Gujarat Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar

Gujarat: Scarves Printed With ‘Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar’ Ready

After all the exit polls showed positive trends for the BJP in Gujarat assembly elections, people have started selling muslin scarves with “Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar” printed on them outside the BJP’s “Kamalam” main office as part of a celebration.

This comes amid the exit polls prediction that the BJP is on course to a handsome victory in Gujarat and could create a record in seats won.
Bharat Bhai Solanki working at Aarti Textiles outside the BJP office who sells batches, scarves, stoles, pens, and stickers said that muslin stoles with “Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar” print have been selling in large numbers.

“I have been running a shop here for almost 10 years.This time we have already made a muslin scarves for BJP’s victory, in which it is written “Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar”, this stole is being sold in large numbers,” said Bharat Bhai Solanki.

Solanki exuded confidence in the BJP to win and said that the sale of the stole started two-three days back.

“We already knew that once again the BJP will form government in Gujarat, so we had already started making this special stole. We were sure that Modi ji is going to come once again. Its sale started two three days back,” he said.

Solanki said that it is being sold all over India, and some special stoles have been sent outside, all ministers and workers have been buying these stoles.

“”Exit poll results show that BJP will form a government with above 130 seats. In Gandhinagar South, Alpesh Thakur will win with a huge majority. On December 8, we will also take out a victory rally here, burst crackers and celebrate Gujarat with full enthusiasm,” he said.

BJP worker Raju Thakur said that once again the BJP government will be formed.

“With the exit-poll percentage, we were already sure that only the BJP government will be formed and we are very happy to see the exit-poll results,” said BJP worker Raju Thakur.

BJP worker Vijay Chauhan said that PM Narendra Modi will form a government for 30 to 40 years as he is a trustworthy person.

“We had come to know that our government is going to come, we will only bring Modi for 30 years and 40 years, he is a trustworthy person. We have already started buying winning stoles,” he said. (ANI)

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Gujarat Polls: Voter Turnout 50.51% Till 3 pm

Gujarat witnessed a voter turnout of 50.51 percent till 3 pm in the ongoing second phase of the state Assembly elections on Monday.

The voting began at 8 am today. The voting percentage was recorded at 34.74 percent till 1 pm.
According to the State Election Commission, Sabarkantha recorded the highest voter turnout of 57.23 percent in the polling, while Ahmedabad recorded the lowest voter turnout of 44.67 percent.

Meanwhile in Gandhinagar, where the top leaders of the BJP including PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel cast their votes, witnessed 52.05 percent.

Polling for the second and final phase of the Gujarat Assembly Elections for 93 Assembly constituencies across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat began at 8 am amid tight security arrangements on Monday.

As many as 833 candidates from 61 parties are in the fray in the second phase of the Gujarat elections whose fate will be decided by over 2.51 crore electorates.

The Election Commission has established 26,409 polling booths and nearly 36,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for the purpose. Around 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers have been deployed in 14 districts to facilitate the polls.

According to Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi, of the total 26,409 polling stations, 93 are model polling booths, 93 are eco-friendly booths, Divyang and 14 manage another 93 are managed by youth. Webcasting will be done in 13,319 polling booths in the second phase.

“Total of 2,51,58,730 voters will vote, of which, 1,29,26,501 are men, 1,22,31,335 are women and 894 are from the third gender,” Bharathi said.

The 93 poll-bound seats in the second phase are spread across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Chhota Udaipur districts.

During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 percent. The voting began at 8 am in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat regions. The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat ended on December 1, with an overall turnout of 63.31 percent.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. (ANI)

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Gujarat polls

Gujarat Polls: Voter Turnout At 34.74% Till 1 pm

The voter turnout in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls was recorded at 34.74 percent till 1 pm on Monday.

The voting started at 8 am today. The state recorded a voter turnout of 19.17 percent till 11 am.
According to the latest data by the Election Commission, Sabarkantha recorded the highest turnout with 39.73 percent polling.

The lowest turnout was seen in Mahisagar (29.72 pc). Gandhinagar, where the top leaders of the BJP including PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel cast their votes, witnessed 36.49 percent voting.

