Category: Politics

‘Rahul Gandhi deserted Amethi due to fear of Smriti Irani’: How BJP plans to puncture Congress’ UP plan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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BJP’s campaign line for Amethi and Raebareli is set now, with Rahul Gandhi changing his seat to the latter and the Congress fielding a family confidante from Amethi against Union minister Smriti Irani.

BJP sources say the party will project amongst the people that Rahul Gandhi deserted Amethi in fear of losing to Irani, and that there is no stopping her record win from Amethi now. KL Sharma is an outsider for Amethi and has been a manager for Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli for over two decades, BJP sources have pointed out.

BJP will also tell voters that there is no point voting for Rahul Gandhi in Raebareli as he will leave this seat too and retain Wayanad if he wins both, sources explained. “The delay has shown indecision and weakness till the last moment; this is the state of the Congress party. It is clear to voters also Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to contest and will desert Raebareli too as he is no mood to leave Wayanad,” a senior BJP leader told News18.

BJP will also run a campaign asking people to vote for a local like BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli who will always be available as an MP, and not bet on Rahul Gandhi as, if the latter wins, a bypoll would be needed. “Will Priyanka Gandhi Vadra then enter the fray in the bypoll?” a BJP leader asked.

BJP is hoping that Singh can pull off a major upset in Rae Bareli as two key MLAs of the Lok Sabha constituency, Aditi Singh and Manoj Pandey, will be asked to throw their weight behind him.

Sonia Gandhi’s margin of win on this seat was 3.5 lakh votes in 2014. It was halved to 1.67 lakh in 2019 when Pratap fought for the first time from here. So, the man who halved Sonia’s margin in 2019 has been given another shot at Raebareli by the BJP.

In fact, the story is similar to Irani’s who reduced Rahul Gandhi’s margin of 3.5 lakh in 2009 to about 1 lakh in 2019 before ultimately defeating him in 2019 by 55,000 votes. BJP is hoping for a repeat in Raebareli so the same strategy has been adopted, party sources said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Don’t be scared, don’t run away’, PM Modi tells Rahul for not contesting from Amethi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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₹Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, May 3, attacked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for not contesting from Amethi seat in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He asked the Gandhi scion “not to be scared, not to run away,” as the latter will file his nomination paper for the Raebareli seat today.

The Congress sprung a surprise as it fielded Gandhi from Raebareli and his close aise Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi. Both will file nominations today for the party’s traditional seats going to polls in the fifth phase on May 20.

Addressing a rally in West Bengal’s Bardhaman-Durgapur, Modi said he had predicted that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will not contest Lok Sabha polls and her son will fight from a second seat. “I had already said in the Parliament that their (Congress) biggest leader will not dare to fight elections and she will run away. She ran away to Rajasthan and came to the Rajya Sabha. I had already said that the Shehzada (Rahul Gandhi) will lose in Wayanad. I had said that as soon as the polling was completed in Wayanad, he will look for another seat. He is so scared of Amethi that he is running towards Raebareli. They ask everyone ‘Daro Mat‘. Today, I also ask them, ‘Daro Mat, Bhago Mat‘.”

Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Porbandar Lok Sabha seat, Mansukh Mandaviya said, “It is every person’s right to choose from where he wants to contest elections. But he is running away from Amethi, which means he does not trust the people of Amethi and Uttar Pradesh. That’s why he has to run away.”

The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul since 2004 and he remained a member of Parliament from the constituency till 2019. BJP’s Smriti Irani defeated Rahul in the 2019 General Elections.

The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Before that, Sonia Gandhi had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics in 1999. She is now a Rajya Sabha MP.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maratha quota agitation, railway delays, and community reservation dominate Beed Lok Sabha polls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Police cases against Maratha quota agitators, slow progress of the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line, and reservation for the Dhangar community are the dominant issues in Maharashtra’s Beed Lok Sabha constituency that goes to polls on May 13.

The central Maharashtra district was in the news last year when an intense agitation for quotas for Marathas in jobs and education took a violent turn and the houses of some political leaders came under attack.

The BJP has fielded former state minister Pankaja Munde from the seat, making her the third member of the Munde family to contest from here in the last 15 years.

Her father and BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde won the seat in 2009 and 2014 while her younger sister Pritam Munde won the by-election in October 2014 after their father’s death and retained the seat in the 2019 polls. But this time, the BJP replaced Pritam Munde with Pankaja Munde whose main rival is Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP (Sharad Pawar).

