Tag: Congress

I.N.D.I.A. bloc committed to predictable and stable tax environment: Jairam Ramesh

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

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Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh raised concerns about the current economic climate in India, highlighting the lowest levels of private investment as a proportion of GDP seen in the last decade.

Ramesh said the Modi regime has fostered an unprecedented atmosphere of fear and distrust, exacerbated by an unpredictable tax regime and frequent changes to the GST and income tax policies.

In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18, he emphasised that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is committed to establishing a stable and predictable tax environment. The key priorities for this alliance include implementing GST 2.0 and eliminating exploitative tax measures like the angel tax, with the overarching goal of restoring confidence and trust in the economic system.

Here is the excerpt of the interview

Q: You felt the need to clarify on these reports on market volatility because businesses, investors, markets have their doubts as to what will happen post the 4th of June. Why did you put out that clarification?

A: I was not responding to the volatility, I was responding to the incitement by the home minister and the prime minister on speculating the causes of the volatility and attributing it to the inevitability of the I.N.D.I Alliance getting its majority. I was responding to the fact that the home minister was deliberately trying to key up markets. However, what I was putting forward was the reality. The reality is that private investment is at an all-time low as a proportion of GDP in the last 10 years, the atmosphere of fear and distrust has never prevailed like this as it has prevailed in the last 10 years.

The uncertainty in the tax regime, the frequent changes in the GST regime, the income tax regime, these are all sort of trends that we have seen during the Modi regime, whether it’s demonetisation, or whether it’s the uncertainty and unpredictability of economic policy. So, I was responding to that, and what I was saying is that the I.N.D.I.A group, or the political parties in the I.N.D.I. Alliance, are committed to a predictable tax environment in which removal of this fear and distrust is of primary importance. GST 2.0 is of importance. The removal and elimination of angel tax and other exploitative tax initiatives is of importance. So that’s what I was reacting to.

Q: Why should businesses believe this pitch? Because when you speak about taxation, it was the retrospective taxation during the UPA era that investors still talk about. In companies like Cairn Energy, Vodafone, they had faced the brunt of it, it became a legal hassle globally as well.

A: The Cairn issue was carried forward. Arun Jaitley, who called Vodafone tax terrorism indulged in that tax terrorism when it came to Cairn Energy. So, please, let’s have the full history of this.

Q: Former Union minister Veerappa Moily also said this was something that has hurt the Congress Party and the UPA. So how would you assure investors and businesses that those kinds of decisions will not be taken?

A: The best assurance is the performance. I remember on the 13th of May 2004, the results came out and on the 17th of May 2004, which was a Monday, markets fell very significantly. Manmohan Singh’s name was announced as prime minister, the next day, and markets resumed, coming back to their normal position after a few weeks. And then for the next 10 years, you had an average growth rate of GDP of 6.8%, you had a private investment rate, which was going at about 30-33% of GDP. So that’s the reality. The reality was the performance.

If you take the GDP growth rate and look at the private investment as a proportion of GDP, the 10 years of 2004 to 2014, was vastly superior to this much-hyped period of 2014 and 2024. I am just talking about, this sector of the economy, I’m not even getting into issues of wages, unemployment and other issues. I’m just talking of the headline numbers, the GDP growth number is significantly higher — 6.8% during Manmohan Singh decade versus 5.8% during the Modi decade.

Also, a record number of private entrepreneurs were taking citizenship of Singapore, Dubai, London, and the US. Why are they fleeing? They’re making the profits here and they are fleeing.

Q: What about things like corporate tax? This government had reduced corporate tax on existing companies and startups? What’s your view on that?

A: The very significant drop in corporate tax rates took place incidentally a few days before the Howdy Modi event in Houston. There was an international audience that the outgoing prime minister was playing to. The corporate tax rate was reduced, but private investment has not boomed. There’s no buoyancy in private investment, it is still stagnating at about 27-28% of GDP. And why are businessmen now going and seeking citizenship of Dubai and Singapore and other countries of the world?

Q: Will you review the decision of corporate tax and think about hiking it?

