Page 717 - Politics
Kannauj: SP alleges VVPAT shows 'lotus' when 'cycle' button pressed, wants DGP removed
The opposition Samajwadi Party urged the Election Commission on Monday to remove Uttar Pardesh's police chief OP Singh from the post, alleging he was "favouring" the ruling BJP and trying to influence elections. It also alleged that in at least two polling booths in Kannauj, from where SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple is contesting the Lok Sabha election, the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines recorded the vote for the BJP when the ballot was cast for the SP. It also claimed that police issued "notes" warning SP supporters in the constituency, asking them to remain inside their home after casting their vote. SP leader Dharmendra Yadav said Director General of Police Singh was "misusing" the government machinery to help the BJP. "We demanded from the EC to remove him immediately," he told reporters after meeting Chief Electoral Officer L Venkatenshwar Lu. Yadav led an SP delegation to the EC official and submitted a memorandum demanding that the DGP be immediately ...
Vaghela says Gujarat govt to fall on May 23; BJP nixes claim
NCP leader Shankersinh Vaghela Monday claimed the BJP government in Gujarat would fall on May 23, when votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections will be counted, and maintained "many" ruling party MLAs were in touch with him. The BJP quickly dismissed Vaghela's claims as "baseless" and said he was just trying to remain in limelight. The former chief minister also claimed the saffron outfit will lose the Lok Sabha elections. "The BJP will lose power both at the Centre and in Gujarat on May 23. The number of BJP legislators from Gujarat who would resign on May 23 is enough to topple the state government," Vaghela told PTI. The septuagenarian politician, who was in the Congress till 2017, said "many" MLAs of the ruling party had met him to convey that they no longer wanted to remain with the BJP. "These MLAs told me that they are ready to resign as legislators. They just want to leave the BJP as well as the government. "They are feeling like bonded labourers. They say that no
Trinamool's Mondal active in polls despite EC vigil
Trinamool Congress' Birbhum district President Anubrata Mondal, who is "under strict surveillance" following allegations of him threatening polling officers, said on Monday he is "not bothered" about the poll panel move.
Is it not horse trading: Cong on Modi's 'in touch with 40 TMC MLAs' remark
The Congress Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for claiming that he was in touch with 40 MLAs of the TMC in West Bengal, asking if the statement tantamounts to horse trading or not. Making a sensational claim in the middle of the general election, Modi said 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him and will desert their party once the BJP wins the poll. "Modi ji has claimed that he is in touch with 40 MLAs of the TMC. Is it not horse trading? Is it not open talk of buying and selling. Does it not show the political bankruptcy of the BJP," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. "It is clear that after the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has accepted the defeat," he tweeted in Hindi. On the campaign trail in West Bengal's Serampore Lok Sabha seat in Hoogly district and Barrackpore constituency in North 24 Parganas, Modi assailed TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee over her prime ministerial ambitions, saying "Didi, Dilli door hai (Delhi is far away)." "Didi, ...
64% voter turnout of Kashmiri migrants in Anantnag LS seat
Over 64 per cent voter turnout of Kashmiri migrants was recorded in the second phase of the three-phased elections in Anantnag parliamentary constituency Monday. Unhappy over the "cumbersome" voter registration process adopted for them by the Election Commission, the community members demanded scrapping of M-forms. They alleged that the forms deny and discourage them from voting. "Over 64 per cent votes (by Kashmiri migrants) were polled today. As many as 1,784 such voters cast their votes in the second phase, out of a total of 2,779 registered voters, after completing the required formalities," Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for Migrants, Pankaj Anand told PTI. Though the official admitted that there were problems while preparing the electoral roll, Anand said hectic efforts were made to ensure no voter was left out. "There were only a few such cases due to wrong filling of Form M. Some of these forms did not have names of polling stations. Some names did not match with the ...
