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Bihar: Controversy erupts as posters depicting Tejashwi Yadav as ‘Ram’ and Nitish as ‘Ravan’ surface

Jhankar Mohta
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Bihar: Controversy erupts as posters depicting Tejashwi Yadav as ‘Ram’ and Nitish as ‘Ravan’ surface

A controversy erupted in Patna on Wednesday after an RJD leader put up posters ahead of Dusshera, wherein party’s heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav was likened to ‘Lord Ram’ and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was portrayed as the ten-headed demon king ‘Ravan’.

The poster inscribed with a slogan in Hindi, borrowing a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, reading, “Whenever Ravan has committed atrocities, a Ram has incarnated”, was put up by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) officer-bearer Anand Yadav.

‘Samvidhan Bachao Nyay Yatra‘ was imprinted on the poster, which was an obvious appeal to the people to support Tejashwi Yadav on the next leg of his public interaction programme, slated to begin from October 21.

Besides drawing criticism from the Bihar’s ruling party, JD(U), which is headed by Nitish Kumar, who has been depicted as ‘Ravan’ in the posters, surprisingly, this act also gathered denunciation from the Congress party which is an alliance partner of the RJD.

Though in the past Congress leaders have themselves, not left a single opportunity to belittle the government with their controversial remarks, ironically came out to condemn the act. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Madan Mohan Jha and campaign committee chairman Akhilesh Prasad Singh told reporters, “This is not proper. No problem with Tejashwi being compared to Ram. But to depict anybody as Ravan is inappropriate. To call the chief minister a demon king is certainly not on“.

The posters, which were seen across Patna yesterday, were removed this morning.

The Lalu Prasad-led RJD later clarified that the posters were not put up to scorn the chief minister but to critique the government in the state.

However, the JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad in his loathsome response said that the RJD rule in Bihar was marked by lawlessness. Their disrespect for the state’s chief minister was yet another reflection on its character.

Asked whether the JD(U) would like the government to take any legal action against those involved in putting up the posters, Prasad told the media, “We do not attach much importance to the poster which deserves to be in dustbins. It is for the RJD to decide whether it wants to pursue its politics with the help of such unruly foot soldiers”.

The JD(U) was quick to remind the RJD that it was Nitish Kumar’s face which helped them to increase their tally from 22 to 80 in the 2015 assembly elections. “What can you expect from the RJD? Have they forgotten the 2015 elections when it was a face of Ram (read Nitish Kumar) which helped them win 80 seats,” furthered party spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan.

However, this was not the only political poster on display during the Durga Puja festivities in Bihar. There were other posters put up by the Congress too, trying to belittle the BJP government.

A poster put up by the Congress offering a ‘reward’ of Rs 5 crore to whoever came up with the names of 35 airports supposedly built during the tenure of prime minister Narendra Modi besides the ‘truth’ of the Rafale deal was seen at some places in the state capital.

In fact, earlier too, the deep-rooted, horrendous, casteist bias of the Congress Party was boldly out in the open when a poster with a group of State leaders of the Congress party along with the party president, Rahul Gandhi, depicting the respective caste groups the leaders belonged to emerged in Patna.

In its retaliation to the ongoing ‘poster war’, the BJP in a quick-witted move had almost immediately displayed posters, wherein below every individual leader’s picture ‘Bharatiya’ (Indian) was imprinted in bold. This came as a hard punch to the Congress who has often taken recourse to caste-based politics.

Vandals scribble ‘Jesus’ after desecrating a Hindu temple in Australia

OpIndia Staff
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Vandals scribble ‘Jesus’ after desecrating a Hindu temple in Australia

A shocking incident of religious hatred came to light on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. A Hindu temple was vandalised and set on fire, as per the reports.

More than 30 statues of Hindu gods at the Barathiye Mandir Temple in Sydney’s Regents Park were smashed, the temple property was ruined, and the temple was set on fire by some unidentified vandals who also scribbled the word ‘Jesus’ on a wall. Damaged statues were strewn across the floor and smeared with ghee, instruments and other items of the temple were smashed and the room was covered with paint.

According to the Priest Pundit Paras Maharaj, “It was about 6 pm. I saw some smoke and wondered if someone had started the evening puja (worship) without me. Andar do-teen log the (there were two or three people inside)” he said. “They made a quick getaway via the back window.” He added, “Hamare dost ne police ko phone kiya (a friend phoned the police. They came and sealed the premises immediately. They conducted their forensic tests, and left only at 2 am.”

