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Muslim man voted for Tejashwi, his wife voted for Modi: Viral video shows how women voted in record number to ensure NDA victory in Bihar

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim man voted for Tejashwi, his wife voted for Modi: Viral video shows how women voted in record number to ensure NDA victory in Bihar

A video of a Muslim couple talking about their choice of candidate in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly election is being widely shared in social media. In the video, a TV9 journalist is asking a Muslim couple as to which party they thought would win the state Assembly elections. To this the husband replied with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s name but, interestingly, the wife meekly responded with PM Modi’s name.

In the video, shared by a Twitter user who goes by the Twitter Id @atulahuja_, the TV9 journalist can be seen asking the man named Mohammad Taufeeq in Patna, “Whom will you make the King of Bihar?”. The man replied,”Tejashwi Yadav”. The journalist then put the same question to his wife who replied “Modi ji”. The journalist said how come there were different opinions in one family. The woman shyly said, “How does that matter?” When asked why she wanted Modi to win she said that he was nice and had done good work for people.

Apparently embarrassed by her wife’s reply, the husband said that she was joking because she was feeling nervous in front of the camera. However, the wife immediately corrected him and said that she was not joking. “Don’t lie. I am not joking”.

PM Modi credited women voters for Bihar victory

NDA’s victory in the Bihar Assembly elections is being attributed to the women voters in particular. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the credit of Bihar victory to women voters and said that women had voted this time in record numbers which showed how massive their contribution was in making an independent Bihar.

“Daughters and sisters have shows how massive their contribution is in making an independent Bihar by voting in record numbers. We are satisfied that NDA got an opportunity to give a new confidence to women power in past years. This confidence will help us in taking Bihar forward”, PM Modi tweeted yesterday.

Netizens indulge in meme-fest mocking Shiv Sena and Congress after SC grants bail to Arnab Goswami

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens indulge in meme-fest mocking Shiv Sena and Congress after SC grants bail to Arnab Goswami

The Supreme Court of India today granted bail to Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police at the behest of the Maharashtra government last week.

A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra hearing the petition said that Bombay High Court made an error in rejecting the application for grant of interim bail on technical grounds. The apex court also directed the Raigad police to ensure the compliance of the order of release of Arnab Goswami forthwith.

As the top court ordered Arnab Goswami’s bail, social media websites were flooded with memes that mocked the Shiv Sena party, Maha Vikas Aghadi, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi after Arnab secured interim relief in what is widely believed as a state-sponsored witch-hunt against the Republic TV.

One of the Twitter users shared Sanjay Raut’s picture saying “Next time SC judges will be from Shiv Sena”.

Another Twitter user shared a meme of Arnab Goswami chasing ‘stand-up comedian’ Kunal Kamra and Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.

Many others took a dig at the Maharashtra government which has shown little tolerance and showed eager alacrity to prosecute those who have dared to mock them on social media websites. One Twitter user said he wouldn’t create memes on Maharashtra government as he has no wish to spend his Diwali in jail.

The jibe was in response to the arrest of one Sameet Thakkar, who continues to remain under arrest for simply referring to Maharashtra environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray as “baby penguin”.

Others too joined in to poke fun at the Maharashtra government leaders after the top court granted bail to Arnab Goswami.

Arnab Goswami arrested in a closed case by Alibaug Police

The Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was arrested last Wednesday in connection with abetment to a suicide case of one Anvay Naik that was already closed. The Mumbai Police officers barged into the residence of Mr Goswami, manhandling him and his family members before arresting him.

Since then Arnab Goswami had been seeking ad-interim relief but was consistently denied bail by the Bombay High Court. He then approached the Supreme Court, which not only issued an immediate bail order for the journalist but also rapped the High Court for denying him bail.

Arnab Goswami at loggerheads with the Maharashtra government

Goswami had been in the bad books of the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police ever since he raised uncomfortable questions of the Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the horrifying lynching of the Hindu Sadhus in Palghar and referred to her with her maiden name “Antonio Maino”. Goswami had also been sharply critical of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Mumbai Police in the Palghar lynching case, following which a concerted attempt was undertaken to attack Republic TV.

