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AFP/ Kolkata Millions of voters head to the polls Monday in two Indian states, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party facing a tough fight as it tries to tighten its grip on power nationally. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must win state elections to gain more seats in the nation's upper house of parliament, which has been blocking reforms seen as crucial to fuelling economic growth. Most members of the upper house, which has obstructed measures such as a planned standardised goods and services tax, are indirectly elected by state legislatures. The Hindu nationalist BJP is seen as having little chance in the large rural state of West Bengal in eastern India against a feisty chief minister popular with millions of impoverished voters. It has a stronger chance of seizing power for the first time in the tea-growing state of Assam in the northeast, where it has promised to crack down on illegal immigration from neighbouring Bangladesh. Modi's party swept to power in a general election two years ago promising business-friendly reforms to overhaul the economy, but lost out in two critical state polls in 2015. Analyst Neelanjan Sircar said the ruling party desperately needed a win in state polls this year. ‘The BJP is clearly not doing well in the state elections and if they do not win one in 2016, they would have gone without having won a single state election for nearly two years, which is not good for any party,’ said Sircar, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research. ‘The only state in which the BJP may do well is Assam, and it is important for them to win this so that their base feels energised and the morale of the party workers is boosted.’ - Flyover disaster - Polls opened at 7 am (0130 GMT) on Monday, with some 3.8 million voters eligible to cast their ballots in West Bengal and another 9.4 million in Assam. Elections in both states are being held in phases, with around 85 million people eligible to vote in total. Security was tight in West Bengal, with several of the contested seats located in impoverished regions where Maoist rebels have long been battling government rule. Armed police have been deployed, along with helicopters, to try to ensure polling runs smoothly, election commission officials have said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a 61-year-old former national railways minister known affectionately as ‘didi’, or elder sister, is expected to remain in power. But a row over the collapse last week of a flyover under construction in the state capital Kolkata, which claimed 26 lives, could cost her Trinamool Congress party some votes. Banerjee's political rivals have accused the government of failing to tackle problems with the project that began in 2009 and was only supposed to take 18 months. Biswanath Chakraborty, a Kolkata-based political scientist, said the disaster had ‘tainted the party for the first time since it came to power five years ago’. In Assam, known for its tea plantations and a myriad of rebel insurgencies, the BJP has teamed up with local parties that support indigenous rights and has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration from Bangladesh. Migrants have long been accused of illegally entering the state from Bangladesh and grabbing land, causing tensions with local people and sporadic outbreaks of communal violence. Analysts say the popularity of the traditionally dominant Congress party is waning in Assam, offering the BJP its one chance of state election success. The southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry will hold elections later this