Page 1057 - Politics
Rahul Gandhi begins campaign in Wayanad with roadshow
Braving the scorching heat, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, began a roadshow Thursday in the hilly Wayanad constituency as part of his poll campaign for the April 23 Lok Sabha elections. The AICC chief, along with the state leaders including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, came out in an open vehicle after Gandhi completed the nomination procedures at the district collectorate here. As the massive crowd of supporters gathered on both sides of the road, security personnel had a tough time controlling the workers to clear the way for the vehicle. Gandhi and Priyanka, attired in a mustard and red border saree, waved to the crowd. As the vehicle inched forward, Gandhi was seen shaking hands with many elated supporters. People were seen clicking photos on their mobile phones and waving flags of the Congress party and its ally Indian Union Muslim League ...
BJP forges alliance with RLP in Rajasthan
The BJP on Thursday announced an alliance with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party headed by MLA and former BJP leader Hanuman Beniwal on one seat in Rajasthan. Beniwal will contest Lok Sabha polls on Nagaur seat as RLP candidate, BJP's poll incharge and union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said. He said the RLP will be a part of the NDA. Jat leader Beniwal had floated his own party RLP ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections and the party won three seats, including one by Beniwal. Beniwal said his party workers in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other parts will support the BJP to ensure saffron party candidates win and Narendra Modi again becomes the prime minister. "My roots have been in the BJP and, therefore, I am more comfortable with the BJP. I took the decision as my workers were in support of this alliance," he added. Rajasthan has 25 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP will contest on 24 and the RLP on one seat. The Congress has fielded former MP Jyoti Mirdha in Nagaur.
LS polls: AAP confident of improved show in Goa
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which drew a blank in the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, is now trying its luck in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state where it has fielded its candidates on both the parliamentary seats. The task would not be easy for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party as it faces a tough challenge from the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in the coastal state. However, AAP's South Goa Lok Sabha seat nominee Elvis Gomes, a former bureaucrat, said he was confident that people will vote for his party this time. AAP's general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar, who is contesting from North Goa Lok Sabha seat, said he was banking on the state's youth to vote for the party. "Our party can provide good governance to people of Goa," he said. Both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa are currently held by the BJP. During the Assembly polls two years back, the AAP fielded 39 candidates for the 40-member House. All the candidates then lost the election and 38 of them, including ...
Rahul Gandhi files nomination for Wayanad LS seat
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday filed his nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.He was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress chief filed his nomination papers at the district collectorate in Kalpetta.The state party unit had requested him to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency which fell vacant following the death of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president M I Shanavas last year.Shanavas was elected to Lok Sabha for consecutive two terms - 2009 and 2014 -- from the Wayanad seat which came into existence in 2009.Apart from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi will also be contesting from the Congress stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where he will face BJP nominee and Union Minister Smriti Irani.Congress is contesting on 16 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala leaving four seats for its allies - two for Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and one each for Kerala Congress (Mani) and Socialist Party .
Body found hanging in BJP booth office in Siliguri
A body of a 42-year-old man was found hanging at the booth office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Siliguri on Thursday morning.Locals out on their morning walk had reportedly spotted the body hanging from the booth office and alerted the police which came and took the body away for postmortem. An investigation is underway.The deceased has reportedly been identified as Nitya Mandal who used to work as a labourer.BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain termed the incident as an example of Bengal's jungle raj and asked the Election Comission to take cognizance of the matter."There is jungle raj in Bengal, the Election Commission should take cognizance of this incident. There is no rule of law in Bengal, BJP workers are continuously getting killed there. Is Trinamool Congress a political party or a murderous organisation? This is really unfortunate, the people of Bengal will answer this with their votes. CM Mamata Banerjee thinks she has become the absolute authority in Bengal after ...
