Page 863 - Politics
Indonesian President Widodo 'leading poll race' (3rd Lead)
Indonesia's current President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo looks to be on course for re-election after the country went to the polls on Wednesday, according to unofficial results.
Have birthday on May 12, be brand ambassador in Haryana
In Haryana 20,428 voters have the opportunity to be voting brand ambassadors on May 12 -- when polling will take place in the state for 10 Lok Sabha seats -- as their birthday falls on the state's polling day.
I-T raids intensified in Andhra after poll announcement
There have been a handful of Income Tax (I-T) raids on some TDP leaders since the announcement of Lok Sabha elections on March 10.
Sitharaman and her Portuguese counterpart hold bilateral talks
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday met her Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho and held talks to strengthen bilateral cooperation, officials said. Cravinho also paid homage to the martyrs at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, they said. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen defence ties between the two countries.
Gehlot's remarks against President Kovind shows Congress's anti-Dalit mindset, should apologise: BJP
The BJP slammed Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday for suggesting that Ram Nath Kovind became president because he was a Dalit, saying it showed the "anti-Dalit" mindset of Congress and demanded an apology from him. The party urged the Election Commission to take suo-moto cognisance of the statement and take action against Gehlot. "It is very unfortunate that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a senior Congress leader who himself is on a constitutional post, made a casteist remark against the president, the custodian of the Constitution," BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao told reporters here. Rao said Gehlot criticised the president saying he was appointed to the highest office "only because of his social identity being a member from the Dalit community". At a press conference in Jaipur, Gehlot suggested the BJP-led NDA picked Kovind over L K Advani as its presidential nominee because of his caste. He also linked Kovind's appointment to Gujarat polls. Under flak, ..
Regional parties to play big role in next govt formation at Centre: Abhay Chautala
Senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala Wednesday claimed no party would get a majority in the Lok Sabha polls and regional parties will play a big role in the formation of next government at the Centre. The regional parties will play a big role because no one is going to get a majority on its own. When no one gets a majority, any party, even with one MP, will have a say in whichever government will be formed, 55-year-old Chautala told PTI here after announcement of his party's six candidates for the Lok Sabha from Haryana. Polling for all the ten Lok Sabha seats from Haryana is to be held on May 12 in the sixth phase of elections. The filing of nominations began on April 16 and will continue till April 23. Asked about the BJP-led NDA's claim of returning to power with an overwhelming majority, Chautala, the younger son of INLD chief and former chief minister O P Chautala, said, "Anybody can make claims. Making claims is one thing, which party does not make claims? Chautala, whose ...
Division of communities the only vision of Congress: Modi
Stepping up his attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said "division" of communities was its only "vision" and accused party chief Rahul Gandhi of labelling OBCs as "thieves". Addressing a poll rally here, Modi also accused the Congress of insulting Saradar Vallabhbhai Patel and said the situation in India would have been different had the latter been the country's first prime minister. Modi also attacked the Congress for labelling the middle class as "selfish" and alleged it brought price rise whenever it was in power. "Division of communities is the only vision of the Congress," Modi told the public meeting. "The Congress' naamdar (dynast) termed the entire backward class as thieves. The insult inflicted on the honest in their (Congress) vendetta against Narendra Modi will not be tolerated," he said. Modi accused the Congress of insulting Patel "at every step to further the cause of the (Nehru-Gandhi) family". The prime minister said Patel spent
In rare gesture, Omar sits in rain during poll rally, draws applause from NC workers
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah Wednesday got off a covered stage and chose to sit in the rain, drawing cheers from party workers who had come to hear him at an election rally in south Kashmir's Shagus area. He was campaigning for Hasnain Masoodi, the NC's candidate for the Ananatnag Lok Sabha seat, which goes to polls in three phases from April 29 to May 6. Abdullah walked walked down from the stage and sat in the 'buffer zone', which was created between the podium and the audience due to security reasons. He sat for around 30 minutes in heavy rain as other NC leaders addressed the rally. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister drew applause from his party workers and supporters for this rare gesture.
On Azhar, China says stand unchanged but settlement in sight (2nd Lead)
Maintaining that its position on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar "remains unchanged", China on Wednesday said it is "having communication with relevant parties" on the issue of listing him as an international terrorist by the UN and that the matter is "moving in the direction of settlement".
Amit Shah promises to end BJD's babu raj in Odisha
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Wednesday said the BJP would end the "babu raj" in Odisha if it came to power in the state.
Vice-Prez urges countries to be united to fight terrorism
:Urging all the countries to be united to fight terror, Vice PresidentVenkaiah Naidu Wednesdaysaid some 'people' were indulging in terrorism to weaken the social fabric of the country and the world. All countriesneedto unitedly fight against the menace of terrorism, he said during theBhagwan Mahaveer Janam Kalyanak Mahotsav, organised here by Jain Seva Sanghon the eve of Mahaveer Jayanthi. "Peopleshouldpropagate and practice peace as it was a prerequisite for progress. Peaceful co-existence is the need of the hour... "We have to either change the way we live or prepare to face the inevitable consequences of our actions," he added. The vice-president also said there was a need to give upreckless exploitation of the abundant resources of nature and exercise restraint in the waypeoplelive. According to him,the life of Bhagwan Mahaveer and the philosophy of Jainism held many crucial lessons for the contemporary worldandsome of the answers to the serious questions ...
