Page 435 - Politics
Faith reposed by people in NDA is humbling: Modi
With the BJP headed for a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India has won again and together with everyone, a strong and inclusive nation will be built. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power as it led in over 300 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with about 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. In more tweets, he thanked the people for reposing faith in the National Democratic Alliance. "Thank you India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfil people's aspirations," he tweeted. Modi also thanked BJP workers for their hard work and ..
I accept defeat gracefully, won't blame EVMs: Sharad Pawar
As trends suggested an impressive victory for the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls, NCP chief Sharad Pawar Thursday "gracefully" accepted the mandate, and said he would not blame electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the results. The NCP as well as other opposition parties had repeatedly raised concerns over the possibility of EVM tampering earlier. Pawar also said the opposition parties expected the BJP to do well in certain states, but did not expect "such a big victory" for the saffron party across the country. The BJP has won six seats and was leading in 294 seats across the country. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared set to retain power with around 350 seats. "Doubts were indeed raised (about EVMs). But I don't want to blame the machines now since the result is out. Once the verdict is out, it has to be accepted gracefully and I am accepting it gracefully," Pawar told reporters here. The "specter of suspicion" indeed prevailed in the minds of people ..
Ankara stopped buying Iran oil out of respect for US sanctions: official
Ankara stopped importing oil from Iran at the beginning of May out of "respect" for American sanctions despite disagreeing with them, a Turkish official said Wednesday. "As a strategic ally" of the United States, "we respect" the sanctions, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous, during Turkish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yavuz Selim Kiran's visit to Washington. Since pulling out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal a year ago, President Donald Trump's administration has hit Iran with severe sanctions prohibiting the export of Iranian oil, as well as targeting countries that continue to purchase it. Turkey was among eight countries, also including China, India and Japan, that were initially exempt from the sanctions and allowed to continue importing Iranian crude, but the exemption ended May 2 and has not been renewed. Ankara initially appeared unwilling to comply, but according to the anonymous official, Turkey did stop importing Iranian oil after May 2. While meeting ..
BJP, allies hail Modi 'tsunami'; All losers are not losers, asserts Mamata
Buoyed by phenomenal Lok Sabha poll verdict, senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers as also NDA allies credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the superb showing, described by many as a "tsunami" amid Modi's assertion that "India has won again". Hailing the BJP's performance as "victory of India", Shah said it is people's mandate against the Opposition's propaganda and personal attacks as well as their total rejection of politics of dynasty, appeasement and casteism. While there was euphoria in the BJP-led NDA camp, both the Congress and the Left parties were muted in their reactions after the trends clearly showed that they were heading towards another poll debacle after 2014. However, TMC and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's reaction was more pragmatic."Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed ...
Yogi Adityanath congratulates PM Modi, Amit Shah for LS feat
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for scripting a landmark performance in the Lok Sabha polls."I want to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this victory. The BJP is touching the mark of 300 seats for the first time in the Lok Sabha election. The NDA is touching the figure of 350. I also congratulate party president Amit Shah," said Chief Minister Yogi.The BJP is leading on over 300 seats, way ahead of the halfway mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Its allies including Shiv Sena and Lok Janshakti Party are doing equally well.
Development work by Modi in Assam is reason behind BJP victory: CM Sarbananda Sonowal
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said the reason behind BJP's stellar performance here is due to the development work carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state."This is a tsunami of Modiji. He has proved that everything is possible if you work with dedication. Modiji has made impossible things possible. He proved that a Prime Minister can work both for the poor and divyangs. He gave recognition to every state irrespective of its size," Sonowal told ANI."Amit Shah has presented a strategy and managed the elections very well with his political wisdom. He inspired every party worker in the country to work for the party. People have accepted that they are with honest people. Modi ji is honest and dedicated towards the country," he said.Speaking further, Sonowal also said, "Modi ji is behind the party's stellar performance in North-east. People started trusting him because he has done many development works for the region."The Chief Minister alleged that ...
BJP's victory is triumph of national forces: RSS
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday dubbed BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha polls as a triumph of national forces and hoped that the opposition parties would welcome mandate with humility.
Sudanese protesters plan mass rally as talks stall with army
Sudan's protest leaders are calling for mass rallies across the country amid deadlocked negotiations with the ruling military over its handover of power. The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has spearheaded four months of protests that drove Omar al-Bashir from power in April, says it's also calling for a "million man march" outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. Thursday's statement, posted on Facebook, says the protesters want to denounce the ruling generals' resistance to relinquish power to a sovereign council that both sides had already agreed should lead the country during the transitional period. There are also indications that the SPA, a union umbrella, may call for a general strike. The two sides have held several rounds of talks since the military overthrew al-Bashir on April 11, ending his 30-year reign.
Political families fight it out to hold on to their bastions
In face of a massive wave in favour of the BJP sweeping the country, many political families managed to keep their forts secure while some, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, are finding it hard to hold on to their prized seats. Sonia Gandhi's potential win in Rae Bareli might lose its sheen courtesy her son Rahul, who is trailing BJP's Smriti Irani in his pocket borough Amethi by over 19,000 votes. The Congress president, however, is heading towards a comfortable victory in Kerala's Wayanad where he is leading by over 4 lakh votes. The other mother-son duo from the Gandhi family -- Maneka and Varun -- who have contested on BJP ticket from Sultanpur and Pilibhit respectively are heading towards a victory in their constituencies. In the Samajwadi Party's first family, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is leading in Mainpuri by 62,217 votes while Akhilesh is looking comfortable in Azamgarh with a lead of over 1.72 lakh votes. However, Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav is ...
