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Shunned by the BJP, jilted Shatrughan Sinha goes on a rampage against the party, rumoured to join Congress

OpIndia Staff
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Shunned by the BJP, jilted Shatrughan Sinha goes on a rampage against the party, rumoured to join Congress

As the BJP announced Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s candidature from the Patna Sahib constituency, all hell broke loose for the sitting MP from the constituency, Shatrughan Sinha who couldn’t hide his frustration. Known for his defiance against the BJP and its leadership who openly takes part in opposition rallies, Sinha had an unceremonious meltdown on Twitter following the party’s decision to ignore his candidature from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat.


Starting with the Rafale jibe against PM Modi, feigning concern Sinha asserted that ‘corrective measures’ should be initiated to salvage party from the inevitable fate. In all likelihood, Sinha considers one of the first measures to be adopted to restore the party’s glory is by rolling back Prasad’s Patna Sahib candidature and declaring himself from the same constituency.

Following this, in a bid to lend credence to his breakdown, Sinha veers towards the issue of erstwhile BJP stalwarts being supposedly cornered by the current BJP leadership. Sinha mentions how L.K Advani had been disgracefully booted out and how BJP president Amit Shah has purposefully chosen Gandhinagar constituency to cock a snook at the BJP veteran.


It is notable to mention that Shatrughan Sinha has often defied party guidelines and frequented many opposition and Mahagathbandhan rallies. Even the rebel BJP leaders he takes refuge in while attacking PM Modi- Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie have extended their solidarity with the opposition parties and made mendacious remarks against the central government in their rallies. Sinha had also seemed to echo Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ jibe against Prime Minister Modi and spoken against the central government in the rallies organised by the opposition parties.

Despite this apparent betrayal, it seems that Sinha had high expectations that the BJP will continue to humour his wishes and act in conformity with his worldview. Most people were expecting him to be expelled from the party and it was a foregone conclusion that he will get a ticket from BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha election given his anti-party activities, but Sinha himself thought otherwise. Citing Newton’s third law- Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, Sinha claims that he is not amongst those taking things lying down and is fully capable of ‘paying back’.


Now the reports are trickling in that Shatrughan Sinha might be joining the Congress party and may contest the elections from the Patna Sahib constituency on a Congress ticket. After repeatedly embarrassing BJP on countless occasions, and singing paeans to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Shatrughan Sinha is finally set to join the party for which he had been campaigning from last 3 years despite being in the BJP. If these reports are indeed true, the resentment Sinha had expressed on Twitter since yesterday stands null and void. As it proves that the real concern for him was not the purported disgrace meted out to the stalwarts but his diminishing relevance in the current polity.

BJP’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign a silver bullet against a formidable ecosystem

Ashish Shukla
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BJP’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign a silver bullet against a formidable ecosystem

I predict that once the dust on 2019 General Elections is settled in May, the BJP’s tagline of #MainBhiChowkidar” would be a textbook study on how to run a successful social media campaign.

Within a few hours of launching their “Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai” poll slogan, the BJP took the wind (of whatever was left) out of Rahul Gandhi’s sails by stepping on to #MainBhiChowkidar” tagline on social media. In no time, it was trending more than anything else around the world. The PM now has a “Main Bhi Chowkidar” programme lined up for March 31.

First came a personal appeal from the Prime Minister himself to back the #MainBhiChowkidar tagline on twitter which he followed up by changing his name to “Chowkidar Narendra Modi” on his Twitter profile. It followed a digital stampede: Those who had backed the tagline lost little time in suffixing “Chowkidar” in front of their names.

It was a master strategy to tie Rahul Gandhi’s in knots. Gandhi has been unwilling to give up on Rafale even after the Supreme Court judgment and has lost no opportunity to shout “Chowkidar Chor Hai” in his election rallies. Would he do the same now? Or drop his months of investment in the Rafale disinformation campaign?

Congress seems tepid in its response. In 24 hours, Rahul Gandhi has taken tentative steps on Twitter. He said everyone is saying #ChowkidarChorHai without quite making it his own comment. His generals, Sashi Tharoor and Randeep Surjewala also beat around the bush. PC Chidambaram cracked a poor joke on it; Jyoiraditya Scindia was clever by half; Journalists suspected of belonging to the camp, the likes of Sagarika Ghose, Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt and Shekhar Gupta, have made inane references. Lutyens Media is doing its bid by making #MainBhiChowkidar video invisible on the net (here it is just for you folks). The sting has gone out of #ChowkidarChorHai agenda.

