Page 148 - Lok Sabha Elections

Barring agony, fear, nothing done by Owaisi for Hyderabad: BJP candidate

BJP's rookie contestant, 49-year-old K Madhavi Latha, is unperturbed by sitting Hyderabad MP and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi's "larger than life image," and claims all he has given to the constituency is agony, fear and injustice. A classical dancer and entrepreneur, the 49 year-old Latha is set to take on Owaisi in his stronghold in the May 13 General Elections. In an interview to PTI, she lambasted the AIMIM chief for the alleged lack of development in the constituency though he has been representing it since 2004. She is not perturbed by the larger than life image of the strident BJP critic in the constituency. Asked how she takes on her main rival Owaisi as she is a new entrant into politics, she shot back, asking what kind of an image does Owaisi have. "You say larger than life image. It matters what kind of an image. If you have a larger than life, a negative image, it doesn't require more than a pebble to shatter it. For example, if you have made a cascade with playing

Several non-IPS officers holding SP positions in Bengal: Suvendu to EC

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission claiming that there are several non-IPS officers in West Bengal holding positions designated only for IPS officers, including that of superintendents of police (SPs). However, police denied these claims, describing them as "false and misleading." Adhikari, who is the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, cited a press note from the Election Commission dated March 21, 2024, directing state governments to promptly transfer non-encadred officers from their current roles as SP/SSP and submit a compliance report. He emphasised that the position of SP in the districts is specifically designated for IPS officers. "As per the Press Note No. ECI/PN/29/2024; dated 21.03.2024 the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued directive to all respective State Governments instructing them to promptly transfer non-encadred Officers from their current roles as SP/SSP, with immediate effect, and submit a complianc

Congress releases 4th list for LS polls; fields Ajay Rai against PM Modi

The Congress on Saturday released its fourth list of 45 candidates for the Lok Sabha election, fielding its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai from Varanasi to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party has left the Nagaur parliamentary constituency in Rajasthan for the Hanuman Beniwal-led Rashtriya Loktantrik Party. The Congress fielded its veteran leader Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh and newly-inducted leader Lal Singh from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur. In Tamil Nadu, the party has fielded Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga, Manickam Tagore from Virudhnagar and S Jothimani from Karur. For Uttar Pradesh, where the party is in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and is contesting on 17 seats, the Congress announced candidates for nine seats. These include Rai from Varanasi, Danish Ali from Amroha, Imran Masood from Saharanpur and Alok Mishra from Kanpur. With this, the Congress has now declared a total of 183 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

Highlights: PM Modi, other BJP leaders meet to pick candidates for LS polls

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PM Modi, other BJP leaders meet in Delhi to pick candidates for LS polls

The BJP's Central Election Committee met here on Saturday to finalise the party's candidates in several states for the Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president J P Nadda were joined by other CEC members as they went over the list of probables to take a final call. The states for which candidates were tipped to be discussed include Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The CEC has met twice earlier and has named candidates for 291 Lok Sabha seats so far, including in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Telangana among others. The BJP is yet to announces candidates for many seats in some of these states. At least three of the declared candidates, including Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh, have withdrawn from the fray after their names drew some controversy or other. The names of the leading figures of the party, including Modi, Shah, Rajn

Union minister Pramanik has 14 criminal cases against him: Affidavit

Union minister Nisith Pramanik, who has been renominated by the BJP in Cooch Behar seat for the Lok Sabha elections, has 14 criminal cases pending against him, according to an affidavit filed by him along with his nomination paper. Of the 14 cases pending against the Union Minister of State for Home, nine were registered between 2018 and 2020. The other cases were filed between 2009 and 2014, as per the affidavit. He joined the BJP in 2019 after he was expelled from the Trinamool Congress in 2018 over allegedly putting up several independents in that year's panchayat polls in the state against party-nominated contestants in Cooch Behar district. Claiming that the criminal cases were politically motivated, a district functionary of the BJP said that most of the FIRs against Pramanik were registered after he cut off ties with the ruling TMC in West Bengal and thereafter joined the saffron party. The cases registered against the Union minister range from attempt to murder and rioting

Cong like well-established firm with fluctuating mcap; BJP startup: Jairam

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh likened his party to a "well-established company" whose market capitalisation keeps fluctuating and asserted that it will stage a comeback. In an interaction at the PTI office here, Ramesh also dismissed suggestions that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma that was responsible for the BJP's electoral performance and stressed on the importance of organisational strength. The idea of a charismatic leader was a "dangerous concept" to believe in as one doing so, automatically believes in a "demagogue", the Congress general secretary in charge communications asserted. Talking about the need for bringing in new faces, Ramesh, however, noted that this was difficult in the Congress because people have been in the party for long. "It's easier for the BJP. Because, you know, the BJP is a startup in many states. You look upon the BJP as a startup. The Congress is not a startup. The Congress is a well-established ...

BJP MP, Vadodara LS seat candidate Ranjan Bhatt pulls out of poll race

The Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha member from Vadodara, Ranjan Bhatt, who was renominated by the party from the same seat for the upcoming parliamentary elections, on Saturday pulled out of the poll race citing personal reasons. "I, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt, am unwilling to contest the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 due to my personal reasons," she announced on X. Her move comes days after banners criticising the BJP's decision to renominate her from the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat came up at different spots in the city. Some local BJP leaders had also expressed their displeasure over Bhatt's nomination. BJP national women's wing vice president Jyotiben Pandya resigned from the party and all posts after Bhatt's name was announced as a candidate for the third time from Vadodara. Bhatt had won the 2014 by-election after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the seat. She also won the Lok Sabha election in 2019, and was announced as BJP's candidate for the upcoming poll.

