Page 879 - Politics

2nd phase: Farm distress weighs heavy on Maha voters' minds

Isues like farm distress and lack of jobs dominated campaign in 10 constituencies in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions in Maharashtra, where polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 18. Over 3.36 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 179 candidates, including former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde, in these 10 seats, campaigning for which ended Monday. The seats are: Buldhana, Akola, Amravati in Vidarbha and Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur in Marathwada and Solapur in south-western Maharashtra. In the 2014 elections, the NDA won 8 out of these 10 seats, riding the Narendra Modi wave, whereas the Congress won the remaining two seats - Nanded and Hingoli. This time, the BJP and Shiv Sena are contesting four seats each, while the Congress and NCP are contesting five and four seats respectively. The NCP has supported an ally in Amravati. Former Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde is contesting

No Brexit extension beyond Oct 31, says EU's Juncker

The European Union is not likely to extend the Brexit negotiation period beyond the current - and already delayed - date of October 31, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday.

'India's Most Wanted': Terror redefined

The all too short teaser of Rajkumar Guptas "Indias Most Wanted" re-aligns the complex dynamics of militancy and terrorism by pinning the violence down to one evil character whom the teaser describes as "Indias Osama".

Campaign ends in TN; AIADMK, DMK make final bid to woo voters

The nearly month-long heated campaign for the single phase Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu drew to a close Tuesday evening with Chief Minister K Palaniswami, DMK president M K Stalin and leaders of other parties making a final bid to woo voters. Campaign ended at 6 pm also for the byelections to 18 state assembly seats, whose outcome is crucial for the survival of the AIADMK government, to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections on April 18. Palaniswami, who along with his deputy O Panneerselvam has been spearheading the party's campaign in the polls, took to door-to-door campaign in his home district of Salem on the last day of electioneering. The Parliament elections in the state are the first ever after the demise of Dravidian stalwarts J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK and M Karunanidhi of the DMK. Allegations of use of money flew thick and fast in the run up to the polls with the Election authorities seizing over Rs 127 crore cash and gold and other precious metals with

With eye on anti-BJP front, Chandrababu Naidu to seek votes for regional parties

TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is trying to unite regional parties to keep the BJP from power, has embarked on a marathon campaign spree to seek votes for opposition leaders. During his campaign in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi for various parties, he will raise the issue of EVM malfunctioning, a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader said Tuesday. He said that Naidu, who's eying the role of a kingmaker at the Centre, will meet DMK leader M K Stalin and campaign in support of the party. On Monday, he addressed a public meeting in support of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Gowda in Mandya. Naidu will campaign for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, the grand alliance in Bihar, the National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir, and the AAP in Delhi in the coming days. JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda, NC's Farooq Abdullah, West ...

AAP LS candidates to start filing nominations from Thursday: Gopal Rai

The AAP Tuesday said its Lok Sabha candidates would file their nominations from Thursday even as uncertainty remained over a possible alliance between the ruling party in Delhi and the Congress. Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the party's west Delhi candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar would file his nomination on Thursday while Chandni Chowk candidate Pankaj Gupta, East Delhi candidate Atishi and North West Delhi candidate Gugan Singh would file their nominations on Saturday. On Monday, South Delhi candidate Raghav Chadha, North East candidate Dilip Pandey and New Delhi candidate Brajesh Goel would file their nomination, Rai said. He said before filing of nominations, a road show would be taken out by all the candidates and senior party leaders would also participate in it. Amid continuing blame game over seat-sharing in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi and AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal Monday engaged in a public spat, with the Congress president accusing the AAP of making a 'U-turn' over alliance talks ...

CPI-M protests, demands repoll in 464 Tripura booths

The CPI-M on Tuesday held demonstrations in New Delhi and Agartala demanding repoll in 464 of the 1,679 polling booths in the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, and free and fair poll in the Tripura East seat on April 18.

Amma, Kalaignar still maintain sway in TN

Former Chief Ministers J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi are no more but it is still them that their parties - AIADMK and DMK respectively - invoke and rely on to seek votes in the Lok Sabha battle.

Act against Modi for violating model code, EC told

The CPI-M on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to take "immediate appropriate action" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for flagrantly violating the model code of conduct (MCC) on the Sabarimala issue.

Congress crying foul over EVMs due to frustration: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday accused the Congress of crying foul over electronic voting machines (EVMs) and said it was the result of their frustration over their impending defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

Himachal: Amit Shah to address three poll rallies in May

BJP president Amit Shah will address three election rallies in Kangra, Hamirpur and Shimla parliamentary segments of Himachal Pradesh in May, a state BJP leader said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief will hold his first rally in Chamba on May 5 for party candidate Kishan Kapoor contesting from Kangra constituency, state BJP general secretary Chandra Mohan said. On May 12, he will address rallies in Hamirpur for party candidate Anurag Thakur and Nahan for Suresh Kashyap, the BJP candidate from Shimla Lok Sabha seat, he added. Voting for the four Lok Sabha seats-- Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur-- in Himachal Pradesh will take place during the final phase on May 19. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party had won all the seats.

