#Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election 2018

[trendingcurrentaffairs]

Karnataka Election Results 2018: Karnataka fate hangs in balance; BJP or Congress, who will have the last laugh?

While the BJP emerged single-largest, it was the JD(S) which turned kingmaker helping the Congress keep power in a crucial southern state.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 : Karnataka is headed for a spell of political instability as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged the single-largest party with 104 seats after the just-concluded Assembly elections, but could not reach the halfway mark of 112. The Congress, with 78 seats, acted with swiftness and agility, contacted the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), with 38 seats, offered the smaller party chief ministership and stitched up an agreement to forestall an understanding between the JD(S) and the BJP.

At the time of filing this report, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had remained non-committal on the claims of the parties, asking them to wait until the official tally is declared. Constitutional experts said the Governor was not obligated to call the single-largest party for a first stab at forming a government though the majority must be tested on the floor of the House.

As was widely expected, while the BJP emerged single-largest, it was the JD(S) which turned kingmaker, helping the Congress keep power in a crucial southern state. The BJP’s jubilant mood, when the initial results first poured in, turned to gloom as it became clear that the halfway mark was going to elude it. A scheduled press conference by party President Amit Shah was called off, a lunch party organised at the BJP headquarters was cancelled and drum players, who had congregated at the headquarters in Delhi, were asked to go home in a matter of hours. Bouquets of flower lay piled up forlornly at the headquarters, testifying to the disappointment of workers.

Also Read : BJP vs Congress-JD(S): Karnataka’s fate now in Governor’s hands; highlights

It was clear from initial reactions in Bengaluru and Delhi that the BJP was not interested in tying up with the JD(S) to form a government at any cost. The Congress, which had indicated on Monday that it was ready to be flexible about the top job (with former chief minister (CM) Siddaramaiah announcing that he was ready to accept a Dalit CM) got top leader Sonia Gandhi to call Gowda and persuade his son Kumaraswamy to become CM with the Congress’ backing to keep the BJP out. Although the JD(S) has roughly half the number of seats the Congress has, it grabbed the offer of chief ministership eagerly.

The BJP claimed it had the mandate to form the government. But the Congress and the JD(S), which together have a few seats more than the saffron party, retorted that they had got the mandate to prevent the BJP from forming a government. In a sense, the Congress did a BJP on the BJP. In Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur elections in 2017, the BJP tied up with smaller parties and Independents under the nose of the Congress, though the party was single-largest, and managed to form a government, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. “The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur that a single-largest party does not automatically qualify to form the government,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in defence of the Congress-JD(S) claim to form a government.

Read More on → Karnataka Results 2018

[vasitumthings]

Social Media Soaring to Miraculous Heights

“Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationship” -David Alston

The Birthplace of Social Media

The definition and classification can although be controversial, in 2019 Merriam-Webster defined the term as "forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and micro-blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)".

Social media has two large aspects under which it can be studied: the technological and the social. The technological developments and innovation help improve the connectivity while the user-based networking helps transfer different types of data. Users build profiles specific to the service provided by various platforms. It was designed with the idea of connecting a set of users to exchange data across predefined networks with maximum accuracy and quick transfer.

Social media is well on its way to snatch the title of “the fourth pillar of democracy” from the traditional forms of media like print or radio. The term “social media” and its popularity are largely due to the outburst of multiple social media platforms from the mid to late 2000s. Giants like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have dominated the industry for some time but platforms like Orkut, Reddit and Tumblr remain close to user’s hearts to this day.

The single objective of these platforms is to connect various people and businesses from various parts of the world. This has inevitably resulted in an untraceable amount of networks spreading over the whole world. With advancing technology to complement it, social media is getting bigger by the second only to morph into the next generation of advertisements.

Networks of the New Era

An enormous 3.2 billion internet users are active on social media, that’s a little over 42% of the entire world population. This makes it the biggest audience to any other form of media, ever. After the second quarter of 2019, Facebook report 2.414 billion monthly active users of which 303 million were from India.

But the most significant feature of social media as a new form of marketing is the increase in the number of consumers and as a result, promoters and products. With more individual influencers connecting with consumers online, social media has become an ideal place for big, medium, small brands and start-ups. With 81% of all small to medium businesses and 91% retail brands using a social media platform in some form of the other, the industry is headed nowhere but up!

The wide use of social media has actually also become a relief of sorts to the employment conditions where software and technology firms are hiring largely for social media platforms or other directly related businesses. Marketing Managers, Art Directors and Copywriters are all full-time and readily available jobs as a direct result of social media platforms and their popularity.

That being said, a “social media influencer” or “tweets about your day and Instagram stories with foodie pics” is not a career choice. One can most certainly try and make a career out of it, but not something that might be sustainable. However, saying that having the words “social media” in your job title implies your job is unimportant is simply misguided and can discourage people from entering into an emerging space that is ripe with opportunities.

Where are we headed?

The world of social media is complicated and hard to understand but in this day and age, knowing about the happenings of society is rather important and social media, as risky as it might be, is getting that job done. But the industry is not all flowers, it has had its fair amount of dips. The rise in the number of platforms has sparked debate of invasion of privacy, spreading hate speech and/or racism, government censorship, self-censorship by social media platforms and ownership of content. 

The most recent case was the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal that revealed Cambridge Analytica (CA) collected personal data of millions of peoples' Facebook profiles without their consent and used it for political manipulation and advertising purposes. 

Notably, CA was hired by the Indian National Congress (INC) to carry out "in-depth electorate analysis" and influence voters, including in the 2010 elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. 355 Indian Facebook users installed a Cambridge Analytica app, exposing the data of 562,455 users. In early 2018 Cambridge Analytica made a 50-page proposal for the INC for both the upcoming 2019 general election in India and their upcoming electoral campaign for the Indian states of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh state elections in 2018.

Although the platforms and the overall workings maybe treacherous and uncertain, social media platforms have brought about better connectivity and a great deal of relief to millions with various campaigns all the from terrorism (“je suis charlie” for the attacks on the French newspaper offices of Charlie Hebdo in 2015), sexual assault cases (MeToo for awareness about sexual assault by encouraging survivors to share their stories) to civil movements (Black Lives Matter movement for an end to police brutality and the killings of African-Americans in the U.S).