A: No, no question of that. We have to have a predictable tax regime. Investment is not just a financial decision, investment is a psychological decision. And today the psychology in India is one of fear, is one of distrust, is one of suspicion. The extraordinary draconian powers that have been given to organisations like the ED, the CBI and the Income Tax Department — small traders, small businessmen, medium-sized traders, medium-sized businessmen, even big business, people are afraid to speak, and if they’re afraid to speak they are afraid to invest.

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Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 5: Over 57% voter turnout recorded, highest in West Bengal at 73%

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

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Voting was held in 49 constituencies in six states and two UTs in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Monday. Voter turnout was recorded at 57.47% in the fifth phase of voting.

Today’s poll will decide the fate of several prominent leaders like former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Voter turnout till 6 pm

Over 8.95 crore people, including 4.26 crore females and 5,409 third-gender electors, were eligible to vote in this round and 9.47 lakh polling officials were deployed across 94,732 polling stations.

Among the seats going to polls, 13 are in Maharashtra, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, five in Bihar, three in Jharkhand, five in Odisha, one in Jaamu and Kashmir and the lone seat in Ladakh. This round covered the least number of seats (49) in the seven-phase polls.

Voting was also held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha, where Biju Janata Dal president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is among the candidates.

Polling for 23 states and Union territories and 379 seats has been completed so far. The sixth and seventh phases are on May 25 and June 1 respectively. The counting of votes is on June 4.

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Amethi Lok Sabha election: Can BJP’s Smriti Irani retain the Congress bastion she won in 2019?

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

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Amethi, one of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, is gearing up for an intense poll battle on May 20. In the past, the seat has been represented by notable members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Voter turnout was 54.17% at 7.34 pm, according to news18.com. In the 2019 general elections, total voter turnout at the seat was 54.05%.

Established in 1967, the constituency was initially named Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar but was rechristened Amethi. The first MP from this seat was Vidyadhar Bajpai of the Congress. From 1971 to 1977, Ravindra Pratap Singh of the Janata Party served as a Parliamentarian from here.

In 1980, Sanjay Gandhi of Congress defeated Ravindra Pratap Singh. Following Sanjay Gandhi’s death in a plane crash, a by-election in 1981 saw Rajiv Gandhi winning the seat.

In 1999, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi registered victory here in her debut elections. She vacated the seat in 2004 for her son Rahul Gandhi, who won three consecutive terms from Amethi before a shock defeat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019.

Date

Amethi went to polls in phase 5 on May 20.

List of Candidates

The BJP has retained Union Minister Smriti Irani as its candidate after she pulled off an upset against Rahul Gandhi in 2019.

For the first time in many years, the Congress has fielded a non-Gandhi candidate in Amethi. Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, will represent the Congress. This decision marks a notable change in the party’s strategy for the constituency.

2019 Result

The 2019 election results were a major upset for the Congress, as Smriti Irani’s victory ended the long-standing dominance of the Gandhi family in Amethi. This year’s election will be closely watched to see if Irani can retain her seat against Congress’ Kishori Lal Sharma.

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

Ladakh Lok Sabha election: Voter turnout reaches 67.15% by 5.30 pm

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

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The Ladakh parliamentary constituency, the largest in the country in terms of area (173.266 square kilometres), is voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on May 20.

By 5.30 pm, the voter turnout stood at 67.15%.

While the Union Territory was earlier witnessing a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, a twist came after an alliance of local groups fielded an Independent to challenge the national parties, thereby making it a three-cornered fight.

This time, it is the first major electoral battle in Ladakh after it was carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and granted Union Territory status in 2019.

In the 2024 general elections, the saffron party has dropped its sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and replaced him with Tashi Gyalson, who is the chief executive councilor-cum-chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh), while the Congress has nominated Tsering Namgyal as its candidate.

In a surprise move, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has fielded Haji Haneefa Jan, the Kargil district president of the National Conference (NC), which is a member of the Congress-led INDIA bloc.

In recent times, Ladakh has witnessed multiple protests over various demands of the local people, including statehood and the sixth schedule of the Constitution.

The agitation intensified on March 6 earlier this year when Leh City observed a complete shutdown, which was later followed by a 66-day hunger strike which was suspended some days ago. Social reformer Sonam Wangchuk, who was a part of it, had ended his 21-day hunger strike back on March 26.

