The BJP on Sunday announced its fifth list of 111 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, dropping Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency and retaining his mother, Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur…reports Asian Lite News
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided not to field Varun Gandhi, the current Member of Parliament from Pilibhit, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury extended an offer to the leader, asking him to join the party.
The senior Congress leader addressing the media here on Tuesday, alleged that Varun Gandhi has been denied a BJP ticket due to his connection with Gandhi’s family.
“He should come here. We would be happy. He is an educated man. He has a clean image. BJP denied him a ticket because he is related to the Gandhi family. I think he should come (to Congress),” the Congress leader said.
The BJP on Sunday announced its fifth list of 111 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, dropping Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency and retaining his mother, Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Jitin Prasada, who crossed over from the Congress to the BJP two years ago, was named the BJP’s candidate for Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency.
Varun Gandhi, in his debut contest in 2009, won Pilibhit decisively with 4.19 lakh votes. His subsequent wins in 2014 and 2019 further cemented the family’s political dominance.
Prasada, who was a minister twice in the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government and was considered one of Rahul Gandhi’s top aides, had lost two Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 and was elected to the UP Legislative council in 2021.
Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases.
Shivakumar reiterated his confidence in the people’s mandate for the Congress party…reports Asian Lite News
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who scripted a thumping win for the Congress in last year’s Assembly elections, is optimistic that his party will win at least 20 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the State in the upcoming general elections.
The Congress leader, who is referred to as DKS has also claimed that JDS-BJP alliance is “not working well” in the state.
In the 2019 general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 26 of the 28 seats in the state. The Congress and JD(S), which were running a coalition government back then and fought the elections together, secured one seat each. It was a dismal performance for the Congress in the 2019 general election compared to the 9 seats it had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
However, the party under the DKS leadership swept up 135 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly polls in 2023.
In an exclusive conversation with ANI, the Congress leader who is the current president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said, “See, we work collectively. In the last three years, I have had the opportunity to be president. Now it is the fourth year. So, all of them cooperated. I believe in the collective leadership that we showed. Whatever we had, we still thought the party had to come to power.”
“Now, as far as Parliament (elections) are concerned, we are still hoping…,” Shivakumar said.
“We wanted a lot of our ministers to contest. But all of them wanted to stay in state politics. Now, I am still hoping that we will get nearly 20 seats,” the veteran Congress leader said.
Asked about an apparent ‘Modi wave’ and the reluctuance of Karnataka Congress ministers to fight parliament elections, DKS said “It is not like that. As far as Karnataka is concerned, any wave will not work. The Bharatiya Janata Party is crumbling. You know how many MPs–almost 10 MPs–could not get tickets. There was a lot of anti-incumbency.”
The BJP, he said, is in “very bad shape” in Karnataka.
“They (the BJP) have changed and shifted the MPs and ministers. So, I think, compared to other parts of the country, the BJP is in very bad shape in Karnataka,” claimed Shivakumar.
Referring to a statement by the former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar said, “You see the statement of Mr Kumaraswamy yesterday has not been taken well. He has come out openly. All these things are there. Their alliance is not working well. People will not accept that alliance.”
Shivakumar reiterated his confidence in the people’s mandate for the Congress party.
“I am confident that with the way we look at local issues, we look at the local problems, When we do hard work, we have to look at the people’s wishes, the problem of the people. Then they should have confidence on us. That is why they vote us. Otherwise, it will not happen.”
Voting for Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka will take place in two phases on April 26 and May 7.
The Congress has been targeting the BJP government on the issue of unemployment and intends to make it an issue in the poll campaign…reports Asian Lite News
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP of “misleading” people on its promise of providing two crore jobs every year and said the youth across the country are asking if it lied to them.
He also said the youth have to change their destiny themselves by breaking the web of illusion created by the BJP and assured that the Congress has resolved to undertake an employment revolution through ‘Yuva Nyay’, a promise made to the youth ahead of elections.
“Narendra Modi ji, did you have any plan for employment? This question is on the lips of every youth today. In every street and village, BJP people are being asked – why was the lie told about providing 2 crore jobs every year,” he asked.
“The Congress has resolved to undertake employment revolution under Yuva Nyay. Our guarantee is that as soon as we come into government: We will fill 30 lakh government posts, every educated youth will be given a job worth Rs 1 lakh per year under the ‘Pehli Naukri Pakki’ scheme and we will get rid of paper leaks by making a law,” the Congress leader also said in a post in Hindi on X.
