<ul><li>BJP's Giriraj Singh has over 6.88 lakh votes compared to rival Kanhaiya Kumar's 2.67 lakh votes.</li><li>Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tanveer Hasan has a little over 1.96 lakh votes after the first hour of counting.</li><li>BJP has over 51% of the votes counted so far.</li></ul>A small district of Begusarai has a difficult choice to make between two firebrand politicians-- debutante Kanhaiya Kumar from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), popularly known as CPI(M) and the veteran Giriraj Singh from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). And they seem to have picked Singh's saffron over Kumar's red. As of 9:50 am, Giriraj Singh was ahead with 51% of the votes counted while Kanhaiya Kumar had half the number of votes as his rival from BJP. In the third spot is Tanveer Hasan of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is in alliance with the Congress in the state of Bihar. The voter turnout this time was at 61.27% that is 2% more than five years ago when the BJP candidate Bhola Singh bagged the seat with a margin of 58,000 votes. Kanhaiya Kumar shot to national fame when the cops in Delhi arrested him and his friends from the Jawaharlal Nehru University for alleged anti-national activities in 2016. Since then, he has used the media spotlight on him to challenge BJP’s politics and policies, and target Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rhetoric. Aside from a long list of stars from the showbiz -- poet Javed Akhtar, actors Shabana Aazmi, Prakash Raj and Swara Bhaskara as well as comedian Kunal Kamra campaigned for him -- Kanhaiya Kumar has the support of a big chunk of people, nearly 450,000, in the district who belong to the same caste as him, Bhumihar. He has also been wooing votes of the Muslims, who make for 17% of the district’s population. However, it has to be said that in the particular case of Begusarai, both RJD and CPI(M) resonate among Muslim voters, people from the Yadav community, as well as those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the region. Further, Kumar and Hasan are pitted against a veteran politician and a minister in the central government, Giriraj Singh, who is riding on Modi’s charm much like many other BJP candidates across the country. Any division of votes between Kumar and Hasan may provide an advantage to the BJP. On the other hand, a victory for Kumar may earn him the credibility of a serious politician and a long career. Hasan is fighting for his pride to second consecutive loss in Parliamentary elections. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/up-uttar-pradesh-lok-sabha-election-result-2019-bjp-vs-bsp-vs-sp/articleshow/69450579.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Result 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/west-bengal-lok-sabha-election-result-2019-tmc-vs-bjp-vs-cpim/articleshow/69450514.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Result 2019</a>

BJP's Giriraj Singh has over twice the number of votes as debutante Kanhaiya Kumar, so far

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51026684.cms" /> 
 Student unions of various parties have said that all sections of society should wait for completion of the <keyword id="6356383" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="JNU">JNU</keyword> inquiry before doing the "character assassination" of the university. This, however, doesn’t mean that they support the anti-national slogans that were raised in the university campus. 
 These unions have asked for the release of JNUSU President <keyword id="3048656" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kanhaiya-Kumar">Kanhaiya Kumar</keyword> and withdrawal of "false charges" against all the university students. 
 These demands have come in a joint press conference released by leaders from All India Students' Association (<keyword id="202881" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aisa">AISA</keyword>) of CPI(ML), All India Students Federation (<keyword id="340585" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="AISF">AISF</keyword>) of CPI, National Students' Union of India (<keyword id="6372948" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="NSUI">NSUI</keyword>) of Congress, Students Federation of India (<keyword id="6373398" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="SFI">SFI</keyword>) of CPI(M) and Student Forum For Swaraj (<keyword id="951603" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="SFS">SFS</keyword>). 
 They also denounced the assault on Left activists, JNU teachers, students and media that was done on February 15 in Patiala court. These attacks were cited as <keyword id="42498" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="RSS">RSS</keyword> and BJP’s attempts to "spread a reign of terror against differing voices". 
 
"We condemn the anti-national slogans that were raised during the event but who did that is a matter of investigation. Let the inquiry takes it course. Do not character assassinate the entire university by branding it as anti-national," SFI general secretary Vikram Singh said. 
 
