;charges.&quot;</p>

<p>He said that the allegations were made &quot;so that the responsibility of defeat does not fall on Rahul Gandhi&quot; when the results would be declared on Monday.</p>

<p>Hardik Patel&#39;s allegations of hiring 140 engineers to tamper 5000 EVMs were also dismissed by Rupani.</p>

<p>The counting of the two-phase Gujarat Assembly election will be held tomorrow.</p>

<p>While the majority of exit polls have predicted BJP&#39;s win, Congress is hopeful of bagging Patidar votes and overthrowing BJP from 22 years of governance in the state.</p>

<p>(<em>With inputs from ANI)</em></p>


Vijay Rupani also added, 'Gujarat public has preferred politics of development, and development was brought in by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and the BJP'

Incumbent Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani says that he is confident of an easy victory for ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "I am confident that the results will be in favour of BJP. BJP will form the government and will get more than two-thirds of the (182 Gujarat Assembly) seats," ANI reported Rupani as saying. He also added, "Gujarat public has preferred politics of development, and development was brought in by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and the BJP," ANI reported. Rupani also the called the allegations of Congress tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) "baseless charges." He said that the allegations were made "so that the responsibility of defeat does not fall on Rahul Gandhi" when the results would be declared on Monday. Hardik Patel's allegations of hiring 140 engineers to tamper 5000 EVMs were also dismissed by Rupani. The counting of the two-phase Gujarat Assembly election will be held tomorrow. While the majority of exit polls have predicted BJP's win, Congress is hopeful of bagging Patidar votes and overthrowing BJP from 22 years of governance in the state. (With inputs from ANI)

Gujarat results: Rupani confident of bagging more than two-third seats

<p>The official spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, Sambit Patra on Sunday tweeted a picture of alleged Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) poster featuring a picture of Kim Jong-un in Kerala.</p>

<p>Sambit Patra also wrote, &quot;Hope the left is not planning to launch missiles at the RSS, BJP offices as their next gruesome agenda.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kim Jong-un finds place in CPM&rsquo;s posters in Kerala!!<br />
No wonder they have converted Kerala into Killing fields for their opponents!<br />
Hope the left is not planning to launch ?? missiles at the RSS,BJP offices as their next gruesome agenda! <a href="https://t.co/6LHf1dVtAy">pic.twitter.com/6LHf1dVtAy</a></p>
&mdash; Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) <a href="https://twitter.com/sambitswaraj/status/942236295517978625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>According to media reports, the poster is an invite to all CPI-M cadres to attend the party meet in Nedumkandam.</p>

<p>Media quoted CPI-M&#39;s district secretary as saying that the poster must be a mistake made by the party&#39;s local group.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The poster is being removed.</p>

<p>Patra&#39;s tweet was referring to the killing of BJP and RSS members in the state.</p>

<p>In October, an RSS activist, Nenmini Anand was hacked to death by an unknown person.</p>

<p>BJP President Amit Shah also reacted to the incident alleging that CPI-M workers were behind the attack.</p>

<p>The CPI-M has also accused the RSS of causing a communal tension in the state.</p>

<p>According to a report released by CPI-M in October, from 2000 to 2017, 85 CPI-M workers and 65 RSS workers were killed.</p>

<p>Kim Jong Un has also said in the past that he would nuke the United States with missiles.</p>

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The official spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, Sambit Patra on Sunday tweeted a picture of alleged Communist Party of India-Marxist poster featuring a picture of Kim Jong-un in Kerala

The official spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, Sambit Patra on Sunday tweeted a picture of alleged Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) poster featuring a picture of Kim Jong-un in Kerala. Sambit Patra also wrote, "Hope the left is not planning to launch missiles at the RSS, BJP offices as their next gruesome agenda." Kim Jong-un finds place in CPM’s posters in Kerala!! No wonder they have converted Kerala into Killing fields for their opponents! Hope the left is not planning to launch ?? missiles at the RSS,BJP offices as their next gruesome agenda! pic.twitter.com/6LHf1dVtAy — Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) December 17, 2017 × According to media reports, the poster is an invite to all CPI-M cadres to attend the party meet in Nedumkandam. Media quoted CPI-M's district secretary as saying that the poster must be a mistake made by the party's local group. The poster is being removed. Patra's tweet was referring to the killing of BJP and RSS members in the state. In October, an RSS activist, Nenmini Anand was hacked to death by an unknown person. BJP President Amit Shah also reacted to the incident alleging that CPI-M workers were behind the attack. The CPI-M has also accused the RSS of causing a communal tension in the state. According to a report released by CPI-M in October, from 2000 to 2017, 85 CPI-M workers and 65 RSS workers were killed. Kim Jong Un has also said in the past that he would nuke the United States with missiles.

Kim Jong Un on CPI-M poster in Kerala

<p>The Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that supporters of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari today &quot;scuttled&quot; a programme being held in the memory of Nirbhaya and also hooted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while he was speaking.</p>

<p>The AAP also accused the BJP of politicising the event held at the Constitution Club here.</p>

<p>&quot;Extremely shameful of BJP and its officials including PA to @ManojTiwariMP and spokesperson @RaviBabbarbjp for scuttling a programme being held in the memory of late Nirbhaya! Delhi will never forgive @BJP4India for this,&quot; the party&#39;s twitter handle said.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">?????? ???????..<br />
<br />
??????? ?? ??????????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ????? <a href="https://twitter.com/ManojTiwariMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManojTiwariMP</a> ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??, <a href="https://twitter.com/BJP4India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BJP4India</a> ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ! <a href="https://t.co/jNd8lNpeoC">pic.twitter.com/jNd8lNpeoC</a></p>
&mdash; AAP (@AamAadmiParty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty/status/942026373153116160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>On December 12, 2012, Nirbhaya, a physiotherapy student was gang-raped in a moving bus, and dumped on the streets under the cover of darkness in south Delhi, sparking outrage, with many citizens taking to streets. She succumbed to her injuries on December 16, 2012.</p>

<p>Rejecting the charge, Tiwari said he had been asked by the organisers not to bring politics into his speech and he adhered to it.</p>

<p>&quot;When I learnt about the hooting, I condemned the incident. But if people are hooting at Kejriwal then this is worrisome. I am sad that Kejriwal did not take the Nirbhaya Day seriously,&quot; the BJP MP said.</p>

<p>Earlier in the day, BJP workers showed black flags to Kejriwal at event in Mukundpur where he had gone to inaugurate a flyover.</p>

<p>The BJP alleged that Kejriwal politicised the event and local MP Manoj Tiwari was not even informed about it.</p>


The Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that supporters of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari today "scuttled" a programme being held in the memory of Nirbhaya and also hooted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while he was speaking

The Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that supporters of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari today "scuttled" a programme being held in the memory of Nirbhaya and also hooted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while he was speaking. The AAP also accused the BJP of politicising the event held at the Constitution Club here. "Extremely shameful of BJP and its officials including PA to @ManojTiwariMP and spokesperson @RaviBabbarbjp for scuttling a programme being held in the memory of late Nirbhaya! Delhi will never forgive @BJP4India for this," the party's twitter handle said. ?????? ???????.. ??????? ?? ??????????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ????? @ManojTiwariMP ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??, @BJP4India ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ! pic.twitter.com/jNd8lNpeoC — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 16, 2017 × On December 12, 2012, Nirbhaya, a physiotherapy student was gang-raped in a moving bus, and dumped on the streets under the cover of darkness in south Delhi, sparking outrage, with many citizens taking to streets. She succumbed to her injuries on December 16, 2012. Rejecting the charge, Tiwari said he had been asked by the organisers not to bring politics into his speech and he adhered to it. "When I learnt about the hooting, I condemned the incident. But if people are hooting at Kejriwal then this is worrisome. I am sad that Kejriwal did not take the Nirbhaya Day seriously," the BJP MP said. Earlier in the day, BJP workers showed black flags to Kejriwal at event in Mukundpur where he had gone to inaugurate a flyover. The BJP alleged that Kejriwal politicised the event and local MP Manoj Tiwari was not even informed about it.

BJP supporters scuttle programme in memory of Nirbhaya: AAP

<p>The son of a former BJP MLA was shot dead&nbsp;at the Kasmanda House, barely 300 metres from the Uttar Pradesh Legislature building and the state BJP office.</p>

<p>Vaibhav Tiwari (36), the son of former Domariyaganj MLA Prem Prakash Tiwari alias Gippy Tiwari, was called by some of his acquaintances from his residence at the Kasmanda House, Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, Abhay Prasad said.</p>

<p>Following an altercation, Vaibhav was shot dead, he said.</p>

<p>Gippy Tiwari was BJP MLA from Domariyaganj in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Then in 2014 he went to the Samajwadi Party. In this year&#39;s Assembly elections, however, he campaigned for the BJP.</p>

<p>Vaibhav was the only son of the former MLA and a local BJP leader said that he reportedly had love marriage with a non-Brahmin girl.</p>

<p>The police said that investigation is going on.</p>

<p>The Uttar Pradesh Legislature is currently in session.&nbsp;</p>


Vaibhav was the only son of the former MLA and a local BJP leader said that he reportedly had love marriage with a non-Brahmin girl

The son of a former BJP MLA was shot dead at the Kasmanda House, barely 300 metres from the Uttar Pradesh Legislature building and the state BJP office. Vaibhav Tiwari (36), the son of former Domariyaganj MLA Prem Prakash Tiwari alias Gippy Tiwari, was called by some of his acquaintances from his residence at the Kasmanda House, Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, Abhay Prasad said. Following an altercation, Vaibhav was shot dead, he said. Gippy Tiwari was BJP MLA from Domariyaganj in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Then in 2014 he went to the Samajwadi Party. In this year's Assembly elections, however, he campaigned for the BJP. Vaibhav was the only son of the former MLA and a local BJP leader said that he reportedly had love marriage with a non-Brahmin girl. The police said that investigation is going on. The Uttar Pradesh Legislature is currently in session.

