Page 772 - Politics
TMC has secret tie up with BJP : Somen Mitra
West Bengal PCC president Somen Mitra Wednesday hit out at TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee holding her responsible for the spread of BJP in the state. It is because of Trinamool Congress and not due to the weakening of either the Congress or the Left Front parties that the saffron party is gaining ground in the state, he said at a meet-the-press here. Banerjee, the Congress leader said, has not announced whether TMC will lend support if there is a coaliation headed by the BJP at the Centre after the polls. Asked to comment on the possibility of BJP getting the second highest number of seats after TMC in Bengal, Mitra said "It is due to Mamata's party that BJP is rising in Bengal." To another question whether Congress would seek Banerjee's support if it gets the chance to form the government after the poll results, Mitra said it would depend upon the decision of the party's central leadership. Asked about Congress's performance in the state, ...
NPF moves to disqualify seven rebel Nagaland MLAs
Nagaland's opposition Naga People's Front (NPF) on Wednesday filed disqualification petition before Assembly Speaker Vikho-o Yhoshu against seven of its legislators for defying the party's collective decision to support the Congress in the April 11 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP to rebut Raj's allegations on last day of campaigning
To counter MNS chief Raj Thackeray's campaign against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the saffron party would be rebutting his allegations on April 27, it said Wednesday. Thackeray, whose own party is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, is appealing people not to vote for the Shiv Sena-BJP combine through his rallies. His effective mix of oratory and audio-visual presentation to contradict the Modi government's claims have put the BJP on defensive in the state. State minister and BJP leader Vinod Tawde said the party will come out with its own videos to expose Thackeray. "There will be a special programme on April 27, the last day of campaigning (in Maharashtra) where we will expose Raj Thackeray. His party is not even contesting elections but they have managed to organise several rallies targeting the BJP alone. We must expose it," Tawde said. Thackeray has so far addressed seven rallies across Maharashtra, hitting out at the BJP-led government using ...
LS polls in Delhi: Nominations of 173 candidates found valid
Nominations of 173 candidates have been found valid for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, poll authorities said Wednesday. As many as 349 candidates had filed nominations from April 16 till Tuesday, the last date to file the papers. Prominent candidates from the Congress, BJP and AAP, whose nominations were accepted, include Union minister Harsh Vardhan, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh, sufi singer Hans Raj Hans, and Atishi. "As many as 173 nominations were found valid after scrutiny," a senior official at the Delhi CEO office said. Many candidates had filed multiple nominations and also put covering candidates, and 173 now is the final figure for nominations filed by as many candidates, belonging to a party or done as independents. "Once a party's main candidate's nomination is accepted, the nominations of covering candidates are automatically rejected," another poll official said. The Lok ...
Entire JeM leadership wiped out in J&K: Corps Commander
Security forces have eliminated the entire leadership of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir and nobody is now ready to lead the terror outfit which was responsible for the Pulwama terror attack, a top Army Commander said here on Wednesday.
Vijender punches AAP, BJP, terms Rahul 'right choice'
Congress Lok Sabha poll candidate and ace boxer Vijender Singh Wednesday hit out at the AAP government in the city and the BJP-led Centre, alleging they failed to deliver on their promises, as he termed his party chief Rahul Gandhi the "right choice". As he hit the campaign trail here, the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat candidate inspected a Mohalla Clinic in Lado Sarai area of the constituency. The facility was closed. "We can see the Mohalla Clinic is closed and nobody can take medicines. You can also see the condition of Swachh Bharat Mission here," he says in a video from his inspection visit. During a Facebook live from the Indian Youth Congress office, when he was asked by a participant as to why he chose Gandhi over Modi, Singh replied the Congress president has vision and thought. "You should meet him and then you will realise his qualities. Many things are said about him on social media which are not true. He has vision and thoughts which are good for us. He is the right choice,"
LS polls: Olympians, monks, royals in fray in Rajasthan
An interesting mix of candidates, including Olympians, monks, members of erstwhile royal families and sons of former and present chief ministers, is in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, which goes to polls in two phases on April 29 and May 6. Some of them are pitted against each other. Jaipur rural seat will witness a straight contest between former Olympians Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the BJP's sitting MP, and Krishna Poonia of the Congress. Rathore, also the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, won a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics in shooting. Poonia, a discus thrower, has participated thrice in the international sporting event. According to political commentators, caste matrix plays an important role in elections in Rajasthan. Rathore and Poonia hail from Rajput and Jat communities, respectively, both of which have a sizeable population in the constituency. Two monks, Sumedhanand Saraswati and Baba Balaknath, will be trying their luck from Sikar .
Hapur bookies see Modi returning, but with fewer seats
The Modi magic may be waning, but it will still bring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) back to power. If the predictions of the Hapur "satta bazaar" is anything to go by, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the next government at the Centre.
BJP, RJD battle it out to wrest Darbhanga LS seat
The seat of Mithilanchal, visually represented by once majestic but today decaying fort of Darbhanga Maharaj, in Bihar is witnessing an interesting poll battle as most key political parties have replaced their known leaders with new faces.
BJP wants 'deaf and dumb' dalit leaders: Udit Raj
Northwest Delhi MP Udit Raj, who quit the BJP to join the Congress on Wednesday after being denied ticket, said staying "deaf and dumb" in his former party has its benefits and went on to add that had he "stayed quiet", he could have been made the prime minister in future. Addressing a press conference, Raj said the BJP had not even considered Ram Nath Kovind "good enough for giving him a ticket when he wanted it" and suggested that he was rewarded with the President's post because he stayed quiet. He claimed that on May 20, 2014, Kovind came to him and said "'mera bhi kuch karayiye' (get something done for me)". Raj said Vivek Sonkar of the BJP's SC/ST morcha is a witness to this. Kovind was elected as President in 2017 after being nominated as NDA candidate. Raj claimed that the BJP did not give him a ticket as he had spoken out in support of the Dalits who were protesting against the alleged dilution of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. "They ..
