Page 53 - Lok Sabha

JD(S) MLA H D Revanna arrested from Deve Gowda's home in abduction case

Karnataka JD(S) MLA H D Revanna was arrested by sleuths of a Special Investigation Team on Saturday in a kidnapping case linked to sexual abuse allegations against his son Prajwal. He was arrested soon after a court here rejected his anticipatory bail plea, officials said. The former Minister was picked up from the Padmanabhanagar residence of his father, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda here, and brought to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) office. The case was registered against Revanna, a former minister and his confidant Sathish Babanna in Mysuru on Thursday night for allegedly abducting a woman. The case was registered on a complaint filed by the woman's son, who also alleged that his mother was sexually abused by Revanna's son and the BJP-JD(S) candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha seat Prajwal Revanna. Babanna has already been arrested in connection with the case. The woman was allegedly abducted to prevent her from testifying against Prajwal, police sourc

Time to choose new PM to correct politics of country, says Priyanka Gandhi

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of bringing down the dignity of the office he holds through his speeches during the election campaign, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said that it is time to choose a new PM to "correct" the politics of the country. At an election rally here, she also targeted Modi for campaigning in favour of NDA's candidate from Hassan and suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, who is facing changes of sexual abuse. "There has been a good tradition of electing the Prime Minister in this country and several legends have been the Prime Ministers of the country like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Two other Prime Ministers sacrificed their life for the country. When you elect a PM, you will have complete respect for him and you expect him to keep up the dignity of the position he holds," Priyanka Gandhi said. Referring to the Prajwal Revanna case while addressing a public meeting here, she said, "But today, our Prime Minister .

LS polls: PM Modi holds roadshow in UP for Kanpur, Akbarpur candidates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow here in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday to campaign for the BJP's Kanpur and Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat candidates. A large crowd cheered for the prime minister as he waved to them from his car. Modi visited the Gumati Gurdwara before starting his roadshow. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Kanpur candidate Ramesh Awasthi and Akbarpur candidate Devendra Singh. The roadshow started from gurdwara.

AAP 'urban Naxal party', will bring Maoist menace, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday called AAP an "urban Naxal party" and said Maoist menace would raise its head in the region if the opposition candidate wins from Valsad Lok Sabha seat. The Aam Aadmi Party is fighting the Gujarat polls in alliance with the Congress, which has fielded its Vansda (ST) MLA Anant Patel from Valsad. Addressing a rally in support of BJP candidate Dhaval Patel in Vansda, Shah said, "The Congress and urban Naxal party AAP have come together to disturb the peace of this tribal region. Do you want extortion to start in Valsad? Will you allow Naxalism to raise its head in our forest areas?" "Naxalism and urban naxalism will begin here if their candidate wins," Shah asserted. Shah claimed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "misinformation" about the vaccination drive during the coronavirus pandemic led to the death of many tribals. "Rahul asked tribals not to take the vaccine and termed it as Modi vaccine. However, both brother and sister (Priyanka ...

INDIA bloc PM will be first among equals, will listens to others: Tharoor

Opposition parties, campaigning together or against each other, will join hands after the Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, asserting that the people will get a prime minister who is first among equals and listens to others with an INDIA bloc coalition government. Including the Trinamool Congress in his argument on opposition parties getting together after the day of reckoning on June 4, Tharoor said in an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters that a coalition government is nothing to be afraid of. The growth performance of the Indian economy has been better under such dispensations than under single party governments, he said. In his view, this is an election for "change" and as of now the BJP has "lost its grip" on the narrative. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also defended the party's decision to not attend the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it was right to turn down the invitation as it w

Only 170 of 1,717 candidates are women in Phase-4 of Lok Sabha polls: ADR

Lok Sabha elections 2024: 38% of candidates studied between standard 5 to 12; 26 candidates declared themselves illiterate

