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After brutally murdering Kamlesh Tiwari, Ashfaq spoke to his wife and father: Listen to the call

OpIndia Staff
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After brutally murdering Kamlesh Tiwari, Ashfaq spoke to his wife and father: Listen to the call

In an audio recording obtained, one of the prime accused in Kamlesh Tiwari murder case, Ashfaq, who is now in police custody, is heard speaking to his wife and father, soon after he killed Tiwari on October 18.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FJf-4UBomg]

The wife, who sounded perturbed on the phone, inquires about Ashfaq’ well being and urges him to come back home. She is heard asking him where he is at that moment, to which Ashfaq replies that he is en route Lucknow and he was earlier in Shahjahanpur.

His wife asks as to why is he going to Lucknow and not returning home. She then hands over the phone to Ashfaq’s father who informs him that Gujarat ATS had interrogated his family. The father again assures Ashfaq that he has his family’s backing and asks him to come back home. At this point, Ashfaq is heard telling his family that he is using someone else’s phone and that he will call them back.

During the conversation, it seems apparent that Ashfaq’s family is aware of the crime he has committed. But what remains a mystery here is why Ashfaq tells his family that he is going to Lucknow. Whether he is trying to mislead his family by giving them his wrong whereabouts as he fears that his phone was being tapped or whether he wanted to surrender in Lucknow after committing the crime remains a mystery.

Read: Moinuddin and Ashfaq went to a nearby Lucknow hotel after murder, discarded Bhagwa clothes recovered

On October 22, Gujarat ATS has nabbed Ashfaq and Moinuddin, the two prime accused in the case from Gujarat-Rajasthan border. According to a press note released by the Gujarat Police, a team led by DIG ATS Himanshu Shukla had apprehended Ashfaqhussain Jakirhussain Shaikh, who worked as a medical representative in a pharma company and Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan, who worked as a food delivery boy with Zomato. Ashfaq had forged his colleague’s Aadhaar to pose as Rohit Solanki, a Hindu rights activist, to gain the trust of Tiwari.

The duo was caught after they approached their family members after they ran out of the money they had.

Read: By speaking against Rasulullah, you have invited your own doom: When Asaduddin Owaisi had threatened Kamlesh Tiwari

The radical Islamists, Ashfaq and Moinuddin had checked into a Lucknow hotel from where the Police had recovered Bhagwa clothes that were worn by them. While one CCTV footage of Ashfaq and Moinuddin checking into the Lucknow hotel had emerged, another CCTV footage also emerged, in which one could see that Moinuddin and Ashfaq have changed into their Bhagwa clothes and are leaving the hotel to commit the brutal murder of Kamlesh Tiwari.

On 18th October 2019, Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari was brutally murdered for his 2015 comments where he had called Prophet Muhammad gay. The Uttar Pradesh police and Gujarat ATS sprung into action to blow the lid off a Surat-based Jihadi group that was indoctrinated by one of the accused who planned the murder, Maulana Mohsin Sheikh. Two other conspirators, Rashid Pathan and Faizan Sheikh have been arrested on late Tuesday evening from Surat in Gujarat in connection with the murder.

While Ashfaq and Moinuddin will be handed over to the UP Police for further investigation, the other three accused have already been sent to UP on transit remand.

Today, Gujarat ATS arrested one maulana named Sayyed Kaifi Ali of Bareilly on charges of helping the killers of Tiwari which took the total number of arrests to six.

Rules of Congress Mukht Bharat: BJP and Congress are no longer in the same league, far from it

Abhishek Banerjee
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Rules of Congress Mukht Bharat: BJP and Congress are no longer in the same league, far from it

For those who might not remember, here are the results of the 2009 State Assembly Elections in Haryana.

Congress: 40 seats

INLD: 31 seats

No typo there. In a funny coincidence, the numbers are exactly the same as what came out yesterday.

BJP: 40 seats

Congress: 31 seats

Add to that the fact that in 2009, the Congress tally actually crashed from 67 seats (and 43% vote share) in 2005 to 40 seats (and 35% vote share). In contrast, the BJP which was nowhere in Haryana just five years ago is down 7 seats and has actually increased its vote share by 3% compared to the last Assembly elections.

Of course, political parties will say whatever is convenient to them at any given point of time. The same Bhoopinder Hooda who saw the Congress tally crash from 67 to 42 in 2009 had gladly claimed the mandate for himself. Now he thinks that 40:31 means that the BJP has lost its mandate to rule.

