The final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election is set for October 1, concluding a fierce contest between the BJP, Congress, National Conference, the PDP and the other parties. The high-stakes race has seen intense campaigning, with debates centered on Pakistan, Article 370, terrorism, and reservations.
The last phase covers 40 Assembly constituencies across seven districts, including Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, Kathua, Baramulla, Bandipora, and Kupwara. A total of 415 candidates, including key figures like former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand (Congress) and Muzaffar Beig, are in the running.
Voter turnout has been strong, with 61.38% participation recorded in the first phase on September 18, followed by 57.31% in the second phase on September 26. This election marks the first Assembly polls in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, and results will be declared on October 8.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the BJP’s campaign, highlighting efforts to address historical injustices and pledging to restore statehood. The BJP is eyeing its best-ever performance, hoping to surpass its 2014 result, when it won 25 seats in Jammu division. However, the party has struggled to make inroads in the Kashmir Valley.
Congress, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has promised to restore statehood and form a people-focused government. Meanwhile, regional players like National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have criticized the BJP for rising terror incidents in Jammu.
Other significant players include Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference and Engineer Rashid of the Awami Ittehad Party. Jamaat-e-Islami-backed candidates are also contesting in north Kashmir.
With security arrangements in place, election officials are ready for a smooth final phase of voting, as the politically charged race draws to a close.
New Delhi:Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying it was “distasteful and disgraceful”.
Taking this to social media X, HM Shah stated, “Yesterday, the Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji has outperformed himself, his leaders and his party in being absolutely distasteful and disgraceful in his speech.”
“In a bitter display of spite, he unnecessarily dragged PM Modi into his personal health matters by saying that he would die only after removing PM Modi from power. It just shows how much hate and fear these Congress people have of PM Modi, that they are thinking of him constantly, ” said HM Shah.
HM Shah further stated, “As for the health of Kharge, PM Modi prays, I pray and we all pray that he lives a long, healthy life. May he continue to live for many years and may he live to see the creation of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Earlier on Sunday, during a poll rally in J&K’s Kathua district, the Congress President nearly fainted while addressing the crowd. As he gathered strength, he commented that he wouldn’t die before seeing PM Modi being ousted from power.
“We will fight to restore statehood. I am 83 years old. I am not going to die so early. I will stay alive until Prime Minister Narendra Modi is removed from power. I wanted to talk. But due to dizziness, I have sat down. Please excuse me, ” Kharge remarked resuming his speech.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and inquired about his health after his sudden illness during campaigning.
“PM Modi spoke to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Ji and enquired about his health, ” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, has highlighted the contribution of India’s efforts in supporting different countries in times of crisis through its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations during the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 3.0 government.
Sharing a post on Sunday on X, Jaiswal said, “India – Vishwabandhu, a friend to the world. Extending a helping hand during humanitarian situations. Take a look at India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations in the first 100 days of the Government.”
Sharing a video, Jaiswal elaborated on India’s HADR operations during the first 100 days of the government.
He added, “Kuwait (provided support during the fire incident in June); Papua New Guinea (assistance of supplies in June); Haiti (medical supplies in July); El Salvador (relief materials in August); Syria (anti-cancer drugs in August); Ukraine (four BHISHM cubes in August); Chad (essential life-saving drugs, antibiotics and general medicines in September); Lao PDR (emergency flood relief assistance as part of Operation Sadbhav in September); Malawi (consignment of rice in September); Myanmar (relief material and ration as part of Operation Sadbhav in September); Namibia (consignment of maize and rice in September); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (sleeping bags and hygiene products in September); Vietnam (relief goods as part of Operation Sadbhav in September); Zambia (shipment of maize in September); and Zimbabwe (consignment of rice in September).
Notably, India has been among the first responders in providing HADR to impacted countries.
Operation Sadbhav is part of India’s broader effort to contribute to HADR within the ASEAN region, in line with its longstanding ‘Act East Policy’.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that all the cabinet ministers led by her will start inspecting the roads in the capital from Monday after AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter urging her to repair the damaged roads.
