LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh, the political heartland of India, will witness voting in 14 seats in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20, with the fate of five Union ministers at stake. The 14 seats which will vote in the upcoming phase comprise not only the Congress citadels of Rae Bareli and Amethi but also Ayodhya, the nerve centre of the BJPs Hindutva plank. In fact, the fifth phase will decide the tone and tenor of the remaining sixth and seventh phases of the ensuing election whic

LUCKNOW: Claiming that the opposition alliance, especially the Congress, had the intention of reversing the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that if they come to power they would get the temple bulldozed. Addressing a poll rally in Zaidpur in Barabanki on Friday, PM Modi advised the INDIA bloc to learn from CM Yogi Adityanath where to run bulldozers. A senior SP leader had said on Ram Navami that the Ram temple is useless. At the same time, the Congress

ANANTAPUR: Videos of police personnel destroying CCTV cameras and furniture at the residence of YSRC party's Tadipatri MLA Ketireddy Pedda Reddy has surfaced on Friday, creating a fresh row as a sequel to the election-related violence in Andhra Pradesh. As soon as the videos emerged, the YSRC held the police responsible for the post-poll violence that erupted in the politically sensitive Tadipatri. The videos were dated May 15, two days after the state went to polls on May 13. According to polic

India's fiscal policy seems to have the virtues of both a Swabian housewife and the Japanese Mrs Watanabe. If the government's fiscal prudence, even in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic, is symptomatic of Southern Germany's Swabian housewives known for their pragmatic ways of handling money, the decisive increase in capital expenditure over the past five years illustrates the financial acuity of Mrs Watanabe -- an archetypal housewife, who raked in substantial profits from currency tradin

RAEBARELI: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that she is giving her son to the people of Rae Bareli and Rahul will not disappoint you. She also thanked the people for giving her an opportunity to serve them as an MP for 20 years. My everything is all given by you. So, brothers and sisters, I am giving you my son. You consider me yours, she said. Striking an emotional chord with the voters, Sonia asked the people to consider Rahul Gandhi too as their own. Rahul for Rae Bareli in Gandhi

HAMIRPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the SP and the Congress will use people's votes to come to power and then gift a part of their property to those who carry out vote jihad for them. Addressing a rally here, Modi cautioned people against the intentions of the two opposition allies in Uttar Pradesh. Today I have come to caution you against the SP and the Congress. They take your vote, but after coming to power, they will distribute these gifts to those who do vote jihad fo

LS polls: Lord Ram on my side, says SP candidate in Ayodhya fight

'Dictatorship' going on in country is unacceptable: Kejriwal

PM must explain why his govt scrapped Backward Region Grant Fund: Cong

LUCKNOW: Addressing the media ahead of a press meet in Lucknow on Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated that if the BJP won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Yogi Adityanath would be removed from the post of UP CM within two months. He claimed this would be done to pave the way for Amit Shahs coronation to replace PM Narendra Modi once he turned 75 on September 17, 2025, bidding adieu to active politics as per a norm in the BJP that he himself had set in 2014. They (BJP and Modi) hav

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad is leaving nothing to chance to brighten the prospects of his daughter Rohini Acharya contesting Lok Sabha polls from the high-profile Saran constituency. Saran will go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20. Lalu, who is arguably one of the countrys best political survivors battling fodder scam cases and lately his kidney ailment, is truly once again in his element as he is camping in Chhapra, the district headquarters, despite hot and humi

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India on Thursday put the cumulative turnout in the four phases of Lok Sabha elections at 66.95%. The poll panel in a statement said that the updated voter turnout in the fourth phase on May 13 was 69.16%, which was 3.65% higher than the corresponding phase in the 2019 general elections. This is the only phase where the turnout graph went up. In the third phase, the updated turnout was 65.68%, about 3% lower than 2019s data of 68.40%. Likewise, the second ph

VIJAYAWADA: The rise in participation of women in the polling process is driven by the YSRC prioritising their welfare across social and economic domains, said party Vijayawada president and Central MLA Malladi Vishnu. Appreciating women for participating in the polling process in large numbers, he noted that the significant role played by women will bring the party back to power. He asserted that women waiting in queues till late hours to exercise their franchise underscored their strong suppor

NEW DELHI: Social media ads, posts on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter), videos and podcasts on YouTube, and messages and memes on WhatsAppits a digital age, and so is election campaigning. But what remains unchanged is the tradition of releasing manifestos and debates, and the politics around it. However, according to experts, a close look at recent manifestoes suggests a shift towards more leader-centric campaigns over party-centric ones. Animesh Mishra, a doctorate candidate studyi