The difference, however, is in the general reaction of media, both left and right-wing, to the results of yesterday. And even in the hearts of BJP supporters.

Isn’t that unfair? BJP supporters may ask others and even themselves? Well, yes, but not as much as you might think.

Because the rules of the game have indeed changed a lot over the last ten years. BJP and Congress are no longer even in the same political league. Because we are now playing by the new rules of Congress Mukt Bharat. PM Modi promised it himself in a particularly inspiring speech from 2013. We all yearned for it. He delivered it. We have to now learn to play by the new rules of this new India. It is a great honour and a great responsibility for BJP, its leaders, its workers and all its supporters.

Yesterday, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a statement that was beyond pathetic.

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Really happy, she says. With Haryana and Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In Haryana, Congress lost for the second time in a row. They slipped to 4th position in Maharashtra for the first time since independence. In Uttar Pradesh, there were 11 bypolls and the Congress didn’t even manage to open its account.

Really happy, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says. And we are all really happy for her.

This is what Congress has been reduced to. We have heard of passing candidates being graded as “First class”, “Second class” or Distinction. I’ve never heard of similar things among failing candidates. But Congress now takes failing as a given. I suppose they are coming up with “grades of failing” to feel better about themselves.

In this vein, I suppose Uttar Pradesh is a “Second Class FAIL”. They lost all 11 seats but managed to increase vote share. Maharashtra would be slightly better, a “First Class FAIL,” because here they missed 3rd position among 4 parties by only 10 seats. And Haryana would be the best, a “FAIL with Distinction,” because here the Congress “won” the post of Leader of Opposition.

Really happy, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says.

Ultimately, it is the mindset which separates the winners from the losers. Congress is happy with their failing grades. NCP is happy because they have not been wiped out. The liberal ecosystem yesterday showered all manner of praise on Sharad Pawar for some kind of iconic photo of his addressing a rally amid heavy downpour. Their top leadership takes off for Bangkok at every opportunity. When someone actually stays back to fight the election, it seems like a huge deal of commitment.

Even one BJP ally is happy. Their strike rate is much lower than the BJP’s 70% (105 out of 152 seats contested) but they are “happy” in hopes of a better deal from the BJP.

The only people who seemed worried yesterday were the day’s biggest winners. The BJP. Concerned about lower seat tallies in Haryana and Maharashtra. They spent most of the day in closed-door meetings, discussing what went “wrong.” This might be the first time in decades that a sitting Chief Minister is coming back after five full years in power, but the BJP, right from the party President to the common supporter, has learned to take these things for granted. At one point, news channels reported that the BJP state chief in Haryana had resigned.

This when the party is sure to form its government in both states with the same Chief Minister for another five years each. Few would even remember that Khattar and Fadnavis are actually the first BJP Chief Ministers in their respective states.

It’s a symptom of a party that is alive, thriving and understands its position in history. A party that does not have to remind its supporters that they are still young.

Here’s some comic relief. Where is Rahul Gandhi? I suppose he is “really happy” too. And we are all really happy for him.

AIMIM’s Waris Pathan loses Byculla by nearly 20,000 votes, his supporters abuse Ajaz Khan who had got only 2173 votes

OpIndia Staff
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AIMIM’s Waris Pathan loses Byculla by nearly 20,000 votes, his supporters abuse Ajaz Khan who had got only 2173 votes

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Waris Parthan made a dramatic post on Facebook on Thursday after losing the Assembly Election in Maharashtra from the Byculla Constituency. The post claimed that it wasn’t only Waris Pathan who suffered a defeat, the whole Muslim community lost yesterday. The post also called him ‘true leader of Mumbai’.

Source: Facebook/Waris Pathan

Pathan had added an image where he was posing with a sword. The sword also had  “Sher of Maharashtra Janab Waris Pathan (MLA)” printed on it, along with the name of the presenters.

Some of his followers, consistent with the dramatic nature of the post, resorted to abusing actor Ajaz Khan for the defeat calling him ‘traitor’ and worse in the comments section. They claimed the controversial actor was the sole reason for Pathan’s defeat and insinuated that he was paid to contest the election from that very seat. The basis for this assumption was that Ajaz Khan divided the Muslim vote in the constituency, thus, resulting in Pathan’s defeat.

