Haryana elected only 5 women MPs in 53 yrs: Will this poll be different?

Congress' Kumari Selja, a Rajya Sabha MP, is the only women to have been elected to Lok Sabha thrice, twice from Ambala and once from Sirsa.

Business Standard : A total of 11 women candidates are in the fray for the May 12 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, which in the 53 years of its existence has elected only five women parliamentarians.

In the 2014 general elections, not even a single woman candidate could manage to win in the state known for its skewed gender ratio, while six out ten parliamentary constituencies here have never elected a woman MP.

Although, no women candidates contesting independently in the state have ever made it to the lower house of parliament, this time, seven of the 11 female candidates are independents.

Chandravati, a former Janta Party leader became the first ever woman MP from the state in 1977 when she defeated political stalwart Chaudhary Bansi Lal from Bhiwani constituency.

She later joined the Congress and also served as the Governor of Puducherry in 1990.

Of the 151 MPs elected from the state so far (including when it was a part of Punjab), women were elected only eight times.

Congress' Kumari Selja, a Rajya Sabha MP, is the only women to have been elected to Lok Sabha thrice, twice from Ambala and once from Sirsa.

Selja who is contesting the elections this time from Ambala, told PTI, "The state has progressed a lot when it comes to women but a lot needs to be done. We need more and more women leaders to address the issues."

Shruti Chaudhary, grand daughter of former Chief Minister, Chaudhary Bansi Lal, who was elected as an MP in 2009 general elections from Bhiwani-Mahendargarh constituency, is also in the fray this time.

"Women can be strong politicians. My mother (Kiran Chaudhary) has also proved herself. Its a pity that such a small number of women MPs are elected and I appeal the women in the state to rise up," Chaudhary told PTI.

In the 1999 elections, the state sent two women MPs to Lok Sabha--BJP's Sudha Yadav from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh and Kailasho Saini of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) from Kurukshetra.

Saini, who has been an MP from the state twice is now in the Congress.

Elections 2019: Can the BJP repeat its 2014 performance in west UP?

The bottom line is that people seem to want Modi but not necessarily the BJP candidate.

Election 2019 : Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Kairana and Ghaziabad go to polls on April 11. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s performance in both the 2014 Lok Sabha election and the 2017 Assembly elections in this area was record-beating.

Can the party repeat its record in 2019?

Take Baghpat. Arithmetic answers some of the question marks. Former Mumbai police commissioner, Union minister of state for HRD in the Modi government and Jat strongman Satyapal Singh has every resource at his command. In 2014, he trounced SP’s Ghulam Mohammad by a margin of just over two lakh votes, while Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh was relegated to the third position in his own ‘karma bhoomi’. This time, a youthful Jayant Chaudhary, heir to Ajit Singh and Chaudhary Charan Singh is trying out his fortune in Baghpat. And it is going to be tough, tough, tough for the BJP to retain the seat.

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The reason is caste. In 2014, Satyapal Singh polled around 400,000 votes and won by a margin of around 2.30 lakh. But add up the votes polled by Ajit Singh (who stood against him in 2014) and Ghulam Mohammad. Ajit Singh got around 1,99,000 and Mohammad got around 2.13 lakh. Their total vote is almost equal to the total votes polled by Satyapal Singh.

But assume for a moment that the followers of Ajit Singh and Ghulam Mohammad (who is not contesting this time) are not homogenous and some could also support the BJP.

The wild card is Prashant Choudhary.

In 2014, Baghpat took note of Choudhary who is a Gujjar leader and contested as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. Gujjars hold sway over parliamentary seats of Gautam Buddh Nagar,Meerut, Kairana, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Bulandshaher and also Baghpat. They are influential although not that numerous in Baghpat (about 45,000 votes). He polled 1.42 lakh votes and is thought to have got, not just the majority of the Gujjar vote but also Dalits who are around 11 per cent of the population.

