Shiv Sena (UBT) extends support to Congress after Haryana poll debacle
New Delhi: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena extended support to its ally Congress after the party's loss in the Haryana Assembly elections. While the Congress faced criticism for its defeat, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece expressed concern over alleged irregularities in the vote counting process and questioned the parole release of rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim just days before the elections.
The Sena editorial highlighted Congress’ complaint to the Election Commission (EC) regarding a delay in updating the election results, which they claimed allowed the BJP to overturn their initial lead. The EC has since denied the allegations, calling them baseless. The editorial, however, argued that the EC’s response did not adequately address the Congress’ concerns, particularly the sudden surge in the BJP’s vote tally after a delay in data updates.
Referring to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini’s pre-poll statement that “all arrangements” were made for the BJP’s victory, the editorial questioned how the party managed to secure a win when anti-incumbency factors and local protests, including those by farmers and wrestlers, were seemingly against them.
The Sena also took a dig at the BJP for the parole release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Released six days before the election for the 10th time in two years, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief reportedly asked his followers to vote for the BJP. The Congress had earlier flagged this as a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Despite their backing of the Congress, the Shiv Sena was not devoid of criticism. The editorial advised the Congress’ Maharashtra unit to take lessons from the Haryana defeat to avoid a similar fate in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, adding that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition remains confident of victory in the state.
In Haryana, the BJP secured 48 of the 90 seats, with the Congress trailing at 37. The results were seen as a major setback for the Congress, which was predicted to win according to exit polls but fell behind due to what it termed an "unexpected" shift in results during counting.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
