Ketan Patel declared Congress candidate from Daman and Diu
The Congress on Monday fielded Ketan Patel, son of former parliamentarian Dahyabhai Patel, as its candidate from Daman and Diu Union Territory Lok Sabha constituency.
Ketan Patel was among the five candidates the party declared for two Lok Sabha seats in Goa, two in Chhattisgarh and one for the union territory. Girish Chandonkar from North Goa, Fransisco Sardinha from Goa South, Pratima Chandrakar from Durg and Jyotsna Mahant from Korba, both in Chhattisgarh and Ketan Patel from Daman and Diu.
- The Hindu correspondent Mahesh Langa reports
Analysis: Brahminism, the thread that unites across parties?
In a comedy of errors that played out on the social media in November last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and his team had to appease a mob that declared that calling for the end of “Brahminical patriarchy” amounted to Hinduphobia . During an interaction in India, Mr. Dorsey was photographed with a placard saying “ smash Brahminical patriarchy .”
Brahminism has gone viral again after Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, a revered figure of the U.S. Hindutva outfits, declared himself as an outcast from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘ Mein bhi chowkidar ’ campaign. “I cannot become a chowkidar because I am Brahmin. Brahmins can’t be chowkidars. It’s a fact. I will give orders that the chowkidars have to execute. That’s what everyone expects from the appointed chowkidars. So, I cannot be one,” Mr. Swamy said in an interview, conducted in Tamil this week.
CPI writes to poll panel to improve printing quality of its ‘corn and sickle’ symbol
The CPI on Monday wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner urging it to improve the printing quality of its election symbol ‘corn and sickle’, claiming that the poll panel was using “a hand drawn image” since 1952.
In the letter, the party’s general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said the CPI was the only party to have contested all elections since independence with the same symbol.
“However the Election Commission was continuing to use the same hand drawn image since 1952 and we request that it be replaced with the digitally drawn image of the same ‘corn and sickle’ symbol,” he said.
Mr. Reddy also suggested to the Election Commission that new printing technologies should be adopted and symbols should be printed in colour so that they are more “photo realistic” and easier to recognise.
He said this will address the repeated complaints of similarity of candidates’ symbols.
He said since the CPI is a party representing the downtrodden and working class, it is essential that the symbol of ‘corn and sickle’ be easy to recognise.
Rahul Gandhi, Sonia to be among star camnpaigners
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former cricketers Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mohd Azharuddin, actors Kushboo and Nagma will be among 40 star campaigners for the April 11 Lok Sabha polls in Telangana.
The leaders’s names figured in the list of 40 star campaigners released by the Congress.
Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and Congress leaders from various states, including G Parameshwara, D K Shivkumar, Ashok Chavan will canvas for party candidates.
Senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Meira Kumar, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Salman Khurshid and Jairam Ramesh will also campaign for the party in the state, party sources said.
Former MP and actress Vijayashanti will also take part in the campaigning.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, A Revanth Reddy and several other senior leaders from Telangana will also be campaigning.
The Congress is contesting all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, elections for which are scheduled on April 11.
Rahul Gandhi to address two rallies in Rajasthan tomorrow
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Rajasthan on Tuesday for a day during which he is slated to address two poll campaign rallies, besides a meeting of his party workers.
Mr. Gandhi would be addressing rallies in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar district and Bundi district headquarters with the same name.
He will later address his party workers at Ramlila Maidan in Jaipur.
“Preparations for the meetings have been completed for Mr. Gandhi’s visit to the State," a party leader said.
The workers’ meet would be attended by shortlisted booth-level activists from all 200 assembly segments of the state.
This is Mr. Gandhi’s first visit to the state for poll campaigning in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Rajasthan, which has 25 Lok Sabha seats, will go to polls in two phases.
Elections on 13 seats will be held on April 29 and on remaining 12 seats on May 6.
Two candidates file nomination for Mizoram Lok Sabha seat
Two candidates filed their papers for the lone Mizoram Lok Sabha seat and three nominations were received for the by-election to the Aizawl West-I Assembly constituency on Monday, the last date for filing of nominations, officials said.
Election to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram and byelection to the Aizawl West-I Assembly constituency would be held simultaneously on April 11, joint chief electoral officer H Lianzela said.
BJP nominee Nirupam Chakma and People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) candidate TBC Lalvenchhunga filed nominations for the Lok Sabha seat on Monday.
Ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) nominee C Lalrosanga, Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and Congress party combine sponsored Independent nominee Lalnghinglova Hmar and two other Independent candidates — Lalhriatrenga Chhangte and Lalthlamuani had already filed nominations earlier last week.
MNF candidate Zothantluanga and ZPM-Congress combine’s common candidate Lalbuanga Sailo, president of the ‘Zoram Thar’ (New Mizoram) party Rev. Zaichhawna filed their nominations for the Aizawl West - I assembly by-election on Monday.
Scrutiny of the nomination papers would be undertaken on Tuesday while the last date of withdrawal of candidature is fixed on Thursday, the official added.
NCP releases manifesto; assures complete loan waiver to small, middle income farmers
The Nationalist Congress Party on Monday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, promising complete loan waiver for small and middle income farmers and resumption of talks with Pakistan. Releasing the manifesto at the party office, NCP general secretary and chief spokesperson D P Tripathi said the party’s endeavour will be to bring radicalised youth of Kashmir Valley into the mainstream and take stern action against those involved in ‘brainwashing’ them.
The Sharad Pawar-led party is contesting on 20 seats in Maharashtra, one each in Laskhadweep, Bihar, Odisha, Meghalaya and Manipur.
“According to figures from various organisations working in rural areas, over 90,000 people have committed suicide in the hinterland, of which majority are farmers. We will provide a complete loan waiver to the small and medium income farmers,” Mr. Tripathi said.
The party manifesto was also released in Mumbai.
Mr. Tripathi said resumption of talks, especially on terrorism, with Pakistan was essential for betterment of ties between the two countries.
When asked how will the party implement its manifesto when it is contesting in not more than 30 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, the NCP leader exuded confidence that the party will be a part of the next non-BJP government and influence policy-making.
Two candidates file papers for lone LS seat in Nagaland
Two candidates filed their papers for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland on Monday, the last date for filing of nomination, officials said.
The election to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland and the byelection to the Aonglenden Assembly constituency will be held on April 11.
Two candidates — Hayithung Tungoe of National People’s Party (NPP) and Dr M M Thromwa Konyak of Indian Christian Secular Party (ICSP) submitted their documents on the last day of filing nominations for the Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland, the officials said.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) consensus candidate and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) party nominee Tokheho Yepthomi and Congress candidate K L Chishi had already submitted their documents on March 22.
Mr. Chishi is also a former Chief Minister of the State.
Four candidates — Yepthomi, Chishi, Tungoe and Konyak — have filed their nomination papers for the Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland, the officials said.
Five candidates have filed their nomination for the bypoll to the Aonglenden Assembly seat, officials said.
The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting NDPP MLA Imtikumzuk in September last year.
Alemjonshi Longkumer (Congress), Toshipokba Longkumer (NPF) and O Tinujungshi Longkumer (NPP), who is also the younger brother of Late Imtikumzuk filed the nominations for the bypoll on Monday, said Deputy Commissioner and District Election officer Rajesh Soundararajan.
PDA consensus candidate and NDPP nominee Sharingain Longkumer had filed his nomination for the bypoll on March 22.
Scrutiny of documents will be conducted on Tuesday while the last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 28.
Indian cricketers in IPL should be allowed to vote wherever they are: Ashwin
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday said Indian cricketers criss-crossing the country to play the ongoing IPL should be allowed to cast their votes in the upcoming general elections at cities where they might be when polling is held in their respective constituencies.
Ashwin’s request came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi tagged several sports personalities including him, Shikhar Dhawan, Dipa Karmakar, Hima Das and Sakshi Malik on twitter, urging them to create awareness for higher voting.
“I would also like to request you @narendramodi sir to enable every cricketer playing in the IPL to be allowed to cast their votes from which ever place they find themselves at,” Ashwin wrote in response to the’s tweet.
Ashwin might have directed his request to the Prime Minister but the country’s election process is administered by the Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional authority. Political leaders are not involved in the conduct of the polls.
The general elections will be held from April 11 to May 19 in seven phases, the dates clashing with the IPL which started on March 23.
Ashwin hails from Chennai but is playing for Kings XI Punjab in the Twenty20 League. Similarly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is from Ranchi in Jharkhand but is leading the Chennai Super Kings.
The Indian cricketers participating in the league would be living out of their suitcases during the event, the knockout schedule for which is not yet out.
They may not be in their home towns to exercise their franchise due to their professional commitments.
