My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

Key Constituencies in second phase of Gujarat elections:  Godhra Godhra faces unemployment By Deepak Parvatiyar* Last time when CK Raulji contested from Godhra, he had won on a Congress ticket by a thin margin of 2868 votes against his nearest BJP rival Pravinshin Chauhan. Raulji, a five-term Godhra MLA, is contesting this time on a BJP ticket against Congress’s Rajendrasinh Patel. Last time when Rajendrasinh had contested the Godhra seat – as a Congress candidate in 2002, he had lost to BJP’s Haresh Bhatt. Thereafter since 2007, Raulji had won the seat for the Congress. Muslims, who make up between one-fifth and one-fourth of Godhra’s electorate of 2.5 lakh, had consistently voted for him and it is to be seen whether they still support him after his move to join the BJP. However earlier too he was in the BJP and won the seat twice as a BJP candidate in the 1990s. Before that he had even won the seat as a Janata Dal candidate in 1990. The BJP last won Godhra...

Water activists of riparian states resolve to end Cauvery dispute Adopt Cauvery Resolution 2017 By Deepak Parvatiyar http://www.jagritbihar.com/2017/12/11/water-activists-riparian-states-resolve-end-cauvery-dispute/ Madurai: Over 100 water activists from South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra deliberated for two days and resolved to end the over century old Cauvery dispute by looking at the river “beyond political and state boundaries”. The two-day national consultation meet on ‘Restoration of environmental flow of rivers at their basin levels, alternative ways to share and manage water resources’, under the guidance of Rajendra Singh, popularly known as Waterman of India, today adopted a Cauvery Resolution 2017. Following is the draft of the resolution: WE, THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF CAUVERY RIVER ASSEMBLED IN HISTORIC CITY OF MADURAI (TAMILNADU) AND AFTER TWO DAYS OF CONSULTATION RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: WHILE RESPECTING CONSTI...

Key Constituencies: Kapadvanj Vaghela extends support to former BJP minister in his stronghold By Deepak Parvatiyar Kapadvanj is the constituency that was represented by Shankarsinh Vaghela. This time neither Vaghela nor any one from his new front – Jan Vikalp Morcha, is contesting the seat. This despite the fact that Vaghela has fielded candidates in over 100 seats in the state. Vaghela was elected as a Congress candidate from Kapadvanj,that falls  in country’s richest Kheda district, in 2012. He had then defeated his nearest BJP rival Kanubhai Dabhi by a margin of 6597 votes. This time, after Vaghela quit the Congress, many had expected him to keep Kapadvanj either for himself or for his son Mahendra. That he totally skipped his constituency is attributed to his support to independent candidate Bimal Shah, a former BJP minister. Shah had quit the BJP after the party renominated Dabhi. In 2012 too, he had quit the BJP over Dabhi’s nomination as the party candidate. At...

Gujarat Key Constituencies: Radhanpur It is make or break for Alpesh Thakor at Radhanpur By Deepak Parvatiyar http://www.pudhari.news/news/National/Adhap-Thaakor-ability-test-in-Radhanpur-for-elections/ In Radhanpur, a town in North Gujarat’s Patan district, it is the test of the strength of thirty five year old Alpesh Thakor. He, one the of the three young turks, other being Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani, who have challenged the might of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat this elections.  In the past Radhanpur assembly segment had also sent yet another challenger to the BJP’s might in the state, Shankarsinh Vaghela. It elected him to Gujarat assembly in early 1997 after he had split the BJP to form his own Rashtriya Janata Party then. But as for Alpesh, who had set up an OBC,SC,ST Ekta Manch, is concerned, unlike Vaghela, he is a new face in state politics and only on the poll eve that he had joined the Congress party. He though has a political pedigre...

Delhi chokes on foul air By Deepak Parvatiyar * Published in Norwegian newspaper Bistandsaktuelt on page 35 in 7 December 2017 issue  https://www.bistandsaktuelt.no/globalassets/pdf-utgaver/bistandsaktuelt-1707.pdf And Bistandsaktuelt website: https://www.bistandsaktuelt.no/arkiv-kommentarer/2017/sa-gjor-vi-sa/ There was a bit of chill in the air and visibility was as low as hardly 50 meters in India’s capital city New Delhi on November 7 this year. A Tanzanian friend new to the Delhi clime exclaimed in joy: “ When you see this you know winter is around the corner!” Of course during this time of the year, fogs and dews were so delightfully welcomed in this part of the world. But they have gradually given way to deadly smog. For long mustiness has replaced early morning freshness. Ask this to any ‘Delhiite’ and he knows he lives in such morbid conditions.   Obviously my friend’s moment of joy was as transitory as life itself in this gas chamber call...