Page 118 - Lok Sabha

LS polls: BJP, JD (S) reach understanding, Gowda's party to contest 4 seats

BJP will have an understanding with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda led JD(S) for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Friday, an announcement that shot up political temperature in the State. The veteran leader, who is also the BJP parliamentary board member, said that, as part of the poll understanding, the JD(S) will contest in four Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, which has a total of 28 constituencies. "BJP and JD(S) will have an understanding. Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) has agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats," to the JD(S))," the four-time Chief Minister said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "this has given us great strength and this will help us in winning 25 or 26 Lok Sabha seats together." Recently JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda had indicated that the party will contest Lok Sabha polls alone. The BJP swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka by winning 25 seats, while an independent backed by it won in one seat. The Congress and

LS staff to get new uniform with special session of Parliament from Sept 18

Instead of the safari suits, House Officers will now be seen wearing cream coloured mandarin collared shirts with pink lotus flower prints running vertically on them

LS privilege committee summons Bihar officials over lathi charge on BJP MP

"In this case, the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee has called seven officials of Patna on September 21 to provide oral evidence"

Special Parliament session to be conducted in new building from Sept 19

On September 5, the Congress said it would constructively participate in the special session of Parliament, but made it clear that it won't sit there only for 'Modi Chalisa'

WB Dhupguri bypoll: A litmus test for parties ahead of Lok Sabha elections

The triangular contest will be a litmus test for these major parties mainly for the INDIA bloc which are pitted against each other in Dhupguri

PM Modi turns G20 Summit into not-so-subtle election kickoff in the country

The deluge of advertising is part of a marketing blitz to greet nearly 30 world leaders descending on India's capital this week for the Group of 20 summit

'One nation, one election': Govt move fuels savings vs anti-federal debate

Debroy and Desai argued that the cost to the government for conducting Lok Sabha elections "has seen a significant jump"

Special session of Parliament: Are election nerves setting in?

'Fruitful discussion' failed completely in the recently ended monsoon session. Will the special session discuss only 'special issues' that will initiate a celebratory consensus?

INDIA bloc will defeat NDA in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, says Ghulam Ahmad Mir

The opposition INDIA bloc will defeat the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the upcoming assembly elections in different states, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said on Sunday. "It is evident that (the ruling) NDA is desperate as it faces upcoming defeat by the INDIA (alliance), which represents the aspirations of the 140 crore people of India," Mir told Congress workers in the Nagam area of Kokernag in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. Mir, a Congress Working Committee member, also said "dictatorship and assault on parliamentary democracy" are unacceptable to the nation. He said the propaganda unleashed against the INDIA bloc will not change the reality or "hide the utter failures and anti-people policies of the NDA that are responsible for the extreme joblessness, loot of public money and the lust to empower some corporates linked to the NDA at the cost of the country's and the public's interest". He said the people have been pushed towards darkness by the ruling ...

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to not be a part of 'One Nation, One Election' panel

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday declined to be a part of the high-level committee announced by the Centre to examine the possibility of simultaneous elections in the country. In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chowdhury said he has come to know that he has been appointed a member of the high-level committee on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. "I have no hesitation whatsoever in declining to serve on the Committee whose terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions. It is, I am afraid, a total eyewash," he said in his letter. "Moreover, the sudden attempt to thrust a constitutionally suspect, pragmatically non-feasible and logistically unimplementable idea on the nation, months before the general elections, raises serious concerns about ulterior motives of the government," he said. The Congress leader also lamented the exclusion of current Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun

LPG cylinder will cost Rs 3K if BJP wins 2024 LS polls: Abhishek Banerjee

Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday urged people not to vote for the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls, claiming that the cost of one LPG cylinder will rise to Rs 3,000 if the saffron party wins. Banerjee asserted that if the opposition bloc INDIA comes to power in 2024, a cylinder would be priced at just Rs 500. "Do not cast a single vote for the BJP in 2024. If it wins the elections, the price of one gas cylinder will be hiked to Rs 3,000. However, if INDIA comes to power, the price will be slashed to Rs 500. This is our promise to you. We do not forget our promises," he said, speaking at a rally ahead of the Dhupguri bypoll in Jalpaiguri district on September 5. The central government had recently reduced the price of an LPG cylinder by Rs 200. A 14.2-kg cylinder in Kolkata earlier cost Rs 1,129. "I will urge you to vote for our candidate and ensure that the BJP nominee is defeated (in the bypoll) by a huge margin, so that he does not com

