Page 57 - Lok Sabha Elections

Unfazed NFOs: No election jitters for mutual fund scheme launches

In line with the trend seen in previous election seasons, the equity market has been volatile in recent weeks even as the expectations of re-election of the BJP-led government remains strong

20,000 Congress volunteers to spread Rahul's message in LS polls: Report

The Congress has adopted a multi-pronged social media strategy with Rahul Gandhi directly reaching out to people via the 'speak to the camera' mode on various issues and deploying of 20,000 volunteers to spread his messages and views on WhatsApp, party sources said on Thursday. The core theme of the outreach is to directly connect with people and get feedback about their problems, aspirations and come up with solutions in the form of the party's much talked about Nyay Patra manifesto, they said. According to the sources, more than 88 lakh people have downloaded its manifesto from Congress website so far. Apart from his letter to party workers, rallies and press conferences, Gandhi is connecting directly with people through his interactive sessions such as Yuva Nyay Manch, lectures on Samajik Nyay and his outreach to farmers and women in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. The former Congress president's YouTube channel has 5.6 million subscribers and had about 350 million views in last one

EC's home voting facility for elders, PwDs kicks off for Delhi LS polls

The home voting facility for the elderly voters and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in all seven parliamentary constituencies of Delhi kicked off on Thursday. The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has started the facility that will continue till May 24, marking the first time such a facility has been made available in Lok Sabha elections, said a statement from the poll body. The home voting facility is available to voters above 85 years of age and PwDs, offering them the option to cast their votes from their homes, it said. Veteran BJP leader V K Malhotra was among those who used the facility to exercise their franchise. Delhi CEO P Krishnamurthy said their goal is to make the electoral process accessible to all and to encourage greater participation. "By providing the home voting facility to senior citizens and PwDs, we express our care and respect towards them," he added. In Delhi, 5,472 voters who are either above 85 years of age or are Persons with Disabil

39% candidates in phase 6 polls crorepatis, average assets Rs 6.8 cr: ADR

About 39 per cent of candidates contesting in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls are crorepatis with average assets of Rs 6.21 crore, according to poll rights body ADR. Among the candidates contesting in the sixth phase on May 25, the highest assets have been declared by BJP candidates from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal at Rs 1,241 crore followed by Santrupt Misra at Rs 482 crore and Sushil Gupta at Rs 169 crore, the analysis by Association of Democratic Reforms said. Out of the 866 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, 338 (39 per cent) are crorepatis and the average assets per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha phase VI election is Rs 6.21 crore. Among the major parties, all six candidates from BJD, four out of four candidates each from RJD and JD(U), 48 (94 per cent) out of 51 candidates from BJP, 11 (92 per cent) out of 12 candidates from SP, 20 (80 per cent) out of 25 candidates from Congress, 4 (80 per cent) out of 5 candidates from AAP and 7 (78 per cent) candidates o

Lok Sabha elections: Nearly 67 per cent voter turnout in first four phases

The Election Commission informed that voting has concluded in 379 constituencies, completing the electoral process in 23 States and Union Territories in the initial four phases

Lok Sabha polls: If INDIA bloc wins, who will be PM, Shah asks in Bihar

The BJP, which is aiming for a third term in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, has been targeting the Opposition's INDIA bloc over fighting the polls in coalition without naming their PM candidate

Nearly 67% voter turnout in first four phases of Lok Sabha elections: EC

The cumulative turnout in the first four phases of the Lok Sabha elections has been recorded at 66.95 per cent, the Election Commission said on Thursday, adding 45.10 crore of the nearly 97 crore electors have voted so far in the ongoing electoral exercise. In a statement, the poll panel urged electorate to come out and vote in large numbers in the coming phases. According to the poll authority, the updated voter turnout in the fourth phase of polling held on May 13 was 69.16 per cent, 3.65 percentage points higher than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary polls. The updated voter turnout figures for the third phase of polling in the Lok Sabha election stood at 65.68 per cent. In the third phase of the 2019 general election, the turnout was 68.4 per cent. In the second phase of the election held on April 26, the turnout was recorded at 66.71 per cent as against the 69.64 per cent in the second phase of the 2019 polls. In the first phase of the ongoing general election

Election-related market volatility: Time for MF investors to start SIP?