Polling for the second and final phase of the Gujarat Assembly Elections for 93 Assembly constituencies across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat began at 8 am amid tight security arrangements on Monday.

As many as 833 candidates from 61 parties are in the fray in the second phase of the Gujarat elections whose fate will be decided by over 2.51 crore electorates.

The Election Commission has established 26,409 polling booths and nearly 36,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for the purpose. Around 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers have been deployed in 14 districts to facilitate the polls.

According to Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi, of the total 26,409 polling stations, 93 are model polling booths, 93 are eco-friendly booths, another 93 are managed by Divyang, and 14 are managed by youth. Webcasting will be done in 13,319 polling booths in the second phase.

“Total of 2,51,58,730 voters will vote, of which, 1,29,26,501 are men, 1,22,31,335 are women and 894 are from the third gender,” Bharathi said.

The 93 poll-bound seats in the second phase are spread across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Chhota Udaipur districts.

During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 percent. The voting began at 8 am in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat regions. The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat ended on December 1, with an overall turnout of 63.31 percent.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. (ANI)

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Bjp govt in Gujarat

BJP Will Form Govt In Gujarat: Vijay Rupani

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his wife Anjali Rupani cast their votes at a polling station in Rajkot in the first phase of State Assembly elections on Thursday.

The former chief minister said that he is confident that BJP is going to form the government in Gujarat for the seventh time.
“BJP will win all four seats of Rajkot. BJP candidates have done good campaigning. I appeal to people to cast their votes. Voting is necessary to safeguard democracy. I am confident that BJP is going to form the Govt in Gujarat for the seventh time. People have love and respect for PM Modi, they won’t go anywhere else,” said Rupani.

Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai also cast his vote from Valsad and said that people have trust in BJP and there will be further developed in the state.

“Gujarat has been progressing and the people of the state have decided to vote for the BJP. People have trust in BJP and there will be a development further in the state. BJP will form the government in the state,” said Desai.

Gujarat BJP Vice President Mahendrasinh Sarvaiya also casts his vote in Bhavnagar.

Meanwhile, the voter turnout recorded till 9 am in the first phase of elections is 4.92 percent.

Polling for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly election is underway amid tight security arrangements.

The polling is taking place in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat.

A total of 2,39,76,670 voters who will cast their votes by 5 pm today will decide the fate of 788 candidates who are in the fray for the first phase.

Out of the total number of electorates, 1,24,33,362 are males, 1,1,5,42,811 females and 497 are from the third gender. Over 4 lakh PWD voters are eligible to cast their votes.

Nearly 9.8 lakh senior citizen voters (80+) and nearly 10,000 voters who are 100 and above are eligible to vote.

According to the EC, there are 5,74,560 voters who are between 18 to 19 years of age while 4,945 voters are above 99 years of age. There are 163 NRI voters, of which 125 are men and 38 are women.

There are 14,382 voting centres, out of which 3,311 are in the urban areas and 11,071 in the rural areas.

Live webcasting of 13,065 polling booths in 19 districts will be done during the first phase of voting. A state-level monitoring room is functioning at Gandhinagar by the Chief Electoral Officer. There will be continuous observation from 6.30 am till the completion of the voting process, according to the EC.

As per the instructions of the Election Commission, the entire arrangement has been made. In the first phase, voting will be held at a total of 25,430 polling stations. Out of these 13,065, polling stations will be webcast live.

Among prominent candidates, Gujarat Chief Minster Bhupendra Patel is contesting from Ghatlodia, AAP Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi from Khambhaliya, former Congress leader and BJP candidate Hardik Patel from Viramgam, former Congress leader and now BJP candidate Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South.

AAP state president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam constituency, Gujarat Home Minister (State) Harsh Sanghavi from Majura, Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North, former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya from Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya from Morbi and Jayesh Radadiya from Jetpur.

Former BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav is contesting as an Independent from Vaghodia.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will also be declared on the same day. (ANI)

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Gujarat Polls

Gujarat Polls: 19.13% Voter Turnout Till 11 am

Gujarat in its first phase of polling on Thursday recorded around 19.13 percent voter turnout till 11 am.

