Red Lobster could close up to 129 more restaurants amid bankruptcy filing

Red Lobster has identified an additional 129 restaurant locations across the United States it could shut down, if a bankruptcy court approves the company’s plan.

 File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

June 7 (UPI) -- Red Lobster has identified an additional 129 restaurant locations across the United States it could shut down, if a bankruptcy court approves the company's plan.

In bankruptcy documents filed earlier this week, the Orlando-based casual dining chain said it has a total of 228 rejected leases it plans to close and sell.

The company said those locations will continue to lose money if they continue to operate as things currently stand.

Last month, the company disclosed on its website 99 locations across 28 states have already been shuttered, leaving an additional 129 locations in danger of suffering a similar fate.

Related

Red Lobster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after restaurant closures

Red Lobster closes dozens of restaurants amid bankruptcy reports

Several of the already-closed restaurants have already had their kitchen equipment stripped out and sold at auction as the company looks to pay off around $1 billion in debt compared to just $30 million in cash on hand, according to the bankruptcy filing in the Middle District of Florida.

The court filings last week listed the locations that could face closures including the 56-year-old chain's iconic location in New York City's Times Square, which it has occupied for 22 years.

Owners want $2.2 million in annual rent for the space, the New York Post reported.

"Recently, the debtors have faced a number of financial and operational challenges, including a difficult macroeconomic environment, a bloated and underperforming restaurant footprint, failed or ill-advised strategic initiatives, and increased competition within the restaurant industry," Red Lobster CEO Jonathan Tibus said in court documents obtained by USA Today.

Tibus said the chain is also dealing with a 30% drop in guests since 2019.

Red Lobster first announced the closure of around 50 restaurants in early May while publicly considering the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Last year, the restaurant attempted to boost business by offering its "Ultimate Endless Shrimp" deal for $20. However, orders exceeded expectations, causing the seafood chain to lose $11 million in the third quarter of last year.

Red Lobster Had to Close So That Rich People Could Get Paid

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/05/red-lobster-had-to-close-so-that-rich.html

Ontario judge to uphold Red Lobster's U.S. bankruptcy case in Canada

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/05/ontario-judge-to-uphold-red-lobsters-u.html

Red Lobster files for bankruptcy days after closing dozens of restaurants

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/05/red-lobster-files-for-bankruptcy-days.html

Red Lobster Is Considering Bankruptcy Partly Due to $11 Million Loss from Endless Shrimp Deal: Report

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/04/red-lobster-is-considering-bankruptcy.html

Red Lobster Considers Bankruptcy to Deal With Leases and Labor Costs

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/04/red-lobster-considers-bankruptcy-to.html

Kia tells Telluride owners to park vehicles outside because of fire risk


The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday Kia is warning 2020-2024 Telluride owners to park them outside and away from other vehicles and structures due to a fire risk. Owners will get recall letters starting July 30.

 File Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo

June 7 (UPI) -- Kia America is advising owners of 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles to park them outside due to a fire risk. A recall has been issued to fix the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday Kia is warning owners to park them outside and away from other vehicles and structures.

In a statement, NHTSA said, "The front power seat motor on the affected vehicles could overheat because of a stuck power seat slide knob, potentially resulting in a fire and increasing the risk of injury. To fix the issue, dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs, free of charge."

NHTSA said 462,869 models are affected

Owners will get letters starting July 30. They can also contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4532 or visit NHTSA.gov/recalls for information about the recall.

Until repairs are made there's a fire risk while driving and parking, according to Kia America.

Owners can enter 17-digit vehicle identification numbers at the NHTSA site to confirm their vehicles are affected by the recall issue.

In March Kia recalled 427,000 Telluride SUVs because they could keep rolling after being parked.


That recall affected all 2020-2023 model year Tellurides and certain 2024 models manufactured between January 9, 2019 through October 19, 2023.

According to the NHTSA, that issue was an intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft that may not fully engage due to "suspected improper assembly by supplier."

Owners were urged to set their parking brakes before exiting the vehicles until they could get a free safety upgrade.

