Page 13 - Politics

Kangana campaign: Visiting temples, taking selfie requests, jabbing rivals

Actor Kangana Ranaut, who is the first Bollywood celebrity to contest Lok Sabha elections from Himachal Pradesh, has been maintaining a distance with the media during campaign but has been welcoming to common voters: dancing with them at times, interacting in their dialects and obliging to their selfie requests. She has so far been concentrating on small gatherings and roadshows, where people first try to get a glimpse of her from close quarters and then potentially get clicked with the "Queen" star. Selfies and group photos with the actor, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, are in vogue as it is the first time a celebrity is contesting elections in Himachal Pradesh. Videos of Ranaut, who hails from Mandi, dancing with local women and sweeping temple premises during her campaign have gone viral. To forge an instant connect, she often interacts with her prospective voters in their dialects and emphasises that she a daughter of Mandi. Known for her unfilt

'Anupamaa' star Rupali Ganguly joins BJP, says 'big fan' of PM Modi

Popular TV actress Rupali Ganguly, also known for her role in the popular show 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai', joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi

Amit Shah attacks Congress over sex scandal involving Deve Gowda's grandson

Reports have also emerged that the BJP knew about the existence of the purported obscene clips before Prajwal Revanna was nominated as a NDA candidate from Hassan constituency

Will not step down over party's loss in special elections, says Japan's PM

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday his governing party's major defeat in last weekend's by-elections was largely due to a political fundraising scandal and that he would not step down or replace party executives to take responsibility. Instead, Kishida said he will push anti-corruption measures and political reforms. As I take the results seriously, I believe as president of the governing party we must tackle the challenges we face one by one and achieve results, and this is the way I will take responsibility," Kishida said. By doing so, I will regain the people's trust. Kishida said the scandal dealt a big and heavy hinderance to the party. The scandal centres on dozens of lawmakers in Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party who allegedly pocketed profits from ticket sales to political events by falsifying accounting reports. Asked if he would take responsibility for the election loss, Kishida denied he would step down or replace top LDP posts, and pledged to pursue par

Caste major factor in selection of candidates in Gujarat: Analysts

Political parties may claim that the caste arithmetic does not play a role in candidate selection but analysts say it is still a major factor in Gujarat, even though urbanisation has weakened caste identities in some parts of the state. In rural areas, however, caste is still a dominant factor, they said. Patidars constitute 11-12 per cent of Gujarat's 6.5-crore population and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), scattered across many sub-communities including Thakors in north and Kolis in central Gujarat and Saurashtra, constitute around 40 per cent. The BJP has fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and three Kolis. The Congress and the AAP, part of the opposition INDIA alliance, have fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and two Kolis. Vidyut Joshi, sociologist and former vice-chancellor of Bhavnagar University, told PTI that Gujarat's first four chief ministers were either Brahmin or Vanik. Patidars entered the political scene after the 70s when Chimanbhai Patel became the chief minister in 19

Ex-PM HD Devegowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna named in sex scandal: Details

A 47-year-old house help from the Revanna family has filed a complaint against Prajwal and his father, HD Revanna, accusing them of sexual harassment

BJP MP, ex-Union Minister Sreenivasa Prasad passes away at age of 76

Veteran politician, BJP MP and former Union Minister V Sreenivasa Prasad died on Monday, family sources said. The 76-year-old Lok Sabha member from Chamarajnagar was ailing for some time and being treated at a private hospital, where he passed away early today. Prasad is survived by wife and three daughters. He was a six-time MP from Chamarajanagar and also served as MLA from Nanjangud in Mysuru district for two terms. On March 18 this year, Prasad announced his retirement from electoral politics, marking his 50 years in public life. He first contested Assembly elections as an independent in 1974. Prasad joined the erstwhile Janata Party in 1976 and switched over to the Congress in 1979. He also had a stint with the JD(S), JD (U), and the Samata Party before crossing over to the BJP. Prasad served as the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2004. He returned to the Congress fold later, got

INDIA bloc's plan is to give PM's post to parties for one year each: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the INDIA bloc has come up with a "formula" under which the parties in the opposition alliance will get the PM's post for one year each, in case they come to power. "With such a system, the good of the country cannot be expected," he said at an election rally here, as he urged the people not to waste their vote. "I have heard that the INDI Alliance has invented a new formula...if the country has to be given into someone's hands, we will think before giving it or not? Will you give it to anyone? We will think whether the person is able to handle the country or not, the track record will be analysed or not?" Modi asked the people. Questioning the INDIA bloc on which person or leader among them the people could hand over the country's responsibilities to, he asked, "Is there any name? Will you accept without any name, keeping you in the darkness? Will the country accept it?" He claimed, "So they (INDIA bloc) have come up with a formu

