MODI SWORN IN TODAY AS 15th PM AMID HUGE DIGNITARIES

Narendra Modi, who led BJP to an astounding victory in the Lok Sabha polls, will be sworn in as the Prime Minister tomorrow in the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan at a grand function to be attended by foreign dignitaries including SAARC leaders. The swearing-in ceremony of the 15th Prime Minister of India would be attended by nearly 3,000 guests, including top leaders from SAARC countries like Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. President Pranab Mukherjee will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the 63-year-old Modi and his Council of Ministers in the presence of a host of leaders, including outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, besides leaders of various other parties and Chief Ministers of a number of states. Modi's mother Hiraba is also expected to attend the ceremony. Besides Sharif and Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will be among the foreign dignitaries attending the ceremony. Bangladesh will be represented by Speaker Shirin Chaudhury as Premier Sheikh Hasina would be travelling to Japan at the time of the swearing-in ceremony. This is the first time that the heads of states of SAARC nations have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Indian Prime Minister. Following in the footsteps of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi had expressed his desire to be sworn in at the forecourt so that a large number of visitors can be accommodated for the ceremony. Earlier, Chandrashekar was another Prime Minister who had taken oath at the same venue. The historic Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan is the usual venue for such ceremonies. But since it can accommodate about 500 people, the forecourt was decided as the suitable venue.
Known for his decisiveness and governance skills, Modi will be heading the first government in 30 years where a single party has the absolute majority. It has been a remarkable journey to the top during which he has been pilloried by his critics and adored by his supporters who believe he will pull India out of the rut in which it is stuck. "I believe God has chosen me," Modi had said in the course of his relentless and focused election campaign that got BJP its highest-ever tally of 282 seats, 10 more than the required majority number in the 543-member Lok Sabha, and catapulted the Gujarat Chief Minister to the pinnacle of power. The BJP leader himself saw a combination of a very strong anti-Congress wave "together with an equally strong wave for BJP and its NDA partners" during the marathon campaign and seized upon these to decimate the UPA. A ground-to-air security cover on par with the Republic Day parade is being put in place for the swearing-in. Delhi Police said a multi-layered security ring is being thrown around Raisina Hills and all offices around it will be closed five hours before the event takes place. "The offices around Rashtrapati Bhavan will be shut at 1 PM following which they will be sanitised by security agencies. The security will be on par with R-Day parade," said a senior police official. (
Sources said that IAF will put in place an air defence system to secure the skies and snipers will be deployed on all high-rise buildings around the high-security area. Police said all roads around Raisina Hills that lead to Rashtrapati Bhawan will be barricaded as part of the security measures. Mobile hit teams, anti-aircraft guns and sharpshooters of NSG will also be deployed besides paramilitary personnel and Delhi Police commandos to secure the area. Arrangements are being made at Rashtrapati Bhawan for all the visiting VVIPs who will also be accompanied by their diplomatic teams, official sources said. Rashtrapati Bhawan is giving the final shape to the preparations, which have been underway for the past few days. The sprawling forecourt lawns of Rashtrapati Bhawan are ready for the gala swearing-in ceremony. The lawns have been filled with chairs and arrangements are being made for visitors to brave the summer heat in the national capital.  

TDP TO JOIN MODI GOVERNMENT

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu today met Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi as government formation talks continue before the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow. Amid reports that Naidu is seeking cabinet berths for his MPs, the TDP met Modi here in Gujarat Bhawan and the meeting lasted for over 30 minutes after which Chief Minister- designate of Andhra Pradesh left without talking to media. Naidu had yesterday met BJP President Rajnath Singh at his residence. "We are joining the government. TDP was part of four non-Congress governments at the Centre. We would be part of NDA as well," he had stated but did not say how many cabinet berths his party would get in the central government to be headed by Modi. Leaders of NDA allies like TDP, Akali Dal and LJP, are also likely to be included in the Council of Ministers. TDP, which faced the elections in alliance with BJP, won 16 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh. The party is also forming the government in residual Andhra Pradesh.

LESSONS ON MODI IN SCHOOLS

Lessons on the life of Narendra Modi may be included in the school curriculum with the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh considering such a proposal to "inspire" students.
"We have received suggestions from various quarters that a life-sketch of Modiji be taught in the schools, to inspire students from early age," School Education Minister Paras Jain told PTI today. Modi, who led BJP to a mammoth victory in the Lok Sabha polls, will take oath as the Prime Minister tomorrow. If incorporated, these lessons would be taught from standard three to standard six," the Minister said.
However, he clarified that at present this was only a proposal.
"Like freedom fighters and other leaders of repute, the life of Modi-ji too would inspire the young minds," he said.
During the election campaign, several comics on Modi's life were released in various parts of the country.

MODI...A PRAGMATIST

HAILS US DIPLOMAT FRANK WISNER

India's Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is a "pragmatist" and will not be hung up about US' denial of a visa to him, but it will take "more careful management and attention" to overcome the "pain" of the past years, a former top American diplomat has said. Frank Wisner, former US Ambassador to India, said while Modi's "instinct" will be to give economic growth a priority in India, he cannot escape the "three big issues" and major foreign policy challenges related to China, Pakistan and Afghanistan as he assumes power. Wisner said the US and India "are going to have to work on the relationship" even as the denial of the visa to Modi will remain an issue that cannot be wished away. "We as Americans were wise to step into a new relationship with Modi with a degree of diffidence," Wisner said. "The denial of the visa is a fact, it cannot be just wished away (by saying) the past is the past and the future is ours. It is going to take more careful management and attention to the relationship to overcome some of that pain," Wisner said during a discussion organised by Asia Society here yesterday on the Indian elections. He said Modi is a "pragmatist" and is not going to be hung up (over the visa issue) "but this hurt is going to be evident". Welcoming President Barack Obama's conversation with Modi after his election victory and his invitation to visit the White House, Wisner said Vice President Joe Biden ought to visit India as an "envoy" and discuss ways to strengthen ties. "We need to get the strategic dialogues set up and running again. We are going to have to work on this relationship. We cannot assume that the job is all Modi is to do. That will be the right instinct," he said. Wisner said the election did not reveal very much about Modi's thinking on foreign policy. On other foreign policy challenges, Wisner said he does not see Modi taking "initiatives" with Pakistan even if there may be opportunities. "He will be very cautious about doing that and that may prove to be a risk for him, for Pakistan as a problem for India never stays still."  On China, Wisner said he does not expect Modi to be "confrontational", but will "nonetheless work for practical deals" and continue to strengthen India's defence capacity. The former ambassador said under Modi, India would find itself "struggling" to keep some balance in Afghanistan "even if it eventually means backing some rebirth of the northern alliance if the Kabul regime can hold on." Commenting on the economic priorities for the new government, Wisner said Modi's policies are going to be "very decisive" and his "immediate task" would be to tackle inflation. 
Devesh Kapur, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania, said he expects Japan will be the country with which India's relations will be strengthened the most under Modi's leadership. "It kills three birds with one stone," Kapur said, adding that Japan is "petrified" of China regarding the economy. He said investments in infrastructure are on the anvil from Japan and they are exactly of the type that Modi "loves". India and Japan may also collaborate on the issue of defence. He noted that India's relations with the US may not "bounce back very warmly very fast" but Washington will "probably encourage" strengthening of New Delhi-Tokyo relations. Kapur said if the India-US relations bounce back, it would be driven by American businesses rather than by the state given the "baggage" that is there. "If the economy picks up and the US businesses get re-interested (in India), these will be the drivers of the relationship in the next year or two," Kapur said. Kapur said he expects to see a shift in government spending from government consumption to investment. He added that the Goods and Services Tax, the rollout of which has remained stalled for several years, could be passed under a Modi government. Modi-led government in India will bring the faith of the people back in "governance," creating jobs for the youth and ensuring security for women, Bharatiya Janta Party's national secretary Vani Tripathi said. "The most important thing this government would do is bring the faith back in governance. More governance, less government is the mantra," Tripathi said in her brief remarks via video link at a discussion organised by Asia Society here yesterday on the Indian elections. She said the key agenda of the Modi-led government would be to bring the faith back in jobs, create jobs for youth and working to ensure a safe environment for women. 

