Page 57 - Lok Sabha

Congress-led INDIA bloc plans to have five PMs in 5 years if elected: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted the Congress-led INDI alliance, saying it is mulling to have five prime ministers in five years if voted to power. Addressing a rally at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, Modi said the opposition bloc cannot even reach a three-digit figure or "at the doorstep of forming a government, but has plans to have one prime minister every year if they get a chance". "In Karnataka, Congress has planned to rotate the post of the chief minister by handing it to the deputy chief minister after 2.5 years. They had this arrangement in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well," he said. Modi said the Congress wants to extend the "Karnataka model wherein Muslims were inducted in the 27 per cent quota for OBCs", in the entire country. "The Congress-led alliance has vowed to murder social justice," he said and accused the Congress of stooping low for appeasement and vote bank politics. "Congress wants to change the Constitution and rob Dalits, OBCs of quota

Sunita Kejriwal holds maiden poll roadshow, says nobody can break Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is a "sher" (lion) and nobody can break him, said his wife Sunita Kejriwal as she held her maiden Lok Sabha poll roadshow in support of the AAP's East Delhi candidate on Saturday evening. Standing through the sunroof of a vehicle, Sunita Kejriwal greeted voters in the Kondli area of East Delhi constituency with folded hands. She said the Delhi chief minister was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics. "We will vote to remove dictatorship and save democracy," Sunita Kejriwal said. With Arvind Kejriwal behind bars in a money laundering case, his wife will spearhead the AAP's poll campaign and hold roadshows, including one in West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday, according to party leaders. Sunita Kejriwal will also campaign for AAP candidates in South Delhi and New Delhi constituencies as well as in Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab, the party leaders said.

EC orders re-polling at one booth in Chamarajanagar LS segment in Karnataka

The Election Commission said on Saturday that re-polling will be conducted at a polling station in Hanur which falls under Chamarajanagar Parlimentary Constituency in Karnataka on April 29. In a letter addressed to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, the EC stated that on the basis of reports submitted by the Returning Officer and General Observer for Chamrajnagar Parliamentary Constituency and after taking all material circumstances into account, the Commission hereby declares under appropriate sections of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 that the poll taken on April 26 at the polling station no 146, Government Lower Primary School, Indiganatha, 221- Hansur Assembly Constituency of Chamarajanagar Parlimentary Constituency, falling under Chamarajanagar district to be void. The letter further stated that April 29 has been fixed as the date for a fresh poll at the polling station in accordance with the Commission's instructions. The polling will be held from 7 am to 6 ...

Lok Sabha elections: Gopal Rai inaugurates AAP's 'war room' for Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party's "war room" for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi was inaugurated by senior party leader Gopal Rai on Saturday. The party has fielded candidates on four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while its INDIA bloc partner Congress is contesting three. The constituencies will go to polls on May 25, the sixth round of the seven-phase elections. The "war room", located at the AAP headquarters on DDU Marg, will have 12 teams for different purposes, Rai, who is the convener of the party's Delhi unit, said. While the AAP is contesting from East Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi and New Delhi, the Congress from North East Delhi, North West Delhi and Chandni Chowk. In-charges have been appointed for the four constituencies and they will ensure that the AAP's poll campaigns are run in an organised manner, he said. Dedicated teams for logistics, campaign management, legal works, data management and analysis, and media and social media among others will ensure smoo

Allahabad HC grants bail to Dhananjay Singh, refuses stay on 7 yr jail

The Allahabad High Court on Saturday granted bail to former MP Dhananjay Singh but refused his plea to suspend or stay a seven-year imprisonment sentence passed by a district court in a 2020 kidnapping and extortion case. After the high court order, Singh will be released on bail but he cannot contest the election. The MP-MLA court in Jaunpur on March 6, sentenced Singh and his associate Santosh Vikram to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2020 case of the kidnapping and extortion of Namami Gange project manager Abhinav Singhal. After hearing the criminal appeal filed by the former MP and his associate on April 24, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh had reserved the order. This appeal was filed against the judgement passed by the special judge, Jaunpur MP/MLA on March 6. Singh's wife Srikala Reddy is contesting elections from the Jaunpur parliamentary constituency on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket. Singh was reportedly preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Jaunpur seat

LS polls: Large number of Sikhs, including DSGMC members, join BJP

A large number of Sikhs, including members of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, joined the BJP on Saturday. Citing a host of measures taken by the government to help the minority community, BJP president J P Nadda on the occasion said if anybody has really worked for the community, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda also cited central government decisions such as the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, the FCRA registration for donations to the Golden Temple and the action against accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. He said the BJP highly regarded the contribution and sacrifices of the community for the country and will keep working for its welfare. The BJP has been in an overdrive to deepen its bond with Sikhs and is looking to put up a strong fight in the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, where they are in a majority. A number of well known Sikh politicians from the state have joined the party recently.

