Page 782 - Politics
Mumbai: Police personnel suspended for participating in poll campaigning
The election commission has suspended a police personnel for taking part in a poll campaign.As per the orders of Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Dileep Shinde, the police official named Narsingh Yadav deployed in the armed division of Mumbai Police has been suspended for taking part in the election campaign of Congress candidate Sanjay Nirupam on Sunday.A case in this regard was also registered at Amboli Police station on Monday afternoon.In Maharashtra, voting for 14 Lok Sabha seats was done in the third phase of polling on Tuesday.BJP is contesting in the state in alliance with Shiv Sena, while they face a tough battle from Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP.Among the Lok Sabha constituencies which went for polls today are Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Madha, Sangli, Raigad, Pune, Baramati, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle.Polling for 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on April 29..
Senior BJP, NDA and NEDA leaders to accompany PM Modi to file nomination from Varanasi
Almost all prominent leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) will accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he files nomination from Varanasi on April 26.Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as ally party leaders like JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar, Shiromani Akali Dal patron and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as well as many prominent leaders of NEDA will reach the temple city to mark the occasion."All senior BJP leaders including all members of party's parliamentary board will be present with PM Modi in Varanasi on April 26," BJP president Amit Shah said at a press conference here on Tuesday evening. "All senior leaders of the NDA including Prakash Badal, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, AIADMK leaders, Uddhav Thackeray, NEDA leaders will be also present."Modi will file his nomination in Varanasi at around ..
Rajnath will win in Lucknow, Poonam Sinha like my sister-in-law: Uma Bharti
Union Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday exuded confidence in Union Minister Rajnath Singh's victory in Lucknow parliamentary constituency while asserting that his rival candidate Poonam Sinha is like her sister-in-law."Shatrughan Sinha is like my brother and it is his wife who is contesting the elections. However, in Lucknow Rajnath Singh will win with a big margin. This is a BJP seat and with home minister contesting from here, the strength has doubled," Bharti told ANI.Speaking about the candidature of Pragya Thakur from Bhopal constituency, she said, "Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded one candidate. She is educated, has been a student leader. Being an ascetic is her personal life."Bharti also claimed that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will have no impact in the polls. "The alliance has failed in past as well. This is a principle-less alliance and it has no strength. These alliances are only to stop Prime Minister Modi. Previously the alliances were forged for bigger reasons but not ...
439 nominations received from 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi
As many as 439 nominations were received from seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, as per the details shared by the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) here on Tuesday, the last day of filing the nomination.The seven parliamentary constituencies in the national capital are Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North West Delhi, West Delhi, and South Delhi.DCE said in a statement that 229 nominations were received from 164 candidates on Tuesday, with cumulative nominations pegged at 439 from 349 candidates from seven parliamentary constituencies.The highest number of nominations was received from North East Delhi (74) while only 39 nominations were filed in North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat.The three major political parties -- Aam Aadmi Party, BJP and Congress -- have declared their candidates for the seven seats.The date of scrutiny of nominations is April 24, while the last date for withdrawing nomination is April 26.Earlier in the day, three heavyweights including
AAP submits list of star campaigners for Haryana to EC
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday submitted before the Election Commission (EC) its list of star campaigners for Haryana in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.The list consists of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai, along with 17 others.Other prominent names include party's Haryana unit chief Navin Jaihind, Punjab unit chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann, and Dr Sushil Gupta.AAP is contesting parliamentary elections in alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party in Haryana. The party is fighting on three sets as per the poll pact.The state has 10 Lok Sabha seats which will to polls in the sixth phase on May 12. Counting of votes is slated to take place on May 23.
BJP felicitates Amit Mali, the youth who outwitted Digvijaya Singh
The BJP on Tuesday felicitated Amit Mali, the youth from Madhya Pradesh who readily answered Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh in the accounts of citizens.Speaking to ANI after being felicitated, Mali said, "He (Digvijaya Singh) had asked who all got Rs 15 lakh in their accounts, so I raised my hand. I went to the stage and told him about the surgical strikes, he made me step down from the stage. Nobody misbehaved with me afterward."Digvijaya, while addressing Congress supporters yesterday, had asked if they got Rs. 15 lakh from Narendra Modi as promised. He pointed to Mali when he raised his hand and asked him to come up on the dais to speak about whether he had received the money.The youth walked up, took the microphone and said, "PM Modi did surgical strikes and killed terrorists."Singh will contest against BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from Bhopal parliamentary constituency in the ongoing ...
