Rich tributes paid to Kalam on his death anniversary
The event was organised by the Abdul Kalam Statue Development Committee.
The speakers recalled Kalam's inspirational journey from a humble background as a newspaper boy to becoming the President of India and a global icon in science and education.
They praised his lifelong dedication to the nation, his passion for learning, and his role as a motivational figure for students across the country.
His final moments, too, were spent delivering a lecture to students, embodying his commitment to education and youth.
The leaders urged people to draw inspiration from Dr Kalam's life and work toward the betterment of society.
Several notable participants attended the event, including TDP town convener Sriramulu, Yadava Corporation director Keshavayya, leaders Lakshmi Narayana Reddy, Trivendra, Babul Reddy, Subrahmanyam, Boya Nanjunda, A. Narendra, Vaddi Srihari, Vaddi Chandra, Shafiq, Nazir, Iqbal, Nannu, Banda Noor, Boya Chendrayudu, Boya Somu, Boya Ramu, Mallikarjuna, Murthy, Abdul Kalam Statue Development Committee members Jafar Vali, Shameerulla, Kuruba Nanjunda, Pan Basha, Ibrahim Saab, former Sarpanch Srinivasulu, Muslim Unity Forum leader Sheikh Riyaz, BJP leaders Ramakrishna and Ramamjaneyulu, Hanumanthu, Dalit organisation leaders T Ramamjaneyulu and Konapuram Peddanna of MRPS.
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Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Still waiting in the wings: Why Karnataka has never had a Dalit chief minister
Bengaluru: Despite constituting a chunk of Karnataka's electorate, Scheduled Castes (SC) have never seen one of their own rise to the chief minister's chair. Over decades, entrenched caste hierarchies and shifting political calculations have ensured Dalit functionaries remain contenders — but never the chosen ones. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The top position has historically alternated between the state's two dominant communities — Vokkaligas and Lingayats — leaving Dalits sidelined despite their numerical and political significance. Even within Congress, a party that has long championed social justice, Dalits have never got past the final hurdle. "Over decades, Karnataka has seen several Dalits emerge as strong contenders for the CM post, but none made it to the chair," said Prof Ravindra Reshme, political commentator. "B Basavalingappa, a progressive voice in the 1970s, enacted groundbreaking reforms abolishing manual scavenging, but his 'boosa' remark on Kannada literature led to a political fallout. KH Ranganath, known for administrative acumen, was considered in 1992 but overlooked in favour of Veerappa Moily. Later, his dissent on forest denotification marked his exit. In 2013, then KPCC chief G Parameshwara was a frontrunner but lost his own seat, allegedly due to internal sabotage. Mallikarjun Kharge, long seen as an able administrator, failed to make it to the top post due to various reasons." BJP, despite attempts to woo Dalit voters — especially from the Madiga sub-group — by elevating members like Govind Karjol and A Narayanaswamy to ministerial roles, did not seize the opportunity to appoint a Dalit CM when Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa stepped down in 2021. JD(S) has never projected a Dalit chief ministerial candidate either, though it claims to have supported Kharge during alliances with Congress in 2004 and 2018. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On both occasions, Congress chose CMs from other castes — N Dharam Singh, a Rajput, and HD Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga — for the top job. "A variety of factors have denied Dalits the CM post," said psephologist Sandeep Shastri. "While dominant and backward caste politics has been key, prominent Dalits have missed the bus simply because they were in striking range at the wrong time or faced setbacks when the time was ripe — especially Kharge in 1994, 1999, 2008 and Parameshwara in 2013 and 2023." In 2023, Parameshwara staked his claim citing the party's performance in SC/ST-reserved constituencies — it won 35 of the 51, including two general category seats. But his efforts did not yield the top post. Though incumbent Siddaramaiah is from the OBC Kuruba community, many Dalits see him as a proponent of their cause. Meanwhile, Kharge, now national Congress president, has consistently distanced himself from caste-based narratives. "I have never sought the CM's post as a Dalit," he said in 2018. "If people are ashamed to accept me as a leader, let them consider me a worker. I will welcome it if the party considers me for the top post based on my seniority and not my caste. " A significant roadblock remains the divide within the Dalit community itself. The SC Right — which includes the likes of Kharge and Parameshwara — is politically more influential than the socially and economically disadvantaged SC Left, including Madigas. This division has fragmented support between Congress and BJP. "It's not only Karnataka but in most other states too we have not had a Dalit CM," said political analyst Prof Harish Ramaswamy. "This is not a coincidence, but a deliberate and calculated attempt by caste-ridden society and a conspiracy against SC/ST castes to keep them out of power. In Karnataka's case, we were nearly there when B Rachaiah, a moderate, and current home minister Parameshwara were to be made CM. Unfortunately, these missed opportunities under Congress have reinforced the domination of major communities, sometimes benefitting Brahmins as consensus candidates. However, given the rising clamour, it looks like no party can deny a Dalit the top post for too long."