“The Maratha quota agitation and nearly 200 offences registered during the period are a big issue in this election. Another issue is why Pritam Munde was replaced when she had won twice from the seat with good margins,” said senior journalist Datta Deshmukh. He said the lack of industry and jobs and the Dhangar community’s demand for reservation too are important issues.

The Dhangar community in the state has been demanding Scheduled Tribe status. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had last year said that his government will study the methodology adopted by states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana and Chhattisgarh on the Dhangar community’s demands for reservation.

“Pankaja Munde has a strong team down to the booth level as she also has her cousin (state agriculture minister) Dhananjay Munde on her side. But she is facing a disgruntled Maratha community with its pending demand of reservation,” he said.

In February, the ruling Mahayuti alliance of Chief Minister Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP passed a bill providing 10% reservation for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

The Bombay High Court has been hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision even as Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has demanded that the community be given quota in the OBC category by identifying them as Kunbis — an agrarian community falling in the OBC category — instead of a separate reservation.

Jarange on April 14 said he would undertake a fast from June 5, a day after Lok Sabha results are announced, if the Maharashtra government fails to give the community reservation benefits. He also hit out at the state government, saying police continue to register cases against Maratha quota agitators across the state even for incidents that took place four months ago.

Balaji Margude, another journalist, said caste equations also matter in the constituency. Even school-going children talk about caste here, he said, adding that issues of development are rarely discussed. Because of the Maratha quota agitation, the caste factor is in greater focus, he said.

Talking about the prospects of Sonawane, Deshmukh said no big leader is campaigning for him, yet he might benefit from the sympathy wave for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, who have lost control of their parties — Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — along with the original name and electoral symbol. “Sonawane has no big leader behind him except Sandip Kshirsagar, but sympathy for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray can help him,” Deshmukh added.

Meanwhile, some local residents rued the delay in the completion of the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line. Beed consists of six assembly segments: Georai, Majalgaon, Beed, Ashti, Kaij and Parli. Parli is the hometown of the Munde family.

Pankaja Munde had lost from Parli to her cousin Dhanajay Munde in the 2019 state elections. But with the NCP splitting up and Dhananjay throwing his lot with the Ajit Pawar faction which joined hands with the BJP, the cousins are now on the same side. Also, five of the six MLAs in the Lok Sabha constituency are of the BJP or its allies. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance does not have any big leader in the district except Beed City MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

There are a total of 41 candidates in the fray including Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s (VBA) Ashok Hinge. The VBA, led by Dalit leader and B R Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, then in alliance with the AIMIM, had secured a sizable 92,139 votes in Beed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

There are 21, 42, 547 registered voters — 11,34,284 male, 10,08,234 female and 29 third gender — in the constituency. The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra are being held in five phases from April 19 to May 20 and state assembly polls are due later this year.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

In Andhra Pradesh’s silk hub, weavers’ cry for help echoes through election season

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The traditional handloom saree-making skills in Dharmavaram, known as the silk city of Andhra Pradesh, are battling for survival, and the elections have revived hopes among the weavers that their voice will be heard through a backward caste BJP candidate fielded from Aere Dharmavaram.

Known for their exceptional skills, the weavers of Dharmavaram assembly constituency were the first to make a saree that could be packed in a matchbox way back in 1918. Recently, they presented a massive silk saree measuring 180 feet in length and weighing 16 kg to the Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya.

The weavers of Dharmavaram have long been renowned for their intricate designs and exceptional quality, with their sarees often drawing comparisons to the iconic Kanjivaram sarees of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. Yet, in recent years, their once-thriving industry has faced numerous challenges, from the rise of powerloom production to the influx of cheaper alternatives flooding the market.

At the heart of this struggle lies a dwindling workforce, as younger generations are lured away by the promise of more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. The remaining weavers, many of whom have dedicated their entire lives to this art form, now find themselves grappling with soaring costs of raw materials and dwindling government support.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to sustain our craft,” laments K Adinarayana, a 50-year-old weaver from Kothapeta colony.

“The state government has stopped providing the annual subsidy of ₹24,000 that we once relied upon to offset the rising costs of silk and zari.” According to weavers, silk prices have more than doubled to ₹5,600 per kg now from ₹2,600 per kg in 2011. Even the price of pure zari has gone up to ₹5,000 for half a kilo from ₹1,200 in 2011.

Adinarayana further said he is finding it hard to get a ₹50,000 loan from the ‘Mudra Loan scheme’ to buy raw materials in the absence of a guarantor.

Compounding their woes is the issue of counterfeit sarees flooding the market, with unscrupulous traders passing off powerloom products as genuine Dharmavaram handloom sarees, deceiving consumers and undercutting the authentic artisans.

