Page 400 - Politics
BJP wins back seats it lost in bypolls in UP last year
The BJP appears to have put behind the defeat it had suffered in three bypolls in Uttar Pradesh last year to win Kairana, Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats back in the 2019 general election. The bypolls were seen as a test run by the 'mahagathbandhan' and the success then had prompted the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party to join hands for the Lok Sabha election in the state. The move, however, did not give them the results they had desired. In Kairana, BJP's Pradeep Kumar defeated the sitting MP Tabassum Hasan of SP by a margin of 92,160 votes. Kumar is the sitting MLA from Gangoh assembly constituency, which falls in Saharanpur district but comes under the Kairana parliamentary constituency. In the bypoll in May last year, the BJP had lost to the joint opposition candidate Tabassum Hasan, who had then contested on RLD's ticket. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of senior BJP leader Hukum Singh. For Kairana bypoll, the BJP had fielded Singh's daughter Mriganka. Hasan was
BJP eats into BJD's Lok Sabha pie in Odisha
The saffron storm, which swept parts of neighbouring West Bengal, also cut a swathe through Odisha, with the BJP bagging eight of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The ruling BJD's tally nose-dived from 20 to 12, while the Congress managed to bag just one seat. Propelled by the Modi wave, the vote share of the saffron party grew from 21.88 per cent in 2014 to 38.4 per cent, while that of BJD dropped to 42.8 per cent from 44.77 per cent. For the first time since its inception, the BJD saw its Lok Sabha tally slide down. The party had won nine seats in 12th Lok Sabha in 1998, which rose to 10 in 1999 and 11 in 2004. After the party snapped ties with the BJP, ahead of 2009 elections, the regional party won 14 seats in the polls, while the saffron party had to eat a humble pie. In 2014, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) put up a spectacular show, grabbing a lion's share of 20 Lok Sabha seats, while the BJP had to make do with just one constituency. Prominent among the BJP winners
J-K Guv congratulates winning candidates in state
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Friday congratulated newly-elected Lok Sabha members from the state. Extending his greetings, the governor hoped that all of them would strive for strengthening democratic values and institutions at grass root level, promote public welfare and work for holistic development of Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said. The governor has wished them a successful term as Members of Parliament, he added. The BJP and the National Conference (NC) won three Lok Sabha seats each in Jammu and Kashmir while rest of the parties, including the Congress and the PDP drew a blank. The newly-elected members from the state are NC president Farooq Abdullah, party leaders Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi, and BJP leaders Jitendra Singh, Jugal Kishore and J T Namgyal.
PM Modi, Amit Shah have achieved a magical victory: Prof MM Joshi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have achieved a magical victory, said Prof Murli Manohar Joshi, a party veteran, here on Friday.Terming PM Modi and Shah coming to meet him as a part of the party culture, Prof Joshi told reporters: "It is our party culture to meet and take blessings of senior leaders to work more effectively in the future. Both of them did a good job and have achieved a magical victory."Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi and Shah visited party veterans LK Advani and then Joshi. They also credited them for the party's win with a resounding majority.Advani and Joshi had on Thursday congratulated Modi and Shah after trends showed the BJP was headed for a comfortable majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha.Joshi said BJP's rise under Modi-Shah duo as the people wanted a stable government for which there was no better choice than Narendra Modi."We formed the party like sowing a seed and prepared a tree. Now, these people have taken forward the ...
Rahul Gandhi may offer to resign at CWC meet on Saturday
Amid speculation that Congress President Rahul Gandhi may offer to resign, a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is scheduled on Saturday to look into the reasons for the party's Lok Sabha elections debacle and decide on its further course of action to take on the BJP, which has grown in strength over the last five years.
China slams US 'lies' about Huawei's government ties
China ramped up a war of words with the United States over Huawei on Friday, accusing Washington of spreading "lies" about the telecom giant thrust to the centre of their trade war. The fiery response came hours after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected Huawei's denials that the Chinese company works with the Communist government. The Trump administration has infuriated Beijing by blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage, and allegations of breaking sanctions on Iran. Huawei has repeatedly denied it works with the Communist-led government. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo told CNBC on Thursday, adding that Huawei was "deeply tied" to the Communist Party. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said US politicians have spread rumours about Huawei without providing evidence. "These American politicians continue to fabricate various subjective, ...
Congress draws a blank in 18 states and Union territories
The Congress has drawn a blank in 18 states and Union Territories -- an indicator of its decimation in the Lok Sabha polls. This is the Congress' second straight rout in Lok Sabha elections after it was decimated in the 2014 polls when the party ended up with a tally of 44 seats. The Congress has been completely routed in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand. Training his guns on the Congress, BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday said the grand old party had drawn a "big zero" in 17 states and Union Territories, while the saffron party got more than 50 per cent votes in 17 states. Murmurs have already started within the party over taking responsibility for its poor performance across the country, with some of its leaders already sending in their resignation. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar .
Pak urges all stakeholders to demonstrate peace, tolerance as US-Iran tension escalates
Amid tense relations between the US and Iran, Pakistan on Friday urged all stakeholders to demonstrate patience and tolerance. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Islamabad wants resolution of all outstanding issues through diplomatic engagement as he held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif. Zarif arrived in Islamabad on Thursday night. His visit has come after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Iran last month. Zarif's visit has come amid a simmering crisis between Iran and the US which recently threatened Tehran with the "strongest sanctions in history" if it does not give up its nuclear weapons programme and destabilising behaviour in the region. Qureshi said Pakistan would continue its reconciliatory efforts to reduce tension and ensure peace and stability prevails in the region. He said tension in the region was in no one's interest, Radio Pakistan reported. "Pakistan wants resolution of all outstanding issues through diplomatic engagement," he
Irani, Gambhir, Prasad, Chakraborty among first-time LS poll winners
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Smriti Irani, sufi singer Hans Raj Hans and Bengali actresses Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan Ruhi were among the prominent candidates who won the Lok Sabha polls for the first time. Irani proved herself to be a giant-killer as she dethroned Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Amethi by a margin of 55,120 votes, while controversial BJP candidate from Bhopal and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Thakur defeated Congress' bigwig Digvijay Singh to register her maiden win in a general election. Gambhir, who was contesting from East Delhi, trounced Congress' Arvinder Singh Lovely by a margin of over 3.91 lakh, according to poll results data shared by the Election Commission on Thursday. Prasad, Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP, who was in the fray from Patna Sahib seat in Bihar, defeated sitting MP and Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha by a margin of over 2.84 lakh, registering his first victory in a general ...
Pyongyang says no more nuclear talks unless US changes stance
North Korea said on Friday its deadlocked nuclear talks with Washington "will never be resumed" unless the US adopts a new approach, again blaming it for the collapse of the Hanoi summit in February. US President Donald Trump's second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke up without an agreement or even a joint statement as the two failed to reach a deal on sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up of its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic programmes. According to reports Trump gave Kim a written list of demands and Pyongyang has since accused Washington of acting in "bad faith", giving it until the end of this year to change its approach. The North's statement on Friday, released by its official news agency KCNA, reiterated its stance. The "underlying cause" of the "setback" in Hanoi was "the arbitrary and dishonest position taken by the United States", it quoted a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson as saying. The US had insisted on "a ...
BJP will follow tit for tat policy to counter TMC : Dilip
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh Friday criticised TMC for allegedly letting loose violence on the party's workers in the state since the Lok Sabha polls and said BJP would follow the 'tit for tat' policy to counter it. He urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take her party's poor showing in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls in the "right spirit". "The TMC is unable to concede defeat. It should take the results in right spirit. If TMC tries to use violence as a tool to initimidate and attack our workers then we will answer them in the same coin. We will follow the policy of tit-for tat," Ghosh said. He along with several other BJP MPs from Bengal were felicitated at the party's state headquarters. The people have given Banerjee a "befitting reply" for her arrogance, Ghosh said and claimed that the opposition candidates and leaders were heckled and assaulted by TMC goons in an unprecedented way. "The people of Bengal have reposed their faith in us. They want an .
Always given 'big brother' status to BJP in national politics: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut
As BJP-led NDA set for another term at the Centre after pulling off a stunning victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday that his party has always recognised BJP as big brother in national politics."We have always given the status of big brother to BJP in national politics. There is no leader left who can outmatch him. And I don't see any leader like him in the next 25 years," Raut told ANI a day after BJP and Shiv Sena swept polls winning 23 and 18 seats respectively in Maharashtra out of 48 parliamentary constituencies.In January, before BJP and Shiv Sena reached an agreement about contesting Lok Sabha elections and impending Assembly polls together, Raut had said, "We were the big brother in Maharashtra. We are the big brother and will stay as the big brother."However, both parties decided to fight General elections together after a meeting between BJP president Amit Shah and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackery followed by a press ...
Modi, Shah meet Advani, Joshi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah Friday called on party veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to seek their blessings, a day after the party-led NDA returned to power at the Centre with a massive mandate. Accompanied by Shah, Modi visited Advani's house where he touched the feet of the veteran BJP leader and interacted with him briefly. Later in a tweet, Modi said, "Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJP's successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people." Advani on Thursday had congratulated Modi for his "unprecedented victory". He had also credited BJP president Amit Shah for an "enormous effort" in taking the party's message to the voters. After meeting Advani, both leaders drove to Joshi's house where Modi was greeted by the party's veteran leader with a bouquet. Joshi also hugged him and presented a stole to Modi. Modi touched Joshi's feet, who congratulated him
BJP wins 18 of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Mamata's citadel
Coming too close for comfort for the ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP clinched 18 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, in consonance with its impressive show throughout the country. The TMC won 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the Congress managed to win just two, while the Left drew a blank. The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which had won 34 seats in the 2014 elections, and aiming to increase the tally this time, was in for a shock as the saffron surge in the state increased the BJP's tally by 16 seats from a meagre two. Cashing in on a highly polarised campaign that saw the two parties cornering most of the vote share, the BJP got 40.25 per cent of the total votes polled in the state, while the TMC managed 43.3 per cent. Apart from emerging victorious in 18 constituencies, the saffron party came second in 22 seats. The Congress retained two seats - Baharampur and Maldaha Dakshin, while losing two others, where it had won in the last elections. The ...
