Page 67 - Lok Sabha

DMK hurt people's sentiments by insulting Sanatan Dharma, says Amit Shah

Senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Saturday accused the DMK of 'hurting' the sentiments of the people by insulting 'Sanatan Dharma' and called upon the people to reject the Dravidian party in the April 19 Lok Sabha election. He said the DMK passed unsavoury remarks on the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The DMK party has hurt the sentiments of people by making insulting remarks on Sanatan Dharma. But on the other hand, the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi respected everyone and believed in unity, Shah said at the roadshow in Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency in support of the party candidate Pon Radhakrishnan. Shah, who addressed the cadres from his campaign vehicle, invoked the name of Lord Ram, before targetting the ruling dispensation. Hundreds of party cadres, invigorated by his visit, joined the BJP veteran in the road show from Mettukadai Junction, Thuckalay, to the Old Bus Stand in Kanyakumari. Shah greeted the cadres from his specially-designed veh

LS polls: Cong will get more seats than in 2019 elections, says Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday asserted that his party would get more seats in the ensuing elections than in 2019 and predicted that the INDIA bloc would secure a resounding victory in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram also said that neither Hinduism nor the Hindus were under any threat and it was the BJP's "calculated strategy" to paint the entire Opposition as "anti-Hindu" to project Modi as the "saviour of Hindus". He also described West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as a "key player" in this election and said that her ability to hold the fort in the state will strengthen the INDIA bloc. "I cannot speak for all the states. I can confidently predict that the INDIA bloc will record a resounding victory in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the two fronts (UDF and LDF) will share the 20 seats, leaving nothing to the BJP. In Karnataka and Telangana, the Congress governments are popular and Congress will get many more seats than

Lok Sabha elections: BJP, AIMIM working hand in glove, alleges Digvijaya

Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has accused the BJP and the AIMIM of being hand in glove with each other, and sought to know the source of funding of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instigates Hindus, while the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), headed by Owaisi, provokes Muslims, but they complement each other and work in tandem. Singh was addressing a gathering on Friday night at Susner under Agar Malwa district, falling under Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat. Singh is a Congress nominee from this seat. "Owaisi openly provokes Muslims in Hyderabad, the BJP provokes Hindus here. But I ask you where does the money come from to field Owaisi to cut the votes of Muslims? They always do politics together...They complement each other," Singh alleged. Singh alleged that democracy has been murdered in the country and people are being sent to jails. He said that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee rightly said the BJP has become a ...

LS elections: Cong questions PM ahead of his poll campaign in Tamil Nadu

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Tamil Nadu, the Congress posed several questions to him on Saturday, asking why is he so eager to privatise the Salem Steel Plant and why the ruling BJP has not set up a single educational institute in the southern state. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked Modi whether the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai is merely a publicity stunt. "Today's questions for the PM as he heads to Tamil Nadu: AIIMS Madurai: Premier institute or publicity stunt? Why hasn't the BJP set up a single premier educational institute in TN? Why was the PM so eager to privatise Salem Steel Plant," Ramesh asked in a post on X. Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of giving "jumlas" (rhetoric), he said the saffron party proudly announced the establishment of the AIIMS, Madurai in the 2015-16 Union budget and for four years since the announcement, no action was taken. "Then just before the 2019 electi

Kerala CM attacking Rahul Gandhi to hide govt failures, help BJP: Congress

The opposition Congress in Kerala on Saturday claimed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was attacking the grand old party and Rahul Gandhi to hide his government's administrative failures and to help the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that for the past more than 30 days, Vijayan has been reading out the same speech attacking the Congress and Gandhi, while avoiding the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Satheesan said that the Congress has only one question to ask the Marxist veteran -- "how will you defeat communalism and fascism at the national level without us?" "The Congress is leading the INDIA bloc. If the Congress is destroyed or weakened, whom will it help? That is our question to Pinarayi Vijayan. So, you (Vijayan) are speaking against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress to help the BJP," he said. Satheesan, the Congress MLA from Paravur assembly constituency, also alleged that since the CPI(M)-led stat

Kukis, Meitis unite on one point - not right time for LS polls in Manipur

The Kukis and Meitis may be at loggerheads in Manipur but their thoughts on one point converge -- this is not the right time for Lok Sabha elections in the restive state. It has nearly been a year since ethnic violence broke out between the hill-majority Kukis and the valley-majority Meitis. It has not only killed over 200 people and displaced around 50,000 but also sharply divided Manipur along ethnic lines. Elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur will be held on April 19 and 26. While Inner Manipur and some segments of Outer Manipur will vote in the first phase, the remaining segments of Outer Manipur will go to polls on April 26. Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make? "Our demand is clear - we want a separate administration for the Kuki Zo community. For years the development has only been in the valley and not our areas and after what has ..

