Page 30 - Lok Sabha

Kejriwal says BJP's 'dictatorial' rule will end on June 4 amid public anger

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed the entire country is seething in anger against the BJP and will end its "dictatorial" rule on June 4, the counting day of the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a street meeting in West Delhi's Najafgarh area, he claimed the BJP would soon arrest AAP leaders such as Raghav Chaddha, Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to crush the opposition. The AAP national convener made the comments on the day his aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on party MP Swati Maliwal. He appealed to the people to vote for his party to stop him from going to jail again. "It's in your hands. If you want me to go to jail choose the BJP, otherwise choose the AAP." Kejriwal said the Lok Sabha poll results will prove to the BJP that the entire country is angry with its "dictatorial" rule. He exuded confidence that people will oust the BJP from power. Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi ex

Modi's 'dhakad' govt brought down wall of Article 370: PM in Ambala

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharpened his attack on the Congress on Saturday and said it was his "dhakad" (strong) government that brought down the wall of Article 370 and as a result, Kashmir is now moving ahead on the path of development. Modi said the history of the Congress has been of betraying India's forces and soldiers as he referred to the "Jeep scandal", the "first scam" during the grand old party's rule. "Could a weak government have changed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir?" Modi asked the gathering, addressing his first Lok Sabha poll rally in Haryana. Referring to Haryana contributing a sizable number of soldiers in the armed forces, he said when the Congress was in power, mothers in Haryana were a worried lot thinking about their children's safety. "Have such things stopped now or not?" he asked the audience that responded with a loud "yes". "Modi's dhakad (strong and decisive) government brought down the wall of Article 370 and Kashmir is now moving ahead on the

LS polls: 1,409 voters use home voting facility on second day in Delhi

The home voting facility which started on May 17 will be available till May 25

Maitri Setu, Agartala-Akhaura rail link to be operational soon: Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said the Maitri Setu in South Tripura and Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link will become operational very soon. The Matri Setu built over river Feni connecting South Tripura's Sabroom with Bangladesh's Ramgarh was jointly inaugurated on March 9, 2021 and Agartala- Nischintapur (Indian part of Agartala-Akhaura rail link) was inaugurated on November 1, 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina. But both connectivity facilities are yet to be made operational. "Election is almost over, and a new government will be formed. Under the leadership of PM Modi, who has always emphasized the Act East Policy and provided us with the HIRA (highway, i-way, railway, airway) model, the Maitri Setu will become operational soon", the chief minister told reporters on Friday. "The trial in Agartala-Akhaura railway link has already been completed, and it will also be made operational soon," Saha said, adding that many investo

LS polls: Maha CEO calls for initiatives to boost voter participation

Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has called for special initiatives to boost participation of voters, including house-to-house outreach programmes. He was speaking to reporters in Maharashtra's Thane district while conducting a review of the election preparations in three constituencies of Thane, Kalyan and Bhiwandi. Elections to 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in north Maharashtra and Mumbai Metropolitan Region will be held on May 20. Underscoring the need for seamless coordination among all systems to facilitate voting in Thane district in a transparent and secure manner, Chockalingam emphasized the role of the administration in upholding the democratic principles, and urged that collective efforts need to be taken to ensure transparent and fearless elections. Special initiatives to be undertaken to boost voter participation, including house-to-house outreach on the day of polling so that citizens are encouraged to cast their votes, he said. Noting that Thane ...

LS polls: Rae Bareli should show UP, country path to progress, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Rae Bareli should once again show the path to progress and development to Uttar Pradesh and the country as it has been the ideological and political centre of the state in the past. Sharing a video with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a post on X, he recollected memories of their childhood while passing through Rae Bareli, from where he is contesting on the Lok Sabha seat vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi. "Rae Bareli has an important role in India's progress, in giving direction to the country. Rae Bareli has for years been Uttar Pradesh's political and ideological centre, and it was Rae Bareli that showed the path in the freedom struggle," he said in the over four-minute video. "Today, the role of Rae Bareli should be one that first shows the path to Uttar Pradesh's progress and development and then Uttar Pradesh should once again show the path of progress and development to India," he also said. In the last Lok Sabha elections,

LS elections 2024: Sixth schedule, employment key issues in Ladakh

As Ladakh votes to elect its MP for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, safeguards under the sixth schedule, statehood and employment are the key issues in the two distant districts of the constituency that is the largest in the country in terms of area. Spread over more than 59,000 square kilometres -- around 40 times the size of Delhi -- the two districts of Leh and Kargil are divided by geography and religion. Buddhist-dominated Leh and Shia Muslim-majority Kargil have come together over four demands -- safeguards under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, statehood, reservation in jobs for locals and a separate public service commission and two Lok Sabha seats for the region. After the abrogation of Article 370, Ladakh, which shares its border with both Pakistan and China, was carved out as a Union Territory without legislature. While Leh welcomed the move initially, people in Kargil were unhappy about the split. However, soon the concerns .

