Page 163 - Lok Sabha Elections

EC Arun Goel's sudden resignation led to crisis, says Karti Chidambaram

The sudden resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel has led to a Constitutional crisis and yet the central government has not given any explanation on the matter, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said on Monday. Speaking to reporters here, Karti pointed that no press conference was held and neither was any reason disclosed about the resignation of a person who held a constitutional post. "In a mature democracy, if a senior constitutional functionary resigns, there will be a press conference or there will be a statement, at the least to disclose the reason behind the resignation. His sudden resignation has led to a constitutional crisis and the government has not given any explanation on it," he remarked. It is a matter of anguish that such a development has taken place just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls, he said. Commenting on devolution of powers and issues such as levy of cess, he said the Centre does not respect the rights of state governments. Referring

BJP wants to convert India into dictatorship by amending Constitution: Cong

The Congress on Monday slammed the BJP over its MP Anantkumar Hegde's remarks about amending the Constitution, alleging that the Constitution is inconvenient for the BJP's "autocratic plans" and that is why it's aiming for 400-plus seats to "officially convert India into a dictatorship". In a post on X, Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal also alleged that the BJP has a "forked tongue" with which it conveys two messages -- one for public decorum and the other its "Mann Ki Baat". "What Anantkumar Hegde said about altering the Constitution is their Mann Ki Baat. In their heart, they have never stood for the Constitution or the core values it espouses," he alleged. The BJP believes in imposing duties on citizens, while snatching away their fundamental rights, Venugopal said. "Its parent organisation has wished for reservations to be done away with. And we are all witness to how constitutional institutions like the ECI or the judiciary are being compromised, while .

Need to win all 13 LS seats to make Punjab 'Rangla': Arvind Kejriwal

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched his party's poll campaign in Punjab for the upcoming general elections and accused the BJP of trying to topple the Bhagwant Mann government by approaching its MLAs. He asked people to ensure his party's victory in all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. "We do not need these seats for ourselves. (These are) to work more for your family and to make your family more prosperous. To make Punjab 'Rangla', we need 13 seats," Kejriwal said. At the event, the AAP also rolled out the slogan -- "Sansad vich ve Bhagwant Mann, Khushaal Punjab te vadhegi shaan". Addressing a gathering here, Kejriwal slammed the Centre for allegedly withholding Rs 8,000 crore of Punjab's funds and accused the BJP of trying to topple the AAP government in the state by approaching its MLAs. "The Centre has withheld Rs 8,000 crore of Punjab's funds. It is a lot of money. How many schools, hospitals, mohalla clinics could have come up with that fund?" he posed. Kejriwal hit

Won't leave Chhindwara: Kamal Nath on contesting LS poll from Jabalpur

Congress veteran Kamal Nath on Monday ruled out the possibility of contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Jabalpur and said he will not leave Chhindwara, his political stronghold in Madhya Pradesh. The Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by his son Nakul Nath. Kamal Nath has represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency nine times. He is currently an MLA from Chhindwara assembly seat. Asked if he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Jabalpur, a prominent parliamentary segment in Mahakoshal region of MP, Kamal Nath said, "There is no plan. I will not leave Chhindwara in any case." He was talking to reporters in Chhindwara. The former CM had on earlier occasions said his son will contest from Chhindwara. Asked about Congress leaders switching sides in Madhya Pradesh, he said, "Suresh Pachouri (former Union minister) joined the BJP. It was his wish." Veteran leader Pachouri had joined the ruling BJP on Saturday. On Monday, two other former Congress

UP Cong urges Rahul, Priyanka to contest LS polls from Amethi, Rae Bareli

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Monday said the state unit's election committee has passed a resolution urging members of the Gandhi family to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Amethi. He hoped their names would figure in the party's next list of candidates. The Congress on Friday released its first list of 39 candidates, including Rahul Gandhi from Kerala's Wayanad, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Raebareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi. Both the seats are considered bastions of the Gandhi family. Rahul Gandhi had lost the prized seat of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections. Rai told PTI, "The state election committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress passed a resolution unanimously on Sunday urging the Gandhi family to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Amethi." "This is because the pe

Lok Sabha polls: Two former Congress MLAs join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Two former Congress MLAs joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The political development comes two days after former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the BJP. Former Congress legislators Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP party president VD Sharma at the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal. Choubey was elected as MLA from Khurai seat in Sagar district in 2008, while Bagri represented Gunnaur assembly seat in Panna district in 2018. There was speculation that Congress leader and former MLA Deepak Joshi, son of BJP stalwart and ex-chief minister Kailash Joshi, might also join the ruling party along with Choubey and Bagri. But Joshi did not join the BJP on Monday. Asked about the speculation, BJP state president VD Sharma said, "People will keep coming to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the family will keep

Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi set to visit Kerala again on March 15, 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kerala's Palakkad on March 15 to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said here on Monday. Following this, on March 17, Modi will undertake another visit to Pathanamthitta to rally support for Anil K Antony, the BJP candidate and son of Congress stalwart A K Antony, sources said. Party sources said that Modi will conduct a massive roadshow upon his arrival in Palakkad. Although there won't be any public meetings, preparations for the Palakkad event are currently underway, they said. During his Palakkad visit, Modi is expected to focus his efforts on campaigning for three National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates contesting from Palakkad, Alathur, and Ponnani Lok Sabha constituencies, they said. The official social media pages of the BJP's Palakkad and Pathanamthitta district committees have announced Modi's fourth and fifth visits to the state within a span of three

Congress leader moves SC seeking to restrain govt from appointing new ECs

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain the Centre from appointing new election commissioners as per a 2023 law, the provisions of which have been challenged in the apex court. Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement. The plea has been filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who has challenged the provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and terms of office) Act, 2023. In her application, Thakur informed the court that during the pendency of her plea, in which a notice was issued on January 12, "one member of Election Commission namely Arun Goel gave resignation on March 9, 2024, which has been accepted by the President". "That petitioner most respectfully submitted that in view of facts that election for Lok Sabha Election 2024 may be announced shortly, therefore appointment of .

PM disburses Rs 8,000-cr loans at Sashakt Nari, Viksit Bharat programme

The PM disbursed around Rs 8,000 crore in loans to SHGs at a subsidised interest rate through bank linkage camps set up in each district

SC quashes plea, orders SBI to disclose electoral bond details by Tuesday

SBI was asked to disclose details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties by the Supreme Court from April 2019, by March 13. The bank sought an extension till June 30

Amending Constitution as BJP wants will be end of democracy: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday claimed that if the Constitution is amended according to the BJP-RSS agenda, it will be the end of parliamentary democracy, federalism, rights of the minorities, and English being one of the two official languages. Chidambaram's remarks came over BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde's statement that his party needs a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution. In a post on X, Chidambaram said, "The BJP's intention to amend the Constitution was never a secret. Dozens of BJP leaders in private conversations have said that India must be a Hindu Rashtra, that Hindi must be the sole official language of India and the central government must be strong and prevail over the state governments." Sometimes, members like Hegde spill the beans, and quickly deny their words, the former Union minister said, adding that "this is an old ploy". The purpose is achieved and the RSS/BJP cadres are enthused that the BJP continues to nurture the idea of amending the .

BJP's CEC to meet today, likely to discuss more Lok Sabha candidates

The meeting is also likely to be attended by the BJP's partners in the NDA from Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, and Bihar

Assessing BJP's 2019 Sankalpa Patra promises ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

While Modi govt in 2nd term has delivered on several promises it made in BJP's 2019 manifesto a few such as doubling farmers' income, turning India into a $10 trn economy by 2032 remain uphill tasks

PM to unveil masterplan of Rs 1,200 cr Sabarmati Ashram project on Mar 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform "Ashram Bhoomi Vandana" and unveil the masterplan of the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Project during his visit to Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Tuesday. Planned with a budget of Rs 1,200 crore, the project aims to revitalise Mahatma Gandhi's teachings and philosophy for the present and future generations, a government release said on Sunday. The ambitious project aims to revamp the infrastructure surrounding the Sabarmati Ashram, provide state-of-the-art amenities to visitors, and establish a world-class memorial dedicated to the Father of the Nation, it said. Under the masterplan, the existing five-acre area of the ashram, which Mahatma Gandhi founded in 1917 on the banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, will be expanded to 55 acres and 36 existing buildings will undergo restoration, as per the release. "The project includes conservation of 20 old buildings, precise restoration of 13 buildings, and redevelopment of three buildings keeping in mind t

PM Modi to inaugurate, lay foundation stone for 112 NH projects today

To help improve traffic flow and ease congestion between Delhi and Gurugram on NH-48, PM Modi will inaugurate the Haryana section of the landmark Dwarka Expressway

Will unemployment be an issue for young voters?

Youth unemployment is set to be a major issue in the Congress' campaign for the general election, but a lot will also depend on how effectively the party can take its campaign to the young

LS polls: Cong CEC meet to finalise candidates for remaining seats today

Earlier, Congress released its first list of candidates for 39 Lok Sabha constituencies on March 8

Polls may rev up 2-wheeler sales but passenger vehicles likely to be a drag

But passenger vehicle sales may hit slow lane, say industry experts

LS polls: Will do away with 'secular' in Preamble, says Karnataka BJP MP

Six years since Anantkumar Hegde said the BJP would change the Constitution to do away with the word "secular" in its preamble, the BJP MP on Sunday reiterated it, exhorting the public to ensure two-thirds majority for the saffron party in Lok Sabha to amend the country's founding document. The BJP needs a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and "set right distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress", Hedge said, addressing a gathering here, going on to explain the numbers required to amend the preamble of the Constitution. The party would also need to come to power in more than 20 States for this, the six-time Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka said. "If the Constitution has to be amended -- the Congress fundamentally distorted the Constitution by forcefully filling unnecessary things in it, especially by bringing in laws that were aimed at suppressing the Hindu society -- if all of this has to be changed it is not possible with

Govt unlocks infrastructure blitz before 2024 Lok Sabha elections

PM launches projects worth Rs 2.3 trillion in a week; more lined up