BJP won't get majority in 2019, would lose 100 seats in 3 states: Tejashwi
New Delhi, Sep 15 : RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said that the BJP would not get a majority to return to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as it would lose around 100 out of the 134 parliamentary seats in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
"Today the BJP has over 115 seats in Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. But in 2019 the BJP would lose around 100 seats in these states due to the kind of alliances that are coming up," he said at the India Today "Mind Rocks Youth Summit 2018".
"There is no doubt in that the BJP won't get majority and they are going to lose," the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said.
He said that in Uttar Pradesh due to the alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) lost his seat of Gorakhpur in the by-polls early this year.
"The kind of situation that is there in Bihar and the kind of alliance that is coming up in Jharkhand, the BJP would face losses in these states," he said.
There are 80 Lok Sabha seats from UP, 40 from Bihar and 14 from Jharkhand. The BJP had won 73 seats from UP in the 2014 general elections along with its alliance partner Apna Dal.
When asked if in such a case there would be three Prime Ministerial candidates from the opposition, Yadav questioned, "Did any of the leaders in the opposition claim to be the Prime Ministerial candidate?"
He then said whichever party would be the single largest party would obviously stake claim to the Prime Ministerial post and the other parties would support it.
The former Deputy Chief Minister also called Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as "cheat" minister.
"In 2019 Nitish Kumar won't win anything. Today also he is a Chief Minister through the back door as he broke the grand alliance that was forged in the state ahead of the 2015 assembly polls. And look today who is in power in Bihar, it is BJP," he said.
Nitish Kumar had broken the Janata Dal-United party's alliance with the RJD and the Congress in the state in July last year and went back to its old ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
Highlighting the deteriorating law and order condition in the state, the RJD leader said, "Look at the condition of law and order in Bihar. When minors were raped, the Chief Minister remained quiet because his party leaders were involved in that. And then I have to come to Jantar Mantar to protest against the rapes. And till today nothing happened in the case. Even the CBI and the ED, who are after us did nothing in the case," he claimed.
He was referring to the rape of minor girls in a government shelter home in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
Referring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) action against his family members, Yadav said, "They claim when I was a teenager and not even having a moustache, I was doing a conspiracy in the Railway Ministry. How is it possible? I was in school and I was playing cricket.
"What is this? Where is the country going?" he questioned.
"My entire family is being investigated. But why action only against only one family? To pressure us they are doing their best," he alleged.
"But no investigation against Jay Shah, why because he is the son of BJP chief Amit Shah," he added.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
