News Analysis India

Tag: Narendra Modi

  • J&K Assembly Polls Soon After Lok Sabha Elections: CEC Rajiv Kumar |

    NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, on Saturday said that assembly elections in J&K will be held soon. CEC Rajiv Kumar, while addressing a press conference, stated that assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held soon after the Lok Sabha polls.

    Speaking to reporters, CEC Rajiv Kumar addressed the issue of holding simultaneous central and state elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Kumar cited security concerns as a primary obstacle, leading the poll panel to deem it unfeasible at this time. However, he emphasized the panel’s dedication to conducting elections in the region, assuring that they would proceed following the Lok Sabha polls.

    Kumar highlighted the consensus among all parties in J&K regarding the desire for Assembly elections to coincide with parliamentary polls. Despite this shared sentiment, logistical challenges presented a significant hurdle. The sheer number of candidates expected in each Assembly segment, averaging between 10 to 12, would necessitate substantial security arrangements. Kumar explained that accommodating over 1,000 candidates would be impractical given the existing constraints.

    Nevertheless, Kumar reaffirmed the commitment of the poll panel to facilitate elections in J&K. He assured that once the current electoral processes conclude, the panel would prioritize holding polls in the region. This statement underscores the panel’s acknowledgement of the importance of democratic participation in J&K, despite the complexities involved in ensuring a secure and efficient electoral process.

    Importantly, the Lok Sabha elections in J&K will be held in five phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 2. 

    The CEC also announced the dates for polls for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, which will be held in 7 phases starting from April 19. Phase 1 voting will be held on April 19, Phase 2 voting will be held on April 26, Phase 3 voting will be held on May 7, Phase 4 voting will be held on May 13, Phase 5 voting will be on May 20, Phase 6 voting will take place on May 25 and Phase 7 voting will be held on June 1. Counting of votes will be held on 4 June.

    Lok Sabha Election 2024 Full Schedule

    Phase 1 voting will be held on April 19, Phase 2 voting will be held on April 26, Phase 3 voting will be held on May 7, Phase 4 voting will be held on May 13,
    Phase 5 voting will be on May 20, Phase 6 voting will take place on May 25 and Phase 7 voting will be held on June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.

    With the formal announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has also come into effect across the country. It may be noted that the tenure of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 16 and a new House must be constituted before that. In 2019, the general elections were held over seven phases from April 11 to May 19, with results declared four days later. The BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats, in the 2019 general elections. 

    Total 96.8 Crore Voters Eligible To Cast Votes: CEC 

    A total of 96.8 crore voters will be eligible to cast their vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference here to announce the dates of Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls to four states, Rajiv Kumar said there will be 10.5 lakh polling stations and 1.5 crore polling officials and security staff will be deployed to conduct the elections in the world’s largest democracy.

    “We are committed to giving the nation a truly festive, democratic environment. The term of the 17th Lok Sabha is due to expire on 16th June 2024. The terms of the Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are also due to expire in June 2024. Elections are due in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
    Kumar said approximately 49.7 crore voters are male and 47.1 crore voters are female.

    “We have 1.8 crore first-time voters and 19.47 crore voters between the age group of 20-29 years,” he said, adding that 88.4 lakh voters are of PwD category, 2.18 lakhs are centenarians and 48,000 are transgenders.

  • 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.

  • 1 Out Of Every 5 Sitting BJP MPs Lost Their Ticket Despite ‘Clear Wave’: A Look At The Big Faces Rested |

    New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made a decisive move by replacing 21% of its sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) with new candidates, NDTV reported. This change comes as the party announced 267 Lok Sabha candidates across two lists. The second list, released on Wednesday, introduced 30 fresh faces for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to NDTV, this strategic candidate reshuffle is a response to potential anti-incumbency sentiments. The party’s choices reflect the grassroots feedback and are aligned with its ambitious goal to secure 370 seats in the forthcoming polls, an increase of 67 seats from the 2019 elections.

    New Faces in Key Regions

    In the nation’s capital, the BJP has nominated Harsh Malhotra for the East Delhi constituency, replacing former cricketer and sitting MP Gautam Gambhir. For the North West Delhi seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste, Yogendra Chandolia has been chosen over the incumbent Hans Raj Hans.

