Page 6 - Gujarat Elections

Gujarat polls: AIMIM seeks to cement 2021 civic elections gains in Godhra

After an impressive show in last year's civic body polls in Godhra, a communally-sensitive town in Gujarat, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM is now trying to build upon those gains in this Assembly seat in the upcoming state elections, banking on the minority base and division of votes of other candidates. The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had won seven seats in the Godhra Municipal Council (GMC) polls last year and even tied up with independents to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its ideological foe, out of power. Independent candidate Sanjay Soni became the chairman of the GMC with the support of the AIMIM in February 2021, but severed ties with it in November that year after getting the support of the BJP which has 18 members in the 44-member house. In the upcoming Assembly polls, the AIMIM is making efforts to cement its position further, and aims to win the Godhra seat, currently held by the BJP. Godhra town in Panchmahal district in eastern Gujarat has h

PM Modi to address rallies in Kutch, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot today

Ahead of Gujarat assembly polls, PM Modi is set to address four public meetings in the state

What 'teaching a lesson' in Gujarat means

The national security paradigm is another device to herd voters behind the BJP, which is projected as the last line of defence between a secure India and its perceived enemies

BJP sure of repeat show in Kutch as Congress slugs it out, AAP splits votes

The BJP is confident of maintaining its winning streak in Kutch district in Gujarat Assembly polls even as the Congress is carrying out a silent campaign in rural areas and the Aam Aadmi Party is setting the stage for a three-cornered fight by throwing its hat in the ring. The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is contesting in two minority-dominated seats. Kutch, which goes to polls in the first phase on December 1, has six Assembly constituencies - Abdasa, Bhuj, Rapar- all bordering Pakistan, and Mandvi, Anjar and Gandhidham. The district has around 16 lakh voters spread across the six constituencies, out of which male and female voters are equally proportionate. Muslims comprise around 19 per cent of the total electorate, whereas the Dalits comprise around 12 per cent, and the Patels, including the Leuvas and Kadvas, constitute about 10.5 per cent. The Kshatriya and the Koli communities comprise around 6.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent of the electorate, ...

Congress, like-minded parties remain silent on big terror attacks: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said Gujarat and the country need to be "alert" about Congress and like-minded parties which keep mum on "big terrorist attacks" to not offend their vote bank, and also accused the grand old party of not respecting the tribal community. In a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he urged the people of Gujarat not to commit the sin of letting those, who gave election tickets to the anti-Narmada dam project forces in the past, set foot in the state. The prime minister hit the campaign trail in Gujarat on Sunday, where he addressed rallies in Kheda district, Netrang, a tribal area in Bharuch district, and Surat city, where he also led a massive roadshow. Assembly elections in Gujarat are scheduled for December 1 and 5. Speaking in Kheda, he said, "Terrorism is not over yet and the politics of the Congress has not also changed. The fear of terrorism will remain till appeasement politics continues." "Congress views terrorism from the prism o

Gujarat elections: Here's a comparative analysis of crorepati candidates

The average assets per candidate contesting the Gujarat Assembly elections in Phase I is Rs 2.88 crore

Congress, like-minded parties see terrorism as shortcut to success: PM Modi

Remembering the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said it is important to save Gujarat and the country from Congress and like-minded parties which keep mum on "big terrorist attacks" to not offend their vote bank. Addressing a rally in Kheda district in Gujarat where Assembly elections are scheduled for December 1 and 5, the prime minister said Congress and many like-minded parties view terrorism as a shortcut to achieving success. "Terrorism is not over yet and the politics of the Congress has not also changed. The fear of terrorism will remain till appeasement politics continues. Congress views terrorism from the prism of vote bank, Not only Congress but many like-minded parties have come up now who view terrorism as a shortcut to achieve success and this small party's hunger for power is even bigger, he said. The prime minister said the mouths of these parties remain "locked when big terrorist attacks take place so that their vote bank is not ...

