Page 402 - Politics
The list of Lok Sabha poll
The list of Lok Sabha poll winning candidates and runners-up in Gujarat with votes secured and winning margin is as follows: Ahmedabad-East-Hasmukh Patel (BJP) 7,45,810, Gitaben Patel (Congress) 3,12,883, margin 4,34,330 votes. Ahmedabad-West-Kirit Solanki (BJP) 6,38,241, Raju Parmar (Congress) 3,17,797, margin 3,21,546 votes. Amreli-Naran Kachhadiya (BJP) 5,27,593, Paresh Dhanani 3,26,781, margin 2,01,431 votes. Anand-Mitesh Patel (BJP) 6,31,581, Bharat Solanki (Congress) 4,34,006, margin 1,97,718 votes. Banaskantha-Parbat Patel (BJP) 6,75,650, Parthi Bhatol (Congress) 3,09,446, margin 3,68,296 votes. Bardoli-Prabhu Vasava (BJP) 7,40,448, Tushar Chaudhari (Congress) 5,24,474, margin 2,15,447 votes. Bharuch-Mansukh Vasava (BJP) 6,35,374, Sherkhan Pathan (Congress) 3,02,890, margin 3,34,214. Bhavnagar-Bhartiben Siyal (BJP) 6,55,272, Manhar Patel (Congress) 3,29,131, margin 3,29,519 votes. Chhota Udepur-Gitaben Rathva (BJP) 7,61,472, Ranjitsinh Rathva (Congress) 3,84,059, ...
Britain's Brexit-beaten Theresa May announces resignation, to step down on June 7
An embattled Theresa May announced Friday that she would resign as the UK's Conservative leader on June 7 "in the best interests of the country", paving the way for a contest to decide the new Prime Minister after she failed to win over her ministers with a revised strategy to withdraw Britain from the European Union. A visibly tearful May said she would step down as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7, with a leadership contest for a new Prime Minister to kick off the following week starting June 10. She would meanwhile stay on caretaker PM until a new incumbent has been elected by the Tories. "I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold," the 62-year-old May said. "The second female Prime Minister, but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love." The outgoing Prime Minister said she had kept Queen Elizabeth II informed of her exit timetable, .
BJP's ideology supported by people across India: Pragya Singh Thakur
BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur on Friday said that the Indian voters sided with the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections for their focus on development."The people of India voted in the biggest festival of democracy for the betterment of the country. The ideology of BJP has found support from people across states and the result is BJP today has got more than a simple majority on its own in the Lok Sabha," Thakur said at a press conference here.She also thanked the people of Bhopal for reposing their faith in her and assured them of working diligently in the coming days."The love and confidence shown by the people of Bhopal for me is overwhelming. I assure the people that I will work wholeheartedly for the development of my constituency with them and will represent them to the best of my capabilities," she said.Thakur defeated former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh by more than 3 lakh votes from the Bhopal seat.BJP managed to clinch 28 seats in the state and reduced Congress to just ...
LS polls: Only 5 super rich candidates taste victory, richest one loses deposit
It was a mixed outing for super rich candidates as five of them emerged victorious and an equal number suffered defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the country's richest candidate Ramesh Kumar Sharma, who fought independently from Bihar, lost his deposit, according to Election Commission data. Among 10 top richest contestants in the country, three were from Andhra Pradesh, two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and one each from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. Prominent winners include Congress' Nakul Nath, son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, while Jyotiraditya Scindia was among big losers, as per the EC data. The country's richest candidate Ramesh Kumar Sharma, who fought as an independent from Patliputra parliamentary seat in Bihar, lost his deposit as he secured only 1,556 votes. Sharma had declared a net asset of Rs 1,107 crore in his nomination papers. Congress' Uday Singh, the country's seventh richest candidate, lost with a huge margin of 2,63,461 votes ..
Resignations pour in ahead of CWC, Rahul too may offer to quit as party chief
After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, top Congress leaders will deliberate on party losses at a meeting of the working committee slated on Saturday in which party chief Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation. Murmurs have already started within the party over taking responsibility for the poor performance of the Congress across the country, with some of its leaders already sending in their resignations. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik announced their resignations from the post in the wake of the party's electoral debacle in their respective states. According to sources, the party has convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, its highest decision making body, at 11 AM on Saturday. Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation at the meet, party sources said. The top Congress leadership will deliberate on the reasons for the loss and assess them. The party suffered a loss for the second time in a .
