BJP veteran calls for introspection after party suffers twin setbacks in Datia, Bankipur by-polls

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) A day after the BJP suffered defeats in the Datia Assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh and the Bankipur Assembly by-election in Bihar, senior BJP leader and four-time former Madhya Pradesh MLA Yashodhara Raje Scindia appeared to call for introspection within the party.

Taking to social media platform X, Scindia posted a brief but pointed message: “Time for self-introspection!!!” Although she did not elaborate, the post came in the backdrop of the BJP’s setbacks in both by-elections and has drawn attention within political circles.

The Congress retained the Datia Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, with its candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeating BJP nominee Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.

Ghanshyam Singh secured 66,757 votes (42.39 per cent), while Tiwari polled 60,741 votes (38.57 per cent). Damodar Yadav of the Azad Samaj Party finished third with 22,527 votes (14.30 per cent).

The Congress maintained a steady lead through most of the counting process. By the ninth round, Singh had opened a lead of 9,519 votes. Although the BJP narrowed the gap in the later rounds, it failed to overtake the Congress candidate, who eventually retained the seat for the party.

In Bihar’s Bankipur Assembly by-election, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor registered a decisive victory, marking the fledgling party’s first-ever electoral win. After 31 rounds of counting, Kishor secured 63,203 votes, comfortably defeating BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who received 44,250 votes. RJD’s Rekha Gupta finished third with 14,085 votes.

Kishor’s winning margin stood at 18,953 votes. However, at the time of the latest update, the Election Commission had not yet formally declared the result.

Reacting to the outcome in Bankipur, Bihar minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha said the party respected the democratic verdict and would accept the people’s mandate.

The twin bypoll setbacks have sparked political discussions over the BJP’s performance in the two states, with Scindia’s call for “self-introspection” adding to the debate over the party’s electoral strategy and organisational approach.

–IANS

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KTR’s ‘mad dog’ remark after Telangana CM attacks KCR

Hyderabad, March 12 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao came down heavily on Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy after the latter made some remarks about his father and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday.

“This mad dog has crossed every single limit of decency. I request his family members to take him to some mental health facility at the earliest or else in his frustrated state, he might start biting everyone around,” Rama Rao posted on X with the hashtag CheapMinister.

Rama Rao was reacting to remarks made by the Chief Minister at a programme in the city.

The Chief Minister remarked that those who were talking of stature were sent to stretcher and if they continued to behave in the same manner, they would be sent to mortuary.

Revanth Reddy also stated that status is not for individuals or castes but it is for positions like President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Minister, MLA and MLC.

The Chief Minister was apparently reacting to a statement made by Rama Rao on Tuesday that BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) will not attend the Assembly session as there is no one in Congress who can match his stature.

Revanth Reddy made the controversial remark at an event to hand over appointment letters to the newly recruited 1292 junior lecturers and 240 polytechnic lecturers.

The Chief Minister said his government inherited debts and blunders committed by the KCR government. He said the government would have to pay Rs 6,500 crore every month to clear the debts and interest on loans borrowed by the previous government.

“KCR presented ‘financial cancer’ as a gift to the state. If the cancer is getting worse, does it mean the state is bankrupt? How long will they hide the truth? When I disclosed the facts, the opposition is making hue and cry and targeting me,” he said.

“The entire KCR family is uttering lies like a family package. I will not run the state on the basis of lies. I will share the facts with you and work for the development of the state. Your cooperation is required to build a bright future for the next generations in Telangana,” he told the people.

–IANS

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Maoist leader Sujata surrenders in T’gana, marks turning point in anti-LWE campaign

Raipur/Hyderabad, Sep 13 (IANS) In a major breakthrough in India’s fight against left-wing extremism (LWE), senior Maoist commander Pothula Padmawati, alias Sujata, surrendered before Telangana Police on Saturday.

A Central Committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist), Sujata had been active for decades across Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, and carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore.

Her surrender is being seen as a significant blow to the Maoist movement and a symbolic collapse of morale within its ranks, Telangana Police said on Saturday.

Sujata, 62, hails from Peninskal Padu village in Katu Mandal, Gadwal district. Born into an agricultural family, her father Thimarati served as a village postmaster, while her mother Wanka was a homemaker.

