Page 135 - Lok Sabha Elections

SC to hear plea for cross-verification of EVMs with VVPAT by voters

The NGO had sought direction from the Election Commission and the Centre to ensure the voters are able to verify through VVPATs that their vote has been 'counted as recorded'

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, boxer Vijender Singh quits Congress to join BJP

Lok Sabha elections: Boxer-turned politician Vijender Singh had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 elections on a Congres ticket from the South Delhi constituency

INDIA bloc's cracks widen, National Conference, PDP to go solo in Kashmir

Mehbooba Mufti expresses disappointment after Farooq Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir National Conference's decides to fight in all three seats of Kashmir

Elections 2024: Farooq Abdullah to not contest polls, cites health reasons

Farooq Abdullah, National Conference (NC) president and MP for Srinagar, opts out of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health concerns

23 politicians have got reprieve in corruption cases on joining BJP: Report

A newspaper investigation has revealed that with Opposition leaders switching to the ruling party, cases by central agencies have either halted or gone away completely

Sachin Pilot comes out in support of Ashok Gehlot's son ahead of LS polls

Having buried the hatchet with former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot says moving on was in the best interest of the party and stressed he would "100 per cent" campaign for his senior colleague's son Vaibhav who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Jalore. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters here, the Congress general secretary said a redux of the 2004 election when the party won the polls despite the India Shining campaign of the NDA is very much on the cards. "Repeat of 2004 is very much possible given the circumstances, given the unrest among most people. What you don't see in the media is the real sentiment on the ground. This politics of jumlas and overconfidence (by the BJP) has its limits," Pilot said earlier this week. Asked how he has been able to shake off his past differences with Gehlot and the former Rajasthan CM's 'nikamma-nakara' jibe at him in 2020, Pilot said, "I saw no advantage in replying in t

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress launches 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' campaign

The Congress party will distribute guarantee cards to 80 million families, ahead of the general elections

SC directs deletion of Bansuri Swaraj's name from Sanjay Singh's bail order

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the deletion of advocate Bansuri Swaraj's name from its order of granting bail to AAP leader Sanjay Singh after the Enforcement Directorate said her name got added to the list due to an "inadvertent error". A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, "Ok, we will correct the order." Advocate Zoheb Hussain, appearing for the ED, said Swaraj did not appear in the case nor did she represent the agency in the matter. "Due to some inadvertent error her name is reflected in the appearance slip," Hussain said. Bansuri Swaraj is a BJP candidate from the New Delhi parliamentary constituency. On Tuesday, the top court granted Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh bail in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam after the Enforcement Directorate said it had no objections. Singh, who has been in jail for six months, was ordered to be released by a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice P B Varale.

Ex Bihar Dy CM Sushil Modi 'battling' cancer, opts out of LS poll campaign

Forner Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, and would not take part in the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign. Modi, 72, was named by the BJP as one of its star campaigners for the state and a member of its election manifesto committee. "I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now, I feel that the time has come to inform people about it. I will not be able to do anything for the Lok Sabha elections," he posted on X. "I have told everything to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I will always remain grateful and dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party," he added. During his political career spanning over three decades, Modi was an MLA, an MLC, a member of Lok Sabha, and a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the deputy CM of the state from 2005 to 2013, and from 2017 to 2020. He joined students' politics while studying at Patna University, and became the general secretary of its students' union in 1973. He became an MLA

Alternative to PM a group of experienced leaders not driven by ego: Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the question of who could be an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "irrelevant" as in a parliamentary system people are not electing an individual but a party or a coalition of parties. He said the alternative to Prime Minister Modi is a group of experienced, capable and diverse leaders who will be responsive to people's problems and not driven by individual ego. In a post on X, Tharoor said, "Yet again a journalist has asked me to identify an individual who is the alternative to Mr Modi. The question is irrelevant in the Parliamentary system." "We are not electing an individual (as in a presidential system), but a party, or coalition of parties, that represents a set of principles and convictions that are invaluable to preserve India's diversity, pluralism and inclusive growth," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. "The alternative to Mr Modi is a group of experienced, capable and diverse Indian leaders who will b

LS polls: Jalgaon MP Unmesh Patil joins Sena (UBT) after BJP denied ticket

Unmesh Patil, the BJP MP from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra who failed to get the saffron party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, joined the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday. Patil joined the Sena (UBT) at 'Matoshree', the residence of party head and former state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Mumbai, along with his followers. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Patil joining the party will bolster its prospects in Jalgaon and north Maharashtra and make its path to victory easier. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has replaced Patil with Smita Wagh in the Jalgaon parliamentary constituency. Patil met Raut here on Tuesday, sparking speculation about his future political move. The BJP is fighting the Lok Sabha polls, to be held in five phases in Maharashtra from April 19 to May 20, as part of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar as its two other

Lok Sabha polls: EC to meet officials to assess security along borders

Election Commission will hold a meeting with top state and Union territory officials and central agencies guarding the borders on Wednesday to assess the security along the borders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. During the meeting, scheduled to be held at the Election Commission headquarters here, the law-and-order situation and vigilance along the borders in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be reviewed. Officials from states and Union Territories are scheduled to join the meeting through video conference. India shares borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and China.

Lok Sabha polls: PM-Modi led NDA to win most votes in UP, shows survey

PM Modi is banking on strong economic progress and Hindu nationalist policies to return to power for a record third term

Lok Sabha polls, phase 1: 7 women among 80 candidates in Uttar Pradesh

Among the 80 candidates in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data. The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed. In Kairana, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Iqra Choudhary while Priti Kashyap is representing the Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party. Ruchi Vira is the Samajwadi Party nominee and Sadhna Singh is an Independent candidate in Moradabad. In Saharanpur, .

Oppn leaders join BJP as their parties face leadership crisis: UP Dy CM

Opposition leaders are coming to the BJP fold as the leadership of their parties is changing "colours like a chameleon" and has no regard for core ideology, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said. In an interview with PTI, he said the BJP never compromises with its ideology and those joining the party know this. They too have to strictly adhere to "our ideology", Maurya said. The BJP leader also dismissed as "far from the truth" the allegations of opposition parties that the Narendra Modi government is misusing central probe agencies to intimidate and poach their leaders and that those facing corruption charges come out clean from the "BJP's washing machine" after they join the party. The leaders of opposition parties that have formed a "ghamandia gathbandhan" are levelling such allegations against the BJP-led government at the Centre as part of their strategy to prepare a "script" in defence of their imminent defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Maurya said. H

Centre extends security to ex-judge Gangopadhyay, ex-TMC MP Arjun Singh

Gangopadhyay has been granted security under the 'Y+' category, while Arjun Singh has been given security under the 'Z' category

Lok Sabha polls: Uttarakhand govt declares public holiday on voting day

The people of Uttarakhand will cast their votes in a single phase on April 19, according to the Election Commission of India

Public support in rally indicates BJP's victory: Tripura CM Manik Saha

The elections are scheduled to be held in two phases in the state

LS polls: EC launches 'Myth vs Reality Register' to tackle misinformation

In a bid to check the spread of misinformation during the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Tuesday launched a "Myth vs Reality Register" that will be updated regularly to include the latest fake news busted. With the proliferation of misinformation and false narratives, this proactive initiative seeks to ensure that voters have access to accurate and verified information throughout the electoral process, the poll panel said. The microsite was launched by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. The register will be continuously updated to include the latest busted fake information and fresh frequently-asked questions, the EC said.

LS polls: No ticket for 12 of 20 MPs who won with highest margins in 2019

Only eight of the 20 MPs with the highest winning margins in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls have been re-nominated by their parties for the 2024 General Elections