R'than polls: Cong fields 15 Muslim candidates, BJP 1
Jaipur, Nov 19: The Congress has given tickets to 15 Muslim candidates, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded only one candidate for the Rajasthan Assembly election.
The number of Muslim candidates from the Congress was similar to the last Assembly election, but all of them had faced defeat. Whereas, the BJP had given tickets to four Muslim candidates in 2013, two of them had won.
The saffron party's candidate, Yoonus Khan, who is the state transport minister, has been fielded from Tonk constituency, where state Congress president Sachin Pilot is contesting.
Khan, a sitting MLA from Didwana constituency, was kept reserved by the party till the last moment. After the Congress fielded Pilot from the Muslim-dominated constituency, the BJP replaced sitting MLA Ajit Singh Mehta, who figured in an earlier list, and announced Khan's candidature on Monday.
The Congress, meanwhile, has reposed trust on eight Muslim candidates, who lost in the last Assembly election. It has fielded three women, among which Safia and Gulnaz are the wives of two Muslim candidates who contested the 2013 election.
The BJP, on the other hand, dropped sitting MLA Habibur Rahman, following which he quit the party and returned to the Congress after a decade, becoming its candidate from Nagaur seat.
Rahman was the Waqf minister during former chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government, but joined the BJP in 2008 after he was denied ticket by the Congress.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
