00:00In the back of the MLC polls, our face-off this evening, BJP versus Congress, joining me are Tuhin Sinha,
00:06National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party, Dr. Nishant Anand, National Spokesperson, Congress.
00:11It's not audible, it's not audible, pretty.
00:13You can't hear me, Mr. Sinha? You can't hear me very well?
00:17It's not audible, I can't hear you.
00:19Okay, can we just correct Tuhin Sinha's audio, please? We're going to do a quick audio check with Tuhin Sinha.
00:24So allow me to begin with Mr. Anand first. Mr. Anand, you know, the fact is, the Congress has won
00:30one out of 22.
00:32Yet, the optics and the posturing seems to suggest that you have the upper hand, you have swept the MLC
00:40polls.
00:41A little dystopian, isn't it?
00:50Can you hear me, Mr. Anand?
00:53No, you can't hear me. All right, both our guests are not getting their audio right.
00:58We're going to try and quickly correct that audio.
01:00But viewers, I want to take you back on what the MLC elections...
01:06Nishant, you can hear me now?
01:07Yes, yes, I can hear you now.
01:09All right, so the question that I asked, a tad bit dystopian that you're looking at your one win out
01:14of 28 as this big mega success.
01:16How does that add up?
01:18Hi, good evening to all.
01:19See, I'll start by saying, by praising our Honorable Prime Minister, the result from Nagpur, where the headquarters of the
01:25RSS is located, is simple and clear.
01:28The unregistered organization loss.
01:31This is the same legislative council seat that Mitin Gadkari held for 24 years.
01:36The Nagpur people have sent a direct message to Mohan Bhagavan.
01:41RSS ke gad mein BJP hui der.
01:44Jita Congress kar seer.
01:46Similarly, the voters of Varanasi have sent a direct message to Narendra Modi.
01:50Varanasi mein BJP zero or nahi rahi ab.
01:53Modi hero.
01:54See, a few months to UP polls.
01:56BJP losing in PM's own constituency.
01:58And that too, educated votes from teachers and graduate communities.
02:02Narendra Modi lost in Varanasi, Davindra Fadlis lost in Nagpur, Nitin Nami lost in Patna, Rajna Singh lost in Nagpur.
02:10Mr. Ranar, I have a very basic question to you.
02:13You can make all the claims that you are.
02:16Have you looked at your own house?
02:17You've won one MLC seat.
02:20Yes.
02:21You can't be riding on the successes of the Samajwadi party or the RJD, sir.
02:26See, our DK Shif Kumar CM has already replied on the Karnataka seat.
02:31We were not able to held one seat we lost in Karnataka.
02:35But we are happy that we have won in Nagpur.
02:37See, understand.
02:39You've also lost your seat in Bihar to the Jan Suraj party.
02:43That was a seat that was held by you.
02:45Correct.
02:46But India Alliance has won nine seats in total.
02:50Understand.
02:50Our Prime Minister lost in Varanasi.
02:53Davindra Fadlis lost in Nagpur.
02:55Nitin Nabeen, the President of BJP, lost in Patna.
02:59Rajnaath Singh lost in Nagpur.
03:01See, understand why this is important.
03:02For the first time, BJP candidates are losing even when the entire government machinery backing them.
03:08And this is not just a routine election result.
03:11It shows BJP is losing the grip on the country.
03:14Now, I'll give you a few facts.
03:16In Varanasi, where Narendra Modi has been the Member of Parliament for 12 years,
03:20the BJP loss in Bihar, they did not just lose a seat.
03:24They lost their 30-year-old stronghold.
03:28Mr. Anand, I'll come right back to you.
03:29Because you're saying BJP is losing the grip.
03:31But is the Congress strengthening its grip?
03:34Even that's not happening, sir.
03:35So it's cause for concern for the Congress as well.
03:38Stay with me.
03:38Allow me to bring in Toheen Sinha into this conversation.
03:40And I'll come back to you for a rebuttal.
03:42Mr. Sinha, until yesterday, what was being celebrated by the BJP,
03:46the BJP also has grave concern, not just with what has happened in Maharashtra.
03:52Out of five seats that went in, now the Aghari has won three.
03:56You have won two, your alliance.
03:58You have a win which has been registered by the Congress in Nagpur.
04:03On the other hand, with what has happened in Uttar Pradesh, you also in Bihar.
04:0830-year-old seat, Patna, the core constituency of the BJP, the educated middle class Hindi belt.
04:15There seems to be a bit of disaffection there, sir.
04:18Over to you.
04:18Well, good evening, Preeti.
04:19Good evening, Preeti.
04:20Good evening, everybody.
04:21You know, the tally still is 13 out of 21 seats for the BJP,
04:25one out of 12 seats for the Congress Party.
04:28So the difference is huge.
04:29Having said that, you know, we are always in the introspective mode.
04:32We don't celebrate when we win one out of 12.
04:36For that matter, look at the decline of Congress Party.
04:38In June 2024, they were celebrating 99 seats.
04:42Today, they are celebrating one seat.
04:44Have you seen us celebrating in that manner a concentration win?
04:48So we are always in the introspective mode.
04:50Yes, after being in power for 10 years in Uttar Pradesh for, you know, nearly two decades in Bihar,
04:56some amount of anti-incumbency is inherent.
05:00And, you know, the way we work, we are already taking stop of the situation
05:03and will bounce back before 2024, but 2027 Assembly elections.
05:09But, you know, I think look at the Congress Party.
05:13Today, Sadeesh Jai Kharoli, one of the ministers in Karnataka, says SIR is completely fine in Karnataka.
05:20Three of their state units have endorsed SIR, Kerala, Karnataka, and Punjab.
05:25I think people are livid at this hypocrisy.