Some comments, although they didn’t name Ajaz Khan specifically, insinuated that the defeat could be attributed to a ‘traitor’. It was also claimed that Allah is watching those ‘traitors’ who caused Waris Pathan’s defeat.

Interestingly, not just actor Ajaz Khan, the Byculla constituency had several other Muslim candidates too. But Waris Pathan’s supporters chose only to blame the actor. Even NOTA had got more votes than Ajaz Khan.

Facts and figures

In reality, Waris Pathan’s defeat had nothing to do with Ajaz Khan. Shiv Sena candidate Yamini Yashwant Jadhav secured 41.03% of the votes while Pathan could manage only 24.98% of them. Ajaz Khan meanwhile secured 2174 votes which amounted to a vote share of 1.74%. Thus, as is obvious, the margin of victory for Jadhav was so great that the votes that went to Ajaz Khan were utterly insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

Source: ECI

The AIMIM won two seats in Maharashtra, Dhule City and Malegaon Central. However, the real surprise was the party’s victory in Bihar’s Kishanganj where the demography is heavily in its favour. It is the party’s first-ever win in the ‘Hindi Belt’. Qamrul Hoda beat his nearest rival, BJP’s Sweety Singh by a margin of 10,204 votes in the Kishanganj bypoll.

BJP in Haryana elections: Low voter turnout, split in non-Jat votes and ticket distribution woes

Sandeep Singh
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BJP in Haryana elections: Low voter turnout, split in non-Jat votes and ticket distribution woes

BJP was widely expected to coast to a comfortable win in Haryana after the party won 10/10 seats in Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, and all the Exit polls (except Axis) hinted at the same. However, the actual results proved all those exit polls wrong as BJP fell short of majority mark and had to take support from 7 independents (including 5 BJP rebels) and tainted Gopal Kanda to form the government.

BJP’s vote share has gone up from 2014 assembly elections when it got 33% votes compared to 36% now, but it is a huge dip from the 58% votes it got during Lok Sabha elections earlier this year and it must have left party leadership with a lot of soul searching to do. 8 ministers in Manohar Lal Khattar government ended up losing in this election. The state president of the party lost with a whopping 52,000 votes. It is clear that the people were not very happy with the local leadership of the party. Arrogance is a word one always hears while talking to locals about the state BJP leaders and maybe this will make them a bit more humble going forward.

Read: Exit Polls: The biggest losers in Haryana and Maharashtra elections

While the party wasn’t expected to do well at all in Deswali belt, where Hoodas returned with a one-sided sweep, BJP’s performance fell below expectations in several other districts as well.

In North Haryana, they ended up with an even split with Congress across Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar. Even in CM’s home turf of Karnal, which they swept last time, they ended up losing in Assandh and Nilokheri.

BJP had cracked a winning formula in Haryana, Modi brand + Khattar’s clean image (in a state where people are not used to a CM with no corruption allegation) + consolidation of non-Jat voters. However, the non-Jat votes didn’t consolidate this time unlike Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, Jat votes expectedly stayed away from BJP, rallying behind Hoodas and Dushyant Chautala. Such was Jat’s anger with BJP that even senior Jat leaders of BJP like Captain Abhimanyu and OP Dhankad were handed comprehensive defeats.

BJP highlighted Chief Minister ML Khattar’s clean image during the elections and while everyone agrees that he has reduced the practice of bribes from Government jobs, the fact is, there were just not enough jobs during his tenure. The state which has a very high preference for government jobs, is currently having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and Article 370 or Khattar’s personal honesty doesn’t satisfy them as much as a Government job would.

Low voter turnout, particularly in urban segments affected BJP in particular. The voting percentage dipped from 76% last time to 63% this time. Could be lack of enthusiasm for the government or just complacency with everyone predicting an easy BJP win, but it seriously dented BJP.

Another big problem for BJP this election turned out to be the ticket distribution. Turncoats from INLD and parachute candidates were given preference over BJP workers and that severely affected them in around 10 seats. While 5 of the independents who won were formerly with BJP, rebels also decisively hurt their chances in seats like Sirsa and Rewari.
Despite Jat consolidation against them and the complacency that had set in among a section of the party, they still could have managed a majority on their own with a better selection of candidates.