The polling was brisk to moderate in different places in the state.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), Tapi recorded the highest voter turnout at 26.47 percent while Devbhumi Dwaraka recorded the lowest voter turnout at 15.86 percent.

The voter turnout in Amreli was 19 percent, Bharuch recorded 17.57 percent, Bhavnagar was 18.84 percent, Botad at 18.50 percent, Dangs at 24.99 percent, Gir Somnath at 20.75 percent, Jamnagar was at 17.85 percent, Junagadh at 18.85 percent, Kachchh was at 17.62 percent and Morbi at 22.27 percent.

Meanwhile, the voter turnout at Narmada was 23.73 percent, Navsari was at 21.79 percent, Porbandar was at 16.49 percent, Rajkot was at 18.98 percent, Surat was at 17.92 percent, Surendranagar was at 20.67 percent and Valsad was at 19.57 percent.

The polling is underway in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat.

A total of 2,39,76,670 voters who will cast their votes by 5 pm today will decide the fate of 788 candidates who are in the fray for the first phase.

Out of the total number of electorates, 1,24,33,362 are males, 1,1,5,42,811 females and 497 are from the third gender. Over 4 lakh PWD voters are eligible to cast their votes. Nearly 9.8 lakh senior citizen voters (80+) and nearly 10,000 voters who are 100 and above are eligible to vote.

According to the EC, there are 5,74,560 voters who are between 18 to 19 years of age while 4,945 voters are above 99 years of age. There are 163 NRI voters, of which 125 are men and 38 are women.

There are 14,382 voting centres, out of which 3,311 are in the urban areas and 11,071 in the rural areas.

Among prominent candidates, Gujarat Chief Minster Bhupendra Patel is contesting from Ghatlodia, AAP Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi from Khambhaliya, former Congress leader and BJP candidate Hardik Patel from Viramgam, former Congress leader and now BJP candidate Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South.

AAP state president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam constituency, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi from Majura, Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North, former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya from Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya from Morbi and Jayesh Radadiya from Jetpur.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election will also be declared on the same day. (ANI)

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Gujarat Election Campaign

Campaigning Ends For Gujarat 1st Phase Polls; 788 Candidates In Fray

The campaign for the first phase of Gujarat elections concluded on Tuesday with the ruling BJP and other political parties making hectic efforts to woo voters on 89 seats spread over 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat.

The campaigning ended at 5 pm on Tuesday ahead of the first phase of polling on December 1.

“Campaigning for first phase Gujarat assembly elections has ended. All arrangements have been made for election and training has been provided to polling staff,” Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Bharathi told ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah held rallies and roadshows in the state as the BJP seeks a record seventh term in office.

BJP chief JP Nadda, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, and Goa, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, Ravishankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari also campaigned during the first phase of elections.

BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya and leaders Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan also held rallies to garner support for the party candidates.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were among the prominent campaigners of the party. Party leader Rahul Gandhi addressed two rallies in the state.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann campaigned extensively in the state while making various promises.

A total of 788 candidates are in the fray on 89 first-phase seats which include 718 male candidates and 70 female candidates.

Candidates from both BJP and Congress will be contesting on all 89 seats in the first phase, while AAP will contest on 88 seats. A total of 39 political parties have fielded their candidates.

Among prominent candidates, Gujarat Chief Minster Bhupendra Patel is contesting from Ghatlodia, AAP Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi from Khambhaliya, former Congress leader and BJP candidate Hardik Patel from Viramgam, former Congress leader and now BJP candidate Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South.

AAP state president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam constituency, Gujarat Home Minister (State) Harsh Sanghavi from Majura, Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North, former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya from Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya from Morbi and Jayesh Radadiya from Jetpur.

Former BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav is contesting as an Independent from Vaghodia.

A total of 2,39,76,670 voters, including 1,24,33,362 males, 1,1,5,42,811 females, and 497 from the third gender are eligible to vote in the first phase of Gujarat polls.

