India Political Highlights: Rahul raising Savarkar issue could lead to cracks in MVA, says Raut

Nearly 4,000 party workers, including leaders from BJP-ruled states, have descended to Delhi for micromanagement of its campaign and ensure efficient voter outreach ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls next month, party leaders said on Friday.

The BJP leaders, state unit functionaries, MLAs and civic body office bearers from UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are holding regular meetings with the candidates and the party workers for "maximum impact" of the campaign for elections to 250 wards on December 4, a Delhi BJP leader said. (PTI)

. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said letters cited by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while making critical remarks against freedom fighter VD Savarkar were common during the British rule and even Mahatma Gandhi used to write such missives. (PTI)

. AAP will display models of the three landfill sites in Delhi to highlight the BJP's "garbage mismanagement" during its 15-year-old governance of the civic body ahead of elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The BJP has been in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) -- trifurcated in 2012 into north, south and east corporations and then unified this year -- for three straight terms.

On Friday, AAP's Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai flagged off 35 campaign vehicles displaying miniature "garbage mountains" to highlight the alleged mismanagement. (PTI)

. Gujarat underwent tremendous change and became a riot-free and "top rated" state under Narendra Modi's rule as chief minister and the successive BJP governments have continued the good work, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday.

Modi became the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001 and led the BJP to score three consecutive electoral victories in the state. (PTI)

. Sanjay Raut, key leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena, on Friday said there was no reason for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to comment on freedom fighter V D Savarkar, and this could lead to cracks in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Talking to reporters, Raut said any defamatory remarks against Savarkar were unacceptable to the Shiv Sena. (PTI)

. Union Minister Narayan Rane on Friday said Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray did not know the history of freedom fighter VD Savarkar and slammed them for not opposing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments on the Hindutva ideologue. (PTI)

. A total 1,416 candidates are in the fray for the civic body elections in Delhi following the rejection of 1,169 nominations, official data showed.

The figures may change with Saturday being the last day for withdrawal of nominations. (PTI)

. Amid the Gujjar community threat that it will not allow the Bharat Jodo Yatra to enter Rajasthan if their past demands are not fulfilled, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra on Friday said that no one has the courage to stop the yatra.

He said that the yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will enter the state on December 3 on its pre-decided route. (PTI)

. Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday dismissed the Congress party's allegation of misuse of electoral data by the BJP government as a baseless charge and a conspiracy by the opposition party. The BJP strongman said there was no need to take Congress seriously because it is making these allegations out of fear of losing the upcoming assembly election. (PTI)

. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday attacked the Congress saying that thousands of people laid down their lives during the freedom struggle but the opposition party highlighted the contribution of only one family. He was addressing a rally in Mandvi town, 380 kilometres from here, in poll-bound Gujarat's Kutch district for BJP candidate Anirudh Dave. (PTI)

. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading fear, hatred and violence and said the country can not progress under these circumstances. The country will never benefit from hatred and those who experience violence in personal life are fearless and will never hurt others or spread ill-will in the society, said Rahul Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Yatra has completed 12 days in Maharashtra.

Addressing a rally organised as part of the yatra at Shegaon in Buldhana district after visiting Sant Gajanan Maharaj Temple, Rahul Gandhi, however, avoided any mention of freedom fighter V D Savarkar during his speech. (PTI)

. A day after he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday claimed that misdeeds of the previous government were being heaped on his dispensation.

Soren was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for over nine-and-half-hours on Thursday in connection with its investigation into an alleged illegal mining case. (PTI)

. If it wins the MCD polls, Delhi BJP will develop an app for a faceless delivery of municipal services to the people of the city, convener of the party's MCD election manifesto committee, Satish Upadhyay, said on Friday.

