President Financial News

Union Minister Shripad Naik will contest from North Goa Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket for the sixth time in a row. Naik, who is Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has been MP since 1999 from the seat, formerly called Panaji Lok Sabha between 1971 and 2004.

Scindia who lost the Guna seat in Madhya Pradesh back in 2019 has been granted another chance by the BJP as his name was listed in the first list of the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In a significant shift from its historical loyalty, the Guna Lok Sabha seat, which has been traditionally represented by the Scindias since 1957, saw Jyotiraditya Scindia being defeated by BJP's KP Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. This loss had a profound impact on Scindia, as it marked a departure from the long-standing support of the people of Guna towards the Scindia family. Speaking on being given a chance to contest for BJP from Guna, the Minister said «It is a great privilege for me that the top leadership of @BJP4India has given me the opportunity to serve the sisters and brothers of Guna. For this trust, I heartily thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji and National President Shri @JPNadda ji. I hope and believe that my God-like people of Guna will give me their blessings. I will do my best to live up to their expectations in every way. Once again Modi government!»

195 candidates released on March 2 came from the national capital. The saffron party has fielded four new faces among five candidates for the seven seats in Delhi. The first list did not feature names of sitting members of parliament such as Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi (New Delhi), former Union Minister Harsh Vardhan (Chandni Chowk), Ramesh Bidhuri (South Delhi, Pravesh Vema (West Delhi).

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become a «speed breaker» for the «rapidly-growing» economy under the UPA. In a post on X, he also claimed that while the Congress gave a boost to development by empowering the poor, the prime minister is «hollowing out» the country for the benefit of his «few friends». «Narendra Modi has become a 'speed breaker' for the rapidly growing Indian economy under the UPA government,» Gandhi said in his post in Hindi.

Lok Sabha polls which mentioned top leaders of the saffron party such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and others. Announcing the list, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde said the party is confident that it would form the government for the third term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a much bigger mandate. Here are BJP's top contenders and their seats from the first list:

defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remarks targeting Home Minister Amit Shah was postponed to March 13 after the Congress leader's counsel sought more time saying he was busy with the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Gandhi had appeared in the special MP-MLA court on February 20 and was granted bail. The court had then fixed March 2 for the next hearing. But on Saturday his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla sought more time from the court. «I have got information that Rahul Gandhi is busy in Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Hence, I submitted an application in the court, on which the court has fixed the next hearing for March 13,» Shukla said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party will provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers legally if it came to power at the Centre. He was speaking at a public meeting in Morena after his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Madhya Pradesh from Rajasthan.

requested BJP President JP Nadda to relieve him of his political duties so that he can focus on his upcoming cricket commitments. In a tweet on X, Gautam Gambhir said, “I have requested Hon'ble party president JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi ji and Home Minister Amit Shah ji for giving me the opportunity to serve the people.

Narendra Modi on Saturday held a brief meeting with West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and discussed with them various issues concerning the state. The meeting lasted for around 16 minutes. «Met Mr Suvendu Adhikari and Sukanta Majumdar. We discussed how to further spread our good governance programs among the common people. I commend the courage, passion and tenacious struggle of all the @BJP4Bengal workers who are fighting against the misrule of the Trinamool Congress. Together we will build a better future for West Bengal. @SuvenduWB @DrSukantaBJP » Modi posted on X. Later, while speaking to reporters, Majumdar said they raised several issues related to corruption, various scams and law and order in the state.

RJD on Saturday hailed the disqualification of six Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh who had recently crossed over to the BJP and expressed hope that similar action will be taken against turncoats in Bihar. RJD national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, whose party has lost five of its MLAs to the state's ruling NDA, made a statement to the effect at a press conference. «The defectors do not make up for two-thirds of the party's total strength in the Bihar Assembly. Their membership of the House, hence, cannot be sustained,» asserted the RJD leader, whose party had 79 MLAs until legislators began walking over to the ruling side in phases. «Turncoats in Himachal Pradesh have been disqualified on the grounds that exist in Bihar too. We urge the Speaker here to take note and take appropriate action. If he does not, we will take legal recourse,» Jha said.

AAP on Saturday accused the BJP of fielding candidates without considering their eligibility or commitment to work for the people, citing the saffron party's East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir's request to relieve him of political duties. Gambhir, the BJP's Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi, has requested party chief JP Nadda to relieve him of his political duties so that he can focus on his upcoming cricket commitments. Addressing a press conference with Kuldeep Kumar — the AAP's candidate from East Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls — senior party leader Atishi claimed that Gambhir's request «revealed» that the BJP was not fielding him in this year's elections. Atishi, a Delhi minister, alleged that Gambhir did nothing in his East Delhi constituency during his five-year term.

BJP) MP Jayant Sinha on Saturday expressed his desire to withdraw from contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He requested party president JP Nadda to relieve him of his electoral duties. In a post on platform X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, «I have requested Hon’ble Party President Shri @JPNadda ji to relieve me of my direct electoral duties so that I can focus my efforts on combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world. Of course, I will continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues.» «I have had the privilege of serving the people of Bharat and Hazaribagh for the past ten years. Moreover, I have been blessed by the many opportunities provided by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Hon’ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji, and the BJP leadership. My sincerest gratitude to all of them. Jai Hind,» the post further said.

UN convoy attacked by Israeli forces while entering Gaza strip “In the coming days we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies" and will "seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor," Biden said. The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way.

Imran Khan's party on Saturday named the Pashtun-khwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as their presidential candidate against Asif Ali Zardari, the joint nominee of the PML-N and the PPP. Achakzai, 75, was nominated for the post against the Pakistan Peoples Party's senior leader and former president Asif Ali Zardari, Geo News reported. Zardari, 68, is a joint candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other political parties part of the coalition set to form a government in the Centre.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The White House on Friday said the U.S. government was taking seriously an internal watchdog report that the U.S. ambassador to Singapore threatened his staff and failed to submit about $48,000 in travel expenses on time or with proper documentation.

2024 Lok Sabha elections Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajasthan unit president CP Joshi has announced the formation of a new state team, bringing about significant changes. Late on Friday night, the list of new state officials of the party was released. It includes 10 state vice-presidents, 5 state secretaries, 13 state ministers, one treasurer, and one assistant treasurer. MLA Baba Balak Nath and recently elected Rajya Sabha MP Chunnilal Garasia have been appointed as state vice-presidents of Alwar and Udaipur respectively.

Bill Gates has arrived in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to attend the three-day pre-wedding festivities of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant Ambani, and the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant, Radhika Merchant. In a conversation with the Times of India, the co-founder of Microsoft expressed that India's plentiful talent pool is evidence that the educational investments made in previous years are “really paying off". Gates said that it was his first Indian wedding.“I’m starting at the top (laughs).

By Kylie Madry and Maximilian Heath

Nitin Gadkari has taken legal action against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh for allegedly spreading misleading and defamatory information about him. Gadkari's lawyer, Balendu Shekhar, expressed shock over the contents and posts shared by the official Congress handle on a microblogging site. The legal notices were issued in response to a 19-second video clip of an interview Gadkari gave to "The Lallantop" web portal. According to Shekhar, the Congress intentionally shared the video clip out of context to create confusion and damage Gadkari's reputation.

BJP President K Annamalai contesting Lok Sabha polls 2024, he said that he will let the party decide. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Annamalai said, "My duty is to obey and implement whatever our senior national leadership decides. I don't have any prejudices, likes and dislikes in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)." He further emphasized that it is upto the party to decide whom to field in the state and cited that even a booth president may be fielded in the Lok Sabha polls.

President Joe Biden announced the initiation of US airdrops of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, stating that they will commence «very soon,» CNN reported. The decision comes in the wake of Biden's commitment to airdrop food aid to the people of Gaza, with a determination to deploy every available resource to ensure additional supplies reach the region.