Page 369 - Politics

Who will replace Theresa May as British PM? Eight candidates in fray

At least eight candidates, including hard Brexiteer Boris Johnson, have joined the fray to battle it out to take over the reins from British Prime Minister Theresa May as the UK's ruling Conservative Party leadership contest gets underway. While Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is seen as the frontrunner to succeed May, the contest still remains wide open to at least seven other contenders. May had announced her resignation earlier this week and is set to formally step down as Tory leader and PM on June 7, after a three-day state visit to the UK by US President Donald Trump. The formal segment of the party leadership contest will then kick off on June 10, but prospective candidates have already begun laying out their bids for the top job. UK environment secretary Michael Gove became the latest Tory MP to announce his intention to challenge Johnson on Sunday. "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. I believe that I'm ready t

Modi says people want Gujarat-like development in Bengal

Indicating that Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing to conquer West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the people in the eastern state are wishing for a Gujarat-like development.

Cong's Lok Sabha debacle: Speculation over Rajasthan agriculture minister quitting

Speculation was rife on Sunday about senior Congress leader Lalchand Kataria quitting as the Agriculture Minister of Rajasthan with his purported resignation letter doing the rounds on social media, even though the Chief Minister's Office did not confirm the development. In a purported press release, Kataria said he resigned from the Ashok Gehlot cabinet in the wake of the Congress party's poor performance in the state in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress lost all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the general elections. The BJP won 24 and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party one seat in the Congress-ruled state. Kataria said he was forwarding his resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh through the CM. When contacted, the Chief Minister's Office told PTI, "We refuse to confirm the resignation." Sources at the Raj Bhawan also did not confirm the resignation. "There is no confirmation on this," said a source. Kataria could not be contacted for comments as his official phone was ...

Arunachal cabinet recommends assembly's dissolution

The cabinet of the Pema Khandu-led BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh met for the last time on Sunday and recommended the assembly's dissolution, ahead of new BJP legislature party's meeting on Monday to decide a date for formation of the next government in the state.

Backers of embattled Bolsonaro take to streets in Brazil

Thousands gathered in cities across Brazil on Sunday to show support for President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces an uncooperative Congress, street protests, a family corruption scandal and falling approval ratings five months into his term. The stumbling start for the far-right leader who rode a wave of dissatisfaction with Brazil's political class to victory led his backers to call for the demonstrations, which represented a mixed bag of demands and protests. Supporters sang the national anthem and waved Brazilian flags while chanting the names of Bolsonaro cabinet members. Many said that Brazil's institutions were not letting Bolsonaro govern. Some called for the closure of Congress and the Supreme Court. "We need to clean out Congress," said Neymar de Menezes, a 45-year-old construction contractor. "Unfortunately all the deputies there are compromised and all about deal making. Bolsonaro is fighting them by himself." Bolsonaro, who earlier in his political career said he would close ...

Sumalatha thanks BJP for support for winning Karnataka's Mandya

South Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh on Sunday thanked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for supporting her in winning the high-profile Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka.

With slogan 'Kejriwal in Delhi', AAP gears up for Assembly polls

Days after suffering a whitewash in the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital where it drew a blank, Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday launched its new slogan - 'Kejriwal in Delhi' - to gear up for the upcoming Assembly polls in the city.

Yeddyurappa rules out formation of govt with JDS support,

Amid speculation that JDS-Congress coalition may collapse following its drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, Karnataka BJP Chief BS Yeddyurappa Sunday said his party favoured fresh assembly elections in such an event, ruling out partnering with the regional party to form a new government. "Forming a government with JDS help is an impossibility. I have had a distasteful experience of 20-20 rule under Kumaraswamy's chief ministership. I do not want to repeat the mistake again," Yeddyurappa told PTI in an interview here. The BJP had to withdraw support to the Kumaraswamy led government as the JDS leader refused to stepdown as per 20-20 power sharing deal in 2007. Responding to a question, Yeddyurappa said the party is ready for fresh state elections. "We are ready for fresh assembly elections. There is no option left for our party," he said. Claiming that the JDS-Congress government has lost people's faith after losing 26 seats in Karnataka's Lok Sabha constituencies, he said ..