VIJAYAWADA: Exuding confidence that the YSRC will win more seats than it did in 2019, party president and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said the entire country will look at Andhra Pradesh because of YSRCs landslide victory. During his meeting with the representatives of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), he dismissed Prashant Kishors prediction that the YSRC will lose big this time and quipped, The numbers would be far greater than what Prashant could have ever dreamt o

CUTTACK (PANCHAPADA): Deprived of government benefits, over 850 tribal voters of Panchapada-Dholakatha, Nuakua, Behenta Sahi, Dahani Gadi and Pitha Khia under Banki Assembly segment have threatened to boycott the elections. At least 340 tribal families, including 85 in Dholakatha, 18 in Nuakua, 55 in Behenta Sahi, 90 in Dahani Gadi and 92 in Pitha Khia reside in the five villages which is collectively called Panchapada situated in a 7-km radius within the jurisdiction of the Chandaka-Dampara wil

BHUBANESWAR: Fourty-four percent of the candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls in the third phase in Odisha are crorepatis and 28 percent of them have criminal records. The average assets per candidate in the round is Rs 11.8 crore. Simultaneous Assembly and General Elections will be held in six Parliamentary constituencies and 42 Assembly segments in the third phase on May 25. A total of 64 candidates, including nine women, are in the fray from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri

NEW DELHI: Once considered a bastion of the affluent, represented by popular leaders like Madan Lal Khurana and Sushma Swaraj, South Delhi transformed the 2008 delimitation exercise. Affluent colonies such as Greater Kailash, Hauz Khas, and RK Puram were redefined, leaving behind a constituency marked by urban villages and slums. Today, the constituencys voting segments predominantly comprise urban villages, slums and resettlement colonies, setting the stage for intense caste politics in the nat

NEW DELHI: In 2011, Ramlila ground saw a watershed moment in Indias polity which led to the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party and the decline of Congress. A decade later, in a turn of events, the same spot will witness a poll solidarity between two top leaders of both parties. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be sharing a stage with foe-turned-friend AAPs supremo, Arvind Kejriwal, at Ramlila Maidan in an election campaign to seek votes for its candidates. The event is scheduled for Saturday at 5 pm.

LUCKNOW: In a whirlwind election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on the Opposition bloc on multiple issues, ranging from appeasement politics, pseudo-secularism, dynastic politics, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and vote jihad, while addressing four poll rallies in Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Bhadohi, and Pratapgarh in UP on Thursday. Unleashing a blistering attack on the opposition alliance in Bhadohi, the carpet hub of UP, the PM accused the INDI Alliance partn

RAE BARELI: It is 12:45 pm and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadras nukkad sabha at Rae Barelis Chaudah roundabout is already running behind schedule. However, the swelling crowd is unmindful of the harsh sun and patiently waits for the leader. As Priyanka Gandhis car makes its way through the crowd, posters with Rahul for Rae Bareli written on them go up in the air amid slogans. On the stage, Priyanka speaks about how the Nehru-Gandhi family nurtured Rae Bareli for decades and the failure of

SRINAGAR: Amid the ongoing agitation over statehood and 6th Schedule status, there is a triangular contest between BJP, Congress and an independent candidate for the Lok Sabha seat in the cold desert of Ladakh that votes in the 5th phase on May 20. Only three candidates BJPs Tashi Gyalson, Congress Tsering Namgyal and an independent candidate Haji Hanifa Jan, who belongs to the National Conference are in the fray for the Ladakh seat, the largest in the country with a total area of 173.266 sq k

MUMBAI: The biggest test in the fifth and final phase in Maharashtra on May 20 is of Uddhav Thackeray. The results would tell which Sena is real Uddhavs or CM Eknath Shindes. Voting is due in 13 constituencies Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, Mumbai South. As many as 264 candidates from different parties are in the fray. There are 2,46,69,544 voters (male: 31,38,526, female: 1

The post-poll violence in Andhra Pradesh appears to have caught the police off-guard. Though security arrangements were made keeping in view the highly inflammable political environment, the fact that violence erupted in several places not only on polling day but also continued the next day points at a clear failure. Thus far, at least 300 people have been detained and dozens arrested in connection with the ugly incidents that unfolded in the Palnadu region, Tirupati, Tadipatri and other places.