India set to sign trade deal with Oman to expand its West Asia ties

India has agreed to reduce duties on some petrochemicals, aluminium and copper from Oman, while capping imports of such goods

LS polls: Varsity students keen to vote, say it's only way to change nation

First-time voters from higher education campuses of the city expressed their resolve to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls on grounds that the real issues' confronting the student community and society at large would otherwise remain unaddressed. They argue that turning their backs to the festival of democracy' would mean issues like stalemates in functioning of universities, recruitment scams occupying centre-space and basic needs of food, shelter and livelihood would be relegated to the political backburner. Ritushree, a first-time voter from Presidency University in central Kolkata, is determined to vote. She seeks a government free from religious exploitation and controversies surrounding educational institutions. A student of philosophy, Ritushree feels that the fundamental needs of food, shelter, and clothing are getting neglected in the poll discourse of parties. Despite the disillusionment, she believes in the importance of voting. "I believe my vote can bring

LS polls: Cong may discuss Amethi, Raebareli seats in today's CEC meeting

According to party sources, leaders of the UP Congress and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of UP, Avinash Pandey, have also been called for a meeting today

Lok Sabha polls: 77.35% turnout in second phase in 5 seats in Assam

An estimated 77.35 per cent of 77.26 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam, election officials said on Saturday. The final polling percentage could be further revised as the compilation of figures is yet to be completed, an official said. Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 80.56 per cent, followed by 78.41 per cent in Darrang-Udalguri, 75.97 per cent in Silchar (SC), 75.63 per cent in Karimganj and 73.11 per cent in Diphu, they said. Sixty-one candidates are in the fray in this phase. Assam Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya is pitted against Surya Kanta Sarkar of the Congress in Silchar, while BJP's Amarsing Tisso is contesting against Congress's Joyram Engleng in Diphu. Nagaon's sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi is contesting against BJP's Suresh Bora, while Karimganj's BJP MP Kripanath Malla is pitted against Congress's Hafiz Ahmed Rashid Choudhury. In Darrang-Udalg

TDP will 'rebuild' Andhra, take it out of debt trap: K Ravindra Kumar

A senior TDP leader has said the priority of the party is to "rebuild" Andhra Pradesh and take the state out of the debt trap by getting rid of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National Coordinator (Election) and ex-Rajya Sabha MP Kanakamedal Ravindra Kumar said Andhra Pradesh has suffered more losses during the Jagan Mohan Reddy government than during the creation of the two Telugu states in 2014 when resources were shared with Telangana. According to the state government data, the public debt of Andhra Pradesh has increased from 31.02 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2019-20 to 33.32 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal, indicating deterioration in the fiscal health of the state in the last five years. "Under the role of Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra CM) in the state, our party's priorities have changed. Our main priority is to get rid of Jagan Mohan Reddy and rebuild the state which has gone back 20 years," Kumar told PTI in an ...

Amritpal Singh to contest LS polls from Khadoor Sahib as Independent

The Pro-Khalistani leader is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Some of the most keenly watched contests

The once-in-five-year festival of democracy in the world's most populous nation has actors, sport stars and millionaires battling it out alongside the career politicians

SC's EVM verdict 'tight slap' to Congress-led Opposition: PM Modi

'I will not allow reservations meant for SCs, STs and OBCs to be diverted for vote bank politics. This is Modis guarantee', he said

BJP's agri manifesto for Lok Sabha polls: The perils and the promise

Significant progress has been made in the production, yields and the cultivation area of pulse and oilseed between FY19 and FY23

Lok Sabha polls: 61% cast vote in Phase 2, Maharashtra sees lowest turnout

According to this newspaper's estimates, calculated from the data provided on the EC's turnout app at 9 pm, the voter turnout was almost 65 per cent

Most SC/ST candidates fight without the backing of a political party

Indicative data shows a decline in the proportion of SC and ST candidates who participated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections compared to previous elections

LS election phase 2: FM Sitharaman, Rahul Dravid among early voters

Polling was underway on Friday in 88 constituencies spread across 13 states and union territories in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging people to cast their votes in record numbers. Polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Asserting that their vote is their voice, Modi especially told the youth and women voters to turn up at the polling booths in great numbers, and said a high voter turnout strengthens democracy. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also urged voters to come out and vote to protect democracy from the clutches of dictatorship. He also said that the Constitution should reverberate in their hearts before they push to voting button. In Kerala and Karnataka, long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths as soon as voting started. However, there were reports of EVM breakdowns in various booths across Kerala, delaying the election process in those places. Polling in underway at 20 Lok Sabha seats in .

Cong will continue the campaign on greater use of VVPATs: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress will continue with its political campaign on greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process, the party said on Friday after the Supreme Court rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs. The Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the petition on VVPATs rejected by the Supreme Court today, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. "We have taken note of the verdict of the 2-judge bench and our political campaign on the greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process will continue," Ramesh said in a post on X. The Supreme Court has rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and said "blindly distrusting" any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted scepticism. Maintaining that "democracy is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all institutions", a bench of Justices Sanjiv Kha

LS polls Highlights: Nearly 61% turnout recorded in 2nd phase of elections

Eighty-eight Lok Sabha seats (including parts of the outer Manipur seat), across 13 states and Union Territories, are set to vote today