Narendra Modi remains immensely popular in the state and a national election will still deliver the same result for BJP that we saw during Lok Sabha in Haryana but it has been a humbling experience for the local leadership. BJP will do well to realize that 370 and National security are important issues in Lok Sabha elections but in assembly elections, local unemployment matters more to people than those issues.

Baghpat: While one village remains tense after discovery of cow carcasses, Muslim family of cow-smugglers attacks police team in another

OpIndia Staff
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Baghpat: While one village remains tense after discovery of cow carcasses, Muslim family of cow-smugglers attacks police team in another

The Baghpat area of Uttar Pradesh has been gripped with crimes of cow slaughter, illegal meat business and mob violence by cow smugglers and their kin since Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, several cow carcasses were found dumped in the Luhari village under Bohle police station. The case had created tension in the area as locals had alleged police inaction over rampant cow slaughter cases.

As per reports, locals and Hindu groups have alleged police inaction in several such cases. Local villagers in Luhari had protested at the spot and demanded immediate action against police officials. SP Pratap Gopendra and DM Shakuntala Gautam reportedly reached the spot and taking action, had suspended the entire staff of Bohla station, including two inspectors, one head constable and three constables.

Reports had mentioned that 23 such incidents had happened in the Baghpat area in 2019 alone. There have been several cases of illegal slaughter, discarding of cow carcasses and cow smuggling.

In May, nine cow carcasses were found in the Singhavali and Naya Gaon area in Baghpat. They were discarded after slaughter. Many other villages have also reported dumped cow carcasses allegedly after slaughter by cow smugglers.

After protests at Luhari village, police have taken some action and investigated some local hotels of the area for alleged purchasing of cow meat. As per a report in Jansatta, three police teams have been formed. 13 people from various restaurants and meat supplying agencies have been apprehended so far. The police have stated that the detained individuals have so far been unable to tell where they buy meat from.

Meerut IG Alok Singh has reportedly stated that incidents of cow slaughter will not be tolerated and police officials in the area will face action if such incidents happen in their area.

In another incident, a police team that had gone to arrest two absconding cow smugglers Salman and Farman from their village in Barnava was attacked, beaten up and held hostage by the family members and relatives of the cow smugglers on Wednesday evening.

Read: Uttar Pradesh: police arrested a man with 3 quintals cow meat from Pukhrayan town

As per reports, ASI Madan Singh, Sattar Ali, Head Constable Gajendra Singh and three constables had reached the Barnava village in search of the two absconding cow smugglers Salman and Farman.

The accused, their family members, including the women reportedly surrounded the policemen and started pelting stones. The police team was held hostage by the family members of Salman and Farman.

The police team could only be rescued after teams from other police stations reached the spot. The additional forces finally managed to rescue the officials and arrest the accused Salman, Farman and Firoze. The three brothers.

The injured policemen were sent to the district hospital for treatment.

Read: Ayodhya: Severed head of cows discarded after slaughter, police arrest 4

It is notable here that the Barnava village has been in news previously for crimes related to cow smuggling and slaughter. In June, 9 persons were arrested from the same village after repeated cases of cow smuggling and slaughter. The police had stated that the gang used to smuggle cows, or capture stray cows, take them to the riverside in the forest to slaughter and smuggle the meat in surrounding areas.

The Uttar Pradesh police had announced last year that gangster act and NSA will be applied on repeat offenders in cow smuggling and slaughter cases. Despite this, the criminals seem to be far from afraid.

Oxford University Student’s Union bans clapping to prevent triggering anxiety, to be replaced by ‘Jazz Hands’ to be more ‘inclusive’

OpIndia Staff
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Oxford University Student’s Union bans clapping to prevent triggering anxiety, to be replaced by ‘Jazz Hands’ to be more ‘inclusive’

In a bizarre decision, the Oxford University Student’s Union has passed a motion to ban clapping on campus, claiming that it would trigger the anxiety of students.

According to reports, the ‘snowflake’ students at Oxford University have demanded that clapping should be banned because applause noise can trigger anxiety and want “jazz hands” to be used instead.

The use of jazz hands, where students wave their hands in the air is the British Sign Language expression for applause and is deemed a more inclusive gesture.

The motion passed by the Oxford University SU mandates the encouragement of jazz hands to signify applause instead of clapping. It was passed by officers of the SU on Tuesday in an effort to be more “inclusive”.

