Page 185 - Lok Sabha Elections

Kovind panel gets 21K responses, 81% 'affirm' idea of simultaneous polls

The committee on 'one nation, one election' headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind has received nearly 21,000 suggestions from the public out of which 81 per cent "affirmed" the idea of simultaneous polls, an official statement said on Sunday. The statement further said that suggestions were also invited from 46 political parties. "Till date, suggestions have been received from 17 political parties," it said. Various opposition parties, including the Congress and the TMC, have opposed the idea of holding simultaneous polls. On January 5, the panel had issued a public notice inviting suggestions from citizens for making appropriate changes in the existing legal-administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country. The Kovind-led committee, which was constituted in September last year, held its third meeting on Sunday. "Altogether 20,972 responses were received out of which 81 per cent affirmed the idea of simultaneous election," the committee said after its

In meeting at Kejriwal's residence, AAP discusses LS candidates for Punjab

A meeting of AAP leaders to discuss its Lok Sabha poll candidates for Punjab was held at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence here on Saturday. Apart from party national convener Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak, MP Raghav Chadha and other leaders were present at the meeting, party leaders said. "The leaders discussed candidates from Punjab for the Lok Sabha polls. Various other issues like seat-sharing possibility was also deliberated upon but the discussions remained inconclusive. Further meetings will be held in coming days," said a source. The AAP and the Congress, both partners of the opposition INDIA bloc, have been holding seat-sharing talks for states, including Delhi and Punjab. However, sources in both parties have claimed that their state units were not in favour of an alliance between them for the elections. "A possibility of sharing six seats each in Punjab was being discussed but the Congress h

Lok Sabha polls: BJP to run mass connect programme between February 4-11

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP will run a mass connect programme between February 4 and 11, with its 30 lakh members expected to reach out to seven lakh rural polling booths and all urban booths during the period. The BJP has named its rural outreach "Gaon Chalo", with party president J P Nadda launching a workshop for its members on Saturday. He told them to spread the message about the numerous successes of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the last man, sources said. BJP members from its 37 organisational states attended the programme, with its leaders saying that similar training exercises will be held in its 988 organisational districts and 16,188 'mandals'.

Workers have enormous responsibility to bring better results: Mayawati

Reiterating that her party would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own, BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday said the party workers will in such a situation have an enormous responsibility to bring better results. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo held a meeting with her party's senior leaders and district presidents of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in this regard. Reiterating the BSP's stand, Mayawati said that the people in the party in such a situation have a tremendous responsibility to bring better results and hence the workers should counter all kinds of rumours spread by the media, said a statement issued by the party. She asked the BSP workers to work in an organised manner and stay away from the tactics of the opposition parties like price, punishment, discrimination etc. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister underlined the need to fulfill with full dedication and devotion the necessary guidelines regarding holding small meetings to increase the BSP's support

AIFB will hold talks with leaders of 'INDIA' bloc on seat-sharing

The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) will hold parleys with the leaders of the INDIA Bloc on sharing seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, AIFB's vice president P V Kathiravan said on Saturday. A poll panel comprising senior leaders has been constituted today and it will commence the negotiations with the INDIA Bloc leaders especially DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, soon, he said. The panel would also engage other leaders of the alliance in the talks and on facing the poll, Kathiravan said in a release here. "We will urge the ruling DMK to allot us the Theni constituency where we are strong," he said. Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the AIFB which met here with its president Naren Chatterjee in the chair resolved to relieve G Devarajan from the post of national general secretary till a new general secretary is elected. Chatterjee will hold the additional charge of general ...

One nation, one election will damage idea of parliamentary democracy: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said holding simultaneous elections in the country will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy and the basic structure of the Constitution. It will not be able to deal with hung legislature and will actively encourage anti-defection, the AAP said. The remarks of the AAP, a constituent of the INDIA bloc, came a day after the Congress, also part of the same grouping, strongly opposed the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country, saying it goes against the guarantees of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution. In a statement on Saturday, the AAP said, "'One nation, one election' will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy, the basic structure of the Constitution and federal polity of the country. It is unable to deal with hung legislature, will actively encourage the evil of anti-defection and open buying-selling of MLAs and MPs." It added that the cost sought to be saved by holding simultaneous elections is a mere 0.

Congress can't do politics by objecting to Lord Ram: VHP's Surender Jain

Speaking with ANI, Jain said that the Congress has divided into two camps with respect to attending the Pran Pratishta ceremony of Ram Lalla Idol in Ayodhya

Himanta Biswa Sarma most corrupt CM, Nyay Yatra to undo injustice: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi also met a group of environmental activists, intellectuals and affected people from the northern bank of Brahmaputra

SP, RLD announce alliance for Lok Sabha polls; latter gets 7 seats in UP

The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal on Friday announced their alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, with the RLD saying that the other party will leave seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh for its nominees. SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary announced the tie-up for the elections later this year on social media. "Congratulations to everyone on the alliance of RLD and SP. Let us all unite for victory," Yadav said in a post on X. Reposting this tweet, Chaudhary said, "Always ready to protect national and constitutional values. We expect all workers of our alliance to move forward together for the development and prosperity of our region." He also posted pictures of the two leaders shaking hands. An RLD spokesperson told PTI that the seat-sharing deal was finalised at a meeting between the two leaders. "The RLD will contest seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh," he said. But the spokesperson did not name the specific seats.

