Page 88 - Lok Sabha Elections

Congress spreading lies about BJP changing Constitution, alleges Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged the Congress was spreading lies that the BJP intends to change the constitution and end reservations if it returns to power for a third term. Shah also said the BJP is heading towards its goal of 400-plus Lok Sabha seats with the blessings and support of people. The Congress is spreading lies about the saffron party changing the constitution and ending reservations... We do not see voters as minority or majority; the BJP will win 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, he told a press conference here. The BJP does not believe in reservations on the basis of religion... we are also in favour of implementing the Uniform Civil Code across the country, the home minister said. Shah asserted that the party was getting a very good response from voters in the southern states, too.

Why is PM nervous even in BJP bastions: Cong jabs Modi post Indore setback

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that its candidates in both Surat and Indore were threatened, intimidated and bulldozed into withdrawing their nominations, and asked why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi "so nervous" and "afraid" even in traditional BJP bastions. The Congress' Indore Lok Sabha seat candidate Akshay Bam withdrew his nomination on Monday, a fortnight before polling in the constituency. Earlier, the Congress' Surat candidate's nomination form was rejected over discrepancies, paving the way for the BJP nominee to get elected unopposed from the seat in Gujarat. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Since 1984 the Congress has not won Surat and Indore Lok Sabha seats. Yet in 2024 Congress candidates in both seats were threatened, intimidated and bulldozed into withdrawing their nominations." "Why is the PM so nervous and afraid even in traditional BJP bastions?" he said. The Congress on Monday had said there is a "threat to democracy" and wondere

LS polls: 16.68% turnout recorded in repolling in Outer Manipur till 9 am

A voter turnout of 16.68 per cent was recorded till 9 am at six polling stations in Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat, where repolling is underway on Tuesday, election officials said. No untoward incident was reported so far and voting, which commenced at 7 am, is underway under tight security arrangements, they said. Repolling was necessitated as unidentified persons had damaged EVMs and VVPATs before the completion of voting at four of these six polling stations on April 26, while EVM malfunctioning was reported at one polling station, and voting could not be completed at another due to "threat and intimidation by unknown miscreants", they said. Voting at four polling stations in Ukhrul assembly segment, and one each in Chingai assembly seat in Ukhrul and Karong in Senapati was declared null and void, a notification issued by the office of Manipur's chief electoral officer had earlier said. Five of the polling stations are in Ukhrul district and have a total of 4,156 voters. Around 7

Interview: What did PM Modi say on Inheritance tax, Congress Manifesto and More.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly dismissed any plans by the BJP to consider implementing the inheritance tax.

Caste major factor in selection of candidates in Gujarat: Analysts

Political parties may claim that the caste arithmetic does not play a role in candidate selection but analysts say it is still a major factor in Gujarat, even though urbanisation has weakened caste identities in some parts of the state. In rural areas, however, caste is still a dominant factor, they said. Patidars constitute 11-12 per cent of Gujarat's 6.5-crore population and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), scattered across many sub-communities including Thakors in north and Kolis in central Gujarat and Saurashtra, constitute around 40 per cent. The BJP has fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and three Kolis. The Congress and the AAP, part of the opposition INDIA alliance, have fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and two Kolis. Vidyut Joshi, sociologist and former vice-chancellor of Bhavnagar University, told PTI that Gujarat's first four chief ministers were either Brahmin or Vanik. Patidars entered the political scene after the 70s when Chimanbhai Patel became the chief minister in 19

Why has PM ignored plight of Marathwada's farmers: Cong slams Modi

The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the plight of farmers in Marathwada, and also asked what is his vision to address water scarcity in that region. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. "Why has the PM ignored the plight of Marathwada's farmers? What is the PM's vision to address water scarcity in Marathwada? Why has the export ban only been lifted on Gujarat's white onions?" Ramesh said in a post on X. Elaborating on what he said were "jumla" details, Ramesh said that in the first half of 2023, the Marathwada region accounted for the highest number of farmer suicides in Mahrashtra. "As many as 685 farmers took their own lives in Marathwada and the State Agriculture Minister's home district, Beed, reported the highest number of deaths at 186. Now, after suffering from drought conditions for the last four months, the Marathwada region has been hit

LS polls: India will go back 15 years if BJP wins, says Dimple Yadav

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav has said India will go back 15 years if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls, accusing the party of practising "divisive politics" to divert attention from real issues. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Dimple Yadav, who is aiming to carry forward the legacy of her father-in-law and SP patriarch late Mulayam Singh Yadav by retaining the Mainpuri seat, asserted that the people are going to vote for change this time. People have understood the 'bantware ki rajneeti' or divisive politics of the BJP. It creates differences between different sections of society and indulges in vote bank politics, she said. "They incite people on caste lines, play with their sentiments and divert attention from core issues," Dimple Yadav, the wife of SP president Akhilesh Yadav, told PTI at her residence in Saifai village in Etawah district from where she has been handling her campaign for the last month. During Dimple Yadav's filing of nomination papers from Mainpuri, a sea

LS polls: EC to hand out diamond rings to Bhopal voters to boost turnout

Concerned about the low turnout during the initial phases of the Lok Sabha elections, election officials in Bhopal have decided to conduct a lucky draw every two hours on voting day

