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The Court said that Kejriwal, instead of using the meetings for discussing litigation strategy with his lawyers, was using it for giving directions to be passed on to the Water Minister.
Arvind Kejriwal and Tihar Jail
A Delhi court on Wednesday rejected a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking permission to hold five meetings a week with his legal team instead of two meetings which he was allowed earlier.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue court said that Kejriwal, instead of using the meetings for discussing litigation strategy with his lawyers, was using it for giving directions to be passed on to the Water Minister.
“The Applicant has failed to satisfy this court that he has been using the two permitted legal meetings per week solely for the purpose of discussing the pending litigations with his counsels. The status report/note filed by the Investigating Agency indicates that the Applicant had dictated certain directions for being passed on to the Water Minister, to one of his lawyers (whose name he refused to disclose to the Investigating Agency) during the course of a legal meeting,” the Court noted in its order.
It thus appears that Kejriwal is not even utilizing the permitted two legal interviews per week with his counsel solely for discussing his pending litigation and has rather used the allotted time for purposes other than legal interviews, the Court concluded while dismissing the plea.
Kejriwal is currently under judicial custody in Tihar jail after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case connected to the Delhi excise policy scam.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and then produced before Judge Baweja, who initially remanded him to ED custody till March 28.
The ED’s custody over him was later extended till April 1. Thereafter, he was sent to judicial custody till April 15.
In response to Kejriwal’s application for five legal meetings a week, judge Baweja also noted that even Kejriwal had said that there are about 30-35 litigations regarding which he needs to have consultations and discussions with his counsels.
However, there does not appear to be any objective criteria for assessing whether five meetings with his lawyers per week would be sufficient to address the concern of the accused or that two meetings, which are permitted as per Jail Rules, would be sufficient, the Court said.
“In the absence of any such objective criteria for assessment, the prayer of the applicant for five legal interviews with his lawyers per week not only appears to be whimsical but also seems to have been made without any statistical basis or objective standards for assessment,” the Court said.
“Touch my vest,” Narendra Modi told a startled Newsweek team interviewing the Indian prime minister in his residence in New Delhi in late March. “Come on, touch it.” Modi challenged Nancy Cooper, Newsweek’s global editor in chief, to guess what the blue jacket was made of. Cooper suggested silk. “It’s recycled plastic bottles,” Modi said, clearly enjoying the reaction of his surprised guests.
The vest and the moment are vintage Modi: innovation, tradition, masterful messaging and, inevitably, some controversy. The vest was made popular by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose great-grandson Rahul Gandhi is leading the opposition campaign to prevent Modi from winning a rare third term in elections next week. It became known as the “Nehru Jacket” and was a symbol of newly independent India’s national pride as well as a fashion statement adopted by The Beatles and Sammy Davis Jr. Unlike Nehru, who preferred beiges and grays, Modi wears his modified version of the garment in brilliant hues. Indian retailers began selling “Modi Jackets” to capitalize on the prime minister’s enormous personal popularity. And in 2018, when former South Korean President Moon Jae-in tweeted out his thanks for the prime minister’s gift of perfectly tailored “Modi Vests”—not “Nehru Jackets”—the controversy nearly broke the Indian internet.
I feel negativity has a low shelf life…. On the other hand, positivity is perennial.”
– Narendra Modi
Partly because of these contradictions, Modi has a contentious relationship with the media and gives interviews rarely. India has tumbled on the World Press Freedom Index under Modi. And the prime minister sees himself as a target of hostile coverage by journalists who do not accept that India is both less liberal in ways that are important to the West and much better governed than at any time in its recent history.
Understanding an Indian prime minister has never mattered more. The country Modi leads is increasingly shaping the world we live in. Washington sees India as an important counterweight to China across the developing world. A globe-girdling Indian diaspora, cultivated for decades by Modi, has already reshaped Silicon Valley. Now Indian ideas, innovations and ambitions are poised to do the same in everything from finance and fighting poverty to space exploration. By 2075, the Indian economy is projected to surpass America’s and become the world’s second largest behind China. This also means that India is by far the biggest potential carbon emitter in the world and its choices about the future will likely play an outsized role in defining the destiny of our planet and the species we share it with.
During his 90-minute interview with Newsweek and in written correspondence, Modi tackled these issues and talked of his unbridled optimism about India. “I feel negativity has a low shelf life,” he said. “On the other hand, positivity is perennial.”
Modi says he channels his positive energy into his monthly radio program Mann Ki Baat (Talks from the Heart) that one survey said had 230 million regular listeners. The state radio show is one of the many ways the prime minister appears accessible to ordinary Indians and puts his personal stamp on myriad changes shaping their lives. To Western observers, Modi’s messaging tactics can come across as political theater, the squandering of public resources on the making of one man’s myth. What they miss is the revolutionary impact these tactics have had on people in a hierarchical society shaped by millennia-old caste structures, centuries of colonial exploitation and decades of rule by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty whose charismatic leaders are dismissed by Modi’s followers as members of a Western-educated elite.
Not every message lands the way Modi intends it. A Maan Ki Baat episode notched up the most dislikes ever on the BJP’s YouTube channel after the prime minister dished out advice on dog breeds but dodged a dispute over delayed exams.
Modi says he treats all communication with the Indian people as a two-way street. “A leader should have the ability to connect to the grassroots and get unfiltered feedback,” he said.
A magnetic orator who fills stadiums wherever he goes, Modi is coy about his speaking skills. “I didn’t even know that I am good at communication,” he said. Ask him about listening skills and he swells with pride: “I am god-gifted with this quality.”
Modi, who grew up relatively poor and traveled the country for years as a Hindu community organizer, says he has spent at least one night in each of about 80 percent of India’s 806 administrative districts, roughly equivalent to counties in the United States. “So I have direct connections almost everywhere, which helps me get direct feedback,” he said, driving home the point with a story about a man he met on his travels calling him at 3 a.m. about a rail accident when he was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat so it could be addressed immediately.
Whatever one makes of Modi’s messaging strategy, it appears to be working. Hundreds of millions of Indians are listening to Modi, tuning into his positive message and feel heard by him. India’s urban consumers are the most optimistic in the world, according to an IPSOS survey released in March. The national index score of 72, higher than any of the other 28 economies surveyed, “indicates consumers have confidence in the economy, jobs, personal finances and investments, now and for the future,” IPSOS said.
It is easy to be optimistic about the Indian economy. Asia’s economic miracles have been built around a demographic sweet spot when the working age population reaches the point that dependents—retirees and children—form the smallest share of the population. Japan hit this tipping point in 1964. China in 1994. For India, already the world’s fifth largest economy, the sweet spot of a historically low dependency ratio won’t arrive until 2030 and it will last at least 25 years. This demographic destiny is one of the reasons Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, co-authored a Harvard Business Review article in which he recommended “Inevitable India” as an advertising slogan for the government in New Delhi, a play on the decades-old tourism campaign “Incredible India.”
The narrative-building apparatus around Narendra Modi has made him appear to be an indispensable figure in the inevitability of India.”
Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, echoing a critique of the Modi government economic claims
“The narrative-building apparatus around Narendra Modi has made him appear to be an indispensable figure in the inevitability of India,” Chakravorti told Newsweek, echoing a common critique of the Modi government claims about the economy. But demographics don’t tell the whole story of the economic promise of Modi’s India. In the past decade, Modi has transformed India’s infrastructure, building roads, bridges, ports, airports and digital networks at astonishing speed. A country that was once notorious for potholes, bottlenecks, crumbling terminal buildings and traffic snarls caused by cattle, is now competing with the best on many fronts. India’s ports are more efficient than America’s or Singapore’s with ship turnaround times of less than a day. It will soon boast the world’s third-largest metro network after China and Britain. A Venmo-like Unified Payments Interface connects 300 million users to a system that accounts for nearly half the world’s instant payments.
Modi’s tenure has ratcheted up the productive capacity of the world’s most populous country. Goldman Sachs cites these infrastructure investments in its projections of India’s explosive economic growth over the next half-century when it overtakes the United States. Goldman’s projections show the U.S. economy doubling in size by 2075 and China’s just about tripling. The Indian economy will grow 15-fold. The economic value of these investments understates their impact on the way Indians, like the Chinese and Japanese before them, see themselves. “India is undertaking a vast national project of state-building under Modi,” Ravi Agrawal, editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine, wrote this week. “Modi is projecting an image of a more powerful, muscular, prideful nation—and Indians are in thrall to the self-portrait.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21. (PTI file photo)
The Delhi High Court dismissed chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest and Enforcement Directorate remand in the excise policy case on Tuesday. After the setback from the High Court, the Aam Aadmi Party said that Kejriwal will move the Supreme Court for relief.
Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma, in its order today, said Kejriwal collected kickbacks as the AAP’s national convenor.
“The material collected by ED reveals Mr Arvind Kejriwal conspired and was actively involved in use and concealment of proceeds of crime. The ED case also reveals that he was involved in his personal capacity as well as convenor of AAP,” read the court order.
The HC said there cannot be any specific privilege for any one including the Chief Minister.
“This court is of the opinion that the accused has been arrested and his arrest and remand has to be examined as per law and not as per timing of elections,” the High Court said.
‘JUDGES ARE BOUND BY LAW NOT POLITICS’: HC
The HC further said that Kejriwal’s challenge to timing of arrest before General elections in absence of any mala fide on part of ED is “not sustainable”.
It said that casting aspersions on process of pardon and approver is like questioning the credibility of the judge. “We hold that judges are bound by law not politics. Judgements are given on legal principles not political considerations,” the HC remarked.
The High Court further said that the ED was in possession of enough material which had led them to arrest Kejriwal. “Non joining of investigation by Kejriwal, delay caused by him was also impacting those in judicial custody,” it said.
“The present case is not a case between the Central government and Mr Kejriwal but between Mr Kejriwal and ED. The Court must remain vigilant that it is not influenced by any extraneous factors,” it said.
The Delhi High Court, last week, had reserved the order on Kejriwal’s plea. The chief minister had challenged his arrest and his remand in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody.
Thackeray said that he would not compromise on his party symbol and would contest elections using party symbol. (PTI file photo)
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday announced “unconditional support” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing the Gudi Padwa rally from Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, Thackeray also announced that the MNS will not contest for Lok Sabha polls but asked his supporters to be ready for Maharashtra Assembly elections which are due later this year.
“I don’t want Rajya Sabha or Vidhan sabha, I told Fadnavis. I told them, I have no expectations and no conditions. My full support for Modi, BJP, NCP (Ajit Pawar), Sena (Eknath Shinde),” he said.
The MNS leader’s meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s last month sparked speculations that he might not join the Mahayuti – an alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction in Maharashtra.
“For the last one and a half year, CM of Maharashtra has been saying we should work together. Fadnavis too said the same thing. So I went to meet Amit Shah to understand what was the proposal… We spoke of seat distribution. The last time I sat for negotiations was in 1995. I don’t have the temperament of negotiations,” he added.
However, Thackeray said that he would not compromise on his party symbol and would contest elections using party symbol. “I have gained our symbol with a lot of hard work. No compromise on symbol,” he said.
The MNS chief said that the Lok Sabha election will decide the future of the country. “Whether we prosper or we go to the dungeons,” he said.
Raj Thackeray separated from the undivided Shiv Sena and floated the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in 2006. Despite being recognised as a compelling speaker with a dedicated following, his MNS did not achieve significant influence. His contentious remarks against North Indians in the past provoked strong condemnation from leaders of different political parties, including the BJP.
At the first rally in Maharashtra for the general election, the PM says Congress opposed Ram temple construction, accuses the party of being soft on terrorism for the sake of vote-bank politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for the Lok Sabha elections, in Chandrapur on April 08, 2024. | Photo Credit: ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8 took a sharp dig at the Congress, likening it to bitter gourd whose flavour, he said, remains unchanged even when it is “fried in ghee or sweetened with sugar”.
The BJP leader attributed many of the country’s problems to the grand old party and framed the upcoming election as a battle between “stability and instability”.
Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala together account for 204 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Prashant KishorPoll strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor during an interview with news agency PTI.
The BJP, besides making big gains in the South, will emerge as the top party in both West Bengal and Odisha in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Prashant Kishor, election strategist-turned-activist who now heads the Jan Suraaj Abhiyan, said Monday.
“They (BJP) will either be first or second party in Telangana which is a big thing. They will be number one in Odisha for sure. You would be surprised as, in all likelihood, to my mind, the BJP is going to be the number one party in West Bengal,” he said during an interaction with news agency PTI.
However, Kishor stated that the saffron party will not be winning 370 seats, a target that they have set.
Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala together account for 204 seats in the Lok Sabha. However, in 2014 and 2019, they had cumulatively won 29 and 47 seats respectively.
Talking about Andhra Pradesh, where Assembly polls will be held alongside the Lok Sabha elections, Kishor said that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy will find it “very difficult” to make a comeback. “Reddy, like former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, has gone into a provider mode for his constituents, instead of being a fulfiller of people’s aspirations,” he added.
On the overall polls, Kishor said that the BJP will only be feeling pressure if the Opposition alliance, especially the Congress, can ensure that it loses at least around 100 seats in its strongholds of north and west India. “However, by and large, the BJP will be able to hold its ground in these regions,” he added.
A 10-member delegation of the TMC sat on a dharna outside the EC office after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission.
Delhi Police personnel detain TMC leader Saket Gokhale during a dharna of a TMC delegation after a meeting with Election Commission of India (ECI), outside ECI’s office, in New Delhi. ( Image Source :PTI )
TMC Leaders Detained: The Delhi Police on Monday detained a delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders while they were on a dharna outside the Election Commission’s office in the national capital, demanding that the chiefs of the CBI, NIA, ED, and Income Tax Department be changed.
The BJP called the protest a “poll gimmick” and alleged that the TMC was making an all-out effort to protect Sandeshkhali accused Shahjahan Seikh. On the other hand the TMC said that the delegation will comtinue the protest despite detention.
A 10-member delegation of the TMC sat on a dharna outside the EC office after meeting a full bench of the poll panel. Following the detention, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee went to the Raj Bhavan on Monday night to lodge a complaint with West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose.
An 11-member delegation led by Banerjee went to the governor’s house around 9 pm, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. “The delegation will lodge its complaint against the detention of the TMC leaders by Delhi Police in the national capital,” a TMC leader said, as quoted by PTI.
Here Are Top Points:
The Mamata Banerjee-led party has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections at the behest of the BJP-led central government.
The TMC delegation detained by the Delhi police included leaders like Derek O’Brien, TMC MPs Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale, and Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen, and Abir Ranjan Biswas, and the party’s students’ wing West Bengal vice president Sudip Raha.
The BJP termed the TMC leaders’ dharna outside the poll panel’s office a “poll gimmick” and alleged the Mamata Banerjee-led party was making an all-out effort to protect Shahjahan Seikh, the main accused in the Sandeshkhali case. Sheikh, a key accused in sexual assault and land grab charges in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali.
BJP national general secretary Arun Singh slammed the TMC and said that the TMC leaders do not care about the Constitution of India and democracy. “TMC leaders do not care about the Constitution of India and democracy. If anyone has insulted the Constitution, constitutional institutions, and democracy, it is TMC leaders. They are doing ‘nautanki’ (gimmick) to protect and save Shahjahan Sheikh,” BJP national general secretary Arun Singh told reporters, as quoted by PTI. The protest by TMC leaders shows their frustration with the party sensing its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, he added.
Hours after detention, TMC leader and MP Derek O’Brien said they would continue their protest at the Mandir Marg police station. “Our 24-hour dharna will continue inside the police station or outside. We will carry on,” O’Brien told reporters from behind the gates of the Mandir Marg police station, around 2.5 km from the Election Commission’s (EC) office on Ashoka Road in Central Delhi, as reported by PTI.
O’Brien claimed that after being detained, they were driven around the city, before being brought to the police station. “They drove us around Delhi for about one and half hours… after we protested, they brought us to the Mandir Marg police station,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
On their detention, a senior police officer said the action was taken as section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure — that prohibits large gatherings — is imposed in the area around the EC office and no permission was taken for the protest, as reported by PTI.
In a letter to the apex poll body, the TMC alleged that BJP leader Jitendra Tiwari met NIA Superintendent of Police DR Singh on March 26 allegedly with a “packet”, and left the flat empty handed after around an hour long meeting. “The sequence of events are ample evidence of the unholy nexus and agreement between the BJP and the NIA to harass AITC’s workers so as to ensure that they are diverted from performing their electioneering duties,” the TMC said in its letter to the EC, as quoted by PTI.
A delegation of party leaders also raised issues such as the use of Modi’s cut-outs in government buildings and colleges, use of armed forces in BJP’s poll campaigns
A Congress delegation led by Salman Khurshid after meeting with Election Commissioner , in New Delhi on April 8, 2024. | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Congress on April 8 raised a complaint with the Election Commission of India (EC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment that the Congress manifesto carried the imprint of the Muslim League, with “every page reeking of breaking India”.
In a separate post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the BJP’s electoral graph was plummeting and that was why “the Rashtriya Swayansevak Sangh (RSS) is remembering its best friend: the Muslim League”.
On April 1, the Rouse Avenue Court sent him to judicial custody till April 15.
Chief Minister Arvind KejriwalDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Express File Photo)
The Delhi High Court will pronounce on Tuesday its verdict in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case.
As per the cause list uploaded on the court’s website, a single-judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will pronounce the judgment on April 9 at 2.30pm.
Apart from his arrest, Kejriwal has also challenged his subsequent remand in the ED’s custody. On April 1, the Rouse Avenue Court sent him to judicial custody till April 15.
On March 27, Justice Sharma had issued notice in the CM’s main petition against the arrest on March 21 as well as his application for interim relief seeking immediate release, listing it on April 3 for “final disposal”. On April 3, Justice Sharma, after hearing both sides for around four hours, had reserved the verdict.
Opposing his “illegal” arrest, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the CM, had argued that the arrest was intended to disable him from any active role in politics, further impinging on the level-playing field and the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
Kumar, who heads the JD(U) and returned to the BJP-led coalition less than three months ago, made the faux pas at a rally in Nawada district where he spoke before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Nitish KumarBihar CM Nitish Kumar at a rally in Nawada on Sunday. PTI
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Sunday trolled on social media for predicting that the NDA will win “more than 4,000 seats”, several times the sanctioned strength of Lok Sabha.
Kumar, who heads the JD(U) and returned to the BJP-led coalition less than three months ago, made the faux pas at a rally in Nawada district where he spoke before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a portion of his speech that has gone viral, Kumar can be heard fumbling “char lakh (four lakh)”, before correcting himself and uttering “char hazaar se bhi zyada (more than 4,000)”, while turning towards the PM whom he has been wishing a “400 plus tally” in the elections.
Predictably, many RJD leaders, including its spokesperson Sarika Paswan, shared the video of Kumar who had lambasted the party’s president Lalu Prasad and the latter’s wife Rabri Devi for their alleged dismal performance as chief ministers of Bihar.
“The chief minister wanted to wish more than four lakh MPs to the PM. Then he probably thought it would be too much and 4,000 would be sufficient,” Paswan wrote on X in a post in Hindi.
Political strategist Prashant Kishor said Rahul Gandhi is running Congress and has been unable to either step aside or let somebody else steer the party despite his inability to deliver in the last 10 years.
Prashant Kishor said “nobody can help you if you do not recognise the need for help”
Political strategist Prashant Kishor or PK has suggested that Rahul Gandhi should consider stepping back if the Congress does not get the desired results in the Lok Sabha polls.
In an interaction with PTI editors, he said Mr Gandhi, for all practical purposes, is running his party and has been unable to either step aside or let somebody else steer the Congress despite his inability to deliver in the last 10 years.
“This according to me is also anti-democratic,” said Mr Kishor, who had prepared a revival plan for the opposition party but walked out due to the disagreements between him and its leadership over the execution of his strategy.
“When you are doing the same work for the last 10 years without any success, then there is no harm in taking a break… You should allow someone else to do it for five years. Your mother did it,” he said, recalling Sonia Gandhi’s decision to keep away from politics following her husband Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and let P V Narasimha Rao take charge in 1991.
A key attribute of good leaders the world over is that they know what they lack and actively look to fill those gaps, he said.
“But it seems to Rahul Gandhi that he knows everything. Nobody can help you if you do not recognise the need for help. He believes he needs someone who can execute what he thinks is right. It is not possible,” Mr Kishor said.
Citing Mr Gandhi’s decision to resign as the Congress president following the party’s drubbing in the 2019 polls, he said the Wayanad MP had then written that he would step back and let somebody else do the job. But, in effect, he has been doing contrary to what he had written, he added.
