Party patriarch LK Advani said on Friday that BJP’s big win in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was testimony to the fact that the people had voted against corruption, misgovernance and dynastic rule.
He also said that country has never witnessed such a historic election.
Giving credit to BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi from leading from the front Advani said, “We won in areas where we have never won before. Credit goes to Narendra Modi, RSS.”
However, he added that it needed to be assessed as to how much contribution has been made by Modi’s leadership, RSS and BJP towards party’s victory.
On the Congress party and its worst ever performance, the senior BJP leader said that “never in history has any government worked so hard to lose”, adding, “People have blessed Modi.”
Earlier today, BJP veteran congratulate called up Modi and congratulated him over the victory in 2014 General Elections.
Advani was initially not happy at Modi being anointed BJP’s PM candidate on September 13 last year.
BJP has got majority on their own with NDA crossing the 300 mark. The earlier best by BJP was 182 seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls when the party formed its government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Entry of technocrats and industry torchbearers like Nandan Nilekani and V Balakrishnan into Indian politics was touted as a game changer but all of them tasted defeat at the hustings, swept away by the Modi wave.
Former Infosys executives Nilekani and Balakrishnan fought their maiden elections for different parties from the city which houses their former company’s headquarters.
Nilekani, who was the richest candidate in fray for the 16th Lok Sabha, fought on Congress ticket from Bangalore South while Balakrishnan joined the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Banker Meera Sanyal, who had unsuccessfully fought the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as an independent, entered the fray this year on AAP ticket from South Mumbai constituency. She finished fourth behind Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant, Milind Deora of Congress and Bala Nandgaonkar of MNS. In 2009, she had lost to Deora.
As the Modi juggernaut rolled, Nilekani lost to former Union Minister and BJP candidate Ananth Kumar.
From Bangalore Central constituency and former Infosys board member Balakrishnan finished a poor third behind BJP’s P C Mohan and Congress’ Rizwan Arshad.
Interestingly, both men conceded defeat even before the poll results were officially announced.
“I concede defeat and congratulate Ananth Kumar for his performance in this poll. I will continue to work more for the city and the Congress party,” Nilekani said.
Asked when what went wrong for him, he said he was happy with the campaign he ran and the way his supporters and Congress leaders work along with him on the campaign.
“We have done our best and I remain happy with my decision to stand for election,” he said.
Bala too said AAP had run an honest campaign and it was the people’s decision, who voted for stability at the centre
“I will help them with upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections, we are preparing Mission 2015 for that; there is one more year, will try to strengthen the party further by then,” said Bala, as he is popularly known.
With initial trends of Lok Sabha polls projecting a rout for the grand old party, the Congress on Friday conceded defeat. Narendra Modi has powered the BJP to a historic victory as the party is set to win over 272 seats on its own, with the NDA on course to bag over 310 seats.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla admitted that the latest trends were not in favour of his party. “We will accept people’s mandate,” he asserted.
As the clamour for bringing Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka to the mainstream grew, Shukla said that the decision should be left to the Gandhi family as it is they who get into politics.
As the counting of votes began and the trends started pouring in from various polling stations indicating several top Congress figures trailing at various places, hundreds of disappointed Congress workers started chanting the slogan “Bring Priyanka, save the nation”.
Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that there was an “ambience” due to such leads are emerging but expressed confidence that the party will stage a comeback with blazing guns after taking corrective measures as the environment changes very quickly.
“I do agree it sounds, it looks a little bleak. But I don’t think that the results even if we lose are going to be by margins being shown by the current leads.”
“What else can I say. There are areas in the South, North East, where we will do much better than the BJP. Even on leads, we will expect much better figures in the East, North East and South,” Singhvi said.
The Congress spokesperson said that his party fought the election very well but added “we have to introspect” saying the party has 10-12 corrections to do and there is a “need to look at things in terms of policies, persons and future”.
The mechanics at the Honda Showroom in Haldwani were in for a shock when they opened the bonnet of a car to find a 9-feet-long python inside.
The car had broken down in Bhimtal and the Honda workers had brought the car to the showroom for repair.
The python was later rescued by the forest officials and released in jungle.
The mechanics said that the snake entered the car through the broken chassis.
The team had to remove the whole bonnet cover to get the snake out.
At 6.10pm on Friday, India’s prime minister designate Narendra Modi took centrestage — in Vadodara, one of the two Lok Sabha seats he won on the way to decimating the Congress and everybody else to wrest power.
“People wanted me to say something, but my wish was if I had to say something I would say it in Vadodara,” he told a lustily cheering crowd in Gujarat city 139 km from state capital Gandhinagar.
“How do you feel, tell me,” he posed to the crowd before engaging them in his by now known style of oratory. He used the ‘Ache din ane wale hain’ (Good days are coming) catchphrase to great effect in his first address after the sweeping win.
Modi said “Achey din” and the crowd completed “aane wale hain”. This played out twice.