It’s unlikely though that Rahul Gandhi would drop his attempts to defame the Prime Minister. As everyone knows, Gandhi is all about anti-Modi and national issues are beyond his grasp. However, his shrill campaign would look downright silly if nothing comes out of review petition on Rafale next week. He would only be firing blank bullets once Supreme Court turns down orchestration on Rafale again.

As millions turn “chowkidar”, Congress can’t be seen calling the masses as “chor.” By doing so, Rahul Gandhi would also appear elitist. It would appear fake too since Rahul Gandhi himself is out on bail on corruption charges in the National Herald case. But if he doesn’t carry on with his one and only theme, what would he say in rallies?

Running social media campaign of this magnitude needs clock-work precision. It’s not only about creating a campaign but also how to turn others’ to your benefit. This is a 24×7 endless marathon of skill and energy; creativity and thrust. Audio and visual campaigns are needed and put out in minutes. If funds alone were the differentiating issue, Congress could’ve won hands down.

BJP was much praised for its social media finesse in 2014 (Remember how it turned Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “chaiwala” jibe to its advantage?). The one in 2019 looks no different. It’s gathering the mass under the BJP umbrella. Only, this present one is a silver bullet against a formidable ecosystem. There was a fire in the kitchen but they didn’t get out. They stood their ground on the burning deck.  It would be worth its weight in gold, come May 23.

PDP not to contest on Jammu and Udhampur seats so that ‘secular votes’ don’t get divided

OpIndia Staff
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PDP not to contest on Jammu and Udhampur seats so that ‘secular votes’ don’t get divided

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had decided not to field candidates from Jammu and Udhampur seats because of a tacit understanding between the so-called secular parties not to divide the ‘secular vote’. The Party had its Parliamentary Board meeting on Saturday in which the decision was taken. PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the larger interest of the State.


The Party has not yet decided on the Ladakh seat. Mehbooba who will be contesting from the Anantnag seat said that the decision was taken after careful deliberations. “Some of our associates wanted to contest elections from these two seats as well. But people from civil society and social groups appealed that by contesting the elections the secular vote will be divided and it would help those forces who, we feel, want to destroy Jammu and Kashmir”, said Mufti.

The Party will field Aga Mohsin from Srinagar seat and Abdul Qayoom Wani, former leader of Employee’s Union, from the Baramulla seat. Mehbooba criticised Central government’s ban on the JKLF saying that the Central government was using a muscular policy for the elections and was making Jammu and Kashmir a sacrificial lamb in the process.

After getting ditched by the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, Kanhaiya Kumar to contest from Begusarai as CPI candidate

OpIndia Staff
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After getting ditched by the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, Kanhaiya Kumar to contest from Begusarai as CPI candidate

Kanhaiya Kumar, the member of the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’, is all set to be the candidate of the Communist Party of India from Bihar’s Begusarai for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

According to reports, the decision to field him as a candidate from Begusarai, once a communist stronghold, was taken by the Left parties on Saturday, a day after Kanhaiya Kumar was ditched by the alliance of the opposition coalition in Bihar, who had earlier promised him a ticket from the alliance. Kumar, who is an ultra-left wing freelance protestor, will be the joint candidate of the Left parties from Begusarai but will be contesting on a CPI ticket.

Kanhaiya Kumar is currently on bail for allegedly chanting anti-national slogans at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi in 2016. The Delhi Police Special Cell had submitted 1200-page charge-sheet in January this year against Kanhaiya Kumar and other left-wing students of the JNU.

Kanhaiya Kumar was supposed to be the Mahagathbandhan candidate from Begusarai. However, the alliance of RJD and Congress did not leave any seats to the CPI and CPI-M. The Begusarai seat is now being contested by an RJD candidate against Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who has shifted his constituency from Nawada to Begusarai.

After a long tussle between the opposition parties over the distribution of seats, the Grand Alliance agreed on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) contesting on 20 seats and Congress agreeing to contest only on 9 seats out of a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP has been given 5 seats while Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM-S has got three seats. The Vikasheel Insaaf Party has got three seats and the CPI-ML Liberation had been allotted one seat from the RJD quota.

Interestingly, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is reportedly averse to any idea of promoting Kanhaiya Kumar as it may affect his political advancement in the future. As Kanhaiya Kumar has more political acumen and oratory skills than Tejashwi Yadav, the latter fears that he may one day outshine him in the state politics. Hence, Yadav has been conscious of his decision to not promote Kanhaiya Kumar in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar, which has 40 parliamentary constituencies, goes to polls in seven phases starting from April 11 till the final phase scheduled on May 19. The BJP-JDU-LJP coalition is contesting under NDA coalition with BJP and JDU set to contest in 17 seats each, leaving six seats to Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party.