AAP names 20 star campaigners for Haryana
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday released a list of 20 star campaigners for Haryana, with party Chief Arvind Kejriwal topping the list.
62.77 pc turnout in bypolls to four assembly seats in Gujarat
An average 62.77 per cent voter turnout was registered Tuesday in bypolls to four assembly constituencies in Gujarat held along with the Lok Sabha elections, officials said. The four constituencies where bypolls were held were Unjha, Dhrangadhra, Jamnagar (Rural) and Manavadar. These seats had fallen vacant following the resignation of their sitting MLAs, all from the Congress who later joined the BJP. Unjha recorded 65 per cent voting, Dhrangadhra 60.86 per cent, Jamnagar (Rural) 62.87 and Manavadar 62.87 per cent. A total of 45 candidates are in the fray on these seats. Three of the four sitting MLAs, who had resigned to join the BJP, have been fielded by the ruling party from their respective seats. These candidates are Jawahar Chavda (Manavadar), Asha Patel (Unjha) and Parsotam Sabariya (Dhrangadhra). The BJP has fielded another former Congressman and ex- MLA Raghavji Patel from Jamnagar (Rural). Raghavji Patel had joined the BJP two years ago after voting against ...
Would've been nation's enemies had BJP-Sena continued to
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Tuesday said the BJP and Shiv Sena would have been enemies of nation had both parties continued to fight and not come together. Addressing a rally in Thane district for Sena Lok Sabha candidate Rajan Vichare, Thackeray said the present government had strengthened the jawans at the borders and asked why the opposition was questioning the surgical and air strikes. "Had we (BJP-Sena) kept fighting, we would have become enemies of our own nation. (Former Prime Minister) Atal ji (Vajpayee) used to say elections come and go, however the country should remain," Thackeray said. He further said the NDA has announced Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate and that the BJP and Sena came together for the country and its people. "This is the difference between us coming together and them," he said. "Surgical strikes, air strikes were carried out (in Pakistan). However the opposition is questioning them. We cannot repay the debts of our ...
IAF blew terrorists into pieces on Modi's order: Shah
Acting on the instruction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Air Force (IAF) blew terrorists in Pakistan into pieces on "Terahvin" (13th day) of the Indian troopers dying in terror attack in Pulwama, said BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday.
BJP bets on retaining its hold in Karnataka
The Bharatiya Janata Party is betting on retaining its hold in Karnataka in the 2019 general election despite facing the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) jointly in all the 28 Lok Sabha seats.
'Chowkidar' chants at road shows of Gambhir, Bidhuri; Vijender rides open-top jeep
BJP candidates Gautam Gambhir and Ramesh Bidhuri held colourful roadshows on Tuesday amid pro-Modi chants, while former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and ace boxer Vijender Singh filed nominations here surrounded by a large group of Congress supporters. Cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir, who has been fielded from East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, generated curiosity as people peeped out of the balconies of their homes, while many lined up Vikas Marg as he set on a roadshow from Karkardooma to file his nomination papers at the area's District Magistrate office at Shastri Nagar. The roadshow passed from Karkardooma, Preet Vihar, Nirman Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Geeta Colony after covering around 5 km. During the roadshow that took around three hours to reach the office of returning officer, BJP workers and locals greeted Gambhir with garlands and showered flower petals on the open mini-truck he was riding. Gambhir was accompanied by other party leaders including Vijay Goel, Manoj Tiwari, ...
Kushner: Mideast plan to come after Ramadan, seek Palestinian investment
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said Tuesday he would present his long-awaited Middle East peace proposal around June and that it would include a "robust business plan" for the Palestinians. Kushner, speaking at a forum of Time magazine, said he had hoped to offer the proposal late last year but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then called elections and still needs time to form a coalition. "Once that's done we'll probably be in the middle of Ramadan, so we'll wait until after Ramadan and then we'll put our plan out," said Kushner, a senior advisor to Trump, referring to the Muslim fasting month which ends in early June. Kushner's impending plan has already been met with deep skepticism from the Palestinians, who say Trump cannot be an honest broker after he took the landmark step of recognizing bitterly disputed Jerusalem as Israel's capital. But Kushner, whose own role has been questioned due to his longstanding family ties with Netanyahu, said he .