NOW MODI ERA IN INDIA

Marking the arrival of a new era in Indian politics, Narendra Modi was today appointed Prime Minister, who said the elections have kindled a "new hope and aspiration" among the common man for whom he dedicated his government.
President Pranab Mukherjee handed over to him the letter appointing him as the Prime Minister and he will be sworn-in on May 26 at 6 PM. The appointment came after the 63-year-old Gujarat Chief Minister was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party as well as that of NDA in a meeting that was punctuated by outpouring of emotions by "strongman" Modi who broke down for a moment.
Modi's formal ascent to the top caps the stunning electoral victory that he had secured in the Lok Sabha elections that will bring in the first non-Congress government in 30 years with absolute majority. Party patriarch L K Advani, who had opposed projection of Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate, proposed his name for the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party which was seconded by a number of leaders including Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari. His election was received by thumping of desks in the historic Central Hall of Parliament, which reverberated to the cries of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
At the end of the meeting, BJP President Rajnath Singh invited the gathering of newly-elected MPs to express their approbation with a standing ovation. The NDA leaders and MPs joined the gathering immediately to elect Modi as the coalition leader and straightaway drove to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to convey to the President the election of their leader so that he can call him to form the government. 

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH AS MODI ENTERS PARLIAMENT

Scenes of great camaraderie and warm emotions were witnessed in the Central Hall of Parliament today as prime minister-designate Narendra Modi entered it for the first time accompanied by other NDA members who had gathered to elect him as their leader. Three-time Gujarat Chief Minister Modi was accorded a rousing welcome by leaders of his party as well as those belonging to the 29 NDA allies as they reposed faith in his leadership for staking the claim to form the new government. Emotions ran high in the BJP camp and party veteran LK Advani had tears in his eyes, as did prime minister-elect Modi, even as the other leaders celebrated the party's highest-ever tally since its inception. As he was about to step foot inside Parliament, Modi bowed and touched with his forehead the stairs at the portal in a mark of respect for the "temple of democracy". He later hailed it for elevating a common man like him to the highest post in the country. Clad in his trademark kurta-pyjama with full sleeves and a vest-jacket, Modi was greeted by all and sundry. Thanking the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for taking the party to such heights, Advani turned emotional as he said that this historic day had come in his life due to Modi. Moved by Advani's remarks, Modi too had tears in his eyes as he said in a choked voice, "Advaniji ne ek shabd kahaa aur mai Advaniji se prarthna karunga ki woh iss shabd ka istmaal na kare. Unhone kaha ki Narendra-bhai ne kripa ki. Kya maa ki seva kabhi kripa ho sakti hai? Katay nahin ho sakti hai. "Jaise bharat meri maa hai waise hi BJP bhi meri maa hai. Aur isliye beta kabhi maa per kripa nahin karta, sirf samarpit bhav se maa ki sewa karta hai (Advaniji said that I have done a favour to BJP. Like India, BJP is also my mother. Can serving the mother be a favour? Not at all. A son is only dedicated to serving the mother)."

 

MODI EMOTIONAL

Narendra Modi, generally perceived as a "strong" leader, turned emotional and broke down today as he welcomed his election as the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. He choked and had to take water before regaining his posture. "Advaniji ne ek shabd kahaa aur maine Advanji se prathnaa karonga ki woh iss shabd kaa istmaal naa kare. unhone kahaa ki Narendra bhai ne kirpa ki. Kyaa maa ki seva kabhi kirpa ho sakti hai? katai nahin ho sakti hai.
"Jaise bharat meri maa hai waise hi BJP bhi meri maa hai. Aur islay beta kabhi maa per kirpa nahin karta sirf samarpit bhav se maa ki sewa karta hai (Advaniji said that I have done a favour to BJP. Like India, BJP is also my mother. Can serving the mother be a favour? Not at all. A son is only dedicated to serve the mother)," he said and broke down. Modi made nearly a 30-minute acceptance speech after being elected as the leader at the Central Hall of Parliament. 63-year-old Modi's name was proposed as leader by party patriarch Advani and supported by a number of leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari.

NDA LEADER MODI

Constituents of 29-party NDA today chose Narendra Modi as their leader hailing him as "strong" personality with "extraordinary capabilities" under whom the country will prosper and attain a major stature in the world. In his brief acceptance speech, Modi said even though BJP got a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, NDA allies will be as important for hiim as they would have been without it. Gathered in the historic Central Hall of Parliament, leaders of NDA constituents, including TDP, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, LJP and Nagaland Peoples' Front, praised Modi stewardship and reposed confidence in him. Haryana Janhit Party chief Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi was conspicuous by his absence. TDP chief and former NDA convenor Chandrababu Naidu said under Modi's Prime Ministership, India will find a place among the world powers with "real competition" being with the US and China.
"In this nation building activity, we are one partner with Narendra Modi. We extend on behalf of TDP all cooperation for his great job in cleaning the country and also developing the nation," he said.
"I have seen so many leaders, but his determination, and also enthusiasm in doing things is extraordinary," he said. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, while expressing his party's support, said for 25 years, it has just been a struggle for the BJP-led alliance and now "good days have commenced". LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said the "miracle" of NDA getting so many seats in the Lok Sabha polls was possible only because Modi was projected as the Prime Ministerail candidate. He said the responsibility was "not a garland of flowers but a crown of thorns" and it was important to deliver on promises in a time-bound manner.  
Describing the electoral verdict as a mandate for development, Paswan said it has exposed those indulging in caste and minorities politics. Asserting that the country needed a "strong" and "not helpless" Prime Minister, the LJP leader said, "those (countries) who used to dare India, are now hiding like cats" as Modi is going to take charge. Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal described his party's association with BJP as "inseparable". In his acceptance speech, Modi told the NDA constituents that the government would be "yours" and it has to be run collectively. "Even though BJP got a majority on its own, you remain as important as you would be if BJP did not get majority on its own," the Prime Minister-elect told the NDA allies. He appreciated the work done by NDA constituents in their respective regions, saying they had set an "example of hard labour" which demonstrates their commitment above politics. Modi recalled that NDA had started the march in the Lok Sabha polls with three parties and by the time the polls concluded, the convoy comprised 29 parties.  
 

