Page 235 - Bjp

I do not have the kind of money to contest LS elections: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls. The minister said that the BJP President (J P Nadda) gave her the option to contest either from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. "After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say... maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It's also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use...Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it," she said. Sitharaman was speaking at the TIMES NOW Summit 2024 here. "I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting," she added. When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok S

Highlights: EC withholds Akola West Assembly bypoll in Maha after HC order

Lok Sabha elections 2024 latest news : Catch all the latest updates on the announcements related to General Elections here

Lok Sabha polls: 38 candidates file nomination for first phase in Assam

Altogether 38 candidates, including Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, have filed their nominations for the first phase polls scheduled on April 19 in Assam, an election official said. On the last day of filing of nominations on Wednesday, 26 people filed their papers and they include sitting BJP MP Topon Gogoi in Jorhat, Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa in Kaziranga and MLA Ranjit Dutta in Sonitpur. The constituencies going to the polls in the first phase are Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Kaziranga. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accompanied Gogoi and Tasa during their nomination filing at Jorhat and Golaghat and exuded confidence that both the candidates would win their respective seats and help Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the nation for the third consecutive term. He said that the massive support for Gogoi is reflective of the love and faith people have in the Prime Minister and 'I am sure that he will win by a

Delhi CM Kejriwal likely to be produced before Delhi court on Thursday

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be produced before a Delhi court on Thursday on the conclusion of his Enforcement Directorate custodial remand. The federal probe agency had arrested Kejriwal last Thursday in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case. The next day, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja remanded him in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till March 28. The court remanded Kejriwal in the ED custody for six days after the agency pressed for his custodial interrogation for 10 days. The ED has accused the AAP leader of "being involved in the entire conspiracy of the Delhi liquor scam, in drafting and implementation of the policy, for favouring and benefiting the quid pro receiving kickbacks and eventually using part of the proceeds of crime generated out of the scheduled offence in the election campaign for the Goa Assembly elections". "The accused (Kejriwal) is hereby remanded to the custody of the ED till March 28 for his detailed and

Jolt for AAP in Punjab: MP Sushil Rinku, MLA Sheetal Angural switch to BJP

Sushil Kumar Rinku was AAP's sole Lok Sabha member and was already announced as the party's candidate from Jalandhar

EC issues show-cause notices to Ghosh, Shrinate for remarks targeting women

The Election Commission on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to BJP leader Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their offensive remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kangana Ranaut respectively. Ranaut has been fielded by the BJP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha seat for the parliamentary elections. Their remarks were "undignified and in bad taste", the Election Commission (EC) said. The poll panel said that prima facie, the two remarks were violative of the Model Code of Conduct and its advisory to political parties to maintain dignity during electioneering. The two have been asked to respond to the show-cause notices by March 29 evening.

Will ensure money looted from poor in Bengal is returned, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that he is working to ensure that the money "looted" from poor people in West Bengal and attached by the Enforcement Directorate is returned to them. Modi made this assertion in a telephonic conversation with Amrita Roy, a member of erstwhile royalty and BJP candidate against TMC's Mahua Moitra in Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency, BJP leaders said. "PM Modi told 'Rajmata' Amrita Roy that he is exploring legal options to ensure that the money looted from the poor goes back to them through whatever assets and money the ED has attached from the corrupt," a BJP leader said. Modi said on the one hand the BJP is committed to uprooting corruption in the country and on the other all the corrupt have come together to save each other, BJP leaders said. He expressed confidence that West Bengal will vote for "Parivartan" (change) in the state. The alleged corruption of the state's ruling Trinamool Congress leaders is one of the main planks of

Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi, Amit Shah among star campaigners of BJP in Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath are among the 40 star campaigners who would canvass for the BJP in Bihar during the Lok Sabha elections. In the list, the party also named its chief JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai, besides Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav. Among the state leaders who found a place on the list are Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Renu Devi, Mangal Pandey, Prem Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Sushil Kumar Modi. The BJP on Sunday announced candidates for 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It dropped three incumbent MPs, including Union Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey. Choubey, who was elected from Buxar for the second consecutive term in 2019, has been replaced by Mithilesh Tiwari, a former MLA. All the remaining 14 candidates are sitting MPs, who will seek re-election from their respective seats.