Kejriwal promises old pension scheme by Jan 31 ahead of Gujarat polls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday made a written assertion that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will form government in Gujarat after the upcoming Assembly polls. He also urged government employees in Gujarat to back the AAP while promising implementation of the old pension scheme for them by January 31 next year. Addressing a press conference in Surat, AAP national convener Kejriwal said his predictions for the Delhi and Punjab Assembly elections came true, and the same will happen in Gujarat as well. He claimed people are so scared of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that they shy away from openly admitting support for the AAP in the Gujarat Assembly elections, scheduled in two phases on December 1 and 5. "I am going to make a prediction in writing in front of you all...Note down the prediction that the AAP is going to form government in Gujarat. After 27 years of misgovernance, the citizens of Gujarat will get relief from these people (BJP)," Kejriwal said. He the

AAP's 'Namoona' true supporter of terrorism, says UP CM in Gujarat

In an apparent attack on AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that the "namoona" (sample) that has come from Delhi is a "true supporter of terrorism"

Gujarat assembly polls: Modi, Kejriwal to address rallies in Surat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal will address campaign rallies on Sunday in Gujarat's 'diamond city' Surat, which sends 12 MLAs to the state's 182-member Assembly. Voting will be held in Surat in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections on December 1. Modi will address a public meeting at Mota Varachha in Surat after a 25-km road-show from the airport to the rally venue, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagdish Patel said on Saturday. The PM is also scheduled to address rallies at Netrang in Bharuch district and Mehmedabad in Kheda district. Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal will be on a two-day tour of Surat, which for long has remained a stronghold of the BJP with the support of its textile and diamond industry and lakhs people associated with the sectors. He will hold townhall meetings with textile industry leaders as well as gem artisans, and address a public meeting at Yogi Chowk. Kejriwal will also hold a

Congress chief Kharge to campaign for 4 days in Gujarat ahead of polls

With the Gujarat elections round the corner and the first litmus test of Mallikarjun Kharge as Congress president, the grand old party is seeking to boost its poll prospects in the state

2 CRPF jawans on election duty killed in firing by colleague in Gujarat

Two jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and two others were injured after their colleague opened fire over some issue in a village near Porbandar in Gujarat on Saturday evening, officials said. These jawans belong to a CRPF battalion from Manipur. They were sent here by the Election Commission ahead of the next month's Gujarat Assembly elections, said Porbandar Collector and District Election Officer, AM Sharma. Voting in the Porbandar district will be held on December 1 in the first phase. They were staying inside a cyclone centre in Tukda Gosa village, about 25 km from Porbandar. "A jawan opened fire from his assault rifle on his colleagues over some unknown issue on Saturday evening. While two jawans died on the spot, two others were injured. They were shifted to a hospital in Jamnagar. One of them received a bullet injury in his stomach and the other was hit on his leg," Sharma said, adding that further investigation will be carried out by the police.

Gujarat elections: Modi, Kejriwal to address rallies in Surat on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal will be speaking at campaign rallies on Sunday in Gujarat's 'diamond city' Surat which sends 12 MLAs to the state's 182-member Assembly. Voting will be held in Surat in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections on December 1. Modi will address a public meeting at Mota Varachha in Surat after a 25-km road-show from the airport to the rally venue, said the local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jagdish Patel. He is also scheduled to address three rallies at Netrang in Bharuch and in Kheda district. Kejriwal will be on a two-day tour of Surat, which for long has remained a stronghold of the BJP with the support of its textile and diamond industry and lakhs people associated with the sectors. He will hold townhall meetings with textile industry leaders as well as gem artisans, and address a public meeting at Yogi Chowk. The Delhi chief minister will also hold a roadshow in Katargam, state AAP general ..