MODI APPOINTED PM...TO BE SWORN IN ON 26th

Narendra Modi, who steered BJP and the NDA to a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, was today appointed Prime Minister, ushering in a new era of a non-Congress government with an absolute majority on its own in 30 years. "I came to call on the President. The President has given me a formal letter (of appointment as the PM) and has invited me for oath-taking ceremony on May 26 at 6 pm as we had earlier decided," Modi told the media emerging from the meeting with the President Pranab Mukherjee. 

 UPLIFTMENT IS MY PRIORITY

Elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, Narendra Modi today declared that the Lok Sabha election results represents a new hope for the common man and dedicated his government for the uplift of the poor, oppressed and deprived. "I accept the responsibility you have reposed in me. You will never get an opportunity to look down on what my government will do," he said in a 30-minute speech after he was unanimously elected the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party by the newly-elected Lok Sabha members and those of Rajya Sabha. The election took place at the Central Hall of Parliament after his name was proposed by senior leader L K Advani and seconded among others by Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari.  
"A new hope has arisen in the common man. This is the biggest significance of this election results. At the end of the day for whom is the government? It is for the poor. "The new government will dedicate itself for the poor, crores and crores of youth and for the safety and security of the mothers and sisters, those in the rural areas, oppressed and the deprived," he said. Referring to the nature of the verdict, he said if it had been a hung or a fractured verdict then one can say that people had vented their anger against the government and that it was anti-establishment. "But by giving BJP an absolute majority they have voted for hope and trust. People have voted for hope and faith. and I will do everything to fulfil their aspirations," he said, adding that he is a man full of optimism. There should be no room for pessimism and because with pessimism nothing can be achieved. Recollecting an earlier speech of his, he said his government's motto will be with everyone and for everyone's development. "This is the time for new hope and strength." Modi said in 2019 he will meet the MPs again with a report card. My government is not for myself but for the country. The government is for the poor and we want to do something for them, he said. "I will strive my best to fulfil the responsibility you have reposed in me. You will never have to look down on the work it will do."

The PM-to be also took the opportunity to praise the work of the past governments, saying every government and its leaders have contributed to the welfare of the country and we will carry forward whatever good they have done.
Invoking former PM and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi said it would have been an icing on the cake had the ailing leader been present among them today. As BJP leaders clapped and cheered, he said an era of responsibility has begun as people had high expectations from them. During his acceptance speech, 63-year-old Modi broke down when he referred to L K Advani's mention that he had done favour to the party by taking up the responsibility. "Can serving the mother be a favour? A son is only dedicated to serve the mother....The favour has been done by the party," he said addressing the newly-elected MPs of the party in the historic Central Hall of Parliament. Referring to his humble background, Modi said it was an ode to Indian democracy and its founding fathers that he was standing there, all set to be the new PM. He asked party MPs to work with all purity not for designations but for the people of the country. "We are here in the temple of democracy. We will work with all purity... not for the designation but the people of the country. Work and responsibility are the biggest things." Recalling his hectic campaign, he said every speck of his body and every moment of his time was dedicated to fulfil the responsibility BJP had given by making him its prime ministerial candidate on September 13 last year. Modi said he reported to party president Rajnath Singh after the campaigning for the elections was over on May 10 and will similarly report to MPs, party and the country about the work of his government in 2019. "I want to assure people that there is no need for pessimism and they should not go by the past bad experience. The country has huge potential. If all countrymen take one step, the nation can move forward by 125 crore steps," he said. It was for the first time he entered the Central Hall of Parliament and he recalled that he had seen the CM's office and a state Assembly for the first time after he was made Gujarat CM in 2001.  

UNDER MODI..INDIA FLOURISHES

India will find a place among the world powers with Narendra Modi at the helm and the "real competition" for the country will be the USA and China, former NDA convener and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said today as he hailed the BJP's prime minister-elect. Addressing the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting here, the Seemandhra leader extended full support to Modi, whom he described as a a leader with "extraordinary capabilities". Naidu's TDP is a key partner in the BJP-led coalition. "India should be among the likes of USA and China. There may be some developed countries (but) real competition is with US and also China," Naidu said while expressing confidence that "Narendra Modi will do it". "For this nation building, we are partners with Narendra Modi. We extend on behalf of TDP all cooperation for his great (endeavour) to clean up the country and also develop it," he said. "I have seen so many leaders, but his (Modi's) determination and enthusiasm is extraordinary," Naidu said. Slamming the former Congress-led government for its alleged misrule, the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that the country was waiting for Modi's leadership. "People are fed up with Congress -- corruption and also inefficiency and non-governance. I am very confident that under his leadership, the country has a bright future," Naidu said. He said that Modi will also become prime minister after five years in 2019 and "we will have to do much more under his leadership". "Again in 2019, Narendra Modi will be the prime minister and many more times... that is our wish, that is our desire and that is the desire of the nation," Naidu said.

BJP OFFICE JUBILANT vs CONGRESS DESERTED

While jubilant BJP workers celebrated the party's landslide victory in the Lok Sabha polls at the Delhi BJP office, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee office (DPCC) and Aam Aadmi Party headquarters wore a deserted look today. With a handful of people, which included Congress workers and two three peons sitting, a deathly silence prevailed at the DPCC office located at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg. When media persons reached the DPCC office, the hectic activities which was seen there till yesterday was missing. Infact, a worker there asked the media "Yahan kya rakha hai aaj? (What is left here today). Chief spokesperson and ex-MLA Mukesh Sharma who briefed the media on a regular basis till yesterday was also not present. Simultaneously, a pall of gloom had also descended on the AAP headquarter in Connaught Place. The building, which had witnessed a flurry of activities till recently, had few AAP workers today. By evening, however AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav, Ashutosh, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia addressed a press conference at the party office, giving their reasons for the debacle. AAP did not win a single seat in Delhi this time whereas in the Assembly polls in December, AAP had won 28 seats and it was given outside support by eight Congress MLAs to form the government. Meanwhile, BJP state unit headquarters at 14, Pandit Pant Marg were thronged by workers who raised slogans in favour of Modi and its state chief Harsh Vardhan. Amid bursting of firecrackers and drum beats, party cadres danced. The victory celebrations went on till late evening.

JAYA's WISH UNFULLFILLED

Despite having secured a massive win in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's dream of carving a role for herself at the national scene has virtually failed to fructify. In the run-up to the polls, she had unleashed an untiring campaign, asking people to give her majority of seats and propel her to the national scene and even her supporters dreamt of seeing her as Prime Minister. The people of Tamil Nadu whole-heartedly obliged her, but with BJP scoring a comfortable majority in the 16th Lok Sabha, Jayalalithaa would only stand to see her party votes not making much of a difference for her and also to AIADMK, which also has the distinction of emerging as the third largest group in the new Parliament. Even after winning 15 seats and leads in 22 others of the total 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, handing out an ignominious defeat to DMK, Congress and the BJP-led alliance, the Jayalalithaa- led party, which has been nurturing national aspirations is left only with a consolation prize of 'winner' badge in Tamil Nadu and would not be part of a grand celebration in Delhi. In a candid admission, Jayalalithaa said, "There is no such situation now," while responding to a query on what role she envisaged for her party in the next government. AIADMK, which handed its arch rival DMK a humiliating defeat in the 2011 Assembly polls, has grown in vote percentage of around 44 per cent by defeating all political rivals in the state. Jayalalithaa had even dumped her long-term allies Left parties during the initial days of her campaigning, eyeing securing of more seats for her party. BJP, which has made a sweeping win at the national level has failed to break open the regional party's bastion of Tamil Nadu with only its state president maintaining lead by over a lakh votes margin in the southern state.

