Election Financial News

India is expected to be fast-tracked now that the major hurdle of mandatory 30 days of Congressional notification is likely to pass without any objection from the lawmakers on Sunday, but for the routine procedural matters posed by the upcoming general elections. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress in February about the determination of the State Department of a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion. The 31 MQ9-B SkyGuardian Drones itself cost USD 1.70 billion, while the rest of the services including technology and equipment are estimated to cost USD 2.29 billion. In addition to 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian Aircraft, the proposed deal includes 161 Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs), 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suite. «This sale is necessary in furtherance of the US foreign policy and national security objectives,» the notification said.

Shehbaz Sharif will take oath as 24th prime minister of Pakistan on Monday, reported ARY News citing sources. President Arif Alvi will administer the oath to Shehbaz Sharif in a ceremony held at the President's residence at 3 pm tomorrow, the report added. Army Chief General Asim Munir, caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, Chief Ministers, and governors of all provinces, are likely to participate in the oath-taking ceremony.

Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday mistakenly called himself «leader of the opposition» in his victory speech in the National Assembly. Shehbaz, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for the prime minister's post, received 201 votes in the 336-member house. His challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured only 92 votes. In his victory speech, the 72-year-old PML-N president thanked his elder brother Nawaz and all the allies for putting their trust in him.

Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday rejected Rahul Gandhi's claim on the unemployment scenario, stating it would be better if the Congress leader studies about himself which would help him serve the society in a better way. Tomar was reacting to Gandhi's claim that India's youth unemployment rate was even higher than in countries like Pakistan. «I think if he studies much about himself and human beings, he can help the society in a better way,» Tomar told reporters while rejecting the joblessness claim made by Gandhi. Tomar, a former Union minister, hailed the selection of candidates by the BJP, a day after the party released the first list of 195 nominees for the Lok Sabha elections.

new government in May 2024. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the dates of Lok Sabha elections 2024 anytime now and the polls are expected in April-May this year. The blueprint for the Viksit Bharat vision was formulated following an exhaustive two-year-long preparation phase, characterized by extensive consultations among ministries, state governments, academia, industry bodies, civil society, and scientific organizations.

BJP candidates list 2024: With an ambitious target of winning 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) took the first step on Saturday as it released its first list of candidates on 195 Lok Sabha seats across 16 states. Most of the names in the first list were along the expected lines, but some notable exclusions point towards a loud message from the BJP-hate speeches will not be tolerated.

Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian seeking to set aside and declare as illegal the elections held by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The petition by the wrestlers, who were at the forefront of last year's protest at Jantar Mantar here demanding the arrest of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for the alleged sexual harassment of seven women grapplers, is listed for hearing before Justice Sachin Datta. The plea contended that the WFI elections, held on December 21, were in blatant violation of Sports Code and sought a direction to the federation to «cease and desist» from undertaking any activity pertaining to the sport of wrestling. «The present Writ Petition is being filed by the Petitioners inter alia assailing, challenging, and seeking directions against the illegal action of the suspended Wrestling Federation of India conducting selection trials for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 and Asian Olympic Games Qualifier Wrestling Tournament notified through its circular Dt. 26.02.2024 against the directives of the Ad-Hoc Committee for Wrestling Federation of India,» the petition said.

Odisha MLA Arabinda Dhali on Sunday joined the BJP, a day after resigning from the ruling BJD. Dhali went to the BJP office in Bhubaneswar along with his supporters in a procession, and formally joined the party in the presence of its state president Manmohan Samal and MP Aparajita Sarangi, among others. Former MLA Mukunda Sodi, who also resigned from the BJD, joined the BJP along with Dhali. Addressing the press, Dhali alleged that there was no democracy within the BJD and senior leaders were being neglected.

Jairam Ramesh on Sunday used the "washing machine" analogy to target the leaders who have quit the Grand Old Party and joined the ruling BJP, a remark coming amid allegations that the turncoats get protection in pending cases. Ramesh also said Rahul Gandhi has talked about five «nyay» guarantees targeting farmers, youth, women, and labourers during the last 50 days of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. «The people who need a washing machine are leaving and going there (joining BJP). You count the Congress leaders who have left the party, be it the chief minister of Assam (Himanta Biswa Sarma)...all are the beneficiaries of this washing machine,» Ramesh told a press conference flanked by other leaders of Congress. Parties of the opposition INDIA bloc often use the «washing machine» analogy to suggest that leaders against whom corruption cases are pending come out «clean» after joining the saffron party.

National Assembly after being unanimously picked as the next prime minister of the ruling coalition of the PML(N), PPP and other small outfits, Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called out the 'global silence' on the prevailing situiation in Gaza while seeking a bipartisan resolution in the House advocating 'freedom' for Kashmiris and Palestinians, Dawn reported. «Let's all come together...and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,» PM-designate Shehbaz said in a 'victory speech' at the Assembly.

