Lok Sabha elections updates | EC seeks immediate action against Shobha Karandlaje

The BJP has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi for his “fight against a shakti” remarks at a recent rally in Mumbai, and urged the poll panel to take “stringent action” against the Congress leader and issue directions for lodging an FIR against him.

In a memorandum to the poll panel, BJP leaders Hardeep Singh Puri and Om Pathak alleged Gandhi’s “fight against a shakti” remarks were rendered with “malicious intention” of insulting the religious values associated with ‘shakti’ and creating enmity among religions to appease “some religious community”.

“The statement made by Gandhi wherein he says that the fight is with Shakti was made with a malicious intention to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus. A large section of Hindus in India offer prayers to Shakti in Hinduism to the extent there exists a Shakti sect who refer to the Devi as Shakti,” the BJP leaders charged.Read the story here.

Cracking the whip, the Election Commission of India has asked State governments to take down all unauthorised political advertisements from government, public and private properties and send a compliance report in the next 24 hours.

In a letter to the Union Cabinet Secretary and Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, the ECI said that despite its letter issued on March 16 when the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections came into force, it has received complaints that such defacements have not been removed.“All unauthorised political advertisements, in the form of wall writings, posters, papers or defacement in any other form, cutouts, hoardings, banner flags were ordered to be removed in a time bound manner from public spaces like railway stations, bus stands, airports, railway bridges, roadways, government buses, electric/telephone poles, municipal/local bodies’ building and a strict compliance in this was to be ensured,” it reminded the governments.

It said it has taken a “serious note” of the non-compliance of its instructions.

It directed all state and union territory governments to “immediately remove all unauthorised political advertisements and ensure full compliance of its instructions”.

It sought a compliance report in this regard by 5 pm on Thursday. -PTI

The Election Commission has directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK’s complaint about alleged model code violation by Union minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje.

The poll panel also sought a compliance report within 48 hours.Read the full story here.

The NCP has criticised the Shiv Sena for not controlling its leaders after Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare criticised Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar even after meeting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai recently.

Notably, the NCP has gone public against Shiv Sena led by Mr. Shinde twice in the last ten days.

“The NCP is abiding by the Mahayuti dharma but the chief minister should control his leaders. Enough is enough. Vijay Shivtare is spoiling the atmosphere for Mahayuti in Baramati. He is also trying to disturb the atmosphere of the Mahatuti alliance,” NCP spokesperson and former MP Anand Paranjape claimed in a statement.

“Current developments project a picture of CM Eknath Shinde lacking control over leaders of Shiv Sena or they don’t listen to him. We are striving to maintain unity but restraining party (Sena) leaders seemingly poses a significant challenge for the chief minister,” he added.

Himachal Pradesh’s Congress chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh has said that she has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as the ground situation was “not favourable” and workers were disheartened.

“I have withdrawn my name and conveyed to the (party) high command that I will not contest the elections and will fully support any candidate which the party central leaders consider suitable,” she said. 

While announcing her decision, Ms. Singh said, “I have toured the State extensively and found that no worker is active and in such a situation, it is difficult to achieve success.... You cannot win polls just by distributing MPLAD funds.” 

Ms. Singh has raised the issue of rewarding the party’s leaders after the party won the Assembly elections 15 months ago.Reacting to the development, BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the Congress is not getting candidates and every big leader is avoiding the elections.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena has said that the agency seized cash, precious metals, narcotics and others worth ₹176 crore since January 1 in the run-up to the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the State. 

“In the past three days since the announcement of the poll schedule, we have seized cash, liquor, drugs and freebies worth ₹3.39 crore,” he said during a press conference. Of these seizures, he said liquor amounted to ₹1.6 crore, cash ₹80 lakh and the balance were drugs and freebies. -PTI

The AIADMK and the DMDK have signed a seat-sharing pact. The DMDK will contest in 5 Lok Sabha constituencies - Tiruvallur, Central Chennai, Cuddalore, Thanjavur and Virudhunagar.

A day after MNS chief Raj Thackery met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the talks were positive and the details about the alliance will be divulged soon. “Raj Thackeray met Amit Shah in Delhi. It would be premature to comment on it immediately. The picture will be clear in the next few days, and we will brief you in detail,” Mr. Fadnavis said. 

If the alliance is sealed, the MNS is likely to be given one seat to contest from Mumbai.Read the full story here.

Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday took additional charge as the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries. Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.

-PTI

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan said on March 20 that he is ready to take on Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat but refrained from attacking his estranged uncle, saying it is for him to decide whether he wants to stand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or not.

After a meeting of his party’s parliamentary board, Mr. Paswan said there was unanimity that he will contest from Hajipur while the names of candidates for four other seats will be announced in a few days.

Read the full story here.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Bihar leader Pappu Yadav on March 20 formally merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Indian National Congress and formally joined the party at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. 

His wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, is a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress. 

Read the full story here.

A day after Sita Soren, three-term JMM MLA and sister-in-law of former CM Hemant Soren, quit the party and joined the BJP alleging “isolation and neglect” after the demise of her husband, Kalpana Soren took to ‘X’ saying “bowing down is not in the DNA of the people of Jharkhand”.

In a blow to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Sita, the elder daughter-in-law of Shibu Soren embraced the saffron party on Tuesday, weeks ahead of Lok Sabha polls alleging she and her family were neglected and isolated after her husband Durga Soren’s demise. -PTI

The Rajasthan government has declared a dry day in the State as per the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that an order in this regard has been issued by the Finance (Excise) Department. 

According to this, the first phase of voting is to be held on April 19 and there will be dry days in the state from 6 pm on April 17 till the end of voting on April 19, 2024. For the second phase of voting to be held on April 26 and Bagidora assembly constituency bye-election, there will be a dry day in the state from 6 pm on April 24 till the end of voting on April 26, 2024.

Along with this, a dry day has also been declared on June 4 in the state when the counting of votes will take place.

-PTI

RJD MP and national spokesperson Manoj Jha on Wednesday said seat sharing in Bihar will be finalised in a day or two, adding that talks are going well and in a positive direction.

Talking to the media after meeting Congress General Secretary Mukul Wasnik, Jha said they have agreed on seat sharing to a great extent.

“Agreement has been built to a great extent, things are on track, in a couple of days, everything will be cleared,” Jha told reporters.

-PTI

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad was on Wednesday “authorised” to take a call on the party’s candidates for Lok Sabha polls, besides exploring the possibility of bringing in new allies.

This was announced by Abdul Bari Siddiqui, the RJD’s principal national general secretary, after meetings of the party’s state parliamentary party and national parliamentary party. - PTI

The Lok Sabha polls will be crucial in deciding whether the secular democratic character of the country will be maintained as the last 10 years have witnessed an “assault” on the fundamental pillars of democracy, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. He also asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc is gaining popularity among the people, but a lot will depend on whether all parties get a “level-playing field” in the polls.

The polls will decide “whether we are going to maintain our secular democratic character or not. The last 10 years have seen a serious erosion, I would call it in fact an assault on constitutional values and the fundamental pillars of our Constitution. Secular democracy is one pillar with economic sovereignty, social justice and federalism being the others,” Mr. Yechury said. -PTI

Read the full story here.

India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns, and is charting a roadmap for becoming a developed nation with the right decisions taken at the right time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.

Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh event, Mr. Modi said India’s startup ecosystem is not limited to metro cities, it has now become a social culture.

Mr. Modi vowed that he would make India the world’s third-largest economy in his third term, and asserted that startups will play a big role in India’s progress.

Read the full story here.

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin released the election manifesto of his party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Mr. Stalin highlighted some of his party’s key poll promises, which include an amendment to the Constitution of India to accommodate relevant recommendations of expert committees on Centre-State relations in order to grant more autonomy to States; the appointment of Governors after duly consulting the Chief Ministers of States; the abolition of Article 356 and the removal of Article 361 of the Constitution of India; the establishing of a branch of the Supreme Court of India in Chennai; Statehood for Puducherry and reducing the prices of LPG, petrol and diesel to ₹500, ₹75 and ₹65, respectively.

Read the full story here.

The contest in the backward Perambalur constituency is set go up a notch higher during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, as the DMK has fielded K.N. Arun Nehru, son of party heavyweight and Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru.

Mr. Arun, 40, who holds a master’s degree in construction management, is taking the plunge after making himself conspicuous in political circles in Tiruchi, as an understudy to his father, in recent years.

Read the full story here.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that it had, under its fold, roped in many parties such as the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Puthiya Tamizhagam, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Puratchi Bharatham and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

A party press release stated that Tenkasi, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Dindigul had been allotted to the Puthiya Tamizhagam and the SDPI respectively. Though the number of seats allotted to the DMDK was not yet made known officially, television media reports indicate that five seats have been given. 

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL), sought directions to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Election Commission of India (ECI) to register a complaint and investigate and prosecute the political leaders Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav for allegedly making misleading and false statements which were made with the intent to damage the image and credibility of Republic of India.