Pak PM Imran Khan to visit China for Belt and Road Forum
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit China next week to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum and hold bilateral meetings with the top Chinese leadership, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday. China will hold the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), which provides a platform to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), from April 25 to 27 in Beijing. According to reports, India has planned to boycott the forum for the second time. Pakistan's Foreign Office said Prime Minister Khan will visit China from April 25 to 28 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping who will inaugurate the forum on April 26. This will Khan's second visit to China after becoming the prime minister in August last year. He earlier paid a state visit to China in November. In addition to participating in the forum, Khan would also hold bilateral meetings with President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, the FO said in a statement. Pakistan and China will also sign several memorandum of understandings
PM says he called Pak's nuclear bluff because India is N-power
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said he did not fall prey to Pakistan's nuclear blackmail, because India has the "mother of nuclear bombs". Addressing three poll rallies in his home state, Modi also claimed that the then UPA government arrested BJP president Amit Shah and some police officers in Gujarat to topple the state government then headed by him. At a campaign rally at Surendranagar, Modi referred to the surgical strikes and air strikes by India inside Pakistan in response to terrorist attacks in Uri and Pulwama. "Earlier, terrorists from Pakistan would come here and go back after conducting an attack. Pakistan would threaten us, saying it has the nuclear bomb and will press the button (if India retaliated). "We have nuclear of nuclear bombs (the mother of nuclear bombs). I decided to tell them, do whatever you want to do (but we will retaliate)," the prime minister said. "In the past our people would weep, go around the world saying Pakistan did this, did ..
Censured by Mayawati, Bhim Army chief makes U-turn, says won't fight Modi in Varanasi
Nearly a month after he announced to contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad Wednesday rescinded his decision, saying his outfit will support the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the seat as the Dalit vote should remain intact to defeat the BJP. Azad's remarks come a few days after Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati termed him a BJP agent and accused him of dividing Dalit votes. "I have decided not to contest from Varanasi because I do not want that my decision should strengthen the BJP or Modi in anyway. We all want to defeat the BJP," he said at a press conference. Azad also said the Bhim Army will support the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the Varanasi seat and asked it to field Satish Chandra Mishra, Mayawati's general secretary and Brahmin face of the BSP, from the constituency. He said that if the SP-BSP-RLD alliance fielded Mishra, they will also be able to get some upper caste votes. Earlier, the Bhim Army chief had accused Mishra of ...
Amit Shah to address rally in Rajasthan's Jalore on Apr 26
BJP president Amit Shah will address a public rally in Rajasthan's Jalore Lok Sabha constituency on April 26 in support of party candidate Devji Patel, a saffron party leader said. Shah will also attend a roadshow in Jodhpur for BJP candidate and Union minister Gajendra Singh, who is also the sitting MP from that constituency, he said. "Shah will be addressing a public rally in Ramsin area of Jalore on April 26. Thereafter, he will participate in a roadshow in Jodhpur," Rajasthan BJP leader Onkar Singh Lakhawat said. He said Union minister Rajnath Singh will also address public rallies in Kolayat (Bikaner), Deoli (Tonk) and Shahjahanbad (Alwar) in support of the party candidates on respective seats on April 22. Rajasthan, which has a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in the fourth and fifth phase of the elections on April 29 and and May 6, respectively.
TN Campaign over; focus now on polling day Thursday
Political slugfest and acrimony between the ruling AIADMK led coalition and the DMK headed alliance over the IT raids marked the campaigning for Tamil Nadu that goes to the polls Thursday. A good number out of the 5.98 crore voters are expected to brave the scorching summer heat for exercising their franchise to decide the fate of about 800 MP aspirants. Of the entire electorate, over 12 lakh first-time voters and more than four lakh persons with disabilities have registered for the polls, a number which Chief Electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo said had not been seen in previous elections. "We have not seen such high numbers in previous elections. All these indicate how much people are interested to vote," he said. In the run up to the polls, election authorities seized over Rs 129 crore cash, gold and other precious metals with a total value of over Rs 284 crore from all over the state. In an unsavoury incident, a poll flying squad was Tuesday prevented from entering an
Security tightened around polling stations in J-K's Srinagar seat
A thick security blanket has been thrown around polling stations in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency of Jammu and Kashmir where voting will be held Thursday to decide the fate of 10 candidates, including National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. "Adequate security arrangements have been put in place to secure the polling stations and to instill a sense of confidence among voters for ensuring free, fair, transparent and smooth conduct of elections in the constituency," an election official said. Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in strength in and around polling stations in all three districts -- Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal -- of the constituency, the official said. He said the polling staff and electronic voting machines have also been deployed. As many as 12,90,318 voters are eligible to cast their votes as authorities have set up 1,716 polling stations in the constituency. For migrant voters of the constituency, 26 polling stations have been set up with 21 .
Chandrababu Naidu takes exception to IT raids on oppn parties
: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu Wednesday took exception to I-T raids on opposition parties in various states while sparing the BJP in the ongoing general elections. At a press conference here, he pointed to the raids on DMK leader Kanimozhi in Tuttukudi and JD(S) leader Revanna in Mandya in the last couple of days. "They raided Kanimozhi's house and office. In Mandya, they targeted the JD(S) leaders. Not one premises of BJP leaders anywhere was searched. What do you call this?" Chandrababu Naidu asked. While the helicopters of Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy were searched when they went for election campaigning, the BJP Chief Ministers' choppers were spared, he said. The Prime Minister's helicopter was also not searched anywhere, Naidu said. "They are deliberately doing all this. They (Central government) are troubling Navin Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee in particular," ...
Mamata backs Kanimozhi, accuses Modi of harassing opposition
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday stood by DMK leader K. Kanimozhi whose residence was searched by the Income Tax officials a day ago and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "harassing" all the opposition leaders.
'M-J' factor in Aligarh keeps parties on tenterhooks
Muslims and Jats, who together constitute 70 per cent of the electorate in Aligarh constituency, are going to be a key factor in the Lok Sabha elections here where voting will take place on Thursday.