"If the entire University is anti-national, then its alumini including Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, CBI Director Anil Sinha and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman are also anti-national," NSUI leader Kumar Raja said. 
 
"Slogans cannot be used as an excuse to crackdown on JNU. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of JNUSU President Kanhaiya and the immediate withdrawal of false charges on all JNU students," they said in a joint statement. 
 
The "ongoing assault on JNU is part of a long process by the Modi government to destroy our best educational institutions," the released added. "We are seeing a pattern wherein the Modi government actively intervenes to shove the RSS-BJP agenda down the throats" of the insitutions," they claimed. 
 
<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/3999862/images/o-JNU-PROTEST-facebook.jpg">Image source</a>

Student unions asks people to wait for the inquiry results before assassinating JNU’s character

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51025420.cms" />The protests and counter protests at the Jawaharlal Nehru University are refusing to die out. What started as an event to mark the death anniversary of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, by alleged students of the University, at the campus has snowballed into a gigantic political controversy, resulting in detentions under sedition charges, assault on journalists amongst other things etc. 
 
Here is the timeline of what happened at the JNU campus: 
 
- Alleged students of the JNU had organised an event to protest against judicial hanging of Afzal Guru in 2013 and also to express solidarity with Kashmiri migrants. 
 
- Posters were put up at the Sabarmati dhaba of JNU campus about the same. Also, a programme-‘A country without a post office — against the judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhatt’-was supposed to take off. 
 
- This didn’t go down well with ABVP members, who protested against the event, demanding expulsion of the organisers. 
 
- A disciplinary enquiry was taken up by the university administration. The administration claimed the organisers went ahead with the event without permission. 
 
- A protest march was also carried out and ABVP members accused JNU students of shouting anti-India slogans. A video also appeared in which students were heard shouting slogans like ‘Kashmir ki azadi se, bharat ki barbadi tak, jangh rahegi jari’. 
 
- Now, ABVP members and JNU students are at loggerheads. In the face-off, JNU students say they did not shout any anti-national slogans. 
 
- A sedition case against unknown students was registered at Vasant Kunj (North) police station and the university also barred eight students from academic activity pending an enquiry. 
 
- JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on sedition charges and ordered to three-day police custody. 
 
- Students of JNU gave a shutdown call and #JNUShutdown started trending everywhere, demanding Kumar’s release. JNU teachers also joined the students in boycotting classes. 
 
- On February 14, the Patiala House saw violence as a mob, wearing lawyer’s robe, slapped and kicked supporters of Kanhaiya Kumar. Journalists and students bore the brunt of the violence. 
 - Over 400 journalists had taken out a procession after mediapersons were attacked by lawyers at the <keyword id="286287" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Patiala-court">Patiala Court</keyword>. The Supreme Court had slammed unruly behaviour of the lawyers and ordered that both the clients and media persons should be given security in the premises of the courts. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51025432.cms" /> 
 
- On February 17 also, violence was witnessed outside Patiala House Court when two groups of lawyers clashed with each other. Pro-India slogans were raised by lawyers who called themselves 'deshbhakts' and referred to those stopping them as 'deshdrohi'. 
 
- The group of lawyers that attacked journalists said that they cannot be termed 'goons'. Lawyers were heard chanting ‘Vande Mataram’. The Supreme Court was also informed that Kanhaiya Kumar was attacked in the court premises. 
 
- Some reports of stone-pelting at the Patiala House court also surfaced. 
 
- SC restricted the number reporters to five and two supporters of arrested students for the hearing. 
 
- Kanhaiya Kumar has been sent to judicial custody till March 02. Before his hearing, journalists were yet again attacked in the scuffle between two lawyer groups. 
 
- Doctor has been called to provide medical aid to Kanhaiya. 
 
- Kumar has maintained that he did not shout any anti-national slogans and few outsiders were involved in raising anti-India slogans. 
 