SRINAGAR: Heads turned when former Jammu and Kashmir CM chief and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah chose Baramulla over his comfort zone Srinagar. Omar, 53, is pitted against Peoples Conference (PC) chairman Sajad Gani Lone, who has the backing of the BJP. Baramulla is a stronghold of the National Conference but Omar or his father Farooq Abdullah has never contested from here. The Abdullahs have always preferred Srinagar, given their partys hold in central Kashmir. Since 197

If there is one striking difference between the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, its the lack of a wave - be it a Modi wave, NDA wave, INDIA wave or even a Mandir wave. With the hyper-nationalist fervour in 2019 after the Pulwama blasts and Balakot air strikes, several voters clearly stated that the BJP candidate didn't matter and that their vote for the party was essentially one for Modi. This time, in the absence of a national narrative, local candidates and local issues are playing a role i

VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that the YSRC will win more seats than in the 2019 elections, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said the entire country would stand up and take note of Andhra Pradesh because of the landslide victory that the party would achieve. Jagan Mohan Reddy met with representatives of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) where he also countered the claims of political strategist Prashant Kishor that the YSRC is going to lose big. Mincing no words that the manda

NEW DELHI: The release of the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Emergency has been postponed amid the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, the makers have announced. Ranaut, the lead actor, writer, director, and producer on Emergency, has been fielded by the BJP for the Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh in the polls. The state will vote in the last phase on June 1. Manikarnika Films Production, the studio behind the upcoming political drama, shared the update on its official X page on Wednesday evening. Our h

PM 'failed' India's daughters: Cong jabs Modi ahead of UP rallies

BHUBANESWAR: Voting from home for the elderly and persons with disabilities started in all the Assembly constituencies of Khurda district on Wednesday. The seats will go to polls in the third phase on May 25. As per officials, 1,704 PwDs and senior citizens aged 85 and above (categorised as very senior citizens) across eight Assembly constituencies have opted for voting from home. While 1,218 are aged above 85, 482 are PwDs. The constituencies under Khurda district are Jayadev, Bhubaneswar Centr

BALASORE: A massive change is awaiting Odisha as people are in favour of the BJP to form a government, asserted Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla here on Wednesday. Addressing a meeting on Viksit Odisha and Viksit Bharat in Balasore, Birla said once a double-engine government is formed, there would be no obstruction on the way of development. He said people of Odisha will no more put up with the Biju Janata Dal governments misrule and are ready to bring a change. The senior BJP leader said people ha

CUTTACK/BERHAMPUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday made two big promises to the people if the BJP government is elected in the state. The first would be opening all the four doors of Shree Jagannath temple at Puri for devotees within six hours of the party chief minister taking oath and the second ensuring that all the people who fell victim to the chit fund scam get back their lost deposits within one-and-a-half years. Speaking to mediapersons during his massive roadshow in Cuttack i

NEW DELHI: May 15 marked a new day in the political discourse of the national capital, as AAPs national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a roadshow in support of Congress candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Bitter rivals AAP and Congress, both members of the opposition INDIA bloc allies, are in a poll alliance in Delhi with a 4:3 seat-sharing agreement. They are also fighting together in Haryana and Gujarat. At Model Town, an assembly segment of Chandni Chowk, where for

BHUBANESWAR/BALANGIR: Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cautioned people of the state on BJPs attempts to amend the Constitution of India and end reservation. BJP wants to destroy Constitution, scrap reservation: Rahul Gandhi BJP leaders are stating they will amend the Constitution. But I want to tell the BJP leaders that no force in the world can touch this book (Constitution). If you try to tear and throw away this book, watch what the people of the country and Congress party

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address rallies in three Delhi constituencies viz. North East Delhi, Chandni Chowk, and East Delhi on May 18, BJPs northeast Delhi candidate Manoj Tiwari said on Wednesday. I am delighted to inform you that on May 18, evening around 4 pm, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to our constituency and address a mass gathering, Tiwari said. He said it is the first time any prime minister will be visiting the North East Delhi constituency. Lets all come

BHUBANESWAR/ROURKELA: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik embarked on a vigorous campaign on Wednesday to bolster the electoral prospects of BJDs organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, who is contesting against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat. He urged people to vote for Jodi Sankha (two conches). Addressing a series of election meetings in Deogarh, Chhendipada, and Athamallik, Patnaik drew massive crowds with his speeches. Taking aim at the BJP-led Centre, he

NEW DELHI: Established after partition as a colony for refugees from Pakistan, Patel Nagar has developed into a posh residential locality with clean, tree-lined streets and parks. The area is also well connected by metro, with three stations on the Blue Line located in and around Patel Nagar. Residents in these colonies have little to complain about, with the exception of occasional traffic congestion, parking troubles, and mushrooming PGs and hostels. However, the situation is entirely differen

