Elections 2022 Updates: Kejriwal Promises 'Mini Councillors' Status to RWAs if AAP Sweeps MCD Polls; Campaigning for 1st Phase in Gujarat Ends

Ahead of the Delhi MCD election, AAP’s trade wing on Tuesday announced ’10 guarantees’, including de-sealing of shops, resolving conversion and parking charges, for ease of doing business in the city.

AAP trade wing convenor Brijesh Goyal and president Subhash Khandelwal released the guarantee cards after organising a march in Kashmere Gate Market here.

Over five lakh pamphlets will be distributed announcing the guarantees in 50 major markets in the national capital.  The guarantees offered by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also include arrangement of cleanliness in markets, prohibition on increase of all taxes like house tax, trade/factory licence, and arrangement of toilets for women in the markets.

“These guarantees have been designed after speaking to traders across the markets of Delhi and their focus is to solve the problems that the business community in Delhi have been facing under the BJP-ruled MCD,” a statement from AAP’s trade wing said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur Tuesday alleged the Arvind Kejriwal government has “crossed all limits of corruption” with many of its ministers behind bars over graft charges.

Campaigning for BJP candidates in the December 4 Delhi civic polls, Thakur claimed he was yet to find the schools that AAP national convener Kejriwal talked about during the recent Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

He should come to Himachal Pradesh to see for himself the educational institutes there, Thakur said.

The Himachal Pradesh chief minister campaigned for BJP candidate Smarika Sharma Jha in ward number 217, Munish Dedha in ward number 193 and Renu Chaudhary in ward number 197.

“Arvind Kejriwal’s government crossed all limits of corruption during the last eight years of rule in Delhi. Their big leaders are behind bars for corruption.

“The man who entered politics on an anti-corruption plank today stands exposed and is embroiled in corruption cases. Even in Punjab, the AAP government is indulging in corruption leading rise to drugs trade and law and order failing,” Thakur said at a poll meeting.

The Himachal Pradesh chief minister said Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had gone to the hill state to try its luck in the assembly polls. “But it gasped even before climbing the mountains”.

The BJP has been in power in Delhi’s civic body for 15 years but the AAP government is not allowing it to spend the funds allocated by the Centre, Jairam Thakur alleged.

The Himachal chief minister will campaign for BJP candidates in Delhi MCD polls for three days, participating in a roadshow and addressing several poll meetings.

Campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections to be held on December 1 ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.

As many as 788 candidates are in the fray for 89 seats across 19 districts of south Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions where voting will be held on Thursday.

The state, which has traditionally witnessed a bipolar contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, has a third player this time in the form of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has fielded candidates on 181 out of total 182 seats in the Assembly.

Among notable candidates in the first phase is Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial face Isudan Gadhvi, who is contesting from Khambhalia in Devbhumi Dwarka district.

Former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki, six-time MLA Kunwarji Bavaliya, Morbi ‘hero’ Kantilal Amrutiya, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Rivaba and Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia are also in the fray.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP’s campaign for the first phase while Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a host of other BJP leaders also addressed several rallies.

With AAP positioning itself as the main contender against the BJP, its national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal led a massive campaign covering the entire state within five months since July.

In the first phase, 89 candidates each of the BJP and Congress, and 88 of AAP are in the fray. AAP candidate for Surat East withdrew his nomination on the last day.

The BJP has fielded nine, Congress six and AAP five women candidates in the first phase. Of total 788 candidates in the fray in the first phase, 718 are male and only 70 female.

Mayavati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded 57 candidates in the first phase, Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 14, Samajwadi Party 12, Communist Party of India (Marxist) four, Communist Party of India two candidates.

There are 339 independents.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 2,39,76,670 voters are registered in the areas covered by the first phase. This includes 1,24,33,362 male, 1,15,42,811 female and 497 third gender voters.

There are a total of 4,91,35,400 registered voters in Gujarat.

On the last day of campaigning for the first phase, Amit Shah, Nadda, Adityanath and Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant were scheduled to address rallies for the BJP.

Shah was to speak at rallies in Khedbrahma, Savli and Bhiloda, while Adityanath was to speak in Lunawada, Dabhoi and Godhra.

Prime Minister Modi was in Gujarat for two days on November 27-28 and addressed six rallies in Netrang, Kheda, Palitana, Anjar, Jamnagar and Rajkot.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was scheduled to hold road shows at Limbdi, Wadhwan, Botad, Dasada and Viramgam for AAP on Tuesday.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed rallies in Mehsana and Ahmedabad on Monday and at Dediapada and Bapunagar in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Voting will be held at 25,434 polling booths in the first phase of election — 9,018 in urban areas and 16,416 in rural areas.

A total of 34,324 ballot units, 34,324 control units and 38,749 VVPATs (voter-verified paper audit trail) will be used in the first phase, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said in a release.

A total of 2,20,288 trained officers-employees will be on duty. In the first phase, 27,978 presiding officers and 78,985 polling officers will be on duty.

As per section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, campaigning is prohibited 48 hours before the closing time of polling. PTI KA PD KRK KRK

.

haratiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Tuesday said the opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were like quails who destroy standing crops and fly away.

The BJP was here to stay, he said at a rally in tribal-dominated Devgadh Baria town of Dahod district where voting will be held on December 5 in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections.

“Parties like AAP and Congress emerge during the polls, and then disappear. The people of Gujarat must not give opportunity to those who seek votes by making misleading claims. They are like quails. As soon as the crop gets ready, quails come, and fly away after eating away the entire crop,” said Nadda.

Both Congress and shed “crocodile tears” for tribals but did nothing for them for 70 years, he alleged.

