Page 7 - Election Campaign

LS polls: ECI team meets Haryana officials to review election arrangements

A team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) held a meeting with the senior officials of the Haryana government to review the election arrangements for Lok Sabha polls in the state. The five-member team was led by Deputy Chief Election Commissioner Hirdesh Kumar. The meeting here on Monday was chaired by Haryana Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad, according to an official release. Polling for the ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will be held in the sixth phase of elections on May 25. During the meeting in which Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur was also present, Chief Secretary Prasad said that no stone will be left unturned to conduct free and fair elections in the state. Prasad said that to conduct impartial and peaceful elections in the state, Haryana has requested 200 companies of central security forces from the ECI, out of which 15 have already arrived. He stated that 19,810 polling stations will be set up in the state, equipped with all basic facilities. Additional

LS polls: EC appoints special observers to ensure level playing field

Election Commission on Tuesday appointed special observers for administrative, security and expenditure monitoring purposes in several states to ensure a level playing field during the upcoming elections. The special observers -- former civil servants with brilliant track record -- have been tasked with overseeing the electoral process with strict vigilance, particularly against the backdrop of challenges posed by the influence of money, muscle and misinformation, the poll panel said. Special Observers (General and Police) have been deployed in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar where the population is more than seven crore and also in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where the simultaneous elections to the Assemblies are to be held, the poll authority said. Special Expenditure Observers have also been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, it said.

BJP urges EC to file FIR against TMC leader for 'casteist slur' on PM Modi

BJP has asked the Election Commission to lodge an FIR against Piyush Panda and ban his campaigning for the remainder of the election period for his alleged derogatory remarks

LS polls: Liquor shops to remain closed for 3 days from April 17 in Pondy

All liquor, toddy, arrack shops and also clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor will remain closed for three days from April 17 in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions in view of Lok Sabha polls slated to be held on April 19 in the union territory. A notification of the Puducherry State Gazette said that the Lieutenant Governor has issued an order directing closure of the shops, clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor to ensure "fair and peaceful polls in the Union Territory". The notification also said that all these shops and restaurants, bars and clubs would also remain closed on June 4 on account of counting of the votes. Another notification from the government said that as Kerala goes to the polls on April 26, all liquor, toddy and arrack shops and also clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor would remain closed in Mahe region from April 24 to 26 to ensure fair peaceful polls and on June 4, the day of counting of votes. Mahe is an enclave of Puducherry in ..

BJP unveils campaigners list for Lok Sabha polls, bye-elections in Tripura

The upcoming general polls are scheduled to be held in two phases in the state. The West Tripura seat will go to the polls on April 19, while the East Tripura seat will witness voting on April 26

Lok Sabha polls: BJP will win all 25 seats in Rajasthan, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday exuded confidence that the BJP will win all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan and the margin of victory will be much more than the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking the country towards all-inclusive development. While speaking at a meeting with the representatives of various social organisations at a hotel here, Shah said the entire opposition is uniting to remove Prime Minister Modi, while on the other hand, PM Modi has only one slogan -- "development of the nation". "After independence, the Congress has worked to divide society. It has created four sores of corruption, casteism, nepotism and terrorism whereas PM Modi has freed the country from all these," he was quoted as saying in a statement from the BJP. Shah highlighted the consecration at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370, 33 per cent reservation for women and law on triple talaq as achievements of the Modi ...

Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan launches LS poll campaign in Andhra Pradesh

Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan launched his election campaign in the Pithapuram constituency for the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh. The actor-turned-politician is contesting the Assembly election from Pithapuram constituency. As part of his first phase of canvassing, he will tour the constituency from March 30 to April 2. This is the first time that Kalyan is campaigning at the grassroots level post the announcement of the election schedule on March 16, following an election meeting of the southern state's NDA partners -- TDP, Janasena and BJP -- at Chilakaluripeta on March 17. "Janasena, TDP and BJP will form the government and the immense response from the Pithapuram people is a sign of it. We formed an alliance for the betterment of the state, said Kalyan in a press release. After landing in Pithapuram, the Janasena chief drove through several villages on his election campaign bus named 'Varahi' for about three hours amid pomp and fanfare from ...

Lok Sabha polls: Shah to visit Tripura for 2 days from Apr 7 to campaign

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Tripura for two days from April 7 and will address a rally and hold a roadshow the next day as part of the BJP's campaign for its candidates in the two Lok Sabha seats in the northeastern state, a party leader said on Friday. During his proposed visit, Shah is also expected to chair an organisational meeting of party leaders, he said. Amit Shah ji, who is scheduled to address a rally in Mizoram on April 7, is likely to arrive in Tripura on the same day. He will hold an organisational meeting, address a rally in Gumati district's Udaipur and a roadshow in Agartala," BJP state general secretary Amit Rakshit told PTI. He said Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha held a meeting with senior party leaders on Thursday night for Shah's visit to the state. Elections to the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency and by-poll to the Ramnagar assembly seat will be held on April 19, while the Tripura East parliamentary constituency will go to polls on .

