Page 11 - Politics

Influencer show: How important are social media personalities in elections?

The evolving relation between social media personalities and the political landscape continues to intrigue and challenge the norms of electoral engagement, Aditi Phadnis explains

Beauty of democracy lies in 'Janbhagidari': PM pens open letter to citizens

In his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the citizens as "dear family members," emphasizing that their partnership is on the brink of reaching a decade

Delhi excise policy scam: K Kavitha sent to ED custody till March 23

A Delhi court will pronounce later on Saturday its order on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking BRS leader K Kavitha's remand in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. The agency produced Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, before Special Judge for ED cases M K Nagpal, and sought her custody for 10 days. While being produced before the court, Kavitha termed her arrest as illegal and said, "We will fight it (case) out in court." Kavitha, 46, a Telangana Legislative Council member, was arrested by the central probe agency from her residence at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Friday evening. During the hearing, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari, appearing for Kavitha along with advocate Nitesh Rana, told the judge her arrest was "illegal". The counsel also accused the federal anti-money laundering agency of flouting the Supreme Court direction while arresting her. They claimed the apex court had directed the ED

Gujarat key LS seats: Amit Shah in Gandhinagar, Mandaviya in Porbandar

Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the electoral battle in Gandhinagar, where Union minister Amit Shah is in the fray to retain his seat, will be among the most keenly watched one in the ensuing elections. Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7. Counting of votes will be held on June 4. Following are the Lok Sabha seats to watch out for in Gujarat: 1. Gandhinagar: This urban seat has been a BJP bastion for long, having sent stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani to Parliament. It is now represented by Shah, who defeated Congress' C J Chavda by 5.57 lakh votes in the 2019 polls. 2. Porbandar: The BJP is the dominant party here due to the large presence of Leuva Patidars, a sub caste of the numerically and electorally strong Patel community. The party has fielded Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, a Leuva Patidar, from the seat. The minister, who hails from Bhavnagar district, has so far reached Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route. The

Singer Anuradha Paudwal joins BJP ahead of LS polls at party's headquarters

After joining the party, the singer expressed happiness saying, it was her fortune that she was becoming a part of the BJP

UK PM Rishi Sunak rules out possibility of holding early general election

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has firmly ruled out an early general election to coincide with local polls scheduled for May 2 amid intense speculation from the Opposition Labour benches. The British Indian leader had indicated earlier in the year that he was considering going to the polls in the second half of the year but in recent weeks there had been mounting theories that he may call a snap election in early May. But during an interview with ITV News West Country' channel on Thursday, he sought to quash the speculation having previously preferred to keep people guessing. In several weeks' time we've got elections for police and crime commissioners, for local councils, for mayors across the country, the 43-year-old prime minister said. Asked if there would also be a general election at the same time, Sunak said: There won't be a general election on that day but when there is a general election, what matters is the choice. I can see that the Labour Party are trying to whip

SC orders SBI to disclose full electoral bond data to EC by 5 pm on Mar 16

The Supreme Court granted the EC's request for the unique identification numbers that will help link donors to the donations made to political parties under the now-scrapped electoral bond scheme

Former Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty takes oath as RS member

Engineer-turned-philanthropist Sudha Murty on Thursday took oath as Rajya Sabha MP in the presence of her husband N R Narayana Murthy. Murty took the oath in Kannada. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath in his chamber in Parliament House. He also congratulated Murty and her husband after the oath-taking function. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal was also present on the occasion. "Hon'ble Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar administered oath to the newly nominated member of Rajya Sabha, Smt. Sudha Murty, in Parliament House today," his office said in a post on X, while sharing a video of the function. Murty, 73, the former chairperson of Infosys Foundation and the author of several books, mostly for children, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on International Women's Day last Friday. She is also renowned for her contribution to Kannada and English literature and is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar,

Khattar announces resignation as MLA, says Saini will take care of Karnal

The former chief minister, who was named in the BJP's second list for the Lok Sabha polls, announced he was resigning after the Nayab Saini government won the trust vote in the Assembly

Lok Sabha polls: BJP names 72 candidates; Thakur, Khattar among nominees

BJP chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni has been fielded from Garhwal in Uttarakhand

We felt neglected in alliance with BJP, says JJP Chief Dushyant Chautala

Addressing a rally in Haryana's Hisar, a day after the coalition with BJP ended, the JJP leader said that the party was preparing to contest 2024 LS elections on two seats

Haiti's future being planned on two tracks: political power, gang power

Haiti's future is being planned on two tracks one involving traditional political power, the other focused on the power of gangs. After an intense session of international diplomacy in Jamaica, a group of Caribbean nations and the United States announced Tuesday that Haiti's best hope for calming violence rests with a council of influential figures who would elected an interim leader and could steer the country toward fresh presidential elections. As they spoke to the media, a heavily armed gang leader held an impromptu news conference in Port-au-Prince and rejected any solution led and supported by the international community. Haitian people will choose who will govern them, Jimmy Barbecue Chrizier said Monday. Haitian politics have lived in these two worlds for decades, experts told The Associated Press this week. Politicians and business interests have maintained on-the-books legal interests while employing gangs to enforce their will on the chaotic streets. WHO DECIDES HAITI'