Alex Jones, Infowars to part ways to partly pay $1.5B legal settlement

He agrees to liquidate assets

THE SANDY HOOK PARENTS MADE HIM CRY ON AIR


Alex Jones speaks to the crowd gathered in front of the Supreme Court to the Million MAGA March goers in Washington, DC on November 14, 2020. File hoto by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

June 8 (UPI) -- Infowars owner Alex Jones will have to liquidate his ownership of the controversial website and other assets to help settle his $1.5 billion debt to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims.

Jones on Thursday agreed to liquidate his assets to help pay the $1.5 billion judgment in favor of Sandy Hook families.

Jones initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but asked a Texas bankruptcy court to convert it to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which requires him to liquidate his assets.

Those assets include Free Speech Systems, which is a media company that owns Infowars.

He can keep his home and other belongings exempt from bankruptcy liquidation.

The move means Jones and Infowars will part ways. Jones founded Infowars in the late 1990s.

Legal representatives for Free Speech Systems also filed for bankruptcy protection, but the Sandy Hook families this week filed an emergency motion to order the liquidation of the media company.

A hearing on that motion is scheduled next week.

A Texas bankruptcy judge last year ruled Jones can't eliminate the legal judgments against him by filing for bankruptcy.

So far, he hasn't paid any money to the Sandy Hook families.

Jones told his Infowars listeners on Friday that he has no assets and only can pay the $1.5 billion judgment against him with money earned by continuing to broadcast and promote nutritional supplements.

The supplements "are worthless if I don't promote them," Jones said Friday. "The rest of the story is I will not sell out or be compromised to stay on the air here and be a puppet."

The families of elementary school children massacred on Dec. 14, 2012, by Adam Lanza successfully sued Jones for defamation after he called the elementary school attack a "hoax" and a "false-flag operation."

Lanza, 20, murdered his mother to steal her AR-15 rifle and used it to murder 20 students and six adults at the elementary school in Newton, Conn., before shooting himself.

Jones in 2022 admitted the Sandy Hook attack really occurred.

Pizza chain owner found guilty of abusing workers in Massachusetts

By Ehren Wynder

JUNE 8, 2024 

June 8 (UPI) -- The owner of a Massachusetts pizza chain was found guilty of forcing six employees to meet excessive work demands and threatening them with violence and deportation.

A federal jury convicted Stash's Pizza owner Stavros "Steve" Papantoniadis, 48, on three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor, according to a notice Friday from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.

The verdict comes after a lengthy investigation into Papantoniadis, who has been in custody since March 2023.

His sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 12. Each count carries up to 20 years in prison and up to five years ofd supervised release.

According to trial records, Papantoniadis thinly staffed his pizza restaurants and purposefully hired undocumented workers, forcing them to take up to 14-hour shifts for as many as seven days a week.

Papantoniadis would control his workers via threats of physical harm or deportation. He would monitor them via surveillance cameras, which he had access to from his cellphone, and would repeatedly insult and harass them, according to court documents.

"Stavros Papantoniadis instilled fear in his employees. He underpaid and threatened them, some with fear of arrest and many with physical abuse. Today, the jury saw the indignities his employees were subjected to and have found Papantoniadis guilty of forced labor violations," Michael Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said in a statement.

In once instance, Papantoniadis reportedly choked a victim when he learned he was planning to quit.

When another victim tried to drive away from one of the restaurants, Papantoniadis chased them down Route 1 in Norwood and pretended to call local police in an effort to compel the victim to return to work.

Stash's Pizza is a local chain that includes restaurants in Dorchester and Roslindale and previously had locations in Norwood, Norwell, Randolph, Weymouth and Wareham.

Papantoniadis has come under fire for alleged worker abuse before.

The U.S. Department of Labor in 2017 sued him and co-owner Polyxeny "Paulina" Papantoniadis for allegedly failing to pay proper overtime to 120 employees, misrepresenting pay rates and falsifying time records between November 2013 and March 2016.

The owners were ordered in 2019 to pay more than $300,000 in back wages.

Since then, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office received three complaints against Stash's Pizza alleging wage and hour violations.