Business Standard

Elections 2019: From Pulwama to MSP, in west UP, the devil is in the detail

In UP's Jat belt, closer to Delhi, it's Pulwama, Modi but in the hinterland, it's back to economic basics.

Business Standard : Jawli village in Ghaziabad district is about 34 km to the east of Delhi and Khanupur in Muzaffarnagar district is 133 km away. The distance is a signifier at least in one aspect: closer to Delhi, the inhabitants of the rural pockets had the “national” picture in mind when they discussed elections. Pulwama, the air strikes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘valour’ occupied the mind space. Further away from the National Capital Region (NCR), the issues were basic, impinging on people’s livelihoods and quotidian concerns. Although both the districts -- Jat-dominated Muzaffarnagar more so -- have families with historical links to the military and one or more members working in the armed forces, the perceptions about the India-Pakistan conflicts varied.

If Jawli celebrated Modi’s “courage”, at Shahpur Badoli, nearly 50 kms away, the students of Baghpat colleges asked tough questions. Amit Tomar, a 21-year Commerce student, said, “Till today, the government has not showed proof that 300 persons were killed by our Air Force in Pakistan. I have two brothers in the military, one in Srinagar and the other on the Punjab border so nobody can accuse me of being anti-national.”

Gyanendra Kumar and Bijendra Kasana are farmers from the Gujjar backward caste, owned land and a small dairy business in Jawli. “Note ‘bandi’ has finished off the once prosperous real estate business in these parts. Everything is done in white (money) so nobody wants to buy or sell property. Didn’t you see hundreds of unoccupied apartments in Ghaziabad?” asked Kasana.

Yet none of them blamed the Modi government for the market stagnancy. “We are looking only at Modi. Demonetisation was good because it eliminated the fly by night operators and dubious dealers. They thrived in our region, living in huge mansions with a fleet of SUVs. Where did the money come from? Modi wiped it out. It gives people like me who earn modestly, a good feeling,” said Sardar Singh, a Jawli diary farmer.

VK Singh, the former Army chief, is the Ghaziabad MP. Yet nobody here had a kind word to say about him. “He never showed his face. But he doesn’t matter because it’s all about Modi. Modi ordered our air force to bomb Pakistan, not the former general. It’s important to vote back Modi. Only he can keep our borders secure,” said Gyanendra Kumar.

But 21 km away, at Hasanpur-Mussoorie, a little town in Baghpat district that’s glutted with private academic institutes, including a sports college, the first voice of dissent against the BJP-led central government was audible. Onkar Yadav owns the Devas Public School. “I am a Samajwadi Party (SP) sympathiser but my family revolted against me (in 2014) and voted BJP. My sons were taken in by the ‘achche din’ (good days) slogan.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019: What you must know about Model Code of Conduct

The Election Commission of India has imposed 'Model Code of Conduct' (MCC) for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. Know about its history of violations, implications and restrictions.

The Election Commission of India on Sunday imposed 'Model Code of Conduct' (MCC) with immediate effect for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. What is a model code of conduct and when does it kick in? The Code comes into play as soon as the EC announces an Assembly election in a state or the Lok Sabha polls. Article 324 of the Constitution gives the Election Commission the power to monitor Central and state governments, all the candidates and political parties.

In the context of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the Model Code of Conduct will be in force until after May 19, the last phase of polling. The Lok Sabha poll 2019 results and Assembly election results in four states — Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim — will be declared on May 23. According to the PRS Legislative Research, the Code deals with eight provisions – general conduct, meetings, processions, polling day, polling booths, observers, the party in power, and election manifestos.

Here's what you must know about the Model Code of Conduct:

What is the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)?

This is a set of guidelines issued to regulate political parties and candidates before any elections.

When does it come into effect?

The MCC comes into force as soon as the election schedule is announced. The Code remains in force till election results are declared.

What restrictions does the Model Code of Conduct impose on government and political parties?