Modi, who won by more than 570,000 votes from Vadodara, apart from winning Varanasi, said, “I bow down before the people of Vadodara. After filing my nomination papers from here, I could not give this constituency even 50 minutes. But paanch lakh sattar hazaar (5.7 lakh)!”
He added, “In Vadodara, ever voter worked as Narendra Modi.”
Raking up the Varanasi administration’s reported denial of permission for his rally in the holy city, he said, “I could not take my words as a candidate to Varanasi voters, but they voted for my silence.”
A Delhi court on Friday extended till May 23 the NIA custody of suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) men Tehsin Akhtar and Zia-Ur-Rahman alias Waqas after the agency said they were required to be interrogated further to unearth the larger conspiracy of the banned terror outfit.
Akhtar and Waqas were produced before District Judge I S Mehta during an in-chamber proceeding after expiry of their police custody and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the court that the duo was to be taken to different places in the country to know about their hideouts.
“During the examination in police custody, accused persons have disclosed about several hideouts used by them since they joined IM and have also disclosed about various e-mail/chat account addresses used by them for communicating with other IM operatives. All these need to be verified….,” NIA said.
Advocate M S Khan, who appeared for both Akhtar and Waqas, opposed NIA’s plea seeking extension of their remand for 15 days, saying the agency has already interrogated his clients and there was no evidence to connect them in the case.
The court, however, allowed the plea and remanded both the accused in NIA custody till May 23. NIA had earlier claimed in the court that Akhtar and Waqas have “exclusive knowledge” about the plans of IM to carry out terror attacks in the country in future.
It had also said that IM Indian chief Yasin Bhatkal, his aide Asadullah Akhtar and seven other suspected members of IM have already been chargesheeted in the case relating to larger conspiracy of the terror outfit to carry out strikes in India.
A Delhi court on Friday directed CBI to file its response on Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa’s plea seeking permission to withdraw the answers given by him earlier in reply to the court’s query in the ongoing trial in 2G spectrum allocation case.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini posted the matter for further hearing on May 22 and asked CBI to file its response. Balwa, who had on May 10 faced the court’s ire which said he “deserved” to be taken in custody for his misconduct, filed a plea contending he will “not raise any question of prejudice caused to him on the ground of non-understanding of any questions” asked by the court.
The 2G case accused had also requested the court to take on record the written answers afresh.
He had said that during recording of his statement, which was deferred by the judge, all the questions were “explained properly” by the court and due to “some inadvertence” it was recorded in some questions that he was not able to understand some of the queries.
Special public prosecutor U U Lalit had earlier told the court that Balwa’s contention that he did not understand questions asked by the court under the provisions of the CrPC was only to take advantage in future.
The Supreme Court on Friday acquitted all six convicts, including three condemned prisoners, in 2002 Akshardham temple attack case and pulled up the Gujarat Police for shoddy investigation in the case in which all the accused faced prosecution under the stringent anti-terror law POTA.
A bench of justices A K Patnaik and V Gopala Gowda quashed the orders of the trial court and the Gujarat High Court by which three persons were awarded death sentence.
Other convicts were facing varying jail terms from life sentence to 10 years for the September 24, 2002 terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar.
Adam Ajmeri, Shan Miya alias Chand Khan and Mufti Abdul Qayyum Mansuri were awarded death sentence in July 2006 by the special court set up to try the case under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
While a local youth from Dariapur in the city Mohammed Salim Shaikh was sentenced to life imprisonment, Abdulmiyan Qadri was given a 10-year term and Altaf Hussain was sentenced to imprisonment for five years.
The apex court ordered their release from jail “forthwith” if they are not convicted in any other case. The bench pulled up the Gujarat Police for shoddy its investigation in the case which concerned national security and integrity of the nation.
Two militants, identified as Murtuza Hafiz Yasin and Ashraf Ali Mohammed Farooq and allegedly having links with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, were killed by National Security Guard (NSG) commandos during the attack on the temple.
The attackers using automatic weapons and hand grenades had killed 32 people, including 28 temple visitors, three commandos, including one from NSG, and a constable of the State Reserve Police (SRP).
Thumping victory for BJP as Congress routed out of power.
The BJP slogan Acchcche Din Aane Wale Hai has finally become a reality as the party has made history by securing majority on its own. The saffron party led NDA has routed the Congress party led UPA by a massive margin. In Mumbai, BJP has made a clean sweep by winning all six seats and defeating the sitting Congress MPs. The ‘Modi wave was clearly visible after the counting of votes had begun early morning yesterday. BJP had grabbed early leads and went on to consolidate them minute by minute handing over one of the worst defeat to Congress.
In Maharashtra, the BJP has won 23 seats while Shiv Sena won 18 seats and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtna bagged one seat. On the other hand, the Congress party’s performance took a severe beating as it won only 2 seats while the NCP could manage only 4 seats.
The newly formed AAP which was expecting a good show in Maharashtra after putting up an impressive performance in Delhi Assembly election failed to open their account in the state.
