Page 114 - Lok Sabha Elections

Separating Kukis, Meiteis geographically against India: Cong candidate

Separating Kukis and Meiteis geographically in violence-hit Manipur in name of "safety" is against the "very idea" of India and should be condemned left, right and centre, said Congress' Lok Sabha poll candidate A Bimol Akoijam. An associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of Social Sciences, Akoijam asserted that as long as the two communities continue to be citizens of the country, they will have to live and work together. The comments by Akoijam, 57, came amid demands by the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur for a separate administration. Equating the violence in Manipur to "Rwanda-like ethnic conflict", Akoijam alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state has deliberately allowed the situation to aggravate in the state and claimed that there is some purpose behind it. "The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India...it almost sounds like an ethnic conflict like those happen in Rwa

We've many challenges in terms of weather, geography: Meghalaya CEO Tiwari

The Meghalaya CEO also highlighted that there are 50 such polling stations that we can't reach by vehicle so the polling parties will have to walk

Oppn criticises PM for praising ED action, claims misuse of law can be seen

Taking a jibe at the Prime Minister's earlier 'jhola leke aye hain' (come with a jhola bag) remark, Patole said that people will vote him out of power LS polls

92% turnout in J-K's Udhampur on first day of home voting for elderly

The process of 'home voting' on Monday commenced in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency for elderly citizens and persons with disabilities, with a remarkable 92 per cent turnout on the first day, officials said. Elderly and differently-abled persons exercised their franchise through postal ballots from their homes in different places of Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, Doda, and Kishtwar districts, all part of the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, which is scheduled for polling in the first phase on April 19. "Out of 621 eligible electors, 92 per cent cast their votes under these categories in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency," Rakesh Minhas , the Returning Officer for the Udhampur parliamentary constituency, told PTI on Monday evening. This initiative allows voters aged above 85 years and differently-abled persons meeting the 40 per cent disability criteria to avail of the optional home voting facility, the officials said. Electors under this category have begun exercising their voting

Observing world's biggest election with admiration: German envoy on polls

German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann on Monday said his country is observing with admiration the world's biggest election that is starting in India on April 19, and that no matter who wins it, "more of India" will be seen on the international stage. Addressing a gathering at an event hosted by a leading private university here, he also said the Indian Presidency of the G20 "gave us a little taste of that". In his speech, he cited the Iran-Israel conflict, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and many other ongoing or unresolved conflicts around the world. "In the midst of this very, very difficult situation, I can't remember the world being in such a difficult times than now. We see from Europe, from European Union's perspective, clearly how much India is rising. We observe with admiration the world's biggest election that is starting on Friday. This is quite an exercise, this is a festival of democracy," Ackermann said. The envoy said "no matter what happens in these elections, no matter wh

Tripura CM to reopen political murder cases, seek legal advice after polls

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday said he is considering reopening all political murder cases that allegedly took place during the Left Front regime and would seek legal opinion after the Lok Sabha polls. The Left Front ruled the state for 35 years in two phases - from 1978 to 1988 and 1993 to 2018. "A total of 69 people were killed in South Tripura district alone during the Left Front regime. The number of casualties will be much higher if records of all the districts are put together", he said during an election rally at Banamalipur in Agartala. Saha underscored the government's commitment to seek legal opinion on reopening the cases after the polls. "The government is considering reopening all the political murder cases that occurred during the Left Front rule for investigation and justice. We will seek opinions of legal experts on how to reopen the cases after the polls conclude", he said. Taking a swipe at opposition parties, Saha cited the imprisonment of a ...