Ex-BJP MLA's son shot dead near UP assembly complex: Police

<p>Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Saturday questioned Supreme Court&#39;s decision to reject Congress&#39; plea, seeking cross-verification of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trails with votes cast with Electronic Voting Machines and asked why they were used in the Gujarat elections.</p>

<p>&quot;Why are VVPATs used in the first place&nbsp;It is used for smooth counting of votes wherever there is a fault. I do not understand Supreme Court&#39;s stand on the issue,&quot; the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener said.</p>

<p>He also said if EVMs were not tampered with then the exit polls&#39; results, which showed Bharatiya Janata Party&#39;s victory in the state polls, would be proven wrong.</p>

<p>&quot;I think exit polls&#39; results will be proven wrong. If EVMs do not malfunction then BJP will lose the election. I have 100 percent doubt on EVMs,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Patel&#39;s statement comes a day after the apex court dismissed the Congress&#39; plea seeking directions to the Election Commission (EC) to count and cross verify at least 25 percent of VVPAT with votes cast with EVM.</p>

<p>Yesterday, the apex court said it found no merit in Congress&#39; plea and asked that the Gujarat Congress could approach it through filing a writ petition for electoral reforms.</p>

<p>It further maintained that electoral process in a democracy was of utmost importance and the Supreme Court cannot interfere only to allay apprehension of a party.</p>

<p>The voting for the two-phase Gujarat Assembly election ended on Thursday and counting of votes will be held on December 18.</p>


The voting for the two-phase Gujarat Assembly election ended on Thursday and counting of votes will be held on December 18

Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Saturday questioned Supreme Court's decision to reject Congress' plea, seeking cross-verification of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trails with votes cast with Electronic Voting Machines and asked why they were used in the Gujarat elections. "Why are VVPATs used in the first place It is used for smooth counting of votes wherever there is a fault. I do not understand Supreme Court's stand on the issue," the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener said. He also said if EVMs were not tampered with then the exit polls' results, which showed Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the state polls, would be proven wrong. "I think exit polls' results will be proven wrong. If EVMs do not malfunction then BJP will lose the election. I have 100 percent doubt on EVMs," he said. Patel's statement comes a day after the apex court dismissed the Congress' plea seeking directions to the Election Commission (EC) to count and cross verify at least 25 percent of VVPAT with votes cast with EVM. Yesterday, the apex court said it found no merit in Congress' plea and asked that the Gujarat Congress could approach it through filing a writ petition for electoral reforms. It further maintained that electoral process in a democracy was of utmost importance and the Supreme Court cannot interfere only to allay apprehension of a party. The voting for the two-phase Gujarat Assembly election ended on Thursday and counting of votes will be held on December 18.

Gujarat polls: Hardik Patel questions Supreme Court rejection of Congress's plea

<p>In a major set back to the Congress party, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed their plea seeking directions to the Election Commission to count and cross verify at least 25 per cent of paper trails generated by the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines with the actual vote tally in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">SC dismisses Congress&#39; plea seeking directions to EC to count &amp; cross verify at least 25% of VVPAT paper trail with EVM votes. <a href="https://t.co/uabJs37oJ5">pic.twitter.com/uabJs37oJ5</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/941600200316960768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Just three days prior to the counting of votes for held Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress party had today approached the apex court demanding cross-verification.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Senior lawyers and Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal had appeared for the Congress in this regard.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congress moves Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to count and cross verify at least 25% of the VVPAT paper trail with the EVM votes. Abhishek Manu Singhvi &amp; Kapil Sibal to appear for Congress, matter likely to be heard today.</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/941587454355677185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p><br />
The plea was submitted just a day after the second and final phase of polling concluded in the Gujarat assembly polls.</p>

<p>This year in July, the EC had made it mandatory to verify the paper trail slips with the results of EVMs in 5 per cent of polling stations in each assembly seat, for all state and Lok Sabha elections.</p>

<p>VVPAT machines were inducted to generate a printed slip confirming the voter&#39;s choice when he voted on an EVM.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The plea was submitted just a day after the second and final phase of polling concluded in Gujarat assembly polls.

In a major set back to the Congress party, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed their plea seeking directions to the Election Commission to count and cross verify at least 25 per cent of paper trails generated by the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines with the actual vote tally in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). SC dismisses Congress' plea seeking directions to EC to count & cross verify at least 25% of VVPAT paper trail with EVM votes. pic.twitter.com/uabJs37oJ5 — ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2017 × Just three days prior to the counting of votes for held Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress party had today approached the apex court demanding cross-verification. Senior lawyers and Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal had appeared for the Congress in this regard. Congress moves Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to count and cross verify at least 25% of the VVPAT paper trail with the EVM votes. Abhishek Manu Singhvi & Kapil Sibal to appear for Congress, matter likely to be heard today. — ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2017 × The plea was submitted just a day after the second and final phase of polling concluded in the Gujarat assembly polls. This year in July, the EC had made it mandatory to verify the paper trail slips with the results of EVMs in 5 per cent of polling stations in each assembly seat, for all state and Lok Sabha elections. VVPAT machines were inducted to generate a printed slip confirming the voter's choice when he voted on an EVM.

Congress approaches SC seeking cross verification of at least 25% VVPAT slips, plea dismissed

<p>Going by the outcome of Gujarat exit polls, pollsters are indicating a clear majority for BJP in the state. It gives a fair assessment of the outcome, none denying the fact that BJP is set to form the government in Gandhinagar. Many political pundits and politicians who doubted BJP&rsquo;s victory are bound to be surprised with these projections. The perception was and is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fighting the toughest electoral battle of his life to retain Gujarat, to maintain &ldquo;Gujarat Model&rdquo; which he sold to win over elections after election since 2014 General Elections. This was not a battle between Congress and BJP, it was Modi vs the rest.</p>

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<p><strong>Angry Gujarat</strong></p>

<p>No doubt, there was anger amongst different sections of Gujaratis&rsquo;. The state population largely linked to the trader community, got shock&nbsp;after shock in the policies of Demonetisation and then rolling out of GST. When it hurts Gujarati&rsquo;s pocket, they are bound to be angry. Though Patel&rsquo;s which comprise 12 percent of Electorate traditionally vote for BJP. Even the tallest of their leader Keshubhai Patel who formed his own outfit, &ldquo;Gujarat Parivartan Party&rdquo; couldn&rsquo;t wean them away from the BJP.</p>

<p>In the current context, mishandling of Patel movement for reservation by Anandiben Patel and later by Vijay Rupani Government did alienate young population of the community. Una incident of attack on four Dalits skinning the carcasses of dead cow in Mota Samadhiyala village of Gir Somnath district did hurt 7 percent of caste population as many of them were in the business of skinning dead animals for a living. On the leaderless soil of politically fertile castes, anger translated into the emergence of new Turks Hardik Patel a Patidar leader, Jignesh Mewani a Dalit leader and Alpesh Thakor, a Rajput and OBC leader. They became the symbol of anger of their respective communities and, thus, raged a war against BJP.</p>

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<h5>On the leaderless soil of politically fertile castes, anger translated into the emergence of new Turks Hardik Patel a Patidar leader, Jignesh Mewani a Dalit leader and Alpesh Thakor, a Rajput and OBC leader.</h5>
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<p><strong>Congress virtual strategy a</strong><strong> me too</strong></p>

<p>The opposition Congress built their strategies around these scenarios.&nbsp;Cyber army of Congress IT cell camping at Ahmedabad closely monitored by 15 AICC office bearers were trying to do what BJP did in 2014 General elections on social media, create content, pass on to volunteers share and flood the cyberspace. They picked up from a Facebook post by one of Hardik Patel&rsquo;s supporter, engineering student Sagar Savaliya, who wrote: &ldquo;Vikas Gando Thayo Che&rdquo; (with the photo of wheels behind a crashed bus) meaning Development has gone crazy. This created a great traction on social media and thus became the theme of Congress campaign in Gujarat.</p>

<p>They didn&rsquo;t stop here, made Rahul Gandhi ask a question to Modi in the last leg of the campaign. Made him fly passenger class like a normal citizen standing in a queue, eat lots of Fafda&rsquo;s and Jalebi at roadside Dhaba&rsquo;s and above all, pronounced him as &ldquo;Janeudhari Brahmin&rdquo; by temple pilgrimages during the campaign. Not talking about likes of Mani Shankar Iyer as for one they do not mind their language. Congress made two major mistakes, propagating caste and adopting soft Hindutva in the run-up to Gujarat polling. It was a major shift in the grand old party which has been a victim of new cast based regional parties blocking the re-emergence of Congress to reclaim its base.</p>

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<p><strong>Modi&rsquo;s art of turning anger into sympathy</strong></p>

<p>It was natural for Narendra Modi to give lesser attention to his home state Gujarat compared to when he was the chief minister before 2014 because of his larger role as Prime Minister of the country. He never lost the base with state though. Hosting Chinese President Xi-Jinping and recently Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at Ahmedabad and increasing the Hight of Sardar Sarovar Dam. Prime Minister started focusing on Gujarat post-September this year with inauguration of Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed (Bullet) train with the assistance of his friend Abe. Congress made a joke out of it and termed it a waste of money.</p>

<p>During his visit to Ahmedabad for this ceremony, Modi noticed potholes around the city, though administration patched roads taken By Modi and Abe during their stay. Narendra Modi gave 48 hours&rsquo; time to the administration for making roads pothole free which they did. Sensing the anger Modi made Finance Minister Arun Jaitley make amendments in GST to make it easy for traders and SMSE&rsquo;s. He got CM Vijay Rupani to decrease VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to commuters. To the Congress charges of &ldquo;Vikas Gando Thayo Che&rdquo; Modi touched the emotional chord by declaring &ldquo;Hun Vikas chum&rdquo; meaning I am development.</p>

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<h5>To the Congress charges of &ldquo;Vikas Gando Thayo Che&rdquo; Modi touched the emotional chord by declaring &ldquo;Hun Vikas chum&rdquo; meaning I am development.</h5>
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<p>Launched 31-km long RoRo ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej that cut travel time from eight hours to one and half hour will benefit people working in the diamond-cutting and polishing hub of Surat. The first phase of voting was over by now. Congress was claiming the lead in this phase and few BJP leaders also were apprehensive. Before the second round of voting, Modi asked, &ldquo;What did I do to deserve this&rdquo; on Mani Shankar Iyer&rsquo;s &ldquo;Neech&rdquo; comment during his campaign. Throughout he spoke in Gujarati. Reminded people how he used to be part of that area when he was in Gujarat. Made that connect with the masses of Gujarat. On congress&rsquo;s &ldquo;Janeudhari Brahmin&rdquo; tactic Modi raked up Mani Shankar Iyer dinner with former Pakistani former Foreign Secretary and other diplomats.</p>

<p>Former PM Manmohan Singh and Former COAS Deepak Kumar were in presence in this dinner meeting. This was the kind of the first instance wherein Prime Minister accused other nation, Pakistan of muddling in Gujarat elections. Pakistan had to clarify officially that they do not have any role in domestic politics of India, but it played well. Many in Gujarat did not perceive it well for Congress. End of the campaign was the most dramatic. Denied permission for a road show in Ahmedabad, Modi holding the door bar of Seaplane did a River Show on Sabarmati Riverfront.</p>

<p>Any Amdavadi, Gujarati or for that matter Indian would have felt proud to see this happening on Sabarmati which use to be a nullah of drains till 2005, emotionally. On polling Day standing in the queue after dedicating INS Kalvari to the nation in Arabian sea Mumbai. Taking a walk near the poll station and while returning waving to crowd from his SUV, inviting Congress to charge Chief Election commissioner working as Prime Ministers PS. This war will go on but Gujarat chapter is closed for now. Those in doubts will be clearer on 18th December by 10:30 AM.</p>

<p>One thing is clear, Modi&rsquo;s magic or Modi Election Winning machine is still intact. He is the leader who knows the pulse of people, engage with them through social media, Mann Ki Baat, Namo App, speeches. He knows when to Bow as he did after demonetisation, seek time for hardships. It is that connect which makes Modi the leader whom people relate, trust and believe.</p>

<p><em>&nbsp;(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)</em></p>


Narendra Modi is the leader who knows the pulse of people. His magic and election winning spree is still intact.