“Always thought voting is the fulcrum of our democracy and I definitely would like to urge the entire country, each and everyone of you from every nook and corner of our country to vote and choose their rightful leader,” read his first tweet.
TMC in alliance with Makkal Needhi Maiam
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her party, the Trinamool Congress, has forged an alliance with actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s ‘Makkal Needhi Maiam’ for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Haasan, who flew down to Kolkata this afternoon, had an hour-long meeting with Ms. Banerjee before the decision was announced.
The TMC would field one candidate for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Mr. Haasan said his party would extend full support to him.
“We have formed an alliance with Kamal Haasan’s party for Andaman,” Ms. Banerjee said.
“We are proud to say that Makkal Needhi Maiam is an ally with the Trinamool Congress for Andaman... We hope this relationship evolves in the future,” Mr. Haasan said after the meeting.
Karti Chidambaram files papers, slams BJP for “imposing” Hindi
Karti Chidambaram with his father P. Chidambaram.
Karti Chidambaram, son of Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday filed his nomination to contest from Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency and slammed the BJP-led Centre for ‘imposing Hindi, Hindu and Hindutva’ and ’ignoring’ the interests of Tamil Nadu.
People of not only Tamil Nadu, but across the country want to dislodge the “fascist” BJP regime at the Centre, he told reporters after filing his papers.
Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy, senior DMK leader and former Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments K R Periakaruppan were among those who accompanied Karti Chidambaram.
To a question on the delay in announcing the candidate for Sivaganga, he said “there was no delay.”
BJP fields greenhorn at Hinjili, Patnaik files nomination for Bijepur
The BJP on Monday named party’s state vice-president Pitamber Acharya as its candidate against Naveen Patnaik at Hinjili but is yet to name its contestant at Bijepur, where the Odisha Chief Minister filed his second nomination during the day.
Mr. Acharya, a senior advocate of Orissa High Court, will make his debut in electoral politics at Hinjili, where polls will be held along with Bijepur in the second phase on April 18.
He is the BJP spokesman and was assigned the responsibility of the party’s vice-president barely two days ago.
"I am very happy that I have filed the nomination for Bijepur constituency because of the love and affection of the people of this area. Development of Bijepur would be first my priority," Mr. Patnaik said after filing his nomination papers for Bijepur seat.
Mr. Patnaik also addressed a public meeting before going to file his nomination paper at the Padampur sub-collector’s office.
The Chief Minister had announced his decision to contest the Assembly election from Bijepur constituency under Bargarh Lok Sabha seat too after people from western region of the state had requested him to do so.
Though Mr. Patnaik has been in State politics since over two-decades, this is for the first time he has filed nomination in more than one assembly seat in the state.
Mr. Patnaik, who is also the BJD chief, had been elected to the Assembly four times in a row from Hinjili under Aska Lok Sabha seat in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
Bijepur’s sitting MLA Rita Sahu, Minister Snehangini Chhuria and other party leaders accompanied Mr. Patnaik when he filed his nomination for Bijepur seat at the office of the returning officer of Padampur.
Mr. Acharya confirmed that he will contest from Hinjili assembly seat and said he would contest against the Chief Minister to win the polls.
Mr. Acharya’s name as party candidate from Hinjili was announced in a separate press release issued by the BJP’s central office.
BJP sources said Mr. Acharya was interested to contest from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat. But the party fielded former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra in Cuttack and decided to pit him (Acharya) against the chief minister, sources said.
Mr. Patnaik had filed his nomination papers for Hinjili at Chhatrapur in Ganjam district on March 20.
In 2014 he had polled 89,267 votes against his nearest Congress rival Sibram Patra’s 12,681 votes. BJP candidate Debananda Mohapatra was in the third place by securing only 12,283 votes in 2014 polls.
Elections to 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and 147 assembly seats in the state where simultaneous polls would be held in four phases from April 11.
Surge in ticket seekers ‘delaying’ BJP’s 2nd list
A surge in the number of ticket aspirants has forced the BJP to delay its second list of candidates for the remaining nine parliamentary seats in Rajasthan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The party had in its first list on March 23 declared 16 candidates of the total 25 parliamentary seats, but is yet to declare its nominees for Churu, Barmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Rajsamand, Nagaur, Dausa and Banswara seats.
According to the party, several candidates have staked their claim to contest the elections this time.
Except Dausa and Alwar, the BJP has its sitting MPs on rest of the seven seats.
