The AAP on 9 April initiated a door-to-door drive in Delhi’s Shahdara as part of its “Jail ka Jawab Vote se” campaign to seek support for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail. Under the campaign, AAP leaders will visit every house in the four Lok Sabha constituencies where the party has fielded its candidates. Contesting the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance with the Congress, the AAP has fielded candidates on four seats — New Delhi, East Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi. The Congress will contest the North East Delhi, North West Delhi, and Chandni Chowk seats and party high command are likely to shortlist names for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in the days to come. The names are doing round for the Chandni Chowk seat are of Alka Lamba and Jai Prakash Aggarwal. While the probable candidates from North East Delhi could be Sandeep Dikshit, Kanhaiya Kumar and Purvanchal folk singer Neha Singh Rathore. Leaders such as Krishna Tirath, Raj Kumar Chauhan and former MP Udit Raj, had been suggested for the reserved Northwest Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Polling for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will take place on May 25.
ODISHA CM NAVEEN PATNAIK SEEKS PEOPLE’S INPUTS FOR BJD POLL MANIFESTO
Odisha Chief Minister and ruling BJD president Naveen Patnaik has constituted a ‘manifesto committee’ under the guided chairmanship of its senior leader Chandrasekhar Sahu for drafting the party’s poll document ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. Senior leader Amar Patnaik has been appointed as the convenor and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra as the co-convener. However, BJD has looked for the suggestions from people to enable the party to prepare its election manifesto. The party has requested people to send their inputs through e-mail to the party office. The manifesto committee has a long panel with 38 members. The committee comprises women, tribals, Muslims, Dalits and non-resident Odisha experts are also being included so that the voices of all sections of the society are reflected in the manifesto. The manifesto committee is all set and will prepare a road map that will embark Odisha on a journey to the number one state in the country in every field.
BIRENDER SINGH’S DEPARTURE FROM BJP MAY DENT HARYANA PROSPECTS
The departure of former Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, the grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, from BJP to the Congress in the midst of the Lok Sabha elections is a major twist in Haryana politics. Birender Singh had led the BJP to a enormous victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Hisar for the first time in 68 years. The BJP is well acquainted with Birender Singh’s reach in Haryana’s political and social fabric. The talk is that some BJP MLAs are also in touch with Chaudhary Birender Singh and they might switch sides in the days to come. If sources are to be believed, its concern has been clearly seen in the brainstorming with MLAs at CM Nayab Singh Saini’s residence in Chandigarh. According to political observers, Birender Singh has been graced with supporters all over Haryana. It is obvious that the departure of Birender Singh, who has been a five-time MLA, two-time Rajya Sabha and one-time Lok Sabha MP from Jind’s Uchana seat, to put immense setback for the BJP in the LS as well as in the assembly elections.
KARNATAKA BJP’S K S ESHWARAPPA REVOLTS AGAINST YEDIYURAPPA CLAN
Senior Karnataka BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa is leading the charge against former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, dissenting against the latter’s tightening grip on the party in the state. Eshwarappa has announced that he will contest as an independent candidate against the BJP’s official candidate and incumbent MP in the Shivamogga constituency, B.Y. Raghavendra, Yediyurappa’s son. While Eshwarappa was summoned to Delhi by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he was not granted a meeting. Eshwarappa said that Shah’s refusal to meet him was tacit approval for him to contest as an Independent.
SCRAPPING OF EVM, RETURN TO BALLOT PAPER IN CPI-ML POLL MANIFESTO
The CPI-ML released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections and demanded for the scrapping of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and return to the ballot papers to ensure free and fair polls in the country. The Left party’s poll manifesto banks on 15 subjects covering around 60 issues related to the people, including equal citizenship, employment generation and unemployment allowance, reservation in the private sector, scrapping of the Agnipath scheme for recruitment into the armed forces, dignity and decent lives for workers, reviving agriculture and rural economy and affordable housing in cities. The manifesto also calls for universalisation of the public distribution system and stringent control of the prices of essential commodities and services, education for all, and strengthening the public healthcare system, minimum support price guarantee for crops, among others. The CPI-ML is contesting three seats — Karakat, Bhojpur and Nalanda — in Bihar and Koderma in Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha polls as part of the INDIA bloc.
PUNJAB BJP LITTERED WITH OLD CONGRESS HANDS
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar’s team is filled with old Congress leaders, prominent among them being Fateh Jung Bajwa (brother of Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly), Harjot Kamal, Arvind Khanna and Kewal Dhillon. The BJP core committee also comprises of seasoned Congress hands in Manpreet Badal and Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi. Ravneet Singh Bittu has also joined the BJP earlier this year, making the new BJP look like the old Congress. The Congress won 8 of the 13 seats in 2019 and BJP had then bagged four seats in its alliance with SAD. While SAD polled 27.4 per cent of the votes, the BJP polled 9.6 per cent. This time, SAD is contesting alone. Will the increasing of tally be managed by BJP, or will their loss be the SAD’s gain? (IPA Service)