Going by the outcome of Gujarat exit polls, pollsters are indicating a clear majority for BJP in the state. It gives a fair assessment of the outcome, none denying the fact that BJP is set to form the government in Gandhinagar. Many political pundits and politicians who doubted BJP’s victory are bound to be surprised with these projections. The perception was and is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fighting the toughest electoral battle of his life to retain Gujarat, to maintain “Gujarat Model” which he sold to win over elections after election since 2014 General Elections. This was not a battle between Congress and BJP, it was Modi vs the rest. This was not a battle between Congress and BJP, it was Modi vs the rest. × Angry Gujarat No doubt, there was anger amongst different sections of Gujaratis’. The state population largely linked to the trader community, got shock after shock in the policies of Demonetisation and then rolling out of GST. When it hurts Gujarati’s pocket, they are bound to be angry. Though Patel’s which comprise 12 percent of Electorate traditionally vote for BJP. Even the tallest of their leader Keshubhai Patel who formed his own outfit, “Gujarat Parivartan Party” couldn’t wean them away from the BJP. In the current context, mishandling of Patel movement for reservation by Anandiben Patel and later by Vijay Rupani Government did alienate young population of the community. Una incident of attack on four Dalits skinning the carcasses of dead cow in Mota Samadhiyala village of Gir Somnath district did hurt 7 percent of caste population as many of them were in the business of skinning dead animals for a living. On the leaderless soil of politically fertile castes, anger translated into the emergence of new Turks Hardik Patel a Patidar leader, Jignesh Mewani a Dalit leader and Alpesh Thakor, a Rajput and OBC leader. They became the symbol of anger of their respective communities and, thus, raged a war against BJP. On the leaderless soil of politically fertile castes, anger translated into the emergence of new Turks Hardik Patel a Patidar leader, Jignesh Mewani a Dalit leader and Alpesh Thakor, a Rajput and OBC leader. × Congress virtual strategy a me too The opposition Congress built their strategies around these scenarios. Cyber army of Congress IT cell camping at Ahmedabad closely monitored by 15 AICC office bearers were trying to do what BJP did in 2014 General elections on social media, create content, pass on to volunteers share and flood the cyberspace. They picked up from a Facebook post by one of Hardik Patel’s supporter, engineering student Sagar Savaliya, who wrote: “Vikas Gando Thayo Che” (with the photo of wheels behind a crashed bus) meaning Development has gone crazy. This created a great traction on social media and thus became the theme of Congress campaign in Gujarat. They didn’t stop here, made Rahul Gandhi ask a question to Modi in the last leg of the campaign. Made him fly passenger class like a normal citizen standing in a queue, eat lots of Fafda’s and Jalebi at roadside Dhaba’s and above all, pronounced him as “Janeudhari Brahmin” by temple pilgrimages during the campaign. Not talking about likes of Mani Shankar Iyer as for one they do not mind their language. Congress made two major mistakes, propagating caste and adopting soft Hindutva in the run-up to Gujarat polling. It was a major shift in the grand old party which has been a victim of new cast based regional parties blocking the re-emergence of Congress to reclaim its base. Congress made two major mistakes, propagating caste and adopting soft Hindutva in the run-up to Gujarat polling. × Modi’s art of turning anger into sympathy It was natural for Narendra Modi to give lesser attention to his home state Gujarat compared to when he was the chief minister before 2014 because of his larger role as Prime Minister of the country. He never lost the base with state though. Hosting Chinese President Xi-Jinping and recently Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at Ahmedabad and increasing the Hight of Sardar Sarovar Dam. Prime Minister started focusing on Gujarat post-September this year with inauguration of Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed (Bullet) train with the assistance of his friend Abe. Congress made a joke out of it and termed it a waste of money. During his visit to Ahmedabad for this ceremony, Modi noticed potholes around the city, though administration patched roads taken By Modi and Abe during their stay. Narendra Modi gave 48 hours’ time to the administration for making roads pothole free which they did. Sensing the anger Modi made Finance Minister Arun Jaitley make amendments in GST to make it easy for traders and SMSE’s. He got CM Vijay Rupani to decrease VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to commuters. To the Congress charges of “Vikas Gando Thayo Che” Modi touched the emotional chord by declaring “Hun Vikas chum” meaning I am development. To the Congress charges of “Vikas Gando Thayo Che” Modi touched the emotional chord by declaring “Hun Vikas chum” meaning I am development. × Launched 31-km long RoRo ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej that cut travel time from eight hours to one and half hour will benefit people working in the diamond-cutting and polishing hub of Surat. The first phase of voting was over by now. Congress was claiming the lead in this phase and few BJP leaders also were apprehensive. Before the second round of voting, Modi asked, “What did I do to deserve this” on Mani Shankar Iyer’s “Neech” comment during his campaign. Throughout he spoke in Gujarati. Reminded people how he used to be part of that area when he was in Gujarat. Made that connect with the masses of Gujarat. On congress’s “Janeudhari Brahmin” tactic Modi raked up Mani Shankar Iyer dinner with former Pakistani former Foreign Secretary and other diplomats. Former PM Manmohan Singh and Former COAS Deepak Kumar were in presence in this dinner meeting. This was the kind of the first instance wherein Prime Minister accused other nation, Pakistan of muddling in Gujarat elections. Pakistan had to clarify officially that they do not have any role in domestic politics of India, but it played well. Many in Gujarat did not perceive it well for Congress. End of the campaign was the most dramatic. Denied permission for a road show in Ahmedabad, Modi holding the door bar of Seaplane did a River Show on Sabarmati Riverfront. Any Amdavadi, Gujarati or for that matter Indian would have felt proud to see this happening on Sabarmati which use to be a nullah of drains till 2005, emotionally. On polling Day standing in the queue after dedicating INS Kalvari to the nation in Arabian sea Mumbai. Taking a walk near the poll station and while returning waving to crowd from his SUV, inviting Congress to charge Chief Election commissioner working as Prime Ministers PS. This war will go on but Gujarat chapter is closed for now. Those in doubts will be clearer on 18th December by 10:30 AM. One thing is clear, Modi’s magic or Modi Election Winning machine is still intact. He is the leader who knows the pulse of people, engage with them through social media, Mann Ki Baat, Namo App, speeches. He knows when to Bow as he did after demonetisation, seek time for hardships. It is that connect which makes Modi the leader whom people relate, trust and believe. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: 'Modi-fied' Gujarat Polls 'Trumps' all

<p>Exit polls in the country have gone terribly wrong in the past. They have either underestimated the projected loser or overestimated the predicted winner. At times, these findings have even underestimated the numbers the eventual winner got, and the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is the most recent example of that. On the other hand, exit polls have also been straws in the wind, showcasing a general trend that gets reflected in the actual results. In any case, there is nothing but these numbers one can debate upon until the votes are counted.</p>

<p>Even the stock market goes by the temporary numbers; the Sensex opened on a high on Friday. On Thursday, half a dozen exit polls conducted by psephologists on Gujarat for television news channels were in agreement that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would gain at least a simple majority and return to power. The margin of victory fluctuated, though. The reaction of the Congress and the BJP was interestingly similar. Both said the outcome on December 18 would be better than predicted, in their respective interests.</p>

<p>Simplistically put, there are two ways to interpret the exit poll results. The first is from the Congress&rsquo;s angle and the other is from the BJP&rsquo;s perspective. Most pollsters have projected an improved performance by the Congress as compared to its 2012 showing. This is reflected in the number of seats and vote-share. The Congress can claim that it gave a real fight to the BJP this time around under Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s leadership. The party can also gloat that it could wean away a sizeable section of the Patidar community, who have for decades staunchly supported the BJP, to its side. The Congress can also say that it succeeded in busting the &lsquo;myth&rsquo; of the Gujarat Model, which is especially reflected in the support the party has received in rural Gujarat.</p>

<p>None of the above is an entirely empty boast. By most exit poll estimates, the Congress did manage to split Patidar votes in its favour; its vote share and seats have gone up since 2012, and it has done well in the rural belt of Gujarat riding on discontent over farmer&#39;s distress. However, despite all this tailwind and the formation of a novel caste- grouping comprising the Other Backward Class, the Scheduled Castes and the Patidar community, the best that one exit pollster gave the Congress was 82 seats out of a total 182.</p>

<p>Compare this to the worst that the BJP has been projected to end up with - 99 seats - and it becomes obvious that the Congress&rsquo;s best falls way short of the requirement. Besides, if this is all that the party can manage after having invested everything it had in the election, and with the starting advantage of more than two decades of anti-incumbency that the BJP ought to have faced, then by all objective reasoning the country&rsquo;s oldest political party has failed. And, for the record, the best that the BJP has been given by an exit poll agency is 135 seats &mdash; with the prospect of a higher eventual number.</p>

<p>If the exit poll results hold on December 18, the Congress will need to find suitable scapegoats. Perhaps the process has been put into motion. The Electronic Voting Machine is a prime suspect, and so is the institution of the Election Commission of India &mdash; against whom Congress supporters agitated on the streets in an unprecedented show of hostility. A Congress spokesperson even went to the extent of calling the ECI a &ldquo;puppet&rdquo; of the Union Government. The Congress is also likely to attribute its loss to the &ldquo;divisive&rdquo; campaign the BJP and launched and for having &ldquo;misled&rdquo; the people. It should not be imagined even in the wildest dreams that the newly minted Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be held accountable for the defeat.</p>

<p>From the BJP&rsquo;s view, the exit poll results are a source of comfort. If they are reflected on December 18, it would mean that the party has overpowered anti-incumbency for two decades. But more importantly, it would have successfully neutralised the Patidar agitation against it, which had threatened to unseat the party. Exit poll findings have shown that the BJP has done well to retain a significant section of the Patidar votes across the State, including in Saurashtra and north Gujarat where the community has a dominant presence in electoral terms. True, it has lost ground in the region according the poll projections, to the Hardik Patel factor which worked in the Congress&rsquo;s favour, but not to the extent of staring at a catastrophe.</p>

