Priyanka Gandhi moving about as ‘Ram bhakt’: Irani
In a dig at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Union minister Smriti Irani said on Tuesday the party that refused to believe in the existence of Lord Ram has now turned into an outfit of Ram followers.
“The Congress party which presented documents in the court saying there is no existence of Lord Ram... the leader of that very party Priyanka Gandhi is moving about as a ‘Ram bhakt’,” she said.
The Union Textiles Minister was apparently referring to the UPA government in 2007 withdrawing from the apex court an affidavit filed by the ASI claiming there was no historical or scientific evidence to establish existence of Lord Ram and Rama Setu as a man-made bridge.
BJP releases 10th list of candidates
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi was on Tuesday dropped as a BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, while Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and her MP son Varun Gandhi swapped their seats as the party announced 29 more nominees from Uttar Pradesh.
BJP general secretary Arun Singh announced that Union Minister Manoj Sinha has been fielded from Ghazipur, a seat he had won in 2014, and U.P. government Ministers Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Satyadev Pachauri from prestigious Allahabad and Kanpur seats respectively.
Mr. Joshi, 85, had won from Kanpur in 2014 but was told by the party leadership that he would not be fielded in the coming elections. The party has not given the ticket to veterans like L.K. Advani, B.C. Khanduri and Kalraj Mishra among others.
Actor politician Jaya Prada was fielded from Rampur hours after she joined the party on March 26.
U.P. BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey has been repeated from Chandauli, Mr. Singh said.
Maneka Gandhi will contest from Sultanpur and Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit.
The BJP also announced 10 candidates from West Bengal. — PTI
PM Modi to address rallies from March 28
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch his party’s campaign for the Lok Sabha elections after the poll schedule was announced with six rallies in as many States on March 28 and 29.
BJP sources said he will address rallies in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Rudrapur in Uttarakhand and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir on March 28, followed by public meetings in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana the following day.
All the constituencies where Mr. Modi will speak are going to polls in the first phase on April 11. Assembly polls are being held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. — PTI
Samawadi Party names three candidates
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday declared list of its three candidates including Anand Sen from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat.
The party has announced Anand Sen from Faizabad, Hemraj Verma from Pilibhit and Devendra Yadav from Etah as its candidates, a party spokesman said in Lucknow.
The party had earlier declared list of 20 candidates including one from Madhya Pradesh.
SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting from Mainpuri, party president Akhilesh Yadav from Azamgarh, Dimple Yadav from Kannauj, Dharmendra Yadav from Badaun, Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, Mohd Azam Khan from Rampur.
Delhi Congress to hold “Aay Pe Charcha” meetings to play up Rahul Gandhi’s mega poll sop
The mega poll sop of providing ₹72,000 each annually to five crore families belonging to the poorest category by Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be played up the party’s Delhi unit through “aay pe charcha” (discussion on income) meetings in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.
Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit termed the announcement as an “extraordinary step” and said she was getting congratulatory phone calls from people who are appreciating the sop “hugely”.
“This is an extraordinary step which will benefit the people below the poverty line in the country. It is the first time that such a step has been taken in the world,” she said.
Mr. Gandhi had said 20% or five crore families belonging to the poorest category with monthly income less than ₹12,000 would come under the scheme.
Ms. Diskshit said it is strange that the BJP government which has coined “hollow” slogans such as ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and ‘Achhe Din Ayenge’ is now opposing Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s announcement.
Ms. Dikshit said Congress will implement the scheme for five crore poor families in the country after it forms the next government in the country.
“The formalities [of the scheme] will be worked out after Congress forms the government and implements it,” she said.
Delhi Congress working president Haroon Yusuf said the “aay pe charcha” meetings will be held across the city from April 1, to apprise people about the “historic” move by party president Rahul Gandhi.
“These meetings will be held with the help of party workers at the district and block level in which people will be told how they are going to benefit from the announcement, if Congress wins the Lok Sabha polls,” Mr. Yusuf said.
Another working president of Delhi Congress Rajesh Lilothia hit back at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which reportedly termed Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s announcement as a “Jumla” questioning the ruling party on their promise of installing CCTV cameras.