Multiple FIRs were lodged against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV for their coverage on Palghar Hindu Sadhus lynching and Bandra migrant crisis. He was also interrogated for more than 11 hours by Mumbai Police. Subsequently, a Republic TV reporter and a cameraman were arrested by the police for pursuing an investigative story in Navi Mumbai. Journalist Pradeep Bhandari of Republic TV was encircled by Mumbai Police officials and illegally detained.

The witch-hunt against Republic TV reached a crescendo when Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh convened a press conference accusing the channel of indulging in manipulating TRPs. It was later found that India Today was mentioned in the complaint and not Republic TV. Accounts of witnesses being coerced into naming Republic TV as accused has also come to fore. The culmination of the witch-hunt, however, was the arrest of Arnab Goswami last Wednesday.

“Game of murders cannot go on in a democracy”: PM Modi raises the heat on TMC as a spate of BJP and Hindu activists killed in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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“Game of murders cannot go on in a democracy”: PM Modi raises the heat on TMC as a spate of BJP and Hindu activists killed in West Bengal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the celebrations over win in Bihar assembly elections organised at the party headquarters in New Delhi. Towards the end of his speech, he made significant comments on the ongoing attack on BJP workers and leaders in West Bengal.

He said that those who are unable to compete with BJP in democratic ways, those who are finding it difficult to challenge BJP democratically, such people have adopted the tactic of killing BJP workers. “In some parts of the country, they think that by killing the BJP workers they will succeed in their plans. I try to explain them with request, I do not need to threaten them, that will be done by the people”, the PM said, inviting cheers and applauds from the crowd present.

“Elections come and go, wins and losses keep happening, sometimes this party rules sometimes that party rules, but this game of murders can not go on in a democracy”, Narendra Modi said. Nobody can win votes by the game of murders, read these writings on the wall, the PM added, without naming any state or party.

Modi said that his party is devoted to democracy, and the party is committed fulfil the trust that the public has put upon the party.

Although Narendra Modi made the comments of murders of BJP workers without mentioning any details, it was clear that he was referring to West Bengal, where hundreds of BJP workers have been killed in the state, and BJP alleges that those murders have been done by TMC workers.

Modi’s comment came just a week after home minister Amit Shah had referred to the political murders in West Bengal during his visit to the state. During a rally in the state, Amit Shah had stated that violence and political killings had become the hallmark of the Mamata regime.

Saying that West Bengal tops the chart in political killings, Shah had asked CM Mamata Banerjee to release a white paper on political killings in the state. He also said that the state government has not sent the statistics of crime to the National Crime Record Bureau.

There have been several incident of murders of BJP leaders in the state. Last month, lawyer and BJP councillor from Titagarh Manish Shukla was shot dead by unknown assailants near Titagarh police station in Brackpore area. A week after that, one BJP worker hailing from Ranaghat in TMC ruled West Bengal’s Nadia district was brutally shot dead.

Other than shootings, bodies of BJP workers found hanging from trees in rural areas also happen regularly. BJP leaders have alleged that TMC goons are behind all these murders.

A large number of people gather outside Taloja Jail to welcome Arnab Goswami, light diyas on the street

OpIndia Staff
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A large number of people gather outside Taloja Jail to welcome Arnab Goswami, light diyas on the street

Minutes after the Supreme Court of India ordered the immediate release of Arnab Goswami, the Managing Director and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network, his supporters and fans came out on the streets across the country to celebrate his release. A large crowd also gathered outside the Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai, to greet the Editor of India’s largest TV news network when he comes out of the jail after formalities are completed.

Visuals shared on social media showed people lighting diyas outside the entrance gate of the jail, and a large number of people can be seen cheering the release.

The people gathered outside the gate could be heard chanting slogans of win of truth and defeat of falsehood.

Arnab Goswami’s supporters had started gathering outside the jail gate in the early evening, moments after the Supreme Court judgement came. The crowd continued to grow, and waited for several hours.

To control the crowd at the location, police had to deploy extra forces, so that the traffic movement on the road is not disrupted.

Till the time of writing this report, Arnab Goswami has not been released from Taloja Jail.