<p>Going by the exit poll findings, the BJP has not just contained the Patidar damage but also managed to compensate for the loss by winning over a majority of the tribal and OBC votes. In the run-up to the two-phased election, commentators had observed that the party could work on the discontent among the OBCs over the Congress&rsquo;s support to Patidar reservation. This it seems to have done with results that offer a measure of self-satisfaction. According to one exit poll finding, even a significant section of the Thakore community to which OBC leader and Congressman Alpesh Thakore belongs, voted for the BJP. In sum, the Congress, in its desire to run after the Patidar votes, has lost the tribal and the OBC voters &mdash; all of whom the BJP gratefully lapped up.</p>

<p>Having outwitted the Congress in caste calculation &mdash; the major plank on which for the Congress was overly dependent to snatch power &mdash; the BJP was left with no real challenge. The &lsquo;lack of development&rsquo; narrative against the BJP simply did not work for the Congress. The Congress&rsquo;s other offensives, such as personal attacks by its senior leaders and allies on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the after-thought of &lsquo;me-too Hindu&rsquo; campaign by Rahul Gandhi, served to weaken the opposition party&rsquo;s narrative. If the exit poll results get vindicated on December 18, Rahul Gandhi will have begun his innings as president on a dismal note.</p>

<p>The impact could be cascading; Assembly elections are due for a clutch of important States in the next year, including in Karnataka &mdash; the only major State besides Punjab where the Congress is in power. And there is the Lok Sabha poll, which is less than two years away. If indeed the Congress is the vanquished one, come Monday, there is one lesson that it must learn at all costs: It does not pay to outsource leadership. It had paid the price in Uttar Pradesh where it placed its future at Akhilesh Yadav&rsquo;s doorstep. It did the same in Gujarat, depending more on the HAJ factor (Hardik-Alpesh- Jignesh) rather than on its core strengths and issues which it alone had the credibility to raise.</p>

<p>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).</p>


The BJP has not just contained the Patidar damage but also managed to compensate for the loss by winning over a majority of the tribal and OBC votes

Exit polls in the country have gone terribly wrong in the past. They have either underestimated the projected loser or overestimated the predicted winner. At times, these findings have even underestimated the numbers the eventual winner got, and the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is the most recent example of that. On the other hand, exit polls have also been straws in the wind, showcasing a general trend that gets reflected in the actual results. In any case, there is nothing but these numbers one can debate upon until the votes are counted. Even the stock market goes by the temporary numbers; the Sensex opened on a high on Friday. On Thursday, half a dozen exit polls conducted by psephologists on Gujarat for television news channels were in agreement that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would gain at least a simple majority and return to power. The margin of victory fluctuated, though. The reaction of the Congress and the BJP was interestingly similar. Both said the outcome on December 18 would be better than predicted, in their respective interests. Simplistically put, there are two ways to interpret the exit poll results. The first is from the Congress’s angle and the other is from the BJP’s perspective. Most pollsters have projected an improved performance by the Congress as compared to its 2012 showing. This is reflected in the number of seats and vote-share. The Congress can claim that it gave a real fight to the BJP this time around under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. The party can also gloat that it could wean away a sizeable section of the Patidar community, who have for decades staunchly supported the BJP, to its side. The Congress can also say that it succeeded in busting the ‘myth’ of the Gujarat Model, which is especially reflected in the support the party has received in rural Gujarat. None of the above is an entirely empty boast. By most exit poll estimates, the Congress did manage to split Patidar votes in its favour; its vote share and seats have gone up since 2012, and it has done well in the rural belt of Gujarat riding on discontent over farmer's distress. However, despite all this tailwind and the formation of a novel caste- grouping comprising the Other Backward Class, the Scheduled Castes and the Patidar community, the best that one exit pollster gave the Congress was 82 seats out of a total 182. Compare this to the worst that the BJP has been projected to end up with - 99 seats - and it becomes obvious that the Congress’s best falls way short of the requirement. Besides, if this is all that the party can manage after having invested everything it had in the election, and with the starting advantage of more than two decades of anti-incumbency that the BJP ought to have faced, then by all objective reasoning the country’s oldest political party has failed. And, for the record, the best that the BJP has been given by an exit poll agency is 135 seats — with the prospect of a higher eventual number. If the exit poll results hold on December 18, the Congress will need to find suitable scapegoats. Perhaps the process has been put into motion. The Electronic Voting Machine is a prime suspect, and so is the institution of the Election Commission of India — against whom Congress supporters agitated on the streets in an unprecedented show of hostility. A Congress spokesperson even went to the extent of calling the ECI a “puppet” of the Union Government. The Congress is also likely to attribute its loss to the “divisive” campaign the BJP and launched and for having “misled” the people. It should not be imagined even in the wildest dreams that the newly minted Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be held accountable for the defeat. From the BJP’s view, the exit poll results are a source of comfort. If they are reflected on December 18, it would mean that the party has overpowered anti-incumbency for two decades. But more importantly, it would have successfully neutralised the Patidar agitation against it, which had threatened to unseat the party. Exit poll findings have shown that the BJP has done well to retain a significant section of the Patidar votes across the State, including in Saurashtra and north Gujarat where the community has a dominant presence in electoral terms. True, it has lost ground in the region according the poll projections, to the Hardik Patel factor which worked in the Congress’s favour, but not to the extent of staring at a catastrophe. Going by the exit poll findings, the BJP has not just contained the Patidar damage but also managed to compensate for the loss by winning over a majority of the tribal and OBC votes. In the run-up to the two-phased election, commentators had observed that the party could work on the discontent among the OBCs over the Congress’s support to Patidar reservation. This it seems to have done with results that offer a measure of self-satisfaction. According to one exit poll finding, even a significant section of the Thakore community to which OBC leader and Congressman Alpesh Thakore belongs, voted for the BJP. In sum, the Congress, in its desire to run after the Patidar votes, has lost the tribal and the OBC voters — all of whom the BJP gratefully lapped up. Having outwitted the Congress in caste calculation — the major plank on which for the Congress was overly dependent to snatch power — the BJP was left with no real challenge. The ‘lack of development’ narrative against the BJP simply did not work for the Congress. The Congress’s other offensives, such as personal attacks by its senior leaders and allies on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the after-thought of ‘me-too Hindu’ campaign by Rahul Gandhi, served to weaken the opposition party’s narrative. If the exit poll results get vindicated on December 18, Rahul Gandhi will have begun his innings as president on a dismal note. The impact could be cascading; Assembly elections are due for a clutch of important States in the next year, including in Karnataka — the only major State besides Punjab where the Congress is in power. And there is the Lok Sabha poll, which is less than two years away. If indeed the Congress is the vanquished one, come Monday, there is one lesson that it must learn at all costs: It does not pay to outsource leadership. It had paid the price in Uttar Pradesh where it placed its future at Akhilesh Yadav’s doorstep. It did the same in Gujarat, depending more on the HAJ factor (Hardik-Alpesh- Jignesh) rather than on its core strengths and issues which it alone had the credibility to raise. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: Exit poll comforts BJP; Congress may have to look for scapegoats

<p>The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a clutch of pleas seeking a stay on the government&#39;s decision to link Aadhaar with various welfare schemes.</p>

<p>The order will be pronounced on Friday.</p>

<p>A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the final hearing on petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself would start from January 17 next year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Attorney General KK Venugopal, arguing for the Centre, said Thursday that the government was willing to extend the deadline (for the linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of welfare schemes) up to March 31 next year.</p>

<p>Venugopal, however, told the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, that Aadhaar should remain mandatory for the opening of new bank accounts.</p>

<p>Gopal Subramanium, arguing for the petitioners, said &quot;the voluntary nature of Aadhaar must be underscored. This is an encroachment on judicial path. 139 government notifications have made it compulsory. The sanctity of judicial order must remain intact.&quot;</p>

<p>KTS Tulsi and Anand Grover, also arguning for the petitioners, said &quot;without data protection law, Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory. 210 government websites have been breached once the data is exposed there is no process of rescinding or withdrawing. The agencies obtain this data and further supply it to Pakistan and unverified sources. And if data is breached, Aadhaar cannot protect it.</p>

<p>The government had on Wednesday extended the deadline, till March 31, for the linking of Aadhaar and PAN numbers for bank accounts and certain financial transactions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is however no word yet on extending the February 6, 2018 deadline for the linking of mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI)</em></p>


The order will be pronounced on pleas seeking a stay on the mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various welfare schemes

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a clutch of pleas seeking a stay on the government's decision to link Aadhaar with various welfare schemes. The order will be pronounced on Friday. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the final hearing on petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself would start from January 17 next year. Attorney General KK Venugopal, arguing for the Centre, said Thursday that the government was willing to extend the deadline (for the linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of welfare schemes) up to March 31 next year. Venugopal, however, told the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, that Aadhaar should remain mandatory for the opening of new bank accounts. Gopal Subramanium, arguing for the petitioners, said "the voluntary nature of Aadhaar must be underscored. This is an encroachment on judicial path. 139 government notifications have made it compulsory. The sanctity of judicial order must remain intact." KTS Tulsi and Anand Grover, also arguning for the petitioners, said "without data protection law, Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory. 210 government websites have been breached once the data is exposed there is no process of rescinding or withdrawing. The agencies obtain this data and further supply it to Pakistan and unverified sources. And if data is breached, Aadhaar cannot protect it. The government had on Wednesday extended the deadline, till March 31, for the linking of Aadhaar and PAN numbers for bank accounts and certain financial transactions. There is however no word yet on extending the February 6, 2018 deadline for the linking of mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar. (With inputs from PTI)

Aadhaar linking with welfare schemes: Supreme Court to pronounce order Friday

<p>Hardik Patel tweeted after the Gujarat elections, saying &quot;great change&quot; was coming to Gujarat.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;A storm from the north, a lion from Saurashtra, anger from the south, together they will lead to great change,&quot; the Patidar leader said.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">????? ?? ????,????????? ?? ???,?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???????????</p>
&mdash; Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) <a href="https://twitter.com/HardikPatel_/status/941303687447744513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Voting for the Gujarat assembly elections came to an end today.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The campaign for Gujarat has been <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-claims-pakistan-trying-to-influence-gujarat-elections-26391" target="_blank">long and bitter</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And at points the ruling BJP -- they&#39;ve been in power for 22 years -- has looked nervous.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A large reason for that has been Hardik exhorting his community to vote against the BJP. (The Patels make up 12 per cent of Gujarat&#39;s population.)&nbsp;</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/exit-poll-results-2017-bjp-to-retain-gujarat-overthrow-congress-in-himachal-pradesh-26751" target="_blank">exit polls</a> however seem to disagree with Hardik.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Most of them have said Gujarat will go to the BJP again, although with a two per cent drop in vote share.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Congress meanwhile, the exit polls say, will see a two per cent increase in vote share.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The exit polls add that the BJP will overthrow the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The results of both elections will be out on December 18.&nbsp;</p>


'A storm from the north, a lion from Saurashtra, anger from the south, together they will lead to great change,' the Patidar leader said

Hardik Patel tweeted after the Gujarat elections, saying "great change" was coming to Gujarat. "A storm from the north, a lion from Saurashtra, anger from the south, together they will lead to great change," the Patidar leader said. ????? ?? ????,????????? ?? ???,?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??????????? — Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) December 14, 2017 × Voting for the Gujarat assembly elections came to an end today. The campaign for Gujarat has been long and bitter. And at points the ruling BJP -- they've been in power for 22 years -- has looked nervous. A large reason for that has been Hardik exhorting his community to vote against the BJP. (The Patels make up 12 per cent of Gujarat's population.) The exit polls however seem to disagree with Hardik. Most of them have said Gujarat will go to the BJP again, although with a two per cent drop in vote share. The Congress meanwhile, the exit polls say, will see a two per cent increase in vote share. The exit polls add that the BJP will overthrow the Congress in Himachal Pradesh. The results of both elections will be out on December 18.

