Page 2 - Political Parties

LS polls 2024: Candidates from 41 parties elected, up from 36 in 2019

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed an increase in political parties' participation, with candidates from 41 parties being elected, compared to 36 in the 2019 general election. According to an analysis by the think-tank PRS, national parties secured 346 seats, accounting for 64 per cent of the total, while the state-recognised parties won 179 seats, representing 33 per cent. Unrecognised parties clinched 11 seats, and independents won seven. According to an analysis by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms, there has been a 104 per cent rise in the number of political parties from 2009 to 2024. In 2024, a total of 751 parties participated, compared to 677 in 2019, 464 in 2014, and 368 in 2009. The ADR and National Election Watch conducted a comprehensive review of the self-sworn affidavits of 8,337 candidates contesting the just concluded elections. The candidate pool comprises 1,333 from national parties, 532 from state parties, 2,580 from registered unrecog

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LS polls: 10 nations' political parties to visit India on BJP's invite

Representatives of 18 political parties from 10 countries will interact with a host of BJP leaders, including party president J P Nadda and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during their visit to India on the ruling party's invitation to get a first-hand experience of the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP said the foreign leaders will also be given insights into the party's election campaign and will be briefed about its strategies and the overall electoral process. They will meet Nadda on Wednesday and also interact with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Australia's Liberal Party, Vietnam's Communist Party of Vietnam, Bangladesh's Awami League, Israel's Likud Party, Uganda's National Resistance Movement, Tanzania's Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and Russia's United Russia Party are among the political parties whose representatives are visiting India. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and United National Party from Sri Lanka, Militant Socialist Movement, Mauritius Labour Party, Mauritian Militant ...

Among national parties, Bahujan Samaj Party's candidate owns fewest assets

Baluswamy owns less than an average Indian household

Lok Sabha polls Phase 2: 88 seats go to polls on April 26; all details here

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Key candidates including Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, and Hema Malini's seats to go to polls on Phase 2 on April 26

An idea for the next government

Swift delivery of justice will improve the investment climate, increase growth potential, and enhance the overall quality of development

Heatwave: Political parties focusing on evening meetings, small gatherings

With day temperatures in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts of Odisha hovering between 39 and 42 degrees Celsius, political parties are focusing more on evening meetings and small village gatherings while campaigning for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Malkangiri district under Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat recorded the highest temperature of 42 degrees Celsius recently. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more heatwaves in the next few days in the state. Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunj B Dhal has suggested that political parties and candidates undertake election campaigning with adequate measures to beat the heat. BJP candidate for Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat Balabhadra Majhi said, "I had prepared a chart for my campaigning soon after the declaration of the tickets but altered my campaigning itinerary due to the scorching temperature, focusing more on evening meetings and small village gatherings." Pradeep Majhi, BJD candidate for the Nabarangp

Ex-RBI chief wants govt to bring White Paper on freebies. Here's why

Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister should come out with a 'White Paper' to generate a consensus among political parties on the issue of giveaways or freebies, former Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao has said adding that there has to be a thorough debate on how to impose restraints on political parties in this regard. He also said the public should be made more aware of the cost and benefits of these freebies and that it is the responsibility of the government to educate the population on this. I think this is ultimately a political issue and there has to be political consensus on this. The leadership has to be taken by the central government and the Prime Minister. I believe they must float a white paper and try to generate a consensus on this. "Educate people on the pros, and cons of these giveaways or freebies ( and ensure) how we can put a restraint on that and how we can enforce it, the former RBI governor told PTI in a recent interaction. Subbarao said t

Elections 2024: ECI receives 200 complaints on code violations; acts on 169

BJP has filed 51 complaints, Congress 59 and other parties 90 with the Election Commission

