Jaipur, Rajasthan:

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced five guarantees ahead of the state Assembly polls that include free laptops and tablets for first-year government college students, implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) through law and Rs 15 lakh insurance cover for losses incurred during any natural disaster.

Polling for all 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25 and the counting of votes will be held on December 3.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, while addressing a press conference in Jaipur announced five guarantees for the people of the state and promised that the guarantees proposed by his government will be implemented if his government is re-elected in the November 25 elections.

He also said that the state government will purchase cow dung at Rs 2 per kilogram.

“Yesterday I had hinted at announcing five guarantees. Guarantees should be given after deliberation….We will pass a law to ensure Old Pension Scheme if Congress returns to power so that no government can stop OPS in future,” Ashok Gehlot said.

Ashok Gehlot said his government will also provide smartphones with complimentary internet service for three years to 1 crore women.

Ashok Gehlot further announced the guarantee of English medium education for every student.

Ashok Gehlot’s five guarantees are in addition to two guarantees which include cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 for 1.05 crore families and an annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to the woman head of a family in instalments.

The two schemes were already announced by Ashok Gehlot at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s public rally in Jhunjhunu on Wednesday.

The Rajasthan chief minister said that the promise by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to waive off loans of farmers was fulfilled in due time.

“Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge say that ‘fulfill the promises that you make’. Last time, Rahul Gandhi promised to waive off loans (of farmers) in seven days, and the promise was fulfilled in due time,” he told a press briefing in Jaipur.

However, speaking about raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Rajasthan Congress Chief Govind Singh Dotasra, the Chief Minister alleged that the agency made Dotasara its target because he is very much vocal against the Centre.

“Congress chief (of Rajasthan) has done so much advertisement of the government’s policies, programs, decisions…however ED reached his home…It has reached only to target him as he speaks a lot about the government..,” he said.

He further said that it’s the ED, ‘more than dogs’ that is on the prowl in the country.

“A chief minister (Bhupesh Baghel) had to say that more than dogs, it’s the ED that is on the prowl in the country. (Desh me kutton se jyada ED ghum rahi hai). What could be a bigger misfortune than this?” he said.

Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at the properties of Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra and the party’s candidate for the Mahua Assembly seat as part of a money laundering inquiry into an alleged examination paper leak case in the poll-bound state.

The premises of Dotasara, a former Minister for School Education, in Sikar and Jaipur, apart from party candidate from Mahua seat in Dausa, Omprakash Hudla, and some others were searched.

“What’s happening in the country? Democracy is under threat. The Constitution has been tattered. ED, Income Tax and CBI are following instructions (of the Central government)…They have become a political weapon for the past 9 years and only raid leaders of the opposition,” Ashok Gehlot added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

BJP MLA from Chittorgarh assembly constituency Chandrabhan Singh Akya, who has been denied a ticket by the party, on Tuesday announced that he will contest from the seat against the BJP’s official candidate Narpat Singh Rajvi.

Akya has also filed a police complaint alleging that an anonymous caller had threatened to kill him and his family if he contested the upcoming election and demanded security.

“I will file the nomination on November 2. I am not contesting the election, workers have to contest the election. On October 26, the election office will be inaugurated,” Akya told reporters after a public meeting.

Akya’s supporters have been protesting after the BJP gave the ticket from Chittorgarh seat to former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s son-in-law Narpat Singh Rajvi, a sitting MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar seat in Jaipur.

Assembly polls in Rajasthan are due on November 25.

Asked about Mr Akya’s police complaint, Chittorgarh Sadar SHO Bhawani Singh said that the MLA has alleged that an unidentified person called him from different numbers and threatened to kill him and vandalise his office.

“The matter is being investigated,” the officer said.

Mr Akya in his complaint said that when he did not pick up the call from one number, “the caller called him from another repeatedly and threatened to kill him and his family”.

Following the repeated calls on Monday night, he complained to the police on Tuesday and demanded security for his family.

Mr Akya has contested successfully twice from Chittorgarh in 2013 and 2018.

The MLA alleged that he was denied the ticket at the behest of the party’s state president CP Joshi, who is an MP from the Chittorgarh parliamentary seat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

A controversy has erupted over a video in which Congress leader Archana Sharma, who is said to be in the race to get a party ticket for the upcoming assembly polls, is purportedly speaking about a party “rival” striking up a “Rs 40-crore deal” to “stop her”.

