Page 43 - Lok Sabha Elections

Maharashtra's crucial role

Amidst the upheaval caused by political splits and new strategic alliances, both the Congress and the BJP are vying for dominance in the state

Lok Sabha polls: In Cuttack, it's seasoned MP vs corporate veteran

The Congress has fielded Suresh Mohapatra, whose challenge would be to improve the vote share from 9.5% that his party received in 2019

Phase 6 of Lok Sabha polls: Health insurance a key goal for constituencies

Lalganj (SC) in Uttar Pradesh had the lowest proportion of women with health insurance at 1.8 per cent, based on the analysis of the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) by the study

LS polls: Arvind Panagariya says excited to cast vote for first time

16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Friday said he is excited to exercise his franchise for the first time on Saturday. "The world is divided between those who have voted and those who have not. Tomorrow, I get to migrate from the latter to the former group. Truly excited to cast my first-ever vote!!," He said in a post on X. Polling for Lok Sabha elections is scheduled in Delhi for Saturday. To a query by an X user on whether Panagariya has given up his US citizenship or if he was always an Indian citizen but never in India at the time of elections, the finance commission chairman said: "It is the latter". Panagariya is a Professor of Economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University. He was appointed chairman of the 16th Finance Commission on December 31 last year. From January 2015 to August 2017, he served as the first Vice Chairman of the Niti Aayog. In March 2012, Panagariya was honoured with Padma Bhushan -- t

LS polls: Voting in Haryana for 10 seats on Saturday, ex-CM Khattar in fray

Polling in the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana and for the Karnal assembly bypoll will be held on Saturday that will decide the fate of 223 candidates, including big guns like former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Congress' Kumari Selja. A total of 223 candidates -- 207 men and 16 women -- are in the fray in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls and more than 2 crore people are eligible to vote in the state. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is contesting the Karnal byelection. Voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the 2019 general elections. For the Lok Sabha elections, Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar, former chief minister Manohar Lal and Congress heavyweights Kumari Selja and Deepender Singh Hooda are among the candidates. Khattar, the BJP candidate from Karnal, is facing Haryana Youth Congress president Divyanshu Budhiraja. Haryana is witnessing a direct fight between the ruling BJ

RBI dividend usage to signal new govt's fiscal priorities: Ratings agencies

Global rating agencies on Friday said windfall of Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend from the RBI is positive for the country's fiscal metrics and its usage will provide a signal around the new government's fiscal priorities. The board of India's central bank earlier this week decided to pay Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government from the profits earned in 2023-24. This is more than double of Rs 1.02 lakh crore that was budgeted by the government. Fitch Ratings Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Director Jeremy Zook said sustained deficit reduction, particularly if underpinned by durable revenue-raising reforms, would be positive for India's rating fundamentals over the medium-term. "The use of the dividend -- whether it is saved or used for additional spending -- could provide a signal around the government's fiscal priorities," Zook told PTI in an email response. Fitch has a 'BBB-' rating on India with a stable outlook. In January, the rating agency had affirmed India's rating on robust growt

WB to move higher court to challenge HC order on OBC certificates: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her government will approach a higher court, challenging the Calcutta High Court order that cancelled all OBC certificates issued in the state since 2010. Addressing an election rally in Sagar in South 24 Parganas district, she said the state government would appeal to the higher court against the order after summer vacation. We do not accept the order that scrapped OBC certificates. We will contest at a higher court after summer vacation," Banerjee said. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday struck down as illegal the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, sparking a political debate in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections. The court observed that the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to treat them as a vote bank. Banerjee urged electors "not to cast a single vote to the BJP or any other party except the TMC so that the INDIA bloc can form a govern

Delhi Lok Sabha elections 2024: What's open, what's closed on May 25

Lok Sabha elections: Delhi is gearing up for the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for Saturday, May 25

LS polls: AAP alleges BJP nominee Hiranmoy's claims in affidavit false

The Aam Aadmi Party has lodged a complaint to the Election Commission, alleging that BJP's Ghatal Lok Sabha nominee Hiranmoy Chattopadhyaya has provided "wrong" information about his educational qualification in the affidavit and sought cancellation of his candidature. The AAP also accused the actor-turned-politician of making a false claim that he is a research fellow at IIT Kharagpur. We have observed a discrepancy in the election affidavit declaration of Hiranmoy Chattopadhyaya regarding his educational qualification/accomplishment. He has claimed to be a research fellow at IIT Kharagpur since May 2023. However, a recent RTI reply from IIT Kharagpur has revealed that he is neither a research associate, nor scientist, nor staff, nor in any other category, as per the institute rules and regulations," the AAP wrote in the letter on Thursday. It is evident that Chattopadhyaya has given "falsified personal information in his election affidavit which is a violation of rules and ...