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We broke no rules, says Jairam Ramesh on FIR against Bharat Jodo Yatra

Ramesh claimed that the state government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was making deliberate attempts to stop people from joining the Yatra

More than 'Amrit Kaal', we need 'Shiksha Kaal' for India: Cong Prez Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday hit out at the Modi government over the state of education in the country, and said India shall ensure justice for its students in 2024. "More than 'Amrit Kaal', we need 'Shiksha Kaal' for India," he said in a post on X. "In 2024, India shall ensure NYAY for our students from the Modi Government, for its report card on 'Education' is marked with gross Failure," he said citing the Annual State of Education Report (ASER). Quoting from the report, he said "56.7 percent of 14 to 18-year-old students in rural India can't do class 3 math and 26.5 percent of this age group still cannot read a class 2 level text fluently in their regional language". He also noted that 25 percent of youth in the 17-18 age group have discontinued education, mostly due to "lack of interest". Kharge also posted a 35-second video along with his post that alleged that the "BJP is destroying the future of our young.

BJP holds 'marathon' meet to devise strategy for LS, Assembly polls in J-K

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday conducted a high-level meeting to assess feedback on the party's outreach programmes and devised a fresh strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. The primary focus of the meeting was to formulate a winning strategy for all five seats in Jammu and Kashmir, including plans to strengthen and secure parliamentary constituencies where the party has faced challenges in the past. "A very significant and important BJP meeting was held today. In a marathon session starting around 10 am and continuing until 7 pm, extensive discussions were held on various political issues and developments relevant to the upcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir for both Parliament and Assembly," a BJP leader said. The meeting, presided over by J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, included key figures such as party's national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Seh Prabhari Ashish Sood, national secretary Narinder Singh Raina, Union Minister ..

ED summons 'illegal', BJP wants to stop me from campaigning: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the ED summonses issued to him were "illegal" and part of a political conspiracy to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He alleged that the entire exercise of serving him summons was being carried out to arrest him before the high-octane polls, expected in April-May. The chief minister said he was issued a summons by the Enforcement Directorate last week for the fourth time, and asked him to appear before the agency on January 18 or January 19. "The BJP is running the ED. They only intend to arrest me so that I cannot campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he said. Kejriwal said he had sent his reply to the central agency. "The four notices sent me are illegal in the eyes of the law. Such general, non-specific notices have been quashed in the past by the courts. I have repeatedly written to the ED saying the notices are illegal but they have not replied to me," he told reporters on the sidelines

Want 20 Lok Sabha seats in UP: Congress tells Samajwadi Party in key meet

The Congress had won only one seat in UP in the 2019 general elections. At present, the party is only confined to Rae Bareli seat, held by Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' enters Assam from Nagaland

Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', led by its leader Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday entered Assam through Haluwating in Sivasagar district from Nagaland. Gandhi resumed his journey in a bus from Tuli in Nagaland in the early morning and reached Assam around 9:45 am. He was received by hundreds of party workers at Haluwating, where the national flag was handed over to Assam Congress leaders for the eight-day journey in the state. The 6,713-km-long march, led by the Congress MP, commenced from Manipur on January 14 and will culminate on March 20 in Mumbai. The Assam leg of the march will continue till January 25. The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is planned to cover 110 districts in 15 states.

Kumaraswamy meets Shah, Nadda in Delhi, discusses seat sharing for LS polls

Karnataka JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in the national capital and discussed preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Kumaraswamy's son and JDS youth wing state president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, and former MP Kupendra Reddy were also present in the meeting held at Shah's residence in Delhi on Wednesday. "The Home Minister and Nadda had a discussion with the JD(S) leaders for more than 45 minutes on state politics, seat sharing and the issue of alliance," Kumaraswamy said in a statement. The former chief minister had said Shah told him that he would discuss the process of JD(S) officially joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and seat allocation after the completion of the consecration of Rama temple in Ayodhya in the presence of Nadda. The leaders were unanimous that the NDA should win all the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and Narendra Modi should once again become the PM. S

BJP only party with proven track record of speedy development: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the BJP was the only party in India with a proven track record of speedy development and a clear vision for the future. The prime minister was speaking at a party meeting of around 6,000 in-charges of 'Shakti Kendras', each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive here. Speaking at the event, he highlighted the diverse initiatives implemented by his government to enhance the well-being of citizens. He said according to a recent report, in the last nine years around 25 crore people have been pulled out of poverty in India. "This indicates that the direction that we have taken for a developed nation is the correct one," the prime minister contended. "The BJP is the only party in India with a proven track record of speedy development and clear vision for the future," he added. The prime minister also urged party workers to convey to people that the track record of the LDF and UDF in Kerala was synonymous with a .

Presenting alternative vision with Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress leader said said that the idea of his Yatra is to make sure that even if people are from a small state, they should feel equal to all people in the country

INDIA to resolve seat-sharing woes, victory assured in LS polls: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence on Tuesday that the seat-sharing issues among the INDIA bloc partners will be resolved and claimed that the coalition will defeat the BJP in this year's Lok Sabha polls. He also said there is mutual respect and affection between the leaders of the INDIA bloc, which he asserted is "an ideological formation" that is in opposition to the idea of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing a press conference here in Nagaland during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said the status of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is "very good". "We are in conversation with our partners. The issue of seat sharing is being taken up. Those discussions are ongoing and I think they are going quite well. Let us see where those discussions end. "Broadly, a lot of those discussions are quite simple. They are not complex discussions and are relatively easy discussions to have. So I am quite