BJP set to be wiped out in 3rd phase of polling in UP, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday claimed the BJP is set to be wiped out in the third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh scheduled for May 7 because of its "fake talks and false promises to all sections of society." "In the third phase of elections on May 7, the public will throw BJP seven miles away. This phase is going to wipe them out. In the first two phases, the people have overturned the BJP and in the third, the people are going to wipe out these people," The SP chief said in a public meeting in the Nadha town in Budaun Lok Sabha constituency. "They will be wiped out because they have not left any section with which they have not indulged in fake talks. If we take the last ten years into account, all their talks and promises have turned out to be false," Yadav said. "These people (BJP) were saying that they will double the income of farmers, but today when a farmer calculates his income, he gets worried that the cost of the produce and profits are not in ...

Former Delhi Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and others join BJP

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Arvinder Singh Lovely, Naseeb Singh and Neeraj Basoya, in their resignation letters, denounced the Congress's alliance with AAP for the general elections

LS polls: Firozabad's glass bangle industry looks for revival this election

Their livelihoods now as fragile as the glass bangles they make, lakhs of people in Uttar Pradesh's famed city of glass' are hoping this election will bring in change and their industry will get a much-needed revival. The once ubiquitous vendors selling bangles on carts have slowly faded away over the years and today you can see but a few, a visible sign of a once vibrant industry in decline. It has long been a symbol of local craft but now battles modern challenges, say artisans, factory owners and shopkeepers. The immense competition from plastic and metal bangles has eaten into their market share, resulting in a noticeable decline in sales of the traditional glass variety. "The demand for our handmade glass bangles is diminishing. The younger generation is not interested in learning our traditional art, and cheap plastic bangles are flooding the market. Also, not many women wear glass bangles now," said Ram Lal, an artisan at Natraj Lakshmi Bangles. "Additionally, the industry i

LS polls: Former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joins BJP

Lovely joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva

28% contesting Phase 4 Lok Sabha elections are crorepati candidates

Lok Sabha elections 2024: A report by ADR and National Election Watch reveals that 476 out of 1,710 candidates in Phase-4 of LS polls are crorepatis, with 12% with assets worth more than Rs 5 crore

LS elections: Rahul Gandhi will lose Rae Bareli by huge margin, says Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats, claiming that the Congress leader will lose from Rae Bareli by a huge margin. Addressing a gathering at Bodeli town in the tribal-dominated Chhotaudepur district, Shah accused the opposition INDIA bloc of robbing the quota meant for Dalits, tribals and backward classes. "The Congress is fighting elections under their leader Rahul Gandhi. When he lost elections from Amethi, he went to Wayanad. As he has realised that he will lose from Wayanad this time, he is also contesting from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi," he said. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had contested from the Amethi and Wayanad seats. While he won from Wayanad, he lost the Amethi seat to Union minister Smriti Irani. "Rahul Baba, take my advice. The problem is with you, not with the seats. You will lose from Rae Bareli also, by a huge margin. Even if you run away, people will find you,

Representatives of poll bodies from 23 nations to see LS elections up close

Representatives of election management bodies from 23 countries, including Australia, Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are here to observe the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Seventy-five delegates will visit six states in small groups to witness the elections and preparations related to it in various constituencies. The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday described the visit of the foreign delegates as a first in terms of scale and magnitude of participation. Beginning Saturday, the programme seeks to familiarise them with the nuances of India's electoral system as well as the best practices being used. Election management bodies of Bhutan, Mongolia, Australia, Madagascar, Fiji, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Moldova, Tunisia, Seychelles, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Chile, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Namibia are participating in the programme. Members of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and m

LS elections: 17 millionaire candidates in race for four seats in Odisha

17 crorepatis candidates in race for four LS seats in Odisha

PM Narendra Modi a shahanshaah, cut off from public, says Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a shahanshaah' (king of king) who lives in a palace but is cut off from the public, responding to the PM's shehzada' jibe for her brother Rahul Gandhi. The Congress general secretary was addressing a public rally at Lakhani in Gujarat's Banaskantha Lok Sabha constituency to canvass for her party candidate Geniben Thakor. He calls my brother shehzada'. I would like to tell him that this shehzada walked for 4,000 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to listen to your (people's) problems, met my brothers and sisters, farmers and labourers and asked how we can resolve their problems, she said. Addressing a rally in Gujarat on Thursday, PM Modi had targeted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, saying Pakistan was eager to make the shehzada' of the grand old party India's next PM as the country's enemies want a weak government at the helm. On the other hand is your shahanshah', Narendra Modiji. He lives in a ...

