Saturday, April 27th, 2019
Congress may not renominate Manmohan Singh to Rajya Sabha from Assam
With the Lok Sabha election under way, lobbying has begun within Assam’s ruling alliance for two Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant on June 14. The seats are held by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Santiuse Kujur, whose six-year terms end in mid-June. Congress insiders said the party had decided not to field Singh for a seat he was almost certain to lose. The numbers A candidate needs 43 votes to win one Rajya Sabha seat from Assam, and 86 votes are needed for both. The ruling allianceRead More
Opposition alliance will fail in its mission, says PM Modi at Kannauj and Hardoi rallies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh, saying the coalition of “opportunists” wanted a weak government because its mantra was “jaat, paat japna; janata ka maal apna” (talk about caste while looting people’s money). He was addressing election rallies in Kannauj, a Samajwadi Party stronghold, and Hardoi, a day after filing his nomination from Varanasi for a second term. Caste and the alliance Calling the alliance “mahamilavati” (adulterated), Modi said in Kannauj that he did not believe in caste politics and thanked his criticsRead More
Urmila Matondkar gives Congress hope in BJP stronghold of Mumbai North
The Congress had reportedly struggled to find a candidate to take on sitting BJP MP Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North, but the entry of actor Urmila Matondkar has turned the seat into something resembling a real contest. The constituency votes on April 29. A BJP stronghold Mumbai North is one of the BJP’s strongest seats in Maharashtra. In 2014, Shetty, a former corporator and several-time MLA, defeated former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam by 4.46 lakh votes, one of the widest margins in the country. Shetty polled 6.64 lakh votesRead More
Gurdaspur sees a rare contest between two outsiders: Sunny Deol and Sunil Jakhar
For the first time in recent memory, the direct contest in Punjab’s Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency is between two candidates who are both from outside the seat. The two candidates Congress candidate and Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar belongs to Abohar in Fazilka, which falls in the Ferozepur parliamentary constituency. The BJP’s candidate, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, has a Punjab link only through his roots: his father Dharmendra hails from Sahnewal in Ludhiana district. Jakhar won the seat in the 2017 by-election held after the death of actor-politician Vinod Khanna,Read More
Congress asks Election Commission to bar Kejriwal from campaigning
The Congress on Friday asked the Election Commission to stop Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from campaigning, alleging that he had made “communal and provocative” statements. The complaint A delegation led by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit met Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer, Ranbir Singh, and sought strong action against Kejriwal, including a ban on his taking part in the campaign. In its memorandum, the Congress said that at a press conference Kejriwal had asked Muslims not to vote for the Congress because it was not getting a single Hindu vote.Read More