Tag: Assembly-election

Nitish Kumar will lead NDA in Bihar elections, says Amit Shah.

Source – thehindu.com

Bharatiya Janata Party president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Nitish Kumar would lead the NDA in the Assembly election in Bihar due this year.

“I want to make it clear once and for all that NDA will contest the next Assembly election in Bihar under Nitish Kumar….Lalu’s dream to become chief minister again will not be fulfilled”, said Mr. Shah, while addressing a public meeting as part of the party’s ongoing Jan Jagran Abhiyan (people’s outreach programme) on the new citizenship law, CAA, in Vaishali, near Patna.

While listing the achievements of the NDA governments in Bihar and at the Centre, Mr. Shah slammed the Opposition and the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. “We took Bihar from lantern age to LED age, from loot to law and order, fodder scam to protection of cows and from jungle raj to janata raj”, he said.

He also appealed to the audience to dial 88662 on their mobile phone to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked how many of them dialled the number. However, very few hands were raised.

“The new citizenship law is not for taking away anyone’s citizenship but to give citizenship to those who were persecuted and oppressed in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and seek refuge in our country”, explained Mr. Shah, while asking people, “whether we should give them citizenship or not?”. “But, the opposition Congress party, Lalu Prasad, Arvind Kerjriwal and Mamata Banerjee are opposing this…they speak the same language of Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan”, he added.

“It was the Congress government which had divided the country earlier on religious grounds…30% Hindus were living each in East (now Bangladesh) and west Pakistan but today there are only 7% Hindus in Bangladesh and 15% in Pakistan — who is responsible for this?”, asked Mr. Shah. “Lalu, Rahul and Company should answer where they have gone”, he said.

“When slogans like Bharat tere tukde honge hazaar were chanted in JNU, the Modi government sent them to jail but the Kejriwal government was opposing it…don’t you think they should be sent to jail?”, Mr. Shah asked the audience. When the new Citizenship Act came in there was communal tension in several parts of the country. “Congress party, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Co. are responsible for the communal tension over CAA”, he alleged.

The BJP chief declared that “the process of construction of a Ram temple will begin in Ayodhya within four months”. He listed the abrogation of Article 370, 35 (A) and surgical strikes in Pakistan as the government’s achievements.

Mr. Shah asked party leaders and workers to undertake a door-to-door campaign in the State and explain to people the new citizenship law and how the Opposition has been spreading rumours over it.

On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had come to Gaya in Bihar to remove ‘misgivings’ on CAA but protesters sent up black balloons during his speech.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav too began his four-day Pratishodh Yatra in Muslim-dominated Seemanchal (border districts) on Thursday to intensify the anti-CAA stir.

Analysing BJP’s failure in Jharkhand.

Source –

The decisive victory of the ‘Mahagatbandhan’ of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is an interesting turning point in Jharkhand politics, and perhaps of the country’s, too. This is significant in terms of (i) regulating the political ascendance of BJP, (ii) reaffirming the criticality of regional political parties, and (iii) synchronization of national, state and local issues and people’s aspirations.

Immediately after the Jharkhand Assembly election results, many newspapers and TV news channels published two maps of India depicting how the BJP has shrunk in the states after reaching a peak in 2017. The Jharkhand results are important because it was the first election in a north Indian state after the Narendra Modi government’s move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 – all part of the BJP’s Hindutva agenda. Yet, Jharkhand became the fifth state since November last year (after Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan) to throw the BJP out of power. The BJP’s presence is now limited to Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh as far as the larger states are concerned. In this context, it is essential to understand the contributing factors behind the BJP’s defeat and its implications for the upcoming Delhi and Bihar elections and for national politics.

The contributing factors for the BJP’s defeat in Jharkhand are many. Some of the crucial ones are the denial of party tickets to genuine and honest candidates, fissures in the local leadership, selection of non-Adivasi chief ministerial candidate in a tribal-dominated state, the rift between the chief minister and the party cadre, the party’s inability to read the needs of the state, the undemocratic arrests of Adivasis who participated in the ‘Pathalgadi Movement,’ the misadventure of pushing amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Parganas Tenancy (SPT), the passage of the divisive Religious Freedom Bill, 2017.

Significantly, the contentious Land Acquisition (Jharkhand Amendment) Act of 2017, aimed at modifying crucial provisions of ‘The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013, nullified the role of Gram Sabhas by doing away with the requirement of Social Impact Assessment. The way the BJP dealt with the issues of traditional forest-dwelling communities in the wake of the Supreme Court’s order in February, asking for the eviction of people whose claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 had been rejected, played a prominent role. The proposed amendments to the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, diminished the poll prospects of the BJP.

The BJP, with its leaders and local organisational strength, took the opposition political parties for granted. A cursory look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s rallies and speeches indicates the same. The duo focused only on highlighting the government’s role in abrogation of Article 370 and construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Rarely did they touch upon people’s real issues, such as land alienation in Adivasi areas, implementing the Forest Rights Act, mitigating poverty levels, addressing malnutrition and hunger, reforming the public distribution system and reducing the development deficit in the state.