“They know who is speaking the truth and who is not sailing the truth. Don’t involve us in this political thicket. Someone will lead and someone will mislead. Let them take a call. If they are aggrieved, they will file their petition. They know how to approach the court,” the court observed.

The plea also sought direction for the removal of allegedly false and misleading statements, made by said leaders from electronic and social media platforms.

-ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying some in politics need to be repeatedly launched, much unlike startups that move on to other avenues in case one venture does not work out.

Some “have to be launched repeatedly”, he said.

The startup ecosystem is experimental and moves on to a new one if a particular startup doesn’t launch, he said, contrasting them with the ones in politics.

Businesses, in normal course, put off big events till the elections are over but the large assembly of startup entrepreneurs and people associated with that ecosystem at the three-day ‘Mahakumbh’, days after general elections were announced, is a sign of things to come, he said.

-PTI

A look at the donors and political parties that encashed electoral bonds in four periods between July 2, 2021 and January 24, 2024 

Read the full data story here.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday said the upcoming 18th edition of India’s national elections is the largest electoral logistics exercise that the planet has ever witnessed. 

The foreign minister said that, “With 968 million registered voters, 15 million election officials, and 1.2 million polling booths, the upcoming 18th edition of India’s national elections is the largest electoral logistics exercise that this planet has ever witnessed.”

He was delivering the National Statement virtually on behalf of the Indian government at the Third Edition of the Summit for Democracy organised by South Korea in Seoul.

-ANI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 20 suffered a major setback in Jharkhand as BJP MLA from Mandu seat Jai Prakash Bhai Patel joined the Indian National Congress (INC) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In the presence of AICC in-charge of Jharkhand Alam Gir Alam, Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur, Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam and party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, Mr. Patel said that BJP’s ideologies didn’t align with his father Tek Lal Mahto’s.

Read the story here.

Tamilisai Soundararajan, who quit her post as Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu. State BJP President K. Annamalai gave the membership card to Ms. Soundararajan at the party’s headquarters ‘Kamalalayam’ in Chennai.

At a press conference, Ms. Soundararajan said that although it was a tough decision to leave her post she was happy to be back working for the party.

The Supreme Court agreed to list for hearing on Thursday, March 21, a PIL against the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections, a significant development that comes ahead of general elections.

The PIL also seeks a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties.

“This is important. We will keep this on board tomorrow,” the bench, comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. 

-PTI

“As many as 11,682 defacements, including wall writings, posters and banners, were removed in Gautam Buddh Nagar district within 72 hours in line with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha election,” according to official data.

Of the total defacements removed, 9,361 were on public properties and 2,321 on private spaces across the district, data on the status of enforcement of poll code, accessed by PTI, showed. Read more

The Madras High Court on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, refused to issue a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider a plea to cancel the ‘lotus’ symbol allotted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on grounds that it was both a national flower and a religious symbol.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed a writ petition filed by ‘Gandhiyawathi’ T. Ramesh, president of the Ahimsa Socialist Party, seeking a direction to consider a representation made by him on September 22, 2023. Read more

The Chennai District Election Office has changed the locations of 101 polling stations in the city, following demands from local residents to improve access and provide better facilities for electors. The city has a total of 3,726 polling stations.

Polling booths in 14 buildings in the Royapuram segment of the North Chennai Parliamentary constituency and 14 buildings in the Thousand Lights segment of the Central Chennai Parliamentary constituency have been changed to new locations. Read more

The BJP and BJD do not need each other to win elections, but some things are beyond politics and the two leaders — PM Narendra Modi and CM Naveen Patnaik — want to come together for “a greater cause”, said V.K. Pandian, the close aide of the Chief Minister.

Speaking at a media conclave in New Delhi on Tuesday, he said Mr. Patnaik and Mr. Modi share a great friendship.

“Somebody wants to join an alliance because they want to have an impact on the electoral map. Here is a Chief Minister who is so popular in the State and he gets a 3/4th majority every time. In the recently concluded panchayat elections, which are fought on party symbols, he got 90% of the seats. The second party is the BJP with 5% of seats. So, Mr. Naveen Patnaik does not need an alliance to come back to serve the people. I would say the same thing about Mr. Narendra Modi, the honourable PM,” Mr. Pandian said. Read more

Bansuri Swaraj, the youngest BJP Lok Sabha candidate in Delhi, asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance was based on “self-interest” and would not have any impact on the prospects of her party as it would retain all seven parliamentary seats in the city.