Magna International founder Frank Stronach charged with rape in Canada

RAPE IS ABOUT POWER NOT SEX

| Canadian police charged auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach with rape, assault and forcible confinement, after allegations dating back to the 1980s and running up until last year. 

Photo courtesy of Team Stronach

June 8 (UPI) -- Canadian police charged Frank Stronach, an auto parts tycoon and former thoroughred owner/breeder, with rape, assault and forcible confinement, after allegations dating back to the 1980s and running up until last year.

The 91-year-old founder of auto parts maker Magna International was released on bail after being arrested Friday.

"Frank Stronach was arrested and charged with five criminal offences, rape, indecent assault on a female, sexual assault x2 and forcible confinement. He has been released on conditions and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date," Peel Regional Police said in a media release issued Friday.

"Police are appealing to members of the public to come forward if they have any relevant information."

The alleged assaults are reported to have taken place in Aurora, a suburban community north of Toronto, Ontario.

Stronach has retained prominent Canadian defense attorney Brian Greenspan

"Mr. Stronach categorically denies the allegations of impropriety which have been brought against him," Greenspan said in a statement Friday.

"He looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the charges and to maintain his legacy, both as a philanthropist and as an icon of the Canadian business community."


Stronach's next court date is scheduled for July 8.

The Austria-born Stronach was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999.

He founded Magna in Aurora, Ontario in 1957 but has had no affiliation with the auto parts giant since giving up control in 2010.

He later waged a public battle with daughter Belinda Stronach, a former Canadian member of Parliament and minister of Employment. The two were at odds over control of the family fortune and privately-held Stronach Group, which has dealings in real estate, entertainment and thoroughbred horse racing.

The family has a long history in the horse racing world.

Stronach founded Adena Springs, an international racing and breeding operation. He earned the Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Breeder eight times and Outstanding Owner four times. Five of his horses received Eclipse Awards.

He received the Eclipse Award of Merit, considered the sport's highest honor, in 2018.

Stronach is the former head of the Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness Stakes.

In 2012 he launched the far-right populist Team Stronach party in a bid to be elected to the Austrian Prime Minister's office but came up short in the 2013 election with the party dissolving in 2017.

Freighter taking on water after underwater collision on Lake Superior


The Canadian bulk freighter M/V Michipicoten is limping to a nearby port after colliding with an unknown underwater object near Isle Royal Saturday morning on Lake Superior. Photo by Tony HIsgett/Wikimedia Commons

June 8 (UPI) -- The Canadian freighter M/V Michipicoten collided with an unknown underwater object near Isle Royal on Saturday morning and is limping to a nearby port while taking on water.

The 689-foot freighter is carrying a load of taconite iron ore and departed Two Harbors, Minn., before colliding with the underwater object about 35 miles southwest of Isle Royal in Lake Superior.

The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes District received reports of the collision at 6:53 a.m.

The vessel has a crew of 22 and was listing at 15 degrees when the Coast Guard learned of its predicament.

The ship's water pumps reduced the list to 5 degrees by 9:15 a.m., and half the ship's crew has been removed for safety precautions.

The Coast Guard dispatched helicopters and vessels to the ship, and the bulk carrier Edwin H. Gott has moved into position alongside the Michipicoten.

Coast Guard, National Park Service and U.S. Border Patrol vessels also are escorting the vessel to the nearest port for an inspection and repairs.

There are no signs of cargo spillage.

South Korea's young shamans, like Baby Angel, revive ancient tradition with social media

Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, organises tools for fortune-telling at her shaman parlour in Seoul, South Korea, May 13, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters

PUBLISHED ONJUNE 08, 2024 


SEOUL — With statues of the Buddha and local gods, candles and incense sticks, Lee Kyoung-hyun's shrine looks similar to those of Korean shamans from centuries past.

But the 29-year-old shaman — also known as Aegi Seonnyeo, or Baby Angel — reaches her clients in a thoroughly modern way: Through social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.

"Shamanism ... was believed to be an invisible, mysterious and spiritual world," Lee said, adding that she had noticed more South Korean shamans posting videos about the spiritual practice since she started her own YouTube channel in 2019.