BJP contesting on 437 seats, highest ever in its history
The BJP has fielded 437 candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of seats the party has contested so far and perhaps for the first time more than its principal rival Congress. The BJP had contested 427 seats in 2014 and won 282 of them, while the Congress had fielded candidates in 450 seats and bagged just 44. Political observers say the BJP contesting on more seats than the Congress as a result of its expansion across the country post 2014. The party also lost its ally in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where the party is contesting on all seats. Similarly, the Congress is contesting on less number of seats than the BJP this time because it has allied with more parties as compared to 2014. In Karnataka, where the party had contested on all seats in 2014, is now in alliance in with the JD(S). The party has expanded its alliance in Bihar with the entry of new partners.
After completion of third round, major pol parties claim
With completion of polling on 15 Lok Sabha seats and 105 assembly segments after the third phase, all the three major political parties of Odisha--BJD, BJP and Congress--Wednesday claimed performing better than the rivals. While BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has claimed that his party has already got majority to form government in the state by the end of third phase of polling, opposition Congress too made similar assertions. Goining a step ahead, Patnaik also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the BJD government's swearing in ceremony as a guest after declartion of results on May 23. BJD spokesman Sasmit Patra claimed that the regional party which has 118 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly and 20 of 21 MPs, will perform better than the 2014 results. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra is optimistic about his party candidates success in 2019 polls. "Our OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik has already said that ...
Easter Sunday tragedy consequence of a "weak" Lankan government: Fonseka
The Easter Sunday tragedy is a consequence of a "weak" government, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament on Wednesday as he faulted President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, defence officials for the country's worst terror attacks. Speaking during the emergency debate in the House, the former army chief said people will not be able to get on with their day to day lives if the government goes on in the way it is doing things today. He then faulted President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and defence officials for the attacks last Sunday that has killed 359 people and injured nearly 500 others. "The whole government including the Cabinet becomes weak if the President is weak," the 68-year-old Field Marshal said. "The intelligence reports which are sent to defence ministry clearly goes to President Sirisena as he is the Minister of Defence," he said referring to the statement made by Sirisena who said he was also not aware of the intelligence ..
Dimple Yadav takes out another road show in Kannauj
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav, who is contesting again from the constituency, on Wednesday held a massive road show in the town.
EC official evaluates first phase of Tripura polls
The Election Commission's Special Observer for Tripura Vinod Zutshi, former Deputy Election Commissioner, on Wednesday studied various reports, documents, video and webcasting footages of the poll process in Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency.
Modi assails rival PM aspirants, says all decked up in
Narendra Modi Wednesday took a swipe at his rivals over their prime ministerial ambitions, quipping they were all decked up in "Ghunghroo", the ringing bells worn by dancers on ankles, before occupying the hot seat. The prime minister also took a veiled dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying people looking at a mirror 10 times a day and aspiring to become PM cannot even win assembly constituencies in their Lok Sabha seat. In an apparent jibe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been claiming that she and her Trinamool Congress will play a crucial role in government formation after the general elections, Modi said even leaders whose parties are contesting 20-25 seats, want to become the prime minister. "Sab ghungroo bandhke taiyar ho gaye (everybody is decked up to take the hot seat)," Modi mocked them while addressing an election rally in West Bengal's Kamarpara. At another public meeting in Lohardaga in neighbouring Jharkhand, the prime ...
Rahul Gandhi 'misusing' Supreme Court for political propaganda: HP CM
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur Wednesday accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of "misusing" Supreme Court's observations on Rafale judgement for "political propaganda". Thakur was reacting to the apex court's rejection of Gandhi's plea to close the criminal contempt petition filed against him for his "chowkidar chor hai" remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to the Rafale judgment, which the apex court said was "incorrectly attributed" to it. The Supreme Court Tuesday issued criminal contempt notice to Gandhi on the petition filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, which will come up for the next hearing on April 30. In a press release issued here, Thakur said, "It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court is being misused for political propaganda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is being seen for the first time in the history of the country." The confidence of the people of the country on the Supreme Court is still unwavering "but Congress and Rahul
Rahul promises statutory status to NSC, NSA
The Congress will provide statutory status to the National Security Council and the office of the National Security Adviser if the party is voted to power, party President Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.
No nationalist party like Congress: Hardik Patel
Hardik Patel Wednesday termed Congress the biggest nationalist party in the country and said several of its leaders have sacrificed their lives for the nation. Addressing an election meeting here, Patel, who recently joined the Congress, also accused the BJP of trying to "derive mileage" out of the bravado of the country's armed forces, while his party is contesting the elections on issues of education, health and farmers. "There is no nationalist party like the Congress. The soil of the country contains the blood of party leader and workers, who have sacrificed their lives," he said. He also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often refers to himself as a 'chowkidar (watchman)' who guards the country's interests, over the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. "From where did huge cache of explosives came that was used in the Pulwama terror attack? No probe has been done by Prime Minister Modi, who calls himself the country's chowkidar," Patel said. He also ...
Vote for Gambhir now, appeals east Delhi MP Maheish Girri
BJP's outgoing East Delhi MP Maheish Girri, who was denied ticket by the party this time around, appealed to people of his constituency to vote for his replacement, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, and ensure his victory.