Ruckus in JD(U) Meet, as MLAs Root for Nitish Kumar to Return

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May 18, 2014

A day after Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister of Bihar, legislators from his party, the Janata Dal (United), are meeting to elect a new leader.

According to sources, there is complete ruckus in the meeting as party leaders are rooting for his re-election, while Mr. Kumar himself is not keen to return as the chief minister.

Earlier, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav had said that Mr. Kumar’s resignation is final and he will not go back on the move.

Sources close to Mr. Kumar had also said, that he is not willing to be re-elected as he does not want his decision to be seen as a political stunt.

Mr. Kumar had stepped down from the top post yesterday after taking moral responsibility for the ruling party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

“I have been saying since that we as a party are different. Once someone resigns in our party, he doesn’t come back,” said Mr. Yadav.

Mr. Yadav also refused to comment on the speculation about a possible alliance between the JD(U) and Lalu Yadav’s RJD.

In fact, in an interesting development, three RJD MLAs have resigned from the party.

Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar Modi, leader of the JD(U)’s political ally-turned-foe BJP, had scoffed on Twitter yesterday, “MLAs will again re-elect N Kumar as their leader & he will withdraw his resignation claiming under pressure of MLA’s (sic)”.

Dismissing Mr. Kumar’s resignation, Mr. Modi had said, “There is nothing new in it, Nitish Kumar is fond of resigning.”

At a press conference in Patna, Mr. Kumar had explained his decision to resign.

“I take moral responsibility for the defeat…I should,” he said, adding, in an apparent dig at PM-elect Narendra Modi, “We hope that good days have come. Promises will be fulfilled.”

The JD(U) had suffered a rout in the Lok Sabha polls and it could only win two of the 40 seats in Bihar. It had won 20 seats in 2009 in alliance with the BJP, which had bagged another 12.

The BJP was the beneficiary of the JD(U)’s decision to part ways with it in June last year. It won 31 seats this time in partnership with Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.

On Friday, six ministers who had been critical of Mr. Kumar’s decision to part ways with the BJP last year did not attend a cabinet meeting that Mr. Kumar had called.

In an Assembly with an effective strength of 238, the JD(U) has 114 members and has been propped up by the support of four Congress members, three Independents and a CPI legislator. The actual strength of the assembly is 243.

Narendra Modi Assures Jayalalithaa of ‘Absolute Cooperation’ Between Centre, Tamil Nadu

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Afternoon Voice

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May 18, 2014

Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi assured Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa of “absolute cooperation” between the Centre and her state while lauding her for her party’s stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

Mr. Modi, 63, spoke to Ms Jayalalithaa over phone and thanked her for her letter on Friday congratulating him for his party’s ‘magnificent win’ in the elections.

“Selvi (Ms) J Jayalalithaa, wished him a very successful tenure as Prime Minister of India. The Hon’ble Prime Minister-designate assured the Hon’ble Chief Minister that there will be absolute co-operation between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu,” a state government release in Chennai said.

Mr. Modi’s assurance came in the wake of the AIADMK chief saying in her letter that she looked forward to a meaningful era of Centre-state cooperation with the BJP leader at the helm of affairs.

The release said Mr. Modi also congratulated Ms. Jayalalithaa for her party’s ‘remarkable victory’ where she notched up 37 of the 39 seats in the state.

Modi emerges triumphant

By

Mahendra Singh

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May 18, 2014

Congratulations to Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP, RSS and the partners of National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The efforts of citizens must be lauded for voting for a stable government. I have been supporting Modi right from the beginning and he will now become the next prime minister of India. I have also been appealing to people to vote for a stable government with substantial majority so that it can function unhindered and I am pleased that ultimately it has happened. I am also happy that Arvind Kejriwal, the loud mouth has been crushed.

It was unfortunate that television channels gave them disproportionate coverage which they clearly did not deserve, as they behaved irresponsibly. Time has come for us to move forward with confidence and gusto. Everybody must feel that Modi will be fair towards them and he will treat them equally. RSS and BJP must work in tandem without any bickering for power and influence. Senior leaders must shed selfishness for promoting national interest.

Modi will form a cabinet. The cabinet members must work hard with unity and try to arrive at all decisions with as much consensus as possible. Providing water, power and construction of good roads are the tasks which the new government must take up on a priority basis. There is no need of a Lok Pal if all ministers and secretaries work honestly. Modi is aware about this than all of us and therefore he will deliver the goods.

