Page 496 - Politics
BJP numbers hit by SP-BSP caste math roadblock in UP
The caste arithmetic of votes in Uttar Pradesh seems to be making a dent on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s final tally in the much awaited Lok Sabha elections. The IANS-CVoter Exit Poll reveals that despite the BJP's 407 rallies in India's biggest state, the alliance led by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) seems to be taking away a major chunk of seats from the saffron party. The alliance(gathbandhan), as per the exit poll, could fetch 40 seats, giving a loss of 31 seats to the BJP which secured 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 elections.
Mayawati likely to meet Sonia Gandhi, ahead of LS poll result
While Opposition leaders are rallying together in efforts to form an anti-NDA front, BSP chief Mayawati is likely to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi here, ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election result on May 23.This comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu meeting with Sonia Gandhi today as he continued his attempts to cobble a front to keep BJP out of power in case it falls of majority in the elections. Naidu had also met Mayawati on Saturday in Lucknow.According to sources, Congress is working hard to get all alliance partners on board before the general elections are announced.According to sources, Congress managers are attempting to fix a meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati. Congress is hopeful that Mayawati will support any government other than BJP, even though the BSP supremo had lashed out at Congress throughout her campaigning.However, she had said that votes of the grand ...
TRS to get 14 out of Telangana's 17 seats: IANS-CVOTER Exit Poll
K. Chandrashekhar Rao's Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is likely to improve its performance in the just-ended Lok Sabha elections as the IANS-CVOTER exit poll projected 14 seats for it out of Telangana's total 17 Lok Sabha constituencies.
NDA tipped to retain power at the Centre: Exit polls on TV
Exit polls on television channels on Sunday projected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to retain power at the Centre with most of the pollsters giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clear majority again in the 543-member Lok Sabha.CNN News 18-IPSOS exit poll gave the BJP and its allies the highest number of 336 seats with the saffron party on its own getting 276 seats, four more than it had won in the 2014 elections. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is projected to get 82 seats of which the Congress will get 46, two more than it bagged in the last elections.ABP-Nielsen poll projected 267 for the NDA, 127 for the UPA and 148 for 'Others'. Of the 'Others', the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh is getting an estimated 50 seats.Times Now-VMR projected 306 seats for the BJP and its allies, while Republic TV-C-Voter put it at one seat less. In the Times Now poll, the UPA, including the Congress and its allies have been projected to get 132 seats, while 'Others' are likely
Exit polls designed to promote Modi: Congress
Reacting to exit polls given out by various channels and others, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said on Sunday that these polls seem to have been designed to promote the Modi government, while the BJP said the these polls only reflected what opinion polls had already said.
Indisposed ex-West Bengal CM Buddhadeb fails to vote
An indisposed former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee did not cast his vote on Sunday in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha polls.
UPA to get 27 seats, NDA 11 in Tamil Nadu: IANS-CVOTER Exit Poll
The DMK is expected to make gains in Tamil Nadu but its prospects of sweeping the southern state seems remote as the ruling AIADMK appears to have prevented a whitewash, according to the IANS-CVOTER exit poll.
Saudi Arabia deposits USD 250 mn in Sudan's central bank
Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it deposited USD 250 million in Sudan's central bank as part of a support package for the country following the overthrow of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. "The ministry of finance has deposited 937.5 million Saudi riyals into the central bank of Sudan," it said in a statement. In April, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced three billion dollars (2.7 billion euros) in financial aid for Sudan. "USD 500 million has been provided by both countries... to strengthen its financial position," the kingdom's finance ministry said. The UAE said on April 28 it was depositing USD 250 million in Sudan's central bank. The oil-rich Gulf states pledged to inject USD 500 million into Sudan's central bank and USD 2.5 billion to help provide food, medicine and petroleum products, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said last month. It said the move was aimed shoring up the Sudanese pound. In recent years Sudan has been hit by an acute lack of dollars, a ...
Repoll at Asoti booth in Faridabad LS constituency held peacefully
Repolling for Lok Sabha elections at Asoti polling station (booth no. 88) in Prithla village under Faridabad Parliamentary constituency was held peacefully on Sunday, officials said. "The polling remained peaceful. The poll percentage recorded at the Asoti booth was 65.61 per cent," said Haryana's Joint Chief Electoral Officer Inder Jeet. All 10 LS seats in Haryana went to polls on May 12. However, repoll was necessitated at the Asoti polling station after a video went viral of a BJP polling agent allegedly trying to influence voters at the booth. The polling agent was arrested following a complaint by the Election Commission and subsequently released on bail. The EC had also ordered repolling. In the video clip, the polling agent could be seen going near the enclosure meant for casting votes and trying to influence voters. Krishan Pal Gurjar of the BJP is seeking re-election from Faridabad.
Swiss vote to tighten gun laws, safeguard EU relations
The Swiss voted Sunday to toughen their gun laws and bring them in line with EU legislation, heeding warnings that rejecting the change could have threatened relations with the bloc. Final results showed that voters overwhelmingly supported reforming Swiss gun laws, with a full 63.7 percent casting their ballot in favour. A majority of voters in all but one of Switzerland's 26 cantons backed the reform, with the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland the only outlier. A demand from the neighbouring European Union that the Swiss toughen their gun laws prompted a rare national debate over firearm ownership in the wealthy Alpine nation, which has a deeply-rooted gun culture. While the government cautioned that the new legislation was crucial to the non-EU country maintaining its treaties with the bloc, the proposal sparked a fierce pushback from the gun lobby and shooting enthusiasts, who gathered enough signatures to trigger a vote under Switzerland's famous direct ...