Intention behind electoral bonds was good, all parties need funds: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said it was not possible to run a political party without funds, and added that the Centre had introduced the electoral bonds scheme, now struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, in 2017 with a "good intention". The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said all political parties need to sit together and deliberate if the Supreme Court gives any further direction on the matter. He made the comments at an event organised by a media house in GIFT City near Gandhinagar on Friday. "When Arun Jaitely was (Union finance) minister, I was part of that discussion (regarding electoral bonds). No party can survive without resources. In some countries, governments fund political parties. There is no such system in India. Thus, we chose this system of financing political parties," said Gadkari on a question about electoral bonds. He noted the main intention behind introducing electoral bonds was that political parties get funds directly, but th

Interfering with appointment of ECs would lead to chaos, says Supreme Court

"Suspension of legislation pending consideration is an exception and not the rule," the Supreme Court observed on Friday while dismissing pleas challenging the appointment of election commissioners under a 2023 law, saying interfering with the selection process would lead to "chaos and a virtual constitutional breakdown". A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, which pronounced the order dismissing the pleas against the appointment of election commissioners (ECs) Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu on Thursday, gave detailed reasons for its findings. It, however, expressed concern on the procedure adopted for the selection of ECs and said such selection should be made with full details and particulars of the candidates circulated among all members of the selection panel comprising the prime minister, leader of the largest opposition party in Parliament and a Union minister nominated by the prime minister. "Procedural sanctity of the selection process requires a fair

Electoral bond disclosures: BJP gets lion's share from listed companies

70 per cent of electoral bond flows went to the saffron party

Electoral bond disclosures: Jalan group bonds well with political parties

Financial records of two group companies show that the donations gave are disproportionately high compared to the of the firms, at least in the years they purchased the bonds

Highlights: 2004 poll results will repeat itself, says Jairam Ramesh

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LS polls: BJD announces to go solo in Odisha polls after BJP breaks ties

Earlier in the day, Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal categorically stated that his party will be contesting in all the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the state alone

AIADMK election manifesto promises Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to women

The opposition AIADMK on Friday in its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections promised Rs 3,000 monthly financial aid to women heads of economically backward families across the country, among other things. The party would urge the Central government to implement this, the manifesto released by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami here said. Appointment of governors for states in consultation with the Chief Ministers, an alternative to NEET, and the establishment of a Supreme Court bench in Chennai were among the 113 electoral assurances made by the AIADMK. The Dravidian major has expressed its opposition to CAA in its current form and has also proposed to rename the criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act. The party would safeguard the state's rights on the Cauvery issue and stall the construction of a dam at Mekedatu by exerting pressure on the Centre, it said. It would resolve the Mullaiperiyar row and

History of 2004 will repeat itself: Cong leader Jairam Ramesh on LS polls

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday rejected the BJP's claims that the 2024 poll results are a foregone conclusion, saying "tiger mein abhi bahut jaan hai" and the opposition bloc will repeat the history of 2004 when the saffron party was unseated from power despite its 'shining India' campaign. The Congress general secretary in-charge communications also said his party is going into the Lok Sabha polls with its "five nyays" and "25 guarantees", and has full confidence that the opposition INDIA bloc will get a clear mandate. In an interaction at the PTI office here, Ramesh also said the Congress' guarantee is not of one person but of the party and its "ghoshna patra (manifesto)" will be called the "nyay patra" which will focus on Yuva Nyay, Nari Nyay, Shramik Nyay, Kisaan Nyay and Hissedari Nyay and the 25 guarantees under these. Asked if the polls will be about "Modi ki Guarantee" versus the Congress' "nyay" guarantees, he said, "Our guarantee is not of one person. We ar

PM 'rattled' by INDIA bloc, says Congress on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest

The Congress on Thursday claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "rattled" by the strength of the INDIA bloc and asserted that this would strengthen the alliance further in the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday. Reacting to the developments since last night, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "This is vendetta politics, it has become very clear that the prime minister (Narendra Modi) and the home minister (Amit Shah) are rattled by the INDIA bloc which is a very strong alliance. This is not an alliance of seats it is a janbandhan (people's alliance)." "It has become very clear from this step that we are going to get the mandate in this election," Ramesh told PTI. He asserted that the unity among INDIA bloc parties would increase going forward. "Only .

Lok Sabha polls: BJP's fourth list out, Tamil Nadu candidates finalised

Lok Sabha polls: In its latest list, the BJP revealed 15 candidates, including 14 for Tamil Nadu and one for Puducherry. The party has fielded Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam from the UT

Company that's biggest electoral bond donor funded 10 state-level parties

Future Gaming and Hotel Services spread its bets across national and regional players

Lok Sabha polls: INDIA bloc-poll body meet, DMK campaign launch. 10 points

Lok Sabha elections: INDIA bloc members will meet the Election Commission to protest against Arvind Kejriwal's arrest while the MCC is in force