Election Financial News

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot says moving on was in the best interest of the party and stressed he would «100 per cent» campaign for his senior colleague's son Vaibhav who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Jalore. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters here, the Congress general secretary said a redux of the 2004 election when the party won the polls despite the India Shining campaign of the NDA is very much on the cards. «Repeat of 2004 is very much possible given the circumstances, given the unrest among most people. What you don't see in the media is the real sentiment on the ground. This politics of jumlas and overconfidence (by the BJP) has its limits,» Pilot said earlier this week. Asked how he has been able to shake off his past differences with Gehlot and the former Rajasthan CM's 'nikamma-nakara' jibe at him in 2020, Pilot said, «I saw no advantage in replying in the same coin, I refused to be provoked, chose dignity and grace over name-calling and, more importantly, decided to show a large heart and move on.»

Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday declared four more candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, fielding Vaishali Darekar-Rane from the high-profile Kalyan constituency, currently represented by state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde. With this, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has so far declared nominees for 21 seats in Maharashtra, which will vote in five phases starting April 19. Addressing a news conference, Thackeray also declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively. Thackeray said if Maha Vika Aghadi (MVA) ally Congress is not keen on contesting the Mumbai North constituency, then his party will field a candidate from that seat.

Economic Times reported that the proposal to introduce employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) has been on hold for some time, but it may gain momentum after the Lok Sabha elections. "There have been talks with the government last month on issues pertaining to PSBs, including ESOPs," a bank executive told ET, adding that lenders will soon present a framework to the government. Livemint could not independently verify the development.

Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers in Wayanad for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 today on April 3. The Congress leader will also hold a roadshow in the constituency that he won in 2019 Lok Sabha elections with a margin of over four lakh votes. Rahul will arrive by helicopter at Muppainad village, and will travel by road till Kalpetta, the Congress party said.

Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh braces for a fierce contest as state Congress chief YS Sharmila is set to challenge her cousin and incumbent YSRCP MP YS Avinash Reddy. Avinash Reddy is one of the accused in the murder case of former minister and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's uncle, Vivekananda Reddy, the younger brother of former chief minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy. Kadapa is significant for the YS family, as it has been represented by Jagan, YS Rajasekhar Reddy, and Vivekananda Reddy on many occasions over the last several decades. Sharmila is Jagan's younger sibling. Sharmila's decision to contest from Kadapa effectively means that the family feud will now evolve into a full-fledged political battle. After starting her political venture from Telangana politics, Sharmila merged her outfit, YSR Telangana Party, into the Congress and shifted base to Andhra Pradesh, where she was appointed as the state unit chief.

first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data. The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight — Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit — will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed.

Neerja Chowdhury, Journalist & Political Commentator, says “whether Sanjay Singh’s release has implications for the other three Aam Aadmi Party leaders who are in prison, including the chief minister of Delhi, remains to be seen. What view the Supreme Court takes, what happens if ED opposes their bail? The Prevention of Money Laundering Act was strengthened in 2008 to deny bail. So, it may not happen automatically unless the Supreme Court takes a strong view on it. ” How significant is the Supreme Court granting bail for Sanjay Singh in the wake of what is happening with Arvind Kejriwal right now? Neerja Chowdhury: I think Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in the middle of an ongoing election has created a sense of too much happening. I went to the Ramlila grounds where the rally was held and that is a general sense I got by talking to the people of Delhi.

West Bengal, the Centre has provided security cover to former Calcutta High Court Judge and BJP leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay, ex-Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Arjun Singh among four leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state as part of its measures to ensure the safety of key political figures. Besides, Gangopadhyay, Singh, BJP District General Secretary Abhijit Barman, and executive member of West Bengal's Cooch Behar district Tapas Das are among those who have been granted security protection by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Gangopadhyay has been granted security under the 'Y+' category, while Arjun Singh has been given security under the 'Z' category. However, both Barman and Das have been given security under the 'X' category.

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.

In many ways, the recently concluded agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is mainly a confidence building measure for India in the run-up to trade agreements likely to be pursued after general elections with the EU and UK. In most cases, the I-EFTA pact will have limited impact—India’s principal import from the four-nation group, gold, is not subject to pre-determined tariff reductions, while agricultural imports are excluded.

public sector banks (PSBs) on offering stock options to eligible employees, rekindling hope for this longstanding demand of the lenders. The proposal to offer employee stock ownership plans or ESOPs, has been on the backburner for a while but it may advance after the Lok Sabha polls, said people familiar with the development. “There have been talks with government last month on issues pertaining to PSBs, including ESOPs,” abank executive said, adding that lenders will soon present a framework to the government. A government official told ET that discussions were preliminary and any decision on the proposal would be taken after polls.

Cement producers across the country are set to hike prices by an average of Rs 10-15 per bag this month, even as demand is seen subdued due to a slowdown ahead of general elections. While price hikes could be sharper in some regions, including southern India, dealers do not see these sustaining and expect hikes of only around Rs 10-20 to hold up. Cement prices have corrected for five months in a row now, and average prices for the March quarter are 5-6% lower as compared to the December quarter, with price cuts sharpest in east and south India.

Supreme Court's decision to hear a plea seeking complete count of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail paper slips in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls has brought back the focus on the Election Commission of India's rationale in limiting the verification to five randomly selected EVMs. The poll panel has defended its rationale in courts and also found support from experts such as the Indian Statistical Institute which said the random formula was statistically sound. After a petition by over 20 political parties in 2019, SC mandated physical verification of EVM-VVPAT counts in 2% polling booths per constituency. Of the 20,687 polling stations where the mandatory physical verification of VVPAT slips was conducted on SC orders in 2019, eight cases of mismatch were found, which EC said were mainly due to 'easily explainable human errors'. The mismatch estimated at 0.0004% had no impact on the results in all eight cases, EC maintained.

New Delhi: A new scheme for funding of political parties is in the works, after the erstwhile electoral bonds scheme was struck down by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. According to two people aware of discussions in the government, the Centre has already started work on a new scheme that will address the concerns the apex court expressed while striking down the electoral bonds scheme. The finance ministry is holding internal consultations on the new scheme, which is expected to be finalized after the national elections in April-June, one of the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity.

₹12,000 in FY25. Will it undermine growth in an industry that is already facing multiple headwinds? Mint finds out. The electric mobility promotion scheme was announced by the ministry of heavy industries in March with a duration of four months from April to July 2024.

Forget black-tie dinners or summits at picturesque locales. The irascible leaders of some of Latin America’s biggest countries are instead taking a decidedly disdainful approach to diplomatic relations. In a region far from global conflicts, presidents here are instead embroiled in the kind of verbal spats commonly found on schoolyards—a war of words playing out on television and via posts on X.

Hartmut Issmer tell it, Germany's recent history is one of decline from the 1970s to 2015, when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel let the migrants in. The construction engineer, who grew rich from the property boom in eastern Germany and is now the far-right Alternative for Germany's biggest known donor, looks with nostalgia to a time when he was in his 20s and with trepidation to the future.

Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the Congress of taking support from the Social Democratic Party of India, the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India, «even as blasts are taking place in Bengaluru». The senior BJP leader was apparently referring to the recent blast at popular eatery Rameshwaram Cafe, which is under investigation. Shah also claimed that there has been no trace of corruption on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as against the Congress, which has allegedly stains of corruption of Rs 12 lakh crore. «On the one hand there are explosions in Bengaluru and on the other hand I got an information that SDPI has supported Congress. If it is true, then can people of Karnataka be safe under Congress?,» Shah asked during his election campaign in Channapatna in Ramanagara district, which is part of Bengaluru Rural Constituency. BJP has fielded Dr C N Manjunath, a renowned cardiologist who was the head of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology. Manjunath is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and brother-in-law of former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

ED on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was the «kingpin» and the «key conspirator» of the "excise scam". The federal agency opposed the AAP convener's petition challenging his arrest in the related money laundering case. In its reply filed to the petition, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said there were «reasons to believe on the basis of material in possession» that Kejriwal was «guilty of the offence of money laundering». «Sh Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of NCT of Delhi, is the kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi Excise Scam in collusion with Ministers of Delhi Govt, AAP leaders and other persons… Sh Arvind Kejriwal was directly involved in the formulation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.

Congress on Tuesday complained to the Election Commission against BJP's advertisement campaign, alleging it was maligning the opposition party through the use of cropped and distorted videos, and urged the poll body to take immediate action against the authors and issue instructions for recall. The Congress also filed a complaint against what it called the BJP's "malicious attempts" to link the Congress campaign to billionaire financier George Soros. AICC General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, «The party lodged a complaint against the BJP's repeated and malicious use of cropped and distorted videos to malign the INC. The ECI was requested to take immediate action against the authors of this low-level campaign, as well as issue instructions for its recall.» A delegation of party leaders comprising Salman Khurshid, Pawan Khera and Gurdeep Sappal on Tuesday met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum of their complaints to them.

Hemant Soren in the Dumka seat to contest against BJP nominee Sita Soren, Chief Minister Champai Soren on Tuesday said. “The party will take a call on this soon." Sita Soren is former three-term JMM MLA and elder-daughter-in-law of Shibu Soren. In a blow to the JMM, Sita joined the saffron party last month, alleging she and her family were neglected and isolated after her husband Durga Soren's demise in 2009.