Page 1305 - Politics
TRS prez to kick off LS poll campaign from Karimnagar
TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will kick off his campaign for the Lok Sabha polls with a public meeting at Karimnagar on Sunday. Karimnagar has been a stronghold of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) since the party's formation in 2001. Rao had represented Karimnagar in the Lok Sabha earlier. Rao, the star campaigner for TRS, will address election rallies at various places in the state beginning from Karimnagar, party sources said. Rao's son and TRS working president K T Rama Rao has already addressed a series of party meetings in preparation for the Lok Sabha polls. Claiming that neither the NDA nor the UPA was in a position to come to power on its own, Rama Rao has sought 16 Lok Sabha seats out of total 17 seats (leaving Hyderabad represented by ally AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi) for the TRS to ensure a better deal for Telangana. Observing that every MP will be crucial in government formation at the Centre, Rama Rao had said 17 MPs for TRS ...
Is the opposition losing its way? (Column: Political Circus)
The political edge which the national opposition appeared to have gained as a result of its successes in three recent Assembly elections and in several by-elections before that has undoubtedly dissipated.
Siddaramaiah mocked for poll invitation to Rahul
The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday mocked former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for inviting Congress President Rahul Gandhi to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls from the southern state.
This US presidential hopeful was hacking group member
US presidential hopeful Beto ORourke was a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow, a hacking group known for inspiring early "hacktivism", the media reported.
Women aspirants lobbying for party tickets in Odisha
With ruling BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announcing 33 per cent reservation for them in the coming Lok Sabha elections, women aspirants are now making a beeline lobbying hard for party tickets. The BJD's move to field more women candidates for the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections is also having its impact on the Congress and the BJP. With Patnaiks announcement, the BJD has to field at least seven women candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Odisha which has 21 Parliamentary seats. However, the BJD has not announced any such reservation for women in the election for the state Assembly which will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next month. "I have been instructed to nominate more women ahead of declaration of the candidates list for both Lok Sabha and State Assembly," OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said. The women's wing of the BJP is also gearing up with a campaign within the party to field more female ...
JD-S leader Danish Ali joins BSP ahead of LS polls
Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader Danish Ali on Saturday joined the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Palaniswami calls on DMDK leader Vijayakanth
An AIADMK delegation led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Saturday called on DMDK founder Vijayakanth at his residence here, the party said. AIADMK has struck a poll pact with the Vijayakanth-led party for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, and DMDK has been allotted four seats as part of the seat-sharing agreement. According to a DMDK release, Palaniswami met Vijayakanth on a "courtesy call," and enquired about his well-being. Vijayakanth had recently undergone medical treatment in the US. The AIADMK delegation comprised Ministers C Sreenivasan, Sellur K Raju, C Vijayabaskar and Kadambur Raju among others. Palaniswami is the AIADMK Joint Coordinator. The two parties had struck their poll pact on Sunday after days of discussions.
Sushma Swaraj begins two-day visit to Maldives on Sunday
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to the Maldives on a two-day visit beginning Sunday, in the first full-fledged bilateral trip from India to the island nation after the government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power in November. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is aimed at further strengthening the "close and friendly" relations between the two countries. "India attaches the highest importance to its relationship with the Maldives which is marked by trust, transparency, mutual understanding and sensitivity," the MEA said. In Male, Swaraj will have a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and delegation-level talks with Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, National Planning and Infrastructure Minister Mohamed Aslam, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Aishath Nahula and Economic Development Minister Fayyaz Ismail. "The ministers will review the entire gamut of bilateral .
The return of the Brahmin? (Comment)
In 1996 my book "The Last Brahmin Prime Minister" was on the stands. The title was so controversial that friends like Dilip Padgaonkar stopped talking to me - but only for a short while. He was too dear a friend.
TDP candidate injured as cop opens fire to save him
A TDP candidate and a policeman were injured accidentally when his security guard fired in the air in Andhra Pradesh's Kaggallu village on Saturday to disperse YSRCP activists allegedly attacking him, police said.
Congress MLA resigns from party in Odisha
In a setback for the opposition Congress ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections, its Salipur MLA Prakash Behera Saturday resigned from the primary membership of the party. Earlier, three MLAs - Nabakishore Das, Jogesh Singh and Krushna Chandra Sagari, had resigned from the Congress. While Das and Singh joined the BJD, Sagaria went to the BSP. In a letter to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Behera said that he has decided to quit the party after being "ignored" by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) leadership. Behera, who was for the first time elected from Salipur segment of Cuttack district in 2014, said he has also sent his resignation letter to OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik. "I worked in the party for last 20 years, but did not get importance in the Congress," Behera told reporters. The Congress legislator claimed that he had raised certain issues with the OPCC president, but they were "ignored". The Salipur MLA had earlier given ...
Slovaks vote for president amid fallout from journalist murder
Slovaks began voting Saturday in round one of a presidential election that a vocal government critic is poised to win after an investigative journalist's murder dealt a blow to the ruling elite. Frontrunner Zuzana Caputova, 45, was among tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets of the eurozone country of 5.4 million last year after the killing raised concerns about media freedom and political corruption. Opinion polls give the environmental lawyer and mother of two a double-digit lead over European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic, a 52-year-old career diplomat backed by the ruling Smer-SD party. Caputova may have also got a last-minute boost after prosecutors charged a businessman believed to have ties to Smer-SD with ordering the murder of the journalist. Yet, voters could interpret progress in the case as a sign of a functioning government. "This election offers a set of choices about the coming direction of Slovakia's politics," said Kevin Deegan-Krause, an .