The moment MCC is imposed, the party in power at the Centre (in this case, the BJP-led NDA government) and those in states have to ensure that they do not use their position for campaigning. Thus, no project, scheme or policy can be announced by the government. Any campaign by the government cannot be done at the cost of the public exchequer. It cannot use official mass media for publicity to give its party an edge over others in the elections.

Politicians who hold portfolios cannot combine official visits with campaigns. They cannot use government transport for campaigning. The issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in newspapers and other media is also considered an offence.

Business Standard

Priyanka's political play is about securing allies and cash: US media

Congress president Rahul Gandhi last month made his sister party's general secretary in-charge of crucial eastern Uttar Pradesh having 40 seats in the Lok Sabha.

It may not be clear as yet how Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joining Congress would impact its electoral fortunes, but it would help the party reduce its funding and resource gaps with the ruling BJP, an influential American foreign policy magazine has said.

The Congress Party's newest campaigner may not actually contest elections, but she will likely narrow a funding gap in a country where winning votes costs serious money, Milan Vaishnav from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace wrote in his latest article for the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi last month made his sister party's general secretary in-charge of crucial eastern Uttar Pradesh having 40 seats in the Lok Sabha. She made her maiden road show Monday in Lucknow along with her brother.

Her formal entry into politics, Vaishnav said, has imparted the much-needed enthusiasm to the party, which lost power in 2014 amid a historic victory of the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Headed into the 2019 general election, the Congress starts from a position of weakness, he said, adding "reports suggest that Congress state units have been starved of funds from the party high command due to the fiscal crunch.

"Priyanka Gandhi's entry into active politics comes at a time when the Congress needs all the help it can get. The party has seen few victories since a disastrous 2014 general election performance, and Gandhi provides a much needed morale boost to the Congress rank-and-file," wrote Vaishnav, co-author of a recent book Costs of Democracy: Political Finance in India.

"Just last month, the Congress was unceremoniously excluded from a pivotal opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh, India's most electorally consequential state. With Priyanka Gandhi heading the Congress party's campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh -- home to the parliamentary seats of her mother, brother, and Prime Minister Modi of the ruling BJP -- the party may gain new leverage with fellow opposition forces," he said in his write-up.

"But the Priyanka Gandhi play is not only about winning allies and lifting spirits; it's also about cash. The party is short of it, and Gandhi substitutes for the political finance that the Congress desperately needs," he said.

Stating that "Vadra, unlike Modi, is just a campaigner; there is no indication that she will contest elections herself", he said, "In 2014, the Congress faced three insurmountable deficits - of leadership, ideology, and resources."

Business Standard

10% quota move will backfire on BJP; 'bahujans' feeling duped: Tejashwi

The government has amended the Constitution without any report from any commission or social and economic survey, said Tejashwi.

The move of granting 10 per cent quota to general category poor will "backfire" on the BJP as the "bahujans" (majority) are feeling duped, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has said.

The Modi government met a key demand of those castes, which had so far not been covered under reservation benefits, earlier this month as it got a Constitution amendment bill passed in Parliament to give 10 per cent quota in education and jobs for the general category poor.

Yadav slammed the government's move as hasty and said that like demonetisation it was implemented hurriedly. Reservation was not a poverty alleviation programme, he added.

The government has amended the Constitution without any report from any commission or social and economic survey, he told PTI.

"To make such a provision, the government must have supporting data and figures, but the Modi government doesn't have that. They implemented it in a hurry, just like demonetisation. The BJP will bear the consequences of it," the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said.

Asked if the government's move to give reservation to the general category poor will have an impact on the Lok Sabha polls, Yadav said contrary to the general perception, the reservation for the "so-called poor upper caste" persons will "backfire" on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The Bahujan class is feeling duped... While it was stated that there is a cap of 50 per cent on reservations, but, suddenly the government opens a pandora's box and exceeds reservations beyond 50 per cent, that too without any demand, agitation or movement by beneficiary classes," the former Bihar deputy chief minister said.

