Big Blow to BJP in Karnataka Local Polls

The Congress dealt a massive blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka urban local body elections by winning four major city corporations. The Congress not only made huge gains by winning the highest number of wards across the state, but the party also routed BS Yeddyurappa‘s Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and ended the rule of Reddy brothers in Bellary by decimating their BSR Congress across central Karnataka.

Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s KJP failed to make a big splash while the ruling BJP could only secure third place by winning just 876 wards while the Congress was way ahead with 1881 seats. The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) managed to hold on to its strength in the Old Mysore region and managed to win 890 wards to take the second place in the state.

The Karnataka local polls, which have been billed as semi-finals before the state elects a new Assembly in a couple of months, show that the BJP is finding the going tough and has not been fully able to counter the Yeddyurappa effect.

There are a total number of 4976 seats for which counting took place. The Congress won Bellary, Mangalore and Davanagere city corporations. The party is leading in four out of seven city corporations and is also doing very well in Dakshin Kannada.

The BJP is ahead in Hubli-Dharwad while there is close fight between Congress and JDS in Mysore. Yeddyurappa’s party has put up a dismal performance in Shimoga while the BJP has suffered a huge defeat in its stronghold of coastal Karnataka where the Independents have come third. The trends and results show that urban voters have rejected BJP and its offshoots KJP and BSR Congress.

The Bellary brothers, who had launched the BSR Congress, have been routed in their stronghold. The Congress is also leading in areas dominated by the JDS.

The results are crucial since they could be an indicator of what will happen in the state elections coming up in two months. Over 200 municipalities including seven city corporations went to the polls on March 7.

In the last urban local bodies polls in 2007, of the total 5007 wards, the Congress had come first winning 1606, followed by JDS 1502 and BJP 1180.

Use Less Power If You Can’t Afford Hiked Rates: Dikshit

People should cut use of power if they cannot afford high electricity tariff, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said today, a prescription that evoked criticism.

Under attack for the hike in power tariff, Dikshit also sought to justify it, saying the increase in cost of power production has led to the rise in electricity rates.

Stating that the consumers will have to pay if they want round-the-clock electricity supply, Dikshit went on to say that if people are finding it difficult to pay the billed amount they they should cut down consumption on various electrical appliances.

“We have been supplying power round-the-clock. We are not supplying power periodically. When 24 hours supply is ensured then the Opposition says bill is too high. If you consume electricity for 24 hours, then you do not pay for five hours’ consumption.

“If you cannot afford the electricity bill then cut down your consumption of electricity. Future generations will never realise there used to be seven to eight hours power cut in Delhi,” Dikshit said addressing a meeting at Chhatarpur area in South Delhi.

“If somebody is finding it difficult to pay the bill then he can use a fan instead of a cooler. One can always cut down consumption of power to limit the bill,” she added.

Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel accused the Chief Minister of “favouring” discoms and ignoring the alleged corruption in these power distribution companies.

“She (Dikshit) is favouring discoms. There is mass corruption in electricity by the discoms but Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, instead of checking it, is giving statement about electricity being used by poor people,” Goel said.

The BJP has been targeting the city government on the issue of hike in power tariff and accused it of siding with the private power discoms.

“This is very unfortunate statement from the Chief Minister of Delhi. In Delhi, the electricity prices are not increasing because of increased production cost,” Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal said.

“How can you expect the people to stop using TV, refrigerator, washing machines which have become essential today. The electricity prices are increasing only because of the corruption of the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in collusion with electricity companies….”

The power tariff in the city was hiked by 22 per cent in 2011 and again it was increased by 26 per cent for domestic consumers in July last year. It was again hiked by up to three per cent from February one.

PTI

Tough times ahead for Rahul, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family

 A special Congress session over the weekend formally launched Rahul Gandhi as the official No. 2 after party chief Sonia Gandhi, making him the presumptive prime ministerial candidate of the party for the 2014 general elections, but the battle is half won and tough times lie ahead for the 42-year-old fifth-generation leader of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Gandhi alluded to the challenges when he talked about the “poison” that came with such heavy political responsibility and the attached personal risks. His mother, who came to his room and cried on Saturday night, perhaps understands it better than anyone else.