Another weaver, K Shankaraiah (50), shared that he too did not receive the subsidy amount in the last two years and demanded that the government make norms easier for weavers to avail loans under the Mudra scheme.

In the absence of sufficient retail sale points and a ‘silk mark’ tag to assure the purity of Dharmavaram silk sarees, the demand for handloom sarees is declining. The growing powerloom sarees in the nearby Hindupur and Madanpalle assembly constituencies have further aggravated their problems.

As the upcoming elections approach, the weavers of Dharmavaram have found a glimmer of hope in the form of Y Satya Kumar, a backward caste BJP candidate. They believe that by electing one of their own, their long-neglected concerns will finally be heard and addressed at the highest levels of government.

There are 48,000 weavers, 19,000 looms, and 2,480 saree shops in the constituency.

“For too long, our community’s needs have been overlooked by the upper-caste politicians who have traditionally represented this constituency,” says Girraj Nagesh, a former YSR Congress leader who has since joined the TDP.

“With Kumar as our voice in the assembly, we hope to revive the fortunes of our dying craft,” he said.

Besides BJP’s Satya Kumar, sitting YSR Congress MLA Kethireddy Venkata Rami Reddy who is seeking a second term from this seat and Congress’ Rangana Aswartha Narayana are contesting from this seat.

However, the road ahead remains uncertain, as the weavers grapple with the task of preserving not only their livelihood but also a rich cultural heritage that has been woven into the fabric of Dharmavaram for generations.

As the election season unfolds, the fate of this ancient art form hangs in the balance, with its survival hinging on the ability of its practitioners to adapt and evolve while retaining the essence of their timeless traditions.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Feroze Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi: Rae Bareli’s tryst with Congress

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The surprise nomination of Rahul Gandhi from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli brings the focus back on the VVIP segment which was first represented in the Lok Sabha by the former Congress president’s grandfather Feroze Gandhi, who held the seat in the first two elections after Independence.

The strong foundations that Feroze Gandhi laid in the constituency were later nurtured and strengthened by his wife and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who won from the seat in 1967, 1971 and 1980, followed by friends and family members of the Gandhi family.

Indira Gandhi contested from two seats in 1980 — Rae Bareli and Medak in Telangana — and chose to retain the Medak seat. Arun Nehru won the 1980 bypoll and subsequently in 1984.

From Arun Nehru, who was late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s right-hand man, to Sheila Kaul, another Gandhi kin, Rae Bareli returned several of the Gandhi family members and aides to the Lok Sabha.

The seat was held by Congress’ R P Singh in the 1960 bypoll after the demise of Feroze Gandhi, and by another Congress leader Baij Nath Kureel in 1962.

Sheila Kaul, an aunt of Indira Gandhi, represented the seat in 1989 and 1991.

In 1999, another friend of the Gandhis, Satish Sharma represented the Rae Bareli constituency, till Sonia Gandhi shifted there.

The only time the Congress did not represent the seat was in the wake of the Emergency in 1977 when Janata Party’s Raj Narain defeated Indira Gandhi, who was then the prime minister, and BJP’s Ashoke Singh in 1996 and 1998.

Also Read: BJP’s Hindi heartland dominance faces test in phase 3 polls

Although Sonia Gandhi upon entering electoral politics chose to make her electoral foray from neighbouring Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 1999, a seat her husband Rajiv Gandhi had held earlier, she soon vacated it for her son Rahul’s debut in politics in 2004.

Sonia Gandhi subsequently held Rae Bareli four times between 2004 and 2019, although of late, her winning margins began dwindling. The party’s calculation behind fielding Rahul from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi, also rests on the conclusion that Rae Bareli is a better, safer seat for the former Congress president, who lost Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019 by nearly 50,000 votes.

Amid criticism that the Congress had given a walkout to Irani in Amethi, sources said, the party in its wisdom believed that Rae Bareli’s historical, emotional and electoral importance for the Gandhi family was higher than that of Amethi.

In her farewell message to the people of Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi had expressed confidence that the seat which always stood by her and the Gandhis will continue to support her family in future also.

In the message on February 15, former party chief Sonia Gandhi informed voters of her Rae Bareli constituency that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health and age issues.

In an emotional message to the constituents of the segment she has represented since 2004, the 77-year-old also threw subtle hints of a possible entry of a member of her family from Rae Bareli.

“I am proud to say that whatever I am today, I am because of you and I have always done my best to honour your trust. Now on account of health and age issues, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha election,” she said in the message.