Odisha: Internal feud increase among cadres in Congress party as it announces candidates for upcoming elections

OpIndia Staff
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Odisha: Internal feud increase among cadres in Congress party as it announces candidates for upcoming elections

After Odisha Congress announced names of candidates for 54 Assembly constituencies and 2 Lok Sabha seats, it has been witnessing widespread internal feud taking place because of resentment among party cadres for denial of ticket to their favoured candidates.

Party cadres created ruckus at Congress headquarters in Bhubaneswar to oppose issuing of assembly seat of Ekamra-Bhubaneswar to Rashmi Mahapatra instead of their favoured candidate Amir Mohammed. In a video that has been reported by media, supporters can be seen destructing party office and computers, furniture etc in the office.


Two groups of the party at Nilgiri in Balasore district also clashed where the supporters of Chittaranjan Sadangi have been opposing candidature of Manoja Manjari Devi, a member of the royal family there. Manoja Devi was not allowed to exit a meeting attended by her and was only released when she raised slogans in favour of the disgruntled workers’ leader Chittaranjan Sadangi. However, Manoja Devi has stated that she will lodge a complaint against Sadangi, for the incident to Congress leadership.

Similarly, in Jharsuguda some Congress workers locked the party office to protest the issuing of a ticket to former bureaucrat Mahendra Nayak. Workers have also threatened of non-cooperating with Nayak in the polls. In a district level meeting chaired by Biren Senapati, former president of Rourkela district unit, Congress workers opposed the candidature of Muktikanta Biswal.

Jhasurguda seat was won by Naba Das since 2009. But, he switched sides recently to BJD, hence the Congress party had to scramble for a new candidate.

Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad has expressed protest over the declaration of Saptagiri Ulka, son of former Congress minister Ramachandra Ulakafrom, from Koraput parliamentary constituency. He wanted his close aide and three-time councillor Prafulla Batra as a candidate from Lok Sabha seat.

The internal feud in the party can cost the Congress party, which has been fighting for its existence in the state since 2000, dearly as the Lok Sabha and assembly elections inch closer in the state. The party in addition to this has also been facing an exodus of its leaders to the opposition camp, weakening the party’s strength.

The assembly elections in the state will be held concurrently with General elections in four phases: April 11,18,23 and 19.

Nitin Gadkari at the receiving end: Is there a pattern?

Ashish Shukla
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Nitin Gadkari at the receiving end: Is there a pattern?

Indian Express has a massive interview of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in its March 23, 2019 edition. For those interested in going through the entire interview, one needs to log on to their website. Apparently, the one in print is an abridged version.

This is how ethical journalism should be but since I feel I am good at second-guessing Lutyens Media, I chose to first read the print version and then compare it with the online version.

My antennae go up when I see a major BJP leader covered or interviewed in Lutyens Media. The first thing which draws my attention is inane headlines, so boring that no reader would take the trouble of reading the stuff. This is against the basics of journalism where you base your headline on the most interesting bit in the text so that readers are drawn to it. Indian Express takes the complete opposite. (If I am the reporter, as the usual hit-man Ravish Tiwari and Liz Mathew is in this case, I would certainly make it an issue in the editorial room. What the hell, you don’t get to interview Gadkari every day).

Take the instance of Gadkari interview today: The headline is: “I believe that in a democracy, there can be matbhed but not manbhed”. Who would like to read the text of such a boring headline? More so when the entire interview is devoted to spicy questions such as BJP dropping seniors for 2019 General Polls; making national security the main political discourse; farmers’ issue; suppression of data; and painting a “credible” opposition as “anti-national.”

There are pointed questions on the supposed Modi-Gadkari divide. Sample: “Could you be the choice in case NDA doesn’t get a majority?” or “you were brought to control BJP leaders (read Modi) from being authoritarian?” Yet it didn’t merit the headline.

Damn it, isn’t this the classic headline that Indian Express could’ve plastered on the front page? : “Many in RSS eat mutton, says Gadkari” (it was news, to me at least). But the Indian Express chose the “mathbhed-manbhed nonsense.

As I had suspected, among other omissions in the print version, compared to the online one, this particular print-omitted question and its’ answer caught my attention (I am sure readers too would like to know its answer from no less a man than the Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways). So here it goes:

Q: People are doubting the figure of 7 per cent GDP growth because as peer the Chinese index (sic, mine), there are three key parameters in an economy—power production, freight movement and the quantum of the loan in the economy. In all these parameters in India, there doesn’t seem to be any growth that reflects the 7 per cent claim?