Nine assembly polls – five big ones in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, where the Congress will have direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and four in the northeast – will test his leadership skills.

The return of the third edition of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2014 will also depend on how the Amethi lawmaker is able to restructure and re-energize the party for the big political fight. He heads the party’s coordination panel for the 2014 polls.

Rahul Gandhi is also expected to give key roles to younger leaders so the party is able to reach out to all voters, 70 per cent of whom are below the age of 35. Connecting with the country’s youths, who are angry over corruption, crave for better systems of governnance and want accountability from politicians, will be a major task for the new Congress vice president.

The Nehru-Gandhi family scion would also be expected to spell out his position on various national issues clearly as he now holds an official post in the Congress.

While any success in the elections will bring him credit, he would also have to accept the blame in case of a failure.

“Rahul Gandhi faces enormous challenges during the coming polls as his leadership skills would be tested,” Zoya Hasan, who teaches political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, told IANS.

“His speech after being made vice president pointed out many wrongs in the party. Now he has to set things right,” she said.

The move to make him vice president, which marks a generational shift in the 127-year-old party, is significant. Party insiders said the decision was postponed for a while due to reservations among some senior leaders. But members of the Youth Congress, National Students Union of India and the younger leaders in the party – who comprised a third of the 350-odd delegates at the session – made strong demands for his elevation.

Over 50 senior leaders who shared the dais with Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the session, not only heard Rahul with rapt attention, but stood up as soon as he finished his speech and were seen competing with one another in congratulating him. Rahul had arrived.

In an impassioned speech, Rahul made it clear that he does not hanker for power and stressed the need to transform the party’s systems and develop new leaders at all levels while saying the youths must be involved in decision-making.

Rahul struck an emotional chord when he related how his mother cried when she met him after his appointment.

The question now is whether he will be able to bring the middle class, especially the “restless and impatient” young, to the Congress camp from which they stood quite alienated over perceptions of corruption, misgovernance, inflation and insensitivity to issues that concern them

IANS

Related articles

• Rahul Gandhi aims at transforming India (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

Rahul Gandhi aims at transforming India

Rahul Gandhi, scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and widely tipped as a future prime ministerial candidate, promised to work to transform the country in a speech Sunday.

Gandhi, 42, son of party head Sonia Gandhi, was elevated to the Congress party‘s vice presidency on Saturday.

He exhorted his party to prepare 40 to 50 leaders who can effectively run the country and called for a greater role for youth in decision-making.

“There is a young and impatient India, demanding a greater voice in the nation’s future,” he told a party conclave in the northern city of Jaipur.

“Our priorities are clear, the time has come to question the centralized, unresponsive and unaccountable systems of decision-making, governance, administration and politics. The answer is not in making the system better, the answer is to completely transform the systems,” he said.

While Congress leaders have maintained that Gandhi’s candidacy will only be decided at a later stage, the Indian media have forecast a face-off between Gandhi and Narendra Modi, a leader from the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party.

Four suspects detained in Delhi gang-rape case

Four suspects have been detained by Delhi Police for the gang-rape of a girl in a moving bus, police said on Monday. The condition of the girl is critical.

“We have detained four people and have impounded two buses,” said a police official.

The incident took place on Sunday night, when the victim, a para-medical student and her boyfriend, boarded the bus from Munirka to go to Dwarka, after watching a movie.

Police said that around five to seven bus crew started misbehaving with the girl a few minutes after she boarded the bus, which had no other passengers.

The victim’s boyfriend tried to prevent the men from molesting her, but the men beat him up and sexually assaulted the girl.

The accused then threw the girl and her boyfriend out of the bus near Mahipalpur in south Delhi‘s Vasant Vihar area.

Both victims were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital by a PCR van. While the girl battles for life, her boyfriend was discharged and police have recorded his statement and registered a case.

The boy’s uncle said, “Five to seven persons attacked the couple.”

“When my nephew tried to save the girl, he was beaten with iron rods… the girl was then gang-raped,” he said.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Mamta Sharma, said she would talk to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the issue.

“We will talk to the chief minister, take cognizance of the matter and inquire into it, as also keep tabs on the police investigations,” Sharma said.

