Page 70 - Lok Sabha

Sharad Pawar reminds PM of 'holding finger' comment, says he has changed

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday recalled a 2016 statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about having come into politics holding the former's finger and expressed surprise over the PM taking a "different stand" now. Speaking at a gathering in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra's Pune district ahead of the parliamentary polls, Pawar also took a dig at PM Modi for "personal attacks" and for taking action against those who have different ideologies. "When I was Union agriculture minister, I helped Gujarat tremendously when Modi was the state's CM. I didn't see which party he belonged to. I saw that farmers in his state needed to be made happy and so I helped him," he said. "One day he told me he wants to come to Baramati. In his speech then he said: Pawar saheb had held my finger and taught me to do whatever (developmental) work I have done so far. But today he is taking a different view," the NCP (SP) chief said. If someone makes personal criticism or takes a .

'Step aside, take a break': Prashant Kishor's advice for Rahul Gandhi

Poll strategist said former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been 'unsuccessfully' running the party for the last 10 years

LS polls: Situation 'serious' in UP, CM Yogi should stay back, says Raut

Ahead of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's rally in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region on Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the CM should stay back in UP, claiming the situation there is "serious". Five Lok Sabha seats in the Vidarbha region, including Nagpur from where Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari is contesting, will go to polls in the first phase of parliamentary elections on April 19. Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Raut said, "Yogi Adityanath should stay back in UP as the situation is serious there. In UP, the situation is more serious than it looks. I am well aware of it. The party (BJP) has to seek votes in the country even after being in power for 10 years." PM Modi is also scheduled to address a public meeting later in the day in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, which is in the Vidarbha region. Targeting the PM, Rajya Sabha member Raut claimed, "Modi is campaigning using government money. It is a violation of the code of condu

LS elections: 12,000 paramilitary forces to be deployed in Tripura

Around 12,000 central and state paramilitary forces will be deployed in Tripura for the elections, a senior police officer said. Voting in Tripura West Lok Sabha seat and by-election in Ramnagar assembly seat will be held in the first phase on April 19, while electors in Tripura East Lok Sabha seat will exercise their franchise in the second phase on April 26. "A total of 84 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed in the state for the elections, with 14 companies of CRPF arriving on Thursday," Assistant Inspector General (Law and Order) Jyotishman Das Chaudhury said. He said no more central forces will be deployed as 84 companies are "enough for conducting the elections in the state". A company of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) comprises around 80-100 personnel. Besides, around 4,500 personnel of the state paramilitary force, Tripura State Rifles, will also be deployed for election-related duties, while BSF will continue to remain vigilant along the

Lok Sabha polls 2024: All you need to know about phase seven of polls

The elections for the seventh phase will be held on June 1 in 57 constituencies, and it will cover eight states and UTs

LS polls: Three-way battle among Cong, BRS, BJP to woo voters in Telangana

The ruling Congress, BRS and BJP are leaving no stone unturned to put up an impressive show in the May 13 Lok Sabha polls in Telangana, prompting an intense 3-way fight in the southern state that saw a change of guard last year after a decade. Congress, fresh from its win in the 2023 Assembly polls, is keen to repeat the good show while BRS that ruled the state for 10 years and now suffering defections, is striving hard to reverse its fortunes. The BJP, energised with its better poll show-- in terms of seats and voteshare in 2023 state elections, is eager to make more electoral inroads. While the BJP and BRS have already announced their candidates for all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, Congress has named its nominees to 14 so far. The Lok Sabha election is crucial for all the three parties, especially BRS which is facing an existential crisis of sorts following its unexpected defeat in the Assembly elections held in November last year. The election is also significan

Cong, AAP eye tribal LS seats in Guj, BJP's grip strong: Political analysts

The Congress and AAP have tied up in their bid to breach Gujarat, a BJP fortress, through the state's tribal-dominated seats in the Lok Sabha polls, but the saffron party's grip over these constituencies is too strong, say political analysts. Of the state's 26 seats that will go to polls on May 7, Dahod, Chhota Udaipur, Bardoli and Valsad are reserved for ST (Scheduled Tribes) candidates, while Bharuch has a sizable population of tribals though it is a general seat. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made some inroads into the tribal belt, reflected by its victory from Dediapada (ST) assembly segment under the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in the 2022 state polls. The Congress, once a powerhouse in Gujarat's tribal landscape, has renewed its focus on the tribal belt. Last month, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra traversed through areas under these Lok Sabha seats. Taking a cue from their crushing defeats in the last assembly polls when anti-BJP votes in the tribal belt got