Pak media terms Modi's victory 'emphatic mandate'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning a second five-year term drew a mixed response from the Pakistani media, with some calling it an "emphatic mandate" based on national security while others terming it a "global trend" of right-wing populists sweeping to victory. Dawn newspaper in a front page report wrote that Modi won an "emphatic mandate" in the general elections that saw him pitching national security as an "invincible talisman". "In projecting himself as the choreographer of air raids on Balakot across the border, Mr Modi severely bruised a fractious and unequal Opposition, according to the paper. It wrote a scathing editorial on the success of Modi, terming it a victory of "communal politics". The paper also noted that India went so far as to escalate tensions by conducting air strikes inside Pakistan in order to whip up nationalist sentiment. "For the world's largest democracy, the writing is on the wall: communal politics in India has triumphed in an age that will define the .
BJP dents TRS vote-share in Telangana
The surprise surge of BJP in Telangana dented ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi's vote share by nearly six per cent in the Lok Sabha elections, giving a jolt to the regional party. The Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS secured lower than expected nine seats, while the BJP four seats. The Congress improved its tally to three, while AIMIM retained one seat with its President Asaduddin Owaisi winning from Hyderabad for the fourth successive time. The BJP had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections last December, winning just one seat and forfeiting deposits in more than 100 constituencies. The TRS had returned to power with a rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member House. The K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party, which got a whopping 47.47 per cent in the Assembly polls four months ago, now saw its vote-share declining to 41.29 per cent in the April 11 Lok Sabha elections. The vote share of the BJP was just over seven per cent in the Assembly elections in ...
Not just clean sweep, BJP candidates in Haryana also notched up big margin wins
The BJP candidates not only won all 10 seats in Haryana, its nominees left rivals behind by huge margins - over six lakh in two constituencies and more than three lakh in six. Rohtak, however, bucked the trend where Arvind Sharma of the BJP defeated three-time MP and Congress candidate Deepender Singh Hooda by just 7,503 votes. Leading the club of BJP candidates in Haryana is its state general secretary and Karnal nominee Sanjay Bhatia, who surprised many with a record margin of 6,56,412 votes over his nearest rival Kuldeep Sharma of the Congress. Bhatia, popularly called 'Bunty Bhai', is a confidant of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The BJP had replaced sitting MP Ashwani Kumar Chopra from Karnal with Bhatia. Bhatia was followed by Union minister and sitting Faridabad MP Krishan Pal Gurjar in terms of the victory margin. He defeated his Congress rival Avtar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 6,38,239 votes. In the Bhiwani-Mahendergarh constituency too, BJP's sitting MP Dharambir ...
Modi's mega swearing-in ceremony likely on May 30
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be sworn-in for the second term on May 30 and some world leaders could be invited for it, making it an event bigger than the 2014 when heads of governments of SAARC countries were invited, sources said here on Friday.
61/65: BJP score in three Hindi heartland states that Congress won five months ago
The BJP has won 61 of 65 Lok Sabha seats in the three Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan that the Congress won in the Assembly polls barely five months ago. The saffron party has bagged 28 of 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 24 of 25 in Rajasthan and nine of 11 in Chhattisgarh. The Congress, its main competitor, was left with just three seats in the states it governs, exactly its tally of 2014. In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress managed to bag just Chhindwara, from where Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Kamal Nath won by 37,536 votes. Kamal Nath, a long time MP from Chhindwara, had to vacate the seat when he took over as chief minister in December last by elbowing out BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Nakul Nath got 5.86 lakh votes over his nearest rival BJP's Nathansaha Kawreti's 5.48 lakh votes. The BJP wave swept away senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who lost his stronghold Guna constituency in the state. Scindia, a scion of the ...
Merkel 'respects' May's decision to resign: spokeswoman
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday took note of the decision by British Prime Minister Theresa May to resign "with respect", saying that they shared a "good and trusting" working relationship. Pledging to keep working with May in the same spirit as long as she is in office, Merkel noted that Berlin "wishes to maintain close cooperation and a close relationship with the British government," the German leader's spokeswoman Martina Fietz said. Fietz declined to comment on how May's decision could affect Brexit, as "the development depends essentially on domestic political developments in Britain".