The Congress has been targeting the BJP government on the issue of unemployment and intend to make it an issue in the Lok Sabha poll campaign.
“This is the time to recognise the difference in the policies of the two ideologies. The Congress wants to build the future of the youth and the BJP wants to mislead them. The youth will have to change their destiny with their own hands by breaking the web of illusion. ‘Employment revolution’ will have to be brought in the country,” Gandhi also said.
Earlier, Modi had stated that his government has provided 1.5 times more jobs in the past decade compared to the previous government in the same timeframe.
Modi criticised the previous government for its prolonged recruitment processes, claiming it led to corruption. He further highlighted that his government has introduced transparency and is striving for time-bound recruitments.
He highlighted the role of ‘Rozgar Melas’ in elevating the contribution of the youth in nation-building. PM Modi stated that a large number of recruits would be joining the Central Armed Police Forces. The recruitment exams in these forces are now conducted in 13 Indian languages apart from Hindi and English, ensuring equal opportunities for all candidates.
“Youngsters today have faith in their equal opportunity to find a place within the government system through their hard work and talent,” stated the Prime Minister. He emphasized that his government’s initiatives, such as a rooftop solar power scheme for 10 million homes and extensive infrastructure investments, have been significant job creators.
With over 125,000 start-ups, India ranks third globally in this sector, he noted. Young entrepreneurs are starting new businesses even in smaller cities, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. The Prime Minister also announced the manufacturing and inclusion of 40,000 modern coaches, akin to those in Vande Bharat trains, in regular trains to enhance passenger convenience and comfort.
Modi accused previous governments of neglecting the railways and the expectations of the common people. He stated that the sector is currently undergoing a transformation. In order to spur research and innovation, his government has announced a fund of Rs 1 lakh crore and has extended tax rebates to start-ups.
He emphasised the importance of connectivity, stating it has led to the creation of new markets, expansion of tourism, new businesses and lakhs of jobs. He also mentioned that investment in infrastructure is being increased to expedite development, with Rs 11 lakh crore set aside in the recent budget for this purpose.
Oust BJP, get jobs, says Akhilesh
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav attacked the state government after the expansion of the Yogi 2.0 in which four new ministers were inducted. Akhilesh also held an oath taking ceremony for many youths over ‘unemployment and paper leaks’.
After the oath ceremony at the SP state headquarters, Akhilesh wrote in a post on X: “Here’s another oath…We unemployed youth… victims of paper leaks…struggling to get jobs…to safeguard our future hereby take an oath that we will vote only for those parties whose agenda is to provide jobs-employment…Oust the BJP, get jobs.”
Akhilesh Yadav held a meeting of the party’s social media team and asked its members to engage intensively to counter the ‘BJP’s propaganda and lies’ on social media. Akhilesh also asked the team to expand its social media outreach.
The conflict underscores deep partisan divides and raises questions about accountability in government….reports Asian Lite News
House Republicans have escalated tensions with Attorney General Merrick Garland, threatening contempt of Congress if he doesn’t provide unredacted materials regarding President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.
In a letter on Monday — obtained by AP — Representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan demanded compliance with a subpoena sent last month as part of their investigation into Special Counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to charge President Biden.
Comer, chair of the Oversight Committee, and Jordan, chair of the Judiciary Committee, issued an ultimatum for the Justice Department to submit unredacted audio and transcripts of Hur’s lengthy interviews with Biden and his ghostwriter by April 8. Failure to comply could lead to contempt proceedings, they warned.
This confrontation marks the latest clash between Republicans and Garland, who recently faced intense scrutiny over his report questioning Biden’s age and mental competence, yet recommending no criminal charges due to insufficient evidence.
Hur staunchly defended his findings, insisting he presented the evidence accurately without unfairly disparaging the president. However, his report drew criticism from both sides of the aisle for its commentary and the decision not to press charges against Biden.
Amidst mounting pressure, the Justice Department released a redacted transcript just hours before Hur’s testimony, providing a nuanced perspective on the yearlong investigation, but leaving questions unanswered.
Republicans, including Comer and Jordan, argued a double standard, alleging Biden’s favorable treatment contrasted with Trump’s prosecution over similar mishandling of classified documents. Representative Tom McClintock branded it a glaring inconsistency, pointing out that Trump faced charges for actions that Biden also committed.
However, there are crucial distinctions between the cases. Biden promptly returned the documents and cooperated with investigations, whereas Trump allegedly sought to conceal evidence with the aid of aides and lawyers, raising suspicions of obstruction.