Amit Shah has been the Man of the Match and this man has endeared me enormously. It is good fortune of our nation that we have such an excellent organizer.

I expect that state governments which are not ruled by BJP at present will co-operate with the central government without throwing unnecessary tantrums. The country will make immense progress if the central and state governments work with proper co-ordination especially pertaining to the matter of dealing with terrorists and Maoists.

It is expected that Modi will leave no stone unturned in empowering and developing our defence forces by providing speedy and single window clearance for defence purchases. We must improve bilateral ties with our neighbours and healthy working relationship with the US administration. We must also opt for technical co-operation with capable European countries so that our manufacturing sector gets a boost. The Chinese will never allow anyone to be “ one up”. Japanese are the right people to work with as they are more technically strong.

A historic victory

By

Lopamudra Ghosh

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May 18, 2014

So finally, after massive road shows, campaigns, dramatic speeches and demeaning the opposition, Modi finally emerged victorious as BJP enjoyed a clean sweep with a clear cut majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. All the excitement, war of words and extensive media coverage was laid to rest post the declarations of the Lok Sabha elections.

I say Modi and not BJP because his name was extensively promoted by the party before election. So perhaps one reason which led Modi to win was that people were lured by the Modi wave. When people went to cast their vote, what was on their mind was that they were voting for Modi and not for the BJP candidate who stood from their constituencies. This led to some shocking victories and some equally shocking defeats.

The reason why people chose to refrain from voting for Congress was many. Congress was tainted with scams and corruption which coupled with inflation, made their survival difficult. People were infuriated with the government due to the spiraling food prices and the billions of dollars stashed away in the Swiss bank. They wanted a change and Modi, the embodiment of better change, was their last hope. It could be described as among the blind, the one eyed man is the king.

Congress always played the minority and communalism card. However, Rahul Gandhi eating a meal with a Dalit family did not revive the image of his party. People wanted an end to corruption, they wanted progress, development. Here is where Modi comes into the picture. His Gujarat model of development is famous nation- wide. People wanted the same kind of development for the whole country. The 2002 Godhra carnage was left behind. People let bygones be bygones, they had to move ahead. Modi seemed to personify the change which people wanted.

Kejriwal who had promised to bail out India from corruption caught people’s attention in Delhi and they gave him an opportunity to take charge of Delhi. However, much to people’s disappointment, he resigned from the post of Chief Minister of Delhi within 49 days. That led to his downfall and spelt the doom for him. Later, when his party contested the Lok Sabha election, people rejected them.

Violations of the code of conduct by all parties, verbal abuses, lack of knowledge, spending crores on campaigning, this election saw it all. Now that BJP has won, the road ahead is not so easy. I think it will be a difficult task to find a good finance minister. On a positive note, I think they will be strict on terror. Let’s see what the next five years has in store for the nation. May BJP rule prudently and with conviction.

Blame game begins on Congress’ worst rout

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

The blame game has started in Maharashtra Congress over the party’s unprecedented defeat in the state.

Even though all results are yet to be officially declared, Congress which contested 27 seats is trailing everywhere except Nanded, where former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has established a lead over his nearest BJP rival.

Never before, Congress has reached such a low in a state which has always been a party bastion.

Sources close to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said Manikrao Thakre should own moral responsibility and quit the State Congress chief’s post.

“He has been at the helm for nearly six years and his track record is from bad to worse. The poor performance is because of organisational failure. The party functionaries have been raising voice against him to the high command and to revitalise the party in the state. His replacement is required,” the sources added.

While sources in the Maharashtra Congress blamed Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for the poor strategy.

Already accepting her defeat, party MP Priya Dutt said people’s mandate had been decisive.

“I humbly accept their verdict and thank them for all the support. I congratulate Poonam for her victory and extend her my best wishes,” she said. Another Congress veteran Gurudas Kamat, conceding defeat congratulated Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar.

“I accept people’s verdict with all humility and assure the citizens of continued active participation in public life, with a view to help Mumbaikars in whatever way possible.”

Stalwarts of Cong-NCP swept away in saffron wave

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

Union Heavy Industries Minister and senior NCP leader Praful Patel, seven-time Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar and Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik are among those who have bitten the dust in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha election.

Patel lost in Bhandara to Nana Patole of BJP, Muttemwar to senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari in a high-profile contest in Nagpur, while Wasnik lost to Kripal Tumane of Shiv Sena in Ramtek.