“MGB would have lost regardless of AIMIM candidates”: Asaduddin Owaisi punctures Congress’ “vote katua” allegations

OpIndia Staff
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“MGB would have lost regardless of AIMIM candidates”: Asaduddin Owaisi punctures Congress’ “vote katua” allegations

The Bihar assembly elections saw a close contest between the NDA alliance and the Mahagathbandhan alliance, with the former managing to win the elections with 125 seats, crossing the halfway mark required to form a government in the state. The victory of NDA in Bihar meant that the Congress party would continue its dismal electoral performance, losing yet another assembly poll. Soon after the trends indicated that MGB would fall short of the numbers required to form a government in Bihar, Congress attempted to fend off the inadequacies of the Congress party by pinning the blame of their defeat on AIMIM. 

Congress alleged that that Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, which won 5 of the 20 seats it fought in the Bihar elections, acted as a “vote katua” party which resulted in Congress’ defeat.

However, these allegations were staunchly opposed by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who took to Twitter to demolish the claims made by the Congress party. He had alleged that Congress is blaming its failures on AIMIM’s success. 

Owaisi shared the statistics of the 20 seats on which his party’s candidates fought elections. Out of 20 seats that AIMIM fought on, they won 5 while MGB bagged 9 seats and the NDA emerged victorious in the remaining 6 seats.

Sharing the details of the victory margins of the NDA candidates on the 6 seats that they won, Owaisi alleged that the margin was higher than the total votes secured by AIMIM candidates on those seats. Meaning, NDA would have won even if all those votes received by AIMIM had gone to MGB. As the votes received by AIMIM in those seats is less then the margin of victory of NDA candidates, the MGB candidates would have still ended up losing the seats. 

On Sahebgunj seat, NDA alliance partner VIP’s Raju Kumar Singh won the elections with the victory margin of over 15,000 votes. The AIMIM candidate in this constituency managed to get only 4000 odd votes. 

Similarly, BJP candidates from Chhatapur won with the vote margin of over 20,000 votes. Here, too, AIMIM candidate Alam could manage to secure only 1,990 votes. 

In Narpatganj, Jai Prakash Yadav from BJP won by over 28,500 votes while the AIMIM candidate got 5,495 votes. 

Similar was the story for Pranpur, Raniganj and Barari constituencies, where the NDA candidates secured a significantly higher number of votes as compared to their AIMIM counterparts, indicating that the votes collected by Owaisi’s party would have made little difference on the final outcome if they had not contested the elections and all of their votes had gone to MGB candidates.

It is notable that AIMIM had fielded Hindu candidates in several seats, like Phulwari, Sahabpur Kamal, Manihari, Raniganj and Barari. Therefore, even if AIMIM had not contested in those seats, it can’t be said that all of those votes would have gone to MGB candidates, and and some AIMIM votes could have gone to NDA candidates also.

Owaisi says Congress leadership is politically impotent to take on the Modi government

Earlier yesterday, Owaisi and Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera were involved in a heated argument over mutual allegations of radicalisation. Khera had gone on to allege that AIMIM’s “counter-radicalisation “ helped NDA secure majority in the state. 

These allegations were fiercely opposed by the AIMIM chief, who contended that Congress’ time is over and yet the party refuses to see the winning on the wall. He accused them of hiding their own shortcomings which led to their defeat.

Owaisi tore into the Congress party, claiming that the party leadership was “politically impotent” to take on the Modi government. He also also accused Congress of being a party that promoted radicalisation of youth, with its former PM Rajiv Gandhi opening the locks of Babri structure and more recently, by allying with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

Delhi Government bans Chhath Puja in public places including riverbanks and temples

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Government bans Chhath Puja in public places including riverbanks and temples

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has issued orders banning Chhath Puja in public places. Chief Secretary and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) executive committee chairman Vijay Dev has ordered all DMs and DDCs of Police and all authorities concerned to ensure that the Chhath Puja rituals in November do not occur at public places, riverbanks, temples, etc.

The order has been passed to maintain social distancing regulations amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last few weeks, the number of cases in Delhi has increased exponentially. The government has also banned firecrackers in Delhi during Diwali stating that the increase in pollution may spike the number of Covid-19 cases. The government has said those who want to celebrate the Chhath festival can do it in their private spaces. However, they have to maintain the social distancing norms while performing rituals even on the rooftops.

Hold meetings with religious and community leaders

The Delhi government has asked DMs and DCPs to meet religious and community leaders and Chhath Puja Samitis before the festival and ask them for cooperation to maintain law and order.