Many Congress leaders will admit privately that they cannot take any decision in the party, even about a single seat or seat sharing with alliance partners “unless they get the approval from xyz,” he said, referring to their need to defer to Rahul Gandhi.
However, a section of Congress leaders also privately say the situation is in fact the opposite and Rahul Gandhi does not take decisions, which they wish he would.
Mr Kishor said the Congress and its supporters are bigger than any individual and Mr Gandhi should not be stubborn that it must be him who will deliver for the party despite repeated failures.
Questioning the former Congress president’s contention that his party has been facing poll setbacks because institutions like the Election Commission, judiciary and the media have been compromised, he said this may be partly true but is not the complete truth.
The Congress, he noted, was reduced from 206 seats to 44 in the 2014 polls when it was in power and the BJP had little influence over various institutions.
The ace strategist, who has been associated with successful poll campaigns of several major parties, however, emphasised that the main opposition party suffers from “structural” flaws in its functioning and addressing them is essential for its success.
The Congress has been in a secular decline since 1984 in terms of its vote share and Lok Sabha and assembly seats and this is not about individuals, he said.
Asked about his view on the claims that the party is in a terminal decline, Mr Kishor refuted such a claim saying those saying so do not understand the country’s politics. Such an assertion is nothing more than solganeering, he said.
“The Congress should not be merely seen as a party. The space it represents in the country can never be finished off. It is not possible. The Congress has evolved and reincarnated itself several times in its history,” he said.
The last time it did so was when Sonia Gandhi took over and plotted its return to power in the 2004 polls, he added.
Asked about what went wrong after he was roped in by the party for its revival plan, he said the Congress wanted an Empowered Action Group, which is not its constitutional body, to implement his plans and he did not agree with the proposal.
How an EAG can reform its constitutional body like the Congress Working Committee, he said. It is like a PA’s office working on a plan to reform the chairperson’s functioning, he added.
Though the Congress did form an EAG, he noted, and asked if anyone knows what it has done.
Mr Kishor ruled out the possibility of the Aam Aadmi Party, which has become a national party after tasting successes to varying degrees in different states, taking up the space of the Congress and replicating its Delhi model in other states.
Yogi Adityanath also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, crediting him for the ongoing infrastructure development across the nation.
Yogi Adityanath said whoever poses a threat to security of society, their ‘Ram Naam Satya’ is certain.
Warning criminals, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that whoever poses a threat to the security of society, their ‘Ram Naam Satya’ (last rites) is certain.
He said this on Friday while addressing a massive poll rally in Aligarh for BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate Satish Kumar Gautam.
“No one ever thought that daughters and businessmen could venture out at night without worry. We ensure ‘Ram Naam Satya’ (last rites done) for the danger posed to the safety of daughters and businessmen. We live our lives chanting Lord Ram’s name. Without Ram, nothing is possible. But when someone poses a threat to the security of society, ‘Ram Naam Satya’ is also certain,” Yogi Adityanath said.
He emphasised the importance of voting for continued progress and development.
“What was a dream 10 years ago is now becoming a reality, and it’s happening because of the value of your vote. A wrong vote would have led the country into the depths of corruption. There was anarchy, curfews, and lawlessness earlier. Our daughters, our youth were under threat,” Yogi Adityanath said.
Yogi Adityanath praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, crediting him for the ongoing infrastructure development across the nation.
“When you gave your vote to Modi ji, it’s under Modi ji’s name, you ensured the guarantee of your future. Whether it’s world-class structures, highways, airports, defense corridors, medical colleges, or universities, they are all being built,” Yogi Adityanath said.
Yogi Adityanath expressed confidence in the outcome of the upcoming elections, stating that people have already decided in favour of a third term for the Modi government.
“For the first time, while the election process is underway, people are already confident about the outcome. They have already decided that it will be Modi government for the third time (Tisri baar, Modi Sarkar),” Yogi Adityanath said.
If PM Narendra Modi secures a third term, India is poised to become the world’s third-largest economy within the initial three years, he said.
“India will develop only when Uttar Pradesh develops and Uttar Pradesh will develop only when Aligarh also develops. Given PM Modi a third term, India will become the third largest economy in the world within the first three years.”.
Congress releases manifesto for Lok Sabha elections 2024. Photograph:(Others)
Congress Manifesto 2024: The opposition Congress party in India on Friday (Apr 5) launched its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the manifesto launch event, senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram said, “The broad theme of the manifesto is justice. Every aspect of justice has been threatened, weakened in the last 10 years, especially in the last five years.”
“I have always accused the BJP Govt and said that Modi Govt is the government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. This Govt is driven only by the interests of the top 1% of this country but we have to look at the bottom 50%. The bottom 50% is as important as those who are well off. It has been estimated that 23 crore people are still poor in this country,” Chidambaram added.
#WATCH | Congress Party releases its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, at AICC headquarters in Delhi.
1) If it wins the general elections, the Congress has promised a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
2) The Congress will reserve one-half (50 per cent) of central government jobs for women starting in 2025.
3) “Congress resolves to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. The poor will be identified among the families at the bottom of the income pyramid,” the party manifesto said.
4) Following consultation, the Congress would bring a law to recognise civil unions between couples belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.
5) “Congress will ensure that, like every citizen, minorities have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws. We will encourage the reform of personal laws. Such reform must be undertaken with the participation and consent of the communities concerned,” the manifesto added.
6) The Congress has also promised to abolish application fees for government examinations and government posts. “Due to widespread unemployment, as a one-time measure of relief, the amount due including unpaid interest as of 15 March 2024 in respect of all student educational loans will be written off and the banks will be compensated by the government,” the manifesto said.
The defence minister was responding to a question on a report by British newspaper “The Guardian” that claimed Indian intelligence agencies carried out assassinations of terrorists in Pakistan as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019.
‘Pakistan Mein Ghus Kar Marenge’: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s Fiery Response To Question On Cross-Border Terrorism; WATCH |
If terrorists try to disturb peace in India or carry out terror activities, a befitting response will be given and if they run away to Pakistan, India will enter the neighbouring country to kill them, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, referring to New Delhi’s assertive approach to deal with cross-border terrorism.
The defence minister was responding to a question on a report by British newspaper “The Guardian” that claimed Indian intelligence agencies carried out assassinations of terrorists in Pakistan as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019.
Rajnath Singh’s Stern Warning To Terrorists
“If terrorists from the neighbouring country try to disturb the peace in Bharat or try to carry out terror activities in Bharat, we will give them a befitting reply. (Koi bhi terrorist hamare parosi desh se yadi hamare Bharat ko disturb karneki koshish karega, yahan par yadi atankbadi harkate karega, toh uska muh tod jabab denge),” Singh told “CNN News 18”.
“If they run away to Pakistan, we will enter Pakistan to kill them (Yadi woh bhag kar Pakistan mein jayega, toh Pakistan mein ghus kar marenge),” he said.
Singh said India has the strength to take stern action against cross-border terrorism and Pakistan has started realising it.
File photo of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with her husband Robert Vadra Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Robert Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Thursday expressed his desire to contest Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, saying people expect him to make his debut from the Gandhi family borough.
Vadra claimed that people of Amethi are upset with their sitting MP Union Minister Smriti Irani and want a member of the Gandhi family to contest the seat.
“Whoever represents Rae Bareli or Amethi must work for the progress of people, their security and should not play politics of discrimination. The people of Amethi are very upset with their current Member of Parliament,” he said.
“The people of Amethi expect me to represent their constituency if I decide to become a member of Parliament…For years, the Gandhi family worked hard in Rae Bareli, Amethi and Sultanpur…The people of Amethi are really troubled by the current Member of Parliament, they think they have made a mistake by electing her,” he told ANI.
In reaction to being denied a ticket, former MLA and national general secretary Satish Kumar said that the dissenting LJP leaders will now throw their weight behind the INDIA bloc. He condemned the LJP Supremo for allocating tickets to unqualified candidates and pledged allegiance to the INDIA alliance.
In a major setback before the Lok Sabha polls, 22 leaders of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) have resigned in protest against the ticket distribution for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. Expressing their dissatisfaction, the resignations come amid allegations of ticket distribution in exchange for money within the party ranks.
Among the prominent figures who stepped down are former minister Renu Kushwaha, former MLA and national general secretary Satish Kumar, state organisation minister Ravindra Singh, Ajay Kushwaha, Sanjay Singh, and State General Secretary Rajesh Dangi.
Former MP Renu Kushwaha, expressing her disappointment, stated, “Ticket should be given to the party workers instead of people from outside. Tickets were given to the outsiders which means that able people are not there in your party. Are we the labour class people in your party who will work for you, make you a leader? Our devotion was questioned when an outsider was given a ticket. We are not here to serve as labourers for the party.”
Former MLA and national general secretary Satish Kumar, in response to not receiving a ticket, emphasised that the rebel LJP leaders will now support the INDIA bloc. He criticised the LJP Supremo for giving tickets to undeserving candidates and vowed to support the INDIA alliance.
“I have joined the BJP in interest of the nation and to serve the people. I want to help more and more people,” Singh said on joining the BJP
Boxer Vijender Singh joined BJP on April 3
Vijender Singh, India’s first Olympic medallist in boxing and a Congress leader, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“I have joined the BJP in interest of the nation and to serve the people. I want to help more and more people,” Singh said on joining the BJP.
The Olympic medal-winning boxer justified his switch to the BJP, saying he made a “well thought out decision” after connecting with the saffron party through a common friend.
In the 2019 general election, Singh had fought unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency as a Congress candidate. His name was doings the rounds for the last few days as the party’s nominee from Mathura, from where actor and incumbent MP Hema Malini is contesting again.
During his questioning, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said by accessing his iPhone data and chats, the ED would be privy to details of AAP’s ’election strategy’ and pre-poll alliances
Arvind Kejriwal leaves the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi. PTI.
Apple has reportedly denied to unlock and give the Enforcement Directorate (ED) access to the iPhone used by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Cupertino-based tech-giant has reportedly said the data can only be accessed with the password set by the owner of the device.
A report by The Indian Express quoted sources saying that during ED’s raid on the night of Kejriwal’s arrest on March 21, the agency just found Rs 70,000 and four mobile phones, including the CM’s smartphone, which were confiscated. The Delhi CM, allegedly, had switched off his iPhone and denied sharing his password.
Why Kejriwal did not share his iPhone’s password with ED?
As per reports, Kejriwal, during his questioning, said that by accessing his mobile phone data and chats, the ED would be privy to details of AAP’s “election strategy” and pre-poll alliances.
Apple’s history of not unlocking devices for law enforcement
This isn’t the first time where Apple has refused to unlock the device at the request of a country’s investigating agencies.
In 2020, Apple refused to unlock the device of one Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant with the Saudi Air Force after he three Americans to death at Pensacola Naval Air Station. American authorities called this an act of terrorism, and the FBI had asked Apple to unlock the device and share the data with them to aid their investigation.
However, Apple refused to unlock the device but provided the investigative authorities with a wide variety of information that was associated with Alshamrani. Upon further requests, Apple provided more information including what they could retrieve from iCloud backups, account information and transactional data for multiple accounts.
Similarly, in 2016, a federal judge asked Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhones of two suspected terrorists, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the 2015 San Bernardino attack.
We take a look at the different stages at which proceedings are currently pending against other AAP leaders.
Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay SinghFacebook
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh on Tuesday became the first Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi Excise Policy case after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not object to his release.
Even so, Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP communications head Vijay Nair are still behind bars.
With the Lok Sabha elections just weeks away, CM Arvind Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody on April 1 after the ED arrested him in connection with the same case.
With Singh getting bail from the top court in an unexpected development today, we take a look at the different stages at which proceedings are currently pending against other AAP leaders.
Background of case and status of accused
The ED case against the AAP leaders originated out of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022 alleging that there were irregularities in framing and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-22. It was stated that AAP leaders received kickbacks from liquor manufacturers through this policy.
The central agency alleged that some part of the money was used as expenses for the State Assembly elections in Goa, in 2022.
One of the questions raised was whether AAP can also be added as an accused in the case.
The AAP leaders have denied the allegations against them, terming it a politically motivated witch hunt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
A total of six prosecution complaints – one main and five supplementary – have been filed by the ED since 2022. A total of 32 persons have been named as accused for offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
While cognizance of the complaints has been taken by the trial court, the matter has not yet reached the stage of arguments on charge.
At least 16 persons have been arrested in the case so far. Apart from AAP leaders Kejriwal, Sisodia, Singh and Nair, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha has also been arrested.
Kavitha has also been described as a kingpin by the ED and is alleged to have paid the bribes to AAP leaders in exchange of undue favours for herself and the “South Group” of liquor lobbyists.
Out of the 16, 3 have turned approvers for the ED and have thus been granted pardon and bail by the courts.
These include Aurobindo Pharma Director P Sarath Chandra Reddy, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy’s son Raghava Magunta Reddy and businessman Dinesh Arora.
Besides Singh, who is expected to be released soon, those who are on regular or interim bail include Regional Manager of Pernod Ricard India Benoy Babu, businessman Abhishek Boinpally, Rajesh Joshi, and Gautam Malhotra.
Why AAP leaders are in the dock
Arvind KejriwalFacebook
After arresting the Delhi CM, the ED had told the trial court that Kejriwal was “intrinsically involved in the entire conspiracy” and also had a role in utilisation of “the proceeds of crime”.
Out of three statements connecting Kejriwal to the alleged kickbacks from South Group, two are of accused who have turned approvers and the other is of Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, the Lok Sabha candidate of BJP-ally Telugu Desam Party.
The other allegation against Kejriwal is with regard to utilisation of funds for the Goa elections by AAP.
The ED has claimed that a “part of the proceeds of crime to the tune of cash of Rs 45 Cr approx” was utilised in the election campaign and thus AAP has committed the offence of money laundering “through” Kejriwal.
“Arvind Kejriwal was at the time of offences under PMLA, incharge of and responsible for the said “company” i.e. AAP for conduct of business of AAP. Therefore, not only the AAP but Sh Arvind Kejriwal shall be deemed to be guilty of offences punishable u/s 4 ofPMLA and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished as provided u/s 70 of PMLA,” the ED told Delhi High Court today in response to the petition challenging Kejriwal’s arrest.
Besides looking into Kejriwal’s digital devices, the ED is also going through his financial documents and details of movable and immovable properties.
Kejriwal is to be produced before the Special Judge Kaveri Baweja on April 15.
Delhi’s former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested first by the CBI and then ED in February and March last year.
The ED in its case against Sisodia has alleged that since he was not only the head of the Group of Ministers related to the policy, but also the Excise Minister, he had “played a key role” in modifying the terms of the policy in a “manner which would benefit the cartel members.”
He is particularly also accused of favouring a company Indo Spirits, which is claimed to have received major profits due to the implementation of the scheme.
Sisodia’s bail petitions have been dismissed right from the trial court to the Supreme Court.
At present, his bail is being argued again before the trial court and was listed today for arguments. The ED is expected to respond to Sisodia’s argument on April 6.
Vijay Nair was the first AAP leader to be arrested in the case by the CBI in September 2022. He was the party’s communication in-charge and as per the ED, the man at the centre of the whole conspiracy. The ED has even called him the “kingpin” of the whole “liquor scam”.
Though he was granted bail in the CBI case, he was later arrested by the ED and continues to remain in prison. His bail petition in the ED case was dismissed by Delhi High Court in July last year.
According to ED, Nair held meetings on behalf of the AAP with liquor industry players, particularly the “South Group”. Dinesh Arora’s statement is one of main pieces of evidence against him.
In particular, the central agency has accused Nair of receiving ₹100 crore from the South Group as an advance kickback on behalf of AAP.
Party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal, Kerala Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, KPCC acting president M.M. Hassan, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala will accompany Mr. Gandhi.
Women walk past an election banner of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, installed along a road on the eve of his nomination filing for the upcoming general elections, in Wayanad on April 2, 2024 | Photo Credit: AFP
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will reach the district on April 3 to submit his nomination papers at the collectorate here for the Wayanad parliamentary constituency after leading a roadshow at Kalpetta in Wayanad.
Mr. Gandhi will arrive in a helicopter at Thalakkal ground at 10 a.m. and then head for new Municipal bus stand by car. The roadshow will begin from the bus stand premises at 11 a.m.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal, Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) acting president M.M. Hassan, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala, along with other State leaders, will accompany Mr. Gandhi.
BJP leaders dismiss Atishi’s claim of BJP’s coercion as baseless. They highlight internal power struggles in AAP for the Chief Minister’s post. The BJP MPs raise allegations of corruption and involvement in scams against AAP members
Delhi Education Minister and AAP leader Atishi revealed the next line of AAP leadership to go to jail in the coming few days. (screengrab @Atishi X)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on April 2 alleged that she was approached by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join them or else she would be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the coming days. While addressing a press conference, she said, “The BJP, through one of my close aides, approached me to join their party to save my political career, and if I do not join the BJP, then in the coming month, I will be arrested by the ED.”
Calling her allegations ‘baseless,’ BJP leader RP Singh said, “I too can make such baseless allegations. I, too, can say that Saurabh Bharadwaj called me up and requested me to protect them from Arvind Kejriwal, who wants to put them behind bars and make Sunita Kejriwal the CM.”
‘Internal tussle for Delhi CM’s post’, says BJP leader RP Singh
Singh further said that it was their party’s internal tussle which was surfacing, and the fight for the CM post had commenced within AAP. He said Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi are on one side, and Sunita Kejriwal and Arvind Kejriwal are on the other side.
He said, “This is their internal tussle, which is coming out again and again in different manners. The truth is that action will be taken against all whose names are involved in the matter. It is clear that the fight for the CM post has begun in AAP. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi are on one side & Sunita Kejriwal and Arvind Kejriwal are on the other side.”
Another BJP MP, Manoj Tiwari, said, “People of Delhi are understanding it very well; there is a saying in English that thieves have been exposed. Their CM, Arvind Kejriwal, said Vijay Nair used to report to Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj. Nair, who is a key factor in the liquor scam, used to report to them. If the kingpin of this entire scam is saying that these people are involved, they should be interrogated. BJP has zero tolerance against corruption. PM Narendra Modi, BJP’s stand is to remove corruption.”
BJP leader and senior advocate Nalin Kohli says, “Atishi must be worried that the Aam Aadmi Party supreme leader Arvind Kejriwal seems to have taken her name and Saurabh Bharadwaj’s name, saying the middlemen used to meet them. If that is the case, their own leader is pointing a finger towards them. His two colleagues and other ministers are already in jail. He has already taken their resignation. Perhaps he has some other plans in mind to remove these ministers. But you just can’t turn around and attack the BJP on some false allegation or false narrative in the hope that the questions that are being asked will not be asked. Ultimately, they have to answer on the scam, which is the liquor scam in Delhi and on which the investigative agency obviously seems to have collected some credible material.”
‘Arvind Kejriwal fooled you,’ says BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Arvind Kejriwal is the only person who has fooled her. “No one except Arvind Kejriwal has fooled you. He has destroyed several lives before her. When Arvind Kejriwal gave their names to the ED, they felt that they are the next in turn because Kejriwal has given them away.”
Sirsa, in the video message, also asked Atishi to reveal the name of her close aide, from whom she claims she got the blackmail threat from the BJP. He added, “Atishi claims that he has gotten a message. She should reveal the name of her close aide so that the ED can arrest him. BJP will not take in such a corrupt leader like Atishi and even will not allow her to walk outside its office.” Hinting at a power struggle in the AAP, Sirsa said, “This is because Arvind Kejriwal does not want to make them Chief Minister. He wants to put them in jail. So they are scared.”
INDIA Bloc Maharally: Reminding the BJP of “the 1000-year-old (Ramayana) epic and its message”, Priyanka Gandhi spoke about how Lord Ram defeated Ravan despite having no army, chariot or resources.
INDIA Bloc Maharally: Priyanka Gandhi was speaking at the grand rally organised at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said on Saturday that she wants to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the message of Lord Ram that “power does not last forever” and “ego is shattered one day”. She was speaking at the INDIA bloc’s rally held in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.
Gandhi was the last speaker at the grand rally organised by the Opposition to protest the “misuse” of central agencies at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- ruled Centre.
She said, “Those in power call themselves Ram Bhakt…I believe they are trapped in an illusion.”
Reminding the BJP of “the 1000-year-old epic and its message”, Priyanka Gandhi spoke about how Lord Ram defeated Ravan despite having no army, chariot or resources.
“When Lord Ram was fighting for the truth. He did not have power or resources. He did not even have a chariot. Ravan had a chariot, resources, an army and gold. Lord Ram had the truth, hope, faith, love, modesty, patience and courage…,” Gandhi said.