This Lok Sabha seat has over 1.84 lakh voters, of which a majority (95,926) reside in the Muslim-dominated Kargil district and 88,877 are there in the Leh district.

During the 2019 elections, Ladakh saw a total voter turnout of 71.05%.

List of candidates

Three candidates are in the fray for the Ladakh seat in the 2024 general elections.

2019 result

BJP’s Jamyang Tsering Namgyal won from the Ladakh constituency in the 2019 polls and defeated the rival Independent candidate Sajjad Hussain by more than 10,000 votes.

Catch LIVE updates on Lok Sabha fifth phase here

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

INDIA bloc to win Lok Sabha polls, BJP will not even cross 200 seats: Mamata

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

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West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the INDIA bloc will come to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and BJP will “not cross the 200 mark” in the polls.

She accused Congress and CPI(M) of having entered into a nexus with BJP in the state to discredit the state government and asked the electorate not to vote for any non-TMC parties which will benefit the saffron camp.

Addressing an election rally at Goghat under the Arambagh Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee said, “I had coined the name INDIA and at the national level we the coalition partners are all working together to resist the autocratic, demonic Narendra Modi government. TMC will play its role in installing the INDIA bloc to power.”

“See what Modi is telling now he is no more making tall ‘400 paar’ seats by BJP. He can read the writing on the wall already. BJP will not cross even 200 tally. BJP will bite the dust,” she said.

Banerjee alleged that CPI(M), Congress and other Left partners in West Bengal have entered into a ‘mahaghot’ (unprincipled nexus) with BJP just to discredit the ruling TMC which is the only party against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the state.

Also Read | Will Amethi and Rae Bareli see the rise of Priyanka Gandhi as a dominant political figure

The TMC supremo also slammed CPI(M) for allegedly committing mass murders at places like Goghat and Sihar during its rule and claimed only she as then opposition leader had dared to face the “Marxist terror at that time braving her life.”

“I know the true face of CPI(M) in Bengal,” she added. Describing Modi and Shah as “anti-Bengal”, she said, “His issuing advertisements in media to profess his love for the state won’t cut much ice with the residents of the state who knows these BJP heavyweight leaders will never understand our ethos and sentiments.”

Banerjee accused Modi and Shah of using doctored, false images of Matuas in one such ad gloating over CAA benefits. Reiterating her allegations about BJP concocting the charges of atrocities against TMC leaders on women of Sandeshkhali, she said, “They made some of the poor, unsuspecting women sign on blank papers and incorporated charges of sexual misconduct in the complaint later.”

She cautioned the voters and the security personnel by alleging that the BJP had planned to remove idols from temples in Sandeshkhali and elsewhere and engineer riots to get votes by dividing people.

In a conciliatory tone, she added: If there had been stray incidents of mistake, those have been rectified and corrective actions taken on our part. Today’s generation might not be aware of the magnitude of atrocities committed on people and political opponents by the CPIM in its reign which had never been addressed by their administration.

The goons of the CPI(M) have changed colours and now working for the BJP, the TMC supremo claimed. At the second rally in Bishnupur Lok Sabha seat, Banerjee mentioned Modi’s comments on alleged consumption of fish by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during Navratri.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2024 — how regional parties are challenging national giants in Phase-4

She said, Who are you (Modi) to lecture us whether to eat meat, fish or egg? Let everyone eat what he/she likes. Banerjee said every state has its own culinary and dietary tradition and the PM and his party have no right to impose diktat on the people of a region in a country like India.

Claiming that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been asking people to invest in shares to boost the stock market, she accused the BJP heavyweight of violating the model code of conduct (MCC). Terming Modi as a jumla PM who only spreads misinformation and gives false promises, she said he had promised two crore jobs every year in the last polls.

So the total number would go up to 10 crore. How many actually get the jobs promised by Modi? Why is he not repeating the same promise this time?… I have not seen such a jumla government in my entire political life, Banerjee said. She accused the prime minister of plotting to divide the nation along religious lines and plundering assets of the country.