The BJP has equated the development requirements of the Adivasi-populated state with that of mainstream areas. It could not assess the uniqueness of Jharkhand’s Adivasi society and the historical legacy of the Adivasi struggle for land rights. Nor could it speed up the state’s development.

One significant aspect is that the BJP has not been able to discern between its national aspirations and the regional and local issues of development in the states. The false cases filed against the Adivasis who participated in the Pathalgadi Movement, a democratic assertion of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution), mainly in the districts of Khunti, Gumla, Simdega and West Singhbhum backfired on the party. Of these, the BJP lost in three and was able to retain only Khunti. The BJP government tried to suppress this people’s movement by linking it with the Maoist insurrection. Another fault line is the negligence of Adivasi identity, especially in choosing the chief ministerial candidate. This may not have been a critical factor, yet it added to the general mood in Jharkhand.

Adivasi assertion

The shift in Adivasi votes and the losses in the Scheduled Tribes constituencies affected the BJP in a big way. The data shows that the BJP won only in two ST constituencies compared to 11 in the 2014 Assembly elections. In terms of vote share, the BJP’s came down from 46% in 2014 to 7% in 2019 in the ST constituencies. That decline is an indicator of the significant role of Adivasi votes in changing the political regime.

It is clear that the policies of the BJP government and the follow-up actions laid a fertile ground for the rise of opposition political parties in Jharkhand. ‘Don’t take your opposition lightly’ seems to be the big takeaway from the Jharkhand elections.

The results have larger implications for national politics in the sense that a strong and firm alliance can defeat the majoritarian. dominant party. It is also hope for those who were despairing that India’s multi-party system was in decline. From a citizen’s perspective, the BJP has underestimated the voter’s political wisdom and people’s ability to differentiate the emotive (Article 370, Ram Mandir, CAA) from the substantive (land rights, local development, etc) issues. Will the BJP top brass reflect on these and make course corrections, perhaps ahead of the Delhi and Bihar Assembly elections in 2020?

Jharkhand election: 62% turnout, sporadic violence mark first phase of voting.

Source – indiatoday.in

The first phase of the Jharkhand assembly election was held peacefully with no major untoward incident even though voting was held in 13 assembly constituencies that are severely hit by Maoist activities. However, a few incidents of sporadic violence were reported.

The first phase of Jharkhand assembly election will decide fate of 189 candidates, including 15 women nominees, will be decided in the first phase of the polling in Chatra, Gumla, Bishunpur, Lohardaga, Manika, Latehar, Panki, Daltonganj, Bishrampur, Chhatarpur, Hussainabad, Garhwa and Bhawanathpur.

The Bhawanathpur constituency has the maximum of 28 contestants, while Chatra has the lowest with nine.
An estimated 62.87 per cent votes were cast on Saturday when voting ended at 3pm. This time, the assembly election in Jharkhand is being held in five phases.

Polling officials said the polling percentage is likely to increase as voters who entered the polling stations by 3 pm were allowed to exercise their franchise.

A total of 37,83,055 electorate, including 18,01,356 women and five third-gender voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the first phase of polling across six districts, which began at 7 am on Saturday.

BOMB BLAST

Additional Director General of Police Murari Lal Meena said Naxalites exploded a bomb near a culvert in the forests of Gumla district, but there was no casualty or damage.

“The explosion occurred near the culvert in the forests between Banalat and Biranpur villages under Bishunpur assembly constituency of the district,” Meena said.

He, however, said “peaceful” polling was held in all 13 assembly constituencies.

POLL-DAY CLASH

Palamau Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Shantanu Agrahari said a minor clash broke out between two groups near Kosiyara polling station in Daltonganj assembly constituency.

The agitators broke the window panes of a police vehicle after Congress candidate KN Tripathi allegedly tried to enter the polling booth with arms, he said, adding, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Police have seized a pistol and three cartridges, which were allegedly in Tripathi’s possession, Agrahari said. The EC officials said women and youth were among the early voters in the first of the five-phase elections to the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.

Palamau Divisional Commissioner Manoj Kumar Jha said the timing of voting has been fixed between 7 am and 3 pm as several polling stations are in remote areas, and also due to the shorter days in winter.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Key candidates in the fray in today’s poll are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee and state Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi from Bishrampur and state Congress president Rameshwar Oraon from the Lohardaga seat.

Oraon is taking on the former state Congress chief Sukhdeo Bhagat after the latter joined the BJP recently.

Former BJP chief whip Radhakrishna Kishore, who was denied ticket from Chhatarpur, is contesting on an All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) party ticket from the same seat.

