National News
United over Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Oppn finds an issue to counter BJP
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha following the Surat court verdict that convicted him in a criminal defamation case has given new hope to Opposition parties in Bihar to corner the BJP.
The fear of central probe agencies is being considered as the reason for this “unprecedented” unity among opposition parties over the Rahul Gandhi issue. The family of Bihar’s former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is continuously under the radar of central agencies.
When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and disqualification, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said: “We are watching everything, and will answer (the BJP) in the best way when the time comes.”
With his remarks, Tejashwi made it a loud and clear message that he is ready to fight against BJP.
“BJP keeps the Opposition busy in court cases and uses the Hindutva card to win elections. But now, Rahul Gandhi has given a clear message that they (Opposition) do not fear court cases and investigation agencies. And, the Hindutva card of the BJP will be countered through the caste combination,” a Congress leader said.
Bihar is crucial for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as this is the state where BJP is not in power. Moreover, the caste equation is also not ideal for the BJP in the state.
When it comes to the caste equation here, Muslims have more than 18 per cent vote share followed by Yadavs (16 per cent), Kushwaha (12 per cent) and upper castes comprising Bhumihar, Brahmins, Rajput and Kayasth have around 15 per cent votes. These are estimated figures and the exact numbers would be revealed after the completion of caste-based census in the state, which is currently underway and the state government has announced that it will be completed in 11 months.
The political parties in the state strongly believe that caste equations are the only weapon to counter the Hindutva politics of the BJP.
Muslims and Yadavs are the core voters of RJD and Luv (Kurmi having 4 per cent voters)-Kush (Kushwaha having around 12 per cent voters) is the core voters of JD-U. On the other hand, the upper caste voters in the state are tilted towards BJP. Now, as BJP leaders are aware that they cannot easily penetrate into the MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation of the RJD, they go for weakening the JD-U vote bank. The voters of Kushwaha community are on the target list of the saffron party in the state.
The way Upendra Kushwaha formed a new party – Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD) – by leaving the JD-U and now openly supporting the BJP is an indication that the BJP would hurt the Kushwaha vote bank of Nitish Kumar.
Upendra Kushwaha has openly announced that “there is no leader who could challenge Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections”.
To strenghthen its hold over the Kushwaha community, the saffron party has even made Samrat Chaudhary – who belongs to Kushwaha community – the party’s state president. The idea is to give a message to the voters of Kushwaha community that Nitish Kumar is not their leader.
To counter the strategy of BJP, JD-U prepared jumbo jet teams, keeping in mind the caste equations.
The national team comprising 32 leaders is led by party’s national President Lalan Singh, while the state team with 252 leaders in it is being led by party’s state chief Umesh Kushwaha.
JD-U, to keep Kushwaha vote bank intact, has given the responsibility to two Kushwaha leaders to lead Rohtas and Muzaffarpur districts. The idea is to make up for the loss of Kushwaha votes after Upendra Kushwaha left the party. Further, it has appointed Mangni Lal Mandal as national vice president of the party to make a substitute of Upendra Kushwaha.
JD-U has given space to five leaders of Muslim community in the national team. Besides them, four leaders belong to upper castes, eight leaders of Lav-Kush community, two leaders of Yadav community, six leaders of EBC and two Mahadalit leaders are also given space in the national team.
Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats and will play crucial role in deciding the fate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In 2019, BJP-led NDA that also had support of JD-U in Bihar had won 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats. However, the situation has changed now; in 2024, BJP is in the Opposition and has to contest against an alliance of seven parties headed by Nitish Kumar. It has to face the might of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jitan Ram Manjhi and left parties leaders. After the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification has given new life to the Congress in Bihar.
This is the reason why BJP’s ‘Chanakya’ and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is making frequent visits to Bihar to strengthen his party’s position.
Reacting on Shah’s visit, RJD senior leader and MLA Bhai Virendra said: “The visit of Amit Shah will not have much impact in Bihar. People are aware that the BJP means ‘Badka Jhutha Party’. It had come into power with many promises and none of them were fulfilled. Unemployment, price rise, farmers issues still haunt the state and the country… The Mahagathbandhan will win all 40 seats in the state.”
Mumbai Press Exclusive News
Navneet Rana meets Sunitra Pawar… Is BJP preparing to send Navneet to Rajya Sabha from NCP quota, NCP senior leaders are angry