Chhath’s importance in Delhi

Chhath Puja is celebrated in Delhi on a large scale by the natives of eastern UP and Bihar. This year the festival will be celebrated on 20th and 21st November. The devotees worship the Sun God at a nearby water body such as a river, pond, or tank. Last year, over 1100 ghats were marked for the festivities.

Pro-Beijing administration in Hong Kong disqualifies four pro-democracy legislators, other lawmakers threaten to resign

OpIndia Staff
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Pro-Beijing administration in Hong Kong disqualifies four pro-democracy legislators, other lawmakers threaten to resign

The Communist Party of China has continued to trample pro-democratic voices in Hong Kong after they forced their proxy administration in Hong Kong to disqualify four lawmakers on Wednesday citing a threat to national security.

According to the reports, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee after holding a series of meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday passed a resolution to disqualify those who support the city’s independence or refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty over the city.

The Standing Committee has removed the four lawmakers accusing them of committing acts that threaten national security and asking external forces to interfere in the city’s affairs.

Following the arbitrary disqualification of four pro-democracy lawmakers, several lawmakers have also warned against the disqualification saying that they would resign if the Hong Kong government does not reconsider their decision. The four lawmakers disqualified lawmakers are Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung.

“In terms of legality and constitutionality, obviously from our point of view this is clearly in breach of basic law and our rights to participate in public affairs, and a failure to observe due process,” said Kwok.

Reportedly, the new resolution was brought by Beijing through China-backed Hong Kong Chief executive Carrie Lam, who wanted the four lawmakers to be gone immediately as the term of the current legislation was extended for one year until 2021. The latest resolution comes nearly four months after the draconian National Security Law was passed by Beijing, which allowed them to prosecute anybody demanding separation from China.  

Anti-India sentiment is the ‘Churan’ that sells the most in Pakistan: Imran Khan’s party leader admits on TV

OpIndia Staff
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Anti-India sentiment is the ‘Churan’ that sells the most in Pakistan: Imran Khan’s party leader admits on TV

Pakistan’s politics runs on the fuel of India bashing and exploiting anti-India sentiment of Pakistan’s population, this fact has been admitted by Pakistani politician Firdous Ashiq Awan on Pakistani television. Awan was speaking to ARY News after being appointed as Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister and given the charge of Information Department which was earlier held by Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chauhan.

The news anchor asked Awan whether she agreed with Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chauhan’s statement in which he said that the government pleased India by removing him and that whether serious issues like treason and linking things with India and Prime Minister Modi had become very common in Pakistan. To this Awan replied that anti-India sentiment of the people of Pakistan is the best-selling product. “See, the anti-Indian sentiment of Pakistan’s people is a churan (powder) that sells the most. So if something sells the most on a shop, people sell it more. When the news anchor asked her whether the Pakistani government was selling the same churan, she said that not just the government by everyone was selling it.

Countering Awan, the news anchor said that the opposition in Pakistan was not selling this anti-India churan and that only government was selling it. Awan took a dig at the opposition and said that the opposition had sold such spices that Modi relished.

Pakistan thrives on anti-India sentiment and this is manifested every time the parody country tries to attack India. Recently, Pakistan’s attempt to push its anti-India propaganda at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) failed after Malidives came out in India’s defence. Pakistan’s PM and ministers usually spend their time on Twitter spreading falsehoods against the Indian government and closely following Indian politics, trying to find issues where they can cite the Indian government and spread their propaganda.

After Shiv Sena lost deposits on all the seats it fought in Bihar, party mouthpiece Saamana says credit must be given to it if Nitish Kumar becomes the CM

OpIndia Staff
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After Shiv Sena lost deposits on all the seats it fought in Bihar, party mouthpiece Saamana says credit must be given to it if Nitish Kumar becomes the CM

Even though Shiv Sena witnessed an embarrassing poll drubbing in the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections, it didn’t stop the Uddhav Thackeray-led party from taking a swipe at the BJP, a party which leads the victorious NDA alliance. In its mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena jeered at the BJP by claiming if the Nitish Kumar retains the post of chief minister despite his party winning less number of seats, credit must go to Shiv Sena.

In its editorial article, Shiv Sena contended that Nitish Kumar would become the chief minister of Bihar despite his party bagging less number of seats than the BJP because of the political drama that unfolded in the aftermath of the Maharashtra elections last year when the BJP had allegedly not kept its word for a rotational chief ministerial post.