LS polls: 2 former India hockey team captains fighting elections in Odisha

They have played captain innings in astroturf while representing the Indian hockey team, but this time they are trying their luck in the electoral battlefield in Sundergarh district, often referred to as the cradle of hockey in Odisha. They are Hockey India president and former Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Tirkey and ex-Indian hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey. While Dilip Tirkey is the ruling Biju Janata Dal candidate for the Sundergarh (ST) Lok Sabha constituency, his junior and former India hockey captain, Prabodh Tirkey is the Congress candidate from the Talsara (ST) assembly segment also in Sundergarh district. Both the BJD and Congress have picked Dilip Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey in the electoral battle as Sundergarh is known as the cradle of hockey in the state and the game is very popular among the masses. According to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, "Hockey is a way of life in tribal-dominated Sundergarh where toddlers start walking with hockey sticks." Dilip Tirkey, 46, is

If work getting done without speaking, better to stay silent: Lakhimpur MP

As Pradan Baruah seeks a third consecutive term from Assam's Lakhimpur, the BJP leader puts up a brave face to the sobriquet of being a "silent MP", claiming that his constituency was on the fast-track of development, and "if by not even speaking in Parliament, so much is happening, it is better not to speak". Baruah claimed that even without using his "trump card" (of speaking in the House), he has ensured that core issues such as connectivity and flood control in the north bank of Brahmaputra, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, are being addressed. "It is only better if work is getting done without even speaking. I should save my trump card, then. Without even asking, we are getting everything. What can be better than that?" Baruah said in an interview with PTI here. According to data shared by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research in February this year, Baruah was among nine MPs in the outgoing Lok Sabha who did not participate in any debate or discussion during the entire .

FIRs against Cong's LS candidate for poll code violation in Chhattisgarh

Police have registered two cases against senior Congress leader and the party's Bastar Lok Sabha seat candidate Kawasi Lakhma in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district for allegedly violating the model code of conduct through his alleged objectionable remarks, officials said on Saturday. While an FIR was registered against him at Mirtur police station for allegedly making an objectionable remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another case was registered at Kutru police station for his alleged statement against police and administration, a district official said. The cases were registered on Friday evening based on the complaints lodged by the district returning officer, he said. Lakhma, who represents the Konta assembly constituency in Sukma district and served as a minister in the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government, has been fielded by the party in the Bastar Lok Sabha seat. Bijapur district falls in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency. As per the election official's ...

TDP leader Lokesh Nara calls phone tapping a grave danger to democracy

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the YSRCP won with a thumping majority of 151 seats, while the TDP was confined to 23 seats

Lok Sabha polls: Garhwal's women voters laud BJP's 'pro-women' schemes

The passage of the women's reservation bill and the "pro-women" schemes might help the BJP's fortunes, but the delay in rehabilitating victims of the Chamoli disaster is concerning, women voters in Uttrakhand's Garhwal region have said. The high rate of unemployment in the region, the rising prices of essential commodities and the Agnipath scheme were some of the other troubling issues for the women voters ahead of Lok Sabha polls in the state. Rashmi Nautiyal, a resident of Chamoli district, said the participation of women in politics has increased over the last few years and they are learning to take a stand for themselves. "We have seen several women-oriented schemes being launched by the government here. As a result, women are getting a sense of participation in the polls," Nautiyal said. "Earlier, women used to follow male members of their family, however, now they are taking a stand for themselves," she added. According to official data, the Garhwal region has more than five

Special polling booths arranged for 5K voters displaced by Manipur violence

All arrangements to enable displaced people to vote have been made in accordance with the guidance received from the central government

Friends are foes, foes turned friends in Maharashtra's electoral battle

With parties breaking up and new alliances forming, Maharashtra is seeing head-spinning political realignments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where one-time colleagues have become rivals, and enemies have become allies. An illustration of this was on display at Union minister Amit Shah's rally in Nanded on Thursday where former chief minister Ashok Chavan and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Pratap Patil Chikhalikar shared the stage. Chikhalikar, then the MLA of undivided Shiv Sena from Loha in Latur district, joined the BJP in 2019 and went on to defeat sitting Congress MP Ashok Chavan from Nanded, a Congress bastion, in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Modi, at a campaign rally then, had targeted Chavan over the Adarsh society scam, while then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said Chavan was a "dealer and not a leader." Chavan joined the BJP in February this year, and became its Rajya Sabha member. He is now campaigning for Chikhalikar and other BJP candidates in the .