CHANDRABABU CONGRATULATES MODI

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu today did not give a direct answer when asked if his party would join the NDA government at the Centre but said they would "sail together".
"We will sail together in all aspects," was Chandrababu's refrain when the question cropped up at a press conference here this evening.
Between 1998 and 2004 the TDP had extended only outside support to the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
It severed the ties with the BJP in 2004 after the electoral drubbing in Andhra Pradesh.
However, following Narendra Modi's invitation to join the forces to oust Congress, the TDP returned to the NDA's fold just before the general elections this year.
The move proved fruitful as the TDP-BJP has clinched the power in (new) Andhra Pradesh and won 17 Lok Sabha seats.
Even in Telangana, the combine put up a good show though it could not bag power there.
Earlier in the day, Chandrababu spoke with Narendra Modi on phone and congratulated him over the NDA's spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
"I am looking forward to work with you for development and good governance in the state and at the Centre," Chandrababu told Modi over phone, party sources said.
Sources added that TDP may take the call on joining the Central government after an internal discussion.

MODI TRIPPLE CENTURY IN DEBUT

Rewriting history, Narendra Modi today stormed to power at the Centre with a "triple century", putting the NDA on course for about 335 seats in the Lok Sabha and BJP an absolute majority on its own for the first time in an election that decimated Congress to its lowest ever tally. Riding a strong anti-Congress wave, the 63-year-old Gujarat Chief Minister produced an astounding win for the BJP which attained a strong pan-India presence as never before. NDA which comprises BJP and 24 smaller parties, scored a facile victory exceeding its own expectations as did the BJP which is projected to bag 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha to become the first party in 30 years to get a majority on its own after Rajiv Gandhi's massive 400 plus victory in 1984. Modi, who pledged to take everyone along in a victory speech, will arrive here tomorrow and is expected to be sworn in as India's 16th Prime Minister sometime next week. Nominees of some of his allies will find a place in the Modi cabinet which will be dominated by BJP. A strong showing in the Hindi heartland, consisting of UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where the BJP won as many as 190 out of 225 seats led to the rout of not only the Congress but regional players such as SP, BSP, JD(U) and RJD.
BJP also swept Modi's home state of Gujarat and did exceedingly well in the crucial state of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam.
In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP had 116 members on a national voteshare of 18.8 per cent while Congress had 206 members with a voteshare of 28.55 per cent. In the current elections, BJP got a voteshare of 31.4 per cent against Congress' 19.5 per cent. 
This time, Congress was virtually decimated as it bagged only 44 seats, its lowest tally ever. Party president Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi accepted responsibility for the defeat. Riding the Modi wave, BJP has come a long way from a party of two Lok Sabha members in 1984. Even at the height of the popularity of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it could manage to get only 182 in 1998 and 1999, on the back of Ayodhya movement.
The Congress found it difficult to cross the double digit mark in most of the states as BJP swept Gujarat (26), Rajasthan (25), Delhi (7), Uttarakhand (5), Himachal Pradesh (4) and Goa (2). BJP also nearly swept the crucial heartland state of Uttar Pradesh where it bagged 16 seats and was ahead in 55 of the total 80 seats. Its ally Apna Dal was leading in two seats. All the other seats were won by two political families. Only regional parties AIADMK, Trinamool Congress and BJD were able to stymie the saffron march in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha, respectively. AIADMK had won five seats and was leading in 32, while TMC had won 12 and was ahead in 22. BJD was set for a near sweep as it was leading in 19 of 21 seats.  

9 per cent loss of votes for Cong

A nearly nine per cent loss of votes has turned Congress into a picture of devastation in the wake of the Narendra Modi wave. Its seat tally has nosedived from 206 in the last Lok Sabha polls to a poor below-50 in the 543-member Lower House this time, when the party's poll campaign was led by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. The party got 28.55 per cent votes in the 2009 general elections with the backing of 11,91,11019 votes while it has so far secured 19.6 per cent with 10,48, 29215 votes. This has taken place at a time when the electorates saw a huge jump including some 10 crore new voters since 2009 including four crore first timers. The election has spelt doom for Congress in view of the fact of a substantial hike in vote percentage of BJP, which clocked a growth of 13 per cent of votes this time over what it had got in the last election. BJP has got 31.5 per cent votes this time so far, which has translated into 16,91,13879 votes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, it had secured 18.80 per cent votes with 7,84,35381 people voting for it. As a result, BJP has virtually done the impossible by winning a majority on its own, putting India under single party rule after 25 years. Since 1989, no single party could form government on its own and the period was marked by various types of coalition governments led by Congress, BJP as also United Front and a minority government. After remaining out of power for eight-long years, Congress came back to power at the Centre via the coalition route in May 2004 when it got 26.53 per cent votes with 10,34,08949 votes and won 145 seats. That time, BJP, which lost power, had secured 22.16 votes (8,63,71561 votes) and won 138 seats.   
In 1977, when it lost power in the wake of Emergency, Congress had secured 34.52 per cent and 154 seats. It was defeated by Janta Party, which had polled 43.17 per cent votes and got 298 seats. In that election even the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had lost from the home turf of Raebareli and her son Sanjay Gandhi from Amethi. BJP will be coming to power for the fourth time since it was founded in 1980 after the split in the Janata Party. Its first government in 1996 lasted for a mere 13 days and was dubbed 13 day wonder by Congress. In 1998, the next government of BJP via the NDA route lasted 13 months while in 1999 it again came to power leading the NDA in the backdrop of the Kargil conflict with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee projecting it as a victory over Pakistan. The largest number of 182 seats was won by BJP in this election. In fact, BJP suffered its worst defeat in 1984 after the formation of the party. It could win only two seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha in the wake of the sympathy wave for the Congress following assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Even Vajpayee was among several top Opposition leaders who had lost in the election in which BJP had secured one seat each from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat respectively. For Congress, it is the lowest tally, its previous low being 114 in 1999. This is for the first time that Congress was confined to double digits. Also for the first time since the 1989 Lok Sabha polls, Congress failed to open its account in Rajasthan with even its senior leaders biting the dust and rival BJP sweeping all the 25 seats. BJP's sway was so fierce that Congress failed to win any seat in Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Delhi. Senior leaders conceded that they were not expecting such a big downfall. "We were not expecting Congress to do very well but we had also not bargained for such a massive defeat," a Congress general secretary said on the condition of anonymity.  

