Page 28 - Madhya Pradesh

BSP leader Ramlakhan Singh, Congress members join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Former Lok Sabha member Ramlakhan Singh of the BSP, ex-Congress MLA Neelesh Awasthi, former legislator and Congressman Ajay Yadav, among others, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday as the saffron outfit continued to induct leaders from rival parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Welcoming them in the ruling party at a function here, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the BJP's family was continuously growing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "You all have joined the party after being inspired by the BJP's ideology and policies of Modiji. I welcome you," he added. This was the third time that Ramlakhan Singh has joined the BJP. In the past, he had left the BJP on two occasions and joined the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He is a former BJP Lok Sabha member from Bhind. Over the last few months, Congress leaders are joining the BJP in droves in Madhya Pradesh. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has set a target .

ASI digs trenches at Bhojshala Complex in MP's Dhar for seventh day

The ASI team also started excavation inside the Bhojshala complex as a part of the survey

Mahatma Gandhi's bust damaged in Madhya Pradesh, police launch probe

Police have launched a probe after a bust of Mahatma Gandhi was found to be damaged in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, an official said on Wednesday. The bust on the premises of the government college in Khilchipur town was vandalised on Tuesday, an official said. Some unidentified individuals damaged the bust, said Khilchipur police station in-charge Raghuveen Singh Dhakad, quoting the college principal. The police team reached the spot and launched a probe, he said. Footage of CCTV cameras installed on the college campus is being examined to identify the miscreants, he said.

LS elections: BJP releases list of 40 star campaigners for Madhya Pradesh

BJP has announced all the 29 candidates for the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress party has announced only 10 candidates till now

Lok Sabha polls: Cong's Nakul Nath files nomination from Chhindwara in MP

Nakul Nath, the lone Congress winner in the last general elections in Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday filed his nomination papers from his traditional Chhindwara constituency, which his father and former chief minister Kamal Nath represented for nine terms. Accompanied by his wife and parents, including former MP Alka Nath, Nakul submitted his papers to the returning officer in Chhindwara. Before that, the senior and junior Nath worshipped at the Lord Hanuman temple in the town. His supporters also took out a rally, which was attended by state Congress president Jitu Patwari and the Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar. Of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in MP, the BJP in 2019 had won 28, barring Chhindwara. The saffron party has fielded its district unit president Vivek Bunty Sahu against Nakul Nath. Though the Chhindwara seat has been the bastion of the Congress, with the grand old party losing elections here just once, BJP is channelling all its energies to wrest this seat this time. In 20

David vs Goliath: Congress fields rookie against BJP stalwart in Indore

The Congress has fielded Akshay Bam, a newbie in the poll arena from Indore Lok Sabha constituency, an unbreached BJP citadel for 35 years, against sitting MP Shankar Lalwani, who had won the 2019 contest by a huge margin of over 5.47 lakh votes. Bam (45), a businessman from the Jain community, has to shoulder a big responsibility of keeping the Congress cadre motivated in view of three former MLAs and several workers of the party joining the ruling BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Prominent among Congress defectors are Pankaj Sanghvi, Sanjay Shukla, and Vishal Patel. He faces sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani, 62, who had won the last contest against his Congress challenger Pankaj Sanghvi by possibly the highest vote margin in Madhya Pradesh. Indore is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and is the cleanest city in India. The BJP holds all the eight assembly constituencies under the Indore Lok Sabha seat. The BJP has set a target to win the Indore constituency, the larges

ASI continues survey of Bhojshala complex; mosque body raises objection

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) continued the survey of the controversial Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district for the third day on Sunday. The Kamal Maula Mosque Welfare Society President Abdul Samad, one of the parties in the court, told reporters that he has submitted some of his objections to the ASI via e-mail on Saturday. "Our objection is that the ASI should not include in the survey the objects put up inside Bhojshala after 2003. I have sent my objections through e-mail," he said. Samad said three ASI teams were working inside the complex. "I am the only person from the (mosque welfare) society who is inside during the survey. My objection is that the ASI team should work at one place and not at three places," he said. On Sunday morning, a team of the ASI, accompanied by senior police and local administration officials, reached the disputed complex in this tribal-dominated district. Petitioners from the Hindu side - Ashish Goyal

