Congress leader Rahul Gandhi classified the Lok Sabha elections as a battle between two ideologies — INDIA bloc fighting for the Constitution on one hand, and the BJP-led one which wants to abolish the Constitution and democracy on the other. Maintaining the suspense on the high-profile Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said it was the domain of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) and that he would abide by its decision. Whereas BJP’s Smriti Irani has been re-nominated from the Amethi seat, which had been once a stronghold of Rahul Gandhi, Congress is yet to name its nominee. Speculation has been rife that Rahul Gandhi, who has already filed his nomination from Wayanad, will also contest from Amethi too. Rahul Gandhi had won the Amethi seat three consecutive times: 2004, 2009 and 2014. However, Irani won the seat by 55,000 votes in 2019, attaining and bringing herself the tag of ‘giant slayer’.
PRIYANKA MAYBE THIRD-GENERATION NEHRU-GANDHI TO FIGHT FROM RAEBARELI
In her first roadshow in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over farm loans, electoral bonds, unemployment and demonetisation. Addressing a large crowd, she said those ruling the country are not worshippers of “satya (truth) or ‘Maa Shakti’, but only of ‘satta’ (power)”. A sizeable number of Samajwadi Party workers marked their presence in the road show waving flags and banners of their party marching along with enthusiastic Congress members. Priyanka Gandhi has been campaigning extensively in the Lok Sabha polls and is now ready to fight from Raebareli seat, if the party grants her the permission. She will be the third generation from the Nehru-Gandhi family to contest from Raebareli.
NDA DROPS REFERENCE TO BIHAR’S SPECIAL STATUS DEMAND FOR POLLS
The demand for availing special category status to Bihar is missing in the ongoing election campaign of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).However, the opposition Mahagathbandhan is raising this demand repeatedly during its campaign, with the sole aim of showcasing an example of how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to fulfil the promise he made to the people of Bihar a decade ago. With the campaign heating up for the ongoing seven-phased Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is totally quiet on his long-term demand for special category status to Bihar. On the other hand, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has questioned the absence of Nitish Kumar from the BJP’s election rallies in the State. “Where is Nitish Kumar ji? Why is the BJP not inviting him to its rallies? He could not be seen at either rally of the PM on Tuesday. I still have respect for the CM… BJP, which is his current ally, needs to come clean on the matter,” Tejashwi Yadav asked.
AKHILESH WOOS NON-YADAV OBCs, WHILE RETAINING PDA PLANK
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav’s has led a strategic shift for the candidate selection for the Lok Sabha elections and it is being perceived as an attempt to redesign his party’s image away from being seen as pro-Muslim and pro-Yadav. The party has kept local caste equations and its ‘PDA’ (Pichda, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak) slogan in mind, while selecting its candidates to woo non-Yadav Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who constitute about 35 per cent of the population. Among the 57 candidates declared by the SP so far, only four are Muslims and four are from the Yadav community. The majority of candidates are from general, Scheduled Caste (SC), and non-Yadav Other Backward Classes (OBC) backgrounds. The party has fielded Muslim candidates from Rampur, Kairana, Sambhal and Ghazipur. It has fielded candidates from the Yadav community from Azamgarh, Badaun, Firozabad and Mainpuri. It has also fielded nine candidates belonging to the general categories, 15 Scheduled Castes and 29 OBCs. It has also included candidates from the Jat, Gurjar, and Nishad communities. Akhilesh’s wife, Dimple Yadav, is contesting from Mainpuri, while his three cousins—Dharmendra Yadav, Ashok Yadav, and Aditya Yadav—are contesting from Azamgarh, Firozabad, and Budaun Lok Sabha seats, respectively. SP will contest on 62 seats, leaving 17 for the Congress and one for the TMC.
AAP FIELDS SUNITA KEJRIWAL, PUNJAB CM MANN AS GUJARAT CAMPAIGNERS
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, all of whom are behind bars, have been given an image by the party as star campaigners for the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat. Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann both are also among the list of 40 star campaigners, whose names have been submitted by the party to the Election Commission. Other eminent names on the list are those of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak. Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the AAP is contesting two — Bharuch and Bhavnagar — as part of the INDIA bloc, while its ally Congress is contesting the remaining 24. The AAP has fielded Chaitar Vasava from Bharuch and Umesh Makwana from Bhavnagar. (IPA Service)
