Page 55 - Lok Sabha

29% candidates contesting in phase 3 have assets worth over Rs 1 crore

According to an ADR analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of all 1,352 candidates who are contesting in phase three, 244 (18 per cent) candidates have declared that they face criminal cases

Seek votes on performance, not through 'hate speeches': Kharge to PM Modi

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in "divisive and communal speeches filled with lies" to avoid an inevitable defeat. Kharge urged the prime minister to seek votes on the performance of his government over the last ten years instead of indulging in "hate speeches". The Congress president made the remarks in a letter to Prime Minister Modi in which he rebutted the attack and charges levelled against his party in the PM's letter to NDA candidates after the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Modi has asked the BJP-led NDA candidates in the Lok Sabha polls to spread awareness among voters about the Congress's intention to snatch "reservation from SC, ST and OBC communities and give it away to their vote bank". In a personal letter written to them, Modi also accused the Congress and its allies of having divisive and

Hearing in 2018 defamation case against Cong leader Rahul Gandhi postponed

Hearing in a 2018 defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remark targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah will now be held on May 14 as no judge was assigned to the MP-MLA court. According to Gandhi's counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla, the hearing was scheduled for Thursday but could not be held as a judge was yet to be assigned to the court. The MP-MLA court fixed May 14 as the next date of hearing in the matter, he added. The defamation complaint against Gandhi was filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra six years ago. Last December, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi. Subsequently, Gandhi halted his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi on February 20, appeared in the court and was granted bail. The complaint was filed here on August 4, 2018, against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged objectionable comments against Shah made at a press conference in Bengaluru in May that year during the Karnataka elections. The complainant referred to Gandhi's comment

TMC knew about school jobs scam before 2021 assembly polls: Kunal Ghosh

After his removal from the post of the TMC's West Bengal general secretary, Kunal Ghosh claimed that the party was aware of the school recruitment scam even before the 2021 assembly polls. The damaging statement from Ghosh, considered close to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, came amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, as the SSC scam has escalated into a significant issue in the polls. Ghosh was removed from the post hours after he shared a stage with a BJP Lok Sabha candidate and praised him on Wednesday. "The party was well aware of the fact that large-scale corruption and extortion in lieu of jobs was taking place in the school education department. The party was aware of it even before the 2021 assembly polls," he said in an interview with Bengali news channel ABP Ananda. Ghosh, who has been seeking more prominence for next-generation leaders and has been at loggerheads with the old guards in the TMC, said it was due to this "information about large-scale ...

49 Lok Sabha, 318 Assembly candidates withdraw nominations in Andhra: CEO

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena on Tuesday said 49 Lok Sabha candidates and 318 Assembly candidates have withdrawn their nominations for the May 13 simultaneous elections in the state. Consequently, the number of candidates contesting the 25 Lok Sabha seats got pruned to 454 and the 175-member Assembly to 2,387 candidates, the CEO said. "Following the withdrawal of nominations on Monday, April 29, 454 candidates will contest from the 25 Parliament constituencies and 2,387 from the 175 Assembly constituencies, said Meena in a press release. After the scrutiny of nominations on April 26, the Election Commission rejected 183 out of 686 Lok Sabha nominations and 939 out of 3,644 Assembly nominations. It accepted 503 Lok Sabha and 2,705 Assembly nominations which now stand at 454 and 2,387 after the withdrawals.

