Page 948 - Politics
BSF accused of coercing voters in Poonch, Congress button not working some EVMs: PDP and NC
The National Conference and the PDP on Thursday alleged that uniformed personnel coerced people to vote for the BJP and EVMs malfunctioned in some places with the Congress button not working during the first phase of polling in Jammu's Poonch area. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted a video showing voters raising anti-BJP slogans after they were purportedly roughed up by the BSF for not voting for the BJP. "A voter at polling booth in Jammu was manhandled by the BSF because he refused to cast his vote for BJP. Using armed forces at polling stations to coerce people to vote for the BJP shows their desperation & hunger to usurp power by hook or crook," she said in her tweet. The National Conference's Jammu provincial president Davinder Singh Rana also registered his protest on the issue. According to him, a uniformed officer coerced voters in Poonch's Arai Malka area to vote for the BJP. A local administration official reached the spot and the uniformed officer has been removed ..
Nearly 25 per cent polling in J-K till 11 am
Nearly 25 per cent polling was recorded in Jammu and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir till 11 am Thursday, an election official said. Jammu Lok Sabha constituency recorded 32.52 per cent voter turnout, with Samba district registering the highest 35.91 per cent voting till 11 am, they said, adding Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency registered 14.34 per cent polling till 11 am. Voting began at 7 am in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency amid tight security and has been peaceful so far. Voters in Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts queued up early in the morning to exercise their franchise, officials said. The Jammu parliamentary constituency, which has the highest number of 24 candidates among all seats in the state, is spread over four districts of Jammu, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri covering 20 Assembly segments. Till 11 am, Jammu district recorded 30.57 per cent polling, Samba 35.91 per cent, followed by Rajouri district with 30.80 per cent and Poonch district ...
Anti-BJP votes deleted across India: Arvind Kejriwal
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal Thursday claimed that anti-BJP votes have been deleted across India at an "unprecedented scale". In a series of tweets, Kejriwal tagged the people who claimed their names or the names of their relatives have been deleted from the voter lists. "Anti-BJP votes deleted all across India. Reports coming from all across India that votes have been deleted on unprecedented scale. Why are all faulty EVM machines seen to be voting always for BJP?" he said in a tweet. Polling began Thursday morning in 91 constituencies spread across 18 states and two union territories in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. He re-tweeted and shared profiles of a number of people whose names have been deleted. One of the them included businesswoman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who said her mother's name has been deleted. "My mother's voter ID has been deleted on some flimsy excuse that there was a report that she no longer lives at her address. She is so upset I can't tell you ...
BJP would scrap Article 370 after forming next govt: Shah
Hitting out at opposition leaders for being "unhappy" with air strikes on terror camps, BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday said his party would remove Article 370 from Kashmir "after forming the next BJP government" at the Centre. Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the Balakot air strikes in a bid to "appease" the minority vote bank, Shah asked her to come clean on whether she, too, wants a separate PM for Kashmir, just like her ally and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. "Mamata Banerjee and opposition leaders are unhappy with the air strikes. They are questioning it just to appease their minority vote bank. But, I want to say it loud and clear that we won't allow such forces to win. "We would remove Article 370 from Kashmir after forming the next BJP government at the Centre," he said, while campaigning for Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate Raju Singh Bisht. Article 370 of the Constitution grants special status to Jammu and ...
Doors are closed on alliance with AAP: PC Chacko says Congress will finalise candidates for all 7 Delhi LS seats today
Congress leader PC Chacko on Thursday ended speculations of an alliance with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stating that his party will contest the impending Lok Sabha elections on its own and will announce its list of candidates for all seven parliamentary seats in Delhi by evening."AAP had initiated for an alliance, we held meetings with leaders designated by their party. Now if they want to do the same (alliance) in other states, that is not possible," Chacko told ANI.A meeting of Congress' Central Election Committee Commission is scheduled for Thursday evening in which the party is expected to finalise its candidate for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi."AAP initiated because they know they are not able to defeat BJP on their own. They had finished a close second in the last municipal elections. We are ready to fight on our own and will finalise candidates for all seven seats by today evening," Chacko said.On Wednesday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had said that his party was opting out of the ..
Uttarakhand legislator violates MCC
Mahendra Bhatt, a legislator from Uttarakhand, violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on Thursday by clicking photos after casting his vote inside a polling booth in Badrinath.Bhatt is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Badrinath and was elected in February 2017 when the BJP stormed to power in the state with an overwhelming majority.As per the MCC, carrying a mobile phone or clicking photos inside a polling booth is prohibited.Voting is underway on all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand in the first phase of elections. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
West Bengal's poll lock has 'M' key (IANS Exclusive)
The 'M' factor will have decisive say in West Bengal polls as demographic profile of the state shows that there are six Lok Sabha seats with more than 7 lakh Muslim voters and in eight constituencies the number is between 5 and 7 lakh. In the remaining 28 seats, the Muslim population is less than 4 lakh.
Sikkim records over 23% polling in 4 hours
Over 23 per cent votes were cast in the first four hours of polling in Sikkim on Thursday, in simultaneous elections for a new 32-member state Legislative Assembly and to pick its only Lok Sabha member.
APCC asks EC to bar live telecast of PM's speeches
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to address two rallies in Assam on Thursday, even amid polling in the state, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has asked the Election Commission (EC) stop a live telecast of his speeches.