LS polls 2024: Battle lines drawn between ex-allies Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP

The Osmanabad Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra will witness a contest between former allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Sena (UBT) has fielded sitting MP Omprakash Rajenimbalkar against Archana Patil, who is making her poll debut with the NCP. Home to the famous Tulja Bhavani temple that attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the state, Osmanabad -- now called Dharashiv -- is the seventh-largest city in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Although the state government has rechristened the district as Dharashiv, in the records of the Election Commission, the Lok Sabha constituency is still known by its old name of Osmanabad. The constituency comprising Osmanabad, Tuljapur, Omerga, Lohara, Kalamb, Bhoom, Paranda and Washi assembly seats will go to polls on May 7 in the third phase of the general elections. Former minister Rajenimbalkar won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a significant vote margin by defeating Ranajagjitsinha Patil, who contes

Akshay Bam withdrew nomination after 'threats and torture', says Patwari

Congress' Indore Lok Sabha candidate Akshay Bam was "threatened and tortured" following which he withdraw his nomination, the opposition party's Madhya Pradesh chief Jitu Patwari has claimed while targeting the BJP. Bam withdrew his nomination on Monday, which was the last day for the process. "Three days ago, IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) was added to an old case against Bam. He was threatened. He was tortured in different ways for the whole night. And today he has withdrawn his nomination," Patwari alleged at a rally here on Monday. Bam, his father Kantilal and others are accused in a case that was registered in October 2007. On April 5 this year, the victim filed an application in the court of the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) seeking adding of section 307 after alleging that one of the accused had fired on him. The plea was accepted on April 24 and Bam and his father have been asked to appear in a sessions court on May 10. "What is the message in all this? Don'

LS polls 2024: PM Modi to address poll rally in Telangana's Medak today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing a poll rally at Chilver Village in Medak district of Telangana on Tuesday, BJP sources said. This is Modi's second meeting in the state after the poll schedule was released last month. Telangana is one of the southern states on which the BJP is pinning its hopes to win a considerable number of seats to achieve its ambitious target of 370 in the Lok Sabha polls. Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier set a target of winning double digit seats out of the 17 in Telangana. Shah will be campaigning on May 1 for the party's Hyderabad contestant Madhavi Latha, who has been fielded against sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM. The BJP won four seats in the last elections in 2019. Barring Soyam Bapurao (Adilabad), the party gave tickets to the sitting MPs in the other constituencies. BJP Telangana chief and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, the party candidate for Secunderabad, National general Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kuma

Naidu confident of regaining Andhra Pradesh with overwhelming majority

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has said the anti-incumbency wave coupled with failure of all institutional frameworks will ensure his party sweeps both assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh as people have 'realised' the ruling YSR Congress has failed to live up to all its promises. The former Chief Minister who is fighting to regain power in the state, expressed confidence that the TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) combine will win 24 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 160 of the 175 assembly seats comfortably in the simultaneous elections to be held on May 13. Naidu (74) said the YSRCP came to power on the promise of getting a special status to AP but the issue has been relegated to the background as people are struggling to deal with alleged mismanagement of every government department. The state has gone into huge financial debt to an extent that people have not received salaries and pensions, he added. "There is a tremendous anti-incumbency. YSR Congress has destroyed the

Haryana: Union minister Rao Inderjit, 6 others file LS nomination papers

The nomination process for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana began on Monday, with Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh among seven candidates filing their papers before the respective returning officers, officials said. Among the prominent candidates, Singh filed his nomination from Gurugram Lok Sabha constituency on the first day of filing of papers. One more candidate filed a nomination from Gurugram, three nominations were filed from Sonipat and one each from Sirsa and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. No nominations were filed from other seats. The deadline for filing nominations is May 6 while the scrutiny of papers will be done on May 7. The candidates can withdraw their nominations until May 9. As many as 1,99,81,982 voters across the state are eligible to cast their votes in 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, officials said. Polling for all the 10 Lok Sabha seats will take place on May 25.

Highlights of the day: Delhi court issues fresh summons to BBC at UK address

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Delhi High Court rejects plea to bar PM Modi from elections for six years

The petition alleged that the Prime Minister had violated the Model Code of Conduct by invoking 'god and place of worship' in his recent speech in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh

LS polls: Rajnath Singh files his nomination from Lucknow constituency

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present on the occasion

Ex-PM HD Devegowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna named in sex scandal: Details

A 47-year-old house help from the Revanna family has filed a complaint against Prajwal and his father, HD Revanna, accusing them of sexual harassment

BJP hopes expressway projects will put it on road to victory in UP

However, the Congress, which is fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in UP in a tie-up with the Samajwadi Party (SP), says the Saffron party will not gain political mileage in this election

LS polls: Congress' Digvijaya Singh eyes old turf against new favourite

Singh, who last won the Rajgarh seat in 1991 before becoming the CM of the then undivided Madhya Pradesh in 1993, has returned to his old stronghold

LS polls: Congress' Indore candidate withdraws nomination, could join BJP

Besides Indore, seven more seats in Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls on May 13, concluding elections to the state's 29 seats