South Korea is among the world's most modern and high-tech economies. More than half its population of 51 million is not religiously affiliated, polls show. But the appeal of shamanism has stood the test of time.

Kim Dong-kyu of the Academic Centre for K-Religions at Sogang University, a private research university in Seoul, said shamans used to promote themselves in newspapers. It was a "natural phenomenon" to turn to social media, he said.

Google Trends shows that searches on YouTube for "shaman" and "fortune-telling" in Korean have nearly doubled over the past five years.

The spiritual tradition was central to the plot of a blockbuster South Korean film this year, Exhuma, in which shamans are tasked with lifting a curse on a family.

The movie depicts well-dressed shamans in their 20s and 30s and director Jang Jae-hyun said he discovered many young shamans while doing his research.

Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, organises tools for fortune-telling at her shaman parlour in Seoul, South Korea, May 13, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters

The movie has grossed at least 132 billion won (S$130 million) internationally, raising interest in the religious tradition. Roughly one in five South Koreans has seen Exhuma, according to Korean Film Council data.

"People used to hide that they live as a [shaman]. There was a lot of stigma," said 51-year-old Eunmi Pang, who has been a practitioner for almost 20 years. She said that shamans today were more willing to express and promote themselves.

Shamans — who are believed to have divination abilities — typically charge around 100,000 won for a consultation of between 30 and 60 minutes, according to Pang and online pricing lists seen by Reuters. They offer relationship advice, guidance on job searches and predictions about the future, said Lee.

Shamans typically answer queries after conducting rituals that may involve ringing bells and tossing grains of rice.

They also sing, dance and walk on the edge of a knife to call on divine intervention. While practices vary, many Korean shamans worship local deities such as the Mountain God, Great Spirit Grandmother and Dragon King.


Park Chea-bin, a 33-year-old Buddhist, visited Lee when she was struggling to find a job in 2020. She said she felt "peace of mind" after consulting the practitioner.

"I was very anxious at the time but I became a little relaxed after deciding to let things go and focus on what I need to do," said Park, who found employment at roughly the same time.

"I'm a Buddhist but I know Christians around me who come for their niggles."

A plaque certifying Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, for passing 100,000 YouTube subscribers, hangs on the wall at her shaman parlour in Seoul, South Korea, May 13, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters

Economic anxiety

Lee says she has felt physical pain and experienced psychosis since she was a teenager — symptoms that some believe are signs of a deity possessing a budding shaman.

She decided to embrace her calling in 2018 and soon started a YouTube channel that now has over 300,000 subscribers. She posts videos on topics such as the items she carries in her bag and the country's fate for in 2024. (She's not optimistic.)

"The current state of South Korean society is a factor that can't be ignored," she said, adding that many of her millennial and Gen Z clients come to her with concerns about affordable housing and the cost of raising children.

In Seoul, where Lee is based, the price of a home was more than 15 times the median salary in 2022, up from 8.8 in in 2017, according to a government report. The country has also suffered from high inflation and interest rates.

The younger generation of shamans who live in the city can connect well with younger clients facing economic challenges that they can't find an answer for, said Han Seung-hoon, an assistant professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, a research and education institute that operates under the Ministry of Education.
Battling stigmas

A culture ministry agency estimated in 2022 that there were between 300,000 and 400,000 shamans and fortune-tellers in South Korea.

Shamanism is an "important and powerful part of the Korean character," the agency wrote on its website.

The roots of shamanism on the Korean peninsula go back at least 2,000 years, said Han.

The Japanese colonial administration of the early 20th century and the military dictatorship of the 1970s attempted to suppress shamanism, which they saw as an obstacle to modernisation

.

Statues are placed in the room where Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, prays for people at her shaman parlour in Seoul, South Korea, May 13, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters

Politically powerful Christians — who make up roughly a quarter of the population — have also criticised shamans and their followers.

Han noted that larger religions such as Christianity and Buddhism — which about 40 per cent of South Koreans say they are followers of — are more influential in society, yet do not draw similar levels of criticism.

Lee said Christians also visit shamans in South Korea. "Even ... churchgoers want to have their bad dreams read," she said.

