Page 133 - Lok Sabha Elections

Supreme Court reinstates MP Navneet Rana's scheduled caste certificate

A Bombay High Court judgment in 2021 had questioned the validity of MP Navneet Kaur Rana 'Mochi' caste certificate, claiming it had been procured fraudulently

Modi govt has shown 'extreme vindictiveness' to WB for rejecting BJP: Cong

The Congress on Thursday accused the Modi government of showing "extreme vindictiveness" to the people of West Bengal for rejecting the BJP in 2021 and asked why is it so reluctant to give anything to the state, when it is always so ready to ask when election times come. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Cooch Behar in West Bengal, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said there is perhaps no state whose people have suffered more at the hands of the Modi government. "The PM should use this opportunity to answer for all his government's failings in West Bengal: It seems like the PM only goes to West Bengal when he needs to ask for votes. Before this election campaign, the last time he visited the state was for the 2021 assembly elections (when he visited a record 22 times)," Ramesh said in a post on X. Since then, he has been all over the country but has not felt the need to visit West Bengal even once, the Congress leader said. Why is the BJP government so ...

Follow our orders on party name, symbols: SC to Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party to abide by its directions on use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the assembly and general elections. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, while disposing of the applications filed by both sides on non-compliance of its March 19 order, said it is high time that leaders of both factions should be somewhere else and not courts. It directed the Sharad Pawar faction to sensitise party workers on using the name 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' and symbol 'man blowing turha' (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari) in poll campaigns. It further directed that the faction led by the veteran leader to ask their party workers, leaders, office bearers and lawmakers not to use the clock' symbol in poll advertisements, which has been allotted to the Ajit Pawar led bloc of the NCP. Similarly, it asked the Ajit Pawar ..

Oppn concern is 'Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan' agenda, won't support: Tharoor

With BJP leader Jyoti Mirdha issuing a clarification over her "samvidhanik badlav" remark, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said the opposition's concern stems from the "Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan" agenda of the proponents of Hindu Rashtra. The Congress had on Tuesday said that after Anantkumar Hegde, another leader of the ruling BJP, Jyoti Mirdha, openly said that the party's aim is to change the Constitution The Congress said the remark exposed the "deliberate strategy" of the BJP. Tharoor on X shared an undated video of Mirdha, the BJP candidate from Rajasthan's Nagaur in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, showing her purportedly talking about the need for the saffron party to secure a majority in both houses of Parliament to be able to make constitutional amendments. Mirdha later in a post issued a clarification saying that she made the comment in a public meeting on March 31, and that it was "unnecessarily blown out of proportion by some honourable leaders of the ...

LS polls 2024: Rahul Gandhi ashamed of IUML support, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday lashed out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi by accusing him of being "ashamed" of party ally IUML as its flag was not shown during his roadshow in this hill district. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, who had defeated Gandhi in Amethi in the 2019 general elections, said if he was ashamed of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), he should reject their support. She also said she was shocked that he had allegedly accepted support of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). "By accepting their support, he (Gandhi) has also violated the oath to the Constitution taken during the filing of the nomination," she said while speaking to reporters after the filing of BJP state chief K Surendran's nomination from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. Irani also questioned as to who the Prime Ministerial candidate of INDIA bloc was and whether Gandhi was an acceptable choice for that ...

Gourav Vallabh joins BJP hours after quitting 'directionless' Congress

'I can neither raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor abuse wealth creators day in and day out,' Gourav Vallabh wrote in his resignation letter

Kerala CM slams Cong over absence of their and IUML flags in Rahul's rally

A day after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi kicked off his poll campaign for Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by holding a roadshow, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday alleged the grand old party did not show its and ally IUML's flags during the event as it was scared of BJP. The CM also hit out at the Congress MP alleging that Gandhi "lacked the courage" to publicly display his own party's flag. Vijayan contended the stand taken by the Congress indicates it wants the votes of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) but it is not acknowledging the flag important to the IUML. "The Congress has fallen to a level where it is afraid of communal forces," he claimed during a press conference here. Vijayan further alleged the grand old party was forgetting itself in front of the Sangh Parivar and was scared to show its own flag and "which is not expected from a party going to the Lok Sabha as the representatives of the people". "They (Congress) need clarity of thought and a firm stand as th