month and next, but the BJP is not expected to win in any of these. Counting and the release of results for all five states will take place on May 19. There are no comments. LEAVE A COMMENT Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked* India ‘restarts Covid vaccine exports’ as stocks build up India asks power firms to import 10% of coal needs India, China trade blame for breakdown in border talks No power crunch, says India over blackout fears India minister's son arrested over deaths at farmer protest Fear prevails in Kashmir after wave of assassinations Tata regains control of troubled Air India with $2.4bn bid India to re-open for tourists from October 15 India states ordered to pay $672 for each Covid death
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- बिहीबार, १६ जेष्ठ, २०७६ नयाँ दिल्ली, जेठ १६ । भारतका प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदीले दोस्रो कार्यकालका लागि आज शपथ लिँदैछन् । स्थानीय समयानुसार साँझ ७ बजे राष्ट्रपति भवनमा उनको शपथ ग्रहण कार्यक्रम हुनेछ । मोदीको शपथग्रहण समारोहमा सहभागी हुनका लागि विभिन्न मुलुकका सरकारप्रमुखलाई आमन्त्रण गरिएको छ । तर केही स्वदेशी अतिथि भने शपथग्रहण समारोहमा सहभागी नहुने भएका छन् । तीमध्ये एक हुन् पश्चिम बंगाल राज्यकी मुख्यमन्त्री ममता बनर्जी । ममता बनर्जीलाई मोदीले ‘दिदी’ भनेर सम्बोधन गर्दछन् । लोकसभा निर्वाचनकै क्रममा मोदीले बलिउड अभिनेता अक्षयकुमारलाई दिएको एक अन्तरवार्तामा समेत वर्षमा एक/दुई पटक दिदी (ममता बनर्जी) ले आफूलाई कुर्ता, मिठाइ पठाउने गरेको बताएका थिए । ममताले मोदीको सो भनाइलाई ‘राजनीतिक लाभ लिने प्रयास’ भनेर टिप्पणी गरेकी थिइन् । राजनीतिक संस्कारका रुपमा आफूले दिएका उपहारलाई समेत मोदीले राजनीतिक लाभका लागि प्रचार गरेको भन्दै ममताले आपत्ति जनाएकी थिइन् । पश्चिम बंगालमा लोकसभा निर्वाचनमा भारतीय जनता पार्टीले यसपटक राम्रो नतिजा ल्याएको छ । त्यसअतिरिक्त ममता बनर्जीका पार्टीका दुई सांसद र केही पार्षद भारतीय जनता पार्टीमा प्रवेश गरिसकेका छन् । यसका बाबजुद ममताले मोदीको शपथग्रहण समारोहमा सहभागी हुने घोषणा गरेकी थिइन् । बुधबार साँझ ममताले अचानक आफ्नो निर्णय पुनर्विचार गर्दै शपथ ग्रहण समारोहमा नजाने निर्णय गरेकी हुन् । समाचार एजेन्सीहरुका अनुसार मोदीको शपथ ग्रहण समारोहमा पश्चिम बंगाल राज्यबाट ५४ परिवारका प्रतिनिधिलाई सहभागी गराइँदैछ । भारतीय जनता पार्टीका अनुसार राजनीतिक हिंसाका क्रममा पश्चिम बंगालमा मारिएका आफ्ना ५४ कार्यकर्ताको परिवारबाट प्रति परिवार दुई जनाका दरले प्रधानमन्त्रीको शपथग्रहण समारोहमा अतिथि बनाइएको छ । पश्चिम बंगालकी मुख्यमन्त्री तथा तृणमुल कांग्रेसकी नेतृ ममता बनर्जीले अन्तिम समयमा आएर शपथग्रहण समारोह वहिष्कार घोषणा गर्नुको मूख्य कारण यही नै हो । ममताले भाजपाका ती ५४ कार्यकर्ताको हत्या राजनीतिक कारणबाट नभएको दावी गर्दै आएकी छन् । व्यक्तिगत दुश्मनी, पारिवारिक झगडा, अन्य विवादका कारण उनीहरुको हत्या भएको हुन सक्ने तर्क गर्दै ममताले राजनीतिक हिंसाबारे प्रदेश सरकारमा कुनै रिपोर्ट नआएको दावी गरेकी छन् । भारतीय जनता पार्टीले भने आफ्ना ती कार्यकर्ता राजनीतिक हिंसाका क्रममा मारिएका र पश्चिम बंगालको सत्तारुढ दल तृणमुल कांग्रेसका कार्यकर्ताले सत्ताको आडमा उनीहरुको हत्या गरेको आरोप लगाएको छ । मोदीको शपथग्रहण कार्यक्रममा एकातिर ती ५४ जनाको परिवारलाई ‘सम्मानस्वरुप’ अतिथि बनाउन लागेको अवस्थामा आफ्नै पार्टी कार्यकर्तालाई संदिग्ध हत्याको जिम्मेवार बनाइएको अवस्थामा सोही मञ्चमा आफू बस्न नसक्ने तर्कका साथ ममताले मोदीको शपथग्रहण कार्यक्रम वहिष्कार गर्ने निर्णय गरेको बताइन्छ । मुख्यमन्त्री बनर्जीले ट्वीट गर्दै भनेकी छन्, ‘बधाई नयाँ प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदीजी । मेरो योजना संवैधानिक निमन्त्रणा स्वीकार गर्ने र शपथग्रहण समारोहमा जाने नै थियो । तर अन्तिम क्षणमा म मिडियामा देखिरहेकी छु कि बंगालमा राजनीतिक हिंसामा ५४ जना मारिएको भनिएको छ । यो पूर्ण रुपमा झुठो हो ।’ उनले बंगालमा त्यसप्रकारको कुनै पनि राजनीतिक हत्या नभएको दावी गरेकी छन् । ‘त्यसैले मलाई माफ गर्नुस् नरेन्द्र मोदीजी, म शपथग्रहण समारोहमा सहभागी हुन सक्दिनँ ।’ (एजेन्सी)