More recently, some practitioners have found themselves in legal trouble. A 66-year-old shaman in Seoul was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in February after being convicted of defrauding a client of more than US$200,000 (S$270,000), according to local media reports.

The court ruled that the shaman had been pretending to speak to the client's dead mother.

Lee thinks it's wrong for shamans to make decisions for clients. Instead, she said that shamans served as guides — like friends and family offering advice — rather than decision makers.

Some in South Korea's elite have links to shamans.

Min Hee-jin, a top entertainment executive embroiled in a business dispute with a major K-pop label, defended herself in an April press conference against allegations that she consulted a shaman for business purposes.

Min said that she had a conversation with a shaman in hope that talking would make her feel better: "Don't you guys all do that too?"

A 2022 study in the journal BMC Psychiatry noted a "huge" gap between South Koreans needing mental health treatment and getting it, which it partly attributed to stigma.

"Shamans have been playing the role of counsellors," said Kim, the religious professor.

"People have stigmatised shamanism as something dirty, suspicious, and scary," said Han, adding that people were sometimes accused of visiting shamans in attempts to hurt their reputation.

UK

Unions urge incoming government to commit to fair funding of local councils

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 

9 June, 2024 

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

‘Hopefully the nightmarish austerity experiment will soon be over after 14 long years.’

Unions are calling on the new government to commit to fair funding of local councils.

Sharon Wilde, national officer for GMB, described how, for years, members of the GMB working for councils have suffered real-terms pay cuts and been forced to prop up “creaking councils with huge amounts of unpaid overtime.”

“Hopefully the nightmarish austerity experiment will soon be over after 14 long years – but whoever is in charge next year, GMB will demand all local government pay offers are fully funded by central government,” Wilde continued.

Clare Keogh, national officer of Unite, said that over the last 14 years, local government has been “decimated.” She is calling on the next government to “commit to properly and fairly funding the sector.”

“Services are already stretched far too thin. The situation is at breaking point and further job losses cannot be the answer,” said Keogh.

The calls were made following a new study by the Local Government Association (LGA), the national membership body for local authorities, which found that councils face a funding gap of £6.2 billion.

The newly published Local Government White Paper sets out how a new relationship between central government and local government, which provides long-term financial certainty and empowers councils, is the “only way for whoever forms the next government to solve the issues facing the country.”

The LGA says that the huge funding gap has been fuelled by increasing demand and costs for homelessness support, children’s services, adult social care, and transport for children with disabilities and special needs.

A recent LGA survey found two-thirds of councils have already had to make cutbacks to local neighbourhood services this year (2024/25), including road repairs, waste collections, and library and leisure services, as they struggle to plug funding gaps.

The LGA is urging all political parties to commit to a “significant and sustained” increase in funding. Without the changes, “a chasm will continue to grow between what people and their communities need and want from their councils and what councils can deliver,” warns Kevin Bentley, senior vice chairman of the LGA.

The White Paper is also urging the new government to urgently commission a comprehensive review of public service reform. This review should explore how various public services can collaboratively operate within local communities, highlighting a unified strategy for investing in preventative services for people in need, says the LGA.

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

ON THE WAY TO NATO MEMBERSHIP

Ukraine and Moldova have met requirements to start talks to join EU

By Doug Cunningham


The European Commission said Friday that Ukraine and Moldova have met the requirements to start talks on joining the European Union. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi (C), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) and President of the European Council Charles Michel shown at the 24th EU-Ukraine summit, on Feb. 3, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

File Photo by Ukrainian President Press Office / UPI. | License Photo

June 7 (UPI) -- The European Commission said Friday Ukraine and Moldova have met conditions to start talks about joining the European Union.

Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero said during a press briefing that the two nations have met "all the steps" necessary to undergo the formal proceedings.

"Now the decision is in the hands of the member states," she said. "It is for them to adopt the negotiating framework. And as always, it is the prerogative of the president of the council, once this step is done, to convene an intergovernmental conference to formally mark the start of the negotiations."

A lengthy process awaits the two nations as all 27 EU member states must unanimously agree on the negotiating frameworks.