Hardik tweets, says 'great change' coming to Gujarat

<p>In the latest threat to quit power and an indication that it will contest the 2019 polls separately, the Shiv Sena said on Thursday that it will walk out of the BJP-led Maharashtra government within one year.</p>

<p>The Sena, which shares a frosty relationship with its senior partner BJP, had threatened several times in the past to walk out of the NDA government.</p>

<p>Addressing a rally in Ahmednagar district, 240 kms from here, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said that after quitting the Sena will come back to power on its own strength.</p>

<p>&quot;The Sena will quit power in one year and come back to power on its own strength. (Sena president) Uddhav Thackeray will decide the time when the party will quit power,&quot; Aaditya Thackeray said.</p>

<p>Maharashtra goes to polls in 2019.</p>

<p>&quot;Once that is done (the decision on quitting power is taken), all of you have to work together to bring about a change,&quot; the Sena scion said.</p>

<p>Launching a veiled attack on the BJP, Aaditya Thackeray indicated that issues pertaining to education remain unresolved till date and said that students keep meeting him with their demands.</p>

<p>&quot;The Sena is committed to resolving the issues of students. The Sena has also created an educational application that will guide students and resolve their problems,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Ever since the BJP formed government in Maharashtra, the Sena, which always projected itself as the &quot;big brother&quot; in the state politics, has been uneasy for having made to play second fiddle to the BJP.&nbsp;<br />
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The Sena, which shares a frosty relationship with its senior partner BJP, had threatened several times in the past to walk out of the NDA government.

In the latest threat to quit power and an indication that it will contest the 2019 polls separately, the Shiv Sena said on Thursday that it will walk out of the BJP-led Maharashtra government within one year. The Sena, which shares a frosty relationship with its senior partner BJP, had threatened several times in the past to walk out of the NDA government. Addressing a rally in Ahmednagar district, 240 kms from here, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said that after quitting the Sena will come back to power on its own strength. "The Sena will quit power in one year and come back to power on its own strength. (Sena president) Uddhav Thackeray will decide the time when the party will quit power," Aaditya Thackeray said. Maharashtra goes to polls in 2019. "Once that is done (the decision on quitting power is taken), all of you have to work together to bring about a change," the Sena scion said. Launching a veiled attack on the BJP, Aaditya Thackeray indicated that issues pertaining to education remain unresolved till date and said that students keep meeting him with their demands. "The Sena is committed to resolving the issues of students. The Sena has also created an educational application that will guide students and resolve their problems," he said. Ever since the BJP formed government in Maharashtra, the Sena, which always projected itself as the "big brother" in the state politics, has been uneasy for having made to play second fiddle to the BJP.

Shiv Sena will walk out of Maharashtra government within one year: Aaditya Thackeray

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/exit-poll-results-2017-bjp-to-retain-gujarat-overthrow-congress-in-himachal-pradesh-26751">Exit poll results 2017: BJP to retain Gujarat, overthrow Congress in Himachal Pradesh</a></p>

<p>Voting in the second and final phase of Gujarat assembly elections has ended and poll predictions for the state and Himachal Pradesh have started coming in.</p>

<p>Almost every pollster has predicted that the BJP is likely to retain Gujarat, but with a reduced number of seats. According to Republic-C Voter exit polls, the BJP is likely to get 108 seats, whereas Times Now-VMR Exit Poll data says BJP will get 109 seats out of a total of 182 seats.</p>

<p>The Congress will give the BJP a fight in Gujarat. While the Times Now-VMR exit poll gives Rahul Gandhi&#39;s party 70 seats, Republic-C-Voter predicts it will get 74 seats.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-directs-its-high-commission-in-delhi-to-issue-visas-to-jadhavs-family-26746">Pakistan directs high commission in Delhi to issue visas to Jadhav&#39;s mother, wife</a></p>

<p>Pakistan today directed its High Commission in New Delhi to issue visas to the wife and mother of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, official sources said.</p>

<p>The directive was issued by the Foreign Ministry following its decision last week to allow Jadhav&#39;s family to meet him on December 25 in Islamabad, they said.</p>

<p>An Indian high commission official will be allowed to accompany Jadhav&#39;s family during their meeting.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-to-pronounce-interim-order-on-mandatory-linking-of-aadhaar-tomorrow-26747">Supreme Court to pronounce interim order on mandatory linking of Aadhaar tomorrow</a></p>

<p>The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its interim order on a clutch of pleas seeking a stay on the government&#39;s decision to link Aadhaar with various welfare schemes.</p>

<p>The order will be pronounced tomorrow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the final hearing on petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself would start from January 17 next year.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indias-inflation-rises-to-eight-month-high-in-november-26724">India&#39;s wholesale inflation rises to eight-month high in November</a></p>

<p>India&#39;s wholesale price based inflation rose to 3.93 per cent in November, as against 3.59 per cent in October.</p>

<p>The annual wholesale price inflation accelerated in November to an eight-month high, driven by faster rises in prices of food and fuel products, government data showed.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sc-to-centre-ensure-courts-deciding-cases-against-mps-mlas-start-from-march-1-26739">SC to Centre: Ensure courts deciding cases against MPs, MLAs start functioning from March 1</a></p>

<p>The Supreme Court told the Centre Thursday to ensure that the fast-track courts that will decide pending cases against MPs and MLAs start functioning from March 1, 2018.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The court directed the Centre to allocate Rs 7.8 crore proportionally to the states where the 12 special courts will be set up.</p>

<p>The court added that the courts will be set up by the state governments in consultation with high courts.&nbsp;</p>


Exit poll results 2017: BJP to retain Gujarat, overthrow Congress in Himachal Pradesh Voting in the second and final phase of Gujarat assembly elections has ended and poll predictions for the state and Himachal Pradesh have started coming in. Almost every pollster has predicted that the BJP is likely to retain Gujarat, but with a reduced number of seats. According to Republic-C Voter exit polls, the BJP is likely to get 108 seats, whereas Times Now-VMR Exit Poll data says BJP will get 109 seats out of a total of 182 seats. The Congress will give the BJP a fight in Gujarat. While the Times Now-VMR exit poll gives Rahul Gandhi's party 70 seats, Republic-C-Voter predicts it will get 74 seats. Pakistan directs high commission in Delhi to issue visas to Jadhav's mother, wife Pakistan today directed its High Commission in New Delhi to issue visas to the wife and mother of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, official sources said. The directive was issued by the Foreign Ministry following its decision last week to allow Jadhav's family to meet him on December 25 in Islamabad, they said. An Indian high commission official will be allowed to accompany Jadhav's family during their meeting. Supreme Court to pronounce interim order on mandatory linking of Aadhaar tomorrow The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its interim order on a clutch of pleas seeking a stay on the government's decision to link Aadhaar with various welfare schemes. The order will be pronounced tomorrow. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the final hearing on petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself would start from January 17 next year. India's wholesale inflation rises to eight-month high in November India's wholesale price based inflation rose to 3.93 per cent in November, as against 3.59 per cent in October. The annual wholesale price inflation accelerated in November to an eight-month high, driven by faster rises in prices of food and fuel products, government data showed. SC to Centre: Ensure courts deciding cases against MPs, MLAs start functioning from March 1 The Supreme Court told the Centre Thursday to ensure that the fast-track courts that will decide pending cases against MPs and MLAs start functioning from March 1, 2018. The court directed the Centre to allocate Rs 7.8 crore proportionally to the states where the 12 special courts will be set up. The court added that the courts will be set up by the state governments in consultation with high courts.

WION evening news brief, December 14, 2017

<p>The Delhi High Court today will hear the plea filed by former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav in connection with his disqualification from Rajya Sabha.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The plea&nbsp;demanding urgent hearing&nbsp;seeks immediate termination of his &quot;disqualification from Rajya Sabha&quot;.</p>

<p>Sharad Yadav&#39;s counsel demanded an urgent hearing into the matter citing&nbsp;that the Winter session of Parliament was approaching and he will not be able to participate in it if the order is not suspended. He also demanded an interim stay into&nbsp;the matter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The plea for an urgent hearing of the matter was filed by Sharad Yadav&#39;s&nbsp;Advocate Nizam Pasha and&nbsp;was put before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar.</p>

<p>The plea says that Yadav was not given any chance by Rajya Sabha chairman before the order was passed against him.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the counsel for the leader of JD(U) in the house, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has opposed to the urgent listing of the matter.</p>

<p>Sharad Yadav was disqualified from the party by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu due to Anti-Defection Law on December 4.</p>

<p>His disqualification came after Yadav joined hands with the opposition and attended a rally of the opposition party in Patna.</p>

<p>Yadav teamed up with the opposition after JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar broke out from the Grand Alliance and joined up with BJP.</p>

<p>The chairman then disqualified Sharad Yadav along with another party leader citing that the two senior leaders had&nbsp;&quot;voluntarily given up&quot; their membership by defying the party&#39;s directives and attending events of opposition parties.&nbsp;</p>

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Sharad Yadav was disqualified from the party by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu due to Anti-Defection Law on December 4

The Delhi High Court today will hear the plea filed by former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav in connection with his disqualification from Rajya Sabha. The plea demanding urgent hearing seeks immediate termination of his "disqualification from Rajya Sabha". Sharad Yadav's counsel demanded an urgent hearing into the matter citing that the Winter session of Parliament was approaching and he will not be able to participate in it if the order is not suspended. He also demanded an interim stay into the matter. The plea for an urgent hearing of the matter was filed by Sharad Yadav's Advocate Nizam Pasha and was put before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar. The plea says that Yadav was not given any chance by Rajya Sabha chairman before the order was passed against him. On the other hand, the counsel for the leader of JD(U) in the house, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has opposed to the urgent listing of the matter. Sharad Yadav was disqualified from the party by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu due to Anti-Defection Law on December 4. His disqualification came after Yadav joined hands with the opposition and attended a rally of the opposition party in Patna. Yadav teamed up with the opposition after JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar broke out from the Grand Alliance and joined up with BJP. The chairman then disqualified Sharad Yadav along with another party leader citing that the two senior leaders had "voluntarily given up" their membership by defying the party's directives and attending events of opposition parties.