Major dip in voter turnout in J&K's Anantnag seat as compared to 2014 LS polls
The voter turnout in south Kashmir's Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, where elections are being held in three phases, Tuesday recorded a massive dip as compared to the 2014 general election. The six assembly segments which went to poll in phase one on Tuesday recorded a turnout of 12.86 per cent. It was 39.37 per cent in 2014 in the corresponding segments, senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha told reporters here. While polling concluded in Anantnag district, voting in Kulgam district will be held on April 29. Pulwama and Shopian districts will go to polls on May 6. The Election Commission has curtailed the polling duration for the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency by two hours following a request from the state police to this effect. The voting will be held in south Kashmir areas from 7 am to 4 pm. The Anantnag district has 5,29,256 electors, including 2,69,603 males, 2,57,540 females, 2,102 service electors and 11 transgender voters. The EC has established 1,842 polling stations to .
It's three-corner contest in all Delhi seats; fight between political greenhorns, bigwigs
Delhi will witness a pitched three-corner contest in the Lok sabha polls between the BJP, the AAP and the Congress with several heavyweights including former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, ex-cricketer Gautam Gambhir and Vijender Singh in the fray. While the BJP is seeking to repeat its 2014 performance of winning all the seven seats, the AAP is looking to open its account in the Lok Sabha polls from the national capital. In 2014, it drew a blank in Delhi, but won four seats in Punjab. The Congress, on the other hand, is seeking resurrection after its decimation in the 2015 Assembly polls. In the 2013 Assembly polls, the AAP bagged 29.49 per cent of votes, while the BJP got 33.07 per cent votes. The Congress was relegated to the third position with 24.55 per cent of vote share. In the 2014 Modi-wave, the BJP bagged seven seats with over 46 per cent of vote share while the AAP got 32 per cent. The Congress share declined to 15 per cent. The Congress vote share further declined in the ..
AAP to release manifesto on Thursday
The Aam Aadmi Party will release its 2019 Lok Sabha polls manifesto on Thursday, with full statehood to Delhi being its central theme.
China protests to US on sanctions threat over import of Iranian oil
China, the largest importer of crude oil from Iran, on Tuesday lodged a diplomatic protest with the US opposing Washington's move to impose unilateral sanctions to countries importing Iranian oil. US President Donald Trump on Monday decided not to grant sanctions exemptions to any oil customers of Iran in a mover to further squeeze Tehran's top export commodity. According to reports, China last year imported around 29.3 million tons or about 585,400 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran. "China firmly opposes the unilateral sanctions and so-called 'long-arm jurisdictions' imposed by the US. The normal energy cooperation under the international law between Iran and other members of the international community, China included, is legitimate and lawful; thus it must be respected and protected," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. "We urge the US to earnestly respect China's interests and concerns, and refrain from taking wrong moves that will undermine our interests. We will ..
Lok Sabha voting mostly concluded in south India
With voting completed for third phase of Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, all southern states have voted to elect their representatives - save one - to the lower house of Parliament.
Voters, polling staff blocked by BJP in Tripura: CPI-M, Congress
Opposition CPI-M and Congress on Tuesday alleged that thousands of voters were prevented from casting their votes and a large number of polling agents belonging to the two parties were not allowed to enter or sit inside the polling stations by the ruling BJP and its goons.
Inquiry ordered as Cong accuses PM of violation of poll code
An inquiry was ordered Tuesday after the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi violated the model code of conduct by holding a "road show" and making political remarks after casting his vote. Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishna told PTI that the Ahmedabad district election officer has been asked to conduct an inquiry. Modi travelled in an open jeep to a polling centre in the Ranip area of Ahmedabad Tuesday morning to cast his vote. People lined up on both sides of the road as the jeep passed. After casting the vote, Modi walked some distance away from the polling centre and spoke to the media. Later in the day, the Congress moved the Election Commission (EC), alleging that Modi took out a "road show" after casting his vote and made political remarks in violation of the model code of conduct, and demanded that a campaign ban of 2-3 days be imposed on him for being an "uncaring offender". The opposition party also made a representation to the EC over alleged ..