Vietnam Parl chief Hue quits over violations in latest leadership upheaval

The statement said his resignation had been accepted and would be removed from the Central Committee and the powerful Politburo. It did not specify what the violations were

LS polls: Steady voting in Kerala, 33% turnout recorded at 12:20 pm

Polling in all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala for the 2024 general election commenced at 7am on Friday amidst tight security arrangements with the state witnessing 5.62 per cent turnout after the first hour of voting. People queued up since early morning outside the over 25,000 polling booths in the state to avoid the hot weather that was likely as the day progressed. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths in all Lok Sabha seats in the state. As the polling commenced, there were reports of EVM breakdowns in various booths across the state, delaying the election process in those places. However, the machines were replaced and the voting continued smoothly. Polling was carried out amidst tight security arrangements which included deployment of over 66,000 security personnel and live monitoring of the election process by an extensive webcasting system. Voting began after a mock poll was carried out by casting votes in favour of all candidates, including NOTA, whose

Delhi CM Kejriwal given insulin in jail after high blood sugar, says AAP

Kejriwal had earlier penned a letter to the jail superintendent expressing dismay over the administration's remarks regarding his insulin requirement

GOAT, OG, YOLO: The evolving vocabulary of Indian politics to engage youth

Not just the BJP, other political parties have also adapted their communication to align with contemporary trends

Left made a mistake by fielding a candidate against Tharoor: Prakash Raj

The CPI(M)-led LDF made a mistake by fielding a candidate against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, according to actor Prakash Raj, who is known for his pro-Left political stand on various socio-political issues. Praising Tharoor as "the best-spoken Malayali and a statesman" to whom even international politicians would listen, Prakash Raj here on Monday said that the Left should not have fallen into "the trap" of the BJP, which wanted the two secular fronts to fight between each other so that they could split the votes and gain benefits. Addressing a press conference here, the actor said, "I know the Left candidate (CPI leader Pannyan Raveendran). He is a nice person and a good politician. But I think the Left made a mistake by fielding a candidate against Tharoor." He said it is important to think about the welfare of the country rather than political parties. The actor said what Tharoor has worked for over the past 15 years cannot be overlooked, and requested the voters of ...

Lok Sabha polls: AAP invokes 'Ram Rajya' symbolism again, launches website

During the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had said his party had drawn inspiration from the "10 principles of Ram Rajya" for its rule in Delhi

Farmers disillusioned with political parties, will continue fight: Tikait

Asserting that farmers are disillusioned with all political parties, prominent farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said people should follow their conscience by voting for the right candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. Refusing to extend open support to any political party, Tikait said he won't even tell his wife whom to vote for when the model code of conduct is in place but those who know him already know which party or candidate is good for farmers. In an exclusive interaction with PTI, Tikait, one of the key faces of the 2020-21 farmers' protest against the now-scrapped three agri laws, also claimed that people are not voting for the BJP but the party may still win as he alleged manipulation in the process. He claimed that today's BJP is no more just a political party and it has become a front for rich industrialists who are out to grab farmers' lands. Farmers ka moh-bhang ho gaya hai, lekin wo hataash nahin hain (Farmers are disillusioned but they have not lost ...

BJP govt respects Constitution, even Ambedkar can't abolish it now: PM Modi

Addressing an election rally in Barmer, Modi alleged that the Congress was standing with anti-national forces and hit out at the opposition INDIA bloc for "trying to weaken" the country

'PM crossed all limits of cowardice': Congress on Modi's Newsweek interview

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an opportunity to send a strong message to China, but his weak response will encourage China further

From 'god-gifted' to press freedom: What PM Modi said in Newsweek interview

The Prime Minister spoke on a host of issues ranging from India-China border tensions to India's economic growth and Ram Mandir, among others

LS polls: BJP invites 25 global parties to observe elections, its campaign

Notable absentees will be leaders from the US, Pakistan and China, while major political parties from Nepal, including the Maoists, have been invited

Constant battle: Why is Delhi L-G Saxena upset with AAP's ministers now?

Since coming into power, the Aam Aadmi Party has been engaged in a constant struggle with the Lieutenant Governor's office over division of authority, alleging lack of control over key departments