Dausa seat was vacated by BJP MP Harish Meena after being elected as a legislator on a Congress ticket. Alwar is being represented by Congress leader Karan Singh Yadav.
For the Dausa seat, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena’s wife Golma Devi and his brother Jagmohan Meena are the top contenders.
Erstwhile royal family member Diya Kumari and Kiran Maheswari are in race for Rajsamand seat after BJP sitting MP Hariom Singh declared not to contest the polls.
BJP MP Colonel Sona Ram Chaudhary, who lost the assembly election recently, has again staked claim on Barmer seat, whereas the name of IPS officer Mahendra Chaudhary is also doing the rounds for the seat.
The situation in other seats is also similar with many aspirants vying for BJP tickets to contest the crucial general elections.
Those who found their names in the BJP’s first list have close connections with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah or a strong RSS background.
Despite protests at local level, the party gave ticket to sitting MP Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner and Ramcharan Bohra from Jaipur Urban seat.
The party sources, however, said the candidates of the remaining nine seats will be soon announced following BJP’s core committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
Rajasthan goes to polls on April 29 and May 6.
Paralympic Games winner Deepa Malik joins BJP
Deepa Malik, a noted para athlete, on Monday joined the BJP with the party asserting that her presence will strengthen the organisation.
She joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s Haryana unit chief Subhash Barala, and general secretary Anil Jain, who is in charge of its affairs in the State.
She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games.
“We welcome her into the party. She is an inspiration for all of us. She has made the country proud,” Mr. Jain said.
With the BJP yet to announce all its candidates in Haryana for the Lok Sabha elections, Ms. Malik may be in the reckoning for one of the seats, sources said.
Former Union Minister Sukh Ram, grandson Aashray Sharma join Congress
Former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram and his grandson Aashray Sharma on Monday joined the Congress, AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajni Patil said.
Mr. Sukh Ram and Mr. Aashray Sharma met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and joined the Congress. A formal announcement will be made shortly at a press conference, Mr. Patil told PTI .
Mr. Aashray Sharma, son of Cabinet Minister Anil Sharma in the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in Himachal Pradesh, seeks to contest from Mandi parliamentary seat.
He quit the BJP after the saffron party renominated its sitting MP Ramswaroop Sharma from Mandi.
Congress announces NYAY to eliminate poverty
Addressing the media after the Congress Working Committee meeting, party president Rahul Gandhi said they will provide Rs. 72,000 per annum to the poorest families, if voted to power.
The scheme is named as NYAY or Nyuntam Aay Yojana. Mr. Gandhi had been talking about minimum income gurantee for a while.
Explaining the scheme, Mr. Gandhi said every household will be assured of Rs. 12,000 per month. The scheme will cover the 20 per cent of poorest families. If a family earns, say, Rs. 6000 per month, the remaining Rs.6,000 will be paid to them.
"Minimum income threshold is Rs 12,000. Any family earning less than this, the government will pay the difference," Mr. Gandhi said.
Claiming the scheme is an extremely powerful, dynamic idea, Mr. Gandhi said in a way, it was the second phase of MNREGA.
"It is not acceptable to the Congress that there are poor people in the 21st century... The final assault on poverty is beginning," he added.
Farooq Abdullah files nomination papers for Srinagar LS seat
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Monday filed nomination papers from the prestigious Srinagar Lok Sabha seat which is going to polls in the second phase of the general election on April 18.
Mr. Abdullah, who is seeking re-election from the constituency, was accompanied by his son and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and other party leaders to the office of Returning Officer, Srinagar, where he filed his nomination papers.
The Srinagar Lok Sabha seat is spread over three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal. It has 12,90,318 voters who will cast their votes at 1,716 polling stations set up in the constituency.
- PTI
Delhi Congress leaves decision on alliance with AAP up to Rahul Gandhi
Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit and other leaders of the unit on Monday discussed the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the Lok Sabha polls in the city in a meeting with party chief Rahul Gandhi.
The opinion remained divided on the issue and everyone in the meeting was unanimous that Gandhi should take a final call on it in the larger interest of the party, said a participant of the meeting.
Sources said four former Delhi Congress presidents -- Ajay Maken, Subhash Chopra, Tajdar Babar and Arvinder Singh Lovely favoured an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.