Obama discouraged Biden from running for president in 2015
Former United States President Barack Obama had nudged former Vice President Joe Biden to not run for the president in 2015, saying the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton had a better chance of winning.The New York Times reported on Monday that Obama "gently pressed" Biden on his 2016 presidential ambitions over several weeks. He then ultimately asked his strategist to apprise Biden of his odds of winning against US President Donald Trump."The president was not encouraging," Biden later acknowledged.The revelation comes days after Biden announced that he will run for his candidacy for the presidential nomination for 2020 elections.The 76-year-old will be competing with 20 other candidates including heavyweights like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to win Democratic nomination."I asked President Obama not to endorse," Biden said last week. "Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."Obama, recently, praised Biden but stopped short of issuing an ...
104-year-old Bano Bi cast her vote in Umaria
104-year-old Bano Bi on Monday cast her vote for the Lok Sabha elections in Umaria of Madhya Pradesh. She was accompanied by her grandson Saddam Khan and his wife Nazma Begum to the polling centre.
Telangana Congress moves HC to stall CLP's merger with TRS
Opposition Congress leaders in Telangana have approached the High Court, seeking direction to the State Assembly Speaker not to merge Congress Legislature Party (CLP) with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Former Haryana Chief Secy S C Chaudhary joins Congress
Former Haryana Chief Secretary S C Chaudhary on Monday joined the Congress, the party said in a release here. He joined the party in Rohtak in the presence of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the release said. Speaking on the occasion, Hooda said Chaudhary's long administrative experience will benefit the party. Chaudhary, a 1977 batch IAS officer, retired as Chief Secretary, Haryana in April 2014. Hooda said Chaudhary was known as "a very competent, honest, able and upright officer". The previous Hooda-led Congress government in Haryana had appointed Chaudhary as Chief Commissioner of the Haryana Right to Service commission in May 2014 and he remained in the post for almost five years. All 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana go to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
Khattar targets Hooda on his home turf, Cong leader launches counter attack
As campaigning peaks for the sixth phase of polling, Manohar Lal Khattar and Bhupinder Singh Hooda engaged in a war of words on Monday, with the Haryana chief minister asking his predecessor to stop "day dreaming" about helming the state again. Hooda responded by taking a veiled dig at Khattar's bachelor status. He said Khattar does not understand the respect that sons-in-law and other relations have in India's culture and society. All the 10 seats in Haryana will vote on May 12. Interacting with people in Rohtak, Khattar said the senior Congress leader is harbouring the ambition of becoming the chief minister again but he should stop day dreaming about it. He criticised Hooda for reportedly saying his victory from Sonipat Lok Sabha seat would pave the way for him to regain the chief minister's chair through Delhi. "Leave aside reaching Chandigarh, the former chief minister will not even get a chance to reach Delhi," Khattar said. Hooda, a sitting MLA from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak
IS chief Baghdadi appears for first time in five years: propaganda video
The elusive chief of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released Monday by the jihadist organisation. It is unclear when the footage was filmed, but Baghdadi referred in the past tense to the months-long fight for Baghouz, IS's final bastion in eastern Syria, which ended last month. "The battle for Baghouz is over," he said, sitting cross-legged on a cushion and addressing three men whose faces have been blurred.
EC directs West Bengal police to register FIR against Babul Supriyo
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the state police to register an FIR against Babul Supriyo, Union Minister and BJP candidate from Asansol Lok Sabha seat, for allegedly trespassing into polling booth number 199 and threatening a polling agent and an officer, confirmed the Chief Electoral Officer on Monday."At 9.15 am, Supriyo went inside polling booth number 199 at Kashidanga F P School under Barabani police station along with his security guards complaining that his agent was not allowed to sit. When the in-charge of the booth, CRPF ASI Ram Navami Ram, protested the entry of security guards inside the booth, he pushed him physically and entered the booth along with his security guards," sources said.Sources added that Supriyo's convoy of around eight-nine cars later blocked the way of "RT mobile vehicle of ASI Emdadul Haque.""The candidate and his supporters used slang language against the RT officer... His abusive language instigated the voters standing in the ...