(Images: Indiatimes)

Everything you need to know about the JNU unrest

<ul><li>A historic win will make Narendra Modi the first non-Congress Prime Minister to get re-elected.</li><li>This was the first time since 1984 a majority government has been re-elected.</li><li>Visit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Business Insider India's home page</a> for more stories</li></ul>Narendra Modi has created history by becoming the first non-Congress Prime Minister to get re-elected in the 72 years of India's independence. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 353 seats compared to its rival the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that is ahead in 90 seats. The BJP made history even five years back when it clocked in a full majority, the first for any government since 1984. A full majority twice in a row is an even bigger feat for Modi and the BJP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="evmBI28-4" msid="69466039" hostid="261"></div>



















 No single rival was fighting Modi to win on his/her own. A motley crew of former foes were waiting for the final tally before they could stitch a suitable coalition that would end Modi's reign. However, as the counting progressed on May 23, it became evident very early that the the room for any political manoeuvre was limited, and eventually, even that disappeared. The Indian National Congress, the only national party other than the BJP, nearly doubled its seat count in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, but for Rahul Gandhi, Congress' President, could not escape the embarrassment of having lost a seat, Amethi, that was seen as family bastion for decades. A grand alliance of regional parties, led by Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, pitched itself as an alternative to Modi's strongman vibe. However, the camaraderie failed to strike a chord with the voters of Uttar Pradesh-- India's most populous state that is home to these two parties. The music stopped for the Mahagathbandhan when hoards of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/narendra-modi-varanasi-up-lok-sabha-election-result-2019/articleshow/69455114.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">people in Varanasi</a> danced to Modi's tunes on April 25. The final result for the grand alliance were 15 Lok Sabha seats. Modi's rivals cried against the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-government-wants-you-to-believe-that-demonetisation-didnt-slow-down-the-economy/articleshow/67785050.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">whimsical demonetisation</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/unemployment-in-india-is-at-its-highest-in-45-years-says-an-indian-daily-citing-an-undisclosed-jobs-survey/articleshow/67769020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">peaking unemployment</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/congress-promises-farm-loan-waiver-after-bjp-offers-minimum-income-support-in-budget-2019/articleshow/67827116.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">mounting farm distress</a>, and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/patriot-act-godse-debate-kamal-haasan-vs-sadhvi-pragya-bjp/articleshow/69372552.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">uneasy polarisation</a>, but none of that left as much as a scratch on Modi's chances. Even the alleged scandal in the government deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets did not cut ice with the country's voters. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="rafalebi5" msid="69465705" hostid="261"></div>



















 The adolescent Indian democracy was looking for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/jlf-gandhi-vs-modi-bjp-vs-congress-dont-understand-indian-voters/articleshow/67685811.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">a Presidential clash</a> but the opposition could not nominate a powerful alternative to Modi. The writing was on the wall but the regional satraps and national figureheads continued playing hardball with each other, and the potential of a desperate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-avengers-endgame-lesson-for-modi-rahul-gandhis-congress-and-mahagathbandhan/articleshow/69138766.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">anti-Modi coalition</a> was never fully realised. The momentum was so strong in Modi's favour that even the terror accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur-- who was also reprimanded for calling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/patriot-act-godse-debate-kamal-haasan-vs-sadhvi-pragya-bjp/articleshow/69372552.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a 'patriot'</a>-- <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sadhvi-pragya-thakur-vs-dijvijaya-singh-bhopal-lok-sabha-election-results-2019/articleshow/69456794.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">won Bhopal with a huge margin</a>. The north-south divide The Modi wave was strong and pervasive but it limited largely to the north of India. The wave <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/exit-polls-2019-no-modi-wave-in-tamil-nadu-karnataka-kerala/articleshow/69402617.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">once again lost momentum</a> south of the Vindhya range of mountains, despite its best efforts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="MODIWAVEBI26" msid="69465632" hostid="261"></div>



