LS polls: For BJP's Murugan, fight against Nilgiris' Raja an uphill task

The Nilgiris constituency, reserved for Scheduled Castes, is one of the few, such as Kanniyakumari and Coimbatore, where the BJP has had electoral success in Tamil Nadu in the past

BJP Sankalp Patra: Enough powder to ignite stocks, if investors are patient

Since most proposals will have a long gestation period, the full benefits will be reflected in the revenues of companies, and subsequently the stock prices over time

Unveiling Vidarbha ahead of polls: Of no half measures and brutal contrasts

Neither the BJP candidate from Chandrapur and Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar nor the Congress candidate Pratibha Dhanorkar has flagged the crisis in agriculture in Vidarbha

Worry takes root even as hope grows in fields of western Uttar Pradesh

Sugarcane farmers, whom Business Standard spoke to, shared that conditions have improved over the last decade; however, there are still unfulfilled needs

PM Narendra Modi hints at bringing fresh scheme for electoral funding

Modi said the next govt will share these drafts with the states, and invite their inputs, which he hopes to discuss threadbare with the CMs at a NITI Aayog meeting to be called after Lok Sabha polls

Signalling continuity

BJP to build on its govt's work over the last decade

Record Rs 800 cr worth of cash, liquor seized in Rajasthan ahead of polls

Over 800 crore worth of cash, liquor, precious metals and other suspected inducements were seized by different enforcement agencies in Rajasthan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. According to the data released by the Election Commission, Rajasthan ranks first in the country in terms of seizure of inducements. State Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that a record Rs 812.77 crore worth of seizures have been made since March 1. These include cash worth Rs 36.79 crore, liquor worth Rs 41.71 crore, drugs worth Rs 121.79 crore, gold and silver including other precious metals worth Rs 49.21 crore, freebies worth more than Rs 563 crore and other suspicious items. Seizures worth more than Rs 20 crore each were made in 20 districts of the state. Gupta said that the value of goods and cash seized since March 16, after the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha general elections, is more than Rs 712 crore. The total value of seized inducements was Rs 51.42 cro

LS polls highlights: My aim is to increase speed and scale of development, says PM Modi to ANI

General Elections 2024 news updates: Catch all the news updates of the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here

'Everyone will regret it': PM Modi on scrapping of electoral bonds scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the electoral bonds scheme during an interview with ANI, said it was aimed to curb black money during elections

'No one should be scared': PM Modi on his vision for Viksit Bharat by 2047

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is focused on making India developed by 2047 in an interview with news agency ANI, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024

Lok Sabha elections: TMC to release manifesto in multiple languages

The Trinamool Congress is set to release its manifesto in five languages this time, including the Santal language 'Oi Chiki', and Nepalese, sources said. The TMC, which is in power in West Bengal and at present the fourth largest party in Lok Sabha after the ruling BJP, Congress, and DMK, is in a three-cornered fight in the state against the BJP, and the Left-Congress alliance. Sources said the party's manifesto this time will be released in Oi Chiki, which is the script for the Santali language, as well as Nepalese, besides Hindi, English, Bengali and Urdu. In West Bengal, 5.5 per cent of the total population is tribal. Among them nearly 51.8 per cent are Santals. More than half of the total ST population of the state is concentrated in southern districts of Medinipur, Purulia, and Bardhaman and Jalpaiguri in north. Bankura, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts also have sizable ST population. The state also has a significant number of Gorkhas, who dominate the ..

Watch: PM Modi’s big interview before Lok Sabha elections

Watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big interview ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

BJP manifesto 2024: UCC to Ayushman Bharat, here are the key announcements

BJP manifesto: PM Modi said that transgender community would also be brought under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme

BJP's Lok Sabha poll manifesto focuses on poor, youth, farmers, women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP's Lok Sabha poll manifesto, which has a special focus on the poor, youngsters, farmers and women. The prime minister handed over copies of the manifesto to the representatives of the four broad groups -- Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata and Naari Shakti (GYAN) -- who were beneficiaries of the government's schemes. Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the manifesto for the polls that are scheduled to commence from April 19. Addressing the gathering earlier, Singh said the manifesto embodies the guarantees the prime minister has given to the people of the country. "Modi ki guarantee" is the recurring theme of the manifesto, he said. "Modi ki guarantee is equivalent to 24-carat gold and has emerged as the gold standard of governance," the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. Singh, who headed the party's manifesto committee, said more than 15 lakh ...