UNABLE to sustain its narrative around Pulwama and Balakot and more importantly no tangible achievements to trumpet about, the BJP is back to its time-tested stratagems. BJP president Amit Shah, candidate from Gandhinagar constituency, in a road show at the start of his campaign thundered “Kashmir hamara hai” (Kashmir is ours). This, in a constituency, which, ever since its creation in 1967, has returned the BJP nine out of fourteen times, is a giveaway. Those elected from here include Shanker Singh Vaghela, Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani.

“DIL se Salim, Phir se Salim” is the war cry of the CPI(M) cadres, supporters and people of the Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal. This constituency with approximately 14 lakh electorate has once been a Congress stronghold with exceptions on certain occasions. The CPI(M) with sustained efforts and enthusiastic campaigning was able to harness the deep-rooted sense of betrayal amongst the common man against the then incumbent member of parliament of the Indian National Congress and wrest the seat from her in 2014.  

DESPITE widespread fascist like terror across the state, the Left Front organised an impressive mass meeting in Agartala on April 6 in support of its two candidates.  No vehicle owner dared to lease their buses to carry people to Agartala as BJP threatened them with dire consequences. But braving all terrors people came in thousands.  

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat has said that, the election manifesto of the BJP released on April 8, is yet another election jumla. She was reacting to the questions regarding the BJP’s manifesto which emphasises on Ram mandir and terrorism, at a meet the press programme conducted by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists in Thiruvananthapuram on April 8. 

THE election campaign of CPI(M) candidate J P Gavit for the Dindori (ST) Lok Sabha seat in Nashik district took off on April 4, 2019 with a massive 25,000-strong public meeting at Chandwad that was addressed by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Seven time and sitting MLA J P Gavit is a member of the CPI(M) Central Committee and former president of the Maharashtra Rajya Kisan Sabha (AIKS). He was one of the outstanding leaders of the historic AIKS-led Kisan Long March from Nashik to Mumbai in March 2018.