Speaking to PTI, Ms Sharma, who is the chairperson of the Social Welfare Board, said she has not named anyone in the video.

After the video surfaced on social media, Congress leader Rajiv Arora, in a veiled attack at Ms Sharma, said, “You can never win by playing dirty”.

Ms Sharma, who is said to be eyeing a Congress ticket from Malviya Nagar constituency, responded saying Mr  Arora was targeting her due to a “misunderstanding”.

In the video, Ms Sharma is purportedly telling a group of people that a “rival within the party” held a meeting with her “rival”, indirectly referring to the sitting BJP MLA from Malviya Nagar constituency.

“When my rival felt that he was losing, he thought of making an alliance with my rival within the party, and both had a meeting in a hotel. But walls have ears. It came out that a deal worth Rs 40 crore has been made. Such a big deal to stop me,” Ms Sharma is heard saying.

BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf has been representing the Malaviya Nagar seat since 2008.

Ms Arora, who is the chairperson of the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation and Export Promotion Council, is among the Congress leaders vying for a ticket from the Malviya Nagar Assembly constituency, and is said to be lobbying in Delhi ahead of the announcement of the list of candidates.

After the video emerged, Rajiv Arora wrote on X on Wednesday evening, “You can never win by playing dirty. Karma is real. You reap what you sow. The ill-will of taking ticket even after losing twice is hurting the Congress party from Malviya Nagar.” 

When contacted, Ms Sharma said she had not named anyone at the gathering.

“Rajiv Arora is like my elder brother. I did not name anyone. When he contested the election from this seat, I supported him. He should also support me,” she said.

Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25, and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

A political strategy firm that is playing a role in the Congress campaign in Rajasthan has filed a Rs 100-crore defamation case against a newspaper which reported that the results of a survey conducted for the party were sold to the BJP by one of its employees for Rs 20 lakh.

Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in Rajasthan on November 25 and the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is hoping to buck the trend of the state voting out incumbents after one term. One of the key planks of its re-election strategy is the slew of welfare schemes that it has rolled out. 

Political strategy firm DesignBoxed, which has sued the newspaper, worked closely with state Congress president DK Shivakumar during the Karnataka Assembly election in May, which was won convincingly by the party.

In Rajasthan, the company has worked on the political messaging behind the Congress social welfare schemes. It has also carried out surveys and seat assessments and given feedback on political issues on the ground.

Allegations

Earlier this month, there was speculation that the firm had some kind of fallout with Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra, and it was claimed that he didn’t agree with some aspects of how the firm was helping in the campaign in Rajasthan.

DesignBoxed Director Naresh Arora said the allegations were “imaginary stories” and that vested interests were trying to hurt the Congress’ campaign in the state. 

“Sections of the media are cooking up imaginary stories of a meeting between me and the honourable RPCC chief Shri Govind Singh Dotasara (sic). I have the utmost respect for him and for Shri Rahul Gandhi.  Vested interests trying to sabotage the Congress campaign before elections will not succeed – a Congress victory in Rajasthan is a foregone conclusion,” Mr Arora posted on X, formerly Twitter. 

This was followed by allegations that a DesignBoxed employee had sold the results of a survey conducted for the Congress to the BJP. 

Mr Arora had taken to social media again to term the allegations “fake news”, and asked media houses in Jaipur to take such news with a “big bucket of salt”.

Strong Stand

In its defamation case against the newspaper, the firm has alleged that the report was published without seeking its version and has sought an unconditional apology. It has also warned that it will take similar action against any other “fake news” report published about it. 

New Delhi:

The Election Commission today changed the date of polling for the Rajasthan assembly elections from November 23 to November 25 citing “large-scale” weddings and social engagements.

In a statement, the Election Commission said the decision was taken following representations made by various parties and social organisations for a change of the date of poll “considering large-scale wedding/social engagements on that day (November 23) which may cause inconvenience to large number of people, various logistic issues and may lead to reduced voters participation during poll”.

“The Commission, having considered these factors and representations, has decided to change the date of poll from 23rd November, 2023 (Thursday) to 25th November, 2023 (Saturday),” it added.

The counting of votes will take place as scheduled on December 3, along with the same for four other state assembly polls.

The poll panel announced the assembly poll schedule for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram on Monday.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)