    In Gujarat, the home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the party has introduced five new candidates, including Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakore for Sabarkantha and Nimuben Bambhania for Bhavnagar, signaling a significant change in representation.

    In Haryana, The BJP has opted for Ashok Tanwar, a former Congress leader, for the Sirsa seat, while former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been fielded from Karnal, indicating a high-stakes play in the state.

    The party’s second list features five new faces in Karnataka, including Basavaraj Kyavator for Koppal and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for Haveri, showcasing a mix of seasoned politicians and new entrants.

    Changes Across the Map

    In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has nominated Savitri Thakur for Dhar, and in Maharashtra, new candidates like Smita Wagh for Jalgaon and Union Minister Piyush Goyal for Mumbai North have been introduced, reflecting a nationwide strategy to rejuvenate the party’s electoral appeal.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has selected Anup Dhorte to contest from the Akola constituency in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha seat, replacing the current MP, Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre.

    In Mumbai North East, the BJP has chosen Mihir Kotecha over the incumbent MP Manoj Kishorebhai Kotak. Pankaja Munde has been announced as the candidate for the Beed Lok Sabha seat, taking over from her sister Pritam Gopinath Rao Munde, who has served for two consecutive terms.

    For the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat in Telangana, reserved for the Scheduled Caste, the BJP has nominated Godam Nagesh, moving away from the sitting MP Soyam Babu Rao. Anil Baluni, the party’s chief spokesperson and a member of the Rajya Sabha, has been fielded for the Garhwal seat, succeeding the former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat.

    Trivendra Singh Rawat, another former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, has been chosen to run for the Haridwar seat, replacing the two-term MP and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

    From the Tripura East seat, the BJP has put forward Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma, taking the place of the current MP Rebati Tripura. This follows the party’s earlier decision, announced on March 2, to introduce new candidates for over 190 Lok Sabha seats, which included changing at least 33 incumbent MPs.

  • Celebrating Hyderabad Liberation Day a befitting tribute to freedom fighters: Amit Shah

    NEW DELHI: The decision to celebrate September 17 every year as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ is a befitting tribute to freedom fighters and will ignite the “flame of patriotism” among youth, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday. The central government had issued a notification on Tuesday on the commemoration.

    In a post on ‘X’, Shah said it is a historic day as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to celebrate September 17 every year as Hyderabad Liberation Day in honour of the martyrs of the Hyderabad liberation movement.

    He said the decision is a befitting tribute to the freedom fighters and the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice to remain a part of Bharat by liberating the Hyderabad region from the brutal Nizam rule. “I welcome Modi Ji’s landmark decision, which will ignite the flame of patriotism among the youth and immortalise our icons of the freedom movement,” he said.

    In the notification, the Union Home Ministry said Hyderabad did not get independence for 13 months after the Independence of India on August 15, 1947, and was under Nizam’s rule.

    The region was liberated from Nizam’s rule on September 17, 1948, after a police action namely ‘Operation Polo’. The ‘Razakars’, a private militia, had committed atrocities and defended the erstwhile Nizam rule in Hyderabad When India gained independence, the Razakars called for Hyderabad state to either join Pakistan or to become a Muslim dominion while resisting its merger with the Union of India.

    The people of the region fought valiantly against the atrocities of the ‘Razakars’ to merge the region into the Union of India.

    On September 17, 1948, the then Hyderabad state was annexed into the Union of India following military action, initiated by the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

    Modi government has been holding an event on September 17 for the last few years to commemorate ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also attended the event in the past.

  • Live Updates: PM Narendra Modi To Make Important Announcement Shortly

    The announcement will come days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections announcement by the Election Commission of India.

  • Rajasthan Petrol Pump Strike: Fuel Stations Go On Strike Demanding Reduction In VAT

    Addressing rallies during the assembly elections held in November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to look into ways to reduce the fuel prices in the state. Long queues were witnessed at fuel stations yesterday. 

