Tag: Lok Sabha elections 2024

  • Watch: BJP Launches `Mai Modi Ka Parivar Hun` Campaign Song For Lok Sabha Elections 2024

    BJP has launched its campaign song around the slogan ‘Mai Modi Ka Parivar Hu’ for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

  • Lok Sabha Election 2024: Poll Fever Grips Firms; Companies Launch Advt To Raise Voter Awareness

    Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections where the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led INDIA bloc are fighting each other for power at the Centre, another consumer firm has come out with a similar campaign named ‘Chuno Sahi’.

  • Meet Sukhbir Singh Sandhu: Newly appointed Election Commissioner

    The committee met this morning to discuss and fill the vacant position. The panel consist of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, law minister Arjun Meghwal and Leader of Opposition.

  • Lok Sabha Polls: Congress Announces 43 More Candidates; Fields Nakul Nath From Chhindwara, Vaibhav Gehlot From Jalore |

    The Congress party today released another list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections. The names were announced by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal. The list features prominent names like former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. This is the second candidate list by the Congress after it released its first candidate list which had 39 names including Rahul Gandhi.

    43 Seats, Caste Equation, Five States/UT

    The 43 candidates are from five states – Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Daman and Diu. Out of the 43 candidates, 10 are General candidates, 13 OBC candidates, 10 SC candidates, 9 ST candidates and 1 Muslim candidate. A total of 12 candidates have been announced from Assam, 10 from Madhya Pradesh, 7 from Gujarat, 10 from Rajasthan, three from Uttarakhand and one from Daman and Diu.

    कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge की अध्यक्षता में आयोजित CEC की बैठक में लोकसभा चुनाव, 2024 के लिए 43 लोकसभा सीटों पर कांग्रेस उम्मीदवारों की दूसरी लिस्ट जारी की गई। pic.twitter.com/kgWoEkzKt6
    — Congress (@INCIndia) March 12, 2024

    Key Candidates

    In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has fielded Nakul Nath who is the son of a senior party leader Kamal Nath from the Chhindwara constituency. Phool Singh Baraiya has been fielded from Bhind, whereas Pankaj Ahirwar will contest from Tikamgarh. Siddharth Kushwaha will contest from Satna, whereas Kamleshwar Patel will fight the Lok Sabha polls from Sidhi. 

    In Assam, Gaurav Gogoi has been fielded from the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat. Congress has also fielded Garjan Mashhary from Kokrajhar, Rakibul Hussain from Dhubri, Deep Bayan from Barpeta, Madhab Rajbanshi from Darrang Udalguri, and Mira Barthakur Goswami from Guwahati Lok Sabha seat. 

    In Gujarat, Congress has fielded Nitishbhai Lalan from Kachchh Lok Sabha constituency, Geniben Thakor from Banaskantha, Rohan Gupta from Ahmedabad East, Bharat Makwana from Ahmedabad West, Lalitbhai Vasoya from Porbandar, Siddharth Chaudhary from Bardoli and Anantbhai Patel from Valsad. 

    Rahul Kaswan who joined Congress after quitting BJP has been fielded from Rajasthan’s Churu. Kaswan is a sitting MP from Churu. Vaibhav Gehlot, the son of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been fielded from Jalore Lok Sabha seat. The party has also fielded Tarachand Meena from Udaipur. 

    In Uttarakhand, Jot Singh Guntsola will contest from Tehri Garhwal. Congress has also fielded Ganesh Godiyal from Garhwal Lok Sabha seat while Pradeep Tamta will contest from Almora. Congress has also fielded Ketan Dahyabhai Patel from Daman & Diu constituency. With the announcement of 43 candidates, Congress has so far declared names on 82 Lok Sabha seats.

  • Mamata Banerjee To Hold Mega Public Rally, Announce First List Of TMC Candidates For L S Polls |

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, under attack from the BJP over recent incident of Sandeshkhali, is all set to address a massive rally in Kolkata’ Brigade Ground. The rally, where thousands of people gathered in support of the TMC, is also a show of strength by the fiery leader. During the rally, Banerjee is also likely to announce TMC’s first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This is the first time the party is declaring it list of candidates during a public meeting and the move can be perceived as Banerjee’s open challenge to the BJP and Congress. 