The party will make Municipal Corporation of Delhi "paperless" and develop 'My MCD', a mobile app, by March 31 next year to render civic services to the public at their doorstep, he said in a press conference here. (PTI)

. With the by-poll in Odisha's agrarian Padampur assembly constituency drawing near and the BJD and BJP dubbing each other as “anti-farmer”, the saffron brigade Friday launched an indefinite 'satyagraha' near the state Assembly highlighting farmers' issues. Odisha BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said the ‘satyagraha’ has been launched against different issues affecting the farmers like farm assistance, crop insurance, supply of fertilizers, seeds and others. The ruling BJD rejected BJP's allegations of BJP and called it "laughable" and BJP should instead shift its 'satyagraha' venue to the Parliament. (PTI)

. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday suggested that construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya has became possible only because a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the helm at the Centre and asked if the project would not have been feasible under a Congress dispensation. Addressing a rally in Wankaner town of Morbi district in support of BJP candidate Jitu Somani, Adityanath said the time has come to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's wish of dissolving the Congress and maintained the Opposition party was not capable of protecting the country. (PTI)

. TRS activists ransack BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind's house in Hyderabad over alleged derogatory remarks against Telangana CM's daughter K Kavitha. (PTI)

. Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat met BJP President JP Nadda to offer an explanation after his critical remarks on the "slow pace" of the Dehradun Smart City project caused discomfort among party leaders, sources here said.

The sources said the BJP leadership issued a "stern message" to leaders in Uttarakhand and asked them to air their grievances only on party forums. (PTI)

. Himachal Pradesh BJP in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna on Friday asserted that the party will get a clear majority in the assembly polls and not require the support of rebels or independents.

He said the party also fought the polls to change the “riwaz” (tradition) of ousting a government after every five years on the basis of "unprecedented development" witnessed in the state during its tenure.

Taking a dig at the opposition Congress, Khanna said, “The Congress is dreaming of forming the government in the state, but its dreams will be shattered when the results will be out on December 8. The BJP will win with a thumping majority." (PTI)

. Newly appointed West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose feels that the role of the governor is to act as the "rainbow bridge" between the state and the Centre for "resolution of all conflicts" between the Raj Bhavan and the TMC government through "right solutions". Bose, who was appointed as the Bengal governor on Thursday, said the differences between the Raj Bhawan and the state government should not be seen as a conflict but as a "difference of opinion" as both are complementary institutions. (PTI)

. ‘Double-engine government’, a phrase often used by the BJP, is against the ethos of federal structure in the country, sitting Congress MLA from Shimla Rural assembly constituency Vikramaditya Singh said on Friday.

Vikramaditya Singh, a son of former HP Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, argued that central assistance is a must for any state, and Himachal Pradesh received good packages from the centre during the UPA and NDA governments. (PTI)

. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda on Friday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, and alleged that the opposition party can only break the country and not unite it. He was addressing an election rally in Navsari town of south Gujarat for BJP candidate Rakesh Desai. Polling for Navsari seat will be held on December 1 in the first phase in the poll-bound state. "I wonder if Congress has embarked on Bharat Jodo Yatra or Bharat Todo Yatra. Their leaders are saying unite India. But what do they do in real life? Their leader Rahul Gandhi went to JNU in Delhi and supported those who shout slogans in favour of Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the Parliament attack," Nadda said. (PTI)

. National Conference, the oldest political party of Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday issued notification for holding elections to the post of president after incumbent Farooq Abdullah announced his decision to step down.

NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar issued the notification for election which will be held on December 5, the birth anniversary of party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

According to the notification, the last date for filing of nominations for the post is December 1. (PTI)

. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday stepped up heat on AAP in the poll ticket bribery case.

Calling Arvind Kejriwal a 'driver' of the scam, BJP leaderSambit Patraaccused AAP's Mukesh Goel of graft, alleging that the partytook cash for tickets for upcoming MCD polls.

India Political Highlights: Rahul raising Savarkar issue could lead to cracks in MVA, says Raut

MCD polls: BJP leaders seek to micromanage campaign

Such letters were written by Mahatma Gandhi too: Fadnavis on Savarkar row

MCD polls: AAP launches campaign to highlight BJP's 'garbage mismanagement' in Delhi

Modi made Gujarat riot-free, well-governed state: Union minister Anurag Thakur

No reason for Rahul Gandhi to raise Savarkar issue; could lead to cracks in MVA: Raut

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