As Aam Aadmi Party is heading towards a massive victory in Punjab ensuring the outster of Congress government, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu made a statement accepting his defeat in the Elections. He tweeted, “The voice of the people is the voice of God …. Humbly accept the mandate of the people of Punjab …. Congratulations to Aap !!!”
The voice of the people is the voice of God …. Humbly accept the mandate of the people of Punjab …. Congratulations to Aap !!!
Sidhu contested from the Amritsar East Vidhan sabha seat in Punjab. He is currently behind Jeevan Jyot Kaur of the Aam Aadmi Party. As per the latest updates from the website of the Election Commission of India, Navjot Singh Sidhu has got 29128 votes as of 2:15 PM. Whereas Jeevan Jyot Kaur of AAP has got 34,257votes with a vote share of 36.05%.
As the counting of votes proceeds, it is visible that the Congress party is lagging behind in all the states as of now. As per latest trends, AAP is leading in 92 seats out of total 117 seats in the state, and Congress is leading in only 18 seats.
Notably, Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi had contested from two seats, Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur, has lost both the seats. He lost to AAP’s Labh Singh Ugoke in Bhadaur, Chamkaur Sahib he was defeated by AAP candidate Charanjit Singh.
Navjot Singh Sidhu gained political centre stage after he was appointed the chief of the Punjab Congress which led to the former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh resigning from his post.
After quitting as Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh stated that the Congress party had humiliated him. Singh also chastised Navjot Singh Sidhu for his apparent affinity for Pakistan’s military and its leaders. He further said that Sidhu poses a national security threat since he is close with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and has links to Pakistani General Qamar Bajwa, which is unacceptable at all costs and might jeopardize national security.
As Bharatiya Janata Party approaches a historic win in Uttar Pradesh, it is all set to break the jinx associated with state politics. Mahant of Gorakhpeeth, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, faced the challenge of breaking the infamous jinx in UP.
‘CM that visits Noida does not come back to power’
There was a superstition that if a Chief Minister visits Noida during his tenure in Uttar Pradesh, it would be impossible to make a comeback in the next Assembly elections. Because of the superstition, Noida faced hardship as no CM was ready to visit the constituency while in the office. CM Yogi Adityanath did not care about the superstition and visited Noida and Bijnour multiple times. These two cities carried the weight of superstition on them for a long time.
In August 2021, CM Yogi had visited Noida and said he was CM of the whole state and could not be attached to personal ambitions. He said, “If Noida and Bijnore are considered a jinx, it cannot come in the way of my work.” He added that BJP had won Lok Sabha elections and several other polls after he visited Noida. “I’m a man who believes in God, but not superstition or orthodoxy. I pray, visit temples, follow the traditions of my order, and I reject the idea of any heaven that may accrue due to following superstitions. I want to achieve rewards through my karma,” he added.
‘A party cannot come in power for two consecutive terms’
Another superstition associated with UP is that no political party can come back in power for two consecutive terms. However, the superstition has been broken, and for the first time in 36 years, the Chief Minister of the ruling party is getting re-elected for the second consecutive term.
— Naveen Kumar Jindal ?? (@naveenjindalbjp) March 10, 2022
Notably, CM Yogi was confident that he would come back as CM and even said in an interview with Times Now that “I will come back”. In February, during an interview with Times Now, when journalist Navika asked him that there was a saying that no CM comes back to power in UP for second consecutive terms, CM Yogi interrupted her and said, “I will come back”.
A superstition that still lingered
There is one superstition that seems to linger in future too. There is a saying that the party that wins the Hastinapur seat in the Meerut constituency would form the government. BJP is all set to win the seat with a huge margin.
2 मिथक-
1- जो पार्टी मेरठ की हस्तिनापुर सीट जीतती है, उसकी सरकार बनती है। यहां से BJP प्रत्याशी करीब 10 हजार वोटों से आगे है।
2- जो CM एक बार नोएडा आया, वो दोबारा CM नहीं बना। यह मिथक टूटने की तरफ है।
The Saffron-clad monk has broken the superstitions associated with UP politics and showed how good governance can do wonders in a state where caste and religion-based politics had always been the main topic of discussion during elections. Popular as Maharaj Ji, CM Yogi Adityanath is all set to rule the state for the second term.
