Page 171 - Lok Sabha Elections

Number of candidates contesting LS polls rose 4-fold between 1952 and 2019

The number of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls has seen a rise of over four times from 1,874 in 1952 to 8,039 in 2019, according to official data. The average number of candidates per constituency has jumped from 4.67 to 14.8 in the same period, the data showed. With the Lok Sabha polls nearing, the battleground is set but it is yet to be seen how many candidates are in the fray even as the proportion of candidates contesting has seen a rise since 1952 when the first elections were held. On an average, there used to be only around three to five contestants per Lok Sabha seat until the sixth Lok Sabha elections in 1977 but in the last elections 14.8 candidates on average contested from per constituency across the country. According to an analysis by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research, there were 8,039 candidates contesting from 542 Parliamentary constituency seats in the 2019 general assembly elections. A closer look at the last Lok Sabha polls in 2019 show t

JMM means jam kar ke khao: Modi's sharp attack on Jharkhand Oppn. 5 points

PM Modi's remark came during his trip to Jharkhand's Sindri, where he launched many development projects ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

Lok Sabha polls 2024: BJP to contest 11 seats in Assam, AGP 2, UPPL 1

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the BJP will contest 11 seats in the state for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and the party's allies AGP and UPPL will field their candidates for the remaining three seats

PM chairs CEC meet in Delhi to finalise 1st list of candidates for LS polls

At the meeting, Party President JP Nadda along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and representatives and Chief Ministers of 16 states are present

'Abki baar 400 paar' slogan for LS polls given by people, not BJP: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the BJP is preparing for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls keeping in mind its aim to make India the world's third-largest economy and asserted people have coined the slogan about the saffron party-led bloc NDA crossing the 400-seat mark this time. He lashed out at the Congress and accused the grand old party, which has ruled at the Centre for decades, of destroying the traditional manufacturing prowess of the country. The PM noted India's credibility on the international stage has gone up several notches in the last 10 years of his tenure, helping attract more investment in the country, and added nations all over the world are keen to have good ties with New Delhi. Modi made the comments while virtually addressing the 'Viksit Bharat, Viksit Madhya Pradesh' programme after launching or inaugurating development projects worth more than Rs 17,551 crore in the BJP-ruled state. On the occasion, he laid foundation stones or dedicated to the ...

Gujarat hikes DA of govt employees by 4%, also raises its NPS share

Just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Gujarat government on Thursday announced a 4 per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners. With this hike, the DA of Gujarat government employees, which was 42 per cent earlier, will now be 46 per cent, a state government resolution (GR) said. The DA has been hiked with effect from July 1, 2023, and employees will be given arrears for the last eight months, it said. Around 4.45 lakh state government employees and 4.63 lakh pensioners will benefit from the decision to hike DA, an official release said. The government has also decided to increase its own contribution in the National Pension System (NPS) from 10 per cent to 14 per cent, while state employees will have to pay 10 per cent, the release said. The Gujarat government employees have been demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) instead of NPS. Under the OPS, retired government employees received 50 per cent of their last drawn salary plus DA as

LS elections: First phase of CAPF companies to be mobilised from March 1

The first phase of deployment of more than 3.4 lakh central armed police forces (CAPFs) for the upcoming general elections in the country and assembly polls in few states will begin from Friday, official sources said Thursday. According to the plan, about 2,000 companies will be mobilised as part of the pre-poll deployment in sensitive and hyper-sensitive constituencies beginning March 1. About 1.5 lakh personnel will move through roads and rail as part of this mobilisation, the sources told PTI. The first CAPF units will start reaching the states affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), apart from West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir, later this week, they said. The second phase of inducting the poll companies will be initiated from March 7, followed by some last units moving in their designated locations in the second and third week of March, they said. The commanding officers of these units have been issued the movement orders and directed to familiarise their troops about the areas

Unlike 2019, Oppn offers strong alternative to BJP in 2024: Binoy Viswam

As the parties gear up for the Lok Sabha polls, Binoy Viswam, the Kerala state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), has asserted that opposition forces now have the confidence to present the INDIA formation as a compelling alternative to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This confidence, he notes, was lacking during the 2019 elections. In an interview with PTI, Viswam, who is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, elaborated on the potential of the INDIA formation, which comprises anti-BJP parties. He highlighted the necessity for unity among opposition forces to counter the ruling coalition effectively. However, Viswam criticised the Congress party's move to field Rahul Gandhi from the Wayanad constituency, terming it as a "strategic misstep." "During 2019, people demanded an answer to the question of an effective alternative to the BJP, but we had no answer. This time, I am confident that people now have a hope of having an alternative with the INDIA formatio

Uttarakhand CM to attend BJP's Central Election Committee meeting today

The meeting will be also attended by State President Mahendra Bhatt

BJP can get seats in two digits in Kerala if it is two zeroes: Tharoor

BJP has been wooing the Christian community, with the Prime Minister himself having met Christian religious leaders from the state multiple times, both in Delhi and Kerala, during his visit there

