Page 68 - Lok Sabha Elections

LS polls: Royalty, history take centre stage in 3-way Krishnanagar fight

The incumbent MP is TMC's Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the LS in Dec

LS polls: Job promises galore as Odisha scores low on employment index

Despite declining by three percentage points in 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY19, Odisha's unemployment rate remains higher than the average in India

Will end 'Inspector Raj' for all retailers: BJP's Chandni Chowk candidate

Khandelwal said that ensuring 'dignity' of the traders in his constituency will be his utmost priority

Lok Sabha polls: Re-polling in 4 booths in MP's Betul seat sees 73% turnout

A voter turnout of 72.97 per cent was recorded at four booths in Madhya Pradesh's Betul Lok Sabha seat where re-polling took place on Friday after EVMs used in May 7 voting were damaged in a fire, an official said. The voting started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm, said the official. The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered re-polling at the four booths after a few electronic voting machines (EVMs) were damaged when a bus ferrying them and polling personnel post-voting caught fire on Tuesday night near Sonora Gaula village in Betul district. Repolling was ordered in booths at Government Integrated High School, Rajapur, Government Integrated High School, Raiyat, Government Primary School Kunda, Raiyat, and Government Integrated High School, Chikhlimal. These polling centres come under the Multai assembly segment of the Betul parliamentary seat (ST reserved). A dry day and holiday were announced in the areas covered by re-polling, the official said. An estimated 72.65 per cent ...

Dismiss 'minority' govt in Haryana, order fresh polls: Cong in memo to Guv

The Congress submitted a memorandum addressed to Haryana Governor here on Friday with a demand to dismiss the "minority" BJP government in the state and order fresh elections under the President's rule. Senior Congress leader B B Batra, chief whip CLP, accompanied by Deputy CLP leader Aftab Ahmed, submitted a memorandum addressed to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya regarding the present political situation in the state. Earlier this week, three Independents had withdrawn their support to the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana. The party said that another Independent MLA Balraj Kundu had withdrawn support a couple of years back and is opposed to the current Haryana government. In its memorandum, the party claimed that it is crystal clear that the Haryana government was reduced to a minority in the House. The 90-member Haryana assembly at present has an effective strength of 88 with Karnal and Rania assembly seats being vacant. The Congress, in its memo, said, "It is crysta

INDIA bloc leaders meet EC over voter turnout data, allege MCC violations

Leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc will meet the Election Commission on Thursday over their demand to promptly release the absolute voter turnout figures in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls after each phase, sources said. They will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the BJP in their campaign, they said. The sources said leaders from the INDIA bloc will meet the full bench of the Election Commission of India on Thursday afternoon, submit a memorandum and also discuss the issues with the poll panel. INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), have written to the poll panel separately so far, expressing concern over the alleged "delay" in the release of the voter turnout data in the first two phases. Amid the opposition's allegations, the poll body had asserted that booth-wise data of the "actual number of votes polled" is available with the candidates soon after the voting ends. In a statement iss

BJP seeks votes in name of God instead of talking about inflation: Priyanka

Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday alleged the ruling BJP seeks votes in the name of God instead of talking about how it will control inflation or provide employment to people. Addressing a number of 'nukkad sabhas' in support of Congress candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha seat Kishori Lal Sharma, Priyanka Gandhi said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims on TV that his government did in 10 years the work that was not done in the last 70 years, the situation on the ground level is different. Sharma is pitted against sitting Amethi MP Smriti Irani. The BJP leader had wrested the seat, which was considered a Gandhi family stronghold, from Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Targeting Irani, Priyanka Gandhi said her sole intention was to defeat Rahul Gandhi. She said, "Your MP and BJP people come at election time but do not talk about how they will control inflation, improve farming or provide employment to your children. They come to your house

'Every inch of PoK belongs to India and no force can snatch it': Amit Shah

During an election rally in Jharkhand, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that every inch of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belonged to India and no force could snatch it away from India

