Page 417 - Politics
BJP-led NDA sweeps Bihar, RJD set to draw a blank
The NDA inflicted a body blow to the four-party 'grand alliance' on Thursday, winning 27 of the state's 40 seats and leading in 12 others. Mohammed Javed of the Congress was the only candidate of the 'Mahagathbandhan' who won. He defeated Syed Mahmood Ashraf of the JD(U) by a margin of over 34,000 votes in Muslim dominated Kishanganj seat. The RJD, the main opposition party in the state assembly, was totally decimated and even failed to to open its account. The party had won four seats in 2014. Prominent winners included Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who trounced his Congress rival Shatrughan Sinha by over 2.84 lakh votes from Patna Sahib. Sinha, a strident critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, was a two-term MP from the seat, and had shifted to the Congress just ahead of the polls. Union minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh retained the Begusarai seat for his party, trouncing his nearest rival Kanhaiya Kumar of the CPI by a ...
Smriti Irani, Pragya Thakur to win big; 28 sitting women MPs set to retain seats
As many as 28 out of 41 sitting women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini and Kirron Kher, are set to retain their seats in Lok Sabha polls, but the likes of Smriti Irani and Pragya Thakur are likely to steal the show with the extent of their victories over their more renowned rivals. Among prominent faces who are expected to be re-elected to Lok Sabha are Rae Bareli Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Sultanpur candidate Maneka Gandhi who is a sitting BJP MP from Pilibhit, Mathura BJP MP Malini, Chandigarh BJP candidate Kher, Kannauj SP MP Dimple Yadav and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Bankura TMC MP Moon Moon Sen who contested from Asansol, Congress Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, Supaul MP from Congress Ranjeet Ranjan, Bardhaman-Durgapur candidate Mamtaz Sanghamita from TMC, Hoogly MP Ratna De from TMC and Lalganj MP Neelam Sonkar are among those trailing. Irani emerged as a giant-killer -- this time scripting a historic win by dethroning Rahul Gandhi in the Congress's home turf Amethi. ...
Expect Modi to tackle black money, corruption, unemployment in 2nd term: Ramdev
Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his victory, yoga guru Ramdev Thursday said he expected the NDA government to tackle issues such as black money, corruption and unemployment in its second term. Ramdev, also the promoter of FMCG major Patanjali Ayurved, said he would like to see fulfilment of Modi's dream of doubling farmer's income and reforms in education system over the next five years. He was replying to query on a TV channel to list out his top 2-3 expectations from the Modi dispensation. "Corruption, black money, change in system, inflation, unemployment, poverty, national farmer income commission -- these are the major issues of my agitation. These issues are not dead yet, these issues are alive. Modi ji is also committed to these issues and we want these dreams to be fulfilled by our prime minister," Ramdev said. He added that he would also like to see major changes in the healthcare system as well. "There should not be commercialisation of education system. ...
YSRC wins 69 seats, leading in 81 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 ...
Resounding win for BJP, breaks new grounds in WB, Odisha
Riding high on the planks of muscular nationalism and anti-Congressism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday secured a resounding mandate for the second consecutive term as BJP crossed the 300 mark by breaking new grounds in West Bengal and Odisha and retaining its sway in the Hindi heartland in the Lok Sabha elections.Storming back to power, the party bettered its 2014 performance by getting 21 seats more than the 282 it had secured earlier. A party needs 272 to get a majority in the 543 member Lok Sabha.The BJP-led NDA was close to touching the 350 mark like in the previous elections in 2014. BJP has won 146 seats and was ahead in 157 seats till late in the night as counting was in progress, delayed by the procedure to match VVPATs with EVMs.Prime Minister Modi was leading comfortably in Varanasi where he is seeking a second term while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led in Raebareli. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was leading in Lucknow and BJP President Amit Shah won by a big ...
Harsimrat wins Bathinda seat by 21,772 votes
Union Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal retained her Lok Sabha seat by 21,772 votes.Coming out with flying colours in a tough situation was a reason enough for her to dance to celebrate, which she did with elan along with a group of her women supporters.Reacting to her victory, Badal said the people have told the Congress that the power is in their hands. "Now Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's seat is also in danger," she told ANI."I want to congratulate SAD and BJP workers. The Congress didn't leave anything unturned to harass our workers. But still they worked very hard. The Congress has been swept out from across India," Harsimrat said.
