Congress on Shaky Ground in Andhra Pradesh ahead of 2014 Polls

The Congress party is going to face an uphill task in the next parliament elections in Andhra Pradesh, which had contributed 33 MPs to the party in the 2009 elections.

This was the impression given by the party leaders and cadres in general to AICC observer Amar Kale, who was deputed by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to review the party situation and assess its prospects in the next parliament elections. There are indications that the YSR Congress party headed by jailed Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy is strongly placed in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, while the Telangana Rashtra Samithi holds the advantage in Telangana region.

For the last four days, Kale has been touring various parliamentary constituencies in the Telangana region, where the party is facing a major crisis on account of its indecisiveness on the Telangana statehood demand. On Tuesday, Kale interacted with the Congress leaders from Hyderabad and Secunderabad parliamentary constituencies to deliberate over the chances of winning the seats.

He also discussed with them the possibility of restoring ties with Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in the next elections. "We will work out the possibility of an alliance with the MIM at the time of elections. We still consider the MIM as a friendly party," state minister for labour Danam Nagender, who heads Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee, said.

During his interaction with party leaders in various Telangana districts, Kale had learnt that the party had very little chances of winning the parliamentary seats in the region unless the Centre takes a positive decision on the Telangana statehood. The party leaders also brought to his notice that the cadres were demoralised with the high command completely neglecting the state. "In the last four years, there was not a single public meeting addressed by AICC president Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul Gandhi in Andhra Pradesh, though it is a major Congress bastion in the South. If either of them comes to the state and addresses a few meetings, it would rejuvenate the Congress cadres," a senior Congress leader observed.

The Rahul emissary received several representations from the party leaders to replace the sitting MPs with young leaders, in tune with the thinking of Rahul. For example, during his interaction with the party leaders from Ranga Reddy district on Monday, Kale received suggestions that both union ministers S Jaipal Reddy and Sarvey Satyanarayana should be replaced by young candidates in Chevella and Malkajgiri parliamentary constituencies respectively, as the chances of sitting MPs winning their seats were bleak.

State home minister Sabita Indra Reddy's son P Karthik Reddy made a representation to Kale that his candidature be considered for the Chevella seat. Similarly, Congress MLC Yadava Reddy has thrown his hat into the ring.

State minister for textiles Prasad Kumar said though Jaipal Reddy was doing a good job as union minister, the local Congress cadres want a young candidate if the high command chose to replace the union minister, who is apparently reluctant to contest the next elections again. He, however, told Kale that the chances of the Congress party would be bleak unless the high command takes a positive decision on the Telangana statehood issue.

On the other hand, Sarvey Satyanaryana told Kale that there were several contenders for the Malkajgiri seat, but expressed confidence that he would be retained. "The major problem the party is facing in the state is from dissidents who were looking towards YSR Congress party. They should be strongly dealt with to strengthen the party," he said.

The Rahul emissary had earlier visited Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Medak districts to assess the party situation and its prospects in the coming Lok Sabha elections. In Adilabad, Kale had noticed that the party was split into groups headed by District Congress Committee president C Ramchander Reddy and MLC K Premsagar Rao. The Congress party workers belonging to these groups virtually came to blows and physical assaults in the presence of Kale.

In Karimnagar, the AICC observer had to face a strong demand from all sections of the party for a favourable decision on Telangana statehood issue. Majority Congress leaders opined that sitting MPs could be re-nominated in the next general elections. Former minister T Jeevan Reddy told the emissary that if the Congress government did not recognise the sentiment of the people, it would not win a single seat in the district as well as in the other districts of the region. Kale promised them that he would convey the aspirations of the people to the party high command.

In Nizamabad, however, the local Congress leaders reportedly told the emissary that it would be better to change the sitting MP Madhu Yashki Goud. And in Medak district, Kale had received varied opinions on the candidates for Medak and Zaheerabad parliamentary constituencies. Here again, the Rahul emissary had to face the demand for announcement on separate Telangana state.

Source: IndiaToday

For Direct Benefit in 2014, Govt Gets Cracking on Cash Transfers

Low on the credibility front, thanks to various scams, the Congress led UPA government has got into a tearing hurry to push Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme and keep its hope alive for a comeback in next general elections.