Ghulam Nabi Azad welcomes EC decision to postpone polls in Anantnag-Rajouri

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairperson Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to postpone polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency and said this has relieved several political parties. Azad emphasized the importance of the assembly elections over parliamentary elections stating it is very important to have a legislative assembly and legislators put in place through polls. "It is never too late. The decision of the Election Commission of India has relieved us. I thank the ECI for taking this right decision. All political parties will benefit from the decision. Actually, all parties are happy," he told reporters here. Azad, who is on campaign trial in Rajouri for his party's candidate Mohammad Saleem pitted in triangular contest with PDP's Mehbooba Mufti and NC's Mian Altaf on Anantnag-Rajouri seat, pointed out that the Election Commission should have scheduled polling in this constituency for the sixth or seventh phase. He explained

LS polls 2024: EC increases polling time in Telangana in view of heat wave

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday increased the polling time for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana by an hour in view of heat wave conditions prevailing in the state. The new timing would be 7 am to 6 pm against the earlier 7 am to 5 pm. Polling for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on May 13 in the fourth round of the seven-phase elections. While the extended time for voting will be applicable in all assembly segments of 12 Lok Sabha constituencies, in the remaining five parliamentary seats, the timing will apply in certain assembly segments, according to a notification issued by the commission. The hours of polling will be 7 am to 6 pm in the Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool (SC), Nalgonda and the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat, it said. The new timing will also be applicable in five assembly segments of the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, three of Peddapalle seat, six of Warangal (SC) s

LS polls: BRS Supremo KCR critiques EC for inaction on CM Revanth Reddy

BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, who has been barred by the Election Commission from campaigning for 48 hours, on Wednesday said that no action was taken against Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy though he made objectionable comments on him. Rao, who addressed an election rally in the Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency, referred to the 48-hour ban on him and said that lakhs of BRS activists would work tirelessly for "about 96 hours". Referring to certain comments allegedly made against him by the chief minister, he said the Election Commission has not imposed any ban on Revanth Reddy. Chandrashekar Rao's son and BRS working president K T Rama Rao said on X: "You can ban him temporarily, you can't kill the truth that he wants Telangana to know. Remember, the only people who are scared of you for speaking the hard truths are those who are living a Lie Jai Telangana." The Election Commission on Wednesday reprimanded Chandrashekar Rao and barred him from campaigning for 48 hou

Some people have made me stranger in my party: Ex Haryana min Anil Vij

Former Haryana Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said some people have made him a stranger in his party. "Mana kuch logo ne mujhe meri party mein he begana bana diya hai, parantu kayee baar begane apno say bhi zyada kaam kar jaate hai, (It may be true that some people have made me a stranger in my party, but sometimes strangers do more work than own people)," the six-time Ambala Cantt MLA said here without taking any names. He was addressing a gathering before the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Ambala parliamentary seat Banto Kataria filed her nomination papers. Vij was earlier said to be upset with the BJP for not keeping him in the loop when the party decided to replace Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister in March and bring Nayab Singh Saini in his place. Vij later also did not find a place in the cabinet led by Saini. The senior BJP leader had also kept away from Saini's swearing-in ceremony in March. He has confined his electioneering in the Lok Sabha polls to the Ambala ..

Modi starts election campaign in Gujarat today, to hold rallies in 11 seats

On Gujarat's Foundation Day, he will address two public gatherings: one in Deesa, located in Banaskantha, and another in Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha

LS polls: Shiv Sena nominates Naresh Mhaske as its candidate from Thane

The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday nominated former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske as its candidate for the Thane Lok Sabha seat. Mhaske will take on Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and incumbent MP Rajan Vichare. It also officially announced the candidature of CM Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde as its candidate from the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat. He currently represents that seat. Shinde's nomination had been announced by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a candidate of the ruling 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance), comprising Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, last month. Thane is known to be bastion of CM Shinde. He represents the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly constituency in Thane. The party is yet to announce candidates for the Nashik and Palghar Lok Sabha seats.

LS polls 2024: PM Modi's gurarantee vs Mulayam's legacy in Mainpuri

Even as a BJP wave swept through Uttar Pradesh in the last general elections, the Mainpuri constituency elected Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. With the saffron party determined to conquer the SP citadel this time, the fight is between 'Modi ki guarantee' and Mulayam's legacy. Around 220 km from the state capital Lucknow, Mainpuri is a pocket borough of the SP with the party retaining the seat for nearly three decades. It was among the five seats that the SP won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which it had fought in an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). After the death of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2022, his daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav bagged the seat in a bypoll. Toiling hard to retain the seat, Dimple Yadav is pinning her hopes on the work done by the veteran SP leader, while reminding people at election meetings that her sole aim is to carry forward "Mulayam Singh's legacy" by following in his footsteps. Dressed in a saree, Dimple Yadav can be seen .