Govt bans Nayeem Ahmad led Jammu Kashmir National Front under UAPA

The government on Tuesday banned the Jammu Kashmir National Front led by Nayeem Ahmad Khan under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In an order, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared the JKNF, a constituent of the hardline Hurriyat Conference, an "unlawful association" with immediate effect. The government said the JKNF has been "indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country." It said members of the JKNF have remained involved in supporting terrorist activities and anti-India propaganda for fuelling secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir and providing logistic support to terrorists in the Union territory. It also said JKNF members "have been involved in mobilising violent protesters in various parts of Kashmir for perpetrating unlawful activities, including supporting terrorist activities, sustained stone pelting on security forces." The order will have effect for a period of five years.

BJP's Nayab Saini sworn in as Haryana CM, 5 others take oath as ministers

BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in as Haryana's new chief minister on Tuesday, hours after Manohar Lal Khattar and his Cabinet ministers resigned from their posts. Five others took the oath as members of the new council of ministers along with Saini. They are BJP leaders Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Parkash Dalal and Banwari Lal and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala. Saini was administered the oath by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya during a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan here. He bowed before Khattar and sought his blessings after being sworn in. Earlier in the day, the BJP named OBC leader Saini (54) as Haryana's new chief minister. He is the party's state unit president and the MP from Kurukshetra. The development comes just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Khattar's second term as chief minister was also to end in October when the assembly polls are due. Khattar and all 13 other members of the BJP-led council of ministers submitted their resignatio

Prez Zardari's daughter Aseefa Bhutto set to become first lady of Pakistan

In a historic decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognise his 31-year-old daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady of the country, according to a media report. The status of the First Lady goes to the wife of the President of the country in general. But Zardari became a widower after his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007. Zardari did not remarry and the position of the first lady also remained vacant during his first tenure as the country's president from 2008 to 2013. Zardari, 68, was sworn in as the country's 14th president on Sunday. During his oath-taking ceremony at the President's House in Islamabad, Zardari was accompanied by his youngest daughter, Aseefa. Sources claimed that President Zardari decided to declare Aseefa Bhutto as the first lady of Pakistan, ARY News reported. This became particularly relevant when Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the eldest daughter, tagged Aseefa in a tweet on Sunday The text r

Haryana political crisis: Who is Haryana's new CM Nayab Singh Saini?

With an association of nearly three decades with the BJP and close relations with Manohar Lal Khattar, Saini was appointed as Haryana state president for the party last October

China passes law granting Communist Party more control over cabinet

The amended State Council Organic Law passed by 2,883 delegate votes, with eight opposing and nine abstaining, during the closing day of the National People's Congress in Beijing

Sandeskhali ED attack: CBI arrests 3 associates of Shahjahan Sheikh

The CBI on Monday arrested three alleged associates of suspended TMC leader Shahajahan Sheikh including his security guard in connection with the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate team, officials said. The agency took into custody Sheikh's security guard Didar Baksh Molla, who is the complainant in one of the three FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police after the attacks. These FIRs have been handed over to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court. Besides Baksh Molla, the CBI also arrested Jaiuddin Molla, the Panchayat Pradhan of Sarberia village, and another person Faruk Akunji. All three are close associates of Sheikh who is considered the mastermind behind the attack, the officials said. "They will be produced before a magistrate tomorrow," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. The CBI had summoned nine close aides and associates of Sheikh for questioning in the case on Monday, the officials said. The agency suspects that these nine individuals were allegedly part

BJP's election body holds second meeting to finalise Lok Sabha candidates

The BJP's Central Election Committee on Monday held its second meeting to decide on the party's candidates for the Lok Sabha elections as its senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went through the list of probables for several states to make final choices. The states, which were tipped to come up for discission, included Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana. Ahead of the meeting, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala held talks with BJP president J P Nadda for distribution of seats among the two allies in the state. Though a section of Haryana BJP leaders has been opposed to the alliance, the party seems to be weighing its options. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the previous elections in 2019. The JJP had allied with the party after the assembly polls. The BJP has joined hands with a number of parties across the country in the run-up to the general elections, expected to be held in ...

Lok Sabha polls: EC directs observers to ensure intimidation-free elections

The Election Commission on Monday asked its observers to ensure polls free of coercion and intimidation and pushed for judicious use of central and state forces keeping in mind that their deployment should not favour any particular party. Addressing a meeting of more than 2,100 general, police and expenditure observers here ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections and some state assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar directed them to ensure a level-playing field for free and fair elections. The polls should be free of intimidation and inducement, he said. The CEC reminded them that as observers, they represent the commission, and are expected to conduct themselves professionally and be accessible to all stakeholders, including candidates. The observers were instructed to be tough but polite in their conduct on the field, the Election Commission (EC) said in a statement. The observers were also asked to be confined physically within the boundarie