Election Financial News

Vietnam's president has resigned as the ruling communist party in the latest episode of a “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign

Delhi court on Friday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till March 28, a day after his arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court said that Kejriwal will be produced before the court on March 28 at 2 p.m. During the proceedings, ED told a special PMLA court that Arvind Kejriwal is kingpin and key conspirator of Delhi liquor scam in collusion with his ministers, AAP leaders.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, a delegation of leaders of the INDIA bloc parties approached the Election Commission of India alleging «unrelenting, blatant and illegal deployment of Central Agencies» by the ruling BJP to stifle the opposition parties. In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the INDIA party leaders submitted a list of recent instances of central agencies targeting opposition parties and alleged an absence of a level playing field for the opposition. The leaders also suggested that the poll panel should change the heads of the probe agencies during the election to ensure a fair play. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, «We pointed out this is not a normal complaint, it is a larger issue of effecting, impairing, undermining, and sabotaging the basic structure of the Indian constitution.

Arvind Kejriwal and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha for their alleged involvement in the Delhi Excise Policy 'scam'. South group was a link that came up during both the arrests. The Enforcement Directorate had earlier claimed to have established a link between the South group, Kavitha and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while investigating the Delhi Excise Policy case.

ICRA said in a recent report. The report added that the sustenance of domestic leisure and business travel, and demand from meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) are likely to drive demand in FY25 despite a lull during the Lok Sabha elections. As things stand, India remains the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, his wife Sunita Kejriwal broke her silence for the first time and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying ‘this is arrogance of power’. Taking to X, she wrote, “Modiji got your thrice elected Chief Minister arrested out of arrogance of power. He is trying to crush everyone.

By Francois Murphy

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of behaving like a «tin-pot dictator,» and said the BJP-led Centre was arresting opposition leaders in its desperation to secure win in the upcoming elections. «The Prime Minister is behaving like a tin-pot dictator, arresting opponents, election agents, transferring state government officials… Changing rules in desperation to win seats… Why?» said O'Brien, who is in Delhi for a meeting of opposition INDIA bloc leaders with the Chief Election Commissioner, a day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. INDIA bloc parties are rallying behind Kejriwal, with the TMC making its first appearance with the opposition alliance partners since seat-sharing talks with Congress in West Bengal failed, and it announced going solo in the Lok Sabha polls. «The Director General of Police (DGP) West Bengal was changed thrice in 24 hours… Why wasn't the ED director changed?» the TMC Parliamentary Party leader in Rajya Sabha said.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party called off its alliance with Biju Janta Dal (BJD) in Odisha ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, announced the state BJP President Manmohan Samal on Friday. Samal said that the BJP will fight all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in Odisha alone.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released the fourth list of its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, focusing on Puducherry and Tamil Nadu seats. The 15-member list features P. Karthiyayini, a former prominent member of AIADMK who had shifted to BJP in 2017. Karthiyayini will be contesting in Lok Sabha elections from Chidambaram (SC) constituency in Tamil Nadu. Actor and politician Raadhika Sarathkumar will fight from Virudhnagar constituency of Tamil Nadu. Raadhika Sarathkumar is the wife of actor R Sarath Kumar, who had on March 12 merged his Akila Indiya Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) with the BJP.

Sunil Jakhar on Friday said a party delegation will approach the Election Commission and seek an ED probe into the state's excise policy, which he claimed was tailored in lines with the one in Delhi. «For the (Delhi) excise policy which Kejriwal had to see this day, the same model has been replicated by their government in Punjab,» Jakhar told reporters here. Kejriwal, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night in an excise policy-linked money laundering case in Delhi, triggering massive protests by party workers in the national capital and a few states. Jakhar said a high-powered delegation of BJP will go and meet authorities of the Election Commission on Saturday to demand a ED probe.

Lok Sabha elections, the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate is certainly going to change the electoral math as various opposition leaders are supporting Kejriwal openly. The AAP is part of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc of Opposition parties with a seat-sharing deal with the Congress in Delhi and a few other states but is contesting alone in Punjab. It has some presence in a few states such as Goa and Gujarat where it has campaigned on the ground in various previous elections and is trying to strengthen itself in Haryana.

West Bengal could also witness a scene similar to the national capital, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said on Friday, referring to the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Hitting back, the TMC said that such a statement reflected the «BJP's fear of losing» the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal, the national convenor of the AAP, was arrested by the ED on Thursday night in an excise policy-linked money laundering case. «Last month, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemmant Soren was arrested. Now, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested. It only shows that being a chief minister doesn't grant you any sort of impunity if you are involved in corruption. Similar allegations of corruption have emerged in West Bengal in recent years. So, the state could also witness similar scenes like New Delhi,» Majumdar said.

₹664 crore between April 2019 and January 2024. Electoral bond donors & beneficiaries: Revealing the links The second-biggest donor to BJP is Reliance-linked Qwik Supply Chain. As per the data available on EC's website, the Reliance-linked company donated ₹395 crore to the saffron party.

ANI. Rahul Gandhi will try to meet Arvind Kejriwal and his family on Friday, March 22, and provide legal help, sources informed ANI. The Delhi CM had filed a plea before the Delhi High Court on March 21 after being served nine summons to appear before the ED for a probe in the liquor policy case.

Congress high command on Thursday to contest from Jaipur in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Sunil Sharma asserted that the people of Jaipur are eager to bring change in the impending election. «Jaipur has not been able to secure its place among the top 25 clean cities in the country, which is quite painful. If Jaipur continues like this, it will not remain liveable, hence the people of Jaipur want a change. And I believe that this election will be an election of momentous change,» he told ANI. Sunil Sharma's name was announced by the grand old party in its third list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, including five from Rajasthan.

Mint in the week gone by. The Election Commission of India has released a new set of data based on political declarations on electoral bonds. Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has gifted his four-month-old grandson Ekagrah Rohan Murthy shares of the company worth ₹240 crore.

poll panel on Thursday issued a fresh set of transfer orders, moving out eight 'non-cadre' SPs/SSPs and five non-cadre district magistrates in Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal, besides the district police chiefs in Assam and Punjab. The latter are learnt to be the brothers of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress MP Khadoor Sahib Jasbir Singh Gill, who have been posted at Assam's Sonitpur and Punjab's Bhatinda, respectively. They have been moved out in view of their «kinship or familial association with the elected political representatives». The poll panel said in a statement on Thursday that the officials in these two districts have been transferred as «pre-emptive measures to dispel any apprehensions of the administration being biased or perceived to be compromised». Among others moved out are SPs of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts in Gujarat, SSPs of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural and Malerkotla districts in Punjab, DM of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts in Odisha and DM of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's arrest poses leadership question before the Aam Aadmi Party. Even as senior minister Atishi maintained that Kejriwal will continue to be the CM, unease within the party was evident. Pointing out that Kejriwal has not been convicted, Atishi said the fight will go on.

Karnataka's reservation policy for backward classes has come under the scanner with the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) red-flagging Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation given to Muslims on the basis of religion. NCBC has raised objections following a field visit in July 2023 and detailed examination of Karnataka's reservation policy for OBCs in educational institutions and government jobs. According to Karnataka government's reservation policy (based on the order issued in March 2002), backward classes are grouped as Category I, Category IIA, Category IIB, Category IIIA and Category IIIB and provided 32% reservation. The entire Muslim community is treated as socially and educationally backward under Category IIB. At the same time, the state government is providing reservation to 17 socially and educationally backward communities of Muslims under Category I and 19 communities under Category IIA. NCBC has flagged that if the entire Muslim community is provided reservation under Category IIB, why are certain communities being provided in the other two categories.

Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections within the ruling parties and the opposition camps to stitch together deals over seat sharing with allies. On Thursday, the BJP's efforts to finalise an alliance with the MNS also gained momentum with CM Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS president Raj Thackeray holding a meet for close to two hours in a suburban hotel where they discussed plans to rope in the MNS into the NDA fold. Shinde's meeting with Raj Thackeray is significant as the MNS is demanding three seats if the BJP and Shiv Sena wants it to be a part of the alliance but the seats being sought by the MNS are with the Shiv Sena (Shinde).