Page 742 - Politics

Campaign ends for fourth phase of elections in Bengal

Campaigning ended on Saturday in eight parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal that will vote in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 29.

Oppn parties complain to EC against BJP's name under its symbol in EVMs

Opposition parties on Saturday approached the Election Commission alleging display of party name only under the BJP symbol on EVMs during a mock poll in West Bengal's Barrackpore constituency, but the poll panel has maintained that the same insignia was used for the party in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. A delegation of opposition parties comprising senior Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Ahmed Patel and Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi and Derek O'Brien met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora over the issue and demanded that either all such EVMs be removed from the remaining phases of elections or names of other parties be added too. The EVMs display the party symbols, name of the candidates and their photographs. "On EVMs, letters 'BJP' are visible under the party's symbol. No other party's name is there. Either remove all machines which mention BJP clearly or all other parties' name should be added in all such machines. Till then the use of these machines has to be totally

Jihadist attacks kill 22 Syria pro-regime fighters: monitor

Attacks by two jihadist groups killed at least 22 Syrian government troops and militiamen in the northern province of Aleppo early on Saturday, a war monitor said. Thirty others were wounded in the assaults by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and its ally Hurras al-Deen, which remains affiliated to the global jihadist network, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attacks in the southern and southwestern countryside of Aleppo province were launched shortly after midnight and triggered clashes that continued until dawn, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. He said the fighting subsided after Russian aircraft struck jihadist positions in the area, prompting the fighters to pull back. Eight jihadists were killed, he added. Russia aircraft also carried out strikes in neighbouring Hama province early on Saturday, killing five civilians, the Observatory said. On Friday, Russian strikes killed 10 civilians in Idlib province, the hub of

Moscow 'thinking' of simplifying nationality process for all Ukraine: Putin

Moscow is "thinking" of making it easier for all Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday, after it earlier moved to grant passports in the country's separatist east, causing uproar in Kiev. "We are actually thinking about providing citizenship in a simplified order to all citizens of Ukraine, not only residents of the Lugansk and Donetsk republics," Putin told the press during his visit to Beijing, referring to the unrecognised separatist republics governed by Moscow-backed rebels. This week Putin signed a decree allowing people living in the breakaway regions to receive a Russian passport within three months of applying for one. The conflict between the Ukrainian government and breakaway rebels began after Moscow annexed Kiev's Crimea peninsula in 2014. The war has claimed some 13,000 lives. The latest declaration sparked more condemnation in Kiev. "Russia wants further escalation and chaos in Ukraine and therefore continues to complicate the .

Sudanese protesters demand civilian rule in talks with army

The organisers of the protests that drove Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir from power said they had met Saturday with the ruling military council for talks on forming a transitional government. The protesters had agreed to resume talks with the military on Wednesday, after a temporary break. The announcement to set up a join committee to tackle political disputes was followed by the resignation of three members of the military council, whom the opposition had accused of being too close to al-Bashir. The protesters fear the army, dominated by al-Bashir appointees, will cling to power or select one of its own to succeed him. They also fear Islamists and other factions close to the deposed leader, who is now jailed in the capital, Khartoum, will be granted a role in the transition. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded four months of escalating demonstrations that led the military to remove al-Bashir from power April 11, is demanding a civilian government. They have ..

'TRS has come a long way since 2001 when it was founded'

From being an outfit formed in 2001 to fight for a separate Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti has now become an unquestionable political force, its working president K T Rama Rao said Saturday. "In 2001, it was an organisation, a party that took up a movement for a separate state of Telangana. In 2014, the aim of the movement was achieved and Telangana was formed," he said while speaking at the 18th founding day celebrations of the TRS at the party headquarters here. Later, the TRS emerged as a full-fledged political party and was now an unquestionable political force, said Rao, son of party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Speaking on the occasion, the TRS president said it had a few thousand supporters in 2001, but its membership now ran into lakhs. A lot more still needed to be done, he said. Rama Rao recalled that TRS has come a long way under the leadership of Chandrasekhar Rao since 2001 when there were doubts over the formation of ...

Darbar Move: Offices close in Jammu, to reopen in Srinagar on May 6

As part of the bi-annual 'Darbar Move' under which the Jammu and Kashmir government functions six months each in Jammu and Srinagar, all move offices, including the Raj Bhavan, closed here Saturday and will reopen in the summer capital on May 6. While the civil secretariat the seat of Jammu and Kashmir government along with other offices observing five-day week closed in the winter capital after office hours Friday, those move offices observing six-day week closed here this (Saturday) evening, officials said. They said all the move offices, including the civil secretariat, and the Raj Bhavan would reopen at summer capital Srinagar on May 6. The 'darbar move' was started by the then Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape the extreme heat during summers in Jammu and biting cold of winters in Srinagar. The practice was continued by elected governments post-independence to provide governance benefits -- by turns-- to both Kashmir and Jammu regions of the state for six months each. The ..