Modi launches 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign
Gearing up for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign, calling everyone who were fighting corruption, social evils and working hard for the progress of India, as watchmen.
Discontent brewing in TMC over ticket distribution
With several TMC leaders making a beeline to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and a growing dissatisfaction over selection of candidates, discontent seems to be brewing in Mamata Banerjee's party. BJP's Mukul Roy, once the number two in the Trinamool Congress, has started inducting "disgruntled" leaders from his former party, including elected representatives, into the saffron party's fold. Resentment in the TMC camp came to the fore after it announced its list of 42 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The party dropped 10 MPs and brought in 18 new faces. Sitting MPs from seats such as Coochbehar, Basirshat, Jhargram, Medinipur, Bolpur, Bishnupur and Krishnanagar were dropped from this year's TMC candidate list. The BJP has made steady inroads in these places over the last five years, largely due to the infighting within the TMC's local leadership. Local TMC leaders who had been with the party for several years were overlooked in many seats in favour of filmstars including ...
Odisha MLA Prakash Behera quits Congress
Odisha MLA Prakash Chandra Behera on Saturday quit the Congress party and has sent his resignation letter to party President Rahul Gandhi.
PM Modi spent Rs 3044cr on advertisements, claims Mayawati
BSP chief Mayawati claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Rs 3044 crore on advertisements, adding that the lumpsum amount "could have been spent for providing education and health care facility in every village of backward state like Uttar Pradesh"."Prime Minister Modi remained busy in foundation ceremonies and have spent Rs 3044 Crore on advertisements. This public money could have been used for providing education and hospital in every village of the backward state like Uttar Pradesh, but for BJP advertisement is more important while public welfare is not important" she tweeted. In a subsequent tweet, the BSP chief said: "The BJP and Prime Minister Modi are trying to bring the ghosts out of graves in order to hide the failures of their government and to divert the attention of the public from it and from the issues like poverty and unemployment so that these things cannot become election debate. The public should remain alert".SP and BSP forged an alliance to take on BJP in
New US military budget focused on China despite border talk
Chinese bombers. Chinese hypersonic missiles. Chinese cyberattacks. Chinese anti-satellite weapons. To a remarkable degree, the 2020 Pentagon budget proposal is shaped by national security threats that Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan has summarised in three words: "China, China, China." The US is still fighting small wars against Islamic extremists, and Russia remains a serious concern, but Shanahan seeks to shift the military's main focus to what he considers the more pressing security problem of a rapidly growing Chinese military. This theme, which Shanahan outlined Thursday in presenting the administration's proposed 2020 defence budget to the Senate Armed Services Committee, is competing for attention with narrower, more immediate problems like President Donald Trump's effort to use the military to build a border wall. The hearing, for example, spent more time on the wall and prospects for using military funds to build parts of it than on any aspect of foreign policy, ...
Odisha Congress MLA Prakash Chandra Behera resigns
Prakash Chandra Behera, a Congress MLA from Salepur Assembly Constituency (Cuttack district), resigned from the primary membership of the party citing 'neglect' and 'humiliation' by the leadership.Behara tendered his resignation to the party president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday."In spite of my appeal to the PCC president, my grievance was not considered duly by the PCC. I was all along working for the Congress party for the last 20 years. The Congress party off late has neglected me," read his resignation letter. "Therefore with a heavy heart I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress party," Behara wrote.Assembly elections for the 147 member-strong Legislative Assembly of Odisha will be conducted between April 11 and April 29 in four phases along with the Lok Sabha elections, while counting of votes will take place on May 23.The term for Odisha Assembly ends on June 11.
India supports BRICS cooperation on counter-terrorism
India extended support for the priority areas set out by Brazil, especially the BRICS cooperation on counter-terrorism, during first BRICS Sherpa meeting held here on March 14 and 15.The Indian delegation was led by Secretary (ER), TS Tirumurti for the meeting, held under the Presidency of Brazil."Brazil has identified countering terrorism as one of its priority areas for BRICS under its presidency. Brazil's priorities for its Presidency includes inter-alia science, technology, and innovation, digital economy, New Development Bank and BRICS Business Council as well as countering transnational crime and terrorism," an official statement outlined.India conveyed its support for the priority areas, particularly to take forward BRICS cooperation on counter-terrorism in a meaningful and concrete manner with BRICS member countries. "India also underlined the need to take forward inter-alia people-to-people cooperation, cooperation in science and technology and innovation, and also in health .
PM Modi launches BJP's pre-poll campaign with 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' tweet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the BJP's 'Main Bhi Chowkidaar' poll campaign. Kick-starting the campaign, Prime Minister Moditweeted a video showing how all Indians are chowkidars."Your Chowkidar is standing firm & serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying-#MainBhiChowkidar," he tweeted. The origin of the word 'chowkidar' dates back to the poll campaigning ahead of the 2014 general elections when Modi had promised to work as a 'chowkidar' to guard the people's money and their trust once elected to the top office. 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' has been started after extensive surveys and data analysis by BJP strategists who feel that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's 'chowkidar chor hai' jibe and campaign is not resonating among people. The surveys also suggested that it is actually angering people in the ...