LS polls: Security tightened ahead of rallies by PM Modi, Rahul in Delhi

Security in parts of the national capital was beefed up in view of two different rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the local police having planned to deploy around 3,000-personnel strong force on the day. On Friday, the Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, along with other senior officers, visited the northeast district and took stock of the security arrangements, where PM Modi will address a rally. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign at the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency. A senior officer said, Modi is likely to arrive at the rally site by a chopper after addressing another election rally in Sonipat in Haryana. At least four-layer security arrangements comprising the SPG, security wing of the Delhi Police, and the local police will be in place. "Meetings were held with other agencies responsible for the prime minister's security. "We have identified buildings and trees on all possible routes where police perso

Swati Maliwal blackmailed by BJP to go against CM Kejriwal, says AAP

AAP leader Atishi on Saturday claimed that party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her, is facing arrest in an illegal recruitment case and she was "blackmailed" by the BJP to become part of the "conspiracy" against the Chief Minister. Talking to PTI-Video, Atishi, who is also a cabinet minister in the Delhi government, alleged that Maliwal went to the chief minister's official residence on Monday without an appointment. "Why did she barge inside? Why did she land up at the chief minister's residence without an appointment? Arvind Kejriwal was busy that day and did not meet her. If he had met her that day, the allegations levelled against Bibhav Kumar could have been levelled against him," Atishi said. She said Maliwal was made the face of this "conspiracy" by the BJP. "The BJP has a pattern. First they file cases and then threaten to send leaders to jail. Swati Maliwal is facing charges in an illegal recruitment case registered by

LS polls: Modi's allegation of insult to UP 'cheap tactic' says Stalin

DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of picking up a "cheap strategy" of stoking confrontation between states as his "propaganda of communal hatred" did not help. Stalin slammed what he called Modi's "imaginary tales and bags of lies" by alleging that leaders of southern states including Tamil Nadu (INDIA bloc constituents) were speaking in a derogatory manner, against the people of Uttar Pradesh. Days ago, PM Modi had alleged in a poll rally that Samajwadi Party and the Congress's southern allies insulted Uttar Pradesh and Sanatana Dharma but the two parties remained quiet. The DMK president alleged that it was the BJP that supported and encouraged fake news items, such as the false claims made by "YouTubers like Manish Kashyap" of assault on guest workers in Tamil Nadu. Such fake claims were hate propaganda aimed at creating divisions in society. Kashyap was arrested last year by Tamil Nadu police for alleged circulation of

LS polls 2024: 37 candidates to contest four seats in Himachal Pradesh

Thirty-seven candidates will battle it out for Himachal Pradesh's four Lok Sabha seats while 25 are in the fray for the assembly bypolls in six seats. Friday was the last day to withdraw nominations. Polling for the four Lok Sabha seats and the bypolls to the six assembly constituencies will be held on June 1. The BJP, Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have fielded candidates from all four Lok Sabha seats but the main contest is between the ruling and the opposition parties. Ten candidates are in the fray in Mandi, where actor Kangana Ranaut is taking on Vikramaditya Singh. Singh's mother Pratibha Singh is the outgoing MP from the seat. In Kangra, which is also being contested by 10 candidates, senior Congress leader and former Union minister Anand Sharma is taking on the BJP's Rajiv Bharadwaj. The Congress has fielded Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri against incumbent MP Suresh Kashyap of the BJP in Shimla, where five candidates are in the fray. In Hamirpur, Union Minister

LS polls: Cong aiming to win 50 seats to save its honour, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Congress is aiming to win 50 seats in the Lok Sabha elections to save its honour. Addressing an election rally here, Modi took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not contesting from Amethi, the seat which he lost to BJP leader Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections. The prime minister said he had predicted that Gandhi would not dare to contest from Amethi and this has turned out to be true. "The further news is that to save its honour, the Congress has now launched Mission 50. The target of the Congress is to get 50 seats in the entire country by any means," he said. The BJP has fielded Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti from Fatehpur. She is pitted against the Samajwadi Party's Naresh Uttam Patel. Fatehpur goes to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20.

LS polls: Cong, SP will bulldoze Ram temple if voted to power, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that the Congress and Samajwadi Party will run a bulldozer over the Ram temple if elected to power, and asked them to take "tuition" from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath "where to run bulldozers". Addressing a rally here, he also said the INDIA bloc is in the fray to create "instability" and is collapsing like a pack of cards as the polls progress. Asserting that his government is going to score a hat-trick, Modi said in the new government, he has to take many big decisions for the poor, youth, women and farmers, and for that he has come here to seek the blessings of the people of Barabanki and Mohanlalganj. "June 4 is not far. Today, the whole country and the world knows that the Modi government is going to score a hat-trick," he asserted. "On one side there is the BJP-NDA alliance dedicated to national interest and on the other side, the 'INDI alliance' is in the field to create instability in the country. As the electio