The Hindu community in the area is in a state of deep shock and anguish as the unfortunate incident happened during the holy period of Navaratra when the whole Hindu community was engaged in festivities. A vandal attack like this has never happened before and the community is suspecting it to be a hate crime.

Surinder Jain of Hindu Council of Australia said, “They do not know who has done it but it has caused a lot of pain and anguish to devotees. We will rebuild the temple. We are not going to go away, this is our home too,”

He urged the leaders of all faiths to come in their support and condemn the criminal act.

Congress lies blatantly after deleting Facebook ad of ‘Modi hatao desh bachao’ which was promoted in Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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Congress lies blatantly after deleting Facebook ad of ‘Modi hatao desh bachao’ which was promoted in Pakistan

Earlier in the day, we had reported how the official Facebook page of Congress was running a paid promotion of an advertisement that read ‘Modi hatao, Desh Bachao” (remove Modi, save India) in Pakistan. Facebook lets pages select their the country the audience of which one would like to target with their messages. This promotion was specifically targetted at the audience of Pakistan.

Soon after, Congress had discontinued the ad targetting Pakistan audience. Embarrassed by the revelations that displayed how Congress was targeting Pakistani audience, Congress, instead of explaining or apologising, decided to brazen it out.

The official Twitter handle of Congress, arrogantly terming it “fake news” tweeted a photoshopped image where they mocked the revelations by showing ‘Hogwarts’ etc as the selected target audience.


However, as the adage goes, what is once on the internet remains on the internet. OpIndia has a screen recording from when the Facebook ad by Congress targeting Pakistani audience was still live.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwiZGQgLnd0]

Twitter user @Being_Humor also published an archive link of the Facebook page.


Only live web links can be archived. The archived link of Congress’ Facebook page too clearly proves that the advertisement was indeed run by Congress on their Facebook page.

In fact, one can see that in the URL of the archived link, the original Facebook page URL is also included which proves beyond a doubt that Congress had indeed run this advertisement and are now lying about it – http://archive.today/2018.10.18-055728/https://www.facebook.com/pg/IndianNationalCongress/ads/?country=20&ref=page_internal

This is not the first that time that Congress or its functionaries have brazened out their embarrassing posts after silently deleting them. Earlier too, after Smriti Irani had mentioned in an interview some obscene tweets by Tehseen Poonawalla, who is Robert Vadra’s relative, about Smriti Irani, Tehseen had quietly deleted those tweets and then lied about never having tweeted them at all. He was caught in the lie by several people.

This is also not the first time that Congress has indulged in undermining Indian elected Prime Minister in Pakistan for its own petty political gains. Earlier, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had also gone to Pakistan and asserted exactly the same thing that the Facebook ad now says. Aiyar had asserted in Pakistan that Pakistan should help Congress party dislodge PM Modi and install Congress back in the seat of power.

Congress rhetoric at home and Pakistan’s rhetoric at the UNGA also had eerie similarities and Pakistan trolls had tried to shield and promote Rahul Gandhi fervently on Twitter. One can also recall how Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had gone to Pakistan for Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony and hugged the Pakistan army chief undermining the thousands of soldiers who are butchered by Pakistan. He had then asserted that he rather visit Pakistan than South India. In fact, global terrorist Hafiz Saeed had also endorsed Congress’ “vision” of Kashmir.

Karnataka: Congress’ DK Shivakumar confesses it was a mistake to divide Hindus by declaring Lingayat a separate religion

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Congress’ DK Shivakumar confesses it was a mistake to divide Hindus by declaring Lingayat a separate religion

In a stunning confession which may cause huge embarrassment for Congress, Karnataka Minister and party strongman DK Shivakumar openly revealed that the previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah made a grave mistake by trying to divide people by raking up Veerashaiva-Lingayat issue. The Congress leader admitted that the previous government tried to create a divide among caste groups to further political agenda.

According to News18 Kannada, DK Shivakumar visited the Dasara Sammelan of the Rambhapuri Seer Veera Someshwara Shivacharya Swami in Gadag and spoke regarding the stand taken by the previous Congress government on the issue of Veerashaiva-Lingayath.

The Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah had taken an extreme step of creating a divide between Veerashaivas and Lingayats by recommending a separate religion tag to ‘Lingayat’ community ahead of the elections in Karnataka. Veerashaiva or Lingayat is a prominent caste group which controls huge stakes in Karnataka’s electoral politics along with Vokkaligas in the state.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNrTrhnxNdc]

Source: Republic TV

DK Shivakumar went on to say that political parties should never commit the mistake of indulging in religious politics and went on to admit that Congress party indulged in dividing people to garner votes in the elections. DK Shivakumar, who was a Power minister in the previous government said that Siddaramaiah led Congress government made a grave error by playing Lingayat card in the state elections.

