Page 164 - Lok Sabha Elections

Lok Sabha elections: En route to 370 seats, BJP looks for co-travellers

It is tying up with regional parties - big and small - to reach the target the PM has set for the 2024 polls

Trinamool's West Bengal list, Meghalaya plan dent INDIA bloc's blueprint

Banerjee paraded 42 of her party's Bengal candidates, including cricketer Yusuf Pathan

BJP, TDP, Jana Sena will form alliance for upcoming LS, Andhra polls: Naidu

The BJP, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party have come to an understanding for stitching up an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls, former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday. "Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state," Naidu told a group of reporters here while lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. The alliance will sweep the polls in Andhra Pradesh, he asserted, lashing out at the YSR Congress, which is in power in the southern state. The three parties sealed their alliance following a second round of talks involving their senior leaders on Saturday, sources said. They said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jana Sena may together contest around eight and 30 Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP will contest the remaining 17 Lok Sabha and 145 Assembly seats, they said

Highlights: Make life simpler for Indian innovators, says Anand Mahindra

Latest LIVE: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, TMC has announced to go solo in West Bengal, Assam.

India to become third-largest economy during PM Modi's third term: UP CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said India is poised to become the world's third-largest economy during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term. Addressing the Nari Shakti Vandan programme held at the Sugar Mill Ground here, Adityanath said, "With India becoming the third-largest economy, the income of every individual in the country will rise, leading to enhanced prosperity in the lives of people." During the programme, the chief minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 673 development projects worth Rs 679 crore. Adityanath said the entire nation is committed to realising the vision of a "Viksit Bharat" (developed India), with widespread support for "Phir ek baar Modi sarkar" (Modi government once again). He expressed confidence that the NDA would secure more than 400 hundred seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The chief minister said the dream of having Ram Lalla seated in the grand temple in Ayodhya, cherished by our ancestors, has finally c

We converted difficulties into opportunities: Rajnath Singh lauds PM Modi

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said it is the result of the "jan seva" (public service) being done by the double engine government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guidance that the entire country along with Lucknow is progressing by leaps and bounds. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 782 development projects worth Rs 34,700 crore from Azamgarh that included inauguration of the airports of Azamgarh, Shravasti, Moradabad, Chitrakoot and Aligarh, and the new terminal of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow. Addressing the gathering at an event in his parliamentary constituency, Singh said, "Under the visionary leadership of the prime minister, the specialty of our government has been that we converted difficulties into opportunities. There was already a system running in the country which kept the common man away from the elite class and we removed this system." "If I talk about the infrastructure in the aviation sector, ..

Lok Sabha polls: Lord Krishna is with us, says Kejriwal in Kurukshetra

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said his party has 'dharma' with it and asked people to decide whether they are with 'dharma' or 'adharma'. Addressing a public meeting in Haryana's Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, the Delhi chief minister urged people to vote for his party candidate Sushil Gupta from the seat. The AAP and the Congress will fight the Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Haryana. Under the tie-up, the AAP will contest from the lone Kurukshetra seat out of total 10 parliamentary seats in the state. Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal invoked the Mahabharata and said Kurukshetra is a pious land where the 'dharmayudh' was fought. 'Pandavas' had won it despite 'Kauravas' having everything, said the AAP convener who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. "What Pandavas had? Lord Shri Krishna was with them," he said. "Today, what we have with us. We are too small. Lord Shri Krishna is with us," said Kejriwal. Referring to the BJP-led Centre, Kejriwal sa

Will voice aspirations of people of Kashmir in Parliament: Sajad Lone

Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday sought support of the electorate in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency and said he will restore the region's glory and voice the aspirations of the people in the Parliament. "These elections will undoubtedly pave way for the collective betterment of our region, provided the right choices are made by sending representatives who can truly convey the aspirations and pain of the people of Kashmir in the Parliament," Lone, who is the party candidate for the Baramulla constituency, said at a convention of the party workers at Baramulla town. Questioning the performance of the National Conference MPs, who have been elected by the people for more than half a century, Lone criticized them for failing to meet the hopes of the people and remaining mute spectators to the issues concerning the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "There is a lot of pain, agony and suffering among the people, and only those who understand it can truly speak up for

