YES Bank crisis: Links between BJP & Rana Kapoor well known, says Congress

Congress alleged the loans given by YES Bank rose 100 per cent in just two years after demonetisation from Rs 98,210 crore in March 2016 to Rs 2,03,534 crore in March 2018.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government must talk about increase in bad loans at YES Bank in the last five years after Narendra Modi came to power, and should not try to divert public attention, said Congress chief spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala here on Sunday.

Responding to the BJP allegations on YES Bank promoter Rana Kapoor's links with the Congress, Surjewala said the government must answer around Rs 2 trillion rise in YES Bank loan book from Rs 55,633 crore in March 2014 to Rs 2.41 trillion in March 2019, and not obfuscate the real issue of people's money sinking into a bad bank.

The relation between the BJP and Kapoor "is well-known", Surjewala said and added, why did the Prime Minister address a YES Bank-sponsored conference on March 6, despite "the RBI moratorium."

The Congress alleged the loans given by YES Bank rose 100 per cent in just two years after demonetisation from Rs 98,210 crore in March 2016 to Rs 2,03,534 crore in March 2018.

Also, the BJP government of Haryana deposited over Rs 1,000 crore in YES Bank just a month ago, knowing that it was sinking, he said and wondered if Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra also deposited money in the private bank.

"How does an M.F. Hussain painting of Rajiv Gandhi sold 10 years ago by Priyanka Gandhi to YES Bank owner Rana Kapoor & disclosed in her tax returns connect with unprecedented giving of loans of Rs 2,00,000 crore in 5 years of the Modi government," Surjewala said responding to a tweet by BJP leader Amit Malviya on the sale and purchase of Rajiv Gandhi's portrait by Hussain.

Delhi election 2020: 5 seats where AAP, BJP gave each other tough fight

From Bijwasan to Patparganj, these constituencies saw the smallest gaps between the vote shares of the winner and the runner-up.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday won the Delhi elections, reducing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress to eight and eight and zero seats in the 70-member Assembly

The largest margin of victory was in Burari where AAP's Sanjeev Jha secured 139,598 votes. Janata Dal (United) candidate Shailendra Kumar was the runners up with 51,440 votes, trailing Jha by 88,000 votes.

The smallest victory margin was also secured by an AAP candidate. Bhupinder Singh Joon retained the seat for his party with 57,271 votes, defeating a close second Sat Prakash Rana (BJP) ticket and secured 56,518 votes a difference of just 753 votes. AAP won in 5 of the constituencies in which the victory margin was the lowest.

ALSO READ: Delhi election 2020: Top 5 seats where AAP got its most comprehensive wins

In terms of vote share, while the AAP saw a marginal decline from 54.34 per cent to 53.57 per cent, the BJP’s share rose by 6 percentage points from 32.19 per cent to 38.46 per cent. The Congress’ vote share, meanwhile, plumbed further to 4.34 per cent from 9.65 per cent in 2015.

Business Standard takes a look at the five constituencies where the difference in vote share of the winning candidate and their nearest rival was the lowest:

1. Bijwasan Assembly Constituency

Winner: Bhupinder Singh Joon (AAP)

Winner’s vote share: 45.83 per cent

Runner-up: Sat Prakash Rana (BJP)

Runner-up’s vote share: 45.22 per cent

Defeat margin: 753 votes

Difference: 0.60 percentage points

Modi says govt focus is on 'maximum job creation', attacks Opposition

He accused the Congress party of delaying the development of the country for 70 years.

The government’s focus is to create jobs through reforms that strengthen the economy, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in a Parliament speech accusing his political rivals of years of indecision when they governed India.

"We have maintained the fiscal deficit; the macro economy is stable too. FDI and revenue collection under GST have been on the rise. Our vision is greater investment, better infrastructure, increased value addition and maximum job creation," he said in his reply to the President’s speech to Parliament last week.

