BJP faces TMC intimidation before Amit Shah roadshow in Kolkata
BJP continues to face the wrath of TMC cadres in Bengal. At every level and stage from the run-up to polls till today, TMC cadres are not allowing any room or space in Bengal for BJP to make its presence felt or spread its message.
Today is the big day for the BJP in Kolkata as Amit Shah and members of the BJP have arrived amongst much heat and pressure in the City of Joy, except joy for them remains elusive.
This morning, suspected TMC workers were seen pulling down posters and banners put up overnight for Amit Shah’s roadshow today. The police have been taking a tough stance against BJP cadres and keeping them under strict check and limiting their movement within the city.
The roadshow show saw Amit Shah ride an open vehicle from Esplanade to Swami Vivekananda’s home in North Kolkata. Excited fans thronged on all sides to catch a glimpse of the leader and many claimed this kind of crowd response is unprecedented for the party in the state. Many people in the procession were dressed up as characters from Ramayana as they mingled and walked along regular-dressed people. Crowds were seen chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ much to the chagrin of TMC supporters and onlookers.
BJP is hoping to convert its earlier toehold of 2 seats into a foothold of double-digit seats before launching the final push to displace the TMC in the next assembly elections in 2021.
Kolkata votes on 19 May and is the last phase of seven.
Priyanka Gandhi charm offensive makes her a rising star to watch
Priyanka Gandhi is winning hearts and minds wherever she goes with many asking why Congress did not bring her into politics earlier.
Priyanka Gandhi continued her people outreach charming people of Madhya Pradesh as she traveled to various places in M.P. On Monday, CM Kamal Nath accompanied her to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain where she offered puja. Later, they proceeded to meet people on the streets of Ujjain. People’s response was spontaneous and warm.
On Tuesday she was in Indore where her moved atop a mini-truck as she proceeded through a 4 km stretch on Jawahar Marg. At one point, there were some people and children on the road chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ as her vehicle was passing. She stooped, came out and shook their hands with her signature smile saying ‘aap apni jageh, main apni jageh.’ At another place, she stopped and jumped a three-foot barricade to shake hands and meet with people. People responded warmly in equal measure.
‘Kashi vaasi’ Modi appeals to voters before crucial voting
Varanasi will be tested on 19 May when the city votes for their choice of leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows the city is rooting for him but won’t take any chances. In a video message, he reached out to local citizens with an emotional appeal to voters to come out in large numbers and exercise their franchise in the festival of democracy.
Calling himself ‘Kashi vaasi’ the PM spoke of how anyone coming to the city makes it their home. He spoke about the development initiatives undertaken to make the holy city a better place to live and said it remained work in progress.
You need ‘money’ or ‘criminal’ record to enter parliament
There is no way you, the aam aadmi, can ever hope to become a people’s representative in Parliament. Not unless you have loads of money or have a long list of criminal cases on your CV. That’s right; this is the conclusion drawn from the report submitted on Monday by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report conducted a study of affidavits submitted by political candidates to the Election Commission in 2019. According to the report, one in three candidates (29%) of the total 8000 candidates has assets of Rs 1 crore or more, and one in five (19%) has criminal cases registered against them.
Of the 1500 candidates with criminal cases, 1070 face serious criminal charges.
CPI-M candidates have the highest percentage of criminal cases and serious criminal cases, followed by NCP, BJP, INC, AITC, CPI, and BSP, in that order.
The percentage of candidates with criminal charges contesting elections has been rising from 2009 to 2019.
On candidate wealth, the study analyzed 335 of 338 sitting MPs who was seeking re-election this year and found the candidates’ assets grew an average of Rs 6.9 crore between 2014 and 2019.
