Election Financial News

HD Kumaraswamy, Mandya’s incumbent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who won as an independent candidate in the 2019 general elections against his son Nikhil, announced on Wednesday that she would join the BJP and not contest the polls this time. Kumaraswamy is the NDA’s candidate from the constituency for the Lok Sabha polls, and the suspense over Sumalatha’s decision had kept the BJP-JDS coalition on tenterhooks, fearing that votes would be split in the region if she opted to contest independently. “I am not contesting the elections this year but this does not mean I am leaving Mandya. On the contrary you will see me, not as an independent but as someone with the backing of the rank and file of a party whose leader envisages a developed India by 2047,” she said. The BJP, she said, was a natural choice over the Congress, as the party had released funds amounting to around Rs 4000 crore for Mandya district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added, had always treated her with respect as well.

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election due to his "health condition", party vice president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday. Farooq Abdullah, 86, a former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, is the sitting member of Parliament from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. The NC has decided to field candidates in all three LS constituencies in Kashmir and support the INDIA alliance on two seats of Jammu division.

Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Wednesday issued a challenge to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking him that if Shah had indeed written to the Election Commission about the Karnataka government delaying applying for drought relief, he must produce the related documents immediately. The Home minister had made the allegation in a rally in Bengaluru on Tuesday, provoking the ire of the Karnataka Congress regime over the contentious issue. “It is shameful to lie to the people of Karnataka to cover up this injustice. Do Kannadigas exist only to pay taxes and vote for you?” the revenue minister asked. Karnataka, he said, ranked second among the highest tax-paying states. It was shameful to divert its taxes to other states, cheat the state during a drought, and then lie about it, he added. Gowda gave a timeline of the drought relief petition process, saying the Karnataka government declared drought in the state on September 13, one and a half months earlier than the October 31 deadline. “If you need proof of our submission for drought relief in September, we can provide a copy of the letter from the Secretary of the Central Home Department dated September 27,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Wayanad in Kerala that he currently represents and said the upcoming Lok Sabha election «is a fight for democracy and the Constitution of India». His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other state leaders accompanied Gandhi for filing of the nomination and later the roadshow, displaying a major show of strength by the local Congress unit and its ally Indian Union Muslim League. Gandhi won Wayanad, considered among the safest constituencies for the party, in 2019 with a majority of over four lakh votes even as he lost from his traditional Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh. Gandhi's main rival in the seat, Annie Raja of CPI, also filed her nomination, and she alleged that the Congress leader had neglected his constituency in the last five years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told BJP workers of Uttar Pradesh that it was because of their efforts that new electoral records were being made while asking them to work with a resolve to break all old poll records in the general elections. The prime minister was interacting with the Uttar Pradesh BJP workers through a digital rally at 22,648 booths in 10 Lok Sabha seats through the NaMo App. BJP's booth management is widely credited for its decisive victories in UP in all the major elections since 2014. «We know that no matter how big a victory we wish for in elections, if we don't win booths, we can't win elections and thus the soul of an election victory is in the victory of a booth. This is why it is always my appeal that we have to work with only one aim: We will win our polling booth. We will work with the resolve of breaking all old records of winning polling booths,» Modi told the workers.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday launched the party's 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' programme under which the party functionaries would reach out to 80 million households and make them aware of its five sets of promises with 25 guarantees that the party has vowed to implement if voted to power. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress chose Usmanpur, Kaithwara area in the North East Delhi parliamentary constituency, one of the three constituencies that the party would be contesting in the national capital this time, for the launch of the campaign. Kharge and other party members also distributed pamphlets about the details of the five sets of Congress promises that have already been announced by the party during the course of Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' that concluded in Mumbai recently.

PDP) will contest all three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir, party chief Mehbooba Mufti announced on Wednesday. She said the INDIA alliance partner, National Conference, had humiliated her party, leaving it with no option in the run-up to the general election. The former J&K chief minister said at a presser at party headquarters that the desperate situation in the region after August 5, 2019, demanded a united response but NC vice-president Omar Abdullah humiliated the PDP and left no room for any consultations. «There has been an environment of oppression here since August 2019 and thousands of youngsters are rotting in jails outside J&K. In this situation, we had to stand united. But my workers were humiliated by the remarks of Abdullah,» said Mufti.

Federal Reserve officials will likely reduce their benchmark interest rate later this year, Chair Jerome Powell said, despite recent reports showing that the U.S. economy is still strong and that U.S. inflation picked up in January and February

Read full story) The Indian Premier League's (IPL) KKR vs DC began today after Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and decided to bat first against Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals. IPL DC vs KKR Live Updates Both teams have played nearly 32 matches with each other at the IPL tournaments.

Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 'scam' on Wednesday. Kejriwal, the Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convenor, had filed a plea, challenging his arrest by the ED in the case. The financial probe agency opposed his petition, saying the probe is not over yet.

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.

Santanu Thakur, who is seeking re-election from Bongaon Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, on Wednesday urged members of the Matua community, who migrated to India before 2014, to apply for citizenship under the CAA, even if they already possess voting rights. Addressing a meeting at his constituency which has a large population of Matuas, Thakur said he himself would apply for citizenship under Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) though he is already a bona fide resident of the country. «Applying for fresh citizenship under CAA will enable you to avail all benefits, including permanent residency proof which is necessary for passport and visa. Although I was born here and my grandfather had proof of residency after coming, I will still apply,» Thakur said. Thakur, a strong votary of CAA since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, had asserted in the past that the Act would be enforced before the 2024 general elections.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Wednesday asked AAP leaders to take «positive agenda» to people and seek votes for the Lok Sabha polls on the basis of work done by his government in the past two years. Mann discussed a poll strategy with AAP candidate from Sangrur parliamentary seat Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and party MLAs from assembly segments which are part of the Lok Sabha constituency. The chief minister, who is also AAP's Punjab unit president, is the MLA from Dhuri seat which is part of the Sangrur parliamentary constituency. He has been taking meetings of party candidates along with MLAs to discuss strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. On Tuesday, he held meetings with AAP candidates from Patiala and Faridkot and party MLAs.

Some of the world’s largest investors have shared their insights about their portfolio allocations and where they expect to see the strongest returns.

Modi, who is running for a third consecutive term in office, is scheduled to address the rally around noon. BJP ally Chirag Paswan, who has handed over the mantle to brother-in-law Arun Bharti after having represented Jamui, a reserved seat, two times on the trot, has been effusive in his praise for the prime minister for the gesture.

Manmohan Singh retired from Rajya Sabha on April 3 after serving 33 years in the Indian Parliament. Singh, 91, is credited for opening the Indian economy to global competition and regarded as architect of India’s economic liberalisation as Finance Minister in 1991. Later, Singh went on to become Prime Minister serving two terms between 2004 and 2014.

2024 Lok Sabha elections “even if they are united". "This is an alliance of convenience of some self-seeking Opposition leaders. However, they can't even face up to the NDA even if they are united.

Kerala Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishan, CPI national executive member Annie Raja and BJP national secretary Anil Antony were among the prominent contestants who filed their nominations in Kerala for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday. While Radhakrishnan is contesting from Alathur in northern Palakkad district, Raja and Antony are fielded in Wayanad and Pathanamthitta constituencies, respectively. Kerala will go to polls on April 26. Sitting Congress MPs Rajmohan Unnithan and Benny Behannan, who will contest again from Kasaragod and Chalakudy, respectively, CPI (M) nominee in Ernakulam constituency K J Shine and LDF candidate in Ponnani K S Hamsa also filed the nominations today morning.

Sanjay Shukla, who has quit the Congress and joined the BJP, and three others proposing a fine of Rs 140.60 crore for alleged illegal mining of 'murum' (mixed) soil and stones, officials said on Wednesday. The mining department has unearthed illegal mining in two places of 5.50 hectares and 3.40 hectares in Baroli village adjoining Indore in Madhya Pradesh, they said. A fine of Rs 140.60 crore is proposed to be imposed on Shukla and three others under the Madhya Pradesh Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transport and Storage) Rules 2022 for this illegal mining, the officials said. Besides Shukla, the other respondents in the notice are his brother Rajendra Shukla, president of the Eden Garden Housing Cooperative Society Limited, and Baroli village resident Meharban Singh Rajput, they said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all 80 seats in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to ANI, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said, «BJP will win all the seats of Phase 1 and Phase 2. People have rejected the opposition alliance… People's trust in the BJP is increasing day-by-day and the BJP will win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.» «The PM's Garib Kalyan Yojana has reached every household, and people's trust in the BJP is continuously increasing,» he added.

National Conference president and incumbent Member of Parliament from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing health reasons. The announcement came from his son and NC vice president, Omar Abdullah, during a party event in Rawalpora, situated on the outskirts of Srinagar. Omar Abdullah conveyed his father's decision, stating, «He (Farooq Abdullah) has taken permission from (party's general secretary) (Ali Mohammad) Sagar and other party members to not contest the polls this time because of his health.» Acknowledging his father's decision, Omar Abdullah emphasized the party's commitment to nominate the most suitable candidate for the Srinagar constituency. Expressing optimism, he appealed to the electorate to support the NC candidate, ensuring effective representation of Srinagar's interests in the national capital.