Page 1211 - Politics
Civil society groups launch campaign on poll issues
Some civil society groups launched a campaign in several states on Saturday to ensure issues such as unemployment, agrarian crisis and sluggish economy are discussed in the run-up to the parliamentary election. The campaign, titled 'Desh Mera, Vote Mera, Mudda Mera' (my country, my vote and my issues), was launched on the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh. People, who joined the campaign in the national capital, took a pledge to make all political parties accountable in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The campaign aims at bringing issues such as unemployment, agricultural crisis, failing economy, destruction of democratic institutions and problems facing marginalised sections of the society to the centre of political debate. The event to mark the beginning of the campaign was held in several state, including Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' campaign from March 24
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that the BJP will launch its campaign for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections--Vijay Sankalp Sabha--from March 24.Talking to media persons here, Naqvi said the BJP president Amit Shah and other senior leaders of the party will address Vijay Sankalp Sabha in different Lok Sabha constituencies of the country on March 24 and 26.Shah will address the rallies in Agra on March 24 and in Moradabad on March 26 while Home Minister Rajnath Singh will address the campaign meetings in Lucknow on March 24 and in Delhi on March 26.Other leaders like Nitin Gadkari will address the meeting in Nagpur on March 24 while Sushma Swaraj in Gautam Buddha Nagar on March 24 and in Ghaziabad on March 26.Ravi Shankar Prasad will address the meeting in Patna on March 24 and in West Bengal on March 26. JP Nadda will address a meeting in Sambhal on March 24 and in Shahjahanpur on March 26 while Piyush Goyal will be in Bareli on March 24 and in Tamil Nadu on March ...
Congress yet to finalise ad agency for Lok Sabha polls
With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the Congress is still in the process to finalise an agency for its campaigning. The party has taken presentations from 12 companies, and a few of them have been shortlisted.According to sources, on Saturday, two companies--Brandscope and Graphic Gold--were called for making the presentation.Brandscope was called for the second time for giving a presentation. However, neither the Congress nor the company has divulged any details.Graphic Gold was called for the third time to make a presentation. The company is giving details to the members of Congress' Publicity Committee.In 2014, the Congress' media campaign had been managed by Dentsu India.The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will start April 11 with 543 parliamentary seats at stake. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Uma Bharti appointed as BJP national vice president
Union Minister Uma Bharti has been appointed the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda here on Saturday."As Uma ji has written to BJP president Amit Shah, reiterating her decision not to contest the Lok Sabha elections, the party has appointed her the national vice president of the BJP," Nadda said at a press conference.Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma had told Shah that she won't be contesting 17th Lok Sabha elections, adding that she will be happy to accept any other responsibilities assigned to her by the party."Dear friend, as I have already declared, reiterating the same I had written a letter to the party president Mr Amit Shah, repeating my request of not contesting an election, so that the party officially declares it," wrote Bharti on her Twitter account."I have told all the friends that for the next one-and-a-half years, I want to spend the maximum time on the banks of the Ganga. During this period, I will ...
Delhi Police acting as Modi Police, decision to cancel venue for CM rally politically biased: AAP
Aam Aadmi Party has rejected the claims of Delhi Police that it merely changed the venue of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's public meeting at Shakur Basti on Saturday."It's completely false. First, police cancelled the original public meeting venue for no reason. Our team kept pleading with the District Magistrate till late Sunday evening, but when nothing happened the party was forced to cancel this meeting," AAP said in a statement.Terming the decision of Delhi Police as politically biased, the party has warned of registering a 'strong protest' before the Election Commission of India against the decision of "Modi Police.""It is only after the CM's tweet today that as a face-saver the Delhi Police said it has allowed an alternate venue today afternoon. It is a farce and the Delhi Police are only trying to cover-up its politically biased decision after the AAP exposed it," the statement said.Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Kejriwal tweeted: "BJP gets my public rally cancelled ...
3 former BSP MLAs, one RJD leader join Congress
Three former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs and one Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader joined the Congress party here on Saturday.Three former BSP MLAs--Dr Dharampal Singh, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha and Thakur Surajpal Singh and RJD leader Anil Chowdhary--were inducted into the Congress in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief Raj Babbar.Dr Dharam Pal Singh has been a BSP MLA from Etmadpur, Surajpal Singh from Fatehpur Sikri and Kushwaha from Kheragarh."The people of Agra wanted me to contest election from here. This is my native place. My colleagues have called me. So I have come here," Babbar said at a press conference here.Releasing its seventh list of 35 candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party announced Raj Babbar's candidature from Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur Sikri.Babbar was earlier supposed to contest from Moradabad. However, he had requested the change of seat, following which he was shifted to Fatehpur Sikri while Imran Pratapgarhi was sent to .