Nearly 69% polling in Himachal (Fourth Lead)
Nearly 69 per cent of the over 53 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh turned out on Sunday to elect Members of Parliament for the state's four Lok Sabha seats in the last phase of the general elections, officials said.
Panaji Assembly bypoll: 75.25 pc voter turnout till 6pm
A voter turnout of 75.25 per cent was recorded at 6pm for the Panaji Assembly bypoll held on Sunday, Goa's Chief Electoral Office informed. The constituency has over 22,000 voters, and polling was held at 30 booths, it said, adding that the exercise, which began at 7am, was peaceful. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17 this year. The BJP's Siddharth Kunkolienkar is pitted against the Congress' Atanasio Monserratte, the Goa Suraksha Manch's Subhash Velingkar and the Aam Aadmi Party's Valmiki Naik.
Nirmal Singh's family continues construction near Army depot; lawyer says no ban by HC
Construction of a building by senior BJP leader Nirmal Singh's family near an Army depot in the city's outskirts is near completion, despite the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directing them last year to maintain status quo at the disputed site, officials said. Singh's lawyer R K Gupta said there was no stay on construction activity by any of the residents of the area. "The court has only directed the implementation of the notification issued in 2015 is in accordance with the law and the act," he said, adding that the notification is not valid in terms of provisions and cannot be implemented. The high court on May 7 last year had asked them to maintain status quo until final disposition of an Army plea which has claimed that the building was in violation of laid down norms. The high court, while hearing a contempt petition, had asked various departments of the state to file their replies and had directed state authorities to "ensure" that the August 2015 order is "strictly implemented ..
Bangladesh: In major cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of several ministers changed
Announcing her first major cabinet reshuffle just five months after taking office, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday changed portfolios of two ministers and three state ministers.The Daily Star cited a notification by the Cabinet Division saying that Mustafa Jabbar, a technocrat and previously minister for post and Communication Technology (ICT), will now only head the Post and Telecommunication Division only.From now on, State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak will deal with information and communication technology single-handedly, and State Minister Swapan Bhattachariya will head the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division.Tajul Islam, previously minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, will now head the Local Government Division only, the report said.Additionally, Md Murad Hasan, previously state minister for health and family welfare, has been reappointed as the state minister for Ministry of Information, it added.However, official gazette ..
NDA expected to win 9 seats in Haryana: IANS-CVOTER exit poll
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to win nine out of Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats, an IANS-CVOTER exit poll showed on Sunday.
BJP expected to pick up 21-25 seats in Karnataka: India Today-Axis exit poll
Despite its loss in 2018 assembly polls, the BJP is likely to win about 21 to 25 out of Karnataka's 28 seats, the India Today-Axis My India Exit poll predicted on Sunday.
Neta-NewsX predicts 242 seats for NDA, 164 for UPA
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could win 242 Lok Sabha seats, 30 short of the majority mark, according to an exit poll conducted by Neta-NewsX.
Exit polls gossip, don't trust them: Mamata
Dubbing exit polls as "gossip", West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said she doesn't trust such surveys, as the "game plan" is to use them for "manipulation" of EVMs. Most exit polls forecast a majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA in Lok Sabha elections with varying numbers, as the seven-phase democratic exercise ended Sunday. "I don't trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together," Banerjee said in a tweet. In West Bengal, some of the exit polls suggested the TMC getting 24 seats, the BJP bagging 16, the Congress two seats and the Left Front drawing a blank. Two exit polls telecast by Times Now gave the NDA 296 and 306 seats, while they projected 126 and 132 for the Congress-led UPA. Nearly 61 per cent voters turned out to cast their vote on Sunday in the seventh and the final ...
DMK-led alliance to sweep Tamil Nadu: India Today-Axis exit poll
The DMK, which suffered a major debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, will make a grand comeback in the 2019 general elections as the party-led alliance will get about 34 to 38 seats in Tamil Nadu, the India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicted on Sunday.
Over 57 pc polling till 7 pm in PM's constituency Varanasi
In the last phase of polling in the general elections, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi, where more than 57.81 per cent voting was recorded till 7 pm. Polling has been peaceful and no major incident of violence has been reported, said poll officials in Varanasi, from where Modi is seeking a reelection. According to the Election Commission's Voter Turnout app, 57.81 per cent polling was reported till 4 pm in the constituency. Maximum polling was recorded in the Sevapuri assembly segment (61.60), followed by 59.65 per cent in Rohaniya, 55.75 in Varanasi North, 58.75 in Varanasi South and 54.50 in Varanasi Cantt, as per the app. BJP veteran and former MP from here Murali Manohar Joshi was among the prominent faces who cast their votes. There are 18.54 lakh voters in the constituency where 1,819 polling booths have been set up, and 273 of them are categorised as 'critical'. There are 145 model booths and one pink booth, which will be staffed only by ...