“I want to tell those sitting in power, I want to remind PM Modi the message of Lord Ram: power does not last forever, power comes and goes; ego is shattered one day. This was the message of Lord Ram and his life,” she added.
Modi further said that rallies are being organised to save corrupts. (PTI/File)
Refuting allegations by the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is an independent agency and it is working independently while underlining that the government does not interfere with its work.
In an interview with Thanthi TV weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, the Prime Minister said that opposition parties are trying to use courts as a “weapon” to hinder the ED’s work because they know that Modi will not stop fighting against corruption.
“Did we create ED? Or PMLA? They were there before we formed the government. ED is an independent agency. It is working independently. Neither do we stop them, nor do we send them. They have to be right in the eyes of the law… ED has around 7,000 cases. They have only 3% of cases related to politicians. During UPA, ED seized Rs 35 lakh cash,” he said.
“During our government, Rs 2200 crore cash has been seized by the ED. Bundles of cash are being seized. Notes are being found in washing machines and pipes in houses. Rs 300 crore cash was seized from Congress MP. In Bengal, cash has been seized from many ministers. Will the people tolerate all this? No, they won’t,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came on a day when the opposition parties gathered in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan to show solidarity with CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, both arrested by the ED in different cases.
Modi further said that he is taking legal advice to return cash, seized by the ED, to poor people in West Bengal who gave money to get jobs. “Rs 3,000 crore has been attached in Bengal… I am taking legal advice if this money can be returned to poor people who gave the money for jobs. We gave returned Rs 17,000 crore to people. People praise the ED,” he said.
When asked about the opposition’s allegation of ED not taking any action against BJP leaders, the PM said, “Jis bhi politician ka case hai woh chalega (Cases will continue no matter who the politician is).”
Modi highlighted the importance of meritocracy and fair competition within parties, suggesting that a singular family’s perpetual control undermines democratic principles. (X/@BJP4Telangana)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that opposition parties, which are making furore over electoral bonds, will surely “regret” and stressed that there could be shortcomings in the scheme and they can be rectified.
In an interview with Thanthi TV weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, the Prime Minister said nobody knows how much money was spent on elections before 2014 and the funding details are in the public domain now only due to electoral bonds, which have been dubbed as “India’s biggest scam” by the opposition.
“Tell me what have I done to have a setback. I believe those people, who are dancing and feeling proud about it, are going to regret. I want to ask if any agency can tell us how much money was spent on elections before 2014. Modi came up with electoral bonds, which is why you know who took the money and donated it. Today you have a trail. There could be shortcomings and they can be corrected,” he said.
In a landmark verdict delivered on February 15, a five-judge constitution bench scrapped the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it “unconstitutional” and ordered disclosure of data by the Election Commission of the donors, the amount donated by them, and the recipients.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein and eight others were elected unopposed after the closure of the nomination withdrawal period today.
The BJP supporters bursted firecrackers in the capital Itanagar to celebrate the development.
Guwahati: The BJP has won as many as 10 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced, weeks before the scheduled election date. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein and eight others were elected unopposed after the closure of the nomination withdrawal period today.
“We have won 10 seats uncontested, this is a big victory even before the vote has been cast, this just goes to show the massive support of people for our developmental work. People want us to continue, our government formation is confirmed. We will also win both Lok Sabha seats with a thumping majority,” said Mr Khandu.
The BJP has put up candidates for all 60 seats of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. The assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh will be held on April 19. The Congress is contesting on 34 seats.
The BJP supporters bursted firecrackers in the capital Itanagar to celebrate the development.
Besides the Chief Minister and his deputy, BJP leader Dasanglu Pul’s nomination also went uncontested after her sole opponent, Bafutso Krong of the Congress, withdrew from the contest. Dasanglu Pul is the wife of former chief minister Kalikho Pul.
There was no candidate against Chief Minister Pema Khandu at the Mukto assembly constituency, similarly, first-timer Techi Rotu of BJP is the only candidate who filed a nomination for the Sagalee assembly constituency.
At Tali in Kra Daadi, BJP candidate Jikke Tako is set to be elected unopposed for his second term and Nyato Dukam is the lone candidate to file nomination at Taliha in Upper Subansiri and Roing MLA Mutchu Mithi, who recently joined BJP, is likely to win unopposed from Roing again.
The Delhi Police said that it has made elaborate arrangements with checking at every gate and the deployment of paramilitary personnel in and around the Ramlila Maidan for the rally.
The opposition’s I.N.D.I.A bloc is set to hold a “Loktantra bachao rally” on Sunday at Delhi’s Ramlila ground. ( Image Source :PTI )
I.N.D.I.A. Bloc Rally: The opposition’s I.N.D.I.A bloc is set to hold a “Loktantra bachao rally” on Sunday at Delhi’s Ramlila ground. Ahead of the ‘maha rally’, the Congress has asserted that it is aimed at saving the Constitution and democracy and not any particular person.
The announcement came after Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy in the national capital.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi took to social media platform X on Saturday and lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he wants to strangle democracy and take away the option from the people to choose the government of their choice. The Wayanad MP said that it seems as if the country is being run not by a government but by a criminal gang.
On Saturday, the Delhi Police said that it has made elaborate arrangements with checking at every gate and the deployment of paramilitary personnel in and around the Ramlila Maidan for the rally organised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), news agency PTI reported, citing officials.
According to the officials, the Delhi Police has allowed the Opposition to hold the rally with certain conditions, including no march, no tractor trollies, and no weapons in central Delhi. A strict action will be taken if any violations takes place.
Here Are Top Points:
Top leaders of the Opposition bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav are expected to attend the rally. It is being held in the backdrop of Kejriwal’s arrest and allegations of misuse of agencies against the opposition by the BJP-led central government.
Speaking on the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc’s rally, Rahul Gandhi said that tomorrow the opposition is going to hold a big meeting in Delhi to tell the truth about this false, arrogant, and corrupt government. “This fight is between BJP and the rights of the people, in which we stand with the people. India’s victory lies only in the victory of democracy,” he said in a post on X.
Addressing a press conference on the rally, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi will address the rally, among other senior leaders. “It is not a person-specific rally. That is why it is called the Loktantra Bachao Rally. This is not one party’s rally, about 27–28 parties are involved in it,” Ramesh said, as quoted by ANI.
An officer said that although the rally is allowed, Section 144 will remain imposed at the DDU Marg, where the offices of political parties are located, as reported by PTI. “We have made elaborate security arrangements so that the general public doesn’t face any inconvenience due to the rally,” a senior police officer said, as quoted by PTI.
The traffic police will also remain deployed to regulate the traffic and parkings near the ground. About a dozen companies of paramilitary personnel will be deployed around the Ramlila Maidan and other parts of central Delhi, including DDU Marg, PTI reported, citing sources. The administration has allowed 20,000 people to come for the rally, but police expects it to exceed 30,000.
According to a Delhi Police official, seven gates have been prepared for entry and exit at the Ramlila Maidan. “Among these seven, one is for VIPs and another for the media,” the official said, as quoted by PTI. Every visitor will be checked with door frame metal detectors and hand-held machines at the entry gates, he said.
The Delhi Police has also installed CCTV cameras and set up a control room centre from where they could watch the activities at the Ramlila Maidan. The police said the organisers have made the seating arrangements for visitors. Officials said that the facilities for drinking water and washrooms will be provided at the ground.
JKPDP President Mehbooba Mufti reached Delhi on Saturday to attend the rally. She was received by AAP leader and minister Imran Hussain at Delhi airport.
Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said “Tomorrow, a mega rally of the INDIA alliance is taking place in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. The way two sitting CMs have been arrested and leaders of the opposition are being targetted, it seems that PM Modi is scared of fighting elections… He does not want anyone to stand against him…When leaders are in opposition, actions are taken against them and when they join BJP they are given a clean chit,” as quoted by news agency ANI.
The list includes three states West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab. (PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party released the 8th list of candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections on Saturday. The list includes the names of 11 candidates including former IPS officer Debashish Dhar from West Bengal’s Birbhum and Preneet Kaur from Punjab’s Patiala.
Debasish Dhar, a 2010 batch IPS officer resigned from his service on March 20 to join politics. In his resignation, he wrote that due to personal reasons and to achieve social goals in his life, he is resigning.
The BJP on Sunday named two candidates from West Bengal, three from Odisha and six from Punjab. It has so far announced its candidates for 411 seats.
The saffron party has still has not given any candidate for Diamond Harbour and Asansol seats. This time, the party has replaced actor Sunny Deol and has given Gurdaspur ticket to Dinesh Singh Babbu.
Government doctor, Pranat Tudu resigned from his position and will now contest from BJP ticket from West Bengal’s Jhargram. Other candidates include Ravneet singh Bittu from Ludhiana, Hansraj Hans from Faridkot, Taranjeet Sandhu from Amritsar, Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar, Sukanta Kumar from Kandhamal among others.
Former Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu will be making his poll debut from Amritsar.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Uttarakhand by addressing a public meeting at Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district on April 2. Elections to the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand are scheduled to be held in the first phase on April 19. All the five seats are with the ruling BJP since 2014.
Govinda joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and called it the ‘blessing of God’. “I thought I would not enter politics again,” the actor said.
Bollywood actor Govinda joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday.
Bollywood actor Govinda joined Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday adding a splash of glamour to the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra. Govinda is likely to be fielded from Mumbai North West as he makes a comeback to politics after a hiatus. Govinda, in 2004, contested from Mumbai North Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and earned the moniker of a giant-slayer as he defeated BJP’s Ram Naik. Later, he resigned from the party and took a break from politics altogether.
Former MP and Bollywood actor Govinda officially joined the Shiv Sena in a ceremony attended by CM Eknath Shinde.
It is expected that Govinda will contest from Mumbai North West constituency against Shiv Sena UBT’s Amol Kirtikar.
“I am joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing of God. I thought I would not enter politics again,” Govinda said as he was officially inducted into the party by Eknath Shinde. On Mumbai under Eknath Shinde, Govinda said the city looks cleaner and better now. Govinda’s parents, the actor said, had a good relationship with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
After India summoned a senior US diplomat to lodge a protest over remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Washington on Wednesday stressed that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and “we don’t think anyone should object to that”.
“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Miller was responding to a question during the State Department briefing over India summoning Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in New Delhi earlier in the day as well as on freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts.
“We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues.
“With respect to your first question, I’m not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don’t think anyone should object to that. We’ll make the same thing clear privately,” Miller said.
Ministry of External Affairs officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against a US State Department official’s remarks on Mr Kejriwal’s arrest.
The meeting lasted for more than 30 minutes.
Reports suggested that a US State Department official had said that Washington “encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for chief minister Kejriwal”.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Mr Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy ‘scam’.
The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (File image: PTI)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) offered her ticket to fight the Lok Sabha election 2024, however, she declined the proposal citing a lack of funds required for fighting polls. The minister said that the BJP chief JP Nadda gave her the option to contest either from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu.
“After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say… maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It’s also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use…Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it,” she said.
Sitharaman, the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, was speaking at the TIMES NOW Summit 2024 in Delhi.
“I am very grateful that they accepted my argument…So I am not contesting,” she stated.
When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok Sabha elections, she said that the Consolidated Fund of India does not belong to her.
She said, “My salary, my earnings, my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India”.
The seats on offer to the Congress are Sasaram, Muzaffarpur, Bettiah, Katihar, Kishanganj, Nawada, Patna Sahib and Samastipur. However, sources say that the Congress also wants the seats of Purnia, Karakat and Aurangabad.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (centre) with RJD chief Lalu Yadav (left) and his son Tejashwi Yadav (right) | PTI/File photo
The Bihar Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) may not be near any consensus as far as seat sharing deal for the Lok Sabha elections is concerned. Sources say that that the Congress is seeking 11 seats to contest on, but Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is willing to concede only 8.
The seats on offer to the Congress are Sasaram, Muzaffarpur, Bettiah, Katihar, Kishanganj, Nawada, Patna Sahib and Samastipur.
However, sources say that the Congress also wants the seats of Purnia, Karakat and Aurangabad.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is likely to meet Congress leaders in Delhi today to finalise the seat sharing deal. The Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) is also expected to meet at 6 pm today and discussion on Bihar is said to be on the cards.
An announcement on the seat-sharing deal is likely expected tomorrow, sources said.
In 2019, the Congress contetsted nine seats but won only one. The RJD didn’t win any. The BJP-led NDA won 39 out of 40 seats, with the BJP securing 17 seats. Nitish Kumar’s Janta Dal United (JDU) got 16, while Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) won all six they contested.
Nitish Kumar is now back in the NDA after briefly being with the Grand Alliance. The BJP has also finalised seat-sharing deal with Paswan.
Last week, the NDA announced its seat distribution in Bihar. The BJP will contest 17 seats, JD(U) 16 and the LJP five, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM will each contest one seat.
The BJP has been actively organising political rallies across various states, featuring prominent national leaders such as Prime Minister Modi, Party President Nadda, and Amit Shah.
As the country gears up for the Lok Sabha elections, the verbal attacks and counterattacks between political parties have intensified. Leading up to the upcoming elections, the ruling party at the center, BJP, released a video mocking opposition leaders. Many found this video hilarious, saying it truly depicts the infighting between leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc.
The video advertisement depicts the prominent figures of the opposition gathered for a meeting with a woman regarding marriage. Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, is seated in the center, giving an explanation about the family.
BJP Campaign strategy
“Abki Baar 400 Par” is a political catchphrase coined by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the upcoming 2024 general election. The slogan sets the ambitious target of securing 400 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, symbolising the party’s electoral aspirations.
This slogan has been used previously by the BJP, albeit with modifications, in past elections, most notably during the 2019 general election. It has since become a rallying cry for the party’s supporters, representing its political ambitions.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut released a list of 17 candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses supporters at a rally. (Uday Deolekar/HT photo)
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday released the party’s first list of 17 candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Anil Desai will contest from the Mumbai South Central parliamentary constituency.
Sanjay Raut said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party is going to contest a total of 22 seats in the general elections and the remaining five names will be announced in a day or two. He also said in Hatkanangale, farmers’ leader Raju Shetti has asked for the support of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
हिंदूहृदयसम्राट शिवसेनाप्रमुख बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांच्या आशीर्वादाने आणि शिवसेना पक्ष प्रमुख श्री.उद्धवजी ठाकरे यांच्या आदेशाने शिवसेनेच्या 17 लोकसभा उमेदवारांची यादी जाहीर करण्यास येत आहे..
*मुंबई दक्षिण मध्य:श्री अनिल देसाई यांच्या उमेदवारीची घोषणा करण्यात येत आहे.
इतर 16 उमेदवार… pic.twitter.com/nPg2RHimSF
Of the names declared on Wednesday, 11 names were already announced by party chief Uddhav Thackeray during his visit to respective Lok Sabha constituencies in the last month.
The party has also renominated all five sitting MPs. Sitting MP Arvind Sawant will contest from the Mumbai South constituency, Sanjay Patil from Mumbai North East and Amol Kirtikar from the Mumbai North West constituency.
Rajan Vichare will contest from Thane, while Vinayak Raut has been given a ticket from Ratnagiri Sindhudurg. Sitting MPs Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Osmanabad) have also been renominated.
The party will also contest Aurangabad, fielding former MP Chandrakant Khaire from the seat.
Interestingly, wrestler Chandrahar Patil has been fielded from Sangli, the seat that the Congress, a partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, was insisting on.
The Congress has declared its candidates on some seats where there is no tussle with its alliance partners.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is a constituent of the MVA in the state. Another MVA constituent, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) is yet to officially declare its candidates in the state for the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will vote in five phases starting from April 19.
Suspense over candidate from Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency currently represented by MP Shrikant Shinde – the son of chief minister Eknath Shinde.
The AFSPA gives the armed forces personnel, operating in the disturbed areas, sweeping powers to search, arrest and to open fire if they deem it necessary for ‘the maintenance of public order’.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the central government will consider revoking Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
In an interview with the JK Media Group, Shah also said the government has plans to pull back troops in the Union Territory (UT) and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone.
“We have plans to pull back troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir police was not trusted but today they are leading the operations,” he said.
On the controversial AFSPA, the home minister said, “We will also think of revoking AFSPA.”
The AFSPA gives the armed forces personnel, operating in the disturbed areas, sweeping powers to search, arrest and to open fire if they deem it necessary for ‘the maintenance of public order’.
An area or district is notified as disturbed under the AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.
Shah had earlier said the AFSPA has been removed in 70 per cent areas in the northeastern states even though it is in force in J&K.
There have been demands from various organisations and individuals in J&K and the northeastern states to revoke the AFSPA.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said the decision to go solo is based on feedback from public and party workers
The BJP will go solo in the election for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, state party chief Sunil Jakhar said in a video message today, putting an end to speculation on a possible tie-up between the BJP and its estranged ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
“The BJP will be contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab alone. The party has taken this decision on the basis of feedback from the people, party workers and leaders,” Mr Jakhar said, stressing that the Narendra Modi government had worked tirelessly for Punjab and the work is not hidden from anyone.
While it is the BJP that has officially pulled the plug, the Akali Dal had dropped broad hints on its plan to go solo after a meeting of its core committee this Friday.
The key reason behind the two parties not joining hands appears to be a mismatch in their core ideological planks. The Akali Dal’s panthic agenda to reach out to Sikhs appears to clash with the BJP’s nationalist posturing. Also, unlike in 1996, when the Akali Dal joined hands with BJP for an alliance that lasted over two decades, the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party set conditions for another tie-up.
The party resolution said that the Centre must honour its commitment to release all Sikh prisoners who had completed their terms and fulfil all promises made to farmers.
“The party will continue to put principles above politics, and it will never deviate from its historic role as a champion of the interests of Khalsa Panth, all minorities as well as all Punjabis,” the resolution said.
“As the sole representatives of the Sikhs and of all Punjabis, the party will continue its fight for more powers and genuine autonomy to the states,” it added.
A major controversy erupted after an offensive post was made from Supriya Shrinate’s Instagram handle against Kangana Ranaut.
Actor Kangana Ranaut and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate(File)
Bollywood actor and BJP’s Mandi Lok Sabha candidate Kangana Ranaut has said that she was hurt by the now-deleted controversial post from Congress leader Supriya Shrinate against her.
Ranaut said that she was particularly pained by Congress leader’s comments on Mandi from where she is contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket.
“Every woman deserves dignity, no matter what profession she is in,” Kangana told reporters at Chandigarh airport, according to ANI. “The most I am hurt by is the ‘Mandi’ thing, which is known as Chota Kashi and has been the land of several Rishis,” she added.
Asked whether she plans to take any action against the Congress leader, Ranaut said she had been called to Delhi by BJP president JP Nadda and would respond only after meeting him.
“I have to maintain the dignity of the party. I can’t walk before it. I have to walk with them and follow their instructions,” she said, according to PTI.
A major controversy erupted after an offensive posts was made from Supriya Shrinate’s and Congress leader HS Ahir’s Instagram handle targeting Ranaut.
Shrinate claimed that many people have access to her Facebook and Instagram accounts, and someone from them made the post in question. Ahir also gave a similar ‘explanation.’
“Anyone who knows me will know I would never say that for a woman. However, a parody account that I have just discovered misusing my name is being run on Twitter ( @Supriyaparody ) which started the whole mischief, and is being reported,” Shrinate said.
The BJP has dropped Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat. Former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who joined the BJP in 2021, replaces Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit.
BJP dropped Varun Gandhi (centre) from Pilibhit seat but retained his mother Maneka from Sultanpur. (PTI/File)
The BJP on Sunday released its fifth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. The party has dropped Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat but retained his mother, Maneka Gandhi, from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who joined the BJP in 2021, has been given the ticket from Pilibhit in place of Varun Gandhi.
Varun Gandhi allegedly fell out of favour with the BJP after he criticised the party’s governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh on several occassions.
Last year, in an apparent dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Varun Gandhi advised people not to “disrupt a nearby sadhu” as nobody knows “when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the Chief Minister”.
In September 2023, he derided the Uttar Pradesh BJP government over the suspension of the licence of Amethi’s Sanjay Gandhi Hospital after the death of a patient.
In 2021, Varun Gandhi was ousted from the BJP’s national executive, allegedly after his remarks calling for fixing accountability and bringing the culprits to justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
Earlier this year, there were reports that Varun Gandhi may join the Congress after he met his estranged cousin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand a few months ago.
This will be the electoral debut of Kangana Ranaut, who calls herself a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arun Govil who played Ram in the popular TV serial Ramayan. (File Image)
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its fifth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections featuring some big names including Naveen Jindal from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal’s Mandi and Arun Govil from Meerut.