 The BJP definitely improved its tally in Karnataka but it could not make any further headway into the other four major states-- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. While the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept Tamil Nadu with 31 out of 39 seats, Jaganmohan Reddy's victory in Andhra Pradesh marked <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ap-andhra-pradesh-assembly-elections-2019-jagan-reddys-win-marks-the-rise-of-the-prodigal-son/articleshow/69462170.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the rise of the prodigal son</a>. Reddy's immediate neighbour to the west, K Chandrshekhar Rao successfully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/telangana-lok-sabha-election-result-2019-trs-vs-congress-vs-tdp-vs-bjp/articleshow/69445813.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">protected his territory</a>, Telangana, for a second time in less than a year. Rao called for a premature assembly election in Telangana in 2018 and came out of it with flying colours. The only other place Modi faced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-tmc-and-bjp-are-fighting-over-the-nrc-in-west-bengal/articleshow/69194392.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">any challenge was in West Bengal</a>. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee did not pretend to play nice as BJP marched on to claim the eastern state. The clash of titans stirred the volatile electorate with a long history of violence. The BJP may have ended up second in the state but it bagged 18 precious seats that established the party as a serious player in the state for the first time ever. None of this was a surprise. BJP smelled the resentment against the local leadership in the east, and invested itself heavily. Modi himself addressed 17 rallies in Bengal, the most after Uttar Pradesh. The party cadre was funded and fuelled in Odisha and the north-eastern states and all of this paid off rich dividends, much on expected lines. Swinging states Six months earlier, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-some-reasons-why-indias-ruling-party-lost-to-its-main-rival-in-three-very-important-state-elections/articleshow/67057122.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">BJP had to face defeat in state elections</a> in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The party had just whisked past the halfway mark in Gujarat, Modi's home state. These results rejuvenated the Congress and, may be, made it a bit complacent too. Within six months, the same states swung back to voting for the BJP. In Modi's home state Gujarat, the BJP is leading in all 26 seats, in 9 out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, and in all but one seat in MP-- a stark contrast to the picture of struggle in the assembly elections in December. In Bihar too, the NDA is miles ahead of competition-- leading in 32 out of the state's 40 seats-- including in high-profile constituencies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/kanhaiya-kumar-vs-giriraj-singh-begusarai-lok-sabha-election-result-2019/articleshow/69453161.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Begusarai</a> and Patna Sahib. Debutante politician Kanhaiya Kumar, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has less than half the number of votes as rival from BJP, the veteran Giriraj Singh, who was also a minister in Modi's government. In Patna Sahib, sitting Parliamentarian Shatrughan Sinha is trailing Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has over 55% of the votes. There 17 other candidates in this constituency. Congress' solace Congress is leading in Punjab and Kerala, while its biggest ally the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is cornering maximum votes in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala's Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi is ahead with 67% of the votes where there are 20 other candidates. It was a face saver for Gandhi as he lost the family bastion Amethi to the firebrand from BJP, Smriti Irani. India’s markets celebrated the results. The Sensex hit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sensex-rallies-550-points-as-bjp-leads-convincingly-in-vote-counting/articleshow/69458099.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the 40,000 mark for the first time ever</a> as investors hoped that the stability of continuing policies may the give the economy the much-needed fillip. His electoral feats and political might notwithstanding, those who care for it will blame Modi for demonetisation forever. Modi may have pitched himself as a pro-business reformer but experts have expressed fear that if he gets a second term, his policies are likely to be more socialist and akin to the proposals of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/opinion/india-elections-modi.html">Bernie Sanders in the US</a>, and not like the policies of Ronald Reagan. Nonetheless, the baton remains with Modi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-election-results-fii-watch-narendra-modis-new-cabinet-and-policy-decisions/articleshow/69479558.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Foreign investors are thrilled about Modi's win but don't know what to expect from him</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international-leaders-are-already-congratulating-narendra-modi-for-victory-in-indias-general-election/articleshow/69461194.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Naveen Patnaik’s BJD leads in Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in early trends</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ap-andhra-pradesh-assembly-elections-2019-jagan-reddys-win-marks-the-rise-of-the-prodigal-son/articleshow/69462170.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Jagan Reddy’s win marks the rise of the prodigal son</a>