A: Our ports are in Rs 7,000 crore profit. Now we have also started inland waterways…there has been work in all sectors…Take the steel industry. We imposed import duty on Chinese steel and that proved to be a boon…My assessment is that we will hit the 7.5 per cent growth rate in another year.

So a senior Union minister, who is Modi’s alternative in PM’s seat as per the newspaper, predicts a 7.5 per cent GDP growth but that’s not worth the headline. Not worthy of even putting it in print edition.

Perhaps, one must take the trouble of reading all speeches/press conferences/interviews of BJP leaders in full despite inane headlines. Lutyens Media would do its best to present you a sanitized or boring version. But don’t you fall for that. Be the “Readers of Courage” and pay attention at least till the polls are over.  It would be great fun, I promise.

Independent candidate from Tamil Nadu promises 10 litres of free liquor every month on winning elections

OpIndia Staff
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Independent candidate from Tamil Nadu promises 10 litres of free liquor every month on winning elections

As the elections draw near, candidates make tall promises to woo the voters in their constituencies. Taking it to another level, an independent candidate from Tamil Nadu has come up with a strange promise of offering 10 litres of free liquor every month to every family in his constituency if he wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

A tailor by profession, AM Sheikh Dawood is in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections this time. Originally hailing from the Antyur area of Erode district, he has filed his nomination papers on Friday from Tirupur Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu. Dawood has promised that if he emerges victorious in the elections, every family will get ten litres of liquor free every month.

However, this was not enough. Dawood has also promised to offer Rs 25,000 per month to Housewives and Rs 10 lakhs and 10-sovereign gold from MP fund to newlyweds. “My election manifesto has 15 highlights which will benefit the people directly,” he claimed.

When asked about providing 10 litres of free liquor, Dawood said, “Nowadays everybody drinks. The problem is with the spurious liquor that’s adversely affecting the health of the consumer. If voted to power, I’ll bring pure liquor from Puducherry and distribute it among the families here.”

Highlighting the issue of farm distress, Dawood also promised that he will address the issue of water shortage in Tirupur by building canals to connect Mettur Dam, Salem district with Tirupur.

‘Rahul Gandhi is running away from Amethi, not me’: Smriti Irani on rumours BJP might field her from Wayanad

Nupur J Sharma
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‘Rahul Gandhi is running away from Amethi, not me’: Smriti Irani on rumours BJP might field her from Wayanad

With the 2019 Lok Sabha election drawing closer, BJP and Congress have both released their candidate lists for most of the constituencies. However, the Amethi battle seems to be the epicentre of Congress’ meltdown. After BJP announced that Union Minister Smriti Irani would be contesting from Amethi, considered to be a Gandhi bastion, sensing imminent Congress has been desperately scouting for a safe seat to ensure Rahul Gandhi’s victory.

Several Congress units have written to Rahul Gandhi urging him to fight from Wayanad, Kerala as well as Amethi. This seems to be a quest to ensure that Rahul Gandhi scores a victory from at least one seat since the chances of him losing to Smriti Irani from Amethi are high.

Now, rumours have surfaced that BJP might be fielding Smriti Irani from the Wayanad constituency too, to counter Rahul Gandhi.

Matrubhumi.com reported that senior BJP leaders may have hinted that Smriti Irani will be fielded from Wayanad to counter Rahul Gandhi who is now looking for a safe seat.

However, OpIndia.com reached out to the Union Minister who has categorically denied these rumours.

“Rahul Gandhi is running away from Amethi, not me. I am staying right here and fighting for the people. This news is just a rumour and completely untrue”, said Smriti Irani to OpIndia.com.

Smriti Irani further added, “It is understandable that Congress rumour mills are at work, after all, who would not be embarrassed to have a leader like Rahul Gandhi”.

Recently, a desperate attempt to find a safe seat for Rahul Gandhi by the Congress party has come to the fore. We have reported how Karnataka and Tamil Nadu state units have written to Rahul Gandhi urging him to contest from Wayanad, Kerala. Today, Amethi state unit too wrote to Rahul Gandhi urging him to fight both from Amethi and Wayanad saying that he is the future prime minister and like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, he should fight both from North India and South India. Congress’ Randeep Surjewala has also stated that Wayanad is being ‘positively considered’.