CONGRESS vs CRICKET

With its wins and leads just in 44 Lok Sabha seats tonight, the Congress' debacle is being compared to India's worst ever showing of 42 runs in one Test innings.
India was bowled out in their second Innings for 42 runs in just 17 overs against England at Lord's in London on June 20, 1974 to record its lowest ever total in Test cricket history.
Following on 327 runs behind England in the second Test, India was blown away for just 42 runs.
The comparison was made during TV debates on the outcome of the 16th Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress was decimated and faced an unprecedented defeat at the hands of the BJP in a saffron surge led by Narendra Modi.
According to partywise results and trends available for all the 543 constituencies in the Election Commission website at 9.30 PM, the Congress won 37 seats and was leading in seven.
It was also pointed out that it is a "Summer of 42" for the Congress though there is no link with the popular English film by that name.
Summer of '42 is a 1971 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman Raucher.

JAITLEY A PROMINENT LOOSER

Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj were among the bigwigs who won while Union Ministers Sachin Pilot, Pallam Raju and Ajit Singh along with Arun Jaitley and Speaker Meira Kumar were some of the prominent losers in Lok Sabha election results declared today. BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate won by a huge margin of over 5,70,000 votes in Vadodara defeating Congress General Secretary Madhusudan Mistry whereas Sonia Gandhi retained her Rae Bareli seat by defeating BJP's Ajay Agrawal by over 3.5 lakh votes. Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj won the Vidisha seat by a big margin of more than 4.10 lakh votes. She defeated Congress' Lakshman Singh in the contest. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was successful in retaining his Chhindwara seat where he defeated his BJP rival in Madhya Pradesh by a margin of 1.16 lakh votes. While other Cabinet Ministers who won their seats include Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily from Chikkballapur and Jyotiraditya Scindia won from Guna by a margin of 1.20 lakh votes. The father-son duo of Ramvilas Paswan and Chirag Paswan won their seats in Hajipur and Jamui constituencies respectively in Bihar. The prominent losers include Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot from Ajmer who lost by a margin of over 1.70 lakh votes and HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju who was way behind his TDP and YSR rivals and could manage only 6,100 votes. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar lost to her BJP rival from Sasaram in Bihar by over 60,000 votes. BJP's rebel and former senior leader Jaswant Singh also lost from Barmer where he was defeated by Col Sonaram Chaudhary by over 80,000 votes. Former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress candidate Amarinder Singh defeated senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in Amritsar by a margin of 1,02,770 vot Union Culture Minister Chandresh Katoch lost to her BJP rival Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by over four lakh votes from Jodhpur.

LANDSLIDE VICTORY FOR BJP IN UP

In a stunning comeback in Uttar Pradesh, BJP today bagged 33 seats and took an unassailable lead in 38 others, surpassing its highest tally of 58 seats in the state which had catapulted NDA to power in 1998. Congress, which had 22 seats in 2009, managed to hold on only to the Nehru-Gandhi family pocketborough of Rae Bareli and Amethi while the Mayawati-led BSP faced a complete rout. Samajwadi Party won two seats and was leading in three others while Apna Dal has clinched one seat and was leading in another.Mulayam Singh Yadav's party won only those seats where members of his clan contested. In Rae Bareli, Congress President Sonia Gandhi won by a margin of 3.52 lakh votes while Rahul Gandhi had a lead of one lakh votes in Amethi. BJP's ally Apna Dal also won both the seats where it was contesting increasing the saffron party's tally to 73. On the remaining seven seats, BJP remained runner-up thus indicating the overwhelming number of votes that the saffron party won from Uttar Pradesh. The party under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had bagged 58 seat in 1998, when NDA government was formed at the Centre. In 1998, Uttar Pradesh had 85 seats of which five have gone to Uttarakhand after division. Led by a whirlwind campaign by its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the party improved its all time high vote share of 36.49 per cent taking it to over 42 per cent. A saving grace for BSP is that it remained second on 33 seats. The party, however, lost is voter base from 27.42 per cent in 2009 to 19.7 per cent this election. Ruling SP marginally lost its vote share from 23.26 per cent in 2009 when it had won 23 seats to 22.1 this election. Mulayam won both Azamgarh and Mainpuri seats, daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav won from Kannauj and nephews Dharmanadra Yadav and Akshay Yadav won from Badaun and Firozabad seats respectively. All the Congress ministers including Salman Khurshid, RPN Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Pradip Jain Aditya, PL Punia and sitting MPs lost from their respective seats. BJP ally Apna Dal won both Pratapgarh and Mirzapur seats, where Harivansh Singh and Anupriya Patel clinched victory.

GOOD BYE PM

RECORD BY MANMOHAN - INEFFICIENT AND USELESS PM WHO RULED 2 TERMS IN INDIAN HISTORY

BJP PLANS ELABORATE VICTORY CELEBRATIONS

Ahead of Lok Sabha poll results, BJP has planned elaborate victory celebrations when Narendra Modi will thank the people of Vadodara and Varanasi, from where he contested, and address a rally in Ahmedabad and a victory march in Delhi in two days. "As per my knowledge, on May 16 (counting day), Narendrabhai Modi will first go to Vadodara to celebrate a 'Vijay Utsav' with the locals. After celebrating victory there, he will return to Ahmedabad," BJP spokesperson Vijay Rupani said. "In Ahmedabad, he will address a large rally in the Dharnidhar area of Paldi, where thousands of people are expected to come," he said. "He will go to Varanasi on Saturday and from there he will go to Delhi where his programmes are being chalked out," Rupani said. 

TIT FOR TAT BY SEEMANDHRA PEOPLE

SEPARATIST CONGRESS THROWN TO DUSTBIN

The Telugu Desam Party established a lead today, followed by the YSR Congress, in the elections to rural local bodies for the Seemandhra region, while Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samiti stole the limelight in the Telangana region. The TDP was ahead of its rivals in East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts as per preliminary information coming in from districts in the Seemandhra region. YSR Congress is leading in Kadapa, Prakasam and Nellore districts, while it is locked in a close contest with TDP in other districts. The Congress, which has ruled Andhra Pradesh for 41 years in the 57 years of its existence, is understood to be faring badly in the rural local bodies due to the bifurcation issue. In Telangana, Congress and TRS appear to share the honours. TDP, which was once a major force in the region, is trailing behind the two parties, as per information coming in from the districts. Counting of votes for the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) began across undivided Andhra Pradesh this morning. The exercise is a time-consuming process because ballot papers were used for the April 6 polls instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and most of the results are expected to be out only by late tonight or tomorrow. According to Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (APSEC) sources, over 2,000 counting centres have been set up for manual counting of votes for 16,589 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and 1,096 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs). The ruling Congress suffered a major blow yesterday in urban civic body polls for the Seemandhra region, where the opposition TDP put up a stellar performance, but managed to steal the show in the Telangana region, where the party claimed credit for granting statehood.

MUNICIPAL RESULTS

VOTER TURNOUT 2014

EXIT POLL PREDICTIONS

ORGANIZATION                        BJP             CONGRESS

CNN IBN LOKNITI                    234                  94

NDTV HANSA                            226                  92

ABP NATION                              217                  73

5 TRENDS TO LOOK AFTER EXIT POLLS

(COURTESY - FIRST POST.POLITICS)

Later this evening, television channels will release their calls on the likely outcome of election 2014, with the last phase of polling ending at 6 pm today. The forecasts will be made on the basis of exit polls by news channels along with research and survey agencies have been conducted among voters as they emerge from polling stations or after polling was complete in those constituencies. Data from 'poll day polling' is going to be extensive, complex and may or may not have a clear indication of what will emerge on 16 May.