“We have committed a grave mistake during our tenure. Any government at any juncture should not politicise religion or interfere in its matters. There were a lot of political developments happening then but no government must intervene in matters of religion. Recently concluded events have reflected the people’s sentiments on this matter”, said DK Shivakumar.

DK Shivakumar went on to apologise for the actions of previous government. ” I will apologise sincerely for making such a grave mistake”, said the Karnataka Minister.

Late talking to media about his comment, Shivakumar said that he has made this statement from his heart and it was his personal opinion. He confirmed that he stands by his comment and reiterated that politicians should not interfere in the matter of religion.

The Congress despite playing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat card did not garner enough seat to cross simple majority in the state legislature. The Congress party secured 78 seats, JDS-37 seats, while BJP became the single largest party with 104 seats. The JDS-Congress joined hands under the leadership of former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to form the new government in Karnataka.

Fresh notice of eviction served on Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund over Teen Murti Bhavan offices

OpIndia Staff
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Fresh notice of eviction served on Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund over Teen Murti Bhavan offices

The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) has been served with a fresh notice by the Ministry of Housing and Urban development to vacate its offices located within the Teen Murti Complex, as reported by Times of India.

A show cause notice was issued to the JNMF on Oct 15, giving a week’s time to appear for a hearing before the Directorate of Estates (DoE). The ministry had issued an eviction notice to the JNMF on September 11 charging that the entity was in unauthorised occupation of the building since the late 60s.

A Ministry Official told, “We did not find any merit in their response and now we have sent the fresh notice for the organisation to put its stand before the quasi-judiciary body. The Directorate of Estates would then pass the order. We have followed the process to vacate the encroachment as per the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.”

Earlier rejecting the claim of unauthorised occupancy, the JNMF in its response to the DoE said that the “premises in the east of Teen Murti House and which are within its boundary walls will remain the property of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library”.
Congress leader, Jairam Ramesh termed this a part of the Modi Project to obliterate Jawaharlal Nehru and his Legacy.
Teen Murti Bhavan is a British era house which acted as the resident of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army. After the independence of India, it became the residence of PM Jawaharlal Nehru. After the death of Nehru, the house was converted into a national memorial to him comprising a library and a museum.
The complex houses Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) which is a government of India institution run by the ministry of culture. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, on the other hand, is a non-government institution, currently headed by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The Fund offers research fellowships and scholarships to academics from various disciplines.
Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Shakti Sinha had informed that the library needs the place occupied by the fund as the library is running out of space. “Currently, the library is overcrowded. We plan to construct a three-storeyed building on that spot where the administration offices and non-library activities will be shifted. The existing building will be used for library expansion and academic purposes,” he had said.

‘Send complaint within 24 hours or it will be dismissed’, The Wire’s external committee to the victim on allegations on Vinod Dua

OpIndia Staff
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‘Send complaint within 24 hours or it will be dismissed’, The Wire’s external committee to the victim on allegations on Vinod Dua

Following the allegations of stalking and sexual misbehaviour against TheWire’s consulting editor Vinod Dua, The Wire wrote to the complainant, which according to her comes with conditions.

Nishtha Jain on The Wire

The Wire had formed an external committee to look into the allegations after Jain pointed out that she, the complainant is not employed by the organisation and hence internal complaints committee cannot really look into the case. She says they organised external complaints committee and sent her an email last evening, which, however, came with a condition. She has to send consent and complaint within 24 hours otherwise the same would be dismissed.

Jain says she has written back to them asking for more time and a five-member jury instead of four as is the norm.

Earlier we had reported how in the video uploaded by The Wire, which was later deleted and edited before being reuploaded, Dua had brazened it out by insinuating  that the charges of sexual harassment are basically to divert attention from the “real questions” that the media should be asking of the government in the run-up to the 2019 elections.

MJ Akbar’s defamation case against Priya Ramani: Court takes cognisance under section 500 of IPC

OpIndia Staff
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MJ Akbar’s defamation case against Priya Ramani: Court takes cognisance under section 500 of IPC

The criminal defamation suit filed by former Union Minister MJ Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani has been taken cognisance of by the Delhi’s Patiala Court under section 500 of IPC. The court has also fixed the 31st October for further hearing related to the defamation case.