The government wants to rollout DBT scheme in all the 78 target districts of Phase II from July 1 so that it can have enough lead time before general elections to drum up its success in the rest of the country. Top on its target are 13 key districts of UP, Bihar and Gujarat.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), monitoring the DBT scheme almost on a day-to-day basis, has tasked the Office of Registrar General of India (RGI) and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to go cracking and get the list of all the beneficiaries of various DBT schemes of targeted districts directly from the district authorities and registrars first and leave rest of the work of enrolling others and digitalizing their data etc. for a later date.

District commissioner of a target district told dna that he is witnessing unprecedented scaled up alacrity from Delhi for past 15-20 days and has been asked to provide details of the camps organised, day to day enrolment progress and updated list of beneficiaries in different DBT schemes.

"This is for the first time in my career I have witnessed such hectic activity monitored directly the central government. But the task seems very tough as we have no clue how the Centre would ensure proper seeding of beneficiaries with Aaadhaar number, do de-duplication of enrolled beneficiaries, open their bank accounts and seed it again with Aadhaar and ensure right payment to the right beneficiary in all the 26 DBT schemes. It's a tall order and needs more time and better logistics," said the commissioner.

The idea is that a success of "Aap Ka Paisa App Ke Haath" in these key districts can spread the word across the country and change the fortune of Congress party, a Congress party insider said.

So strong is the conviction of succeeding through DBT that the party has belied words of caution from various stakeholders including banks and some government officials. They have raised objections, including security concerns, regarding bulk seeding of beneficiaries’ accounts with Aadhaar numbers.

"The government does not seem to be in a mood to listen. It is looking at the DBT scheme as a panacea for all the ills it has got. Like MNREGA, the mantra of 2009 success, it is banking upon DBT to succeed in 2014," said sources.

An example government's "tearing hurry" could be seen through Petroleum ministry’s recent announcement of launching of DBT for LPG scheme in 20 districts.

Even though the homework of generating Aadhaar numbers and seeding them with bank accounts of the beneficiaries has not been done, an eager ministry has put the onus on LPG consumers to immediately get an Aadhaar number, open a bank account with it and provide the number to LPG distributors.

Source: DNA

Jethmalani still Believes Narendra Modi is the Best PM Candidate

Noted lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani has threatened to "expose" the "undesirable elements" within BJP and suggested that his expulsion from the party's primary membership was done because of his campaign against black money.

At the same time, Jethmalani refused to find fault with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who is also part of the BJP's Parliamentary Board that took the decision to expel him for six years on charges of "breach of discipline".

Asked about Modi, he said that he still believes that Modi is the best Prime Ministerial candidate and better than anyone else in BJP.

Terming the action against him as "stupidity", the 89-year-old lawyer alleged that there are people within the party who do not wish to speak about black money and recover it from the criminals. "There are undesirable elements in the party, who are out to demolish the party from within. They are in league with the corrupt rulers, whom I want to displace. And the cause of my expulsion is the presence of those undesirable elements in the party. I will not rest content till I expose them," Jethmalani told news channel Times Now from New York.

"I have no doubt that they are ashamed of the campaign against black money that I have started the leadership of this party refused to support me in my demands (regarding repatriation of black money) against the Congress party," he added.

He said BJP was on a "suicidal course".

"My confidence in the stupidity of these leaders stands confirmed...They are going to lose millions of votes due to this stupid action," the rebel BJP MP said.

Maintaining that he has no ambition for any ministerial post, Jethmalani said his only aim is to dislodge the "corrupt rulers". He spoke at length about his campaign against black money.

Jethmalani, who had been critical of the BJP leadership and had revolted against then party chief Nitin Gadkari, was today expelled from the party's primary membership for six years on charges of "breach of discipline".

Source: Hindustan Times

Actor Sekhar Suman Backs Modi for PM's Post

Patna: Actor-politician Sekhar Suman, who had contested last Parliamentary polls on Congress ticket, says it was like a 'travel on the bypass road' and supported Narendra Modi for the prime minister's post.