Congress fielded Urmila Matondkar because of her face: BJP MP Gopal Shetty
Urmila Matondkar has been brought into politics on the basis of her face as she is a celebrity, said Gopal Shetty, a Bhartiya Janata Party MP, who is contesting against Matondkar from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency."People are saying that they will compare the face of Urmila ji and my work. She was brought into politics by looking at her face because she is a celebrity," Shetty told ANI.Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar joined the Congress party on March 27, following which the party fielded her from Mumbai North against Shetty, who is an incumbent MP from the parliamentary constituency."I have heard that parents of Urmila ji were in Congress Seva Dal. So, she came from a political family. I think she has political knowledge but she chose the wrong party. Congress will end whatever goodness Urmila ji has," Shetty added.One of the closely watched battles in these Lok Sabha elections is Mumbai-North which will go to polls on April 29 in the fourth phase.In the previous general
Renuka Chowdhury confident of victory in Khammam
Congress leader and former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury, who is contesting elections from Khammam Lok Sabha seat, cast her vote here on Thursday.Talking to ANI, Chowdhury said, "The values that we stand for and the work Congress has done. The values which Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi represents to the nation. I am very optimistic that these values will make the voters and make them vote for the hand...I am hopeful that we will be able to win this race as we are running the last mile," Chowdhury said.The Congress has fielded Renuka Chowdhury against Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) candidate Nageshwar Rao. Both Renuka and Nageshwar had defeated each other in the previous elections.
My name missing in voters' list; worst day as citizen: Shobana
Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Vice Chairperson Shobana Kamineni Thursday said her name was missing in the voters' list and described it as the "worst day as an Indian citizen". "This is the worst day for me as an Indian citizen", the former President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said. "I came back, I was travelling abroad, came back because I wanted to exercise my franchise and I come to the booth and I am told that my vote is deleted. Am I not an Indian citizen?," an upset Shobana said in a video message. "Am I not counted in this country? Is my vote not important... This is a crime against me as a citizen and I will not tolerate it," said Kamineni, daughter of Apollo Hospitals founder Pratap C Reddy. She said she had voted in the Telangana Assembly polls in December last and came to the same booth (at Masab Tank in the city), adding, she felt cheated over her name missing in the electoral rolls.
Nepal opts to pull out peace troops from war-torn Libya
The Nepal government is planning to pull out its security troops from war-torn Libya as the condition in the African country worsens."Our Nepali troops are currently guarding the United Nations mission in Libya. We have opted to withdraw from there and have already taken forward the procedure to inform the UN as the condition dives down further," Nepal Army Spokesperson Yam Prasad Dhakal told ANI.With the evacuation of American and Indian troops from Libya last week, Nepali peacekeeping contingent is assigned to safeguard the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Libya's capital Tripoli."For now, we have planned to evacuate troops from Libya to Tunisia," Brigadier General Yam Prasad Dhakal, said. However, a date or time period when the Nepali blue helmets would be withdrawn is yet to be announced.The move of Nepal to withdraw its troops from Libya comes in less than a week after the American and the Indian troops vacated the African nation.A contingent of 231 Nepali Peacekeepers from
Sonia Gandhi kicks-off roadshow in Rae Bareli
A day after her son and Congress President Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Amethi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi kicked-off her roadshow here before filing her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections.
Grand alliance no threat for BJP in Ghaziabad: V.K. Singh
The BJP does not feel a threat from the grand alliance here as it has done enough developmental work in the area to seek the support of voters, sitting BJP MP and former Army chief V.K. Singh said on Thursday.
Divided in Devi Lal's legacy, Chautala family stares at uncertain political future (Dynasty Politics)
For the first time in nearly four decades, the family of towering Jat leader and former Deputy Prime Minister (1989-91) Devi Lal is staring at an uncertain political future as two generations fight it out to claim his legacy in the dusty politics of Haryana.
Sonia Gandhi embarks on roadshow before filing nomination in Rae Bareli
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Thursday embarked on a roadshow here before filing nomination papers for Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency. She also offered puja at the Congress' central office here before starting the roadshow. Sonia Gandhi, who trying to get re-elected from the seat the fifth time in a row, was accompanied by son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and son-in-law Robert Vadra. The seat, where voting will be held in the fifth-phase on May 6, will see a straight contest between the former Congress chief and Dinesh Pratap Singh, who recently joined the BJP after leaving the Congress. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have not fielded any candidate in this Congress bastion. Sonia Gandhi had won the seat in 2004, 2006 (bypolls), 2009 and 2014.
Owaisi urges people to vote
After casting his vote early Thursday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi urged people to exercise their constitutional right to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Telangana Governor, CM KCR cast votes
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao cast their votes on Thursday.
New 'Brextension' gives UK Oct 31 Brexit deadline
It is neither as short as British Prime Minister Theresa May had hoped for - until June 30, or as long as some EU leaders were in favour of, but after hours of deliberation in Brussels, the 28-member economic bloc gave the UK six more months to thrash out Brexit. The latest extension, being dubbed a "Brextension" and also drawing inevitable Halloween analogies with the date coinciding with the festival celebrating scary and nightmare scenarios, comes just a day before the April 12 deadline from the first extension agreed by the European Union (EU) to the official Brexit Day of March 29. "Vitally, the EU has agreed that the extension can be terminated when the Withdrawal Agreement has been ratified which was my key request of my fellow leaders," May said in a statement in the early hours of Thursday at the end of a European Council summit. "I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension. The UK should have left the EU by now and I sincerely