Will jail Election Commission for two days if voted to power: Prakash Ambedkar
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh chairperson and grandson of BR Ambedkar, Prakash Ambedkar, on Thursday came into spotlight for threatening to take action against the Election Commission of India (ECI) if his party is voted to power.While addressing a public gathering at Yavatmal, Ambedkar called the Election Commission biased and slammed the organisation for directing political parties to not talk about the terror attack in Pulwama."I would like to know why we are not allowed to talk about the Pulwama terror attack when it is permitted under Constitution. Let our government come to power, we will not spare the Election Commission. We will keep them in jail for two days. The Commission is no more neutral. It is functioning as a BJP aide," he said.Prakash Ambedkar is contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Solapur and Akola constituencies as a candidate of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) - an alliance of Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM and Janata Dal(S) in ...
Infiltration in J-K increased in last five years: Gulab Nabi Azad
Senior Congress leader Gulab Nabi Azad on Thursday hit out at Prime Modi Narendra Modi-led government and alleged that infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir has increased in the past five years."In 2014, when we left the government, there was minimum infiltration. After five years in Modi government, maximum infiltration is there," Azad said while addressing a press conference here."That is why we will try to deploy more forces on the border to stop the infiltration. And the role of state police will be more in maintaining law and order in the valley," he added.Azad further said that if the Congress party is voted to power in 2019, it will review the Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (AFSPA)."This is the 30th year of AFSPA enforcement in Jammu and Kashmir. This is a long time, we have enforced in Punjab but withdrew it after 14 years. We will review it with which security forces will have all the power to end the militancy and to ensure no human rights violation," he said.The Congress ...
River bridges major poll issue in Kendrapara villages
Elections come and go but bridge connectivity eludes over 40,000 voters in river-locked pockets of Odisha's Kendrapara district. Lack of connectivity to the mainland is emerging as the major poll issue in the water-locked villages in Padanipala, Daitaripur, Kalamada under Aul assembly constituency and Jamboo and Batighar gram panchayats in Mahakalpada assembly seat. "We will vote for the party who promises to construct bridges after the elections," said Suresh Mallick, a resident of Padanipala village. Local issues such as lack of health service, poor primary education network, erratic power supply, distress sale of paddy, dearth of canal water in tail-end villages figure prominently as poll issues elsewhere in the district. The voters in these cut-off villages also encounter these problems, but the construction of river bridge tops the list of their priorities. "Since our village is located on the fringe of Kani river, residents face problems in getting across. These ..
Rahul's decision to contest from Wayanad insult to Amethi, betrayal with people: Irani
BJP leader Smriti Irani Thursday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying his decision to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala was an "insult" to the people of Amethi. Rahul is contesting from the seat in Kerala in addition to his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Referring to the Congress chief, Irani said a person who is here in Amethi for the past 15 years has decided to leave his supporters and has chosen to file nominations from another constituency. "He is filing his papers from another Lok Sabha seat. This is an insult to Amethi and a betrayal with its people. The people will not tolerate this," she told reporters here. The Union minister said this is because Congress workers know he does have support in Amethi.
Abdullahs and Muftis, two political dynasties in J&K (DYNASTY POLITICS)
The Abdullahs are undoubtedly the first political dynasty of Jammu and Kashmir having remained central to state's politics for over 80 long years.
From Sucheta Kripalani, Delhi has elected only 7 women MPs
During the seven decades since the first General Election in 1951, Delhi has only elected seven women to the Lok Sabha compared to almost 60 men.
Cong announces LS candidates for 2 Gujarat seats
The Congress on Thursday announced the names of two candidates for Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat, taking the total number of seats on which it has declared its candidates to 357. The party has fielded Sher Khan Abdul Shakur Pathan from Bharuch and Babubhai Katara from Dahod (ST). The announcement comes days after the Gujarat Congress unit requested senior party leader Ahmed Patel to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Bharuch. Patel, currently a Rajya Sabha member, won from Bharuch thrice, in 1977, 1980 and 1984, but lost to BJP's Chandubhai Deshmukh in 1991, after which he did not contest from the seat. The party on Thursday also announced that Kantilal Muljibhai Patel as its candidate for the by-election to the Unjha assembly seat in Gujarat.
Omar slams curbs on civilian traffic on highway
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has slammed the state government's decision to curb civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Sundays and Wednesdays to secure the movement of security forces' convoys.
Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad along with Priyanka to file nomination papers
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is here to file his nomination paper for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. Rahul is contesting from the seat in Kerala in addition to his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. He reached Wayanad Thursday morning in a helicopter from Kozhikode, where he was staying at a guest house after arriving in Kerala on Wednesday. The Congress chief and his sister were greeted by a huge crowd here and he is scheduled to hold a roadshow before filing his papers. Rahul will also meet office bearers of the Congress and parties in the UDF later. Tight security is in place in Wayanad district in view of the Gandhi siblings visit. While leaving the guest house in Kozhikode, the Congress chief was greeted by a huge crowd. He stopped his car and stepped out to greet party workers, who were standing there for hours. Three-year-old Zoya, who was among the people waiting to get a glimpse of the Gandhi siblings, was ...
Rahul Gandhi to file nomination from Wayanad in Kerala on Thursday
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday to file his nomination from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.Gandhi is scheduled to reach Wayanad at 11 am, Congress general secretary K C Venugopa said on Thursday.He will later fly to Nagpur in Maharashtra to address a rally.The state party unit had requested Gandhi to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency which fell vacant following the death of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president M I Shanavas last year.Shanavas was elected to Lok Sabha for consecutive two terms - 2009 and 2014 -- from the Wayanad seat which came into existence in 2009.Apart from Wayanad, Gandhi will also be contesting from the Congress stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where he will face Union Minister Smriti Irani.Congress is contesting on 16 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala leaving four seats for its allies - two for Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and one each for Kerala Congress (Mani) and Socialist .
US, China begin ninth round of trade talks
Following last week's meet in Beijing, the United States and China resumed trade talks here on Wednesday in a bid to move closer to achieving a deal to put an end to their trade dispute.US tariffs continue to pose a challenge to the final deal, according to NHK. While Beijing wants Washington to remove the tariffs, the US has stated that the cess will remain in place until it's completely clear that China will wholly adhere to the deal.China reportedly proposed buying more farm products from the United States during last week's talks - the eighth of its kind - held in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin led the US side in Beijing, while China's Vice Premier Liu He led the Chinese delegation.Both Beijing and Washington are engaged in intense negotiations in the wake of a trade dispute that would've originally seen the United States substantively increase tariffs on Chinese goods from March 1.President Trump has since withheld the tariff increase as talks between the two sides ...
Jumbo EVM ride in Nizamabad as farmers take on political bigwigs
Kottampally Srinivas, a turmeric and red jowar farmer in Telangana's Armur village, stands with arms akimbo amid a crowd that has gathered at a public rally here but doesn't sound optimistic. "No political party is concerned about agricultural issues," he says. Sitting Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP K Kavitha is to address the rally at Metpally village in Maknoor mandal and Srinivas struggles to have a glimpse of her as she steps out of the car. Few months before the assembly polls in December 2018, the TRS government had procured red jowar at Rs 2,300 per quintal. However, after coming to power, it stopped the procurement, Srinivas rues. Now as the polling date nears, the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency is in spotlight as it has the highest number of candidates -- 185 -- contesting, 179 of them being distressed farmers who have kept political parties on tenterhooks and the Election Commission (EC) on its toes to arrange for jumbo EVMs. These farmers are fighting the elections as
Is Trump's net worth $10bn or $3.1bn?
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Pompeo names new US State Department spokeswoman
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has named former Fox News contributor Morgan Ortagus as the new State Department spokesperson.
Gorkhaland demand alive in hills: Bimal Gurung
Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung, who is currently in hiding, has asserted that the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state is "still alive" in the Darjeeling Hills and that he continues to be the president of the party. His assertion comes in the face of claims by main political parties in the region - the BJP and the TMC - that the statehood demand is not a political issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The issue this time is development, the spokesmen of the parties had said. Speaking to PTI from an undisclosed place in Darjeeling, Gurung said Wednesday, "We see every election as a step towards reaching our goal (of statehood). This election is very important as it will send a resounding message to the rest of the country that the people of Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars areas have not given up their demand for a Gorkhaland state." Gurung, one time close aide of late GNLF chief Subash Ghising, said the coming election is a fight between the West Bengal government's ...