Roisin McCallon, one of the officers at Oxford SU, defended the decision stating, “The policy was proposed in order to encourage the use of British Sign Language clapping during our democratic events, to make those events more accessible and inclusive for all, including people who suffer from anxiety. Inclusivity is one of the Students’ Union’s founding principles.”

Reportedly, the Student’s union argued that alternatives to traditional clapping have been in place to aid accessibility in some organisations since 2015. The ban on clapping will be followed at student union meetings and events where traditional clapping and cheering ‘presents an access issue’ to those with anxiety disorders.

Also Read: Student group of TISS demands scrapping of awards like Gold medal as it ‘upholds concept of merit’

However, some students have expressed their disagreement over banning of clapping on the university campus. “Oxford University Student Union is always seeking to be more accommodating. But this idea will not work and is completely ludicrous,” a former student fumed.

Critics say that such behaviour is typical of the “snowflake generation” of students, who are seen as over-sensitive.

The move by the Oxford Student’s Union comes after the University of Manchester Students Union passed a motion to do the same thing in September last year. Similarly, the delegates from the University of Durham at the National Union of Students conference proposed a motion in April 2017 to ban not only clapping but “whooping” at future NUS events.

Ironically, Oxford University decision to ban clapping to be more “accessible” is actually not inclusive as they claim as they have now excluded another minority on campus – blind students. The students with visual impairments have now lost a crucial audio cue. Even though deaf students can still see applause even if they don’t hear the sound of clapping, blind students cannot hear jazz hands as it does not make any sound.

Indian flag will be unfurled in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir soon: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Indian flag will be unfurled in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir soon: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

On Thursday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh asserted that days are not far off when it will be possible to unfurl the Indian flag in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

Speaking at an event to rename Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister Jitendra Singh said that he has faith that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the day is not far off when it will be possible to unfurl that tricolour or ‘Nishan’ for which Shyama Prasad Mukherjee sacrificed his life in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

The 9 km-long Chenani-Nashri tunnel, which was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in 2017 has been renamed after former BJP stalwart Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Minister Singh said that due to “some compulsions” in 2017, the tunnel could not be named after Mukherjee.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh credited Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for accepting the proposal of renaming the tunnel after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee without wasting time.

Singh also noted that 66 years ago on May 11, 1953, Mukherjee was arrested from Lakhanpur in an illegal manner without any FIR, charge sheet or warning and was taken to Srinagar through this Chenani-Nashri road. After Mukherjee’s death on June 23, 1953 his mother wrote to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to hold an enquiry into his death.

“For some reasons then Prime Minister Nehru did not pay heed to that letter, no enquiry was done. It is a new era now. It was Nehru government then, today it is the Modi government. That probe or lapse can not be compensated but this tribute for the coming generation will preserve his heritage and memory. The lapse on part of Nehru government has been atoned by Modi government,” he said.

The Modi government’s decision to rename the tunnel comes over two months after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.

Also Read- ‘Pakistan was split after 1971 war, don’t repeat 1971 mistake, else you understand what will happen to PoK’: Rajnath Singh warns Pakistan

Jitendra Singh’s recent statement is just a reiteration of his stand on the issue of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Earlier in September, Jitendra Singh had said that the day was not far when Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will be a part of India.

The decision to abrogate Article 370 provisions was taken to restore the position of Jammu and Kashmir as it was when handed over by its last ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, he said.

“The abrogation of Article 370 will benefit the common man of Jammu and Kashmir, ending their exploitation. The day is not far when the PoK will be a part of India,” he had said at an event to mark the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh.

The Chenani–Nashri Tunnel was built at the cost of Rs 2,600 crore. The tunnel, bypassing snow-bound upper reaches, reduces the journey time by two hours and provide a safe, all-weather route to commuters travelling from Jammu and Udhampur to Ramban, Banihal and Srinagar.

The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee tunnel is a single-tube bi-directional tunnel, with a 9.35-metre carriageway, and a vertical clearance of 5 metres. There is also a parallel escape tunnel, with ‘Cross Passages’ connecting to the main tunnel at intervals of 300 metres.

The tunnel has features such as an integrated traffic control system, surveillance, ventilation and broadcast systems, fire fighting system and SOS call-boxes at every 150 metres.

Celebrating India’s women power on Diwali: PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative gets support from Deepika Padukone and PV Sindhu

OpIndia Staff
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Celebrating India’s women power on Diwali: PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative gets support from Deepika Padukone and PV Sindhu

Indian film actress Deepika Padukone and ace badminton player PV Sindhu have come forward as the torchbearers of PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative.

