Ahmedabad, Sep 4 : Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday called on fasting Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel and said that they will take his agitation over the demand for reservation for Patels and farm debt waiver to the national level.

On Energy Minister Saurabh Patel's remarks that Hardik's indefinite fast was backed by the opposition Congress and that the state was doing its best for the Patel community and farmers, Shatrughan Sinha said that all political parties were supporting the fasting leader.

"The whole country is moved by Hardik's fast, except the governments at the Centre and the state," Yashwant Sinha told reporters. Yashwant Sinha resigned from the BJP in April.

Both leaders said they had extended support to Hardik on his demands.

"The farmers issues raised by Hardik are not confined to Gujarat but are relevant to the whole country. Farmers are in deep distress and the situation requires a permanent solution. I appeal to everyone, including the opposition, to raise the issues of farmers across the country," Yashwant Sinha said.

Rubbishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims that Gujarat was a model state, Shatrughan Sinha said there was nothing like a Gujarat model. "The Gujarat model has failed. Now, you are not going to get bonus (in 2019 elections)," he said.

According to medical reports, Hardik has lost around 20kg ever since he began his fast 11 days ago and his condition continues to deteriorate.

Meanwhile, Gujarat's six religious organisations of the Patels discussed the issues arising out of Hardik's agitation and offered to mediate or help him end his fast. Their leaders later in the evening rushed to state capital Gandhinagar for a meeting with BJP Ministers from the community to discuss the situation.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.

The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.

The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.

  • BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins

  • TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal

  • In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1

  • UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1

  • BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam

  • AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry

  • TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead

  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur

  • BJP takes early lead in Assam

  • Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala

  • In Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South

  • BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam

  • LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency

  • Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats

  • Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats

  • Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.

  • Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.

  • Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.