Questioning the lack of internal democracy in the Congress party, which is in the process of electing Rahul Gandhi as national president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised the “bravery” of Maharashtra Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla, who had termed the election as “a selection and sham election process.”

Campaigning in Gujarat, where the Congress vice-president is leading the opposition efforts, Mr. Modi accused the Congress of muzzling the voice of Mr. Poonawalla and said, “Those who lack internal democracy cannot work for the country.”

“A youngster Shehzad has exposed the rigging that is taking place in the Congress president poll. He is a senior Congress leader in Maharashtra and the Congress has tried to muzzle his voice and wants to remove him from his position,” Mr. Modi said, asking the people, “What tolerance is this?”

Mr. Modi questioned the legitimacy of the Congress as a political party and accused it of always subverting internal democracy and suppressing those who raise questions against its dynastic nature and system.

“The Congress during its regimes made the country a prison, and media had to seek permission of Indiraji before printing something. So what the youngster Shehzad is saying it not unusual but it is Congress culture,” he said.

Immediately after Mr. Modi lauded his rebellion, Mr. Poonawalla tweeted his thanks and said he had sought time from Mr. Gandhi to submit the proof of rigging in the election process.

The Prime Minister also attacked the Congress for playing “vote bank politics” to divide society so as to seek power. The Hindu, 4th December 2017.

UP-BJP-GUJARAT

The BJP is all set to encash its Uttar Pradesh civic poll performance in Gujarat by utilising newly elected mayors for campaigning here. The party has won 14 out of 16 mayoral seats in U.P. and the Mayors will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to seek his blessings. They will then proceed to Gujarat. “The newly elected mayors will meet the prime minister over tea tomorrow [Tuesday] in Delhi. They are all devoted party workers and will be used where ever the party needs them,” BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.PTI The Hindu, 5th December 2017.

68% Turnout in Gujarat Phase 1

In the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections for 89 seats in Saurashtra and south Gujarat on Saturday, 68% voting was registered according to the preliminary figures.

The final figure was likely to go up since people were still standing in queues at polling centres after close of voting at 5 p.m., Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said in Delhi. However, the turnout is unlikely to exceed the 2012 figures of 71.3%, the highest since 1980.

Voting was held in 19 districts with 977 candidates in the fray. The second phase is scheduled for December 14 in 93 constituencies in north and central Gujarat.

The highest turnout of 75% was registered in Morbi, where the Patidar quota agitation was strong, and Navsari. The turnout in other districts ranged from 63% to 73%.

False complaints

The Election Commission said complaints that EVMs at three poll booths in Porbandar were connected to a Bluetooth device turned out to be false. During voting, Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia had complained to the EC that EVMs at the Sharda Mandir booths in Porbandar were linked to a Bluetooth device. The Hindu, 10th December 2017.

Rahul is sole Nominee for post of Congress president

It is a now only a formality before Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is elevated as the next president of the Indian National Congress.

Mr Gandhi was the only candidate to file his papers on the last day for nominations for the party's internal polls.

“We will put up the name tomorrow after scrutinising the papers,” said Mullapaly Ramachandran, who heads the Central Election Committee (CEC).

In all, there were 89 sets of nominations filed in favour of Mr Gandhi. But his name as the next President will be officially announced on December 11, after the deadline for withdrawal of names.

His mother Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were among the leaders who proposed his name for the top party post. However, Ms Gandhi, who is the longest serving party president with 19 years in office, stayed away from Monday's event.

Before signing his nomination papers, the 47-year-old Congress leader went to meet former President Pranab Mukherjee. Photographs released by the Congress party later showed Mr Mukherjee applying a tilak on Mr. Gandhi and blessing him.

At the party headquarters, Mr. Gandhi was seen warmly hugging Congress seniors including former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Mohsina Kidwai and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Accompanied by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Anand Sharma, Siddaramaiah and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mr. Gandhi filed his nomination exactly at 11a.m. The Hindu, 10th December 2017.

Exit Polls Predict Saffron Sweep Across Gujarat, H.P.

As the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections concluded on Thursday with voting for 93 seats across 14 districts, exit polls unanimously predicted that the BJP would emerge victorious in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh with a comfortable majority. Notwithstanding the Patidar agitation and the concerns over the GST implementation, all polls showed the BJP romping home in Gujarat. While the News Nation and Today’s Chanakya -News 24 polls predicted the BJP getting a mean of 120 and 135 seats respectively in 182-member Assembly, the Aaj Tak- Axis exit poll said the BJP would get 99-113 seats As the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections concluded on Thursday with voting for 93 seats across 14 districts, exit polls unanimously predicted that the BJP would emerge victorious in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh with a comfortable majority. Notwithstanding the Patidar agitation and the concerns over the GST implementation, all polls showed the BJP romping home in Gujarat. While the News Nation and Today’s Chanakya -News 24 polls predicted the BJP getting a mean of 120 and 135 seats respectively in 182-member Assembly, the Aaj Tak- Axis exit poll said the BJP would get 99-113 seats Assembly, with the Congress getting between 13 and 23 seats. Peaceful polling “Except for a few incidents of law and order and a few complaints of technical glitches in the EVMs, the voting was peaceful across over 25,000 polling booths in 14 districts in north and central Gujarat regions,” Chief Electoral Officer B.B. Swain told media persons after the polling ended on Thursday evening. The EC’s provisional turnout figure for the second phase at 68.7% was marginally higher than the 66.74% registered in the first phase in Saurashtra and south Gujarat for 89 seats. The highest voting was registered in the north Gujarat districts of Sabarkantha (77%), Mehsana (75%) and Banaskantha (74%), while Ahmadabad registered the lowest of 63%. A controversy erupted as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a “road show” after casting his ballot in the Sabarmati area of Ahmadabad. The Congress lodged a strong complaint, terming the road show a violation of the model code of conduct. Mr. Swain, however, said the Ahmadabad Collector was asked to submit a report on the road show The Hindu, 15th December 2017.