PUTIN'S  PUPPET

The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to emerge as a roadblock for the two nations to join the block,

They are blocking Ukraine's membership claiming it is unprepared to join the EU, Euronews reported citing diplomatic sources.
Orban had opposed previous advances citing levels of corruption in Ukraine.

Orban's government in July will take the presidency of the Council of the EU, sparking fears that Hungary will continue to block Ukraine's membership unless agreement can be reached by the end of June.

A Hungarian government spokesman told Euronews that Hungary's focus is on finalizing the negotiating frameworks.

Hungary was also the final holdout in the process to allow Sweden into NATO, before finally relenting in February.

Talks about potentially joining the EU were opened with Ukraine and Moldova in December.

The decision to start talks was welcomed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky .

"I thank everyone who worked for this to happen and everyone who helped," Zelensky said. "I congratulate every Ukrainian on this day ... History is made by those who don't get tired of fighting for freedom."

Ukraine wants to join the EU when the war caused by the Russian invasion is over.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) 

Liberation: The historic 2024 mandate against the dictatorial Modi regime

Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist 
9 June, 2024

Links | International Journal of Socialist Renewal



[Editor’s note: Clifton D'Rozario, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, will be speaking at Ecosocialism 2024, June 28–30, Boorloo/Perth, Australia. For more information on the conference visit ecosocialism.org.au.]

First published at CPI(ML) Liberation.

Democracy in India received a powerful and much-needed shot in the arm in the 2024 elections. It was an election in which no Modi jumla worked, and the BJP found itself almost clueless in the face of a massive assertion of the people's core agenda of livelihood and liberties and determination to save the Constitution and the rich diversity of India. It was the most unequal of India's elections till date, conducted by an Election Commission that couldn't care less for its constitutional responsibilities and accountability and behaved as an extension of the executive. The opposition did belatedly come together but admittedly lacked the kind of cohesion, clarity and dynamism demanded by the situation, yet the people made it work and used it as a vehicle to channelise their energy against the rampaging fascist bulldozer. Beyond the architecture of the INDIA coalition, the election truly became a people's movement on the ground, supported by the committed involvement of civil society activists and the highly effective and dedicated community of digital warriors.

2024 could not possibly be a repeat of 1977. A key reason is that while the 1977 election took place after the withdrawal of the Emergency, 2024 was happening in the middle of a relentless reign of terror and repression that did not need a formal declaration. 2024 was not 2004 either. The BJP in 2004 was not as powerful as the Modi era BJP and the opposition, especially the Congress, Left and the regional and social justice camp parties not as weakened as they have been rendered over the decade-long Modi rule. Yet in the history of India's parliamentary democracy, 2024 elections will be remembered for producing a truly historic verdict at a very critical juncture of modern India.

What made it especially effective was the emphatic nature of the verdict in India's three biggest states in terms of parliamentary strength - Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The great showing of the SP-Congress combine in Uttar Pradesh in spite of the RLD joining the NDA and the BSP playing a highly dubious role at the behest of the BJP has been the high point of the popular assertion against the Modi-Shah-Yogi regime. The victory of the INDIA bloc right in Ayodhya, and the election of a senior Dalit leader in this general seat, powerfully symbolises the outright popular rejection of the Sangh's agenda. Particularly sweet too have been the downsizing of Modi himself in Varanasi, and the defeat of some of the most arrogant faces of the Modi regime like Ajai Mishra Teni from Lakhimpur and Smriti Irani from Amethi. The combination of the energy of the farmers' movement, the anger of the youth against massive unemployment and the Agniveer scheme in particular, and the determination of the Dalit-Bahujan communities and freedom-loving citizens to defend the Constitution turned the election into a mass upheaval in many parts of the country.

In spite of the apparently disparate and variegated nature of the election outcome, it will be wrong to see the mandate just as a sum of multiple state elections. True, the BJP has managed to tap into the political vacuum and ride on the popular yearning for change in states like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where elections were held simultaneously to the state assemblies, but the poll outcome clearly conveys an all-India message against the Modi regime. And if anyone needed a proof, let us just look at the emphatic nature of the results from West Bengal where the TMC government had a lot of anti-incumbency, the INDIA bloc remained divided and it was believed by many that the Lok Sabha elections would be reduced to a referendum on the performance of the state government. In fact, the BJP has lost votes and seats across India with the exception of a few states like Odisha and Andhra where the incumbent state governments were voted out and the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana where the BJP continues to grow in terms of vote share which has now also begun to translate into seats. The fact that the BJP received its biggest blow in Uttar Pradesh, the state that has been so central to the rise and consolidation of fascism in India, underlines the core content of the 2024 mandate.

