BJP BAGS MP, RAJASTHAN, CHHATTISGARH; CONGRESS GETS TELANGANA

Chhattisgarh (Total Seats 90)

BJP 54 (46.27%)

INC 35 (42.23%)

GGP 1

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Madhya Pradesh (Total Seats 230)

BJP 163 (48.55%)

INC 66 (40.40%)

Bharat Adivasi Party 1

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Rajasthan (Total Seats Contested 199 Out Of 200)

BJP 115 (41.69%)

INC 69 (39.53%)

Others 15

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Telangana (Total Seats 119)

INC 64 (39.40%)

BRS 39 (37.35%)

BJP 8 (13.90%

AIMIM 7 (2.22%)

CPI 1

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The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland.

In some consolation for the Congress, the party ousted the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in Telangana to make it 3-1 for the BJP in the latest round of Assembly elections billed as a semi-final before next year’s poll showdown. Counting of votes in Mizoram is being taken up today.

Ruling MP for 18 years, a well entrenched BJP managed to stave off anti-incumbency in a shot in the arm for four-time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and dashing the hopes of a resurgent Congress helmed by veteran and former CM Kamal Nath.

Suspense also mounted as to who will be the BJP’s chief minister in any of the three Hindi heartland states.

The K Chandrashekhar Rao-led BRS hoped for a hat-trick in Telangana but was dethroned by the Congress. Anumula Revanth Reddy, a Lok Sabha MP who led the Congress’ charge, could be the second chief minister of the state.

The BJP put up a good showing and increased its tally in the southern state with the victory of its candidate K Venkata Ramana Reddy in Kamareddy against both the outgoing chief minister KCR and Revanth Reddy, who is the TPCC chief, being the highlight. KCR and Revanth Reddy, however, won from Gajwel and Kodangal constituencies respectively.

‘VICTORY OF WOMEN, YOUTH, POOR & FARMERS, ONLY 4 CASTES I BELIEVE IN’: PM MODI

Taking on the Opposition’s efforts to build its 2024 Lok Sabha election strategy around the caste census demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reiterated that he believed in only four castes — women, youth, farmers and the poor – and said that the BJP’s victory in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan was their victory.

“Today, the people of MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have showered their love on us… These elections saw many attempts to divide the people of the country into different castes… But I kept saying that I believe in only four of them — nari shakti, yuva shakti, our kisans and the poor… It is only by empowering these four that the country can develop,” Modi said in his address to party workers at the BJP national headquarters in New Delhi.

“Today, every poor citizen is saying that they have won, every marginalised child is feeling the hope of victory, every farmer is thinking that he has won, each tribal brother and sister is happy with the thought of this being their victory,” he said.

“I want to especially thank the people and BJP workers of Telangana where the party’s graph has been on the upswing… I want to assure the citizens (of Telangana) that the BJP will not leave anything wanting in your service,” he said.

The reverberations of the BJP’s victory in the three states, the Prime Minister said, had not only instilled confidence in the people who believed in the vision of a developed India but also in investors from across the world. “These Assembly election results have ushered in an atmosphere of positivity. We have to keep this energy, this momentum up. Where all hopes end, that is where Modi’s guarantee begins… today’s hat-trick is the guarantee of a hat-trick in 2024,” he said.

RUMBLINGS IN INDIA BLOC AFTER CONGRESS' POOR POLL SHOW IN 3 STATES

With the Assembly poll results in three states being a disappointment for the Congress, some rumblings have begun among the constituents of the INDIA opposition bloc ahead of their meeting on December 6, with many leaders alleging that the grand old party ignored others, but was unable to win elections on its own.

While some opposition leaders, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Janata Dal-United’s K C Tyagi, have asserted that the Congress’s poll defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will have no impact on the alliance, some other leaders from the bloc have pointed out that the grand old party had distanced itself from the coalition partners.

Tyagi took a jibe at the Congress and said, “The poll results show the defeat of the Congress and the victory of the BJP. The Congress ignored other INDIA parties, but was unable to win on its own.”

Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan said while facing a formidable opponent like the BJP in the three Hindi heartland states, it was necessary to ensure a united front. “Instead of that, the Congress thought it had already won, that it was a big power and no one could defeat it. This very thought led to its downfall,” the Left leader said.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said it was “more of a failure of the Congress than a success story of the BJP”. He also said the TMC can provide leadership in the battle to defeat the BJP in the country.

As the results pushed the Congress further back, leaving it in power in only three states on its own—Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana—an AAP leader pointed out that it is now the largest opposition party in north India. “After today’s results, Aam Aadmi Party emerges as the largest opposition party in north India with 2 state govts—Punjab and Delhi,” Jasmine Shah said in a post on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will overcome temporary setbacks and prepare fully for the Lok Sabha polls along with its partners in the INDIA alliance. “Congress’ performance in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan assembly polls disappointing,” he said.

INDIA AGREES TO PULL OUT SOLDIERS FROM MALDIVES, SAYS MUIZZU

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday that the Indian govt has agreed to withdraw its soldiers from the island nation.

Hours later, sources in New Delhi said the issue was briefly discussed in Dubai where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussions on how to keep the Indian helicopters and operational aircraft were “ongoing” and “the core group that both sides have agreed to set up will look at details of how to take this forward”.

“In the discussions we had, the Indian govt has agreed to remove Indian soldiers,” Muizzu told reporters in Male.

The island nation has two helicopters and an aircraft provided by India to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) for emergency medical evacuations and disaster relief operations. There are 77 Indian military personnel in Maldives to operate these platforms.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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ISRAEL EXPANDS ORDERS FOR EVACUATION IN SOUTH GAZA

Israel on Sunday ordered more evacuations in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis, followed by heavy bombardment, as the military’s offensive shifted to the southern half of the territory where Israeli officials assert that leaders of the Hamas militant group are hiding. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory that borders Israel and Egypt. The UN estimates that 1.8 million Gazans have already been displaced.

Heavy bombardment was reported overnight into Sunday around Khan Younis and the southern city of Rafah, as well as parts of the north that had been the focus of Israel’s shattering air and ground offensive. The violence took place despite calls from the US — Israel’s closest ally — for Israel to avoid further harm to Palestinian civilians.

The latest evacuation orders appeared to be setting the stage for a ground invasion in the south since hostilities started again after the collapse of a weeklong truce with Hamas. Residents said the military dropped leaflets ordering them to move south to the border city of Rafah or to a coastal area in the southwest.

US WARSHIP, COMMERCIAL VESSELS ATTACKED IN RED SEA: PENTAGON

An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel, but did not acknowledge targeting a US navy vessel.

The Pentagon did not identify where it believed the fire came from. However, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attacks, saying the first vessel was hit by a missile and the second by a drone while in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. He said the ships allegedly ignored warnings from Houthi officials.

THE REST

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MOST EXIT POLLS GET IT WRONG ON CHHATTISGARH AND ON SCALE OF BJP’S MP WIN

With the Assembly election results throwing up surprises, most exit polls got the outcome in Chhattisgarh and the scale of the BJP’s win in Madhya Pradesh wrong.

Only India Today-Axis My India, Today’s Chanakya and India TV-CNX had predicted a big victory for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

Many pollsters, however, got their prediction for the Telangana and Rajasthan polls right.

In Madhya Pradesh, while Dainik Bhaskar had predicted 95 to 115 seats for the BJP and 105 to 120 seats for the Congress, India Today-Axis My India had said the saffron party would get 140 to 162 seats and the Congress between 68 and 90.

India TV-CNX had also predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, pegging the number of seats at 140 to 159 and 70 to 89 for the Congress. Today’s Chanakya had predicted that the BJP would get up to 163 seats while the Congress’s tally would be between 62 and 86.

