Page 21 - Elections In India

LS polls 2024: TV actor Rupali Ganguly, astrologer Ameya Joshi join BJP

TV actor Rupali Ganguly, famous for her roles in TV serials, such as Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Anupamaa, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Wednesday ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Along with Ganguly, Ameya Joshi, a social worker and astrologer from Maharashtra, also joined the BJP at the party headquarters in the presence of senior leaders including national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national media department in-charge Anil Baluni. Tawde welcomed Ganguly and Joshi into the party fold and used the opportunity to attack the opposition parties over Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Maria Alam's appeal for "vote jihad". Alam, while seeking votes for the INDIA bloc's candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat, called for a "vote jihad," saying it was necessary in the current situation for the minority community to dislodge the BJP from power. Responding to the SP leader's remarks, Tawde said, "The Opposition, which has been spreading lies, has now started a

Cong promise of Rs 400/day national minimum wage is real '400 paar': Ramesh

The Congress on Wednesday reiterated its 'Shramik Nyay' guarantees on International Labour Day, and said its promise of Rs 400 per day national minimum wage is the real '400 paar'. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh listed the party's guarantees for labourers and alleged that the past 10 years have been of 'anyay kaal' for them. On the occasion of International Labour Day it is most appropriate to recall the 'Shramik Nyay' guarantees in the Congress Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said. Elaborating on the guarantees, Ramesh said the Congress has promised 'Shram ka Samman' (Dignity for Labour)' with Rs 400 per day national minimum wage, including for MGNREGA. "This is the real '400 paar'," Ramesh said at a press conference here, taking a jibe at the BJP's '400 paar' slogan of securing over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls for the NDA. Ramesh alleged that the BJP's call of '400 paar' is aimed at changing the Constitution. Holding a copy of the Constitution, Ra

Modi starts election campaign in Gujarat today, to hold rallies in 11 seats

On Gujarat's Foundation Day, he will address two public gatherings: one in Deesa, located in Banaskantha, and another in Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha

If Hindus still at risk after BJP rule, it shouldn't return to power: Azad

TMC candidate and former India cricketer Kirti Azad sought to poke holes in the BJP's Hindu nationalism plank, saying if the saffron party persists in using the "Hindu Khatre mein" (Hindus in danger) narrative despite being in power for ten years, it raises doubts about the party's necessity to return to power. The former BJP MP-turned-TMC nominee from West Bengal's Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat, also said the issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was a ploy to communalise the polls since the saffron camp lacks an impressive report card to present before the masses. In an interview with PTI, Azad highlighted India's diversity and argued against the feasibility of implementing UCC in such a varied cultural landscape while stressing that history belies BJP's claims of Hindu insecurity under previous regimes. During the Mughal rule, Hindus were not under threat; they were not in peril during British rule; even under multiple governments post-Independence, Hindus never faced any ...

LS polls: 10 nations' political parties to visit India on BJP's invite

Representatives of 18 political parties from 10 countries will interact with a host of BJP leaders, including party president J P Nadda and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during their visit to India on the ruling party's invitation to get a first-hand experience of the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP said the foreign leaders will also be given insights into the party's election campaign and will be briefed about its strategies and the overall electoral process. They will meet Nadda on Wednesday and also interact with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Australia's Liberal Party, Vietnam's Communist Party of Vietnam, Bangladesh's Awami League, Israel's Likud Party, Uganda's National Resistance Movement, Tanzania's Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and Russia's United Russia Party are among the political parties whose representatives are visiting India. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and United National Party from Sri Lanka, Militant Socialist Movement, Mauritius Labour Party, Mauritian Militant ...

LS polls: Cong, AAP meet to strategise joint campaign in Delhi, Haryana

Senior leaders of the Delhi Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday held a meeting here to plan a joint campaign strategy of the INDIA bloc for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the national capital and Haryana, a statement said. AICC general secretary and in-charge of Delhi and Haryana Deepak Babaria, AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak and Delhi Congress' interim president Devender Yadav were among those who addressed the meeting, the statement said. The meeting discussed the coordination between the Congress and the AAP leaders and workers for the smooth campaigning for their candidates, who are jointly fighting the Lok Sabha elections under the INDIA bloc. Both parties agreed to forge a total understanding at the ground level to fight the elections and finalise a road map of the joint election strategy to be drawn up in the next couple of days, it said. It was also decided to hold joint meetings of both the Congress and the AAP and have people-contac

Mamata skipped Ram temple event to not offend her vote bank: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the Ram temple inauguration ceremony in Ayodhya, as she was afraid of offending her infiltrator vote bank. Shah, while addressing a rally at Memari in Purba Bardhaman district, said this Lok Sabha election is about deciding whether people want "parivar raj or Ram rajya" in the country. "Mamata Banerjee and the TMC leaders didn't attend the Ram Mandir consecration programme, as she was afraid that infiltrators, who are her party's vote bank, might get offended," he said. Shah also alleged that the TMC wanted to "protect the Sandeshkhali culprits", but the BJP will punish them. "This election is also about deciding whether you want the nephew (TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee) as chief minister of Bengal or Narendra Modi as prime minister of India. Mamata Banerjee and her nephew can torture BJP workers as much as they want, but TMC's defeat is imminent," the home minister said.