    The central focus of the rally is around the claimed retention of the state’s financial dues by the central government, a contentious matter that has been an important issue in state politics over the last two years. 

    TMC’s First List Today 

    According to the Trinamool Congress, CM Banerjee will declare the party’s nominees for all 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal. Visuals from the Brigade Ground showed a massive crowd at the rally where Abhishek Banerjee was also present. The TMC has already made it clear that it won’t form an alliance with the Congress or CPI, leaving the INDIA bloc’s Bengal aspirations in a lurch.  

    One Of A Kind Rally 

    TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced the rally named ‘Jana Garjan Sabha,’ from his ‘X’ handle. This is a one of a kind gathering featuring three platforms, including a cross ramp, making it viable for the speakers to reach closer to the public, while walking on the ramp. Mamata and Abhishek are among the primary speakers for the TMC. 

    Politics Over Years At Brigade Parade Ground 

    This marks the party’s inaugural large-scale gathering at the ground since the opposition meeting in January 2019, where leaders from 19 opposition parties were gathered united in a show of solidarity. Despite the TMC’s grassroots organisation, its seat count decreased from 34 to 22 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP performed strongly, securing 18 seats in the state. 

    Since the 2021 assembly polls, the ruling party in the state has witnessed eight MLAs and two MPs switching sides to join the TMC. 

  • Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, Pawan Kalyan’s JSP Joins NDA For Lok Sabha Elections |

    New Delhi: The Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) have decided to join hands with the BJP within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The parties will soon decide on the seat-sharing formula for parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.

    In response to the TDP and JSP’s decision to ally with the BJP under the NDA, JP Nadda extended a warm welcome, expressing readiness to embrace the parties into the NDA bloc.

    “I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of Shri N Chandrababu Naidu and Shri Pawan kalyan to join the NDA family. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Hon. PM Shri Narendra Modi  ji, BJP,  TDP, and JSP are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh,” Wrote Nadda.

    I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of Shri @ncbn and Shri @PawanKalyan to join the NDA family. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi ji, BJP, TDP, and JSP are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and…
    — Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) March 9, 2024

    Releasing a joint statement, the TDP BJP and the Jana Sena said, “Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) , the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) as being committed for the progress of country and the upliftment of state and people of Andhra Pradesh, have decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections together in Andhra Pradesh.”


    “Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years and coming together with TDP and JSP will help in reaching the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh,” it added.

    The statement further said that the TDP and the BJP have a very old relationship. “The BJP and TDP have a very old relationship together. TDP joined the NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in Atal Ji’s and Narendra Modi Ji’ governments. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and assembly election together. The JSP had supported the 2014 general and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh,” it said. 

    The joint statement was rfeleased after the meeting of TDP Chief Naidu with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Chief JP Nadda in Delhi today. Actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, which has been a member of the NDA, has already joined hands with the NDA.
     

  • AAP Launches Lok Sabha Poll Campaign; Arvind Kejriwal Accuses BJP Of Stalling Delhi Govt Schemes |

    Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann today launched the AAP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign from the national capital. Unveiling the campaign, the AAP gave the slogan ‘Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, tabhi Dilli hogi aur khush haal’ (Delhi can be more prosperous only if there is Kejriwal in Parliament). The Aam Aadmi Party’s poll campaign for the Lok Sabha elections comes after the party sealed a seat-sharing deal with the Congress. As per the seat-sharing deal, the AAP will contest 4 seats and the Congress 3 in Delhi.

    Addressing the media, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the AAP government is fighting against the BJP and the central agencies. He said that the BJP through the Delhi LG tried to stop all welfare schemes of the AAP government but none of the seven MPs raised a voice against it. “Identify those who are stopping your work and the development of Delhi, and punish them for their wrongdoings this time. Give your blessings this time to your son who always takes care of your family and always protects you from these people,” appealed Kejriwal to the voters. 