"Sometimes even while going on the main road you need to take a bypass road to come back on the highway. My journey with Congress in the last general election was like travel on a bypass road," Suman told newsmen here last night.

He was unsuccessful in contesting on Congress ticket against his Bollywood senior and BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Saheb constituency in the 2009 elections.

Suman said "I always look for excuses to come to Bihar to work for the people and when Congress offered me ticket to fight in last elections I accepted it with this intent."

However, Suman said he has not yet thought of fighting the 2014 elections. "I am basically an actor and not a politician."

Supporting Modi for the PM's post, Suman said "He has done wonderful work in Gujarat by giving good governance. He certainly deserves a chance to do the same for the country."

Criticising the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Suman said "people had given it the opportunity to run the country, it had brought in people who indulged in corruption and scams. So it should give up its place to somebody with positive energy (Modi)."

Source: ZeeNews

GFK-Mode Hindustan Times Survey: Paying the Price for High Prices

The next election is going to be all about money, in more than one sense.

For Aastha Sankrityayan, 46, the zeros in her paycheck are simply not enough. The rise in prices, especially of food items, have played havoc with her household finances. "Groceries, meat - prices of everything have risen. I spend around a thousand rupees more on groceries alone, every month," said Sankrityayan, with an air of resignation. There's not much one can do. "We have to curtail our consumption, fruits particularly," she said.

Another sense in which the next election is all about money is anger at the loss of public funds due to corruption under UPA-II. Here the zeroes are painfully plentiful: figures involved in the 2G, Coalgate and Commonwealth Games scams run into the lakhs of crores and present a big headache for the ruling coalition.

An exclusive Hindustan Times survey - conducted by research agency GFK-Mode - finds the issues of inflation and corruption to be the ones that are top of mind for voters as the country gets into an election mode. Which political party can handle the following issues better?


Across issues, across demographics, the people have spoken about which party would address anything from the fight against terror to job creation better. And the majority says: BJP.

"This government has done no good for the country since they came to power," said Rahul Shah, a management accountant in Ahmedabad. He reflects an opinion held by thousands of India's youth.

"The BJP has done enough good work in Gujarat to allow me to extrapolate that they will do so at the national level too," said the twenty-eight-year-old.

The overwhelming anti-incumbency figures in the survey may make next year's elections results seem to be a foregone conclusion, but that would be naïve. For Reyaz, despite the hardship, there is but one choice. "Yes, we will vote for Congress. We always do."

Source: Hindustan Times

Will LK Advani Put Narendra Modi in Driver's Seat?

Hat-trick of poll victories in Gujarat, CM Narendra Modi is seen as making all the right noises (on social media, or otherwise) to stake his claim as the prime ministerial candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has quite the vocal support of BJP’s party workers and of a section of the saffron party, but still clamours for an across-the-board approval.

Tuesday was the first time that Modi participated in BJP’s parliamentary committee meeting in New Delhi. Before the meeting, he met veteran party leaders, LK Advani, AB Vajpayee and Nitin Gadkari, as could be gauged from his tweets on Tuesday.

If speculations in political corridors are anything to go by, Modi met the party stalwarts to convince them that he deserves a bigger role in national politics. There are many candidates, more experienced than him, who can be considered for the PM’s post. And Modi, with backing of the veterans, wants to throw his hat in the ring, as well.

But it is believed that Advani camp is not in favour of giving Modi crucial powers. The senior leaders of the camp – Sushma Swaraj, Yashwant Sinha, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh and MP CM Shivrajsinh Chauhan – aren’t advocating a prime position for the chief minister. Advani’s support is necessary for Modi, for it was his backing that led to Rajnath Singh’s elevation to post of party’s national president. Modi, however, will have a say in the selection of candidates for the parliamentary elections, as he is member of the parliamentary board.

Modi, however, has his supporters too. Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Ravishankar Prasad, Om Mathur, Ram Jethmalani and others are lobbying hard for Modi. On April 6, Singh was in Ahmedabad for BJP’s foundation day celebrations, and he didn’t shy away from showering praises on Modi. JD (U)’s Bihar CM Nitish Kumar may oppose Modi’s candidature to the PM’s post, but Ravishankar Prasad, in his last week’s visit to Gujarat, made it clear that if NDA comes to power, the PM would be of BJP.