Amit Shah slams meek reponse to terror from Pakistan during

BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed meek response to terror from across the border during Congress-led UPA time, and remorsefully recalled beheading of soldier Hemraj over which the then prime minister Manmohan Singh did not say even "ohh!" But, now every bullet (fired from across the border) is responded with a bomb, he said. "Under former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistans alia, malia and balia (referring to terrorists) used to come and take away heads of jawans after killing them. Even today I cant forget that incident of Hemrajs beheading and his disrespect. But mouni baba Manmohan Singh did not say even "ohh!", Shah said addressing a rally at Daltanganj in Jharkhand. On January 8, 2013 Lance Naik Hemraj was beheaded by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) along the Indo-Pak border trigerring outrage in the country. But now, he said, "goli ka jawab gola se (bullet is responded with bomb) and 'ett ke jawab pathar se' (bricks for stones) is being ...

SP, BSP, Cong working on 'agenda to save terrorists': Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress of working on the "agenda to save terrorists". "On one hand, we (BJP) are working on development schemes, while the SP, BSP, Congress and others are working on the agenda of saving terrorists," Adityanath said at rallies in Shahjahanpur and Bahraich districts. "When Modi ji speaks on terrorism, it is the Pakistani prime minister who sweats," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader claimed. Adityanath alleged that "misgovernance" during the previous UPA rule led to increase in naxalism and terrorism, adding that they are at their "lowest" under the BJP government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The chief minister asked the crowd if they would vote for those who "hampered" the growth of the state and "forced" the youth to migrate. "Firstly, our government waived off loans of farmers. The other thing that we did was to close down illegal slaughter houses. And the ...

Maha CM slams NCP, MNS at Nashik rally

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis Saturday launched a stinging attack on the NCP as well as MNS chief Raj Thackeray on the last day of campaigning for the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. Addressing a rally for Sena candidate and sitting MP Hemant Godse, the chief minister fired barbs at his poll opponent Sameer Bhujbal and latter's uncle Chhagan Bhujbal, both of the NCP. The Sena and the BJP are contesting the elections in alliance. "Bhujbal and his nephew didn't go to jail for their role in a freedom struggle or due to any agitation for the people of Nashik. The fact is that they were jailed in money laundering cases," the CM said while referring to charges against the uncle-nephew duo, who are out on bail. Stating that the Bhujbal senior is making "mimicry" on stage during canvassing, Fadnavis said he has not seen a "natsamrat" like the NCP leader. "Natsamrat" is a legendary Marathi play. Playing the role of its protagonist is ...

Cong lashes out at Shah for "Ilu-Ilu" comment

The Congress on Saturday condemned BJP president Amit Shah's "Rahul Baba, you do Ili-Ilu with terrorists" comment, saying it was the BJP government which had freed and taken terrorists to Kandahar in a plane in 1999. During an election rally in Jalore on Friday, Shah said his party's policy is to reply with a bombshell if Pakistan fires a bullet, while the Congress just plays "Ilu-Ilu" with terrorists. Ilu is an abbreviation for 'I love you' in a popular Bollywood song. "Who had released terrorists and taken them to Kandahar in a plane?" Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande asked in response to Shah's comment. "There is no single instance where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah or any top leader or their family members even got their finger cut in the fight against terrorism but in Congress there are examples of former PMs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and others," he told PTI. Three most-wanted terrorists were released in return for the ...

Goa: Malfunctioning EVM recorded votes for Cong, not BJP, says

Goa poll authorities have refuted media reports that all votes went to the BJP, irrespective of the button pressed, on an EVM which malfunctioned at a polling station in the South Goa Lok Sabha seat. In a press statement released on Friday, Goa Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said such reports were "false, misleading and factually incorrect". "It is clarified that the allegation of 17 votes being cast for BJP candidate during the first mock-poll with the defective machine is completely false, misleading and factually incorrect. In fact, during the said mock-poll, 17 votes were recorded in favour of the Indian National Congress' Cosme Francisco Caitano Sardinha," Kunal's statement informed. He said the EVM and the VVPAT machine were replaced immediately and polling was conducted using new equipment from a reserve pool. "Political parties, candidates and general public are informed that during the mock poll, the EVM was found to be malfunctioning, due to which it was ...