“What happened to their [AAP] promises like installing CCTV cameras across the city?” Mr. Lilothia asked. — PTI
AIADMK goes to EC against DMK’s Kanimozhi
The ruling AIADMK on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer in Chennai, alleging cash distribution by the DMK during the poll campaign of party candidate Kanimozhi in Tuticorin, which was refuted by the main Opposition party.
The AIADMK’s election wing deputy secretary and MLA I.S. Inbadurai, in his complaint, alleged that a video clip showing distribution of cash by a DMK leader during the campaign trail of Ms. Kanimozhi has “gone viral.”
DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi is contesting the polls from Tuticorin Lok Sabha constituency. She has already filed her nomination papers.
The clip, which was made available to the media, ran for 41 seconds and shows Ms. Kanimozhi accepting the greetings of people.
The video shows a leader standing next to her purportedly distributing cash to women who performed ‘aarti’ to her.
The cash distribution is a criminal offence and also against the Model Code of Conduct and hence Ms. Kanimozhi’s nomination papers should be rejected and action taken against her, the AIADMK leader said in the complaint.
“The Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo has assured us he will look into our complaint and seek a report from Tuticorin poll authorities,” Mr. Inbadurai told PTI .
The AIADMK leader said he also provided a copy of the video to the CEO.
Performance of aarti is a traditional practise to ward off the evil eye and mark auspiciousness.
When contacted, DMK refuted the claim and dismissed it as an old video clip shot long ago during a gram sabha event held by it.
Despite many attempts, the CEO was unavailable for comments. — PTI
BJP MP Rajendra Gavit joins Sena, to contest from Palghar
Last year, tribal leader Rajendra Gavit crossed over to the BJP from the Congress and won the Palghar Lok Sabha seat in a bypoll, and on March 26 he joined its ally Shiv Sena which nominated him from the same constituency.
As part of the pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the Sena, the Palghar seat adjoining Mumbai has fallen in the latter’s kitty.
However, apparently unable to find a strong candidate in its ranks, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has now got the BJP MP to fight the April 29 polls at its official candidate from the seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The Palghar Lok Sabha seat fell vacant last year following the death of sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanga. In the bypoll, the BJP and the Sena, though allies in Maharashtra and at the Centre, fought against each other.
The BJP had fielded Mr. Gavit, while the Sena gave ticket to Chintaman Wanga’s son Sriniwas Wanga, who lost.
“In the seat-sharing pact, the Sena has received the Palghar seat. During the previous bypoll, I had publicly announced that I want Sriniwas Wanga to go to Parliament and I am firm on my commitment,” Sena president Uddhav Thackeray told reporters after Mr. Gavit’s induction in the party.
Mr. Thackeray said in the past few months, Mr. Wanga has taken a stock of the Palghar constituency and is of the view that he should first work there as a member of the Legislative Assembly and later as an MP.
“I have given my word to him to send him to Parliament. However, since he wants to work as an MLA first, I will send him to the State legislature,” he said.
Mr. Thackeray said Mr. Gavit has worked in the constituency in the past 8-9 months and therefore, instead of giving the ticket to somebody else, he found it appropriate to induct him into the Sena and field him from Palghar.
He said the Sena will field Narendra Patil, a labour leader, from the Satara Lok Sabha seat in western Maharashtra.
With this, the Sena has declared the names of candidates for all the 23 Lok Sabha seats that it is contesting in Maharashtra.
Opposition NCP took a dig at Mr. Thackeray over the candidature of Mr. Gavit.
“By snatching Sriniwas Wanga from the BJP and making him fight the Palghar bypoll [last year] and now denying him a ticket shows how Sena president Uddhav Thackeray takes care of children of other politicians,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said. — PTI
Shatrughan Sinha to join Congress in New Delhi on March 28
Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has been associated with BJP for about three decades, will join Congress at New Delhi on March 28, a senior party leader said in Patna on Tuesday.
“Shatrughan Sinha will join Congress in New Delhi on March 28 at 11.30 am ... He will be our candidate from Patna Sahib”, chairman for the State Congress election campaign committee Akhilesh Prasad Singh said.
Mr. Sinha is a two-term BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib Singh but has been dropped by the saffron party which has chosen to field Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the seat.
