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Congress’ Amethi District Committee President steps down taking responsibility even as Rahul Gandhi continues to be party president

OpIndia Staff
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Congress’ Amethi District Committee President steps down taking responsibility even as Rahul Gandhi continues to be party president

After the embarrassing defeat by Congress party in the Lok Sabha elections, where the party was wiped out even in states where it formed state governments in December last year, state party chiefs have offered to step down and many have resigned.

Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik taking responsibility for the loss has resigned from the post. Karnataka Congress chief has also stepped down and so has Amethi District Congress Committee President who took the responsibility of the party president’s defeat from what has essentially been Gandhi family bastion.


In a letter to party president Rahul Gandhi, Yogendra Mishra, Amethi District Congress Committee President has said that taking moral responsibility of the defeat, he has resigned from the party post.

In the election results which were declared yesterday, Congress President who was an MP from Amethi for three consecutive terms, lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani by a margin of over 50,000 votes. While Rahul Gandhi won by a huge margin from the ‘safe seat’ Wayanad in Kerala, the Amethi loss is a major blow to the party since as many as four family members of the Nehru-Gandhi family represented the seat for over three decades.

Even as the pressure has mount on Rahul Gandhi to quit as the party president, he continues to remain so.

Not every Hindu hero ends up like Prithviraj Chauhan

Abhishek Banerjee
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Not every Hindu hero ends up like Prithviraj Chauhan

It took 15 years. But in the minds of BJP supporters, that ghost of 2004 was alive and kicking and screaming till the very end.

I had structured my day somewhat like this, anticipating a win but absolutely terrified of celebrating too early.

8:00 – 12:00: Try to hide somewhere with the phone turned off.

12:00 Provisional celebrations (watch Republic)

13:00 Official celebrations (watch NDTV)

Obviously, the first item turned out to be harder than expected. While I did manage to avoid looking at trends for ten to fifteen minutes at a time, I did keep returning to my phone at least once every half hour. By 10:30 or so, the evidence was so clear and so overwhelming that I advanced the formal celebrations scheduled for 13:00 by two full hours.

There are so many things to say right now that I am bound to forget at least a few of them.

First of all, I wish Atalji was alive to see this moment.

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This nation made a mistake in 2004. In the process, we ended up electing the most corrupt government in the world.

But now, on May 23, 2019, we have buried the ghost of 2004. It’s a pity that Atalji is not here to see this.  He has become immortal.

There is a lot to learn today. The most important being that when you dedicate yourself to a cause and refuse to give up despite what “conventional wisdom” says, you might just make history.

And that is what BJP has done here: made history. In the process, they have shuttered the shops of those who were running factories of casteism and regionalism. I heard one ABP news anchor ask an “expert” something like this: “Is there a new votebank now? The more people try to talk about Yadav and Jatav and Jat, etc, the more the Hindus unite?”

Dear ABP news, give that man a cookie! He’s stumbled into the biggest idea of the election.

“They,” said that a lot of things were impossible. They said that when you add the Jatavs with Mayawati to the Yadavs with Akhilesh and the Muslims who will go with anyone to defeat BJP, you have a combination that is unbeatable.

I remember Amit Shah said that the BJP is doing the “politics of 50%” in Uttar Pradesh. As of now, the BJP is leading 60 seats in UP and their vote share is 52%!

Modi spoke of 300 seats. BJP leading 303 right now. I guess we have become so used to politicians putting out empty boasts that we don’t recognize the real stuff when it stares us in the face.

There are many jokers in this election, but Akhilesh Yadav is arguably the biggest of them. Rather than focus on squeezing out the BSP and turn Uttar Pradesh into a bipolar state (BJP vs SP), he ended up reviving them. As of now, BSP is leading 11 seats and SP is leading 5. Remember that SP won 5 seats (or more specifically, the extended Yadav family won 5 seats) even in 2014. So what was achieved with this Mahagathbandhan? A net negative, now that Mayawati is back in the reckoning.

