Page 174 - Lok Sabha Elections

Protesting 'localisation' push: Karnataka Inc bats for merit over politics

Karnataka is home to over 5,500 IT and IT-enabled services firms and nearly 750 MNCs, contributing to over $58 billion in exports

Is this mother of democracy?: Rahul Gandhi asks Centre over X's statement

Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre is focussed on suppressing "every voice of truth" and questioned if India still remains the mother of democracy

Talks between AAP, Congress on LS seat sharing in Delhi in final stages

Talks between the AAP and the Congress over seat sharing in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls are in final stages and the two sides are likely to announce their tie-up soon, sources said on Thursday. Both sides have agreed on the seats to be contested by each party. The AAP will field candidates from the South Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi and New Delhi seats, while the Congress will contest from the Chandni Chowk, East Delhi and North East Delhi constituencies, the sources in the Aam Aadmi Party said. All the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that the talks over the alliance were delayed and hinted at fresh developments in the next one or two days. The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May.

Ahead of LS polls, BJP to woo farmers through 'Gram Parikrama Yatra'

A Gram Parikrama Yatra started on February 12 in Sukh Teerth of Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh

INDIA bloc seals first seat-sharing agreement as SP, Congress join hands

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will share the stage with Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury at a rally in Patna on March 3

SP, Congress announce tie-up for Lok Sabha polls in UP, Cong gets 17 seats

INDIA bloc partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, with the state's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats for the Congress. The announcement was made at a joint press conference by SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel, SP national general secretary Rajendra Chaudhary, Congress state president Ajay Rai and AICC in-charge for UP Avinash Pande. Pande said the Congress will contest on 17 seats, while on the rest of the 63 seats in the state SP and other alliance partners will contest.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress to fight on 17 seats in UP, SP on 63

Earlier, the Samajwadi Party's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary, said that the Congress had been given a final offer of 17 seats in the 80 Lok Sabha seats

ECI winds up Bihar tour ahead of LS polls, voices concern over low turnout

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday asserted that low voter turnout was a cause for concern in Bihar, known as the land that gave birth to democracy and still inhabited by politically aware citizens. Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar made the averment at a press conference here, before concluding his three-day tour of the state for reviewing preparedness ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "Bihar is known as the mother of democracy," said Kumar, in an apparent reference to the ancient republic of Vaishali. Even though people of the state are known to be politically aware, the voter turnout here has been "poor", he said. "In 2019, it was not just below the national average, but second lowest in the country. Only Jammu and Kashmir had registered a lower voting percentage," Kumar said. The CEC said several steps were being taken to ensure improvement in turnout with a special focus on those segments where this was particularly low. "We have noted that the voting percentag

LS polls: EC asks railways to ensure smooth movement for CAPF personnel

The Election Commission (EC) has directed the railway board to ensure "smooth and hassle-free" train movement for more than 3.4 lakh security personnel being deployed for the upcoming general and assembly elections with specific instructions to avoid recurrence of delays noticed in the past. The poll panel has sought setting up of a 24x7 control room which will oversee this mega cross-country movement of the troops over the next few months and to make adequate arrangements for fans and air conditioning in coaches, meals, medical facilities at stations on route, availability of special and splinter bogies and pest control in the wagons during this exercise period. The EC, in a communication issued to the railway board last week, said "a large-scale" deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and police forces drawn from various states for election purpose was essential as they will undertake and ensure area domination, confidence building measures, poll day duties and ...

Haven't joined INDIA, will support anyone with 'selfless' thought: Haasan

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said discussions were on for his party MNM's political alliance and stressed it would support any bloc that would "selflessly" think about the nation but desist from being part of "feudal politics." Addressing reporters here after leading the 7th anniversary celebrations of his Makkal Needhi Maiam, Haasan also welcomed the recent political entry of top Tamil actor Vijay. Asked if MNM will join the multi-party opposition INDIA bloc, he said, "I have already told, this is the time when you have to blur party politics and think about the nation. Anybody who thinks selflessly about the nation, my MNM will be part of it." However, MNM won't join hands with those doing "local feudal politics," he said. Asked if he has joined the INDIA grouping, he said, "no, I haven't." On his party's possible political alliance, he said "discussions are on," and that any "good news" in this regard will be communicated to the media. The question was asked in t

Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan removed as Mumbai Youth Congress President

Congress has appointed Akhilesh Yadav to be the new President of Mumbai Youth Congress in place of Zeeshan Siddique days after his father joined the NCP

Differences among INDIA allies in some states, to be resolved: Sharad Pawar

Rajya Sabha member Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there are differences among some of the opposition INDIA bloc parties in a couple of states over issues including seat-sharing which senior leaders from other states would try to resolve. Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, the senior politician said a meeting of the INDIA alliance, formed by several opposition parties to take on the ruling BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, has not been convened of late. A decision was taken earlier that all the parties of the opposition bloc will work together, he said. "But majority of the parties in the alliance are limited to their states, so it was decided that all these parties will sit with other allied parties in their respective states and that process is going on," Pawar said. He noted there are differences among some the opposition alliance parties in a couple of states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. "In Uttar Pradesh, there is an absence of a common understanding over the ...