The conflict underscores deep partisan divides and raises questions about accountability in government. As the standoff continues, it reflects broader tensions surrounding the handling of sensitive information and the perceived fairness of justice system proceedings.
Trump’s trial had long been scheduled to begin on Monday, but at the last minute, Bragg’s office agreed to a multi-week delay….reports Asian Lite News
A New York judge has scheduled former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial to begin on April 15, enabling his first criminal trial to begin this spring following a last-minute delay.
Trump, who has looked to postpone all four of his criminal cases beyond the election, requested the judge toss his case over new documents recently turned over, or at least sanction Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and postpone the trial.
However, during a hearing on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan rejected all of those requests and ruled in favour of Bragg by refusing to push the trial deeper into the campaign season, setting jury selection for April 15.
“The court finds that the people have complied and continue to comply with their discovery obligations,” Merchan said.
Trump’s trial had long been scheduled to begin on Monday, but at the last minute, Bragg’s office agreed to a multi-week delay.
This comes after the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York turned over more than 100,000 pages of records in recent weeks.
Following this, the parties traded blame for why the documents did not come to light earlier. Rather than begin the trial on Monday, the parties instead convened to sort out the document kerfuffle.
Trump attended the hearing alongside a roughly half-dozen of his lawyers, who were occasionally whispering to them but otherwise sitting stone-faced.
Moreover, he sat back in his chair for most of the hearing, looking ahead towards the judge. After the hearing, Trump repeated familiar claims that Bragg’s case was brought to keep him from campaigning for the presidential elections, scheduled for November.
“This is a case that could have been brought three and a half years ago and now they’re fighting over days because they want to try to do it during the election. This is election interference. That’s all that is. Election interference,” he said.
Trump is charged in the case with 34 counts of falsifying business records over reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels USD 130,000 just before the 2016 election to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
Trump, who has acknowledged the reimbursements but denied the affair, has pleaded not guilty, as reported by The Hill.
However, Trump’s team and prosecutors, inside the courtroom, disagreed about how many new and relevant documents there were, with Trump attorney Todd Blanche claiming there were “thousands and thousands” without providing a specific number.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo, meanwhile, estimated there were only about 300 new, relevant records.
Blanche also went further, asserting that Bragg’s office was obligated to have the new documents months ago so Trump could adequately prepare his defence.
Merchan condemned the notion and raised his voice at one point as he pressed Blanche to cite a singular past case supporting his position.
“If you don’t have a case right now, it is really disconcerting because the allegations the defence makes in all of your papers, about the people’s misconduct, is incredibly serious, unbelievably serious,” Merchan said.
“You’re literally accusing the Manhattan DA’s office and the people assigned to this case of prosecutorial misconduct and trying to make me complicit in it. And you don’t have a single cite to support that position?” he added. (ANI)
Yahya asserts that “all Mujahideen are prepared to follow the orders of Amir al-Mu’minin” and are committed to combating Pakistan….reports Asian Lite News
An Afghan Taliban commander, Yahya, has delivered an inciteful speech against Pakistan’s security forces in which he calls on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) cadre to “infiltrate Pakistan and take revenge”, media reports said.
In a leaked video, Yahya is seen addressing a gathering full of terrorists of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group — a faction of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Geo News reported.
Yahya asserts that “all Mujahideen are prepared to follow the orders of Amir al-Mu’minin” and are committed to combating Pakistan.
He provides instructions on how the militants “should infiltrate Pakistan and emphasises not leaving any wounded individuals behind,” Express Tribune reported.
In the leaked video, which is said to have emerged from the Dangar Algad area in Afghanistan, the terrorists are seen gathered around the commander who talks about planning an attack directed towards the security forces of Pakistan at the Pak-Afghan border, Geo News reported.
Yayha is seen giving instructions to the militants, emphasising being ready to take revenge on Pakistan.
In the video, the terrorists were also seen agreeing to fight against Pakistan, the report said.
In the video, Yahya can be heard addressing the armed men, including a suicide bomber, in Pashto. Discussing the details of an impending attack, he informs the militants that “there will be six rocket launchers and six assistants, along with two laser operators and their assistants, as well as a sniper,” Express Tribune reported.
The Sena is confident that the BJP and independent legislator Ashish Jaiswal will work for Parwe to ensure his victory….writes Sanjay Jog
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is likely to drop Krupal Tumane, its sitting MP from Ramtek Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, and field Congress MLA Raju Purwe, who joined the party on Sunday, instead.