Narendra Modi has retained India's iron throne and reduced rivals to dust

Bihar assembly elections 2020: NDA, UPA, and LJP candidate list for first phase of polls

<ul><li>Singer Babul Supriyo, the BJP MP from Asansol in West Bengal swears into Modi’s cabinet. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh was also sworn in as a Minister of State.</li><li>Former Power and Railways Minister Dr Arvind Sawant from Mumbai South who defeated Milind Deora of Congress too has taken oath. </li><li>Among those who have taken oath include Thawar Chand Gehlot, S Jaishankar (former Foreign Secretary), Ramesh Pokhriyal, Arjun Munda, Dr Harsh Vardhan (former Science Ministry), Prakash Javadekar (former HRD minister), and Piyush Goel (former coal minister).</li><li>Narendra Modi has taken charge as the Prime Minister of the country for the second time in a swearing in ceremony that just concluded.</li></ul> Update at 09:05 pm Debut MP Debasree Chaudhuri of Raiganj in West Bengal takes oath as Minister of State in Modi’s cabinet. Sanjeev Balyan, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Anurag Singh Thakur from Hamirpur, Suresh Angadi, Nityanand Rai, Rattan Lal Kataria, V Muraleedharan, Renuka Singh Saruta, Som Prakash, Rameshwar Teli, Pratap Sarangi, Kailash Chaudhari, Debasree Chaudhuri were also sworn in as Ministers of State. Update at 08:30 pm Ramdas Athawale from Maharashtra’s Sangli district was sworn in as Minister of State, along with Parshottam Rupala. Update at 08:25 pm Secunderabad BJP MP Kishan Reddy takes oath. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gen V K Singh, Krishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad, and Raosaheb Danve too were sworn in. Update at 08:10 pm Prahlad Patel, Raj Kumar Singh from Arrah constituency, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandavia, Faggan Singh Kulaste also take oath. Update at 08:02 pm Shripad Yesso Naik from North Goa is inducted into Modi’s cabinet. Dr Jitendra Singh, the current MP of Haridwar is also sworn in. Update at 08:00 pm Rao Inderjit Singh BJP’s MP from Gurugram, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Santosh Kumar Gangwar from Bareily in Uttar Pradesh were sworn in. Update at 07:55 pm Giriraj Singh from Bihar’s Begusarai who defeated Kanhaiya Kumar, the former student leader and a candidate of Communist Party of India (CPI) was also sworn in. Update at 07:50 pm Former Power and Railways Minister Dr Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai South who defeated Milind Deora of Congress too has taken oath. Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, former Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (former Minority Affairs Minister), Pralhad Joshi, too have taken oath. Update at 07:40 pm Piyush Goel and Prakash Javadekar take the oath. Update at 07:35 pm Smriti Irani who won at Amethi against Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi as its MP, also took oath to cheering public. She was the textiles minister in the earlier cabinet. Update at 07:25 pm Narendra Singh Tomar (formerly Rural Development Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad (former Telecom and Law Minister); Harsimrat Kaur Badal (former food processing minister) too have taken oath. Update at 07:19 pm Ram Vilas Paswan also takes the oath of office and secrecy. Update at 07:16 pm Incumbent Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also takes the oath. Update at 07:12 pm Shri Rajnath Singh follows Modi to take oath. He was home affairs minister in the last cabinet. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah has also taken oath. He did not hold a portfolio in the last cabinet Update at 07:07 pm Narendra Modi takes charge as India’s PM for the second time Update at 07:00 pm <keyword id="6354814" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-minister-narendra-modi">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword> has also arrived at the event. As many as 50 ministers of the cabinet will take oath after the PM today. The ceremony will start at 7 PM. Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut have already arrived at the event at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid along with his first lady too arrived at the event. Update at 06:30 pm Dignitaries and top industrialists like Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani; along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah have already arrived at the venue, to view Narendra Modi take the oath as the Prime Minister for the second time. It’s a big day for India and Narendra Modi who will once again take oath as India’s Prime Minister for a second consecutive term. The master communicator, who has stormed back to power with yet another thumping majority, will once again use the moment and the stage as effectively as it can be. The oath taking ceremony will be held at 7 pm on Thursday (May 30), ensuring that all the attention of prime time television viewers are solely on him. He gave <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/full-text-of-modi-speech-lok-sabha-election-2019/articleshow/69467611.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">over an hour long victory speech</a>, again on prime time, after the election results were declared on May 23. Run up to the event Modi has kickstarted his oath-taking day, early this morning by saluting his heroes. He paid a tribute at the National War Memorial in the morning. The PM from Guajrat won a second consecutive term with a thumping majority, also paid tribute to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s prominent former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This charismatic former Prime Minister was instrumental in creating the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1998. Modi who hails from Gandhinagar which was also home to father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, also visited Rajghat today to pay homage. The newly elected PM’s oath taking ceremony promises to be interesting as <a data-type="tilCustomLink">8,000 guests</a> from within and outside the country are expected to pour in for the event. It is being touted as the biggest ever event that takes place at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. The event also promises to be star-studded as many Bollywood celebrities including Vivek Oberoi who played the role of Modi, in a now-released movie ‘Modi’, are expected to attend the event. Invites have also gone in for <a data-type="tilCustomLink">BIMSTEC leaders</a>—which includes Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. However, it is now known that leaders from Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius will be attending the event. The swearing in ceremony is striving to make Modi’s guests from his constituency in Varanasi feel special. A special gallery called ‘Kashi Sankul’ is being set-up to accommodate 250 special guests from Uttar Pradesh. The event however is not without its controversies. The winning party BJP invited the families of those killed in the West Bengal political violence which erupted just before the last phase of polling. This move angered Mamata Banerjee the chief minister of the state and the head of Trinamool Congress, who declined an invitation to the attend the ceremony. BJP’s ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena slammed Banerjee for this move, in an editorial published in its mouthpiece Saamna. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/modis-swearing-in-ceremony-is-set-to-be-the-biggest-event-ever-with-8000-guests/articleshow/69571352.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Modi's swearing in ceremony is set to be the biggest event ever, with 8,000 guests</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/full-text-of-modi-speech-lok-sabha-election-2019/articleshow/69467611.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Full text of Modi’s first speech after historic election victory</a>