The platforms, their impact and complexity have all been well studied and documented in recent years and is going through tremendous change even now. The rational step forward is to use these tools effectively and help find ways to help improve as many lives as possible.

[idramaticasian-blog]

OUR VIEW ON GENDER ROLE IN SOCIETY & POLITICS

It’s not surprising or even a debatable topic that we live in a heterosexual male dominating world. One doesn’t have to look far to see how or why it’s happening. We all experience it in our daily lives, families, educational communities and politics.

      In today’s political landscape, motherhood is often deployed as a tool to highlight the ‘sacred nature of a subject, ranging from the Gau Mata to Bharat Mata and Ganga Mata. At the same time, issues around women’s rights and empowerment, varying from triple talaq to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, are regular topics of conversation in Political circles. But an important question remains- do the men in Indian Politics only want to talk about women, or are they also willing to make an effort to share power with them?

      Yes, we are moving towards women empowerment to achieve gender equality step by step. But that’s still just a perception; even today the vast majority of Indians (64%) are of the view that the role of women in society is to become good mothers and wives and they should focus mainly on home, according to the findings of a global survey by Ipsos. The Ipsos global trend survey 2017 examined attitudes towards the role of women, parenting, and family across 22 countries, interviewing 18,180 adults.

      “More Indian women may be moving out of their homes, seeking employment and carving out a niche for themselves at workspaces, but society sees them more as accomplished mothers and wives in primary role, relegating other roles to secondary positions,” Executive Director, Ipso Public Affairs, said in a sentence

      From personal experience, in my household, my mother is a business owner and my dad a government employee. No doubt that my mother plays the role of a housewife, mother and a badass boss. But still even today when it comes to decision making she hands it over to my father. It’s more like a system is fixed in women’s head that the final decision has to come from the man of the house. And I’m pretty sure this must be the case in most of the liberated and slightly upper-class families like mine. I’m not denying that there aren’t exceptions but, yes these things happen around us all the time.

      Now, when it comes to politics, in India, nine out of ten legislators are men. While, Indian politicians are eager to talk about women’s empowerment and the political legacies of India’s female politicians like Sushma Swaraj, Indira Gandhi or Pratibha Patil, these women remain largely anomalies in the Indian political landscape rather than a norm.

      Among our South Asian Neighbors, we rank fifth in the women’s political representation in parliament falling behind Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. On the other hand, while many countries around the world gasped at the idea of a female head of state, India was the second country in the world to elect a female head of state, Indira Gandhi. Presently, women in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet lead some of the most important ministries, from defense to foreign affairs. Yet still, cases of violence against women increased by 40 percent from 2012 to 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. A woman was raped every 13 minutes, a bride was murdered for dowery every 69 minutes, and six women are gang-raped every day in India.

      Politically, women have been making their presence felt in voter turnouts. According to the Election Commission data from 2014 General Elections, the female voter turnout was higher than male turnout in 16 states and union territories out of 35. However, women remain underrepresented in state and national decision-making bodies. The decision making which is done from ministry for women and children is done by men. When someone looks at you suggestively regardless of what you are wearing, just because you have a bigger chest and ass compared to that person, or travelling alone no matter what time of the day while a man following you or listening to comments being passed on or being looked down on by your colleagues at workspace, colleges or even schools by men for being a female and not having a penis; why should those very men make decision for an entire county where 55 percent of work is done by women. So obviously, women remain underrepresented in state and national decision-making bodies. India’s handful of female politicians have occupied some of the highest seats of power but their rise, like many of their counterparts in Asia, has often been through the patronage of the family legacy.

      The barriers of entry for the female politicians are much higher as they contend with multiple other surface and structural issues. According to the Economic Survey 2018, prevailing cultural attitudes regarding gender roles, domestic responsibilities, female illiteracy, lack of confidence or finances and the threat of violence, are just some of the obstacles women face.

      One way to combat this disparity is through quotas.

      In 1994, India ratified the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Indian Constitution, granting women 1/3 reservation in rural and urban democratic bodies. This was followed in 1996 by the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill that would reserve 33 percent of seats in Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for women on a rotational basis.

      After much contestation, the bill finally passes in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed in 2014 with the dissolution of 15th Lok Sabha. It continues to languish-22 years since the initial proposal.

      One thing so far is clear as water, that we need female representation in Politics because we need women who have experienced all the problems a female goes through from being a girl to a woman. It’s not just about representation, but to initiate gender equality at the highest rank, for transgender and non-binary citizens to step up and represent their communities. Role model effect also erases the gender disparity in educational attainment of young girls.

      While quotas allow women access to positions of power, according to some detractors, they also weaken the ideas of the election based on merit in democracy. There is concern that women in government may compromise growth as pro-female and pro-family policies are often associated with welfare. However, many women run for the local governments, because of pressure from relatives eager to keep a particular seat in the family or gain material benefit. Their spouses, the “panchayat patis”, often control the position, wielding power through the women’s position. Furthermore, once elected, women often run again for political office even after their constituencies have been de-reserved. While the reservation for women is only for 33 percent of the seats, women make up 46 percent of the elected representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions, exhibiting active participation and leadership at local governments levels.

      Presently, the two largest political parties of India, the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), support the women’s reservation bill in their rhetoric. However, contrary to the popular rhetoric support, India Today finds that in the 2014 General Elections, BJP gave only 8.8 percent tickets to women candidate and Congress just 12.9 percent.

      The Times of India reported that BJP was planning to field at least 25 percent women candidates in Madhya Pradesh for the 230 seats. BJP’s past record, however, remains a shoddy record.

      In the Karnataka state elections in May, only 6 of the 224 candidates fielded by the BJP were women, less than 3 percent of their total candidature. Ironically, Prime Minister Modi’s slogans as he kicked off the state election campaign were, “Beta, Beti Ek Saman” (Son and Daughter are equal). The other two big parties in Karnataka elections didn’t fare much better when it came to representing women. The INC and JD(S), fielded 15 and 4 female candidates respectively.

