On test in Gujarat: From Modi again spearheading BJP campaign to faceless Cong bid to challenger Kejriwal
The 2022 Gujarat Assembly election has been defined by the high-voltage, sustained campaign of the ruling BJP and the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), that began with their respective principal leaders engaging with the electorate nearly eight months prior to the polls, and the perceived absence of such a campaign by the principal Opposition Congress, which indicated the stakes placed by these parties on this election.
With the stage set for second and final phase of voting on December 5, for the BJP the Gujarat polls would be a bellwether for the Assembly elections in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023 leading up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, says a senior party leader.
Set to milk hold over Gujarat dairy co-ops, BJP eyes pole position in Phase II polls
The cash-rich milk cooperatives in Gujarat are likely to have a significant bearing on nearly 50 per cent of the 93 seats bound for the second phase of the state Assembly polls on December 5. These co-operatives, earlier run by functionaries aligned with the Congress, are now controlled by leaders affiliated to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Banas Dairy in Banaskantha district, which is the biggest milk co-operative in Gujarat, and four other top co-operative dairies — in Mehsana, Anand, Sabarkantha and Panchmahal districts — together account for 75 per cent of the total 280 lakh litres of milk procured daily by the GCMMF.
Shimla to Surat, urban voter apathy a concern, says EC
Observing that urban voter “apathy” continues across the country, as evidenced from Shimla to Surat, the two states that went to the Assembly polls in this round, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday appealed voters of Gujarat to come out in large numbers in the second phase of polling on Monday to compensate for low voting in the first phase.
The ECI’s appeal came in the wake of low turnout in urban constituencies of 89 seats that voted in the first phase on Thursday — 93 constituencies will vote in the second phase on Monday.
In Unjha, Asia’s spice capital, Patidar quota hot seat, AAP keeps pot stirring for BJP
The small, nondescript town of Unjha in Mehsana district of north Gujarat, sitting at the centre of the eponymous Assembly constituency, is popularly known as the spice capital of Asia. A bastion of the BJP for decades, it had turned into a problem spot for the saffron party in the 2017 Assembly polls, as it was one of the hot spots of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar quota agitation of 2015.
This time, with the pendulum seemingly swinging back towards the BJP, the constituency is set to witness a three-pronged battle in the ongoing Gujarat Assembly elections, with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into what has thus far been a straight battle between traditional rivals the Congress and the BJP.
The campaign for the second phase drew to a close on Saturday evening at 5 pm. BJP chief CR Patil on Sunday said that the party will break all the previous records in the Assembly polls to retain power. On the other hand, Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma cited the “pattern” of the December 1 first phase voting to claim it will form the next government.
The Congress on Monday filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). But this is not the first time the PM has faced such an allegation.
In its complaint, the Opposition party said Modi, on his way to vote, stepped out 500 to 600 metres from the polling booth at Nishant School in the Ranip area of Ahmedabad. Wearing a saffron scarf and carrying a BJP flag, he walked with people who had gathered all around. This, the Congress alleged in Delhi, was a “two-and-a-half-hour long roadshow by the PM around his casting of vote” and amounted to electioneering long after the moratorium on campaigning had set in. Read the Political Pulse
The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Monday suspended 27 party workers, including four elected representatives of the local bodies, from its Mahisagar district unit, for allegedly indulging in “anti-party” activities.
The “disciplinary action” against the members came immediately after voting in Phase 2 of Assembly polls concluded. Read more
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Monday urged voters to participate in the voting process as Phase 2 voting were on in the state.
“Every voter should exercise his right to vote. Voting is very important for the country and let us make India the number one country. Voting should be mandatory,” said Anandiben Patel after casting her vote at Shilaj Anupam School Monday morning.
The chief minister, accompanied by his wife, cast his vote at the same school and appealed everyone to vote. Read more
Women, elderly and differently abled persons turned up in good numbers at polling booths in Vadodara to cast their votes in the second phase of Gujarat assembly elections on Monday.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Monday said the voting for the Gujarat Assembly elections was 'completed in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere'.
Patel said in a tweet, 'Voting for the Gujarat Assembly elections was completed in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. From youths, women to elders, everyone voted very enthusiastically and made this festival of democracy worthwhile. I express my heartfelt thanks to all the voters for this.'
BJP Gujarat president C R Paatil Monday thanked Gujarat's voters for participating in the Gujarat assembly elections with 'enthusiasm and gaiety'.
Paatil said in a tweet, 'The second phase of polling for the assembly elections in Gujarat was concluded amidst a very peaceful atmosphere. Voting is the sacred festival of democracy. I express my heartfelt thanks to all the brothers and sisters who participated in this festival with enthusiasm and gaiety. Congratulations to all the youth who voted for the first time.'