This will be the electoral debut of Kangana Ranaut, who calls herself a “fan” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arun Govil who played Ram in the popular TV serial Ramayan.
While Varun Gandhi has been dropped from BJP’s candidate list in Uttar Pradesh, his mother Maneka Gandhi has retained Sultanpur.
K Surendran has been pitted from Wayanad against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
BJP releases 5th list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Nityanand Rai to contest from Ujiarpur.
Giriraj Singh from Begusarai.
Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib.
Kangana Ranaut from Mandi.
Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra.
Sita Soren from Dumka.
Jagadish… pic.twitter.com/xQOR2BDpA0
Other notable names from the 5th list are Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Jagadish Shettar from Belagaum, Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur, Sambit Patra from Puri, Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay from Tamluk and Dilip Ghosh from Bardhaman-Durgapur.
The Saffron party on Friday had released its fourth list of 15 candidates focusing on Puducherry and Tamil Nadu seats. BJP fielded A Namassivayam from Puducherry, actor and politician Raadhika Sarathkumar from Virudhnagar, Pon V Balaganapathy from Tiruvallur (SC), RC Paul Kangaraj from Chennai North and P Karthiyayini from Chidambaram (SC). Former AIADMK leader, P Karthiyayini had jumped ship to BJP in 2017.
In its third list of 9 candidates from Tamil Nadu released on March 21, BJP pitted former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Chennai South. Soundararajan had resigned from the post of Telangana governor a few days ago.
Other big names on the list included L Murugan, who will contest from Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai from Coimbatore, and Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanyakumari.
The New York attorney general’s office has filed judgments in Westchester County, the first indication that the state is preparing to try to seize Donald Trump’s golf course and private estate north of Manhattan, known as Seven Springs.
State lawyers entered the judgments with the clerk’s office in Westchester County on March 6, just one week after Judge Arthur Engoron made official his $464 million decision against Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
The decision against Trump and the difficulty the former president is having securing a bond while he appeals the verdict strikes directly at Trump’s image as a billionaire as he attempts to raise more cash for both his legal bills and third run for the White House.
Entering a judgment would be the first step a creditor would take to attempt to recover property. Additional steps, such as putting liens on assets or moving to foreclose on properties, or taking other actions in court would follow, if the asset is going to be seized.
This September 2020 photo shows Donald Trump’s Seven Springs estate in Mount Kisco, Westchester County in New York. Johnny Milano/The Washington Post/Getty Images
The judgment is already entered in New York city where Trump’s properties including Trump Tower, his penthouse at Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, his hotel abutting Central Park, and numerous apartment buildings are located.
Judgments have not been entered in Florida counties including Miami or Palm Beach where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property and the Trump National Doral Golf Club and resort are located or Cook County, Illinois, where Trump’s hotel in Chicago is located, according to a review of records Thursday by CNN.
Trump now has four days to satisfy the judgment or sway an appeals court to allow him to post a smaller amount or defer posting the payment until after the appeal.
In a new Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that putting up the money is “VERY EXPENSIVE” and said it was “not possible for bonding companies to do in such a high amount.”
The attorney general’s office will be allowed to file a written response to Trump’s claims, a New York appeals court said Friday.
The process to seize assets would not be quick or easy. Trump has structured his business by setting up limited liability companies for nearly every property or asset – over 300 in total – which ultimately are controlled by his trust.
“They are complexly organized and he is not on paper the owner and therefore a judgment against him would not be executable directly against certain properties. Sorting this out is not going to be simple and it’s not going to be quick,” said Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University.
“In the meantime, she could also obtain bank levies and go after the bank assets. She could put liens on properties. There are all kinds of things that she’s able to do in an effort to collect,” Passas said.
“All this is completely undermining the brand, which he uses for the most part for making any kind of money around the world not just the United States,” Passas said. “In the end I think this could very much mean the end of Trump business in New York and not only – it could spell trouble in other jurisdictions too.”
Trump attorneys push back on AG’s bond ideas
Separately, Trump’s lawyers pushed back Thursday on several of the suggestions the New York attorney general’s office made about how he can pay bond.
That includes the idea that Trump could get several underwriters to secure bonds totaling the judgment – saying it would still require Trump to post half a billion dollars in cash or stock – money he doesn’t have.
Trump’s legal team argued in the filing that the New York attorney general’s office shouldn’t be able to challenge their claims.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome, Georgia.
If no arrangement is met, New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she will take steps to seize assets.
The attorney general’s office on Wednesday said that it’s common for large companies to post billion-dollar bonds and suggested Trump should have posted real estate with the court.
“The suggestion is both impractical and unjust. The Attorney General cites no New York case law to support this contention. In any event, from the perspective of risk, the Attorney General’s proposal of a ‘court-appointed officer’ to ‘hold real estate’ is functionally equivalent to what Supreme Court has already imposed through the requirement of a court-appointed monitor to oversee Defendants’ business operations,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Trump’s lawyers also said to be forced to sell properties at a fire sale would cause irreparable injury because they could not later recover the property if they were to win an aspect of the appeal.
“By demanding an undertaking in the full amount of the judgment in order to appeal, the Attorney General and Supreme Court have sought to impose a patently unreasonable, unjust, and unconstitutional (under both the Federal and New York State Constitutions) bond condition,” they wrote.
Judge gives monitor expansive duties including review of efforts to obtain bond
Thursday, Engoron expanded the role of the monitor overseeing the Trump Organization to include more expansive oversight of Trump’s real estate business’ internal financial practices.
Engoron also ordered the Trump Organization to supply detailed information to the monitor about its efforts to obtain bonds to cover judgments.
“The Trump Organization shall inform the monitor, in advance, of any efforts to secure surety bonds, including any financial disclosures requested or required, any information provided in response to such requests, any representations made by Trump Organization in connection with securing such bonds any personal guarantees made by any of the defendants, and any obligations of the Trump Organization required by the surety,” the judge ordered.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The current challenge for the AAP is to identify a capable leader who can effectively manage both the party’s internal affairs and the governance of Delhi in the absence of Arvind Kejriwal.
Atishi plays a key role as a frontline spokesperson for the AAP, actively championing the party’s cause by staunchly defending the Delhi government and Arvind Kejriwal.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 took a major step by arresting Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged liquor scam case, which has caused upheaval within his decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and raised doubts about his continuation in office. The ED’s action came shortly after the Delhi High Court rejected Kejriwal’s plea for protection against coercive measures by the agency. This move followed the ED’s issuance of nine summons to Kejriwal, asking his cooperation in their investigation into the excise policy issue.
At present, the real challenge for the AAP lies in identifying a competent leader who can successfully navigate both the party’s affairs and the governance of Delhi in the absence of Kejriwal. The AAP leadership faces a daunting task in identifying a leader whose stature even remotely matches that of Kejriwal, who has served as the party’s convener since its inception in 2011 and held the post of Delhi Chief Minister for three consecutive terms spanning nearly a decade.
More significantly, the urgency of this task is further heightened as the AAP prepares to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Assam, and Haryana, where Kejriwal was expected to play a key role as the party’s key campaigner.
9 Key Facts About Atishi: AAP’s Prominent Leader
(1) Amid the evolving political dynamics, the spotlight has turned towards Sunita Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife and a former IRS officer, as well as AAP government minister Atishi for the role of Delhi Chief Minister. Atishi, 43, entrusted with a diverse array of portfolios within the Delhi government such as education, finance, PWD, revenue, and services, is widely seen as closely aligned with Kejriwal.
Following a reshuffle in June last year, Atishi was assigned a remarkable 12 departments, the most for any minister within the AAP. This significant allocation positioned her as the second-in-command in Kejriwal’s cabinet, highlighting her growing influence and responsibilities within the party and the government.
(2) Additionally, Atishi plays a crucial role as a frontline spokesperson for the party, vigorously defending the AAP government and Kejriwal while launching scathing attacks on the BJP. Her regular appearances in press conferences and on news channels underscore her proactive stance in advocating for the party’s agenda and countering opposition narratives.
(3) Born in 1981 to Delhi University (DU) professors Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, Atishi pursued her education in Delhi. She completed her schooling and undergraduate studies in History at DU’s St Stephen’s College in 2001, following which she attended Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Before entering politics, she taught History and English at the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh.
(4) Reports suggest that her father named her Atishi Marlena, combining letters from ‘Marx’ and ‘Lenin’. During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, Atishi dropped the word “Marlena” from her name due to concerns that it might suggest she was of Christian faith. However, Atishi, who comes from a Punjabi Rajput family, now writes her name as Atishi on social media platforms.
(5) Prior entering into politics, Atishi and her husband Praveen Singh, who holds degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, founded a commune in 2007. Their aim was to champion the ideals of “gram swaraj” (village self-governance) and “humanistic education.” Based primarily in Madhya Pradesh, they dedicated their efforts to fostering communal living and promoting comprehensive educational values, according to report in the Times of India.
The New York attorney general’s office has filed judgments in Westchester County, the first indication that the state is preparing to try to seize Donald Trump’s golf course and private estate north of Manhattan, known as Seven Springs.
State lawyers entered the judgments with the clerk’s office in Westchester County on March 6, just one week after Judge Arthur Engoron made official his $464 million decision against Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
The decision against Trump and the difficulty the former president is having securing a bond while he appeals the verdict strikes directly at Trump’s image as a billionaire as he attempts to raise more cash for both his legal bills and third run for the White House.
Entering a judgment would be the first step a creditor would take to attempt to recover property. Additional steps, such as putting liens on assets or moving to foreclose on properties, or taking other actions in court would follow, if the asset is going to be seized.
The judgment is already entered in New York city where Trump’s properties including Trump Tower, his penthouse at Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, his hotel abutting Central Park, and numerous apartment buildings are located.
Judgments have not been entered in Florida counties including Miami or Palm Beach where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property and the Trump National Doral Golf Club and resort are located or Cook County, Illinois, where Trump’s hotel in Chicago is located, according to a review of records Thursday by CNN.
Trump now has four days to satisfy the judgment or sway an appeals court to allow him to post a smaller amount or defer posting the payment until after the appeal.
In a new Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that putting up the money is “VERY EXPENSIVE” and said it was “not possible for bonding companies to do in such a high amount.”
The attorney general’s office will be allowed to file a written response to Trump’s claims, a New York appeals court said Friday.
This September 2020 photo shows Donald Trump’s Seven Springs estate in Mount Kisco, Westchester County in New York. Johnny Milano/The Washington Post/Getty Images
The process to seize assets would not be quick or easy. Trump has structured his business by setting up limited liability companies for nearly every property or asset – over 300 in total – which ultimately are controlled by his trust.
“They are complexly organized and he is not on paper the owner and therefore a judgment against him would not be executable directly against certain properties. Sorting this out is not going to be simple and it’s not going to be quick,” said Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University.
“In the meantime, she could also obtain bank levies and go after the bank assets. She could put liens on properties. There are all kinds of things that she’s able to do in an effort to collect,” Passas said.
“All this is completely undermining the brand, which he uses for the most part for making any kind of money around the world not just the United States,” Passas said. “In the end I think this could very much mean the end of Trump business in New York and not only – it could spell trouble in other jurisdictions too.”
Trump attorneys push back on AG’s bond ideas
Separately, Trump’s lawyers pushed back Thursday on several of the suggestions the New York attorney general’s office made about how he can pay bond.
That includes the idea that Trump could get several underwriters to secure bonds totaling the judgment – saying it would still require Trump to post half a billion dollars in cash or stock – money he doesn’t have.
Trump’s legal team argued in the filing that the New York attorney general’s office shouldn’t be able to challenge their claims.
If no arrangement is met, New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she will take steps to seize assets.
Arvind Kejriwal is the first sitting chief minister to be arrested , in office. His arrest came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the federal agency. The AAP has called for a nationwide protest against the BJP following the arrest.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on Thursday evening after two hours of questioning by the ED in the Delhi liquor scam case (File photo)Delhi Excise Policy scam case
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the federal agency.
The AAP has called for a nationwide protest against the BJP following the arrest. AAP’s Delhi unit convenor Gopal Rai said Kejriwal’s arrest is the “murder of democracy” and an “announcement of dictatorship”.
The ED arrested Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on Thursday evening and took him to the agency’s headquarters here, officials said.
“I appeal to the countrymen to protest outside BJP offices across the country against this dictatorship. We will gather at the AAP office at 10 am on Friday and then protest outside the BJP headquarters,” Rai, a minister in the Delhi government, said.
“If Kejriwal can be arrested, anyone can be arrested and their voice can be suppressed. From today, the fight has begun. Arvind Kejriwal is not a person, but an ideology,” he added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Rising Bharat Summit. (News18)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is of the opinion that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down electoral bonds will bring back the reign of black money in politics.
Speaking at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit, Shah said: “The Supreme Court’s decision is binding on all citizens and I respect their verdict on electoral bonds. But my personal opinion is that bonds had almost ended black money in politics. This is why the entire INDIA bloc led by Rahul Gandhi was against the bonds and they wanted the old system of cut money to rule over politics once again.”
Explaining the rationale behind the charge, he said: “Earlier, donations would come in cash. So suppose a person gave Rs 1,500, then Rs 100 would go to the party fund and the rest would go in the party leader’s pocket. Once bonds came, this entire amount would be transferred to the party fund via cheque. This is not what the INDIA bloc was used to. They didn’t care if money was spent on party’s works or elections but their generations should live well.”
The home minister also said BJP believed in a system of transparency. “In 2014, BJP got 81 per cent donations in cash wherein the donor was not known. In 2018, this number dipped to 17 per cent. In 2023, it was only 3 per cent. So far as confidentiality is concerned, we have a federal structure and wanted to avoid a situation where a state government becomes vindictive towards someone who doesn’t give funds to them. So, the confidentiality clause was introduced. We believe in being transparent.”
Rubbishing the charge that the party had amassed huge funds via bonds, Shah said: “We have been accused that we got a lot of money via bonds but so did the INDIA bloc. We have 303 seats, 17 governments, party units in every state. In 2019, we got a sizeable proportion of funds in bonds when the Model Code of Conduct was in place and no new schemes or policies could be announced. We got more than ninety per cent of funds in bonds after the MCC was imposed. So the argument that it was affecting government’s policies is false.”
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, who had termed the bonds as ‘hafta vasooli’, Shah said: “Gandhi also got Rs 1,600 crore. He should explain where he got that ‘hafta vasooli’ from. We say it is transparent donation but if he says it is vasooli, he should give details.”
While the government is presenting its report card of the last 10 years and planning for the first 100 days of its next term, the Opposition is busy hurling its 104th abuse at me, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the CNN-News18 Rising Bharat Summit on Wednesday.
“Elections are around the corner. Dates have been announced. There is an atmosphere of debates. The government is giving its report card of the work done in the last 10 years, is making a roadmap for the next 25 years and the plan for first 100 days of the third term,” PM Modi said.
“On the other hand, our Opposition just hurled its 104th abuse at me. They called me Aurangzeb. They have planned to eliminate me,” he added.
“These abuses will not make any difference,” he said, asserting that he gets blessings of the poor who have been receiving all the benefits meant for them, unlike in the past when a huge chunk of welfare money used to be siphoned off.
Speaking about the image of India on the global stage before he came to power in 2014, PM Modi said the citizens of the country were also losing confidence.
“When a nation is losing its credibility in the world, the citizens also lose their confidence. Before 2014, corruption was the topic of discussion in households. The government of the time used to defend its scams. But our government is taking strict action against the corrupt. Today powerful and corrupt leaders are asking why the agencies are targeting them. This is the change that has come about in the last 10 years,” the PM said.
The Congress’ Central Election Committee on Tuesday cleared tickets to 16 Lok Sabha segments in Karnataka, which include children of five state Cabinet ministers.
The Congress’ Central Election Committee on Tuesday cleared tickets to 16 Lok Sabha segments in Karnataka, which include children of five state Cabinet ministers.
Congress leaders are meeting again on Wednesday to decide on the remaining five seats.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy (Bangalore South), Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi (Chikkodi), Women & Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal (Belgaum), Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter Samyukta (Bagalkot) and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre (Bidar) will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The committee, headed by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, is yet to finalise the candidates for Kolar, Chitradurga, Chikkaballapur, Chamarajanagar and Bellary constituencies since many contenders are lobbying for tickets.
In Gulbarga, which is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president’s turf, Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani will be the candidate.
For Davangere, the Congress has decided to field senior MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s daughter-in-law Prabha Mallikarjun. Her husband SS Mallikarjun is the mines & geology minister.
Former IIM Bangalore professor M V Rajeev Gowda, who was earlier a Rajya Sabha member, got the Bangalore North ticket.
Raj Thackeray’s visit to Delhi fuels speculations of MNS joining BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance. BJP aims to leverage MNS influence in Maharashtra. Union Minister Ramdas Athawale opposes MNS inclusion in NDA alliance.
Speculations around Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) joining the ruling BJP-led NDA alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 have gained ground after Thackeray arrived in Delhi late Monday night.
Over the past few days there have been speculations about Thackeray joining the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. On Monday night Thackeray reached Delhi along with his son Amit Thackeray. The MNS chief met Union Home Minister Amit Shah today at his Delhi residence.
Earlier speaking to news agency ANI, Thackeray had said, “I don’t know what my schedule is yet. I was just told to come to Delhi. Let’s see.”
Speaking on MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s Delhi visit, NCP-SCP leader and MP Supriya Sule said, “He has gone to Delhi. Now it remains to be seen who he will meet there. I feel that this is the time to fight against corruption, unemployment and inflation…For which the states must work within the framework of the Constitution…” When asked if MNS will be included in the MVA, she told reporters, “Everyone will be welcomed and respected in the Aghadi…”
Pertinently, the BJP convened a core committee meeting in eight states including Maharashtra to deliberate on potential candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Nitin Gadkari said, “This scheme was made with the idea that parties would get money through bonds and it will help push the economy if you want to make it number one”
New Delhi: Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that the scrapping of Electoral Bonds scheme would open the gates for black money and all parties should think about developing a better system. In an exclusive interview with NDTV Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia, Mr Gadkari supported the Electoral Bond Scheme that was developed when the late Arun Jaitley was the country’s finance minister.
“It is a fact that money is needed to contest elections. Every party needs that,” he told NDTV.
“This scheme was made with the idea that parties would get money through bonds and it will help push the economy if you want to make it number one,” Mr Gadkari said, pointing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions on the economic front. “What was wrong with that,” he questioned.
Declaring that he would not comment on a decision of the Supreme Court, Mr Gadkari, however, pointed out another drawback of a ban. If electoral bonds are banned, money would still come in, only in the form of black money, he said.
“It you do not allow (electoral) bonds, people will take money as number two. This will happen anyway,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had scrapped the Electoral Bond Scheme, objecting to the unlimited and undisclosed funding through corporate donations that come with strings attached.
“Political contributors get access… this access leads to policy making… because of the nexus between money and voting. Financial supports to political parties can lead to quid pro quo arrangement,” Chief Justice of India Chandrachud had said.
Mr Gadkari pointed out that electoral bonds “will be purchased by people who are wealthy”.
“Those wealthy would be contractors. Or have made it big in trade or industry. So it is not right to link it to that (quid pro quo),” he said.
When it was pointed out that electoral bonds can bring black money into the system, Mr Gadkari said, “How can money that create growth, and generate employment and revenue be called black money? The problem is money that is taken outside the country and dumped elsewhere”.
PM Modi will attend the NDA election meeting at Chilakaluripeta in Palnadu district. (Image: ANI)
Marking his first public appearance since the declaration of the Lok Sabha 2024 election dates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had started preparing to win the upcoming elections, too.
PM Modi also praised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for its “stringent and unwavering” action against corruption. He took a dig at opposition parties, saying that they are worried about the probe agency’s remarkable actions.
During the session themed ‘Redefining Bharat’ of the India Today Conclave 2024, PM Modi discussed various key issues such as startups, the digital revolution, women’s empowerment, and the global initiative ‘One Earth One Health’.
HERE ARE THE KEY QUOTES FROM PM MODI’S SPEECH:
Responding to remarks on preparations for 2029 general polls, PM Modi said, “You got stuck on 2029, I am preparing for 2047,” the Prime Minister said amid thunderous cheers from the audience.”
PM Modi emphasised his dedication to hard work: “Whenever I go to a conclave like this, you expect me to give headlines, but I am a person who works on deadlines, and not headlines.”
Prime Minister applauded the surge in startups in the country, noting their presence in over 600 districts: “Till 10 years ago, there were hardly 100 startups. Now there are 1.25 lakh startups registered. The startup movement in India is not just about numbers, but the fact that they are located in more than 600 districts, which accounts for 90 per cent of the country’s area.”
PM Modi highlighted that since 2014, members of his Cabinet have visited the northeastern states a total of 680 times: “I, as the Prime Minister, have visited the northeastern states more than combined tours done by all other Prime Ministers of the country.”