PM Modi to kick start Lok Sabha polls campaign in UP from Meerut on Mar 31

Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning April 19. Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases

BJP taps McCann Worldgroup, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for election campaign

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Opposition Congress party has entrusted DDB Mudra with leading its election campaign

Lok Sabha 2024: Congress manifesto to cover '5 Nyay' with 25 guarantees

Congress' electoral campaign revolves around the theme of five 'nyay' (justice) - 'Bhagidari Nyay', 'Kisan Nyay', 'Nari Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay', and 'Yuva Nyay'

Elections 2024: Electoral bonds may not be Opposition's core campaign issue

Without establishing quid pro quo and given their own handicaps, it is unlikely the Opposition parties can present an effective narrative about 'corruption' involving electoral bonds to the voters

My third term will write new chapter in rise of women power, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited a host of women-centric schemes of his government to assert that only a society which boosts women's standing and creates opportunities for them can advance. His third term will write a new chapter in the rise of women power, Modi said at a 'Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat' programme, exuding confidence of retaining power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a swipe at previous governments, he said women's lives and hardships were not a priority for them while the BJP dispensation has come out with different initiatives to help them at every stage of life. Modi said he is the first prime minister who spoke of a host of issues related to women, including lack of toilets, use of sanitary pads, adverse effects of smoke-causing kitchen fuels like wood and coal, and the need for bank accounts from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a reference to his Independence Day speeches. He said political parties like the Congress made fun of him and insulted

BJP's CEC to meet today, likely to discuss more Lok Sabha candidates

The meeting is also likely to be attended by the BJP's partners in the NDA from Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, and Bihar

LS elections: TMC to launch poll campaign with mega rally in Kolkata today

The Trinamool Congress will launch its Lok Sabha poll campaign with a grand rally on Sunday at Kolkata's famed Brigade Parade Grounds, where party supremo Mamata Banerjee is expected to set the tone for the upcoming elections. Christened 'Jana Garjan Sabha', the mega event will feature three platforms, including a cross ramp, with Mamata Banerjee and TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee taking centre-stage as the main speakers. The rally's overarching theme revolves around the alleged withholding of the state's financial dues by the central government, a contentious issue that has dominated state politics for the past two years. Lakhs of supporters and numerous block-level leaders were seen in the morning flocking from different districts to hear their leader, affectionately called 'Didi'. "We are organising a rally at Brigade Parade Grounds after a long time. It is going to be a historic event. Our party supremo Mamata Banerjee will give a message which we will take

Lok Sabha polls: Kejriwal, Mann launch AAP's political campaign in Delhi

Also, the AAP is going to contest the general elections in alliance with Congress and both parties have closed their seat-sharing negotiations for Delhi Lok Sabha seats on a 4:3 formula

Shah to visit Maharashtra on March 5, hold BJP's election meeting, rallies

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Akola, Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra on March 5 to take part in election-related meetings and programmes organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party, its state unit chief said on Saturday. Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April or May this year. Shah will chair a meeting of the BJP's election management committee and its core committee in Akola at 11 am on Tuesday to discuss the Lok Sabha constituencies of Chandrapur, Buldhana, Akola, Yavatmal, Wardha and Amravati, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said. After Akola, Shah will visit Jalgaon, where he will address the 'Maha Yuva Sammelan', a youth convention, at 2 pm, he said. The former BJP chief will then address a public rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar at 6 pm, he added. A day before Shah's visit, BJP president J P Nadda will address the youth at 'Namo Yuva Sammelan' in Nagpur on March 4, he said. "Around one lakh youth from Maharashtra

Biden, Trump tour US-Mexico border, highlight immigration as election issue

Three hundred miles apart, President Joe Biden and likely Republican challenger Donald Trump walked the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas Thursday, dueling trips underscoring how important immigration has become for the 2024 election and how much each man wants to use it to his advantage. Each chose an optimal location to make his points, their schedules remarkably similar. They each got a briefing on operations and issues, walked along the border and gave remarks that overlapped. But that's where the comparisons ended. Biden, who sought to spotlight how Republicans tanked a bipartisan border security deal on Trump's orders, went to the Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville. For nine years, this was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, but they have dropped sharply in recent months. The president walked a quiet stretch of the border along the Rio Grande, and received a lengthy operations briefing from Homeland Security agents who talked to him bluntly about what more they needed.

Household consumption expenditure survey 'election-inspired', says Kharge

Targeting the Centre for releasing an "election-inspired" Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Tuesday demanded a census be conducted soon for accurate information, insisting it should also incorporate a caste survey. In a post on 'X' in Hindi, Kharge said that after 10 years of "deep sleep", the Modi government has finally come out with an "election-inspired" survey on public expenditure and income. "The Modi government has made an unsuccessful attempt to pat itself on the back in the survey," he said. "We have only one demand, for correct information, the Census of 2021 should be done as soon as possible and a caste census should be a part of it. The Congress party will definitely get it done as soon as its government is formed," the Congress chief added. Kharge said if everything in the country was so shiny as is being shown in the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, why the poorest five per cent of rural India was spending only R

No cross-voting will be done: BJP hopeful to win Himachal Pradesh RS polls

Voting for 56 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states, which are falling vacant in April, will be held today