“Such incidents are on the rise in the capital and this is due to the ignorance of the government as well the police force. If an incident like this can take place in the thickly populated Munirka area, it just shows that the police is not alert,” she said.

Sharma said the girl’s “male friend may have been involved with the accused.”

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that “neither the home ministry nor Delhi Police are able to check such incidents” which have been on the rise.

“Delhi’s law and order is being handled very irresponsibly by the Delhi government,” he said.

FDI in retail would push country into economic slavery: Rajnath Singh

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh has said the decision to allow FDI in retail will push the country towards economic slavery, and his party will start a nation- wide campaign against it once ongoing winter session of Parliament ends.

There is enormous human resource potential in the country and India does not need foreign investment in the sector, Singh said.

The BJP leader, here to attend a wedding, said implementation of FDI had proven to be detrimental to the interests of farmers across the world.

BJP will start a nation-wide campaign against FDI in retail and corruption in the government once the ongoing winter session of Parliament ends, he said.

The BJP leader said in a few months, his party would be ready with the list of candidates for the 2014 general elections.

The exercise to shortlist the electoral candidates had already begun, and former Union Minister and sitting MP Murli Manohar Joshi will remain the candidate from Varanasi, he said.

Singh questioned the wisdom of not hanging Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru.

He said the SP government had waived off the farmers loan in the state but only with certain riders which was not mentioned in their election manifesto.

Referring to the SP government’s academic grants for students from the minority community, the BJP leader said there should be no discrimination in the name of religion and caste in providing educational aid.

Kejriwal takes on Modi, says Gujarat gas deal bigger than 2G scam

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday came out with another expose, targeting Gujarat chief Minister Narendra Modi over irregularities in the Gujarat gas deal.

According to Tehelka reports it is alleged that a stake worth Rs 20,000 crore was given away to GeoGlobal Resources at negligible rates in Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation‘s gas exploration project in the KG Basin.

“There was no bidding. What was the selection process for these two companies?” Kejriwal asked.

He stressed on the fact that this scam is even bigger than the colossal 2G scam.

“We demand an investigation… This scam is bigger than the 2G scam,” he said.

He alleged that this scam was engineered by BJP- Congress nexus 10% stake of such a major project was given away in gratis.

Kejriwal’s attack on Modi gains relevance as it may show us a flip side to the credible model of development that Modi is associated with and it may also affect his chances as a prospective PM candidate.

Stage set for Narendra Modi 2014

Forget the sideshows that Sushma Swaraj or L. K. Advani may have put up in the film city this week. The political equivalent of a Bollywood blockbuster has just started rolling in the BJP.

Casting directors in the saffron joint family, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), seem to have picked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to be the man of the show.

This is the moment of reckoning for the principal opposition party that has shown itself to be as clueless as the ruling coalition in the face of grave economic and political uncertainty. What transpired at the Mumbai meeting of the BJP this week was far more important than a Sanjay Joshi getting the sack or Swaraj and Advani missing a crucial meeting. It was a moment of transition – from a dithering, squabbling bunch of amateurs to disciplined soldiers forging columns behind the Leader.

By letting Modi dictate terms to BJP president Nitin Gadkari in the matter of terminating Sanjay Joshi’s services, the RSS has underlined the Gujarat CM’s position in the party hierarchy. The Sangh rolled down the red carpet and Modi walked in like the conquering hero; overshadowing all other events and personalities. Even Nitin Gadkari managing a second term for himself was reduced to a non-event as the BJP’s biggest trump card was finally revealed.

It was clear in the rally that marked the conclusion of the party’s crucial strategic session that the workers, at least, are overjoyed. Modi is the undisputed king, or “Gujarat Ka Sher (The Lion of Gujarat)”, as the workers hailed him at the rally.

There may or may not be an official announcement to this effect. Modi may continue to spearhead the BJP’s campaign in the run- up to the general elections in 2014, unless the unthinkable happens and the Congress manages to defeat him in Gujarat assembly elections.