The BJP, which is seeking a second straight win under the leadership of Chief Minister Raghubar Das, is contesting in 12 seats in the first phase while it is supporting

Independent candidate Vinod Singh from Hussainabad. The AJSU party is contesting on its own. Challenging the BJP is the opposition alliance of the

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

While the Congress is contesting in six seats in the first phase, the JMM is fighting in four and the RJD in three constituencies in the first phase.

The other parties contesting the elections are Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Janata Dal (United) and the Left parties.

The rest of the four phases for the 81-member assembly will be held on December 7, 12, 16 and 20.
Counting is scheduled on December 23.

In Jharkhand’s Khunti district, ‘pathalgadhi’ movement takes centre stage ahead of upcoming Assembly election.

Source – firstpost.com

Outsiders are met with fear and suspicion in Jikhelata, a village in Jharkhand’s tribal-dominated Khunti district, regardless of whether or not they are in uniform.

Police visits — and the possible use of excessive force — have become frequent since violence erupted in a neighbouring village over the locally-driven Pathalgadhi movement in June 2018. The movement, which seeks to assert the Adivasi community’s right to self-governance as defined in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, is also likely to have a bearing on the Assembly polls scheduled for 30 November.

The term pathalgadhi literally translates to ‘laying the stone’ which is a traditional custom of the tribal community to mark any significant event like births and deaths. However, since December 2017, its connotation is of a towering slab of stone, painted green, with sections of the Fifth Schedule written in white paint.

It was during an event to mark the pathalgadhi in Jikhelata and the neighbouring Ghagra village that a face-off between the police and locals escalated into violence, resulting in the death of one person and leaving several injured. In retaliation, locals had held four policemen captive, demanding talks with the authorities, and were accused of abduction. There have been repercussions from the incident in Ghagra on various aspects of the locals’ lives, including livelihoods.

“During the search operations for the missing policemen, they entered our homes and even beat up those of us who weren’t at the meeting,” said the locals, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, fearing police action. Having fled from their villages for two months in the middle of the farming season, they were unable to sow their crops in time for the monsoon in July and August. “We were left with no food and had to take up labour for some source of income. We only sow once a year, so we survived the past year by helping each other out, sharing with each other,” they said.

However, residents in villages like Jikhelata, Ghagra, Bhadna and Kevra said that they face a dual threat from the police and Pathalgadhi activists. “Sometimes, we are forced to join Pathalgadhi meetings, which then attract the ire of the police,” a resident of Kevra said.

“We are forced to get involved even when we choose not to, and always get stuck between the two,” he added. This conflict is illustrated by the 26 FIRs that have been filed against countless locals in villages across the district for participating in the Pathalgadhi movement over the past two years. They are charged with sedition, among other offences.

Ranchi-based journalist Anand Dutt said that while the FIRs name four or five people, there are as many as 200 ‘unnamed’ accused in some FIRs. This is a loophole that could enable the police to entangle those who raise questions in the case. Locals in the Kevra village, who also refused to be named, say that a few of the village’s leaders were arrested under similar circumstances earlier this year.

Following an argument with the police stationed at a ‘camp’ in a school on the outskirts of the village in March 2018, one of the leaders was slapped with a FIR that claimed he had “threatened the personnel with lathis, and vandalised and stolen government property”, among other offences. He was also charged with sedition. On the other hand, the leader, who had gone to appeal “peacefully” on behalf of some residents who had complained of “injustices” by the police, said that the delegation led by him wasn’t even armed to begin with.

“We had gone only to speak, why would we carry anything? But they said we had done maar–peet. A few months later I got charged with similar violations in another FIR, and in February this year, they arrested me,” he said. He was released eight months later on 4 October, after a Ranchi High Court judge granted him bail. “Zabardasti fasa diya,” he said, sitting in the verandah of his house.

In Jikhelata, the topic of the upcoming election is met with a cacophony of complaints against the police’s behaviour and the apathy of all the parties. “Why should we vote when we are treated like this?” one of the residents demanded. There is palpable anger against the current BJP government under Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Das, the state’s first non-tribal chief minister and also the first to complete a five-year term, has been criticised for “anti-tribal policies”.

“We are scared because of how much they hit us last year. Most of us who got hit, including women, took at least two months to recover. If the current government wins again, we are anticipating a situation worse than this,” a resident said. However, BJP’s Nilkanth Singh Munda, the incumbent MLA of the Khunti Assembly constituency, said he wouldn’t be able to comment on the issue. Munda, a local is a three-time legislator from the seat.

The government’s attempts to tamper with land rights laws in an attempt to safeguard the Adivasi community’s interests, has also been met with resistance. “No matter which party is in power, if they try to dilute the laws like the Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act, there will be ulgulan (revolution),” one of the leaders in Kevra village said.

He added that no candidate has raised the issue of land rights in election campaigns so far. “We are also angry with the current government because it keeps talking about development, but there hasn’t been any in our village. We only got working electricity this year, and that could be because of the upcoming election.”

Khunti, a Left Wing Extremism-affected district will vote on 7 December, which is the second phase of the five-phase Assembly election.