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Tag: trail

  • Dems prep to hammer GOP debt bill on campaign trail

    Dems prep to hammer GOP debt bill on campaign trail

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    chuck schumer 20865

    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) set the tone at the beginning of the week, privately telling Democrats in a leadership meeting that the debt vote could be framed to the American people in the same way liberals responded to Republican efforts to privatize Social Security, repeal Obamacare and pass the 2017 tax cut package, according to a person familiar with his remarks.

    “We’re focused on doing the right thing by the American people, which is to make sure we avoid a dangerous default and ensure that America pays its bills,” he said Wednesday in a brief interview.

    Democratic groups are already gearing up to knock Republicans over the debt standoff. The DCCC said vulnerable Republicans were “helping build the case against themselves” and their re-election, and House Majority PAC singled out frontline Republicans who voted for the bill.

    A focus on the GOP’s debt bill and proposed cuts isn’t without its own political pitfalls. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made clear his caucus is not responding to Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) legislation — ultimately putting the issue between President Joe Biden and the speaker after its passage in the House.

    By contrast, the 2017 tax bill was signed into law with a GOP trifecta, giving Democrats real-life consequences to use against Republicans. It also gave candidates an avenue to campaign against Republicans without tying them specifically to then-President Donald Trump.

    But what Democrats saw as effective campaign messaging in the 2022 midterms around the Jan. 6 insurrection and abortion rights could end up ranking higher on the list than potential spending cuts.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • TDP appears to be on comeback trail in Andhra Pradesh

    TDP appears to be on comeback trail in Andhra Pradesh

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    Amaravati: With a year to go for the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the political equation in the state appears to be changing.

    After a humiliating defeat in 2019 polls and the loss in every election since then, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) appears to be on comeback trail.

    The recent victories in Legislative Council polls have infused a new life into the TDP, which was looking no match for the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) till a few months ago.

    The TDP’s winning four Council seats has not changed the power equation in the state but it has definitely lifted the sagging morale of the opposition party.

    While TDP winning three Council seats from graduates’ constituencies indicates that the party regained lost ground among the electorate, the shock defeat of YSRCP in one of the seven Council seats from the MLA quota shows despite the vice-like grip of Jagan Mohan Reddy, the ruling party looks vulnerable.

    The cross-voting by four MLAs of YSRCP, which helped the TDP candidate win the seat, exposed the chinks in the ruling party’s armour.

    Political analysts say with back to back wins, TDP president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has sent a clear message that he may be down but is certainly not out.

    TDP, which was left with 19 MLAs in 175-member Assembly after four of its MLAs switched loyalties to YSRCP, did not have the required strength (22) to win the seat while YSRCP with the support of four rebels of TDP and lone legislator of Jana Sena Party (JSP) was confident of winning all seven seats.

    YSRCP’s strategists had not taken into account two MLAs who had recently raised a banner of revolt. They were still sure of a clean sweep but they received a big shock when results revealed that two more MLAs had revolted. As a result, TDP’s candidate Panchumarthi Anuradha was elected with 23 votes, one more than the required number.

    Chandrababu Naidu called it God’s script. “The Almighty has redrafted the script,” the TDP chief remarked, in what is seen as a response to the remark made by Jagan Mohan Reddy after TDP lost power in 2019 and could win only 23 Assembly seats.

    Jagan Mohan Reddy had stated after YSRCP stormed to power that God had punished Chandrababu Naidu for his misdeeds. He alleged that Naidu had purchased 23 MLAs of YSRCP after the 2014 elections. “Now TDP got only 23 seats and the results also came on May 23. God has written a beautiful script with 23,” said Jagan.

    Jagan had also pointed out that Naidu illegally took away three MPs of YSRCP and now his party got only three Lok Sabha seats.

    The morale boosting win for TDP came close on the heels of the party bagging three Council seats from graduates’ constituencies.

    The TDP received a big boost with victories in north Andhra, East Rayalaseema and West Rayalaseema graduates’ constituencies.