"President highlighted vision for New India, his address comes at a time when we enter the third decade of the century. The NDA government's aim is speed and scale, determination and decisiveness, sensitivity and solutions," said Modi in Lok Sabha.

"Agricultural budget, which was earlier Rs 27,000 crore has now been increased by five times to about Rs 1.5 trillion.

Driven by politics, some states are not allowing farmers to benefit from PM-Kisan Scheme. I appeal to them, please let there be no politics in farmer welfare. We all have to work together for the prosperity of farmers of India," he said about his government’s signature farm scheme.

He accused the Congress party of delaying the development of the country for 70 years. "Had we continued with thinking of Opposition, Ram Janmabhoomi would continue to be a disputed issue. Had we continued with the same path of yours, Article 370 would not have been abrogated, triple talaq would not have ended. Had we continued with the Congress' path, we would have continued to wait for next-generation fighter planes and creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)," Modi said.

Modi’s government last week presented its annual budget that proposed tax cuts for individuals and wider deficit targets, but analysts said it failed to provide specific steps to fix a struggling financial sector, improve infrastructure and create jobs.

What will the poor eat? Priyanka slams Modi govt on rising inflation

The Congress leader's comments come a day after data showed that retail inflation rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 per cent in December 2019, surpassing the RBI's comfort level.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday hit out at the government over spiralling prices of vegetables and essential commodities which is hitting the poor.

The Congress leader's comments come a day after data showed that retail inflation rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 per cent in December 2019, surpassing the RBI's comfort level, mainly due to spiralling prices of vegetables as onions were selling costlier.

Priyanka Gandhi accused the government of picking pockets of the common man and also taking away their livelihood.

"The prices of vegetables and other edible commodities is getting out of reach of the common man.

What will the poor eat when vegetables, oil, pulses and flour turns expensive. The poor are not even getting employment due to the economic recession.

The BJP government has not just picked the pockets of the poor but also kicked on their stomach," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

Business Standard

Sabarimala issue set to decide political fortunes in Kerala yet again

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, post-Sabarimala agitation, the Left front had suffered a massive drubbing, losing 19 out of the total of 20 seats.

As the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala gears up for yet another annual pilgrim season next month, major political parties in Kerala are keeping their fingers crossed to know whether the women's entry issue will have any impact on the October 21 bypolls to five assembly constituencies.

The bypolls to be held in Vattiyoorkkavu, Konni, Ernakulam, Aroor and Manjeswaram are seen as a litmus test for the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF and the opposition Congress headed UDF and BJP-NDA ahead of the 2021 assembly elections.

LDF is going all out to ensure that the Sabarimala issue is not discussed in the ongoing campaigns as they had drawn flak from several quarters over the women's entry issue for its alleged hastiness in implementing the Supreme Court order, permitting women of all age groups into the hill shrine.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, post-Sabarimala agitation, the Left front had suffered a massive drubbing, losing 19 out of the total of 20 seats.

The defeat of the Left and the sweep of the opposition Congress-UDF was generally seen as the impact of the Sabarimala issue.

During the ongoing campaign, the ruling front is trying its best to woo voters by focussing on development issues and listing out the achievements of the Pinarayi Vijayan led government.

Unlike the Lok Sabha polls, even senior Left leaders, including Vijayan, are steering clear of any controversial statements or provocative remarks on Sabarimala in campaigns.

Senior CPI(M) leader and Industries Minister E P Jayarajan had even said the Sabarimala issue would be in LDF's favour in the bypolls and Lord Ayyappa was helping them.

The recent victory of LDF candidate Mani C Kappan in Pala assembly segment, a traditional UDF bastion, had reinfused confidence among the Left cadres and leadership.

Business Standard

Kashmir on edge: Security beefed up, many leaders 'detained or arrested'

The officials said former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti would not be allowed to move out of their respective house in view of the restrictions.