Mr. Sinha has been openly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Speculation had been rife for some time that he would join the Congress, which is an ally of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ which also consists of the RJD and other local parties.
Asked whether Mr. Sinha would be induced in the party in the presence of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, as was being speculated in the media, Mr. Singh said “top leaders will be present on the occasion”.
Mr. Singh, however, dodged queries about Kirti Azad, another BJP MP who had recently joined the Congress saying, “He will be contesting elections. From where, it will be decided by the party.”
Mr. Azad is serving his second consecutive term in the Lok Sabha from Darbhanga and the Congress wants to field him from the seat as the constituency has a large population of Maithil Brahmins its traditional supporters.
RJD has been insisting that it has won the Darbhanga seat many times and would like to contest it again with its senior leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui as its candidate. — PTI
Ajit Singh declares assets worth ₹16.61 crore
RLD chief Ajit Singh. File photo.
RLD chief Ajit Singh has declared movable and immovable assets worth ₹16.61 crore in an affidavit filed along with his nomination papers for the Muzaffarnagar parliamentary constituency.
Mr. Singh filed his papers as the the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate for the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat in western Uttar Pradesh on Monday. Polling in the constituency will be held on April 11.
Mr. Singh, a former Union minister, is the richest among the 22 candidates from the constituency.
He has declared moveable assets worth ₹1,51,88,936 and immoveable properties worth ₹15,09,36,666.
He has no vehicle and no criminal case pending against him, according to the affidavit. - PTI
₹540-crore suspect cash, liquor and freebies seized in two weeks
Suspect cash, illegal liquor and drugs worth about ₹540 crore have been seized across the country since parliamentary election schedule was announced by the Election Commission of India a fortnight ago, official data showed on March 26.
Tamil Nadu recorded the maximum seizure of these illegal inducements, suspected to have been routed and used to bribe voters, worth ₹107.24 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh ₹104.53 crore, Andhra Pradesh ₹103.4 crore and Punjab ₹92.8 crore.
Karnataka saw the total seizure of inducements and cash worth ₹26.53 crore, Maharashtra ₹19.11 crore and Telangana ₹8.2 crore.
An EC official said the total value of seized items was ₹539.99 crore.
The polls were declared by the EC on March 10 and as per data updated till March 25, a total of ₹143.37 crore suspect cash, ₹89.64 crore worth of liquor, drugs valued at ₹131.75 crore, gold and other precious metals worth ₹162.93 crore and other freebies of ₹12.20 crore have been seized, the EC data for all states for Lok Sabha polls said.
The EC has deployed hundreds of general observers, expenditure observers and static and mobile surveillance teams in the country to keep a check on flow of black money and other illegal gratification so that the level playing field of holding fair polls is not disturbed.
The seven phase polls will begin from April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23. — PTI
Two LS seats in Arunachal set for multi-cornered fights
The two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh are set to witness multi-cornered fights during the single-phase polling on April 11, with a total of 12 candidates crossing swords in the battle.
While five candidates have filed their nominations from Arunachal East constituency, another seven are in the fray from Arunachal West seat.
The eastern seat, with its 27 assembly segments, is likely to witness a tough fight between Tapir Gao of the BJP and James Lowangcha Wanglat of the Congress.
During 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Rijiju won the seat by defeating his nearest rival Congress nominee Takam Sanjoy by a margin of 41,738 votes. File.
Two new faces - Bandey Mili of the Janata Dal (Secular) and Mongol Yomso of the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) - along with Independent candidate C.C. Singpho have also joined the fight from the constituency.
The Arunachal West constituency, with its 33 assembly segments, have seven candidates locking horns in the election.
Sitting BJP MP Kiren Rijiju is pitted against Congress candidate and former chief minister Nabam Tuki and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Jarjum Ete.
The other candidates who are in the fray from the constituency are Khoda Apik of the National Peoples’ Party (NPP), Subu Kechi of the PPA, Jomin Nyokir of the All India Forward Bloc and Independent candidate Rumak Jomoh.
During 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Rijiju won the seat by defeating his nearest rival Congress nominee Takam Sanjoy by a margin of 41,738 votes.
Arunachal is set to go for simultaneous polling to the Lok Sabha and the 60-member Assembly on April 11. - PTI
AIMIM enters LS poll fray in Maharashtra
The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday announced its Maharashtra MLA Imtiaz Jaleel as the party candidate from Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in the western state.