REVANTH REDDY: FROM ABVP MEMBER TO CONGRESS' TELANGANA CM CONTENDER

Anumula Revanth Reddy, whose political trajectory has surged from student activism with the ABVP to a brief period of incarceration amid allegations of bribery, now finds himself on the brink of a potential chief ministership.

The 56-year-old Congress leader is known among fellow politicians, partymen and people for his never-say-die attitude.

A fierce critic of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy, the Telangana Congress chief, is often the target of virulent political attacks by the BRS and the AIMIM.

Reddy faced the biggest challenge of his political life in 2015 when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election. He was sent to a jail in Hyderabad but was released after he secured bail.

Reddy was appointed the PCC president in 2021 in spite of being a junior in the Congress. This has led to a heartburn among many seniors in the state Congress unit.

'LADLI BEHNA' SCHEME BEING TIOUTED AS GAME CHANGER IN MADHYA PRADESH

The longest-serving BJP chief minister and popularly known as mama (maternal uncle), Shivraj Singh Chouhan has emerged as the hero of his party’s stunning victory in the state assembly elections.

The 64-year-old politician sought to turn the tables in BJP’s favour in Madhya Pradesh by launching a game-changer scheme like ‘Ladli Behna’ to beat anti-incumbency, though his party had refrained from projecting him as the CM face in last month’s assembly elections.

Chouhan in March launched the Ladli Behna scheme, which provides eligible women Rs 1,250 monthly financial assistance, and later promised to gradually hike the amount to Rs 3,000.

Speaking about the scheme, seen as a game-changer, during the campaigning, Chouhan, in his rustic style, remarked, “It has raised the stature of women in the household and now even mothers-in-law offer rotis spread with ghee (ghee-chupdi rotis) to their daughters-in-law. The scheme has made women self-reliant.”

BJP WRESTS BACK CHHATTISGARH TRIBAL AREAS FROM CONG

The two tribal dominated divisions of Surguja and Bastar having 26 assembly seats that contributed hugely to the Congress' landslide victory in Chhattisgarh in 2018 have swung to the BJP this time.

In the 2018 polls, the Congress had won all 14 seats, including nine reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, in Surguja division.

Bastar division has 12 seats, of which 11 are reserved for STs. The Congress had won 11 of these 12 seats in the 2018 polls, with the BJP managing to win only in Dantewada. The Congress had ended up with a tally of 68 in the 90-member assembly in 2018, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP,

In yesterday’s results, the BJP has won all 14 seats in Surguja division, including Ambikarpur where Congress deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo lost to BJP's Rajesh Agrawal.

In Bastar division, the Congress has been able to win just four seats, while the BJP has emerged victorious on eight.

IN RAJASTHAN, 17 OF 25 GEHLOT MINISTERS LOSE POLLS

Seventeen of the 25 ministers in the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress govt in Rajasthan, including Govind Ram Meghwal, who also led the party's campaign committee, lost in the assembly elections.

The Congress could not buck the trend of the incumbent being voted out in the state every five years.

OF BJP’S 21 MPS IN FRAY, ONLY 11 MANAGE WINS

BJP’s decision to field 21 sitting MPs, including Union ministers, in the four state polls ended up as a mixed bag with the party winning 11 and losing 10 seats, reports Akhilesh Singh.

BJP viewed these seats as “difficult” and had hoped the MPs would help it over the line. It fielded seven MPs each in Rajasthan and MP, four in Chhattisgarh and three in Telangana. Of them, five in MP, four in Rajasthan and two in Chhattisgarh emerged victorious while all three lost in Telangana. The notable losers included Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, four-time LS MP Ganesh Singh, Bandi Sanjay and Vijay Baghel.

Among the victors were Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel and Renuka Singh, besides MPs Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumari, Kirodi Lal Meena Baba Balaknath and Riti Pathak.

As their resignation as Lok Sabha MPs may not necessitate bypolls immediately since LS polls will be due in March-April, many of the winning MPs are likely to continue as state legislators and also take over as ministers in the states.