Government engineers and local MLAs will also be present along with the ministers. After inspection, repair work on these roads will be started immediately.
The decision came after a meeting of all the ministers, chaired by the CM, was conducted at Delhi Secretariat on Sunday. Delhi Chief Secretary and officials of the PWD Department were also present during the meeting. A comprehensive review of 1400 kilometres of PWD roads was done.
During the meeting, it was discussed which roads of PWD are completely damaged and need to be rebuilt; which are the roads where some parts like 100-200 meters have to be repaired. Along with this, those roads were also discussed where there are potholes and they need to be repaired.
“In the meeting, it was decided that the Delhi government will provide pothole-free roads to the people before Diwali, ” Atishi affirmed.
“Due to rain, there are potholes at many places on the roads. Agencies like Delhi Jal Board, Tata Power, and BSES dug roads but did not repair them after doing their work. Due to this, the condition of Delhi’s roads has deteriorated, ” she added.
Atishi said that Arvind Kejriwal had handed her a letter in the Assembly on Friday, requesting the government to work on repairing the roads of Delhi on a war footing.
Chief Minister Atishi will inspect the roads in South and South East Delhi. Saurabh Bhardwaj has been given the responsibility of inspecting the roads in East Delhi. Gopal Rai will inspect the roads in North East Delhi.
Kailash Gehlot will inspect the roads in West and South West Delhi. Imran Hussain will take charge of the roads in Central and New Delhi. Newly inducted minister Mukesh Ahlawat will inspect the roads in North and North-West Delhi.
According to the Chief Minister, all the ministers of the Delhi government will start inspecting the roads from 6 a.m. on Monday. Local MLAs and all the engineers including the Chief Engineer of PWD will also accompany the ministers during this inspection.
Inspection of roads will be completed within one week. As soon as this inspection is over, the repair work on these 1400-kilometre PWD roads will be started on a war footing.
According to the Chief Minister, the work of repairing roads will be entrusted in October.
Srinagar-Campaigning for the third and final phase of the J&K Assembly elections ended on Sunday peacefully as different political parties used everything in their arsenal to attack rivals and woo the voters.
As the ongoing J&K Assembly election is taking place first time after the abrogation of Article 370 followed by the bifurcation of the state into two union territories, the high-octane campaign among contestants remained focused on Article 370 and statehood.
Development, healthcare, education, better roads, safe drinking water, cheap electric power and civic amenities formed part of every political party’s poll manifesto, but ultimately the battle was between those who wanted restoration of Article 370 and statehood to J&K.
Interestingly, while Article 370 restoration was at the top of regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), statehood was one manifesto promise made by every political party in the fray.
The Congress despite its pre-poll alliance with the NC did not speak about Article 370 either in its poll manifesto or in the speeches made by its top leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sachin Pilot and Priyanka Gandhi.
The BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J.P. Nadda and all other senior BJP leaders told the voters that union territory status was a temporary one and as stated by the government on the floor of the Parliament, statehood will be returned to J&K.
One logical point made by the BJP’s top leadership during the poll campaign was that it is only the government in power at the Centre with the majority in the Parliament that can restore statehood to J&K.
Despite this, the Congress, NC and the PDP did not let go of this issue. There has not been a single speech by NC President Farooq’s Abdullah, his son and NC vice president, Omar Abdullah and the PDP leadership including Mehbooba Mufti, in the entire poll campaign without mentioning the issue of statehood.
The Congress naturally joined the chorus with these parties by talking of statehood. Senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi told voters that the Congress would bring pressure on PM Modi-led government to restore statehood. Rahul Gandhi also said in case the present government does not restore statehood, the INDIA bloc would do it when they come to power.
Other contentious poll issues were the reservations to STs, SCs, OBCs, Paharis, Valmiki Samaj, West Pakistan refugees and Safari Karamcharis. Before the abrogation of Article 370, J&K did not have any reservation for STs, OBCs, Paharis, West Pakistan Refugees, Valmiki Samaj or the Safai Karamcharis.