Final voting underway to elect European Parliament

Voters across 21 European nations on Sunday headed to polling stations to cast their votes on the final day of the 2019 European Parliament elections.The result is expected to be declared later in the evening. Over 400 million Europeans were eligible to cast their votes to elect 751 ministers of European Parliament, Sputnik reported.Right-wing nationalist parties have emerged as a great challenge for the centre-right and the centre-left parties.Italy's League party has formed an alliance with other right-wing groups including Germany's AfD, the Finns Party and the Danish People's Party to create the European Alliance for People and Nations.French President Emmanuel Macron has described the vote as the most important since direct elections to the European Parliament began in 1979 "because the union is facing an existential threat" from populist, anti-EU forces, local media reported.The voting process began on May 23 with the UK, who was hesitating to vote earlier but had to after EU ...

Politicos line up at Tirumala to seek Lord Balaji's blessings

Many politicians, including newly elected MPs and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), arrived at Tirupati Balaji temple here on Sunday to seek blessings of the revered Lord.KCR reached Tirumala today along with his family members. YSRCP leaders Ch Bhaskar Reddy and P Ramachandra Reddy also arrived at the temple town and will offer prayers tomorrow.After the declaration of poll results, some of the newly elected public representatives offered prayers at Lord Balaji's abode. Visakhapatnam MP M V V Satyanarayana from YSRCP offered prayers at the Tirumala abode. Telangana Congress President and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy also offered prayers to Lord Balaji.Visakhapatnam (West) MLA PGVR Naidu also arrived at the temple and sought blessings.Srikakulam MP K Rammohan Naidu, who is one of the three TDP MPs elected this time, also visited Lord Venkateswara's abode and offered prayers.In the recently-concluded polls, TRS won nine parliamentary seats in Telangana, BJP won ...

Modi has blessings of Baba Vishwanath, Ganga Maa: Chief priest of Kashi Vishwanath temple

Three days before taking oath as Prime Minister for a second consecutive term, Modi will hold a roadshow in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, and address BJP workers.Admiring the success of Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, Priest Ashok Dwivedi told ANI, "Baba Shiv and Maa Ganga have accepted him. Prime Minister has blessings of Baba with him. Our Prime Minister is the most respected leader.""This is our fortune that Prime Minister will perform puja with all rituals like he did in 2014 Lok Sabha and state elections. He is the biggest devotee of Vishwanath baba. Even before the rituals start, he devotes himself to god, you can see tears of devotion in his eyes", he added.Speaking on the Prime Minister's historic victory, Ashok said, "This prediction was done long ago that he will be Prime Minister again. His devotion is world famous."Modi is expected to visit the famous temple at around 10 in the morning. He is also expected to hold a five-kilometer-long roadshow in the ...

Shah urges people to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' so loudly to be heard in West Bengal

BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday urged the people here to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' loudly enough to be heard in West Bengal, in an apparent dig at TMC president and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.As the crowd began shouting 'Jai Shri Ram,' Shah said: "Brothers, Narendra Bhai (Narendra Modi) has come here after winning 26 seats of Gujarat. Please chant 'Jai Shri Ram' so loudly that this sound reaches West Bengal."A controversy had erupted during the election campaign for Lok Sabha polls when a purported video of Chief Minister Banerjee showed her getting down from her car and venting her anger at the people who shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' on seeing her. The video went viral on social media. Some people were also arrested for raising the religious slogan.Shah during his election rallies had frequently criticised Banerjee for action against 'devotees' of Ram and the people who shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan.Reminding the people that from this place Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his ...