"Now, the honourable Supreme Court will have to play by its own yardstick," he said.

'Bahujans', a reference to communities seen as traditionally backward and poor, were denied further reservation in the name of this 50 per cent limit, Yadav said.

Reservation is for ensuring representation to those who have been suffering for ages due to all kinds of inhuman atrocities and restrictions in the name of caste, he said.

"If atrocities were heaped in the name of caste, how can assertive steps or remedial measures be in the name of economic status," Yadav asked.

The RJD leader alleged the government was changing the narrative from caste-based atrocities to economic status to suit its "upper caste mindset".

"On what basis did the government give 10 per cent reservation to those who are already enjoying de facto 50 per cent reservation and in reality much more than that. And what about the caste-based census data? Why it is being hidden by the government? Is it banana republic or a democracy" he asked.

Business Standard

Replace EVMs with 'tried and tested' ballot papers in Lok Sabha polls: AAP

The party has also exhorted all opposition parties to boycott the polls if their demand was not paid heed to.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday demanded that in view of the latest charges against the electronic voting machines (EVMs) by a hacker in London, the old, tried and tested ballot papers should be used again in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The party has also exhorted all opposition parties to boycott the polls if their demand was not paid heed to.

Rajya Sabha member of AAP and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Singh told IANS that this was necessary to "save democracy and install faith of the people once again in the election process".

The national spokesman of the AAP further said that the latest revelations clearly shrouded the neutrality of the EVM's and hence should be replaced with ballot papers.

"These EVM's show the benefit of EVM's going to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and takes away from the opposition a level playing field" he said further.

Chief spokesman of the party's state unit, Vaibhav Maheshwari while claiming that the Election Commission was not ready to concede that the EVM's were open for tampering demanded that the poll panel ensure a "public audit" of the EVM's.

Raising doubts on the fairies of the EVM's, the party has demanded that all political parties should write to the Election Commission of India, saying that they will boycott the elections for the Lok Sabha if the EVM's were used for the polls.

"There is no other option but to ban the EVM's and conduct the Lok Sabha and all future elections through ballot paper method" Sanjay Singh said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday had spoken on similar lines and had cited the example of a "developed nation like Japan" which still used the traditional ballot paper method for elections in their country.

"In view of the recent revelations, further doubts have been created in the minds of people and the EC should taken them into account" the former UP chief minister has said.

The ruling BJP leaders, both in the state and the centre, have trashed the accusations made by the opposition parties and have claimed that by raising doubts on the EVM's, the opposition was making ground for an almost certain defeat at the hustings in the Lok Sabha 2019 polls.

Business Standard

Amit Shah to start 'Sampark for Samarthan' campaign for 2019 polls today

About 4,000 senior party workers would carry out this personal contact campaign to meet more than 1,00,000 well-known people to discuss with them about the government's achievements.

As part of the BJP's efforts to reach out to people for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls , party President Amit Shah will on Tuesday kick start a personal contact campaign "Sampark for Samarthan " (Contact for Support) to generate awareness about the Narendra Modi government's achievements so far.

"Shah would start his grand public outreach campaign from the house of former Army chief, Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag at Sector 46 in Gurgaon at 11 am," said BJP national media head Anil Baluni in a statement.

Thereafter, Shah would go to the house of constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap and discuss with him about the Central government's welfare programmes, he said, adding that Shah would meet at least 50 individuals personally to enlighten them about the achievements of the Modi government.

Under the 'Contact for Support' campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday through the NaMo App interacted with the beneficiaries of Ujjwala Yojana, a scheme to provide LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Baluni said about 4,000 senior party workers would carry out this personal contact campaign to meet more than 1,00,000 well-known people to discuss with them about the government's achievements in the last four years.

These 4,000 party workers include Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of states where the party is in power, MPs, MLAs, District Panchayat members and senior office bearers.