Expanding higher education facilities my priority: Gautam Gambhir
BJP's East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir Monday said though the constituency's population saw a tenfold increase in the last four decades, successive governments in the national capital have done nothing special for the expansion of higher education facilities in the area. Addressing a public meeting in Ghazipur, the cricketer-turned-politician said a "full-fledged campus on the lines of Delhi University's north campus and upgrading of Yamuna Sports Complex" were among his priorities. "It's sad that though the constituency's population increased tenfold in the past four decades, local governments have done nothing special for the expansion of education facilities," he said. Appealing to people to vote for the BJP, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to making India a strong nation and "we have been clear in taking strong measures against terrorism unlike previous governments". Gambhir is contesting against AAP's Atishi Marlena and Congress' Arvinder Singh Lovely from ...
Nisha Katoch lone woman in LS poll race in Himachal
Only one woman -- Nisha Katoch -- is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Himachal Pradesh, even when women account for 49 per cent of the electorate in the state and, according to a senior official, are more "proactive" when it comes to voting.
BJD fields Agarwala's wife Sabitri in Patkura Assembly segment
Ruling Biju Janata Dal Monday named Sabitri Agarwala, the widow of Bed Prakash Agarwala as its candidate for Patkura assembly segment where election is scheduled to be held on May 19. The election to the Patkura assembly segment was adjourned due to death of Bed Prakash Agarwala on April 20. However, the polling for Lok Sabha elections in the Patkura assembly segment was held along with others on Monday. "Savitri Agrawala, the widow of Bed Prakash Agrawala, will be the BJD candidate for the bypoll to the Patkura assembly seat," BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced. The opposition BJP has already fielded its veteran leader Bijoy Mohapatra from Patkura while Congress has named Jayant Mohanty as its nominee in this assembly segment.
Cong moves EC demanding action against PM
The Congress on Monday urged the Election Commission to take urgent action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly violating the model code by raising the matters of Balakot air strike and Pulwama terror attack in his poll campaign. A delegation of Congress leaders led by its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and Abhishek Singhvi met top Election Commission officials and made a fresh complaint against Modi demanding urgent action against him. "The prime minister has in all the phases sought votes once again by invoking the valour of the armed forces. The prime minister has also made references to the Pulwama attack... "Such habitual violations by the prime minister make it evident that he is not just making a mockery of this Commission but also the armed forces and the defence personnel for his petty political gains," the Congress said in a memorandum to the EC. The Congress also demanded that the election to one Tripura seat held on April 11 be countermanded as the BJP .
Sidhu insulted hardworking, common people of the country: BJP
The BJP attacked Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday for his "one wrong vote can make your children 'chaiwala' or 'chowkidar'" remark, saying the Punjab minister has insulted the hardworking, common people of the country. The Congress party looks down on the people who sell tea, pakoras and those who work as 'chowkidars' (watchmen), BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said and asked why was the Congress party was insulting the people "who work really hard to keep their families afloat". Earlier in the day, Sidhu, in a tweet, said, "One wrong vote can make your children chaiwala, pakorawala or chowkidar. Better prevent and prepare, rather than repent and repair." "Today the kind of tweets that Mr Navjot Singh Sidhu had put out insulted the common people of the country, who actually work really hard to make their ends meet. "People who are self-made, who are entrepreneurs in their own lives and people who work in small enterprisers to make their livelihoods meet, the ...
BJD fields candidate's widow in Odisha assembly seat
Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal on Monday said it would field Savitri Agarwalla, the widow of sitting MLA and party candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla, from the Patkura Assembly constituency in Kendrapara district.
BJP complains to EC against MP Chief Secretary, DGP
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday told the Election Commission that the "partisan attitude" of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police was not conducive to the holding of free and fair polls.
Afghan leader holds council to set agenda for Taliban talks
Afghanistan's president opened a grand council on Monday of more than 3,200 Afghans seeking to agree on a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban, but the gathering may further aggravate divisions within the US-backed government. President Ashraf Ghani hopes to showcase unity at the four-day meeting known as Loya Jirga that brings together politicians, tribal elders, many prominent figures and others. But Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, his partner in a unity government brokered by the United States after a bitterly disputed election in 2014, heads a list of no-shows. Former President Hamid Karzai, who also is not attending, told The Associated Press on Monday that holding the council at this time risks "delaying and causing an impediment to the peace process." He also voiced concern that by sidelining his chief executive, Ghani could trigger suspicion that personal ambitions may have partly driven him to hold the Loya Jirga now. "We are all here to talk about the ...