Page 46 - Lok Sabha Elections

Nandigram, cradle of anti-land acquisition stir, wants another 'poriborton'

Years have passed and peace has returned to Nandigram

Socio-cultural milieu can't be a casualty to polls: EC to BJP, Cong prez

The EC directed BJP President JP Nadda to inform its star campaigners to not make divisive speeches and refrain from any campaigning methods or utterances along religious or communal lines

BJP is sure of clinching all 40 seats in Bihar: Deputy CM Vijay Sinha

Sinha talks about his government's initiatives in checking illegal mining in the state

We don't have many Muslim leaders on national stage: Omar Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah highlighted the absence of prominent Muslim leaders on the national stage when the community faces challenges, and said Ghulam Nabi Azad could have played the leadership role within the Congress, but his fledgling DPAP is limited to just the Chenab Valley now. Abdullah emphasised the need for a strong national-level Muslim leader to give Muslims in the rest of the country "some reassurance". Azad had ended his more than five-decade-long association with the Congress in August 2022 and launched his own party -- the Democratic Azad party (DAP) -- the next month. "Unfortunately, he (Azad) was a man who would have been on the forefront of the Congress campaign. He would have been on the forefront of the leadership role within the Congress. I don't know what went wrong but I feel bad...we don't have many many Muslim leaders on the national stage," Abdullah said. Azad not being there is a loss to the wider Muslim community, especially

Sunita has no interest in politics, will not contest polls: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made it clear on Wednesday that his wife Sunita is not likely to contest elections in the future, saying she has no interest in active politics even though she came out aggressively in public after his arrest. In an interview to PTI, Kejriwal spoke at length on a variety of subjects, including the "humiliation" he suffered during his incarceration, accusations against him, what his family is going through and the prospects of the opposition INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "In every stage of my life, Sunita has supported me. I am fortunate to have a partner like her. To tolerate an eccentric person like me is not easy," Kejriwal said. He recalled that in 2000 he took leave from his job as an income tax commissioner to work in Delhi's slums, and then resigned to devote himself full time to the social work. "At that time I had no inkling that I would become a chief minister or set up a party, contest elections. I was just driven and wor

I am guided by divine power': PM Modi on why he 'never gets tired'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the remark in a TV interview about his intensified electoral activities in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections

How social media influences Indian elections | General Elections

No matter how well you manage your screen time, you must have come across scores of political campaigns while swiping.

LS elections: 8,360 candidates in fray in 2024 polls, highest since 1996

A total of 8,360 candidates are contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the highest since 1996, according to an analysis of official data. In the 2019 polls, there were 8,039 candidates, and in 1996, a record 13,952 candidates were in the fray for 543 seats of the Lower House of Parliament. The 2024 general elections are being held in seven phases, with five rounds of polling completed. The sixth and last rounds will be held on May 25 and June 1, respectively. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. The fourth phase of the elections held on May 13 had the highest number of candidates in the fray, 1,717 in 96 parliamentary constituencies in 10 states and Union Territories (UTs). The first phase held on April 19 had 1,625 candidates in 102 constituencies in 21 states and UTs, according to Election Commission (EC) data. There were 1,198 candidates in the second phase on April 26 in 89 constituencies across 13 states and UTs, 1,352 candidates in the third phase on May 7 in 94

Women make up less than 10% of candidates contesting Lok Sabha polls: ADR

Less than 10 per cent of the candidates contesting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are women, according to an analysis of data shared by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Of the 8,337 candidates analysed, only 797 are women, representing a mere 9.5 per cent of the total candidates contesting across the seven phases of the elections. This is the first election since the passage of the women's reservation bill to reserve one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reviving a bill pending for 27 years for want of consensus among parties. The bill is yet to come into effect. During the first phase of the elections, out of 1,618 candidates, only 135 were women. This pattern continued in the subsequent phases, with women candidates remaining a small fraction of the total. Phase 2 saw 1,192 candidates of which affidavits of 1,198 candidates were analysed and as many as 100 were women. Phase 3 had 1,352 candidates, including 123 women a

Odisha election: What is Jagannath Temple-linked 'missing keys' controversy

The keys of inner Ratna Bhandar, the treasure trove of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, are missing since 2018. This issue is BJP's key poll planks in Odisha as it aims to oust the Patnaik government

Mamata compromising national security for sake of vote-bank politics: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of compromising national security for the sake of vote-bank politics, and committing a sin by allowing infiltrators to change the state's demography. Addressing a poll rally at Kanthi in East Midnapore district, Shah also asserted that the Trinamool Congress will disintegrate, resulting in the farewell of the Mamata Banerjee government after the BJP wins 30 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Bengal has become a safe haven for infiltrators. Due to infiltration, the demography of the state is changing, which is impacting not only Bengal but the entire country. Mamata Banerjee is committing a sin by allowing infiltrators to change the demography of Bengal. She is compromising national security for the sake of vote-bank politics, he alleged. The BJP has maintained that infiltrators are the vote bank of the TMC. Shah also criticised Banerjee's recent comments that certain monks of the Ramakrishna .