      In August, the INC president, Rahul Gandhi, penned a scathing letter to Modi urging him to “walk his walk” on Women’s empowerment and pass the bill. Like BJP, in practice, only 14 percent of the newly formed Congress Workers’ Committee leaders are women, despite the constitution of the INC calling off for 33 percent reservation for the party’s committees.

      Studies show that for women to have a meaningful impact in Parliament, they need to reach at least a 30 percent threshold.

      “We want respect and to be treated on par with another citizen. That  I defeated a person, who is not a transgender shows people love me” these are the words spoken by Dnyaneshwar Kamble, a 40-year-old transgender women elected as Maharashtra’s first ever transgender Sarpanch on 17th October 2018 in the gram panchayat elections in Tarangfal villege of Solapur. Kamble intends to focus on lok sevs (welfare of people) and gram seva (welfare of the village/society). Villagers in her area still defecate in the open- Kamble said she would concentrate on making her village open defecation. She is a Standard VII dropout, but she regrets not completing her education. Kamble would also focus on providing better education to the villagers.

      The Logical Indian community appreciates the fact of how people have chosen Kamble as their representative. Kamble and many others have been on the receiving end of social ignorance. A move like this works as an encouragement for the entire society. We hope this acts a precedent for other communities as well.

      In short, representation matters. Either you are gay, lesbian, binary, non- binary or whatever, we as a whole are citizens of a country which doesn’t allow or even recognizes that representation is the key to a progressive nation and be recognized as a first world country as we should be.

REFERENCES:

https://thediplomat.com/2018/10/where-are-indias-women-politicians/

https://thelogicalindian.com/news/transgender-sarpanch-maharashtra/?amp

https://thewire.in/gender/politics-womens-representation/amp/

[insightonlinenews]

Hyderabad Update : BJP now main threat to TRS’ dominance in Telangana

There were celebrations at Telangana Bhavan on Friday when it appeared that TRS is heading to retain power in GHMC but couple of hours later gloom replaced that joy as the party began trailing BJP in 10-15 divisions.

 Despite emerging as the single largest party with 55 seats in 150-member Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has more reasons to be worried about by the poll outcome.

 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not have captured GHMC in the fiercely contested polls but it sent the alarm bells ringing within the TRS.

 From just four seats in 2016 to 48 divisions in 2020 under its belt, BJP has emerged as the main challenger to TRS.

 Coming close on the heels of its victory in Dubbak Assembly by-election, the BJP’s impressive show in Greater Hyderabad has given credence to its claim as the sole alternative for the TRS as well as an impetus to its dream march in the south.

 Political analysts say the saffron party with big gains has emerged as a dominant force in the state with its eyes set on the ultimate goal of winning 2023 Assembly polls and turn Telangana into second gateway to South India after Karnataka.

 It was for this reason that the BJP leadership focused on GHMC campaign. Central Ministers including Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned for the party candidates for the civic body polls.

 The party aggressively pushed Hindutva's agenda to polarize votes while attacking TRS for what it called a secret alliance with the ‘communal’ Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).

 The analysts say TRS defeat in Dubbak and the setback in GHMC proves there is anti-incumbency and BJP has used this to its advantage thus replacing Congress as the main opposition.

 “BJP has clearly made a mark in GHMC elections by improving the Party’s tally from 2016. And with Congress once again failing, the saffron party acquired the status of the main opposition to the ruling TRS,” said analyst P. Raghavendra Reddy.

 “These results will surely have a bearing on all the future elections in the State, and BJP will be the main opposition to TRS.”

 He believes that BJP with the new strength will make TRS struggle politically in the coming months.

 After the formation of Telangana state, TRS was successful in preventing BJP from becoming a threat. In the 2018 elections, BJP’s performance was disastrous as it won only one seat in 119-member Assembly. Its vote share was just seven percent.

 However, in the Lok Sabha elections held a few months later, BJP surprised everyone by winning four seats. It wrested three seats from TRS, including Nizamabad where Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was defeated. BJP increased its vote share to 20 percent.

 Analysts, however, say Chandrasekhar Rao while weakening Congress by luring its legislators to TRS, underestimated the danger from TRS.

 The anti-incumbency votes which used to get divided among different parties started consolidating under the BJP.

 This was proved in Dubbak where BJP’s vote share went up to 38 percent. By polling over 30 percent votes again in GHMC polls, BJP has sent a warning to TRS that it faces stiff challenges ahead.

 BJP’s next target will be the by-elections to Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat, which fell vacant following the death of sitting legislator of TRS’ Nomula Narsimhaiah three days ago.

 Source: https://insightonlinenews.in/hyderabad-update-bjp-now-main-threat-to-trs-dominance-in-telangana/

[loverajnishyadavblog]

If today the RJD gets an absolute majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, will you now become the leader of the stunning secular camp.  Will this flood the tension with Akhilesh Yadav, Kanhaiya Kumar and other opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and the development of Bihar and Bihar will come to the center and stand on their own.  So, amidst all this, will Bihar be able to register its strength in the politics of the country and the country, it will be able to lift its plight.  Which stood at zero in the last 15 years.

 Amidst the preparations of Tejashwi Yadav's coronation, where there is silence in the NDA camp, on the other hand there is a lot of flak in the other parties, including the Congress, the constituent party of the Mahagathbandhan camp.  If the actual election results are in line with the exit poll, then parties like Congress, Left, Samajwadi Party can be seen cheering, but the other aspect of this is that it will also become a matter of concern for these parties.  Now you must be thinking that when these parties have supported Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar elections, then why would he come into tension with his victory.  Let us try to understand the answer to this question arising in your mind.

 If we look at the recent politics of the opposition parties, it is clearly visible that there is a great lack of mutual coordination between them.  There is a competition among all parties to lead the opposition.  During the formation of the Congress + JDS government in Karnataka in the year 2018, opposition parties tried to show unity on the platform.  During this, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati tried to show friendship by hitting each other on the stage.  But about a year later, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati started to fire against the Congress.  At the same time, the Samajwadi Party also parted ways with the Congress.