Senior Counsel Geeta Luthra arguing on behalf of MJ Akbar presented the defamation suit against the journalist before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal. Geeta Luthra read out the tweets posted by the journalist against the MJ Akbar and argued that tweets posted were clearly aimed at defaming the former Union Minister.

According to Bar and Bench, Luthra highlighted the professional history of MJ Akbar to establish his reputation and said that the tweets posted by the journalist have brought disrespect to the reputation of her client.

“I have gone through the complaint and other documents annexed. I take cognizance of the offence under section 500 of the IPC” Judge Samar Vishal. The Judge after taking the documents related to the case into cognizance has called for further examination of complainant and witnesses on 31st October.


MJ Akbar, former Minister of State for External Affairs had filed a defamation case through his lawyers Karanjawala & Co. against the journalist Priya Ramani on October 15th, after the journalist had accused MJ Akbar of sexual misconduct against her.

He was accused by several former women colleagues for sexual misconduct when he was serving in senior editorial positions in a number of media organisations in the past. M J Akbar was on an official foreign tour when these accusations were levelled against him. After returning back to the country, he had issued a lengthy statement to defend himself from these accusations.

However, MJ Akbar resigned from the post of junior Minister after severe pressure was put on him against continuing in the cabinet. M J Akbar had questioned about the motives of the victims and called the accusations as “false, baseless and wild allegations” to bring irreparable damage to his reputation and goodwill.

As ArcelorMittal gears up to clear Rs. 7,500 crores due to SBI, Modi’s IBC sends a clear message: Pay up or shut shop

Abhishek Banerjee
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As ArcelorMittal gears up to clear Rs. 7,500 crores due to SBI, Modi’s IBC sends a clear message: Pay up or shut shop

One of the Modi government’s biggest reforms was also one that was done very quietly. This was the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, which has forever changed India’s business model from one of crony capitalism to a rule-based regime.

So, first of all, let me splash the latest piece of good news.

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ArcelorMittal is set to return Rs 7500 crore to SBI. No wonder then that the chairman of SBI is relieved.

What happened here requires some explanation. As the Prime Minister has recently mentioned on several public platforms, the total amount of loans given by banks in the ten years of UPA (2004-2014) was a whopping 34 lakh crore. That’s near twice the 18 lakh crores lent by Indian banks all the way from 1947 to 2004.

A significant chunk of the loans that the UPA handed out like candy has now gone into default, leaving the nation with a crippling NPA mess. The Prime Minister likes to refer to the UPA years as times of “phone banking” when big businesses would get “naamdars” to call up public sector banks and force them to give out these loans. Remember that when these loans went into default, it is we the people who got stuck with the bill.

The biggest single reform that Modi sarkar brought in order to end crony capitalism was the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2016. In simple terms, the bill created a time-bound mechanism by which creditors could go after a loan defaulter. If the defaulter is unable to pay within a fixed period (usually only 6 months), they lose control of their company. Their assets are seized and auctioned.

In fact, India is one of the few countries in the world to have a time-bound mechanism for resolving corporate debt. This is why the World Bank was all praise for India’s IBC code while announcing India’s sharp jump in Ease of Doing Business earlier this year.

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So what happened with ArcelorMittal here?

The matter pertains to Essar Steel, a company saddled with massive debt, which is set to be auctioned off. Now, several companies would like to buy Essar Steel and Arcelor Mittal is among them.

This corporate tale reads like a fascinating thriller cum detective story. Except there is one twist. Remember that *we* the people are on the line for all the loan defaults.

First, Essar Steel gets listed as one of RBI’s ‘dirty dozen’ companies, i.e., companies that are sitting on a mountain of bad loans.

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So, Essar Steel is put up for auction. But then, the government learns something shocking.

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Essar Group was trying to buy its own company back at the auction, effectively discharging its defaulted loan AND buying back the asset at a rock bottom price. The next day, Modi Cabinet swung into action and rushed through an ordinance to stop this.

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NO! As a defaulter, Essar is prohibited from bidding. And no using “related parties” to get around the rules either.

Two bids come in: one from Russian Steel major Numetal and another from Arcelor Mittal. And Lakshmi Mittal, who may or may not be aware that the UPA era has ended, decides to “meet the Finance Minister” in order to “explain” why ArcelorMittal is the “best fit” for acquiring Essar Steel.

Ha! Meeting the Finance Minister was of no use. BOTH bidders were rejected. 

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The first bidder Numetal was rejected because it had some connection to Rewant Ruia, the son of Essar Group’s Ravi Ruia. Remember how Modi’s IBC prevents “related parties” from trying to buy back their own assets through the back door.