PM Modi had encouraged people to share the stories of inspiring women in their society and neighbourhood who have struggled through odds to set an example for others. In a video, actress Deepika Padukone and Shuttler PV Sindhu also appealed to people to welcome Diwali with sharing the inspiring the stories of India’s ‘Laxmis’, who have enlightened the lives of others with the hashtag #BharatKiLaxmi.

“Societies grow when women are empowered and their accomplishments are given a place of pride! I support PM @narendramodi ji #BharatKiLaxmi movement. It celebrates extraordinary achievements of extraordinary women of India. This Diwali, let’s celebrate womanhood,” said the world champion Sindhu in her Tweet.


Reacting to the same, PM Modi on Twitter replied to Sindhu’s message and wrote that ‘our ethos has always taught us to strive for women empowerment.’


PM Narendra Modi had kickstarted the auspicious festival of Navratri with a strong message for women empowerment on September 29. During the 57th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ campaign on Diwali to highlight the contributions of the women of the country.

The video features, apart from Deepika and Sindhu, many other women who had brought a positive change in the society through their endeavours. Social workers Sindhutai Sapkal, Kallaripayattu teacher Meenakshi Gurukal and many others.

The ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ campaign is aimed at honouring women, who have made a mark with their achievements in various fields for the public good. On Diwali, Goddess Laxmi is welcomed in homes as it is believed that she brings prosperity and happiness, Modi said. Daughters are considered as Laxmi in our culture. Can’t we felicitate daughters in our villages and cities by holding public programmes? he suggested in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address.

“There are several daughters, daughters-in-law who are doing exceptional work … some are teaching poor children, some are spreading awareness about health and sanitation. Many are serving as doctors, engineers … as lawyers, they are helping in the delivery of justice. The society can identify such daughters and honour them across India,” he furthered in his radio address. “Encouraging Bharat ki Laxmi means strengthening the path to success of the country and its people,” the prime minister said urging the citizens to honour women’s achievements.

The hashtag is already trending and many social media users have been sharing the amazing stories of ordinary women, who have struggled through odds to inspire and help others, bringing happiness and prosperity for the society.

Yesterday, addressing Karyakartas of the BJP from Varanasi ahead of Diwali, the Prime Minister suggested that along with celebrating the auspicious occasion of Diwali, people should celebrate ‘Bharat ki Laxmi’ as well.


He said that there will be one girl in our neighbourhood who must have accomplished a certain feat. He suggested that through ‘Bharat ki Laxmi’, we honour the daughters of our country.

As Fadnavis becomes 1st CM to complete 5 year tenure in 47 years, here is the history of Maharashtra politics and its 23 CMs

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Devendra Fadnavis is all set to become the Maharashtra chief minister for the second time in a row. The BJP-Shiv Sena is poised to comfortably secure victory in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections and form the next government.

Devendra Fadnavis had recently completed his full five-year term, the first in 47 years for any chief minister from Maharashtra to do so. He will be only the second chief minister from Maharashtra after Vasantrao Naik to achieve this feat.

Since the state of Maharashtra came into being in 1960 after Bombay was split into two states- Maharashtra and Gujarat, it has seen twenty-three chief ministers in its nearly 60 years of existence with the latest CM being Devendra Fadnavis.

Initial years:

Following the creation of the Maharashtra state in 1960, late Congress leader Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan was elected as the first chief minister of the state. However, in 1962, after the resignation of then defence minister VK Krishna Menon, Chavan was called by the Nehru government to serve as Defence Minister.

YB Chavan was replaced as chief minister by Congress leader Marotrao Kannamwa, who became the second chief minister of Maharashtra from 1962-63, who held office for little over a year. He died while being in the office. The then Maharashtra home minister PK Sawant was made the chief minister for 10 days as a stopgap arrangement until a suitable candidate for the post was found.

Senior Congress leader Vasantrao Naik became the chief minister of the state on December 1963 and served for nearly three-and-a-half years till March 1967 to complete the term of the second Maharashtra assembly. The Congress party led by Vasantrao Naik went into elections in 1967 and secured a thunderous victory, making him the chief minister of the state for full five years till 1972.

Naik, who hailed from Vidarbha has the unique distinction of becoming the first and only Maharashtra chief minister to finish his full term of five years. In 1972, as incumbent chief minister, Naik led another successful election campaign for the party and became Maharashtra CM for the third time.