Banerjee charged Modi with trying to change the pluralistic values and secular ideals enshrined in the constitution and change the name of India to Bharat. “This has become more pronounced since we named the opposition bloc INDIA,” she said. Banerjee also promised once the INDIA bloc comes to power after the polls, measures will be initiated to scrap the CAA and NRC and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Accusing the BJP of using central agencies to frame TMC leaders in coal and cattle smuggling cases, she said, Who is in charge of border security? Why will Union Home Minister Amit Shah not be arrested if there are such cases of smuggling? Banerjee alleged that BJP is trying to influence monks but that plan will not succeed.

Also Read: In Ayodhya, voters talk of a promise fulfilled and yearning for development

Stating that her government had helped Rama Krishna Mission to renovate the ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda in north Kolkata, she said, I have regular contacts with monastic organizations and that will remain forever. I have great respect for them.

In a dig at sitting BJP MP from Bisnupur and party’s candidate Saumitra Khan, Banerjee accused him of amassing huge properties during his five-year tenure but not doing anything to secure the money under 100 days’ central project for the job card holders in three years. Modi, like an emperor, comes to campaign in a luxury aircraft and leaves while she uses a small hired helicopter, she claimed.

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

Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Complete list of Congress candidates

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

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Two years after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) defeated Congress in Punjab Assembly elections, the grand old party is attempting to regain its lost glory in the border state. The stage is set and it’s the Lok Sabha elections where AAP and Congress — part of the INDIA bloc — are going solo.

Punjab, which comprises 13 parliamentary constituencies, is all set to vote for the 2024 general elections in a single phase on June 1, followed by the counting of votes on June 4.

During the 2019 polls, the grand old party emerged victorious in Punjab, bagging eight of the 13 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with just two seats each, while the remaining constituency went to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

However, the Congress has witnessed the departure of several veteran leaders, including former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, his wife and sitting Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, the party’s former state unit president Sunil Jakhar and two-time Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, to the BJP.

During the 2022 Assembly polls, AAP registered a landslide victory, getting 92 of the 117 seats in the state. Congress could only manage 18 seats, while three went to the SAD, two to BJP and one each to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and an Independent candidate.

BJP and SAD, the two former allies, earlier failed to reach a common ground and they too are going solo in these polls.

As a result, the state this time is witnessing a multi-cornered contest between the Congress, AAP, the BJP and SAD.

Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Voting dates

In Punjab, polling for the 2024 general elections will be held during the last phase on June 1. All the seats in the state will vote in a single phase.

During the 2019 elections, the state witnessed a total voter turnout of 65.94%.

Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Total seats

In total, Punjab has 13 parliamentary constituencies, of which four seats are reserved for the SC candidates, while the remaining nine are unreserved.

Punjab Lok Sabha elections: Congress candidates

After a strong performance in the last elections, the Congress is hopeful of yet another dominating show in Punjab in the 2024 polls. Here’s a complete list of candidates announced by the grand old party in Punjab:

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

Celebrity Kangana vs ‘royal’ Vikramaditya on Himachal’s Mandi seat: Clash of richest titans

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

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Clash of the two richest titans, a celebrity and a ‘royal’, is on the cards in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, known for electing erstwhile “royals” maximum number of times. The BJP has for the first time fielded a woman and a Bollywood celebrity in Kangana Ranaut who will take on Vikramaditya Singh, scion of the erstwhile Rampur “royal family” and son of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

Both the rivals have launched a high-pitched campaign, even with offensive outbursts. Vikramaditya fired a salvo at Kangana asking about her vision about the development of the constituency. Taking a dig at his rival, he said she is on a month-long political tourism and would pack up and return to Bollywood after June 4.

Returning the salvo, Kangana dubbed Vikramaditya as “Chhota Pappu”. It was a mocking reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is often dubbed as “Pappu” or a novice by his political opponents. Kangana called Vikramaditya a “junior Pappu”. She asked him why he stood mum when Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu took “anti-Mandi decisions” like stalling the Rs 250-?crore Shiv Dhan project, curtailing the jurisdiction of Mandi University and pushing the Sundernagar airfield project under the carpet.