Ahead of Varanasi visit, Modi's proposer says PM taught those indulging in negative politics a lesson

One of the four proposers chosen by BJP for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nomination from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in the recently-concluded general elections on Sunday hailed Modi's piece of advice to those who indulge in negative politics in the country."Prime Minister Modi has taught a lesson to the people who indulge in negative politics. We will thank Modi ji tomorrow (May 27) for his visionary leadership under which the most important sectors - agriculture and security - are doing pretty good," one of the proposers of Modi, Rama Shankar Patel, told ANI.Elated at Prime Minister Modi's visit to Varanasi to thank voters, another proposer Prof Annapurna Shukla, said, "We are proud of him and happy to see him again in Varanasi as Prime Minister. He is doing excellent and we wish he keeps serving country like this."Talking about the Ganga Project, she said, "He has done such great work for Ganga but still a lot needs to be done. We need to introduce modern techniques for this and he ..

1st session of new Lok Sabha likely from June 6-15

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha may start from June 6 and last till June 15, sources said Sunday. The dates of the first Parliament session are expected to be finalised during the first meeting of the new Cabinet on May 31, a day after Narendra Modi takes oath as the Prime Minister of the country, they said. The BJP-led NDA government will prove its majority during the session which is likely to have six sittings, starting from June 6 and concluding on June 15, the sources said. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and other members of the Union Council of Ministers during a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 pm, an official communique said. Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for a second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders -- Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

More graduates, post graduates in new Odisha, Andhra Assemblies

The number of graduate and post-graduate MLAs have increased in the newly-elected Assemblies in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha while the education profile of the winners in Sikkim Assembly remains the same as the previous Assembly.

Europe's voters elect new parliament amid rising nationalism

From Germany and France to Cyprus and Estonia, voters from 21 nations went to the polls Sunday in the final day of a crucial European Parliament election that could see major gains by the far-right, nationalist and populist movements that are on the rise across much of the continent. The four days of balloting that began Thursday across the 28-country European Union pitted supporters of closer unity against those who consider the EU a meddlesome and bureaucratic presence and want to return power to national governments and sharply restrict immigration. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, seen as a unifying force among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, said that he felt a "change in the air" and that a victory by his right-wing League party would "change everything in Europe." The first full results were expected overnight from what was considered the most important European Parliament election in decades, a contest with the potential to significantly reshape EU ...

Modi visits party office from where he operated initially and 'learnt a lot'

After leading the BJP to a stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday evening visited the Khanpur office of the party here and recalled how he "learnt a lot sitting in a small room" there. He spent around twenty minutes inside the office. He was accompanied by BJP national president Amit Shah, state president Jitu Vaghani, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, state home minister Pradipsinh Jadeja and other party leaders. Modi is visiting his home state after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced. During his speech earlier at JP Chowk outside the office, Modi recalled he spent his initial days in the party at the Khanpur office. The organisational skills he learnt sitting in a small room in this office prepared him for bigger responsibilities, he said. "I remember that in 2012, after winning the Assembly elections, I had visited this place for a victory rally. I am coming here after seven years," he told the ...

LS mandate opportunity for country to regain its place in world: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said people's mandate in the Lok Sabha elections has given an opportunity to the country to regain its lost position in the world order. Speaking at a felicitation event here organised by the Gujarat BJP unit, he urged the cadres to remain humble after the landslide victory. "I can see that the next five years will be very crucial, both in the context of India and the world. And fortunately, we are now having a full majority government, that too having support of strong NDA allies," he said. The next five years will be as important as the period between 1942 to 1947, he said. "This is an opportunity for the country to regain its lost position in the world order. And, I have no doubt that we will achieve it. This is a big opportunity to awaken people's conscience and take the country forward. It is time to make a vow to make India a problem-free country," Modi said. The prime minister addressed the gathering at JP Chowk outside the BJP office in ..

Car bomb in northwestern Iraq kills 5, wounds 8

Iraq's military says a car bomb has killed five people and wounded eight in a northwestern village near the Syrian border. A military statement said the car was parked near a market in the village of Oweinat in Nineveh province. The area was once held by the Islamic State group that controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017, IS sleeper cells have been blamed for attacks across the country that have killed and wounded scores of people over the past two years.

Next five years crucial to regain India's global position: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the next five years would be crucial for India to regain its global position.