Lone warriors: Here're independent members of Parliament in Lok Sabha

The 10th Lok Sabha in 1991 had only one Independent MP, Satyendra Nath Brohmo Chaudhary, who was from Kokrajhar

Highlights: Oppn missed chances; BJP may win 300 LS seats, says Prashant Kishor

LIVE updates: PM Modi's Madhya Pradesh campaign ahead of LS polls, AAP leaders to sit on a day-long fast at Jantar Mantar, and more. Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Khajuraho LS seat candidates being pressured to withdraw from poll: Cong

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari on Sunday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was pressuring some of the candidates in the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat to withdraw from the poll fray. The BJP, however, termed the allegations as baseless and said such claims were a cover-up for the internal conspiracies of the opposition INDIA bloc. The Congress has given the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party (SP) as part of the seat-sharing agreement among the INDIA alliance constituents. The nomination form of SP candidate Meera Yadav, however, was rejected by the Returning Officer on Friday as she had failed to sign at one place and also submitted an old voters' list copy. After the scrutiny, 14 candidates are in fray in this seat, including sitting MP and BJP state president VD Sharma. Talking to reporters on Sunday, Patwari claimed the All India Forward Bloc candidate RB Prajapati, a former government officer, met him and said he is being pressured through differ

Manipur LS polls: Over 24k displaced people to vote from relief camps

Eleven months of conflict, over 50,000 displaced people and an anti-poll sentiment among few---the Election Commission in violence-hit Manipur is gearing up for the challenging task of holding Lok Sabha elections in the state where the poll scene is muted. Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Kumar Jha said over 24,500 displaced people have been identified as eligible to vote in the upcoming elections and special arrangements have been made for them to cast their franchise from relief camps. "A total of 2,955 polling stations will be set up in the state for the Lok Sabha elections, out of which around 50 per cent have been identified as sensitive, vulnerable or critical. We are also setting up 94 special polling stations to facilitate voting by internally displaced persons (IDPs), Jha told PTI. As per Election Commission of India (ECI) norms, a vulnerability mapping of hamlets, villages and electoral segments vulnerable for threat and intimidation, is conducted ahead of polls. "Special

Highlights of the day: Two planes collide at Heathrow Airport while aircraft being towed

From Congress' meeting to plan for Delhi's Lok Sabha seats to the tremors felt in J&K, catch all the updates from around the world here

126,000 people joined BJP in MP on Sat; 258,000 in 3 months: Mishra

About 1.26 lakh people joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, a senior party leader claimed here. More than 2.58 lakh people have joined the saffron party in the state over the past three months, and most of them were from Congress, said former minister Narottam Mishra. "Over 1.26 lakh people including members of Congress, social organisations and others joined the BJP today," he said. Notably, the saffron party celebrated its foundation day on Saturday. "More than 90 percent of those who have joined the BJP are from Congress, and the rest are from social organisations, retired employees and officials, and people from different walks of life," said Mishra who heads the BJP team responsible for new entrants. They were influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personality, leadership, the development works carried out by his government and nationalism, he said. Earlier in the day, three-time former Congress MLA from Ghatiya (Ujjain ...

PM Modi, CM Yogi hold roadshow in Ghaziabad ahead of Lok Sabha elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad in support of BJP candidate Atul Garg. In his first roadshow in the state since the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls last month, the prime minister was joined by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Garg in an open jeep as Modi waved at the enthusiastic lot of supporters. The roadshow started from the Maliwad Chowk and will culminate at Chaudhary Mod. The district administration has made elaborate security arrangements for the event including the deployment of large number of personnel and enforcing traffic diversions. This is the prime minister's first roadshow in Uttar Pradesh after the announcement of Lok Sabha elections. Braving the harsh sun, the supporters had been waiting on the road since the afternoon as drums and bands kept them engaged. As the prime minister's vehicle moved slowly on the road, people lining on the both sides of the road showered flowers on him and raised ...