The second phase of voting will be held on December 5.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will also be declared on the same day. (ANI)

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Advocate Ashish Tripathi on Currency Notes

Laxmi-Ganesh On Rupee Notes Is A Laughable Poll Gimmick

Ashish Tripathi, a finance expert and a lawyer in the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, advises political parties to spare the rupee from politicking

Firstly, one thing should be clear about the Indian currency notes and coins – The Reserve Bank of India internally works out a design which is then put forth by the central board of the federal bank. The design, form, ink and material of bank notes shall be such as may be approved by the Union Government after consideration of the recommendations made by the central board.

All the politicians involved in creating a flutter on the issue are doing this just to fulfil their political ambitions and `lure’ a particular section of society. Their sole aim is to project themselves as the `messiah’ of a section of the majority community and add them to their vote bank.

All of us know the condition of the Rupee. It is trying hard to maintain a respectable stance against the US dollar and indulging in such cheap politics instead of doing your bid to assist the economy of India reflects your cheap and short term ambitions.

I will quote the example of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who ignited a controversy by writing a letter to the PM. Be it the CM of Delhi or any state, he or she should first focus on achieving the goals they have set for their states welfare. For Delhi, my advice would be to clean the Yamuna, check air pollution, better traffic management, install CCTV cameras, etc, all the issues that were Mr Kejriwal’s poll promises before returning to power.

While most of his poll promises remain unfulfilled, he now wants to become the torch bearer of taking our economy to newer heights by suggesting the picture of Laxmi-Ganesh on currency notes that will, according to him, make rupee soar again.

ALSO READ: ‘AAP Trying To Beat BJP At Their Own Game’

In general, state governments should make their contribution to the Indian economy by small things like controlling VAT of fuel, maintaining the supply chain, providing a competitive environment for business, etc.

I would also like to quote an example: in 2002, a ₹10 coin having the picture of Vaishnao Devi was released and the Delhi High court was quick to observe that the Constitution of India does not permit use of any kind of religious symbol on currency notes and coins. The matter should have ended there if these so called `Desh Bhakts and Intellectuals’ had eyes and ears and minds to remain updated.

I have also come across the views of some `learned intellectuals’ quoting the example of Indonesia where (being a Muslim country) the currency note has the picture of Lord Ganesha. While such people invest so much time on the social media university brushing up their knowledge and intellect, they should know that the country was once ruled by the Chola dynasty which mastered architecture and considered Ganesha as the God of architecture and knowledge.

Do they also know that the schools and educational institutions in Indonesia have the statue/picture of Lord Ganesha? Does Kejriwal, or as a matter of fact, any other `secular’ CM or state head dare any such feet without the fear of vote bank? The answer is a simple NO.

As told to Rajat Rai

Gujarat Assembly Elections

AAP Is Soft-Pedalling BJP’s Hate Politics To Grab Votes

Swati Goswami, an Ahmadabad-based independent content writer and a human rights defender, says AAP has abandoned issue-based politics for a fistful of seats

AAP is frequently in the news and a part of people’s conversations this election season in Gujarat. In 2017, a significant part of rural Gujarat or Tier 2-3 cities voted for Congress. This time, a section of these voters will fall for AAP’s ‘promises’ of free electricity, education and healthcare. The Gujarat debutant will partially eat into the votes of both the BJP and Congress.

There is an anti-incumbency sentiment in the lower and middle-income population, which was reflected in the previous polls. Several families have taken an economic hit post the Coved crisis. BJP and AAP know that AAP will not win this year, but the fight is to win an encouraging number of seats to be visible in the Vidhan Sabha. And that they will undoubtedly achieve.

Urban Gujarat is more of a BJP stronghold. Therefore, AAP is focusing on voter groups like farmers and tribals. AAP saw an opportunity in the farmers’ vote bank since they started protesting in Delhi following the farm bills. I was at the Burari ground, Delhi, in December 2020, where farmers from UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab were protesting. AAP posters imaging their support were all around. Winning in Punjab has boosted their confidence. Farmer activist Sagar Rabari joining the party and addressing farmers makes them a preferred party among his followers.