    Naidu’s party bagged West Rayalaseema (Kadapa-Anantapur-Kurnool districts), which is considered a stronghold of Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP. It also won the North Andhra (Srikakulam-Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam) and East Rayalaseema (Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor) seats.

    The defeat in all three graduates’ constituencies is seen as a major setback for the ruling party as they were spread in 108 of the total 175 Assembly segments.

    YSRCP, however, won both teachers’ constituencies (East Rayalaseema and West Rayalaseema) and four local body segments.

    TDP’s win has come at a time when YSRCP was exuding confidence of winning all 175 Assembly seats in the next elections.

    At the YSRCP plenary in July last year, he asked the party cadre to gear up for winning all 175 Assembly seats in 2024 polls.

    Sounding the poll bugle, he said that Mission 175 is not impossible as the party swept all local body elections by winning the hearts of people.

    Jagan Reddy called upon the cadre to carry the welfare initiatives taken in the last three years to every household and highlight the deceptive maneuver of the TDP and the ‘band of thieves’.

    After the recent setbacks for YSRCP, Chandrababu feels that the days of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, are numbered as the people are no longer reposing faith in him.

    “When a service-minded leader like Mr Giridhar Reddy could not continue in the party, how can a common party activist continue in the YSRCP,” asked Chandrababu while welcoming the YSRCP MLA into TDP fold.

    “Now the slogan of psycho should go and cycle (TDP’s election symbol) should come back has been resounding across the state,” he said.

    Political analysts believe that buoyed by the recent victories in the Council polls, the TDP will now go for the offensive against YSRCP in the run up to the polls. “Naidu may look to woo more disgruntled YSRCP leaders to the TDP fold to add to the problems of the ruling party,” analysts said.

    Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, who is currently on a statewide padyatra, has also received a shot in the arm. The young leader is likely to further step up his campaign against the YSRCP.

    TDP’s win is also expected to hasten the process of political realignment. Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader and actor Pawan Kalyan is likely to initiate serious efforts for the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance against YSRCP to prevent split of anti-incumbency votes.

    Pawan Kalyan, who already has an alliance with the BJP, is expected to mount pressure on the saffron party to decide quickly on the proposal for the grand alliance.

    The actor, who recently met Naidu twice to discuss the possibility of alliance, will also be keen to jump into fray to take on Jagan Mohan Reddy.

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Court Shifts Congress Minister’s Molestation Case Trail to Jammu, Citing Security Reasons

    Court Shifts Congress Minister’s Molestation Case Trail to Jammu, Citing Security Reasons

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    SRINAGAR: Agreeing to the plea that a fair trial in Kashmir is challenging for him, the High Court has transferred the trial of erstwhile health minister Shabir Khan to Jammu. He has been accused of molesting a lady doctor, who happens to be the wife of a separatist politician.

    “It is not in dispute that respondent No 2, (complainant) who happens to be wife of a separatist leader, wields some influence amongst certain sections of people living in the valley who subscribe to his ideology,” the transfer order issued on February 22, 2023, by the court of Mr Justice Sanjay Dhar reads. “It is a fact of common knowledge that incidents of attacks on mainstream politicians and the people who do not subscribe to the separatist’s ideology are still taking place in Kashmir Valley. Therefore, it cannot be stated that apprehension expressed by the petitioner to his life at Srinagar while facing trial before the court is unfounded.”

    In his plea, Shabir Ahmad Khan, the Congress party’s minister of state for health in Jammu and Kashmir has said that his defence lawyer, Mohammad Abdullah Pandit, refused to represent him in the court after he received a threat to his life. Later, Khan stated that he approached two more lawyers – Maroof Kha and Showkat, but they refused to plead his case.

    Shabir Ahmed Khan Health Minister JK
    Shabir A Khan (Congress)

    “It is further submitted that the atmosphere surrounding the court premises is highly surcharged and hostile and whenever, he appears before the court, slogans are being raised against him inside and outside the court premises,” the order details Khan’s plea. “It is averred that at the time when the case is being taken up for hearing, the court remains jam-packed and the petitioner apprehends grave and serious bodily attack from the crowd which gathers over there, upon the instigation of the separatists.”