But here's what to look out for when the flood of numbers hits you later today.

1. A sub-100 tally for Congress will be end of the road for Gandhi parivar

Nobody expects the Congress to do well, but just how poorly it fares will be interesting to watch. A respectable defeat is still possible, and that will, no doubt, be interpreted as being on account of anti-incumbency, a slap on the wrist. But if the party faces the doomsday scenario of finishing with fewer than 100 MPs, as predicted by Narendra Modi, the writing would be on the wall.

Such an outcome has to be seen as an anti-Rahul vote, without a doubt. For Congress president Sonia Gandhi, credited with much of the Congress's success in 2009, was almost absent this election season, joining the campaign rather too late, cherry-picking her rally appearances and then having to cancel a few owing to poor health or exhaustion.

The message to the Congress in such an eventuality is also that the grand old party is now precariously close to becoming obsolete, along with its obsession with a single political dynasty, its feudal power structures and its arrogance.

But more than anything else, managing to get only 90-odd Lok Sabha MPs elected (down from 206) is a loud and clear vote against the Gandhi parivar, coming on the back of the BJP's decision to attack the maa-beta-damaad trio more than the UPA's ten-year misrule. Modi said as much when, in an interview to The Times of India, "Their target is to somehow cross the hundred-seat mark so that their leadership of the Congress party is not challenged. However, I see all possibility of the Congress falling below the hundred seat mark and if that happens, there will be a serious churning within Congress over the issue of leadership.”

It is difficult to envision that churn right now, but with Assembly elections coming up in crucial states such as Maharashtra where the Congress is actually in government, where the Congress-NCP will be fighting for prestige and the BJP will be going in for a final extermination, failure to notch up some face-saving state-level victories will certainly help crystallise a picture of the Congress party led by leaders outside the dynasty.

There are plenty of people who believe the Congress, at least mid-way through the campaign, decided it was more expedient to sit out of this one and conserve their energies for a reboot ahead of what some hopefuls believed would be a near-certain midterm poll. Those proponents of the theory that Rahul Gandhi was only doing a beta run would at least agree that Congress leaders will have to hunker down and own up to their disastrous campaign strategy, jumbled messages, the nonsense ordinances and the escape velocities. For, even to convince us that Rahul was conducting a beta run, they'd have to hobble past 100.

2. Modi factor, a ripple, a wave or a tsunami?

If the exit polls for the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar indicate that the BJP makes only sub-optimal gains there, the halfway point may be a too-large leap away. Alongside some pickings from the southern states where the BJP has hitherto not had a presence, a real Modi wave must mean the party sweeping Uttar Pradesh and Bihar's combined strength of 120 seats.

These are the states where the BJP's largest gains are to be made, and there is still the chance that Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad could build a bulwark against a major Modi wave. For example, even a trebling of the BJP's 2009 UP tally of 10 MPs may not suffice to storm into government.

You'll recognise the Modi wave from two essential things: One, not just a voteshare but also some seats from the southern states where the BJP's presence is marginal, and two, translating the anticipated large vote shares in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar into seats.

If either one of these fails to happen, we will know that the Modi wave was indeed overstated. It would be not he, but the regional aspirants to power who most effectively cashed in on the anti-UPA wave. What's more, just how much such an NDA government has to lean on the support of non-core members will determine how dictatorial a PM Modi may be, or how much of a team-player he will have to evolve into. Such a result in which the Modi factor caused no more than some ripples, will also imply that the expectation that Indian voters are tired of coalitions and cobbled together governments was a poor guess on Indian voting behaviour.

3. Will regional leaders show that real power now rests in the states?

The possibility of a fractured mandate continues to keep alive the hopes of the regional parties and the smaller parties committed to coming together to form a federal front with the only objective of keeping out a BJP-led government.

For example, if Mayawati is foreseen as pulling out about 25 or 30 MPs from her hat, the BJP could be ruing its move to permit the likes of Ramdev Baba to occupy as much airtime as he did.

A clear win for the NDA entails a battering for the regional parties, and the converse would hold true too. So, a strong showing by the JD(U) in Bihar, the INLD in Haryana, the NCP in Maharashtra, the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, the Deve Gowda faction in Karnataka, the National Conference in J&K and the SP and BSP in UP will not only leave the door wide open for this so-called third front but will also imply that it's time for the national parties to reinvent themselves, it's the states and their leaders who hold sway in national politics.

Even as the focus will shift mathematically to what, for example, Mamata Banerjee will do after having called Modi a bhonda and gadha, what the DMK could decide if it posts a better than expected result or how far the JD (U) is able to stem its slide in Bihar, the UPA's shabby treatment of regional leaders will come back to haunt it.

The UPA government failed to see popular and effective chief ministers from non-UPA parties as an even match for their own power and its arrogance with even allies such as the Nationalist Congress Party will possibly hurt the Congress deeply. The party will be adding to its laundry list of sins this one, of assuming that the comfortable win in 2009 in comparison to 2004 meant that simple majorities would soon return in 2014.

4 AAP: Will it finally admit it misread the nation's pulse?


Narendra Modi may have been the most omnipresent factor through the election, starting his campaign for Delhi well ahead of the Assembly elections in December and miraculously keeping the momentum going for a full seven months, but it was not the BJP's PM candidate who suddenly made politics fashionable. That credit goes to the Aam Aadmi Party, which appeared for a long time to be capable of providing a constructive alternative to the established political class, its spectacular debut in the Delhi Assembly elections providing much of the rush of blood behind the anti-Congress wave.

If, as expected, the AAP fails to win more than a 4 or 5 per cent vote share in most states, it will be a lesson in party building. Doubtless, gains that had been booked were squandered in a case of over-ambition and misreading national mood.

As Firstpost editor Dhiraj Nayyar had argued as far back as January, Arvind Kejriwal's best bet would have been picking one or two states. "AAP can certainly fight a limited battle in the General Election - in Delhi and a few other major cities where they have recognition. But if they over-stretch and then lose badly, it will damage their cause," said the column.

Instead of focussing on a couple of priority states or cities and sending a small crop of highly effective MPs to Parliament, the AAP campaign was marred by poor candidate selection and overreach.

5. And finally, a 270-plus BJP will mean there's no BJP, only Narendra Modi

If the BJP's latest and loudest proclamations that it expects the NDA to cross 300 with the BJP itself coming within a whisker of forming a single-party government at the Centre, the nay-sayers will have to fall in line. They will have to concede that the highly personalised campaign of Team Modi, the near-perfect execution of his campaign that started as far back as September 15 in Rewari, Haryana, with an address to a large gathering of ex-servicemen and the involvement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's extensive on-the-ground network including a rumoured 6 lakh strong force of swayamsevaks who did everything from image building to booth management have all paid off.

This will silence all doubting Thomases about Brand Modi and will clear the decks for a five-year government that could be rather a lot like the campaign - individualistic, person-centric, dismissive of potential allies and all challenging authorities, and determined to singlehandedly shape the future path of the nation.