BJP heading for landslide victory in Uttarakhand (2nd Lead)
The BJP was heading for a landslide victory in Uttarakhand with its candidates consolidating huge leads in all the hill state's five seats as the counting of votes continued on Thursday.
Imran Khan congratulates Modi on election win
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Amid saffron surge, Mamata's residence, TMC headquarters wear
As trends showed a saffron surge in Bengal, the residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in south Kolkata's Kalighat wore a deserted look on Thursday with just a handful of Trinamool Congress supporters gathered outside. The scene was no different at the party's state headquarters off EM Bypass in eastern part of the city. Even though police had cordoned off the entire area outside Banerjee's house apprehending turnout of supporters, only a few were seen silently standing with newsmen outnumbering them. The scene was grimmer at the E M Bypass office, as except guards and few policemen no TMC supporter or party leader could be seen. "We didn't expect such a result in Bengal. Our party supremo Mamata Banerjee had given a call for winning 42 seats, we had hoped that we would improve our tally. But the results are completely unexpected. It seems we failed to gauge the strong undercurrent in Bengal," said a TMC leader, who did not wish to be named. The party is witnessing
BJP's Heena Gavit wins Nandurbar seat in Maharashtra
Heena Gavit of the BJP has won the Nandurbar Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra by defeating her nearest Congress rival K C Padvi by a margin of 95,629 votes. The BJP leader, who retained the seat, had defeated Congress' nine-time MP Manikrao Gavit in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP is leading in 22 other constituencies in the state, while its ally Shiv Sena is ahead in 18. The NCP is marching ahead in four seats while the Congress, AIMIM and an NCP-backed Independent are leading in one seat each.
TMC, BJP in a neck-and-neck race in Bengal
Mamata Banerjee's TMC was Thursday facing massive headwinds in key battleground state of West Bengal where it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with the BJP, with the state's ruling party leading in 22 Lok Sabha seats and the challenger saffron outfit in 19. According to latest Election Commission figures, the BJP was also the main contender in 21 of the 22 seats where the Trinamool Congress was leading. The saffron party was giving the TMC a run for its money even in terms of vote share having polled 39.81 per cent of votes counted so far. The TMC has clinched 43.8 per cent. The four-party Left Front, once a formidable force in the state, has garnered a measly 7.8 per cent of votes so far, and its candidates are leading in none of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats. Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the sitting MP from Baharampur, was leading the table in his constituency by over 80,000 votes. Abhijit Mukherjee, the son of former President Pranab Mukherjee and sitting MP .
Raj Thackeray terms LS poll results 'incomprehensible'
MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who had vociferously campaigned against the BJP, Thursday termed the Lok Sabha poll trends suggesting a landslide victory for the ruling party as "beyond rationale" and "incomprehensible". "Beyond rationale! #Verdict2019," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief tweeted. In another post on the micro-blogging site, he said the results were "anakalniya" (incomprehensible). The BJP-led NDA Thursday appeared to retain power at the Centre. According to the trends made available by the Election Commission, the BJP had won six seats and was leading in 292 others. The BJP's ally, Shiv Sena, too was leading in 18 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Thackeray, whose party did not contest the general election, had vehemently canvassed against the BJP, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Malik congratulates Nahida Manzoor for becoming first woman from Kashmir to scale Mount Everest
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Thursday congratulated Nahida Manzoor for becoming the first woman from the Valley to scale the world's highest peak -- Mount Everest. Malik hoped that her accomplishment will help in attracting youngsters towards adventure sports for which there is immense potential in the state, an official spokesman said. The governor has wished Nahida success in all her future endeavours, he said.
Union Cabinet to meet on Friday
The Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Friday to pass a resolution on the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.Also, the Parliamentary Board of BJP will meet today in the evening while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the party workers here at 5.30 pm.Council of Ministers meeting will also be held on Friday.The ruling BJP is set to storm back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha.Their campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank.On the other side, the main challenger Congress is way behind, leading in only 50 seats. Prime Minister Modi is leading comfortably in Varanasi where he is seeking a second term while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi leading in Raebareli. Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi while leading in Wayanad in Kerala.
Congress has to pay for Sidhu's Pakistan visit: Punjab CM
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the Congress has to pay for his cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's visit to Pakistan.
Naveen Patnaik set to win fifth term in Odisha
The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is set to retain power for an unprecedented fifth consecutive term in Odisha as the regional party on Thursday completely decimated the opposition in the state Assembly.
Time for us to introspect: CPI(M)
The CPI(M) on Thursday said the people of the country had given a "decisive" verdict in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls and it was time for the Left party to "introspect". The Left Front, which is likely to come up with its worse poll show since 1952, is leading in only five seats so far -- the CPI(M) in three seats in Tamil Nadu and the CPI in two seats in Kerala. "The CPI(M) has suffered a serious setback in this election. We shall introspect the reasons for this and draw proper lessons for the future. "There are very big challenges ahead regarding the defence of our secular, democratic republic, the institutions of constitutional authority, people's rights and livelihood issues," a statement issued by the party said.