Olympic wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have joined the Indian National Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections. Phogat recently retired from wrestling and resigned from her position at Indian Railways. The move signifies the Congress party’s efforts to attract popular figures in the lead-up to the elections.
Renowned Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are set to join the Indian National Congress today. This news comes as a major development in the political landscape, with the wrestlers having recently been vocal about their demands for action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The Indian National Congress has demanded an independent investigation into allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. The party alleges that these allegations, including conflict of interest and a toxic work environment, raise concerns about the integrity of India’s stock market and have foreign investors worried. The Congress argues that an independent inquiry with Buch stepping aside is crucial to restore confidence in the market and the country’s economy.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to take up the role of Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha. The resolution was passed after taking note of the sentiments expressed at the party’s highest decision-making body. Gandhi has said he will consider the request and make a decision soon. The Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) also met and re-elected Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson.
Narendra Modi has surpassed Manmohan Singh as the third-longest serving prime minister of India, having held office for over eight years. He is also the country’s longest-serving non-Congress Prime Minister. Modi’s tenure has been marked by economic reforms, social welfare initiatives, and a focus on national security. He is expected to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party to victory in the upcoming 2024 general elections, securing a third term in office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers tendered their resignations to President Droupadi Murmu, who accepted the resignations and asked the government to continue until a new one is formed. The Cabinet also recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats in the recent elections, down from 303 in 2019, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 293 seats, crossing the halfway mark for a third term. The opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress won 233 seats. Despite the NDA’s victory, its reduced majority in Parliament may delay further reforms.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on track for a landslide victory in Tripura’s two Lok Sabha seats, as indicated by the ongoing vote counting. BJP candidates Biplab Kumar Deb and Kriti Devi Debbarman hold significant leads in the Tripura West and East constituencies, respectively. In 2019, the BJP had secured both seats with overwhelming margins.
The Election Commission of India (EC) has requestedCongress leader Jairam Ramesh to provide evidence to support hisclaim that Home Minister Amit Shah contacted 150 district magistrates(DMs) and collectors ahead of the June 4th Lok Sabha election results. The EC has asked Ramesh toshare specific details of his assertion by 7 p.m. on Sunday. This request stems from a statement made by Ramesh on June 1st, wherein he claimed that the outgoing Home Minister had engaged in inappropriate communication with these officials. The EC’s letter refers to Ramesh’s post on a social media platform, where he alleged that Shah’s actions constituted ‘blatant and brazen intimidation.’
Senior leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, CPI-M, and others, gathered in New Delhi on June 1 to strategize for the vote counting scheduled on June 4. The meeting was held amid ongoing elections in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Narendra Modi’s appeal to the middle class is a case study in political communication, as his style of populism does not fit any typical framework studied by academics. In liberal democracies, the middle class is known to be an anchor of stability and a defender of the status quo. However, in India, the middle class has voted for a party whose policies are aimed at changing the secular status quo. This study finds that the answer lies partly in a double messaging by Mr. Modi and the BJP. The BJP’s promise of building the Ram temple in Ayodhya, for instance, had low credibility among middle-class voters. However, this low credibility helped the BJP develop a double level of communication with its audience. The assumption that the party would not act on its most extreme proposals made it sound more innocuous to moderate middle-class voters.