BJP will never implement Uniform Civil Code in Gujarat, alleges AAP

The BJP will never implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Gujarat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Saturday, dubbing the saffron party's poll promise as "fake". The reaction of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party came after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for the Gujarat Assembly polls, promising the implementation of a UCC in the state if it retains power. "The BJP has ruled Gujarat for 27 years. After remaining at the helm for more than two decades, it is still making promises," the AAP's co-incharge for Gujarat, Raghav Chadha, told reporters here when asked for his party's view on the BJP's poll promise of implementing a UCC in the state. "If it was indeed their intent, they would have implemented it much ago," Chadha said, asking, "Why didn't they implement it?" "It is a fake promise. The BJP will never implement it (UCC)," he added. On October 29, the Gujarat government announced that it would form a committee for the implementation of a UCC. Other

AAP to record victory in Gujarat polls, become national party: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted on Saturday that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will record a "historic victory" in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls and become a "national" political party. Congratulating the party workers on the 10th anniversary of the AAP's foundation day, Kejriwal said the party has created "many histories" in Indian politics since it came into existence on November 26, 2012 and become "a new hope" for the people of the country. "The Aam Aadmi Party was formed 10 years ago on this day. In these 10 years, the party created many histories in Indian politics with the immense love of the public and the hard work of the workers," Kejriwal, the national convenor of the party, said in a series of tweets. The AAP has offered a new hope to the people of the country and gained their trust, he said. "With yet another historic victory, the AAP is going to become a national party very soon," he said. Riding high on its stupendous victory in the Punjab Assembly p

Gujarat Assembly elections: BJP promises 2 mn jobs, implementation of UCC

The party will also develop two corridors, from Porbandar to Dahod and Valsad to Palanpur, two sea food parks - one each in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, as per the manidesto

Guj Assembly polls: EC Cash, jewellery worth Rs 10.5 cr seized since Nov 3

Police and surveillance teams deployed by the Election Commission have so far seized cash and jewellery worth Rs 10.49 crore, while more than 91,000 persons have been placed under preventive detention in the run-up to the Assembly polls in Gujarat, an official said on Friday. The model code of conduct has been in force since November 3 in the state where elections will be held on December 1 and 5. "From November 3 till November 25, local police along with flying and static surveillance teams of the EC have seized Rs 4.01 crore in cash and Rs 6.48 crore worth of jewellery. Various narcotic substances worth Rs 61 crore have also been seized," an official release said. The police have, so far, lodged more than 29,800 cases under Prohibition laws and arrested 24,170 persons with liquor worth Rs 13.51 crore. Liquor sale and consumption are completely banned in Gujarat. In all, 91,154 persons were put under preventive detention so far under various provisions of the Code of Criminal ..

A Gujarat gamble

The cycle of politics is brutal, it doesn't have the concept of a strategic timeout. I'd rather not buy the idea that Rahul's holding his fire until 2024

Instead of cursing Cong, PM should speak on BJP misrule in Guj: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his attack on the party during the campaign in Gujarat, saying that instead of cursing the Congress, he should speak about the BJP's "misrule" in the state. Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday had sought to corner the Congress for not supporting a tribal woman, Droupadi Murmu, in the presidential poll. He had also lashed out at the opposition party, accusing it of engaging in vote bank politics, nepotism, sectarianism and supporting "anti-social elements" during its rule in Gujarat. Hitting back at the PM, Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi, "Narendra Modi ji, instead of cursing the Congress, speak on the misrule of the BJP!" "Why was the future of the children of Gujarat spoiled? Why Gujarat ranks 29th among 30 states in malnourished, underweight children? Why is it at 19th place in infant mortality rate?" he said. Gujarat demands answers on accountability for the last 27 years, the Congress

This election is about deciding Gujarat's fate for next 25 years: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the upcoming Assembly election in Gujarat is all about deciding the state's destiny for the next 25 years. Addressing a poll rally in Palanpur town of Banaskantha district in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, Modi said though many developmental works have been carried out so far by the ruling BJP in Gujarat and the Centre, time has come to take a "giant leap". Elections for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. Voting in Banaskantha district will be held in the second phase on December 5. "This election is not about who will become an MLA or whose government will come. This election is all about deciding Gujarat's destiny for the next 25 years," Modi said. The PM said he was making efforts to put Gujarat in the league of developed nations. "Time has come to take a giant leap now. And, I need your support to form a strong