Narendra Modi Oath Taking Ceremony Live Updates:  Amit Shah enters Narendra Modi’s cabinet; Smriti Irani welcomed with loud cheers

<ul class="generic-article__summary--ul content--ul"><li class="generic-article__summary--li content--li">With at least two major regional elections in 2020, all eyes are on how the BJP will arrest the fallout from the citizenship act and local poll defeats.</li><li class="generic-article__summary--li content--li">Analysts say the BJP will concentrate on centralising power and a hardened focus on Hindu nationalism.</li></ul> December was a difficult month for <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/india" class="link-text">India</a> Prime Minister <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/narendra-modi" class="link-text">Narendra Modi</a> and Amit Shah, his top lieutenant in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The BJP is facing the biggest challenge of its five-and-a-half-year rule as it scrambles to defuse crises on multiple fronts. How Modi and Shah, the home minister, respond to these problems could determine whether the party maintains its comfortable political edge over rivals, observers say. The current problems – <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3043741/thousands-take-part-rival-protests-over-indias-citizenship-law" class="link-text">mass protests</a> over a controversial <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3042045/modis-surgical-strike-muslims-puts-india-war-itself" class="link-text">citizenship law</a> and back-to-back state election defeats – are seen in some quarters as an early sign that the public is pushing back against their aggressive advocacy of the Hindu nationalist agenda over broader national interests.<img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/30/3aac2950-2980-11ea-9939-941d1970c7f1_1320x770_101157.jpg" class="wrapper__img preview-img-item img--landscape" /> Activists wear masks of Home Minister Amit Shah, Indian Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> and West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh during a protest against the citizenship bill. Photo: AFP The two men are lifelong members of RSS, the hardline Hindu nationalist group that serves as the ideological fountainhead of the BJP. Political researcher Neelanjan Sircar said the state election defeats also happened “due to the BJP’s desire to centralise power in Modi and Shah. It does not want strong regional leaders and units”. At the moment, the biggest headache for the BJP going into 2020 is the mass protest action around the country over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, which was passed on December 12. The law paves the way for immigrants from non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and <keyword id="6354759" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword> to obtain Indian citizenship. Demonstrators, many of whom are students, say the legislation brings out into the open what they claim is the BJP’s plan to systematically drive out the country’s 200 million Muslims as it seeks to create a Hindu Rashtra, or a Hindu nation. The belief is that the CAA, along with the government’s plan to initiate a National Register of Citizens, will create a scenario wherein Muslims who do not have documents to prove their citizenship will be declared illegal immigrants. Hindus and other minorities will not face such a predicament. Modi and Shah have found themselves in an embarrassing bind over this issue because while Shah had explicitly outlined this plan in multiple speeches – saying it targeted “infiltrators” and not Muslims – Modi came out after the protest to directly contradict this position. The prime minister declared his government had no plans to implement the National Register of Citizens. ELECTION SETBACKS If this was not enough of a quandary, the BJP is also reeling from two setbacks in state elections. Earlier in December, the BJP’s oldest ally, the regional party Shiv Sena – with which it has partnered for 25 years – cut ties with the Modi administration and formed a coalition government with the opposition Congress to govern the state of Maharashtra following state polls there. On Christmas Eve, the BJP lost power in Jharkhand, a small but crucial state which holds 40 per cent of India’s mineral wealth. Despite ruling the state for five years, the BJP could only manage 25 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the Congress and its ally got 46 seats. This was its fifth major loss in regional polls in the last year. <img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/30/676f8176-2980-11ea-9939-941d1970c7f1_1320x770_101157.jpg" class="wrapper__img preview-img-item img--landscape" /> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally to launch the BJP campaign for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections. Photo: EPA-EFE With at least two major regional elections in 2020, in the capital New Delhi, and in the eastern state of Bihar, all eyes are on how Modi and Shah arrest the fallout from the citizenship act saga and the poll defeats. Also weighing on their popularity is the slowing economy, which grew at its lowest rate since 2013 in the July-September quarter. Sircar, an assistant professor at the Ashoka University in the state of Haryana, cautioned against using state poll results as a crystal ball into Modi and Shah’s longer term fate as the ruling party had been struggling to win state elections even before it cruised to a general election victory in May. The Congress, which held power for decades and which continues to be led by the country’s influential Nehru-Gandhi clan, swept regional polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan months before the general election. But what the results do reveal is that local elections are no longer swayed by Modi’s popularity alone, said