In the second phase of Gujarat assembly elections on Monday, Vadodara district recorded a voter turnout of 56.75 per cent until 5 pm.
Vadodara city recorded 49.69 per cent voting till 3 pm Monday. Nodal officers of the district election department sealed EVM machines at the end of polling. The EVMs from city polling centres will be stored in the strong room at the Polytechnic College of Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), where the counting will be held on December 8.
Chhota Udepur and Panchmahal districts recorded 62.04 per cent and 62.03 per cent, respectively. Kheda district recorded a voter turnout of 60.83 per cent while Anand district recorded 59.04 per cent. Read more
Multiple exit poll results released on Monday evening predict that the BJP will return for a seventh straight term in Gujarat.
The Exit Poll of TV9 on Monday predicted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the Gujarat Assembly elections with 125-130 seats, while Congress is expected to get 30-40 seats. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is predicted to win 3-5 seats and others are at 3-7 seats. Jan Ki Baat predicted BJP’s victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections with 117 to 140 seats, while Congress is expected to get 34 to 51 seats. Meanwhile, AAP is predicted to win 6 to 13 seats. Follow exit poll results here
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The exit poll for TV9 on Monday predicted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to sweep off Gujarat Assembly elections with 125-130 seats, while Congress to win 30-40 seats. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is predicted to win 3-5 seats and others are at 3-7 seats.
Read more on Gujarat exit polls
Responding to Congress' complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly holding a roadshow before casting his vote, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kuldeep Arya said the crowd had gathered on its own.
"Congress party complained about PM walking to booth, we asked for an immediate report from the election officer in Ahmedabad. As per the report it doesn't get established that it was a roadshow and the crowd was there on its own," Arya said.
Residents of Khandivav village in Gujarat’s Kheda district withdrew their poll boycott call and enthusiastically participated in the elections after the district administration reached out to them, a government release said Monday.
District election officers said they received complaints pertaining to ‘faulty’ EVM machines at a polling centre near the Dabhoi-Sinor junction in Banaskantha under the Padra constituency during the early hours of voting. Read more
A voter turnout of 58.38 per cent was recorded till 5 pm, the Election Commission said. While Tharad recorded the highest polling at 78 per cent, the lowest polling was recorded at Vejalpur seat at 44.78 per cent.
The Election Commission in Gujarat has received a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly holding a road show while going to cast his vote in Ahmedabad in the second phase of the Assembly elections on Monday.
In a complaint submitted by Yogesh Ravani, chairman of the state Congress unit’s legal cell, stated that Modi, carrying a BJP flag and wearing a saffron scarf, alighted 500-600 m away from the polling booth at Ranip and walked with people who gathered around him. Read more
A huge crowd gathered on the streets of Ranip in Ahmedabad on Monday to cheer Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he walked towards the polling booth to cast his vote.
Former Indian cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan, along with their family members, Momday cast their votes at a polling booth in Vadodara.
"I appeal to people to come out and vote," Yusuf Pathan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cast his vote at a polling station here during the second phase of the Assembly elections in Gujarat and said the state’s people listen to everybody, but it is their nature to accept what is true.
He also congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the polls in a “spectacular manner” and raising the prestige of India’s democracy in the whole world.
He said the voters of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi celebrated “the festival of democracy” with great enthusiasm. Read more
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for holding a roadshow in Gujarat on the day of the Assembly election.
“We, political parties, have to abide by the rules of the Election Commission. On election day, roadshows are banned. But they (Modi and the BJP) are special people,” she said at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi to take part in the preparatory meeting for the G-20 summit.
On Monday, during the second and final phase of polling in Gujarat, Modi cast his vote at a polling station in Ahmedabad city. He had held a 50-km roadshow called ‘Pushpanjali Yatra’ on Thursday (December 1), when the first phase of polls was held. The roadshow passed through 35 areas of the city amid “Modi” chants, covering 13 constituencies in Ahmedabad city and one in Gandhinagar district. Read more
K carries with him the urbane, cosmopolitan confidence that is characteristic of gay men of Tier 1 cities. If one didn’t know better, one would easily assume that the life he leads was handed to him on a platter. That the guy sitting opposite me in one of Ahmedabad’s most popular coffee places, talking about his dating life, is screamingly gay and proud as Lady Gaga’s body of work.
But there are discrepancies.
His profile on Grindr, the most popular gay dating app in the country, like almost all other profiles in Ahmedabad, doesn’t have his own photos. “I knew you were an outsider when I realised that you are using your own pictures. People don’t do that in Gujarat,” says K. Read full Opinion piece by Premankur Biswas here