Kangana’s main agendas include restarting all the stalled projects besides improving connectivity to remote tribal areas, and popularising local cuisines and traditional attires, and promoting women-centric rural tourism in Seraj and Karsog. “Mandi will be made a smart city,” this is my promise, said Vikramaditya, adding that Jalori Jot tunnel will be constructed on the line of Rohtang tunnel and remote Pangi area of Chamba will be connected with Tissa, besides the construction of Beas river front.

The alleged insulting remarks by Kangana on farmers during the farmer agitation are recoiling and the Samyukt Kisan Manch has rendered their support to Vikramaditya. On the other hand, Kangana got support from unexpected quarters. The scion of Kullu Maheshwar Singh, who was an aspirant of a BJP ticket from Mandi; former Union minister Sukh Ram’s grandson Ashray Sharma, who was defeated by BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls; and Kargil hero Brig Khushal Singh, who was defeated by Pratibha Singh in the 2021 parliamentary byelection with a narrow margin have extended their support to the Bollywood actor.

Kangana dubbed Vikramaditya also as a “bigda hua shezada” (spolit prince) and a ‘paltu’ (one who makes U-turns) and said he used to criticise his own government but now is praising it. Singh retaliated by saying she will return “purified” from the ‘Dev bhoomi’.

Both Bollywood reel ‘Queen’ Kangana and ‘Raja’ Vikramaditya Singh have declared their assets over of Rs 90 crore. Kangana is banking on her celebrity image, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ram temple factors.

Vikramaditya is hoping to sail through riding on the legacy of his father Virbhadra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, the sitting MP from Mandi. Vikramaditya, who was active during the monsoon disaster in 2023, has been asking where Kangana was when it had hit the state and caused havoc in the Mandi-Kullu region.

The BJP candidate is accused of being unfamiliar with her constituency while the Congress candidate has extensively campaigned for his mother in the last byelections. Out of 19 parliamentary elections, including two byelections held in Mandi since 1952, the Congress has won 13 times, with both Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh winning thrice. Further, the scions of erstwhile princely states won from Mandi 13 times while the “non-royals” were elected six times.

Raj Kumai Amrit Kaur of the Kapurthala dynasty and Raja Joginder Sen Bahadur of the princely state of Mandi were elected once, Raja Lalit Sen of Suket represented Mandi twice, Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh three times each and Raja Maheshwar Singh of Kullu won thrice. Sukh Ram who won from Mandi three times, Ram Swaroop who won two times and Ganga Singh who won once, when he defeated Virbhadra Singh in 1977, were the exceptions who hailed from non-royal families.

The sprawling constituency spreads over six districts and comprises 17 assembly segments. In the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP had won 12 assembly seats falling under Mandi parliamentary constituency. The seat has become prestigious for former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who has to establish that the BJP still holds sway in Mandi.

Vikramaditya Singh has to prove that the impact of the Rampur ‘ruling’ family is deep-rooted in this constituency. There are 13,77,173 voters in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, including 6,98,666 males, 6,78,504 females and three third gender.

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

Odisha Assembly elections 2024: Complete list of Congress-led INDIA bloc candidates

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

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Odisha, once a stronghold of Congress, has seen the influence of the grand old party dwindle in the past few elections. Notably, its arch rival — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — too faces stiff competition from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which parted ways from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2009 and has since made Odisha its bastion.

In Odisha, voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls is being conducted simultaneously in four phases.

While polling for 28 Assembly seats and four Lok Sabha constituencies was held on Monday, May 13, 35 Assembly seats and five Lok Sabha constituencies will vote in the fifth phase on May 20.

It will be followed by 42 Assembly segments and six Lok Sabha seats on May 25 and the remaining 42 Assembly seats and six Lok Sabha constituencies in the last phase on June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.

While the BJD and BJP have fielded their candidates in all 147 Assembly constituencies, the Congress is contesting the polls as part of the INDIA bloc, which also includes the Left Front.

During the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJD bagged 112 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly, securing a fifth consecutive term.

The BJP stood second after winning 23 seats, while the Congress was limited to just nine seats. The remaining two seats went to CPI(M) and an Independent candidate.

Odisha Assembly Elections 2024: Voting dates

In the state, polling for the 2024 elections is being conducted in four phases. After May 13, the state will go to polls on May 20, 25 and June 1. In 2019, Odisha registered a total voter turnout of 73.20%.