Delhi High Court to hear Sharad Yadav's plea in Rajya Sabha disqualification case

<p>In exactly a week from now, we shall know whether the Lotus has bloomed or the Hand has swept aside its rivals in Gujarat. We shall also know whether Rahul Gandhi begins his new innings as Congress president with a morale-boosting win or a defeat for which his minions will need to scamper to find scapegoats. And, we shall know too if Prime Minister Narendra Modi approaches the forthcoming electoral challenges after having being endorsed as Gujarat&rsquo;s Pride or rejected in his own backyard. Both sides are confident of a decisive victory, but that is only to be expected. One has to lose and will lose. After all, while many scenarios have been discussed, none has ventured to suggest a hung Assembly where the winner-loser is unclear.</p>

<p>Election campaigns are composed of several issues, and it is rare for just one or two of these to determine the outcome. The 2014 Lok Sabha poll was one such exception where corruption and policy paralysis alone doomed the Congress. Various other matters, factual or perceptional, became subordinate to this twin overriding narrative. In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election held earlier this year, the two issues that tamed the Samajwadi Party were minority appeasement and poor law and order.</p>

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<p>The Bihar Assembly poll was fought and won by the Lalu Prasad-Nitish Kumar combine (which has since evaporated) on pure caste arithmetic. Aside these, elections are contested and decided on multiple grounds, and this makes the democratic exercise all the more challenging &mdash; and even more challenging to predict. Rare is that political commentator who is able to say, with some amount of accuracy, that a particular issue would be the dominant factor. In hindsight, once the results are known, there are many to &lsquo;analyse&rsquo; the impact of one strand or the other.</p>

<p>The Gujarat campaign began in a simple enough manner, giving hope to the plethora of commentators of a fairly accurate assessment. Led by Prime Minister Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party went on an overdrive, listing its achievements in the State over the two decades of its rule &mdash; especially the period 2002-14 when Modi was the Chief Minister. The Gujarat Model of development was showcased, the ease of doing the business ranking of the World Bank was flaunted, the upgrade in the country&rsquo;s ratings by Moody&rsquo;s was quoted, the robustness of the Indian economy was pointed out, and the &lsquo;exemplary&rsquo; law and order situation in the State was underlined. The Congress sought to pick holes in the Gujarat Model by citing matters of unemployment, poor social welfare indices, farmers&rsquo; distress etc.</p>

<p>Thereafter, as the campaign picked momentum, the issue of reservation for the Patidar community gained ground. While it was there from the beginning, the matter received heft after the Congress and Patidar leader Hardik Patel joined hands officially. Once the Congress formally endorsed Patidar reservation, the BJP swung into action, first by projecting that the Patidars were a divided lot and that the sensible among them &mdash; who according to BJP leaders were in a majority &mdash; would remain loyal to the BJP. Second, the ruling party forcefully projected the &lsquo;impossibility&rsquo; of the reservation in constitutional terms and said the Congress was taking the Patidars for a ride.</p>

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<p>So far, the going was simple enough and the commentators were still a happy lot. The BJP pitched for inclusive development (reminding voters of its past record and promising more of the same for the future) while the Congress aggressively pushed for reservation as an affirmative action to benefit the Patidars who form nearly 12 per cent of the population in Gujarat. The caste rainbow of Patidar-OBC-Scheduled Caste, which the Congress had quickly put out, was supposed to extinguish the BJP&rsquo;s flame of hope. Then, the development versus reservation narrative began to change.</p>

<p>For some time, the BJP had been keeping an eye on Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s sudden devotion to temples; by some accounts, he has visited more than a dozen of them during his campaigns in the State. But after his trip to the Somnath temple, the party got an opportunity to say something. Somebody supposedly from the Congress leader&rsquo;s side entered his name as a non-Hindu visitor to the temple. BJP leaders were quick to demand an explanation. The Congress fell in the trap and one of its senior functionaries claimed that Rahul Gandhi was a &ldquo;<em>Janeu-</em><em>dhari</em> (sacred thread wearing) Hindu&rdquo;. To top this, Rahul Gandhi said he was a Shiva devotee! His acolytes then went on to speculate on the religious affiliations of both the Prime Minister and BJP president Amit Shah.</p>

<p>The sudden turn towards religion, on which the Congress generally finds itself on the defensive given that the BJP leaders make no bones about where their inclinations lie, shaped the narrative even more decidedly when senior Congress leader and noted lawyer Kapil Sibal demanded that the Supreme Court postpone the hearing on the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute case, and take it up after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The direct linkage of the dispute with politics left the Congress red-faced. Worse, even the litigants who had hired Sibal condemned the senior advocate&rsquo;s stand and said they wanted an early hearing and quick settlement of the issue.</p>

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<p>The manner in which the BJP, especially Prime Minister Modi, latched on to the issue at his public rallies and converted it into a major talking point, should have alerted the Congress against more self-goals. After all, it suited the opposite party to target the BJP on the issues of reservation and lack of real and inclusive development. But, perhaps already confident that they were winning Gujarat, senior Congress leaders breached the red line. Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Prime Minister &ldquo;<em>neech</em>&rdquo;, &nbsp;a term which Modi and his team ran swiftly to the electorate and termed it as a slight to his social status of being an OBC. Now, the BJP used the occasion to not just strike at the Congress for its &lsquo;elitist&rsquo; and &lsquo;feudal&rsquo; mindset but also quoted the abuse as an insult to Gujarati asmita (pride).</p>

<p>Had these blunders come in the early stages of electioneering, the Congress could have had a better chance of glossing over them or having them dominated by other, fresher issues. But they have come towards the end stages of campaigning, and their recall value is, therefore, more likely. Does this mean that religion and personal abuse will eventually determine the outcome? The Congress must be hoping to the contrary, and the BJP praying that the issues click.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


The Congress aggressively pushed for reservation as an affirmative action to benefit the Patidars who form nearly 12 per cent of the population in Gujarat

In exactly a week from now, we shall know whether the Lotus has bloomed or the Hand has swept aside its rivals in Gujarat. We shall also know whether Rahul Gandhi begins his new innings as Congress president with a morale-boosting win or a defeat for which his minions will need to scamper to find scapegoats. And, we shall know too if Prime Minister Narendra Modi approaches the forthcoming electoral challenges after having being endorsed as Gujarat’s Pride or rejected in his own backyard. Both sides are confident of a decisive victory, but that is only to be expected. One has to lose and will lose. After all, while many scenarios have been discussed, none has ventured to suggest a hung Assembly where the winner-loser is unclear. Election campaigns are composed of several issues, and it is rare for just one or two of these to determine the outcome. The 2014 Lok Sabha poll was one such exception where corruption and policy paralysis alone doomed the Congress. Various other matters, factual or perceptional, became subordinate to this twin overriding narrative. In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election held earlier this year, the two issues that tamed the Samajwadi Party were minority appeasement and poor law and order. The Gujarat campaign began in a simple enough manner, giving hope to the plethora of commentators of a fairly accurate assessment. × The Bihar Assembly poll was fought and won by the Lalu Prasad-Nitish Kumar combine (which has since evaporated) on pure caste arithmetic. Aside these, elections are contested and decided on multiple grounds, and this makes the democratic exercise all the more challenging — and even more challenging to predict. Rare is that political commentator who is able to say, with some amount of accuracy, that a particular issue would be the dominant factor. In hindsight, once the results are known, there are many to ‘analyse’ the impact of one strand or the other. The Gujarat campaign began in a simple enough manner, giving hope to the plethora of commentators of a fairly accurate assessment. Led by Prime Minister Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party went on an overdrive, listing its achievements in the State over the two decades of its rule — especially the period 2002-14 when Modi was the Chief Minister. The Gujarat Model of development was showcased, the ease of doing the business ranking of the World Bank was flaunted, the upgrade in the country’s ratings by Moody’s was quoted, the robustness of the Indian economy was pointed out, and the ‘exemplary’ law and order situation in the State was underlined. The Congress sought to pick holes in the Gujarat Model by citing matters of unemployment, poor social welfare indices, farmers’ distress etc. Thereafter, as the campaign picked momentum, the issue of reservation for the Patidar community gained ground. While it was there from the beginning, the matter received heft after the Congress and Patidar leader Hardik Patel joined hands officially. Once the Congress formally endorsed Patidar reservation, the BJP swung into action, first by projecting that the Patidars were a divided lot and that the sensible among them — who according to BJP leaders were in a majority — would remain loyal to the BJP. Second, the ruling party forcefully projected the ‘impossibility’ of the reservation in constitutional terms and said the Congress was taking the Patidars for a ride. The BJP had been keeping an eye on Rahul Gandhi’s sudden devotion to temples; by some accounts, he has visited more than a dozen of them during his campaigns in the State. × So far, the going was simple enough and the commentators were still a happy lot. The BJP pitched for inclusive development (reminding voters of its past record and promising more of the same for the future) while the Congress aggressively pushed for reservation as an affirmative action to benefit the Patidars who form nearly 12 per cent of the population in Gujarat. The caste rainbow of Patidar-OBC-Scheduled Caste, which the Congress had quickly put out, was supposed to extinguish the BJP’s flame of hope. Then, the development versus reservation narrative began to change. For some time, the BJP had been keeping an eye on Rahul Gandhi’s sudden devotion to temples; by some accounts, he has visited more than a dozen of them during his campaigns in the State. But after his trip to the Somnath temple, the party got an opportunity to say something. Somebody supposedly from the Congress leader’s side entered his name as a non-Hindu visitor to the temple. BJP leaders were quick to demand an explanation. The Congress fell in the trap and one of its senior functionaries claimed that Rahul Gandhi was a “Janeu-dhari (sacred thread wearing) Hindu”. To top this, Rahul Gandhi said he was a Shiva devotee! His acolytes then went on to speculate on the religious affiliations of both the Prime Minister and BJP president Amit Shah. The sudden turn towards religion, on which the Congress generally finds itself on the defensive given that the BJP leaders make no bones about where their inclinations lie, shaped the narrative even more decidedly when senior Congress leader and noted lawyer Kapil Sibal demanded that the Supreme Court postpone the hearing on the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute case, and take it up after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The direct linkage of the dispute with politics left the Congress red-faced. Worse, even the litigants who had hired Sibal condemned the senior advocate’s stand and said they wanted an early hearing and quick settlement of the issue. The manner in which the BJP latched on to the issue at his public rallies and converted it into a major talking point, should have alerted the Congress against more self-goals. × The manner in which the BJP, especially Prime Minister Modi, latched on to the issue at his public rallies and converted it into a major talking point, should have alerted the Congress against more self-goals. After all, it suited the opposite party to target the BJP on the issues of reservation and lack of real and inclusive development. But, perhaps already confident that they were winning Gujarat, senior Congress leaders breached the red line. Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Prime Minister “neech”, a term which Modi and his team ran swiftly to the electorate and termed it as a slight to his social status of being an OBC. Now, the BJP used the occasion to not just strike at the Congress for its ‘elitist’ and ‘feudal’ mindset but also quoted the abuse as an insult to Gujarati asmita (pride). Had these blunders come in the early stages of electioneering, the Congress could have had a better chance of glossing over them or having them dominated by other, fresher issues. But they have come towards the end stages of campaigning, and their recall value is, therefore, more likely. Does this mean that religion and personal abuse will eventually determine the outcome? The Congress must be hoping to the contrary, and the BJP praying that the issues click. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Gujarat elections, a litmus test for Rahul