BJP set to make clean sweep in Haryana, Cong faces rout; Hooda among losers
The BJP was set to make a clean sweep in Haryana and icing on the cake for the saffron party was its candidates either winning or surging ahead by massive margins ranging between 3-6 lakh votes on the eight Lok Sabha seats. While it would be BJP's best ever performance in Haryana, carved out as a separate state in 1966, the Congress was facing a likely rout after a gap of 20 years, as per results and latest trends made available by the Election Commission. In 2014, the BJP had won seven of the eight seats it contested while the INLD had won two and the Congress one. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Modi juggernaut continued propelling the ruling BJP in Haryana to the top spot. Many exit poll projections for Haryana also proved right as they had predicted a stupendous performance by the BJP. BJP's local leader from Panipat and state general secretary Sanjay Bhatia surprised many with his massive win from the Karnal seat by a margin of 6,56,142 votes over his nearest rival and ...
Losing candidates show grace in defeat, congratulate winners
They were engaged in no-holds-barred attacks and acrimonious banters at the hustings, but as the results were declared several candidates in the national capital Thursday showed courteousness towards their rivals and congratulated them on their victory in the polls. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on claiming a landslide victory in the elections. Kejriwal, who had blamed Modi for the attack on him during a road show in the city and had alleged that the prime minister wanted him dead, tweeted, "I congratulate Shri Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi." "We put up good candidates everywhere in Delhi, gave our all in the campaigning and every candidate toiled hard. We accept the people's mandate with all humility and will continue working for Delhi," he said in Hindi. AAP's Atishi, who had accused her rival, BJP's Gautam Gambhir, of distributing derogatory pamphlets to .
Manoj Tiwari wins Delhi North East seat
Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari on Thursday won the Delhi North East Lok Sabha seat, defeating his Congress rival and former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by a margin of 3,66,102 votes.
Less than one per cent voters in Delhi opts for NOTA
Less than one per cent voters in the national capital opted for NOTA with the North West Delhi constituency seeing the maximum number of votes polled under the category. A total of 45,595 people cast NOTA votes in Delhi this time as against 39,368 in 2014, an increase of 6,227 votes. The number of votes polled under NOTA in the reserved North West Delhi seat were 10,199 making it 0.73 per cent of the total votes polled. The seat had the least number of candidates in the fray and the maximum number of voters. The New Delhi seat, which saw the lowest turnout, had the second highest number of NOTA votes at 6,601 accounting for 0.72 per cent of their total polling. North East Delhi saw the highest voter turnout but received the least number of NOTA votes at 4,589 accounting for 0.31 per cent of the total votes cast in the constituency. The percentage of NOTA votes polled in Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi stood at 0.52 per cent, 0.39 per cent, 0.43 per cent and 0.62 .
UK govt welcomes Modi's 'inspiring' re-election
The UK government on Thursday welcomed India's election results and the re-election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said he looked forward to visiting India soon as he congratulated Modi after an inspiring election campaign. "Congratulations to Narendra Modi on your re-election! The world's largest ever democratic exercise in history is an inspiration to us all & I hope to be visiting soon," said the senior minister in a Twitter statement. "We will continue to nurture living bridge between our countries & work together as a force for good in the world," he said. The official reaction came as the Indian election results resonated across the political and business corridors of the UK, with leading politicians and entrepreneurs welcoming the "decisive" victory scored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the official Downing Street reaction to Modi's landslide win is expected later, members of the Theresa May led Conservative Party government
JD(U)s full support to BJP govt in Arunachal : K C Tyagi
Janata Dal(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday declared that the party would extend full support to the BJP which is heading for majority in Arunachal Pradesh assembly even if it emerged as the main opposition. We (JD-U) have already won six seats and are leading in another. The tally entitles us to the status of the main opposition party. But we will offer full support to the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh. Even if we get the opposition party status we will be a friendly opposition, JD(U) national general secretary and chief spokesman K C Tyagi told PTI over phone. The BJP has won 30 seats and is leading in another in the 60-strong assembly in the north eastern state. Though allies in Bihar, the BJP and the JD(U) had fought separately in the remote north-eastern state bordering China. Nitish Kumar asserted that the tie-up was specific to Bihar. Arunachal Pradesh is the second state after Nagaland where the JD(U) has been able to ..
UNSG very much looks forward to working with PM Modi: UN spokesman
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres very much looks forward to working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders have a "strong relationship" on issues such as climate change, the UN chief's spokesperson said following Modi's victory in the general elections. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "We have seen the results...We obviously very much look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi. The secretary general and him have especially a strong relationship when it come to issues around climate change," UN spokesperson Stphane Dujarric told PTI when asked if the secretary general has a message for Modi following his victory in elections. Dujarric added that as of now, he doesn't know if any conversation is scheduled between the UN chief and the Indian Prime Minister following the election results, which were declared Thursday. Spokeswoman for President of the General Assembly Maria ..
