CPI, BJP and the NCP today demanded postponement of Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, slated for April 16, at least by a week as the festival of Vishu and the Holy Week of Christians come just before the polls.

CPI, BJP want  polls in Kerala postponed

Press Trust of India

The stage is set for the launch of the Third Front, which is seeking to emerge as an alternative to the combines spearheaded by the Congress and the BJP, at a rally near here tomorrow.

Third Front likely to take shape today

A strong votary of the establishment of an alternative political force to Congress and BJP, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu today forecast possibility of Third Front coming to power after the next month's Lok Sabha polls.

Third Front will form the next government, says Chandrababu Naidu

Some time in 2001, Orissa Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik and Union Steel Minister Dilip Ray &mdash; the latter nominated to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet by Patnaik &mdash;&ndash; took the same morning flight to Delhi from Bhubaneswar. Patnaik chatted with Ray pleasantly, asking his lieutenant his plans about his ministry and suggestions for the party.

Newsmaker: Naveen Patnaik

Business Standard

Shashi Tharoor, author and former under-secretary-general of the United Nations, is likely to get the Congress ticket from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala. Congress sources suggest that Sonia Gandhi is keen to see Tharoor contest the polls. Local Congress managers have identified the Thiruvananthapuram seat, which can be an easy battle for him against the CPI.

Shashi Tharoor, MP

The Third Front, a coalition of Left and regional parties, was formally launched in Karnataka today offering an alternative to the combines spearheaded by the Congress and the BJP during the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Left, regional parties launch Third Front

In a major thaw in its relations with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Congress has offered flexibility in terms of seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the coming general elections.

Cong softens stand on seat pact with NCP

After Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik&rsquo;s sudden move to dump the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) boss Mayawati has taken a significant initiative to meet the Third Front leaders for a strategy meeting ahead of the general elections.

Maya to meet Third Front leaders

The recent directive of the Election Commission (EC) against poll graffiti on walls without consent from the private party owing the structure, or defacement of government property, has led to the filing of 26 cases of violation against parties, said Debasis Sen, chief election commissioner of West Bengal.

Poll wall signs face EC wrath

Income Tax officials will be deployed for poll duty during the general elections and keep a watch on expenses incurred by candidates in an attempt by the Election Commission to check illegal use of moneypower during the polls.

I-T sleuths to keep a watch on poll expenses: Chawla

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat is likely to come to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati&rsquo;s dinner on Sunday but the Left and other partners of the Third Front will not go anywhere announcing her name as the possible prime ministerial candidate before the Lok Sabha polls.

Left in no mood to name Maya PM candidate

After a day-long high voltage drama over the Ponnani Lok Sabha seat, the crisis in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), following differences between CPI(M) and CPI, appeared to have blown over with the junior partner allowed to select its candidate.

Crisis over Kerala seat blows over

After seven rounds of talks over the period of one and half months, the Shiv Sena (SS) and the BJP finally managed to hammer out their differences and officially declare their alliance for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP and the SS will contest 26 and 22 seats, respectively.

Shiv Sena, BJP reach seat-sharing pact

As a prelude to the upcoming 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party today launched its audio-visual campaign, unveiling three one-minute films made by the Mumbai-based Percept Picture Company. Digvijay Singh, member of the party&rsquo;s campaign committee, said seven more films will be launched shortly.

Congress launches audio-visual campaign

The squabbling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, were invited to a dinner by the party&rsquo;s prime ministerial candidate, LK Advani, the same day their differences came out in the open. Jaitley had boycotted crucial party meetings to lodge his protest over Singh appointing a businessman as election in-charge of Assam and the north-east. An embarrassed Advani tried to mediate between them.

Dinner to reconciliation

Dreamgirl Hema Malini and Smriti Irani of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame may not get Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tickets for the Lok Sabha elections. Though both of them are members of the party&rsquo;s national executive, the state units of the party have put up stiff resistance to against accommodating them. Sensing the mood, Hema Malini, whose term in the Rajya Sabha ends in September, has decided not to insist on a party ticket and will be the party&rsquo;s star campaigner.

Dreamgirl dumps dream; bahu adamant

After experimenting with elections in the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh units of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India (the students&rsquo; wing of the Congress), party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi wanted to hold organisational elections in Gujarat. All the preparations were made, but once the Lok Sabha election dates were announced, the exercise had to be postponed.

Rahul's poll plans

'We will decide the PM issue after elections'.

Mayawati rules out poll alliance

In a bid to show its authority, the Election Commission (EC) has asked the central government to take its approval on carrying out additional work under flagship schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

EC to Centre: Take approval for flagship schemes

On a day when the leaders of the recently cobbled Third Front were staging a show of unity by attending a dinner hosted by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury today met Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav.

Yechury meets JD(U) chief Yadav

Apart from testing the combined strength of the Omar Abdullah-led ruling National Conference-Congress alliance for the first time, the coming Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir would be keenly watched for the future plans of pro-Pakistan separatists in the wake of the drubbing they had received in the recent Assembly elections.

LS elections to put focus on J-K separatists' plans

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Visit Business Standard for the latest updated information on the general election results 2024, including the candidate lists for the BJP and Congress, Lok Sabha Election Dates, Exit Polls, Opinion Polls, and Election Results.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Results News, PM Candidates, Narendra Modi | General Election

Visit Business Standard for the latest updated information on the general election results 2024, including the candidate lists for the BJP and Congress, Lok Sabha Election Dates, Exit Polls, Opinion Polls, and Election Results.

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