<p>A <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/kissing-contest-held-in-a-village-of-jharkhand-26489" target="_blank">kissing competition</a> organised in Dumaria village of Jharkhand has outraged many.</p>

<p>The BJP has come down hard on the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders involved in organising the event, demanding an apology and their immediate suspension from the state assembly.</p>

<p>The demand was made by Jharkhand&#39;s BJP vice-president Hemlal Murmu who said that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLAs and co-organisers of the competition, Simon Marandi and Stephen Marandi, had insulted the culture of Santhal Pargana.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;JMM MLAs Simon Marandi and Stephen Marandi have insulted the culture of Santhal Pargana in the name of Hul Mela and organised the kissing competition. We demand their suspension from the House and not allowing them to attend the winter session starting tomorrow,&quot; state BJP Vice President Hemlal Murmu told reporters at Ranchi. Murmu called the competition &nbsp;&quot;an insult to women power&quot; stating that a boy and a girl don&#39;t even shake hands in the area.</p>

<p>Simon Marandi is JMM MLA from Littipara in Santhal Pargana. Party MLA Stephen Marandi was also present at the fair.</p>

<p>The organisers of the event shared that the competition was organised with an aim to bring down the divorce rate among married couples.</p>

<p>Reportedly, the kissing contest was a part of Dumaria&#39;s annual fair that includes activities like tribal dance, archery, running among others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Simon Marandi told PTI that the competition was organised among 20 pairs to strengthen the bond among married couples.</p>

<p>He further noted that nobody is trying to understand the Santhal society.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jharkhand&#39;s rural development minister and BJP leader Neel Kanth Singh Munda has also condemned the incident stating it an insult to tribal society. Simon Marandi was criticised for giving away prizes to the winners.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI)</em></p>


A kissing competition organised in Dumaria village of Jharkhand has outraged many. The BJP has come down hard on the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders involved in organising the event, demanding an apology and their immediate suspension from the state assembly. The demand was made by Jharkhand's BJP vice-president Hemlal Murmu who said that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLAs and co-organisers of the competition, Simon Marandi and Stephen Marandi, had insulted the culture of Santhal Pargana. "JMM MLAs Simon Marandi and Stephen Marandi have insulted the culture of Santhal Pargana in the name of Hul Mela and organised the kissing competition. We demand their suspension from the House and not allowing them to attend the winter session starting tomorrow," state BJP Vice President Hemlal Murmu told reporters at Ranchi. Murmu called the competition "an insult to women power" stating that a boy and a girl don't even shake hands in the area. Simon Marandi is JMM MLA from Littipara in Santhal Pargana. Party MLA Stephen Marandi was also present at the fair. The organisers of the event shared that the competition was organised with an aim to bring down the divorce rate among married couples. Reportedly, the kissing contest was a part of Dumaria's annual fair that includes activities like tribal dance, archery, running among others. Simon Marandi told PTI that the competition was organised among 20 pairs to strengthen the bond among married couples. He further noted that nobody is trying to understand the Santhal society. Jharkhand's rural development minister and BJP leader Neel Kanth Singh Munda has also condemned the incident stating it an insult to tribal society. Simon Marandi was criticised for giving away prizes to the winners. (With inputs from PTI)

Jharkhand kissing competition: Organising MLAs asked to step down

<p>After the poll planks of Shiv Bhakt and Janeu Dhari Hindu, it is quite evident that Congress has been slightly leaning towards a mild Hindutva platform. It will be historic for a party whose poll equation starts from Dalit-OBCs and ends up wooing the Muslims. Congress never tried to take Hindus as whole in their account. BJP was never shy to carry Hindutva tag but Congress distanced itself whenever they were caught doing minority appeasement. And during this high potential elections, the newly-elected president of the Grand Old Party is playing a mild Hindu card beyond Dalits and OBCs and started taking intrest in upper castes like Patidars in Gujarat and Brahmin-Thakurs in Himachal Pradesh.</p>

<p><strong>HEADS:</strong></p>

<p>As an old saying goes &quot;Diamond cuts diamond&quot;, perhaps this political technique of Rahul Gandhi may stand against the Hindutva mindset of RSS-BJP. Lots of political analysts and Congress leaning journalists who are acknowledging a sudden maturity in Rahul Gandhi think that this poll plank may add a feather in Rahul&#39;s hat. General people on the ground in Gujarat and especially the Patidars exclusively believe in Hindutva. So this electoral tool of Hinduism might woo Hindutva. In fact they would receive vote chunk from every caste instead of a particular one. The self-styled godmans and other religious yogis who have infuence in Indian political mandate won&#39;t neglect Congress because they are Muslim-only appeasers. The Hindus from states other than Gujarat might get good impression from this gesture of Rahul Gandhi. So called secular ideologues had once appreciated Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan for contributing in works of Hinduism (not Hindutva) so they might praise Mr Gandhi in the same fashion. Muslim appeasement was once the medium of Congress to show that they are secular. It is very astonishing that finally Congress realised that Muslim appeasement and this secularism won&#39;t be a lifeboat for them. Muslims Tribals-Dalits hate Hindutva put forth by BJP-RSS, but they may be comfortable with this mild Hindu card played by the Grand Old Party. The best or worst part in Indian politics is, that Indian voter doesn&#39;t care about a political trend of a party in other state i.e. a voter in Karnataka won&#39;t carry what Rahul Gandhi says in Gujarat. Moreover, the public memory is very short and weak. So that is why the people in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, where elections are coming, voters wouldn&#39;t mind this mild Hindu card. Well the best thing which I see is that Congress party till recent years used to think that going to temples and talking on behalf of upper classes is a part of communal agenda. Now the eyes of Congress seem to have opened and leaned towards realism rather than cloud of just rationalism. Overall, this move of Congress would not only help the Grand Old Party to remove its Muslim-only tag but also would help to improve realistic upbringing in Indian politics.</p>

<p><strong>TAILS:</strong></p>

<p>In today&#39;s political phase, India needs a strong opposition having a centrist ideology which identifies state and religion as different entities. So the opposition needs to be far secular i.e. &#39;Empowerment of all and Appeasement of none&#39;. But the current move of 132-year-old party has an opposite ideology i.e. &#39;Empowerment of none but appeasement of all&#39;. This poll plank would definitely hurt our current politics. It&#39;s a matter of great debate whether the political parties should amend their ideologies in time now. I won&#39;t say what Indian political ideologies should generally do, but on this right leaned political pitch, the original centre-left Congress is the only party competent to do proper bowling. The original Congress of Gandhian ideology would propose &#39;Religion neutral, Caste neutral, only Indianity&#39; concept which is needed right now, but unfortunately Congress seems to have forgot Congress! I urge Sashi Tharoor Sir to remind their newly elected (nominated) president, about what original Congress stand for.</p>

<p>Rahul Gandhi needs to be reminded that Hindutva is the last thing that a BJP voter wants. The thing which elevated Chief Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister of world&#39;s largest democracy isn&#39;t actually his Hindutva background. Moreover, if there would be any shameful and genuine incident of threat on minorities then it would be impossible for the Grand old Party to present its stance before the nation. Even if a voter wants to vote for rhetoric of Hindutva then Congress is less likely to be first option for him. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also ridiculed this move of Congress and said that people would vote for original rather than a clone. Congress is questioning the incumbent government very properly, but at the same time, they need to put forth a socio-economic model before the people which have capability to stand before the economic pitches of PM Narendra Modi. Congress still has a chance, but they need to work too hard to achieve even 30 per cent of what those guys hope and quote.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)</em></p>


This move of Congress would not only help the grand old party to remove its Muslim-only tag but also help to improve realistic upbringing in Indian politics.

