Election Financial News

Biden administration's top diplomat in New Delhi on Thursday dismissed concerns being raised in certain quarters about democracy in India and observed that in many ways Indians are better than the Americans. At an event organised here by the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think-tank, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told the audience he was confident that «10 years from now India is going to be a vibrant democracy as it is today in terms of free and fair elections». «Again there's things that probably are worse and there's things that are better. They have a law, you can't go more than two kilometers to vote. So there''ll be one guy who lives in the mountains as a monk (at) someplace. They will walk for two days to bring the voting machine, execute the vote,» he said, responding to a question expressing concerns over the status of democracy in India.

Supreme Court is poised to deliver an order today on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail in a money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the Delhi excise policy case. A bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna hinted on Wednesday that it might decide on the interim relief for Kejriwal on Friday, informing the Enforcement Directorate counsel, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, of this possibility. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the now-defunct Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

BJP may not get as many seats in the general election as projected earlier, prompting investors to cut some of their bets. Regulatory actions against the banking sector that could slow lending are also weighing down sentiment. The Volatility Index or VIX shot up to a 19-month high, suggesting traders see greater risk in the market in the near term. The NSE Nifty fell 345 points, or 1.55%, to close at 21,957.50. The BSE Sensex declined 1,062.22 points, or 1.45%, to end at 72,404.17.

Mint in the week gone by. The revenue contributed by an average employee at top software services companies has been consistently falling ever since the covid-19 pandemic ended, with increased hiring and plateauing revenue. And the popularity of Indian gherkins is growing globally owing to its many health benefits.

Norfolk Southern’s CEO will be under more pressure to improve profits after the railroad’s shareholders voted to elect three of the board members an activist investor nominated

The European Union marks its annual Europe Day on Thursday

Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while leading the government of his South Pacific island nation

Ujiarpur (Bihar): Just a day before his fate was to be sealed in EVM machines in Gujarat, home minister Amit Shah was busy in Bihar, campaigning for his deputy Nityanand Rai, a man he calls his «jigaree dost» (close friend). Rai, minister of state for home and BJP's most prominent face in Bihar, is looking for his third straight win from Ujiarpur, which will go to poll in the fourth phase on May 13. He is taking on RJD's Alok Kumar Mehta who was elected to the Lok Sabha from this seat in 2004 but was defeated by Rai in 2014. «You make him MP...I assure you I will make him a big man,» Shah exhorted a massive audience at a rally here on Monday.

BJP MP Lok Sabha Raosaheb Danve from Jalna, the epicentre of the Maratha protests, is battling anti-incumbency and anger from the Maratha community. Although Danve is a Maratha, his community is miffed with the BJP as it blames the party for not including the community in the OBC category for reservation in jobs and education. The Maratha protests had its epicentre in Jalna where Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil first began his indefinite fast from Antarvali Sarati village demanding that the Maratha community be included in the OBC category. Danve's victory over the last two elections over his Congress rival Vilas Autade has been more than 2.5-3 lakh. But this time, there could be a tough contest. For starters, the Congress has dropped Autade and given the ticket to Kalyan Kale who contested against Danve in 2009 and lost. Danve's victory against Kale was by a margin of just 8,482 votes. Kale was a two-term MLA from Phulambri assembly constituency.

INDIA bloc leaders is scheduled to meet the Election Commission of India brass here on Friday evening to register their opposition to the poll body's functioning, including its unusual delay in releasing the final voter turnout during the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha polls and to demand the release of the data promptly, as had been the case in the past, for the remaining phases of the election. The delegation is also expected to register their concerns about the «non-availability» of the final lists of registered voters constituency-wise for the upcoming phases. The leaders are also planning to take up with ECI the issue of their pending petitions before the poll body, alleging violation of campaign guidelines by BJP, including use of photos of religious symbols.

fiscal deficit, in absolute terms, could be slightly better than the revised estimates for FY24, on the back of better than expected revenue receipts, an official said. In the interim Budget in February, the government pegged its FY24 fiscal deficit at ₹17.35 lakh crore, against the budget estimate of ₹17.89 lakh crore. The deficit-to-GDP ratio was estimated to improve to 5.8% in FY24 from the budgeted 5.9%, despite slower-than-anticipated nominal growth.

youngsters gathered at the historic clock tower in Lal Chowk of Srinagar on Thursday to showcase their talent in fields of sports, arts, drama and music as part of the special voter awareness programme for Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held here on May 13. The program organised by the District Election Officer Srinagar showcased students participating in sports like martial arts, table tennis, chess and carrom, which attracted a good audience. A group of artists displayed some beautiful paintings on canvas, mainly concerning the voter awareness among masses.

Kalpana Soren, wife of former chief minister Hemant Soren, told ET, brushing aside suggestions that she plans to take over the top role if she wins the Gandey assembly by-election. «No, I do not want to be the chief minister after winning the byelection from Gandey. These are rumours and I don't understand why people are spreading them,» Kalpana told ET in an exclusive interview at her sprawling home near CM Champai Soren's official residence in the state capital. «People should not link this byelection to the CM's position. Hemant Sorenji has given the legacy to Champai Sorenji. There is no possibility of change in this position,» she said. The 48-year-old homemaker took a plunge in politics after the arrest of her husband on January 31 by the ED in a land case.