“AICC in-charge of Delhi Congress PC Chacko also handed over signed letters of 12 district Congress presidents, leaders of the party and councilors in three municipal corporation, in favour of the alliance, to Gandhi,” they said.
- PTI
JD(S) returns Bengaluru North to Congress
Unable to find a suitable candidate for the Bengaluru North seat, JD(S) has returned the seat back to the Congress.
This move which comes as a surprise a day before the last date for filing nominations, sent the Congress leaders into a huddle in Monday morning, who are deliberating on choosing a “suitable” candidate.
AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal took to Twitter to thank the JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda for returning the seat.
Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is also contesting from Bengaluru North.
The BJP announced Rikman G Momin as its candidate for Tura parliamentary constituency.
The ruling coalition, barring the BJP, is fielding NPP’s Agatha Sangma as a common candidate from the Tura seat.
Former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is the Congress candidate.
BJP candidate A. Manju washes the feet of municipal workers before filing the nomination papers in Hassan on Monday.
A. Manju, the BJP candidate for the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, washed the feet of municipal corporation workers before filing his nomination.
Mr. Manju, a former minister in Siddaramaiah's cabiney, recently switched from Congress to BJP and was rewarded with the Hassan ticket. He is pitted against JD(S) candidate Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
Decision on Rahul’s candidature likely today
Party leaders attend Congress Working Committee meeting chaired by president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday.
The chances of Congress president Rahul Gandhi contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat appears to be bright and senior leaders in Kerala expect a decision after the meetings of the party central election committee and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in New Delhi on Monday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now looking at options of scaling up the party’s fight in Wayanad. Under the NDA seat-sharing arrangement, the Wayanad seat was allotted to the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS). The party leaders are now considering taking the seat from the BDJS and fielding a BJP candidate to register its opposition to Mr. Gandhi.
At Saharanpur rally, Adityanath terms Opposition candidate ‘Azhar Masood’s son-in-law’
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaks at a BJP rally in Saharanpur on March 24, 2019. Photo: Twitter/@myogiadityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday said “opposition parties offered biryani to terrorists” while the Modi government fed them bullets, and termed a rival candidate from the Saharanpur constituency “son-in-law of Azhar Masood“.
Addressing a rally in Saharanpur, he said the “son-in-law of (Jaish-e-Mohammed chief) Azhar Masood” has entered the constituency and he speaks the language of the terror mastermind.
Imran Masood is the Congress candidate from the constituency.
26 lakh ink bottles for polling
In full flow: MPVL has so far supplied 20 lakh vials of indelible ink for the coming Lok Sabha poll.
Ahead of polling, the Election Commission has ordered 26 lakh bottles of indelible ink at a cost of ₹33 crore. Each bottle contains 10 millilitres of ink.
In the 2014 election, the panel bought 21.5 lakh phials, 4.5 lakh fewer than this year’s purchase.
Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd., a Karnataka government undertaking, is the only authorised manufacturer of the ink. Nearly 90 crore people are eligible to vote in this election, and the bottles will be distributed to nearly 10 lakh polling stations across the country.
#AskSiddaramaiah
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and coalition coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah will be live, fielding questions on Twitter on Tuesday. In a tweet sent out on Sunday, he said he would be live from 2.30 p.m. and invited people to questions with the hashtag #AskSiddaramaiah.
For the first time, TDP not to contest in Telangana
For the first time the TDP is not going to contest in Telangana.
For the first time in 37 years after its formation, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will be staying out of the political battle in Telangana.
The party was hoping to field Nama Nageshwara Rao from Khammam and extend support to Congress and CPI candidates in other places but after Mr. Rao decided to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to contest on its ticket, it has literally dropped the idea of contesting.
Sources said AP Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu spoke to Telangana TDP chief L. Ramana, seeking his opinion on the contest. It is said the party will stay out of contest in the present circumstances and extend its support to Congress candidates.
Left parties struggling to stitch alliances
From a high of 2004, when the four Left parties together got 59 seats, they are now struggling to stitch alliances even when they are ready to contest in fewer number of seats.
The largest Left party, the CPI(M), was snubbed by the Congress in West Bengal.
In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) has not spared them a single seat citing their minimal presence in the State. The CPI will be fielding Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai.
In Maharashtra, where it led one of the biggest farmers agitations in the recent past, the Nationalist Congress Party did not accommodate it in the Dindori Lok Sabha constituency, forcing it to announce its own candidate, while keeping the communication lines open with the NCP.