    The court found merit in the plea and transferred the case to a Jammu court. The transfer was directed on basis of the status of the petitioner and background of the complainant as the court observed that “it appears that fair and impartial trial of the case that has been filed against the petitioner on the basis of the complaint lodged by respondent No 2, may not be possible at Srinagar”.

    The case is an older one. On basis of the complaint filed by the lady doctor, the Jammu and Kashmir Police registered a case against Khan on February 6, 2014, at Shaheed Gunj police station for offences punishable under section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). Khan resigned from the ministry within days.

    This also led to his resignation as health minister in Omar Abdullah government on February 7, 2014. His party had advised him to put in his papers till an inquiry will find out the details about the allegations levelled against him. Khan, then represented Rajouri in the erstwhile state assembly.

    In her complaint, the lady doctor had alleged that she was repeatedly summoned by Khan’s staff to meet the minister about some announcements made by the health minister in Delhi. The complainant claimed that even though she insisted the minister must get details from senior officials, still, she was compelled to report at the minister’s office on January 28.

    The woman alleged that when she reached Khan’s office at the Secretariat, he acted like a “sexual predator” and made provocative advances – both verbal and physical. Besides, the minister offered her many favours despite her resentment. Later the police registered a case on basis of the complaint.

    Police investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet. Now, Khan moved the High Court and sought the case transfer to Jammu. His petition claims that he is a politician was “falsely implicated” “due to political rivalry”, in order “to tarnish his image”.

    The case is listed for trial on April 12, 2023, in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Jammu

    The transfer of the case, interestingly, has off-court implications as well. “The ruling came at a time the Centre has been hard-selling an all-is-well line on Kashmir,” Kolkata-based newspaper Telegraph reported.

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    #Court #Shifts #Congress #Ministers #Molestation #Case #Trail #Jammu #Citing #Security #Reasons

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Trump’s White House accomplishments aren’t so easy to sell on the campaign trail

    Trump’s White House accomplishments aren’t so easy to sell on the campaign trail

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    Elsewhere, Trump has praised the anti-abortion movement and his role in picking conservative justices, but has also criticized some leaders in that movement for not doing enough in the 2022 midterm election. He has also said the issue was “poorly handled” by Republicans, pointing to members and candidates who advocated for no exceptions to bans on abortion.

    Trump’s team believes that he can thread the needle between touting the work he did in facilitating the end of Roe while staying on the popular side of public opinion about abortion restrictions.

    “Especially in the primary, it’s a very strong talking point for the president. He’s got a good record, and he’s on good ground going into the primary and general election,” said John McLaughlin, a Republican pollster who advises Trump. “His position since he ran for office and since he was in office has been consistent.”

    But navigating those twin achievements from his time in office could become tricky to handle over the course of a potential primary and general election run. Trump has begun taking steps to try and maneuver that political landscape.

    At the Council for National Policy summit last weekend at Trump Doral in Miami, he called in to praise the group’s work promoting conservative policies and touted his anti-abortion legacy, according to a recording of the call shared with POLITICO. The call came amid reports that evangelicals and pro-life leaders have been keeping their options open going into the 2024 Republican primary.

    “We appointed 300 judges. We appointed, as you know, the three Supreme Court judges that made your whole right to life, and everybody was trying to get this for many, many years, for many, many decades, and we were able to get that done. And we’re very proud of it, and it was a tremendous tribute to many of the people in the room that worked so hard with us,” Trump said in the roughly five-minute call. “But it was the whole pro-life movement. They say I’m the most pro-life president in American history.”

    Steve Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, called the former president’s record “unmatched” when it came to “nominating pro-life federal judges and Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade.” Of his boss, he added, “there has been no bigger advocate for the [anti-abortion] movement.”

    Trump is not the only Republican grappling with the issues of vaccines and abortion.