As part of efforts towards women empowerment, PM Modi shared that he distributed agricultural drones to girls in villages to challenge the social stigma against women driving tractors: “Even today, when daughters drive tractors in villages, it surprises people. I wanted to break this psyche. I wanted to show that daughters can operate drones too.”
The rally at Mumbai Shivaji Park comes a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the city.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ at Kurla in Mumbai on Saturday.(ANI)
The Congress-led Opposition’s INDIA alliance is set to hold a mega rally on Sunday in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin is prominent among the INDIA bloc leaders, who will attend the concluding rally of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The meeting comes a day after the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai by paying tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution. The yatra, which commenced from strife-torn Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai from neighbouring Thane on Saturday.
Besides MK Stalin, top Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav will take part in the mega rally.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, CPI general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren, and former CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren will also take part, news agency PTI reported.
The meeting will also mark the launch of the INDIA bloc’s campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, whose schedule was announced by the Election Commission on Sunday. Voting for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning April 19 and ending June 1. The counting of polls will be held on June 4.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc’s rally in Maharashtra is being held at a time when several party leaders from the state have switched over to the BJP, the most prominent being former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Chavan joined the BJP in Mumbai on February 13.
Earlier, on Wednesday, senior party leader Padmakar Valvi also joined the BJP, in the presence of the BJP’s state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and party leader Ashok Chavan, in Mumbai.
Assembly elections for Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha will also be simultaneously held along with the General Elections
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar addressing the media on General Election at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on March 16, 2024. | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
India will go to the polls from April 19 to June 1, in a marathon seven-phase exercise to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha, the Election Commission announced on Saturday. Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh
The dates of polling for the Lok Sabha are April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. In Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, voting will take place in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Voters in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will cast their ballots for their Assembly elections on April 19, while Andhra Pradesh will elect its Assembly on May 13. Odisha’s Assembly poll will be held in four phases, with voting on May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
Second-longest poll exercise
This parliamentary election — which is considered to be heavily stacked in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the Opposition INDIA bloc struggling to keep its flock together — will be the second longest polling exercise in India’s electoral history. The longest so far was the country’s first general election, which was held over a five-month period between September 1951 and February 1952.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the poll schedule, flanked by the two new Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu. He said that bypolls to 26 Assembly constituencies will also be held alongside the Lok Sabha and four State Assembly polls.
Vote from home for seniors, PwD
India has a total of 96.8 crore registered voters, of which 49.72 crore are men and 47.1 crore are women. There are 1.82 crore first time electors, of which 85 lakh are women. Mr. Kumar said that the gender ratio among electors has improved significantly to 948 women for every 1,000 men, noting that there are more women than men voters in 12 States.
This is the first time in a general election that people above the age of 85 years, as well as those with more than 40% disability, will be able to vote from their own homes. There are 85 lakh registered voters who are aged above 85 years while the number of voters with disabilities is 88.4 lakh. The electoral rolls also contain 21.18 lakh centenarians.
Poll booths for Manipur refugees
The Commission said that it has reviewed the ground situation in Manipur and has noted that a large number of electors registered in different constituencies had been displaced from their native places during the recent ethnic conflict. Given these circumstances, special polling stations will be set up at or near the relief camps, where displaced electors who opt for such facilities will be able to register their votes in electronic voting machines.
The constituency of Outer Manipur will vote on two separate days. “We know the seat,” the CEC said, indicating awareness of the prevailing situation.
Manmohan Samal said the final decision will be taken by the party brass.
Mr Samal also deleted his post in which he claimed the BJP will form a government on its own in Odisha.
Bhubaneswar: Hours after claiming that the BJP will fight the upcoming elections for Lok Sabha and Odisha alone, Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal on Thursday said that the party’s Parliamentary Party’s decision in this regard is final.
Mr Samal’s earlier assertion had come amid talks of a pre-poll alliance between the BJD and the BJP.
On his arrival from the national capital earlier in the day after meeting Union Minister Amit Shah, Mr Samal said, “BJP will form the government in the state alone with the blessings and cooperation of people.”
Around two hours later, however, he said, “Whatever our national president or parliamentary party will say, that is the final decision. Media shouldn’t make a narrative based on my statement.”
Mr Samal also deleted his post on X in which he claimed that BJP in Odisha will form government in the state on its own.
Before deleting that post, he told reporters: “The party will fight the elections over the Odisha ‘asmita’ (pride).”
When repeatedly asked about the alliance with BJD, Mr Samal had said: “Had that been the case, I would not have said that BJP will form government in Odisha.”
Meanwhile, the BJD convened a meeting of senior party leaders at Naveen Niwas, the residence of party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday.
The regional party had earlier met on March 6, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha.
BJD vice-president and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra had then acknowledged discussions about a possible alliance with the BJP and said that the party will “prioritise the greater interests of the people of Odisha”.
Later, the possibility of alliance between the BJD and the BJP was brightened after Odisha BJP leaders were summoned to the national capital on March 10 evening.
They had several rounds of discussions over three days with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was tasked by the BJP top brass to take the opinion of the party’s state leaders.
Mr Samal, along with organising secretary Manas Mohanty, Odisha election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and his deputy Lata Usendi, had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter’s residence on Wednesday night.
Sources said that the state BJP leaders have drawn the attention of the party’s top brass on how the BJD snapped ties with the saffron party and withdrew from the NDA ahead of the 2009 general elections following the Kandhamal riot in 2008.
Both the parties had a tie-up for 11 years from 1998 to 2009. They had fought three Lok Sabha elections and two assembly elections till 2009.
A Magistrate court had issued summons to Kejriwal in two cases and he has to appear before the court on March 16.
Arvind Kejriwal and Enforcement DirectorateArvind Kejriwal (Facebook)
A sessions court in Delhi on Friday rejected the plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal seeking stay on the proceedings before the magistrate court in the case filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him for skipping agency’s summons in connection with Delhi excise policy case.
Special Judge (PC) Act Rakesh Syal of Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order on a plea by Kejriwal seeking a stay on the proceedings before the Magistrate court.
Kejriwal had also sought exemption from personal appearance before the Magistrate court.
The sessions court said that the Delhi CM can file an application for the same before the Magistrate court itself.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra had issued summons to Kejriwal in two separate complaint cases filed by the ED. While the first summon was issued to him on February 7, the summons on the second complaint was issued to March 7.
The ACMM is slated to take up both these matters on March 16.
The ED filed the complaint cases against Kejriwal after he repeatedly failed to join the investigation in the excise policy case despite issuance of summons to him under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
Notably, on February 17, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor had joined the proceedings before the ACMM through virtual conference and stated that he will appear before the court in person on March 16.
However, just two days before the hearing, Kejriwal chose to file the present pleas before the sessions court challenging both the orders of ACMM by which summons were issued to him on the complaints moved by ED.
Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta and advocate Rajiv Mohan appeared for Kejriwal today.
Gupta today asserted that it was not as if Kejriwal had skipped any summons issued to him on account of personal reasons.
“CM is a public servant and Arvind Kejriwal is a public servant. They say he was summoned in his personal capacity but I will demonstrate from the record that the summons were sent to him in a case which was registered pursuant to an excise Policy which came into being when he was CM … I never said mujhe apni behen ki beti ki shaadi m jaana hai (Translation: I never said I have to go for a relative’s wedding). I said I have my official duties … I have not failed (to attend summons), i have explained the reason so there is no wilful skipping,” Gupta argued.
Senior AAP leaders like Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are already in custody in the Delhi excise policy case.
AAP has been alleging that the ED wants to arrest Kejriwal before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The ED’s money laundering probe stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.
Lok Sabha Election 2024 Dates: The four states expected to vote in April/May are Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim, with Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand to vote later this year.
Lok Sabha Election 2024 Dates: The 2019 election was held from April 11 to April 19 (File).
New Delhi: Dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election will be announced at 3 pm Saturday, the Election Commission of India said on Friday. The ECI posted a brief statement on X (formerly Twitter) that said dates for four Assembly polls – scheduled to be held around the same time – would also be released.
The Model Code of Conduct will come into force from the time the dates are announced. The 2019 election was held over seven phases from April 11 to May 19, with results declared four days later.
The four states expected to vote in April/May are Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim; Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand scheduled to vote later this year. Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, are also set to vote, in line with a Supreme Court order directing the conduct of Assembly polls by September 30 as the first step towards restoration of statehood.
Press Conference by Election Commission to announce schedule for #GeneralElections2024 & some State Assemblies will be held at 3 pm tomorrow ie Saturday, 16th March. It will livestreamed on social media platforms of the ECI pic.twitter.com/1vlWZsLRzt
In a first, the poll panel has given 24-hour notice of a press conference to announce voting dates, polling phases, and other details, including deployment of security personnel in states where post-poll violence and clashes with Maoist or rebel forces is a factor that needs to be considered.
Bengal’s ruling Trinamool has already underlined its position, calling for a single-phase election for the state’s 42 seats and demanding central security forces not “threaten/intimidate voters”.
Election Commissioners Case In Supreme Court
The ECI’s pre-announcement comes a day after two new Election Commissioners were inducted, after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Arun Goel’s surprise resignation last week. Former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have been named to the panel.
The nomination of Mr Kumar and Mr Sandhu was challenged by the Association for Democratic Reforms, a non-partisan organisation working on electoral and political reforms. The ADR, which also petitioned the top court in the electoral bonds issue, had sought a stay on the two appointments, challenging the decision to exclude Chief Justice DY Chandrachud from the selection panel.
Amit Shah said the Opposition parties used to take political donations in cash because out of a donation of ₹ 1,100, they used to deposit ₹ 100 in the name of the party and keep ₹ 1,000 in their own pockets.
The BJP has got approximately ₹ 6,000 crore, Amit Shah said.
Noting that he fully respects the Supreme Court order on electoral bonds, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the scheme was introduced to end black money in politics and added that it should have been improved rather than scrapped.
Mr Shah also said that the one nation, one election is the concept of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and when it is implemented, it will ensure faster development and end recurring expenditure.
“Electoral bonds were introduced to end the influence of black money in Indian politics. Everyone has to accept the decision given by the Supreme Court. I fully respect the Supreme Court decision. But I feel that instead of completely scrapping the electoral bonds, it should have been improved,” he said at an interaction at the India Today Conclave.
Referring to the Congress, the home minister said the leaders of the opposition party used to take political donations in cash because out of a donation of ₹ 1,100, they used to deposit ₹ 100 in the name of the party and keep ₹ 1,000 in their own pockets.
“The Congress party has run this system for years,” he said.
Mr Shah said it has been said that the electoral bonds have benefitted the BJP and Rahul Gandhi has made a statement that it is the biggest extortion activity.
“I want to make my stance clear about it. Out of the total ₹ 20,000 crore electoral bonds, the BJP has got approximately ₹ 6,000 crore. Where did the rest of the bonds go? TMC has got ₹ 1,600 crore, Congress got ₹ 1,400 crore, BRS got ₹ 1,200 crore, BJD got ₹ 750 crore and DMK got ₹ 639 crore.
“We have got ₹ 6,000 crore despite having 303 MPs and the rest got ₹ 14,000 crore against 242 MPs. What is the hue and cry about? I can say that once the accounts are settled they will not be able to face you all,” he said.
Referring to the one nation, one election proposal, Mr Shah said that due to elections taking place many times across the country, a large amount of money is spent on conducting polls.
Most importantly, he said, due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct, the decision-making of the government has been adversely affected and hence development work is stalled.
“The idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP behind one nation, one election is that elections are held again and again in this country and the people are busy in elections and this leads to repeated expenditure.
“Due to the model code of conduct, many development works come to a halt. One nation, one election is a solution for this,” he said.
Asked about the seat-sharing talks in Bihar, the home minister said everything will be settled in the next week.
“Everyone is united in NDA in Bihar and this time NDA will win all the seats in Bihar under the leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said.
Commenting on Delhi, where the Congress and the AAP joined hands to flight the polls, he said the BJP got more than 50 per cent votes in all seats of Delhi in the last two Lok Sabha polls and it is going to increase its vote share this time.
Mamata Banerjee fell at her Kalighat house in Kolkata. She suffered forehead and nose injuries.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leaves from the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. (ANI)
Reacting to the conspiracy theory that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was pushed from behind, the Trinamool Congress said on Friday that she had collapsed after feeling dizzy.
The TMC supremo had sustained an injury to her forehead on Thursday after falling at her Kolkata house.
TMC leader Shashi Panja said nobody pushed Mamata Banerjee from behind.
“…She (Mamata Banerjee) felt a bit dizzy and then collapsed, nobody pushed her from behind… After falling, she got injured; the doctor is looking into everything,” said Panja.
The TMC leader asked the masses to refrain from making wrong comments on the accident. She said the reason for her collapse could be high blood pressure or sugar.
“Didi is also a human being and she has a very hectic schedule. Everyone wants her to stay healthy. But no one should mock the incident or make a wrong prediction for the cause of the incident,” she added.
The doctor, whose statement triggered rumours that she was pushed from behind, said his remark was misinterpreted.
Dr Manimoy Bandopadhyay, director of Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research at SSKM Hospital, said on Friday: “Maybe our statement was misinterpreted. It was like a sensation of being pushed from behind that led to the fall. It happens when a person falls”.
On Thursday, the doctor had said: “Chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee reported to our hospital today around 7.30pm with a history of fall within the vicinity of her home due to some push from behind. She had a cerebral concussion and a sharp cut over her forehead which was bleeding profusely”.
NEW DELHI: The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has triggered a political storm on expected lines with several opposition parties criticising the move and questioning the timing of Centre’s decision. The BJP on the other hand, has accused the opposition of fear-mongering over CAA.
While Mamata Banerjee called CAA a political gimmick ahead of Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Smriti Irani accused the West Bengal chief minister of trying to instigate a few communities for votes.
Mamata Banerjee had targetted the Modi government over the CAA notification, alleging that this was merely an election gimmick and that anyone applying for citizenship under CAA would be labeled as “illegal migrants.”
“Central government implemented CAA yesterday, I am doubtful of its legality. There is no clarity from the government over this. This is just a gimmick ahead of the elections. In 2019, the names of 13 lakh Hindu Bengalis, out of a total of 19 lakh, were removed from the list in Assam in the name of NRC. Several people died by suicide,” Mamata Banerjee had said.
Smriti Irani defended CAA and affirmed that the decision to implement the CAA, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government was ‘correct’, claiming that the entire nation supports it.
“People belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh will be granted citizenship, a pledge fulfilled by PM Modi,” she said while talking to the media in West Bengal’s Bardhaman.
“Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal chief Minister) will try to instigate a few communities for a vote bank but the whole of India knows this decision of PM Modi is right,” Smriti Irani said.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also reiterated his earlier remarks on the CAA and said that more migration will now take place than what happened after independence leading to a collapse in law and order.
“It is written in the law of CAA that minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship. This is a poor country, if we open our doors then where will we settle them? There is going to be more migration due to CAA law than what happened after independence. Law and order will collapse, theft, robbery and rape will increase,” Kejriwal said.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti urged the people of the country to respond sensibly to laws like the CAA and not fall into the trap of inciting communal clashes.
“To divert attention from its failures in the last 10 years on various fronts like unemployment, youngsters committing suicide, the farmers’ plight, price rise and all those issues that take the country 1,000 years back rather than forward, attempts are being made to somehow cause Hindu-Muslim clashes and make people come out on the streets,” Mufti said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused opposition parties of stoking communal passion over CAA and emphasized that it does not take away citizenship or jobs from any Indian.
“Why are opposition parties spreading propaganda(on CAA)?” he asked.
“I will ask those stoking communal passion in the name of the CAA that they should stop spreading lies about it.”
Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala–M K Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan–have also strongly opposed the CAA.
Union minister Anurag Thakur also lashed out at the critics of the CAA and highlighted the plight of Dalit families from neighboring countries who are waiting for citizenship in India.
Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that some bank accounts had been frozen and huge fines had been imposed on the Congress by the Income Tax department.
Mr Kharge urged people to stand strong together and ensure his party’s victory to “save” democracy.
Kalaburagi: Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday indicated that the party is facing a funds crunch alleging that bank accounts where money donated by people had been kept had been frozen by the BJP-led NDA government, while huge fines have been imposed on the party by the IncomeTax department.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Mr Kharge also called upon the people to stand strong together and ensure his party’s victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, to “save” the Constitution and democracy in the country.
Noting that everyone should have equal opportunity in an election, Mr Kharge accused the BJP of freezing Congress’ bank accounts and imposing huge fines on the party through Income Tax, while “they are not ready to disclose thousands of crores of rupees they have got through electoral bonds, despite Supreme Court’s directions.”
“It was our party money that you the people gave as donations, they have frozen it and we don’t have money to spend…..while, they (BJP) are not disclosing about electoral bonds they got because their theft will come out, their wrong deeds will come out, so they asked for time till July,” he said.
He also claimed that the people of Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), from where he unsuccessfully contested in 2019 elections, have decided to “rectify their mistake” and make Congress victorious in the coming polls.
Mr Kharge was defeated by BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes in the previous elections. Popularly known as “Solillada Saradara”, (a leader without defeat), that was the first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.
Speculation is rife that Mr Kharge, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the INDIA bloc, may not contest in the Lok Sabha polls and, instead, the party is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman who also manages educational institutions
“Don’t get cheated, they (BJP) are cheaters, they speak lies. They hide the truth and spread wrong information among people. Ambedkar has said people have to stay united and protect the Constitution and democracy. If there is no Constitution, freedom and unity in this country, this country will be enslaved once again and cannot stand up again,” he said.
Addressing a public meeting here, he said the BJP is speaking against the Constitution these days, and called on the people to fight against it and question it.
“It is a matter of your right….they (BJP) are making an effort (to change the Constitution) BJP claims they have nothing to do with those who speak against the Constitution but does not take action against such people, it is because they (BJP and RSS) are behind people making such statements”, he said, as he urged the people to stand strong together and ensure the Congress’ victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Hitting out at BJP MP Anantkukmar Hegde for his comments regarding amending the Constitution, Mr Kharge further said, the Constitution has “not come just like that and there is sacrifice of large number of people behind it”
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday announced its second list for the Lok Sabha polls, announcing former Haryana chief minister ML Khattar, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Thakur, Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karanadlaje and Piyush Goyal as well as chief spokesperson and in-charge of the media cell Anil Baluni among key names.
In a list of 72 names, the party packed in a few surprises, dropping as many as 30 sitting MPs, including two former chief ministers as well as Union minister of state of railways Darshana Jardosh. The party, on the other hand, also fielded three former chief ministers.
Former Haryana CM ML Khattar, who resigned from his position on Tuesday, will contest from Haryana’s Karnal, former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri, and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat will contest from Haridwar. In Uttarakhand, the party has dropped two former CMs, Nishank Pokhriyal (Haridwar) and Tirath Singh Rawat (Garhwal).
While Union ministers Gadkari, Thakur and Joshi have been fielded from their respective seats of Nagpur, Hamirpur and Dhadwad, Rajya Sabha MP Piyush Goyal has been fielded from Mumbai (North) and Baluni from Garhwal. It will be the first Lok Sabha contest for Goyal and Baluni. Karandlaje’s Udupi-Chikmagalur seat has been shifted to Bangalore North.
The BJP replaced five sitting MPs with new faces in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. In Haryana, the BJP dropped its sitting MP Sunita Duggal to field Ashok Tanwar from the Sirsa seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste.
The BJP has dropped nearly 21% of sitting MPs in the two lists that it has released so far. This includes six of the sitting MPs from seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi – Manoj Tiwari from Northeast Delhi is the only MP who has been given a ticket again.
Parvesh Verma, the Sitting MP from West Delhi, has been replaced with Kamaljeet Sehrawat. Similarly, Ramesh Bidhuri, who represented South Delhi, has been replaced with Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.
Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, will contest from the New Delhi constituency, a seat currently represented by Meenakshi Lekhi. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan’s Chandini Chowk seat has been given to Lok Praveen Khandelwal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserts that the BJP government will not retract the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), accusing opposition of politicizing issues. The MHA announces a helpline for CAA applicants to provide information and assistance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (ANI)
‘The Citizenship Amendment Act will never be taken back’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the BJP-led central government will never compromise with CAA. The remarks came after the Centre notified the rules for implementing the act.
Speaking to ANI, Amit Shah said, “This is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country, we will never compromise on it and CAA will never be taken back. The opposition is also aware that it has bleak chances of coming to power.”
“The opposition has no other work, they even said that there was a political benefit in surgical strikes and air strikes, so should we not take action against terrorism? They also said that the abrogation of Article 370 was also for our political benefit. We have been saying since 1950 that we will remove Article 370,” he said.