 Opposition parties are vying for the leadership of their party.  While the Congress is trying to establish Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav is trying to establish himself as the Leader of the Opposition.  At the same time, the Left has put forward Kanhaiya Kumar's face.  It is worth noting that the performance of these three faces has not been special in the recent elections.

 Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has so far won only Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.  In this too, in a few months, Madhya Pradesh has also come out of the Congress.  At the same time, there is a constant dispute between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan.  At the same time, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party 2014, he has lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 2017 assembly elections badly.  Kanhaiya Kumar, who was trying to become the young face of the Left parties, also lost heavily in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.  This is the reason that he was not given much attention in the Bihar assembly elections.

 In such a situation, if Tejashwi Yadav is successful in forming a government on his own in a big state like Bihar, then his stature in the opposition camp will be very big.  After the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren and Nitish Kumar have been three such faces who have been able to win in front of PM Modi's image on their own.  Of this, Nitish Kumar is already with the BJP, while Soren and Kejriwal are not CMs of such a large state that they get a chance to lead the opposition camp at the national level.

 Lalu Prasad Yadav's family has been vocal towards BJP and PM Modi from the beginning, due to which he has been described as the biggest advocate of secularism.  Tejashwi Yadav shared the stage with Rahul Gandhi only once during the campaigning for this time assembly elections.  At the same time, it is said about the Lok Sabha elections that Kanhaiya Kumar should not win, so Tejashwi had fielded RJD candidates from Begusarai seat.  The Lalu family never wants any other face in front of their young leader to rise to the competition.  In such a situation, the formation of a government in Bihar under Tejashwi Yadav will increase the tension of leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Kanhaiya Kumar.

 # Bihar1stBihari1st #politics #political #TejaswiYadav #RahulGandhi #KanhaiyaKumar #AkhileshYadav #PatnaNews #DainikBhaskar #hindustantimes #Aaj #DainikJagran

[bbcbreakingnews]

Cong another name for horse-trading: HDK of JD(S)

BENGALURU: “Congress is another name for horse-trading” said JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday as he slammed his erstwhile state ally for its nationwide “Save Democracy” campaign against the BJP. Kumaraswamy accused Congress of trying to topple democratically elected governments. The former chief minister said the Congress is an expert in dividing political parties and purchasing MLAs. In fact, the term horse-trading in politics came to be in use because of the Congress, he said. “Congress has launched a nation-wide Save Democracy, campaign against the BJP which is buying MLAs to topple democratically elected governments. What has the Congress done? Haven’t they lured all BSP MLAs who supported the Congress to form the government in Rajasthan? Is this not a buyout?” Kumaraswamy asked. In a statement, he sought to know whether luring MLAs of the party which supported them through political shenanigans and merging the party which supported them was democratic behaviour. “If you are dividing like-minded party MLAs supporting (you) through deceit, who would support you? Are these mistakes not visible to you?” he asked the Congress. In a politically significant development in Rajasthan, all six Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs had merged the legislative party with the Congress in September last year. Kumaraswamy also reminded the Congress, which was crying hoarse about purchase of MLAs, that it had divided the JD(S) in Karnataka in the past. “Haven’t they made attempts to divide? Is it not a fact that for the sake of one Rajya Sabha seat, the Congress government in Karnataka purchased eight JD(S) MLAs? Is this democracy? Both parties (Congress and BJP) are criminals in purchase matters.” Eight JD(S) MLAs had voted against the party’s official candidate and supported Congress in the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in 2016. “When S M Krishna was the CM (of Karnataka), didn’t the Congress buy our MLAs? Didn’t the Congress conspire to form a government after the 2018 assembly polls by buying our MLAs? Does the Congress have the moral courage to answer these questions?” Kumaraswamy asked. In 2004, the Congress tried to divide JD(S), he said, adding that to avoid the party being hijacked by them, he had to oust the Dharam Singh led Congress-JD(S) coalition government through a political coup. Noting that the Anti-Defection Law is not effective because of which these “anti-democratic farces” are being enacted, Kumaraswamy said it is imperative to make those who defect and their family members not contest elections at least for two terms, besides disqualifying them from holding any office. “Let there be a debate on this. Let democracy survive,” he said.

The post Cong another name for horse-trading: HDK of JD(S) appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.

from WordPress https://bbcbreakingnews.com/cong-another-name-for-horse-trading-hdk-of-jds/

[news24fresh]

Congress recommends 4 names to high command

Congress recommends 4 names to high command

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The Congress has shortlisted names of four candidates to contest elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council. Of the four candidates, the high command has to finalise the names of two candidates to be fielded in the elections.

With the reduced strength of 68 members after the party’s defeat in the 2018 Assembly elections and the resignation of 14 MLAs last year, it will be able to…

[xtruss]

ARGUMENT

India’s Muslims Are Terrified of Being Deported

Many Indians lack the documents needed to prove citizenship—and Muslims are in the firing line.

— BY Puja Changoiwala | Foreign Policy | February 21, 2020

demonstrator holds a placard during a protest organized by various Muslim organizations and opposition parties against India's new citizenship law in Chennai on Feb. 19.

Firoza Bano, 50, sat worried in her home in the northern Indian city of Jaipur. Born in the north Indian state of Rajasthan in 1970, she has barely traveled outside the state—but now she faces the possibility of being kicked out of her home country. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) will require Bano to prove she’s Indian. If she’s unable to produce the requisite documents, she might lose her citizenship and be declared an infiltrator. At best, she might spend months in one of the detention centers being built across the country to house the newly created refugees—at worst, she could be deported to a country she’s never known or be left stateless.

“My mother gave birth to me at home. My birth was never registered, so how do I produce a certificate?” Bano said. “Nor do I have land ownership or tenancy records dating back five decades. Although we’re law-abiding citizens, having lived peacefully in India all our lives, we might be thrown out of the country.”

Last December, India passed the CAA, which provides a route to citizenship to members of six religious minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan—but not for Muslims. Coupled with the NRC, a supposedly definitive list of Indian citizens, the provision is facing criticism for being anti-Muslim and unconstitutional. A similar list in Assam has already been used to single out Indian-born Muslims for potential deportation. And while members of other faiths now have the shield of the CAA as a route back into Indian citizenship if they’re branded as illegal by the NRC process, Muslims have no such respite.