Odisha Assembly elections 2024: Total seats

Odisha has 147 Assembly constituencies, including 33 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and 24 seats for the Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates.

Odisha Assembly elections 2024: INDIA bloc candidates

The Congress-led INDIA bloc is aiming for a comeback in Odisha as the grand old party has suffered massively in the past few elections in the state.

Here’s a complete list of INDIA bloc candidates for the 2024 Odisha Assembly polls:

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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

Only 12% of candidates in fray in phase 5 are women, says ADR

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

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The representation of women in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls continues to remain dismally low, as only about 12% of the candidates in the fray in the fifth phase are female, according to an analysis by poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms. Out of the total 695 candidates in the fifth phase on May 20, only 82 of them are women, the ADR said.

In the first phase of the elections, 135 (8%) female candidates contested while 100 (8%) women candidates fought in the second phase. Similarly, in the third phase of the elections, 123 (9%) female candidates contested while in the fourth phase, as many as 170 (10%) such candidates are in the fray.

The ADR analysis also showed that nearly 23% candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves and about 18% have serious criminal cases pending, including that of murder, attempt to murder, crimes against women, and hate speech. Three candidates have declared convictions against them. The ADR and National Election Watch analysed self-sworn affidavits filed by the candidates contesting in the phase five to get their criminal backgrounds, financial profiles, education, and gender.

The report also gave a party-wise break-up of criminal cases. Among the major parties, two (50%) out of four candidates from AIMIM, four (40%) out of 10 candidates from SP, seven (39%) out of 18 candidates from the Congress, two (33%) out of six candidates from Shiv Sena, 12 (30%) out of 40 candidates from BJP, two (29%) out of seven candidates from TMC, one (25%) out of four candidates from the RJD and one (13%) out of eight candidates from Shiv Sena (UBT) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

According to the ADR report, 29 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 29 candidates, one has declared charge related to rape (IPC Section 376) and 10 have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

A notable 33% of the candidates are ‘crorepatis’ (those with assets exceeding ₹1 crore). The average asset per candidate stood at ₹3.56 crore. The top three candidates with the highest assets have declared values ranging from ₹110 crore to ₹212 crore.

Moreover, 47% of the candidates have declared liabilities, with some having high debt burdens amounting to tens of crores of rupees. However, the educational qualifications of candidates raise concerns, with 42% having qualifications between 5th and 12th standard, and only 50% being graduates or above.

Additionally, 26 candidates are diploma holders, 20 are just literate, and five are illiterate, the ADR said.

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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

Khunti Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Total voter turnout at 66.26%

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

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The Khunti Lok Sabha constituency, one of the 14 constituencies in Jharkhand, began voting on May 13, as part of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The total voter turnout stood at 66.26%.

The constituency will see BJP leader and former state chief minister Arjun Munda lock horns with Congress candidate Kali Charan Munda.

The Khunti seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. In 2019, Khunti had 12,02,664 electors.

Khunti covers five Vidhan Sabha constituencies–Kharsawan, Torpa, Khunti, Tamar, Simdega, and Kolebira.

From 1962 to 1984, the Khunti Lok Sabha constituency was primarily controlled by the Congress and the Jharkhand Party.

Post-1984, the BJP became the major political force in this area, securing victories in eight of the last ten elections and establishing a strong presence.

Arjun Munda, a prominent tribal leader and the sitting MP for Khunti is also the Union Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs.

His political journey spans several decades, including a tenure as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2003 to 2006.

The BJP is once again banking on his experience and tribal support base.

Meanwhile, Kali Charan Munda, the son of the influential tribal leader Muchirai Munda and a former two-time Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Tamar seat, is representing the Congress party.

In 2019, Kali Charan Munda secured a total of 3,81,193 votes, while Arjun Munda won by a thin margin of 1,445 votes, securing a total of 3,82,638 votes from a total 8,32,377 valid votes.

The Congress is hopeful that Kali Charan’s deep-rooted connections with the tribal community will help them regain the seat after two decades.

List of candidates:

 2019 Lok Sabha Elections Results:

In the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, Arjun Munda won the seat against Charan Munda of the INC by just over a thousand votes.

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