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“After this decision, I will not have the opportunity to serve you directly but my heart and soul will always remain with you. I know that you will stand by me and my family in future, just as you have in the past,” she said in the message.

The message to the voters came a day after she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan.

She entered the Rajya Sabha for the first time and was the second member of the Gandhi family to do so, after Indira Gandhi who was a member of the upper house from 1964 to 1967.

In the message to voters, Sonia Gandhi further said, “My family in Delhi is incomplete without you. It completes when I come to Rae Bareli and meet all of you. My ties with you are very old. I have inherited these ties as a good fortune from my in-laws.” Noting that ties of her family with Rae Bareli are “very deep rooted”, she said Rae Bareli sent her father-in-law Feroze Gandhi to Lok Sabha in the first general election held after Independence.

After that, you accepted my mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, she noted, adding that ever since, our relationship grew stronger on the difficult road to affection despite the highs and lows of life and our faith in this bond grew stronger.

“You allowed me space to walk along on this shining path. I came to you after losing my mother-in-law and husband and you accepted me with open arms,” the former Congress chief said.

Sending her respect to elders and love to youngsters, she had said in her message, “I will see you soon”.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Amethi Lok Sabha elections: Who is Kishori Lal Sharma, Congress’ pick against BJP’s Smriti Irani

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Hours before the nomination deadline, Congress on Friday put to rest the speculations and suspense over the two high-profile seats in Uttar Pradesh — Amethi and Rae Bareli. The grand old party has fielded Rahul Gandhi, sitting MP from Wayanad, from his mother Sonia Gandhi’s stronghold in Rae Bareli, while a Gandhi family loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma, has been pitted against Union Minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani from Amethi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Voting for the 2024 general elections will be held in both these parliamentary constituencies in the fifth phase on May 20. Both Amethi and Rae Bareli have been a stronghold of the Congress.

For decades, Amethi has been represented by several party stalwarts like Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi has been a three-time MP from here in 2004, 2009 and 2014, respectively. However, in the 2019 elections, he lost this seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani by more than 55,000 votes.

Interestingly, this will be the first time in 25 years that the Congress party has pitched a non-Gandhi family candidate from here. This time, the seat will witness a direct contest between Smriti Irani of the BJP and Congress’ Kishori Lal Sharma.

Who is Kishori Lal Sharma?

A close associate of the Gandhi family, Sharma hails from Punjab’s Ludhiana. He has been the manager of the party and Sonia Gandhi during her absence in Rae Bareli.

Earlier, he was closely associated with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After his demise in 1991, Sharma’s bond with the Gandhi family is believed to have become even stronger. Ever since he first came to Amethi in 1983, Sharma has been closely looking after most of the matters for the party in this constituency.

According to reports, Sharma also played a major role in Sonia Gandhi’s maiden victory from Amethi in 1999.

When Sonia Gandhi vacated the seat for her son during the 2004 general elections and moved to Raebareli, Sharma started managing the Congress party’s affairs in both constituencies.

With his candidature, the Congress party is hoping to wrest the Amethi seat from the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the results for which will be announced on June 4.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Rahul Gandhi to contest from Raebareli, close aide KL Sharma from Amethi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The suspense is finally over on Congress party’s traditional seats in Uttar Pradesh. Party MP Rahul Gandhi will contest from Raebareli and his close aide Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Both will file their nominations on Friday, May 3, as today is the last day for the process. The seats will go to polls in the fifth phase on May 20.

Gandhi will hold a roadshow ahead of filing his nomination in Raebareli.

Sharma was the key man who looked after the two key constituencies in the absence of the Gandhis.

On Sharma’s candidature, Congress worker Yogendra Yadav told ANI, “There is no disappointment. We will definitely win from here. KL Sharma is also a part of the (Gandhi) family now. He has worked for Gandhi family in Amethi for 30-35 years. There is no resentment among the workers. The Gandhi family is coming for KL Sharma’s nomination. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will be here.”

The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul since 2004 and he remained a member of Parliament from the constituency till 2019. BJP’s Smriti Irani defeated Rahul in the 2019 General Elections.

The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Before that, Sonia Gandhi had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics in 1999. She is now a Rajya Sabha MP.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BJP’s Hindi heartland dominance faces test in phase 3 polls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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10 states and 2 union territories with 94 constituencies will be voting in the third phase. Uttar Pradesh (UP) will witness polling in 10 Lok Sabha constituencies. Mainpuri constituency in UP will be key where Dimple Yadav of the Samajwadi Party is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jaiveer Singh. BJP had won 8 of these 10 seats in 2019.