Mutual fund investment strategy: Mutual fund investors, meanwhile, have been rejigging their portfolios amid a surge in equity volatility

Will double quantity of grain each person is entitled to under FSA: Cong

The Congress on Thursday claimed that the BJP is "spreading lies" about food rations in India and asserted that what Karnataka has accomplished through its 10 kg free rice guarantee scheme of 'Anna Bhagya' will now be implemented across the country by an INDIA bloc government. The party's assertion came a day after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is voted to power, it will double the quantity of free rations provided by the BJP government to the poor. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said once again, "The PM and the BJP are spreading lies about food rations in India". "This is the real chronology' of recent events: The National Food Security Act, passed in September 2013 by the Manmohan Singh Government, provided grains for 80 crore Indians (based on 2011 Census). It was opposed in writing by only one CM: the-then CM of Gujarat. As PM, Mr. Narendra Modi did nothing to impleme

Lok Sabha polls: Congress set for clean sweep in Haryana, says Hooda

Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said people are looking at his party with great hope and it is set for a clean sweep in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections. The former chief minister said the Congress is receiving overwhelming public support. Voting for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will be held in the sixth round of the seven-phase elections on May 25. While the Congress is contesting nine seats, its INDIA bloc ally AAP has fielded its candidate from the Kurukshetra constituency. "People are looking at the Congress with great hope and there is a wave in our favour," Hooda said, exuding confidence that his party and its ally AAP will win all the 10 seats in Haryana. He also exuded confidence that the INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre. Targeting the BJP dispensation in Haryana, the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly said it is a "non-performing government" and "every section is fed up with it". On the BJP replacing Manohar Lal

Electioneering is at its peak but diesel sales slide, petrol almost flat

India's diesel sales continued to slide in May while petrol consumption was almost flat despite election campaigns for the general elections hitting a peak, preliminary data of state-owned firms showed on Thursday. Electioneering for general elections traditionally has led to a surge in fuel demand as candidates extensively use automobiles to reach voters. But the trend in sales by PSUs so far does not reflect that. Petrol sales of three state-owned firms, which control 90 per cent of the fuel market, at 1.367 million tonnes in the first half of May was almost the same as 1.36 million tonnes of fuel consumed in the same period last year. Month-on-month consumption however soared 11 per cent. Diesel sales dropped 1.1 per cent to 3.28 million tonnes during May 1 to 15. The demand for the nation's most consumed fuel had fallen 2.3 per cent in April and 2.7 per cent in March. Besides electioneering, the summer harvest season is also the scorching summer that increases the demand for ai

SP, Cong tried to cause riots by spreading lies about CAA: PM Modi in UP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday the country has started granting citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act while the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress tried to cause riots in the country by spreading lies about the law. Addressing a Lok Sabha election rally in the Lalganj area here, he said, "The work of giving refugees citizenship under the CAA has already started. These are those people who have been living in the country for a long time as refugees and were victims of partition of the country done on the basis of religion." Modi also accused the Congress of neglecting these refugees. "The Congress and the SP tried to spread lies in the name of CAA. They tried to push Uttar Pradesh and the entire country towards riots," he alleged. The prime minister added that although the people of "INDI alliance" claim they will remove CAA, "no one can do it". "You are a fraud... you forced the country to burn in the fire of communalism," he said, attacking the oppositi

Inhuman to hold roadshow where hoarding collapse killed people: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said it was inhuman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a roadshow in the same area of Mumbai where the hoarding collapse incident claimed the lives of 16 persons. He said that roads and Metro rail services were shut 12 pm onwards on Wednesday on account of PM Modi's roadshow from Ghatkopar west to Ghatkopar east. "Never ever has such an incident happened where roads were shut for one person's campaign, causing inconvenience to people. It is inhuman to hold a roadshow where people died after the hoarding collapse," the Sena (UBT) MP said. A giant hoarding of 120 feet x 120 feet collapsed in Chheda Nagar area of Ghatkopar during gusty winds on Monday that killed 16 persons and left 75 injured. PM Modi held the mega roadshow in Ghatkopar on Wednesday evening to canvas support for the candidates of the BJP and its allies. The roadshow came ahead of the May 20 polling for the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai and seven others in

Mamata's Nandigram defeat echoes in Tamluk as TMC, BJP prepare for showdown

As the electoral battle intensifies in West Bengal's Tamluk constituency, a fierce confrontation between the TMC and the BJP looms large with the state's ruling party seeking retribution for Mamata Banerjee's loss in Nandigram and the saffron party striving to fortify its stronghold. Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP immediately after resigning from his post on March 5 and was fielded by the party from the crucial seat, and the selection of young Turks Debangshu Bhattacharya and Sayan Banerjee by the TMC and CPI(M) respectively have intensified the political rivalry in the seat. Nandigram, where the anti-land acquisition movement in 2007 against the then Left Front government was instrumental in the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress' rise to power in 2011 in Bengal, is in Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency. The enmity between Mamata Banerjee and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, epitomised by the latter's victory in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly .

People of Odisha have decided to give rest to Naveen Patnaik: JP Nadda

Holding a roadshow in the Odisha capital in support of party candidates, BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday asserted that people of the state have "decided to give rest" to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by electing the saffron party to power. Nadda, who was standing in a saffron-coloured open-hood vehicle flanked by Bhubaneswar's BJP MP and candidate Aparajita Sarangi and Ekamra-Bhubaneswar assembly seat's party nominee Babu Singh, was seen waving at crowds on both sides of the road during the roadshow from Mausina Chhak to Lingaraj temple. People greeted the BJP president and showered petals on him from buildings on either side of the road, while BJP workers participating in the roadshow waved party flags and raised slogans. Speaking to reporters during the three-km roadshow, Nadda said people's enthusiasm indicates that they have "decided to give rest" to Naveen Patnaik, who has been ruling Odisha for the last 24 years, and elect a BJP government in the state. Referring to the .

SC reacts to Amit Shah's 'special treatment' remark on Kejriwal's bail

Amit Shah says interim bail granted to Arvind Kejriwal was not a 'routine judgment' and many believe the CM got 'special treatment'

PM's roadshow will prove to be nemesis for BJP, allies in Mumbai: NCP (SP)

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Mumbai will prove to be a nemesis for the BJP and its allies in the city in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While the relatives of those who lost their lives in the tragic hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar were mourning, the BJP held the roadshow of PM Modi in the same vicinity, claimed NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto in a statement. The hoarding accident, triggered by gusty winds on Monday, has claimed 16 lives and left 75 injured. Ahead of the May 20 polling for the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai and seven others in Maharashtra, PM Modi held a mega roadshow here on Wednesday evening to canvass for the candidates of the BJP and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP. The hour-long roadshow began at Ashok Silk Mills in Ghatkopar (West) in North East Mumbai and concluded at the Parshawanath Chowk in Ghatkopar (East). To add salt to the wounds of Mumbikars, the Metro and local train services were ..

LS polls: BJP wants to end reservation, change Constitution, says Kejriwal

AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the BJP wants to get more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls as it wants to end reservation. Kejriwal also reiterated his claim that Home Minister Amit Shah will be made the next prime minister and Yogi Adiyanath will be removed as Uttar Pradesh chief minister if the BJP returns to power. "The people of BJP have always been against reservation. They will change the Constitution and end reservation of SC/ST/OBC after coming to power," he said at a joint press conference along with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav here. Kejriwal claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a rule that anyone over 75 years of age will not be given any post in the government and the organisation and will be retired. L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were retired as per this rule and several BJP leaders, as per this rule, were removed or not given ticket. "PM Modi is going to cross the age of 75 next year and has decided

'Don't politicise Maliwal row': AAP counters BJP-Modi on Prajwal Revanna

On Monday, Swati Maliwal made a call to the Delhi police, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, misbehaved with her at the Delhi CM's residence

Lok Sabha polls 2024: PM 'failed' India's daughters, Cong slams Modi

The Congress on Thursday renewed its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP giving a Lok Sabha ticket to the son of incumbent MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing charges of sexually harassing women wrestlers, and asked whether women ever be safe in "Modi's India". Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Uttar Pradesh. "Will the Jaunpur medical college ever be completed? Why has the Gomti river been re-branded and not re-vived? Will women ever be safe in Modi's India?" Ramesh said. Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", Ramesh said the foundation stone of the Jaunpur medical college was laid by Akhilesh Yadav in 2015 but nine years later, it is still not complete. It was meant to be completed in 2017 but when the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, they chose not to prioritise this project, he alleged. "Despite this, the half-functional college was 'inaugurated' by the outgoing PM and CM