The daughter of late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, said the slogan “Abki Baar 400 Paar (This time, 400-plus seats)“ is not just a catchphrase but a resolve that will be translated into reality with the help of dedicated BJP workers and the support of the people.

“There will be no impact of the AAP-Congress alliance in Delhi. We are running a very positive campaign, going among the people with a report card of 10 years.

“The Narendra Modi government did what it said. All promises made in the manifesto, be it removing Article 370, construction of Ram temple or bringing legislation for 33 per cent reservation for women in state assemblies and Parliament, were fulfilled,” said Bansuri Swaraj, who is contesting from New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

She is one of the two women candidates fielded by the BJP in Delhi. The party is vying for a clean sweep on all seven seats in the national capital for the third time in a row. - PTI

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, released the list of 21 DMK candidates that include three women, for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. The list features 10 incumbents and 11 new faces.

Leader of the DMK Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha and party treasurer T.R. Baalu will contest again from Sriperumbudur, while DMK deputy general secretaries Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and A. Raja will re-enter the fray from Thoothukudi and Nilgiris (SC), respectively.

The party renominated its incumbents from all three Lok Sabha constituencies in Chennai: Kalanidhi Veerasamy (Chennai North); Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central) and Thamizhachi Thangapandian (Chennai South). The other incumbents in the list include S. Jagathrakshakan from Arakkonam, D.M. Kathir Anand from Vellore, K. Selvam from Kancheepuram (SC), and C. N. Annadurai from Tiruvannamalai. Read more

The All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Wednesday released its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024.The list was released by the party general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami.While releasing the list, he said that five constituencies have been allocated to the DMDK; and one each to Puthiya Tamilagam and SDPI. 

“In the AIADMK alliance, DMDK is to contest in 5 seats, SDPI in 1 seat and Puthiya Tamilagam in 1 seat, from Tenkasi constituency,” said Palaniswami”We believe we are strong. We believe people will support us. We are not bothered about what people talk on social media. We are in an alliance with the people” he further said. 

The AIADMK general secretary also said the party wasn’t disappointed with not striking an alliance with the PMK which had joined the BJP alliance on Tuesday. “We don’t have any disappointment as PMK didn’t join our alliance. AIADMK will always stand on its own leg. If anyone comes to our alliance, we will welcome them. This purely depends on each party’s decision. We can’t force any party” Mr. Palaniswami said.- ANI

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Arunachal Pradesh unit has announced the second list of nine candidates for the April 19 Assembly election in the state.

With the announcement of nine names of candidates on Tuesday, the party so far has fielded 17 candidates in the 60-member Assembly. Earlier on March 11, the party had announced the first list of eight candidates The candidates in the second list include, Toko Tatung from Yachuli constituency, Tahan Mibang (Rumgong), Kabang Taron (Tuting-Yingkiong), Tapi Gao (Pasighat West), Likha Soni (Lekang), Nikh Kamin (Bordumsa-Diyun), Yangsen Matey (Khonsa West), Jowang Hosai (Borduria-Bogapani) and Holai Wangsa from Pongchau-Wakka constituency respectively. Read more

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, issued the notification for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 to be conducted on April 19. 

In the notification, the ECI informed that March 28 will be the last date for filing nominations for Bihar and March 27 for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.”March 30 will be the date for scrutiny of nominations for Bihar and March 28 for others,” the notification said. 

According to the ECI’s notification, April 2 will be the last date for withdrawal of candidatures for Bihar and March 30 for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry;”June 6, the date before which the election shall be completed in all the above-mentioned parliamentary constituencies,” the notification read. Read more

Gearing up for the 2024 elections, Nationalist Congress party working President Supriya Sule during an election campaign travelled in the railway train and interacted with passengers.

The Baramati Lok Sabha MP travelled in the Pune Daund Demu Local train between Yavat and Daund Taluka. During her commute, she heard the concerns of the people and engaged in discussions with them. - ANI

CPI(M) leader M.M. Mani, MLA, homespun election rhetoric has often backfired on him. On March 19, another speech he gave in Idukki appeared on track to boomerang on the veteran leader and the ruling party.

Mr. Mani allegedly used an arguably disparaging and blatantly sexist remark to portray the United Democratic Front (UDF) incumbent and the Congress candidate from the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, Dean Kuriakose, as an ineffectual MP, and an obsessive dandy. Read more

Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district after a public meeting addressed by Union MoS for Home Nisith Paramanik got over and a rally led by state minister Udayan Guha was about to begin nearby.

The incident happened in the Dinhata Bazar area around 8.30 pm on Tuesday when Pramanik, the local BJP MP, was on his way out after attending the meeting. The TMC was also scheduled to hold a meeting a few metres away from the spot.