INDIA makes additional appointments in newly-formed panels for 2024 polls

Opposition bloc INDIA on Saturday made some additional appointments in some of the committees set up at its Mumbai meeting to get battle-ready for the Lok Sabha polls. The bloc had formed a 14-member coordination-cum-election strategy committee comprising members of various parties. The opposition alliance had also announced a campaign committee with Congress' Gurdeep Singh Sappal, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, Anil Desai (Shiv Sena), Sanjay Yadav (RJD), PC Chako (NCP), Champai Soren (JMM), Kiranmoy Nanda (Samajwadi Party), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Arun Kumar (CPI-M), Binoy Vishwam (CPI), Hasnain Masoodi (NC), Shahid Siddiqui (RLD), NK Premachandran (RSP), G Devarajan (AIFB), Ravi Rai (CPI-ML), Thirumavalan (VCK), KM Kadar Moidin (IUML) and Jose K Mani (KC-M) as its members. The TMC was to give a name for the committee later. In a statement released on Saturday, the names of Tiruchi Siva of the DMK and Mehboob Beg of the PDP were added to the campaign committee. While the names of Congress' Pawa

Diminishing world of Adhir Chowdhury

The MP from Behrampore has never wavered in his allegiance to the Congress. But now, it is his party that might have to give up on him

INDIA bloc resolves to contest 2024 LS polls together 'as far as possible'

It "resolved to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance"

Simultaneous polls good idea but legal framework, roadmap must: Former CECs

Two former chief election commissioners on Friday said the idea of having synchronised polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies was good but a legal framework and roadmap are must to ensure a smooth conduct of the gigantic exercise. One of the former CECs said for the Election Commission, simultaneous elections are both convenient and logical. But many argue that frequent elections are not so bad after all. "The festival of democracy is the festival of the poor as the vote is arguably the only power they have," said S Y Quraishi, who headed the poll panel between July 30, 2010 and June 10, 2012. O P Rawat, who was the CEC between January 23, 2018 and December 1, 2018 said, "It is possible and could be done. All you need is to make a roadmap and work accordingly. All political parties should come on board on this as amendments won't be possible without their support." He said if all the parties are not on board, then it would send a wrong message to the people and they will be ...

Simultaneous polls: 10 state assemblies to end before or near LS polls

The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls. Headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, the committee has been tasked with exploring how the country could go back to having simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, as was the case till 1967. The terms of at least ten state Assemblies will end before or around the scheduled time for the general elections in 2024. While Assembly elections in five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh -- are due by the end of this year, polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Jharkhand are likely to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections. The tentative schedule of the completion of the terms for various states and Union Territories are listed below. 1. Mizoram: December 2023 2. Chhattisgarh, Madh

Opposition INDIA alliance announces 14-member coordination committee

The INDIA bloc also put together a resolution to "contest the Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible"

One nation, one election: All you need to know about simultaneous elections

Centre has constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of 'one nation, one election'

Opposition bloc INDIA resolves to jointly contest 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Opposition alliance INDIA passed a resolution on Friday in Mumbai, where the parties resolved to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024 together as far as possible

'One nation, one election needs five amendments but will yield savings'

Holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies would need at least five constitutional amendments and a large number of additional EVMs and paper-trail machines costing "thousands of crores of rupees", but will yield a huge long-term saving to the public exchequer, officials said on Friday. A parliamentary panel had examined the issue of simultaneous elections in consultation with various stakeholders, including the Election Commission. The committee made certain recommendations in this regard, the officials said. The matter now stands referred to the Law Commission for further examination to work out a "practicable road map and framework" for simultaneous elections, they said. Simultaneous elections, the officials noted, would result in huge savings for the public exchequer and avoid replication of effort on the part of administrative, and law and order machinery in holding repeated elections. It would bring considerable savings to political parties and candidate