The Wire
2 hours ago
- The Wire
In Bihar's Politics, a Fair Place at the Table Continues to Elude Muslims
Politics Despite Muslims constituting almost 17% of Bihar's population, their voices in legislatures remain disproportionately limited. In Bihar, politics often comes down to numbers and for Muslim candidates, those numbers can be brutally defining. Time and again, elections have shown a clear pattern: Muslim leaders are less likely to win from constituencies where their community doesn't form a significant chunk of the population. It often doesn't matter which party backs them or how experienced they are; if the local Muslim population is too small, their chances at the ballot box tend to drop. Despite Muslims constituting nearly 17% of the state's population, Muslim voices in the legislature are disproportionately limited by geography and demographics. It's not merely about election arithmetic; it's a commentary on where identity and representation meet in Bihar's highly caste and community-oriented politics. The data's message is stark: in Bihar, being a Muslim candidate means that your election may not hinge as much on what you believe in, but on who else around you looks like you do. In this article, we take a closer look at six recent elections in Bihar, three parliamentary (2014, 2019 and 2024) and three assembly (2010, 2015 and 2020), to better understand how Muslim representation has played out at the ballot box. By looking at these two sets of elections, this article aims to uncover patterns in candidate selection, constituency demographics and the win rates of Muslim candidates over the past decade and half. From 2014 to 2024: a narrowing path to parliament for Muslims The 2014 parliamentary election was a difficult terrain for Muslim candidates in Bihar. Most candidates that won had contested from constituencies with a large Muslim population. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) fielded six Muslim candidates, three in constituencies with a 20% to 30% Muslim population and two in constituencies with a less than 20% Muslim population, but only one – the party's candidate for the Araria constituency – won; that seat has a Muslim population of over 40%. The Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) put up five Muslim candidates across different regions, none of whom managed to win. The Congress (INC) through Mohammad Asrarul Haque won one seat, Kishanganj, where Muslims make up around 68% of the population (and from where one of the JD(U)'s Muslim candidates lost). Tariq Anwar of the Nationalist Congress Party won from Katihar, where Muslims make up 41% of the population, and Mehboob Ali Kaiser of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) won in Khagaria (with a just ~11% Muslim population), a rare case where he was able get support from the Dalit community as well – a community that also supported the BJP as the LJP was in alliance with it. The BJP's lone Muslim candidate Shahnawaz Hussain didn't manage to win from Bhagalpur, where Muslims form less than 20% of the seat's population. Overall, the results suggested that Muslim candidates could only win in a constituency where Muslims make up a large share of voters (Table 1). The 2019 election saw a decline in Muslim candidates winning seats. The RJD fielded five Muslim candidates, including in Muslim-majority seats like Araria, and lost all. The INC again held on to Kishanganj, with Mohammad Jawed winning from the same. However, their candidate in Katihar lost. Once again, the LJP's candidate in Khagaria won from a constituency with a low Muslim population share, repeating the exception seen in 2014. These results highlighted a deeper problem: Muslim candidates were not able to win in constituencies where they once had better chances. Without the support of other communities, especially Yadavs and Dalits, their chances had become even slimmer (Table 2). By 2024, the space for Muslim candidates had shrunk further. Only five were fielded by major parties: two by the RJD, one by the JD(U) and two by the INC. The RJD's candidates both failed to win. The INC, however, won both its seats: Kishanganj and Katihar. This underlined that it is still difficult for Muslims to achieve adequate representation. Their success now depends almost entirely on contesting from seats with large Muslim populations, and even then, only with backing from other communities like Yadavs and Dalits. Muslim representation remains limited to a few pockets where demographics and political alliances align just right. Overall, if we observe the eight Muslim candidates who won across the three elections, six of them were elected from constituencies where the Muslim population was over 40%. This clearly shows a strong correlation between a high Muslim population and the winnability of Muslim candidates (Table 3). 