Archaeological Survey team starts survey of Bhojshala complex in MP

A team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Friday began a survey of the controversial Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Mosque complex situated in the tribal dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The ASI team, comprising more than a dozen members, reached the complex Friday morning. It was accompanied by senior local police and district administration officials. The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on March 11, directed ASI to carry out within six weeks a 'scientific survey' of the Bhojshala complex, a medieval-era monument that Hindus believe is a temple of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati) and the Muslim community calls Kamal Maula Mosque. As per an ASI order issued on April 7, 2003, Hindus are allowed to worship inside the Bhojshala complex every Tuesday, while Muslims are allowed to offer namaz at the site on Fridays.

Lok Sabha polls: BJP aims for 'clean sweep' in state, says CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday said a wave is prevailing in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country and the ruling BJP is aiming for a "clean sweep" in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 28 out of the total 29 seats in MP and the Congress managed to win only one seat -Chhindwara. The state will this time have the parliamentary polls in four phases from April 19 to May 13 and votes will be counted on June 4. While the BJP has announced its candidates for all the 29 seats, the Congress has so far declared nominees for 10 seats. Talking to reporters in Jabalpur, CM Yadav said, "There is a wave prevailing in the country in favour of Prime Minister Modi." While the BJP has declared its candidates all for the Lok Sabha seats in the state about 10 days ago, the Congress is yet to find candidates for contesting elections, especially in big cities, he said. "There is tremendou

MP HC allows 20k students of 'unsuited' nursing colleges to write exams

The Madhya Pradesh High Court permitted around 20,000 students of "unsuited" nursing colleges to write their main examinations but said the privilege was a one-time measure and they would not get further benefits if they fail. Earlier, the HC had stopped students of nursing colleges, which were found to be running without infrastructure facilities or dispensaries across Madhya Pradesh, to write examinations. The relief from the division bench of Justices Sanjay Dwivedi and AK Paliwal came on applications filed by some students seeking nod to answer the exams. "The students of unsuited colleges shall also be permitted to participate in the examination, but this arrangement and benefit would be a one-time-measure and if they do not clear the examination, no further benefit shall be given to them", the bench observed. Law Students Association president and advocate Vishal Baghel told PTI around 20,000 students would be benefited by the order passed on March 11. The order was uploaded

Ahead of LS polls, Kamal Nath's close aide, other functionaries join BJP

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a close associate of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and some other functionaries of the opposition Congress joined the ruling BJP on Monday. The Bahujan Samaj Party's state in-charge also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Syed Zafar, a former Congress spokesperson, joined the BJP in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and the party's state head VD Sharma. Zafar, a native of Chhindwara, was considered a close associate of Congress veteran and former chief minister Kamal Nath. As per his profile on X, he was currently holding the post of MP Congress general secretary. However, state Congress media department chairman K K Mishra said Zafar was not holding any post in the party at present. Earlier this month, there were speculations that Nath might switch over to the BJP, but he refuted such reports as "creation of media." Besides Zafar, MP Congress general secretary Maneesha Dubey, some other party leaders and B

6 cubs born to cheetah Gamini, not 5, clarifies Minister Bhupender Yadav

African cheetah 'Gamini' has given birth to six cubs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, and not five as reported previously, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday. On March 10, Yadav shared the information that the five-year-old South African cheetah gave birth to five cubs at the Kuno National Park (KNP). In a post on his official X account on Monday morning, Yadav said, "Gamini's legacy leaps forward! There is no end to joy: It is not five, but six cubs! A week after the news of five cubs born to Gamini, it is now confirmed that Gamini, the South African cheetah mother, has given birth to six cubs, a record of sorts for a first-time mother." The minister also shared the visuals of cheetah Gamini's six cubs. With this, the cheetah count at the KNP has increased to 27, including 14 cubs. In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one managed to survive. Jwala gave birth to her seco

Lok Sabha polls: Development, jobs key focus of parties in Madhya Pradesh

The BJP dominated all the six regions of Madhya Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when it won 28 out of the 29 parliamentary seats in the state and will seek to repeat its performance this time as well. The saffron party will also try to wrest Chhindwara, the lone seat won by the Congress in the 2019 polls in the home turf of former chief minister Kamal Nath. Development and issues pertaining to employment have been the key focus areas of the BJP and Congress in the six regions of the state. The BJP has declared its candidates in all 29 seats, while the Congress has so far announced names of its candidates for 10 seats. Out of the 29 seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe and four for Scheduled Caste candidates. In the 2019 polls, all these seats were won by the BJP. The state broadly has six regions - Gwalior-Chambal, Central MP (Bhopal), Malwa-Nimar, Mahakoshal, Vindhya and Bundelkhand. The Malwa-Nimar region has the highest number of eight Lok Sabha seats. 1. ...

