Congratulations; believe in faith!

BY SANJEEB KUMAR SAHOO

Respected citizens of India and the world, I always express my gratitude to the sun when it rises and sets, and I also share my entire day’s wishes. At night, I talk to the stars and share my feelings with them, and the stars begin to shine after hearing my happy story.

But there are times when clouds make it hard for me to see them, which makes me sad. My multi-talented uncle who lives in my society keeps on checking on me. He usually calls me between 9 and 10 pm and says, “Or “Kya Ho Raha Hai,” “What’s going on? I’m on my way to the temple; if you want, you can join me for prayer.” I always feel that the Gods are with me, that’s all. He is therefore one of my well-wishers and inspires me.

I am also aware of the difference when people laugh with me and when they laugh at me.

I am well aware of many of those who were and are still laughing at Rahul Gandhi, however, it does not matter since many people are becoming a part of his smile, and many want to become a part of his journey, but it may take some time.So, I would like to inform Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that many people from high-rise buildings became your supporters following his 4pm Press Conference in New Delhi at Congress party headquarters in June, but they could also become your party voters if your party develops a plan for connecting with them, which I am aware of but will not discuss here.

Esteemed citizens, I would like to congratulate BJP’s top leader Narendra Modi for being the luckiest politician by becoming Prime Minister for the third time, which is a remarkable accomplishment for both him and his party. Previously, late Congress stalwart Jawaharlal Nehru was the only leader from the Congress party whose name was mentioned in Indian politics and who became Prime Minister of India for the third time. Apart from his two terms as Prime Minister, starting in 2014, Narendra Modi holds the distinction of being the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the longest period of time, having held the position from October 2001 to May 2014.

Ladies and gentlemen, India made a wise decision to strengthen its relationships with neighbouring countries by inviting Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, two young men from Uttar Pradesh, who have achieved great success.The first is Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, who won both Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala due to his party’s outstanding performance. The second is Akhilesh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party (SP), a constituent of the INDIA bloc, came in third place nationally, winning 37 of the 80 seats in the state. In addition to Yadav party’s exceptional performances in the Lok Sabha, he also won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat again by a margin of 1,70,922. This is the fourth time that he has won three Lok Sabha elections from the same seat.

I would like to congratulate Mamata Banerjee and her political party-TMC on winning 29 Lok Sabha seats. Compared to its 2019 performance, the TMC won seven more seats out of a total of 42 in the state. At the same time, I’d like to congratulate DMK President M.K. Stalin for winning 22 Lok Sabha seats, respectively. I would also like to congratulate the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) on its debut in the Lok Sabha, after party founder Rajkumar Roat won the Banswara Lok Sabha constituency in a poll.

It is time to congratulate the true winner, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which not only won Andhra Pradesh but was also a key ally of the NDA government. I mean that TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, whose party had won 135 seats as it contested 144 seats, the rest seats were contested by Naidu’s allies — Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) and the BJP — added 29 more seats. By the way, congratulations to Pawan Kalyan, whose party contested 21 seats and won them all. Janasena won two Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, Indians have great expectations of Naidu and Nitish Kumar because both political parties support the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, and we believe both leaders will push the NDA government to meet India’s needy people’s demands.In the Lok Sabha elections, the TDP won 16 seats, making it the second largest party, while Nitish’s JD(U) won 12 Lok Sabha seats in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and both Naidu and Nitish secured crucial positions at the coalition’s high table.

Aside from politicians and political parties, I’d like to thank the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its personnel for peacefully conducting the world’s largest election — Lok Sabha and assembly polls in four states. The next issue will only be about ECI and its team’s work in the Lok Sabha elections. I will write more about it then.

So, ladies and gentlemen, for some it’s a dream, for others it’s a talking point, and for me, it’s a matter of great accomplishment for many top politicians who participated in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, which were held in India in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, 2024, to elect all 543 members of the Lok Sabha.

Respected citizens, I have included all the information regarding the Lok Sabha polls that you may get simply by turning each page of this edition. But let me sum up by saying that the BJP-led NDA won 292 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, giving it an outright majority. The BJP alone won 240 seats. Telugu Desam has secured 16 seats, whereas JD(U) has 12.

