Page 73 - Lok Sabha Elections

BJP wants to win 400-plus seats to change Constitution, says Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday claimed the BJP-led NDA wants a 400-plus seat mandate so that they can change the Constitution. "For them (BJP) the Constitution of India is a burden. They think why should they follow the Constitution written by a Dalit? They want 400-plus seats so that they can change the Constitution written by Dr B R Ambedkar," Thackeray claimed. He accused the Centre of betraying farmers by not giving adequate prices to farm produce. "I will restore the glory of Maharashtra which was robbed by these people after we return to power. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had looted Surat (for Swarajta) but now these two (persons) from Surat are looting Chhatrapati's Maharashtra," Thackeray alleged while addressing an election rally for MVA candidate Shobha Bacchav in Dhule.

PM Modi to hold road show in Varanasi on May 13 before nomination filing

Varanasi is the stronghold of the Prime Minister. He won the seat twice - the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections

LS polls: Odisha people fed up with corruption, misrule by BJD, says BJP

The BJP on Tuesday claimed that the party will form a government in Odisha in June after the announcement of assembly election results as the people in the state are fed up with "corruption and misrule" by the ruling BJD. At a press conference here, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda highlighted the key promises made by the saffron party in its manifesto for the state and claimed that Odisha witnessed "rampant corruption in the form of PC (percentage commission) during the BJD rule". Panda's comment comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called himself "son of Lord Jagannath" and asserted that the expiry date of the BJD government in Odisha is June 4, the day the assembly election results will be announced. Odisha would have become the 5th largest economy in the country with its enormous resources in the last 25 years, but the ruling BJD has completely failed to perform, Panda alleged. Panda, who is contesting from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat as a BJP ...

LS polls: PM Modi to address public meeting, hold roadshow in Andhra today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday address an election meeting in Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district and hold a roadshow at Vijayawada in NTR district. The meeting is scheduled around 2 pm at Kaliri near Rajampeta while the roadshow is expected to commence around 5 pm from the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium on Bandar Road in Vijayawada. "Let's welcome our Prime Minister who is coming to Rajampeta to give an assurance for the aspirations of Andhra people," the Andhra Pradesh BJP said in a post on 'X' on Tuesday. Wednesday's public meeting is going to be Modi's third in the southern state in the run-up to the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls on May 13. It comes in the wake of two recent meetings at Rajamahendravaram and Anakapalli recently, preceded by the first NDA election meeting at Boppudi village in Palnadu district's Chilakaluripeta mandal on March 17 after the announcement of the election schedule on March 16. N Kiran Kumar is the BJP's Lok Sabha candid

Reject proponents of lies, hatred; vote for Cong for bright future: Sonia

She said the Congress and the INDIA bloc members were committed to defending the Constitution and democracy

Lok Sabha polls: From barracks to ballot box, service voters on the climb

The 2019 figure had grown over 30 per cent over 2014

EC directs 'X' to take down Karnataka BJP's animated clip on Muslim quota

In a letter to the nodal officer of 'X', the EC took exception to the non-compliance of the directive of the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer to the social media platform for taking down the video

Free breakfast to diamond rings, EC on overdrive to boost voter turnout

In Kashmir, the state EC counducted henna art and rangoli competitions for first time women voters, and held awareness programmes in colleges

Lok Sabha elections: Young turks battle it out in LJP's Samastipur bastion

Both candidates from the town are children of ministers in the state government

What is fanning the fear among traders? India Vix surges to 15-mth high

Uncertainty over election results, US Fed rate cut fan volatility

Anonymous hoardings still cropping up in Delhi: EC prods CEO to take action

Amid complaints, including those by the Congress, the Election Commission has reminded the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to take action against anonymous political hoardings. In a letter to the CEO of Delhi, the poll authority said it had been receiving representations from various stakeholders, including political parties, regarding anonymous election hoardings at authorised and unauthorised sites in the national capital. Anonymous political or election hoardings or advertisements are those which do not bear on their face the names and addresses of the printer and the publisher -- a violation of the electoral laws and the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. The poll panel reminded the CEO of the various legal provisions and its instructions, including the one issued as recently as in March, to deal with such advertisements. "All these instructions are to be followed scrupulously in letter and spirit while dealing with the complaints referred to above," the EC told the p

Themeless election

India needs a positive agenda

LS polls highlights: 3rd phase sees about 61.43% voter turnout; highest in Assam, lowest in Maha, UP

Home minister Amit Shah and Former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan are in fray