Narendra Modi today urged 'everyone' to donate money to the Bharatiya Janata Party to boost nation building by monetarily helping the efforts of the saffron party, which meanwhile is gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections. The call to donate money to BJP comes weeks after the Supreme Court banned electoral bond, which was introduced by the Modi government, and helped political parties raise money. These bonds, which allowed for anonymous donations, had become a key component of political funding, with some regional parties relying heavily on them for financial support. For the BJP, electoral bonds constitute more than half of its overall income, indicating their crucial role in sustaining political campaigns. The prime minister donated 2,000 rupees to the BJP party fund.

schedule for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG is likely to be changed depending on the Lok Sabha elections schedule, according to UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar. The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday announced that the exam would be conducted from May 15 to 31 and the results declared on June 30. India is gearing up for general elections to elect its 18th Lok Sabha, the schedule for which is likely to be announced this month. «The dates announced by the NTA are tentative. Once the election dates are announced, the NTA will finalise the CUET-UG dates. The tentative schedule is from May 15,» University Grants Commission (UGC) chief Kumar told PTI on Sunday.

fielding new faces on seven Lok Sabha seats in the first list of 15 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats of Rajasthan, the remaining sitting MPs are apprehensive about the feedback the party high command might have regarding their winnability. With winnability being the paramount factor for the party in order to secure all 25 seats in the upcoming elections, the fate of the remaining 10 incumbent MPs hangs in balance. In the first list announced on Saturday, the BJP retained eight sitting MPs and gave tickets to new faces on seven seats. Two of the seven seats were vacant after the sitting MPs won the 2023 assembly elections. Candidates for Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Alwar, Bharatpur, Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran have been declared in the first list while announcement of tickets for Ajmer, Bhilwara, Dausa, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Jaipur Rural, Jhunjhunu, Karauli-Dholpur, Rajsamand and Tonk-Sawai Madhopur is awaited.

Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced candidates for 51 seats. This declaration sheds light on the political landscape in the state, offering insights into the contest dynamics. The BJP's decision comes in the wake of its coalition partner, the Samajwadi Party (SP), revealing candidates for 31 seats, a significant move shaping the electoral narrative. However, the SP's initial decision to contest from Varanasi was later retracted due to an arrangement with the Congress regarding seat-sharing. Meanwhile, amidst fervent calls from party supporters urging the fielding of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Amethi and Raebareli constituencies, the Congress is yet to finalize its list of candidates.

₹2,000 to the party fund. Sharing a post on microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter), the prime minister wrote “I am happy to contribute to @BJP4India and strengthen our efforts to build a Viksit Bharat." I also urge everyone to be a part of #DonationForNationBuilding through the NaMoApp! https://nm-4.com/donation" the prime minister posted.

supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party have been arrested from different parts of Punjab province of Pakistan for staging rallies against alleged vote rigging, police said on Sunday. On the call of party founder Imran Khan, supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held protests across Pakistan on Saturday against the alle-ged «massive rigging» in the February 8 general elections. Most arrests took place in Lahore where newly elected Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz ordered a clamp down on the protesting PTI supporters.

BJP candidate list 2024: A day after the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) announced him as its candidate from the Asansol seat of West Bengal, Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh decided to drop out of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 due to personal reasons. The development is a big setback for the BJP especially in West Bengal, where they are going against the strong regional party Trinamool Congress (TMC).

BJP announced its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Overseas Friends of BJP in the US has kicked off its 2024 election campaign pledging to volunteer and contribute towards the goal of winning 400 seats in the elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its first list of 195 candidates out of which 51 are from Uttar Pradesh, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi. «The Indian Diaspora is going to support the BJP in India,» Adapa Prasad, president of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) USA told PTI after the conclusion of the kick-off event on Saturday in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC. The event was attended by about 100 core members of the OFBJP.

Pawan Singh, BJP's pick from Bengal's Asansol Lok Sabha seat, says he won't contest Lok Sabha polls. BJP had announced Pawan's name for Asansol Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal.

Haryana chief Sushil Gupta on Sunday exuded confidence that the AAP-Congress combine will win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. People want change both at the Centre and in Haryana, he claimed. The AAP and the Congress are constituents of the INDIA bloc formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The two parties announced their seat-sharing arrangement for Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana a week ago. As part of the arrangement, the AAP has fielded Gupta from Kurukshetra while the Congress will contest the remaining nine seats in Haryana.

BJP candidate list Lok Sabha 2024 LIVE In a post on X, Pawan Singh wrote, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from Asansol but due to some reason I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol." In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, singer Babul Supriyo clinched victory in this seat on a BJP ticket by defeating TMC's Moon Moon Sen. However, two years later, Supriyo resigned from the seat and joined the TMC.