Syed Imtiaz Jaleel
Polling would be held in Aurangabad in the third phase of elections on April 23.
“Imtiaz Jaleel will be AIMIM’s candidate for the Aurangabad Parliamentary Constituency,” Mr. Owaisi tweeted.
The AIMIM is contesting Lok Sabha elections for the first time outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
It has fielded its Bihar unit chief Akther Ul Imam from Kishanganj parliamentary constituency in the state, party sources said here.
Mr. Jaleel, sitting MLA from Aurangabad Central, tweeted he "will be contesting MP seat from Aurangabad on Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and MIM ticket". - PTI
Want to focus on Mumbai North West now: Sanjay Nirupam
Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam says he hopes factionalism in the party would end as the new chief takes over.
"I hope that with my exit factionalism within our unit ends. And no one will go to our high command in Delhi with complaints," Mr. Nirupam said at a press conference in Mumbai.
The Congress high command replaced Mr. Nirupam with Milind Deora as the Mumbai Congress. Mr. Nirupam has been announced has the party's nominee for Mumbai North West seat.
Congratulating Mr. Deora, Mr. Nirupam said he will now be focussing on his constituency. "I have been living here for over two decades and know the local issues," he added.
Jaya Prada joins BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Bhupender Yadav presents the membership slip to veteran actor and former MP Jaya Prada as she joins the BJP, in New Delhi on March 26, 2019.
Actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada has joined the BJP and could be fielded by the party from the Rampur parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Ms. Jaya Prada, a close associate of former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, had been elected from Rampur on SP ticket twice.
If fielded by the BJP from Rampur, she will take on senior SP leader Azam Khan.
Kanhaiya Kumar launches crowd-funding campaign
Former student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who will be making his electoral debut from Begusarai constituency in Bihar, has launched a fundraising campaign through a portal.
"It is often that people who raise genuine issues have to face vile schemes on one hand and resource crunch on the other. We really hope that you will make a financial contribution to the best of your ability and strengthen us in this shared struggle," Mr. Kumar said seeking donation.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi declares Imtiyaz Jaleel as candidate for Aurangabad Parliamentary Constituency.
Mr. Jaleel is currently the Aurangabad MLA. The AIMIM is fighting elections in Maharashtra in an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh.
BJP has asked me not to contest in elections: Joshi
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. File
The BJP has asked veteran leader and one of the party founders Murli Manohar Joshi not to contest in the upcoming Lok sabha elections.
Dr. Joshi has issued a brief statement for voters in Kanpur, from where the 85-year-old leader had won in 2014.
The statement said BJP general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) appointee, had conveyed Joshi the party leadership’s decision that he should not be contesting the elections.
BJP leaders said the party has taken a “principled decision” that veterans should make the way for younger leaders.
Ananth Kumar supporters unhappy with BJP's decision on denying ticket to Tejaswi
Ananth Kumar's supporters protest in front of his house at Basavagudi, after BJP did not give ticket to the late leader's wife, for contesting from Bengaluru South.
The BJP, past midnight on Monday, declared Tejasvi Surya as the party’s candidate from Bengaluru South, a seat that had been held by late union minister Ananth Kumar till his death last year.
Kumar's wife, Tejaswi Ananth Kumar, was believed to be the top contender. State BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa had even publicly announced that he has recommended her name.
Monday's late night announcement came as a surprise to many. Kumar's supporters, on Tuesday, gathered outside his residence and raised slogans against the party.
BJP announces names of 4 more Lok Sabha candidates
The BJP has released names of four more Lok Sabha election candidates and announced its nominee for Odisha’s Bijepur assembly constituency, the second seat from where Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is contesting the state polls. With this list, the party has announced names of 310 candidates for the general elections.
In Karnataka, the BJP has fielded Ashawat Narain from Bangalore Rural and Tejaswi Surya from Bangalore South.
Rajveer Singh Balmiki has been fielded from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras (SC) Lok Sabha seat and Rupak Sharma from Nowgong in Assam
BJP’s Sanat Gadtia will contest against Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik in Bijepur.
(With inputs from Agencies)