    His only official challenger in the race, Nikki Haley, ignored the latter issue in her launch speech but was confronted on it after in interviews. Haley, who has said she is “pro-life” because of her experiences as a mother and as governor of South Carolina, signed a law banning abortions past 20 weeks, said she would not support a “full-out federal ban” on abortion, but wouldn’t articulate exactly what she would stand behind now, only saying that there should be “consensus” on when exactly abortion should be banned.

    The issue confronting both Haley and Trump is that any abortion policy stance that plays well in a primary may present problems in a general election. While only 35 percent of Republicans said they disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision is overall unpopular among Americans, with a majority — 56 percent — saying they did not support the decision, according to a recent Ipsos poll.

    Trump could be rewarded by GOP voters for putting conservatives on the Supreme Court. But Erick Erickson, a conservative radio host who does not plan to endorse any candidate in the GOP primaries, said the former president had an altogether different “vulnerability” on the topic: “that it is no longer an issue.”

    “The conservative voters don’t need Donald Trump now to put conservatives on the court, he did it. If anything, he’s kind of hurt himself among social conservatives after Dobbs, by coming out and saying maybe it wasn’t a good idea,” Erickson said.

    The more complicated issue, Trump allies say, will be how he navigates his role in the Covid-19 pandemic. Privately, Trump has expressed pride in the historic efforts to produce a vaccine. But he is also quite aware that the far-right has made vaccinations and especially mandates a toxic issue. He was personally booed for telling a crowd he had gotten a booster shot.

    Cheung called Operation Warp Speed a “once-in-a-lifetime initiative that gave people the option of utilizing therapeutics if they wished to do so.” But he also stressed that Trump “fought against any attempt to federalize the pandemic response by protecting every state’s right to ultimately decide what is best for their people because of the unique challenges each state faced.”

    Since launching his campaign, Trump has attacked another likely 2024 political foe, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for trying to “rewrite history” on his coronavirus response. Trump’s campaign has built up an arsenal of video clips showing DeSantis as supportive of the Covid vaccine even as he has become favored by the anti-vaccine right. The video moments include DeSantis personally greeting a FedEx truck with the first batch of Pfizer vaccines arriving in Florida.

    And one person close to the campaign suggested trying to turn former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner into the faces of Operation Warp Speed, noting that they had leadership roles in the vaccine’s development. But it’s unclear just how effective those lines of attack would be as time passes since the pandemic.

    “There may be a small faction in the Republican Party that this applies to, but I don’t see how many Republicans are going to hold it against anyone for promoting the vaccine back in 2020, whether it was Trump, DeSantis or anyone,” said Matt Wolking, a former Trump campaign official and Republican strategist. “The true hardcore anti-vaccine [crowd is] found on the right and the left and it’s been that way for decades. So I think most Republicans are going to continue to advocate for personal choice and not mandates.”

    But distrust of the Covid-19 vaccine — not just the mandates — has been a central theme of far-right broadcasts, including Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, which regularly features skeptics on the show. Bannon, a former Trump strategist, has called vaccines and vaccine mandates a “major issue” for Republican voters and Trump’s base. He has warned against Trump leaning into his role promoting the development of the vaccine.

    Still, McLaughlin said he doesn’t see any risk to how Trump handles the vaccine. Some conservative voters may recoil at it. But, he said, the more significant dynamic was that the issue itself was no longer as animating as it once was.

    “I think people have moved on,” McLaughlin said. “I think there are more pressing issues that people are looking at. When you talk to the average person, they’re struggling to buy food or buy gas.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • ‘It was a proper shebeen, man!’: how Sistermatic blazed a trail for Black queer sound systems

    ‘It was a proper shebeen, man!’: how Sistermatic blazed a trail for Black queer sound systems

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    On a February morning in Brixton, old friends Yvonne Taylor and Eddie Lockhart are laughing about their first forays into London’s lesbian nightlife – and how they eventually went on to transform it. In 1984, Taylor moved from Nottingham to London and found the women-only clubs to be “torture”.