Sena, which lost deposits on all the 22 seats it fought in the Bihar assembly polls, mocked the JDU for winning just 43 seats while its alliance partner, BJP bagged more than 70 seats.

“If Nitish Kumar becomes the chief minister despite winning fewer seats, its credit should go to the Shiv Sena,” the Saamana editorial said. 

“BJP leader Amit Shah had assured that Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister of the state even if JDU scores less number of seats than the BJP. A similar kind of assurance was given to the Shiv Sena during the 2019 Assembly polls in Maharashtra, which was not honoured and the state witnessed a political ‘Mahabharat’,” the editorial said.

Furthermore, the article also went on to lavish praises on the RJD leader Tejshawi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan chief ministerial candidate, for putting up a formidable fight in the elections.

“Bihar is ushering in the Tejashwi era. He has single-handedly put up a brave fight against those in power. It would be an injustice on the part of Tejshawi to say Modi’s charisma worked in Bihar. The election which appeared lopsided initially was turned on its head because of Tejshawi Yadav,” it said. 

Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis had categorically denied making any assurances regarding CM post to Shiv Sena

While Shiv Sena claims that Shah promised them a chief ministerial post before the elections, the Union Home Minister has emphatically denied on more occasions than one of providing any kind of assurances for CM post to Shiv Sena.

Shah also highlighted how no one from Shiv Sena raised objections when Devendra Fadnavis was promoted as the chief ministerial candidate during the entire election campaign. “The entire election campaigning promoted him as the CM candidate, and no one ever questioned it. We won about 70 per cent seats on which we fought, and Shiv Sena won on 42 per cent seats it fought on,” he said.

Even former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis categorically denied having made any promises of providing the chief ministerial position to Shiv Sena for 2.5 years. He claimed that the agreement over the rotational chief ministerial post which Shiv Sena continuously cited following the election result was never discussed before the polls.

BJP and Shiv Sena had jointly contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2019 but the alliance fell apart over the rift on the chief ministerial post. Shiv Sena had claimed that the BJP had agreed for 50-50 agreement, with a rotational chief ministerial post for a period of 2.5 years each. However, BJP leaders denied making any such promises to its alliance partners and highlighted how Devendra Fadnavis was projected as the chief ministerial candidate by the alliance while soliciting votes from the people.

Subsequently, Shiv Sena broke the alliance with the BJP and joined hands with its ideological rivals, Congress and the NCP, to form Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance to rule Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray was then elected as the chief minister of the state.

Chirag Paswan and Asaduddin Owaisi are being accused of being vote-katwas and b-team of BJP. But are they?

Editorial Desk
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Chirag Paswan and Asaduddin Owaisi are being accused of being vote-katwas and b-team of BJP. But are they?

Vote-katwa or vote-cutter is a very well-known term in Bihar politics and outside Bihar too. It basically refers to candidates who eats into the assumed vote bank or support base of another candidate, thus weakening him or her.

Both Asaduddin Owaisi and Chirag Paswan are being termed such by supporters of MGB (Mahagathbandhan of RJD, Congress, and Left parties) and NDA (BJP, JD(U) and allies) respectively. Owaisi is being especially targeted, because those pointing fingers at him include ‘independent’ journalists.

First of all, one has to understand who is a real vote-katwa. The ideal or genuine vote-katwa is never in the fray for winning at all. He knows it right from the beginning that he is just there to weaken someone else and he has no chance of scoring a victory, though obviously he doesn’t say so openly. On many occasions, they are propped and paid to be a vote-katwa, while on other occasions, they could be acting out of their own volition.

They could be propped up in advance as ‘true’ representative of a support base, or could be a last minute angry or dissident leader deciding to fight elections, and in some cases, they could be candidates with strikingly similar names to confuse a few voters – yes, the last types do exist. Just go through ECI websites and check candidate lists of some constituencies randomly, and there are high chances you can spot such candidates.

Now let’s see if Owaisi and Paswan, rather their respective parties AIMIM and LJP, really qualify to be slotted into such categories. The last one obviously is ruled out as they clearly were not putting up candidates with similar names. The main criterion to declare them as vote-katwa or not is to understand if they had gone into the battle fully knowing that they will not win.