Even though the INDIA coalition has underperformed in Bihar, the best performance has once again come from the south Bihar region of Shahabad and Magadh. Of the eight seats that went to the polls in this region on the last day, INDIA has won six and put up a great fight in the other two. The CPI(ML) played an anchor role in shaping this unity and assertion of the forces fighting for democracy and social justice, contested three of these eight seats and won two. In addition, the party also had to face an Assembly by-poll in Agiaon(SC) seat in Bhojpur caused by the disqualification of party MLA Manoj Manzil due to conviction in a politically motivated false case, which the party won with a comfortable margin. Jharkhand was the other state where the CPI(ML) fielded a candidate with the backing of the INDIA bloc but finished a rather distant second. It remains to be analysed why the anti-BJP thrust of the popular vote in Jharkhand remained confined only to the five ST reserved seats. While campaigning vigorously against the BJP across the country, the party paid special attention to the seats allotted to it in Bihar and Jharkhand.

The representation of the Left in Parliament got an encouraging boost with the victory of three MPs from the Hindi belt - two CPI(ML) MPs from Bihar and a CPI(M) MP from Rajasthan - in addition to the existing strength of six from the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The rise of a more assertive and united opposition within Parliament and beyond is the biggest gain of the 2024 elections apart from the resounding rebuff to the Modi regime that marginally fell short of the numbers needed to vote the NDA out of office. With the support of parties like TDP and JDU, the NDA may have the numbers to form the government, but leaders like Modi, Shah and Yogi who have lost the mandate have no moral right to remain at the helm of the new government. The previous Speaker had disgraced the Speaker's office by his partisan conduct which condoned hate speech against fellow parliamentarians while stifling democratic debate and dissent and the new Parliament must have a non-BJP Speaker to restore healthy environment and respect for democracy and parliamentary decorum. India has heaved a huge sigh of relief with the BJP's loss of outright majority and the battle to deliver a more crushing defeat to fascism must now be carried on with greater unity, courage and determination to rein in the executive, restore the constitutional rule of law and undo the damages done to India's social fabric and federal framework.

Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist Liberation: Lok Sabha election results are a mandate against the Modi dictatorship

Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist Liberation
5 June, 2024


[Editor’s note: Clifton D'Rozario, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, will be speaking at Ecosocialism 2024, June 28–30, Boorloo/Perth, Australia. For more information on the conference visit ecosocialism.org.au.]

The Lok Sabha election results are a mandate against Modi's dictatorship, and is a victory for democracy and Constitution, said CPI(ML) Liberation's General Secretary Comrade Dipankar. The performance of the INDIA alliance in Uttar Pradesh has paved way for the success of the alliance in the country, which is a befitting reply to the BJP and a rejection of the regime led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, he said. The livelihood crisis of the people and the divisive policies adopted by the BJP has also been defeated.

In Bihar, CPI(ML) has won in two out of the three constituencies it contested. In Karakat, Comrade Rajaram Singh and in Arrah, Comrade Sudama Prasad have won. Dr. Sandeep Saurav was the runner up in Nalanda LS constituency. CPIML had also contested as part of the INDIA alliance in Kodarma (Jharkhand), where sitting MLA of Bagodar Comrade Vinod Singh was the candidate. It must be noted that after the disqualification of Comrade Manoj Manzil as the MLA from Agiaon in Bihar, due to his conviction in a politically motivated case, Agiaon had bypolls, in which Comrade Shivprakash Ranjan of CPIML has won. CPIML also contested independently from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Koraput in Odisha and Bardhaman Purba in West Bengal.

CPIML welcomes the mandate of the people of the country. Our fight for democracy and the Constitution shall continue!