If voted to power, Cong will overturn SC verdict on Ram temple: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed the Congress will reverse the Supreme Court verdict on Ram temple if voted to power just like its landmark 1985 ruling in the Shah Bano case was overturned by the Rajiv Gandhi government as part of the party's appeasement politics. Modi said a senior Congress leader, who quit the party recently, has revealed that "shehzada" (a reference to MP Rahul Gandhi) called a meeting of select people after the 2019 SC verdict in the Ram temple case and said if his party comes back to power, the apex court decision will be overturned just like his father (then-PM Rajiv Gandhi) did in the Shah Bano matter. In 1985, the SC had ruled in favour of Shah Bano, a Muslim woman from Indore who had sought maintenance from her husband after divorce, but the then-Rajiv Gandhi government overturned the judgement through an Act. In November 2019, a five-judge apex court bench had paved the way for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, ending a decades-long .

Women of Guwahati LS seat seek better future for kids, secure environment

From aspiration of a better future for their children to the hope that the government will "work for the people" to appeal for a secure environment for office-goers, women voted with diverse issues in mind in Assam's Guwahati constituency on Tuesday, where two female candidates are locked in a direct fight. As polling for the prestigious seat commenced along with three other constituencies in the third and final phase in the state, voters braved inclement weather to exercise their right of franchise. Women, who outnumber men by over 34,000 in terms of total voters in Guwahati, had their agenda in mind while choosing their representatives. Out of the total 20,36,846 voters in Guwahati, 10,35,588 are women, 10,01,200 are men and 58 are from the third gender. BJP is seeking to retain the seat for the fourth consecutive term through its candidate Bijuli Kalita Medhi, while the Congress has fielded Mira Barthakur Goswami. Guwahati has been represented by a woman BJP MP since 2009. It

Communal riots victim Bilkis Bano casts vote with her husband in Gujarat

Gujarat communal riots victim Bilkis Bano on Tuesday cast her vote along with her husband in Devgadh Baria town under Dahod Lok Sabha constituency. Bano flashed her ink-marked finger after coming out of the polling station in Kapdi locality with her husband Yakub Rasul. Voting was held for 25 out of 26 constituencies in Gujarat in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party has renominated Dahod MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor who is pitted against Prabha Kishor Taviad of Congress. Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out in Gujarat after the Godhra train-burning incident in February 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was killed along with six members of her family. In its January 8 verdict, the Supreme Court quashed the remission granted to the 11 convicts and ordered that they be sent back to jail within two weeks. They later surrendered and are currently lodged in the Go

Lok Sabha Phase 3 voting, Met Gala 2024, SC on Arvind Kejriwal bail plea & more

Lok Sabha Phase 3 voting, Met Gala 2024, SC on Arvind Kejriwal bail plea & more

BJP govt in Haryana loses majority as 3 independent MLAs support Congress

In a setback to the ruling BJP in Haryana amid the Lok Sabha elections, three Independent MLAs on Tuesday announced that they have withdrawn their support to the Nayab Singh Saini-led government in the state. The three MLAs -- Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Gollen and Dharampal Gonder -- also said that they have decided to extend support to the Congress during the elections. They made the announcement at a press conference held in Rohtak in presence of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and State Congress chief Udai Bhan. "We are withdrawing support to the government. We are extending our support to the Congress," Gonder said. "We have taken this decision on various issues including those related to farmers," he said. Speaking at the presser, Udai Bhan said, "The three Independent MLAs -- Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Singh Gollen and Dharampal Gonder -- have withdrawn their support to the BJP government and extended their support to the Congress." "I also want to say that pr

LS elections: Sonia, Rahul among 40 star campaigners for Cong in Haryana

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Kumari Selja are among its 40 star campaigners in Haryana for the Lok Sabha elections. The list of star campaigners, shared by the Congress' Haryana unit, also includes general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Congress' Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria, party leaders Ajay Maken, Anand Sharma, Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor, Rajiv Shukla, Kanhaiya Kumar and Alka Lamba are also among the national-level leaders who will campaign in Haryana. Among other state-level leaders who will campaign for the Congress are Haryana unit chief Udai Bhan and Birender Singh, Ajay Singh Yadav, Deepender Singh Hooda, Aftab Ahmed, Ashok Arora, Kuldeep Sharma, Geeta Bhukkal, Neeraj Sharma and BB Batra. Elections to Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats will be held on

Actor Shekhar Suman, ex-Congress spokesperson Radhika Khera join BJP

Shekhar Suman and Rahika Khera join BJP amid polling for Phase 3 Lok Sabha elections. It is unclear if either will be contesting elections later