Rahul elected from Wayanad LS seat
Congress president Rahul Gandhi was Thursday declared elected from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad besides Amethi, where he conceded defeat, defeated his nearest CPI candidate P P Suneer by a margin of over 4.31 lakh votes, according to the Election Commission website. Gandhi's winning margin was a state record. The BJP-led NDA candidate Thushar Vellapally, who is also state NDA chairman, came a poor third, polling about 78,000 votes. The Congress' decision to field Gandhi from the remote Wayanad constitutency came as a big surprise for the party cadres. Gandhi conceded defeat in Amethi, a traditional bastion of his family, to BJP's Smriti Irani. The Congress-UDF made a clean sweep of the polls in the southern state by winning 15 seats and was leading in four at 10.15 pm as per the latest trends. There are 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
BJP notches impressive show in Bengal assembly by-polls
Stretching its stunning Lok Sabha performance to the Assembly by-polls in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday wrested the Bhatpara seat from the Trinamool Congress on Thursday and took an unassailable lead in three other constituencies.
Malawi president takes lead in election count
Malawian President Peter Mutharika leads his main rival in this week's election, winning more than 40 percent of votes cast, according to figures released on Thursday with three-quarters of votes counted. Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is fighting for a second five-year term, has 40.49 percent of the vote, the Electoral Commission said. "It feels excellent. The results are within our predictions but certainly we are not naive enough to celebrate before the final whistle is blown," DDP campaign chief Ben Phiri told AFP. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera had 35.44 per cent, while Vice President Saulos Chilima was on 18 percent, according to the partial results. Mutharika, 78, campaigned for a second five-year term on his record of improving Malawi's scant road and power infrastructure. But his government has been dogged by several high-profile cases of corruption and nepotism. Chakwera on Wednesday warned of alleged attempts to rig Tuesday's ...
Ravi Shankar Prasad pulls off stunning victory in Patna Sahib
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad retained the Patna Sahib seat for the BJP on Thursday, defeating sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha in fray on a Congress ticket by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. Prasad, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, polled a whopping 61.85 per cent of the total votes in the constituency, which comprises the entire state capital besides a couple of assembly segments on the outskirts. Sinha had joined the Congress more than a month ago after the BJP, upset over his repeated attacks on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president Amit Shah, denied him a ticket and fielded Prasad in his place. The actor-turned-politician, who has been associated with the BJP since the early 90s, had won the seat in 2009 and 2014 by margins of over one lakh votes. Earlier, seeing the writing on the wall, Sinha told a hurriedly-convened press conference, "Best wishes to my friend Narendra Modi and master strategist Amit Shah. Hope they provide good .
Kanimozhi wins by a margin of 3.47 lakh votes
: DMK leader Kanimozhi, daughter of the late party patriarch M Karunadhi won the Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency by defeating her BJP rival by more than three lakh votes. Kanimozhi trounced BJP leader and Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan by a margin of 3.47 lakh votes. Kanimozhi is also the sister of DMK Chief M K Stalin, currently a Rajya Sabha MP, and was the party's eyes and ears in New Delhi.
Cong pips AAP in vote share in Delhi, hopes to put up good show in 2020 Assembly polls
Decimated by the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, the Congress on Thursday took consolation in being runners-up in five of of the seven parliamentary constituencies in the national capital. Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit expressed disappointment over the results but took solace in the fact that her party forced the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the third spot in five of the seven Lok Sabha seats. This is the first time since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls that the Congress managed to pip the AAP to the third spot in any election in the national capital in terms of vote share. According to the Election Commission's (EC) data, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 56.5 per cent votes in Delhi, followed by the Congress (22.5 per cent) and the AAP (18.1 per cent). In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP's vote share in Delhi was 33.07 per cent and it had won all the seven seats. The AAP had bagged 29.49 per cent votes, whereas the Congress was at the third ..
Celebrations in BJP camp in view of Smriti Irani's imminent victory
As the news of Smriti Irani's imminent victory trickled in, the BJP camp here burst into celebration with the supporters chanting slogans and dancing to the beats of thumping drums. The BJP workers came out on the streets and hailed the BJP leader whom they credit with ending the rule of one dynasty in this Congress stronghold. As the evening descended, the main market in Gauriganj was the epicentre of action where BJP flags were being waved at every corner and enthusiastic supporters moved about distributing ladoos. Around the Manishi Mahila Mahavidyala and Indira Gandhi PG college, jubilant BJP supporters zoomed about on motorcycles, but on the roadside Congress supporters could be seen huddled together, discussing Congress president Rahul Gandhi who conceded defeat. A huge crowd gathered at Irani's local residence where she has been camping since Wednesday evening. Later, she went to the district party office where she met the workers and took their greetings. She was welcomed with