Apart from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Amethi, the All India Kisan Congress too had urged Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad along with Amethi.

The National Students’ Union of India too had urged Rahul Gandhi to contest both from Amethi and Wayanad. Similar letters have been written to Rahul Gandhi by Zilla Congress Committees.

In 2014, Smriti Irani managed to arrest Rahul Gandhi’s landslide victory from stronghold Amethi to a considerably small lead and since then, Smriti Irani has been working tirelessly in the constituency. In fact, a comparison of the work done by Smriti Irani in Amethi for the past 4 years compared to what Rahul Gandhi has done in the past 10 years makes it amply clear that Smriti Irani would have a considerable lead over Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Congress, sensing the fact that it would not be a cakewalk to defeat Smriti Irani in Amethi and that the constituency can no longer be called an exclusive bastion of the Gandhis is frantically trying to search for a seat that might deliver an assured victory to Rahul Gandhi. This last-minute face-saving exercise by the Congress perhaps tells a decisive tale about which way the winds may be blowing.

Congress starts desperate efforts to shift Rahul Gandhi away from Amethi, third unit writes in few days

OpIndia Staff
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Congress starts desperate efforts to shift Rahul Gandhi away from Amethi, third unit writes in few days

The Congress Amethi Unit has reportedly written to Rahul Gandhi urging him to contest from the Wayanad constituency from Kerala too. Yogendra Mishra representing Congress party in Amethi has written a letter to the Congress chief asking him to accept their request and contest elections from both Northern and Southern India, reported Republic TV.

Yogendra Mishra called Rahul Gandhi “the next prime minister of India” while writing about how Sonia Gandhi and Indira Gandhi had fought the Lok Sabha elections both from North India and South India.

Letter by Amethi Congress to Rahul Gandhi

The letter also said:

“Rahul Gandhi is a member of Parliament from Amethi constituency. The party works from southern India has invited Rahul Ji to fight elections. To accept this request would be honouring the workers on North and South India”.

After Union Minister Smriti Irani was declared as the BJP candidate to fight from the Amethi constituency against Congress President Rahul Gandhi, it has rung alarm bells for several Congress state units, with many feverishly scouting for a second constituency to ensure a guaranteed victory for Rahul.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Congress units and the All India Congress Committee General secretary Oommen Chandy have also requested Rahul Gandhi to fight from the Wayanad constituency in Kerala.

A few days back Karnataka Congress had urged Rahul Gandhi to fight the Lok Sabha election from a seat in Karnataka. Former CM Siddaramiah pressed Rahul Gandhi to fight elections from Karnataka. The state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao had a similar demand of the Congress president.

Tamil Nadu Congress also echoed similar sentiments and requested Rahul Gandhi to chose any of seats in Tamil Nadu to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections apart from his Amethi constituency.TNCC secretary claimed that Rahul Gandhi should be seen as an asset of the people of India and not just as a northerner. P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram, embroiled in INX media case also advocated Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha candidature from Tamil Nadu.

West Bengal: Congress workers threw chairs and created a ruckus in Malda ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s rally

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Congress workers threw chairs and created a ruckus in Malda ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s rally

A huge ruckus was created by Congress workers ahead of Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s rally today in Malda, West Bengal reportedly over the seating arrangement in the rally. The party workers who had been waiting for Rahul Gandhi for about an hour at the venue, lost their cool over the mismanagement in the rally and started throwing chairs and shouting slogans against the West Bengal Congress leadership. The crowd was controlled after long efforts of the police and the party leaders.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi while addressing the rally, launched a scathing attack on the West Bengal government accusing West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of running the government without consulting anyone and ignoring the voice of the people and make false promises.

He said that Congress workers are beaten up in the Mamata ruled state. “Bengal is today run by one person. She does not consult with anyone. She does what she wants to do. Does Bengal not have a voice? The Congress workers are beaten up here. You don’t have to get scared. We are going to form government at the Centre and then you will see what we will do,” said Gandhi.

Amusingly, just last month Rahul Gandhi stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Mamata Banerjee during the CBI scuffle with the West Bengal government. Back then he had accused PM Modi of misusing the country’s institutions. He had claimed that the entire opposition would stand together to defeat the “fascist forces”. However, it is pertinent to note here that the case in the Saradha Chit Fund Scam was filed by the UPA government in 2013 and had accused Banerjee of looting the public money.

Much to the shock of Mamata Banerjee, after making tall claims of defeating the Modi government by forming an alliance in the state, Congress party instead declared a tactical tie-up with TMC’s political rival Left.

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