Page 416 - Politics
All but one Left Front candidates set to lose their security deposit in West Bengal
All but one Left Front candidates are facing 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 is likely to be able to achieve the required 16.6 per cent of the votes to retain their deposit money of Rs 25,000 each, according to the latest data from the Election Commission 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
Pawan Chamling era ends in Sikkim after over 24 years
Five-time Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling's era ended in Sikkim on Thursday after over 24 years in power as his party SDF lost the state elections to a resurgent SKM. While Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) got 15 seats in the hill state, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member Assembly.
Union Minister Manoj Sinha loses to BSP's Afzal Ansari
Union Minister Manoj Sinha Thursday lost to BSP's Afzal Ansari in Ghazipur Lok Sabha seat by a margin of over 1.19 lakh votes. Sinha lost to Ansari by a margin of 1,19,392 votes, the EC website said. While Sinha polled 4,46,690 votes, Ansari secured 5,66,082 votes. In 2014, Sinha won the seat by a margin of 32,452 votes.
YSRC wins 74 seats, leading in 76 others;set for landslide
The YSR Congress on Thursday virtually decimated the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and appeared on course for a landslide win in Andhra Pradesh with its candidates winning in 74 seats and leading in 76 others. The ruling Telugu Desam Party won in 12 seats and was leading in an equal number while actor-politician's Jana Sena party was ahead in one, according to the latest trends on the Election Commission website. The Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRC may end up with over a three-fourths majority in the 175-member Assembly. The YSRC Legislature Party will meet here on May 25 to formally elect Jaganmohan Reddy as its leader, who will be sworn-in as chief minister on May 30. Reddy told reporters he would take oath as CM at Vijayawada on May 30 and promised to bring in a governance that the country would stand up and look to. With his party set to wrest power, Reddy Thursday described it as people's victory. Terming his party's good show in the state Assembly polls and Lok Sabha ...
"Tote tote" fame singer Hans Raj gets 3rd time lucky in politics by clinching North West Delhi seat
Clinching the North West Delhi seat by a record margin of over 5.5 lakh votes, singer-turned-politician Hans Raj Hans got third time lucky in his political career. The Sufi singer defeated Aam Aadmi Party's Gugan Singh by a margin of 5,53,897 votes while Congress's Rajesh Lilothia ended up at the third spot. His victory margin was the second highest after West Delhi candidate Parvesh Singh Verma. Hans made his political debut with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and contested the Lok Sabha elections from Jalandhar in 2009, but faced defeat. He later shifted his allegiance to the Congress but quit the party after his name was dropped at the eleventh hour in favour of former Punjab Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo for Rajya Sabha. "I have always been overwhelmed with the response I got from public as an artist. I am glad the same has happened with me as a politician too. The Modi wave certainly helped as people have faith in his leadership and the work done by his government," he told ...
We concede defeat, will review performance: Kamal Nath
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 and said that Congress will review its performance to ascertain the reasons for the loss."This is true that the results did not come according to our expectations. But we respect the mandate given by the people. We will review the results and we are committed to keep serving the people," he said.On Rahul Gandhi trailing behind Smriti Irani by around 47,000 votes in the elections, the MP CM said, "In a democracy, wins and losses happen. As I said, we will review the results and our strategy going forward."He congratulated BJP on its performance in the elections. "I congratulate Narendra Modi and the BJP. We hope that they will deliver on the basis of the people's expectations," he said.The BJP has won 99 seats and is leading on 201 seats while Congress has won 25 and is leading on 26 seats till the last reports were received.
YSR Congress storms to power in Andhra with landslide win (Third Lead)
The YSR Congress Party, led by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Thursday stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh with a landslide victory, winning 148 seats in the 175-member Assembly.
S.S. Ahluwalia wins Bengal's Burdwan-Durgapur seat
Union Minister and Darjeeling's outgoing BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia on Thursday won West Bengal's Burdwan-Durgapur seat, defeating Trinamool Congress' Mamtaz Sanghamita by a slender margin of 2,439 votes.
