Shatrughan Sinha’s wife Poonam Sinha joins Samajwadi Party
Film actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha’s wife Poonam Sinha joined the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday.
“Poonam Sinha has joined the Samajwadi Party in presence of SP leader Dimple Yadav in Lucknow,” said the Samajwadi Party in a tweet.
Ms. Sinha is likely to be fielded from Lucknow against Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, said party sources.
Odisha has made up its mind for change: Modi
The people of Odisha, having blindly backed a government that had failed to deliver on various fronts, have now made their mind up for change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
“If the trend stemming from the first phase of voting in Odisha is any indication, the picture is clear. There will be a second term of the Modi government in Delhi and a BJP government in the State,” he said at a public meeting at Sambalpur, 300 km from Bhubaneswar.
Mr. Modi promised to create a 'jal shakti' ministry to conserve and harness river water.
NDA government lacks experience: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot slammed the Narendra Modi government for “highlighting” military actions like surgical strikes as its achievements. This was due to lack of experience in the NDA dispensation, he said.
Instead of being misled by the Prime Minister’s tall promises, people should remember “India became a superpower under former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi,“ he said.
“They highlight surgical strikes. This never happened before. In the rule of former PM Indira Gandhi, Pakistan was divided into two [nations]. But she never claimed it as her achievement and rather gave the credit to the Army,“ Mr. Gehlot said at public rally in Bawdi area of Jodhpur’s Bhopalgarh town.
- PTI
BJP names Ravi Kishan as its Gorakhpur candidate
The BJP announced Bhojpuri film actor Ravi Kishan as its candidate for Gorakhpur, the bastion of U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, instead of the widely speculated candidature of sitting MP Praveen Nishad, who recently joined the party.
Mr. Nishad has been fielded from Sant Kabir Nagar, with the BJP dropping sitting MP Sharad Tripathi, who had created a political storm by beating a local BJP MLA with shoes.
Nirmala Sitharaman takes out a roadshow along coastal belt in Thiruvananthapuram
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took out a road show along the coastal area of the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency on Monday evening to drum up support for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan. The rally commenced from Veli at 8.30 p.m., two hours behind schedule, and Ms. Sitharaman joined the convoy midway at Valiyathura. Despite the delay, many people gathered on the roadside to catch a glimpse of the Minister, who proceeded on an open jeep. Earlier, Ms. Sitharaman, who arrived in the State capital in a special flight from Goa, took part in a convention in support of Shobha Surendran, NDA candidate of the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency. While the rally was initially planned to traverse around 40 km until Pozhiyoor, it concluded less than halfway at Poonthura by around 10 p.m. Addressing a gathering to mark the conclusion of the rally, Mr. Rajasekharan said the Narendra Modi-led government had proved its commitment towards the fishing community by carving out a separate department for fisheries. He also promised to realise a long-standing demand of a fishing harbour in Poonthura.
- Sarath Babu George reports
Pankaja stirs trouble for remarks on Constitution
Pankaja Munde addresses a press conference at the BJP office on Saturday.
The recent remarks by BJP leader and Maharashtra Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde on changing the Constitution has landed her in trouble, with the Opposition slamming her, saying changing the Constitution is not as easy as eating 'chikki'.
Addressing a rally in support of BJP candidate Preetam Munde in Beed district on Saturday, Ms. Munde had said, “Imagine the kind of work we have to do in Lok Sabha. Mahamanav Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote the Constitution. We have to change the Constitution. Need to introduce new Bills. New rules need to be framed. Therefore, we need to send a person with great calibre to Lok Sabha.”
Leader of Opposition and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde retorted by referring to her alleged involvement in the chikki scam and said, changing the Constitution is not as easy as eating chikki and no one should even dream of it.
Delhi CEO writes to EC on Modi web series
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has written to the Election Commission in connection with a web series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as it is allegedly being aired without prior approval from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee. The 10-episode series is titled, Modi: Journey of a Common Man .