  • TMC: Modi hits out at TMC over corruption and dynasty politics

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday upped the ante against the TMC on the issue of corruption and dynasty politics and said the opposition alliance INDIA parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Congress are bothered only about the development of their families. Giving a clarion call to defeat the Mamata Banerjee-led party in West Bengal, the prime minister while addressing a mega rally in Siliguri said, “The road to oust the corrupt TMC government from West Bengal will open from the Lok Sabha polls.”

    “I have seen mothers of our country struggling for basic amenities. That is why I stress on sanitisation, free electricity, bank accounts and tap water to make the lives of our mothers and sisters easier. But here, first the Left Front and then the TMC government have ignored the basic needs of the people of the state,” he said.

    Modi said the TMC has been looting the people of the state and had indulged in creating fake job cards for looting central funds sent by the Centre under MGNREGA. Hitting out at dynasty politics of opposition parties, Modi said the “TMC is only bothered about its nephew whereas the Congress is bothered only about the royal family,” in an apparent reference to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the Gandhi family in Congress.

  • Video: PM Modi Takes Elephant, Jeep Safari In Assam’s Kaziranga National Park |

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-visit to Assam undertook a jungle safari at the Kazirange National Park early on Saturday morning, news agency ANI reported. PM Modi also took an elephant safari at the park. The Park authorities had made arrangements for both jeep and elephant safaris. He will be there for around two hours, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying. PM Modi reached Assam on Friday for a two-day visit, during which he will launch and lay the foundation of projects worth Rs 18,000 crore.

    Modi arrived at Salonibari airport in Tezpur in the afternoon, where he was greeted by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others. He then took a helicopter to Panbari in Kaziranga, where he was received by Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, along with Sarma and others, who welcomed the PM again as he landed there.

    #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam today. The PM also took an elephant safari here. pic.twitter.com/Kck92SKIhp
    — ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024

    The PM completed the final part of his journey of about 15 kms from the Panbari helipad to the Police Guest House near Central Kohora Range in Kaziranga National Park by road. People gathered along the route to the guest house as Modi stood on the footboard of his vehicle and waved to them.

    Bihu and other folk songs and dances were performed along the route, which Modi appreciated with a post on X. “Landed to a very special welcome in Golaghat district, Assam. Got a glimpse of Assam’s diverse and beautiful culture,” the PM wrote, sharing photos of the performances.

    As Modi reached the guest house, where he will stay overnight, Sarma said it was an honour for the people of Assam to have the PM among them as a member of their own family.

     

    #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam today. pic.twitter.com/y24ZqO4jJt
    — ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024

    As Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji reaches Kaziranga National Park, #ModiParivarAssam comes out in large numbers to welcome their very own family member to the World Heritage Site,” Sarma wrote on X.

    In another post, the CM added, “The most popular leader of the world, elder of our family, respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji is heartily welcomed to Kaziranga.”

    After undertaking the safari, Modi will leave for Arunachal Pradesh, where he is scheduled to attend two programmes.

    He will return to Jorhat in the afternoon and inaugurate the 125-ft high ‘Statue of Valour’ of legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan. The prime minister will then proceed to Meleng Meteli Pothar, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation for central and state projects worth a total of around Rs 18,000 crore, the officials said.

    He is also scheduled to address a public meeting at the venue. After the meeting, he will leave for West Bengal. The prime minister had visited Assam on February 4 and launched infrastructure projects worth Rs 11,600 crore.

  • Amit Shah to address public meeting in Bihar’s Paliganj today

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to address a public meeting with people belonging to Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Economically Backward Class (EBC) at Paliganj near Patna in Patliputra Lok Sabha Constituency on Saturday ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 election.

    Amit Shah’s Bihar visit today is his first after the formation of the new government in January 2024 with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    Shah’s public meeting in Paliganj near Patna will motivate BJP in five Lok Sabha seats including Patliputra, Arrah, Patna Sahib, Jahanabad and Hajipur.The public meeting of the Home Minister is organised by Bihar BJP OBC Morcha and all preparations have been completed by the party workers for the grand success of the meeting.

    Bihar BJP OBC Morcha General Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Chaurasia told ANI, “We are fully prepared to greet the Hon’ble Home Minister Amit Shah Ji. Thousands of people will be present in Paliganj to listen to the Home Minister. Amit Shah ji is a source of inspiration for all of us. Under his guidance, the party is continuously moving ahead.”