That’s a big problem. Even today, 38 percent of Indian children under the age of 5 do not have birth certificates.Even today, 38 percent of Indian children under the age of 5 do not have birth certificates. Other documents can substitute, but they’re also often lacking—especially for older people. The reasons for this are varied—lack of awareness, inaccessible registration centers, and no immediate requirement for these certificates to access social services. Government data shows that 6.8 million births were not registered in India in 2015-2016, and the situation is worse for older residents, who were born when home births were more prevalent in the country.

There’s a gulf between government rhetoric on the NRC and what critics believe—but the record of an increasingly hard-right Hindu nationalist government under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) makes the government’s word seem dubious at best. There has been a systematic scapegoating of Muslims under BJP rule. Human Rights Watch published a report in 2019, observing that the party uses “communal rhetoric” to spur “a violent vigilante campaign,” whereby radical cow protection groups lynched 44 people to death, 36 of them Muslims, between May 2015 and December 2018. Prior to its landslide win in the 2019 elections, the BJP also used religious polarization as a campaigning tool, making promises such as the expedited construction of a temple in place of a demolished mosque in Ayodhya.

After the CAA bill was signed into law, widespread protests erupted across the country, killing 25 people so far and leaving thousands in police detention. The government has downplayed the NRC, stating that it has no plans of conducting the NRC exercise across the country on religious lines.

That comes despite regular rhetoric from the BJP on supposed infiltrators from Muslim countries. In the state of West Bengal, for instance, BJP chief Dilip Ghosh recently stated that the center was committed to “throwing out” 10 million Bangladeshi Muslim “infiltrators” from the state and that those opposing the move were “anti-Hindu, anti-Bengali and anti-India.”

Addressing a huge election rally in New Delhi on Dec. 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the CAA/NRC had nothing to do with Indian Muslims and that “no Indian Muslims will be sent to any detention centers.” The speech was accused of being a “combination of falsehoods and half-truths.” Critics have called the CAA/NRC the “greatest act of social poisoning by a government in independent India,” aimed at making the country a Hindu state and turning a large number of Muslims into stateless subjects.

Zakia Soman, a co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), a nationwide rights organization for Muslims, said the “diabolical” developments have led to great apprehension in the Muslim community, which makes up 14.2 percent of the Indian population. Many Muslims have approached BMMA to understand and prepare for the repercussions. The organization has launched posters raising awareness and community meetings in 15 states across the country.

“Since CAA is so discriminatory, it has given way to fear that even if people have their documents in place, they will be left out of NRC. Ordinary people think, and not without substance, that this is an attempt to rob them of their citizenship,” Soman said.

Rais Shaikh, a member of the legislative assembly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, said the CAA-NRC combination has created panic across the community. “I have had 75-year-old men and women approaching me, asking for help with documents,” he said. “At least 500 people visit my office every day, expressing similar concerns. Most of them are now running around to ready their documents, approaching lawyers and agents. They’re scared of being stripped of their citizenship.”

The northeastern state of Assam is the only Indian state to have an NRC, first prepared in 1951 and updated in 2019. Assam’s 33 million residents had to substantiate their citizenship through documents, proving that they came to India before neighboring Bangladesh became an independent country in 1971. The final list, published in August 2019, left 1.9 million applications out. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom subsequently alleged that the Assam NRC was a tool to “target religious minorities and … to render Muslims stateless.” The detention centers have already been constructed there.

“Even Today, 38 Percent of Indian Childern Under the Age of Five Do Not Have Birth Certificate!”

With Assam as the precedent, the Muslim community fears persecution. Maulana Khalid Rasheed, the head of the Islamic Centre of India in the northern Indian city of Lucknow, started a helpline two weeks ago to quell fears and create awareness among the community. He receives at least 150 calls daily from Muslims worried about their expulsion from the country due to an absence of documents and legacy data.

“Through the helpline, we inform them about the documents they will need to prove their citizenship. During the Assam NRC, many were excluded owing to deficiencies in documents like spelling errors. We tell them to ensure their papers are free of similar mistakes,” Rasheed said. “Everyone is scared, especially the poor.”

Nishat Hussain, the founder of the National Muslim Women Welfare Society in Jaipur, said many Muslims are apprehensive of the future and have joined protest marches to oppose the controversial CAA/NRC. She said many Muslims do have the basic, essential documents, such as passports and Aadhar cards, which have unique 12-digit identification numbers for Indian citizens. However, these might not be enough.

“In Assam, many were left out of the NRC despite having these documents,” Hussain said. “They want decades-old documents, which are impossible to find.”

To help Muslims, the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf, a statutory body in southwestern India, has recently issued a circular to mosques, citing a need to prepare family profiles of all Muslims residing in their jurisdiction. It also calls on mosques to maintain registers with important documents of all Muslims, including birth and education certificates, voter ID cards, and ration cards, among others.

The circular notes: “Controversies are reported regarding the inclusion and exclusion of names in the NRC. Recent survey conducted by various NGOs reveal that larger section of citizens of the minority community are deprived of the right to vote due to non-enrolment/updation in electoral rolls of various constituencies. Substantial number of citizens do not have the basic documents to prove their domicile in the locality.”

A.B. Ibrahim, the then-administrator of the board, said it is necessary for mosques to maintain a register of documents as the data of citizens in government offices can be misplaced or destroyed due to natural calamities and unforeseen incidents. “Many lost their documents during the Karnataka floods in August 2019,” he said.

For the Muslim citizens on the front line of the issue, however, no preparation seems enough. Naseem Qureshi, a 24-year-old woman from Rajasthan, said she’s afraid she’ll lose her loved ones to the CAA/NRC exercise. “My parents tell me that we have our papers in place, but many of my close friends and relatives don’t. What if they throw them out of the country?” Qureshi said. “They’re looking to split families.”

Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning Indian journalist and author. She writes about the intersections of gender, crime, social justice, development, and human rights in India. Twitter: @cpuja

[trendingcurrentaffairs]

Karnataka Election Results 2018 LIVE Updates: BJP leads in 67 seats, Cong in 42; top updates

Karnataka election result 2018 will be declared soon. Backing the exit polls, the satta bazaar is of the opinion that the Modi wave is still intact and it is betting big on a BJP win. LIVE updates.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 → BJP forged ahead leading in 107 seats while the ruling Congress was leading in 67 constituencies today in the Karnataka Assembly polls, according to initial trends.

JD(S) was leading in forty five seats, more than an hour after counting of votes. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was ahead in the Badami assembly constituency in north Karnataka, but trailing in Chamundeshwari in his home town Mysuru by over 11,000 votes against his main rival G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S). The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, B S Yeddyurappa, was ahead in Shikaripura, and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara. Prominent among those trailing include ministers Ramamnatha Rai from Bantwal and H C Mahadevappa from T Narasipura, the sources said. Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa from Shivamogga, senior most candidate in the electoral fray and minister Kagodu Timmappa from Sagara and the chief minister’s son, Yatindra, from Varuna were also leading over their rivals.

Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party ‘s(BJP’s) bid to reclaim the state has faced its toughest challenge from one man – chief minister Siddaramaiah, who looks to beat incumbency. Who will Karnataka pick? The voters have decided and the entire nation will know the Karnataka election 2018 result today.

Also Read → Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018

Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge the single-largest party today. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats, while the India Today-Axis exit poll said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make it the kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

A win for the Congress would boost the party’s morale for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in November-December, and for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It would also ensure that the party would not be reduced to ruling only one big state, Punjab, in the entire country. Apart from Punjab, the Congress has governments in only Puducherry and Mizoram.

Read More → Karnataka Election Results

[bigyack-com]

Siddaramaiah, post Karnataka bypoll results, resigns as Cong’s legislature leader - india news

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah has resigned as the party’s legislature party (CLP) leader in Karnataka in the wake of Congress’ dismal performance in the state bypolls. The BJP gave a stunning performance, winning 12 of the 15 seats on which elections were held last week.“In a democracy, we have to accept verdict of people. People have spoken and we respect that. We were expecting the disqualified MLAs would be taught a lesson, that has turned out to be false. So I accept the verdict of the people,” he said after the results were declared on Monday.“I have sent my resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a copy to AICC in charge K C Venugopal and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao,” he added.The BJP had come to power in July this year after 17 Congress and Janata Dal Secular lawmakers were disqualified from the assembly under the anti-defection law, toppling the previous HD Kumaraswamy government.“Voters have blessed us in 12 of the 15 seats. We have won because of the efforts of party workers and our leaders. I would like to thank our national leaders - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said.The highlight was the BJP’s win in Krishnarajapete (KR Pete), a rural seat in the Janata Dal Secular’s stronghold of old Mysuru region. BJP candidate Narayana Gowda pulled off an upset victory against JD(S) candidate Devraj in K R Pete. It was one of the few seats - a Vokkaliga stronghold - that the BJP had never won in Karnataka. Vokkaligas have traditionally supported the JD(S); former chief minister HD Kumarawamy is a Vokkaliga.Accepting defeat, senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar said party has to agree with the mandate of the voters. “We have to agree with the mandate of the voters of these 15 constituencies. People have accepted the defectors. We have accepted defeat, I don’t think we have to be disheartened,” Shivakumar said.The bypolls were necessitated because of the resignation of 17 legislators from the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance in July. These MLAs had joined the saffron fold and the BJP fielded 16 of them in Thursday’s bypolls.The bypolls were held on 15 of the 17 vacant seats because pleas challenging the results in two seats in 2018 are being heard by the Karnataka high court.The BJP needed to win six of the 15 seats on which the elections were held. After the disqualification of the MLAs by the Supreme Court for joining the BJP, the strength of the house was reduced to 208. The halfway mark too was revised to 105 - the number which the BJP had.After the bypolls, the strength of the state Assembly went up to 224, and the halfway mark revised to 112. Now the party seems to have secured that number. Source link Read the full article

[u4u-voice]

Modi should be installed as PM to give befitting reply to terrorism, Pakistan: Shah

BENGALURU: President Amit Shah on Saturday said Narendra Modi should be installed as the Prime Minister once again to secure the country and to give a "befitting" reply to terrorism and Pakistan. Creating a saffron surge, Shah held a massive road show at Bhadravathi in Shimogga, campaigning for party candidate B Y Raghavendra, son of Karnataka BJP President and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. Raghavendra is pitted against former legislator Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S), who is the son of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa. "This election is not only about making Raghavendra Member of Parliament, but to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister,"Shah said at the end of road show. "Why should we make Narendra Modi Prime Minister?, to secure the country, to give a befitting reply to terrorism and Pakistan. In order to give a befitting reply to Pakistan, people of Shimogga will have to press the ballot button adjacent to the Lotus symbol and Raghavendra's name," he said. Noting that he too was facing election from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat on April 23, Shah said he had come to campaign for Raghavendra to ensure his victory. Hundreds of enthusiastic BJP workers cheered the BJP chief chanting "Modi, Modi" as the "Rath," a modified vehicle, covered little more than one and half kilometre distance with Raghavendra, among others, accompanying him. Thousands of people had gathered all along the route showering flower petals on Shah as the vehicle wound its way in a delirious atmosphere. The road show that began with party workers greeting Shah with a loud cheer in favor of BJP, lasted about 40 minutes. Ahead of the "rath," BJP supporters sporting saffron caps and holding cutouts, placards and party flags danced to the drum beats, as slogans of 'Modi Modi' rent the air. Raghavendra, who is a sitting MP from Shimogga had defeated Madhu Bangarappa, joint candidate of ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in the by-polls held in November last year. While, Raghavendra is banking on Modi wave along with his father's name and his work as MP, Madhu too is relying on his late father's legacy, support of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition, andon Ediga community, to which he belongs to. Ediga community has considerable presence in Shimogga. Out of eight assembly segments in Shimogga, BJP had won 7 and Congress only one in Bhadravathi during the 2018 assembly polls. Madhu had lost to his own brother Kumar Bangarappa of BJP during 2018 assembly polls from Soraba constituency. Raghavendra's father and Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Yeddyurappa is the BJP legislator from Shikaripura constituency. There are 12 candidate in the fray in Shimogga that would go to polls on April 23. (Agencies) Read the full article