Jethmalani openly supports Modi. He was lawyer before Supreme Court in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case against former home minister, Amit Shah. The rest of the leaders visit the state frequently, which reaffirms their proximity to the leader.

An all encompassing support is what Modi is aiming for, to attain the prime role in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party is very clear about using Modi's development plank to base their poll campaign on, but his image of 'Hindu Hriday Samrat' worries them. Modi is trying hard to portray a secular image. But his government’s action of seeking and then withdrawing a death penalty for Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and eight others (in Naroda Patia massacre case) works against him. His reluctance to implement the religious minority scheme isn’t helping matters either.

Source: DNA

UP Lok Sabha Seats where Top BJP Leaders may Contest 2014 Elections

BJP Leaders	Possible UP Constituencies
Narendra Modi	Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi
Raj Nath Singh	Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Gautam Buddha Nagar
Uma Bharati	Jhansi, Amroha
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi	Amroha, -----
Surya Pratap Shahi	Deoria
Varun Gandhi	Sultanpur
Maneka Gandhi	Pilibhit
Lalji Tandon	Lucknow, -----
Pankaj Singh (BJP President's Son)	Chandauli
Murli Manohar Joshi	Varanasi, -----

Source: BS

Modi Charts Out Road Map for 2014 Elections

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi made his maiden appearance at the BJP parliamentary board, and, without wasting any time, took a full plunge into the nitty-gritty of chalking out the party’s plans for the Lok Sabha polls.

In fact, Modi spent the whole day at 11, Ashoka Road headquarters of the BJP even after interacting with LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely and Nitin Gadkari to work out details of a “war strategy” that will be unveiled at the Goa conclave of the party on June 8 and 9.

In fact, it was after 12 years that Modi had spent so much time in the BJP HQ, where he served as a general secretary before he went to Gujarat as the CM in 2001.

Modi drove to BJP president Rajnath Singh’s residence for a working lunch with him. Both leaders apparently "fined tuned" steps to put up a tough fight to avoid a repeat of 2004 and 2009 outcomes. Only last Sunday, Singh ended ambivalence about Modi’s role when he entrusted crucial Uttar Pradesh affairs to the latter’s close aide, Amit Shah.

As a result, Modi’s act of devoting the entire day for party workers left other BJP leaders in no doubt about his exact role he would play in the months ahead - even if a formal announcement on the PM candidate is delayed.

Modi’s mantra, as BJP insiders put it, is for an aggressive offensive against the UPA's 9 years rule, enthuse party workers to “sweat it out” to push the Congress into a corner.

Modi also wanted the social media to be put to optimum use for reaching out to the youth. As for giving a picture of unity and discipline in BJP, Modi made it a point to call on AB Vajpayee, Advani and former party chief Nitin Gadkari.

He described on twitter that his meeting with Advani was "wonderful" to scotch the talk of any distance developing between them. As he left for Ahmedabad, Modi told HT that "it was a long day indeed, and we had very frutiful interaction."

BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar said, "We discussed the nine years of UPA rule. This government has failed on all fronts, be it price rise, internal and external security or the economic situation. BJP will launch a jail bharo (court arrest) programme from May 27 to June 2."

Source: Hindustan Times

Headlines Today C-Voter Survey: Narendra Modi is NDA's Trump Card for 2014 Lok Sabha Polls

The UPA's tally is set to crash by 95 in the Lok Sabha elections for 2014, forecasts a Headlines Today-C-Voter opinion poll.

However, the biggest surprise is that the UPA's loss is not automatically translating to big gains for the NDA. The Opinion Poll is also the first to gauge the impact of Narendra Modi on the fortunes of the main alliances in 2014.