She was married to Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, a prominent Maoist leader and former secretary of the West Bengal State Committee, who was killed in an encounter in 2011.

The couple had one daughter.

Inspired by early Leftist figures such as Patel Sudhakar (Suryam), RK (Sudhakar), and Sugna, Sujata joined the CPI-ML People’s War Group in 1982.

Over the years, she rose through the ranks, serving as a village campaigner, commander of multiple Talams, and eventually as in-charge of the South Bastar Division.

In 2023, she was inducted into the Maoist Central Committee and also served as editor of Puri, a magazine published in the Koya language, DGP Telangana, Dr Jitender told the media during a press conference.

Citing health concerns and ideological disillusionment, the top cop said, Sujata expressed her desire to live peacefully with her family and reintegrate into society.

Telangana Police confirmed she will receive Rs 25 lakh under the state’s comprehensive rehabilitation policy, along with other benefits extended to surrendered cadres.

Her surrender follows a series of high-profile eliminations of senior Maoist leaders, including Baswaraju and Balakrishna, both killed in Chhattisgarh.

These actions, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement to eliminate LWE by March 2026, have intensified pressure on the organisation, he said.

“Maoist commander and Central Committee member Sujata, who was active in Chhattisgarh and Telangana for several decades and had a bounty of Rs 1 crore on her head, got disillusioned with the Maoist ideology and surrendered in Telangana,” BJP Chhattisgarh unit posted on X.

In 2025 alone, 44 underground cadres from Telangana and Chhattisgarh have surrendered, including several senior leaders.

Officials believe Sujata’s exit will disrupt Maoist command structures and encourage others to follow suit, further accelerating the government’s campaign for peace and stability in long-affected tribal regions.

–IANS

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‘Operation Sindoor’ a ‘befitting response’ to Pahalgam terror attack, says Tripura CM

Agartala, May 7 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said that India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ is a “befitting response” to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives and other such dastardly acts on Indian soil.

The Chief Minister, on the sidelines of an official event, said that the ‘Operation Sindoor’ is a strongly planned attack on terrorist training camps and launchpads in Pakistan.

He shared that during ‘Operation Sindoor’, not a single civilian or their habitations were attacked.

“We have reports of some deaths. PM Narendra Modi does what he says. We are with him. We express solidarity with the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and all Indian forces,” CM Saha told the media.

Speaking on the stand of Bangladesh on ‘Operation Sindoor’, he said that the neighbouring country (Bangladesh) has not said anything so far.

“Bangladesh had condemned the (Pahalgam) terrorist attack. So let’s see what they say,” CM Saha said.

Tripura shares 856 km of international border with Bangladesh.

CM Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, also said that while Pakistan claims not to agree with terrorism, its actions show otherwise.

“PM Modi has said we shall not excuse anyone and we are with him,” he said.

The Chief Minister said: “Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has told the media about what happened in ‘Operation Sindoor’ and why… look at how many times terrorists have attacked India. It is high time to give a befitting response to them. Enough is enough. Appropriate response is being given and will continue to be given in future.”

Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu praised the Indian armed forces’ move, saying nobody who looks at India with “evil eye” and tries to create disturbance would be allowed to go scot free.

“Whoever looks at our country with evil eyes and tries to create disturbances, the PM Modi has said there is no option to let them go scot free. Operation Sindoor targeted hideouts where terrorists were trained. If that county retaliates, we are also prepared for it,” the Governor told the media.

He also said that the Central government has ordered to conduct mock drills across the country to “prepare for everything”.

“Everyone holds the responsibility to participate in this drill and become prepared,” he said.

He said operationalising air raid warning systems and testing communication, among others, reflect a proactive role in national security.

“Preparedness is not an act of fear but a testimony to commitment to protect every life,” he said.

Recounting his own experience as a young student during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Reddy Nallu said that in 1971, when there was a war against Pakistan, it led to the creation of sovereign Bangladesh.

“I was a student at that time (1071), rehearsals were held, sirens sounded, lights had to be turned off so that attackers couldn’t see targets from above. We have to be prepared for any situation. Mock drills are being conducted across the country. All of us should participate,” the Governor stated.

–IANS

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