Business Standard : Kashmir remained on edge as the authorities stepped up security at vital installations and in sensitive areas, suspended mobile internet services and either "arrested" or "detained" several leaders in fast-paced developments on Sunday night.

Officials said restrictions on movement of people would come into force in Kashmir Valley at the crack of dawn.'

The officials said former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti would not be allowed to move out of their respective house in view of the restrictions, while Congress leader Usman Majid and CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami claimed to have been arrested around midnight.

However, no official confirmation of the arrests was immediately available.

"I believe I'm being placed under house arrest from midnight tonight & the process has already started for other mainstream leaders. No way of knowing if this is true but if it is then I'll see all of you on the other side of whatever is in store," National Conference leader Abdullah tweeted.

"To the people of Kashmir, we don't know what is in store for us but I am a firm believer that what ever Almighty Allah has planned it is always for the better, we may not see it now but we must never doubt his ways. Good luck to everyone, stay safe & above all PLEASE STAY CALM," he said in another tweet.

Reacting to the development, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba said, "How ironic that elected representatives like us who fought for peace are under house arrest. The world watches as people & their voices are being muzzled in J&K. The same Kashmir that chose a secular democratic India is facing oppression of unimaginable magnitude. Wake up India."

Responding to Abdullah's tweet, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, "You are not alone @OmarAbdullah. Every Indian democrat will stand with the decent mainstream leaders in Kashmir as you face up to whatever the government has in store for our country. Parliament is still in session & our voices will not be stilled."

"What is going on in J&K? Why would leaders be arrested overnight while having done no wrong? If Kashmiris are our citizens &their leaders our partners, surely the mainstream ones must be kept on board while we act against terrorists & separatists? If we alienate them, who's left?" he said in another tweet.

Change of guard: #Chowkidaar prefix to make way for new campaign

After Modi dropped the prefix, about 32% people had dropped it too, including Piyush Goyal, Arun Jaitley, and Smriti Irani.

It seems chowkidaar would not be guarding BJP’s interest on the back of which it won its massive mandate. The tagline has been dropped from the Twitter handle of the PM. And other leaders, sources said, might follow suit.

“The time has come to take the chowkidaar spirit to the next level. The word chowkidaar goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!” Modi tweeted on Thursday evening.

According to sources in Bharatiya Janata Party, the party is going to coin a new term that would replace chowkidaar. This term would portray how the government would function over the next five years. “The people of India became chowkidaars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidaar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption and cronyism,” the PM said in another tweet.

ALSO READ: Narendra Modi has turned conventional wisdom on its head and reshaped India

A call on a new campaign would be taken soon. The social media managers of the party, in the meantime, are working on the next big campaign slogan and tagline. “The tagline and the campaign would focus on good governance and what the government plans to do for the people. But those things are yet to be finalised. Everyone in the leadership has been told to stay put for the next big thing,” a source said. According to sources, Modi will launch the new campaign in the months to come.

On March 15, BJP launched its ‘Main bhi Chowkidaar’ campaign, with the Prime Minister, several Cabinet ministers and BJP supporters putting ‘Chowkidar’ or watchman before their name on Twitter. The campaign resonated with the voter base, with the ruling party even creating a radio song around the theme during their election campaign.

Keep Reading : Business Standard

The PM prefixed “Chowkidaar” to his profile on March 15, and also gave the hashtag #MainBhiChowkidaar. According to research by the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi and Hyderabad, within 10 days as many as 404,000 tweets had been tagged with #MainBhiChowkidaar.

After the PM dropped the prefix, about 32 per cent people had dropped it too, including Piyush Goyal, Arun Jaitley and Smriti Irani. As of 7 pm on Thursday, 174,000 people were still using chowkidaar in their Twitter names, IIIT analysis.

A snapshot of market winners and losers from Lok Sabha elections 2019

Winners include cement companies, pipes, tiles and sanitary-ware manufacturers, capital goods and infrastructure companies.

