BJP is not Modi-centric, but party and PM complement each other, says Gadkari
BJP can never be an “individual-centric” party as it is based on ideology, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, denying allegations that Bharatiya Janata Party has become “Modi-centric”.
He also disapproved apprehensions of a fractured mandate and claimed the party will get more seats than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
“BJP neither became Atal or Advani ji ’s party in the past, nor it can ever be only Amit Shah or Narendra Modi’s party,” he said in an interview to PTI at his residence in New Delhi.
Stressing that the BJP was a party based on ideology, Mr. Gadkari said it is wrong to say that “BJP has become Modi-centric”. He, however, said the BJP and Mr. Modi are “complementary to each other”.
When asked whether the BJP has become ‘Modi is BJP and BJP is Modi’ on the lines of ‘Indira is India and India is Indira’ slogan given by then Congress president D.K. Barooah during Emergency in 1976, Mr. Gadkari said the party could never be “individual-centric”.
“BJP as a party can never be individual-centric. It is an ideology-based party. There can be no ‘family-rule’ in the BJP. It is a wrong notion that the party has become Modi-centric. Party’s parliamentary board takes all the decisions,” he said. He reasoned that the party and its leader are complementary to each other.
“Elections cannot be won if party is strong but its leader is weak... same can be said if a leader is strong and the party is weak... But yes, a popular leader does come at the forefront naturally,” Mr. Gadkari said.
BJP distributing money among people through hawala route: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on May 10 alleged that BJP is using the hawala route to transfer money for distribution among the voters and law enforcing agencies are not taking any action in this regard.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses an election meeting at Ashoknagar in West Bengal on May 10, 2019. Photo: Facebook/@MamataBanerjeeOfficial
The money is being transported under Z plus security and is changing hands through the hawala route among the people, she said at a poll meeting in Ashoknagar in support of the Trinamool Barasat Lok Sabha seat candidate Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. “This operation is being carried out by the BJP during the night when campaigning is over. It is surprising that no enforcing agency is taking any action. We need to keep a watch on this.“
Instead of doles, we'll give jobs in govt. and private sectors: Mayawati
BSP supremo Mayawati participated at a rally in Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan. Hitting out at both BJP and the Congress, Ms. Mayawati said both parties haven't cared about the poor.
"I want to say that after freedom the Congress was in power for the longest time... but it was shunted out because of its activities," she said. "This time Narendra Modi's jumlebaazi and chowkidari won't help or save him," she added.
She accused the BJP of implementing the GST and demonetisation "haphazardly", thus troubling traders and the economy.
BSP chief Mayawati addressing a rally in North East Delhi on Friday.
In a veiled attack to Centre's PM-KISAN scheme and Congress-proposed NYAY, Ms. Mayawati says her party will provide jobs in government and private sectors instead of giving Rs. 6000 per month.
"Leave everything in the morning and vote first. Do your household chores and even eat later," she told her supporters urging them to vote for the elephant symbol.
While the BSP filed nominations for all seven Lok Sabha seats here, it will only be fighting five seats as affidavits of its contestants in the North West Delhi seat which is a reserved constituency, and in the New Delhi constituency were rejected.
In Rohtak, Modi evokes 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evoked the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Haryana's Rohtak to target the Congress party in the backdrop of Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks over the riots.
Hitting out at Congress leader Sam Pitroda over his "Hua to Hua" (what happened it happened) remark given recently with regard to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Mr. Modi said ''The three words from the Congress leader -- 'hua to hua' over 1984 anti-Sikh riots reflects the character, mindset and arrogance of the Congress party.''
Mr. Modi, said people will never forgive the Congress party for its arrogance and would teach a lesson to Congress, which due to its anti-people approach has already been reduced to 44 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi will be responsible if Modi comes back to power: Arvind Kejriwal
In an interview to PTI , Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said Rahul Gandhi will be responsible if Narendra Modi comes back to power. Mr. Kejriwal blamed the Congress for "being a spoilsport" in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
"It appears as if it’s [Congress is] fighting polls against opposition parties and not the BJP," he remarked. On the possibility of post-poll alliance, Mr. Kejriwal said: "Our only aim is to stop Modi and Shah from coming back to power, will support anyone other than duo after polls"
Congress has degraded election campaign: Gadkari
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused the Congress party of bringing down the level of the election campaign by diverting from the issue of development.
Talking to the media here, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said: “The election should have been fought on the work done by the BJP-led NDA government. But the Congress had brought down the level of the election campaign by abusing the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi).”
He said in total, the Prime Minister has been abused 56 times.
Crediting his government for focusing on development in its five-year term, Mr. Gadkari said it was the NDA government which worked on cleaning the Ganga and building roads from two km per day to 30 km per day.
Kirti Azad races against time in Dhanbad
People connect: Kirti Azad during a campaign stop in the Dhanbad constituency.
A member of the 1983 World Cup winning Indian team, former cricketer Kirti Azad has always disliked the Indian Premier League and the abbreviated format of the game. Ironically, he has found himself having to play the political version of a T20 as the Congress candidate from Dhanbad, which votes on May 12.
Chosen as the party candidate for the seat just two weeks before filing his nomination, Mr. Azad — a former three-time MP for Darbhanga — has had to face a steep learning curve in getting to know his new constituency. He is up against the BJP’s Pashupati Nath Singh, a two-time MP for Dhanbad, who polled 47% against the Congress’s 21.9% in 2014.
Congress, BJP feel their time has come in Haryana’s Sirsa seat
Narsingh Shorgar, 28, who sells sugar cane juice on the Sirsa-Delhi National Highway, reflects the changing political dynamics in the Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency on the Haryana-Punjab border.
The constituency, one of the two reserved for the Scheduled Castes in Haryana, was won by Charanjeet Singh Rori of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in the 2014 election. In the Assembly election, too, held after a few months of the Lok Sabha election, the INLD won eight of the nine seats in Sirsa.
Voters like Mr. Shorgar were not only supporters but also active workers of the party. But now, the INLD is a divided house and a new splinter group, the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP), has come up, dividing loyal party workers and supporters.