Cong MP Shamsher Dullo's wife joins AAP, named as Fatehgarh Sahib candidate

Former Congress MLA Harbans Kaur Dullo, wife of senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Shamsher Singh Dullo, Tuesday joined the Aam Aadmi Party and was declared the party candidate from the Fatehgarh Sahib seat. She joined the AAP in Jalandhar in presence of party MLA Aman Arora and other senior leaders. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the development would not affect the Congress. Dullo had won in 2002 polls but lost in 2007 and had since been in political oblivion with no connect with the people, he said. Earlier, the AAP had fielded Baljinder Singh Chaundha from the Fatehgarh Sahib (reserved) seat. Arora said Chaundha himself told the party that Harbans Kaur is a better candidate than him and he would support her candidature from the seat. Harbans Kaur was the MLA from Khanna seat in 2002. She was also the chief parliamentary secretary in the Amarinder Singh-led government in 2002-07. The 65-year-old said her supporters persuaded her to join the AAP.

3,500 supporters of BJP-IPFT, CPI(M) join Congress in Tripura

More than 3,500 supporters of the ruling BJP-IPFT and the opposition CPI(M) joined the Congress on Tuesday, two days ahead of the second and last phase of Lok Sabha polls in Tripura. Addressing a press conference, the president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress (TPCC), Pradyot Kishore Dev Burman said, many have joined the Congress today, including Ashok Kumar Baidya, a former Congress MLA from Teliamura constituency in Khowai district. He had earlier joined the BJP, Burman said, adding, Baidya had resigned from the BJP a month ago. "Today's incident proved that the people are fed up with the BJ-IPFT government in one year, he said. "The BJP-IPFT government is losing its support and that was the reason behind the massive violence and rigging by the BJP during the first phase of elections on April 11," he said. Polling was held in West Tripura constituency in the first phase. The TPCC president also said that he would meet the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti

Curtains come down on campaigning for 14 LS seats in Karna

The high-decibel campaign for 14 Lok Sabha seats, which will go to polls during the first phase in Karnataka on April 18, ended Tuesday, with top leaders of the BJP and Congress-JD(S) alliance making a last-gasp effort to sway voters in their favour. Star campaigners who campaigned for their party candidates on the last day included BJP chief Amit Shah in Davangere and Tumkur, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in Mandya, Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamarajanagar. From nationalism debate, corruption allegations, personal attacks, dynasty politics, open defiance of party line,foes turning friends, accusations of misuse of government machinery and emotional outbursts- the campaigning had it all. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi helmed the BJP's campaign in the State, party chief Amit Shah, several union ministers including Nirmala Sitharaman, besides state leaders including B S Yeddyurappa were among those who campaigned extensively. For the ..

Goa AAP backs Christian priest under lens for anti-BJP remarks

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa has defended a Christian priest who is under scanner of election authorities for alleged hate speech. The party, contesting the Lok Sabha polls in the coastal state, said there was nothing "objectionable" in what the Christian priest has said, and accused the BJP of "spreading communal hatred and divisiveness". The priest courted controversy after a video of his speech, in which he is seen strongly criticising the BJP, its president Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, went viral on social media. The Goa BJP had lodged a complaint against the priest on Sunday even as South Goa District Election Officer Ajit Roy launched an inquiry into the matter. The Goa Church, which wields considerable influence among community members, has expressed regret over the priest's statement and asked him to refrain from making such remarks. However, Goa AAP convener Elvis Gomes has come out in support of the ..

Note-ban: Prabhu says BJP ready to pay the political price

Asserting that government is ready to pay the political price for its drive against black money, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu Tuesday left all guessing when quizzed if second demonetisation was in the offing. Campaigning for BJP's North Goa candidate Shripad Naik, Prabhu was asked if another note-ban is required to weed out black money. "I am not able to tell you, whether we require one more (demonetisation) or something, that depends on time. (But) I am telling you that there is total commitment on the part of the government (against black money) to take as many measures as necessary, however, difficult that may be, whatever political cost we may have to pay for it, as long as we succeed is important," the minister said. It can be noted that the November 8, 2016 move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban high value notes representing over 86 percent of the currency in circulation in a cash-dominated economy was one of the most controversial ones in his five-year ..

Campaign ends for second phase Lok Sabha poll in Bengal

Campaigning for the second of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal scheduled for April 18 concluded on Tuesday. The constituencies which will go to the polls on Thursday are Jalpaiguri(SC), Darjeeling and Raiganj seats. All the three seats will see a four-cornered contest between TMC, BJP, Congress and the Left Front. There was high pitch campaigning for the three seats by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, BJP National President Amit Shah and top leaders of the Congress and Left parties. In the campaigns mainly by Banerjee, Modi and Gandhi a plethora of issues ranging from corruption to communalism, NRC to chitfund scams and development to security featured in their speeches. TMC has fielded Bijoy Chandra Barman against BJP's Jayanta Kumar Roy in Jalpaiguri constituency, where Moni Kumar Darnal of Congress and Bhagirath Chandra Roy of CPI(M) are also in the fray. In ...

NIA summons prominent Kashmiri businessman

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday summoned a prominent Kashmiri businessman in connection with a terror funding case being investigated by the agency.

No mention of Ram temple in Congress manifesto: Thackeray

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit out at the Congress for not mentioning the Ram temple at Ayodhya in its 2019 election manifesto.

Phase II: Campaigning ends, 50 in fray for 5 Assam seats

Campaigning for the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls came to an end in Assam on Tuesday.