2010 to 2020: a decade of fluctuating fortunes for Muslims in the Bihar assembly In the last three assembly elections in Bihar, the success of Muslim candidates has dramatically fluctuated, depending on shifting alliances and party strategies, as well as the evolving political identity of Muslim voters. In 2010, the RJD fielded the highest number of Muslim candidates at 30. Its win rate in this aspect stood at just 20%. The INC performed even worse, with only three of its 49 Muslim candidates winning, thus clocking a dismal 6.12% win rate. The three seats the party won were Kishanganj, Kasba and Bahadurganj, all of which have a Muslim population of over 40%. The JD(U) emerged as an exception in this election, with a strong 50% win rate, largely due to its ability to garner support from across communities, even in areas with a low Muslim population. But the larger pattern in 2010 was clear: Muslim candidates were otherwise more likely to win from seats with high Muslim populations (Table 4). The 2015 election, however, brought a major shift. The formation of the Mahagathbandhan between the RJD, JD(U) and INC changed the game for Muslim candidates, who won 24 seats. The RJD's win rate surged to 75%, with 12 wins out of 16 constituencies, including many from seats where Muslims weren't even the predominant group. The JD(U) followed with a 71.42% win rate, while the INC also improved, winning six out of ten seats. This success was not merely a result of demographics; it reflected the fact that people averse to the NDA may have felt like they didn't have a choice but to vote for a Mahagathbandhan candidate (as their number of choices would have gone down with alliance parties fielding one candidate per seat), whether they were Muslim or otherwise. It also highlighted the fact that if Muslims receive support from other communities, they may make it to the assembly. The 2015 election proved that when social coalitions align, Muslim political representation can thrive, even in areas where they aren't numerically predominant (Table 5). By 2020, that momentum had fractured. The Mahagathbandhan weakened, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)'s emergence in Seemanchal added a new layer of competition for Muslim votes. Nineteen Muslims were able to win in this election. The RJD's performance slipped, with just eight of its 18 Muslim candidates winning – a 44.44% win rate. The INC's win rate declined drastically to 36.36% and the JD(U), once a model of cross-community support, failed to send a single Muslim candidate to the assembly, largely due to two factors: first, its being an ally of the BJP, and second, in the recent past the JD(U) didn't seem to stand up for the Muslim community on the national and state level. The AIMIM secured five wins out of 15 in its debut assembly election in Bihar, but only in Muslim-majority constituencies, highlighting both its rise and its limits. The 2020 results revealed a scattered field where Muslim votes were divided and Muslim candidates increasingly reliant on narrow, community-driven strategies rather than broad-based alliances (Table 6). This pattern in which Muslim candidates often win from seats with a large Muslim population raises a troubling question. Why is it that Muslim voters often vote along ideological lines, but non-Muslim voters seem to prefer sticking to caste lines when the candidate is Muslim? According to the CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey of 2020, 76% of Muslims voted for the Mahagathbandhan, irrespective of caste and region. Yet when a Muslim candidate stands, many from the Mahagathbandhan's own base often keep their votes firmly within caste and religious borders. Transferability, the supposed lifeblood of coalition politics, seems to get stuck in traffic whenever a Muslim candidate appears on the ballot. The irony is rich: the most ideologically loyal voters get the least electoral reward. Perhaps parties in Bihar should hold a crash course on coalition basics, or at least invest in stronger vote transfer engines. Because if secular parties don't seriously rethink Muslim representation soon, they may find their minority plank strong in theory, but minority MLAs missing from the seats that count. For years, Muslims in Bihar have voted with hope in their hearts, not for their own caste or narrow interests. Muslims stood by the promises of secularism, cast their vote for alliances and not identity. But when it's time for tickets or seats, they're too often left behind, told quietly that the numbers don't favour them. Their loyalty is rarely doubted, yet they are rarely rewarded by secular parties. Muslims aren't asking for privilege, they are asking just for a fair place at the table. And if their voice keeps getting ignored, the silence they leave behind may one day speak volumes. Aamir Shakil is a political researcher based in Delhi. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
AP in a state of emergency, alleges Jagan; TDP hits back
Tirupati: Former chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Thursday alleged that Andhra Pradesh is in a "state of emergency" due to the "autocratic and undemocratic practices" of the NDA govt. The YSRCP chief, who met former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy at Nellore central prison, slammed the govt for targeting YSRCP leaders and intimidate the opposition. Criticising the TDP-led govt for booking 14 "false cases" against Kakani, he said when YSRCP activists were attacked near Kavali, Kakani held a press conference and condemned the ruling party for instigating the attacks. "TDP holds a grudge against him for that. He was immediately booked in multiple cases with the help of fake witnesses and evidences and has been confined to Nellore prison," he alleged. Jagan, who also met former Kovur legislator Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy, condemned the attack on the six-time MLA's residence. "Over 80 miscreants were involved in the unprecedented attack in which Prasanna's house was ransacked. Had he been present there at the time of the attack, the mob would not have spared him. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Up to 70% off | Shop Sale Libas Undo His mother still lives in constant fear in the aftermath of the attack," he said. He also questioned the govt as to why it was so scared of his visits. "The curbs imposed during my visits are unprecedented. They even dug up roads at some places to prevent YSRCP activists from taking part in my programmes. This blatant misuse of police and administrative machinery to stall my visits to the districts signals the insecurity in the ruling party. YSRCP will give TDP a taste of the same medicine after returning to power," Jagan warned. Earlier, Nellore police resorted to mild lathicharge at some places during Jagan's visit on Thursday. Despite prohibitory orders issued by the police banning crowd mobilisation and taking out rallies, a large number of YSRCP activists congregated at the helipad near Nellore central prison and outside the Kovur ex-MLA's residence, who staged protests claiming that he too was roughed up by the police. Meanwhile, TDP ridiculed Jagan's "baseless allegations" and asserted that peace and tranquility have returned to the state after people voted him out in the 2024 elections. Kovur legislator Vemireddy Prashanti Reddy questioned the YSRCP chief about the rationale behind his frequent "jail yatras". "What message are you trying to send across by extending solidarity to people like Kakani Govardhan Reddy, Anil Kumar Yadav, and Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy? Aren't they guilty of pledging support to the mining mafia? The whole of Andhra Pradesh condemned the derogatory and sexist remarks passed on me by Prasanna Kumar Reddy. Even the high court condemned his comments and refused to grant anticipatory bail to him. It is unfortunate that Jagan has stooped so low to shield a person who is a disgrace to the society," the TDP MLA lamented. She further said that despite being shunted out of power, Jagan hasn't learnt any lessons. "YSRCP can never return to power as its prime agenda is to shield criminals and humiliate women," she added.