Pramanik claimed that when his convoy was leaving the area, stones were hurled from the venue of the TMC’s rally.

“I was leaving the area after the programme was over, and all of a sudden TMC supporters started hurling stones at us. So I had to get down to protest against this undemocratic and violent behaviour of the TMC workers,” he told a Bengali news channel.

Pramanik alleged that Guha, the North Bengal Development Minister, took the lead in beating up BJP activists and instructing the police to arrest them.

Guha rejected the allegations as “baseless” and claimed that BJP supporters threw stones at the TMC’s rally venue.

Meanwhile, the Raj Bhavan said that Governor CV Ananda Bose has sought a report from the state police chief on the “veracity of the report” on the “altercation and confrontation” between Pramanik and Guha. - PTI

Mangalureans now are having a clear view of the Clock Tower and the nearby lush green Mahatma Gandhi Park. They can also see clearly the renovated old well, “I love Mangaluru” signage and wall paintings signifying the city’s rich culture at Hampankatte.

These are all thanks to the drive taken up by the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) to clear banners, buntings, and wall paintings in public places and other areas in 60 wards of the corporation to enforce the model code of conduct in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. While the drive started on March 6 to clear unauthorised display material, it gained momentum once the code of conduct was announced on March 16. Read more

Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam has again questioned the Congress party’s political wisdom in fielding its former president Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in the Lok Sabha polls, where he is pitted against the CPI’s Annie Raja. 

“Mr. Gandhi can contest from anywhere in the country. But his choice of a segment also reflects the Congress party’s political wisdom and farsightedness. Instead of looking out for short-term gains, that party should think about long-term consequences,” he told the media in Kozhikode. Read more

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a ‘Hanuman Chalisa Rally’ in Nagarthpet on Tuesday (March 19) afternoon over the alleged assault on a shopkeeper on Sunday. 

Bengaluru police had refused permission for the rally in light of the Model Code of Conduct, sources said. All three BJP candidates from Bengaluru — Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru South), P.C. Mohan (Bengaluru Central) and Shobha Karandlaje (Bengaluru North) — who led the protest, were detained by the police and shifted to CAR Ground. Read more

All arrangements have been made for filing of nomination for Virudhunagar Lok Sabha seat which begins on Wednesday, said District Election Officer and Returning Officer V.P. Jeyaseelan. 

Candidates can file their papers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on seven working days till March 27, with Saturday and Sunday being holidays. Read more

An agenda on agriculture and farmers for political parties, prepared by the Kisan Mazdoor Commission (KMC) of the ‘Nation for Farmers’ platform ahead of the elections, has sought to mobilise the support of people, scientists and State governments for “much needed legislative actions” to help farmers. 

The agenda urged the Union government and State governments to stand with farmers, rural labour, consumers, women, and youth of rural areas. “Society as a whole needs to rapidly act against the policy path promoting corporate control of agriculture,” it said. The leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the members of the KMC told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday that the agenda will be circulated among political parties and other organisations during the elections. ​Read more​

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took out a roadshow in Palakkad town on Tuesday, infusing enthusiasm and excitement in thousands of BJP workers who gathered here to greet him.

However, BJP’s Malappuram candidate M. Abdul Salam was denied permission to accompany Mr. Modi during the roadshow.

Dr. Salam, the only Muslims candidate on the BJP’s first list, reached here on time to join the roadshow, but he was not allowed to enter the vehicle as his name was not on the SPG list. Dr. Salam left Palakkad saying that “his name was not there on the list.” ​Read more​

Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar took a dig at cardiac surgeon C.N. Manjunath, who is also son-in-law of JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, for his electoral entry through the BJP in Bengaluru Rural constituency and termed it as the “first suicide attempt” by the JD(S).

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Shivakumar said the JD(S) has some support base in Bengaluru Rural constituency and the party should not have surrendered itself to the BJP while entering into an alliance with it. “When former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda allowed his son-in-law to contest elections on the BJP symbol, then it’s the first suicide attempt by the JD(S),” he said. ​Read more​

Former State Election Commissioner and member of the Citizens’ Forum for Democracy (CFD) N. Ramesh Kumar on March 19 urged people in Andhra Pradesh to ‘be a defender of democracy’ and download E Vigil app and post incidents of violation of the ​Model Code of Conduct​ (MCC) to it.

Sharing his own experience, he said he had captured the image of a 60-foot cutout of the ruling YSR Congress Party in Ambedkar Konaseema district, while he was on his way to Tanuku. ​Read more​