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Shahabuddin's widow to contest as independent

Former Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary has entered the fray on a RJD ticket from Siwan, the lone parliamentary seat where the party did not formally announce its candidate. Choudhary, who has been a multiple-term MLA from Siwan, filed his nomination papers on Tuesday in the presence of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, son and heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad. Choudhary, who is a few months shy of 70, had lost the Speaker's post in February after he was voted out following a no-confidence motion moved by the NDA upon realignment with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president. The Siwan Lok Sabha seat is currently held by JD(U), which has dropped sitting MP Kavita Singh and announced the candidature of Vijaylaxmi Devi who joined the party recently. The pitch has been queered for both parties with Hina Shahab, the widow of multiple-term former MP Mohd Shahabuddin, filing her nomination papers as an Independent. Following the conviction of her husband in a num

Cong Chief Kharge appoints Devender Yadav as interim chief of Delhi unit

Congress leader Ajay Maken took to X, formerly Twitter, and said that Yadav is the right choice for post

Lok Sabha elections: BJP, Cong line up star cast for Gujarat campaign

Sources indicated that Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath may also chip in this week to add to the BJP firepower in Gujarat campaign, but there's no confirmation on this so far

Lok Sabha polls: Amid mounting pressure, JD(S) suspends Prajwal Revanna

Polling for 14 of Karnataka's 28 seats, including Hassan, which Prajwal, grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, has again contested, took place on April 26

LS elections: Phase 1 turnout at 66.14%, Phase 2 at 66.71%, says EC

A voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in phase one and 66.71 per cent in phase two of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Congress, CPI-M and TMC questioned the EC over the delay in announcing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, 11 days after the first round of polling on April 19. Officially sharing the turnout figure, the poll panel said in phase one of the elections, 66.22 per cent of male and 66.07 female electors turned up to vote. The turnout for registered third-gender voters stood at 31.32 per cent. In the 2019 polls, the turnout in the first phase stood at 69.43 per cent. In the second phase of elections held on April 26, the male voter turnout was recorded at 66.99 per cent, while the female turnout stood at 66.42 per cent. As many as 23.86 per cent of the registered third-gender voters came out to vote. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in phase two, the turnout was 69.64

Congress will impose 55% inheritance tax, if voted to power: PM Modi

Alleging that the Congress would impose 55 per cent inheritance tax if voted to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said when the whole world was economically progressing, India was suffering from policy paralysis under the previous UPA government. Addressing a poll rally in Medak district of Telangana, Modi accused the Congress government in the state of collecting corrupt money and sending it to Delhi. If Congress comes to power, they will bring out inheritance tax. Congress is planning to collect more than half- 55 per cent as tax on inheritance (received from parents), he claimed. Wherever Congress is in power, it has five political symbols- false promises; vote bank politics, supporting mafia and criminals, dynastic politics and corruption, he said in broadside. Modi further alleged that first it was BRS which looted Telangana and now it is Congress.

Rahul asks candidates to carry copy of Constitution to public meetings

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged all party candidates to carry a copy of the Constitution with them during nominations, public meetings and outreach programmes, and tell the people that as long as the Congress is there, let alone the BJP, no power in the world can snatch away the Constitution. The former Congress chief has been carrying a copy of the Constitution in his public meetings. He did so in Gujarat's Patan and Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur on Monday and in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind on Tuesday. "A boon for the poor, respect for the deprived and pride of every citizen -- our Constitution! I request all Congress candidates and leaders to keep the sacred Constitution with them during nominations, meetings, speeches and public outreach," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. "Announce it in every village and every street that as long as the Congress is there, let alone BJP, no power in the world can snatch away the Constitution of India," the former Congress chief said. In a

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