1. Rahul Gandhi to Address Rally in Gujarat on 14 Feb
Congress President Rahul Gandhi will kick off his party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Gujarat on Thursday, 14 February by addressing a public rally in Valsad district.
Gandhi will address the 'Jan Akrosh Rally' at Laldungri village in Valsad on Thursday afternoon, party's spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
This will be Gandhi's first visit to Gujarat after the 2017 Assembly polls in which he campaigned vigorously, travelling across the length and breadth of the state.
While the BJP returned to power in the state in 2017 by winning 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly, the Congress managed to increase its tally from 60 to 77.
To boost its cadre, the Congress is also likely to organise its working committee meet here before the Lok Sabha elections, a party source said.
(Source: PTI)
2. Jignesh Mevani Won't, Hardik Patel Will Contest 2019 Lok Sabha Elections
Dalit leader and independent MLA from Vadgam, Jignesh Mevani clarified on Wednesday, 13 February that he will not contest the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This comes after months of speculation that the youth leader will jump into the poll fray after he backed Opposition and travelled across the country addressing the youth.
Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel, who also attended the Save Constitution, Save nation rally held in Rajkot on Wednesday, 13 February said he has not yet decided the constituency he will fight from. "I want to contest the elections but it is not yet decided where I will contest from," he said.
"I am not contesting elections," said Mevani, at a press conference held prior to the rally held in Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's constituency. "I will, however, campaign against the BJP." The rally was organised by former Congress MLA Indranil Rajguru.
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
3. Modi Telling People One Lie After Other to Become PM Again: Kanhaiya in Rajkot
Former president of students’ union of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday, 13 February took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
He alleged that they created a futile debate about patriotism to divert attention of people from real issues and said that the duo had tarnished the prestige of Gujarat by creating an atmosphere of lies and deceits.
Addressing a public rally at Shashtri Maidan here after taking out ‘Samvidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao’ (Save the Constitution, Save the Nation) rally from Civil Hospital Chowk to Shashtri Maidan, Kanhaiya said that he was booked for sedition to kick off a debate on patriotism and anti-nationals and thereby divert attention of people from important national issues.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Gujarat: Soon File Complaint on App for Code of Conduct Breach
The administration of Gujarat's chief electoral officer (CEO) is preparing to provide a tool for common people to file complaints of breach of code of conduct during Lok Sabha polls through a mobile application.
The C-Vigil application will be made available in Gujarat soon and that will be accessible to all when model code of conduct (MCoC) for Lok Sabha polls comes under implementation.
Sources from the office of CEO said on condition of anonymity, "The C-vigil was already launched by the election commission last year but in Gujarat, it will be used for the first time during Lok Sabha polls. The joint CEO in Gujarat will visit the election commission on Thursday along with the master trainer of the application."
(Source: DNA Ahmedabad)
5. Gujarat: NCP Demands 3 Lok Sabha Seats From Congress
State NCP chief Jayant Patel on Wednesday, 13 February said that the party has demanded three Lok Sabha seats from the Congress as part of their electoral alliance for Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat. The three seats are Porbander, Mehsana and Panchmahals.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Patel said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar met in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the seat sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls. Patel said that the NCP demanded the three seats that the Congress had lost thrice in a row.
Patel, however, did not say who will be fielded from these seats if the Congress agrees to their demand. Sources close to former chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, who joined the NCP recently, said that the latter wanted to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Panchmahals.
(Source: Indian Express)
6. Gujarat: Fire at Statue of Unity’s Tent City, No Casualty
A fire broke out at the tent city of the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya early on Wednesday, 13 February. No casualties were reported. Fire department officials said the fire broke out at around 2:30 am at a godown in the tent city-II.
Three fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot from the SSNNL office located 2 kms away to douse the blaze from spreading to the residential tents. According to the Fire officials, the blaze was controlled within an hour.
The godown stored various items kept as spare for the tent city where tourists are accommodated. The loss is estimated to go above Rs 30 lakh, officials said, adding that the final estimate of the damages is yet to be done.
(Source: Indian Express)
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