Goa chief minister BJP leader Pramod Sawant has said that the BJP will form government in Goa and they will take MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party) and independent candidates along. He said that BJP will win more than 20 seats, and if needed, they will take the support of MGP and independents, who are already in touch with BJP.
News agency ANI has tweeted quoting Pramod Sawant, “BJP will form the government in Goa; We will take MGP and independent candidates with us.” He added that the credit for this win goes to the party workers.
BJP will form the government in Goa; We will take MGP and independent candidates with us, says Goa CM and BJP leader Pramod Sawant pic.twitter.com/L7wZLTS5mV
Pramod Sawant himself has won from the Sanquelim Assembly constituency, and set to continue as the GOA CM. However, he won by a narrow margin, which he admitted is a cause of concern, and said that he will intrspect on it.
Notably, Goa BJP has already sought an appointment with Goa governor PS Sreedharan to stake the claim to form the government.
According to the latest trends in the ongoing counting rounds, BJP is leading on 19 seats of the 40 member Goa assembly with a vote share of 33.4%, while the MGP is leading on 3 seats with a vote share of 8.02%. 3 independent candidates are also leading in the trends.
One independent candidate Dr Chandrakant Shetye, who is leading from Bicholim constituency, has already announced his support for BJP.
#GoaElections2022 | Dr Chandrakant Shetye, an independent candidate from the Bicholim constituency declares support to Bharatiya Janata Party
In most of the exit polls it was predicted that despite facing tough headwinds from a reinvigorated Congress, the BJP will emerge as the largest party in the coastal state. The trends in the ongoing counting are in line with the exit poll predictions till now.
Counting of votes for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections held from February 10 to March 7 in seven phases is underway. As per the latest trends, BJP’s Yogi Adityanath is on course to retain power for a second straight term. In the initial rounds of counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh, BJP has comfortably crossed the halfway mark, way ahead of its rival Samajwadi Party.
The results are in expected lines as almost all exit polls had predicted BJP’s return with a comfortable majority. In fact, one exit poll had predicted a repeat of the BJP’s 2017 performance, when it won a whopping over 300 seats in the 403-member Assembly.
While all statistics since the beginning appeared to be in favour of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, a few ardent supporters of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav remained bullish on the Samajwadi Party chief. They were confident that Akhilesh Yadav would dethrone Yogi Adityanath as the next Chief Minister. However, as the BJP inches closer to victory, it is clear that these Tweets predicting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s victory in Uttar Pradesh did not age well.
Let’s take a look at some Tweets expressing confidence that Akhilesh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party would replace the incumbent BJP government in Uttar Pradesh led by Yogi Adityanath.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani, a ‘journalist’ for The Wire, led the charge, tweeting in January that the vote distribution in Uttar Pradesh would be 80:20, with the BJP securing 20%.
“The speed with which leaders are leaving BJP to join SP, feels like in the game of 80:20, BJP will be left with just 20,” Arfa Khanum had suggested rather confidentely on January 12, 2022.
The speed with which leaders are leaving BJP to join SP, feels like in the game of 80:20, BJP will be left with just 20.
Ashok Swain, a habitual fake news peddler and Left propagandist, was another entrant on the list of sycophants, having dismissed exit polls because they predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. On March 7, 2022, Swain Tweeted, “India’s Exit Polls are as ‘good’ as Indian media – No truth in it.”
India’s Exit Polls are as ‘good’ as Indian media – No truth in it.
Many other leftist liberals, who despise the BJP and Yogi Adityanath, had also wished for the BJP to lose in Uttar Pradesh. Swati Chaturvedi, journalist cum abusive troll who accuses others of being abusive trolls, also took to Twitter on March 7, 2022 to share an op-ed she wrote in which she belittled Modi by saying that Modi wants to believe he has an appointment with history if he and Yogi win UP.
She captioned her Tweet, “UP Elections 2022: All roads lead to Kashi | Op-eds – Gulf News where I say that Modi, MP from Kashi thinks he has an appointment with history if he & Yogi can win UP. Contenders the Gandhi siblings & Akhilesh Yadav out to prove a point.”