The change stems from opposition from ally BJP to Tumane’s renomination, as well as an internal survey, which also cites his bleak prospects due to a lack of connection with the voters and among the allies.
The announcement is expected soon as the last date for filing the nomination is March 27 and the polling is on April 19 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Incidentally, the Congress has already fielded Rashmi Barve from Ramtek.
Parwe, who quit as the Congress legislator from the Umred (SC) constituency and joined the Sena in the presence of CM Shinde, is likely to get the ticket.
The party believes that Parwe will be in a position to woo the traditional voters of the Congress. Of the six Assembly segments in Ramtek, which include Umred, Karol is held by the NCP’s Sharad Pawar faction, Savner by the Congress, Hingana and Kamthi are with the BJP, and Ramtek is held by an independent.
The Sena is confident that the BJP and independent legislator Ashish Jaiswal will work for Parwe to ensure his victory.
“Party’s internal survey has been quite negative for Tumane if he is re-nominated. Recently, he had also told the senior leaders in the party that he may have to struggle to retain the seat. On top of it, the BJP has indicated its strong reservations over Tumane’s renomination. However, there is unanimity between the BJP, our party and the NCP of Ajit Pawar to make all efforts to win 45 plus seats in Maharashtra. Therefore, Tumane will have to be replaced,” a Sena leader said.
The leader added that Parwe is being considered for the Ramtek seat.
Another leader said that the BJP had staked claim over the Ramtek seat, citing Tumane’s poor track record as the MP in the last five years.
“The BJP had argued that the party with its strong organisational base is in a comfortable situation to win Ramtek. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had sought that CM Eknath Shinde be generous over its claim for Ramtek seat. Moreover, its proximity to Nagpur where party veteran Nitin Gadkari is contesting for the third time in a row will be another advantage for the cadre and RSS workers to work in Ramtek also,” the leader said.
Shinde faction argued that by nominating Parwe, the party, along with the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, will be able to get support from Scheduled Castes which constitute 17.5 per cent of the electorate, followed by 11 per cent of Scheduled Tribes and over 65 per cent rural voters.
During the 2019 elections, Tumane won with 594,827 votes defeating his Congress rival Kishor Gajbhiye who got 468,738. In 2014, Tumane defeated Congress candidate Mukul Wasnik from the same constituency, bagging 519,892 votes against Wasnik’s 344,101.
The NCP has aggressively staked claims over 7 seats – Baramati, Raigad, Shirur, Satara, Parbhani, Dharashiv (earlier known as Osmanabad), and Buldhana….reports Asian Lite News
As the suspense over the seat-sharing agreement continues in Maharashtra’s ruling MahaYuti, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has convened a meeting with his Nationalist Congress Party legislators and office-bearers in Pune on Tuesday to discuss the Lok Sabha poll management strategy and division of responsibilities, including coordination with the BJP and the Shiv Sena.
The meeting will take place three days after Ajit Pawar, along with the party’s Executive President Praful Patel and state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the seat-sharing arrangement.
The NCP has aggressively staked claims over 7 seats – Baramati, Raigad, Shirur, Satara, Parbhani, Dharashiv (earlier known as Osmanabad), and Buldhana. It had shown a desire to contest the Bhandara-Gondiya and Gadchiroli-Chimur seats too, but the BJP refused, citing the lack of adequate representation of NCP there, and renominated both its sitting MPs Sunil Mendhe (Bhandara-Gondiya) and Ashok Nete (Gadchiroli-Chembur-ST).
Of these 7 seats, the NCP, before its split, had won Baramati, Raigad, Shirur, and Satara, but now the party faction led by Ajit Pawar is keen to get three more seats.
Tatkare, who was elected in 2019 from Raigad, has already announced that he will contest from there again while Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar’s candidature has been declared from Baramati against sitting MP Supriya Sule, who is the daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar’s cousin.
In Shirur, the party has decided to give the ticket to three-term MP Shivajirao Adhalrao, who will formally join the NCP, quitting the Shinde faction on March 26.
Adhalrao will once again be pitted against sitting MP Amol Kolhe who had defeated him in the 2019 elections.
Party spokesperson Umesh Patil confirmed that Ajit Pawar has convened a meeting on Tuesday at Pune.
“The legislators and party functionaries will be present where the President is expected to announce poll management responsibilities,” he said.
Tuesday’s meeting is important as the legislators are restless over the time taken in the announcement of seat-sharing arrangement among the BJP, the NCP, and the Shiv Sena.