Commonwealth Games Village designated strong room, traffic advisory issued

The Delhi Police has issued a traffic advisory for Friday for the area around the Commonwealth Games Village, which has been designated as a strong room-cum-counting centre for the Lok Sabha elections. In a post on X, the Delhi Traffic Police on Thursday said, "In view of the Lok Sabha elections, the Commonwealth Games Village is a strong room-cum-counting centre. On 24.05.24, from 9 am to 5 pm, movement of a large number of buses and other vehicles related to election duties are expected." The police advised commuters travelling from Sarai Kale Khan/MGM towards National Highway-24 to proceed straight to Akshardham flyover and take a left turn to reach Pusta Road, ITO or Vikas Marg. People coming from the ITO or Pusta Road side should proceed up to the Akshardham flyover, take a U-turn after crossing the flyover, and then continue on National Highway-24 towards Delhi, it added. The police requested the commuters to cooperate by avoiding the roads mentioned and utilising public ...

BJP hits out at Congress govt in K'taka, terms capital city Udta Bengaluru

The development comes after the Bengaluru Police busted a rave party at a farmhouse here recently which was allegedly attended by 86 people

Lok Sabha elections: What is Form 17C that EC has refused to make public

The ECI's decision has sparked controversy, especially amidst concerns over delays in releasing final voter turnout data and discrepancies between provisional and final figures

Will PM Modi scrap Agnipath amid opposition from Himachal, asks Congress

The Congress on Friday said the people of Himachal Pradesh have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the Agnipath scheme and asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commit to scrapping the "ill-conceived" military recruitment programme. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posed several questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Himachal Pradesh. "How much did the attempt to topple the state government cost the BJP? Will the outgoing prime minister commit to scrapping the Agnipath scheme? Why has the Modi sarkar not delivered on railway projects? Why did the outgoing prime minister not declare the July 2023 floods a national calamity?" the Congress general secretary asked. He also alleged that the BJP's blatant disregard for democratic values has been on full display in Himachal Pradesh. The six MLAs who were disqualified from the assembly for selling out to the BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections have shamelessly been named as candidates for the seats they vacated, he .

LS polls 2024: PM Modi to address rallies in Himachal, Punjab today

Prominent campaigners from both major political parties, the BJP and Congress, are vigorously supporting their candidates

Lok Sabha polls Phase 6: List of constituencies, key candidates. Details

Lok Sabha elections: Eight states and UTs including Delhi and Haryana will go to polls in the sixth phase on May 25

Markets and elections: Bernstein decodes LS result impact on D-Street

In a report, Bernstein has discussed various election scenarios and its implications for the market and the economy

Campaigning ends for 6th phase of LS polls in 58 seats, voting on May 25

Voting will take place on all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi and Haryana which BJP clean-sweeped in the 2019 polls

15.2 mn voters to exercise their franchise at 13,641 booths in Delhi: CEO

Reiterating that double voting chances are less, the CEO said that all adequate steps have been taken to avoid these kinds of incidents

EC partners with Rapido, Zomato, Swiggy to encourage voter turnout in Delhi

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer P Krishnamurthy said on Thursday that over one lakh polling personnel have been deployed for the conduct of polls on May 25 while several steps have been taken to protect people from the intense heat wave. Highlighting special initiatives to enhance the voting experience, he said they have set up 70 pink polling stations across Delhi, one in each assembly constituency, which will be entirely operated by women polling staff, according to a statement. Additionally, 70 model polling stations will feature enhanced facilities. For the first time, each parliamentary constituency will have a polling station fully staffed by persons with disabilities (PwD), he added. "We have meticulously planned and executed all aspects of election management, including manpower, logistics and transport management," he said. He emphasised that based on the directives from the Election Commission and the IMD forecast of an intense heat wave, comprehensive measures have been ..

LS polls: PM Modi attacks AAP, calls Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann as 'kagzi CM'

Addressing his first election rally in the state for the 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, Modi said Punjab has given leadership to the country in various sectors - from agriculture to industry