Emerging-market bulls bet on PM Narendra Modi's return as election nears

In 2019, the alliance led by the BJP won more than 350 of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament

LS polls: Swami Prasad Maurya extends support to Chandrashekhar Azad

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who left the Samajwadi Party and formed the Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party in February, on Friday extended support to the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) candidate Chandrashekhar from the Nagina Lok Sabha seat. In a post on the social media platform 'X', Maurya said, "The Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RSSP) extends support to Chandrashekhar Azad, the candidate of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) from the Lok Sabha constituency number-5, Nagina (reserved). " Maurya also appealed to the people of the Nagina constituency to elect Azad with an overwhelming majority. Maurya has been a five-time member of the Legislative Assembly, a minister in governments led by Mayawati and Yogi Adityanath. Recently, Maurya had hit headlines with his controversial remarks on the Ramayana and the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Azad, a prominent leader of the scheduled caste who founded the Bhim Army, has formed a political party nam

Jagan Mohan Reddy looting Andhra Pradesh, says TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu Friday accused Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of looting Andhra Pradesh and asked people to choose between a government that develops the state or the one that destroys it. Addressing an election meeting at Vemuru in Guntur district, he asserted that 29,000 farmers came forward to give 35,000 acres land reposing faith in him for setting up Amaravati as the capital city. "Probably this is a world record. But Jagan played a high drama in the name of three capitals and the ultimate result is that the state does not have a capital now," said Naidu. Further, the TDP supremo promised to take measures to supply water for three crops in a year in the Krishna river delta region. Asking people to choose between a government that develops the state or the one that destroys it, he alleged that Reddy looted the state by selling spurious liquor at very high prices. Promising jobs for the youth of the state on returning to power, he vowed to be the best driv

Lok Sabha polls: Omar Abdullah to contest elections from Baramulla

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah will contest elections from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, the National Conference announced here on Friday. Making the announcement, party president Farooq Abdullah also told reporters here that influential Shia leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi will contest from central Kashmir's Srinagar constituency, which has been an NC bastion. After the abrogation of Article 370, and the downgrading and division of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Omar Abdullah, the NC vice president, had announced he would not contest assembly elections unless J-K's statehood was restored. Spread over 18 assembly segments, the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat would be one of the keenly watched contests as electoral dynamics in the constituency have changed after delimitation. The constituency, which encompasses four districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and parts of Budgam, is pegged for a key contest with a largely .

LS elections: Mayawati to kickstart campaign in western UP from April 14

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is set to launch her Lok Sabha election campaign in western Uttar Pradesh with a rally here on April 14, after a gap of seven years to shore up electoral support for the party. Mayawati would be holding rallies from April 14 to April 23 to seek votes for BSP candidates in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor, Nagina, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Amroha, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Meerut and Hapur constituencies. Western UP's Bijnor, Nagina, Saharanpur, and Amroha constituencies are among the 10 seats on which the BSP candidates had emerged victorious in 2019. The seats going to polls in the first phase of elections this year have a sizable chunk of Dalit and minority community voters. Party workers, busy in preparations for 'Behen ji's' programmes, said they believe the rallies are going to be "historic" and "the atmosphere on the ground would change" after April 14. "On April 14, our national president will hold a programme at the

'J&K Assembly polls soon, statehood to be restored': PM Modi in Udhampur

Prime Minister says abrogation of Article 370 has put an end to the 'long sufferings' of people of Jammu and Kashmir

Nomination process for 4 Assam Lok Sabha seats in third phase begins

The nomination process for four Lok Sabha constituencies, including Guwahati, in Assam going to polls in the third phase began on Friday, the Election Commission said. The process started with issuance of the notification for the third phase across the country. Voting in Guwahati, Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar (ST) constituencies will take place in the third phase on May 7. As per the notification, the last date of filing nomination is April 19, while the scrutiny of the same will be done the next day. The last day for withdrawal of candidature has been fixed on April 22. The counting of votes will take place on June 4 along with the rest of the country. In the high-profile Guwahati constituency, BJP's new face Bijuli Kalita Medhi, who is a vice president of Assam BJP and the former president of the party's women wing in the state, is likely to have a direct contest with Congress first-timer Mira Barthakur Goswami, the president of Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress. From the ruling