PM Modi must explain why his govt scrapped Backward Region Grant Fund: Cong

The Congress on Friday hit out at the BJP for "scrapping" the Backward Region Grant Fund in 2015 and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain why his government "callously" did away with the "forward-thinking" scheme of the UPA. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Uttar Pradesh. "Why has the Modi Sarkar scrapped the Backward Regions Grant Fund? Why has the BJP neglected UP's mentha farmers? Why has CM Yogi repeatedly lied about reopening the Budhwal Sugar Mill?" Ramesh said. Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", the Congress leader said the Backward Region Grant Fund, aimed at uplifting the backward districts of India, was "callously scrapped" by the Modi government in 2015. "This forward-thinking scheme was established by the UPA government in 2006 and by 2013, Uttar Pradesh's backward districts had received benefits worth Rs 4000 crore from it," he said. Ramesh pointed out that in 2015, the Modi

LS polls: PM Modi does not want to pave way for next gen, says Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for repeatedly targeting him and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and claimed that he is eager to reclaim the PM's post instead of paving the way for the next generation. Addressing an election rally in Thane to canvass for incumbent MP and his party candidate Rajan Vichare on Thursday, Thackeray called the contest a clash between loyalty and betrayal. The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has nominated Naresh Mhaske for the Thane Lok Sabha constituency, which along with 12 other seats, including six in Mumbai, will vote in the fifth phase on May 20. The contest in Thane is a prestige battle for Shinde, an influential leader from the region who split the original Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP. However, Thackeray mainly focussed on Modi and his policies. He accused Modi of stirring controversies through his rhetoric and claimed that the BJP is shifting its narratives

LS polls: We are, will be part of INDIA at national level, says Mamata

A day after announcing that he would extend outside support to the opposition front INDIA after it comes to power, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she is very much part of the anti-BJP alliance at the national level and would form the next government with it. While addressing an election rally at Tamluk, Banerjee said that the TMC is not in alliance with the CPI(M) and the Congress in West Bengal. "At all India level, some people have misunderstood my statement yesterday. I am very much part of the INDIA alliance. The INDIA alliance was my brainchild. We are together at the national level and will continue to be together. INDIA bloc was brought together by me. We will form a government with that alliance and we are a part of it," she said. Banerjee alleged that the West Bengal units of both CPI(M) and Congress, who are part of the INDIA alliance, have joined hands and helped the BJP in the state. "Do not count on the CPI(M) and the Congress in Bengal. Th

20,000 Congress volunteers to spread Rahul's message in LS polls: Report

The Congress has adopted a multi-pronged social media strategy with Rahul Gandhi directly reaching out to people via the 'speak to the camera' mode on various issues and deploying of 20,000 volunteers to spread his messages and views on WhatsApp, party sources said on Thursday. The core theme of the outreach is to directly connect with people and get feedback about their problems, aspirations and come up with solutions in the form of the party's much talked about Nyay Patra manifesto, they said. According to the sources, more than 88 lakh people have downloaded its manifesto from Congress website so far. Apart from his letter to party workers, rallies and press conferences, Gandhi is connecting directly with people through his interactive sessions such as Yuva Nyay Manch, lectures on Samajik Nyay and his outreach to farmers and women in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. The former Congress president's YouTube channel has 5.6 million subscribers and had about 350 million views in last one

39% candidates in phase 6 polls crorepatis, average assets Rs 6.8 cr: ADR

About 39 per cent of candidates contesting in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls are crorepatis with average assets of Rs 6.21 crore, according to poll rights body ADR. Among the candidates contesting in the sixth phase on May 25, the highest assets have been declared by BJP candidates from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal at Rs 1,241 crore followed by Santrupt Misra at Rs 482 crore and Sushil Gupta at Rs 169 crore, the analysis by Association of Democratic Reforms said. Out of the 866 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, 338 (39 per cent) are crorepatis and the average assets per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha phase VI election is Rs 6.21 crore. Among the major parties, all six candidates from BJD, four out of four candidates each from RJD and JD(U), 48 (94 per cent) out of 51 candidates from BJP, 11 (92 per cent) out of 12 candidates from SP, 20 (80 per cent) out of 25 candidates from Congress, 4 (80 per cent) out of 5 candidates from AAP and 7 (78 per cent) candidates o

Nearly 67% voter turnout in first four phases of Lok Sabha elections: EC

The cumulative turnout in the first four phases of the Lok Sabha elections has been recorded at 66.95 per cent, the Election Commission said on Thursday, adding 45.10 crore of the nearly 97 crore electors have voted so far in the ongoing electoral exercise. In a statement, the poll panel urged electorate to come out and vote in large numbers in the coming phases. According to the poll authority, the updated voter turnout in the fourth phase of polling held on May 13 was 69.16 per cent, 3.65 percentage points higher than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary polls. The updated voter turnout figures for the third phase of polling in the Lok Sabha election stood at 65.68 per cent. In the third phase of the 2019 general election, the turnout was 68.4 per cent. In the second phase of the election held on April 26, the turnout was recorded at 66.71 per cent as against the 69.64 per cent in the second phase of the 2019 polls. In the first phase of the ongoing general election

Lok Sabha 2024: Rahul Gandhi, Modi declare assets; Amit Shah visits J&K

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: From crorepati candidates to rallies, here are the latest updates on general elections in India as of May 16