Monday 31 March 2014

BJP Pits Smriti-Irani against Rahul from Amethi, Fields SC Lawyer to Fight against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli

The BJP in a late night decision on Monday named actor-politician Smriti Irani as its Amethi candidate to take on Rahul Gandhi and make a match of a contest tilted heavily in favour of the Congress vice-president.

Contrary to speculation, the BJP opted for a Supreme Court lawyer, Ajay Aggarwal, and not Uma Bharti, for Rae Bareli from where Congress president Sonia Gandhi is seeking a re-election.

With the Congress making public its intention to put up a "formidable" candidate against its PM candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi, the BJP decided to challenge Rahul, who is leading the Congress’ Lok Sabha campaign.

The party expects its Rajya Sabha MP to put up a "tough" fight in a likely triangular contest in which Aam Aadmi Party’s Kumar Vishwas, a poet, is the third contestant.

The Samajwadi Party, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh, has decided against fielding candidates from the Gandhi pocket boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Irani, who became a household name playing Tulsi in a popular TV soap, has served the party in various capacities — national secretary, chief of women's wing and now as a vice-president.

The 38-year-old, feels the party, would not only add glamour to the fight, but will also have the advantage of being the only prominent woman candidate from Amethi that goes to the polls on May 7.

"She is an energetic politician, who will make a difference despite the delayed announcement of her candidature," a BJP leader said.

The party didn’t opt for Bharti as she was reluctant to give up the Jhansi seat from where her candidature had been announced. "The party was not willing to concede to her demand for contesting from two seats in Uttar Pradesh," BJP sources said.

Earlier, she had flip-flopped on the party's offer to take on Sonia. First, Bharti said she would not leave Jhansi but a few days later she declared that she was ready to contest both the seats.

Minutes after his he was named the Rae Bareli candidate, Aggarwal told reporters that it was his petition before the Supreme Court in the Taj corridor case that eventually led to the fall of Mayawati government. He claimed contributing “a lot in exposing the truth in Bofors scandal”.

The BJP, said sources, was also close to sealing an alliance with N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), delayed by last-minute glitches over seat-sharing. The talks with the TDP were "not over" and might take "a couple of more days", the party said.

The BJP wants to contest 40 of the 119 assembly seats and eight of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. "We are even ready to accept two or three Lok Sabha seats (of 25) in Seemandhra, but agreeing to anything less than 25 assembly seats (out of 175) would be not possible," a BJP leader said.

Andhra Pradesh is holding assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha polls in two phases – April 30 in Telangana and May 7 in Seemandhra. The southern state is to be split on June 2 when a formal notification will name Telangana as the 29th state of the Indian union.

Source: Hindustan Times

Wednesday 5 March 2014

India to Have 9-Phase Lok Sabha Elections from 07-April to 12-May 2014

Phase-1 Lok Sabha Poll: 07-April 2014 Phase-2 Lok Sabha Poll: 09-April 2014 Phase-3 Lok Sabha Poll: 10-April 2014 Phase-4 Lok Sabha Poll: 12-April 2014 Phase-5 Lok Sabha Poll: 17-April 2014 Phase-6 Lok Sabha Poll: 24-April 2014 Phase-7 Lok Sabha Poll: 30-April 2014 Phase-8 Lok Sabha Poll: 07-May 2014 Phase-9 Lok Sabha Poll: 12-May 2014





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Source: NIC.in

Tuesday 4 March 2014

2014 Lok Sabha Elections:Partners & Possibles in BJP Target 272-Plus

Its eye on the prime minister’s chair for Narendra Modi, yet not certain of a majority of its own, the BJP has set about forging and looking for alliances, state by state, in its quest for 272 seats. A look at who are or could be with the BJP in nine of those states (counting Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as one), which together account for 255 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats:

Raj factor: Maharashtra<

The BJP has forged a five-party alliance, Mahayuti, with the Shiv Sena, the RPI, the Swabhimani Paksha and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. Additionally, to prevent a split in the anti-UPA vote, the BJP is trying to convince Raj Thackeray not to field MNS candidates.