Gandhi family alone can keep party intact: Congress leader
The stepping aside of the Gandhi family from the leadership role in the Congress following its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections is not a solution, a senior party leader said Friday, hinting that other leaders may not be able to hold the party together. Four-time MLA Marri Shashidhar Reddy said the Gandhi family has been the "binding force" for the party, keeping it intact, amid critics calling for its members to make way for others to lead after the crushing defeat. "So, that (Gandhi family members resigning from posts) is not something which provides a solution," Reddy, also former vice-chairman of National Disaster Management Authority, told PTI. "The Gandhi family is not just individuals. The family has been the binding factor, it evolved like this over the decades, and in between we had breaks (without Gandhi family members at the helm), the results have not been good," he said. "Now also (in Lok Sabha elections), expectations have been belied, things this time ...
Karnataka coalition government safe, stable: Deputy CM
The year-old JD-S-Congress government was safe and stable to continue in office despite electoral reverses in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to the ruling allies, said Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara on Friday.
Theresa May to resign as UK Prime Minister
UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Friday that she will step down as the leader of the ruling Conservative Party on June 7, paving the way for a leadership battle to appoint Britain's next Prime Minister.
S Korea to hold new civilian-military exercise next week
Amid reconciliatory efforts for ensuring long-lasting peace with North Korea, South Korea is set to hold a new civilian-military exercise from May 27 to 30, the country's defence and interior ministries said on Friday.The Ulchi Taegeuk exercise will have around 480,000 civilians, government officials and armed service members, Yonhap News Agency quoted the two ministries as saying.It is meant to "strengthen the country's crisis management capabilities in dealing with various safety and security threats, including terrorist attacks and large-scale natural disasters, as well as to ensure a readiness posture," they said.The soon-to-be-launched military drills will combine two existing programmes -- the Taegeuk command post exercise led by the South Korean military and the government's Ulchi exercise, which was part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise, according to the news report.The UFG exercise, which was carried out jointly by the US and South Korea were temporarily suspended
All but one Left Front candidates lose security deposit in West Bengal
All but one Left Front candidates now have the ignominy of losing their security deposit in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, a state which it had ruled continuously for 34 years till 2011. Except CPI(M)'s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya who got 21.04 per cent of the votes polled in Jadavpur, no other Left Front candidate has been able to achieve the required 16.6 per cent of the votes to retain their deposit money of Rs 25,000 each, according to Election Commission data. In India, candidates for election to the Lok Sabha pay a security deposit of Rs 25,000. For Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, the amounts are Rs 12,500 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Any candidate who fails to secure more than one-sixth (16.6 per cent) of the total valid votes cast would have to forfeit his or her deposit. Candidates of the CPI(M)-led Left Front, which ruled the state for 34 years from 1977 to 2011, have been decimated to third and fourth spots in the seats it contested. There were some .
Chhattisgarh: BJP overcomes state poll rout; bags 9 LS seats
Putting behind its debacle in the assembly elections held just six months ago, the BJP staged a remarkable comeback in Chhattisgarh in the Lok Sabha polls, winning nine of the 11 seats at stake. The ruling Congress, that ended the 15-year-long rule of the BJP in Chhattisgarh late last year, suffered a rude jolt as it managed to win just two Lok Sabha seats. The BJP won Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur, Surguja (ST), Raigarh (ST), Janjgir-Champa (SC), Kanker (ST) and Mahasamund constituencies, while the Congress grabbed two - Bastar and Korba. In the last three general elections since 2004, the BJP had won 10 of the 11 seats in the Naxal-affected state. State BJP vice-president Sunil Soni defeated Congress candidate and Raipur Mayor Pramod Dubey in the high-profile Raipur seat by a whopping margin of 3,48,238 votes. A major upset is witnessed in Durg where the BJP's Vijay Baghel won by a whopping margin of 3,91,978 votes against Congress's Pratima Chandrakar. In 2014, ..
Sons of famous politician fathers lose in 17th LS polls, daughters save face
All the political prowess they inherited seems to have been rendered ineffective as sons of famous politician fathers failed miserably in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. From former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi losing out on the party's political bastion in Amethi, to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav, who lost in Jodhpur, the current generation of political dynasts have clearly not lived up to their predecessors' success. Rahul Gandhi was left far behind by BJP's Smriti Irani by over 55,000 votes. Vaibhav lost by a margin of over 2.7 lakh votes to BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Also losing his stronghold over Madhya Pradesh's Guna constituency is Congress' Jyotiraditya Scindia, son of former Union minister Madhav Rao Scindia. The Congress has been in power in the seat since 1999. In Rajasthan's Barmer, Manvendra Singh, son of Jaswant Singh, founding member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lost by over 3.2 lakh votes. Manvendra
Jagan ousts Naidu from power, bags 151 seats out of 175; TDP gets just 23
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has steered YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to oust Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state after winning two-third seats in the Assembly poll.From the beginning of the counting which started on Thursday, YSRCP was way ahead of the ruling TDP and finally finished the tally by winning 151 seats out of a total of 175, thus wresting power from Naidu. TDP's number reduced drastically from 102 to 23 seats.The Congress and the BJP drew a blank in the state.YSRCP polled 49.9 per cent votes, while the TDP got 39.2 per cent.YSRCP's legislators will meet on May 25 to formally elect Jagan as their leader, party sources said. They said that he would take oath as Chief Minister in the temple-town of Tirupati on May 30.Jana Sena Party (JSP), which contested on 140 Assembly seats, managed to win only one seat of Razole from where Rapaka Vara Prasada Rao got elected by a margin of mere 814 votes. He defeated YSRCP's Rajeswara Rao ...