Mumbai : BJP leader Naveen Rana’s meeting with Nationalist Congress Party president Sunitra Pawar has sparked fresh debate in political circles. There are speculations that the meeting was held to deliberate on the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant after Sunitra Pawar resigned as an MP. After Vikram Kakde, who is outside the party, was nominated for the Pune Local Authority constituency of the Legislative Council, preparations are being made to send Naveen Rana, who has now joined the BJP, to the Rajya Sabha, a debate that has angered several senior leaders in the NCP.
Rajya Sabha seat: Chhagan Bhujbal is interested Senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal is interested in this Rajya Sabha seat. However, after the discussion of Navneet Rana’s name started, an open discussion has started that the influence of MP Partha Pawar’s group on the decision-making process in the party has increased. It is also being said that Praful Patel is not very active in the party after his name was removed from the post of National Executive President. It is also being said that Sunil Tatkre is also angry and the number of angry leaders in the party is increasing. The last date for filing nominations for this Rajya Sabha seat is June 8, so various leaders in the party have started lobbying for this seat and efforts to get nomination are going on rapidly. After all, the focus of political circles is on who will give the party a candidate.
Navneet Rana, who was elected as an independent candidate with the support of the Nationalist Congress Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, joined the BJP in 2024. However, there are talks about her political revival after her defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. It is also said that she has recently contacted some senior BJP leaders. However, it is known that she was advised to contact them because the vacant Rajya Sabha seat is in the NCP quota. It is believed that she met Sunita Pawar only after that.
Elections have been announced for 24 vacant Rajya Sabha seats and by-elections. This includes 4-4 from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, 3-3 from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, 2 from Jharkhand and one each from Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Apart from this, by-elections for one seat each from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will also be held on the same day. Voting will be held on June 18 and the results will be announced on the same day. Meanwhile, there is an important development. It is being told that former MP Naveen Rana is trying to get the Rajya Sabha nomination. The Rajya Sabha nomination from the Nationalist Congress Party quota will be announced soon. For this, Naveen Rana met Sunita Pawar and Partha Pawar on Wednesday. Yesterday, Naveen Rana and Ravi Rana also met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Therefore, it is being said that an attempt is being made to nominate Navneet Rana on the NCP quota seat. However, will Navneet Rana give up his quota seat for the NCP? This is also a question. So, will this meeting result in Navneet Rana being nominated in place of Sunitra Pawar? This will become clear in the coming days.
Rajya Sabha Seat: Amul Matkari’s social media post is under discussion, Amul Matkari has posted in this regard and said that the vacant Rajya Sabha seat of Smt. Sunitra Vahini belongs only to NCP! No one else should claim this and put up a front. The name of the NCP party is “Ajit Dada”. Therefore, the decision taken by Smt. will be final. This party is a party that is under the sway of Ajit Dada. That’s all for now.
Crime
CBI court sentences firm partner to three years RI in Rs 4 crore bank fraud case

Chandigarh, June 5: A Special CBI Court in Mohali, Punjab, has convicted and sentenced Samir Dua, a partner of M/s G.D. Ispat Udyog, Mandi Gobindgarh, to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a fine of Rs 15,000 in connection with a multi-crore bank fraud case, an official statement said on Friday.
The sentence was pronounced on June 4, following the conclusion of trial proceedings in the case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to the CBI, the case was registered against Dalip Dua and Samir Dua, partners of M/s G.D. Ispat Udyog, along with other accused, for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy to defraud Indian Overseas Bank’s Mandi Gobindgarh branch in Punjab.
The investigation revealed that the accused had fraudulently secured a cash credit limit of Rs 4 crore from the bank by submitting false and fabricated information and documents.
The loan facility was allegedly obtained through misrepresentation, causing a wrongful loss to the bank and corresponding unlawful gain to the accused, the agency said.
Following a detailed investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused persons before the competent court. During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence establishing the fraudulent nature of the transactions and the conspiracy behind obtaining the credit facility.
After examining the evidence and hearing the arguments, the Special CBI Court found Samir Dua guilty and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 15,000.
Proceedings against co-accused Dalip Dua were abated due to his death during the pendency of the case.
The conviction marks the culmination of the CBI’s investigation into the bank fraud, underscoring the agency’s efforts to prosecute financial crimes and hold those responsible for defrauding public sector banks accountable.
National News
Rahul Gandhi, Kharge condole loss of lives in Malviya Nagar blaze; ask Cong workers to extend help

New Delhi, June 3: Congress leaders, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Wednesday, expressed grief over the 20 lives lost in the tragic Delhi fire, calling the tragedy “extremely heartbreaking”. They also appealed to Congress leaders and workers to extend every possible help and support to the victims injured in the blaze and the families of the deceased.
At least 20 people were killed, and dozens were injured after a massive fire broke out at the multi-storied Lemon Green Restaurant in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning, officials said.
So far, 37 people were rescued and taken to the hospital, while a search for others is underway, officials added.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a post on X.
He urged the Delhi government and authorities to provide adequate and timely compensation, “including prompt medical care to the victims”.
“I urge Congress workers to extend every possible help and support to the victims in this difficult time,” he added.
LoP Rahul Gandhi called the incident “extremely heartbreaking.”
Taking to X, he said: “I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families. I urge all Congress workers to contribute in every possible way to the relief and rescue operations.”
“I hope for the swift recovery of the injured,” Rahul Gandhi mentioned.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed: “The news of the deaths of a large number of people and injuries to nearly three dozen or more due to a fire in a hotel in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, is extremely heartbreaking.”
“May God grant peace to the departed souls. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of the injured,” she wrote in a post on X.
She, too, appealed to Congress leaders and workers to extend their support to the affected people as much as possible.
Senior officials from Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services and rescue services are present at the scene of the tragedy and were monitoring the situation.
Upon receiving information, ten fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the scene. The fire was soon brought under control. However, the damage was extensive.
-
Crime4 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra2 years agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News2 years agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News2 years agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Crime2 years agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