The Sangh Parivar, meanwhile, has started the Great Game. Given their own experience with Modi in Gujarat and the latest Sanjay Joshi episode, the RSS naturally has first- hand experience in just how vindictive Modi can get. They are also aware of the fact that Modi is the biggest polarising factor in India. There is a near hundred per cent chance that the minority vote will consolidate behind the Congress if he is the PM candidate. But the Sangh also realises that none of the central leaders – Swaraj, Arun Jaitley or Rajnath Singh – have Modi’s capacity to galvanise the party cadre. So, while he may polarise the minority vote, Modi also has the capacity to trigger reverse polarisation of the party faithful.

This is not necessarily in Modi’s capacity as the man under whose watch the 2002 anti-Muslim riots took place. For a large section of the urban middle class that moved away from the BJP in the last two general elections in favour of the more urbane/ educated Manmohan Singh, Modi has now come to symbolise delivery of services and corruption-free government. As the anti-corruption movements led by Ramdev and Anna Hazare have shown, this is a section that is currently clamouring for a change.

They are willing to overlook, indeed in some instances even celebrate, the perception that Modi has “taught a lesson” to the Muslims. And he has topped this by remodelling himself as the “development man” i. e. Vikas Purush, an epithet once used for the tallest leader the BJP ever produced – Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The RSS has been testing waters for Modi’s anointment by first invading Hazare and Ramdev’s movements. This was a process of assessing the disenchantment against the corruption-hit UPA in general and Manmohan Singh in particular for what is projected as his “weak” leadership. The conclusion clearly is that the time is ripe for providing the country with a truly strong alternative in the form of the strongman from Gujarat.

Another question being asked in the context is – whether Modi will be acceptable to the allies, both present and potential. This is relevant presently only to the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The rest, be it Mayawati, Jayalalithaa or even Mamata Banerjee, there has never been any public aversion towards Modi. In fact, Jayalalithaa has actively sought Modi out on various occasions; offering him a famous 45-course meal at some point in her palatial residence at Poes Garden.

But secularism is a shield that is wielded only when numbers are not with the BJP. Let us not forget that Nitish Kumar was the railway minister when bogeys of the Sabarmati Express were burnt at Godhra on February 27, 2002. Kumar did not visit the spot nor did he order a statutory enquiry into the incident.

He had no issues in supporting Advani’s projection as NDA’s prime ministerial candidate, despite the leader’s association with the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

Naturally, both Nitish and the BJP understand alliances are all about numbers in the Lok Sabha. If Modi can rustle them up, political acceptability will automatically follow. The RSS seems to share the sentiment. They have clearly decided to take a chance with Modi. Because without him, there may not be a chance at all.

India Today

CM exposes Centre’s anti-people move related to providing cooking gas

CM expresses indignation over Centre’s unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right for installing gas pipelines and distributing cooking gas through the state’s own gas network

• Gujarat has spent Rs.5000 Cr for laying 2,200 km. high pressure gas pipeline and Rs.5,000 Cr for 8,000 km. low pressure gas pipeline

• If the Centre allows Gujarat to lay gas pipelines, it would save 3.5 crore gas cylinders every year, and benefits of billions of rupees to the Centre exchequer, which would otherwise be used in giving subsidy

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has expressed indignation over Centre’s unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right to distribute cooking gas through the state’s own gas pipeline network. “Gujarat is the only state which has set up a 2200 km. gas grid with a view to make available cooking gas at cheaper rates compare to LPG cylinder provide by the Centre. But, at one hand the Centre is multiplying the troubles of crores of women by rationing the LPG cylinders and on the other hand, from last two years, it is also not allowing Gujarat to lay more gas distribution pipelines and provide gas at cheaper rates”, he said.

Speaking at the Vivekanand Yuva Vikas Yatra the chief minister said, “The Centre itself does not have capacity to provide adequate gas cylinders and moreover, by rationing the gas cylinders, it compels people to buy gas at high prices from black market”. Gujarat has laid 2,200 km. high pressure gas pipeline at the cost of Rs.5,000 crore, as well 8,000 km. low pressure gas pipeline also at the cost of Rs.5,000 crore. Besides, about 10 lakh LPG connections have been given to the households at the cost of Rs.1,000 crore with partnership of government and private companies, he said.

Cooking gas is being provided to about 350 villages and cities of Gujarat at the cheaper rates compare to the Centre’s cylinder gas through the gas grid. This amounts to a saving of Rs.600 crore for the Centre in the form of subsidies. But since there is BJP government in Gujarat, the Centre keeps political enmity and has snatched from last two years the state’s right of laying gas distribution pipelines, he said.