We cannot move on from Uttar Pradesh without mentioning Smriti Irani’s triumph in Amethi. I was very certain the saffron tigress would win … but had a few second thoughts when Modi didn’t hold a rally in Amethi to support her campaign. Turns out it wasn’t needed.

Smriti Irani tried to enter the Lok Sabha in 2004. It didn’t work. In 2014, she tried again, taking on a formidable opponent. She lost again but kept fighting, kept nurturing the constituency. And now she will be entering both the Lok Sabha and the history books.

What a contrast between Smriti Irani and her spoiled dynastic opponent. In 2014, Priyanka Vadra had referred to her as “Smriti, who?”

Who’s laughing now? Life gives many humbling lessons, but hard work and patience can get you very very far. Smriti Irani is a glowing example. A lot to learn from her.

The next thing I must talk about is two champion CM picks by Modi early in his tenure who have both delivered big time. One is Khattar and the other is Fadnavis. At the moment, BJP is leading 9/10 in Haryana and at one point it was even leading in Rohtak, the stronghold of Bhupinder Hooda which his son was contesting.

Then there is Fadnavis (my favourite among all BJP CMs). What a performance… 41/48 at this moment. The man has been tested in every possible way: he didn’t even enjoy a clear majority in the Assembly. And having an ally like Sena is in many ways worse than having an enemy.  Remember that Fadnavis found himself in charge of the state BJP all of a sudden, owing to the sad loss of Gopinath Munde in a car accident. The Munde sisters and the other big senior leader from Maharashtra… indeed from Vidarbha (who I will not name) couldn’t possibly have been happy about it.

But Fadnavis negotiated all this skillfully and emerged a champion. What do we learn? Always be prepared for the opportunity and when you get it, grab it with both hands.

We should also say something for Amit Shah here, for eating a bit of humble pie and cutting deals with egoistic allies in Bihar and Maharashtra. Those deals effectively shut out the Congress from both of these large states. 38/40 in Bihar and 41/48 in Maharashtra. Super.

Well, we all knew it would be 100% in Rajasthan and Gujarat, barring some anomalous seat here and there. No surprises.

It’s funny actually how Congress bungled up two big states they won in December: Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, they played for little, with CM Ashok Gehlot looking sort of selfish in spending so much energy on saving Jodhpur for his son. It didn’t work and the party lost miserably all across the state. Another lesson not to be narrow minded in victory.

Perhaps the same could be said for Scindia, who I heard flew away to the US, with much of UP and MP still left to vote. I can guess he wanted to be CM and probably felt hard done by when he was passed over for Kamal Nath. Maybe he didn’t feel like giving his 100% to the party cause? Ok, but see the results now. He’s lost everything, including his stronghold of Guna.

Some hard decisions have to be taken in every party. And there are many who might legitimately feel hard done by. Remember the big leader from Maharashtra who I did not name? Would you not feel insulted if you were in his place? But despite all that, they cooperated for a common cause and see the results in Maharashtra. And see what happened to Scindia and Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

Lesson: Don’t be petty. If you are narrow-minded to each other, you will all lose.

Just one word before I come to Bengal (finally!). Yesterday, I lavished praise on Sunil Deodhar, who may not be as well known to BJP supporters. I mentioned he had been sent to handle BJP in Telangana after delivering a historic victory in Tripura. In Telangana today, the BJP is picking up 4 seats out of 17! Who would have thought this possible?

This man Sunil Deodhar is a miracle worker. He is turning the BJP into main opposition in Telangana. Watch out for his career graph.

At one point, even Owaisi was trailing from his seat. As an aside, I must say a gleaming modern metropolis like Hyderabad deserves better than Owaisi. I understand that he will always control the part called “Old City”, but I really hope people who don’t live in the Old City will come up with a way to rescue the place from him.

Please… Hyderabad deserves better.