Business Standard : A decisive mandate for India’s ruling coalition and a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured investors of stability and policy continuity in Asia’s third-biggest economy.

Still, equity markets ended in the red after surging to an intraday record on Thursday as the result broadly matched investor expectations and was partly priced in after exit polls this week.

Political stability alone isn’t likely to drive continued outperformance by India’s equities or currency, with investors also weighing headwinds from softer domestic consumption, rising oil prices and a trade war. And valuations are already on the higher side: The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex trades at a 12-month blended forward price-to-earnings multiple of 18.3, above its five-year average.

“Markets are pricing in double-digit earnings growth over next few years. From a risk reward point of view, it is delicately balanced,” Nilesh Shah, chief executive at Kotak Asset Management Co., said in an email. “The direction will depend on steps that the government takes to accelerate growth.”

Here’s a snapshot of the winners and losers from India’s elections:

WINNERS

Agricultural Sector

In an interim budget in January, the government made clear that farmers are at the top of its agenda. The party aims to invest 25 trillion rupees ($359 billion) in rural development and offer farmers 6,000 rupees per year in income support. Also, it has planned increased spending on animal husbandry and fisheries.

Rural-focused companies including those providing seeds, pesticides, irrigation products, consumer staples and motorbike manufacturers stand to gain.

Infrastructure and Real Estate

During the campaign, Modi pledged to spend $1.44 trillion on repairing the country’s creaky infrastructure. Meanwhile, the government is already promoting affordable housing and has announced tax breaks to encourage buyers.

Winners include cement companies, pipes, tiles and sanitary-ware manufacturers, capital goods and infrastructure companies.

Elections 2019: How BJP's impending victory has surprised even the bulls

The opposition United Progressive Alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi's Congress party, was leading in 111 seats.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP was set for a historic victory as India counted hundreds of millions of votes from its general election on Thursday.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was ahead in 324 seats, broadcaster NDTV said.

ALSO READ: Election result LIVE: Modi set for 2nd term, see-saw battle in Amethi

The opposition United Progressive Alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party, was leading in 111 seats.

Indian stock markets surged ahead of a possible Modi win.

At 0525 GMT, the broader NSE index was up 2% for the day. The rupee was trading at 69.5 to the dollar, stronger than the 69.67 close on Wednesday.

COMMENTARY

JAGANNADHAM THUNUGUNTLA, RESEARCH HEAD, CENTRUM WEALTH, MUMBAI

“The thumping victory for BJP as per the early trends surpassing its winning tally of 2014 has pleasantly surprised even the bulls ... the continuation of policies and reforms is an added comfort ... the narrative should come back to employment, economy and earnings.”

SACHIN SHAH, FUND MANAGER, EMKAY INVESTMENT MANAGERS, MUMBAI

“At a time when there is uncertainty over economic growth, political stability and continuity allow an economy to progress and rise above hurdles over a period of time. So this outcome offers hope that policy reforms will go in the right direction.”

R. SIVAKUMAR, HEAD OF FIXED INCOME, AXIS MUTUAL FUND, MUMBAI

“Investors globally are positive when there is stability in any country. For global investors, political stability and continuity is an important factor while taking a view on investing in any country. This will keep India on the radar of global equity investors.”Buisness Standard

Election result LIVE: BJP leading in 294 seats, may get majority on its own

Lok Sabha election results 2019 LIVE updates: Counting of votes is underway and will continue throughout the day. Track LIVE updates on General Election results

LIVE Election results 2019: Counting of votes to decide the fate of 8,049 candidates is underway. Going by the early leads, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP has crossed the halfway mark on its own.

The NDA is ahead in more than 300 seats. The BJP is doing well in most states, including the three heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, wrested by the Congress in December.

It is also ahead in Karnataka and Delhi. The Congress is ahead in Punjab and Tamil Nadu, where it joined hands with the DMK.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is trailing in Amethi, a seat Congress has not lost in the last three decades, except in 1998.