NEW DELHI: More than 1.8 crore young voters in the 18- and 19-year-old bracket are eligible to vote in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. They constitute about 1.89 percent of the total voters registered in the country, according to the Election Commission data. Young people who turned 18 on January 1 qualified to be registered as voters. The number of first-time voters has seen a rise of approximately 30 lakh in comparison to the previous Lok Sabha polls held in 2019. The threshold for exercising

ROURKELA: Congress candidate for Rourkela Birendra Nath Patnaik faces an uphill battle as the contest heats up between BJP heavyweight Dilip Ray and BJD minister Sarada Prasad Nayak. Despite the glaring disparity in the race, with the Congress far behind the BJP and BJD, Patnaik remains undeterred in his efforts to make a mark in the prestigious Assembly constituency. The Congress struggles to regain lost ground as internal strife and desertions have left the party wounded. Factionalism and defe

SAMBALPUR: People who have looted Odisha for 25 years and conspiring to sideline the leaders of the soil, are the one shedding crocodile tears, said Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan during his campaign at Kuchinda on Wednesday. Pradhan said that the people of Odisha will root out BJD from the state in this election. The Union minister on Wednesday campaigned in many places of Kuchinda constituency including Bhojpur, Kusumi, Gochara, Keseibahal, Bamra

BHUBANESWAR: A mason with support of his family members - most of whom are daily wagers - has entered the poll fray for the cause of labourers and their rights. Rama Chandra Badatya of Haridapadar village under Ganjam district is contesting from Aska Assembly constituency on a CPI (ML) Red Star ticket. His fight is aimed at ensuring a policy for the welfare of daily wagers and labourers in the state. The 55-year-old has been into masonry for the last 40 years and earns a daily wage of Rs 700 wit

PURI: After losing the prestigious Puri Assembly segment in 2019 to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Biju Janata Dal is determined to reclaim it this year. It is making all out efforts to keep dissent at bay and garner as much support to win the seat back. In 2019, BJD heavyweight and former minister Maheswar Mohanty narrowly lost to BJPs Jayant Sarangi. However, after Mohantys passing, the BJD has nominated his son, Sunil Mohanty for the seat this year. To ensure victory of Mohanty junior and cu

KOLKATA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over violence, corruption and polarisation in West Bengal, accusing the TMC government of snatching the rights of the poor. Taking a dig at the Mamata government, Shah claimed that had Oscar-awarded filmmaker Satyajit Ray been alive, he would have made a film Hirak Ranir Deshe (In the land of the diamond queen), depicting the misrule of the CM, instead of Hirak Rajar Deshe. Satyajit Ray was a great arti

BHOPAL: Two days after the polling for the four-phase Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh ended, state Congress President Jitu Patwari made a candid admission on Wednesday, saying, ot just the BJP, but our own weaknesses are to be blamed for partys successive poll defeats in the state. Weve lost three-four consecutive elections in the state, including the 2023 assembly elections. This means that we cant always keep on blaming the BJP for our poll losses. Our weaknesses are also responsible and co

PATNA: Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is riding high on the Modi factor and his father late Ram Vilas Paswans legacy from the Hajipur (SC) constituency. Ram Vilas debuted in the Lok Sabha in 1977 from Hajipur with a record margin of more than 4 lakh votes. He represented the seat nine times before he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. In 2019, his younger brother, Pashupati Kumar Paras, was elected and was subsequently inducted into the Modi cabinet. Chirag was elected a Lok S

AMETHI: Amethi is waiting for Godot. Or for a Gandhi. Not just for a 53-year-old with that name, but something inclusive of thatand more than that. A Nehru-Gandhi did not get into a direct contest here, but had long-time aide KL Sharma stand in. Those within and outside who had bet big on a re-run of 2019 are disappointed. The gladiatorial fight that was to be is now substantially downscaled. But a fight is on, albeit by proxy, and reduced to a scrimmage of competitive accusations. Even while ab

SRINAGAR: Former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Qadir Wani Wednesday said his organisation will participate in assembly elections if the Centre revokes the ban imposed on the outfit in 2019. We are holding talks with the Centre. We want to get our ban removed and we want to play our role in society. If the ban is removed, we may take part in the elections, Wani told reporters in Pulwama, 32 kilometres from here. Wani, who cast his vote during polling for the Srinagar Lok Sabha

PoK will be merged with India if BJP gets over 400 seats in Lok Sabha polls: Himanta

SERAMPORE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday referred to protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said, PoK is part of India and we will take it. Addressing a rally in Serampore, Shah said while peace has returned to once trouble-torn Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir now echoes with slogans of Azaadi and protests. After the abrogation of Article 370 by the government in 2019, peace has returned to Kashmir. But now we witness protests in Pak

INDIA bloc to form next govt: Kharge