NDA IN CLEAR LEAD

AAJ TAK EXIT POLL

NDA to get 272 to 283 seats, UPA to get 110 to 120 seats all over the country: Aaj Tak

As per Aaj Tak survey, BJP to get six seats in Delhi.

BJP to get 46 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Congress 08, Samajwadi Party 12 and BSP 13 seats as per ABP News/AC Nielson survey. 

In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Congress-led UPA had got 262 seats, whereas BJP-led NDA bagged 159 seats. LK Advani was BJP's PM candidate. He lost to Manmohan Singh who took oath as PM second time in a row.

An exit poll is taken right after the voters have exited the polling booth. It is different from an opinion poll. In an opinion poll the voter is asked as to whom he plans to vote for.

In an exit poll, the voter is asked as to who they voted for. The exit polls gives an early indication of what the voting pattern has been. 

Zee news exit polls:

*Maharashtra: BJP to gain 21 seats while it's allies Shiv Sena and MNS to gain 11 and 0 seats respectively
*Congress to win 9 seats wile AAP and NCP tie at 1 seat each
*BJP to gain 19 seats in Bihar, while RJD to get 10
*JDU will get 5 while Congress to acquire a meagre 4 seats
*Zee News reporting Aaj Tak polls: Congress to win 114 seats across the nation, while the Third front to gain 156 seats.
BJP won't win more than 46 seats in UP. Congress set to win 8 while BSP and SP to gain 13 and 12 seats respectively.
7 seats in Delhi up for grabs out of which BJP gains 6. Congress fails to make a mark with zero seats.

Times Now Exit poll: 

Telangana (17) Cong 4, BJP 2, TRS 9, Left 2
In Seemandhra, BJP and TDP will combine and emerge victorious with 17 seats
*In Seemandhra, BJP is stated to win 17 seats while Congress will lose with 0 seats. YSRCP is set to win 8 seats.
*If TMC and Left vote share is equal, then BJP has cut into TMC votes say panelists
*TMC 38% of the vote in Bengal, Left parties will get 37%
*BJP member Jayant Sinha disagrees, says BJP will win 12-14 seats in Jharkhand
*Pawan Verma, adviser to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar disagrees with 28 seats for BJP, says it will get much less
*Panelists trash Bihar figures, say Lalu (RJD) cannot get 0 seats. RJD is projected to get 20% vote share in Bihar but no seats
*West Bengal has 42 seats. While Congress will win 5 seats, BJP will win 2 seats. TMC will win 20 and form the majority while Left parties will win a measly 5 seats.
*BJD's Naveen Patnaik will play a big role in the Lok Sabha elections and in forming the next government. *39% vote share for BJD and BJP 23% in Odisha
*Odisha - Congress will win 5,seats,  BJP will win 1 seat and BJD 15 will form the majority in the state.
Congress gets 27% vote share in Odisha. 
*Assam has 14 seats in Lok Sabha elections: Congress will win 5 seats while BJP will win 8 seats according to Times Now survey
*Manipur has 2 seats in Lok Sabha elections: BJP has 0 seats while Congress will win 2 seats according to their survey.
*The last and eighth phase of polling took place on Monday in which voting for 41 seats took place.
*Assam CM Tarun Gogoi disagrees with the poll and says Congress will get 7-8 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. 
Nagaland has two seats and according to the survey,  local parties such as NTF will win 1 seat (BJP ally) while Congress will win 1 seat. 
According to the survey, BJP will gain big in North East, especially Assam.
*Mizoram- Congress 1, BJP-0
*Sikkim- Others 1, BJP 0, Congress 0
*Arunachal: BJP 1, Congress 1

MODI MEMORIES HAUNT WHEN TAKING TEA

In a taunt directed at Rahul Gandhi for promising to set up a watch factory here, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today said sugarcane grew abundantly in the district and sugar was used in making tea. "Sugar is used to prepare tea which even Obama drinks, but Congress leaders remember Modi when it comes to tea," he told an election meeting here. "They even hesitate to drink tea in public," he claimed recalling his childhood tea vendor days. Later speaking in Siwan, Modi criticised the Congress-RJD alliance and warned them against giving protection to criminal elements to vitiate polling for the Siwan Lok Sabha seat on May 12. Apparently aware that the incarcerated RJD strongman Md. Shahabuddin was from Siwan district, Modi urged the Election Commission to deploy para military forces at all booths for free and fair polling. While Modi began his address enthusiastic supporters broke through two barricades, creating pandemonium, to hear him speak. Police led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer Manoj Kumar Basantri made a baton charge to restore order, police sources said. None was injured in the baton charge, they added.

MODI DRIVE THROUGH IN VARANASI

BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today held an unprecedented drive-through in this temple town known for its narrow bylanes, after a stand-off with local administration and election authorities. After addressing a rally in nearby Rohaniya, Modi arrived here in a helicopter and landed at Banaras Hindu University helipad. Thereafter he began his drive-through towards the party's central election office in Sigra area in the heart of the city. Normally, a drive is of less than half an hour despite Varanasi's as such slow traffic, his drive continued for over five hours as massive crowd of his supporters came out on roads, putting his motorcade and the entire route into a stand-still. This could be Modi's last programme, which included a stay at election office for some time before proceeding to airport, in Varanasi which goes to polls on May 12 and campaigning would end on May 10. Modi's visit today also saw resurfacing of the controversial 'Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi' slogan by his supporters at his rally venue, on his drive-through route and during protests held by senior party leaders. Modi had earlier requested his supporters not to chant this slogan, which is inspired by 'Har Har Mahadev' -- a traditional form of greeting here and used in prayers of Lord Shiva. Earlier in Rohaniya, Modi said he wanted more rallies in Kashi area, but was denied permission. "Election Comnmission should do introspection. I don't know under whose pressure they are working. My speech is not so important because people will get my message even through my silence," Modi said. He said that the government need not worry about his security as he was ready to die for his country. "It is an attack on my democratic rights. Should I not get rights that every other candidate is entitled to get. I have been denied permission to meet mother Ganga too," he said, while promising to come back for Ganga pujan soon. He asked people to ensure that a strong government is put in place at Centre, and not something like the "government on mother-son oxygen" or some "remote control" government.

Rs.8000 CRORES SPENT IN AP

Lok Satta Party today favoured replacing the present first-past-the-post electoral system in the country by proportional representation to "protect democracy from collapsing". Lok Satta chief Jayaprakash Narayan said under the present dispensation, the competent cannot get elected and those elected by indulging in distribution of money and liquor cannot deliver. Pointing out that the country is witnessing a mad scramble for power, he estimated that all the contestants put together in Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh have spent not less than Rs 6,000 crores and perhaps Rs 8,000 crore in the just-concluded parliament and Assembly elections. A first-past-the-post election is one that is won by the candidate receiving more votes than others. Narayan, who was a member of the Administrative Reforms Commission, advocated direct election of the state chief minister as a corollary reform. "One might spend Rs 10 crore or Rs 50 crore to become an MLA or MP but it is unlikely that one will spend Rs 5,000 crore to get elected as Chief Minister," he said. A third associated reform is empowering local governments with devolution of powers and resources if the present "MLA raj" is to be ended, he said. Narayan claimed united Andhra Pradesh had the dubious distinction of initiating the culture of buying votes with money and liquor. "It has now spread to most of the states. With large sections of people remaining illiterate and steeped in poverty, politicians come to power by dangling freebies too. Yet, we shamelessly feign we have a wonderful democracy," he said. It is distressing that political parties are bent on coming to power by offering money and sops and not focusing on what an elected government has to do. In any civilised society, a government has to provide quality healthcare, education, skills and livelihood opportunities and basic infrastructure and ensure rule of law, Narayan, also an MLA, said. A whopping Rs 152 crore of unaccounted cash was seized in Andhra Pradesh during the enforcement of model code of conduct. The two phases of elections to Lok Sabha and undivided Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly were held on April 30 and May 7.