MP BJP announces 15 LS candidates, drops 5 parliamentarians
The BJP Saturday declared candidates for 15 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, dropping five sitting MPs, including Anoop Mishra, nephew of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mishra, MP from Morena, had lost the 2018 Assembly polls from Bhitarwar seat. He has been replaced by Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, currently representing Gwalior Lok Sabha seat. The other four MPs who have been dropped are Gyan Singh from Shahdol, Bhind's Bhagirath Prasad, Chintaman Malviya from Ujjain and Betul's Jyoti Dhurve. The BJP has fielded Himadri Singh, a former Congress leader who recently joined the BJP and daughter of former Congress MP and ex-Union Minister Dalbir Singh, from Shahdol (ST) seat. From Bhind (SC), the BJP has fielded Sandhya Rai replacing sitting MP, Bhagirath Prasad, a former IAS officer. From Ujjain (SC), Anil Firojiya has been given a ticket in place of sitting MP Chintaman Malviya. Firojiya, had, incidentally, lost from Tarana in the 2018 ...
BJP replaces ex-CM Shanta Kumar in Himachal list
The BJP on Saturday dropped two of its four MPs, including former chief minister Shanta Kumar, from its list of candidates for all the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh. The party renominated Anurag Thakur, the son of former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, from Hamirpur and Ram Swaroop Sharma from Mandi. The saffron party also replaced its Shimla candidate, Virender Kashyap, with Pachhad MLA Suresh Kashyap. Shanta Kumar, 84, had told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday that he was unwilling to contest the parliamentary election. With this, the former chief minister has apparently retired from electoral politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had won all the four Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 election, fielded state minister and Dharamshala legislator Kishan Kapoor from Kangra in place of Shanta Kumar. Kishan Kapoor, 68, is currently the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister in the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government. Suresh Kashyap, 48, has worked in the Indian ...
Cong appoints observers in Delhi for Lok Sabha polls
The Delhi unit of the Congress has appointed observers for all 25 assembly constituencies falling under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee working president Rajesh Lilothia said the observers will go to booths and have dialogue with the voters and tell them about the programmes and policies of the Congress party. In a meeting held with the 25 observers, Lilothia said that in the 94 wards of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, protests will be staged to highlight the failures and non-performance of the elected representatives of both the BJP and the AAP.
BJP denies tickets to Shanta Kumar, Kariya Munda
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday came out with its fifth list of 48 candidates, denying tickets to party veterans Shanta Kumar and Kariya Munda while shifting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to Morena from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
TRS president to address campaign rallies from March 29
TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will address a series of campaign rallies for the Lok Sabha elections from Mar 29 to April 4. TRS sources said Saturday that Rao would address two meetings on March 29 at Miryalguda (Nalgonda LS seat) and in Hyderabad (for Malkajgiri, Secunderabad and Chevella constituencies). Rao had recently kicked off his partys election campaign from Karimnagar and later addressed another meeting at Nizamabad. Hitting out at the Congress and BJP, he has favoured formation of a federal front government in the country to usher in reforms in various areas and ensure rapid development. Claiming that neither NDA nor UPA is in a position to form on its own post-Lok Sabha elections, TRS has been seeking 16 out of the total 17 seats (leaving Hyderabad held by ally AIMIM) so that it can play a crucial role after the polls and ensure a better deal for Telangana. Raos son and TRS working president K T Rama Rao has been addressing .
Union ministers renominated; 3-time CM replaces 8-term MP as
Renominating Union ministers Jayant Sinha and Sudarshan Bhagat as Lok Sabha candidates, the BJP Saturday replaced eight-time MP Kariya Munda with former chief minister Arjun Munda from the Khunti (ST) seat. Arjun Munda, who was chief minister thrice, had won the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Jamshedpur and hails from neighbouring Saraikela-Kharsawan district. Union Minister of state for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Sudarshan Bhagat have been re-nominated from Hazaribagh and Lohardaga (ST) constituencies respectively. The party, which is contesting 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats from Jharkhand, has announced 10 candidates and kept names on hold for Ranchi, Koderma and Chatra constituencies, a senior party leader said here. "The names for these three seats are likely to be announced on March 25," the leader said. The BJP has left the Giridih seat to NDA ally Ajsu Party. The Giridih seat is currently held by BJP's Ravindra Kumar ..
BJP announces 15 Lok Sabha candidates in Gujarat, drops Surendranagar MP
The BJP renominated its 14 sitting MPs in Gujarat and dropped the parliamentarian from Surendranagar as it announced its 15 more candidates for the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. The party had earlier declared the candidature of its chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, held multiple times by BJP patriarch L K Advani. The total number of candidates announced for Gujarat now stands at 16. The state has 26 seats, all held by the BJP. Surendranagar MP Devji Fatehpara has been denied a ticket and has been replaced by Mahendra Munjpara, also from the Koli community. Munjpara has held various party positions in the district BJP, party spokesperson Prashant Vala said. Bharuch MP Mansukh Vasava and Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya, who were dropped from the Narendra Modi government in July, 2016, have been repeated from the two seats. The BJP has re-nominated Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jashvantsinh Bhabhor from Dahod (ST) seat and K C Patel from Valsad (ST) seat. Ranjanben Bhatt ..