UP Elections 2022: All roads lead to Kashi | Op-eds – Gulf News where I say that Modi, MP from Kashi thinks he has an appointment with history if he & Yogi can win UP. Contenders the Gandhi siblings & Akhilesh Yadav out to prove a point https://t.co/dT5T3ytar4
“It will be a welcome change if BJP loses UP. It will weaken those who today have too much power and will give hope to the Opposition for 2024. It may also force Govt into some good governance. But I don’t see them losing in UP. Could be tight but they may come through. #UPElections,” Sumanath Raman, a Tamil television anchor and sports commentator had hoped on March 7, 2022.
It will be a welcome change if BJP loses UP. It will weaken those who today have too much power and will give hope to Opposition for 2024. It may also force Govt into some good governance. But I don’t see them losing in UP. Could be tight but they may come through. #UPElections
Many leftist media outlets also attempted to create an anti-incumbency wave against the BJP by publishing article after article predicting the BJP’s defeat in the 2022 Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh.
TOI report published on March 6, 2022
A report by The Print published on October 9, 2020
Given their penchant for meddling in India’s internal affairs, Pakistani TV actress Sehar Shinwari predicted that Yogi would ‘badly’ lose the Vidhan Sabha elections in 2022. She not only predicted Yogi’s defeat but also insulted him by referring to him as ‘Atanknath.’ Shinwari went on to make another extremely ambitious prediction that Mamata Banerjee would succeed Modi as Prime Minister of India in 2024.
Mark my word Mamta Banerjee will replace Modi as Pm of India in 2024 and Yogi Atanknath will badly lose UP vidhan sabha elections next year.
However, much to their chagrin, trends show that the BJP, led by Yogi Adityanath, is on course for an unprecedented victory in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling party is currently leading on 270 plus seats, 70 more than what is required to form the government. The live updates, trends and highlights of the 2022 Assembly election results can be viewed here.
In a statement made to ANI, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that the “One Nation, One Election” proposed by PM Modi is a good idea and that the Election Commission is completely prepared and capable of managing all elections concurrently. He went on to say that it is possible, but that it would need a constitutional amendment.
CEC Sushil Chandra stated, “One Nation One Election is a good suggestion but this needs a change in the Constitution. The Election Commission is fully geared up and is capable of holding all the elections simultaneously. We are ready to hold elections only once in 5 years.”
One Nation One Election is a good suggestion but this needs a change in the Constitution. The Election Commission is fully geared up and is capable of holding all the elections simultaneously. We are ready to hold elections only once in 5 years: CEC Sushil Chandra pic.twitter.com/reixPOoqIl
“According to the Constitution, all the elections should be held simultaneously. The parliament elections that are held since independence, three of them are simultaneous elections. It is only later that sometimes the Assembly was dissolved, sometimes Parliament, which disturbed the schedule,” he added.
The CEC further added, “It is to be decided in Parliament that should we take half of the assembly together and the next time, take the other half together, but the election commission is fully prepared and is capable of holding all the elections simultaneously and is ready to elect it only once in 5 years.”
Additionally, as the counting of votes for the 2022 Assembly Elections in the states of Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand continues, he refuted all the allegations of EVM tampering and stated that the counting of votes is an entirely transparent procedure.
One Nation, One Election
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly supported a “One Nation, One Election” system and a single voter list, arguing that holding elections every few months stifles growth. Governments will have more time for constructive work if the ONOE is implemented, as the enforcement of a model code of conduct impedes development and welfare activities. Furthermore, rather than campaigning incessantly, the ruling parties will also be able to concentrate on legislation and governance.
The execution of ‘One India, One Election’ with good policy and rule support, taking into consideration the rising requirement for stable governance and minimized ruckus, would be a significant shift.
While Congress has emerged as a loser in Uttar Pradesh, the other loser in the 2022 Assembly Elections is perhaps Mamata Banerjee, even though elections were not being held in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee had declared her party’s intentions in Goa with much aplomb, however, according to the latest trends, TMC is scoring a big fat zero in the state.
According to the EC website, TMC is not leading even in a single seat.
EC trends at 1 PM.
Goa was being treated as an experimental ground for Mamata Banerjee to catapult herself to national politics. It was a ground where if she could make inroads, she would know that she has acceptability outside of West Bengal and therefore, could juxtapose herself as the PM candidate of the opposition parties.