SOUTH AFRICANS QUE UP FOR POLLS AFTER MANDELA ERA

Millions of South Africans today braved the threats of disruption and sporadic violence to exercise their franchise in an election widely expected to return the ruling ANC to power, 20 years after anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela first took power in 1994. About 25 million registered voters - roughly half the population - began trickling into some 22,263 polling centres across the country from before dawn to exercise their right to vote in the fifth all-race elections. Under the proportional representation system, South Africans are voting for parties, not candidates, in two simultaneous ballots for national and provincial governments. Police said at least one officer will be on duty at every polling station and troops have also been deployed to keep order at various hotspots. There was rioting in Bekkersdal township, south-west of Johannesburg, last evening and reports said some temporary polling stations had been burned down. In some other areas, protesters threatened to disrupt polling over lack of service delivery. The polls, the first in which the so-called 'Born Frees' – people born after 1994 in a democratic South Africa – will cast their votes, are widely expected to return the African National Congress (ANC) to power that has ruled since 1994. Except Western Cape Province where the main opposition party Democratic Alliance is in power, the ANC governs the other eight provinces. The ANC is expected to win more than 60 per cent of the vote, even as its campaign has been hit by concern over economic problems such as high unemployment and a number of corruption scandals, analysts said. In his hometown of rural Nkandla, President Jacob Zuma, who is expected to be returned to a second five-year term, arrived at a polling station to cast his vote amid loud ululating from women standing in the queue. After casting his vote, 72-year-old Zuma urged all citizens to come out and cast their votes without directly calling on them to vote for his party. "This is our right that we fought for. Among the rights that we have, this is the most important right – to vote for your government," Zuma said. But his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, expected to succeed Zuma in the next elections in five years' time, was more forthright as he cast his vote in Soweto, calling on voters to make their marks for the ANC. These are the first elections since the death in December of Mandela, the country's first black president.
In the upmarket Cape Town suburb of Rondebosch, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille caused a small stir when she dropped both her national and provincial ballot paper into the same box, but Independent Electoral Commission officials said it was not a problem as they were marked separately and would be correctly allocated during the counting process. "Every election is important but this one is specifically important because it will create a platform for being able to change a government peacefully through the ballot box and that is the big test for every democracy," Zille said as she refused to comment to reporters on polls indicating that her party would increase its seats in Parliament. In Seshego in Limpopo province, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema cast his vote after earlier altercations between his members and ANC members who were distributing t-shirts bearing Zuma's face. Malema was the leader of the ANC Youth League until he fell out of favour with the party for his outspoken views and formed his own party. Pieter Mulder, leader of the Freedom Front Plus, representing largely the white minority, said after casting his vote in Potchefstroom: "In our electoral system there will always be room for small parties because they play a specific role carrying the interests of specific people in Parliament as part of a mature democracy." Although first results from some centres are expected to be out before midnight tonight, final results are not expected before Saturday.

PROMINENT LEADERS FACE LITMUS TEST IN SEEMANDHRA

TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Union Ministers Kishore Chandra Deo, M M Pallam Raju, Panabaka Lakshmi and former minister D Purandeswari are among the prominent candidates in fray for the Seemandhra elections to be held tomorrow. Naidu is seeking re-election from his Kuppam Assembly constituency in native Chittoor district which he has been representing since 1989. Naidu's brother-in-law and top Telugu hero Balakrishna is making electoral foray in the elections as the TDP's nominee from Hindupur in Anantapur district. Jaganmohan Reddy is contesting Assembly polls for the first time from the family stronghold of Pulivendula in native Kadapa district. His mother and YSRCP honorary president Y S Vijayamma is the party candidate from Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat. Andhra Pradesh BJP president K Haribabu is Vijayamma's main rival. TDP and BJP have a pre-poll alliance. Kishore Chandra Deo, a senior Congress leader from north-coastal Andhra, is seeking re-election from Araku (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. Union Human Resource Development Minister M M Pallam Raju is contesting again from Kakinada Lok Sabha seat which he won thrice earlier, but is facing a tough battle this time as Congress is believed to be at the receiving end of public anger over "unilateral" bifurcation of AP. Purandeswari, who quit Congress and joined BJP in protest against the division of Andhra Pradesh, is contesting from Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency. Panabaka Lakshmi is fighting the election from Bapatla (SC) parliamentary constituency. More than 3.67 crore voters are set to cast votes in elections to 175 Assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies to be held tomorrow in Seemandhra. Polling concluded in Telangana on April 30.

TOUGH RIDE FOR CONGRESS

Having won in 2009 nearly half of the 64 seats going to polls in the penultimate round tomorrow, Congress appears to face a difficult task when people in the whole of Seemandhra, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand cast their vote in the Lok Sabha elections tomorrow. Conversely its main rival BJP, which currently has only five seats in tomorrow's round, may have everything to gain if it improves its performance in parts of heartland UP and Bihar that go to polls along with some constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the 64 seats in seven states, including West Bengal, Congress had won 31 in 2009 while BJP had five.
In all, voters in seven states will pick their candidates in the eighth of the nine-phased elections. Already elections have been completed in 438 of the 543 constituencies. 41 seats will go to polls in the last round on May 12.
Faced with complaints of large scale rigging in some places, the Election Commission today said that it has increased videography of polling stations to ensure free and fair poll. The fate of 1,737 candidates, including Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), his cousin Varun (Sultanpur), Union minister Beni Prasad Verma (Gonda), cricketer-turned-politician Md Kaif (Phulpur-all in UP), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur), Rabri Devi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran-all in Bihar) is in the hands of 18.47 crore voters who are eligible to cast their franchise.

Elections will also be held tomorrow in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh where Pratibha, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is contesting while Anurag Thakur, sitting MP and son of former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, is the candidate in Hamirpur. Seemandhra, comprising the areas of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra, accounting for 25 parliamentary seats, will vote tomorrow for both Lok Sabha and Assembly. In the last two Parliamentary elections, Congress had done exceedingly well and had contributed overwhelmingly to the making of the UPA governments at the Centre. In 2009, the Congress had won 19 of the 25 seats in the region. It had also formed the government in Andhra Pradesh on both the occasions. The demise of strongman Y S Rajashekhar Reddy shortly after the 2009 polls and the split in the party effected by his son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy coupled with politics over division of the state have combined to pose big hurdles for the party in the current elections. Besides, Andhra Pradesh, elections will be held in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, 15 in UP, six in West Bengal, five in Uttarakhand, four in Himachal Pradesh and two in Jammu and Kashmir.