Lok Sabha News

Rahul Gandhi is contesting Lok Sabha Elections against Annie Raja, a leader from the Communist Party of India (CPI), which is a key partner in the opposition INDIA bloc. With Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Kerala state President K Surendran in the fray, the contest in the seat has become triangular. Wayanad will vote, along 19 other seats of Kerala, in the second phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on Friday, April 26.

BJP has sidelined incumbent Lok Sabha member from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, and announced Tashi Gyalson as its candidate from the lone Lok Sabha seat in Ladakh. The BJP has won the last two Lok Sabha elections in Ladakh but this time, the ongoing protest campaign led by the Apex Body Leh (ABL)and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), a grouping of political, social, religious and business organisations in Leh and Kargil, has put a formidable challenge before the ruling party. Although Gyalson, who is also the chief executive councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Leh, has expressed willingness to engage in a dialogue with ABL and KDA, the two bodies are thinking of fielding their own candidate against the BJP.

Bengaluru, After she was shifted to Bangalore North segment for the coming Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje is determined to prove a point or two and wants to ensure that BJP continues its winning streak here. Bangalore North has remained a BJP stronghold since 2004 and the 57-year-old is banking on the "Modi factor". She is facing Congress candidate and former Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda, who is putting up a spirited fight. Both belong to the Vokkaliga community. Karandlaje is a two-time MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur but was moved out after she faced a «Go back Shobha» campaign there from a section of her party. Karandlaje has been telling people how India is on the development path in the past 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

BJP has hatred towards minorities, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the saffron party even refused to mention the word «minorities» in its manifesto, instead saying it as «marginalised». Owaisis said AIMIM's alliance in Uttar Pradesh with Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (K) will continue even in the Assembly polls and the party will support Prakash Ambedkar in Akola and Anand Ambedkar in Amaravati in Maharashtra. «I have seen the BJP's advertisement on April 17 in various newspapers. Please see when they talk about giving loans or help to start a business from the government, it says ST and OBC. The BJP is even refusing to mention word minorities forget about Muslims. The word minorities is mentioned in the Constitution of India and the BJP has a great hatred for the word M,» Owaisi told PTI videos on Wednesday. «They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities,» he said.

BJP and BRS in Telangana have claimed that the announcement of Rs two lakh farm loan waiver by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is a result of their agitations demanding it and sought to know when the other promises of ruling Congress government would be fulfilled. Taking on the Congress government, BJP Rajya Sabha member K Laxman on Tuesday asked why should people vote for Congress in the Lok Sabha elections when promises like investment support of Rs 15,000 to farmers and financial assistance of Rs 12,000 to agriculture workers have not been implemented. Addressing reporters here, Laxman also took exception to Revanth Reddy's charge that there was a clandestine understanding between BJP and BRS. BRS MLA T Harish Rao claimed that the CM made the announcement to waive farmers' loans before August 15 only with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday questioned the source of income of the charity organisation controlled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son and MP Shrikant Shinde, saying the funds could have been misused for political gains. The Shiv Sena led by Shinde dismissed the allegations, saying the Foundation has undertaken numerous developmental works and provided financial assistance to the needy. Raut said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the foundation. «We will try to file a case through ED or CBI,» he added. He also claimed the information on the source of funds and expenses of the organisation sought under the RTI query was not disclosed by the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner's office, apparently due to political pressure.

Rupala, the BJP's nominee from Gujarat's Rajkot Lok Sabha seat, is facing agitation by Kshatriya community members, political analysts and voters believe the Union minister will emerge victorious. While the analysts claim Rajkot is an «unbreachable fortress» of the BJP, voters laud the development works done by the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Rupala recently claimed the erstwhile 'maharajas' succumbed to the persecution of foreign rulers, including the Britishers. Despite Rupala's apology, the Kshatriyas, also called Rajputs, see his remarks as an insult to them and have asked the BJP to withdraw his candidature or face defeat in Rajkot, a Patidar-dominated seat considered as BJP's stronghold.

₹1 each from persons attending the party’s public gatherings. Similar campaigns have been run by leaders such as Kanshi Ram and Arvind Kejriwal. It is an irony, though, that Kanshi Ram’s successor, Mayawati, faced allegations of corruption after coming to power.

Imran Masood, Congress-SP alliance nominee, who had hit the headlines for aggressive postures in the past is running a low-key campaign focussing mainly on villages dominated by Hindus. Masood is a nephew of nine-term MP (five-time Lok Sabha and four-term Rajya Sabha member) Rashid Masood, who had enjoyed support of different castes of the Hindu community during his long political career. Masood is now exploring chances to revive the old support base of his uncle among non-Muslims. His camp is also avoiding organising big rallies or public meetings. «Drawing Muslims in big numbers at political rallies or public meetings may lead to polarisation in other communities,» a supporter said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday alleged that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied when she said that the drought relief fund was not released because the Model Code of Conduct is in force. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sitharaman sought to defend the Centre saying procedures to release funds had taken time by which time the MCC came into effect. She said that after the Karnataka government submitted a memorandum in October and the inter-ministerial central team conducted a spot assessment, the release of drought relief had to go through a few procedures and that it had taken time. According to the finance minister, the central authorities had written to the Election Commission on March 28 to get prior approval to convene a high-level committee, given that the Model Code of Conduct in force — and the EC's approval is awaited with regard to the grant of drought relief.