In 2009, the BJP and the Shiv Sena won 20 of 48 seats between them while the Swabhimani Paksha, then not in the alliance, won one. The Congress-NCP alliance has 25 seats in a state where it is in power; the Mahayuti is hoping for anti-incumbency accumulated over three terms.

Naidu an option: Andhra Pradesh

N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP made several overtures to the BJP in the run-up to the passage of the Telangana Bill. Since then, the TDP has gone quiet, apparently putting on the BJP the onus of taking the initiative for an alliance, or possibly preferring to wait until after the polls. With the TRS in Telangana rejecting a merger with Congress, the BJP senses a window of opportunity there too, but again only after the polls.

The BJP had won four of 42 seats in 1998 and seven in 1999, in alliance with the TDP. It has been routed since they parted ways in 2004.

Paswan Won Over: Bihar

The BJP-JD(U) alliance in 2009 won 32 of 40 seats, but the parting of ways made the BJP look vulnerable given the JD(U)’s base among the backward castes and Dalits — until the BJP forged alliances with Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP. The BJP will contest 30 seats, twice as many as in 2009, with the rest shared between the LJP (seven) and the RLSP (three).

Vaiko Done, DMK a teaser: Tamil Nadu

The BJP has sealed an alliance with Vaiko’s MDMK, is moving forward in talks with the PMK, and is waiting for a final word from the DMDK. The BJP is wary of initiating a dialogue on its own with the DMK given that the 2G scam is linked to the party, though DMK chief Karunanidhi has tempted the BJP by praising Narendra Modi.

In 1998, the BJP won three seats of 39 in alliance with the AIADMK, part of the most successful combination; in 1999 it bagged four in alliance with the DMK, the MDMK and the PMK.

BSY is Back: Karnataka

As the ruling party in the state, the BJP won 19 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2009 while the Congress bagged six and the JD(S) three. The exit of former chief minister B S Yedyyurappa cost the BJP in last year’s assembly elections, which returned the Congress to power. Now the BJP has got Yeddyurappa back; his fledgling KJP had bagged about 10 per cent of the votes in the assembly elections. The BJP state unit is rooting for merging in former minister B Sreeramulu’s BSR Congress, too; it got three per cent of the votes in the assembly elections.

Smaller Parties Targeted: Orissa

The BJP won seven of 21 seats in 1998 and nine in 1999, contesting in alliance with the BJD both times. However, they parted ways ahead of the 2009 and the BJP now has no seat in the state. With Naveen Patnaik having avoided an alliance since, the party is exploring a grand alliance with Soumya Ranjan Patnaik’s Aam Orissa party, Braja Kishore Tripathy’s Samata Kranti Party and Kharavela Swain’s Utkal Bharat Party. Talks with Pyari Mohan Mohapatra’s party have hit a roadblock with the state unit not keen on an alliance.

Divide over AGP: ASSAM

The AGP had contested in 2009 in alliance with the BJP, which won four of 14 seats. However, they parted ways during the assembly elections of 2011, leading to a miserable performance by both parties. The AGP has since shown an interest in a pre-poll alliance with the BJP. The BJP’s state unit is, however, divided. The BJP central leadership too is unsure how useful an ally the faction-ridden AGP will be; it is not in the mood to concede too many seats. The onus is on the AGP to forge an alliance with its share reduced since 2009.

Still with Akalis: Punjab

The BJP’s alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal is already in place and their coalition is in power in the state. The BJP will contest three seats and the SAD the remaining 10.

Deal with HJC: Haryana

The BJP has forged an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress led by Kuldeep Bishnoi, with the latter to contest two of 10 seats. O P Chuatala’s INLD, too, has been eyeing an understanding with the BJP. However, the conviction of Chautala and his struggle to get relief from court have come in the way of an alliance, with the HJC against one in any case.

Source: Indian Express