It will be a huge boost for the BJP if its candidate Smriti Irani registers a win against the Congress chief. Gandhi is also contesting from Kerala's Wayanand, where he is leading.

Elections were held on 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form government.

The BJP is leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, as per trends available so far.

Shah is leading by over 1,30,000 votes in Gandhinagar at the end of second round of counting.

His party's candidate Mansukh Vasava is ahead of Congress's Sherkhan Pathan in Bharuch by over 33,500 votes.

Business Standard

On the economic front, every Indian political party is on the left

Mr Modi has proved more statist than the Gandhis. Before he took power he criticized Congress welfare programs as insulting to the poor but after coming to power he doubled down on those programmes.

Business Standard : Like many global investors I am leery of big government. But I did not come to this view on Wall Street. It came to me growing up in India, watching lives ruined by the broken state, including the public hospital that hastened the death of my grandfather by assigning an untrained night aide to attempt his emergency heart surgery.

As an idealistic 20-something in the late 1990s, my hope was that India would one day elect a free market reformer like Ronald Reagan, who would begin to shrink the dysfunctional bureaucracy and free the economy to grow faster. Looking back, I see how clueless I was.

In Delhi every politician is wedded to big government, and there is no constituency for free-market reform. I kept hoping for Reagan, and India kept electing Bernie Sanders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no exception. Five years ago he led the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, known as B.J.P., to power on a Reaganesque promise of “minimum government,” and now he seeks a second term in the general election that ends on Thursday.

But in office, Modi has wielded the tools of state control at least as aggressively as his predecessors. In this campaign, he went toe to toe with rivals, vying to see who could offer the most generous welfare programs, and it appears to have worked. Exit polls released Sunday showed the B.J.P. and its allies with a commanding lead.

This should surprise no one. India’s political DNA is fundamentally socialist. After independence in 1947, India established a parliamentary democracy, and a deeply meddlesome government to spread the wealth to its impoverished masses.

But if Indians were ready for political freedom at such an early stage of development, I often wondered, why not economic freedom?

My hopes focused first on the Gandhis, the leading dynasty of the Congress party, now the main national rival to Mr. Modi and the B.J.P. Perhaps Congress would find its worldly reformer in Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the prime minister slain in 1991. Later I saw hope in Sonia’s son Rahul, a Cambridge graduate who had worked at a London consulting company and now leads Congress’s 2019 campaign.

3 out of 7 seats in Delhi get more women to vote in this Lok Sabha election

According to the official data, 60.15 percent of women voters came out to vote as compared to 60.82 percent of men. The overall voting percentage dropped to 60.52 from 2014.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 : East Delhi, New Delhi and South Delhi parliamentary constituencies saw more women turning out to vote as compared to men, officials said Thursday.

Delhi recorded a turnout of 60.52 percent in the polls on May 12, five percentage points down from 2014.

According to official data, 60.82 per cent male voters and 60.15 per cent female voters exercised their right this time.

The East Delhi constituency, which is seeing a triangular contest between BJP's Gautam Gambhir, Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely and AAP's Atishi Marlena, saw 61.80 per cent women exercising their right to vote as compared to 61.50 per cent of male voters.

The New Delhi constituency, which has many VVIP voters, recorded the lowest voter turnout among all seven constituencies in Delhi at 56.86 per cent, but saw a better turnout of women than men. According to the data, 57.21 per cent of women voters cast their votes while 56.58 per cent men exercised their franchise in the seat.

South Delhi, which had the second lowest turnout of voters, saw 58.89 per cent of women voters as compared to 58.60 per cent of male voters.

The Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and AAP'S Dilip Pandey are contesting, recorded the highest voter turnout at 63.67 per cent.

While 64.46 per cent of men cast their votes, 62.72 per cent women turned out to vote.

In a first for the city, as many as 17 booths with all women polling officials were established for the Lok Sabha elections in the seven constituencies of Delhi.

