Page 173 - Lok Sabha Elections

Vote for INDIA bloc so your voices are heard in Parliament: CM Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday asked people in Delhi to vote for INDIA bloc candidates in the Lok Sabha polls so that their voices can be heard in Parliament and inflated water bills are waived. Speaking at a protest organised by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) against inflated water bills here, Kejriwal said on a lighter note that he should be given the Nobel Prize for running the government despite adverse conditions. "In the Lok Sabha elections, you should vote for INDIA bloc candidates from Delhi and send them to Parliament. This will create a protective shield around Delhi and no lieutenant governor will be able to do anything," the AAP national convenor said. "I assure you that within 15 days of the Lok Sabha elections and the win of INDIA bloc candidates, your water bills will come down to zero," he added. The AAP and Congress, allies in the INDIA bloc, have finalised a 4-3 arrangement for Delhi, under which the ruling party will contest four out of the seven parliamentary

Highlights: Car securing route for CM Yogi's cavalcade meets with accident

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BJP to lose 250K votes on cancellation of police recruitment exam: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said the cancellation of recently held police constable recruitment examination in Uttar Pradesh would be shocking news for the BJP as the state's youth affected by it will now remove the party from power. Addressing the media at SP headquarters in Lucknow, the former chief minister said, "The cancellation of exam may be breaking news but it is shocking news for BJP as it has lost over 2.5 lakh votes in every constituency of UP." The UP government on Saturday cancelled the constable recruitment examination following allegations of question paper leak and ordered a re-test within six months. Explaining his claim, Yadav said, "If 60 lakh candidates had applied for the police recruitment exam, and if we count their parents the number (of people affected by the decision) goes to 1.8 crore. This means that in each of the 80 (Lok Sabha) constituencies of UP around 2.5 lakh people are going to vote against the BJP." "BJP must understand

LS elections: Most parties in Tamil Nadu want EC to hold single-phase polls

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said most of the political parties in Tamil Nadu have urged the EC to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in single phase in the state. At the end of his two-day visit to Tamil Nadu to review poll-preparedness, Kumar said the Election Commission (EC) would come down heavily on those officials who do not ensure level playing field to parties as "in a democracy, officials should be absolutely impartial." Briefing reporters on the issues raised by the political parties, he said, "most of the political parties want single phase polling and demanded steps to curtail use of money power during the elections. They also sought disqualification of candidates who are found distributing cash during the elections or any inducement." "Process wise, they (political parties) have said that the bureaucratic machinery needs to be impartial. They need to provide a level playing field so that every candidate is treated equally," he said. Kumar,

Zero-tolerance policy towards misuse of money in elections: CEC Kumar

Addressing a press conference CEC chief on Saturday asserted that the Election Commission determines to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections

Is BJP held hostage by alliance partners: Cong's swipe after seat sharing

Buoyed by sealing seat-sharing deals with the AAP and the Samajwadi Party, the Congress on Saturday took a swipe at the BJP, which is yet to announce such an arrangement with its allies, asking whether the ruling party has been held "hostage" by the parties it sought to "gobble up". Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said that in the last week, the INDIA bloc has sealed important seat-sharing deals in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana and Chandigarh. "In the coming few days, all our other discussions will also reach a positive conclusion," he said in a post on X. In the same post, Venugopal said, "Meanwhile, what is happening in the NDA? Are all the ill-conceived, corrupt and opportunistic M&A deals giving BJP sleepless nights? Why no seat-sharing yet in Bihar? What about Maharashtra, where they have taken a sledgehammer on democracy?" "Is the party which claims to win 400+ seats being held hostage by those parties it wanted to gobble

Seeking to plug loopholes, ECI tweaks policy on transfer of officers

The Election Commission has asked states to ensure that officers who are transferred out of a district ahead of polls as part of its policy are not posted in any district within the same parliamentary constituency. By tweaking its policy on transferring officers ahead of elections, the EC has sought to plug loopholes being exploited by state governments. The move comes after the poll authority took "serious note" of cases in which officers were being transferred in adjacent districts within the same parliamentary constituency by state governments. According to the policy of the Election Commission (EC), all officers who were either posted in their home district or have completed three years at a place are transferred out ahead of Lok Sabha or assembly polls to ensure they do not disturb the level-playing field in favour of a candidate or a party. "...the commission has strengthened its existing transfer policy to ensure that officials are not able to disturb the level-playing field

Cong can't think beyond 'parivarvaad', corruption & appeasement: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the Congress saying the grand old party cannot think beyond parivarvaad' (nepotism), corruption and appeasement and the country's development has never been on its agenda. After independence, the Congress ruled the country for a long time but its focus was only on forming the government and not building the future of the country, said Modi while virtually addressing the Viksit Bharat Viksit Chhattisgarh' programme. He dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stones of ten development projects worth over Rs 34,400 crore on the occasion and said when India becomes the world's third-largest economy in the next five years, Chhattisgarh will reach new heights of development. ..those who ruled the country for a long time after the independence, their thinking was not big and they kept on taking decisions keeping in mind (their) political interests. Congress was elected to power again and again but forgot to build the future of the .