In fact, the plan was clear when ahead of the Goa elections, Mamata Banerjee attempted to sideline Congress as the face of the opposition to prop herself. Shiv Sena had taken a contrarian view and said that there could be no opposition front without Congress. In fact, Mamata Banerjee had even called for a meeting of non-NDA CMs to forge a national alliance, leaving the Congress party out.
Mamata Banerjee had spoken about trying to stop the Hindu vote from consolidating in Goa and had also gone on a temple run in Goa where she was seen throwing Charnamrit away at Goa’s famous Mangueshi temple.
Despite her and her party member’s toughest efforts, it is safe to say that TMC has suffered a humiliating and crushing defeat in Goa.
In Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee’s campaign hardly bore fruit, given that Yogi Adityanath is still returning to power with a thumping majority and TMC did not contest a single seat in UP.
With Mamata Banerjee crashing and burning in her attempt to elevate herself to not just national politics but also project herself as the contender to PM Modi using these elections in Goa and Uttar Pradesh, it remains to be seen what her role would be outside of West Bengal. With AAP sweeping Punjab, it would seem more likely that Arvind Kejriwal would effectively usurp the position that Mamata Banerjee wished to reserve for herself.
On Thursday (March 10), the Indian equity benchmark indices showed an upward surge as early election trends predicted a comfortable victory for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 4 out of the 5 poll-bound States. The election results for the States of Punjab, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand and Manipur are due today.
At 12:07 pm, Sensex surged 1247.57 points (2.28% high) and traded at 55,894.90. The biggest gainers in the 30-share Sensex pack were the ICICI bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Induslnd Bank and Hindustan Unilever Limited.
Sensex trades at 56K
Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also soared 366.35 points (2.24%) and traded at 16711.70 at 12:08 pm on Thursday.
Nifty 50 trades at 16.7K
“The outcome of the Uttar Pradesh election will be widely watched by markets because it will set the tone for how the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party approaches and prepares for the general elections in 2024,” remarked Mohit Nigam of Hem Securities.
As of 12.30pm on Thursday (March 10), the BJP is leading on 273 seats out of total 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party is leading in Manipur on 28 seats out of the 60-seat Assembly, while its NDA ally NPP is leading in 10 seats. BJP is also leading in 42 seats in the 70 seat Uttarakhand assembly, and in 19 out of 40 seats in Goa. AAP is leading in 90 out of 117 seats in Punjab, ensuring a comprehensive victory.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi may soon meet Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and submit his resignation today as the counting of votes for the Punjab Assembly Elections is underway, as per reports. Charanjit Singh Channi and Bhagwant Mann are the chief ministerial faces of the Congress and the AAP respectively for the state of Punjab where AAP at present is leading with 89 seats.
Congress is looking at a humiliating defeat in the state where it was in power for five years.
According to the Republic TV report, on Thursday, CM Channi arrived at his official residence in Chandigarh and is likely to resign in face of AAP’s massive sweep in the 2022 elections.
Further, as AAP’s Bhagwant Mann is expected to be the next Chief Minister of Punjab, celebrations have already began at Mann’s residence in Sangrur. The Aam Aadmi Party has crossed the majority mark in Punjab and the CM candidate is also leading from the Dhuri constituency.
#WATCH | Celebrations at AAP’s CM candidate Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur as the party crosses the majority mark in Punjab. Mann leading from his seat Dhuri. #PunjabElections2022pic.twitter.com/nzoJ9QyoJ1
In Punjab, the Congress fought to retain power after the tussle between Navjot Singh Sidhu and ex-CM Amarinder Singh forced the latter to quit. Channi, who is said to be the party’s important ‘Dalit face’ in Punjab was announced as the new Chief Minister and hoped to continue his position until exit poll directed AAP’s decisive victory in Punjab. The exit poll had marked AAP’s majority between 76-91 out of 117 seats in the state. Reportedly, the party is currently leading with 89 seats, comfortably past the majority mark.
It is important to note that Charanjit Singh Channi was caught up in a huge controversy after he made hateful remarks against the people of UP and Bihar working in Punjab. Questions were also raised when Priyanka Gandhi was seen cheering for those remarks. During an electoral rally in Ropar on February 15, Channi had warned that he won’t allow residents from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to enter his state.
Punjab CM speaks against UP & Bihar people and Priyanka Gandhi applauds him.