Akhilesh attacks Modi over greetings to Imran
After BSP supremo Mayawati described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greeting to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on the Pakistan Day as "cheating", Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the letter should have been sent after the permission from 130 crore people of the country.
Statues of Modi, IAF pilot in Kolkata puja stirs row
A controversy erupted over a puja of Lord Krishna in north Kolkata, which depicted the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by installing three life-size statues of the Indian Air Force pilot, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan.
Pulwama attack was intelligence failure; PM, Doval are silent: Digvijaya
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said Saturday that last month's Pulwama terror attack took place because there was an intelligence failure, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent on this aspect. Singh, whose name was announced earlier in the day as the Congress's candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, also said he had not sought to question the air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force on terror camps in Pakistan. "I did not ask for clarification. I said questions are being raised in international media, so the government should come up with evidence (of the air strikes' impact)," he told reporters. "There was intelligence input from IG (Inspector General of Police) of Kashmir six days before Pulwama attack. A large convoy 2,500 CRPF personnel was moving...(terror group) Jaish-e-Mohammed had already issued a warning. "But a vehicle coming from the wrong side attacked and 44 (CRPF) jawans were martyred. This was a gross intelligence failure. But no statement ...
BJP meets Delhi CEO, seeks action against Kejriwal for 'misuse of Twitter'
A Delhi BJP delegation led by party leader Vijender Gupta Saturday met the chief electoral officer and sought action against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his alleged "misuse of Twitter" and violation of the model code of conduct (MCC). In its complaint to the CEO, the BJP alleged that Kejriwal, through social media platforms, was trying to incite religious frenzy and communal tensions. The development comes a day after Gupta hit out at the chief minister for tweeting a picture that depicted a broom, the symbol of Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), chasing a "Hindu swastika". Gupta had said the tweet was a violation of the MCC and aimed at disrupting communal harmony. Kejriwal's tweet, posted late night on March 20, had triggered an uproar, with the Twitterati slamming the chief minister. Following the outrage, the ruling party clarified that the picture showed the Nazi symbol and not a 'swastika'. Referring to Kejriwal retweeting on Saturday a video of an attack on the ...
Haryana Cong to take out bus rally from March 26
The Congress' Haryana unit will take out a five-day bus 'yatra' from March 26. All senior state party leaders are expected to take part in the 'yatra', which is widely believed to be a show of a united party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. At a meeting of senior state Congress leaders, it was decided that the 'yatra' will begin from Gurugram and end at Palwal on March 31, sources said. Speaking at the AICC headquarters here, Congress general secretary and Haryana in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad said change was important in the face of the BJP's divisive politics. He said the 'yatra's' aim was to bring about change. Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, senior leaders Randeep Surjewala and Naveen Jindal were among those who were present at the meeting Saturday. Senior Congress leader and Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, however, was absent from the meeting, fuelling speculation about his future in the party. The 'yatra's' announcement comes
Advani alleges violation of sports code in BSFI elections
Multiple-time world champion cueist Pankaj Advani Saturday alleged violation of Sports Code in the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India polls here after he lost the election for the vice-president's post. Advani and another active player Alok Kumar fought the elections for the four vice-presidents' post but could not muster enough number of votes to get elected. Advani got 13 votes while Kumar secured 11. There were 10 candidates in the fray and the top four got elected. Later, Advani, Kumar and some others alleged that there were breaches/lapses of legal process and cited violation of Sports Code in the BSFI elections. In a letter to the BSFI, they said that the federation secretary S Balasubramanian acted as returning officer despite he being an existing office bearer. It was also alleged that the electoral college was not circulated among the members till date. They claimed that the current office bearers -- the president, the vice presidents, the secretary and the treasurer ..
Cong-NCP leaders have lost people's trust: Tawde
BJP leader and Maharashtra school education minister Vinod Tawde said Saturday that Congress and NCP leaders in the state have lost people's trust. They do not have faith in themselves too, he said. "Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan says nobody listens to him and (NCP supremo) Sharad Pawar never does what he says," Tawde said. The leaders of the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena, on the other hand, practise what they preach, he said. "Sharad Pawar said that (NCP leader and his nephew Ajit Pawar's son) Parth will not contest Lok Sabha election, but now Parth is contesting," Tawde pointed out, saying this has left people confused. Chavan was unable to handle his own constituency and his supporters were leaving the party, Tawde claimed. Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana is accusing the Union government of disappointing farmers, but the Narendra Modi-led government has done immense work for the betterment of farmers by implementing recommendations of the ...