Ram mandir to govt jobs: Issues that may dominate Lok Sabha elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantees, Ram temple in Ayodhya, and Congress' demand for a caste census would be among major issues in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh will be held in four phases on April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13. Counting of votes will be held on June 4. Following are the key issues in the state for the Lok Sabha polls: Narendra Modi: If the November 2023 state elections are any indicator, the prime minister would be the ruling party's biggest poll plank. It would highlight Modi ki guarantee (Modi's promises) such as free food grains for the poor, and the achievements of the Union government in the past ten years. Ram temple: The BJP would take credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and attack the Congress for turning down the invite to the inauguration ceremony. Congress could try to blunt the criticism by pointing out that the lock of the earlier make-shift Ramlalla

ACC bags Lamatola coking coal block situated in MP on 3rd day of auction

Cement major ACC Ltd bagged the Lamatola coking coal block situated in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday in the ongoing nineth round of auction of commercial coal mines, according to an official release. ACC submitted the final bid offering a premium of 16.75 per cent against the reserve price of 4 per cent. "Including today's auction, a total of 4 coking coal mines have been auctioned under the ongoing rounds of auction. Once operationalized, these coal mines will reduce the dependency of country on imported coking coal," the Coal Ministry said. The latest round of commercial coal mine auctions was launched by the Coal Ministry on December 20, 2023. As many as 32 coal mines were put on the block. The Lamatola coking coal mine located in Madhya Pradesh has 200 million tonnes reserves of coking coal.

CM Mohan Yadav inaugurates 2 air services to promote tourism in MP

Under the two services, two twin-engine aircraft will be operated for an affordable journey, said MP's Tourism, Culture and Religious Trust Minister Dharmendra Lodhi

BSNL installs 3,500 4G towers in 5 northern states: CMD Pravin Kumar Purwar

Tower installations to begin in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh soon

Madhya Pradesh set to offer Rs 125 per quintal bonus over MSP on wheat

With the bonus, the official purchase price for wheat in MP will be Rs 2,400 per quintal

Won't leave Chhindwara: Kamal Nath on contesting LS poll from Jabalpur

Congress veteran Kamal Nath on Monday ruled out the possibility of contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Jabalpur and said he will not leave Chhindwara, his political stronghold in Madhya Pradesh. The Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by his son Nakul Nath. Kamal Nath has represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency nine times. He is currently an MLA from Chhindwara assembly seat. Asked if he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Jabalpur, a prominent parliamentary segment in Mahakoshal region of MP, Kamal Nath said, "There is no plan. I will not leave Chhindwara in any case." He was talking to reporters in Chhindwara. The former CM had on earlier occasions said his son will contest from Chhindwara. Asked about Congress leaders switching sides in Madhya Pradesh, he said, "Suresh Pachouri (former Union minister) joined the BJP. It was his wish." Veteran leader Pachouri had joined the ruling BJP on Saturday. On Monday, two other former Congress

Lok Sabha polls: Two former Congress MLAs join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Two former Congress MLAs joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The political development comes two days after former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the BJP. Former Congress legislators Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP party president VD Sharma at the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal. Choubey was elected as MLA from Khurai seat in Sagar district in 2008, while Bagri represented Gunnaur assembly seat in Panna district in 2018. There was speculation that Congress leader and former MLA Deepak Joshi, son of BJP stalwart and ex-chief minister Kailash Joshi, might also join the ruling party along with Choubey and Bagri. But Joshi did not join the BJP on Monday. Asked about the speculation, BJP state president VD Sharma said, "People will keep coming to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the family will keep