Activating the damage control mode then, Channi had said that those remarks were directed at Arvind Kejriwal and not at the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He said that his remarks were ‘misinterpreted’ by rival party leaders and that he did not disparage migrants. He had perhaps forgotten that he was seen on camera spreading hatred against the people of UP and Bihar, and no ‘misinterpretation’ had happened.
Also, on February 17, Channi had referred to Bhagwant Mann as a drunkard and illiterate person. “Bhagwant Mann is a drunkard and illiterate person. He passed 12th class in three years. How can we give command of Punjab to such a person?”, Channi had asked in an election rally in Bathinda.
The Assembly Elections in Punjab were held on February 20 to elect 117 members of the 16th Assembly in Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is on the pathway for a landslide victory in Punjab, with early trends on March 10 indicating a sweep for the party in the state.
Assembly Elections 2022- Catch all the live updates, latest news, trends and highlights with Opindia here.
When Priyanka Gandhi Vadra formally joined politics full-time and started focusing on Uttar Pradesh, Congress had 2 MPs and 2 MLAs from their family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Just over 3 years later, that number has reduced to just 1 MP, Sonia Gandhi, as the party looks set to draw a total blank from the 10 assembly constituencies in the area.
While nobody really expected Priyanka to work any magic in the state, Indian journalists still kept promoting Priyanka as a serious player in UP Politics. However, this total demolition of the grand old party in their family bastions may tell Indian media that it takes more than Indira Gandhi’s nose to win an election in India.
As Congress kept sliding all across Uttar Pradesh over the years, they still had these two family bastions where they could still attract votes in the name of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The first big shock for them came when Smriti Irani trounced Rahul Gandhi in a hotly contested election in 2019. Expecting that result, Rahul Gandhi ran to a safe seat in Wayanad as his second option. Now with the trend continuing in these assembly elections, Sonia Gandhi may also need to find a safe seat in 2024, though there aren’t that many of those left for Congress.
To rub salt into the wounds of Congress, Aditi Singh, who won Rae Bareli on Congress ticket in 2017, is set to retain her seat on BJP’s ticket. Congress suspended her from the party in 2020, and now on BJP’s ticket, she has returned to haunt Congress and beat them in Rae Bareli.
Having taken charge of a drowning Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has firmly sunk the party. Now whether she stays in UP, or gets promoted to National President after losing elections like her brother, we wait to find out.
Attorney General of India KK Venugopal has allowed an intervention in the contempt case against Kunal Kamra who recently made insulting comments against the Supreme Court of India. The AG was responding to a letter sent by arguing lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha asking for his consent to intervene in the case against Kamra for his derogatory remarks directed at the Supreme Court.
Shashank Shekhar Jha shared the letter by AG in a tweet writing, “Breaking: I’ve got permission on behalf of @Punitspeaks from Attorney General of India to intervene in the Contempt Petition before Supreme Court for the @kunalkamra88 ’s remark on Supreme Court.” We’ll take it to the conclusion.”
Breaking: I’ve got permission on behalf of @Punitspeaks from Attorney General of India to intervene in the Contempt Petition before Supreme Court for the @kunalkamra88’s remark on Supreme Court.
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) March 9, 2022
The AG approved Shashank Shekhar Jha’s intervention. The letter stated that Kamra’s new remarks are in relation to a matter that is already under trial. Therefore, he requested that Kamra’s fresh comments should be produced in support of the Supreme Court’s continuing contempt proceedings against him and there is no need for fresh consent. He further added that if the Court deems fit, the fresh remarks might be used as an aggravating element in the case of a penalty.
It should be mentioned that Kunal Kamra made disparaging remarks regarding the Supreme Court in his recently released YouTube video ‘Be Like.’ In response to a contempt of court petition filed against him in the Supreme Court, Kamra said, “Dear SC, kal ki baat bhul ja, l**da pakad ke jhul ja (forget yesterday’s issues, come swing on p*nis).”
In the same video, Kamra added that he respected the food court in the shopping mall more than the Supreme Court and that the SC is a ‘Brahmin Baniya’ affair that does not represent other people.
All of this has transpired while Kamra is already on trial for tweeting insulting remarks about the Supreme Court. Kunal Kamra was slapped with a contempt of court notice under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, on December 18, 2020, for his disrespectful tweets directed at the judiciary.
