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Page 446 - Politics

Ruling AIADMK on course to win comfortably

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu seemed to be on course to win a comfortable number of seats from the 22 Assembly segments where bypolls were held, signalling that K Palaniswami can breathe easy and continue in the saddle for another two years. The party was leading in 10 of the 22 seats where polling was held in two phases-- on April 18 and May 19, according to the latest Election Commission data. Though the party had nothing to boast of in the 38 Lok Sabha seats where it was leading in just two segments, it seemed to put up a better show in the 10 Assembly seats where it was leading, though the AIADMK candidates were ahead by slender margins. The simple majority figure in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly is 117, and the ruling party has a strength of 114, including the Speaker. Even in the event of AIADMK retaining the 10 seats it was leading, Chief Minister Palaniswami could happily settle down and see off the rest two years in office, with the next Assembly polls ..

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:36 PM IST

Two US navy ships sail though Taiwan Strait as Guam drills begin

Two American warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the US navy said Thursday, as Washington also kicked off multinational naval drills near Guam in operations bound to provoke a rebuke from Beijing. The navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit "in accordance with international law". "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the navy said. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. The transit comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia ..

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:36 PM IST

Naidu is likely to tender his resignation today

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to tender his resignation on Thursday after his party Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is set to lose the Assembly polls, according to the official trends.As per YSRCP senior leader Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, YS Jaganmohan Reddy would be taking oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on May 30.Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party appears to be sweeping the Assembly polls in the initial trends and is leading on 149 Assembly seats in the 175-member House. Naidu-led TDP is ahead on 25 seats, the trends four hours after counting of votes began at 8 am showed.Jana Sena party of actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan is leading on one seat. The state went to polls on April 11.In the 2014 Assembly elections, TDP formed the government with 102 seats while YSRCP bagged 67 seats.In the Lok Sabha elections, which was held simultaneously with state Assembly polls, YSRCP is leading on 24 Lok Sabha seats out of 25 while TDP is ahead on one seat only.

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:36 PM IST

Sri Lanka PM congratulates Modi for 'magnificent election victory'

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as the BJP-led NDA government looks all set to form the government for the second term at the Centre."Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you," Wickremesinghe tweeted.As counting of the ballots for 542 Lok Sabha seats for the world's largest democracy is underway, the BJP seems to lead on over 288 seats while the Indian National Congress is placed second in the list with 50 seats, as per the official Election Commission trends.In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 282 seats, 10 more than the halfway mark, on its own and crossed the 300-mark with its allies.If the trends convert into seats, this would be the first time in more than 40 years in India that a party with a majority on its own will be coming back to power with a similar showing.The Lok Sabha polls that commenced on April 11 and wrapped up on May

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:35 PM IST

Congratulate BJP and NDA for a stellar performance, all credits to PM Modi and Shah: Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for an amazing performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections."So the exit polls were correct. All that's left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib and Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years," Abdullah tweeted.As of the updates from the Election Commission at 12:45 pm, the BJP led NDA is currently leading on 340 seats while Congress-led UPA is ahead on 103 seats. Others including SP-BSP have the lead on 105 seats as of 12:30 am.Abdullah had earlier too expressed faith in the exit polls which gave a sweeping majority to the BJP and its allies."Every single exit poll can't be wrong! Time to switch off the TV, log out of social media and wait to see if the world is still spinning on its axis on the 23rd," he tweeted on May .

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:35 PM IST

Farooq set to win, Mehbooba likely to finish third

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah appeared set to win the Lok Sabha election from Srinagar while former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti was trailing at the third spot in Anantnag constituency.

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:31 PM IST

Congress leading in 19 seats, set to sweep Kerala (3rd Lead)

With 35 per cent counting of votes done in Kerala, the Congress-led UDF showed lead in 19 seats while the ruling CPI-M-led LDF was all but washed out as it was ahead in just one seat. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is leading the pack with a margin of over 1.60 lakh votes.

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:31 PM IST

BJP workers celebrate as trends favour party in Bengal

With trends favouring BJP at the Centre and the party making deep inroads in West Bengal, the saffron party workers and supporters burst into celebrations outside its headquarters here and elsewhere. BJP workers were seen distributing sweets, shouting slogans "phir ek bar Modi sarkar" and dancing to the beat of drums in various parts of the state. Trinamool Congress headquarters at the E M Bypass on the other hand wore a deserted look as trends showed that TMC is ahead only in 25 seats. The CPI(M) and Congress party offices too wore a deserted look. The BJP and the ruling TMC had been locked in a fierce battle in West Bengal. BJP had set a target of winning more than 23 seats, while the TMC had set its sight of winning all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Reacting to initial trends, BJP national general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya said the trends reflect the "anti-TMC mood" of Bengal. "The initial trends reflect the anti-TMC mood. Despite so ...

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:31 PM IST

J-K: Farooq leads by 57,000 votes in Srinagar, all set to win

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah with a lead of 57,000 votes, is all set to win the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir for a fourth time. "The National Conference candidate (Abdullah) has taken an unassailable lead of 57,000 votes over the nearest rival, PDP candidate (Aga Syed Mohsin)," an election official said. He said the final margin of Abdullah's victory will be announced when all the votes have been counted. This will be the fourth win in a Lok Sabha election for the 83-year-old three time former chief minister, who has so far lost an election only once in his 42-year political career since his debut in 1980. Abdullah was first elected as member of Lok Sabha in 1980. However, he returned to state politics in the wake of failing health of his father and National Conference leader Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1981. He succeeded as chief minister of the state in September 1982 following his father's death. Abdullah won in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls but lost to .

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:31 PM IST

EVM strong rooms opened in the absence of our party's counting agents: Congress veteran JP Agarwal

Congress veteran and candidate from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency JP Agarwal Thursday alleged that EVM strong rooms were opened in the absence of his party's counting agents. "The strong rooms were opened in the absence of our counting agents. We were not even allowed to take breakfast inside while the BJP was free to carry any material inside," Agarwal told reporters. The Chief Electoral Officer said that they had not received any official complaint. "We have not received any complaint from any candidate with regard to counting of votes including from JP Agarwal. "If any issue arises at the counting centres, the returning officers are fully competent to deal with it," Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh said. The Congress leader is pitted against BJP's Harsh Vardhan. On the voting day, Agarwal's wife, daughter and niece had also alleged that there were discrepancies in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as the wrong bulb had lit up when they were casting their vote. Re-polling was ...

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:31 PM IST

BJP's Mahendra Pandey leading in Chandauli

BJP UP chief and sitting MP Mahendra Nath Pandey is leading from Chandauli in eastern UP even as the combined vote share of SP and BSP was more than the vote share he got in 2014.

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:26 PM IST

LS results: Priyanka meets Rahul as Congress stares at defeat

With trends painting a dismal picture for the Congress in Lok Sabha elections, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met her brother and party president Rahul Gandhi at his residence.Even Priyanka's formal entry into politics could not act as a saving grace for the Congress. She was made in-charge of the party's fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane campaign her party is ahead on just one seat- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.Rahul Gandhi is facing a tough battle in Amethi as BJP rival Smriti Irani is leading from the seat, though by a slim margin of a little over 2,000 votes. However, he is leading from Kerala's Wayanad.As per trends post noon, the ruling BJP appears to be storming back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark in the Lok Sabha along with its NDA allies.On the other hand, Congress was way behind BJP, leading in only 51 seats. Its ally DMK has put up a good ..

Updated On : 23 May 2019 | 1:25 PM IST

Modi's policies led to BJP victory: Suresh Prabhu

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appearing set to retain power with a clean majority, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said the people's verdict was a culmination of policies adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.