“Unki history hai jo bolte hai karte nahi hai, Modi ji ki history hai jo BJP ya PM Modi ne kaha woh patthar ki lakeer hai. Modi ki har guarantee poori hoti hai…” the minister told ANI.
Dismissing the criticism that the “CAA is unconstitutional”, Amit Shah said it does not violate the constitutional provisions. He also accused opposition parties including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Rahul Gandhi of indulging in “politics of lies”.
“BJP has made it clear in its 2019 manifesto that it will bring CAA and provide Indian citizenship to refugees (from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). BJP has a clear agenda and under that promise, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament in 2019. It got delayed due to Covid. BJP had cleared its agenda well before the party got its mandate in the polls,” Shah replied to the Opposition’s claim of the timing of bringing notification of CAA before the Lok Sabha elections.
He further said the opposition parties only want to consolidate their vote bank by doing appeasement politics, while clarifying that CAA is the law for the entire country.
“There is no question of political gain as the main aim of the BJP is to provide rights and justice to persecuted minorities coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh,” the minister added.
Notable names in the list included Gaurav Gogoi from Assam’s Jorhat, Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath from MP’s Chhindwara & Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan’s Jalore.
The Congress party on Tuesday announced the second list of 43 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Party general secretary KC Venugopal, in a press conference in Delhi, revealed the names of 43 candidates.
The notable candidates in the list include Gaurav Gogoi contesting from Assam’s Jorhat, Nakul Nath, son of Kamal Nath, from MP’s Chhindwara, and Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Ashok Gehlot, from Rajasthan’s Jalore.
Additionally, Rahul Kaswan, who recently defected from the BJP to join Congress, has been nominated as a candidate from the Churu constituency.
Pradyut Bordoloi, a sitting MP from Assam’s Nagaon seat, will re-contest the same constituency. Gujarat MLA Geniben Thakor has been given ticket from Banaskantha.
Former home minister and six-term MLA from Ambala Cantt, Anil Vij, has not found a place in the new cabinet.
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administers the oath to BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister of Haryana, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Chandigarh: Haryana BJP chief Nayab Singh Saini was on Tuesday sworn in as state’s new chief minister, hours after the surprise resignation of Manohar Lal Khattar from the post along with his cabinet ministers.
Five MLAs — four from the BJP and one independent — were also sworn in as ministers. However, former home minister and six-term MLA from Ambala Cantt, Anil Vij, has not found a place in the new cabinet.
Saini, the 54-year-old OBC leader, was administered oath by Governor Bandaru Dattatreya at the oath-taking ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here.
BJP’s Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Prakash Dalal and Banwari Lal and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala took oath as ministers. All the five were ministers in the outgoing Khattar cabinet.
Besides Vij, BJP legislators Kamal Gupta, Om Prakash Yadav, Kamlesh Dhanda, and Sandeep Singh did not find their names in the Saini-led cabinet. Dushyant Chautala, Davinder Babli and Anoop Dhanak of JJP were other ministers in the Khattar cabinet.
Vij, who is learnt to be sulking, was not present at the oath-taking ceremony. After the party meeting here, he headed straight to his Ambala residence.
The development to bring in a new face as chief minister by the BJP came 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.
Earlier in the day, Khattar and all 13 other members of the BJP-led council of ministers submitted their resignations to the governor as a team of the party’s central observers arrived in Chandigarh.
The switch in Haryana came amid the ruling BJP-JJP coalition coming apart, though party leaders from both sides did not make immediate comment.
JJP leader Dushyant Chautala was the deputy chief minister and there were two other members of his party in the Khattar-led government.
Four JJP MLAs — Jogi Ram Sihag, Ishwar Singh, Davinder Babli, and Ram Niwas Surjakhera — were also present at the oath-taking function.
Saini, who is the MP from Kurukshetra, was appointed chief of state BJP in October last year.
Speaking to reporters after taking oath, Saini said the BJP will win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats from the state with a big mandate.
He also said that the party will again form the government when the assembly polls are held in the state.
On being picked up as chief minister, Saini said that the party has given “such respect to an ordinary worker”.
Speaking to reporters, Khattar said he has known Saini since a long time and he is happy that a youth face has taken oath as CM and has been entrusted with new responsibility.
Earlier, Haryana governor accepted the resignations of Khattar and his council of ministers, according to a notification.
Among the MLAs who took oath, two of them — J P Dalal (Loharu segment) and Ranjit Chautala (Rania) — come from the Jat community while Mool Chand Sharma (Ballabhgarh) is a Brahmin face, Kanwar Pal (Jagadhri) comes from Gujjar community and Banwari Lal (Bawal) from the SC community.
Saini was a minister in the first Khattar cabinet. He was an MLA when he fought the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
There are speculations that Khattar may be fielded as the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Karnal.
At present, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member assembly while the JJP has 10. The BJP is comfortably placed even without the JJP’s support as the Khattar government enjoyed the support of six of the seven independents.
The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party one seat each.
The JJP too called a meeting in Delhi of its leaders following the surprise development. Five of its Haryana MLAs are learnt to have skipped the meeting, indicating a possible rift in the ranks.
In a post on X, Saini thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, party’s Haryana in-charge Biplab Dev, Khattar and the party MLAs.
Earlier, emerging from the BJP meeting at Haryana Niwas, Vij parried questions from reporters on what transpired inside. “Those who have come from Delhi will tell,” he said.
Asked about the fate of the alliance, JJP’s Haryana unit chief Nishan Singh said, “A meeting of the party was held under chairmanship of Ajay Singh Chautala. All issues were discussed in the meeting. Tomorrow is Ajay ji’s birthday which we will observe as the Nav Sankalp rally in Hisar. Whatever the party decides will be informed in tomorrow’s rally.”
Rich McCormick, a US Congressman, said that he is confident that Narendra Modi would be re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Congressman Rich McCormick.(PTI/AFP)
US Congressman Rich McCormick heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is confident that he would be re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is incredibly popular. I was just over there. I actually had lunch with Prime Minister Modi and several other congressmen, and to see his popularity across party lines really. Somebody who I think is around 70 per cent popular. He is going to be prime minister again,” McCormick, a Republican, told PTI in an interview.
McCormick said Modi’s progressive outlook on the economy and positivity towards the Indian diaspora worldwide is going to affect the global economy.
“To see his progressive outlook on economy, on development, on goodwill towards all people, to see his application and positivity to the Indian people in the diaspora worldwide is going to affect the global economy, their strategic relationships. I look forward to his influence in a very positive way,” he said in response to a question.
The US Congressman added that under PM Modi’s leadership, the Indian economy has been expanding within a range of four to eight per cent per year.
“If you look at their willingness to work with other nations now, I would say, I’ll put a caveat in there, sometimes there’s a bit of protectionism, which a lot of characters do. They’ve kind of copied some things that China have done. They’ll have incredible leverage going forward as businesses want to get into India in an expanding market,” McCormick was quoted further as saying by PTI.
McCormick, who represents Georgia’s 6th Congressional district that has a sizeable Indian American population, also said that the US sees a “very incredibly important strategic and tactical ally” within India.
Both BJP and Congress have their CECs scheduled for Monday and are expected to come out with the second list of candidates tomorrow. (Getty)
The much-anticipated first list of the Congress party released last week contained just 39 names, essentially a ‘safe list’ with no candidates declared yet from major states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The start seemed rather uninspiring for a party riding on the INDIA bloc and aiming to dislodge the Narendra Modi government.
On the other hand, the BJP seems to be on board a Formula One racing car towards its aimed finishing line of 400 seats for the NDA — be it in terms of declaring candidates or stitching new alliances like with TDP in Andhra Pradesh and opening talks with the BJD in Odisha.
A regional party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), trumped the Congress in poll preparations by declaring all 42 candidates in West Bengal in one go and quashed all talk of any arrangement with the Grand Old Party.
This came after another INDIA ally, Aam Aadmi Party, took on the Congress inside the Punjab assembly, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann even daring the party to pull out of arrangements in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi will fight from Wayanad in Kerala against the Left, sparking another strife in the INDIA camp. His opponent is Annie Raja, the wife of senior Left leader D Raja.
The much-anticipated first list of the Congress party released last week contained just 39 names, essentially a ‘safe list’ with no candidates declared yet from major states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The start seemed rather uninspiring for a party riding on the INDIA bloc and aiming to dislodge the Narendra Modi government.
On the other hand, the BJP seems to be on board a Formula One racing car towards its aimed finishing line of 400 seats for the NDA — be it in terms of declaring candidates or stitching new alliances like with TDP in Andhra Pradesh and opening talks with the BJD in Odisha.
A regional party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), trumped the Congress in poll preparations by declaring all 42 candidates in West Bengal in one go and quashed all talk of any arrangement with the Grand Old Party.
This came after another INDIA ally, Aam Aadmi Party, took on the Congress inside the Punjab assembly, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann even daring the party to pull out of arrangements in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi will fight from Wayanad in Kerala against the Left, sparking another strife in the INDIA camp. His opponent is Annie Raja, the wife of senior Left leader D Raja.
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda. (Image/X)
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced his party’s seat-sharing deal with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls as well as the assembly elections in the state.
According to the announcement made by Naidu, TDP will contest on 17 seats out of a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the BJP will contest six seats. Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party will contest two seats in the coming general polls.
On the other hand, for the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, TDP will contest 144 seats, while the BJP and JSP will fight 10 and 21 seats in the state, respectively.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party reached a “political understanding” for an alliance ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This big announcement came after the second round of talks between the stakeholders was held on Saturday at Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence.
TMC has fielded former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan from the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat, a Congress stronghold represented by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Although the Congress is yet to announce its Lok Sabha candidates from West Bengal, Chowdhury is likely to recontest given he has represented the seat five times as an MP.
Chowdhury expressed his discontent over Mamata Banerjee-led party’s move saying TMC should’ve sent Yusuf Pathan to Rajya Sabha instead of bringing ‘outsiders’ in Lok Sabha elections.
“If TMC wanted to honour Yusuf Pathan, they should’ve sent him to the Rajya Sabha instead of sending ‘outsiders’,” the Congress leader said, adding that Mamata Banerjee should have asked the INDIA alliance to field him from Gujarat, his home state.
Chowdhury further sharpened his attack on Mamata Banerjee accusing her of bringing former cricketer Yusuf Pathan to “polarise the common man and to help the BJP, so that Congress can be defeated” in the Lok Sabha polls. “Mamata Banerjee has proven today that none of the political parties of India should trust a leader like her,” he said.
“Mamata Banerjee is in fear that if she continues to be in the INDIA alliance, PM Modi will be unhappy. By separating herself from the INDIA alliance, she has sent a message to the PMO, don’t be unhappy with me, I am not standing to fight against the BJP,” Chowdhury added.
Pachouri, Rajukhedi and other leaders joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president V D Sharma and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the party’s state headquarters in the morning.
Bhopal: In a jolt to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, senior leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri, ex-MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi and several others, including the party’s former MLAs, joined the BJP here on Saturday.
Pachouri, Rajukhedi and other leaders joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president V D Sharma and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the party’s state headquarters in the morning.
Former MLAs Sanjay Shukla, Arjun Paliya, Vishal Patel were among the leaders of the grand old party who also joined the ruling outfit.
Eleven MLAs, including six Himachal Pradesh Congress rebels, arrived in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand on Saturday, signaling that the infighting in the party is far from over.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu meets State Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh, in Shimla on Thursday. (ANI Photo)
A bus with Haryana’s number plate arrived in Rishikesh’s Taj Hotel on Saturday morning, reported ANI. 11 MLAs, including six rebels and three independent MLAs, disembarked from the heavily guarded bus.
The development comes two days after chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi after being summoned by the Congress top brass.
According to reports, he went to the national capital to present a report on the political situation and hold discussions on the Lok Sabha elections.
Asked if he would take the six rebels back, Sukhu said on Thursday: “If one realises one’s fault then that person deserves another chance”.
Earlier, Himachal minister Vikramaditya Singh said he had played the role of a mediator between the Congress high command and the rebels, and that the ball was in the court of the national leadership.
Last month, the six rebels and three independents voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections, resulting in an embarrassing loss to Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The six MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – were later disqualified.
The rebels have moved the Supreme Court against the Speaker’s move.
Sources said Rahul will also fight from Amethi in all probability but a decision will be taken only at a meeting of the CEC in the future.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leader Rahul Gandhi (L) Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi is all set to fight from Wayanad in the Lok Sabha elections, as the Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) on Thursday is learnt to have cleared his name along with a clutch of candidates for around ten states and union territories, including Karnataka where names for 11 seats have been given the green signal.
The decision on Rahul ends the speculation over the top Congress leader seeking re-election from the Kerala seat. Sources said Rahul will also fight from Amethi in all probability but a decision will be taken only at a meeting of the CEC in the future.
The party is likely to announce its first list of candidates on Friday while a second meeting of the CEC is scheduled for March 11.
The CEC chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Sonia Gandhi and senior leaders like Karnataka Power Minister KJ George, cleared names for 11 seats in Karnataka and seven for Telangana.
Navjot Singh Sidhu said this during an interview to a media outlet when asked about rumours that he may join the BJP and whether the party had approached him.
There was no immediate response from Bhagwant Mann to Mr Sidhu’s claims
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had approached him once expressing his readiness to join the party.
Mr Sidhu said this during an interview to a media outlet when asked about rumours that he may join the BJP and whether the party had approached him. He shared a clip of the interview on his X handle.
There was no immediate response from Mann to Mr Sidhu’s claims.
“I can tell you one thing about who had approached (me). Bhagwant Mann sahab had come to me. If he tells, I will even tell him the place (where they met),” Mr Sidhu said.
“He told me paaji, I am ready to be your deputy if I get him to join the Congress. And he also told me that if you come to the Aam Aadmi Party, still he was ready to be my deputy,” the Congress leader said.
Mr Sidhu further claimed that he told Mr Mann that he is committed to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and it’s not possible for him to leave them.
Mr Sidhu said he told Mann that if he wants, he is welcome to join the Congress and that he should talk to the party leadership in Delhi.
After this, there was no further discussion, he added.
Mr Sidhu said his sole aim is to serve the people of Punjab.
The summons was issued on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED ) claiming that the Delhi Chief Minister was not appearing before the agency despite its summons to Kejriwal in the money laundering case.
ED and Arvind Kejriwalfacebook
A Delhi court on Thursday issued summons to Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claiming that the Delhi Chief Minister was not appearing before the agency despite its summons to Kejriwal in the money laundering case connected to Delhi Excise Policy scam [Directorate of Enforcement (ED) v Arvind Kejriwal].
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra of Rouse Avenue Court issued the summons and asked Kejriwal to remain present before the Court on March 16.
ED filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal on March 6 arguing that he was summoned a number of times to appear before the probe agency for questioning in relation to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam but he has refused to comply.
The fresh complaint was filed after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor refused to appear before the ED on March 4 for the eighth time. He was first summoned on November 2, 2023.
Kejriwal had termed the ED’s summons as “illegal” and “politically motivated”.
Notably, this is ED’s second complaint case against Kejriwal.
The federal anti-money laundering agency had on February 3, 2024 also filed a case against Kejriwal. He has been issued summons by the Court in that case and is likely to appear personally on March 16.
The ED’s probe into money laundering contentions stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.
The CBI case was registered on a complaint made by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022.
The ED subsequently registered a case on the money laundering angle against the accused persons on August 22, 2022.
It has been alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia and other unidentified and unnamed private persons/entities during the stage of the policy’s formulation.
TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Bengal Police custody on February 29 (left) and in CBI custody on March 6 (right). (News18)
February 29 – Confident, assured, brazen even. March 6 – Tensed, muted, furtive. The body language of Shajahan Sheikh has undergone a 180-degree change a week since his first court appearance in the custody of Bengal Police to his appearance for a medical check-up in CBI custody.
The suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was handed over to the CBI by West Bengal CID on Wednesday in connection with the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkhali in January. The CID took him to a state-run hospital for a medical check-up before handing him over to the CBI. The CBI officials later in the night took Sheikh to another medical check-up in their custody.
— Suvendu Adhikari (Modi Ka Parivar) (@SuvenduWB) March 7, 2024
Sheikh was arrested in a case related to a mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 when the central agency had gone to search his premises in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.
The TMC strongman, who has also been accused of sexual assault and land grab in Sandeshkhali, was arrested on February 29 after being on the run for 55 days. After his arrest, Sheikh was escorted by law enforcement officers to be produced in a Basirhat court.
Sheikh had walked confidently into the court with shoulders hunched up high amid huge security presence as mediapersons jostled to question the man said to be the ‘don of Sandeshkhali’. He donned a white kurta-pyjama and a waist coast, a classic politician’s attire. This reporter managed to put forth one question to him: “Was it you who tortured the people of Sandeshkhali?” Sheikh turned to the reporter and wagged his index finger to signal ‘no’. No words, just a gesture seemed enough for Sheikh to claim innocence.
The opposition had also drawn attention to Sheikh’s body language, alleging he was not bothered about his arrest since he knew he has the backing of TMC leadership. Questions were also raised on why police officials did not hold Sheikh by the hand as is the norm while producing an accused in court.
A potential pact between the two parties marks a significant shift in the political dynamics of the state, especially considering the BJD’s departure from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 15 years ago.
The BJP-BJD alliance collapsed in 2009 following failed seat-sharing talks.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha has hinted at a potential alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On Wednesday, leaders of the BJD convened for an extensive session at Naveen Niwas, the official residence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Simultaneously, counterparts from the BJP, including its state unit chief Manmohan Samal, gathered in the national capital for a parallel meeting, engaging in discussions related to electoral affairs, with a particular focus on the possibility of forging an alliance.
A potential pact between the two parties marks a significant shift in the political dynamics of the state, especially considering the BJD’s departure from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 15 years ago, which had prompted former BJP leader and minister Sushma Swaraj to say that Naveen Patnaik would “regret” snapping ties after an 11-year understanding.
While no formal announcement has been made, BJD vice president and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra confirmed the discussions but stopped short of confirming the formation of an alliance. “Biju Janata Dal will prioritise the greater interests of the people of Odisha. Yes, there were discussions on the issue (alliance),” Mr Mishra told reporters after the meeting at Naveen Niwas.
A press release issued by the BJD stated, “An extensive discussion was held under the leadership of BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with the senior leaders of the party today regarding the strategy of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.”
“It was resolved that since by 2036, Odisha will complete 100 years of its statehood, and BJD and Chief Minister Patnaik have major milestones to be achieved by this time, therefore Biju Janata Dal will do everything towards this in the greater interests of people of Odisha,” the statement added.
On the BJP side, senior leader and MP Jual Oram, after the meeting presided over by BJP president JP Nadda in Delhi, confirmed discussions on a pre-poll alliance with the BJD. However, he added that the final decision rests with the party’s central leadership. “Yes, there were discussions on the alliance among other issues. The party’s central leadership will make the final call,” Mr Oram stated.
The Numbers
The strategic importance of Odisha, with its 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 assembly seats, is not lost on either party. In the 2019 elections, BJD and BJP secured 12 and eight parliamentary constituencies and 112 and 23 assembly constituencies, respectively. According to sources, in the event of an alliance, the BJP would contest the majority of Lok Sabha seats, while the BJD would focus on assembly seats.
The growing speculation about the alliance gained credence from the recent public praises exchanged between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Patnaik. Both leaders acknowledged each other’s contributions, with the BJD demonstrating support for the Modi government’s agenda in Parliament.
For the Assembly elections, the BJD is pushing for a larger share of seats, proposing to contest 105 out of the 147 available seats, leaving the BJP with 42 seats. Simultaneously, in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is expected to secure a significant portion of the seats. Of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, the BJP is likely to contest 13-14.
Abhijit Gangopadhyay joined the BJP on Thursday, days after resigning as a judge in the Calcutta High Court.
Abhijit Gangopadhyay was given a grand welcome at the BJP office in Salt Lake. (Photo: PTI/X)
Days after resigning as a judge in the Calcutta High Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay joined the BJP on Thursday. State leaders Subhendu Adhikari, Sukanta Mazumder and Mangal Pandey from central leadership were present.
Earlier, on Tuesday, after tendering his resignation, Abhijit Gangopadhyay had announced that he would be joining the BJP.
Abhijit Gangopadhyay was given a grand welcome at the BJP office in Salt Lake, Bengal, as state party president Sukanta Majumdar handed him the party flag.
“Today, I have joined a new field. I am happy to join the BJP and will work as a party soldier. Our objective is to oust the corrupt TMC regime from the state,” he said after joining the party officially.