Oh Bengal.

What to even say? There is so much emotion here.  A huge salute to the people for coming out against the dictatorship of the Trinamool in massive numbers and delivering a knockout punch.

Folks, it’s over for Mamata Didi. She might as well start drafting her resignation letter dated May 2021. The wave is here. She will be hard pressed to win 50-60 of the 294 Assembly seats in Bengal.

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That map tells a story. The BJP wave came from the tribal regions bordering Jharkhand and the neglected areas of North Bengal.

In other words, the wave came from those parts of the state where the “subalterns” live. The Bengali “Bhadralok”  sitting in Kolkata wanted to impose their notion of “Bengaliyat” on them. The tribals of Medinipur and Purulia. And even the Bengali language on parts of North Bengal. Yes, there are many communities in Bengal that don’t speak Bangla. The racist Bengali elite in Kolkata see these people as “undesirables”. You should listen to how the racist Bengali elite talks about the Santhals in the eastern part of the state and the Gorkhas in the northern part. Their attitude is arguably worse than white supremacists in the 1950s trying to enforce a White Australia.

This is why I am not such a big fan of intellectuals. As a class, “intellectuals” are generally sold out to the establishment. In Bengal, they used to support the CPIM before Mamata Banerjee bought them over. It’s not a phenomenon limited to Bengal… the Indian elite used to support the British and then switched over to Nehru.

Two years ago, when BJP won Uttar Pradesh, I wrote a post explaining that intellectuals have an idiotic myth that the resistance to “nationalism” would come from empowering the oppressed communities. Ha! How could that be? It is the elite who swore loyalty to the British crown and to Nehru. Do you think a youth from an underprivileged community in eastern Uttar Pradesh shares your kind of nostalgia for the Pakistani noblemen whose kids were your classmates at Oxford?

Something similar happened in Bengal. Mamata had the elites under her control, preaching her version of Bengaliyat. Everyone else rebelled.

But then, every single politician who ran on casteism and regionalism has seen their dukaan closed in this election.

PM Modi has fought like a lion. Above all, he has shown that not every Hindu leader needs to end up like Prithviraj Chauhan.

UP Congress Chief Raj Babbar sends his resignation to Rahul Gandhi after the disastrous Lok Sabha performance

OpIndia Staff
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UP Congress Chief Raj Babbar sends his resignation to Rahul Gandhi after the disastrous Lok Sabha performance

The high octane and much hyped Lok Sabha elections are finally over. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to a stunning and historic victory in the Lok Sabha battle with the ruling party alone securing over 300 seats while Congress faces a major embarrassment as it secures a total of 52 seats.

Results for Uttar Pradesh, the state with the largest number of constituencies in India was no different. While BJP bagged 62 out of the total of 80 seats, Congress managed a secure just one seat. Despite making tall claims, the SP-BSP mahagathbandan could also not make a mark as it together managed merely 14 seats out of the eighty.

Taking moral responsibility for the debacle, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar last night sent in his resignation to party President Rahul Gandhi. He lost the Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha constituency to Rajkumar Chahar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a huge margin of 4,95,065 votes.


However, this is not the first time Raj Babbar has taken such a step. After Congress’ defeat in Uttar Pradesh local body elections in 2017, Raj Babbar had offered to quit owning up for the party’s electoral rout. Though Rahul Gandhi, then the Vice-president had moved to stem the offer of resignation.

Similarly, last year after Congress’ performance in Lok Sabha bypolls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur, there had been speculations that the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar would quit the party. But this again had proved to be just speculations.

However, this time too, going by his tendency, Raj Babbar once again taking full responsibility of the disconcerting performance of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh tendered his resignation to the party chief. Now we are left to see, whether Rahul Gandhi will accept the resignation or reject the same, or realising that he too is equally responsible for the party’s predicaments, lead his party by example.