Rahul pays tributes to Sardar Patel on last day of his yatra in Gujarat

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the Swaraj Ashram in Surat on Sunday and paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel during the last leg of his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Gujarat. After covering seven districts of Gujarat in four days, the yatra ended in the state and it will resume from Maharashtra's Nandurbar district on Tuesday after a one-day pause, senior leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters here. Gandhi visited the Swaraj Ashram at Bardoli in Surat district and offered tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. "For a few minutes, he went to the Swaraj Nivas which was set up by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1922. It was a moment of inspiration for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra amid injustice being meted out to farmers from different states gathered at Delhi-Haryana border," Ramesh said. Gandhi later left for New Delhi from Vyara in Tapi district after completing the Gujarat leg of the yatra, a mass outreach programme ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, covering more than 400 kilometres in

Will prevent few billionaires from controlling all wealth: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said, earlier weapons were manufactured in the ordnance factory of the government and now it will be done by Adani

Yusuf Pathan, Mahua Moitra among names in TMC's Lok Sabha candidate list

The TMC on Sunday announced the candidate list for all 42 Lok Sabha seats of West Bengal, dropping at least eight sitting MPs and bringing in several new faces such as former cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Kriti Azad. The party renominated 16 sitting MPs and fielded 12 women. Cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, whereas Kirti Aazd will fight from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency. From the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, where Sandeshkhali is situated, TMC pitted its former MP Haji Nurul Islam by dropping sitting MP Nusrat Jahan. The TMC also renominated expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra from Krishnanagar seat for the second consecutive term. The list was announced from TMC's mega rally held at Brigade Parada Grounds in Kolkata, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the party will contest Lok Sabha elections alone in all 42 seats in the state.

Demand for private jets, helicopters likely to rise 40% during LS polls

As political parties prepare to fight it out in the Lok Sabha polls, the demand for chartered planes and helicopters is expected to jump by up to 40 per cent compared to the previous general elections, according to industry experts. Helicopters are anticipated to be more in demand compared to fixed-wing aircraft as choppers will help in providing accessibility to rural and remote areas in a shorter time. "There will be an exponential demand for private jets and the demand is expected to outstrip the availability of chartered planes and helicopters. There is a limited supply of chartered planes and helicopters," Club One Air CEO Rajan Mehra told PTI. With increased demand, some players will be taking chartered planes and helicopters on lease during the general elections for which the dates are expected to be announced in the coming days. Chartered plane and helicopter services are charged on an hourly basis. The industry experts opined that the prices can vary between Rs 4.5 lakh t

PM Modi, what he stands for, will be at centre of LS polls: Kapil Sibal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the centre of the Lok Sabha polls and whether what he stands for is for the good of the people of the country would be the subject matter of the elections, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said on Sunday. In a video interview with PTI, Sibal also said the opposition INDIA bloc needs to come out with a joint vision document which entails what key issues are there before the country which need to be addressed. Asserting that no election is a done deal, Sibal quipped, "I don't know whether picture baki hai ki nahi lekin jo picture chal rahi hai woh desh ke liye theek nahi hai (I don't know whether or not there is more to the film but the one that is playing is not good for the country)." Asked about the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) losing its way with JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar crossing over to the NDA and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee saying her party will go solo in the polls, Sibal said negotiations with Banerjee were still o

BJP's call on Mandya seat in Karnataka piques Independent MP Ambareesh

The BJP top brass' decision regarding the Mandya Lok Sabha seat is keenly awaited with party-backed sitting Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh and its alliance partner JD(S) both making a strong pitch for the ticket. While JD(S) has conveyed to the BJP leadership that it wants to field its candidate, multilingual actress-turned-politician Sumalatha has also thrown her hat in the ring and wants to contest on a ticket from the national party. JD(S) is firm on this seat--which is located between Bengaluru and Mysuru-- as the constituency is dominated by Vokkaligas, the community that forms its strong voter base. The party headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has already conducted multiple rounds of meetings under its state President H D Kumaraswamy to decide on the candidate. Incidentally in 2019, Sumalatha had defeated the then Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil, the joint candidate of Congress-JD(S) alliance in Mandya, known in Kannada as 'Sakkare Naadu' (land of ...

