By Rahil Nora Chopra
Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have agreed to field a candidate for the Vice-Presidential election even though the Opposition does not have the requisite numbers to win the election, The decision was taken at a dinner meeting of the bloc hosted by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. However, a section in the opposition camp believes that the INDIA bloc must decide their candidate after the BJP announces its pick. A view also emerged in the meeting that they should look for an eminent personality from outside the political field who can take the fight for the Idea of India forward. They felt that the BJP may now go for an in-house candidate..During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi gave a presentation on the “vote chori model” being allegedly perpetrated by the BJP through the Election Commission. Meanwhile the Opposition alliance leaders may meet on August 18 to discuss the Vice Presidential candidate. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is in talks with the top leadership of the INDIA bloc concerning this matter. Voting for the Vice Presidential election and counting will be held on September 9. The last date for filing nominations for the Vice President post is August 21. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on August 22, while August 25 is the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the race.
BIHAR OPPOSITION LEADERS TO HOLD A MEGA RALLY IN PATNA ON SEPTEMBER 1
Continuing his fight for “one man one vote,” Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi gave a call to the youth of Bihar to join his Vote Adhikar Yatra, that will cover 1,300 km over 13 days. Announcing the schedule of the Yatra, Congress general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal said, “To save our vote, our Constitution, our democracy, Rahul Gandhi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders will embark on the Voter Adhikar Yatra across Bihar.”.Venugopal added “The yatra will kick off with a mega launch rally in Sasaram on August 17, going through Gaya, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnia, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Pashchim Champaran, and ending in Arrah on August 30”. On September 1, the Opposition will hold a ‘Mega Voter Adhikar Rally’ at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. This will be Rahul Gandhi’s second yatra after he took out Phase 2 of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in February 2024, which saw the Congress revive its organisation, and in some parts of the country, and also translated in some electoral gains during last year’s general elections.
MVA AND CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS JOIN HANDS AGAINST MAHARASHTRA GOVT BEFORE LOCAL POLLS
The political activity in Maharashtra is gearing up as the opposition parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and Civil society groups announced the State-wide protest against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill passed by the state legislature recently. At a joint conference on Thursday, leaders of these groups and political parties announced a chain of protests, starting with September 10 and October 2. Civil society groups also urged MPs and MLAs from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to hold at least one protest rally in their respective constituencies after the October 2 agitation. The idea is to keep up the pressure on the Mahayuti government, to force it to reconsider its decision on the bill, which is yet to be cleared by governor CP Radhakrishnan. On the other hand, Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala has said there has been no decision yet on whether constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will contest the upcoming local body polls in the State together. He also said the Congress has no issues with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin and MNS head Raj Thackeray joining hands. Elections to various local and civic bodies in the State, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, are likely to be held later this year. The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) contested the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly polls last year together as part of the MVA.
BJP MP RAJIV PRATAP RUDY WINS CONSTITUTION CLUB CONTEST WITH OPPOSITION SUPPORT
Former Union Minister and current Saran MP, Rajiv Pratap Rudy has retained his position as General Secretary (Administration) of the Constitution Club of India (CCI), defeating fellow BJP leader and former minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan by a margin of 102 votes. With the two leaders slugging it out for the key position, the contest was termed as a BJP vs BJP battle. Many BJP leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey, were actively seen campaigning for Balyan. The high-stake contest also assumed significance as Rudy, a Thakur and Balyan, a Jat, gave an unexpected caste angle. However, Rudy’s long ties with the members turned out to be decisive. There were also murmurs that Sanjeev Balyan was the Centre’s choice, while Opposition parties and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath backed Rudy. Prominent leaders of different parties, including Union ministers Shah and J P Nadda of the BJP and Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, voted on Tuesday. While Rajya Sabha MPs Tiruchi Siva and Rajiv Shukla had already been unanimously elected as secretary (culture) and secretary (sports). The Lok Sabha Speaker is the ex-officio president of the club. But the Secretary plays a crucial role in the executive functioning of the facility.
CONGRESS ADAMANT ON FOCUSING ON VOTERS LIST MANIPULATION ISSUE
Congress once again brought the BJP and the Election Commission under fire asking why shouldn’t the 2024 Lok Sabha elections be nullified when ruling party MP Anurag Thakur himself provided evidence of manipulation of voters list. Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera told a press conference that Thakur has exposed the collusion between BJP and the EC with his claims on voter list manipulation in seats from where top Opposition leaders won. While Anurag Thakur on Wednesday claimed that the voters list was manipulated in Raebareli, Wayanad, Kannauj, Diamond Harbour and demanded resignation of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav and Abhishek Banerjee to resign. However, Khera said it took six months for the Congress to collect and analyse data of Mahadevapura seat because it was the paper voters list but Thakur got the electronic voters list of six Lok Sabha seats in no time. (IPA Service)
Large Corporates May Benefit More From PM’s Job Plan 