The decimation of dynasties: The Modi tsunami has swept away kings and their clans

Sanghamitra
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The decimation of dynasties: The Modi tsunami has swept away kings and their clans

सब से विराट जनतंत्र जगत का आ पहुंचा,
तैंतीस कोटि-हित सिंहासन तय करो
अभिषेक आज राजा का नहीं,प्रजा का है,
तैंतीस कोटि जनता के सिर पर मुकुट धरो।

फावड़े और हल राजदण्ड बनने को हैं,
धूसरता सोने से श्रृंगार सजाती है;
दो राह,समय के रथ का घर्घर-नाद सुनो,
सिंहासन खाली करो कि जनता आती है।

These are a few lines from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s legendary poem hailing the power of democracy. The poem’s lines mark how kings are dethroned when the people come to claim the right over governance.

India has chosen. The grand, massive festival of democracy where 900 million voters decided the fate of thousands of candidates in a selection process that lasted almost two months have finally ended and Narendra Modi was chosen by the people of India as the next prime minister. An overwhelming majority of over 350 seats to NDA means a strong, stable government for the next five years and the country has been rejoicing.

One of the most defining aspects of the public mandate this time has been the public’s overwhelming response against dynasty politics. India has been a democratic republic since 1950 but the democracy was also shrouded by political dynasties. The grand old families of politicians who passed on their political legacies and power, along with ‘seats’ to their children and family members. Son took father’s seat, the wife took husband’s position and so on. For decades, year after year and election after election, dynasty politics has been the bane of India’s voters. In 2019, the people of India have finally said, enough is enough.

Indian politics over the decades has seen the stagnation and corruption that dynasty politics brings to a nation. Congress’ Nehru-Gandhi dynasty kept ruling India under the garb of democracy for over half a century. Like a corrupt king’s rule spawning a number of corrupt feudal lords, Nehru-Gandhi dynasty also helped other dynasties take root and serve in their respective fiefdoms. The idea that a son/daughter inherits all the power, allegiance and positions the father held, the very antithesis of the idea of democracy, has been eating India from inside out.

When a husband is charged with corruption, the wife becomes CM. When a husband dies, his widow is brought forth to claim his throne. When the father becomes too old, he uses the last of his powers to settle his children into key positions so they can continue the legacy. This has been the sad truth of India’s politics over the decades. The results of the 2019 elections have broken the wheel.

HD Devegowda’s family have been holding on to power since long in Karnataka. The families hunger for power was on display when JDS negotiated with Congress for a post-poll alliance after the assembly elections and grabbed the CM’s seat for HD Kumaraswamy. The elder son, HD Revanna became a minister too, but the hunger was far from being satiated. JD-S had managed to wrestle out 8 seats from Congress for the Lok Sabha. 3 of those seats were for the Devegowda family. In a blatant display of sheer political greed and nepotism, JDS had fielded HD Devegowda from Tumkur, HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Mandya and HD Ravenna’s son Prajwal Revanna from Hasan.


The voters have rejected the JDS patriarch and Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Prajwal is the sole owner from JDS and as per latest reports, he is to vacate his seat so his grandfather can seek re-election from Hasan.

Guna was another royal throne that the Scindia dynasty have been holding on to since decades. Jyotiraditya Scindia had ‘inherited’ it after his father, former Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia’s death and has been winning since decades from there. 2019 has come as a shocker when Jyotiraditya Scindia, Madhya Pradesh’s deputy CM and Congress general secretary for UP, lost the throne. The public discarded their feudal lord and chose BJP’s KP Singh by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.


In Maharashtra, second-generation Congress leaders Milind Deora and Priya Dutt have lost their ‘family bastion’ seats too. The state has also rejected Ashok Chavan and Sharad Pawar’s nephew Parth Pawar. Parth faced a crushing defeat by over 2.5 lakh votes.