Abhijit Gangopadhyay also came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government and said his prime focus would be to uproot the ‘ferocious’ government from the state.
“The time has come to uproot a corrupt government from West Bengal. They have caused serious harm to the state,” the former judge slammed the Trinamool Congress.
“I feel extremely depressed when I see Bengal is going down day by day, which is not acceptable to me as a Bengali. We have to start a huge agitation to remove the ferocious political party which believes in terrorism and terrorizing people and does not have respect for women for the state,” he added.
Further taking a swipe at the grand old party, Mann said the Congress, which ruled the country for 60 years, ‘neither had any MLA nor MP during 2015 to 2020’.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks during the Budget session of Punjab Legislative Assembly, in Chandigarh, on Monday. Credit: PTI Photo
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday likened the Congress to an “old model of Fiat car” even as he took potshots at party leader Rahul Gandhi, stating that he was “wandering” in Chhattisgarh when the Parliament’s budget session was going on.
Taking part in the discussion on the governor’s address on the second day of the budget session, Mann slammed the Punjab Congress members for disrupting the governor’s address on March 1.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — which are part of the INDIA block — are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in alliance except Punjab.
Talking about Gandhi, the chief minister said the senior Congress leader was busy with his yatra in Chhattisgarh when the budget session of the Parliament was going on.
Some of the prominent names that will not be contesting include union ministers Meenakshi Lekhi, John Barla, Rameshwar Teli and former union minister Harshvardhan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoists BJP’s party flag. Credit: PTI Photo
The BJP on Monday named Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Home Minister Amit Shah as well as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among 195 names in its first list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. All the leaders will contest from their respective seats. Of the 195 names the party announced, as many as 41 sitting MPs have been dropped.
With an aim to win 370 seats, the BJP has released these names at least a week ahead of the Election Commission announcing the elections, a change from 2019 when it had revealed the first list after the announcement of elections.
“Our party is confident of forming the government for the third term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a much bigger mandate. We have been working on expanding our footprint across various states and geographies, as well as on strengthening the National Democratic Alliance,” general secretary Vinod Tawde said.
Some of the prominent names that will not be contesting include union ministers Meenakshi Lekhi, John Barla, Rameshwar Teli and former union minister Harshvardhan. The new faces that have been fielded include Bansuri Swaraj from the New Delhi seat instead of Lekhi, former chief minister Shivraj Chauhan from Vidisha, and former Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram against Congress heavyweight Shashi Tharoor.
The party is also fielding union ministers Bhupendar Yadav (Alwar), Sarbananda Sonowal (Dibrugarh) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), who are all currently Rajya Sabha MPs. Sonowal has fought from Dibrugarh in the past (in 2004) and Scindia was Guna MP till he was in the Congress.
Making the announcement at the party headquarters, Tawde said that the list includes, 34 union ministers and two former CMs (Shivraj and Biplab Deb from Tripura West). In all, 51 seats from Uttar Pradesh, 20 from West Bengal, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 15 each from Gujarat and Rajasthan, 12 from Kerala, 9 from Telangana, 11 each from Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, 5 from Delhi, 2 from Jammu and Kashmir, 3 from Uttarakhand, 2 from Arunachal Pradesh and one each from Goa, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Daman and Diu were announced.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reiterated that his government will complete its five-year tenure.
Mr Sukhu accused the BJP of being ill-at-ease with his government’s performance.
Six “black snakes” from the party sold their honour and tried to destabilise the Congress government by abstaining from voting on a budget which had welfare schemes for the poor, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.
“How can people who sell their honour for money serve the people of their constituency,” he said, while addressing a public meeting in Dharampur in the Kasauli Assembly constituency of Solan district.
In political life, people who betray their party which gave them a chance to contest elections are called “black snakes,” he said.
If somebody realises his mistake, he can be forgiven, but first these MLAs should come out of the “jail” they have been in for the past 72 hours, Mr Sukhu said.
“Those who betrayed the party and played with the sentiments of the people of the state won’t be spared even by the Almighty,” he asserted.
The chief minister’s remarks were meant for the six Congress MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha Poll on Tuesday, throwing their lot with BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
Mr Sukhu accused the BJP of being ill-at-ease with his government’s performance in curbing corruption and starting welfare schemes.
“I am here for the people of the state, for the development of my state, I am here for you all and not afraid of the conspiracies being hatched against me,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh said it was “too early to say that the crisis is over”.
Himachal Pradesh Congress president Pratibha Singh (L) with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. (Photo: PTI)
Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh told India Today TV that even if the party has managed to save its government in the state, it was “too early to say that the crisis is over”.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Pratibha Singh said, “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or in the coming future… There were certain issues which could not be decided within a few hours or within a day. It will take time. And then only I can, if we are in a comfortable position, say that the government will last (five years).”
While there were reports that Vikramaditya Singh would join the BJP and stake claim to the post of chief minister, he later backtracked, saying he wouldn’t press his resignation until a dialogue with party leaders was not completed.
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government faced a mini-crisis after six of its MLAs, along with three Independents, cross-voted in favour of the BJP in the February 27 Rajya Sabha elections.
The Congress managed to defeat the rebellion after the six MLAs were suspended from Assembly by the Speaker and the government passed its budget.
‘NO FACTIONALISM’
Pratibha Singh said her son offered his resignation not because he wanted the chief minister’s post but to raise public’s issues.
“Did he talk about the chief ministership? Definitely not. His issues were entirely different. He talked about the youth, he talked about the development, he talked about the installation of Virbhadra Singh’s statue on the ridge. That was the issue of concern. That is not only our concern, it is the entire Himachal Pradesh who is looking towards the government for doing these little things,” Pratibha Singh said.
“We had promised the youth that we will give you some jobs, some placement in the government, which we have not been able to do. And now Lok Sabha elections are around the corner, we have to go to the people. So we are also answerable. That was the concern,” she added.
Pratibha Singh also denied that she leads a rival faction within the state Congress, affirming “we all are the same group”.
PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah attend the key BJP meeting in New Delhi. (Photo: X)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening chaired the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in the national capital to take a call on the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party’s headquarters. Top leaders, including party’s National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges of various states were present in the meeting.
#WATCH | BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting concludes; Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda leave from the BJP headquarters, in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/xOM8KmrNns
The leaders held discussions on the seats of Lok Sabha across about 17 states and set seals on more than 155 seats, the list of which will be released in a day or two.
According to an India Today report, the BJP is likely to announce its candidates on “weak seats” in Uttar Pradesh before the Election Commission releases dates for the Lok Sabha elections that are expected to be held in April-May.
Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain after winning the Rajya Sabha election. (Image: Screengrab, X/@ANI)
Police in Bengaluru are examining a viral video following claims that Congress supporters shouted “Pakistan zindabad” inside the Karnataka assembly to celebrate the win of a party candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections.
The ruling Congress party, however, rejected the charge. Its officials maintained that supporters were cheering for Syed Naseer Hussain, one of the three victorious Congress candidates in the southern state on Tuesday, and were shouting “Naseer saab zindabad”. A senior police source, too, said the slogan prima facie sounded like “Naseer saab zindabad”.
“We have obtained the video and analysing it,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda told News18.
The alleged incident took place soon after a media conference addressed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly R Ashoka, in a post on X, said “Shameless @INCKarnataka workers shouted Pakistan Zindabad slogans in the Karnataka Assembly to celebrate Congress candidate Naseer Hussain’s victory in the Rajya Sabha election.”
“This is a direct fallout of CM @siddaramaiah and DCM @DKShivakumar’s dangerous game of appeasement politics which has emboldened anti-national elements and tukde tukde gang,” Ashoka added.
BJP leader Amit Malviya also slammed the alleged sloganeering and took to X saying “Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised after Congress’s Naseer Hussein, political secretary of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, won Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. Congress’s obsession with Pakistan is dangerous. It is taking India towards balkanisation. We can’t afford it.”
RAJYA SABHA ELECTION RESULTS IN KARNATAKA
The ruling Congress in the state won three seats in the Rajya Sabha elections, which were marred by cross-voting in a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ajay Maken, GC Chandrasekhar and Syed Naseer Hussain from the Congress and Narayansa K Bhandage of the saffron party got elected to the Upper House on Tuesday.
A total of five candidates, including JD(S)’s D Kupendra Reddy, were in the run for the four seats.
Maken, Hussain and Bhandage got 4,700 votes each and Chandrashekhar got 4,500 votes. With 3,600 votes on the other hand, Reddy could not make the cut.
Hussain, after his win, told reporters “This was an expected victory. We had enough votes to win all three seats. We got more votes for these three seats. This is an important victory ahead of Lok Sabha. It is a privilege for me to be in the Upper House and represent Congress party and Karnataka for the second consecutive time…”
Notably, BJP’s MLA ST Somashekhar voted for Maken, while another party legislator A Shivaram Hebbar abstained.
The saffron party said that it will explore legal avenues for taking action against them and lodging complaint with the Speaker UT Khader seeking their disqualification from the assembly.
A day after clinching a victory in the Rajya Sabha polls, BJP MLAs met the Himachal Pradesh Governor seeking a floor test for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in the state assembly.
The outcome of the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh has left the Sukhvinder Sukhu government on shaky ground. (PTI)
The BJP has sought a floor test in Himachal Pradesh after the ruling Congress lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the hill state and contends with a possible rebellion from its legislators following the biennial elections to the Upper House.
As intense political manoeuvring got underway in Himachal Pradesh, senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Jairam Thakur, along with party MLAs, met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.
Sources said that the BJP demanded a floor test in the Himachal assembly, claiming that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu had lost the mandate to rule.
CRISIS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH AFTER RAJYA SABHA POLLS:
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with the Governor, Jairam Thakur said, “BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the Rajya Sabha elections. Currently, the Congress government has lost the moral right to stay in power.”
In a stunning upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP emerged victorious. The BJP’s Harsh Mahajan defeated Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi in a closely contested battle that ended in a tie, with both candidates securing 34 votes each, indicating significant cross-voting within the Congress ranks.
The victory of the BJP candidate, with the support of six Congress lawmakers and three independents previously backing the government, has left Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on shaky ground. The Congress high-command has dispatched senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and D K Shivakumar to engage with the disgruntled MLAs.
The six MLAs had left Shimla for Haryana after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha polls. On Wednesday, the lawmakers, rumoured to be in touch with the BJP, were being brought back to the Himachal capital by chopper.
The BJP secured a decisive victory in Uttar Pradesh, winning all eight Rajya Sabha seats it contested. The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) suffered a setback, with one of its three nominees facing defeat due to cross-voting by some legislators.
Amid concerns over cross-voting and resignations, SP President Akhilesh Yadav warned of strict action for going against the party line. BJP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya claimed Yadav made a mistake by fielding his third candidate, and he did not have the numbers.
Despite the turmoil, the ruling Congress managed to secure three out of four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka. Elected members include Ajay Maken, G C Chandrasekhar, and Syed Naseer Hussain, all from the Congress, along with Narayansa K Bhandage of the BJP.
The crucial Rajya Sabha elections began at 9 am on Tuesday with 41 out of 56 candidates already declared victorious due to the absence of opposition. 15 seats in UP, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh will witness a fierce contest.
The Rajya Sabha biennial elections, which commenced on Tuesday, have already seen 41 candidates secure their seats unopposed in the Upper House due to lack of opposition, leaving seats up for grabs in three states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.
Polling is being held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka and one seat in Himachal Pradesh from 9 am to 4 pm and counting will be held later in the day from 5 pm onwards. Notably, the shadow of cross-voting looms large with parties keeping a keen watch on its MLAs.
Out of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats going for polls on Tuesday, 41 members virtually secured their seats in the Upper House although the results will be formally announced on February 27.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has fielded eight candidates and the opposition Samajwadi Party three for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats. Both BJP and the SP have numbers to send seven and three members respectively, unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
However, with BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as its eighth candidate, a competitive faceoff is much-likely in one of the seats.
To get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, a candidate needs nearly 37 first preference votes.
In Karnataka, the ruling Congress has shifted all its MLAs to a hotel ahead of the biennial election to fill four vacancies. Five candidates — Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (all Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP) and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)) — are in the fray. All parties have issued whips to the MLAs, who are the voters in Tuesday’s poll, amid apprehensions of cross-voting.
Likewise, in Himachal Pradesh, Congress has issued a whip to all its MLAs to vote for party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi — a move which BJP alleged was to pressurise the MLAs. BJP claimed that legislators have been elected democratically and have the right to vote as per their wish.
The Congress has a clear majority in Himachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls with 40 out of 68 MLAs and the support of three independent MLAs.
BJP President JP Nadda, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradesh, Union IT Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were the among the 41 candidates who won seats unopposed in the latest round.
However, a tough competition is expected on the remaining 15 seats, which include 10 for Uttar Pradesh, four for Karnataka and one for Himachal Pradesh. Notably, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka is likely to witness closely contested electoral battles.
JP Nadda was nominated as the party’s candidate from the seat that fell vacant in Gujarat and was elected unopposed. Similarly, Vaishnaw was elected for a second time to the Upper House with support from the ruling Biju Janata Dal from Odisha.
Even MoS Information and Broadcasting L Murugan was elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh.
In Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed and so were BJP’s Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore.
Gujarat diamond merchant Govindbhai Dholakia, Jasvantsinh Parmar and OBC Morcha chief Mayank Nayak were also elected unopposed.
In Bihar, JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
In West Bengal, four Trinamool Congress — Mamata Thakur, Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Devi and Mohammed Nadimul Haque were elected unopposed. From BJP, Shamik Bhattacharya was the first MP to reach the Upper House.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav joined the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Agra days after Congress and the Samajwadi Party finalised their seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joined Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. (Photo from @yadavakhilesh)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joined the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra on Sunday. This comes days after Congress and the Samajwadi Party came to an agreement on the seat-sharing talks for Uttar Pradesh.
For days, Akhilesh Yadav had refused to join the yatra declaring that he would only participate once the seat-sharing with Congress is finalised.
On Sunday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi welcomed the Samajwadi Party chief to the yatra and said, “Today is a very happy day”.
All three addressed the crowd gathered in Agra as Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav joined hands to present a united front.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joins Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in Agra. pic.twitter.com/iBg04M6nYP — ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2024
PM Modi addressed the 110th episode of his radio programme. (File Image)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday began his monthly address to the nation by talking about the famous ‘drone didi’ and his government’s efforts to empower women.
While addressing the 110th edition of his radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the prime minister asked the people of the country to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of women in different spheres of life.
“After a few days on March 8, we will celebrate Women’s Day. This special day is an opportunity to salute the contributions of women’s power in the developmental journey of the country. The great poet Bharathiyar Ji has said that the world will prosper only when women get equal opportunities,” PM Modi said.
Highlighting Sita Devi’s revolutionary use of drones in farming and technological advancements and agricultural practices, PM Modi said, “Who would have thought till a few years ago that in our country, women living in villages would also fly drones? But today this has become possible. Today, everyone is talking about Drone Didi in every village, ‘Namo Drone Didi, Namo Drone Didi’ is on everyone’s lips.”
PM Modi also talked about his government’s focus on the conservation of wildlife adding that the number of tigers increased under the Modi government.
“Due to the efforts of the government in the last few years, the number of tigers in the country has increased. The number of tigers in the Tiger Reserve of Chandrapur, Maharashtra has crossed the figure of 250,” he said.
“A Bengaluru-based company has developed apps named ‘Bagheera’ and ‘Garuda’. With the ‘Bagheera’ app, the speed of vehicles and other activities during jungle safaris can be monitored,” PM Modi said.
Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated ‘Sudarshan Setu’, the country’s longest cable-stayed bridge of 2.32 km, on the Arabian Sea, connecting Beyt Dwarka island to mainland Okha in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Congress is seeking a ‘respectable’ number of seats in an alliance and may settle for around five seats, sources said. Earlier, the state leaders had demanded at least nine seats but during a meeting with them, Rahul had asked them to be realistic and seek not more than half-a-dozen seats.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress may sacrifice its claim on one of the two seats in Meghalaya to strike a deal with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections, as both the parties revived efforts to restart the once broken negotiations.
Trinamool and Congress had been on opposite poles over the former’s insistence on “take two seats or leave” in West Bengal. The relationship nosedived after Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee unilaterally announced her party contesting all 42 seats while refusing to take part in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state.
While a section of Congress leaders had played down Mamata’s outbursts against the party, sources said backroom efforts were on to find a common ground. There has been some forward movement and the talks have revived to find an amicable solution though Trinamool has been insisting that Congress does not deserve more than two seats.
Congress is seeking a “respectable” number of seats in an alliance and may settle for around five seats, sources said. Earlier, the state leaders had demanded at least nine seats but during a meeting with them, Rahul had asked them to be realistic and seek not more than half-a-dozen seats.
Now, Trinamool has demanded that Congress leave the Tura seat in Meghalaya and two seats in Assam though it may settle for one. Sources said Trinamool’s argument is that it had polled 28 per cent votes in Tura while Congress had got only 9 per cent and it has a better chance.
However, Congress state leaders say the Trinamool votes are actually those of Congress defectors. However, the seat negotiators are of the view that they could forgo their claim on Tura for a better settlement in West Bengal.
“If push comes to shove, we can forgo our claim on the Tura seat. Maybe, Trinamool may not also insist on Assam. We need to find a middle path and we are sure we will find one, like we did in the case of Uttar Pradesh,” a senior leader said.
Also called ‘tutari’ in Marathi, the trumpet is sounded to mark the entry of important persons, ranging from kings earlier to political leaders now.
Sharad Pawar seen here along with the new symbol of his NCP faction. Credit: PTI and X/@NCPspeaks
Mumbai: The Election Commission of India on Thursday allotted “man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet)” as the symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, the outfit’s spokesperson Clyde Crasto said.
“Our candidates will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on this symbol,” he told PTI.
‘Man blowing turha’ is the new symbol of NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar, the ECI said in its order.
Also called ‘tutari’ in Marathi, the trumpet is sounded to mark the entry of important persons, ranging from kings earlier to political leaders now.
The Sharad Pawar faction quoted lines from a popular poem ‘Tutari’ written by Jnanpith awardee Kusumagraj.
“The Tutari in the form of great valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had once deafened the emperor of Delhi. It is a great honour for our party to get Tutari (Man Blowing Turha) as our symbol for upcoming elections. Our Tutari is now ready to shake Delhi’s throne under the leadership of Sharadchandra Pawar,” the party said in a post on X.
A seat-sharing consensus has been reached between Congress and Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, while Akhilesh Yadav’s party and other INDIA alliance partners will field their candidates on the remaining 63 seats.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (L), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (R). [File photo]In Short
Seat-sharing consensus has been reached between Congress and SP in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Samajwadi Party and other INDIA bloc members will fight on remaining 63 seats.
The Congress will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the remaining 63 seats will be for Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and other alliance partners of the INDIA bloc.
“I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates from the INDIA Alliance – from SP and other parties,” Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande said while addressing a press conference on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as the first major seat-sharing deal between Opposition-led INDIA bloc, which was formed in June, last year, to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
SEATS GIVEN TO CONGRESS IN UP
As per the agreement, Congress will field candidates on its strongholds — Raebareli and Amethi.
Additionally, the party will also contest Lok Sabha seats of Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria.
Notably, Congress will also field its candidate on Varanasi seat, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PRIYANKA GANDHI ‘THE ARCHITECT’
The seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh was finalised following Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s meeting with Akhilesh Yadav to break the weeks-long deadlock between the two parties.
Following his meeting with Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav confirmed that an alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Congress will happen in Uttar Pradesh.
Farooq Abdullah denied Azad’s claims adding that if he wanted to meet PM Modi or Amit Shah, he would seek meetings in the daytime
Ghulam Nabi Azad along with Farooq Abdullah. (PTI File Photo)
Hours after veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah only sought late-night meetings with PM Modi Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to avoid opposition scrutiny, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief took a U-turn from his remarks.
Clarifying his statement on National Conference leaders, Azad said that he never said they met PM Modi and Shah but that his sources informed him that he tries to meet central leadership only at night.
#WATCH | Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President Ghulam Nabi Azad clarifies on the reports in the media.
He says, “I never claimed that he (Farooq Abdullah) met him (PM Modi). I said that through sources in Delhi, it has come to be known that he tries to meet central… pic.twitter.com/jFx8f4c5EF
“I never claimed that he (Farooq Abdullah) met him (PM Modi). I said that through sources in Delhi, it has come to be known that he tries to meet central leadership that too only at night. I never said that he met or got an appointment,” said Azad in his previous remarks.
Azad, in an exclusive interview with India Today claimed Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah only sought late-night meetings with PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah as they wanted to escape scrutiny to please both the opposition and ‘ruling party.