05:28People are livid at this kangaroo court mentality where you will see a public impeachment of the chief election commissioner
05:34without even waiting for the Supreme Court verdict.
05:37I think this is what needs to be, you know, the Congress needs to be taking cognizance of.
05:42And I just heard the congressperson waxing eloquent about Nagpur.
05:46Probably he does not know the history of Nagpur.
05:49Before 2014, Congress had won four consecutive Lok Sabha seats.
05:53In fact, while it certainly has the RSS headquarters, it has, you know, Vidharb has always been,
05:58since you have traveled across Maharashtra, you would know that Vidharb has been one of the remaining,
06:03you know, Congress controls in Maharashtra.
06:06No, but Mr. Sina, for 24 years, Mr. Gadgari held on to this seat as an MLC.
06:10Right.
06:10This is also the seat of prestige for the incumbent chief minister.
06:16But you do say that there is introspection, which I think, Mr. Radhan, something that the Congress lacks,
06:22which is introspection and cost correction.
06:24Because at least the BJP understands that there is need for immediate introspection and cost correction,
06:30where Maharashtra is concerned, where Uttar Pradesh is concerned.
06:33Mr. Radhan, it seems the Congress is celebrating the laurels that have been earned by their partners,
06:39like the Samajwadi Party and the RJD.
06:42People are not coming to you.
06:44Even in a seat in, you know, Bihar, where you talk about the urban, middle class voter, educated voter,
06:51is choosing the JSP over you.
06:54Viti Ji, if you remember, they said,
06:58We challenge them, do all elections by ballot paper.
07:03See, if Narendra Modi is so confident that the BJP has popular support
07:08and the EVMs are completely clean, he should prove it to direct action.
07:12We are challenging them, conduct all future Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections
07:16strictly through paper ballots.
07:18They are happy with the results, right, with paper ballots.
07:20So we challenge them to do all elections by paper ballots.
07:24Stop these SIR immediately and restore 13 crore voters illegally, which are being removed.
07:31Remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Gupta from his post
07:35and repeal the law that gives the lifelong immunity to Gyanesh Gupta.
07:39So this Pradhan Mantri was in so hurry yesterday that he tweeted with the emoji without waiting for the result.
07:47So Congress has accepted the defeat and we have accepted our win.
07:52Abraham Lincoln rightly said, you cannot fool all the people all the time.
07:56When the educated citizens were given paper ballots, that truth came out.
08:01Mr. Sinha, you know, the fact is, the turns from the BJP to the Congress have been that these elections
08:06happen on paper ballots, yet you lost.
08:08Now, the dare from the Congress is, okay, we are happy with the results.
08:12Let's hold all elections on paper ballots.
08:13Something we've been asking for a while now.
08:15You know, Preeti, you need to understand, Congress has always been a sore loser.
08:19In 1987, when they rigged the Jammu and Kashmir elections, you know, we had paper ballots and that rigging was
08:24substantiated by Shashi Tharoor in an interview in 2017.
08:28But the moment they lost the 1989 looks of election, it was Rajiv Gandhi who cried foul and said, you
08:33know, no more paper ballot.
08:35Now we need to go for EDM.
08:36So tomorrow, for a change, you know, imagine a situation when we might, you know, it's just an imaginary situation.
08:43Even if we go for paper ballot, when they will lose, they will blame the paper ballot and say, let's
08:48go back to the EVM.
08:49Have the local body elections not taken place on paper ballot?
08:52They have lost in Rajasthan.
08:54They have lost in Gujarat.
08:55They have lost in Tripura recently.
08:57Have the Dusu elections not taken place on paper ballot?
08:59They have lost in Dusu elections in Punjab, in Urissa recently.
09:02So, you know, it's about issues.
09:04It's about election results get decided by issues and intent.
09:11If you, you know, continue with your anarchist mindset, people will continue to punish you in the elections.
09:17Very quickly, Mr. Ranand, make your point.
09:19The real ballot takes place on the 1st of November at Ramvila Medan, where the Chalo Dilli call,
09:25see, it's a massive gathering coming, will show the true mandate of the country against the SIR and voter deletion.
09:31And I appeal to all viewers to join us.
09:34And this is not the moment for any single party, caste, religion or language.
09:38It is the moment of every Indian to reclaim our democracy from these destroyers of democracy.
09:45We will fight with them.
09:46Mrs. Sinha, you wanted to come in?
09:47Make your point, sir.
09:48Well, this 1st November rally is happening, you know, at the cost of betraying the concerns of the traders,
09:55at the cost of betraying the sentiments of the Sikh community.
09:59And also the kangaroo court, which you are going ahead with tomorrow as a lawyer, you know,
10:04don't you have faith in the Supreme Court?
10:06The Supreme Court is at a very, you know, interesting point.
10:09Maybe in the next three or four weeks, you will have a proper judgment.
10:12Why can't you wait for that?
10:13Why encourage this mindset where you are, you know, acting as a kangaroo court and dog-
10:19Ten seconds, Mr. Ranand.
10:20Make your point.
10:21I'll come back to Mr. Sinha for ten seconds.
10:23If the BJP genuinely believes the public stands with them,
10:27stop hiding behind deleted voter lists and a compromised election commission.
10:31Bring back paper ballots and say that.
10:34Mr. Sinha, final comment, sir.
10:38Let the court decide that unless you have, unless you, you know, don't have faith in the judiciary,
10:43it is for the Supreme Court to decide whether the vote, whether voter list was rigged.
10:48It's not for you to decide.
10:50Every time you say that, you are actually infuriating people.
10:53Allow me to leave.
10:54I don't have the time.
10:55Allow me to leave it at that.
10:56Well, that was a quick face-off this evening.
10:58Building up again to the 1st November rally, which the opposition has called for.