Taxpayers will need 100 yrs to match richest candidate's annual earnings

Income disparity seen across state and national figures

LS polls: Demand for pvt jets up to 40%; operators to rake in more profit

With politicians and political party representatives crisscrossing the country for the Lok Sabha polls, the demand for chartered planes and helicopters has jumped up to 40 per cent, and the operators are expected to net 15-20 per cent more earnings, according to industry experts. The hourly rates for chartered services have also spiked. The charge is about Rs 4.5 -5.25 lakh for an aircraft and around Rs 1.5- 1.7 lakh for a twin engine helicopter, they said. While the demand has surged compared to the normal times and previous election years, there is lesser number of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters available. Some of the operators are looking to take planes and helicopters on wet lease. "There is an increase in demand for helicopters and it is up to 25 per cent more in the election period compared to the normal period. The supply is less compared to the demand," Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI) President (Western Region) Captain Uday Gelli told PTI. Generally, political part

Some parties seek LGBT vote as most Indians disapprove of homosexuality

Election manifestos of Congress and CPM promise stronger legal protections for the community

LS elections: Women voters in Lakshadweep demand attention to basic issues

Women constitute the majority of voters in the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha constituency, yet they are concerned over the lack of interest shown by political parties in discussing their basic issues, such as the absence of proper sanitary napkin disposal facilities and gynecologists' in hospitals during the ongoing election campaign. The parties pay scant attention to our demands, women who spoke to by PTI at Agatti island, said. "We do not even have a mechanism on the islands to collect and dispose of used sanitary napkins. Many either bury them in their compounds or burn them," lamented Salmath, leader of the disabled persons' wing of Dweepsree, a women's self-help group. Plastic burning and dumping could pose serious environmental issues in the highly ecologically sensitive islands, she said. These women, constituting 50 per cent of the total electorate, are making these demands amidst the men-controlled machinery of political parties that are projecting various other matters affecting

The BJP and the political turncoats

The BJP's assimilation of turncoats from other parties essentially contributes to its expansion not only numerically and geographically but also by enlarging the party's social base

Suvidha portal gets 73,000 applications for campaign-related activities

The Election Commission on Sunday said its Suvidha portal has received over 73,000 applications since the Lok Sabha polls were announced, seeking permission for various campaigning activities. The applications submitted by by parties and candidates include requests for booking rally grounds, opening temporary party offices and operating video publicity vans, the EC said. More than 44,600 requests have been approved with first in-first out principle ensuring level playing field for parties and candidates, it said. Of the total requests received, nearly 11,200 or 15 per cent were rejected, and 10,819 applications cancelled as they were invalid or duplicate, the data released by the commission showed. Maximum requests were received from Tamil Nadu (23,239), followed by West Bengal (11,976) and Madhya Pradesh (10,636). The least number of requests so far have been received from Chandigarh (17), Lakshadweep (18) and Manipur (20), the poll authority said. The Suvidha portal has stream

6 people injured in clash between political group and security in Nepal

At least six people, including two policemen, were injured when cadres of Rajendra Mahato-led National Liberation Movement clashed with the police in the national capital's Bhadrakali in front of Singhdurbar Secretariat on Saturday, police said. Two policemen and four cadres of NLM were injured when the police baton charged the agitators who tried to stage a demonstration in the restricted area of Kathmandu. During the anti-government demonstration, 12 cadres of NLM were also arrested from the incident site. The police had to use force as the demonstrators tried to enter the restricted area, Nepal Police spokesperson Nabaraj Adhikari said.

LS polls: EC curbs on volunteers disbursing pensions spark slugfest in AP

The recent order by the Election Commission barring volunteers associated with the Andhra Pradesh government from performing poll duties and administering welfare schemes has sparked a crossfire between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition NDA, comprising TDP, BJP and Janasena. The YSRCP government introduced a ward and village volunteer system in 2019 as a decentralised governance delivery mechanism. This system enables a volunteer, who oversees 50-60 households, to go to the threshold of the beneficiary to hand-deliver welfare pension. However, on March 30, the ECI issued orders banning volunteers from extending government schemes, welfare benefits and other related activities, which eventually brought the monthly pensions disbursal to a grinding halt, which otherwise would have been completed on April 1. However, this unforeseen consequence transformed into a major political slugfest between the ruling party and opposition coalition, who are striving to milk the development to the