Some of the party legislators, during their interaction with Ajit Pawar and other senior leaders, had asserted that if the BJP, which has already announced candidates for 23 seats, leaves them only four seats, it may find it difficult to convince the cadres to remain in the party fold.
They had also warned of an adverse impact on the party’s prospects, not just in the Lok Sabha polls, but also in the state Assembly elections later this year.
However, Tatkare has assured that the party will reach an honourable seat-sharing agreement with the BJP. He also asked them to work in close coordination with the BJP and the Shiv Sena so that MahaYuti wins 45-plus seats in Maharashtra.
All the four candidates named on Monday are new faces….reports Asian Lite News
The Congress on Monday named four more candidates from Rajasthan for the Lok Sabha elections, including veteran BJP leader Prahlad Gunjal, who joined the party recently, from Kota.
The others are Ramchandra Chaudhary from Ajmer, Sudarshan Singh Rawat from Rajsamand, and Damodar Gurjar from Bhilwara.
The Congress has so far decided on candidates for 24 of the state’s 25 seats, of which it is contesting 22 and has left the Nagaur seat for Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and Sikar for the CPI-M.
It is yet to announce a candidate for the Banswara seat and this seat can be left for the BAP.
All the four candidates named on Monday are new faces.
Gunjal replaces Ramnarayan Meena and Rawat comes in place of 2019 candidate Devkinandan Gurjar. Meanwhile, the 2019 candidates from Ajmer and Bhilwara, Riju Jhunjhunwal and Rampal Sharma, respectively, have joined the BJP.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday, in its fifth list for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, had replaced its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma with former Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
The party has fielded its legislator Murarilal Meena from Dausa parliamentary seat in Rajasthan.
The Congress has named candidates for all 12 seats where elections will be held in the first phase — April 19.
Murarilal Meena’s wife Savita Meena, had contested the Dausa seat in 2019 on a Congress ticket, but she had lost the polls.
This time, Murarilal Meena has been made the candidate.
Congress candidate from Jaipur seat Sunil Sharma on Sunday offered to give up his candidature over the ‘Jaipur Dialogues’ matter.
Sunil Sharma was the target of Congress supporters on social media for being the director of Jaipur Dialogues forum, which backs the right-leaning ideology.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had also raised questions about giving a ticket to Sunil Sharma for his links with Jaipur Dialogues.
While, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its fifth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has released the names of the candidates for the Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has been fielded from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, a stronghold of Congress.The party has also fielded veteran actor Arun Govil, who played the character of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election.
The Congress has announced names for 190 constituencies, while the BJP has announced names for 402 Lok Sabha seats so far.
New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ajay Maken, Jairam Ramesh and others briefs the media, at AICC headquarters, in New Delhi, Thursday, March 21, 2024.(IANS/Qamar Sibtain)
Robert Bruce to Contest in Tirunelveli
The Congress on Monday in its sixth list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls named Robert Bruce in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli constituency.
In Tamil Nadu, the party has already announced the candidature of Karti P. Chidambaram (Sivaganga), S. Jothimani (Karur), Sasikanth Senthil (Tiruvallur SC), MK Vishnuprasad (Cuddalore), B. Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar), K. Gopinath (Krishnagiri) and Vijay Vasanth (Kanniyakumari) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Nainar Nagenthiran expressed his gratitude to BJP National President JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP State President K Annamalai for announcing his candidature from Tirunelveli Lok Sabha constituency.
He assured that he would bring more schemes to Tirunelveli if he won from the constituency in the upcoming polls.
Nainar Nagenthiran said, “I am thankful to BJP National President JP Nadda, PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah, BJP State President K Annamalai for giving me this opportunity. Since I was a minister, I have been trying to help the people of the district and they also love me irrespective of caste and religion. I will bring more schemes to this constituency. This is my promise.”
BJP on Thursday released a list of nine Lok Sabha candidates for Tamil Nadu fielding former Telangana Governor and party leader Tamilisai Soundarajan from Chennai South and party’s state chief K Annamalai from Coimbatore.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan will be in the fray from Nilgiris.
According to the list, senior leaders AC Shanmugam will contest from Vellore and Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanniyakumari.
Vinoj P Selvam will contest from Chennai Central, C Narasimhan from Krishnagiri, TR Paarivendhar from Perambalur and Nainar Nagendran from Thoothukkudi.
Soundararajan resigned from her post as Telangana Governor on Monday. This is BJP’s third list for Lok Sabha polls.
