Election Financial News

Election Commission on Saturday said Rs 45.59 crore cash and alcohol worth over Rs 151 crore was seized and 1,650 FIRs with regard to seizures have been booked since the model code of conduct came into effect on March 16. The general elections in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7 in 28 constituencies. The total seizures so far is worth Rs 345.89 crore, they said. According to a statement issued by the office of Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, since the model code of conduct came into force, the flying squads, static surveillance teams and police authorities have seized Rs 46.59 crore cash, liquor bottles worth over Rs 151 crore, narcotic substances worth Rs 9.93 crore, gold worth Rs 56.86 crore and freebies worth Rs 7.73 crore among other seizures.

Rajnath Singh on Saturday claimed that corruption increases every time the Congress comes to power and likened the party to the reality show 'Bigg Boss', known for squabbles among participants. Addressing rallies in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada and Kanker districts, he said the Congress would be finished in the state after the Lok Sabha polls and extinct like dinosaurs in the next few years in the country. He also pitched for the 'one nation, one election' idea citing it would save time and resources. «Corruption increases whenever the Congress comes to power. Since Independence, the party has faced charges of corruption whenever it was in power,» said Singh during a rally at Geedam in Dantewada district. Even after being elected to power in Chhattisgarh in 2018, he said, «it committed scams including the one concerning cow dung».

China renaming 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Minister VK Singh on Saturday said that changing names won't have any effect, adding that Arunachal Pradesh will always be India's part. «By changing the names of the places does not mean that it is their place. I can say confidently that na ek inch udhar hui hai naa ek inch idhar… Opposition is just making an issue as they don't have anything or proper knowledge,» Singh told ANI. When asked about the preparations for Lok Sabha, he said that the manner in which the BJP and our workers are working hard, the results will be good.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s stocks have commanded an unprecedented premium to emerging-market peers. As he seeks a third successive term, investors are betting that the performance can continue. Modi is likely to spend heavily on manufacturing and infrastructure should he win, continuing a strategy that wooed money managers during his decade in power. The stock market has rallied to successive records, while India’s imminent inclusion in a major global bond index is expected to lure billions of dollars in inflows.

AIADMK in Tamil Nadu for the April 19 Lok Sabha elections. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said on 'X' that the «alliance would also continue for the Assembly elections» in Tamil Nadu, apparently referring to the 2026 state polls. «AIADMK has refused to ally with BJP and has committed to never allying with it in the future. It has also assured that it will oppose CAA, NPR & NRC. Therefore, AIMIM extends its support to AIADMK in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Our alliance will also continue for the Assembly elections,» Owaisi said. Incidentally, AIMIM had allied with TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in Tamil Nadu for the 2021 Assembly polls and contested from three seats. The AIADMK was part of the BJP-led NDA then.

ALSO READ: India slips to 6th rank on Maldives Tourism charts as President Mohamed Muizzu welcomes China "There is only one platform left. As the two countries have already signed, they [the remaining Indian military personnel] will also be recalled ahead of May 10. They will leave," President Muizzu was quoted by the report as saying.

₹13,347 crore worth of Indian equities and the total inflow stands at ₹15,706 crore as of April 12, taking into account debt, hybrid, debt-VRR, and equities, according to National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) data. The total debt inflows stand at ₹1,522 crore so far this month. "There is slight deceleration in debt flows which stood at ₹1,521 crore.

Lok Sabha Elections will take place across the country this year. The voting will begin on April 19 and the results will be declared on June 4.

ANI revealed. Mysore and Chamarajanagar are the CM's home districts, and winning both seats is crucial for maintaining his political credibility and hence, Siddaramaiah met Prasad urging him to support Congress candidates in both constituencies, sources said. Following the meeting, Shrinivas Prasad assured CM that he would appeal to the people to help the Congress candidate Chamarajanagar constituency will go to the polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26.

Donald Trump might've relished before politics: a porn actress claiming they'd had sex. But on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, Trump feared the story — which he says is false — would cost him votes. So, prosecutors say, he arranged to pay Stormy Daniels to keep quiet.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said that even the graduates from the Indian Institute of Technology are not getting jobs under the BJP-led Centre. Addressing a public meeting in Haridwar, Priyanka Gandhi said, " There is rising unemployment in the country. PM Modi has only given unemployment to this nation. Even IIT graduates are not getting jobs under the Modi government. The Centre's scheme and policies are not employment-oriented. The government is handing over PSUs, Railways, and ports to their business friends. So basically all these jobs are going away to the corporates," Priyanka Gandhi said. Congress General Secretary further said that small-level businesses in the country are suffering due to the poor economic policies of the BJP.

Congress nominee for Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha seat against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Kangana Ranaut, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Saturday said that the party leaders believe that a young leader should be fielded so a consensus has been reached on the name of Vikramaditya Singh. «Discussions were held on the 2-3 names that we shortlisted. It depends on the high command, on Mallikarjun Kharge, and on what names they approve. All our senior leaders believe that this time a young leader should be fielded. So, a consensus has been reached on the name of Vikramaditya (Singh). The names will be finalised soon,» she said. After the meeting, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that discussions were held for our 4 seats. A ticket for Mandi will also be announced soon.

CBI) has registered a case against Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd and eight officials of ministry of steel over alleged corruption of Rs 315 crores in the execution of the NISP project, reported PTI quoting officials. The officers booked are from the NMDC Iron and Steel Plant. Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), which was the second-biggest buyer of electoral bonds worth Rs 966 crore, in an alleged bribery case.

Kukis and Meitis may be at loggerheads in Manipur but their thoughts on one point converge — this is not the right time for Lok Sabha elections in the restive state. It has nearly been a year since ethnic violence broke out between the hill-majority Kukis and the valley-majority Meitis. It has not only killed over 200 people and displaced around 50,000 but also sharply divided Manipur along ethnic lines. Elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur will be held on April 19 and 26. While Inner Manipur and some segments of Outer Manipur will vote in the first phase, the remaining segments of Outer Manipur will go to polls on April 26. Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask — why elections at this time and what difference will they make?

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if his party is voted to power at the Centre, it will immediately conduct a caste census in the country. Addressing an election rally at Bastar village Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, he described the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a fight between two ideologies involving those seeking to protect the Constitution and those out to destroy it. He also attacked the Narendra Modi-led government and said President Droupadi Murmu was prevented from attending the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya as she is a tribal, and it reflects the Bharatiya Janata Party's mentality. The rally was held in support of Congress' candidate from Scheduled Tribe-reserved Bastar Lok Sabha seat Kawasi Lakhma.

Omar Abdullah on Saturday said Manmohan Sigh was a true statesman and that Narendra Modi, at some stage, will have to start thinking about the kind of legacy he leaves behind. In an interview with PTI Videos, Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from north Kashmir Baramulla constituency, said it was obvious that the Centre was using the probe agencies under it against the leaders of the opposition parties. «It is not apparent, it is obvious. When 95 per cent of the cases that are being investigated or charged by the Enforcement Directorate are against (opposition ) political leaders and political parties, that tells you. »At some point, the PM will start looking at his legacy. Right now, I think his aim is to be a PM for longer than Jawahar Lal Nehru. Once that aim is met, then, none of us get younger, we all get older. There comes a time when we have to leave the stage. I have no doubt that somewhere in the back of his mind, the PM will start thinking about what sort of a legacy he wants to leave," Abdullah said.

Anurag Thakur on Saturday called the AAP the «most dishonest party», and claimed that the Congress is fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections for «abki baar, 40 paar» when the BJP is aiming for over 400 seats. Congress leaders are leaving in droves for the BJP due to the spectacular performance of the BJP-led NDA government for the past ten years, he said in Madhya Pradesh's Pandhurna district, a part of the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat. The 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in MP will go to polls in four phases between April 19 and May 13 and votes will be counted on June 4. Chhindwara will vote in the first phase. «The truth is that AAP is the most dishonest political party. It is leading the table in telling lies. If there is an utterly dishonest person it is Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,» said the Union minister when asked about the Aam Aadmi Party's allegation that the BJP was misusing the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Ukraine's army chief said on Saturday the situation on the eastern front had deteriorated in recent days with Russia intensifying its armoured assaults and battles raging for control of a village west of the devastated city of Bakhmut. The statement by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi more than two years since Russia's invasion evoked the increasingly grim mood in Kyiv as vital U.S. military aid that Kyiv expected to receive months ago remains stuck in Congress. Syrskyi said he travelled to the embattled area to stabilise the front as Russian assault groups using tanks and armoured personnel carriers took advantage of a period of dry, warm weather that was making it easier for them to manoeuvre.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked people on Saturday not to get carried away by the words used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches and to vote for change in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a poll rally in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar, she said elections should be fought on real issues and not on the basis of empty rhetoric. «Don't get carried away by the words used by Modiji in his election speeches. Before casting your vote, you should honestly ask yourself whether 10 years of the Modi government have really brought about a positive change in your lives,» the Congress general secretary said. Ever-growing unemployment, uncontrolled inflation and paper-leak scams are the truths of people's lives and the BJP-led government is responsible for these as it has been in power for the last 10 years, she said.

Shah on Saturday accused the DMK of 'hurting' the sentiments of the people by insulting 'Sanatan Dharma' and called upon the people to reject the Dravidian party in the April 19 Lok Sabha election. He said the DMK passed unsavoury remarks on the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. «The DMK party has hurt the sentiments of people by making insulting remarks on Sanatan Dharma. But on the other hand, the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi respected everyone and believed in unity,» Shah said at the roadshow in Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency in support of the party candidate Pon Radhakrishnan.

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday asserted that his party would get more seats in the ensuing elections than in 2019 and predicted that the INDIA bloc would secure a resounding victory in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram also said that neither Hinduism nor the Hindus were under any threat and it was the BJP's «calculated strategy» to paint the entire Opposition as «anti-Hindu» to project Modi as the «saviour of Hindus». He also described West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as a «key player» in this election and said that her ability to hold the fort in the state will strengthen the INDIA bloc. «I cannot speak for all the states. I can confidently predict that the INDIA bloc will record a resounding victory in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the two fronts (UDF and LDF) will share the 20 seats, leaving nothing to the BJP. In Karnataka and Telangana, the Congress governments are popular and Congress will get many more seats than in 2019,» Chidambaram told PTI.