“It was our prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who formed a separate ministry for tribals and it was prime minister Narendra Modi who made a tribal woman, Droupadi Murmu, India’s first tribal President,” he added.

Two persons died after consuming liquor mixed with a poisonous liquid in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, police said on Tuesday but ruled out hooch as the cause.

Two autorickshaw drivers Rafiq Dhodhari (45) and Bharat Pidhadiya (40) died shortly after consuming a “suspicious liquid” between 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday in the city’s Gandhi Chowk area, Additional DGP Rajkumar Pandian said.

The incident, which occurred during the campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly polls, prompted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to attack the BJP government with a jibe that the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel was “intoxicated”.

“In ‘Dry State’ Gujarat, people died again yesterday due to spurious liquor! On the one hand, there is a liquor ban for show off, on the other hand, people are dying due to poisonous liquor and drugs — instead of employment, the government is giving poison.

“This is BJP’s ‘Gujarat Model’! The land of Gandhi-Sardar has been intoxicated,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Former AAP MLA Commando Surender Singh joined Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s “Ravan” barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday triggered a slugfest with the BJP slamming it as an insult of every Gujarati and the Opposition party calling the attack on its leader “anti-Dalit tirade”.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked voters in Gujarat to do “100 per cent voting for the son of the soil” Modi to take “revenge” in a democratic manner for the “insult”, as he invoked various objectionable remarks made by Congress members over the years against the prime minister.

Taking a swipe at Modi at a rally in Behrampura area of Ahmedabad city on Monday, Kharge on Monday night said the prime minister asks people to vote “looking at his face” in all elections. “Are you 100-headed like Ravan,” he had said.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the AAP will win 230 out of 250 seats in the MCD polls. He also said if the AAP is elected to power, it will launch ‘Janata Chalaygi MCD’ campaign where the RWAs will be given the status of a ‘mini parshad’ (Mini Councillor).

“People can approach this RWA to get its work done. RWA s will be given funds to run their offices. RWAs will be empowered. The real purpose behind this is to make the people of Delhi , the rulers of Delhi, take their own decisions. I appeal to all RWAs to support AAP. We will empower RWA politically and financially,” he said.

“We will frame a transparent framework. We will rely on online platforms also, so that MLAs, councillors and RWA all know where the problem is and there is accountability,” he added.

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) will be given ‘Mini Parshad’ status if the AAP wins MCD polls.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday took a dig at the BJP, saying if the saffron party had “worked” during its rule in the city’s civic body, then it wouldn’t have required so many CMs and union ministers to campaign for them for the MCD election.

“There’s garbage everywhere in the city. I’ll clean the city if voted to power. The BJP abuses me day and night. We have made arrangements for water, we will take responsibility for garbage disposal too. Give one chance to AAP, and we will clean the city like never before,” Kejriwal claimed.

“We will make Delhi shine,” the AAP supremo told residents.

Civic polls are due on December 4 and both the AAP and BJP have exuded confidence that they will emerge victorious.

The residence of seven-time MLA and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) founder Chhotubhai Vasava in Vasna village of Gujarat’s Bharuch district is unusually calm with very little activity, quite odd for someone contesting Assembly polls that are less than a week away. READ MORE

“The Congress has no respect for tribals in the country…We decided to make our tribal daughter (Droupadi Murmu) the president of the country. We went to the Congress with folded hands to accept her (support her candidature), but they opposed. We put all our might and made the tribal daughter win the election,” Modi said. “Be it Birsa Munda or Govind Guru, the Congress did not give respect to tribal leaders of the country,” he further alleged. READ MORE

“There’s garbage everywhere in the city. I’ll clean the city if voted to power. The BJP abuses me day and night. We have made arrangements for water, we will take responsibility for garbage disposal too. Give one chance to AAP, and we will clean the city like never before,” Kejriwal claimed during a door-to-door campaign in Delhi on Tuesday.

“We will make Delhi shine,” the AAP supremo told residents ahead of the upcoming MCD polls.

In a jibe against people leaving his side and joining the ruling party, senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has said that after the declaration of the results of the Rampur Assembly bypolls, the Muslim community will mop the floor for the BJP.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met members of the Kulta and Bhulia Samaj, who are dominant in Padampur sub-division of Bargarh, ahead of the assembly bypoll there on December 5 and assured them of meeting their demands, as per PTI.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said he would be making a “big announcement” at a press conference at 4pm.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday took a dig at the BJP, saying if the saffron party had “worked” during its rule in the city’s civic body, then it wouldn’t have required so many CMs and union ministers to campaign for them for the MCD election.

He said this while interacting with local residents during a door-to-door campaign in the Chirag Delhi area to seek support for the AAP ahead of the December 4 polls.

Civic polls are due on December 4 and both the AAP and BJP have exuded confidence that they will emerge victorious. (PTI)

“We are giving health care cover of Rs 5 lakh to 50 crore people. It is more than if we put together the population of USA, UK, France and Canada. We care about the health of the poor,” said BJP national president JP Nadda at a rally in Gujarat’s Dahod.

Gujarat’s chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Twitter criticised Congress President Kharge’s comment calling PM Modi ‘Ravan’.

Gopal Italia, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s 33-year-old state convenor, is a known Patidar face in the state and also the star campaigner for the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit. While he may have lost out to Isudan Gadhvi in the race to become AAP’s chief ministerial face for the December elections in the state, Italia is all set to take his party to victory with a focus on people’s issues.

In Katargam constituency, which goes to polls in the first phase on December 1, CNN-News18 caught up with Italia to decode AAP’s strategy and his plans for personal growth. READ MORE