    “There was a real concentration of women’s bars in Islington,” she recalls. “Islington had a lot of derelict properties and so there were a lot of lesbian community homes set up in them, and as a result there was a surge, certainly from the 70s, of these lesbians’ bars. But they were bars directed to white lesbians and touristy lesbians from the ’burbs.”

    Taylor, now 63, and Lockhart, also known as DJ Shineye, 62, found the “music policy” of women-only clubs limited to “pop nonsense” and “old 50s numbers”.

    “I knew that there was more music than what the DJs at the time were spinning and I had the fire in my belly that I needed to change this,” says Lockhart. “I knew that I wanted people who looked like me to be able to go to a space where they felt comfortable, and where they weren’t going to encounter any elements of racism and hostility that were very much there.”

    Taylor and Lockhart met when Taylor’s then-partner was invited to a dinner that Lockhart was attending. The two immediately bonded over their shared experiences as Black lesbians navigating London’s women’s scene. “Eddie put forward the idea of doing this sound system run by women of colour,” says Taylor, who had prior DJing experience. “And literally by the time we’d left the flat, there was a plan in place. That was the first time we’d met, we just hit it off!”

    Two years later, the pair launched the Sistermatic collective with their friends Sharon Lee and Lorna Edwards. Lifelong south London resident Lockhart had little interest in jumping through the kind of bureaucratic hoops often required of community-based projects, and instead went directly to South London Women’s Centre in Brixton with her proposal. They both remember Sistermatic’s launch night. Taylor had been in charge of PR, which involved promoting the event through flyers and word-of-mouth. “We’d done our own food, we’d brought our own bar,” she says, grinning. “In those days it was less of a licensing thing, but we got away with it!”

    They were “packed from the get-go”, says Taylor. Lockhart describes it as “euphoric”: “At the end of the day, they hadn’t had anything like that before and this was something different. The fire in my belly said: it’s going to work. I think people were actually quite surprised by it happening, and having somewhere to go. And we continued it on a monthly basis.”

    Yvonne Taylor preparing a set for Sistermatic in 1990.
    Yvonne Taylor preparing a set for Sistermatic in 1990. Photograph: Courtesy of Yvonne Taylor

    For Taylor, a surprising aspect of Sistermatic was the broad demographic of women they would attract – not only Black women, but also south Asian women and white women who didn’t fit into the mainstream lesbian scene – all coming together to groove to soul, R&B, house and lovers rock. “We were probably one of the first lesbian clubs to hit the eclecticism of the community. We had women who were into S&M, butch dykes, femme dykes, it was a melting pot. I think we broke down a few barriers and mystiques that we had about each other, and it also did a lot to change the nature of how Black women related to each other, because obviously for them it was more difficult to come out.”

    Taylor remembers ending the first party, sweeping people out at 10am – “it was a proper shebeen, man!” – and treating themselves to breakfast “because we made money as well, and we couldn’t believe that!”

    But few, if any, photographs exist from those days beyond rave flyers – Sistermatic was intentionally restrictive around the use of cameras to prioritise the safety of attendees. Taylor remembers the custody struggles of bisexual and lesbian mothers in the 1980s: “There were lots of mothers who didn’t want their ex-husbands to come across photographs of them in the club and then use that to get the kids back.”

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    Sistermatic was as dedicated to its patrons’ lives as it was giving them a good time. The Women’s Centre also meant Sistermatic could be more than just a club, but a community – “there was a cafeteria, where people could have food, have drinks, exchange words, and then they could go and dance,” says Lockhart. She had also chosen the venue because of its amenities: “I wanted a space where I could create a creche with a qualified worker there for mothers who had small children and couldn’t afford babysitters or nannies.” Mothers were not charged for use of the creche, which was financed collectively through the entrance fee.

    Sistermatic ran until 1995 when the Women’s Centre lost its funding. Lockhart says that the company that leased the premises to the Women’s Centre eventually raised the rent to a level that local authorities were not prepared to fund. Despite fundraising attempts, the centre and Sistermatic closed.

