ECI, EVM and other tripwires  https://prempanicker.substack.com/p/eci-evm-and-other-tripwires  PREM PANICKER MAY 21, 2024
A guest post on the dangers lurking ahead in this election cycle 

ON May 17, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India (DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the Election Commission of India what the problem was with putting in the public domain the number of votes polled per constituency....The ECI argued in court that it will take time to compile and publish the figures. The Supreme Court, to put it mildly, whiffed. It gave the ECI a week to file its response, and has scheduled the next hearing for May 24, one day before the sixth phase of polling. The SC is now closed for its summer break, which means that vacation judge Justice Bela Trivedi will hear the case.

Editorial With Sujit Nair | "Step Aside...": Strategist Advises Rahul Gandhi | Congress | Lok Sabha  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuc3tkrNfVw 
In this episode of ‘Editorial’, Mr. Sujit Nair discusses about the comments made by poll strategists against Rahul Gandhi that the leader should step aside and let some one else steer the party, citing election results of 2014 and 2019. Mr. Nair also poses an argument that if BJP fails to garner 400+ seats in this Lok Sabha elections and if the party doesn’t make a mark in the Southern Indian states, shouldn’t PM Modi also step aside from the BJP’s leadership?

Over 1 crore voters added by ECI thru revision of data  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1CjvelTcs8 The News Minute
 This election season, support independent media with your subscription to The News Minute.

Lapses of ECI Action on hate speech: Anjali Bhardwaj https://youtu.be/-1CjvelTcs8?t=101

Lack of transparency in voter data   https://youtu.be/-1CjvelTcs8?t=295 

Narendra Modi Has Beaten All Records of Political Lies in This Election Campaign- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vklGTcIhLyw The AIDEM PollTalk May 20, 2024 #SubscribeNow #TheAIDEM
Sudheendra Kulkarni, writer, political analyst and one-time associate of BJP founders Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, provides a close analysis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign in the current elections and points out that the serial lies made by him has set a new record in terms of political lies in the country’s 72 year long electoral history. PollTalk anchored by Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM. 

https://youtu.be/vklGTcIhLyw?t=444 

 Lok Sabha Prediction| ‘Big Question: Will BJP Cross Majority Mark?’ - Sanjay Kumar, CSDS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJuA9fB5Gyk May 20, 2024 #theindiastory #vikramchandra #loksabhaelection2024
Fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 has concluded, and with this, the world’s largest democratic exercise has reached its penultimate phase. India is just two weeks away from the big verdict. Where do the elections stand now, after the completion of five phases? What could the next two phases have in store?

In April :CSDS survey predicts Modi 3.0, but what will the seat tally look like?  https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/story/csds-survey-predicts-modi-30-but-what-will-the-seat-tally-look-like-opinion-2527522-2024-04-15 Apr 15, 2024  the BJP is projected to increase its vote share from around 37 per cent in 2019 to 40 per cent in 2024. On the other hand, the Indian National Congress is also expected to record an increase in vote share from around 19 per cent in 2019 to 21 per cent this time. The BJP’s allies are slated to record a six per cent vote share this time, while INDIA allies are expected to record 13 per cent. Non-aligned parties/Others are expected to get a 20 per cent vote share in 2024.

Recently, Prashant Kishor was seen speaking about the BJP's potential return to power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PshxrZagCc  Mr Kishore seems to be stuck the the presidential mode of campaigning, AND PLANNING. RG has been saying that he is for a down up system, where he will take others with him. In such a scheme things RG seems to be carrying others with him. He is under no illusion that it is a difficult path.. but he has chosen it..

"BJP Won't Cross 272 Seats": Yogendra Yadav's Antithesis to Prashant Kishor's Lok Sabha Prediction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBfi-85VDG4 The Wire May 21, 2024 #yogendrayadav #bjp #thewire In an exclusive interview with The Wire, Yogendra Yadav claimed that the BJP will not win 272 seats in Lok Sabha. In this interview with Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Yogendra Yadav is analyzing the first five phases of the elections. Yogendra Yadav stated that the BJP would suffer losses in Bihar, UP, Telangana, and other southern states.  When Yogendra Yadav was asked about this, listen to what he had to say.
योगेन्द्र यादव ने द वायर को दिये ख़ास इंटरव्यू में दावा किया कि भाजपा 272 सीटें नहीं जीत रही। Arfa Khanum Sherwani के साथ इस इंटरव्यू में योगेन्द्र यादव पहले पाँच चरणों के चुनावों का विश्लेषण कर रहे है। बिहार, UP, तेलंगाना समेत दक्षिण के अन्य राज्यों में भाजपा को नुक़सान होगा ऐसा Yogendra Yadav ने कहा। 
हाल ही में प्रशांत किशोर मीडिया चैनलों पर भाजपा के सत्ता वापसी की बात करते दिखे, योगेन्द्र यादव से जब इस बारे में पूछा गया तब सुन लीजिए उन्होंने क्या जवाब दिया।

Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp Machine  https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/inside-bjps-whatsapp-machine

Abhishek Kumar, a senior fact-checker at the Indian nonprofit Alt News, told Rest of World that “the information spread with this particular Old video of polics shown immediately after Ram Mandir inauguration, claiming to be current)  video is not only false, but it also glorifies police brutality and is being shared praising it.”

Kiran Garimella, an assistant professor at Rutgers University who researches WhatsApp in India, told Rest of World the app reaches people that other platforms don’t, including remote communities. “There are a number of people in India who only use WhatsApp,” he said.