The survey was conducted to gauge public opinion as the Manmohan Singh government completes its ninth year in power. The lion's share of the seats would in fact be cornered by smaller parties which have not yet disclosed their cards. While this alternative front looks set to bag as many as 68 more seats, the NDA might just add 27 more seats to its 2009 tally. The Opinion Poll suggests that projecting Narendra Modi as the NDA's candidate for PM will lead to gains for the UPA but it will almost double the advantage for the NDA. UPA will likely get 23 more seats and the NDA 41 if Modi is the NDA's PM face. Infact the JD(U)'s own tally could drop to half in Bihar if it dumps NDA over Modi. And the BJP in Bihar can win 18 seats on its own if it does bite the bullet and project Modi.

BJP's big gain in Gujarat:

Prime ministerial hopeful Narendra Modi would ensure the BJP's emphatic victory in home state Gujarat, the opinion poll suggests.

The party would better its tally by five seats taking its tally to 20, while the remaining seats might go to the Congress.

Congress to Lose Lok Sabha Seats in 6 Key States:

Source: IndiaToday

ABP-Nielsen Survey: If Polls Held Today, NDA may Erase UPA

If polls were held today, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will get a mere 136 Lok Sabha seats, according to a survey done by ABP News-Nielsen. The main opposition, National Democratic Alliance, is likely to get 206 seats, while others parties will get 167 seats.

Neither the UPA nor the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA will get the magic number 272 in the general elections if they were to take place today. Left parties together will get 34 seats. The NDA may try to form the government, but will need 66 more seats for that.

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Zonal Performance:

The UPA is seen as winning 33 seats in the east and 36 in the north in comparison with NDA's 49 and 67, respectively. In the south, the UPA is likely to get 36 seats against the NDA's 10. The major players in the southern states are the regional parties with 75 seats.

BJP leader Narendra Modi's effect is visible in western states, the survey says. With 80 seats, the NDA is likely to lead in the region. Congress could win 36 seats.

Vote Share:

The UPA will garner 26 per cent of votes, while the NDA will get 27 per cent. Other parties will be the most voted parties in the country. Forty-one per cent votes are spread among other parties, while the Left parties will get a meager six per cent votes.

Overall, 31 per cent of those interviewed by the survey intend to vote for the BJP, whereas 20 per cent are likely to vote for the Congress. Seventy-four per cent of those who voted for the Congress during 2009 Lok Sabha elections still intend to vote for the party if the Lok sabha elections are held now, while 26 per cent are moving away, of which nine per cent intend to vote for BJP. Ninety per cent of those who voted for the BJP will continue to vote for it while two per cent will move away from the BJP to the Congress, the survey found.

Source: Business-Standard

Is Amit Shah's Appointment as UP BJP in-charge for LS Polls a Boost for Modi?

New Delhi: In a move that is being seen as Narendra Modi's clout growing within the BJP, the party president Rajnath Singh appointed the Gujarat Chief Minister's aide Amit Shah as general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for 2014 elections.

The indications are loud and clear as Uttar Pradesh with 80 Lok Sabha seats will be critical to the BJP's preparations for 2014 elections.

The BJP in its prime has won as many as 57 seats out of 85 in undivided Uttar Pradesh, but since nineties the party's fortunes have dwindled with each passing Lok Sabha polls. With its tally now reduced to mere ten, UP will be the focus state for the party.

"Modi did not suggest any name. I have taken the decision to induct Amit Shah because of his skills," Rajnath said.

While Varun Gandhi has been made in-charge of West Bengal, in states where the BJP could scout for potential allies Rajnath has deputed political light weights.

Chandan Mitra has been given the responsibility of Odisha, where BJD is in power. In Tamil Nadu, where AIADMK is in power, Murlidhar Rao has been made the in-charge. Former MP president Prabhat Jha has been made in-charge in AP where both Jagan and TSR are potential allies. Where as in Jharkhand, where Babulal Marandi is another potential ally, former UP president Ramapati Ram Tripathi will manage party affairs. Maharashtra has been allocated to Rajiv Pratap Rudy, while Thawar Chand Gehlot has been given Karnataka.

This time though no former president or a leader of Opposition has been given state specific responsibility, with the team in place from here onwards Rajnath will have to decide whether to form a campaign committee or not. And what role Narendra Modi would officially have in the BJP's scheme of things for the next general elections.

Source: IBNLive