Prashant Kishor said the ruling party will add significantly to its seats and vote share in south and east India, the two regions where its hold is weak-to-non-existent, barring Karnataka. In an interaction with PTI editors, Kishor also said despite the BJP's apparent dominance, neither the party nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invincible, pointing out that the opposition had three distinct and realistic chances of stopping the BJP juggernaut but frittered away the opportunities because of laziness and misplaced strategies. «They (BJP) will either be first or second party in Telangana which is a big thing. They will be number one in Odisha for sure. You would be surprised as, in all likelihood, to my mind, the BJP is going to be the number one party in West Bengal,» he said. In Tamil he said, BJP's vote share may hit double-digit percentage. Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala together account for 204 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha but the BJP couldn't cross 50 seats in all these states put together either in 2014 or 2019 when it won 29 and 47 constituencies respectively.

Pushkar Singh Dhami Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the target of winning more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls as he is confident of the strength of the BJP's dedicated cadre. Dhami was speaking at a programme organised at the BJP's state office here on the occasion of the party's foundation day. «The target of winning more than 400 seats has been set by the prime minister as he is confident about your strength,» he said. «Your hard work and dedication have made the BJP the world's largest political party,» Dhami added.

Lakshadweep will witness a triangular fight between NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), Congress, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP supported by the BJP. The incumbent Lok Sabha member Mohammed Faizal Padippura of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) is pitted against Congress' Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed and Yusuf T P of NCP (Ajit Pawar). The Lakshadweep constituency, which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, will go to the polls on April 19 in a single phase.

Lok Sabha, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday started her fresh innings in the Rajya Sabha after she took oath as a member of the Upper House. She will represent Rajasthan in the Council of States by filling the seat that fell vacant after 91-year-old former prime minister Manmohan Singh completed his tenure on April 3. Sonia Gandhi will be the second member of the Gandhi family to enter the Rajya Sabha after former prime minister and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, who had a two-and-a-half-year tenure (from August 1964 to February 1967) as a member of the Upper House. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present when she took oath in Hindi in the presence of Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Supriya Sule was announced as a candidate for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. The three-term parliamentarian and daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar is pitted against her sister-in-law and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar.

Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced the second list of candidates for the Odisha Assembly elections and the third list for the Lok Sabha polls. Patnaik announced the names of 27 candidates for the assembly elections and five for Lok Sabha polls. With this, the BJD has fielded 20 candidates for the state's 21 Lok Sabha seats. The BJD has not announced any name for Balasore Lok Sabha constituency. The BJD has so far declared nominees for 99 assembly seats out of the 147 Assembly seats.

Manmohan Singh (91) bid adieu to the Rajya Sabha today, marking the end of his remarkable three-decade-long tenure. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute to Singh's dedicated service, expressing admiration for his unwavering commitment to the nation. Kharge in a post on X wrote, «As you retire today from the Rajya Sabha after having served for more than three decades, an era comes to an end. Very few people can say they have served our nation with more dedication and more devotion than you. Very few people have accomplished as much as you for the nation and its people.» Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time back had also lauded his role as a member of the upper house and said his contributions would never be forgotten. Modi also said that Singh sometimes came to vote while being on a wheelchair, and that he did to strengthen democracy.

Mahua Moitra in a cash-for-query row that also involves Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani, reported news agency ANI quoting its sources. Earlier, the TMC leader missed ED summons that asked her to appear for questioning at the New Delhi office. The probe agency had issued fresh summons to Moitra and Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani for questioning in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) contravention case. The 49-year-old Trinamool Congress leader was called for questioning twice earlier by the central agency, but she did not depose citing official work and sought deferment of the notice. Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December for «unethical conduct», has been renominated by her party from West Bengal's Krishnanagar seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Ramlila Maidan in the national capital. The protest forced the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre to promise an anti-corruption watchdog - Lok Pal. Arvind Kejriwal took oath for the first time as Chief Minister of Delhi, with the support of the Congress party, at the Ramlila Maidan on December 28, 2013.

Nirmala Sitharaman reported total assets valued at Rs 2.53 crore in 2022, consisting of immovable property worth Rs 1.87 crore and movable property totaling Rs 65.55 lakh, as per her assets and liabilities declaration as a Rajya Sabha member. However, she also disclosed liabilities amounting to Rs 26.91 lakh. It's likely that these figures have undergone changes over the past couple of years due to her investments or loan repayments.

Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, Biplab Kumar Deb, claimed that CPI-M leaders like former chief minister Manik Sarkar is not willing to vote for Congress candidate Ashish Kumar Saha, who is also contesting from the same seat as a consensus nominee of the INDIA bloc. Left parties and Congress are fighting one seat each in Tripura. Addressing an election rally in South Tripura, Deb said: “Manik Da is a veteran Communist leader who during his decades-long political career never voted for any non-Left party candidate. Therefore, this time too he is not willing to cast his vote for the Congress nominee.” Manik Sarkar served as the Chief Minister of Tripura for 20 years, from 1998 to 2018.