Congress to contest 16 seats in Kerala in upcoming Lok Sabha elections

The Congress Party will contest 16 seats in Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said here on Wednesday. The allocation of seats within the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) for the Lok Sabha elections has been finalised, he said. Like in the previous polls, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest coalition partner in UDF, would contest in two seats, the LoP said while addressing a press conference here. Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress will contest in 16 seats, IUML- 2, KCJ (J) - 1 and RSP-1. The IUML leadership recently admitted that they had demanded one more Lok Sabha seat this time and said they won't backtrack from their decision. Satheesan, however, said issues were sorted through discussions. He also indicated that the IUML would be allotted a Rajya Sabha seat instead of the Lok Sabha seat they had demanded.

BJP demands polling booths in housing societies, high-rises for LS polls

Party slams EC's media monitoring committee's functioning as erratic and whimsical

Ram temple won't help polarise votes for BJP in LS polls: Ramakant Khalap

Congress leader and former Union minister Ramakant Khalap on Wednesday said the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya will not help in the polarisation of votes for the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Talking to PTI, Khalap said the Congress is the oldest party and has acceptance across different sections of the people. It is "perfectly possible" for his party to win both the North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats in the coastal state, Khalap said, adding that he aspires to contest from the North Goa seat on Congress ticket. Though the Congress has only one MLA under the North Goa parliamentary constituency, the party has a huge following in the region, he claimed. The 76-year old leader had served as law minister in the central cabinet led by Deve Gowda. He had moved the women's reservation bill during his tenure as the Union law minister (in 1996-97). Khalap, who was earlier with the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP), is currently with the Congress. To a question perta

After RS poll victory in UP, BJP says will win all 80 seats in LS elections

Buoyed by the victory of its all eight candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP on Tuesday exuded confidence that it will win all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the elections due in April-May. Speaking to PTI Video, Sudhanshu Trivedi, one of the victorious candidates of the BJP, said, "It is a matter of immense happiness that all the eight candidates of the BJP have won. Definitely, this is an indication of the future. It will be 80 out of 80 (Lok Sabha seats) in UP, and 400-plus for NDA (National Democratic Alliance) nationally." To a question on some SP MLAs siding with the BJP, he said, "The SP should itself think about why such a situation has emerged." He said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav talks about "PDA" -- "pichhda" (backward classes), Dalit and "alpsankhyak" minorities -- but fielded "FDA" candidates -- filmstar, dynast and "afsar" (bureaucrat). Another victorious candidate of the BJP, former Union minister R P N Singh, also exuded ...

LS polls: BJP to hold core group meetings of 8 states at party HQ today

During the meeting, an important discussion about the selection of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be held, a source confirmed

Lok Sabha polls: Left Front urges Rahul Gandhi to contest from Hindi belt

CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan said if the slogan is to defeat the BJP, Gandhi should contest from the Hindi belt

After alliance deal with Congress, AAP names 4 Delhi Lok Sabha candidates

Delhi Minister Gopal Rai announced the candidates in a press conference, following the party's top unit Political Affairs Committee's key meeting held under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

PM Modi to address public rally in Kashmir in March in 1st visit to valley

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir next month and address a public rally in Anantnag district, BJP sources said here on Tuesday. This would be the prime minister's first visit to the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The public rally will be held as part of the BJP's election campaign for the forthcoming general polls, the sources said. "The prime minister's public rally is scheduled in Anantnag district next month," the BJP sources said. "While the exact date is yet to be finalised, the rally will take place any day between March 14 to 17," the sources said, adding the party was waiting for the final dates from the Prime Minister's Office. The BJP is focussing on the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat which comprises of the south Kashmir areas of Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag, and Rajouri-Poonch areas in Jammu. Before delimitation of the constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, Anantnag seat comprised only of the four south

Oppn convinced of loss in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, thus abuses me: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed on Tuesday that the opposition, convinced it won't win the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, resorts to abusing him as it allegedly lacks a roadmap for the nation's progress. Modi, speaking at the conclusion ceremony of the BJP state unit's padayatra at the Central Stadium here, urged Kerala's people to bless the saffron party with seats in double digits in the 2024 LS polls. He further said the BJP never sees a state from the perspective of vote-bank. Modi claimed that over the last 10 years, Kerala has benefited from development like other BJP-ruled states. He said it was his guarantee to make all possible efforts to realise the dreams and expectations of the people of Kerala. The PM said it was 'Modiyude guarantee' (Modi's guarantee) to make India the third largest economy in the world as well as eradicate poverty and corruption from the country.

On NITI Aayog CEO's 'poverty at 5%' claim, Kharge rips into Modi govt

The recent release of the 'Household Consumption Expenditure' report has become the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the Opposition, with the Congress alleging data manipulation in the report