Polling under way in Rajasthan, while ‘Panauti Modi’ jibe lands Rahul in bad books of ED

Good morning, dear readers!

As you read this newsletter, the citizens of Rajasthan are practising their fundamental right to vote and while we hope they make a well-informed decision, let us start with how things looked in Rajasthan this week before the campaign in the desert state came to an end on Thursday.

A security personnel stand guard as people wait to cast their votes for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, in Bharatpur district, Saturday, November 25, 2023.

As the Congress is striving hard to fight anti-incumbency in the state, the BJP has left no stones unturned to ensure that Rajasthan votes the saffron party into power. The northwestern state has a history of oscillating between the BJP and the Congress every election, a factor that makes the BJP certain of its victory this time round. However, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is pretty confident that people will not fall for the alleged “lies, deception and hateful words” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have decided to “change the revolving door tradition” of the state.

This comes after PM Modi on Wednesday asserted that his guarantee outweighs all "false promises" made by the Congress, and asked the people of Rajasthan to wipe out the Ashok Gehlot government to free the state from oppression and corruption. Moreover, the PM also wrote an open letter to the citizens of Rajasthan on Wednesday promising to take the state to newer heights and accusing the Congress government of causing "unimaginable damage" to the state's reputation.

As the World Cup ends, politicians take the battle off the field

The World Cup is over (there, there reader, hold your tears), but the political parties seem to have missed the memo as they have over-exhausted the politics around it. So much so that the Election Commission of India had to get involved.

After Australia lifted the Cricket World Cup, the Hindi word ‘panauti’ has been trending on social media. “Our boys were on the verge of winning the World Cup, till some unlucky person or bad omen came to watch it (Acche bhale hamare ladke wahan pe World Cup jeet jaate, par panauti harwa diya)," Rahul Gandhi said in Rajasthan, in a veiled dig at PM Modi. The BJP did not let the ‘panauti’ comment slide as they sought action from the EC. 

After visiting the EC, BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal launched a stinging attack on Gandhi and described him as a "senseless, uneducated and valueless" person of 'ghatia' (inferior) mindset.

Following the complaint, the poll body on Thursday issued a notice to Gandhi for comparing PM Modi to a ‘jaib katra’ (pick-pocket) and ‘panauti’ (bad omen).

Apart from the usual Congress-BJP quarrel, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said, "They are trying to paint the entire country saffron. We are proud of our Indian players, and I believe that we would have won the World Cup if the finals had taken place in Kolkata or Wankhede (in Mumbai)," hinting at the BJP.

4 done, one to go!

With Rajasthan voting under way, the only state that is yet to go to polls is Telangana and the attention of all the political parties has shifted to the southern state as the voting is scheduled for November 30.

As the poll campaign for Telangana reached its final leg the ruling BRS's working president and state's industries minister, K T Rama Rao, presented a 'report card' on how Telangana had transformed under KCR-led party's rule since 2014. Addressing an election rally on Tuesday, KCR said Congress leaders promise to bring back 'Indiramma Rajyam' but that period was marked by the Emergency and the situation of Dalits has remained the same. Reacting to this, Congress's Kharge said, "This KCR abuses even Indira Gandhi. KCR asks about poverty during Indira Gandhi's rule. Where were you when green revolution and mid-day meal happened and what were you doing?”

On the other hand, these elections are crucial for the BJP because an opening here will finally help the BJP set foot in south India. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday attacked the BRS government over "family rule" and alleged corruption, saying the BRS would win all the medals if an "Olympics of corruption" was held. 

One of the most interesting seats to watch out for will be the Kamareddy Assembly seat which is set to witness a three-way contest in the coming elections with BRS at an advantage on account of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) contesting from here. State Congress President Revanth Reddy and BJP's K Venkata Ramana Reddy are pitted against the CM.

As focus moves to National Herald again, Congress dubs it 'petty-vendetta'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached properties worth Rs 751.9 crore of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) and Young Indian (YI), which are linked to National Herald, in connection with a money laundering case, prompting the Congress to describe it as the "petty vendetta tactics" to "divert attention from a certain defeat" in the ongoing Assembly elections.

Mallikarjun Kharge said the ED action was a "clear indication of BJP's panic", and "staring at a defeat" in Assembly polls it "feels compelled to misuse the agencies". He said the pattern of misuse of agencies during elections is "not new" and "stands fully exposed".

In response, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Gandhi family must pay for its "sins".

Consequences for Mahua Moitra or a stepping stone to LS 2024

On Thursday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey fired another salvo at TMC MP Mahua Moitra, alleging that she had breached the confidentiality of questions and answers within committees. He added that revealing such information can affect changes in critical areas. “... when the MP asks a question, the MP gets the answer one hour before the commencement of the Parliament, this affects the condition of the stock market and the company".

This week also saw Mamata Banerjee finally breaking her silence on the ‘cash-for-query’ case. "Now, they are planning to expel Mahua (from Parliament). She will become more popular as a result. Whatever she used to say inside (Parliament), she will now say those things outside. Would anyone do something like this three months before the elections if he is not stupid?" Banerjee said, addressing a special session of the party at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Siddaramaiah govt split as DKS signs petition against caste census

Credit: PTI Photo 

D K Shivakumar has been in the limelight this week for two main reasons. First, in a clear split within the Congress, Deputy Chief Minister on Wednesday revealed that he signed a petition urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to junk the caste census, which is expected to be submitted soon. Moreover, the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday urged CM Siddaramaiah not to rush the release of "caste census", and take all communities and organisations into confidence before going ahead, amid opposition from various quarters to it.

The other reason is that the Karnataka Cabinet decided on Thursday to withdraw the consent that was given to the CBI by the previous BJP government to investigate a disproportionate assets (DA) case against DKS.

In other news, reacting to the recent claim of H D Kumaraswamy’s that Shivakumar was running a tent (small theatre) at his native Doddalahalli to screen “blue films,” DKS said that he would quit politics if it is proved.

Light at the end of the tunnel for Naidu?

The week started off well for Naidu as the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday granted regular bail to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on health grounds in alleged skill development corporation scam case. Naidu was arrested on September 9 by the AP CID sleuths on the charges of alleged misappropriation of funds in AP skill development corporation when he was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019.

Two-day Punjab Assembly session from Nov 28-29

The Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave its nod to convening a two-day state Assembly session on November 28 and 29. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. On November 10, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Punjab governor for "indefinitely sitting over" some bills passed by the Assembly, saying "you are playing with fire".

Truce begins in Israel-Hamas war; Gaza-held hostages swapped for Palestinian prisoners

Israel and Hamas started a four-day ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, the first pause in a 48-day-old war that has devastated the Palestinian enclave. The truce began Friday morning, involving a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, the release of 25 hostages by Hamas and 39 Palestinian prisoners by Israel later in the day, and aid flow into the besieged territory.

Afghan embassy in India shuts down citing 'lack of support', Taliban pressure

Afghanistan's embassy in New Delhi has closed as diplomats appointed by the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban two years ago failed to secure visa extensions from their Indian hosts, the outgoing ambassador said in a statement on Friday.

That is all for today folks! If you are from Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh, may the best party win in your state and for those from other parts of the country, sit back and enjoy the festival of democracy!

Exit stage left,

DH Newsletters Team