All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.
During the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which comprised Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, AIFB, registered a landslide victory by winning 38 of the 39 seats.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases starting April 19.
Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast vote in the general election. (IANS/ANI)
The saffron party has chosen moderate leader Kageri over Hindutva firebrand Hegde for Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka…reports Asian Lite News
The BJP has chosen soft-spoken, moderate leader Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri instead of Hindutva firebrand and six-term MP, Anantkumar Hegde for the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka.
Kageri, a senior BJP leader, served as a minister and Speaker in the Karnataka Assembly and this is the first time that he is facing a Lok Sabha election.
On the other hand, Hegde has represented the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections as a BJP candidate.
Though Hegde made all attempts to get the ticket, the BJP opted for Kageri and he will face former Congress MLA, Dr. Anjali Nimbalkar.
Hegde had gone on a whirlwind tour of the constituency and kicked up a storm by suggesting that the BJP would amend the Indian Constitution once it secured two-third majority in the Lok Sabha. The party had distanced itself from the statement and dubbed it as a personal remark by the leader.
Hegde also faced opposition from within the BJP as he remained unavailable for party workers and was suffering from a protracted illness.
On the other hand, Kageri is a non-controversial figure with a clean image and hence was preferred over him by the BJP.
Plus, Kageri was a six-time MLA till he lost the Assembly election in 2023 from the Sirsi seat against Congress candidate Bhimanna T Naik.
The Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat comprises Khanapur, Kittur, Haliyal, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Sirsi and Yellapur Assembly seats.
The Congress party had won five seats and the BJP emerged victorious in three seats in the 2023 Assembly polls.
Among the three MLAs, Sirsi BJP MLA, Shivaram Hebbar has distanced himself from party affairs and sources close to him say that he is all set to join the Congress party and he remained absent during the Rajya Sabha election.
A political heavyweight from the Congress party, RV Deshpande represents the Haliyal Assembly seat. The Congress has denied him a ministerial berth and he is miffed with the development.
The Congress is pinning its hopes on Dr. Anjali Nimbalkar, one of the most highly-educated female politicians. She is a doctor and an advocate. Her husband, Hemanth Nimbalkar is a senior IPS officer.
Dr. Anjali Nimbalkar represented Khanapur Assembly constituency in Belagavi District. She lost the seat to the BJP candidate Vithal Somanna Halgekar in 2023.
Hindutva poster boy Hegde had registered a landslide victory with a margin of 4.79 lakh votes in the Uttara Kannada seat in the 2019 general election.
The constituency is considered as the bastion of the BJP and the party is confident of registering a victory again with Kageri.
The Congress party is banking on guarantees and an educated woman candidate.
Jagadish Shettar
Victory Won’t Be Difficult in Belagavi: Shettar
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP Belagavi candidate, Jagadish Shettar, said on Monday that a victory won’t be difficult for the BJP in the Belagavi constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“The victory won’t be difficult for us. When the Late MP Suresh Angadi was the district president and I was the Leader of the Opposition, we had taken up the party’s organisational work in the constituency,” Shettar told media persons.
He said that the experience of working as the district in-charge minister for two times in Belagavi will also come in handy during the election.
Shettar said that the sitting MP, his relative Mangala Angadi, has promised to work for him in the election as well.
“The caste calculations won’t work in this election. Though I hail from Hubballi, I have grown as a state-level leader. If Hubballi is my ‘Janma Bhoomi’, then Belagavi is my ‘Karma Bhoomi,” he said.
“I have a close relationship with the voters and people of the district. The youth are more in numbers and they will not be taken for granted. We will win the confidence of all sections and win in the election,” he said.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, the former Karnataka chief minister said, “I am in regular contact with all fellow party workers and the people in Belagavi. This place holds a special place in my heart. I am confident of repaying the faith that the party has vested in me. I am hopeful of being elected an MP from the Belagavi district.”
Weighing in on the perceived dispute between Marathas and Kannadigas, Shettar said there are no differences between the two communities.
“Here, in Karnataka, the Marathas and Kannadigas are like brothers. There is no difference between the two communities. They all are Indians,” he added.
The BJP on Sunday released its fifth list of 111 candidates for Lok Sabha elections. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently returned to the party from the Congress, was fielded from Belgaum while former state minister K Sudhakar will contest Chikballapur.
Shettar, who quit the BJP and switched over to the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest last year’s assembly elections, returned to his old party in January.
