Hemant Khandelwal set to become Madhya Pradesh BJP chief; to be elected unopposed
The 60-year-old commerce and law graduate, who is the second time legislator from Betul seat, was the lone leader to file the nomination for the state BJP chief's election at the state party HQ in Bhopal on Tuesday.
Importantly, his nomination papers had as the proposer, the state's CM Dr Mohan Yadav himself – with whom the seasoned Vaishya community leader is believed to have close rapport.
Coming from a family with deep RSS roots (his father Vijay Khandelwal was the BJP MP from Betul LS seat four times between 1996 and 2008) Khandelwal has previously served as the party's Betul district unit chief and also the state party's treasurer. He was currently heading the Kushabhau Thakre Trust.
With Khandelwal's nomination for the post being the single nomination, he is set to be elected unopposed as the new president of MP BJP. The formal declaration of him succeeding the outgoing state party chief VD Sharma (who was the president for a record five plus years) will be made on Wednesday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
No hesitation in wiping out terrorists, wherever they are: Rajnath Sigh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asserted that the Narendra Modi government will not hesitate to eliminate terrorists, wherever they are, and that no distinction will be made between masterminds and the regimes which sponsor them. The former BJP president's stern message to Pakistan , without mentioning the neighbouring country by name, came in his address to the party's state executive meeting in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year. Singh said that under Modi, the country's policy on security has turned a new leaf with steps like surgical strikes and Balakot airstrikes . Referring to the military operation that followed the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, "Operation Sindoor marked the first time when we struck at terror hideouts 100 km beyond our borders. Of course, we hit only those who had hit us, a reason why no civilians nor any military installations were targeted". "Under Modi, our policy has been not to hesitate in eliminating terrorists wherever they are. And we shall do so without making a distinction between masterminds of terror attacks and regimes which sponsor them," said the defence minister. Live Events He added that the country's defence exports have seen a sharp rise, thanks to Modi's thrust on "swadeshikaran" (production at home) and " Aatma Nirbhar Bharat ". "The Modi government works with a long-term road-map, in marked contrast with Congress-led governments of the past, which lacked direction and were driven by vote bank concerns," said the Union minister. Singh also made an oblique reference to the controversy over RSS second in command Dattatreya Hosabale's remark that the words "secular" and "socialist" be dropped from the preamble of the Constitution, as those were inserted during the infamous Emergency. "I would like to ask fake secularists, after the word secular was added to the country's Constitution, why was it not added to the separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir? Should the state, where minority Hindus were being oppressed, not have been secular? Jammu and Kashmir became secular only after Article 370 was abrogated," he said. The BJP leader claimed that the party is the only political organisation in the entire world to have raised a voice against atrocities against minorities in neighbouring countries and taken a concrete step, in the form of CAA , upon coming to power. He said, "India has always believed in treating all faiths with respect. Parsis were accepted with open arms. We have one of the world's oldest churches in Kerala. Ours is the only land where all 72 sects of Islam are recognised." In contrast, even Ahmadiya Muslims are facing persecution in Pakistan, and one should not speak about minorities, Singh said. "The situation is horrifying in Bangladesh as well. The treatment meted out to Hindus there is a blot on humanity," said the defence minister.
Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘What will owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do?': AAP's Atishi flays Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles, alleges BJP nexus with vehicle makers
Written by Drishti Jain The Delhi government's fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs)—diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years—has drawn criticism from the AAP, with MLA Atishi calling it 'illogical' and alleging a nexus between the ruling BJP and vehicle makers. According to Atishi, 60 lakh vehicles—40 lakh two-wheelers and 20 lakh large vehicles—will be removed from the national capital's roads because of the fuel ban. 'The common people of Delhi use two-wheelers to go to work. What will the owners of 40 lakh two-wheelers do? How will they go to work?' the former chief minister said. Calling the fuel ban 'archaic and baseless', Atishi said the BJP was causing trouble to the residents of the capital, 'There are many senior citizens in the city who use secondhand vehicles just to get groceries from the market and come back. What will they do now?' Atishi questioned the rationale behind the fuel ban. 'There is no proven relation between the age of the vehicle and the levels of pollution caused. If vehicles are maintained properly, they won't cause pollution,' she said. Alleging a nexus between the BJP and big vehicle manufacturers, Atishi said, 'Today I challenge the BJP to inform the people about the amount of donation they received from these companies.' On the first day of the fuel ban, 350 teams, including from Delhi Police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and the transport department, were stationed 24×7 across the 498 petrol pumps in the capital on Tuesday. While 80 vehicles were seized, 98 people whose vehicles could not be impounded were issued notices on Tuesday, an officer from the Delhi transport department stated. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed to scan number plates of vehicles and instantly cross-check their details against data registered in the Union government's VAHAN portal. If the vehicle is flagged as an ELV or lacks a valid pollution under control certificate, an audio alert is sent to the petrol pump operator.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Parties rush to add poll agents in Bihar as voter list review gathers pace
The Election Commission of India's (ECI's) special intensive review of Bihar's electoral rolls ahead of Assembly elections later this year has prompted political parties in the state, including those in the opposition, to increase the number of their booth-level agents (BLAs) to coordinate with the poll machinery during the preparation and revision of the voters' list, PTI reported on Wednesday. BLAs are empowered to raise claims and objections about the inclusion or deletion of voters and help prevent arbitrary decisions by election officials. According to the latest data, the number of BLAs from recognised national parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), has grown significantly, with some parties adding substantial numbers. The CPI(M), for instance, has increased its BLAs from 76 to 578, while the Congress has nearly doubled its count from 8,586 to 16,500. Booth-level agent deployment Party BLAs Before Review BLAs After Review Change Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) 51,964 52,698 734 Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) 76 578 502 (manifold increase) Indian National Congress (INC) 8,586 16,500 7,914 (doubled) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 26 74 48 Various opposition parties have criticised the ECI's review, claiming the exercise could deprive genuine voters of their right to vote and would benefit the ruling dispensation in Bihar. According to a report published in The Hindu, the exercise is causing considerable confusion in parts of the state. The report noted that in Saran district's Chhapra town, people are unaware of the review and many villagers are not literate enough to understand and fill out the enumeration form. Electoral rolls have been prepared afresh through intensive revisions — either across the country or in parts — nine times in the 52-year period from 1952 to 2004, averaging nearly once every six years. However, no intensive revision has been carried out in the past 22 years. ECI expands ground workforce The ECI has already appointed nearly 78,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and is in the process of appointing about 21,000 more for new polling stations. It recently held training sessions for BLAs from eight political parties in Bihar to familiarise them with their roles and responsibilities. Bihar is the first of five states to undergo the review; Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are scheduled for similar exercises ahead of their Assembly elections in the first half of 2026. The ECI has stated that the aim of the review is to separate genuine voters from illegal foreign migrants, mainly from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