“Abdullahs were duplicitous, saying one thing in Srinagar, another in Jammu, and something else in Delhi,” Azad told the publication.
Azad also made a revelation about an alleged meeting between the Abdullahs and PM Modi on August 3, 2019, just before the scrapping of Article 370. He claimed that rumours swirled in Delhi that the Abdullahs were taken into confidence regarding the decision.
Kamal Nath is in Delhi amid buzz that he is joining the BJP, upset over his removal from the state party chief post after the Congress’s crushing defeat in the recently held assembly election.
New Delhi: The Congress has claimed that its veteran leader from Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, is not joining the BJP. This is what Mr Nath has told them when asked about the matter, party general secretary Jitendra Singh told NDTV this evening. Mr Nath is in Delhi amid a buzz that he is joining the BJP, upset over his removal from the state party chief post after the Congress’s crushing defeat in the recently held assembly election.
His successor Jitu Patwari seconded Mr Jitendra Singh, blaming the buzz on “misuse of media”.
“This was a conspiracy against Kamal Nath. I spoke to him and he said that all these things are just rumours, and he is a Congress person and will continue to be a Congress person… he will continue to have Congress ideology till his last breath. This is his own thoughts, he said this,” he said.
The Congress claim, though, sits awry with what Mr Nath’s loyalists have to say. Mr Nath has enough reasons to join the BJP and “the people” want him to do so, they argue.
One of them, former Congress MLA Deepak Saxena, told news agency ANI that only Mr Nath is being blamed for the party’s rout. He was also said to be the one to shoot down the Central leadership’s seat share understanding with the Samajwadi Party for the state elections, thereby creating a rift within the nascent INDIA bloc.
“The Public want Kamal Nath should go to the BJP so that development works will be done in the Chhindwara,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“The way he (Kamal Nath) has been removed from his post… there is a group of 11 senior Congress members, we all discussed and decided that if we are neglected like this then it would be better to go to BJP and get the work done. I will also go,” he had added.
Former President Donald Trump launched a line of sneakers ranging in price from $199 to $399.
By Alexandra Marquez and Jason Abbruzzese
If anyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop in the upcoming presidential race, former President Donald Trump just did, launching his own line of tennis shoes on Saturday.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Trump said when he announced the launch of a sneaker line at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.
“I have some incredible people that work with me on things and they came up with this … and I think it’s gonna be a big success,” he added.
In his brief remarks at the sneaker launch, Trump indicated the line could be an effort to reach out to younger supporters, saying, “We’re going to turn this country around fast. We’re going to turn it around. And we’re going to remember the young people, and we’re going to remember Sneaker Con.”
He was met with a mostly enthusiastic crowd, though some occasional boos permeated through the cheers.
Donald Trump carries a pair of his new signature shoes before taking the stage at Sneaker Con on Saturday.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The line, called Trump Sneakers, is available for preorder online.
It features three different pairs of tennis shoes: a pair of high-tops, a pair of red laceless athletic shoes and a pair of white laceless athletic shoes.
The high-tops, which are gold and emblazoned with a “T” on the outside of each shoe, are called the “Never Surrender High Top Sneaker” and are priced at $399 online. The athletic shoes, which feature a “T” and the number 45 on the sides are priced at $199.
The purchase of a pair of sneakers comes with extra laces and a Trump “superhero charm.”
The website selling the sneakers also features a “Victory47” perfume and cologne for sale at $99 each.
The sneakers, perfume and cologne sales have nothing to do with Trump’s presidential campaign or the Trump Organization. The former president’s name, image and likeness have been licensed to CIC Ventures LLC to sell the sneakers.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign mocked the sneaker launch, with communications director Michael Tyler saying, “Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life.”
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Trump incurred a more than $350 million penalty for engaging in repeated financial fraud through his family corporation. Trump has said he intends to appeal the order.
This isn’t Trump’s first time licensing his name, image and likeness to sell products. In 2022 and 2023, he struck a licensing agreement to sell NFT trading cards. Those cards were produced and sold by NFT INT LLC, which had a licensing agreement with Trump to use his name and image.
Donald Trump introduced his new line of signature shoes at Sneaker Con.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Sneaker Con, the venue where Trump debuted the sneaker collection, is an event that started in 2009 and has become one of the premiere events within the broader sneaker culture that has exploded in recent decades.
With the rise of sneaker culture, signature shoes have moved beyond athletes to musicians, actors and more. Some politicians are now thought of as “sneakerheads,” which is slang for people who tend to rock particularly desirable sneakers. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., reportedly has somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 pairs of collectible sneakers.
Congress MP Nakul Kamal Nath dropped the party name from his social media bio
Congress leader Kamal Nath with son Nakul Nath. (File Image: PTI)
A day after Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma claimed that there were some Congress leaders upset with the party’s leadership, Congress leader Nakul Kamal Nath dropped a major hint of a possible political switch after he removed the party name and symbol from his social media bio.
Nakul Nath’s move sparked rumours that his father and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath could also join the BJP.
Meanwhile, BJP’s top sources told News18 that Kamal Nath is likely to join the saffron party in the next 48 hours, in what could turn out to be a major blow to Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
On speculations about Kamal Nath joining the BJP, the Congress veteran, one of the few remaining leaders of the Indira Gandhi era, said he “will soon inform.”
#WATCH | On being asked if he is joining BJP, former Madhya Pradesh CM and Congress leader Kamal Nath says “Why are you all getting excited? It is not about denying. I will inform you all if there is something like that…” pic.twitter.com/GK9uNIQVAL
According to a The New Indian Express report, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and his son Nakul Nath might join the saffron camp before Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ enters the BJP-ruled state.
Kamal Nath is reportedly upset as he was not consulted by the party leadership before the Congress nominated Gwalior-Chambal politician Ashok Singh for the Rajya Sabha elections.
On being asked about the latest developments, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that he is confident Kamal Nath would never leave the party.
“I had a conversation with Kamal Nath ji last night. He is in Chhindwara. He is the person who started his political career with the Nehru-Gandhi family. You cannot expect that person to leave Sonia Gandhi and Indira Gandhi’s families,” Singh said.
Calling Kamal Nath “Indira Gandhi’s third child”, Congress leader Jitu Patwari said that Nath can never betray Gandhi family and will remain in the party.
VD Sharma earlier said that many senior Congress leaders are upset with their party leadership after the grand old party turned down the invitation to Ram Temple’s ‘Pran Pratishta’ ceremony.
While addressing the Delhi Assembly, Arvind Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief, launched a scathing attack on the BJP.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faced a trust vote in the Delhi Assembly today weeks after he accused the BJP of attempting to “poach” AAP MLAs with the aim of toppling his government in the national capital.
While addressing the Assembly, Arvind Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief, launched a scathing attack on the BJP. “AAP is the biggest challenger to BJP, which is why it is under attack from all sides,” Mr Kejriwal said.
Mr Keriwal said he has faced several attacks in the past and now the BJP wanted to arrest him. “You may arrest me but how will you finish Kejriwal’s thoughts?” he asked.
This is the second time when the Arvind Kejriwal government sought a trust vote. The Aam Aadmi Party has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly and the BJP has eight. “We have majority in the House but this confidence motion was needed because BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs,” the Chief Minister said.
Moving the vote of confidence motion in the Assembly yesterday, Mr Kejriwal said two AAP MLAs told him that they were approached by members of the BJP who claimed that the Delhi chief minister would be arrested soon.
“The MLAs were told that 21 AAP legislators have agreed to leave the party and more are in touch with the BJP. They offered the MLAs ₹ 25 crore to join the BJP. The MLAs told me they did not accept. When we spoke to other MLAs, we found that they had not contacted 21, but seven. They were trying to carry out another Operation Lotus,” Mr Kejriwal said.
Ahead of the trust vote, Arvind Kejriwal also appeared before a Delhi court via video conferencing this morning over skipping five earlier summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the liquor policy case. The court will next hear the matter on March 16.
The court had last week summoned Mr Kejriwal to appear before it today, noting that he was “legally bound” to comply.
In its complaint, the ED has alleged that the Delhi chief minister intentionally did not want to obey the summons and kept on giving “lame excuses”. If a high-ranking public functionary like him disobeyed the law, it would “set a wrong example for the common man i.e. the Aam Aadmi,” the agency said.
Mr Kejriwal’s trust vote move also came ahead of the ED’s sixth summons to appear before it on February 19.
The AAP chief has skipped five summons so far and he and his party have repeatedly claimed that the summonses were illegal and the agency’s only aim is to arrest him.
Ever since the first summons was issued by the Enforcement Directorate, there has been intense speculation that the Delhi chief minister would be arrested by the agency after his questioning.
The Yatra reaches its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today.
Tejashwi Yadav will also share the stage with Rahul Gandhi during a public meeting.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi in his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ on Friday in Bihar’s Sasaram. The Yatra reaches its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today.
Mr Yadav was seen driving Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the lead jeep as the yatra made its way through Sasaram with the RJD leader acknowledging his ally in his post on x.
Mr Yadav will also share the stage with Rahul Gandhi during a public meeting in Kaimur at Dhaneychha in the Durgawati block of Kaimur.
This will be the first time the RJD leader will be seen sharing the stage with Mr Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with INDIA bloc.
“Today is the 34th day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and Rahul Gandhi will have conversations with farmer leaders in Rohtas today…Today around 2:30 pm, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi will address a gathering in Kaimur and at around 5 pm, the yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh…” Senior Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said.
Later in the day, at 4 pm, the Yatra will move into UP’s Chandauli. It will be in UP till the evening of February 25 with a two-day break on February 22 and 23.
Earlier on Thursday, Yatra reached Bihar’s Aurangabad, where Mr Gandhi came out in praise of the Supreme Court over its verdict striking down electoral bonds, promising to conduct a financial survey across the country if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP at the Centre, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and joined hands again with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
In total, the income from the Electoral Bonds Scheme between 2018-19 to 2021-22 constituted 58 percent of the total income of the national political parties.
Supreme Court, Electoral Bonds and Political Parties
The Supreme Court’s judgment on Thursday striking down the Electoral Bonds Scheme has revealed data on how much money different political parties in India received through the anonymous donations since 2017-18.
The annual audit reports over the last six years revealed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the highest amount of anonymous donations – over ₹6,566 crore.
The Indian National Congress is second on the list, with a comparatively lower amount of ₹1,123 crore in its kitty.
All India Trinamool Congress also received ₹1,092 crore since 2017.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) was the only national party which did not accept donations through electoral bonds.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna in his separate but concurring opinion also analyzed the data produced before the Court, mostly by the petitioners, and what was available on the website of Election Commission of India (ECI).
Below is the detailed break-up of the donations received by various political parties through electoral bonds since 2017.
Annual audit reports of political parties from 2017-18 to 2022-23
One of the main assertions before the Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was that a larger portion of the donations was going to the ruling party at the Centre.
The data revealed that this apprehension was correct.
“It is clear from the available data that the majority of contribution through Bonds has gone to political parties which are ruling parties in the Centre and the States,” Justice Khanna said.
The petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms had also submitted a table to showcase party-wise donations received from corporate houses by the national parties.
This table again showed BJP taking most of the corporate donations.
mid the recent political developments within the Congress, former party leader and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said that it is unfortunate that the grand old party is coming to an end due to the weaknesses and arrogance of a few people. Azad told ANI that the exit of former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan from the party, is a big blow for the Congress.
Ghulam Nabi Azad Lists Out Reasons Why Congress Is Coming To End (File Photo)
Amid the recent political developments within the Congress, former party leader and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said that it is unfortunate that the grand old party is coming to an end due to the weaknesses and arrogance of a few people.
Azad told ANI that the exit of former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan from the party, is a big blow for the Congress.
“Now I do not want to say much on this because I have left the party. ‘Ab Vo Jaane Unka Kaam Jaane.’ Ashok Chavan has a significant contribution to Congress. His father was also a big leader of Congress and was also a Union Minister. The information that I have is that more people will leave the party in the coming times. It’s a big blow for them,” Ghulam Nabi Azad told ANI.
Her children Rahul Gandhi and Piyanka Gandhi, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra, leader of opposition Tikaram Jully were present at the time of the nomination filing in the assembly building. Credit: Special Arrangement
Jaipur: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination papers here for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan.
SoiurceHer children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully were present at the time of the nomination filing in the assembly building.
Before filing nomination, Sonia Gandhi met with the party MLAs in the opposition lobby of the assembly.
The Congress is comfortably placed to win one of the three Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan for which elections will be held. The seat will fall vacant after former prime minister Manmohan Singh completes his six-year tenure in April.
It will be Sonia Gandhi’s first term in the Upper House after serving five terms as a Lok Sabha MP.
The 77-year-old, who represented Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, will not contest the next general elections. She was first elected as an MP in 1999 after taking over as the Congress President.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar coming out of the State Assembly after Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar won a vote of confidence. (Image/PTI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government secured the magic number during the trust vote in the state assembly on Monday, defeating the Mahagathabandhan, which was hoping for some “Khela” (play) after some JD(U) MLAs skipped their party meeting a day ago.
The NDA government won the floor test easily with 129 votes in favour while the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) staged a walkout from the state assembly.
Opposition Stages Walkout
In the absence of the Opposition, Kumar first proved his majority by voice vote but later insisted on manual voting and went on to win the vote of confidence with 129 votes in favour against none in opposition to his government.
JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s victory in the Bihar assembly floor test saw a huge political commotion, a war of words and name-calling.
Kumar accused Tejashwi Yadav’s party of corruption, saying “they were minting money”, while the RJD leader took potshots at Nitish Kumar for taking oath as Chief Minister three times in a single term.
Number Game in Bihar Assembly
The are a total of 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly and the majority mark is 122.
The NDA has the majority in the Assembly with 128 seats, of which, BJP has 75, JD(U) 45, Hindustani Awam Morcha, 4 and one independent MLA Sumit Singh.
On the other hand, the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly has a total of 114 seats with RJD having the highest at 79, Congress at 19, CPI(ML) 12, and 2 each with CPI(M) and CPI.
In an unprecedented move, earlier today, 3 RJD MLAs sat with the ruling NDA in Assembly, to which, Tejashwi raised a point of order.
According to a PTI report, taking objection to party MLAs Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi and Prahlad Yadav sitting among members of the ruling NDA, ahead of voting on a no-confidence motion against Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav raised a point of order.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. (File image: PTI)
The Congress in Maharashtra was jolted again on Monday as top leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan left the party. The 65-year-old is the third influential leader from the state to quit the party in less than a month. Former union minister of state Milind Deora resigned from the Congress on January 14 followed by erstwhile Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique last week, with both citing internal party problems and that they were not being given opportunities. Chavan so far has not explained his reasons.
“I hereby submit my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress Party with effect from 12/02/2024 noon,” he said in a statement.
Ashok Chavan met Maharashtra speaker Rahul Narwekar early on Monday morning. Later, his resignation letter from the primary membership of the Congress went viral on social media platforms. With a post on social media platform X, he confirmed that he had resigned as MLA of the Bhokar assembly constituency.
“Today i.e. on Monday, February 12, 2024, I have tendered my resignation as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 85-Bhokar Assembly Constituency to the Assembly Speaker Rahulji Narwekar,” said the post.
While speaking to the media, Chavan said that he would decide on his next move in two days.
“I will clarify my political stand in the next two days. As of now, I have not decided to join the BJP. I have no complaints about the Congress party or its leaders. However, I am considering exploring other options, which is why I have resigned from the party,” said Chavan.
As a top leader of the Congress, Ashok Chavan frequently held seat-sharing meetings for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party. Chavan led many of these meetings along with senior Congress MLA Balasaheb Thorat.
Sources say Chavan being a Maratha has a very strong hold over the community, especially in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. His family had for long been seen as a Congress and Gandhi family loyalist. His late father Shankarrao Chavan was twice Maharashtra chief minister and also served in the union cabinet. Ashok Chavan became a junior minister, cabinet minister, and then chief minister of the state. His quitting the party is being seen as a big blow not only to the Maharashtra Congress but also to the central leadership. During the first leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, held from September 7, 2022, to January 30, 2023, Chavan was in charge of it in Maharashtra. His organisational skills were later applauded by the party’s national leadership.
Ashok Chavan started his political career in 1986 as general secretary of the Maharashtra Youth Congress and later became its vice president. In 1987, he won his first Lok Sabha election. In 1992, he became a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) of Maharashtra. In 1993, he was made the junior minister for the Home Department and Public Works Department (PWD). During 1995-1999, he was a secretary of the Maharashtra State Congress. In 1999, Ashok Chavan contested the state assembly elections for the first time and won, becoming a cabinet minister in charge of the Revenue Department. In 2003, he was made the Minister of Protocol along with Road Transport and Culture. In 2004, he was made in charge of the Industries Department.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during the COP28 Summit, in UAE on December 1, 2023. (X/@narendramodi)
The meeting in Dubai between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamim Bin Hamad, the Emir of Qatar, on December 1 last year is said to have set the ball rolling for the release of eight Indian Navy veterans by Qatar on Monday. Seven of them returned home on Monday, and all of them said it would not have been possible without Modi’s intervention on the issue with Qatar.
This is being seen as a big diplomatic win for India which used both official and the back channels to achieve the release. Modi had met the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai on December 1.
“We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar,” the PM had said about the meeting.
The issue of the eight jailed Indian Navy veterans in Qatar is said to have featured in the conversation that PM Modi had with the Emir of Qatar, though it has not been officially confirmed by either of the countries so far.
Things moved positively since that meeting as the Indian Ambassador in Qatar got consular access to the veterans on December 3, and the court overturned the death sentence to the veterans on December 28. Their release was announced on Monday. Earlier, on October 26 last year, the Qatar’s court of First Instance had issued them a death sentence before hearings began in a Court of Appeal.
India described the ruling as “deeply” shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case. In November this year, the appeals filed by the veterans with assistance from India were accepted by the Court of Appeal in Qatar, and a key hearing had taken place on the Court of Appeals on December 7.
In a major development, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday (February 10) announced that his party would contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in the upcoming general elections. Kejriwal’s announcement comes as a major blow to the Opposition’s I.N.D.I.A bloc which is aiming to defeat the BJP at the Centre. Congress and AAP are a part of the Opposition’s bloc. “AAP will announce candidates for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and 1 in Chandigarh in 10-15 days,” Kejriwal said.
What did Kejriwal say?
Reminding the people of the historic victory the party achieved in Punjab in the last Assembly elections, Kejriwal urged the people to vote for the party in the Lok Sabha elections as well.
“Two years back, you gave us blessings. You gave 92 out of 117 seats to us (in Assembly elections), you created history in Punjab. I have come to you with folded hands, asking for one more blessing. Lok Sabha elections will be held in two months. For Lok Sabha elections, Punjab has 13 seats and one from Chandigarh – a total of 14 seats. In the next 10-15 days, AAP will declare its candidates in all of these 14 seats. You have to make AAP sweep all these 14 seats with majority,” he added.
VIDEO | Here’s what Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) said about fielding AAP candidates in Punjab, Chandigarh for Lok Sabha Election 2024.
“Today, I again seek your blessing with folded hands. There will be Lok Sabha elections after two months. In Punjab there are 13… pic.twitter.com/YInkC8tTk7
Reiterating that the AAP will win all seats in Punjab in Lok Sabha elections, state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the party will declare all candidates by the end of this month.
“By the end of this month, we will declare all our 13 candidates from Punjab and one from Chandigarh (for 2024 Lok Sabha polls). We are confident that it will be 14-0 – 13 in Punjab and one in Chandigarh,” he said.
VIDEO | Here’s what Punjab CM @BhagwantMann said when asked about AAP’s preparations for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“By the end of this month, we will declare all our 13 candidates from Punjab and one from Chandigarh (for 2024 Lok Sabha polls). We are confident that it will be… pic.twitter.com/aHir4WwpGW
The Opposition’s bloc, consisting of over 25 parties, have stumbled to the seat-sharing issue with several parties expressing their grievance regarding the delay in formulating a strategy to take on the BJP.
BJP reacts
Reacting to Kejriwal’s announcement, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said that the structure of the I.N.D.I.A bloc is crumbling. He took a potshot at Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra being led by Rahul Gandhi and said that it is “more of bye bye yatra”.
“One more blow to INDI Alliance…Arvind Kejriwal has announced today that AAP will contest alone on 13 seats of Punjab and one seat of Chandigarh. It means INDI Alliance will not contest there, there won’t be an alliance there…The structure of the INDI Alliance is crumbling…No mission, no vision, only commission, only corruption, only confusion, only contradiction. Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra is strange. It is more of ‘bye bye yatra’ than Nyay Yatra. He should have taken out ‘INDI jodo yatra’ instead…” he said.