Out of the 17 booths, 10 had been set up in East Delhi constituency, two in Chandni Chowk and one each in North East Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi and North west Delhi.

Business Standard

Explained: Why Nifty, Sensex rose after every Lok Sabha Election since 1999

Another reason for markets rising, irrespective of who wins, is that the election is a very big economic event in India's consumption-driven economy.

India’s key stock market indices, the Nifty and Sensex, showed a rise six months after all the four Lok Sabha elections between 1999 and 2014, compared to the previous six months, according to an IndiaSpend analysis.

We analysed Nifty and Sensex levels on three key dates--six months before the first day of polling (pre-election), the first day of polling (during the election) and six months after the first day of polling (post-election), over the last four Lok Sabha elections.

The Nifty and Sensex showed an average rise of 40.8% six months after each of these general elections, as compared to the previous six months.

The Nifty, short for the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Fifty, was launched on April 1, 1996, and represents the weighted average of 50 major Indian companies across 12 sectors that are listed on the NSE. The Sensex, short for the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index, which is an index of 30 major Indian companies listed on the BSE, was established in 1986.

Of the four Lok Sabha elections held after the establishment of the Nifty, two (2004 and 2009) saw the election of an Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. In 1999, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed the government, despite falling short of a majority. In 2014, the BJP won a simple majority and formed an NDA government along with allies. In all four cases, both the Nifty and the Sensex rose.

The Nifty saw the highest rise after the 2009 elections, when the UPA government was re-elected. The index was at 5,142 on October 16, 2009, compared to 3,269 on the same day a year before--a 57.3% increase.

The Sensex, too, saw its highest post-election rise after the 2009 elections, going from 10,581 on October 16, 2008, to 17,323 on October 16, 2009--a 63.7% increase.

Note: For 1999 data, the first day of the election is September 5, 1999. Six months pre-elections and post-elections were March 5, 1999, and March 5, 2000, respectively

That the Nifty always rises post-election as compared to before and during elections, was also highlighted in a December 2018 report by Mumbai-based wealth management and investment banking firm Anand Rathi Wealth Services.

Business Standard

Election 2019 may see the highest voter turnout, but will it benefit BJP?

Increased voter turnout seems to be concentrated in states where the voters have been at the forefront of the ongoing rural distress.

Business Standard : As the election 2019 season enters the final lap with polling left only for one phase of the seven scheduled, voter turnout this time around is likely to create a record. According to reports, the 2019 election is on track to achieve record voter turnout of around 67 per cent (55 – 56 million new voters relative to 2014 general elections), which would surpass the previous record of 66.4 per cent during the 2014 polls.

As per the data available with the Election Commission of India (ECI), voter turnout in the first four phases stood at 69.5 per cent (first phase), 69.44 per cent (second phase), 68.4 per cent (third phase) and 65.51 per cent (fourth phase).

ALSO READ: UP to dent BJP tally, BSP-NDA post-poll alliance possible: Ambit Capital

Constituency-wise comparison, as per a Nomura report suggests that in the first four phases (around 69 per cent of the seats), increased voter participation was concentrated in the key Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Assam and Karnataka.

“The two outliers are Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, where voter turnout was high, but the BJP’s prospects have traditionally been weak,” the report says.

So, will the BJP/National Democratic Alliance (NDA) benefit from this higher voter turnout or will it succumb to anti-incumbency?

Both theoretical and empirical studies, according to Nomura, have struggled to find causality between voter turnout and election outcomes. In past Lok Sabha elections, there have been anti-incumbency outcomes during both high and low turnout elections.

“On the one hand, increased voter turnout may indicate a strong sense of dissatisfaction that has led to voters coalescing to boot out the incumbent, although studies have disputed this causality in previous elections,” wrote Sonal Varma, managing director and chief India economist at Nomura in a recent co-authored report with Aurodeep Nandi.