The Emergency Years:

At a time when Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975, the politics in the state took a slight turn towards caste politics as the then Prime Minister replaced Naik with Maratha leader Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan, who was considered to be a trusted loyalist to Mrs Gandhi. SB Chavan continued to serve the state as Chief Minister till a couple of weeks after Emergency was lifted in 1977, following Indira Gandhi and her party’s massive defeat against the Janata Party.

The era of Maratha politics:

Vasantdada Patil, who was the irrigation minister in SB Chavan’s cabinet, replaced him as the chief minister of the state. Patil, who was considered as one of the true mass leaders of the state, continued to be the chief minister till 1978 when the state went to polls yet again.

The Congress which just had a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Janata Party in the 1977 general elections, now faced severe internal rebellion. Following the results of the state elections in 1978, a split occurred in the Congress party and Vasantdada Patil headed Congress (Indira) camp and formed a coalition government. The other rebel faction was known as Indian National Congress (Socialist), which was led by Devraj Urs, an influential Karnataka politician and Chief Minister.

However, difference began to erupt within the Congress party which led to the ousting of Patil by none other than a 37-year-old young man, who later went to become one of the most influential politicians of the country – Sharadrao Govindrao Pawar. 

The young lawmaker from Baramati – Sharad Pawar, broke away from the Congress party by joining hands with Congress (Socialist) and engineered defections in the Patil government before walking away with 40 MLAs. He then formed the Progressive Democratic Front government with the Janata Party’s support.

However, Sharad Pawar’s first stint as chief minister lasted for almost a year-and-a-half before the state was put under President’s Rule for the first time in 1980. Soon, elections were called after Indira Gandhi came to power in Centre. The Congress was back in power by securing 186 seats out of 288 assembly seats.

The Congress party elected its first Muslim chief minister in 1980 when Abdul Rehman Antulay was given the responsibility of the state. Two years later, Antulay had to resign as chief minister after he was convicted by the Bombay high court on extortion charges.

A turbulent phase:

After the resignation of Antulay, the state saw some turbulent years with frequent change in the leadership of the state. As many as four Chief Minister led various government in a span of six years till 1988. PM Indira Gandhi chose Babasaheb Bhosale to succeed Antulay in 1982, who lasted just one year. Later, former Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil became the Chief Minister of the state in February 1983 for the third time. He continued till the 1985 elections.

After the seventh Maharashtra legislative elections in 1985, the Congress party chose to replace Patil once again. This time Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar replaced him, who went on to become the Chief Minister of the state for another 277 days. He had to resign in 1986 after the Bombay high court passed orders against him in connection with a scam related to medical exam results. 

After Nilangekar resigned in 1986, the Congress which was facing yet another crisis turned back to its old hand, SB Chavan to save the party from disaster. Chavan became the chief minister for the second time and lasted till 1988.

The rise of Sharad Pawar:

With the rise of regional parties like Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar returned to Congress (Indira) camp in 1987. In June 1988, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Since then, Pawar continues to play one of the major roles in Maharashtra politics.

Read: Sharad Pawar had close links with Dawood Ibrahim: Ex R&AW officer NK Sood

In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. The Congress party led by Sharad Pawar fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Pawar, who was keen to consolidate his position as the most influential Maratha leader joined hands with 12 independents to become the chief minister for the third time.

With the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Sharad Pawar raised his ambitions and set his eyes on the post of Prime Ministership in 1991. Pawar mounted an ambitious, failed bid to become prime minister. PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister of the country and Pawar was made defence minister in his cabinet.

Following Pawar’s elevation to the centre, low-key Congress leader Sudhakarrao Naik, a nephew to former chief minister Vasantrao Naik elected as the chief minister of Maharashtra. During the tenure of Naik, communal riots took place in Mumbai in late 1992. Criticised for his inability to stop the riots, Naik resigned in 1993 paving way for Sharad Pawar to return back to state politics. Pawar became the chief minister of the state for the fourth time, holding the post till elections in 1995.

Shiv Sena- BJP and the coming of coalition politics:

The 1995 elections in Maharashtra opened up a new chapter in the state politics as for the first time a coalition government headed by a non-Congress party rose to power. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 138 out of the 288 assembly seats. The elections were also the first elections that held in the state after the incidents of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition in Uttar Pradesh, the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and the communal riots in the state.

