Message from Bangladesh National day
The Congress appears to be grappling with a 'problem of plenty' over election surveys in poll-bound Bihar. While survey teams led by master strategist Sunil Kanugolu are already at work, Congress Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru has deployed another team to conduct a door-to-door survey to gauge public sentiment on the selection of candidates and other campaign-related decisions.
Congress insiders attribute it to the friction between Kanugolu and Allavaru. It is no secret that the two leaders enjoy proximity to the top brass. Both survey findings are to be presented to the Congress High Command for a final decision on candidate selection and other issues. However, there is internal disquiet among some ranks that poll surveys have become a profitable business for leaders and that the AICC is spending a considerable amount of funds beyond what is necessary for effective monitoring and oversight.
Minority outreach hiccups
Congress looks to be struggling to maintain internal cohesion as it attempts to weave an effective minority outreach strategy in poll-bound Bihar. A meeting of the Muslim leaders from Bihar and Delhi last week ran into rough weather when several members questioned the party's strategy for Muslims and selection of the right candidates. Chaired by AICC minority department chief Imran Pratapgarhi, the meeting at the party's new headquarters, Indira Bhawan, drew nearly 40 leaders in attendance. Seventeen percent of Bihar's population is Muslim.
A senior leader, a JNU alumnus, pointed out that a sitting MLA, the only Kulhaiya Muslim from the Seemanchal region, had not been invited to the meeting. Some members also alleged that there are efforts to replace this MLA with another close to CLP leader, Shakeel Ahmad Khan. The Seemanchal region, with a 47 percent Muslim population, comprises 24 assembly seats. 'If the party cannot do justice to its Muslim leaders, how will it gain the confidence of the community?' asked a leader.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
12 minutes ago
- Time of India
Yathindra assures grants for Vishwakarma community hostel
Mysuru: Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah assured that grants would soon be released for the incomplete Vishwakarma community students' hostel at TK Layout and for facilities to be set up at the mutt in Aremadanahalli, Chikkahalli, on T Narasipura Road. He spoke after participating in the Pratibha Puraskar (Talent Awards) programme organised by the Mysuru District Vishwakarma Yuva Jagruti Vedike at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium. Highlighting the challenges of the Vishwakarma community, Yathindra said they continue to remain backward socially, economically, educationally, and politically. "Oppressed communities must achieve economic progress. The govt led by chief minister Siddaramaiah is committed to empowering backward classes, Dalits, and minorities," he said. He stressed the need for unity among backward classes, cautioning that communal forces often attempt to mislead them for political gains. "We must not fall prey to such conspiracies. If the Constitution is not safeguarded, society will face grave dangers," he warned. On development works, he assured that halted construction of the hostel would resume soon and that all necessary facilities for the mutt would be provided. He further announced that a chairman would shortly be appointed to the Vishwakarma Development Corporation and promised to pursue additional grants through it to meet the community's needs. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
EC helping BJP in ‘vote chori': Rahul on poll panel's presser
Sasaram: Reacting sharply to the Election Commission's press conference on a day he along with INDIA bloc parties launched the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar against the SIR exercise, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that a law was brought in 2023 by the BJP govt to ensure that no court can take action against election commissioners as EC is "helping them and is indulging in vote theft in collusion with them". Addressing a public meeting in Aurangabad after launching the yatra in Sasaram, he said, "I want to ask them why did the govt change the law on CCTV footage of election process?" "Do you know that no case can be initiated against the election commissioners. In no court in India can there be a case against them. This law was made in 2023. Why was this law made at this time?" he asked. Rahul alleged this law was as PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah "want to ensure that no one can take any action against EC as it is helping them and is indulging in 'vote chori' along with them". "EC is asking an affidavit from me but does not ask Anurag Thakur (BJP) for an affidavit when he says the same thing," he alleged, citing the alleged electoral irregularities highlighted by Congress in Karnataka. On X, Rahul said, "EC declared living people as dead, removed from voter list people who had recently voted in LS elections. EC once again refuses to deliver digital, machine-readable voter rolls. Earlier, vote was "stolen stealthily, stealthily" and now, it is being done openly in the name of SIR", he said. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on X said that "as far as the CEC's threats to Rahul Gandhi are concerned, all that needs to be said is that the LoP had simply stated facts revealed by EC's own data." He said, "This was the first time this 'new' EC was speaking directly and not planting through sources" and that the presser came "three days after SC rejected every argument made by EC to prevent publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during SIR". Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
33 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar': Rahul slams BJP, ECI
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission (ECI) for "manipulating" voter lists, alleging that votes were being stolen in the name of "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR). The Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav today held a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad district. Addressing the public at the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad, the Congress MP said, "SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar. Earlier, they used to do it secretly. Now they are doing it openly in front of everyone." He launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP, stating that neither he, nor Tejeshwar Yadav, nor the people of Bihar are afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Election Commission. "The people of the election commission say that yes, we will cut voters, and we will not tell you, we will not show you the voter list. What will you do? I will tell you what we will do. We are going to show you the power of the people. We are going to show you the power of Bihar. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and people of the Election Commission should understand that I am not afraid of you, neither Tejeshwar Yadav nor Bihar. I am saying this as a guarantee, the truth of vote theft. We will put it in front of every citizen of India, in front of their eyes," he later added. The Congress MP alleged that the Election Commission, saying, "The Election Commission asks for an affidavit from me. But when Anurag Thakur says the same thing that I am saying, it does not ask for an affidavit from him." The Leader of Opposition further claimed that in Maharashtra, the INDI bloc won the Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP swept the Vidhan Sabha elections held four months later. "Wherever new voters came, the BJP won there. Our votes did not decrease. The INDIA alliance got as many votes in the Vidhan Sabha as it had in the Lok Sabha. BJP got all the new voters. So we got suspicious," Rahul Gandhi said. The Congress leader alleged that when the INDIA bloc asked the Election Commission to explain the sudden addition of new voters, the poll panel refused to respond. "Election Commission tells us that we will not explain. We do not need you to explain. Then we told them that you have installed CCTVs. The law is that CCTV cameras will have to be provided to any party asking for CCTV. They say they will not provide CCTV. Then we said give us the voter list. They say they will not provide the electronic voter list. The Election Commission and the BJP together have committed theft in Bengaluru Central. I am telling you this with a guarantee," the Congress MP added. The Congress party is currently holding a 16-day 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', protesting against the alleged 'vote chori' that Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission and the BJP of perpetrating. The yatra began from Bihar's Sasaram today, with several leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, Kanhaiya Kumar and others participating. The Chief Election Commisioner of India on Sunday refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks. The CEC also termed the allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas as an "insult" to the Constitution of India."...An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option.) If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless..." CEC Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing mediapersons at a briefing at the National Media Centre in the national capital. Rahul Gandhi had on August 7 addressed a press conference in New Delhi, in which he presented Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, a part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes ,including duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk registrations of votes at single locations. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