CM Shinde's Shiv Sena faces opposition from party leaders over nominations

With the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde likely to replace its candidate in Hingoli Lok Sabha seat, some party leaders claim they are facing opposition from alliance partners over nominations in a couple of seats. The Shiv Sena on March 28 announced Hingoli's sitting MP Hemant Patil as its candidate from the seat. However, there has been opposition to his candidature from within the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance), which also comprises the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, a Shiv Sena leader claimed. Polling in Hingoli will be held in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 26. With Thursday being the last day of filing nominations for the second phase, Patil is likely to be replaced with Shiv Sena functionary Baburao Kadam Kohalikar. Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Kadam said, "CM Shinde called me to Mumbai four days back and asked me to start preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. It was the first time when I got the hint that Hemant Patil was going to

LS polls: NC, PDP have been beneficiaries of alliances with BJP, says Azad

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has pooh-poohed the claims made by rival National Conference and PDP that his newly- formed party was in cahoots with the BJP and asked whether they are the 'B' teams of the saffron party going by their past coalition arrangements. Talking to PTI Videos, Azad, who is contesting on his Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), highlighted his party's primary focus on reinstating full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and not on the lines that union territories like Delhi and Puducherry enjoy. To a question that his party was seen as a B team of the BJP, Azad pointed out past associations of regional parties with the saffron party. "A and B team are those from the valley who have been ministers in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, father of the BJP, or those who enjoyed governance with the help of saffron party MLAs in the erstwhile state," he said. He highlighted his independent political stance, emphasising the need for ..

Cong leader Sonia Gandhi takes oath as Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan

Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has decided to forgo contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after holding Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli seats for nearly two decades

Lok Sabha polls: Rahul Gandhi declares Rs 1 crore income, Rs 20 cr assets

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Elections in the Kerala's Wayanad seat will take place on April 26, will see three-cornered contest

LS polls: Rajeev Chandrashekhar files nomination from Thiruvananthapuram

Earlier, Chandrasekhar also held a roadshow in Thiruvananthapuram before filing his nomination for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

Voters won't repeat mistake of electing Cong in Maha's Chandrapur: BJP

Maharashtra minister and BJP's Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat candidate Sudhir Mungantiwar has said voters made a "mistake" once of giving a chance to the Congress from the constituency but they would not do it again. In an interview with PTI, Mungantiwar, the MLA from Chandrapur, said he has carried out 300 development works in the area and asked the Congress to spell out even two such initiatives taken by it in the last five years. He also ruled out any sympathy votes going in favour of his Congress opponent. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Suresh alias Balu Dhanorkar who was the lone Congress MP elected in Maharashtra from Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat. He died in May last year. To a query on whether aiming for 400 Lok Sabha seats is realistic for the BJP, Mungantiwar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "divya drishti" and the target will be achieved under his leadership. Mungantiwar, who is currently Maharashtra's forest and culture, is locked in a direct fight with Congress candidate .

Congress's Gourav Vallabh quits 'directionless' party ahead of LS polls

In his resignation letter, Congress leader Gourav Vallabh cited the party's caste census promise, the decision to skip the Ram temple ceremony, and other reasons

Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi to address rally in Bengal's Cooch Behar today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally at Cooch Behar district in West Bengal on Thursday, his first public meeting in the eastern state since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. Modi is scheduled to address the rally at Rash Mela grounds around 3.30 pm. I look forward to being among the people of Cooch Behar to address a @BJP4Bengal rally later today at around 3:30 PM. The people there have been greatly supportive of our development agenda and I am confident they will again place their faith in the BJP, the PM said in a post on X. The Cooch Behar constituency is gearing up for a fiery Lok Sabha campaign on Thursday, with back-to-back rallies by Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee is scheduled to speak at a rally in Cooch Behar around noon. The venues of Banerjee's public meeting and the PM's rally are about 30 km apart. The West Bengal Police have placed a multi-tier security cover at the venue and its surroundings ahead of two mega rallies in th