    Lockhart and Taylor, however, had established themselves as kingpins of Black queer sound and found themselves booked as DJs for Southall and Southwark Women’s Centres, as well as birthday parties and Pride events. They had set a precedent too – by 1997, the Black women’s night Precious Brown, run by Ain Bailey and DJ Marilyn, emerged at the Candy Bar in Soho, where Yvonne was working at the time.

    ‘The wheel can’t be reinvented – you can just improve that wheel and how it works’ … (L-R) Nite Dykez’ DJ Gin, Eddie Lockhart and Yvonne Taylor.
    ‘The wheel can’t be reinvented – you can just improve that wheel and how it works’ … (L-R) Nite Dykez’ DJ Gin, Eddie Lockhart and Yvonne Taylor. Photograph: Courtesy of Yvonne Taylor

    Twenty-seven years on, Sistermatic is set to return, hosting a street party in Brixton Village on 17 February to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. For Lockhart and Taylor, it’s an opportunity to explore the intergenerational pathways of music. Take Afrobeats, says Lockhart: “It’s linked with soca, elements of reggae, lovers rock – it’s got so much mixed in there.”

    Joining forces with Nite Dykez, a monthly night and collective which celebrates love for electronic music among Black queer women, they hope to “encourage intergenerational work with younger lesbians”, says Lockhart.

    “Because the way the system’s set up at the moment, there’s not a lot of intergenerational stuff being done – and not enough of it,” adds Taylor. “The wheel can’t be reinvented – you can just improve that wheel and how it works.” Although for now it’s a one-off event, Taylor sees it as the opportunity to begin a journey of education for younger people about the history of music and Black queer culture in Britain – and for their elders to teach them a move or two. “We’re trying to get people from that youth market to party with their auntie.”

    The Market Row street party takes place on 17 February at Brixton Village, London.

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Bharat Jodo Yatra leaves behind trail of issues, hope for 2024

    Bharat Jodo Yatra leaves behind trail of issues, hope for 2024

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    Srinagar: The curtains may have come down on the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra here but it has left behind a trail of people’s issues, enthused party cadres, controversies, and a hope that the grand old party could mount a challenge in the general elections next year.

    Congress watchers feel the yatra has found some answers the party had been looking for on the road to 2024 but questions remain about whether it will yield electoral dividends going forward.

    The yatra culminated at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) headquarters in the Lal Chowk area here with unfurling of the national flag after traversing 12 states and two Union territories in over 140 days after its launch on September 7 last year, clocking over 4,000 km.

    During the course of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings, and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

    Whether it leads to a lasting impact on the electoral fortunes of the Congress only time will tell but it is certain to have a place in history as one of the longest yatras undertaken by a political leader on foot, post-independence.
    Probably Chandra Shekhar’s Bharat Yatra in 1983 from Kanyakumari to Delhi would be the closest to it.

    Many experts say a big takeaway from the yatra for the Congress has been Gandhi’s image transformation — from a reluctant and part-time politician to one who is mature and taken seriously by opponents.

    Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh considered the brain behind the yatra along with party colleague Digvijaya Singh, believes that the transformation of Gandhi’s image was not the cause of the yatra but a consequence of it.

    Asserting that the Congress made “huge gains” from the yatra, Ramesh said the party succeeded in conveying the messages of the march — the threats to the republic from economic inequalities, social polarisation and political dictatorship.

    With over 4,000 km under his belt, Gandhi managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors and the march saw participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Sushant Singh, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.

    Besides participation from tinsel town celebrities, writers, military veterans including former army chief Gen (retd) Deepak Kapoor, ex-navy chief Admiral L Ramdas, and noted persons such as former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-finance secretary Arvind Mayaram, also participated in the yatra.

    Opposition leaders such as National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdulla, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sanjay Raut and NCP’s Supriya Sule, also walked alongside Gandhi at various points in time during the march.

    While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge joined the yatra on many occasions, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi participated in the yatra twice in Karnataka’s Mandya and in Delhi.

    Though there were several landmark occasions, one historic moment was Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag in front of the iconic Charminar here, over 32 years after his father and then party chief Rajiv Gandhi had started the ‘Sadbhavna Yatra’ from the same spot.