    दिल्ली की जनता से अपील-

    आपके काम और दिल्ली के विकास को रोकने वालों को पहचानें, उन्हें इस बार उनके ग़लत कामों की सज़ा दें। आपके परिवार का हमेशा ख़्याल रखने वाले और इन लोगों से हमेशा आपको बचाने वाले अपने बेटे को इस बार अपना आशीर्वाद दें। https://t.co/6fC6RQR7Np
    — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 8, 2024

    Delhi and Punjab are ruled by AAP and these are the only two states that have free electricity supply, he said. “They hate you because you elected and brought an ordinary man to power in Delhi. They demolished Mohalla Clinics with bulldozers, they stopped door-to-door ration delivery scheme, tests and medicines in hospitals,” said Kejriwal.

    The AAP will fight the general election in collaboration with INDIA bloc partner Congress under a seat-sharing arrangement it has struck with it in Delhi, Gujarat, and Haryana. In Punjab, however, both parties have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls independently.

    The AAP has also received two constituencies – Bharuch, Jamnagar – in Gujarat and Kurukshetra in Haryana under the seat-sharing deal with Congress. Separately, AAP has also declared its candidates from Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam.

  • Congress To Promise ‘Right To Employment’ To Youth, Stringent Punishment For Paper Leak In Manifesto |

    NEW DELHI: Seeking to woo the country’s youth ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress will for the first time ever offer them the “right to employment” as part of its poll promise for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections besides mulling stringent punishment to those responsible for paper leaks in examinations. The party top leadership is likely to make an announcement on the ‘right to employment’ during a public rally at Badanawar in Madhya Pradesh, where both Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi will be present. Top party sources said the promises will be part of the Congress manifesto which is likely to be finalised soon, once the Congress Working Committee approves it.

    “This is the first time ever that such a scheme to give ‘right to employment’ will be given to the youth of the country and some allowance may also be offered to the youth,” a source said, adding that even developed countries do not offer their youth such a scheme. The party would also provide for a stringent law and punishment against those responsible for paper leaks in the country and will suggest measures to bring transparency in government recruitments in its manifesto.

    The measures come after Rahul Gandhi during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ has focussed on the plight of lakhs of students suffering due to frequent paper leaks and cancellation of exams thereafter in some cases like in Uttar Pradesh. The thrust of the manifesto is likely to be on the 5-nyay (five pillars of justice) promised by the Congress during party leader Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, the sources said.

    The party would also focus on giving legal guarantee to minimum support price and promising a caste-based census in the country for filling up the government vacancies. The Congress is likely to give a thrust to some welfare measures like providing financial assistance to marginalised sections of the society and ensuring that they get justice and be part of the state welfare measures.

    This comes after the Congress promises made to the people helped the party get into power in states like Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh recently. The Congress manifesto committee, headed by former union minister P. Chidambaram, met here to give a final shape to the manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls at a five-hour meeting this evening.

    Several members of the party’s manifesto committee were present during the meeting at the AICC headquarters. Chidambaram said the committee has given final shape to the draft manifesto which will become the party document once the CWC approves the same. The panel wound up internal deliberations for giving final shape to the party manifesto which is likely to include some innovative measures like an apprenticeship scheme for the youth to deal with the issue of unemployment.

    “We have completed our draft manifesto. It’s a draft. It will go to the Congress working committee. It is the Congress Working Committee which finalises the manifesto and then it becomes a Congress party document. At the moment, we have completed the work on the draft manifesto,” Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting.

    “I hope to be able to present it to the Congress president along with members available in Delhi sometime tomorrow,” he added. The party’s manifesto committee also has senior leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, among others. Vadra and Sharma were, however, not present in the meetings held on Monday and Tuesday.

    Among those who participated in the discussions on Tuesday include Chidambaram and Tharoor, minority chief head Imran Pratapgarhi, Ranjeet Ranjan and Gurdeep Sappal. Pratapgarhi after the meeting said, “We had taken views from all across the country and compiled it accordingly. It combines everything, youth women, unemployment, inflation etc.” “It will go now to the CWC and will notify upon issued,” said Ranjan.

    Sources also said the party manifesto will focus on empowering the youth, women, poor and farmers. They added the party is mulling a plan to tackle the menace of paper leaks and is likely to present its vision for bringing about transparency in government recruitments. The 16-member panel includes Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former union minister Jairam Ramesh while former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister TS Singh Deo is its convenor.