Incumbent Andhra Pradesh CM’s son Nara Lokesh Naidu, Andhra’s IT minister has lost from the Mangalagiri constituency. Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda’s son Deepender Hooda has lost the Rohtak seat at saffron surge overwhelmed Haryana sweeping all 10 of its Lok Sabha seats. K Chandrasekhara Rao’s daughter K Kavitha has lost from Nizamabad to BJP’s first-time candidate Dharmapuri Arvind. Lalu Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti has lost in Pataliputra.


As far as decimating the politics of dynasties is concerned, nothing has been as powerful and monumental as Smriti Irani finally crushing Rahul Gandhi in his ‘ancestral seat’ of Amethi. Amethi has been the proverbial ‘family bastion’ since decades. Rahul Gandhi’s family has been winning from the seat in election after election, never bothering to worry about Amethi or its people. The region remained poor, deprived and devoid of infrastructure despite electing the country’s most powerful family to power repeatedly. This time, the people of the constituency have decided to break the charm. They have discarded the false promises, the gimmick of cotton sarees and white Kurtas, and the justification of facial resemblance as a reason to vote.

The victory of the hard-working, dedicated and committed Smriti Irani, who never abandoned Amethi’s people even after losing in 2014, is hugely symbolic in India’s politics. It signifies what was once termed as the unthinkable, negating the power-clutch of the Nehru-Gandhi clan. In choosing Irani, Amethi has thrown away the mental shackles that held them prisoner to the false charms and deprived them of development.


There are still a lot of ‘political families’ in India. The BJP has many of them too. There are no laws against the son or daughter of a politician joining politics and seeking election. But the nepotism and feudal power play, the repugnant elitism and entitlement that makes the same son and daughter assume that they are above scrutiny and accountability has to go.

The idea that the dynasts can escape ground level connect and can win elections by granting the voters the favour of seeing their overlords waving at them once in five years, the sheer audacity of dynasts clutching at the powerful positions and denying hard working party workers their due just because of their surname has to be crushed. And the mandate in 2019 has established the foundation of just that.

India still has a long way to go to be free from the thought process that being someone’s son or daughter does not make a person entitled to public offices or power corridors. The position has to be earned. When Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014, he gave a billion Indians the hope that it is possible for a poor boy selling tea in railway stations to become the most powerful man in the country if he works for it and earns it.

Modi’s win in 2014 had opened the doors of possibilities for Indians, it has planted the seed that they hold power and they can decide who rules them. 2019 has shown that seed has now spread its roots and sprouted little branches all over the country. All over India, thrones are being melted, wheels are being smashed and chains are being broken. India is rising and learning to stand tall. Dinkar’s prophetic lines are coming true, “Singhasan Khali Karo Ki Janta Aati Hai”.

ED moves Delhi high court seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Robert Vadra

OpIndia Staff
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ED moves Delhi high court seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Robert Vadra

The Enforcement Directorate has approached the Delhi High Court seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Robert Vadra. ED is investigating the brother in law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi in money laundering case and requesting his custodial interrogation.


On April 1, a special CBI court had granted anticipatory bail to Robert Vadra in the money laundering case. They had applied for anticipatory bail after ED had sought custodial interrogation of Vadra stating that there was a risk of the investigation getting tampered. Vadra’s close associate Manoj Arora was also granted anticipatory bail on the same day.

Vadra was earlier on interim bail granted by Patiala House Court in Delhi, which was extended several times.

Vadra is being proved in several cases by investigating agencies, which includes money laundering and illegal land deal cases. According to ED, the money laundering case involves payment of Rs 300 crore in a defence deal and USD 10 million received in a petroleum deal. A 1.9 million GBP London based property owned by Vadra is also a subject of the probe.

Earlier ED had questioned Robert Vadra in its office, but ED had alleged that he was not cooperating in the investigation and said that his custodial interrogation is required. ED ha said in the court that “Robert Vadra is not cooperating despite several opportunities and his custodial interrogation is required.” The agency had also said that Vadra had started political mudslinging, saying “It is unfortunate that the petitioner has got involved in political mudslinging. His conduct during the course of investigation raises even more apprehensions that he is a key to unearthing the modus operandi and black money.”