West Pakistan refugees could vote for the Lok Sabha, but they had no voting rights for the J&K assembly. BJP highlighted these reservations during the poll campaign and its rivals in the NC, Congress and the PDP said they were not against reservations, but said that the BJP was trying to divide voters into communities.
Not that the poll campaign among different parties remained confined to issues only. It was a no-holds-barred war of attrition during which the rivals made verbal assaults on each other challenging nationalism, personal integrity and even the accusation of being rampantly corrupt and sectarian.
The most vitriolic poll campaign against each other was between the main contestants of the NC-Congress pre-poll alliance and the BJP.
Calling the J&K Lt Governor a ‘Raja’, ignoring completely the good work that has happened in the UT during the term of Manoj Sinha as the Lt Governor, accusing Delhi of ‘looting the resources of the UT’and distributing government contracts among non-locals’ remained central to the poll campaign of the Congress, NC and the PDP.
Since Manoj Sinha is not fighting the elections, his constitutional aloofness prevented him throughout the poll campaign from clearing the air on his governance.
The poll campaign ended Sunday evening and so did the cacophony of the contestants against each other.
In a nutshell, every contesting political player and party tried to give a ‘holier than thou’ impression.
The ultimate judge to sift the chaff from the grain is the voter and despite the high moral pedestal taken by the contestants, the verdict remains with the common voter.
New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday called upon the people of Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) to vote for the BSP, highlighting the purported neglect and disdain shown by both the Congress and the BJP towards Dalits.
She urged voters to be mindful of this historical neglect when casting their votes in the forthcoming elections.
In a post on X, Mayawati stated, “The continuous neglect and contempt of Dalits by the Congress during the Assembly elections in Haryana shows that things are not right within the party. If things are not right now, what can be expected in the future? Dalits should not waste their vote on the Congress or the BJP.”
She further accused the Congress of consistently opposing reservation, asserting, “Dalits should vote unanimously for the BSP because it is the only party that continuously fights to protect their interests, ensure their welfare, and secure their constitutional rights.”
The BSP supremo also directed her appeal to the Dalit community in J&K, warning them against being swayed by false promises by the Congress, BJP, or any other alliances.
“Given their anti-Dalit history, Dalit voters should cast their valuable votes solely for the BSP, ” she added.
The BSP is contesting the Haryana Assembly elections on October 5 in alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), fielding candidates in 37 of the 90 seats. Currently, the Haryana Assembly has no BSP legislators, while INLD’s Abhay Chautala is the party’s sole MLA.
Chautala, who previously served as the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2019, remains INLD’s only representative in the current Assembly.
The alliance between BSP and INLD was announced in July following a meeting between Mayawati and Chautala in Lucknow.
The two parties also contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together but saw limited success. INLD secured 1.74 per cent of the vote share, while BSP garnered 1.28 per cent. INLD had fielded seven candidates, while BSP contested nine seats across the 10 parliamentary constituencies.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is slated to hear on September 30 a clutch of public interest litigations (PILs) seeking intervention into the alleged presence of animal fat in ghee used for making Tirumala laddus.
According to the cause list published on the Apex Court website, a bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and K. V. Viswanathan will take up the matter for hearing on September 30.
One of the pleas filed by advocate Satyam Singh seeks direction for the constitution of a judicial committee under the chairmanship of a former SC judge or a probe by CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) into the alleged “criminal conspiracy and mismanagement of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Trust.”
The plea said: “A grave violation of religious customs occurred as investigations revealed disturbing facts that non-vegetarian products, specifically bird meat (kolis), the presence of animal fat, ‘lard’ (pig fat), fish oil and other impurities were used in the preparation of ‘prasadam’.”