  • Big Setback For Congress As Gujarat MLA Arjun Modhwadia, Ambarish Der Resign Ahead Of Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra, Lok Sabha Polls |

    Three days ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s Gujarat leg, a big setback came for Congress as two key party leaders resigned from the grand old party. Congress MLA and former president of the party’s Gujarat unit Arjun Modhwadia resigned from the assembly and the party while the party’s working president of the Gujarat unit Ambarish Der also resigned leaving the party in troubled waters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

    Two Big Leaders Quit Congress

    Modhwadia submitted his resignation to the state Assembly Speaker. He was among the Congress CM contenders during the 2017 polls. Addressing the media, Modhwadia said, “When a party loses its connection with the people, it cannot survive for long. The people of the country wanted the Ram Temple to be constructed. The Congress had also decided that after a constitutional verdict from the Supreme Court, we would support it. Even then the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha was declined. I raised my voice then too, that this would hurt the public sentiment and we should not make such political decisions and that decision showed a lack of connection with the people. I tried to convey my message in several other matters, but I was not successful. Finally, I decided to resign today.”

    The party’s Gujarat unit working president Ambarish Der also resigned from the party and said he will join the ruling BJP on Tuesday. His resignation came after the party suspended Der from all posts and as a primary member of the Congress for a period of six years for his ‘anti-party activities’.

    Earlier in the day, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president CR Paatil visited Der’s residence in Ahmedabad. Der also said that he was upset with the party’s stand on Ram temple in Ayodhya. The 46-year-old former MLA claimed it will be his “home-coming” as he was with the BJP in the past and worked extensively for it when he was young.

    Der had represented the Rajula seat in the Amreli district from 2017 to 2022 as the Congress MLA. He had defeated BJP’s heavyweight Hira Solanki, the younger brother of state minister Parshottam Solanki. Ahead of the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls, Der was made the Congress working president and remained on the post despite suffering defeat at the hands of his arch rival Hira Solanki.

    Assembly, Lok Sabha Polls Speculation

    While there is speculation that Hira Solanki might be asked to resign as the Rajula MLA and fielded from the Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seat, and Der might be the BJP candidate for the Rajula seat bypoll. The BJP might field one of the two leaders in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

    Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra

    Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra will enter Gujarat on March 7 and will cover 400 kilometres across seven districts over four days. During this, Rahul Gandhi will offer prayers at temples and visit the historic Swaraj Ashram at Bardoli to pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. “There will be 27 corner meetings and six public gatherings as part of the yatra’s Gujarat leg. Some of the distance will be covered using cars and buses, while foot marches will be held in urban areas,” said the Congress. 

    The yatra, which began in the strife-torn Manipur, will culminate in Mumbai on March 20-21 after covering 6,713 kilometres across 110 districts over a period of 67 days, as per party leaders.

  • Former Gujarat CM Nitin Patel Opts Out Of Lok Sabha Race For Mehsana Seat |

    The ongoing trend of BJP candidates stepping down from their candidacies persists, with Nitin Patel, the BJP nominee for the Mehsana Lok Sabha seat, declaring his withdrawal from electoral politics on Sunday. Patel conveyed his decision through a social media post on ‘X’. This move follows similar decisions from other BJP MPs including Gautam Gambhir, Jayant Sinha, and Harsh Vardhan, who also opted out of political responsibilities recently. 

    On a post on the microblogging site, Nitin Patel mentioned that the candidates for 15 Lok Sabha seats in the state have been announced, while the selection process for the Mehsana Lok Sabha candidate is still underway. Earlier today, Harsh Vardhan, a former Union Minister and the current BJP MP, revealed his choice to retire from politics. This announcement followed the release of the BJP’s first list of Lok Sabha election candidates, wherein Harsh Vardhan was not included. 

    The former cricketer and MP of East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir on Saturday announced his dismissal from politics through a tweet hours before the BJP’s first list of candidates was released. After which Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha conveyed his intention to refrain from participating in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

    The BJP on Saturday evening announced the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, comprising 195 individuals spread across 16 States and two Union Territories. Among the 195 candidates, 107 come from backward communities, including 27 from Scheduled Castes, 18 from Scheduled Tribes, and 57 from other backward classes (OBCs). The list includes 28 female candidates and 47 candidates under the age of 50. Abdul Salam, a Muslim candidate, has been nominated to contest from Malappuram in Kerala.