“If Centre allows Gujarat to lay gas pipelines, the state government would be able to give 30 lakh cooking gas connections in the state in next three to five years. This means that Gujarat alone can save 30 lakh gas cylinders every month for the Centre. This amounts to saving of 3.5 crore gas cylinders every year, and benefits of billions of rupees to the Centre exchequer, which would otherwise be used in giving subsidy”, he said.

But the Centre’s Congress government harbours perverted mentality of rendering troubles to Gujarat even at the cost of people’s money, he said.

http://www.narendramodi.in

 

 

 

Bharat Bandh: Most Affected Places

In the protest against the hiked petrol prices in the country, the left and the right aligned against the government. Since it is a major issue concerning the people, many non aligned UPA parties and some UPA allies too, came up with their support to the nationwide agitation declared by BJP.  There were mixed responses to the protest since it remained calm in some places while some alienated incidents of violence were also reported. Here is the list of most affected places during the Bharat bandh based on NDTV reports.

Maharashtra:

Maharashtra faced the most number of attacks in the current Bharat bandh. The impact of the bandh was mostly on the major city of this state, Mumbai. The city has reported many stone-pelting incidents. Minimum around 68 buses were damaged and many buses were set on fire. The impact of the bandh was clearly visible from the decreased number of passengers in the local trains. The number of Autos and taxis on the road was also very less comparing to the normal working days. Good number minimum 48,000 police personnel were positioned in the sensitive areas of the city

Buses were forcefully stopped from service mainly in Satara and Nagpur. Many business establishments too were forcefully shut down. The protesters even tried to stop Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan‘s convoy.

Delhi:

There were very much inconveniences caused by the protesters in the capital city. BJP activists blocked many crucial junctions and staged demonstrations in the city. This had a major impact on the city traffic. Many of the office-goers literally suffered when the protesters blocked an arterial road that connects Ghaziabad to Delhi. The Bandh was also joined by auto rickshaw and taxi unions causing more difficulty to the passengers. The traffic issues on the roads made crowding and delays in the metro station in the city.

Besides these many BJP leaders including Ananth Kumar and Vijay Goel have courted arrest in Delhi. Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja were other prominent leaders who were taken in to custody during the protest.

Uttar Pradesh:

Besides being a UPA ally, the Utter Pradesh ruling Samajwadi Party had also registered its opposition to the petrol price hike by calling for a statewide bandh. The impact of the bandh was quite strong in Allahabad since SP activists blocked railway tracks and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Akhilesh Yadav-led government has also expressed its inability to take away the value added tax of the increased petrol price of the State. The Congress-ruled states like Delhi, Kerala and Uttarakhand had taken away the additional tax on petrol caused by the increase to reduce the impact of the hike.

Karnataka:

The Bandh has disturbed the normal life of Karnataka very much. In the BJP ruled state three buses were set on fire and a dozen of buses were stoned. The authorities were forced to withdraw the bus services in Bangalore. The inconvenience caused by the bus service caused many to stay back at home. Most of the business establishments and shops remained closed in the several parts of the state.

West Bengal:

Bengal, ruled by the Trinamool Congress was impacted from the bandh. People were very less in number on the streets. The supporters of bandh blocked many roads including Howrah Bridge, a major bridge which connects the metropolis to the Howrah district. There are no incidences of violence reported in the city. Some taxis and autos were also running on the streets.

Other Major Impacts

The bandh also affected train services in Bihar and Jharkhand. Three Rajdhani trains – Delhi-Howrah, Delhi-Sealdah and Delhi-Bhubneshwar – were stopped near Koderma. Rail roko in Patna staged by JD(U) workers also affected local train services.

While protesting in Bihar, the president of the ruling anata Dal (United) and the Convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was arrested in Saharsa while BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain was arrested in Bhagalpur.

Related articles

• Bharat bandh halts normal life, rail traffic hit (ibnlive.in.com)
• Mixed response to bandh against petrol price hike (thehindu.com)
• Bandh a success in NDA states, tepid in others (ibnlive.in.com)