'CURSE OF OPPOSING SANATAN DHARMA': CONG LEADER ACHARYA PRAMOD KRISHNAM

Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam took a dig at his own party saying, "Opposing Sanatan (Dharma) has sunk the party. This country has never accepted caste-based politics... This is the curse of opposing Sanatan (Dharma)."

He also said that its not the defeat of the Congress but of some Vampanthi (Leftist) leaders... who are in the party and taking its vision towards a leftist path.

"Congress used to be known as the party of Gandhiji... Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram... and now its known as a party which is against the Sanatan Dharma... if Congress does not throw these leftist leaders out of the party then it would become like AIMIM," Acharya Pramod said.

EC SUSPENDS TELANGANA DGP FOR MEETING CONG CHIEF

The Election Commission on Sunday ordered the suspension of Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar for violation of the model code of conduct amid the counting of votes.

The poll panel under Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar took the stern action as DGP Kumar, along with two senior police officers, met Anumula Revanth Reddy, the state Congress president and a candidate, with a bouquet of flowers at his residence in Hyderabad. The meeting came as vote counting trends showed that the Congress was set to oust the BRS from power in Telangana.

The DGP opting to meet a contesting candidate out of the total of 2,290 and the star campaigner of one political party out of 16 political parties in the fray was clearly against all norms of police chief's conduct.

COAL PHASE-OUT IN COP28 PLEDGE, INDIA REFRAINS FROM ENDORSING IT

India has repeatedly made it clear that it would continue to use coal for electricity generation in the near future even as it ramps up the capacity of renewable energy sources.

A reference to coal phase-out and suggestion to end fresh investments in coal prevented India from endorsing a renewable energy pledge at the COP28 climate meeting.

The pledge was mainly about tripling global renewable energy installed capacity by 2030, something that India had already backed as part of the G20 grouping. But the pledge, taken by more than 100 countries Saturday, included references to coal phase-out and an end to fresh investments in that sector, something that India could not sign on to.

India has repeatedly made it clear that it would continue to use coal for electricity generation in the near future even as it ramps up the capacity of renewable energy sources. Just ahead of the COP28 meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kawatra had reiterated the same line in a press conference in New Delhi, saying India’s economic and developmental imperatives did not allow for a sudden abandonment of coal, as is often demanded.

For the first time, COP had a dedicated health day Sunday. More than 120 countries were listed as having given their endorsement to a declaration that expressed the grave impact of climate change on human health and well being, and emphasised on urgent climate action to reduce such impacts.

However, the text also was references to curbing of emissions from the health sector, and assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of health systems. India has reiterated its position it does not want to align itself with these kind of sectoral approaches outside the UNFCCC framework.

INDIA SECURE NAIL-BITING WIN OVER AUSTRALIA IN FINAL T20I

Shreyas Iyer scored a half-century as the home side beat Australia by six runs in the final Twenty20 International to deny the visitors a consolation win on Sunday.

Australia, chasing 160 in Bangalore, ended up with 154/8.

Arshdeep Singh bowled an excellent final over in which he gave away just three runs and picked up the wicket of visiting captain Matthew Wade. Australia needed 10 runs in the final over for a win.

After being put in to bat earlier, India needed a half-century from Iyer (53) to post a defensible total, with Axar Patel (31) also contributing runs. Australia's Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis picked up two wickets apiece.

India, who won the series 4-1, next travel to South Africa for a multi-format series including three T20Is, three one-day internationals and two tests, while Australia head home for a three-test series against Pakistan.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. - Stephen R. Covey

OFF TRACK

Sitting in the bar George asked his 40-year-old friend John, "How come you aren't married?"

John: "I haven't found the right woman yet."

George: "So what are you looking for?"

John: "Oh she's got to be real pretty, - a good cook and house keeper, she's got to know how to handle money, have a nice and pleasant personality -- and money, she's got to have money, and a nice big house wouldn't hurt either."

George: "A woman like that would be crazy to marry YOU!"

John: "Oh, it's okay, if she is crazy."