I/III. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bihar-election-modi-s-biggest-electoral-test-us-think-tank/story-cxEBbNlTEek3r0gBA2DvWM.html
Bihar election Modi’s biggest electoral test: US think-tank PTI, Washington | Updated: Oct 01, 2015 08:34 IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his rally at Bhagalpur, ahead of the upcoming Bihar elections (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo) The upcoming Bihar Assembly election this month will be the biggest electoral test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi this far, scholars from a top American think-tank have said, noting that the ramifications of its results will be felt far away from the state’s borders. ”No matter what the voters of Bihar decide, the ramifications will be felt far beyond the state’s borders,” scholars Milan Vaishnav and Saksham Khosla from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - a top US think tank - wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday. The Bihar election, which begins on October 12 and concludes on November 8, will be the “biggest electoral test” for the Modi-led BJP government thus far, they wrote. If it prevails, this victory could provide the central government with new momentum. A win would bring BJP closer to a Rajya Sabha majority and boost its chances ahead of state elections in 2016 and 2017. If it falls short, it would be a big blow, especially because Modi has associated his own reputation so closely with the campaign, even recently announcing a $ 19 billion (Rs 1.25 lakh crore) economic package for the state, the Carnegie scholars wrote. The election could also make or break the careers of the chief minister Nitish Kumar and his new found ally Lalu Prasad Yadav, the think-tank scholars said. ”Kumar’s star, once among the brightest of all state leaders, has dimmed after the 2014 general election debacle. For Yadav, who will likely return to jail to serve time for a corruption conviction, a victory would maintain his and his family’s relevance in state politics,” they wrote. ”Forming an alliance in Bihar would provide Congress some comfort for its spate of recent electoral defeats and boost the standing of the party’s heir-in-waiting, Rahul Gandhi,” they said. II/III. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/bihar-polls-bjps-manifesto-goes-back-to-populism-but-this-time-linked-to-merit-2450908.html Bihar polls: BJP banks on populism in its manifesto, but links it to merit by Sanjay Singh Oct 1, 2015 09:10 IST In Bihar, the BJP is back to good old populism. But careful about being called a copycat, the party is linking its best freebies to merit. The party’s manifesto, which is to be released on Thursday, will have sops for all sections of society, most importantly for the youth, women and farmers. Representational image. AFPRepresentational image. AFP If Nitish Kumar thought his government (part of it was in alliance with the BJP) was still attractive to young girls and their parents in the state, then he must watch out. The BJP is about to promise a vehicle of women empowerment, at least the symbol of it, in all areas - urban and rural. If it comes to power, the party will give 5000 Scootys to girls – over 100 in each district every year – on basis of the marks they score in class 12 or Inter examinations. The idea is that Scooty, more than anything else attracts girls from all sections of society. No political party or state government has so far promised it. As a popular catch line of an ad done by Priyanka Chopra says, “why should boys have all the fun?" Narendra Modi’s idea of Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao takes a new turn. The BJP hopes it will gain maximum electoral mileage from it. Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi says that the Nitish government’s idea of cycles to girls could actually pay dividends for his party because he, as the then deputy chief minister and in-charge of finance ministry, made possible allocation of sufficient funds for distribution of cycles to girls. If the meritorious girls are going to have fun with the Scooty, then boys need not be disappointed. The BJP is promising to distribute 50,000 laptops to meritorious Class 12 students who perform better in exams. The Samajwdi Party had been very successful with the free laptop idea to young students. The BJP has obviously taken a cue from it but its leaders are adding that it’s inspired by Narendra Modi’s Digital India thought. Meritorious students would include girls also. Another first of its kind idea from the BJP is the interest-free loans to farmers if such loans are taken for agricultural purposes. The party is not promising any loan waiver but is going a step ahead of loans on lower or nominal rate of interests. The promise, interestingly coincides with PM Narendra Modi taking the initiative in renaming the Agriculture ministry as Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Ministry. Union Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said his ministry had already dedicated certain number of staff and appointed a joint secretary rank officer to conceive and coordinate on welfare measures for farmers. The state BJP has taken another cue from Narendra Modi’s successful power supply measures in Gujarat – 24 hours electricity supply in all parts of the state, all rural areas included by December 2016. Like Modi had done in Gurjarat, there would be two power feeder supply – one for domestic consumption and another for farming purposes. The BJP is using the Gujarat model to the hilt and adding some innovative touches to make it appear fresh. It is suggesting if the party is elected to power Biharis in Bihar will have a gala good time. III. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/one-million-dollars-recovered-from-bikers-in-poll-bound-bihar/story-cZyurPGob2u8mujzm9ehQI.html One million dollars recovered from bikers in poll-bound Bihar Avinash Kumar, Hindustan Times, Patna | Updated: Oct 01, 2015 17:00 IST Representative photo. (AFP File Photo) The police recovered one million dollars (Rs 6.68 crore) in Madhepura, 280 km from Patna, from two people travelling on a motorcycle on Thursday. The two claimed they got the dollars from a chit fund company – Fanus – and were planning to get it exchanged. Superintendent of police, Madhepura, Kumar Ashish said this was the biggest recovery ahead of the Bihar assembly elections. “We are probing whether there is any connection of the money with the elections,” the SP said. The two people were identified as Nand Kishore Yadav (35) of Purnia district and Manish Kumar (40) of Murliganj in Madhepura district. They claimed to be involved in the business of bamboos. In another incident, the directorate of revenue intelligence stumbled upon a courier carrying Rs 25 lakh. The courier was sent from Dubai. One person has been arrested in this regard. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