[muralimohan]

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections jointly. On 24.10.2019, G. Parmeshwara v. Union of India, (2018) 16 SCC 46, wherein identical directions were issued in respect of formation of Government in the State of Karnataka to test whether the Chief Minister so appointed enjoyed the majority support of the House. Noticing the fact that the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, as in the present case, were yet to take oath and the Speaker was also not elected, the following procedure was directed to be followed for conducting the floor test: “8… (A) Pro­tem Speaker shall be appointed for the aforesaid purpose immediately. (B) All the elected members shall take oath tomorrow (19­5­2018) and this exercise shall be completed before 4.00 p.m. (C) The Pro­tem Speaker shall conduct the floor test on 19­5­2018 at 4.00 p.m. in order to ascertain the majority and it shall not be by secret ballot and these proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law. (D) Adequate and sufficient security arrangements shall be made and Director General of Police, State of Karnataka will himself supervise the said arrangements so that there is no lapse on this count whatsoever.” It was directed that the floor test would be conducted immediately the next date, i.e., the date following the order. 27. We may note that in the present case, oath has not been administered to the elected members even though a month has elapsed since the declaration of election results. In such emergent facts and circumstances, to curtail unlawful practices such as horse trading, to avoid uncertainty and to effectuate smooth running of democracy by ensuring a stable Government, we are of the considered opinion that it is necessary to pass certain interim directions in this case. In this context, it is necessary and expedient to conduct the floor test as soon as possible to determine whether the Chief Minister, who was administered the oath of office, has the support of the majority or not. Since the elected members of the Legislative Assembly are yet to take oath as specified in the III Schedule of the Constitution, and the Speaker is also yet to be elected, we request the Governor of the State of Maharashtra to ensure that a floor test be held on 27.11.2019. The following procedure is to be followed for conducting the floor test: a. Pro­tem Speaker shall be solely appointed for the aforesaid agenda immediately. b. All the elected members shall take oath on 27.11.2019, which exercise should be completed before 5:00 p.m. c. Immediately thereafter, the Pro­tem Speaker shall conduct the floor test in order to 18 ascertain whether the Respondent No. 3 has the majority, and these proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law. The floor test will not be conducted by secret ballot. d. The proceedings have to be live telecast, and appropriate arrangements are to be made to ensure the same.

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections jointly. On 24.10.2019, G. Parmeshwara v. Union of India, (2018) 16 SCC 46, wherein identical directions were issued in respect of formation of Government in the State of Karnataka to test whether the Chief Minister so appointed enjoyed the majority support of the House. Noticing the fact that the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, as in the present case, were yet to take oath and the Speaker was also not elected, the following procedure was directed to be followed for conducting the floor test: “8… (A) Pro­tem Speaker shall be appointed for the aforesaid purpose immediately. (B) All the elected members shall take oath tomorrow (19­5­2018) and this exercise shall be completed before 4.00 p.m. (C) The Pro­tem Speaker shall conduct the floor test on 19­5­2018 at 4.00 p.m. in order to ascertain the majority and it shall not be by secret ballot and these proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law. (D) Adequate and sufficient security arrangements shall be made and Director General of Police, State of Karnataka will himself supervise the said arrangements so that there is no lapse on this count whatsoever.” It was directed that the floor test would be conducted immediately the next date, i.e., the date following the order. 27. We may note that in the present case, oath has not been administered to the elected members even though a month has elapsed since the declaration of election results. In such emergent facts and circumstances, to curtail unlawful practices such as horse trading, to avoid uncertainty and to effectuate smooth running of democracy by ensuring a stable Government, we are of the considered opinion that it is necessary to pass certain interim directions in this case. In this context, it is necessary and expedient to conduct the floor test as soon as possible to determine whether the Chief Minister, who was administered the oath of office, has the support of the majority or not. Since the elected members of the Legislative Assembly are yet to take oath as specified in the III Schedule of the Constitution, and the Speaker is also yet to be elected, we request the Governor of the State of Maharashtra to ensure that a floor test be held on 27.11.2019. The following procedure is to be followed for conducting the floor test: a. Pro­tem Speaker shall be solely appointed for the aforesaid agenda immediately. b. All the elected members shall take oath on 27.11.2019, which exercise should be completed before 5:00 p.m. c. Immediately thereafter, the Pro­tem Speaker shall conduct the floor test in order to 18 ascertain whether the Respondent No. 3 has the majority, and these proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law. The floor test will not be conducted by secret ballot. d. The proceedings have to be live telecast, and appropriate arrangements are to be made to ensure the same.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 1393 OF 2019 SHIV SENA AND ORS. …PETITIONERS VERSUS UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. …RESPONDENTS ORDER

There is no gainsaying that the boundaries between the jurisdiction of Courts and Parliamentary independence have been contested for a long time.1 However, there is a need and requirement for recognizing institutional comity…

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha, state Assemblies untenable; chance of one-party dominance could not do effectively for democracy