Assam govt will provide 50,000 additional jobs: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that his government will provide 50,000 additional jobs, besides the one lakh appointments it had promised people previously. He also assured people that they would receive more benefits under ration cards as services would be expanded, and also more women beneficiaries would be added to the 'Orunudoi' scheme. Speaking at an election rally at Titabor in Jorhat district, Sarma said, "We had promised people of giving one lakh jobs and the Congress had laughed at us then. But we kept our promise and gave employment to one lakh youths." "Now, in the next few years, we will give 50,000 more jobs, spread across different departments such as home and education," he said. The CM said that more beneficiaries will be enrolled in different welfare schemes and the facilities will be further expanded. He said more beneficiaries would be added to Orunudoi scheme, under which Rs 1,250 is transferred every month to the bank accounts of wom

LS polls 'not fair' but despite that, INDIA bloc will get majority: Ramesh

The Lok Sabha polls are "not fair" with opposition parties being targeted but despite that, the INDIA bloc will get a clear majority in the elections due to the public response to its "five nyay, 25 guarantees", senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday. He also said the people of the country will "decisively reject" all attempts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the elections "unfree and unfair". There is a strong undercurrent of "enough of das saal anyay kaal" (10 years of injustice), the Congress general secretary said. Ramesh also hit out at Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over their recent remarks about the country being a "new India", which strikes inside enemy territory, saying these are "diversionary tactics" aimed at taking the focus away from the Congress' "real narrative" of "paanch nyay, pachees guarantees" and the manifesto. Asked about the fairness of the polls, Ramesh said, "This election is not fair with action being taken against opposition

Congress manifesto bears imprint of Muslim League, says PM; Cong replies

Addressing an election rally in Saharanpur, PM Modi said people of the country feel that the Congress which fought for the country's independence was finished decades back

LS polls: Congress announces candidates for North, South Goa seats

The Congress on Saturday announced the names of former Union minister Ramakant Khalap and Viriato Fernandes as its candidates for the North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal made the announcement ending the INDIA bloc's prolonged wait for its candidates in Goa. The alliance comprising more than two dozen opposition parties has agreed to field Congress candidates from both the Lok Sabha constituencies in the coastal state. Khalap (76) was elected as an MP on the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) ticket from North Goa from 1996-1998. He was the Union minister of state for law in late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet. He later left the MGP to join Congress. As a law minister then, Khalap worked for the enactment of the Arbitration Act of India and drafted amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure of India and the Code of Criminal Procedures of India. He also introduced the Women's Reservation Bill in ...

INDIA alliance is for commission, NDA is on mission: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the opposition INDIA bloc's aim is to earn commission after coming to power while the BJP-led NDA is on a mission. Addressing an election rally in Saharanpur, Modi said the opposition alliance was fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections just to stop the BJP from winning more than 370 seats. "During its rule, the Congress' focus was on earning commissions. The INDI alliance too aims to earn commission after coming to power but the NDA and Modi sarkar is on a mission," Modi said. "The opposition is fighting just to stop the BJP from winning more than 370 seats. The Samajwadi Party is changing candidates every hour while the Congress can't even find candidates to field," Modi said. "The Congress does not have the courage to field candidates even in those seats which are considered its stronghold," he added. Modi said the Congress manifesto bears a Muslim League imprint and part of it is dominated by leftists. The prime minister said th

BJP wasn't formed to make anyone PM or CM, hence never split: Fadnavis

The Bharatiya Janata Party was not established to make anyone the prime minister or the chief minister and hence never faced an internal division, said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday. The senior BJP claimed that theirs is the only national party in the country's history that has not experienced a split. Addressing his party workers during an event here to mark the 44th foundation day of the BJP, Fadnavis asked the cadres to work as the soldiers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a developed country. From leaders like Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to PM Modi, all have worked to grow the party, he said. BJP leaders were never self-centred or selfish, Fadnavis said. This party was never made for making anyone the prime minister or chief minister or any other post but was established to create an ideology that will serve the nation's interests. This party always