Assam Assembly Election 2021 LIVE Updates: The Congress leader will also address a public meeting in Town Field in Doom Dooma in Tinsukia district of Assam in what is the second leg of his campaign trail in Assam
Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will interact with college students and meet tea estate workers as part of his poll campaign in Assam on Friday, the party said, reports PTI. Gandhi will be on a day-long tour to the poll-bound state where the Congress is seeking to wrest back power from the BJP.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she would bring 'parivartan' (change) to Delhi after winning the upcoming assembly polls in her home state. The chief minister said that the BJP is targeting West Bengal with all its might as it knows that she will go for the Centre soon after securing victory in her state.
Political analysts have long speculated that Banerjee, who has served as a central minister earlier, harboured ambitions of playing a key role in national politics.
"The BJP is afraid that if we win in West Bengal, then we will bring an alternative in Delhi and that is why they are targeting the state with all force," she said while addressing a public meeting in Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district, famous for its air force base from which Indian jets played a key role in the 1971 war.
DMK president MK Stalin alleged the AIADMK did not fulfill its promises made during previous elections. "A manifesto has been released on ruling party's behalf which is a copy of DMK's manifesto," he said and added that promises made during previous elections, including providing mobile phones, building 10 lakh houses and bringing down cable television tariff to Rs 70, were not implemented.
The Assam BJP on Thursday expelled 15 leaders, including former deputy speaker Dilip Kumar Paul, from the party for six years for joining the Assembly poll fray as Independents after being denied tickets. BJP state general secretary Rajdeep Roy said the party's Assam chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass has approved the disciplinary action with immediate effect.
The list of 15 members include Paul, who resigned from the BJP after he was denied a ticket and is contesting as an Independent from Silchar constituency. Out of 126 seats in Assam Assembly, BJP is contesting in 92 and has left the remaining to its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL).
The Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging 'attack' on its workers in Nandigram, said reports. Earlier in the day, clashes had broken out between the TMC and BJP workers in the constituency.
The ruling AIADMK on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer against main Opposition DMK's Senthil Balaji for allegedly threatening government officials during his campaign days ago. Balaji, DMK's Karur constituency candidate, while addressing a gathering on 17 March made the intimidating comment, the ruling party alleged in its complaint filed with Tamil Nadu CEO Satyabrata Sahoo.
BJP announces 148 candidates for West Bengal polls, including party's vice president Mukul Roy, Samik Bhattacherjee and Rahul Sinha. Mukul Roy will contest from Krishnanangar Uttar constituency.
In a setback to the Congress in Kerala, senior party leader K Sudhakaran said he would not contest against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadom constituency in northern Kannur district.
He said he did not get enough time to make any fundamental preparation at the constituency, which was inevitable ahead of contesting and so he did not want to be a contender at the segment during the 6 April Assembly polls.
Congress's corruption and vote bank politics has made Assam one of the most disconnected states, alleges Narendra Modi in Karimganj.
The BJP has named Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, eight of their Cabinet colleagues and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath among its 30 top campaigners for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, said reports. The party has submitted a list of key campaigners for the April 6 Assembly polls and the bypoll to the Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha constituency to the Election Commission of India.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is in Assam to canvas for Congress candidates, on Thursday likened the BJP regime with the British reign, and said the saffron camp has adopted "divisive and self-serving" policies, as did the colonial rulers. Baghel, in a statement, said the BJP was out to destroy peace and harmony in Assam.
Asserting that the TMC will never allow the NPR exercise in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee alleged, "The BJP will omit names of voters if they are not found at home during the visit of enumerators. They will just evict you (people). But we would not allow them to update the register here. "Not a single member of any family, no citizen of the country can be evicted from Bengal," she said.
The prime minister alleged the ruling TMC never considered Dalits, backwards and adivasis, and that these sections were the worst victims of cut money culture and 'Tolabaji' (extortion) by the state's ruling party.
Narendra Modi took a swipe at TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's 'khela hobe' slogan. "Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole chaakri hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole vikas hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole shiksha hobe. Khela shesh hobe, vikas aarambh hobe," said the prime minister.
Raising the issue of water crisis in Purulia, Narendra Modi questioned why the water supply project has not been completed yet and demanded an answer from Mamata Banerjee.
Trinamool Congress MP and senior leader of Purba Medinipur Sisir Adhikari is all set to join the BJP. At a public meeting in the district, the veteran TMC leader's son and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari made it clear that his father joining the BJP is just a matter of time.
The prime minister said that the BJP's agenda of good governance was striking a chord among the people of West Bengal and there was a desire for a change in the state.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday appealed to Left Front supporters to vote for TMC candidates in order to defeat the divisive BJP in West Bengal.
She thanked the Left minded people in the state for coming out with the "no vote to BJP" campaign.
The TMC supremo is facing one of the most difficult political challenges of her life. She is facing a stiff challenge from BJP in the coming state poll after helming West Bengal for a decade.
"It is imperative for the sake of the state to stop BJP from coming to power in Bengal. I would like to thank my Left minded friends for coming out with the 'no vote to BJP' campaign," she said.
"At the same time I would like to tell them that since the Left cannot come to power, its supporters should not waste their votes by casting it in favour of LF. Instead the LF supporters should vote for TMC to defeat the BJP," she told reporters while releasing her party's election manifesto.
Her comments come in the backdrop of several TMC leaders openly asking the Left parties to come out in support of TMC to stop the saffron party's march in the state.
The CPM led Left Front has rejected the appeal and blamed the ruling TMC for the rise of the saffron camp in West Bengal.
Unfortunately, Bengal is now witnessing a threat from outsiders who want to foster divisive mentality and disrupt harmony. It is imperative for us to avert this threat. I promise that I will stand by each and every person of Bengal across all communities to protect their fundamental rights, she said.
I will be forever indebted to my motherland. Being a daughter of Bengal I have dedicated my whole life for the state, Mamata added.
She called BJP a "political virus" and slammed the Centre for trying to destroy the federal fabric of the state.
Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is running an elected government in Delhi. Yet the Centre is trying to give more powers to the Lt Governor, who is nominated. We condemn such actions, she added.