    The Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march also courted many controversies in the last nearly five months and led to several fiery exchanges between the Congress and the BJP including on Rahul Gandhi’s ever-growing salt-and-pepper beard and his Burberry T-shirt.

    As the Gandhi-led yatra continued so did the sparring on social media platforms, TV debates and on the streets.

    There were also times when dissensions within the party and its allies came to the fore. The Maharashtra leg saw fissures surface between the Congress and its ideologically incompatible ally Shiv Sena after Gandhi attacked Savarkar over his mercy petitions to the British.

    When the yatra was in Madhya Pradesh, a crisis erupted in the party in Rajasthan, the yatra’s next destination, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot slammed his former deputy Sachin Pilot and called him a ‘gaddar’ in an interview.

    The matter was resolved just in the nick of time and a show of unity was put up by Gehlot and Pilot with party general secretary, organization, K C Venugopal brokering an uneasy truce just ahead of the yatra entering the desert state.

    Gandhi’s white T-shirt, no-sweater look in north India’s famed winter was also the subject of much attention. He said he decided to wear only T-shirts during the march after meeting three poor girls “shivering in torn clothes” in Madhya Pradesh.

    There have also been casualties during the yatra. Congress’ Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died following a cardiac arrest during the Punjab leg. A Congress Seva Dal functionary died after collapsing in Nanded in Maharashtra.

    Besides, a 62-year-old man from Tamil Nadu died and another person from that state was injured after being hit by a truck in Nanded when they were participating in the Congress’ foot march.

    The yatra took a nine-day break around Christmas-New Year and resumed the cross-country march from January 3 from New Delhi.

    The yatra then moved on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and continued to attract large crowds with serpentine trail of people on roads being a staple during the walkathon.

    After a few hours in Himachal Pradesh, the yatra entered Jammu to a rousing reception but a major row played out there with senior leader Digvijaya Singh questioning the government’s claims on surgical strikes and accused it of peddling lies.

    This drew a furious reaction from the BJP, which said the opposition had “insulted” the armed forces. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi distanced themselves from Singh’s remarks with the former party chief even calling them “ridiculous”.

    As Gandhi entered the Kashmir Valley on Friday he had to cancel his walk, with the party alleging a security lapse. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, however, rejected the Congress charge.

    Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk after the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ entered Srinagar, amid stringent security measures. The yatra came to a close with this morning’s hoisting of flag at the PCC office.

    Former Congress leader Sanjay Jha, who has also been the party’s spokesperson, said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has exponentially increased the perception that the Congress, long accused of inexplicable inertia, is now ready to take the BJP head-on.

    “This is significant. The BJP has successfully created the political narrative that there is no alternative to Modi, despite their underwhelming performance. This can now be challenged; the Congress has positioned itself as the fulcrum of the opposition,” he told PTI.

    The yatra has resuscitated hopes of a more even contest in 2024, he added. PTI ASK

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Trump hits the trail again, eager to show he’s still the GOP King Kong

    Trump hits the trail again, eager to show he’s still the GOP King Kong

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    For months Trump has been tucked away at his resort in Palm Beach, where he has hosted parties, sent out missives on his social media site Truth Social, played golf, and plotted out his next steps.

    When he re-emerged on Saturday, flying to New Hampshire on his rehabbed Trump-branded 757 plane, he was determined to showcase himself as a candidate who still has the star power that catapulted him to the White House in 2016, and could once again elbow out a full field of Republican challengers.

    “They said ‘he’s not doing rallies, he is not campaigning. Maybe he’s lost his step,’” Trump said at a meeting of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now than I ever was.”

    Unlike 2020, when he ran unopposed as president, Trump is expected to have a field of Republican challengers to deal with this time around, beyond Haley. In anticipation of a crowded field, Trump’s campaign has compiled research on different potential candidates, according to an adviser. But Trump himself brushed off concerns that he is in danger of not securing the nomination. “I don’t think we have competition this time either, to be honest,” he said.