Rahul wins Wayanad with record margin
Congress President Rahul Gandhi won Kerala's Wayanad seat - the second seat he contested in the 2019 polls - with a record margin of 431,770 votes.
Evening rains fail to dampen spirit of BJP celebrations
Rain and gusty winds failed to dampen the spirits of the BJP workers who gathered at the party headquarters here in large numbers on Thursday to celebrate the party's resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh retains Purvi Champaran
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday retained the Purvi Champaran Lok Sabha seat in Bihar for the BJP, defeating his nearest RLSP rival Akash Prasad Singh by a margin of nearly three lakh votes. The 69-year-old member of the Narendra Modi Cabinet polled 5.78 lakh votes in the constituency, where the total number of valid votes stood at 9.77 lakh. His rival, son of senior Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who had defeated the BJP incumbent in 2004 fighting on an RJD ticket, polled only 1.02 lakh votes. Upon filing his nomination papers, the minister had made an emotional appeal to the voters of his constituency, stating that it was his "last election".
Bhojpuri singer-actor Manoj Tiwari retains North East Delhi seat comfortably
From losing to BJP in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as an SP candidate to becoming the saffron party's Delhi chief, life has come a full circle for Bhojpuri singer and actor Manoj Tiwari, who retained the North East Delhi seat comfortably with a margin of over 3.66 lakh votes. In 2014, Tiwari had won from North East Delhi, having sizeable Purvanchali and Muslim voters, by defeating AAP's Anand Kumar by 1,44,084 votes while riding on the Modi wave. With Tiwari's stature rising in the party, his performance this time was even better as he defeated Congress veteran and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by a margin of 3,66,102 votes. While Tiwari had billed the contest with Dikshit as one of the "most interesting" in the country, the Congress leader did not even come close to giving him a fight during the counting of votes. Aam Aadmi Party's Dilip Pandey, also a Purvanchali, finished third. Under the aegis of Tiwari, the Delhi unit has witnessed many highs, including winning the civic
BJP proves sceptics wrong with stunning performance in Hindi heartland
The BJP repeated it superlative performance in five key Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, as the party along with its allies not only bagged or was leading in 165 out of 185 Lok Sabha seats, but also enjoyed a massive vote swing in its favour. The NDA's strike rate of nearly 90 per cent was similar to 2014 when it won 166 of 185 seats, including 73 (BJP 71, Apna Dal 2) out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh. The NDA won 29 seats and was leading in 35 others in Uttar Pradesh, despite facing the formidable caste arithmetic of SP-BSP-RLD alliance. The party also increased it vote share to a whopping 49.5 per cent in the state, where it won the prized trophy of Amethi, a pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The party also proved wrong the political observers who were of the view that the BJP will find it difficult to repeat its 2014 success in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after losing power in the three states to the ...
Trump, Xi, Putin and Imran among world leaders to congratulate Modi on election victory
US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among dozens of world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" Trump tweeted. Chinese President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Modi on his victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the
Jitendra retains Udhampur seat, defeats Vikramaditya by highest ever margin of over 3.57l votes
Union Minister Jitendra Singh Thursday retained the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat defeating Congress's Vikramaditya Singh, the grandson of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh, by 3,53,272 votes. As per officials, it is the highest margin of victory of any successful candidate in the state till now. Jitendra Singh got 61.38 per cent of the total votes polled. The BJP leader polled 7,24,311 votes while Vikramaditya Singh got 3,67,059 votes. Harsha Dev Singh of JKNPP got 24,319 votes, Election Commission officials said. A total of 1,180,123 votes were counted in which 7,568 were declared as NOTA, they said. "It is victory of people of this region. Inspite of analysis being done by our media friends, my voters have tried to be wiser. I bow before my people for voting for me," he told reporters here. He said the people voted for the major development works carried in the constituency, which neither media could see nor the opposition parties, but it was seen by the common people. "They were also ...
