Page 870 - Politics
Cong MLA extends support to Shiv Sena candidate in Mumbai
Maharashtra Congress MLA Kalidas Kolambkar on Wednesday expressed disappointment with the party leadership and said he will campaign for Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Shewale, who is contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Mumbai-South Central seat. There has been speculation that Kolambkar, who is six-term legislator from Wadala Assembly seat in Mumbai and a close aide of former chief minister Narayan Rane, may join the BJP. Around a month back, he put up a banner at his office here with a picture of senior BJP leader and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "I am deeply disappointed with the Congress leadership," Kolambkar told reporters here. The MLA said he has not received any communication so far from his party leadership about the Lok Sabha polls. "The Congress candidate (from Mumbai-South Central seat) Eknath Gaikwad also did not call me or send any message. I extend my support to Shewale and will campaign for him," he said. Polling in the Mumbai-South Central Lok Sabha seat
What's in a name: Dilip Kumar, Manager Chaurasiya file nominations in Delhi
Dilip Kumar and Manager Chaurasiya are among the candidates who have filed their nominations for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi. According to the affidavit submitted on Tuesday, Dilip Kumar is the son of one Ram Iqbal and is the resident of Molerband Extension area near Badarpur Border. This 44-year-old namesake of the famed Bollywood actor has thrown his hat in the ring for the South Delhi constituency. Twelve candidates, 10 from "unrecognised parties" and two Independents, submitted their papers on Tuesday, the first day of nomination submission. Kumar has filed his nomination for Sanatan Sanskriti Raksha Dal, while another candidate Sugreev (50), is trying his luck as an Independent from the East Delhi constituency. Sugreev is the name of one of the legendry characters in the epic Ramayana. The nominations also include a quirky name, one Manager Chaurasiya, who will fight North East constituency on a ticket from Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) party. Delhi, which has ...
SP-BSP alliance no threat to BJP: Mahendra Nath
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not see the SP-BJP alliance in the state as a "threat" to it in the Lok Sabha elections as it believes that the works done by the Central government and the persona of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are enough to wipe them out.
Now, Modi targets Pawar in his backyard
Prime Minister Narendra Modi fired a fresh salvo on Wednesday at Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar for raising questions about his family.
Stage set for second phase polls in Odisha
The stage is set for the second phase of polling for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats in Odisha on Thursday.
All set for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in TN
All is set in Tamil Nadu for the crucial 2019 general elections with about 5.8 crore voters to decide on the fate of 822 candidates contesting in 38 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Foxconn boss says to run for Taiwan presidency
The boss of tech giant Foxconn Wednesday announced his intention to run for the presidency of Taiwan on a ticket from the Beijing-friendly opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. "I am willing to join the party's primary. If I win I will represent the KMT in the 2020 elections," Terry Gou said at a KMT meeting in Taipei in comments broadcast live on local TV.
Mahagathbandhan can get 3 of BJP's 8 in UP's II phase
Out of the eight seats going to polls in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) might wrest three from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if voting pattern in the 2014 is any indication.
Indonesia polls close as 'everyman' president battles firebrand ex-general
Across 17,000 islands, from the jungles of Borneo to the slums of Jakarta, millions of Indonesians voted Wednesday as polls drew to a close in one of the world's biggest exercises in democracy. Horses, elephants, motorbikes, boats and planes were pressed into service to get ballot boxes out across the vast archipelago. More than 190 million voters were asked to choose between an incumbent president lauded for his infrastructure projects and a fiery nationalist with links to a brutal dictatorship. The vote officially ended at 1:00 pm (0600 GMT) in Sumatra, although some of the 800,000 polling stations across the volcano-dotted nation remained open late due to delays and long queues. A series of so-called "quick counts" are expected to give a reliable indication of the presidential winner later Wednesday. Official results are not expected until May. Earlier, the call to prayer had rang out as voting began at first light in restive Papua province in the east. Almost 90 percent of the ...
BJP hopes hinge on division of Muslim votes; Cong can play spoiler for 'mahagathbandhan' in Nagina
The dilemma of going with the BSP-SP-RLD grand alliance or the Congress is as palpable among Muslims in Nagina as in other western Uttar Pradesh seats, but they seem determined to solve the jigsaw puzzle to consolidate anti-BJP votes. The BJP's sitting MP from this SC seat in Uttar Pradesh, Yashwant Singh, may have faced some opposition internally when his ticket was announced, but has managed to rally support in this constituency dominated by Muslims and Dalits. However, he would need a division in the votes of Muslims and Dalits to get across the line. The BSP's grand alliance candidate Girish Chandra has the numbers stacked in his favour but politics is not just a numbers game and Congress is pulling out all stops to be the party spoiler for him. The Congress has fielded Omwati Devi, a multiple times MLA, former MP and ex-UP minister, from the constituency and is banking on attracting Muslims and Dalits that had been its traditional support base. Congress general secretary ...
Indonesia goes to polls to elect new President
Millions of Indonesians queued up outside voting booths on Wednesday to elect the next President of the world's third largest democracy as incumbent leader Joko "Jokowi" Widodo faces off against longtime rival and former Army general Prabowo Subianto.