Those indulged in corruption will face action in next five years: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the NDA government has unmasked corrupt forces, and all those who indulged in corruption would face action under law in the next five years. Hitting out at jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren without taking his name, Modi said leaders of the Congress and the opposition INDIA bloc take out rallies in support of the corrupt. "The former Jharkhand CM is behind bars for corruption; Modi is committed to wipe out the menace. In the next five years, all those who indulged in corruption will face legal action," he said at a poll rally in Gumla's Sisai to campaign for BJP candidate Samir Oraon from the Lohardaga Lok Sabha seat. The INDIA bloc leaders, neck-deep in corruption, hold rallies, including in Delhi and Ranchi, voicing support for corrupt people, which reveals their true character, the PM said. Modi also blamed Congress for the backwardness of tribal districts, alleging that food grains used to rot in godowns during the

21% candidates contesting Phase 4 LS polls have criminal cases against them

Lok Sabha elections 2024: A report by ADR and National Election Watch reveals that 360 out of 1,710 Phase 4 Lok Sabha candidates face criminal cases, with 16% facing serious criminal charges

LS polls 2024: Showbiz personalities galore in Bengal electoral fray

The not-so-old trend among major political parties in West Bengal to throw their weight behind silver screen personalities continues unabated in the current edition of Lok Sabha polls where stars of yesteryears are contesting the elections shoulder to shoulder with contemporary celluloid icons of the industry. In terms of numbers the state's ruling Trinamool Congress, like in the past, is way ahead of its completion this time around as well by fielding six of the nine filmstars in the poll fray. While the opposition BJP has nominated two film personalities, the CPI (M) has settled for one well-known tinsel town figure from the Tollygunge film and TV industry to try and dent the opposition vote bank. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has reposed her faith in Bollywood superstar of the 70s and 80s, Shatrughan Sinha, a repeat candidate from Asansol, and on reigning Tollygunge superstar Dipak Adhikari aka Dev from the Ghatal seat for a third consecutive term in Lok Sabha. She also nominated

Pakistan leaders praying Cong shehzada' becomes India's PM: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted his government's surgical and air strikes had shaken Pakistan, and the neighbouring country's leaders are now praying that the Congress shehzada becomes India's PM. Modi, addressing a poll rally in Palamu, took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi without taking his name, and said the neighbouring country might want him as prime minister, but India wants a strong country with a strong PM. "Maa Bharati's disrespect won't be tolerated anymore. New India's surgical and air strikes shook Pakistan, which was known for supporting terror attacks on India during the Congress regime. The new India knows how to enter enemy territory and strike... Now shaken by the surgical and air strikes, leaders in Pakistan are praying that the Congress shehzada' becomes PM of India," Modi said. He urged the electorate to recognise the importance of one vote, which contributed in building the Ram Temple after generations struggled for 500 years, as well as

INDIA bloc PM will be first among equals, all parties will join: Tharoor

Opposition parties, campaigning together or against each other, will join hands after the Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, asserting that the people will get a prime minister who is first among equals and listens to others with an INDIA bloc coalition government. Including the Trinamool Congress in his argument on opposition parties getting together after the day of reckoning on June 4, Tharoor said in an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters that a coalition government is nothing to be afraid of. The growth performance of the Indian economy has been better under such dispensations than under single party governments, he said. In his view, this is an election for "change" and as of now the BJP has "lost its grip" on the narrative. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also defended the party's decision to not attend the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it was right to turn down the invitation as it w