According to a report in the Deccan Herald, there are now at least 5 million WhatsApp groups operated by the BJP in India. Unnamed party leaders told the Herald the BJP’s WhatsApp infrastructure is so powerful that it can disseminate information from Delhi to any location in the country within 12 minutes.

Garimella, the Rutgers researcher, said the BJP’s “extreme coordination” and prowess on WhatsApp could benefit them. The closed nature of WhatsApp — only people in a group can see the content shared there — is also a concern. Unlike social media platforms such as X or Facebook, conversation in WhatsApp groups is usually hidden from public view, and largely goes unmoderated and unscrutinized.

There is a strict hierarchy to the BJP’s operations. Every day, the party’s offices in New Delhi send messages to be shared across groups at regional and local levels. Bragta, who is based in Himachal Pradesh's capital city, Shimla, said he religiously looks at updates from Delhi in the morning to understand what narrative-building is supposed to be done for the day. He also hosts daily half-hour meetings with workers across the state. “We discuss issues and get feedback,” he said. “While sitting in Shimla, I will not get to know about Himachal. They will tell me.”

Garimella, the Rutgers University researcher, told Rest of World the lack of pro-Congress or anti-BJP WhatsApp messages was consistent with his findings from previous research on WhatsApp in a village in the state of Jharkhand, which is known for frequent incidents of communal violence. “We have also seen in our database that pro-Congress or anti-BJP content does not exist. It is less than 1%,” he said. “These guys [the BJP] are so well-coordinated that the opposition doesn’t have any comparable infrastructure.”

Singh, the former BJP consultant, told Rest of World that by dominating WhatsApp, the BJP had effectively completed its capture of mass media in India. “It is concerning, because it distorts the level playing field,” he said. “The narrative of other parties is not reaching the public because they do not have distribution in place. Better narrative does not ensure a win, better distribution does.”

A water warrior with a vision https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/water-warrior-vision  Her vision is clear, to push forward for the demand to legalise the right of the river to flow, unbound, clean, bubbling with life.

Why Urban Rivers Are Dying by Shailaja Deshpande May 16, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ZArdT-FtM
Shailaja Deshpande, Jeevitnadi Founder, explains what happens with rivers when pollution enters. What is dissolved oxygen? What is meant by oxygen demand? What exactly happened at Dehu fish kill? What is happening at Blue Ridge? Why is there a tendency to build along river banks?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-TQKcq-cm4  Reviving Urban Rivers Through People's Participation | Shailaja Deshpande Apala paryavaran Historically it has been observed that human settlements often evolved alongside water & near lakes or rivers. The river passing through a city offers ecosystem services that can be seen as a provisioning, regulating and a supporting system. It not only serves as source of water supply, but also helps in balancing flood control and landscape ecology.

Example: by Adv Krunal Ghare

The sewage discharge that has happening through 2 storm lines near the fragile fresh water stream near vaidehi society is down to a trickle..there is still some small sewage flow but right now the quantity of fresh water is much higher.. that means vaidehi society members your flat values just appreciated by multiple percentage points. I look forward to a small cup of chai.. 

2. PVPIT area sewage infrastructure is now part of Ramnadi Project and is also part of this year's budget and implementation . After the tanker sewage disposal issue was highlited .. the PMC officials right from Commissioner, Addl Commissioner and Department heads have supported this cause whole heartedly.. so now we will finally have a sewage infrastructure in part of bavdhan that has been in PMC since 1997.

3. The new line work from Baner towards someshwarwadi has begun. Was shared photo updates by Officials of work done. This financial year the line will reach Someshwar wadi. PWD has approved tenders for the line from Someshwarwadi and upstream.

articles on  the work of Jeevitnadi, 

 [Breathing life into the dying rivers of Pune](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/breathing-life-dying-rivers-pune)
[Preserve the ecological integrity of rivers: A statement on riverfront development in Pune](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/preserve-ecological-integrity-rivers)
[Pune's river rejuvenation project, a question of social justice](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/punes-river-rejuvenation-project-question-social-justice)
[Damned by pollution, doomed by beautification](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/damned-pollution-doomed-beautification)
[The Muthai river walk](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/reminiscence-riverside)
[The slow death of a river](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/slow-death-river-0)
[Water fleas see red as river Mula Mutha chokes](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/water-fleas-see-red-river-mula-mutha-pune-chokes)
[Urban water bodies, treasure troves of biodiversity](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/urban-waterbodies-treasure-troves-biodiversity)
[Taking people along, to conserve freshwater ecosystems](https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/taking-people-along-conserve-freshwater-ecosystems)

BJP को अब RSS की ज़रूरत नहीं? ये क्या कह गए नड्डा! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXR4TXLTg6A Ravish Kumar Officia

https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/nadda-on-bjp-rss-ties-we-have-grown-more-capable-now-the-bjp-runs-itself-9336205/ Nadda on BJP-RSS ties: We have grown, more capable now… the BJP runs itself
Says party has no plan for temples at the disputed sites in Mathura and Kashi..  RSS is a cultural and social organisation and we are a political organisation… It’s not the question of need. It’s an ideological front. Woh ideologically apna kaam karte hain, hum apna. We are managing our affairs in our own way. And that’s what political parties should do.”

New Criminal Laws Worse In Matters Of Arrest, Remand & Bail? Sibal, Rohatgi & Singhvi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1tYE9anKyw

 Law on Arrest and Detention: Know your rights!
Arrest must not be used as punitive tool says Supreme Court https://cjp.org.in/law-on-arrest-and-detention-know-your-rights/
05, Aug 202