    At the New Hampshire GOP meeting, Trump announced outgoing New Hampshire GOP Chair Stephen Stepanek would help oversee his campaign in the first-in-the-nation primary state.

    And later in the day, at an appearance at the South Carolina statehouse, Trump is expected to announce endorsements from close ally and occasional golf buddy Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — a notable display of political muscle in Haley’s home state.

    But Republican activists in New Hampshire are plainly divided. As Stepanek rejoins the Trump campaign, outgoing Vice Chair Pamela Tucker was recruiting volunteers for Ron to the Rescue, a super PAC formed after the midterms to boost Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he runs for president.

    “We’re not never-Trumpers. We’re people who supported Trump. We love Trump. But we also know, more importantly, that we need to win. And Ron DeSantis has proven it time and time again now he can win elections,” Tucker said in an interview.

    Matt Mayberry, a former congressional candidate and past New Hampshire GOP vice chair who supported Trump and has appeared at rallies with him in the state, said he isn’t taking sides yet in the still-forming primary.

    “Let them all come,” he said.

    Walter Stapleton, a GOP state representative from Claremont, sat toward the back of the auditorium wearing a Trump hat. But he said he, too, was undecided as to whom he’s backing in 2024.

    “We have to put a candidate there that can win and maybe draw some of the independents and some of the voters from the other side of the aisle. I think DeSantis is the runner for that,” Stapleton said. “But I’m always willing to see if Trump will change his tack … and come across more balanced and more reasonable.”

    During his speech in New Hampshire, Trump doled out red meat to a friendly crowd. The crowd roared with applause when he said that, if elected, he would “eliminate federal funding for any school that pushes critical race theory or left-wing gender ideology,” and support “direct election of school principals by the parents.”

    His speech in New Hampshire echoed policy prescriptions he has released over the past several weeks in the form of video addresses, on issues such as education and protecting Social Security and Medicare. His team has seen those pronouncements as a way to maneuver back onto the political stage without having to organize the signature rallies that defined Trump’s prior bids.

    Saturday, however, was about preparing for life back on the trail. The day comes as Trump has dipped in recent polling from New Hampshire and South Carolina.

    Despite those surveys, Trump — the only declared candidate — consistently leads in national polls against a field of potential challengers, including DeSantis, his former vice president Mike Pence, and former members of his cabinet, including Mike Pompeo and Haley.

    Trump was joined Saturday by some familiar faces from his White House days, including social media guru Dan Scavino, political director Brian Jack, and Jason Miller, as well as his campaign’s new top lieutenants, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. The campaign has grown in recent months with a series of new hires and the establishment of a campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago.

    Along with staff from the Trump-allied Save America PAC, there are around 40 people working on Trump’s campaign, according to multiple advisers.

    There is a push for the campaign to be scrappier than it was in 2020, when a massive operation worked out of a slick office building in Arlington, Virginia. And that ethos, according to an adviser, extends to how Trump will approach fundraising with a focus on small-dollar donations over big donor events.

    The Trump campaign will still be working with longtime adviser Brad Parscale’s Nucleus to send out emails, and fellow GOP operative Gary Coby continues to handle digital communications for the campaign, such as text messaging. But the campaign is also working with an entirely new vendor in 2020 — Campaign Inbox — to help with digital fundraising.

    Both Trump and his team seemed eager on Saturday to get back to the hustle and bustle of his time in the White House, and there were signals he has kept his same habits. Following Trump on the plane on Saturday were his assistants — Natalie Harp, the young OAN-anchor turned aide, and Walt Nauta, who carried a giant stack of newspapers on board for Trump to read through on the flight. Margo Martin, a former White House press aide who has worked for Trump in Florida since his 2020 loss, watched from the tarmac as Trump boarded the plane with a wave.

    “We need a President who is ready to hit the ground running on day one, and boy am I hitting the ground running,” Trump said later in the day.

    Lisa Kashinsky contributed reporting from New Hampshire.

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    #Trump #hits #trail #eager #show #hes #GOP #King #Kong
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )