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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
13 days and counting: Farmers in Punjab's Fazilka battle waterlogged fields, allege government apathy
Farmers in nearly 15 villages of Punjab's Fazilka district are seething with frustration over what they call the Government's apathetic attitude, as over 4,000 acres of farmland have remained submerged since it rained heavily on July 31 and August 1. Though there has been no heavy rain since August 1, intermittent drizzles have slowed recovery. The deputy commissioner has asked village panchayats to use funds received under the 15th Finance Commission to drain the water, but panchayats have expressed their inability to do so, citing a lack of resources. 'Fed up with the laid-back attitude of the Punjab Government, we have staged a dharna in Abohar to make ourselves heard,' said Sudhir Bhadhu, a farmer from Waryam Khera village whose 40 acres have been underwater since August 1. With a choked throat, he added, 'Nearly 400 acres of our village are still under water. Out of this, nearly 40 acres are mine. I had kinnow orchards, cotton, and paddy on this land, and everything is under water… What should we do? This year's income is gone, and government officials and politicians are sitting pretty in their offices.' Varinder Kamboj, a farmer from Diwankhera village, said, 'Fodder for our animals has also been destroyed, not to speak of the fruit orchards of our joint family. We grow kinnow, guava, pear, and other fruits on 50 acres… This is the collective land of our big joint family. We are making our own efforts to get the water drained out. The administration is making no efforts. We have never seen such a laid-back approach from the administration.' Sunil Kamboj, sarpanch of the village, said, 'Nearly 400 acres of our village are under water, and there is hardly any place to get the water drained out to. The administration has asked village panchayats to spend funds received under the 15th Finance Commission. We did some purchases… let's see if the bills are cleared or not.' In Haripura village, farmer Sukhjeet Kumar is facing double trouble as his seven acres are underwater and his house has been partially damaged. 'My house is built within the fields. We now live in one-room accommodation only. Five of us live in this house—I, my wife, my old parents, and my younger brother's wife. My son studies in Delhi, and my younger brother does transport business in Delhi. They keep frequenting the village. Cracks have developed in the rest of the rooms as our kinnow orchards are under water around this house… We have literally no place to live. I had requested the tehsildar to arrange at least a tent but got no response. Our village has a BJP-dominated panchayat. Perhaps this is the reason for ignoring us… Around 90 acres of this village are underwater.' Sukhmander Sukh, the Fazilka district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), said, 'The problem is related to just 15 villages, with an area of 4,000-5,000 acres. We are surprised to see that even this is not being managed well. This small problem has now become a big issue, all thanks to the administration and leaders of the ruling party. Ultimately, we will blame only the Punjab Government and its poor governance. Already its graph is down, and it is now going further downwards.' The affected villages include Sabuana, Sajrana, Abhunn, Diwankhera, Dhingawali, Waryam Khera, Haripura, Dalmirkhera, Billapati, Saidanwali, Giddranwali, and Khui Khera Rakanpura, with no fewer than 300-400 acres in each village remaining underwater. The area suffers from a subsurface waterlogging issue, preventing seepage into the ground. 'As it is drizzling on a few days and it is cloudy on a few other days, even evaporation is not happening,' said Varinder Kamboj, the farmer from Diwankhera. 'It seems we are entirely dependent on nature,' added Sukhmander Sukh, the farmer leader. When contacted, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, who has been suspended from the Congress, blamed the district administration. 'A laid-back approach of the district administration is responsible for this condition… a proper coordination between PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited), the agriculture and irrigation departments, and the district administration is a must for quickly removing water from the fields,' he said.
India Today
01-08-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Churn before storm? What the rumblings in BJP, AAP, Congress in Gujarat mean
The Congress last month took a leaf out of its old handbook and anointed Amit Chavda, five-time MLA and a third generation leader from one of the most influential political families in the Gujarat, as its state dynast, tribal leader Dr Tushar Chaudhary, replaced Chavda as chief of the legislative party. Tushar is the son of former Gujarat chief minister Amarsinh appointments, announced on July 17, followed the resignation of Shaktisinh Gohil as the party's state president, his exit prompted by the Congress's dismal performance in the recent assembly leadership change has come with hopes of reviving a party battered by decades of electoral setbacks in a BJP-dominated state. The ruling party, on the other hand, has been awaiting the announcement of a new president for almost two years, as incumbent C.R. Paatil concluded his first three-year term in 2023. Expecting to be rewarded for the BJP's stellar assembly election victory in 2022—156 out of the 182 seats—Paatil had wanted to move to the Centre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He became the Union minister of Jal Shakti in the new Narendra Modi government while continuing to hold charge as the BJP's Gujarat over who will succeed Paatil continues to fire speculation in BJP gatherings even as insiders opine the state unit should be more focused on dealing with the anti-incumbency piling up from over three decades of rule in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, sprang a surprise by winning the Visavadar seat in the bypoll in June. The victory was considered a milestone for AAP not only because it appeared weakened by its Delhi assembly poll rout and two of its five MLAs in Gujarat deserted the party, but also because Visavadar was once held by BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel and is a Patidar-dominated victorious AAP candidate Gopal Italia has his roots in the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which ran a campaign for reservation for Patidar youth in government jobs. The election was a moment of inflection for all the parties about how the sentiment of the Patidar movement resonates with the electorate a decade after it was launched and ebbed within five years politically, with Hardik Patel's departure from the Congress to settle down as a BJP MLA in the last month since the bypoll, AAP in Gujarat has been livened up by two visits by its national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to rouse the cadre and kick-start the 'Gujarat Jodo' membership drive. Elections to 16 municipal corporations in Gujarat are scheduled in early 2026. The civic body polls will be a test of the public mood in the run-up to the assembly polls in of the rumblings witnessed currently are in preparation for the municipal polls, which are seen as an opportunity for the Opposition parties to make inroads into the BJP's core electorate—the urban middle and upper-middle class. Economic challenges, jobs and crumbling infrastructure have contributed to disillusionment with the government and the ruling the assembly polls in 2022, the Congress won 17 seats. In civic body polls this February, the party won only one municipality against the 15 in 2018. The BJP won 62 of the 68 municipalities, its tally up from July, the Congress appointed 40 new District Congress Committee presidents to infuse fresh energy into the local leadership. In the wake of the recent Vadodara bridge collapse and allegations of corruption in schemes such as MGNREGA and Nal Se Jal, the Congress and AAP are leading a fresh charge against the the BJP is still seen as holding a firm grip on power since it controls nearly all cooperative bodies and taluka panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations. To rattle the BJP remains a daunting task for the Congress, which lies in the cinders of its past losses, as well as AAP, which has so far been unsuccessful in presenting itself as a credible political alternative in the to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP's Gujarat win marred by OBC row: Gopal Italia triumphs, Botad MLA quits party
(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Italia triumphs in Visavadar, but Botad MLA exits party over OBC neglect AAP scored a morale-boosting win in the Visavadar by-poll with Gopal Italia 's emphatic victory, only to suffer a jolt days later as Botad MLA Umesh Makwana quit all party posts citing OBC neglect. Makwana was later expelled. Despite national leaders backing Italia's campaign, AAP continues to struggle for cohesion in contrasting developments have exposed the party's internal weaknesses even as it tries to expand in BJP-dominated Gujarat. Party sources admitted that while Italia's win was celebrated, Makwana's exit underlined simmering discontent among OBC cadres. The leadership's focus on centralised decision-making has drawn criticism from state leaders who feel marginalised. With BJP keeping up pressure and Congress gradually recovering ground, AAP's space in Gujarat politics remains fragile and highly contingent on how it resolves its internal churn.
India Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Why INDIA bloc's bypoll scoreline is a warning bell for Congress
The June 23 bypoll results across five assembly constituencies in four states have been hailed in some quarters as a strong showing by the INDIA bloc, with the alliance winning four of the five seats it Congress, in particular, is celebrating its capture of Nilambur in Kerala from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), despite internal rumblings involving senior leader Shashi Tharoor. Whether Tharoor was sidelined or chose to stay away from the campaign remains a matter of grabbed national attention, however, was the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) victory in Visavadar, Gujarat, a state ruled by the BJP and the home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite being decimated in the Delhi elections earlier this year, where Arvind Kejriwal lost his own seat, AAP managed to clinch two bypoll victories: Visavadar and Ludhiana West in Punjab, a state ruled by the party. These wins offer Kejriwal some hope of political beneath the optics of a 4-1 scoreline, the picture is far less flattering for the INDIA bloc. It's a story of entrenchment rather than expansion, and of the Congress's continuing erosion even in victory. Of the four wins, three came in states where alliance partners are already in power. In three of the four Opposition victories, allied parties gained vote-share not by eating into the BJP's support but by cannibalising Congress The BJP governs only Gujarat, holds a distant second position in West Bengal, and remains a marginal player in Punjab and Kerala. In the bypolls, AAP held its ground in Punjab, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) did the same in West Bengal, and the Congress won a seat in Kerala under unusual circumstances. These results do not signal any meaningful breach into BJP-dominated Gujarat, the BJP increased its vote-share in Kadi, from 53 per cent to 59 per cent, retaining the seat comfortably. Even in Visavadar, which it lost to AAP, the BJP's vote share dipped only marginally from 40.36 per cent to 39.24 per cent. The party has historically underperformed in this seat, having failed to win it since West Bengal's Kaliganj, the TMC reinforced its dominance, increasing its vote-share from 53.35 per cent to 55.15 per cent. The BJP, its main challenger, saw a slight dip, from 30.91 per cent to 28.21 per cent. This will likely boost chief minister Mamata Banerjee's confidence as the state heads into assembly elections next Ludhiana West followed a similar trend. AAP improved its vote-share from 34.8 per cent to 39.01 per cent. But again, this gain came largely at the expense of the Congress, not the BJP. Once a Congress bastion, the party had secured over 50 per cent of the votes in 2012 and 2017, but now finds itself at 27.22 per cent, down slightly from 28.3 per cent in Congress's slide is even more pronounced in Gujarat. In Visavadar, it held 54.69 per cent of the votes in 2017, fell to 11.57 per cent in 2022, and now trails behind both AAP and BJP at 3.7 per cent. In Kadi, the party's vote-share has dropped consistently, from 46.2 per cent in 2017 to 39.37 per cent in 2022, and 35.9 per cent now. Meanwhile, the BJP's vote-share has risen steadily to 59.39 per the Congress's win in Nilambur comes with caveats. In 2021, the LDF's P.V. Anvar narrowly defeated the Congress with 46.9 per cent votes as against 45.34 per cent. In the latest bypoll, the Congress won with 44.17 per cent, despite a decline in vote-share, thanks to Anvar's switch to the TMC. His 11.23 per cent haul split the anti-Congress vote, dragging the LDF down to 37.88 per cent and inadvertently helping the Congress secure the ahead, assembly elections are due early next year in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. The INDIA bloc is unlikely to contest as a united front in most of these states. Only in Tamil Nadu is an alliance likely to hold firm, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) maintaining a clear lead over the BJP. In West Bengal, TMC still has the upper the Congress, the stakes are the highest. A win in Kerala after a decade would boost morale and give the party control over three southern states, besides Karnataka and Telangana. However, such gains would remain confined to the Congress and not significantly expand the INDIA bloc's national in Assam and Puducherry does the Congress directly challenge the BJP. It is in these two states that the INDIA bloc has a real chance to contain the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but that hinges entirely on the Congress's ability to Opposition may have found a formula for protecting existing territories. But without the Congress's revival as a pan-Indian force capable of winning new ground, the alliance remains a defensive arrangement rather than an offensive weapon. The real winner on June 23 wasn't the INDIA bloc, it was the status to India Today Magazine- Ends
Indian Express
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
AAP withdraws from Delhi mayoral elections, accuses BJP of undemocratic tactics to gain control of MCD
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Monday announced that it will not field candidates for the upcoming mayor and standing committee elections in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The mayoral elections are set to be held on April 25. The AAP accused the BJP of resorting to undemocratic tactics to wrest control of the civic body, despite losing the popular mandate in the December 2022 elections. The BJP now has 117 seats in the MCD Assembly after several defections from other parties, while the AAP has 113. The Congress has eight, and 12 councillors have been elected as MPs, leaving their seats vacant. AAP's Delhi convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj described the BJP as desperate in their need to cling to power in Delhi, and accused it of manipulating democratic processes. 'We have been witnessing the BJP's desperation for power in Delhi for many years now,' he said. 'In March 2022, just before the MCD elections were to be announced at 5 pm, the Centre and the L-G office stalled the State Election Commission's press conference. They asked that elections not be held immediately and demanded that delimitation be carried out first. Their only goal was to delay elections because they knew they would lose badly.' Bharadwaj alleged that the delimitation exercise was strategically skewed. 'Each and every ward was carved to benefit the BJP. AAP strongholds were merged into one ward, while BJP-dominated areas were broken into multiple smaller wards to increase their count. Despite this, when elections were finally held on December 4, AAP still won 134 seats, while the BJP managed only 104.' Recalling the chaos during the mayoral and standing committee elections, he said, 'The situation became so ugly that microphones were broken, slogans were shouted, and even the mayor was attacked. The Supreme Court had to intervene and clarify that nominated aldermen cannot vote in mayoral elections. The BJP was exposed before the country.' Leader of Opposition Atishi accused the BJP of undermining democracy through coercion and manipulation. 'Wherever the BJP loses elections — whether it is Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, or Maharashtra — they try to form governments through the backdoor using all possible means: money, muscle, manipulation,' she said. Atishi also criticised the last-minute delimitation ahead of the 2022 MCD elections, which reduced the number of wards from 272 to 250. 'This was done to delay the elections and schedule them on the same dates as the Gujarat Assembly polls, where AAP was also contesting — clearly to weaken our campaign in both states.' Despite AAP securing a majority, Atishi claimed the BJP continued attempts to destabilise the party's control in the MCD. 'Their every effort to break our councillors failed — until recently. After persistent pressure, they have now managed to get a majority in the MCD House.' Explaining why the AAP is stepping back from the mayoral race, she said, 'To win now, we would have to indulge in the same kind of politics — breaking and buying councillors — and that is not what we stand for. We refuse to be a part of that game.' 'Now that they have their 'triple-engine sarkar' — at the Centre, the state, and now in the MCD — we expect them to fulfil all their promises. The AAP will continue to be a strong and vigilant Opposition in the MCD, just as we are in the Delhi Assembly.' The BJP meanwhile announced its candidates for the mayoral elections: Raja Iqbal Singh, Leader of Opposition at the MCD Assembly; and Jai Bhagwan Yadav, Deputy Leader of Opposition, respectively, for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.