‘Chup Chaap Kamal Chhaap’: The slogan that changed Bengal politics forever

Nupur J Sharma
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‘Chup Chaap Kamal Chhaap’: The slogan that changed Bengal politics forever

The verdict is out and Prime Minister Modi led BJP is set to form the government with a thumping single-party majority. BJP managed to bag a whopping 303 seats all on its own, making the need for alliances redundant. This brute majority sees BJP better its 2014 score and a major role in this thumping victory has been played by West Bengal which is currently ruled by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies. Of those, TMC managed to bag 22 seats while BJP won 18 and Congress managed to win 2. While on the face of it, it would certainly seem like TMC has held on to its bastion, BJP winning a massive 18 is no mean feat. With a brute majority of 213 out of 295 Assembly seats, in 2014 General Elections, out of 42 seats, TMC bagged a whopping 34 seats while BJP bagged only 2.

West Bengal has traditionally been a communist bastion which shifted en masse to TMC in the hope of a better future. Unfortunately, what the state got was communism gift wrapped by TMC with a sheet of renewed, more severe violence and intimidation.

The promise of ‘Maa, Maati, Maanush’ was lost. Mothers were made to drink urine and their sons thrashed simply for praising the Prime Minister in a Facebook post. The maati, earth, was soaked with blood often and the maanush were lost in a sea of illegal immigration. In all, the Bengali mostly felt like motherless children.

Often, several Bengali Hindus spoke up and demanded change. But that change was also demanded in hushed conversations. The fear of their rebel against TMC being known shuddered their soul. Nobody wanted a broken house, bashed up children, the fear of goons hitting out at your workplace, or worse, the state government using the police machinery to throw you in jail.

The fear that Bengal lives through could be unfathomable to ones who live in other parts of the country. But it was real and palpable.

With BJP, the saffron party getting 18 seats in 2019, many in Bengal are shell-shocked. For every voter that went and reposed their faith in the Lotus, it was a personal rebellion, one they weren’t sure others would partake in.

How did the BJP manage to craft this victory? One that not even the people of Bengal saw coming? The voters led a personal rebellion on an organic level. None of them anticipated this Tsunami and none of them really believed that others felt the same way.

One slogan that became extremely popular in West Bengal in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections was ‘chup chaap kamal chhaap’ (silently, press the Lotus button). Essentially, BJP and volunteers told Bengalis (and I include the Marwari, Gujarati, Sikh community of Bengal in this) that they don’t need to risk their well-being by declaring how their allegiance has shifted from TMC to BJP, but just go vote for BJP.

It was a silent bond of trust that BJP managed to build with Bengal. ‘We understand you are scared, we will help you through this’, the slogan essentially said.

When OpIndia spoke to a volunteer from West Bengal, he said, on the condition of anonymity that for a large part of Bengal, the feeling was that BJP did not understand their plight, with this slogan, they began to trust the party.

There were numerous anecdotes about how some brave citizens started chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ on the street when convoys of TMC leaders passed. This came from a few brave quarters who had had enough of the tyranny.

While Bengal is the land of Maa Durga and Maa Saraswati, ‘Jai Shree Ram’ soon became a symbol of political protest.

One recalls how Mamata Banerjee got riled up when some youth yelled ‘Jai Shree Ram’ as her convoy passed. She got out of the car, threatened them, and claimed that they abused him.

TMC knew that their regionalism on television channels was not helping. They knew that their assertions that Lord Ram will not find resonance in Bengal were hogwash. More than religiosity, it was the political rebellion that Jai Shri Ram symbolised.

Bengal has traditionally shifted its political allegiance after several years of silent tolerance. It happened with the Communists. They lost the faith of the people and the people of Bengal never looked back. It seems to be happening with TMC now as well.