LS polls 2024: BJP nominee Taranjit Sandhu files nomination from Amrtisar

BJP candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Friday filed their nomination papers for the June 1 elections. Sandhu held a roadshow before filing his papers in Amritsar and was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other BJP leaders. Speaking to reporters after Sandhu filed his papers, Jaishankar exuded confidence that the former Indian ambassador to the US would win. "We have full confidence that the people of Amritsar will elect him and send him to Delhi (Parliament). He will be a very good MP in Parliament. He is the most popular ambassador of India," the Union minister said. He served the country a lot and now he will serve Amritsar, he said. "If Punjab's side and Amritsar's interest have to be put forward, you cannot choose a better man than Taranjit Singh Sandhu," Jaishankar said. Sandhu, 61, is the grandson of Teja Singh Samundri, who was one of the founding members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee

Lack of drinking water facility main issue in Odisha's Koraput LS seat

Lack of drinking water facility, better price of agricultural produce of tribal farmers and good healthcare facilities are the main demands of the voters of Koraput Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha which will go to the polls on May 13. Koraput which is also called the Kashmir of Odisha for its hills, waterfalls and forests has more women voters than male. Out of total 14.80 lakh voters, 7,73, 885 are women and 7,06,777 are male. Farmers in Rayagada district, a part of which is under the Koraput Lok Sabha seat, are demanding regulation of cotton farming in the district as the farmers do not get fair price for their produce. They claim that they have to go for distress sale of cotton produce to the traders from Andhra Pradesh as there are no buyers of their cotton. They are demanding that the state government should come to the rescue of cotton growers who are hit by calamities. "While the paddy farmers get compensation over loss of their crop due to calamities, there is no such ...

Kerala BJP accuses Cong of spreading fake video affecting PM's security

The BJP on Friday accused the Congress in Kerala of spreading a fake video that could affect the security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded action against the same. The allegation by BJP state chief K Surendran comes two days after police in Karnataka, where the Congress is in power, summoned the party's national president J P Nadda and its IT cell head Amit Malviya in connection with a social media post allegedly intimidating members of SC and ST community not to vote for a particular candidate. Surendran, in a statement, hit out at the grand old party by alleging the contentious video uploaded from the official X account of the Kerala unit of the Congress poses a threat to the PM's security. He demanded immediate action on the issue. Surendran also urged the Election Commission to immediately intervene in the matter and take appropriate action. He further claimed the Congress was making baseless allegations that the PM carries money in the Air Force helicopter in whic

JMM-led alliance in neck-deep corruption, exploiting people: Rajnath

Alleging that the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand is "involved in neck-deep corruption" and exploiting people, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the ruling coalition will be punished for atrocities on residents of the state. He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked tirelessly to make India a prosperous country and done "miraculous work to bring 25 crore people out of poverty", while "earlier PMs like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi made hollow promises to alleviate poverty". "Corrupt JMM-led alliance is sucking the blood of innocent people. It is betraying them. The BJP believes in the politics of 'Insaf and Insaniyat (justice and humanity). The JMM-led coalition will be punished for atrocities on people," Singh said addressing a rally in Jharkhand's Dumka. "During the Manmohan Singh regime at the Centre, India remained at the 11th position globally in economic prosperity, while the country secured the fifth place under the BJP-led rule, Singh ...

Rahul correct in demanding probe into PM Modi's allegation: Chidambaram

Former Union minister P Chidambaram on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is "absolutely correct" in seeking a probe into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegation about two industrialists sending money to the Congress. In a post on X, the Congress leader said Modi's allegation about "tempo-filling quantities" of cash being delivered to the Congress by the industrialists should be "viewed with utmost seriousness". "Rahul Gandhi is absolutely correct in demanding an enquiry into the Hon'ble Prime Minister's allegation. The Hon'ble Prime Minister had made a very serious allegation: that two prominent industrialists have tempo-filling quantities of cash and they were delivered to the Congress party," Chidambaram said. "Coming from the Hon'ble Prime Minister, this allegation has to be viewed with utmost seriousness," he said. Chidambaram, who served as home minister and finance minister in the past, said Gandhi's demand for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi worried after 3rd phase, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Hitting out at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said Modi and his cabinet colleague Amit Shah are "worried" after the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections and they started abusing the Congress party. Addressing a press conference here, Kharge said to the BJP leaders, instead of seeking votes on their "development," they are abusing the Congress leaders and distorting their (Congress) leaders' speeches, which according to him, is not required. Stepping up the attack on the saffron party, he asked "What is PM Modi doing if Congress is getting tempo loads of money from "Adani and Ambani?" "After three phases of polls, Modi and Shah Saab got worried. They stopped talking about their manifesto, but only are abusing Congress," Kharge said. He further alleged that PM Modi is fond of words starting with 'M'-Mangalsutra, Mutton and Mughals. It is not good for a Prime Minister to use childish language, he advised. "They are not seeking

LS polls: Mann, Cong leaders to campaign for AAP's Kurukshetra candidate

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and senior Congress leaders like Bhupinder Singh Hooda will campaign for AAP's Haryana unit president Sushil Gupta, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kurukshetra. The AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc. While the AAP has fielded Gupta from Kurukshetra, the Congress is contesting the remaining nine Lok Sabha seats in the state. Gupta said Mann, who held a roadshow in Kurukshetra last month, will join his campaign in the coming days. Besides Gupta, 30 candidates are in the fray from Kurukshetra including the BJP's Naveen Jindal and the Indian National Lok Dal's (INLD) Abhay Singh Chautala. "On May 13, Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda will join my campaign, on 14th Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will come, on 16th (Congress leader) Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be in Kurukshetra while on May 17, Bhagwant Mann and (AAP leader) Sanjay Singh will campaign," Gupta told PTI. He said he has requested th

LS polls: INDIA bloc arriving in UP, Modi will not become PM, says Rahul

An INDIA bloc storm is arriving in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday and asserted that Narendra Modi will not become the prime minister of the country. Addressing a rally in Kannauj, from where Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi said, "Take it in writing, Narendra Modi will not become the prime minister of India." The Congress and the Samajwadi Party, both constituents of the INDIA bloc, are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking on the opposition bloc, Gandhi said, "An INDIA bloc storm is arriving in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is going to face its biggest defeat in the state." Yadav and senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh also addressed the rally. Kannauj goes to the polls on May 13.

BJP accuses Congress of being apologist for Pakistan, it's terrorism

The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil, as the ruling party cited comments of Mani Shankar Aiyar to slam it. In comments which have gone viral on social media, Aiyar is heard saying that India should accord due respect to Pakistan and hold talks with it. If India spurns the neighbouring country, some madman there can use nuclear bomb, the former Union minister suggested. Reacting to the row, Aiyar noted in a statement that it is obvious from the sweater he is wearing is the video that he made the comments to Chill Pill in the winter several months ago. "They have been dredged up now as the BJP's election campaign falters. I refuse to play their game. Interested persons may please read the relevant passages in my two books released by Juggernaut last year, 'Memoirs of a Maverick' and 'The Rajiv I Knew'," the Congress leader said. Seeking to corner the opposition party in the middle of the high-stakes gener

Will not let reservation be given to Muslims as long as I'm alive: PM Modi

Speaking at an election rally in Maharashtra, Prime Minister says that he will not let reservation for Dalits, adivasis, OBCs to be compromised

TMC to file complaint with EC against NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma

The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it will file a formal complaint with the Election Commission against National Commission for Women's chairperson Rekha Sharma over allegations of atrocities on women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali. NCW had recommended to President Droupadi Murmu that President's rule be imposed in West Bengal over alleged violence and atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali. "TMC will go to the Election Commission against Rekha Sharma, who is the chairperson of National Commission for Women," West Bengal minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja said. Some videos on Sandeshkhali went viral which were shared by TMC. PTI did not verify the authenticity of the videos shared by TMC. Panja said that the TMC has already filed complaints against BJP and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari before the EC over such allegations.

'Pak has atom bomb': Mani Shankar Aiyar's old video sparks row, BJP retorts

In an old and now-viral video, Congress' Mani Shankar Aiyar warned that if not respected, Pakistan may consider using its atomic bomb against India