“This act not only violates the fundamental tenets of Hindu religious customs but also deeply wounds the sentiments of countless devotees who regard the ‘prasadam’ as a sacred blessing. The gravity of this situation cannot be overlooked, as it strikes at the core of our religious practices and beliefs, ” it added.
Further, it said that the recent violation at the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple represents a grave infringement of Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of religion.
The petition said that the holy Tirumala Tirupati Temple holds immense spiritual significance for Hindus globally and countless devotees visit the sacred site annually to seek blessings and partake in the divine ‘prasadam’, believed to carry the Lord Venkateswara’s blessings.
Another plea seeks the appointment of a committee under direct monitoring of the Supreme Court or appointment of a retired SC judge with other experts to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of substandard ingredients and animal fat in the ghee in Tirupati Tirumala Temple.
Earlier, a letter petition was addressed to the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud seeking urgent intervention from the Supreme Court in light of recent revelations about the alleged use of animal fat in the preparation of ‘prasadam’ offered to the deity at the Tirumala Tirupati Temple during the YSCRP rule.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the adulteration of ghee used for making Tirupati laddu.
Earlier, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced a probe by SIT into irregularities at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.
CM Naidu added after receiving the report, the state government would take action against those involved in using adulterated ghee for ‘prasadam’.
Chandigarh: The BJP on Friday denied rumours about the resignation of Sunil Jakhar as Punjab unit president, the party’s prominent Hindu face in the state.
However, there is no official statement from the party so far. Party sources said Jakhar has been upset for some time over the state of affairs and has already apprised the top leadership about his unwillingness to work as the state party president. He is said to have conveyed that he is unable to work freely, the sources added.
“He has offered to step down but the party advised him to continue to hold the post till the next election to the post likely in December and he agreed upon the advice, ” a senior party leader told to media.
The sources said rumours about his purported “differences” with the party gained strength when he preferred to remain absent from a meeting called by him on Thursday to finalise the party’s strategy for the ongoing membership drive. “After abstaining from the meeting, rumours spread that he boycotted the meeting in protest, ” a source said.
Jakhar has just returned from abroad after a month-long visit. Coming forward to deny media reports over the resignation of Jakhar, senior Punjab BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal debunked “fake reports” of Jakhar’s resignation and unwillingness to work.
“Jakhar is the party’s senior-most leader and I met him two-three days ago and he has not expressed anything (over his decision to resign), ” Grewal told a news channel, adding “owing to his preoccupations, he might not be able to attend the meeting (on Thursday)”.
“For his non-availability, it is wrong to link his resignation or disappointment with the party’s (central) leadership, ” he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in July 2023 appointed former Congress leader Jakhar as its state unit president.
Jakhar, one of the senior Congress leaders in Punjab, joined the BJP in May 2022, three months after the Assembly elections that the Congress lost.
A former Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, Jakhar is a three-time MLA from the Abohar Assembly constituency. He is known for his plain speak and straightforward approach.
Jakhar had been the Congress chief in the state for four years before being replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu in 2021.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched searches at seven locations across Jammu and Kashmir as part of its ongoing investigation into the Reasi bus attack that claimed the lives of nine pilgrims. The raids, which began early Friday, target areas linked to hybrid terrorists and Over-Ground Workers (OGWs) and include sites in the Rajouri and Reasi districts.
The operation follows earlier searches conducted in June in Rajouri, shortly after the attack on June 9, when terrorists opened fire on a bus transporting pilgrims from Shiv Khori to Katra. The assault caused the bus to veer off course and fall into a gorge, resulting in nine fatalities, including a child, and injuring over 30 others.
The NIA took over the case on June 15, directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Investigations have revealed that the arrested suspect, Hakam Khan, alias Hakin din, facilitated support for the attackers by providing safe shelter, logistics, and food. Previous raids have led to the seizure of various items that establish connections between the terrorists and the OGWs involved.
The Jammu and Kashmir police had previously reported that at least two terrorists participated in the attack. The NIA continues to gather evidence as part of its efforts to bring those responsible to justice.