BJP MLA Gopal Shetty from North Mumbai Constituency defeated Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam by a margin of 3.8 lakhs.
Talking to AV Gopal Shetty said, “It’s the victory of the common man, as they were fed with the poor governance of Congress. We will work towards the empowerment of the common man and strengthen our nation.”
Shiv Sena candidate Gajanan Kirtikar from North West constituency defeated the Congress candidate Gurudas Kamat.
Pleased with the victory Gajanan Kirtikar said, “The credit goes to Narendra Modi and Udhhav Thackeray because they really worked hard to pave way for NDA’s victory. I would like to thank voters for electing me.”
Pramod Mahajan’s daughter and BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan from Mumbai North Central defeated Priya Dutt by a margin of 1,86,771 votes. Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant from South Mumbai defeated Congress candidate Milind Deora.
Poonam Mahajan said, “The common man have huge expectations from us. We will leave no stone unturned to fulfil them.”
Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Shewale from Mumbai South Central constituency defeated Congress candidate Eknath Gaikwad by a margin of 1,38, 046 votes. Mumbai North East BJP candidate Kirit Somaiya defeated NCP candidate Sanjay Patil.
Shiv Sena Chief Udhhav Thackeray said, “I am thankful to the voters for trusting us. I promise that we will work hard for the welfare of the common man. I would like to express my gratitude for Modi for supporting Shiv Sena.”
Even the corporate world shared their reactions with our paper after the election results.
Aneel Kashi Murarka, MD, Mirachem Industries, “I believe Narendra Modi will definitely transform the country. He is the right man for the job. I look forward to seeing him deliver and changing things for the better.”
Pramoud Rao, MD, Zicom said, “After the election results we are feeling liberated and positive. Happy days are here again. Get Set India, we are back in business.”
Dr. Ajeenkya DY Patil, Chairman of Ajeenkya DY Patil Group and Consul General of Guyana said, “It is great to note that the people of India have given a decisive majority mandate for a stable government. It will provide a better environment for the growth of the economy and the nation at large”
Finally, the results of Lok Sabha elections are out. As the exit polls predicted the BJP’s performance was stupendous and is an position to form government on its own. It’s now sure that the BJP led NDA will form the next government. The results once again endorse the fact that the people cannot be taken for granted and fooled all the times. The Congress deserved to lose and paid for poor governance. The last 10 years of the party’s rule has only witnessed scams. The party has looted the nation as many of its ministers, officials and bureaucrats were involved in rampant corruption which deprived the nation’s exchequer of crores of rupees. People residing in rural areas could understand the magnitude of corruption and thus wanting a change, taught Congress a severe lesson and elected the BJP led NDA.
Ever since Narendra Modi was declared as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, it was a “one man struggle, effort, attack and vociferous campaign.” Yes…it was one and only Narendra Modi v/s Congress + NCP + SP + BSP + TMC + AIADMK + DMK and so on. Namo as Modi was referred to have singlehandedly led each and every campaign, travelled over 3 lakh kilometers across the nation. He bore the brunt and attacks – including many personal ones—of many from the opposition: right from Rahul to Sonia to Priyanka, Sibal, Didi, Diggy and many others.
Only Modi was able to sway the masses with powerful speeches and impressive outreach through media. He was highly tech and net-savvy – with good marketing strategies like “Chai-pe-charcha”, 3D rallies, social media chats, marathons, conclaves and so on! The Congress totally failed to match the aggressive style of Modi. Even many veterans and stalwarts of the BJP (barring Rajnath and Jaitley) were rather inactive as far as participation in campaigns was concerned.
It is better to say less about Rahul’s childish, monotonous and immature style of campaigning which only earned him a place in many cartoons. And Priyanka was present only for the sake of attacking Modi, and defending her husband. Except possessing the Gandhi surname, she did not have any political background, people-connect, knowledge of governance. People understood Rahul’s and his sister’s gimmicks and routed the Congress. Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka & Co. must be made answerable for the worst ever performance of Congress in the general elections. Thanks to lackluster speeches and campaign by Rahul, the INC is way behind the 100 mark—it has just managed to win 46 seats only! Shame, Shame !
Similarly AAP was also shown the door as it could only manage to win 4 seats, nationwide. Ever since, Kejriwal took the people of Delhi for a ride and ran away from his responsibilities and started playing tantrums his party was not taken seriously. He should have first run the Delhi government and proved his mettle before jumping into the bandwagon of national politics …instead of making a “mockery” of himself and his party.
The new prime minister and the BJP led NDA are now faced with the daunting task of restoring the government’s credibility at the centre and the country’s image in the eyes of the world. The new PM must prove that he has the courage to root out corruption at all levels and that he and his NDA are capable of giving an able, effective and corruption free governance and administration. Modi and his cabinet may have to face criticism if people’s expectations are not fulfilled. Let us hope that Narendra Modi as a PM will be firm and assertive and with capable team, will certainly take the country forward.
Thumping victory for BJP as Congress routed out of power.