Sircar, whose research interests include studying election data. After 2014, when Modi first came to power, his party won state elections in most major states and governed over 70 per cent of India’s land mass until March 2018. This has now come down to half, partly due to the BJP’s efforts to centralise power in the two leaders, said Sircar. Meanwhile, continuing confusion in the opposition ranks is harming efforts to build an anti-BJP front. The Congress, for instance, still has a temporary party chief in <keyword id="689" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sonia-Gandhi">Sonia Gandhi</keyword> after her son and former party chief Rahul Gandhi quit, taking blame for its election defeat. The fragmentation of opposition unity is likely to rear its head during the upcoming Delhi elections, in which the Congress might not want to ally with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to defeat the BJP. <img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/30/47d73854-2a52-11ea-9939-941d1970c7f1_1320x770_101157.jpg" class="wrapper__img preview-img-item img--landscape" /> Congress president Sonia Gandhi and ex-party president Rahul Gandhi (L) attend a sit-in protest. Photo: AFP HONEYMOON PERIOD Another crucial reason why the current situation might not affect the BJP’s long-term standing is timing. There is an important reason it introduced the legislation in the first six months of its five-year term. “The BJP has been very effective in setting its own narratives and winning elections. Hence, while it does seem like the BJP is floundering, it is too early in its term for it be considered a threat to their popularity,” said Sudha Pai, a retired professor in political science from New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. Pai points to the 2019 elections, when Modi managed to divert attention away from issues such as development, infrastructure, a slump in the economy and the highest unemployment rate in 45 years, to rake up nationalism against Pakistan and come back to power with an enhanced margin. The BJP has probably learned this from experience. In 2016, India’s campuses were rocked with student protests against the government but this did not feature in the discourse during the general elections. The face of the protests, youth activist Kanhaiya Kumar, lost by over 400,000 votes to a controversial BJP leader, Giriraj Singh. <img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/30/646f1f5e-2980-11ea-9939-941d1970c7f1_1320x770_101157.jpg" class="wrapper__img preview-img-item img--landscape" /> A man wearing a mask of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves the BJP flag during a rally in New Delhi. Photo: AP COURSE CORRECTION? Since Modi’s re-election in May, his government’s two major moves – the decision to revoke <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/kashmir" class="link-text">Jammu &amp; Kashmir’s special status</a> and bifurcate the state, and the citizenship law amendment – have seen a similar approach being employed. Both were passed in Parliament without much debate, despite acrimonious opposition.Even in the face of the protests, Modi and Shah have remained defiantly supportive of the police action, which has so far resulted in 23 deaths. Most of these occurred in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, where the BJP’s controversial chief minister <keyword id="43254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yogi-Adityanath">Yogi Adityanath</keyword> hailed the police crackdown. But both Pai and Sircar believe the protests and Jharkhand defeat will come as a rude shock to the BJP. “No matter what the final outcome is, there is a sense that the mood in the country is changing, that nationalism might not be enough to win elections any more and that the BJP is not invincible,” said Pai. Such widespread protests have not occurred in the last few decades. “Somewhere, this is affecting Modi’s popularity, bit by bit,” Pai said. <img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/30/50fb3d72-2980-11ea-9939-941d1970c7f1_1320x770_101157.jpg" class="wrapper__img preview-img-item img--landscape" /> Indian Prime Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi. Photo: DPA Opinions are mixed on whether these issues will result in a course correction in the next four years of the BJP’s term. Sircar does not see a shift by the BJP any time soon. “I don’t see the BJP’s model changing. Centralising power in their own hands is a very important project for both Modi and Shah. Taking decisions without consultation is also integral to it; to consult means to slow down the process,” said Sircar. Pai, however, is slightly more optimistic, but also believes the next four years will see a hardened focus on Hindu nationalism. “It depends on what happens with the protests and how long they sustain. But I think the BJP will realise that nationalism and warmongering have diminishing returns. It will have to deliver.”

You Searched For "kanhaiya kumar result" and got 8 results

BJP's Giriraj Singh has over twice the number of votes as debutante Kanhaiya Kumar, so far

BI India Bureau

Student unions asks people to wait for the inquiry results before assassinating JNU’s character

BI India Bureau

Everything you need to know about the JNU unrest

Akanksha Jain

Narendra Modi has retained India's iron throne and reduced rivals to dust

BI India Bureau

Bihar assembly elections 2020: NDA, UPA, and LJP candidate list for first phase of polls

BI India Bureau

Narendra Modi Oath Taking Ceremony Live Updates: Amit Shah enters Narendra Modi’s cabinet; Smriti Irani welcomed with loud cheers

BI India Bureau

After a torrid December, how will India’s Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the BJP fare in 2020?

SCMP

142 million voters go to polls today in 20 states— here’s a look at the key issues in every state

Dilsher

Sriram