Whether this victory will translate into a sweep in the 2021 Assembly elections is yet to be seen. Perhaps BJP would need to develop a greater grassroots connect and certainly, find dynamic local leaders who find resonance with the local population.

However, a political revolution has begun. Bengal is ready to move as far away from communism (yes, even TMC’s brand of it) as possible. Bengal yearns for change. It took a step in that direction in this general election. Now it is up to BJP to live up to the faith Bengal has reposed in it.

Smriti… who? Smriti, the one who gave your brother a run for his money

Nirwa Mehta
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Smriti… who? Smriti, the one who gave your brother a run for his money

During the run-up to the 2014 general elections, when BJP in a very bold move fielded Smriti Irani against the then Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, she was dismissed by many as a ‘scapegoat’. For taking the fall for the party which just wanted to make a statement by fielding someone against the Gandhi scion who was sure to retain his ‘family seat’.

Except for a brief period between 1998-99 when BJP’s Sanjay Sinh won Amethi, the Lok Sabha seat has seen a Congress MP since 1980 when Sanjay Gandhi won it for the first time. After his death, his brother Rajiv Gandhi contested and won from Amethi four times. Afte his death, Congress’ Satish Sharma contested and won Amethi twice. In 1999, Sonia Gandhi won it back and held on to it till 2004. In 2004, Rahul Gandhi forayed into politics by contesting from Amethi. He had been a three-time MP from Amethi.

During the run-up to the 2014 general elections, Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was not holding any official post in Congress till then, was campaigning for her brother in Amethi. When she was asked about her reaction to something Smriti had commented on her, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit back with an arrogant ‘Who?’


Back in 2014, Priyanka’s arrogance refused to acknowledge Smriti as a contender against her brother.

Dear Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, let me tell you who Smriti Irani.

The one who lost Amethi to your brother in 2014 but managed to bring down the victory margin to little over a lakh. The one who spent last five years strengthening her constituency, ensuring the people she expects to vote her have a reason to do so. Residents of Amethi have credited Irani, the one who lost the seat to your brother, for developmental works undertaken.

Citing Soil lab, urea racks, Reservation counter, Sainik School etc, they say all this has been possible because of Smriti Irani’s commitment to the city. Smriti Irani is also credited for Utretia to Varanasi rail electrification via Amethi, linking Amethi-Rae Bareli to NH and WiFI for devotees at Kalikan Dham.

Smriti who empowered women by providing them with security insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Mahila Suraksha Bima Yojana. Who got a girls’ college in Sangrampur block of Amethi and got approval from state government for women’s hospital in Jamo block.

Who got a record number of toilets and houses built in Amethi, providing the people with the dignity. The basic amenity your brother failed to provide over 70 years after India’s independence. Let that sink in.

Smriti who made your brother run away to Wayanad to a ‘safe seat’ because he got a whiff that he will not be able to hold on to the family bastion for another five years as a ‘missing MP’.

The one who made Amethi ready for a BJP win in the five years. And the one who dethroned your brother.

That Smriti.

Wanted terrorist Zakir Musa killed in encounter with security forces, protests and clashes erupt in Kashmir valley

OpIndia Staff
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Wanted terrorist Zakir Musa killed in encounter with security forces, protests and clashes erupt in Kashmir valley

In an exchange of fire that broke out between the security forces and terrorists at Dadsar village in Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted terrorist Zakir Musa has reportedly been killed.


Musa, who was the Chief of the terrorist group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a cell of terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda, was reportedly trapped in the encounter in Tral. The area of Dadsara village was cordoned off by a joint team of the Army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles, SOG and the CRPF late in the evening. There were inputs regarding the presence of the terrorist commander Musa in the region. According to the information given by a police officer, the area was cordoned off following these inputs.

A police officer said that the terrorist was given an opportunity to surrender by the joint team but he opened fire at the security forces. This led to a gunfight which resulted in his encounter. Internet services have reportedly been suspended in most parts of South Kashmir and are reported to be suspended in the entire valley soon. All the educational institutions will reportedly remain shut in the valley tomorrow as per government directions to avoid possible law and order crisis.


According to local sources, protests have erupted in several places in the valley over the killing of Musa. Clashes also erupted in Sopore and other places. Reportedly thousands of people are visiting the native village of Musa to attend his funeral.

BJP’s Kolkata Dakshin candidate alleges more votes counted than actually polled, ECI revises numbers citing human error

OpIndia Staff
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BJP’s Kolkata Dakshin candidate alleges more votes counted than actually polled, ECI revises numbers citing human error

The BJP has exceeded expectations in West Bengal with its performance in Lok Sabha elections. So far, the party is leading in 18 seats against 23 seats of the Trinamool Congress. There was widespread rigging during the elections by the Trinamool which was observed by various journalists. Now, BJP candidate from Kolkata Dakshin, Chandra Kumar Bose, has alleged that there has been a discrepancy in the aftermath of the elections as well.

Bose claims that more votes have been counted in the constituency than were actually cast. As per the official app of the Election Commission of India, a voter turn-out of 69.65% was recorded in the constituency. As per Bose, it translates to around to 11.97 lakh votes among 1719821 registered voters. However, the actual votes that were counted as showing in the ECI results website was 1490235, which translates to an 87% voter turnout.

Bose has approached the Election Commission and registered a complaint regarding the matter. Amusingly enough at 5.40, the total votes counted was adjusted on the Election Commission website and by some magic, around 3 lakh votes disappeared into thin air. But the final number of votes counted is still greater than the number that was polled according to official stats by the ECI.

Kolkata Dakshin election result

The Election Commission, for its part, has claimed that it was human error on its part and that someone updated the website with the wrong numbers, ABP Ananda reported. It may be noted that ECI is yet to release the final voter turnout numbers for the seventh phase, which includes Kolkata South. Therefore it is possible that actual turnout numbers may have gone up. However, considering the events in West Bengal since polling began, it’s understandable why many people including the BJP candidate find it hard to believe.

Prakash Raj concedes defeat after dismal performance in elections, says a ‘Solid Slap’ on my face

OpIndia Staff
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Prakash Raj concedes defeat after dismal performance in elections, says a ‘Solid Slap’ on my face

Actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj, who entered the election fray to change the brand of politics has been shown his place as he managed to get paltry 28,000 odd votes in a constituency where total votes polled was almost 12 lakhs. Raj, who was hailed as a revolutionary crusader by the Lutyens Media took to Twitter to concede his embarrassing defeat from Bangalore Central.


In a tweet posted by him, Raj acknowledges the mortifying defeat handed to him by the votaries of his constituency. The Wanted actor stated that it is a “SOLD SLAP” on his face and more abusing, trolling and humiliation is on its way directed at him. However, as a face-saving move, he claimed that he would continue his fight for ‘Secular India’ and this has just been a start to a tough journey.

Anuraag Saxena tweeted saying that Prakash Raj couldn’t honour people’s verdict who rejected his brand of politics and embraced PM Modi and the BJP.


Prakash Raj’s tweet also tickled funny bones for many on Twitter. In a hilariously contemptuous manner, one Twitter user creatively portrayed how Raj was mauled in the Lok Sabha elections.


Another Twitter user highlighted the pathological hatred Raj harbours for PM Modi and asked him to get rid of it.


One Twitter user responded Prakash Raj with a meme from his move Singham in which he accuses the protagonist of playing foul.


Till exit polls, Prakash Raj was propped up by Lutyens as if he is going to go straight to being one of the top 89 PM candidates of Mahagathbandhan but he has managed to finally poll 2.36% votes and stood a distant 3rd in Bangalore central Constituency after BJP’s PC Mohan and Congress’ Rizwan Ahmed.

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