Election Financial News

Enforcement Directorate (ED) will file «at least one more» supplementary prosecution complaint (equivalent of a chargesheet) in the Delhi excise scandal, people aware of the matter told ET. It will elaborate on the alleged role of hawala operators in the alleged transfer of kickbacks from a South India-based group to functionaries of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the party's Goa assembly election campaign in 2022. The federal agency had arrested an alleged Delhi-based cash courier named Vinod Chauhan earlier this month. The agency, in one of its previous charge sheets, had alleged that Chauhan received cash bags from associates of BRS leader and co-accused in the case K Kavitha, which were then allegedly transferred through hawala to AAP leaders in Goa.

BJP, Ajaz Sheikh, who was killed in his native village of Herpora in Shopian of southern Kashmir late Saturday evening. Around the same time on Saturday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Yanier area near the famous tourist spot of Pahalgam. Both of them are stated to be stable. Locals claim that four attackers had come to Sheik's house and two of them barged inside and opened fire at Sheikh who has been a vocal advocate of BJP's policies in Kashmir. Political parties, across the spectrum, condemned the attack but questioned the timing of such attacks as Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency is going for polls on May 25.

contest in North West Mumbai Lok Sabha seat is not only interesting but confusing also for the voters and both the main candidates fighting from here claim to represent the «real» Shiv Sena. That is not the only thing connecting Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena leader Amol Kirtikar and his rival Jogeshwari East MLA Ravindra Waikar from the Shinde camp of Sena.

DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal alleged that the closed circuit cameras at the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence were being tampered with and his aide Bibhav Kumar had formatted his mobile phone. In its remand note, police have said a portion of the footage from the CCTV cameras at the chief minister's residence is showing blank. Maliwal took to social media to stress this point. Referring to the 2012 Delhi gangrape-murder, she posted on X, «There was a time when he hit the streets to get justice for Nirbhaya. Twelve years later, they are hitting the streets to save an accused who deleted CCTV footage and formatted the phone. I wish they had tried so hard for Manish Sisodia. If he was here, maybe something so bad would not have happened to me.» Sisodia, Delhi's former deputy chief minister, is in jail for over a year now in the Delhi liquor policy case. Maliwal has alleged that Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar assaulted her on May 13 when she went to the CM's residence to meet him. AAP has trashed her allegations.

Ayodhya, for which this will be a historic Lok Sabha election being held after the inauguration of the Ram temple, caste and convenience matters are seen to be competing with the temple tide. BJP MP Lallu Singh is eyeing his third consecutive term from the seat, but it's the fielding of nine-time Dalit SP MLA from Sohawal and Milkipur constituencies Awadhesh Prasad, 78, which has made the contest a keen one with Dalits forming the largest singular voting bloc in the seat, likely to be aided by the prominent Muslim and Yadav population. However, the CPIM has also fielded Arvindsen Yadav, son of popular MP from Ayodhya, Mitrasen Yadav, who had represented CPI, SP and BSP in his three different tenures from the seat, and he could dent the SP's prospects. BSP has fielded Sacchidanand Pandey who could also complicate matters. PM Narendra Modi had held a roadshow here earlier this month. Talking about the entire population of the district, Faizabad, renamed as Ayodhya (but remains Faizabad Lok Sabha in EC registers) 'Ramrajya' is still many, many years away. One gets a sense of which direction the wind is blowing politically, depending on where one asks.

Yechury on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging poll code violations by BJP leaders, and claimed more and more leaders of the saffron party are now «resorting to inciting hatred using anti-Muslim tropes». Yechury, in a post on X, shared a copy of his complaint to the EC, and said the poll panel must act immediately. «The ECI must act immediately. ECI cannot consciously remain silent which is tantamount to the betrayal of its constitutional mandate to conduct free and fair polls,» Yechury said. In his letter, he said the CPI(M) has filed a series of complaints against BJP leaders for Model Code of Conduct violation.

BJP in Odisha, BJD Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Dash on Sunday joined the saffron party after quitting the regional outfit. BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal, party's Odisha in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and other leaders welcomed Dash at the party headquarters here. Dash had earlier in the day resigned from the regional outfit. The three-time legislator was annoyed after being denied a party ticket to contest the 2024 Assembly elections. «I have joined the BJP after losing confidence in the BJD leadership. I will ensure that BJP candidate Pravati Parida wins elections in Nimapara assembly segment,» Dash told reporters.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be held on May 20 (Monday). Total 49 seats across 6 states and 2 Union Territories will be covered in the fifth phase.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be held on May 20 (Monday). Total 49 seats across 6 states and 2 Union Territories will be covered in the fifth phase.

Prime Minister Modi's 'Khata-khat' remark on INDIA bloc, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that one woman from every poor family will get Rs 1 lakh per year which will be deposited into her bank account, 'Taka-tak, Taka-tak'. Addressing a joint rally with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav today, Rahul Gandhi said this election is the fight for the Constitution. "BJP-RSS are attacking this and I want to tell them that no power can tear apart the Constitution of Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi ji has made 22 people billionaires. All the benefits were given to these people only. But now we are going to make crores of people 'lakhpatis'. A list of all the poor in India will be made. 'Har gareeb parivar mein se ek mahila ko chunkar unke bank account mein 'taka-tak taka-tak' saal ke 1 lakh rupee daal diye jayenge. (One woman from every poor family will be selected and Rs 1 lakh per year will be deposited into her bank account)" Rahul said.

business strategies that involve imports of crucial raw materials and machinery from China. Last week, S Jaishankar obliquely questioned the patriotism of firms that source material from China that could be bought or manufactured locally. 'If peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, would you do business with someone who has just barged into your drawing room and is trying to make a mess of your house fencing? It's common sense that if a country has gone back on written agreements and is doing something on our borders, how can we then say that the business world will continue as normal and other things won't,' the foreign minister said at the CII annual business summit in New Delhi last Friday. The timing of this statement is significant for two reasons. One, it comes just 17 days before EC is due to announce the results of the ongoing parliamentary elections that will lead to the formation of the next government. Two, China has just emerged as India's biggest trading partner surpassing the US, according to figures released by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

elections starting from 1951, turnout went past 60% only on seven occasions, of which the 65% mark was crossed only in 2014 and 2019. For all the attention to 'declining' turnout, the first four phases of the ongoing polls have registered a score of 66.95%. In absolute numbers, 451 mn people have voted so far. Postal ballots will add up on counting day. If this rate is maintained in the remaining three phases after today, 2024 could become only the third general election to get past 65%. Globally speaking, this turnout level measures in the top half of countries having democratic elections. Phase 1 turnout has been 66.14%, which moved to 66.71% in phase 2 and 65.68% in phase 3. In the fourth phase, it nudged past the 2019 count with 69.2%, also indicating an incremental rise phase after phase. Everyone who has interest in the game appears to have pushed the envelope a bit after the initial phases.

Ayodhya gears up to vote for the first time after the Ram temple consecration, Muslim voters in the pilgrim town say «mandir-masjid» (temple-mosque) is not an issue for them and employment and development are their primary concerns. Some, including Iqbal Ansari, who was a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, give the BJP «due credit» for the development of Ayodhya while others feel much needs to be done to ensure that the gains percolate to all parts of the temple town. «When elections come, political leaders start remembering God, irrespective of their party. But people want health and education facilities and security,» Ansari told PTI. «The BJP has done good work in Ayodhya and hence it should get the due credit. The BJP has an edge here. Though I do not have much interest in elections, I will definitely cast my vote on polling day,» he said.

BJP candidate several times, the Election Commission of India, Uttar Pradesh has directed the concerned District Election Officer to take prompt and effective action. «Cognizance of the circulating video has been taken. Concerned District Election Officer has been directed to take prompt and effective action,» said the poll panel in a post on X.

Lok Sabha elections 2024, 379 constituencies went to polls, and the rest are scheduled to vote in the subsequent three phases. "We have won. We have crossed 300," Tejashwi Yadav can been claiming in front on reporters ahead of the fifth phase of elections.

Lok Sabha elections 2024 will see a contest on several high-profile seats, with many national leaders in the fray. After dipping in the first three phases of elections, the voting percentage jumped in the fourth phase, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) will try to keep up with this trend. A total of 695 candidates will contest elections in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on 49 constituencies across eight states.

Aljazeera, DR Congo Army spokesman Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge said they have thwarted an attempted coup and have arrested many people, including foreigners. 1) On Saturday, armed men attacked the Kinshasa residence of federal legislator and a candidate for speaker of the National Assembly of DR Congo – Vital Kamerhe. They were stopped by his guards, said his spokesman Michel Moto Muhima on X.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 5: Full list of 49 constituencies; key candidates here According to DEO Ajay Kumar Singh, Harendra Rajak's conduct was brought to his attention by the relatives of several students of the government secondary school at Amrakh in Kurhani block. "A written complaint was submitted by the family members that children were being told by the teacher that nobody should vote for Modi since foodgrains unfit for human consumption were being distributed under the free ration scheme", the DEO said.

Kangana Ranaut, the acclaimed Bollywood actress, has made a significant declaration regarding her future in the film industry. During a recent interview, she revealed her intention to step away from Bollywood if she wins the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections from the Mandi constituency. In an interview with AajTak, Kangana Ranaut expressed her firm decision, stating, «Yes,» when asked if she would bid farewell to Bollywood after fulfilling her current commitments. She emphasized her desire for passionate engagement, saying, «Ideally, I would want to do just one job.» Ranaut highlighted the disparity between the film world and the reality she seeks in public service. She remarked in Hindi, “The film world is a lie, everything there is fake. They create a very different environment, it is a glossy world. Fake set, a fake bubble which is to reach to the audience – be it to invoke happiness or sadness. This is the reality and I have to live up to the expectations of the people. By the end of it, I should not feel that someone else could have done it better than me. There are a lot of expectations and I am new in public service, so I have a lot to learn and do. As I learn on the job, there is a lot at stake.” Addressing the potential disappointment her departure might bring, Kangana acknowledged that filmmakers have urged her to stay, recognizing her talent. She added, «I am a good actor and it's a compliment that I acknowledge.»

Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for questioning TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's loyalty to the INDIA bloc, several posters and hoardings of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge were defaced with ink in front of the party's state headquarters here on Sunday. Unidentified persons also wrote 'agent of Trinamool Congress' on Kharge's posters and hoardings. Sources in the Congress said that Chowdhury, who is in his hometown Baharampur, expressed displeasure over the incident and asked party workers to lodge a police complaint, which was registered, and the defaced posters were also removed. «The incident might have happened on Saturday night. This is the handiwork of the TMC which wants to create differences between senior Congress leaders and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,» a party leader alleged.

AAP on Sunday said the Delhi Police has seized the DVR of CCTV cameras installed inside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in connection with its probe into the "assault" on Swati Maliwal and accused the cops of planting stories to tarnish the party's image ahead of the elections. There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi Police. Maliwal, an AAP Rajya Sabha member, has alleged that Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar assaulted her on May 13 when she had gone to the chief minister's residence to meet him. AAP has rubbished her allegations and claimed that Maliwal is acting at the behest of the BJP to frame Kejriwal. Kumar was arrested on Saturday and produced in a court, which remanded him in five-day police custody.