Arvind Kejriwal's arrest: HC warns lawyers of severe consequences

Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice Manmohan on Wednesday cautioned lawyers against staging protests on court premises against the arrest of Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, saying the consequences would be "severe". The Aam Aadmi Party's legal cell has called for a protest in district courts here on Wednesday following Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. "Consequences would be severe for organising protest in court. Courts cannot be withheld. Courts cannot be stopped. We cannot take away someone's right to approach the court," Justice Manmohan said. "If someone does it, they would do it at their own peril," he asserted. The issue was mentioned before a bench of the acting chief justice and Justice Manmeet P S Arora by advocate Vaibhav Singh who said that court premises cannot be used for political purposes. Justice Manmohan said he would take up the issue tomorrow, hoping that "sen

Congress has concrete plan to tackle unemployment, says Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday attacked the BJP-led central government over Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran's reported remarks that the government cannot solve all social and economic problems, and asserted that his party has a concrete plan to tackle unemployment which will be revealed in its manifesto. Nageswaran reportedly asserted on Tuesday that it was incorrect to think that government intervention could solve every social and economic challenge, contending that a diagnosis was easier than a solution when it concerned problems like unemployment. In a post on X, former finance minister Chidambaram said, "The most startling confession has been made by the Chief Economic Adviser. He said that 'Government cannot solve the problem of unemployment'. Shocking." "If that is the official stand of the BJP government, we must boldly tell the BJP 'vacate your seat'," he said. The Congress has a concrete plan to tackle the issue of unemployment and it will be ...

AAP conducts 'Thali Bajao campaign', raises slogans to 'free Kejriwal'

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy 2022, which was later scrapped

LS elections: BJP releases list of 40 star campaigners for Madhya Pradesh

BJP has announced all the 29 candidates for the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress party has announced only 10 candidates till now

BJP files complaint with EC against Sanjay Raut, alleging violation of MCC

This comes after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut likened PM Modi to Aurangzeb while addressing a rally in Buldhana in the Vidarbha region

Lok Sabha elections: Punjab set for a 4-way contest as BJP-SAD talks fail

The SAD-BJP alliance could have been potent with the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government facing significant anti-incumbency

PM speaks to BJP candidate Rekha Patra, lauds her as 'Shakti Swaroopa'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called up the BJP's Lok Sabha poll candidate from Basirhat, Rekha Patra, who had highlighted the plight of women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, and lauded her as "Shakti Swaroopa", party leaders said. Patra, who had raised voice against the alleged atrocities by local Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his cronies, was picked by the BJP as its candidate from Basirhat Lok Saha seat, under which the village falls. Modi spoke to her about her campaign preparations and the support for the BJP among voters and other issues, while she narrated the ordeal of Sandeshkhali women. He hailed him as "Shakti Swaroopa", they said. Shakti is a Hinduism term associated with goddesses like Durga and Kali. Basirhat, one of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, is currently represented by the TMC. Sheikh, who has been suspended by the TMC, and some of his associates have been arrested in connection with attack on ED officials and are in CB

LS polls: Number of veterans thinning faster amid rise in total candidates

Veteran numbers decline amid rising number of total candidates

Highlights: Congress releases 7th list of five candidates for LS polls

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Highlights of day: PIL in HC seeks to restrain Kejriwal from issuing order

AAP protests Kejriwal arrest latest news: Catch all the latest updates on the protests organised by AAP against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal here

LS elections: TMC complains against BJP MP Dilip Ghosh for violating MCC

TMC moved the Election Commission after the BJP MP from Medinipur constituency, Dilip Ghosh, made personal remarks about Mamata Banerjee's ancestry, calling it a violation of the model code of conduct

'BJP is frustrated in Bengal. It is losing': TMC responds to 'father' jab

TMC Sushmita Dev stated that BJP MP Dilip Ghosh's remarks against CM Mamata Banerjee went against Indian politics & traditions, and reflected the party's double standards when it came to women