Cong questions PM Modi over stance on Mahagathbandhan govt's caste survey

The Congress on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi what he thinks of the caste census conducted by his "old new ally" Nitish Kumar in Bihar, saying he should break his "silence" on the issue. Ahead of the prime minister's rally in Bihar's Jamui, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister "The Prime Minister is in Jamui, Bihar today. It is unlikely to ever figure in his propaganda-laden speeches, but these are the issues that the people of Bihar want to hear from him about: Bihar was the first state to abolish the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act in 2006. APMCs ensure farmers get MSP for their produce. Removing them has spelled disaster for farmers in Bihar, 97% of whom have small or marginal landholdings." Despite the failure of this policy decision, the Modi government first attempted to scrap APMCs nationwide through the "three black farm laws", and now continues to deny farmers guaranteed MSPs, he said. Can the prime

LS polls: EC curbs on volunteers disbursing pensions spark slugfest in AP

The recent order by the Election Commission barring volunteers associated with the Andhra Pradesh government from performing poll duties and administering welfare schemes has sparked a crossfire between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition NDA, comprising TDP, BJP and Janasena. The YSRCP government introduced a ward and village volunteer system in 2019 as a decentralised governance delivery mechanism. This system enables a volunteer, who oversees 50-60 households, to go to the threshold of the beneficiary to hand-deliver welfare pension. However, on March 30, the ECI issued orders banning volunteers from extending government schemes, welfare benefits and other related activities, which eventually brought the monthly pensions disbursal to a grinding halt, which otherwise would have been completed on April 1. However, this unforeseen consequence transformed into a major political slugfest between the ruling party and opposition coalition, who are striving to milk the development to the

Noida Police invokes Sec 144 till Apr 26 ahead of LS polls, festivals

Restrictions under CrPC section 144 would remain imposed across Noida and Greater Noida till April 26, the day of the Lok Sabha election here, according to an order issued by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police. Police said the restrictions have been imposed in view of upcoming festivals like Chaitra Nav Ratri, Eid, Ambedkar Jayanti and Ramnavmi while some protests are also planned and the Lok Sabha election is scheduled during this period. "In view of all of this, the possibility of disturbance of peace by anti-social elements cannot be ruled out. In order to maintain peace in Gautam Buddh Nagar, it is necessary that any mischievous elements should be prevented from carrying out such activities which may create an unfavourable environment," the police said in its order, issued Wednesday. "Considering the seriousness and urgency of the situation and due to paucity of time, it is not possible to provide an opportunity of hearing to any other party, hence this order is being passed ex-parte

Expulsion action taken after Cong received my resignation letter: Nirupam

Former MP Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday took a swipe at the Congress leadership over his expulsion, claiming it was done after he sent his resignation letter to the party. Taking note of complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge late Wednesday evening approved Nirupam's expulsion from the party for six years with immediate effect. On Thursday morning, former Mumbai Congress chief Nirupam in a post on X said, "Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see such promptness." In the letter to Kharge, Nirupam said, "I have finally decided to fulfil your much awaited desire and hereby announce that I chose to resign from the primary membership of the All India Congress Committee." Nirupam, who was eyeing the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, was miffed with the party for allowing the Shiv Sena (UBT) to take the seat for the upcoming parliamentary ..

LS elections 2024: PM Modi to kick off NDA's campaign in Bihar today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off the NDA's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Bihar on Thursday with a rally, his first in the state since the announcement of the elections . Modi, who is running for a third consecutive term in office, is scheduled to address the rally at Jamui around noon. The Bihar Police have put in place a multi-tier security cover at the venue and its surroundings ahead of the PM's rally. BJP ally Chirag Paswan, who has handed over the mantle to brother-in-law Arun Bharti after having represented Jamui, a reserved seat, two times on the trot, has been effusive in his praise for the prime minister for the gesture. "It is a matter of pride for Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the people of Jamui that the prime minister has agreed to launch his campaign in Bihar from the constituency. We are committed to helping him achieve the target of 400-plus seats for the NDA, including all the 40 in Bihar," said Paswan. Jamui is among the four Lok Sabha seats in Biha