New Zealand abandons plans for capital gains tax
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday abandoned plans for a capital gains tax despite strongly backing it at the last election, leaving New Zealand among a handful of developed countries not to impose such a levy. The surprise decision, which reflected a split in her Labour coalition government, came after a tax working group that Ardern set up after the poll reported back that it supported the concept. Ardern was forced to back down when she could not get consensus in her three-party coalition, with her deputy Prime Minister Winson Peters -- who heads the minority New Zealand First Party -- firmly against it. Backers of the CGT -- a levy on profits from asset sales -- had argued New Zealand needed a fairer tax system with a better distribution of wealth. Opinion polls had shown most New Zealanders opposed a CGT and Peters said there was "neither a compelling rationale nor mandate to institute a comprehensive capital gains tax regime". Frank Scrimgeour, the head of the school of .
LS polls: Cong, BJP spar over 'corruption' in MP
Against the backdrop of Income Tax raids on close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, the opposition BJP says it would make corruption as the main plank of its campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. The ruling Congress in the state also says it will probe all scams that came to light during the previous BJP-led government. The Income-Tax Department last week said it detected a "widespread and well-organised" racket of collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore during raids against close aides of Nath and others. The Congress dubbed the searches as "pre-meditated and politically motivated". Three days after the I-T raids, the state economic offences wing (EOW) registered an FIR into the alleged Rs 3,000 crore e-tendering scam which happened when the state was ruled by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government. The EOW also recently registered a case of fraud and financial irregularities against B K Kuthiala, a former vice-chancellor of the ...
Road to South Block goes from UP, wave in favour of mahagathbandhan': Danish Ali
Asserting that the road to South Block goes through Uttar Pradesh, BSP leader Danish Ali says there is a wave in favour of the BSP-SP-RLD grand alliance in the state and the mahagathbandhan' will play a key role after the Lok Sabha polls. The 'mahagathbandhan' will sweep the polls in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the grand alliance candidate from Amroha said. Ali, a long-time loyalist of Janata Dal (S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, joined the Bahujan Samaj Party just ahead of the polls with the blessings of the former prime minister and his son, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. In an interview to PTI, he said he switched over to the BSP as he wanted to work in his janambhoomi' (land of birth) and karmabhoomi' (land of work). I wanted to serve my people and that is why I took this decision. JD(S) does not have that much of presence here and that is why I took the decision with the consent of all my well wishers including the JD(S) leadership, he said. I took .
Trump vetoes resolution to end US role in Yemen war
US President Donald Trump has vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, describing the congressional measure as an "unnecessary" and "dangerous" attempt to weaken his constitutional powers.
Has BJP got its social engineering right in Rajasthan?
Has the BJP got its social engineering right in by forming alliance with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in Rajasthan and roping in Gujjar community leader Kirori Singh Bainsla into the party?
Adani urges govt to give 'fair go' for Aus coal mine project
Indian energy giant Adani has urged the Australian government to give its controversial coal mine project "a fair go" and indicated that the opposition Labor Party would not derail the proposed billion dollar project if it comes to power. Gautam Adani-led Adani Group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north. The massive coal mine in Queensland state has been a controversial topic, with the project expected to produce 2.3 billion tonnes of low-quality coal. ''All we're asking for (is) a fair go and to be treated like everyone else. I think at certain points, that has not been the case. We're certainly not whinging about it. We just want to get on with it now. We want a fair go," Adani Mining chief executive officer Lucas Dow, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He said the sort of scrutiny that the project was facing on the management plans was .
For whom the 'political' bell tolls as campaign gets into top gear in Kerala (News Analysis)
With just a week to go for the polls, the three political fronts are sweating it out but also exhibiting supreme confidence that this time, it will be different in Kerala.
Rahul performs rituals for late family members, Pulwama attack victims at Kerala temple
Congress President Rahul Gandhi offered prayers and performed rituals for his late family members as well as victims of the Pulwama terror attack at Thirunelli temple here on Wednesday.Rahul, who is contesting the ensuing polls from Wayanad parliamentary constituency, was accompanied by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, among others."Last time also Rahul had wished to come here but because of security restrictions, he could not do it. Here is the place where the ashes of Rajiv Gandhi (Rahul's father) were immersed, in the Papanasini river," Venugopal told media here."As per the priest's directions, he has performed all rituals for his grandmother (Indira Gandhi), father, forefathers, and victims of Pulwama attack," he added.The Congress president is scheduled to address rallies in Kerala's Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram later in the day.The Gandhi scion had filed his nomination from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on April 4. He was accompanied by his sister and party general ...
Vellore AIADMK candidate to move Madras HC over poll cancellation
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) ally and Vellore Lok Sabha candidate AC Shanmugam will challenge the cancellation of elections in his constituency in Madras High Court on Wednesday.Voting in Vellore parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu was rescinded by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday after a large amount of unaccounted cash was allegedly seized from a warehouse belonging to a DMK candidate last month.Shanmugam is contesting the polls from the seat on AIADMK's two leaf symbol.Vellore was scheduled to go to polls on Thursday, along with 38 other seats of Tamil Nadu as part of the second phase of general elections.Last month, the Income Tax department and Election Commission officials had raided DMK treasurer Durai Murugan's residence in Vellore, and reportedly seized a large amount of unaccounted cash.Meanwhile, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate Kathir Anand has written a letter to the EC alleging ..