Akhilesh declared party chief at SP national convention

January 1, 2017

Lucknow, Jan 1: The war in Samajwadi Party was far from over today with a defiant Ram Gopal Yadav declaring Akhilesh Yadav as party president at the national convention here which was declared as "unconstitutional" by supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The convention, attended by thousands of SP workers, unanimously "expelled" Amar Singh and removed Shivpal Singh Yadav from the post of state unit president.

Akhilesh

The national convention proposed that Mulayam be considered as supreme leader of the party and that the top brass will take guidance from him, Ram Gopal Yadav said addressing the workers.

Soon after being proposed as the national president of the party, Akhilesh Yadav said his respect for his father was more than ever and that he would stand against those conspiring against the party.

"Those who conspired against the party, damaged it and also posed problems before the national president...should know that my respect for the national president (Mulayam Singh) will be more than before," the chief minister said.

"...People might raise questions and level allegations but I said this before and say it again that as his son if there is any conspiracy against the party and him it is my duty to stand against them", he said.

"I had said that I was ready to step down as state unit president earlier too ...he had made me the CM and gave me a chance to work...", he said.

The chief minister said, "All want that SP comes back to power but there are some who do not want this... Netaji would be most elated if the party forms the next government...I have been given the responsibility to make the next government on one more time'.

Hinting that there were powers in the party who were guiding the party chief to take decisions against him, Yadav said, "Netaji's respect and position is supreme for us ... these three-four months are very important....don't know who all can come together and force certain decisions".

Earlier in the day, Mulayam Singh Yadav declared the national convention convened by Ram Gopal Yadav as unconstitutional and warned of action against those taking part in it.

As soon as the national convention got underway at the Janeshwar Misra park, Mulayam Singh issued a letter.

"Today a so-called convention has been convened by Ram Gopal. This is against party constitution and discipline . This has been convened to damage the party," he said in the letter.

Mulayam said that participation in the convention will be taken as indiscipline and action will be initiated against all those attending it.

Almost all the senior leaders who have a longtime association with Mulayam Singh were present on the dias during the convention.

In his address at the convention, Ram Gopal accused Shivpal Singh Yadav of taking unconstitutional decisions by allotting tickets to those who are not even members of the party.

"State unit president gave tickets to those who were not even member of the party ...did not want SP return to power and that Akhilesh become the next CM ...", he said.

"Despite directives from the national president, the state unit president did not revoke the suspension of those shown the door," Yadav said referring to the expulsion of youth wing leaders considered close to Akhilesh Yadav.

Pointing fingers at Amar Singh, Ram Gopal said, "Two people have conspired to finish the party by taking the name of Netaji..I will take their names later."

Ram Gopal later moved three separate proposals making Akhilesh Yadav as party chief, making Mulayam Singh Yadav as the patron and removal of Shivpal as state president and expulsion of Amar Singh from the party.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will face Kerala BJP chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanand constituency this Lok Sabha election.

Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, has been with the party since 2009. Mr Gandhi won it in 2019 and retained his Lok Sabha membership, having lost his Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Irani.

His rival this time, Mr Surendran, has the significant task of challenging the Congress-Left binary in Kerala's political landscape. Both the Congress and the Left are in a national alliance though they remain rivals in this southern state.

Surendran has contested all three Lok Sabha elections since 2009 and also four Assembly elections. In 2021, he contested from Konni and Manjeshwar seats simultaneously. 

In 2019 general elections, Mr Surendran finished third in Pathanamthitta constituency behind the Congress and the Left. He had lost the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeswaram by merely 89 votes. He also contested a bypoll in 2019, but lost it as well.

He was appointed to head the BJP Kerala unit in 2020 and became the face of the protests against the entry of young women into Sabarimala years ago.

Mr Surendran, who is from Kozhikode, figured in the BJP's fifth candidates' list, which also named actor Kangana Ranaut and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

Wayanad is the second Kerala seat to see a battle of titans after Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will face the three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The BJP has also fielded former vice-chancellor of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University K S Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and actor-turned-politician G Krishnakumar from Kollam. T N Sarasu, a former educator, will contest from Alathur in Palakkad.

The highlight of the BJP's fifth list was the electoral debut of actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in her homestate Himachal Pradesh. The list, which named 111 candidates in 17 states, also featured new joinees like industrialist Naveen Jindal and Mr Gangopadhyay.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, is the first former judge to join electoral politics. He has been fielded from Tamluk in Bengal and will face Trinamool's Debangshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader who had penned the party's "Khela Hobe" song.

Varun Gandhi, a sitting MP from Pilibhit, has been dropped and his seat has gone to Jitin Prasada, who switched to the BJP from the Congress in run-up to the election. His mother Maneka Gandhi has been fielded from her current seat, Sultanpur.

Actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, will contest from Meerut. Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and General VK Singh too were part of the list.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 21: Election Commission (EC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of Narendra Modi-led government to put an end to bulk WhatsApp messages labelled 'Viksit Bharat Sampark.' It has also sought a compliance report immediately from the ministry.

EC had received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct (MCC) entering into force.

In response, the govt informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay because of systemic and network limitations.

In the past few days, several WhatsApp users have received messages from 'Viksit Bharat Sampark' seeking feedback and suggestions from the public. 

The message comes with a PDF that has a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and seeking suggestions from the citizens over government initiatives and schemes.

The letter which addresses users as 'my dear family members' had sparked political controversy. Congress has called the PDF file attached with the message a ‘political propaganda’.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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