Nitish campaigns for Giriraj Singh on last day too

For the third time within a week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday campaigned for BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is contesting from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat against former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

MP: Campaign for 6 LS seats, Chhindwara Assembly bypoll ends

The campaign for six Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh and by-election to Chhindwara assembly constituency where Chief Minister Kamal Nath is in the fray ended Saturday evening. Lok Sabha constituencies of Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara will go the polls on April 29 in the first phase of general elections in the state. In all these seats, a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP is expected. Kamal Nath's son Nakul is the Congress candidate from Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat. State BJP president Rakesh Singh and former Union minister and BJP's tribal face Faggan Singh Kulaste are contesting from Jabalpur and Mandla, respectively. In 2014, riding on 'Modi wave', the BJP won five of these six seats but couldn't win Chhindwara, Nath's bastion. After taking over as chief minister after Congress' victory in November 2018 assembly polls, Nath needs to get elected to the state legislature within six months. Congress MLA Deepak Saxena quit to make a ..

Inside Krishnanagar, the land of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that resonates with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'

The ruling Trinamool Congress is up for a stringent fight in Nadia's Krishnanagar amid a Hindutva upsurge and with national issues taking centre-stage over the local woes. The BJP is targeting Krishnanagar, the land of 15th century Bengali saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and home to the globally-known ISCKON, banking on its vote share of last Lok Sabha polls and the inroads it made during the rural polls of 2018. It is also one of the few seats in the state that the party has ever won. During the national elections of 1999, BJP's Satyabrata Mookherjee had bagged the seat in alliance with then newly-born Trinamool Congress. He had then become a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and also headed the party in the state. This time the party has fielded former Indian football team captain Kalyan Chaubey, who is looking to wrest the seat from Trinamool Congress, which has held this constituency for the last decade in a region -- south Bengal -- considered a stronghold of Chief ...

Cong: Focusing on all seats, not just Jodhpur, from where CM Gohlet's son is contesting

Rejecting BJP's claim that the Congress has put its entire effort to ensure victory on the Jodhpur seat, from where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav is contesting, the party said all 25 constituencies are equally important for it and its leaders are campaigning across the state to win maximum number of seats. AICC general-secretary and Rajasthan affairs in-charge Avinash Pande said the party has been putting equal focus on all seats, but Jodhpur has become the most-talked about because a CM's son is contesting against a "close confidant" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Union Minister of State and BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is contesting as a BJP candidate from the Jodhpur seat, among 13 going to poll on April 29. "All the 25 seats are equally important for us. Due to the presence of leaders, it is assessed that Jodhpur is a difficult seat. But for me and for the party, all other seats are equally important. Our senior leaders, MLAs, ...

Campaign ends for 4th phase polling in Odisha

Curtains were drawn on the high decibel campaign on Saturday evening for six Lok Sabha and 41 assembly seats of Odisha where polling will be held in the fourth phase on April 29. Electioneering had reached a feverish pitch for this phase as a galaxy of leaders from parties such as the BJP, the Congress and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) undertook tours of the constituencies, mostly in coastal Odisha. Polling in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats and 41 assembly segments coming under these six constituencies will be held on Monday. This will be the final phase of polling in Odisha, except for Patkura assembly seat where voting is slated to be held on May 19 following the death of the BJD candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah crisscrossed the poll-bound segments campaigning for BJP candidates. Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and others also hit the campaign trail for the ...

BJD leaders embezzled Central funds: Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Saturday accused the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders of looting the Central funds in Odisha.

Mob burns J&K Governor's effigy in Kishtwar

An angry mob in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar town on Saturday attacked the office of the district magistrate and burnt the effigy of Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Campaigning ends for 3 LS seats in Jharkhand

Campaigning for the polling in Jharkhand's three Lok Sabha constituencies to be held on April 29 ended on Saturday afternoon. Monday's voting will be the first phase in the BJP-ruled state and the fourth in the country. Addressing poll rallies in Jharkhand this week, a host of top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah appealed to the people to re-elect the NDA to take forward the developmental works and protect the country's security. No prominent national level leaders of opposition parties campaigned in the three seats - Lohardaga (ST), Chatra and Palamu (SC) - in the run up to the elections, campaigning for which ended at 4 PM. Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jiten Ram Manjhi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren of the JMM addressed election meetings in the seats held by the BJP. Altogether 45,26,693 voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase while the number of ...