One thing common between Owaisi and Paswan is that both of them didn’t put up candidates in all constituencies, and so they clearly knew that they are not going to win the assembly elections of their own. However, that doesn’t in itself make one a vote-katwa, because by that standard, every small party or independent candidates are vote-katwas.

One will have to see that in the regions and constituencies selected by them, did they get into the battle fully knowing that they had no chance of winning, or they gave their best fight to try to win in those areas. Also, the reasons and motivations behind selecting the constituencies – whether because they were strong in those pockets or because they wanted to weaken someone there – also become relevant.

On this criterion, Paswan appears a vote-katwa of sort because he deliberately chose constituencies where JD(U) was fighting while leaving most of the seats contested by BJP unchallenged. This hints at a mindset that the primary motive was not to win, but to weaken the JD(U). However, the fact that he also pitted some candidates against the BJP can be argued that winnability was a factor too.

LJP ended up winning one seat of its own while it garnered votes that were more than the margin of loss of JD(U) candidates in around 25 seats. From JD(U)’s point of view, this is vote-katwa written all over it. Since it ended up making BJP the ‘bigger brother’ in the NDA, one can accuse Chirag as being the b-team of the BJP. So can Chirag Paswan and LJP be termed vote-katwa?

Not really. What LJP can argue in its favour, and they won’t be wrong, is that they never tried to hide this anti-JD(U) targeting at any point of time. Remember that a vote-katwa never publicly admits being so.

Chirag Paswan from the beginning said that his displeasure was with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar and not with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. He used to claim that he would form the government along with BJP after the results. A vote-katwa doesn’t publicly announce that his primary intention is to hurt a particular party only.

Further, Chirag inherits his politics from his father Ram Vilas Paswan who founded LJP. Senior Paswan unfortunately passed away before the elections, but he had founded LJP with an aim of being king-maker and not vote-katwa. In February 2005 Bihar assembly elections, Ram Vilas Paswan and LJP indeed ended up being the king-makers. However senior Paswan then refused to support either side, which led to another assembly elections for Bihar in October same year. Perhaps Chirag Pawan thought he could repeat the feat of February 2005, and thus he indeed was motivated to win on seats his party was contesting.

Therefore, LJP can’t really be accused of being a vote-katwa, though some allegations could stick.

Now let’s come to AIMIM i.e. Asaduddin Owaisi’s Hyderabad based party, which was supposed to be just a one-man party on a national stage for all practical purposes. But over the years the party has registered its presence way beyond Hyderabad. In Bihar assembly election 2020, his party won 5 seats and he could as well have become the king-maker if 4-5 seats of NDA were lost to MGB.

Owaisi has since announced that his party could fight the upcoming West Bengal assembly election too, and that has further led to him being a vote-katwa, apparently working in tandem with BJP to hurt ‘secular’ parties by eating away their Muslim votes. Congress and some ‘independent’ journalists never shy away from terming him the b-team of BJP. But is he?

With talk of khilafat 2.0, and “diminishing political representation of muslims”, India is almost re-living what happened exactly hundred years back. We have seen dubious individuals at Jamia Millia Islamia University, who are associated with an organisation that is considered the ‘Blood Brother’ of a banned Radical Islamic outfit, giving calls for Jihad following which violence erupted at the national capital. During the anti-CAA protests, even the Aligarh Muslim University, the founder of which gave the two-nation theory that led to the partition of the country, witnessed great violence.

In past few years we have witness an elaborate network of Islamic fundamentalist organizations whose people spread across the media and Universities attempted to foment discord within the country. The violence that shook Delhi earlier this year cannot be disassociated from this network by any means. Pro-Jinnah slogans were raised and ruling ‘secular’ dispensation watched as mute spectators because they did not wish to hurt their Muslim vote-bank.

Owaisi type of leader was bound to rise in India just as Jinnah rose during India’s independence. Owaisi is without a doubt fighting to win. He wants to establish Muslim authority and makes no effort fo shy away from it. And while he may end up hurting the electoral prospects of other parties, he is still fighting to win. That is why from for him, moving to West Bengal as next battleground is only natural progression.

To dismiss his political aspirations as ‘vote-katwa’ just because Congress, which even gave ticket to a pro-Jinnah leader to fight Bihar election, does not have monopoly over ‘Muslim votes’ for pretending to be a centrist party just reeks of entitlement.

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