However, AAP will not be able to impress tribals with hollow promises of employment, loan-waivers, education and healthcare. Bharatiya Tribal Party leader Chhotu Vasava has said that the much-awaited alliance was called off because AAP neither responded nor had a solid action plan for their problems. The difference between pretending to care for voters and actually working to eradicate problems is something the tribal community can identify.

Ordinary citizens who are not politically inclined keep repeating — ‘what is the option’ — because that is the most convenient escape from asking the right questions from the current leadership. They don’t care about significant problems affecting others and have a repetitive, ignorant viewpoint on most things. They speak the same language as the government, make fun of Rahul Gandhi and speak of pseudo-development, void of any facts and relevance. AAP is a party of ‘freebies’ for them.

Goswami (right) says in this election AAP’s goal is to be visible in the Vidhan Sabha

The biggest failure in Gujarat is that the youth/students don’t care at all about the current state of affairs. Most children of businessmen are comfortable in their shells while public and private educational institutes follow state propaganda. The authorities direct schools to ask 8th-grade students to write to the PM, thanking him for abrogating Article 370 or a college inviting a pro-CAA speaker. The State has succeeded in poisoning the minds of young voters, and there is no counter-narrative. Gujarat is a highly controlled state where no thinking teacher can encourage students to ask relevant questions. There are RSS people even in premier institutions like IIM (A). How can we expect collective consciousness in such an environment?

ALSO READ: AAP Is Trying To Beat BJP At Their Own Game

BJP’s desperation shows in their ineffective attempts to imitate AAP by inaugurating ‘smart schools’ in Gujarat. A laughable break from their usual temple-run to appease Hindus. Everyone knows they don’t care about education, healthcare, unemployment, farmers, environment or minority rights. AAP’s campaign on some of these issues targeting the underprivileged is making BJP sweat. The BJP has been incumbent but had a clear majority only in three cities in 2017, thanks to the bigoted Gujarati businessmen. A section of voters has given up on Congressandare willing to give AAP a chance.

Those who have a social understanding can see AAP’s silence on hate politics. Interestingly, AAP is doing everything that BJP does right. They plan ahead, are organised, data-driven and hard-working. They are constantly making noise and monitoring its effect. BJP knows who to attract, who to criticise and who to break. In the Delhi elections 2020, Arvind Kejriwal wanted more Hindu votes, hence the silence on the Citizenship Act. His support for the abrogation of Article 370 is like Amit Shah writing about democracy.

AAP campaign managers openly say that it is playing the religious card because it’s the only thing that works in Gujarat. They justify that appeasing the majority is just an election strategy and not their ideology, which is a conflicting statement. Their silence on the release of Bilkis Bano’s rapists makes their stand clear. AAP’s ‘development model’ as well as Hindutva identity could well be borrowed from BJP – it’s just played out differently. The AAP model neither means development nor safety for minorities, and that’s the closest they can get to BJP’s DNA. That may explain why BJP is getting hot flashes.

What may look like a diplomatic card to AAP supporters is a dangerous card for our democracy and BJP’s real victory — manipulating India’s social fabric and poisoning its language. The degenerative transition from issue-based politics to hateful identity politics is the real damage which will take decades to recover. What is worse is that half the voters are oblivious to this destruction, conveniently and insensitively so!

AAP will partially succeed in the soft Hindutva project. It will attract those at the bottom of the pyramid struggling to survive amid inflation, improper wages and unemployment. The right-wing and privileged consider soft Hindutva as centrist and will not sway. People in business only care about low-hanging fruits like favourable policies, convenient corruption, labour exploitation and the ease of capitalism, which, in their opinion, is a result of a stable government.

This, plus the propaganda, has dumbed down our political discourse so much that every right-winger or centrist, voting or non-voting citizen, has the same statements about RaGa being incapable and Manmohan Singh being a puppet. There is no intellect or nuance in the political discourse. These are the most frustrating and hopeless times for civil societies. But, our efforts will continue, regardless!

As told to Amit Sengupta