http://tinyurl.com/y5wuwbvs The Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) has been pushing for simultaneous elections to Parliament and all Legislative Assemblies for over a 12 months. In April 2018, the get together and the NITI Aayog each backed the concept in separate studies. In August that 12 months, the Regulation Fee examined the proposal and located it had benefit. Later that 12 months, there have been rumours that some Legislative Meeting polls can be postponed and a few introduced ahead to allow simultaneous elections for 11 states alongside the not too long ago concluded Lok Sabha elections. File picture of Parliament. Reuters In July 2018, it was reported that 4 events favoured the concept whereas 9 opposed it. And in 2019, the BJP manifesto plumped once more for simultaneous elections. It’s value inspecting the concept, regardless of it being backed by the NITI Aayog and an august constitutional physique such because the Regulation Fee. Two angles should be examined to reach at any type of conclusion: the historic, which additionally subsumes the sensible; and the one based mostly on democratic precept. Let’s take a look at the electoral historical past of post-Independence India, to start with. The primary elections held in India beneath the aegis of the Structure and on the premise of the common grownup franchise have been accomplished in 1952. The elections have been simultaneous. Thereafter, simultaneous elections have been held in 1957, 1962 and 1967. The one exception was Kerala, the place the communist authorities headed by EMS Namboodiripad was dismissed, President’s Rule imposed and ‘mid-term’ elections held the identical 12 months. For the document, a United Entrance authorities headed by the Congress gained these elections. The query is what made it doable to carry simultaneous elections for 4 successive phrases. To anybody who is aware of the rudiments of India’s post-Independence political historical past, the reply is straightforward: it was the truth that the Congress was overwhelmingly preponderant within the political and electoral spheres and had untroubled majorities in Parliament and all Legislative Assemblies. It was a polity characterised by political scientists as one-party dominant and famously designated the ‘Congress system’ by Rajni Kothari, certainly one of India’s most outstanding political scientists. However the Congress system broke down in 1967 when the dominant get together discovered its majority within the Lok Sabha dangerously whittled down and it misplaced energy in a swathe of states throughout the nation. Non-Congress coalition governments of varied hues got here to energy in Haryana and Punjab; Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh; Orissa and West Bengal; Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the place a single get together, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) routed the Congress. Many of those patchwork coalition governments didn’t survive, nonetheless. The non-Congress authorities in Haryana was the primary to fall, in 1968. Contemporary elections have been held and the Congress returned to energy beneath the infamous (or redoubtable) Bansi Lal. The Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal governments adopted swimsuit. Contemporary elections have been held in 1969. The brand new non-Congress governments fashioned subsequently all fell in fast time. The imposition of President’s Rule turned routine. In time, the Odisha and Kerala authorities fell, necessitating recent elections. In Madhya Pradesh, the federal government fashioned by a bunch of Congress defectors led by Govind Narain Singh allied to opposition events fell when Singh and his adherents re-defected to the Congress. No elections have been necessitated. Larger instability was injected into the political system when the Congress cut up down the center in December 1969. Most Lok Sabha members of the Congress remained with the get together fashioned by Indira Gandhi and her adherents. Gandhi, subsequently, remained prime minister, however on the head of a minority authorities, surviving with the help of the Communist Celebration of India and the DMK. In early 1971, Gandhi disarticulated the Lok Sabha elections with state elections by holding snap elections. Within the well-known, garibi hatao versus ‘Indira hatao’ elections, Gandhi used a spectacularly profitable plebiscitary fashion of campaigning (now emulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and wiped the ground with the ‘Grand Alliance’, consisting of the Congress (O, for Organisation), the Jana Sangh, the Sangathana Socialist Celebration (usually erroneously known as the Samyukta Socialist Celebration), the Swatantra Celebration and the Praja Socialist Celebration. Simultaneous elections have been in impact lifeless within the water. Quite a lot of state elections have been held in 1972, within the aftermath of the Bangladesh Conflict, and the Congress swept to energy in all of them. For some time, it appeared that the period of Congress dominance can be revived, beneath the aegis of Gandhi’s Congress, the Congress (R), however the Allahabad Excessive Court docket judgment unseating the prime minister, the imposition of the Emergency and the following ascension to energy of the delicate Janata Celebration intervened. Instability returned to the Indian political house and the concept of simultaneity was as soon as once more blown out of the water. Since 1977, Central governments have fallen after dropping their Lok Sabha necessitating recent elections in 1980, 1991 and 1999. Any variety of state governments have failed to finish their time period. On the time of writing, a variety of state governments are perched precariously: in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. This although within the lattermost state, the ruling Trinamool Congress has a brute majority. Governments within the North East are additionally chronically unstable. Whereas it’s true that many states now have very steady governments, particularly with the BJP rising as a dominant pressure countrywide, there are not any ensures that state governments is not going to fall. So, how will simultaneous elections work on this context? The straightforward reply is that they gained’t. Mid-term elections will at all times stay a chance. One answer advised within the present context by BJP chief Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, and examined earlier by the Structure Evaluate Committee arrange by the Nationwide Democratic Alliance authorities headed by the late Atal Behari Vajpayee, is that no-confidence motions must be accompanied by confidence motions, enabling a brand new authorities to be fashioned when one falls. This provision does exist in some locations, as in Germany, which has an electoral system based mostly on proportional illustration, however it might be virtually unimaginable to make it work in India. First, it might require a constitutional modification, round which consensus can be troublesome, if not unimaginable, to drum up. Second, it may imply extended tenures for minority governments, which might, once more, be an unsustainable proposition. In different phrases, the concept isn’t workable. Allow us to take the second angle. Two arguments are made, in the primary, in favour of simultaneous elections, amongst others by the NITI Aayog. First, disaggregated elections price the nation cash. Simultaneous elections would, in different phrases, save the exchequer and, subsequently, the individuals important expense. Second, periodic elections in several states are disruptive to the event course of. The primary argument is appropriate. No clinching proof has been produced for the latter. Even when each the arguments are taken to be appropriate, they might not trump the elemental rules of representational democracy. One in all these is {that a} authorities can stay in energy solely so long as it instructions a majority amongst the elected representatives of the related Home – be it the Lok Sabha or the state Legislative Assemblies. Democracy can’t be press-ganged within the service of comfort or monetary concerns. The purpose is that because the days of Congress dominance, the Indian political system has change into extra plural and, subsequently, extra inclusive. The try to introduce simultaneous elections by diktat is a stealthy transfer in direction of reviving a polity dominated by one get together. It should be resisted. Your information to the most recent cricket World Cup tales, evaluation, studies, opinions, stay updates and scores on https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/series/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019.html. Comply with us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook web page for updates all through the continuing occasion in England and Wales. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function() {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)} ; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '259288058299626'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=1117108234997285"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); window.fbAsyncInit = function () { FB.init({appId: '1117108234997285', version: 2.4, xfbml: true}); // *** here is my code *** if (typeof facebookInit == 'function') { facebookInit(); } }; (function () { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); function facebookInit() { console.log('Found FB: Loading comments.'); FB.XFBML.parse(); } Source link