Noida traders distribute 350 kg laddoos to celebrate BJP's win
Scores of BJP supporters came out on the roads in Noida amid slight rains Thursday evening, with traders distributing sweets to celebrate Mahesh Sharma's victory from Gautam Buddh Nagar seat in the Lok Sabha polls. City's popular Sector 18 market remained the hub of celebrations where 350 kg laddoos were ordered by local market associations, their office-bearers said. The traders' community, considered a traditional supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), hoped that Sharma would continue to work for the market and remove obstacles that the businessmen face. "Sharma has been connected with the public and that has ensured his victory with a thumping margin. I hope he continues to work the same way and also convey our concerns at the Centre to resolve whatever problems we face," Sector 18 Market Association president Sushil Kumar Jain said. President of the Savitri Market Association Rahul Gupta described the victory as "an awesome" feat but hoped the new government would restrict
'Modi got Kashi Vishwanath's blessings, others didn't'
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi romped home from Varanasi, improving his winning margin by over a lakh votes compared to the last time, some saw a divine hand in the victory. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again got the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath, Kashi's guardian Kaal Bhairav and Maa Ganga, said Shyam Kumar Pandey, owner of a saree-making unit. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav too had come seeking their blessings, he said. But they didn't get them as they were just imitating Modi, the businessman argued. Modi Thursday won from Varanasi, defeating his nearest rival SP's Shalini Yadav by margin of nearly 4.80 lakh votes. In the 2014 elections, he had defeated Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal by over 3.70 lakh votes for the same seat. Among the projects begun by the PM in Varanasi is the construction of a corridor to provide easier access to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Suresh Tulsiyan, a trader, said Modi has done
Shah wins Gandhingar; BJP set to sweep all 26 seats of Gujarat
The BJP is set to retain all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, repeating its 2014 performance in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Modi did not contest election from the state this time, BJP chief Amit Shah won by a huge margin from Gandhingar in his maiden Lok Sabha foray. The BJP has won 10 seats so far, and it is leading by over 1.25 lakh votes in all the other 16 seats. Declaration of results is taking time as counting of VVPAT slips is going on, said a poll official. Shah won from Gandhinagar -- a seat earlier held by BJP patriarch L K Advani -- by 5.57 lakh votes, defeating Congress rival C J Chavda. Shah polled 8.94 lakh votes while Chavda got 3.37 lakh votes. The margin of victory of the BJP's Navsari candidate C R Patil -- 6.89 lakh -- remains the highest in all twenty six seats so far. Patil had won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Navsari by a margin of 5.58 lakh votes. In Surat, the BJP's Darshana Jardosh won by 5.48 lakh votes, defeating .
Trump congratulates Modi on 'big' election win, says 'great things' in store for Indo-US ties
US President Donald Trump on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his "big" election victory, saying "great things" are in store for bilateral ties between the two nations with the Indian premier's re-election. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory!," Trump tweeted. "Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" he added.
3 LS wins infuse fresh energy in beleaguered Telangana Cong
The victory in three Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana Thursday infused a fresh lease of life in a beleaguered Congress as it suffered a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly elections last December. The party has also faced a crisis of sorts with 11 of the total 19 MLAs, who won in December, announcing their decision to leave the party and join the ruling TRS since early March. The three Congress nominees who emerged victorious in the Lok Sabha polls are state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy (Nalgonda), party's working president A Revanth Reddy (Malkajgiri) and senior leader Komatireddy Venkata Reddy (Bhongir). The three wins are significant as TRS had announced that its goal is to win 16 of the total 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state (leaving Hyderabad to ally AIMIM). Exit polls predicted TRS to win seats in the range of 13-16. The wins would boost the morale of the Congress cadre. In particular, Revanth Reddy is known to be a bitter critic of TRS ..