After the poll planks of Shiv Bhakt and Janeu Dhari Hindu, it is quite evident that Congress has been slightly leaning towards a mild Hindutva platform. It will be historic for a party whose poll equation starts from Dalit-OBCs and ends up wooing the Muslims. Congress never tried to take Hindus as whole in their account. BJP was never shy to carry Hindutva tag but Congress distanced itself whenever they were caught doing minority appeasement. And during this high potential elections, the newly-elected president of the Grand Old Party is playing a mild Hindu card beyond Dalits and OBCs and started taking intrest in upper castes like Patidars in Gujarat and Brahmin-Thakurs in Himachal Pradesh. HEADS: As an old saying goes "Diamond cuts diamond", perhaps this political technique of Rahul Gandhi may stand against the Hindutva mindset of RSS-BJP. Lots of political analysts and Congress leaning journalists who are acknowledging a sudden maturity in Rahul Gandhi think that this poll plank may add a feather in Rahul's hat. General people on the ground in Gujarat and especially the Patidars exclusively believe in Hindutva. So this electoral tool of Hinduism might woo Hindutva. In fact they would receive vote chunk from every caste instead of a particular one. The self-styled godmans and other religious yogis who have infuence in Indian political mandate won't neglect Congress because they are Muslim-only appeasers. The Hindus from states other than Gujarat might get good impression from this gesture of Rahul Gandhi. So called secular ideologues had once appreciated Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan for contributing in works of Hinduism (not Hindutva) so they might praise Mr Gandhi in the same fashion. Muslim appeasement was once the medium of Congress to show that they are secular. It is very astonishing that finally Congress realised that Muslim appeasement and this secularism won't be a lifeboat for them. Muslims Tribals-Dalits hate Hindutva put forth by BJP-RSS, but they may be comfortable with this mild Hindu card played by the Grand Old Party. The best or worst part in Indian politics is, that Indian voter doesn't care about a political trend of a party in other state i.e. a voter in Karnataka won't carry what Rahul Gandhi says in Gujarat. Moreover, the public memory is very short and weak. So that is why the people in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, where elections are coming, voters wouldn't mind this mild Hindu card. Well the best thing which I see is that Congress party till recent years used to think that going to temples and talking on behalf of upper classes is a part of communal agenda. Now the eyes of Congress seem to have opened and leaned towards realism rather than cloud of just rationalism. Overall, this move of Congress would not only help the Grand Old Party to remove its Muslim-only tag but also would help to improve realistic upbringing in Indian politics. TAILS: In today's political phase, India needs a strong opposition having a centrist ideology which identifies state and religion as different entities. So the opposition needs to be far secular i.e. 'Empowerment of all and Appeasement of none'. But the current move of 132-year-old party has an opposite ideology i.e. 'Empowerment of none but appeasement of all'. This poll plank would definitely hurt our current politics. It's a matter of great debate whether the political parties should amend their ideologies in time now. I won't say what Indian political ideologies should generally do, but on this right leaned political pitch, the original centre-left Congress is the only party competent to do proper bowling. The original Congress of Gandhian ideology would propose 'Religion neutral, Caste neutral, only Indianity' concept which is needed right now, but unfortunately Congress seems to have forgot Congress! I urge Sashi Tharoor Sir to remind their newly elected (nominated) president, about what original Congress stand for. Rahul Gandhi needs to be reminded that Hindutva is the last thing that a BJP voter wants. The thing which elevated Chief Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister of world's largest democracy isn't actually his Hindutva background. Moreover, if there would be any shameful and genuine incident of threat on minorities then it would be impossible for the Grand old Party to present its stance before the nation. Even if a voter wants to vote for rhetoric of Hindutva then Congress is less likely to be first option for him. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also ridiculed this move of Congress and said that people would vote for original rather than a clone. Congress is questioning the incumbent government very properly, but at the same time, they need to put forth a socio-economic model before the people which have capability to stand before the economic pitches of PM Narendra Modi. Congress still has a chance, but they need to work too hard to achieve even 30 per cent of what those guys hope and quote. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)

Opinion: Rahul Gandhi leaning towards mild Hindutva platform. And it might help Congress

<p>Time seems to have come to a standstill in some tribal areas of Gujarat.</p>

<p>More than three years after Narendra Modi became the country&#39;s prime minister, for a section of people here he is still the chief minister.</p>

<p>In the interior areas of Chhota Udaipur district, dominated by Scheduled Tribes such as the Rathwas, voters said that when it came to politics, they knew of only three factors -- Modi, Modi&#39;s party and the Congress.</p>

<p>Few referred to the BJP by name, calling it Modi&#39;s party. And when prodded about the Congress, the only name they could readily recall was that of Indira Gandhi.</p>

<p>My forefathers have always voted for the Congress but now people in surrounding villages also vote for a candidate from Modi-Sa&#39;ab&#39;s party,&nbsp;50-year-old Ramsinh Rathwa said.</p>

<p>Ramsinh, who was in Chhota Udaipur with three other men from his village Kanda, identified the lotus as the symbol of &quot;Modi&#39;s party&quot;, but was less familiar with the BJP.</p>

<p>The four men, all farmers, said irrespective of who won from their constituency, &quot;Modi will again become the chief minister of Gujarat&quot;.</p>

<p>In Jogpura, another village in the Chhota Udaipur constituency, voter Dilip Rathwa said the fight was between the Congress and Modi.</p>

<p>He said his village usually votes for the same candidate and added that while Modi was popular, local Congress leaders visited their homes on occasions such as marriages.</p>

<p>Local Congress candidate Mohansinh Rathwa in the last elections had visited our village and had also sought blessings from my father by touching his feet,&nbsp;he said.</p>

<p>School teacher Sumanben Parmar of Pavi Jetpur said while Modi was popular, people in the region, where Muslims are the second largest community, were not greatly aware of the identity of other politicians.</p>

<p>The tribal-Muslim combination benefits the Congress in the three ST reserved seats of Chhota Udaipur district, which borders BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on two sides and shares its water borders with another BJP-ruled state, Maharashtra.</p>

<p>But local BJP leaders believed Modi&#39;s personality always helped pull votes for the party.</p>

<p>&quot;The fight is between local Congress candidates and Modi&#39;s popularity,&quot; agreed Ramesh Patel, a local Congress worker in Pavi Jetpur.</p>


In the interior areas of Chhota Udaipur district, dominated by Scheduled Tribes such as the Rathwas, voters said that when it came to politics, they knew of only three factors -- Modi, Modi's party and the Congress

Time seems to have come to a standstill in some tribal areas of Gujarat. More than three years after Narendra Modi became the country's prime minister, for a section of people here he is still the chief minister. In the interior areas of Chhota Udaipur district, dominated by Scheduled Tribes such as the Rathwas, voters said that when it came to politics, they knew of only three factors -- Modi, Modi's party and the Congress. Few referred to the BJP by name, calling it Modi's party. And when prodded about the Congress, the only name they could readily recall was that of Indira Gandhi. My forefathers have always voted for the Congress but now people in surrounding villages also vote for a candidate from Modi-Sa'ab's party, 50-year-old Ramsinh Rathwa said. Ramsinh, who was in Chhota Udaipur with three other men from his village Kanda, identified the lotus as the symbol of "Modi's party", but was less familiar with the BJP. The four men, all farmers, said irrespective of who won from their constituency, "Modi will again become the chief minister of Gujarat". In Jogpura, another village in the Chhota Udaipur constituency, voter Dilip Rathwa said the fight was between the Congress and Modi. He said his village usually votes for the same candidate and added that while Modi was popular, local Congress leaders visited their homes on occasions such as marriages. Local Congress candidate Mohansinh Rathwa in the last elections had visited our village and had also sought blessings from my father by touching his feet, he said. School teacher Sumanben Parmar of Pavi Jetpur said while Modi was popular, people in the region, where Muslims are the second largest community, were not greatly aware of the identity of other politicians. The tribal-Muslim combination benefits the Congress in the three ST reserved seats of Chhota Udaipur district, which borders BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on two sides and shares its water borders with another BJP-ruled state, Maharashtra. But local BJP leaders believed Modi's personality always helped pull votes for the party. "The fight is between local Congress candidates and Modi's popularity," agreed Ramesh Patel, a local Congress worker in Pavi Jetpur.

Gujarat's tribal region: Where Modi is still CM, and Indira is recalled

<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi will conclude the last of the election&nbsp;campaign in Gujarat with a visit to Ambaji Mata temple.</p>

<p>While addressing a press conference BJP President Amit Shah said that&nbsp;PM Modi will visit Ambaji temple on 12 December.</p>

<p>He added that his&nbsp;visit will be done uniquely to promote tourism.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said, &quot;Modi will take off in a seaplane&nbsp;from Sabarmati riverfront, land in Dharoi dam&#39;s pond and will proceed to the temple by road.&quot;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="it"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gujarat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gujarat</a>: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel from Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to Dharoi Dam via sea plane, shortly <a href="https://t.co/GWjrVO5Sgz">pic.twitter.com/GWjrVO5Sgz</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940429243011317761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

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<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Visuals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Visuals</a> of sea plane Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling in, from Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to Dharoi Dam shortly <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gujarat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gujarat</a> <a href="https://t.co/C8mqgzm1LA">pic.twitter.com/C8mqgzm1LA</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940432703161110529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Amit Shah&#39;s clarification came after<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-gujarat-police-denies-permission-to-pm-modi-rahul-for-roadshow-26431" target="_blank"> the state police denied the request for a&nbsp;road show</a> on the last day of the election campaign in Gujarat.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Since admn asked to not conduct road show of PM Modi on 12th he&#39;ll go to Ambaji Mata temple tomorrow. It&#39;ll be done uniquely. To promote Gujarat tourism, he&#39;ll take off in a sea plane from Sabarmati river front, land in Dharoi dam&#39;s pond &amp; will go to temple by road: Amit Shah <a href="https://t.co/5L7Tam3AMD">pic.twitter.com/5L7Tam3AMD</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940264089737076742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The Gujarat police had turned down the request made by political parties for conducting a road show in the state.</p>

<p>BJP and Congress had requested for a roadshow to be conducted on Tuesday, however, the state police rejected their request citing law and order situation.</p>

<p>The state will undergo the second phase of elections on December 14&nbsp;for 93 seats in North and Central Gujarat.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The counting of votes is scheduled for December 18.&nbsp;</p>
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The Gujarat police turned down the request made by political parties for conducting a road show in the state on the last day of election campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will conclude the last of the election campaign in Gujarat with a visit to Ambaji Mata temple. While addressing a press conference BJP President Amit Shah said that PM Modi will visit Ambaji temple on 12 December. He added that his visit will be done uniquely to promote tourism. He said, "Modi will take off in a seaplane from Sabarmati riverfront, land in Dharoi dam's pond and will proceed to the temple by road." #Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel from Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to Dharoi Dam via sea plane, shortly pic.twitter.com/GWjrVO5Sgz — ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2017 × #WATCH: #Visuals of sea plane Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling in, from Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to Dharoi Dam shortly #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/C8mqgzm1LA — ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2017 × Amit Shah's clarification came after the state police denied the request for a road show on the last day of the election campaign in Gujarat. Since admn asked to not conduct road show of PM Modi on 12th he'll go to Ambaji Mata temple tomorrow. It'll be done uniquely. To promote Gujarat tourism, he'll take off in a sea plane from Sabarmati river front, land in Dharoi dam's pond & will go to temple by road: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/5L7Tam3AMD — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017 × The Gujarat police had turned down the request made by political parties for conducting a road show in the state. BJP and Congress had requested for a roadshow to be conducted on Tuesday, however, the state police rejected their request citing law and order situation. The state will undergo the second phase of elections on December 14 for 93 seats in North and Central Gujarat. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 18.

Gujarat elections: On last day of election campaign PM Modi to visit Ambaji Temple via seaplane

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