BJP LS campaign in full throttle: South to Maharashtra, ‘Thank you Modi Bhaijan’ to ‘Luv-Kush Yatra’

Modi will then proceed to Agatti in Lakshadweep, where he will address a public function and inaugurate developmental projects.

What is the context: Modi’s visit to the state is being perceived as the launch of the party’s campaign in the state where it barely has a footing. The visit also comes amidst state BJP chief K Annamalai’s padyatra.

The BJP hitherto contested elections in the state with the AIADMK, which has walked out of the NDA. However, the two parties still have channels open to each other.

Cong to gherao PM’s Varanasi constituency office over BHU ‘rape’ case

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said party workers would gherao PM Modi’s constituency office in Varanasi on Tuesday to protest against the alleged involvement of the BJP’s local leaders in the alleged gangrape of a BHU student.

Two months after the woman student was allegedly gangraped inside the IIT-BHU campus, police arrested three men on Sunday, who claim to be the BJP’s IT cell members on their Facebook page. Rai claimed that Kunal Pandey, the convenor of the BJP’s IT cell in Varanasi, its working committee member Abhishek Chauhan and co-convenor Saksham Patel had been sent away by the party to work in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections so that they could not be arrested.

“Had they been arrested before the elections, the message would have gone to the entire country that these three BJP officials are rapists,” the Congress’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief said, adding that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should tell when bulldozers will raze the houses of these accused.

Electoral bonds sale to begin

The sale of the 30th tranche of electoral bonds will open for sale on Tuesday.

Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding. “State Bank of India (SBI)… has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches w.e.f. January 2 to January 11, 2024,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened in March 2018.

Electoral bonds are encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorised bank. SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.

Registered political parties that have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections are eligible to receive funding through electoral bonds.

Why is it important: The electoral bonds system has received flak. The central criticism of the scheme is that it does the exact opposite of what it was meant to do: bring transparency to election funding.

Critics argue that the anonymity of electoral bonds is only for the broader public and Opposition parties. The fact that such bonds are sold via a government-owned bank (SBI) leaves the door open for the government to know exactly who is funding its opponents. This, in turn, allows the government of the day to either extort money, especially from the big companies, or victimise them for not funding the ruling party — either way providing an unfair advantage to the party in power.

Shah to review J&K law and order in high-level meet

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to chair a high-level security review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the law and order situation, sources said.

In the meeting, the Home Minister will review the functioning of the security grid and various aspects related to security as well as development initiatives in the Union Territory.

He will also review the area domination plan, zero terror plan, law and order situation, cases related to UAPA and other security-related issues.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, and Director General of Police RR Swain are expected to be present at the meeting, which comes days after the Poonch encounter with terrorists, followed by three alleged custodial deaths which have put the government in a spot.

Fair price shop owners demand more commission, to begin indefinite strike

The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Association will begin an indefinite strike from Tuesday to demand a hike in commission for ration shop owners.

In a recent letter to State Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh to intimate the government about the strike, the association wrote, “Since the implementation of the National Food Security Act across the country, 50 per cent of urban and 25 per cent of rural people have been out of the ambit of ration distribution. On one hand, the public distribution system has shrunk, and on the other the livelihood of ration dealers’ is in danger.”

“We are forced to observe a nationwide indefinite ration strike from January 2, 2024 due to non-fulfilment of our long-standing demands and imposing the burden on state governments,” the association further wrote.

Biswas also urged the Centre to implement the recommendations of the World Food Programme “without delegating the responsibility of the Central Government to State Governments and Union Territories”. “We have been seeking a grant for meeting handling losses for long…Despite the steps (taken by the state government), it is found that every month, there remains a clear difference in the opening and closing balances shown by the e-PoS and the portal managed by the state government. We have brought this to the notice of the government on several occasions,” he said.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Saturday, Biswas said, “We have contacted the state and central governments many times to request an increase in our commission. Many states like Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Jharkhand and Haryana already increased our commission up to Rs 230, but in West Bengal it remained Rs 95. So, until the government hikes our commission, we will not be able to serve the customers.”

Nadda to kickstart BJP’s LS campaign in Maharashtra

BJP national president J P Nadda will launch the party’s campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra on Tuesday. He will visit the Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency and hold a series of party and public meetings during his day-long visit.

The campaign is a part of the BJP’s Lok Sabha Pravas Yojna, in which it has shortlisted 160 constituencies across the country where it had lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In Maharashtra, the party is seen as “weak” in 18 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats.

Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve, national party secretary Pankaja Munde, former minister Hansraj Ahir, state Cabinet minister Sudhir Mungantiwar along with local leaders will be present during Nadda’s day-long tour.

Eye on Muslim votes, “Thank You Modi Bhaijaan” campaign

The BJP will launch a Shukriya Modi Bhaijaan campaign in all Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttar Pradesh to draw Muslim women towards the party ahead of the 2024 polls.

With the tagline “Na duri hai, na khai hai, Modi hamara bhai hai, (there’s no detachment, there’s no chasm, Modi is our brother)”, the campaign aims to attract at least 1,000 Muslim women voters.

Uttar Pradesh BJP Minority Morcha President Kunwar Basit Ali told PTI on Saturday that as a part of the campaign, Muslim women would be told about the work done for them by the Narendra Modi government and encouraged to vote for the BJP.

Efforts will also be made to ensure that Muslim women get benefits of the Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and other such schemes, he said. The campaign will continue till January 20.

Bihar BJP’s Luv Kush Yatra

The Bihar BJP will commence its Luv Kush Rath Yatra from the party office ahead of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Party state president Samrat Chaudhary will flag off two chariots together.

The yatra will traverse through all 38 districts of the state before culminating in Ayodhya.

– With PTI inputs