Chorus grows to change Sidhu's portfolio
Punjab Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Friday joined the chorus blaming Navjot Singh Sidhu for Congress' poor performance in the state and said his action during the parliamentary elections had not only harmed Chief Minister Amarinder Singh but also party President Rahul Gandhi.
Ready to deepen ties with India under Modi: China
China on Friday said it was ready to deepen ties with India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was re-elected in a stunning style in the country's Lok Sabha elections.
Left Front hits historic low, all but one of its candidates in WB lose deposit
Registering its worst poll performance in over six decades, the Left Front was virtually wiped off its bastions with the Lok Sabha poll results showing it managed just five seats across the country. On its erstwhile turf in West Bengal, where it failed to win even one seat, its vote share reduced to a paltry 7 per cent from 23 per cent in 2014. And in Kerala, where it managed only one seat, its vote share was around 32 per cent. In the eastern state it was a debacle wherein all but one Left-wing party candidates lost their security deposits. This was also the first time since 1952 that the Left Front did not end up with double digits in the general election. Till now, while it had put up its most dismal show in 2014, winning only 12 seats 12 less than what it had won in 2009 its highest ever tally of 59 seats had come in 2004. "The political ideology of the Left still has relevance, but it is not in tune with electoral politics. We need to do serious introspection, rework ...
Beginning of BJP era in T'gana: Laxman on party's surprise
Buoyed by his party's surprise wins in four Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana, state BJP president K Laxman Friday said it would emerge as the viable alternative to the ruling TRS and form the government after the next Assembly elections. "This is the beginning of BJP era in Telangana. Now, the downfall of TRS has begun. BJP alone can take on TRS. That is the public mandate in Telangana. The state is no exception to the Modi wave. The entire nation's mood was in favour of Modi," he told PTI here. He was responding to a question on BJP's success in four Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana and the reasons for it. BJP, which lost deposit in 100 of the total 117 segments in the Assembly polls held in December, 2018, pulled off surprising results in the Lok Sabha elections, winning four seats (Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Secunderabad). BJP nominee D Aravind emerged a giant-killer trouncing sitting TRS MP and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K ...
Around 3.27 lakh voters opt for NOTA in Rajasthan
Around 3.27 lakh voters opted for the 'none of the above' (NOTA) option in the Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan where the BJP emerged victorious on all the 25 seats. A similar trend was witnessed in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in the state when 3,27,902 voters had opted for NOTA. This year, NOTA even outperformed some of the parties such as the CPI, CPM and the BSP, getting more votes across the state than them. CPI's vote share was 0.14 per cent, CPM 0.20 per cent and the BSP 1.07 per cent, according to statistics by the Election Commission. The maximum number of voters who opted for NOTA were in Banswara (29,962), followed by Udaipur (28,179), Jalore (17,714), Chittorgarh (17,528) and Bhilwara (17,418). NOTA got least number of votes in Alwar (5385), closely followed by Bharatpur (5,638), Jaipur urban (6,522) and Dausa (7,394). Besides these constituencies, NOTA was also chosen by the voters in variable numbers in other seats as well.
Amid Brexit chaos, Theresa May to step down as UK PM
Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday announced that she will step down from her post on June 7, after her Brexit deal failed to get the green signal thrice in the UK Parliament.May also said that she will resign as leader of the Conservative Party on the same date."Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as prime minister I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for the privileged few but for everyone, and to honour the result of the referendum," CNN quoted an emotional May as saying while speaking to reporters outside her 10 Downing Street residence.Holding back her tears, the British Prime Minister expressed regret that she could not pass her Brexit agreement in the Parliament despite repeated efforts and negotiations with the Labour Party."I have tried three times. I have done my best," May said.May's decision to step down comes amid uncertainty over the UK's future in the next few months, whether it leaves the EU with .
How a studious Zakir Rashid Bhat became the dreaded 'Zakir Musa'
The journey of Zakir Rashid Bhat, from a well-to-do middle class family of Noorpora village in Jammu and Kashmir's Tral area, to becoming 'Zakir Musa' or the most wanted militant in Kashmir reads like a Bollywood blockbuster.