Maharashtra Minister for Social Justice Shivajirao Moghe (Yavatmal) and Cultural Affairs Minister Sanjay Deotale (Chandrapur) were defeated on their Lok Sabha debuts by Bhawna Gawali (Shiv Sena) and Hansraj Ahir (BJP), respectively.

Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, who declined a ticket by Congress and fought independently from Akola, lost to the sitting MP Sanjay Dhotre (BJP). Ambedkar finished third, behind Dhotre and Hidayat Patel of Congress.

Sagar Meghe, son of sitting Congress MP Datta Meghe, who got the ticket by defeating party colleague Charulata Tokas in ‘the primary’, lost to Ramdas Tadas of BJP.

Ashok Nete of BJP, who had lost last time, defeated Congress MLA Dr Namdeo Usendi in Gadchiroli.

Pramod Mahajan’s Daughter Among ‘Giant Killers’ in Maharashtra

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

Late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan’s daughter Poonam Mahajan is among the “giant killers” in Maharashtra in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

She defeated sitting MP Priya Dutt from Mumbai North Central seat. Shiv Sena candidate Hemant Godse defeated senior NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal from Nashik by a margin of around 20 per cent votes.

In Solapur, BJP nominee Sharad Bansode trounced home minister Sushilkumar Shinde by a margin of 16 per cent votes.

BJP nominee Sanjaykaka Patil was another ‘giant killer’, trouncing Union minister Prateek Patil in Sangli.

In Bhandara-Gondia, BJP’s Nana Patole defeated NCP stalwart and Union minister Praful Patel. BJP candidate Heena Gavit defeated nine-term Congress MP Manikrao Gavit in Nandurbar constituency in north Maharashtra.

In Osmanabad constituency in Marathwada region, Shiv Sena nominee Ravindra Gaikwad scored a comfortable victory over senior NCP leader Padmasinh Patil.

SC allows moving INS Vikrant to Darukhana ship breaking yard

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday allowed the Indian Navy to move out the decommissioned INS Vikrant – country’s first aircraft carrier – from Mumbai naval dockyard to Darukhana ship breaking yard.
The apex court bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice A.K. Sikri allowed shifting of the 70-year-old aircraft carrier after the government told the court that Vikrant was in a condition of extreme obsolescence and deterioration and could no longer be repaired or refurbished.
The government plea to relocate INS Vikrant was opposed by activist Kiran Paigankar, who questioned the safety of the ship in its new berthing place. He said the naval dockyard was the safest place.
Paigankar moved the apex court seeking conversion of INS Vikrant into a museum and the court, issuing notice on his plea May 5, had ordered status quo.
The government came for the vacation of the status quo order saying that it only wanted to relocate INS Vikrant and not dismantle it.
The government said: “Since its (Vikrant) hull is over 70-year-old and due to extreme obsolescence and deterioration, the INS Vikrant can no longer be repaired or refurbished.”
The IB Commercial Pvt. Ltd. which bought the INS Vikrant in an auction in January 2014 will move Vikrant to the Darukhanna ship breaking yard Friday itself.
The keel of the country’s first aircraft carrier, earlier known as HMS Hercules in the British Royal Navy, was laid Oct 14, 1943 and it was launched in 1945.
It was bought by India in 1957 and was commissioned in the navy Feb 16, 1959. Vikrant was decommissioned Jan 31, 1997.

AAP alleges vote rigging in Mumbai, files complaint with EC

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made allegations of vote-rigging in Mumbai. AAP leader Medha Patkar has filed a complaint with the Returning Officer in North East Mumbai, alleging that the serial number of the paper seals used to seal the control units for EVMs have not been recorded in one polling station.
AAP has alleged that rigging of votes could have occured.
She has demanded that the EC show and verify the unused paper seals on the counting table and if not, postpone the counting.

CM accepts moral responsibility for poll debacle

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Afternoon Voice

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May 16, 2014

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan described the unprecedented defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections as “unexpected” and said that he accepted full moral responsibility for the debacle.

“The results are unexpected and we accept the mandate of the people. UPA initiated several welfare measures but the Congress did not get the expected results. I take full responsibility for the defeat. I thank people who voted for the UPA and congratulate Narendra Modi,” he said.

Congress which had 17 Lok Sabha seats was reduced to 2 Lok Sabha in the results that have been declared so far.