BJP will win more than 10 LS seats in Telangana: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

Earlier on February 11, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Telangana unit announced 'Vijaya Sankalpa Yatra 'that will cover five regions in the state ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

Onion export ban to continue till Mar 31 to keep prices under check: Govt

The ban on export of onion will continue till its previously announced deadline of March 31 as the government is keen to keep prices under check and ensure domestic availability, a top official said on Tuesday. On December 8, 2023, the government had banned export of onion till March 31. "Ban on onion exports has not been lifted. It is in force and there is no change in the status," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. The government's supreme priority is to ensure enough domestic availability of onion at reasonable prices to consumers, he added. On reports of lifting of the export ban on the commodity, the modal wholesale onion prices shot up 40.62 per cent to Rs 1,800 per quintal on February 19 in Lasalgoan, the country's largest wholesale onion market, from Rs 1,280 per quintal on February 17. Ahead of general elections, the ban is unlikely to be lifted even after March 31 as rabi (winter) onion production is expected to be lower due to less coverage of area .

Cong hails SC's forest definition order, says INDIA to protect environment

The Congress on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court's interim order asking the states and Union Territories to act as per the definition of "forest" laid down by the top court in a 1996 judgment and said it is committed to protecting forests and environment when an INDIA bloc government is formed. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that after the "electoral bonds scam", the Supreme Court has stopped another set of "blatantly illegal and disastrous" Modi government schemes. Former environment minister Ramesh also tagged a media report on the Supreme Court directing that the dictionary meaning of "forest" be applied. He also shared another media report on the amnesty window opened for just six months in March 2017 to clear projects in a novel "violation category" that became routine through a Union Environment Ministry notification in July 2021, and provided ex-post facto approval to over 100 projects till the Supreme Court stayed the notification in January this year. "The .

Amit Shah in Rajasthan's Bikaner on daylong visit; to address BJP workers

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Rajasthan's Bikaner on Tuesday on a daylong visit to the state. Shah is scheduled to address a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state election committee in Bikaner in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. It will be followed by a party workers' meeting in Udaipur after noon and a meeting with prominent citizens in state capital Jaipur in the evening. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and state BJP president C P Joshi received Shah at the Bikaner airport. From the airport, they left for the venue of the meeting. Shah will focus on three "clusters", comprising three Lok Sabha seats each, of Jaipur, Udaipur and Bikaner during his visit.

UP BJP set to hold meeting to chalk out Lok Sabha poll strategy today

Meanwhile, a two-day national convention of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aimed at deliberating on the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, commenced on Saturday in Delhi

Victory of voters: Sharad Pawar on SC ruling on his faction's name, symbol

Sharad Pawar on Monday described as a victory of voters the Supreme Court ruling that his faction can use the name 'NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar' till further orders. It is a win for the voters as the court observed that the voters of the country should not be undermined and questioned what about the fact that candidates have fought on the ticket of the original party, Pawar said in a statement. The apex court on Monday directed that Election Commission's order of February 6 allotting 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders. On the auspicious day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, the Supreme Court has granted us interim relief against the order of the Election Commission of India. We bow down to the Supreme Court for recognising us as Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' in the interim, and having directed the Election Commission of India to consider our application for a symbol to

Shubman Gill designated as 'state icon' for Lok Sabha polls: Punjab CEO

The Punjab Chief Electoral Officer's office has designated Indian cricketer Shubman Gill as a "state icon" for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In a statement, Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said on Monday that Gill will engage in various campaigns aimed at voter awareness to ensure a voting percentage of 70 per cent. The poll panel has set the target of "Is Vaar 70 Paar". Punjab had recorded a voter turnout of 65.96 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls for the 13 seats. The CEO said Punjab-resident Gill, popular among sports enthusiasts, especially the youth, has been appointed as a "state icon" for the polls. Sibin C said that in a meeting with all deputy commissioners of Punjab on Friday, they were asked to identify such areas where the voting percentage was low during the last elections. He said that awareness campaigns and appeals made by Shubman Gill in such areas would motivate the voters and help increase the turnout. Earlier, popular Punjabi singer Tarsem Jassar had been selected a

Samajwadi Party announces names of 11 candidates for Lok Sabha elections

The Samajwadi Party has fielded gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur and Harendra Malik from Muzaffarnagar