Sandeshkhali unrest: Court extends Shajahan Sheikh's CBI custody by 4 days

A court in West Bengal's Basirhat on Sunday extended the CBI custody of Shajahan Sheikh, key accused in a mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali, by another four days on a prayer by the central agency. The Central Bureau of Investigation got custody of Sheikh on March 6 along with transfer of investigation on an order of the Calcutta High Court. Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were attacked when they went to raid the now suspended Trinamool Congress leader's premises at Sandeshkhali. The judge of the Basirhat court in North 24 Parganas district granted extension of Sheikh's custody to CBI by four days on a prayer by the central agency. The court directed that Sheikh be produced before it again on March 14. Sheikh was produced before the Basirhat court, around 70 km away from Kolkata where he is in CBI custody, under tight security. ED officials were attacked by an around 1000-strong mob when they went to search the premises of Sheikh at Sandeshkhali on January 5 in ...

'A sinking ship': Expelled Cong leader tears into party, calls Rahul 'mad'

"The only person responsible for the prevailing ruinous state of the Congress is Rahul Gandhi. As long as Rahul Gandhi is in the Congress, there is no saving the Congress," he added.

People faced bullets for Ram Temple, PM transformed India in 10 yrs: Birla

Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla on Sunday slammed the previous opposition parties' governments and said people had to face bullets for Ram Temple and wait for more than seven decades for the abolition of Article 370. Birla, who is contesting on a BJP ticket from the Bundi parliamentary constituency, said the country has largely changed in the past 10 years of the Narendra Modi government and is set to further transform over the next five. Birla, also the Lok Sabha Speaker, was addressing a gathering in the Khel Sankul in Bundi city, where he inaugurated a swimming pool costing Rs 5.50 crore. The lawmaker said this is the time of "religious and spiritual renaissance" in the country and India will become a developed nation under the current dispensation. He also praised the central government for ridding the nation of colonial-era penal laws and replacing them with three recently passed criminal-justice laws. "The day those colonial laws were scrapped and changed, the country was set free fr

Modi ki guarantee has zero warranty; TMC's Abhishek terms BJP as outsiders

Claiming that "Modi ki guarantee" has "zero warranty", TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday labelled BJP leaders as "outsiders and anti-Bengal", who only visit the state during elections. Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, asserted that the people of the state will give a befitting reply to the saffron camp during the Lok Sabha elections for withholding the state's funds. Addressing 'Jana Garjan Sabha' rally at Brigade Parade grounds, he said, "The 'Modi ki guarantee' has zero warranty. Only Mamata Banerjee and the TMC keep the promises. The BJP and its leaders are outsiders and anti-Bengal and that is why they have withheld the funds due to the state," he said. The TMC MP also claimed that the ED and CBI raids "won't yield any result as they won't be participating in the elections". The Trinamool Congress launched its Lok Sabha poll campaign from the grand rally on Sunday, where party supremo Mamata Banerjee is expected to set the tone for the upcoming elections.

Former Cong ministers, ex-MLAs join BJP in Rajasthan ahead of LS polls

Several Congress leaders in Rajasthan, including former ministers Rajendra Yadav and Lal Chand Kataria, joined the BJP here on Sunday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Former Congress MLAs Richpal Mirdha, Vijaypal Mirdha, Khiladi Bairwa, former independent MLA Alok Beniwal, former state party chief Seva Dal Suresh Chaudhary, Rampal Sharma and Riju Jhunjhunwala among other leaders also joined the ruling party in the state. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, state BJP president C P Joshi and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav welcomed them into the party at its state headquarters here.

Amit Shah likely to visit T'gana on Mar 12; to address booth-level leaders

The BJP is formulating strategies to win more seats in the Lok Sabha elections in the state this time. The party's top leaders have already focused on Telangana