    “It is a matter of pride for all of us that the Home Minister will guide us today before the Lok Sabha election and we are very much sure that NDA will win all 40 seats in Bihar to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra for a third term”, he addedMukesh Kumar Patel also General secretary of Bihar BJP OBC Morcha said, “The OBCs of Bihar realise that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done much welfare work for the backward society. This has never been done by any previous government in the history of independent India hence we would like to congratulate Home Minister Amit Shah. We will seek guidance from him to ensure a big victory for the party in the Lok Sabha elections.”During one day Bihar visit, Amit Shar will unveil the statue of veteran BJP Leader Kailashpati Mishra at ICAR Building premises, Jagdev Path, Patna.

    Earlier on Friday Amit Shah held a late-night meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

    The meeting took place at Shah’s residence here in the national capital. At around 12:45 am, Maharashtra CM Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar were seen leaving Shah’s residence after the meeting.

    The meeting on seat-sharing within the Mahayuti Alliance in Maharashtra began at around 7:00 pm.

    The Mahayuti Alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar faction. BJP National President JP Nadda along with the party’s state president Praful Patel were also present in the meeting.

    Deliberation on the seat-sharing formula within the alliance in Maharashtra was made, sources said.

  • Congress lacks a strong leader like PM Modi: Padmaja Venugopal

    Thiruvananthapuram, Padmaja Venugopal, who joined the BJP a day ago, said on Friday that the Congress lacks a strong leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Padmaja, who was accorded a grand welcome at the airport here by BJP leaders, including its state president K Surendran, and party workers, later said at a press conference that it pained her to leave the Congress, but she was not ready to put up any longer with the “insults” she has been suffering.

    She said that someone asked her why she joined the BJP as she has stood strong with the Congress even when facing problems from within the party.

    “After seeing Prime Minister Modi’s style of functioning for some time, I realised that every party needs a strong leader. The Congress does not have any such strong leaders,” she said. Padmaja, the daughter of Congress stalwart and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, alleged that the leaders in the party do not even have time to meet its functionaries.

    She said that when she recently went to the Congress’s headquarters in Delhi, she found that Sonia Gandhi does not meet anyone, “Rahul Gandhi has no time and most of the senior leaders have left (the party)”.

    “…That day, I realised there was no point in remaining there. I had had enough of being insulted. “During the elections, I was not included in any committees, four-to-five people within the party were working to chase me out of Thrissur and create problems for me everywhere else and when I complained about it, the party leadership did not take it seriously, which hurt me,” Padmaja said. All these things had been in her mind for some time, but she had not shared it with anyone else, she said.

    “So, they (Congress) were shocked by my sudden decision. They never thought I would take such a decision. I told them that anyone pushed into a corner would push back,” she said.

    On reporters seeking her views about what Youth Congress state President Rahul Mamkootathil said about her parentage a day ago, she said that his comments amounted to insulting her mother and therefore, she would be filing a complaint against him in that regard.

    Regarding what her elder brother, Congress MP K Muraleedharan, said about her decision, Padmaja said that he has no right to blame her when he has changed parties several times in the past.

    “I never said anything bad about him when I was in the Congress and he left it to join some other parties. He is my brother, so I have no intention of saying anything against him.

    “But, we need to keep our political and personal lives separate. My political life is different,” she said.

    On reporters pointing out that Muraleedharan said she was working from home and therefore, does not need any more consideration than what she has already got, Padmaja said that was an unfair statement coming from him.

    She said that Muraleedharan was aware of the health problems she had been suffering for over one-and-a-half years and therefore, he should not have made such a statement.

    “What he said, therefore, was for political gains and votes,” she remarked.

    Padmaja officially joined the BJP at a function held at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.

    While the BJP suggested that it marked the decline of the grand old party, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala sought to capitalise on the development by suggesting that it could erode trust in the Congress.

    Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan questioned whether there was any guarantee that Congress leaders when voted to power would remain with it and not join the BJP.

    Muraleedharan said that her decision was a betrayal and that their father’s spirit would not condone it, and added that he was ending his relationship with his sister.

    Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran termed Padmaja’s decision as “cheating and betraying” the party and a “breach of confidence”.