Ravindra Jadeja joins BJP following retirement from T20 Internationals
New Delhi: Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who recently retired from T20 internationals after India's T20 World Cup victory, has now entered the political arena by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The announcement was made by his wife, Rivaba Jadeja, who is currently a BJP MLA from Gujarat.
Rivaba Jadeja took to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday to share the news. In her post, she included photos of both her and Ravindra Jadeja’s BJP membership cards. The post was linked to the BJP’s ongoing membership drive, known as 'Sadasyata Abhiyan', which began on September 2. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also renewed his membership on the first day of the drive.
Rivaba, who joined the BJP in 2019, successfully contested the Gujarat Assembly elections from the Jamnagar North constituency in 2022. Ravindra Jadeja actively campaigned for his wife during the elections, helping her secure a victory with a margin of over 50,000 votes.
At the time of the election, there was a split in political loyalties within Jadeja's family, as his father and sister campaigned for the Congress party. However, Rivaba Jadeja had dismissed any concerns over ideological differences between her and her cricketer husband, stating, "He and I are not two people, we are one. Our thinking is aligned, and we share the same ideology. There is no confusion in our family when it comes to our political beliefs."
Veteran BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also renewed their memberships on Thursday as part of the ongoing campaign.
🪷 #SadasyataAbhiyaan2024 pic.twitter.com/he0QhsimNK
— Rivaba Ravindrasinh Jadeja (@Rivaba4BJP) September 2, 2024
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