Manohar Joshi of the Shiv Sena became the first non-Congress chief minister of Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance also had support from a bunch of independents. Joshi’s ruled the state for four years before resigning after he was accused in a land scam. Joshi was replaced by party colleague Narayan Rane.

The Congress returns:

The Congress returned to power in Maharashtra after winning the 1999 elections. Interestingly, Sharad Pawar was no more associated with the Congress party as he was expelled from the party for proposing the idea of a native-born being the prime ministerial candidate of the country post-1999 elections and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had just become the party president replacing Sitaram Kesri.

In 1999, Sharad Pawar formed his new front – Nationalist Congress Party. Despite quitting the Congress party, Sharad Pawar aligned with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra post-1999 state assembly elections to prevent the Shiv Sena-BJP from returning to power.

However, Sharad Pawar never returned to state politics thereafter but rather concentrated in consolidating his newly built party NCP. The Congress-NCP alliance chose Vilasrao Deshmukh, MLA from Latur as the state’s new chief minister. NCP leader Chagan Bhujbal was made his deputy. Deshmukh ruled till 2003 after an internal rebellion broke out. To contain the factionalism, he was replaced by another Marathwada leader, Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Sushil Kumar Shinde became Maharashtra’s first Dalit chief minister of the state. Under his leadership, the Congress party went into the 2004 state assembly elections. The Congress returned to power in both the state and centre, which led to Shinde moving to the Centre. Shinde later went on to become the governor of Andhra Pradesh.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was once again installed as chief minister, who ruled from 2004 to 2008. However, Deshmukh had to resign following the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

The Congress party then chose Ashok Chavan, son of the former Maharashtra CM Shankarrao Chavan. Chavan who was then known for his “clean image” replaced Deshmukh and led the party in the 2009 assembly elections. In 2009, the Congress-NCP alliance retained power for the third straight time. Ashok Chavan was re-elected as the chief minister for the second time. However, he had to resign from the post following the Adarsh housing society scam.

Prithviraj Chavan, who was a minister in Manmohan Singh government was elected as the Chief Minister of the state. Chavan, another leader from Marathwada stayed as chief minister for the next four years. Later, Prithviraj Chavan had to resign from his post after the NCP broke its alliance with the Congress before the 2014 assembly elections.

The Fadnavis years:

The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena fought the 2014 state elections separately along with other smaller coalition partners including Republican Party of India (Athavale), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. The NDA coalition won a resounding victory with securing almost two-thirds of the vote in the state assembly.

Read: India Today misrepresents election results, claims Congress-NCP is ahead of BJP and Shiv Sen in Maharashtra 

Devendra Fadnavis, a 44-year-old four-time MLA became the second-youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2014. In 2019, Devendra Fadnavis successfully completed his full five-year term and also became the first chief minister to do so in 47 years.

In 2019, the BJP-SS alliance fought the Maharashtra state elections under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. The NDA coalition is currently leading in more than a majority of seats and is expected to form the next government in Maharashtra.

All independent MLAs in Haryana in touch with BJP, may support to form government: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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All independent MLAs in Haryana in touch with BJP, may support to form government: Reports

The results of the Haryana assembly elections have been declared and BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the state winning 40 seats, while Congress grabbed 31 seats. The JJP won 10 seats, seven seats have been won by the independent MLAs.

Haryana Lokhit Party and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have also won one seat each.

The half-mark is 46, a magic-figure no party have crossed yet. However, BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, has claimed to form the government with the support of independent MLAs.

A News 18 report has claimed that all 8 independents are in touch with the BJP and are willing to offer support to form the government in the state. The independent MLAs including Rajit Chautala along with HLP member Gopal Kanda confirmed their support to BJP.


On Thursday, Gopal Kanda and independent MLA Ranjit Singh from Rania assembly seat have already met BJP President JP Nadda yesterday and offered support. They were flown to Delhi by BJP MP Sunita Duggal.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be meeting the party’s senior leadership and discuss the way forward in the wake of the BJP needing the support of a few MLAs to form the government during his meeting in Delhi.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is closely watching developments in Haryana, as the party also have sent reportedly sent feelers to Dushyant Chautala, which has secured ten seats in this election. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala and his MLAs are travelling to Delhi for a meeting to decide on which party to support in order to form the next government in the state.

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