Adding: “On the other hand, high voter turnout could reflect active participation at the grass root level, with the party cadre coaxing citizens to vote. It may also be indicative of more structural, party-agnostic trends, wherein increased social media outreach, general political awareness and ease of voting contribute to participation of previously dormant registered voters.”

My wine in their bottle': Bhupinder Hooda on Modi govt's quota for poor

Hooda-led Govt had in 2013 approved a proposal of 10% reservation for economically poor sections in general category.

Haryana's former two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dubs the Modi government's 10 per cent reservation for poor in the general category "his wine in their bottle" and says though the BJP can take credit for his work, it will not get the votes.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in "political vendetta", the senior Congress leader, who is contesting from Sonipat Lok Sabha seat, alleged that the CBI raids at his Rohtak residence in January were aimed at maligning him ahead of the May 12 election.

"I brought it (reservation for poor in general category) in Haryana first. I ensured that irrespective of caste and economy, everybody gets reservation. They (BJP) opposed it at that time. Now they have repackaged it at the national level and are trying to reap its benefits. It is my wine in their bottle," Hooda told PTI in an interview.

The Hooda-led Haryana government had in 2013 approved a proposal to grant 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker sections in the general category on the recommendation of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission.

"They (BJP) think they can take credit for my work; they certainly can, but they cannot get votes on its basis. People are shrewd enough to decide, they can make a mistake once but not again and again," the Congress leader said.

The Congress is banking on Hooda and his son Deepender Singh Hooda, who is seeking re-election from Rohtak for a fourth time, to revive the party's fortunes in Haryana.
Hoodas are one of the few clans that have dominated the political scenario in Haryana for decades.

Hooda first contested parliamentary elections in 1952 from the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency and won with a huge margin. He retained the seat in the next election and was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Speaking about his initial reluctance to contest the polls this year, Hooda said, "I was apprehensive, but if the party leadership wants me to contest, I will not say no to it. My wife is from Sonipat. It has also been my father's constituency when he was in the Lok Sabha. It is certainly my stronghold and I will win."

Business Standard

Economy to Balakot strike, Delhiites define what development means to them

East Delhi voter Nishat Anjum said she doesn't know much about which political party promised development.

Business Standard : From everyday issues of electricity and water to the Balakot strikes, there are different development strokes for different folk in the national capital, the definition of vikas' changing in accordance with needs and necessities but also political loyalties.

Across the city, spread across seven Lok Sabha constituencies, the concept of development is fluid, shifting form and shape to mean one thing for the ragpicker getting ready to go to Uttar Pradesh to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and quite another for the affluent MNC employee.

The city, which votes on May 12, interprets the BJP government's mantra of Sabka saath, sabka vikas' in ways as diverse as its 19 million people.

For Srikishun, who works as a ragpicker in Delhi's walled city, life may be tough but he has saved money to travel to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh in time to vote on May 19, the last round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.

The 28-year-old said there has been no development for the poor in the last five years but a lot of good has happened for the country. The country is getting famous but, on the other hand, unemployment is getting out of hand, he said with a wry smile.

ALSO READ: Elections LIVE: Mamata should be afraid of people of West Bengal, says Modi

Srikishun knows actor-turned-MP Ravi Kishan is the BJP's candidate in Gorakhpur but that is of little consequence he said he is going all the way to vote for Modi.

Whatever he has done in Pakistan and all the other things have made me very happy, he said.

At the other end of the economic and political -- spectrum is Harpreet Singh, an MNC employee who lives in Delhi but works in Gurgaon.

In terms of infrastructure and schools, the Delhi government has done a swell job but the BJP in the Centre has been a massive failure, he said.

Be it development, economy or harmony, the BJP has disappointed us. Now everyone is screaming themselves hoarse in big debates over religion. But nobody knows anything about what's happening in the sectors of education and economy and they also have no willingness to know about it. In 2014, I was one of those who chanted Modi's name. But I've realised I was a fool at that time, 34-year-old Singh said.