Pravin Togadia to launch political party
Jodhpur: International Hindu Parishad president Pravin Togadia on Wednesday said he would launch a political party in a month's time and rope in candidates for almost all the seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
He said the preparations for floating the party had already been initiated, adding that he would soon announce the name of the party.
On a day-long visit to Jodhpur, Togadia claimed that the BJP-led central government had failed on every front and the people of the country needed an alternative.
"The (Narendra) Modi government has failed on every front. All factions of the society such as farmers, workers, the youth and businessmen are annoyed with the policies of the Modi government," he said.
"Keeping this in view and to provide relief to the people of the country, we are going to form a political party and will contest from almost all the seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha election," Togadia said, adding that his party would work for all sections of the society.
He refused to disclose the name of the party, but said the required formalities had already been completed and he would soon announce the name of his political front.
"Because of the disappointment with the Modi government, his party (BJP) had to face a rout in the recently-held Assembly elections. This government has lost the trust of the people on every front," Togadia said.
He added that the Modi government did nothing for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, bringing Hindus back to Jammu and Kashmir, employment of the youth and the farmers' issues.
"The Modi government also destroyed the employment generating small scale industries of the country and compelled about six crore small shops to down shutters by allowing Walmart in India," Togadia said.
He said his party would work on its agenda of building the Ram temple at the earliest, resolving farmers' issues by implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan report, reviving the small scale industries and the six crore shops shut because of Walmart.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