PM Modi, Amit Shah likely to visit Bihar ahead of Lok Sabha polls

As per BJP sources, PM Modi will address public meetings in Aurangabad and Begusarai parliamentary constituencies in Bihar on March 2

Lok Sabha polls: Nadda chairs meet with election in-charges of all states

In a key huddle ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, BJP national president JP Nadda is holding a meeting along with party's election in-charges and co-in-charges of all states, top sources informed.The meeting is being held at the national party headquarters in Delhi, the sources said.The election in-charges at the ongoing huddle include Baijayant Panda (UP), Dushyant Gautam (Uttrakhand), Tarun Chugh (J & K), Vinod Tawade (Bihar), and Biplav Deb (Haryana), among others.Further, according to sources, the meeting will feature extensive deliberations on ways to boost the party's prospects in seats where the BJP is a laggard or is considered weak.The agenda for the meeting also includes devising a comprehensive plan to achieve the target of 370-plus seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.Apart from electoral strategies, the leaders at the meeting will also assess and take stock of ongoing programs and central schemes for targeting beneficiaries across a cross-section of ...

Lok Sabha elections: AAP to contest 4 seats in Delhi, Congress 3

The AAP will contest four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and the Congress three, the parties said on Saturday as they announced their seat-sharing arrangements for the national capital, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana. There are seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi and all were won by the BJP in the 2019 polls. Addressing a joint press conference here, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik announced that the AAP will contest the New Delhi, the West Delhi, the South Delhi and the East Delhi seats, while his party the Chandni Chowk, the Northeast Delhi and the Northwest Delhi seats. "In Gujarat, the AAP will contest from Bharuch and Bhavnagar, while the Congress will field its candidates from the remaining 24 seats in the state. In Haryana, the AAP will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Kurukshetra. The Congress will contest both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa," he said. The Congress will also contest the lone seat in Chandigarh, Wasnik said. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sandeep Pathak said the AAP and

AAP-Cong alliance in different states likely be officially announced today

An alliance between the AAP and the Congress in Delhi and in different states, including Gujarat and Haryana, for the Lok Sabha polls may be officially announced on Saturday, sources in the AAP said. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are constituents of the INDIA bloc, formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP in the upcoming general elections. The announcement of alliance and seat-sharing arrangements for Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, Chandigarh and Haryana could be made at a joint press conference at 11.30 am, the sources said. In Delhi, the AAP will contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats -- West Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi and East Delhi -- and the Congress will get Chandani Chowk, North East Delhi and North West Delhi, they said. The AAP has already announced its candidates on two Lok Sabha seats -- Bharuch and Bhavnagar -- in Gujarat and the South Goa seat. It is also likely to get one seat -- Faridabad or Gurugram -- in Haryana, the sources added.

To-do list for Modi 3.0

A final view on who is OBC, agricultural reforms, and the abolition of anti-defection law and UPSC are among the key goals PM should pursue if he wins a third term

Modi is 'Ambassador' of small farmers and small entrepreneurs: PM

"When I nudge people to buy Khadi and wear Khadi, then I connect the women, Dalits and backwards communities associated with Khadi to the markets," Modi noted

JP Nadda to hold meeting with election in-charge, co-incharge of all states

The party sources added, 'There will be discussion in the meeting regarding the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections.'

Lok Sabha polls: Congress offers Trinamool a new seat-sharing deal

In Bengal, the Congress is keen to contest four or five of the state's 42 seats in alliance with the ruling Trinamool

Lok Sabha polls: Amit Shah to visit MP on Sun to review party preparations

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah will visit Madhya Pradesh on Sunday to review the party's preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, a functionary said. He will visit Gwalior and interact with more than 400 leaders and workers from Morena, Bhind, Guna and Gwalior Lok Sabha seats, MP BJP media cell chief Ashish Agrawal told PTI on Friday. At 3pm, he will address a public meeting in Khajuraho, where the Samajwadi Party will field its candidate as part of the agreement in the Congress-led opposition bloc INDIA. In the evening, Shah will interact in Bhopal with prominent citizens and experts as well as families that have benefited from schemes of the state and Union governments. Party functionaries said Shah's visit will concentrate on ensuring the BJP wins all 29 seats from MP, and also work on the plan to get at least 370 votes more per booth in the 2024 polls when compared to the last general elections. In the 2019 polls, the BJP won 28 seats, while the Cong

Rahul Gandhi calls Modi 'Vasooli Bhai', accuses BJP of 'donation business'

Earlier, Jairam Ramesh alleged that 30 firms, which donated a total of nearly Rs 335 cr to the BJP between financial years 2018-19 and 2022-23, faced action by central agencies during that period

Ahead of LS polls, transgender community seeks bigger share of tickets

Members of the transgender community are demanding a bigger share of tickets for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and the recognition of 'Trans Shakti' in hopes of getting their voices heard. Belonging to one of the country's most marginalised communities, the transgender people said only they can fight for the rights of the community whose members are shunned during the day and exploited at night. Hoping that more political parties will give tickets to transgender people for the general elections, the community members said the narrative of 'Nari Shakti' (women empowerment) must be transcended so that 'Trans Shakti' can also get due recognition and representation. Meera Parida, Vice President of Biju Mahila Janata Dal, who was born as Mayadhar Parida, lamented how despite 75 years since Independence, the trans community members are shunned during the day and exploited at night. "I am ready to contest Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha polls if the party decides to entrust me with the ...

LS polls: Odisha extends farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another 3 yrs

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters. He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said. For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the ..