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking its immediate intervention as the party claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir Police had cancelled the permission it had granted the party for holding election rallies in Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to the polls on May 20. Former J&K chief minister Abdullah, the party's Lok Sabha candidate from Baramulla, urged the ECI to take action against the «unjust move», which he said was designed to «create obstacles» in his election campaign. «We have received a letter informing us about cancellation of permission. On one hand BJP claims that the situation has changed in J&K, but when it is about the election campaign, they create obstacles because we are fighting elections against representatives of the BJP here,» said Abdullah.

foreign minister Moosa Zameer on Thursday indicated the Muizzu government's willingness to work with India amid external affairs minister S Jaishankar's emphasis that bilateral ties were based on mutual interests and reciprocal sensitivity. The two sides, during Jaishankar-Zameer meeting, discussed the state of various India-funded projects in Maldives. Each side presented respective viewpoints on the projects that are developmental in nature and scope, sources informed ET. Zameer's visit to India amid anti-India rhetoric in Maldives is a signal that neighbours are trying to arrive at a working relationship, sources explained. After resounding victory in parliamentary elections, the Muizzu administration may want to set aside rhetoric and work with India, which has been the first responder to crises in Maldives since its independence, sources said.

2024 general elections is that their outcome is a foregone conclusion. It's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'guarantee' that NDA will return with 400-plus seats. Even if the outcome falls short by 100 seats, BJP will remain comfortably in power for another five years. So, it may be a bit strange to also hear that BJP is projected to spend more than double of what it did in the 2019 general elections. 2024 Lok Sabha elections are the most expensive polls not just in India's history but in the world's, according to The Economist. Centre for Media Studies (CMS) has projected an expenditure of ₹1.35 lakh crore, double the amount spent in 2019. In 2019, BJP outspent Congress by almost a factor of three. This year's gap will most likely increase given that BJP is flush with funds, and Congress has its accounts 'frozen' — or, rather, some of the party's accounts 'attached' by the I-T department for alleged non-payment of dues as per I-T rules. Can you imagine what political parties would have spent if the electoral field was more competitive, and the election was not a 'foregone conclusion'? In the US, which has the second-highest spending on elections, elections are fought on small margins. For instance, the difference in the projected polling averages for Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the forthcoming elections, based on polls during April, was less than 2%, with the margin falling to less than 1% in the second half of the month, according to psephologist Nate Silver's 538 website on ABC News.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: A video of the BJP leader's minor son casting a vote at the Berasia polling booth in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal went viral on social media on Thursday. Soon after, the Congress slammed the saffron party, saying it had reduced the Election Commission (EC) of India into a child's plaything. In the viral video, a boy, reportedly BJP panchayat leader Vinay Mehar's son, was seen casting a vote on the EVM on behalf of his father.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to soon file a fresh charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and it may name Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BRS leader K Kavitha and some others as accused, official sources said on Thursday. The federal agency had arrested Kejriwal from his official residence here on March 21 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while Kavitha, the MLC daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was taken into custody from Hyderabad on March 15. Official sources said a prosecution complaint against half-a-dozen entities, including the two politicians, some linked individuals and companies, has been readied and the agency may file it before a special PMLA court here within the next 4-5 days. The accused will be charged with money laundering and the prosecution complaint will be filed under sections 45 and 44(1) of the PMLA, the sources said.

Kannauj (UP): BSP president Mayawati Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party alleging that it did not field a Muslim candidate from Kannauj as it cannot see beyond SP president Akhilesh Yadav's family. The BSP chief asked the deprived sections, including the Dalits and Muslims, not to cast a single vote for Yadav's party in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing an election rally in Kannauj, the constituency from where the SP chief is seeking election, the BSP president recalled how Yadav, during his government, had changed the names of the districts named by her government after the great men born in the «Dalit, shoshit and pichhda varg» (Dalit, oppressed and backward class). She said even though Muslims are in sizeable numbers in Kannauj, the SP does not give ticket to the community and alleged that the Yadavs from the SP family are fielded in elections as the party cannot see beyond their family.

TMC leaders -In one of the videos, a woman says, "We were deceived into signing on blank papers. We discovered later that rape complaints had been lodged in our names. This is a blatant lie." -A video emerged on Saturday, sparking controversy in Sandeshkhali, after being broadcasted by a local television channel.

Chirag Paswan had gotten a major blow as 22 leaders of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) tendered their resignations. The aggrieved leaders said they resigned because they did not get tickets for the Lok Sabha polls. Some of the notable names who resigned from Paswan's LJP are Renu Kushwaha, former MLA and national general secretary of LJP, Satish Kumar, state organization minister Ravindra Singh, Ajay Kushwaha, Sanjay Singh, and State General Secretary Rajesh Dangi.