On the other hand, I.N.D.I.A bloc has won 233 seats. Others gained 18 seats in the lower house of Parliament. Congress secured 99 seats. Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, while Trinamool Congress received 29. The DMK managed to win 22 seats.

And, while it is impossible for me to mention everyone’s name and tale about each major politician and political party in this editorial. However, I can assure all of my citizens that I will write a story about each of them in the upcoming edition. Trust me; I always honour my promises to you all. So, I beg your pardon.

Distinguished, as this edition is around 216 pages, where me and my talented team members added all details about who won the poll and who lost it and how many votes the winners got and who lost by what margin. In addition, this edition has approximately 2000 photos on the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, including bypoll results.I will write about the performances of each political party in the general election and assembly polls in the next edition.

Along with the photos of all the members of the NDA government, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and its coalition partners on the left side of the cover page, I have included all the important members of the INDIA bloc, which is headed by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, on the right side of the cover page. In the cover story, I have also included the details of new ministers and leaders of the INDIA bloc.

Let’s talk about the assembly elections that were held in four states alongside the Lok Sabha elections. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) returned to power in the Himalayan state by capturing 31 of the 32 seats. In Odisha, the BJP overthrew the BJD, which had ruled the state for the last 24 years, and swept to power. The world’s largest political party formed its first government in Odisha following the BJP’s resounding victory.

Within the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP secured 78 seats. 51 seats went to the BJD. Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister and president of the BJD, won the Hinjili Assembly seat but lost the Kantabanji seat. The Congress won 14 seats, and the CPI (M) won one. Independent candidates won three seats.

In the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, the NDA alliance of the TDP, BJP, and Janasena won 164 seats. The TDP won 135 Assembly seats out of 175, Janasena 21, and the BJP eight. The YSRCP, on the other hand, could only get 11.

Meanwhile, the BJP returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, winning 46 seats out of the 60 seats in the assembly and securing a majority. However, votes were counted for 50 assembly segments in the northeastern state during the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. The saffron party won the remaining 10 seats uncontested. The BJP won 36 of the 50 seats, with Chief Minister Pema Khandu were among the 10 candidates elected unopposed.

My honourable citizens, I feel sorry for Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP, which were among the parties that stood firmly behind the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in its second term without forming a formal alliance with the BJP, as Naveen Patnai’s party was defeated by the BJP in Odisha and Jagan’s YSRCP was defeated by the NDA alliance led by TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

However, in the Odisha assembly elections, the BJD’s vote share presently stands at 40.22 percent, while the BJP’s at 40.07 percent.

Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP, a BJP ally, defeated the YSRCP by capturing 135 of 175 assembly seats and 45.6 percent of the vote, compared to the YSRCP’s 11 seats and 39 percent vote. The YSRCP had swept the 2019 assembly elections, obtaining 151 seats against the TDP’s 23. In the simultaneous Lok Sabha elections that year, it won 22 of the state’s 25 seats, while the TDP won only three.

As I know how exit polls are conducted by any organisation, I never believed in those polls and I never will. I’ll write about it in next editions. Because, I don’t believe in hope; I believe in faith. For me, having hope for something involves pleading, therefore I always believe in faith, which means I have the blessings of God and blessings coming to me as a result of my hard work. And I’ve been working hard since I was in fifth grade because my street vendor father died when I was two years old.

Plus, I was in a bad accident in 2003 that kept me in bed for six months. I couldn’t walk or sleep because of heavy pain in some parts of my body. However, I began treatment on my own. On day one, I attempted standing, day two I tried to walk 5 metres, day three 10 metres, but after two months, I became perfect.

I decided to treat myself at home and did it by myself because I knew my mom had to borrow money from the village Sahukar and pay heavy interest on it. I responded, “No to the hospital, mom,” and everyone in the Birmitrapur Assembly Constituency is aware of my injury. It’s an excellent story, and I’ll tell you more about it later.

Note: On June 10, 2024, this editorial was originally printed in a weekly magazine of National Political Mirror.