As for ArcelorMittal, they were rejected too, because they had some stakes in two other companies called Uttam Galva and KSS Petron that had defaulted on loans. Both companies moved the courts to save their bids, but it was of no help.

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The law was absolutely clear. The first bidder Numetal was allowed to place its bid only *after* it severed ties with the Ruias.

As for Arcelor Mittal, they were asked to pay back Rs 7000 crore of loan default before they could bid for Essar Steel.

Cut to October. With their tails firmly between their legs, Arcelor Mittal has now agreed to pay back all their dues.

Now you see why SBI Chairman is so relieved. We should be relieved too. SBI was a public sector bank. This was our money.

This is not just the story of one company or business. There are dozens of defaulters lining up all across India to pay back the loans they defaulted on.

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If you default on loans, you can’t do business. At least not until Modi is around. Now you have a good idea why the opposition desperately wants the chowkidaar out of office.

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Modi sarkar is moving the country from crony capitalism to a rule based regime, the foundation of any first world country. The days of “meeting” the Finance Minister and sorting out matters are long gone. But those days could come back after 2019. You can see why a huge section of vested interests in this country and beyond would want those days back. It is we the people who stand between them and their good old days. Remember that it’s our money, after all.

UK court orders to sell off expensive cars of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya

OpIndia Staff
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UK court orders to sell off expensive cars of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya

According to a Times of India report, a London court has ordered confiscation of 6 highly expensive cars in possession of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, to repay Indian Consortium of Banks’ Rs 10,000 crore. This comes after London HC ordered enforcement agencies to raid two of Vijay Mallya’s homes and take in possession goods after Mallya lost the case against Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal in court.


Courts asked enforcement to sell 6 cars with personalized number plates at worth no less than € 404,000, which amount to Rs 3 crore 40 lakh.

The cars include a Range Rover, a Ferrari F430 and Ferrari F512M, Mini Cooper, Bentley Turbo and Porsche Cayenne 2012 with the number plate 0007 VJM and Maybach 62 registration number ‘VJM1’.

The Indian government is also trying hard to extradite Vijay Mallya from England to India. On 31st July, UK court had asked Indian authorities to submit a ‘step by step video’ of the prison where Mallya would be kept. CBI had submitted nearly 10 minute-long video, about the conditions of the prison, Mallya would be kept in. Next hearing for extradition is on 10 December.

After two Congress MLA’s join BJP, party unit chief claims more Congress MLAs willing to crossover

OpIndia Staff
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After two Congress MLA’s join BJP, party unit chief claims more Congress MLAs willing to crossover

Goa Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte representing Shiroda and Mandrem assembly constituencies, respectively, resigned as members of the Legislative Assembly and also as primary members of the Congress party and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal in the national capital on October 16.

Amidst this latest development, BJP Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar claimed that more MLAs’ from the opposition party are waiting for crossover.

Vinay Tendulkar in his statement asserted, ‘more legislators from Congress may join either the saffron party or the regional parties that are part of the Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government’.

The resignation might come as a big blow to the Congress party as it would mean that the Congress’ status as the single largest party in Goa would dwindle, as the count of its MLAs would come down to 14 from previous 16.

Tendulkar, unwilling to disclose the names of the MLAs who he has claimed are willing to cross over or change loyalties, furthered, “The induction of Sopte and Shirodkar in the BJP is a part of the ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’.”

A senior leader from the Congress party reviewing the disassembling and contradicting BJPs’ claim said that their remaining 14 MLAs’ would remain intact.

Goa assembly is a 40 member assembly, out of which the BJP coalition government occupy 23 seats. These amount to 14 BJP MLAs, three from the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party respectively, as well as three independents.

As all the parties gear up for the 2018 assembly elections news emerge where several Congress members have quit, joining the BJP. Such defections have considerably helped the BJP to grow and yank dominance in several states.

A day back Former Mizoram Minister Buddha Dhan Chakma had quit the Congress party and is all set to join the BJP ahead of the polls, which is scheduled on November 28.

Just a few days after the declaration of elections dates in Chhattisgarh, there were reports of  Chhattisgarh Congress’ working president and Pali-Tanakhar MLA, Ramdayal Uike to have joined BJP.

Similarly, in the last few months, trouble seems to be intensifying for the Congress as several members have been reported to quit the party stating problems with the party’s current policies. Given the current scenario, it will only be interesting to see what stance the Congress adapts ahead of the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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