In Bihar, 5 seats will be voting in the third phase. From the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Janata Dal (United) (JDU) is contesting on 3 seats. Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and BJP are fighting for one seat each. From the opposition’s block, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is contesting from 3 seats, The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and Vikassheel Insaan Party are fighting from one seat each.

Moving to Chhattisgarh where it will be the last phase of polling for the state. Voting for 11 total seats was split over 3 phases. In the third phase, polling will take place in 7 constituencies. The state had voted for a BJP government in the assembly elections. The BJP had also won 10 out of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh in the 2019 polls.

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Abhishek Shukla, Editor, of News18 Chhattisgarh, Brajmohan Singh, Editor, of News18 Bihar and Manmohan Rai, Editor, of News18 UP discussed this in detail.

“The third phase is the phase, which has the maximum number of big faces. The so-called VIP politicians are the famous faces of UP politics. This is also the belt which is the Yadav family’s stronghold and Dimple Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, is contesting from Mainpuri. That seat has become the hot seat because she is pitted against BJP’s Jaiveer Singh,” Rai said.

“Voting turnout has been very low in the first round, around 50% and 54% in the second round. Third round – political parties are hoping that it will be slightly high. In Bihar, out of five seats, JDU is going to contest on three seats, LJP is going to contest on one seat and BJP on one seat. Caste is going to play a very important role,” said Brijmohan Singh.

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Madhumita Murgia, AI Editor, Financial Times, Author, Code-Dependent explored what impact deepfakes and artificial intelligence (AI) could have in general elections 2024 and how it has affected public perceptions ahead of the ongoing elections and what important steps can be taken to combat it.

“There is always going to be external forces that shape what people believe. That is how propaganda works, how campaigning works and as people we listen to what other people say and then we make our decision based on all of these outside influences,” she said.

For more, watch the accompanying video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Congress likely to announce Amethi, Raebareli candidates tonight | LIVE Updates 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With the deadline for filing nominations just a day away, suspense is the primary emotion overhanging Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh — the question being who will be the Congress candidates in these two high-profile seats. With Friday (May 3) being the last day for filing nominations, the party is expected to name its candidates for these prestigious constituencies tonight, May 2.

Both constituencies are traditional strongholds of the Gandhi-Nehru family, with its members holding these seats for decades. Amid uncertainty over the Congress nominees, sources indicate party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from here. Amethi has been represented by Rahul since 2004, but he lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections.

Track all updates regarding the announcement of candidates for these high-profile seats here 

• Home Minister Amit Shah criticized Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, stating that their indecision reflects a lack of self-confidence. He remarked that they seem hesitant to contest even from their traditional seats. Shah questioned why they delayed the decision for so long, suggesting that if they weren’t willing to run, they could have given the opportunity to a party worker for better public outreach. This uncertainty, Shah argued, highlights their lack of self-assurance.
• Posters of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav seen at Amethi Congress office.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh | Posters carrying pictures of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav brought to Gauriganj-Amethi Congress office pic.twitter.com/oiEm2Xtc1z

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2024

• BJP candidate from UP’s Rae Bareli seat, Dinesh Pratap Singh says, “…I assure the country that farewell of ‘nakli’ Gandhis from Rae Bareli is certain. It is certain that BJP’s ‘lotus’ will bloom, and Congress will lose. I have even fought against 4-time MP Sonia Gandhi, so Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi are not important to me. Whichever Gandhi comes to Rae Bareli, they will lose.”
• Sources also said the Congress party has prepared an alternative plan in case Priyanka Gandhi Vadra does not contest from Rae Bareli, adding a grandson of former Congress leader and Indira Gandhi’s aunt Sheila Kaul may be fielded from Rae Bareli. Confidantes of the Gandhi family who held the fort at the ground level are already in Amethi and have prepared the nominations for the both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, even though the party is yet to make any formal announcement.
• Sources reveal that Rahul Gandhi and Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, currently in Shimoga for a joint poll rally in Karnataka, discussed his nomination from Amethi. The Uttar Pradesh Congress leadership has urged the Gandhi family to contest both seats, while the Central Election Committee advocates for Rahul and Priyanka’s candidacy. However, the final decision rests with the top leadership and the Congress’s first family.
• The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul Gandhi from 2004 and he remained the member of Parliament from the constituency for three consecutive terms till 2019. He currently represents the Wayanad constituency in Kerala from where he has contested this time also. Rahul Gandhi had said earlier he will follow “whatever order” he gets from his party.
•  The Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections. The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Prior to that, Sonia Gandhi had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics and contested for the first time in 1999.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mumbai court questions ED’s modus in PMLA cases 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow