Election Financial News

Trump administration has raised concerns over the revival of the anti-immigration agenda in the US, even as the tech industry is already ringing alarm bells about the H-1B visa fee hikes. The unprecedented fee hikes are likely to be implemented from 2025. Next year, the H-1B visa registration fees are to increase 2,050% from $10 to $215, while the application fee will increase 70% from $460 to $780. Initial registrations for the fiscal 2025 H-1B cap began March 6 and will continue till March 22.

Aam Aadmi Party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will launch the Lok Sabha poll campaign of the party here on Friday. The two will launch the campaign in presence of other leaders and workers of AAP from the party headquarters on DDU Marg at noon, a party member said. The AAP will fight the general election in collaboration with INDIA bloc partner Congress under a seat-sharing arrangement it has struck with it in Delhi, Gujarat, and Haryana. In Punjab, however, both parties have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls independently.

₹100 in view of International Women's Day. "By making cooking gas more affordable, we also aim to support the well-being of families and ensure a healthier environment. This is in line with our commitment to empowering women and ensuring ‘Ease of Living’ for them," PM Modi wrote on the X platfrom.

Indra Sena Reddy Nallu on Thursday administered the oath of office and secrecy to the two new ministers — Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma, both from Tipra Motha Party (TMP) in Raj Bhavan. Six days after signing of a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government, the opposition and the tribal-based TMP decided to join the BJP-led coalition government. TMP legislator Animesh Debbarma, who was the opposition leader before becoming a cabinet minister, and lawyer turned politician Brishaketu Debbarma, took oath as minister of state and both are the new entrants in the council of ministers in Tripura.

Asif Ali Zardari is set to be elected as the next President of Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that there will be strong coordination between them, according to ARY News. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman and former Pakistan President Asif Zardari will be the candidate of the allied parties in the presidential election on March 9, Sharif said while speaking at a dinner hosted in honour of the allied parties' leaders.

Konyak Union (KU) of Nagaland declared ‘public emergency’ due to Centre’s delay in settling its offer for creation of ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’. In line with the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization (ENPO) declaration of “public emergency” KU) and Tikhir Tribal Council (TTC) have declared ‘public emergency’ in their respective jurisdictions with immediate effect. In separate statements, KU president Tingthok Konyak and general secretary Manpang K Wangyen and TTC president P. Timong and general secretary James Tikhir declared strict implementation of the February 23, 2024 ‘Chenmoho Resolution’, which mandated the abstention from participation in any central or state elections because of the delay to settle the offer for creation of FNT by Government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress' Rahul Gandhi on Thursday announced five «guarantees», as part of its pre-poll promises ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. These guarantees focussed on job creation for the unemployed youth, and included a vow to immediately fill up 30 lakh vacancies for permanent jobs in the central government if Congress is voted to power. «We have counted that there are 30 lakh government vacancies. Modiji and BJP won't fill these up.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for felicitations on his election to the top political office in the country. «Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,» Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which has been placed under suspension by the Centre, told the Delhi High Court on Thursday it will withdraw its circular on conducting selection trials for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 and Asian Olympic Games Qualifier Wrestling Tournament. Taking note of the statement made by WFI's counsel, Justice Sachin Datta said the trials shall proceed as per the circular issued by the ad-hoc committee supervising the affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India. The ad-hoc committee of the WFI had issued a press release on February 9 saying it will hold the trials for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers (April 19-21) and World Olympic Qualifiers (May 9-12) on March 10 and 11 at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala and Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex in Sonipat.

alcohol-related deaths, including 77 women, have been reported in Mizoram during the past ten months since April last year, state Health Minister Lalrinpuii informed the state assembly The Minister while replying to a query of ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) MLA Jeje Lalpekhlua, said that 361 men and 77 women died due to alcohol related issues in between April last year and January this year. The previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government, as part of its election promises promulgated the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019 to curb the misuse of alcohol and drugs.

BJD and TDP walking into the NDA fold close on the heels of JDU and RLD, the old BJP-led grouping in the Atal-Advani era is again taking shape as many of the erstwhile allies are set to be back. However, unlike the NDA-I government that was stitched together with the help of 24 parties and survival was at their mercy, BJP now needs these partners to meet its ambitious target of 400 plus seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Though BJP had got a clear majority in 2014 general elections with 182 seats, it followed the coalition dharma and inducted members from its alliance parties like SAD, TDP, and Shiv Sena. But within months it became clear that the these NDA partners had little say Modi government and fissures appeared in the Assembly elections between BJP and its allies in various states. The post of NDA convenor had stayed with JDU for many years and Sharad Yadav had played this role after George Fernandes. However, with Nitish Kumar snapping ties with BJP in 2013, the post fell vacant and the saffron party filled in whenever any coordination had to be done. TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu made a feeble attempt to don the convenor’s hat but was subtly eased out by the BJP.

NEW DELHI : The Union cabinet on Thursday approved the extension of the ₹300-subsidy on cooking gas cylinders for beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme for the next financial year (FY25). The subsidy was to end this fiscal year. The extension would lead to an outgo of ₹12,000 crore for the government.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi at the party headquarters in Delhi. Sources told news agency ANI that the states such as Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, and Manipur will be put for discussion during the meeting. "Discussion can likely take place on a total of 60 seats among these states," they were quoted as saying.

NEW DELHI : The Union cabinet has approved releasing additional dearness allowance and dearness relief to central government employees and pensioners effective 1 January to soften the impact of inflation, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said at a briefing on Thursday. The additional payment represents an increase of 4 percentage points over the existing rate of 46% of the basic pay or pension, the minister said.

Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for felicitations on his re-election to the top political position in the country. Taking to microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) the Pakistan prime minister said," "Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan." Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Shehbaz on taking oath as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan. "Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan," Modi posted on X.

Leading British economic think tanks are warning that whoever wins the country’s general election this year will face some very tough choices on tax and spending if they want to make sure the public finances don’t deteriorate further

President Joe Biden is going into his third State of the Union address with an expanded plan to raise corporate taxes

Melania Trump skipped her husband Donald Trump’s Super Tuesday celebration at Mar-a-Lago, rumors are doing the rounds on the marital issues of the former US President. It has also raised questions that may harm the GOP leader politically if he gets the nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election.

Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday warned All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal that he would be arrested if found flouting the law and continuing with Magical practices. State assembly recently passed Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024 in assembly that bans non-scientific healing practices in the state. Sarma said, “If he (Badruddin Ajmal) will do healing practices, he will be arrested. What I will say, will happen. I am not speaking about myself, I am speaking about the Assembly,” Sarma said.

Previous Elections and Current Scenario: In 2014, BJP secured seven out of the 14 seats, a number that increased to nine in 2019, marking their highest tally. The upcoming 2024 elections are pivotal, with BJP aiming to further bolster its seat count, while Congress is determined to stage a significant comeback. The elections are anticipated to be hotly contested, reflecting the shifting political landscape in Assam.

General Elections, Congress leader Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of veteran leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, K Karunakaran, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Thursday. «I am so happy. For the first time, I am changing my party as I was not happy with Congress for so many years. I had complained to the party high command but there was no response. I even came to see the leadership but they didn't see me...I have great respect for Sonia Gandhi but she never gave me time,» Padmaja said after joining the saffron party. Venugopal joined the BJP in the presence of its Kerala in-charge and former Union minister Prakash Javadekar and other senior leaders.