LS polls: India will go back 15 years if BJP wins, says Dimple Yadav

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav has said India will go back 15 years if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls, accusing the party of practising "divisive politics" to divert attention from real issues. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Dimple Yadav, who is aiming to carry forward the legacy of her father-in-law and SP patriarch late Mulayam Singh Yadav by retaining the Mainpuri seat, asserted that the people are going to vote for change this time. People have understood the 'bantware ki rajneeti' or divisive politics of the BJP. It creates differences between different sections of society and indulges in vote bank politics, she said. "They incite people on caste lines, play with their sentiments and divert attention from core issues," Dimple Yadav, the wife of SP president Akhilesh Yadav, told PTI at her residence in Saifai village in Etawah district from where she has been handling her campaign for the last month. During Dimple Yadav's filing of nomination papers from Mainpuri, a sea

Akshay Bam withdrew nomination after 'threats and torture', says Patwari

Congress' Indore Lok Sabha candidate Akshay Bam was "threatened and tortured" following which he withdraw his nomination, the opposition party's Madhya Pradesh chief Jitu Patwari has claimed while targeting the BJP. Bam withdrew his nomination on Monday, which was the last day for the process. "Three days ago, IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) was added to an old case against Bam. He was threatened. He was tortured in different ways for the whole night. And today he has withdrawn his nomination," Patwari alleged at a rally here on Monday. Bam, his father Kantilal and others are accused in a case that was registered in October 2007. On April 5 this year, the victim filed an application in the court of the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) seeking adding of section 307 after alleging that one of the accused had fired on him. The plea was accepted on April 24 and Bam and his father have been asked to appear in a sessions court on May 10. "What is the message in all this? Don'

Naidu confident of regaining Andhra Pradesh with overwhelming majority

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has said the anti-incumbency wave coupled with failure of all institutional frameworks will ensure his party sweeps both assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh as people have 'realised' the ruling YSR Congress has failed to live up to all its promises. The former Chief Minister who is fighting to regain power in the state, expressed confidence that the TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) combine will win 24 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 160 of the 175 assembly seats comfortably in the simultaneous elections to be held on May 13. Naidu (74) said the YSRCP came to power on the promise of getting a special status to AP but the issue has been relegated to the background as people are struggling to deal with alleged mismanagement of every government department. The state has gone into huge financial debt to an extent that people have not received salaries and pensions, he added. "There is a tremendous anti-incumbency. YSR Congress has destroyed the

Haryana: Union minister Rao Inderjit, 6 others file LS nomination papers

The nomination process for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana began on Monday, with Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh among seven candidates filing their papers before the respective returning officers, officials said. Among the prominent candidates, Singh filed his nomination from Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency on the first day of filing of papers. One more candidate filed a nomination from Gurugram, three nominations were filed from Sonipat and one each from Sirsa and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. No nominations were filed from other seats. The deadline for filing nominations is May 6 while the scrutiny of papers will be done on May 7. The candidates can withdraw their nominations until May 9. As many as 1,99,81,982 voters across the state are eligible to cast their votes in 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, officials said. Polling for all the 10 Lok Sabha seats will take place on May 25.

Probe 'terrible mismanagement' of Lok Sabha polls in Kerala: Congress to EC

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said the elections in Kerala were "grossly mismanaged", leading to considerable delays in numerous polling booths

SC issues notice to EC on plea seeking re-election if NOTA gets majority

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Petition filed by motivational speaker Shiv Khera wants NOTA to be treated as a 'fictional candidate'

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 2: Over 27.5% voter turnout recorded till 11 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Tripura records the highest voter turnout, of 36.42%, till 11 am on Friday

Arvind Kejriwal's wife to lead AAP's national election campaign, seek votes

Sunita Kejriwal will begin her campaign with a road show in East Delhi constituency on Saturday

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 2: Over 9% voter turnout recorded till 9 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The second phase will see voting in 88 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories (UTs)

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2: Banks to remain shut today, check details

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2: Due to the general elections 2024, banks will remain closed today, April 26. However, online transactions will remain active

From Rahul Gandhi to Hema Malini, key candidates in Lok Sabha polls Phase 2

The second phase of Lok Sabha elections will see voting in 89 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories on April 26

Lok Sabha polls: Nitin Gadkari's faints at Maharashtra rally, blames heat

The Met Department has issued a heat wave alert in parts of Maharashtra for second half of the week

Inheritance tax: Congress wants to snatch your kids' rights, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress party wanted to take away the rights of people's children after Sam Pitroda's comments on inheritance tax in India