Water shortage due to AAP's corruption, inaction, says Delhi BJP president

Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi on Wednesday alleged the BJP has hatched a "new conspiracy" to target AAP and through its Haryana government has stopped water supply to the national capital. Addressing a press conference, Atishi, who is also the water minister, said the BJP has been hatching conspiracies to target AAP ever since the Lok Sabha polls were announced. "Within five days of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested so that the AAP could not campaign in the polls. After he came out on interim bail, they used the party's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal to frame him but even that plan did not work, Atishi said. "Then they raked up the old issue of foreign funding to the party and now through their Haryana government, the BJP has stopped the supply of Yamuna water to Delhi," she alleged. Responding to Atishi's allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, "Fearing its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the AAP has come out with

Army does not want Agniveer scheme, INDIA bloc will throw it: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Agniveer scheme will be scrapped and thrown into dustbin if the INDIA bloc comes to power as he slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "turning Hindustan ke jawan into labourers". In his first election meeting in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls, the former Congress president also attacked Modi over the issue of farmers. Slamming the BJP government over the Agniveer scheme, he said, "This is Modi's scheme and not Army's scheme, Army does not want it". "When the INDIA bloc forms government, we will throw Agniveer scheme into dustbin," he said at the rally held under the Mahendragarh-Bhiwani Lok Sabha seat. India's borders, he said, are secured by the country's youth and "There is patriotism in DNA of our youth". "Modi has turned Hindustan ke jawan into labourers," he alleged. Further attacking the BJP government, he said, "They say there will be two types of martyrs - one normal jawan and officer, who will get pension, martyr sta

INDIA bloc doesn't have any leader who can become PM, claims Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the "corrupt INDI alliance" and said the opposition bloc doesn't have any leader who can become Prime Minister. While addressing a rally at Ghatal, Shah said the INDIA bloc leaders just want their dynasty to move ahead and "neither have any leaders to lead the country nor have any intention for the development of the nation." Shah, while referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir said "PoK is part of India and we will take it". "The INDI alliance doesn't have any leaders. The INDI alliance wants five PMs in five years. The INDI alliances neither have leaders nor have any intention for the development of the nation," he said. The BJP leader said the ongoing parliamentary elections are about choosing between "leaders of dynastic politics or honest leader Narendra Modi" who considers the country as his family. "Sharad Pawar wants his daughter to be the chief minister. Mamata Banerjee wants her nephew to succeed he

Congress, SP Pakistan's sympathisers: PM Modi at rally in UP's Basti

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday here called Congress and Samajwadi Party "sympathisers of Pakistan" and alleged that these parties are "scaring the country" with its nuclear power status. "This patron of terrorism which once used to make eyes at us, its condition has become such that its people are hard up even for grain. Pakistan is finished, but its sympathisers, SP and Congress, are busy scaring the country," Modi said at a poll rally while campaigning for BJP's Basti Lok Sabha candidate Harish Dwivedi. "They say one needs to be scared of Pakistan because it has an atom bomb. Don't they know what is 56-inch (chest)? It's not the weak Congress government ... but the strong government of Modi," Modi said. "India does not spare those who tries to bully it. India today beats them in their own homes," he said.

BJP ignored plight of UP's once-thriving sugar industry, alleges Congress

The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of ignoring the plight of Uttar Pradesh's once thriving sugar industry and neglecting farmers' frequent calls to increase the price of sugarcane. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rallies in Shravasti and Basti. "Why does Shravasti has the highest infant mortality rate in UP? Why have 189 primary schools in Basti been declared unusable? Why has the BJP neglected Basti's sugarcane farmers and sugar mills?" Ramesh said on X. Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", the Congress leader said Shravasti ranks among India's most underdeveloped districts on several parameters and 96 of every 1,000 children die within a year of being born, much more than the UP's shamefully high average of 68 deaths per 1000 births. "While there should be 36 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Shravasti, 1 for every 30,000 residents, the district only has 11 PHCs, which amounts to 1 PHC for mo

LS polls: Congress questions delay in release of voter turnout data by EC

The Congress on Wednesday raised questions over the big difference between the real time voter turnout data and the final figures released by the Election Commission, and said voters are worried over the "strange goings-on" in the poll body. Congress leader and head of media and publicity department of the party Pawan Khera said the difference is around 1.7 crore votes, and termed it as unprecedented. "Voters are worried about the strange goings on in the Election Commission through the four phases of voting. First, the Election Commission takes 10-11 days to bring out the final figure of voting and then the difference between real time data and final figure turns out to be 1.7 crore votes. This is truly unprecedented," Khera said on X. "Unanswered questions about the missing EVMs are also very worrying," he added. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "This difference of 1.07 crore overall translates into an increase of 28,000 in each LS seat. This is HUGE." "The discrepancy

BJP expels Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh for contesting against NDA candidate

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Pawan Singh had announced his decision to contest from Karakat Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate

LS polls: HC refuses to interfere with order on BJP ads during MCC period

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere in a single-bench order that directed the BJP not to publish any advertisement in violation of the model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha election process. Observing that a laxman rekha should be adhered to, the division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said there should not be any personal attack on the part of any political party. Refusing to interfere in Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya's May 20 order, the division bench said the BJP can move the single bench, seeking a review or recall of its order. The BJP had moved the appeal, claiming that the single bench passed the order without giving it any hearing. The saffron party's counsel also stated the Constitution provides that the Election Commission is the appropriate authority for redressal in case of any dispute during a poll process. The high court had on May 20 issued an injunction, restraining the BJP from publishing advertisem

AAP not implementing Centre's schemes in Delhi, says Union min Puri

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday accused the AAP government of not implementing the Narendra Modi government's flagship schemes, including Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Ayushman Bharat, in the national capital. Addressing a press conference, Puri also alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government created obstacles in the implementation of the Metro project in every phase. At present, the Delhi Metro has been executing projects under the fourth phase of its expansion. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister said that his ministry has implemented projects worth Rs 53,000 crore in the national capital. The BJP leader also slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for maintaining silence over the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal allegedly by his aide Bibhav Kumar at his residence. Delhi is slated to go to polls on May 25 in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections.