Page 69 - Lok Sabha Elections

LS Polls 2024: Congress, BJP step up campaigning; re-polling in 2 booths

Lok Sabha elections 2024 campaign heats up as Congress and BJP launch scathing attacks. Elections in India catch global attention from United States, Russia ahead of Phase 4 of the polls; details here

Lok Sabha polls: Repolling underway at 2 booths in Bihar's Khagaria seat

Repolling is underway on Friday at two polling booths in Bihar's Khagaria Lok Sabha seat, amid tight security arrangements, an official said. The voting began at 7 am at booth numbers 182 and 183, falling under the Beldaur assembly segment of the Khagaria parliamentary constituency, and will continue till 6 pm, he said. Repolling was ordered at these polling booths as voting was disrupted on account of the vandalisation of EVMs on May 7 during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Polling on Tuesday took place in five Lok Sabha seats of Bihar, including Khagaria, where Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is locked in a straight battle with CPI(M). Notably, residents of Sahraun village in Khagaria, falling under the Gogri subdivision, had announced that they would boycott the poll to press the demand for a road. On polling day on May 7, a group of unruly people stormed the two booths and vandalised the electronic voting machines, said a senior official of the CEO'

Rupee aided by dip in US yields, while election uncertainty weighs

Worries over the Indian election results, due on June 4, have prompted foreigners to take out money from equities, pushing the benchmark Nifty 50 index to a three-week low

Excise policy case: SC to hear Kejriwal's interim bail petition today

On Tuesday, the bench hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal to enable him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

SP chief Akhilesh and his family will be defeated in LS polls: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and all four members of his family contesting the Lok Sabha polls will lose and the opposition party will not be able to open its account in the state. The chief minister addressed election rallies in Gola in favour of the BJP candidate from the Kheri Lok Sabha seat Ajay Mishra and in Lakhimpur Kheri's Mohammadi for the party's Dhaurahra Lok Sabha candidate Rekha Verma. "The defeat of the Samajwadi Party chief's family members on all five seats is certain. The SP's account will not be opened in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election," Adityanath said in Gola. While SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, his wife Dimple Yadav is contesting from the Mainpuri constituency. Akhilesh Yadav's cousins Akshay Yadav, Aditya Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav are in the fray from the Firozabad, Budaun and Azamgarh parliamentary seats respectively. The Samajwadi Par

LS elections: Andhra CEO reviews poll preparation 72 hours before voting

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Thursday took stock of the arrangements made for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections 72 hours prior to the polling day in the state on May 13. The CEO called on the officials from across departments to ensure the elections are held in a "peaceful, fair, and exemplary" manner. "The final moment has arrived. Next three days are crucial and all districts' election machinery must be vigilant to avert any untoward incident or voter influencing tactics," Meena said in a press release. He directed officials to ensure that every voter in the state is able exercise his franchise and there is no hurdle for voters streaming in from neighbouring states. He instructed the district collectors and superintendents of police to make sure that the government employees attend the duties entrusted to them. The CEO directed them to monitor sensitive polling stations from the command control centres and set up a strong ...

US Ambassador Eric Garcetti dismisses concerns about democracy in India

The Biden administration's top diplomat in New Delhi on Thursday dismissed concerns being raised in certain quarters about democracy in India and observed that in many ways Indians are better that the Americans. At an event organised here by the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think-tank, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told the audience he was confident that "10 years from now India is going to be a vibrant democracy as it is today in terms of free and fair elections". "Again there's things that probably are worse and there's things that are better. They have a law, you can't go more than two kilometers to vote. So there'll be one guy who lives in the mountains as a monk (at) someplace. They will walk for two days to bring the voting machine, execute the vote," he said, responding to a question expressing concerns over the status of democracy in India. He said that during elections times in India, there are people who check trucks to make sure that nobody has cash

Ajit Pawar disapproves of Patil's 'defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati' remarks

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday disapproved of his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil's remarks that he and workers of his party BJP wanted to defeat NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar in Baramati, saying he should not have spoken those words. Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded. Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra contested from Baramati against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar. In March, Patil had said that he and his party workers wanted to defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family. Patil, while speaking to reporters in Baramati, had accused the senior Pawar of "taking away" the Shiv Sena despite the people of the state giving a clear mandate in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by electing 161 MLAs in the 2019 polls. "I and my party workers want defeat of Sharad Pawar (in Baramati) and that is enough (for ..

US dismisses Russia's allegations of interference in India's LS elections

The United States on Thursday dismissed the Russian allegations of the US interfering in the ongoing Indian elections. "No, of course, we don't involve ourselves in elections in India as we don't involve ourselves in elections anywhere in the world. Those are decisions for the people of India to make," State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference. He was responding to a question on Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova statement in Moscow in this regard when asked about a recent Washington Post article alleging that a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer was involved in an alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil last year. "Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi... we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other statesof violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States' misunderstanding of the national ...

Digvijaya slams PM Modi for accusing Cong of taking money from Adani-Ambani

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing the opposition party of taking money from "Adani and Ambani". Speaking at a rally in Telangana on Wednesday, PM Modi accused the Congress of having a "deal" with Ambani and Adani, and asked if the party has received "tempo loads of black money" from the two businessmen for its leader Rahul Gandhi to stop "abusing" them. "I want to ask from Telangana soil, let the 'shehzada' announce, how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani. Has tempo loads of money reached the Congress? What deal has been arrived at that abusing Ambani-Adani has stopped overnight?" the PM said while addressing an election rally at Vemulawada in Telangana. Hitting back, Singh, addressing a rally in Ratlam, said, "Modiji said Ambani and Adani have sent money to Congress. Then were the Enforcement Directorate, CBI napping? We are ashamed of calling him our PM. He is not true even to Adani and Ambani." Modi promised

BJP handed INDIA bloc victory 'on platter' by jailing Kejriwal, says Rai

Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi Convenor Gopal Rai on Thursday alleged that by putting Arvind Kejriwal in jail in a "fake case," BJP has ensured its defeat in the national capital. The party on Thursday held a Sankalp Sabha under the "Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se" campaign in Malviya Nagar Assembly of the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. Rai said the results of the elections will come on June 4 and on that day, good days will return for the people of the country and Modi will be thrown out of power. The BJP won previous two Lok Sabha elections because the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party contested separately, which divided votes, he said. "This time, the first guarantee of Somnath Bharti's victory is his work, and the second guarantee is contesting elections on behalf of the INDIA bloc. This time not a single vote will be divided," he said. Rai said the third guarantee of victory of the alliance was given by the BJP on a platter when it put Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in jail. "They h

Maratha quota, credit over name change could sway voters in Aurangabad

Much has changed five years down the line. The Shiv Sena has split and the AIMIM no longer has the support of Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi

Lok Sabha elections: Bihar litchi faces the heat amid cargo curbs

Fresh litchi needs a sprinkle of support to reach across the country

2024 Lok Sabha elections: Parties sniff opportunity in 'itra' hub

The size of the industry, some put it at Rs 1,200 crore, is difficult to assess since several manufacturers have shifted to Mumbai, Delhi, and Lucknow and source the product from Kannauj

Voter's choice: Mediocrity or prosperity?

The present day voting population is deciding whether economic transformation will determine its electoral choice

Not everyone looks alike in India: Adhir on Pitroda's 'racist' remarks

The Congress's West Bengal president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday defended Sam Pitroda's "racist" comment by stating that "India too has dark-skinned people akin to the N****es". The senior Congress leader and party's nominee from Baharampur Lok Sabha seat resonated with Pitroda who stirred a controversy by comparing people of south and east Indian origin to Africans and Chinese respectively. "According to the topography of our country, our regional features differ. In our Hindustan, we have Proto-Australian class, N***o class, Mongoloid class. I don't need to speak much on personal opinions," Chowdhury said at the party office here. "That's what we are taught in schools. Not everyone looks alike. Some are black, others are white," the Congress leader said. The controversy that followed Pitroda's comment in the wake of the ongoing general elections drove the leader to quit as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

LS Polls highlights: BJP wants to abolish reservation, we want to increase it beyond 50%, says Rahul

Lok Sabha elections LIVE updates: Catch all the news related to the General Elections here

LS polls: Delhi voters to get free bike taxi ride to booths on voting day

The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi has tied up with a bike taxi company under which eligible voters will be provided a free ride from the polling booths to their homes on voting day. As Delhi prepares for Lok Sabha polling day on May 25, the collaboration between the office of Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and Rapido aims to address transportation barriers and encourage citizens to exercise their democratic right to vote, said a statement by the Delhi CEO's office. As per the arrangement with Rapido, eligible voters in Delhi will be provided with an option to avail a free of charge ride from the polling booths to their home on the day of voting. On the day of polling, voters after casting their vote can conveniently book and avail a complimentary bike ride using the Rapido app. A dedicated rider will pick up the elector from the polling station and ensure their safe return to home, the statement said. Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi P. Krishnamurthy said, "By offering opti

Free pilgrimage to Ayodhya for 500,000 Odiyas if BJP wins: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the BJP will ensure free pilgrimage of five lakh people from Odisha to Ayodhya's Ram temple if the party is voted to power in the eastern state. Addressing an election rally at Kalimela here, the senior BJP leader also took a swipe at the ruling BJD for naming villages with numbers in Malkangiri district. In Assam, I have decided to take one lakh people to Ayodhya, and the state government will bear the cost. As Odisha is bigger than Assam, 5 lakh people should get this facility. A new BJP chief minister will facilitate this pilgrimage if the party is voted to power in Odisha, Sarma said. Sarma also sought to connect with the large number of Bengali-speaking population in Malkangiri district, assuring the people that Bengali teachers will be appointed, among other promises. About one lakh Bengali-speaking people were rehabilitated in Malkangiri district after the 1971 Bangladesh war. On names of villages in the district bea

Modi gave away several projects to Adani in 10 yrs, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that several infrastructure projects such as ports, airports and defence contracts were "given to Adani" during the past 10 years. The Wayanad MP made the allegation at a poll rally in Telangana, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked why Rahul Gandhi was allegedly not taking the names of 'Adani-Ambani' in his speeches after the polls were announced. Hitting out at Modi, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the prime minister worked for only 20-22 people in the whole of the country and made them billionaires. Alleging that PM Modi privatised several government firms in order to abolish reservation, the Congress leader said, BJP wants to abolish reservations while Congress wants to increase them beyond 50 per cent. He said if Congress is voted to power, a caste census will be taken up across the country. Pointing to some BJP leaders' remarks that the saffron party wants to change the Constitution, he said no force can do it.