Curated By: Sanstuti Nath
News18.com
Last Updated: March 23, 2024, 00:04 IST
New Delhi, India
Lok Sabha Election 2024: Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has decided to contest the Lok Sabha Election 2024 alone. Sharing the decision of the microblogging site, X Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal announced that the party will contest all 147 assembly constituencies and all 21 Lok Sabha constituencies alone under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik.
The decision comes amid the resignation of senior leader and MP Bhartruhari Mahtab. Senior BJD MP and one of its founder members Bhartruhari Mahtap resigned from the primary membership of the party on Friday. Mahtab, a six-time MP from the Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency, said that he has sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at 4 pm.
The decision to go solo in Odisha is not one the BJP took overnight. At least four rounds of meetings among top brass, including party national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, went into arriving at the decision, sources told News18, adding that the state BJP unit was also opposed to the alliance.
Top BJP sources said the decision to not enter into an alliance with the BJD was taken based on detailed feedback from the state unit. “The state BJP has been trying to build a campaign for itself for the last many years and this alliance would actually mean all its efforts going into vain,” a source said.
The Citizen Action Party (CAP) on Friday announced the names of 14 candidates for the assembly polls, while an independent candidate filed nomination papers for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim. Sikkim has 32 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat. Polling for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously on April 19.
Independent candidate Beena Rai filed the nomination papers for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim, while no nomination was filed in 32 assembly seats on the third day of commencement of nomination in the state, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said. Rai submitted her nomination papers to the Gangtok District Collector-cum-Returning Officer Tushar Nikhare at the district collectorate office.
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre immediately release the frozen bank accounts of the party.
“The NPCC is astounded with the unwarranted move of the BJP-led government in freezing the bank accounts of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI),” said NPCC working president Khriedi Theunuo said in a statement.
Such an undemocratic action would destroy the values of democracy in the country, he said. “With the biggest festival of democracy at hand, freezing the bank accounts of the Congress is a move to paralyze the functioning of the Party in all aspects, especially to fight the elections,” Theunuo said.
Mizoram’s ruling Zoram People’s Movement on Friday said it is yet to take a call on joining the BJP-led NDA or the Congress-headed INDIA, ZPM Lok Sabha poll candidate Richard Vanlalhmangaiha said on Friday.
Formed by several minor parties in 2017, the ZPM, which received registration from the Election Commission in July 2019, has no link to either the NDA or INDIA. It has come to power in the northeastern state last year.
Vanlalhmangaiha filed his nomination for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state before Aizawl Deputy Commissioner Nazuk Kumar on Friday.
The ZPM is contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time on its own although it had fought the previous elections in 2019 jointly with the Congress.
The BJP on Friday nominated actor-politician Radhika Sarath Kumar as its candidate for the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency for the April 19 polls. The party has fielded Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam in Puducherry. Actor R Sarath Kumar had recently merged his All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and joined the BJP along with his wife.
The BJP on Friday extended support to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the Lok Sabha elections in the Lakshadweep parliamentary constituency. The Ajit Pawar-headed faction is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.
“BJP extend complete support to NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate from Lakshadweep. Together NDA can and NDA will achieve victory,” BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde said on ‘X’.
Mohammad Faisal PP, who has been associated with the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, won the Lakshadweep seat in the last general election.
An all-India “grand alliance” of backwards’ organisations, “OBC Bharatiya Gathbandhan”, extended unconditional support to the Congress and the INDIA opposition bloc on Friday.
The alliance leaders, led by its chairman and former MP Rajkumar Saini, met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi to announce their support for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Saini said various backward classes organisations have been raising the demand for a share in the decision-making process and social justice.
Gandhi has already announced his support for the cause, he said, adding that this was the reason they have decided to support the INDIA bloc.
The Election Commission on Friday appointed general and police observers for West Bengal’s Coochbehar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha constituencies for the first phase of polls on April 19, an official said.
The poll panel appointed general observer Dr Ravi Kumar Surpur from Rajasthan and IPS officer from Andhra Pradesh, Kumar Vishwanit, as police observer for the Coochbehar constituency, he said.
Actor Govinda met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai earlier this week. Shiv Sena sources said the meeting took place three-four days ago.
Govinda, fighting on a Congress ticket, had defeated veteran BJP leader Ram Naik from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat in 2004.The actor quit the Congress later.
The BRS on Friday announced two more candidates for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls. Former IAS officer Venkatram Reddy will contest from Medak while ex-IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar who recently quit BSP and joined BRS is being fielded from Nagarkurnool.
With this, the former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party has announced candidates for 13 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 17 in Telangana.
Congress nominee Prem Lal Ganju, contesting from Sonitpur parliamentary constituency, became the first candidate to file the nomination papers for the first phase polls in Assam scheduled on April 19, an election official said.
No nomination was filed by any of the candidates of the remaining four constituencies – Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat – till Friday. The notification for the first phase was issued on March 20.
Law enforcement agencies have seized drugs, liquor, precious metals and unaccounted cash worth over Rs 2 crore since the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha polls, officials said on Friday.
The seizures include Rs 40 lakh cash, drugs worth Rs 1.48 crore and liquor worth Rs 18.14 lakh, they said.
District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said in a statement that 126 flying squad teams have been constituted in the district.
Sawhney said that after the Model Code of Conduct came into force with the announcement of the general election last week, 9,360 hoardings, banners and posters were removed from public and private properties in the district.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s core committee on Friday spelt out the issues, policies, and principles on which it will go to the people of Punjab to seek a mandate in the Lok Sabha polls, said a statement.
“The party will continue to put principles above politics and it will never deviate from its historic role as a champion of the interests of ‘Khalsa Panth’, all minorities as well as all Punjabis,” the party statement said, quoting a resolution at the meeting.
“At the same time, we will continue to devote all our energies towards preserving the atmosphere of peace and communal harmony on the basis of the vision of ‘Sarbat da Bhala’ (blessings for all),” it said. “
As Kerala gears up for the Lok Sabha polls in April, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday used the CAA as a political weapon to attack its INDIA front ally Congress and the BJP-led NDA, accusing both of them being in favour of the controversial citizenship law.
At a huge anti-CAA rally held by the CPI(M), Vijayan said that while the BJP openly indicated its intention to implement the contentious law, which discriminates against people on religious lines, the alleged silence on the part of Congress leaders is tantamount to them being in favour of the law.
The BJP on Friday announced its support to the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya in both the Lok Sabha seats in the state and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) in one of the two parliamentary constituencies in Manipur in the upcoming general election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will also support the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), the ruling party in Nagaland, in the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state.
Several hundred Congress functionaries on Friday joined the BJP in Gujarat’s Jamnagar in the presence of local MP Poonam Maadam. Maadam has been renominated by the BJP and is up against Congress’ J P Marvia, who is an elected member of Jamnagar district panchayat.
“More and more people are now believing in the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and therefore they have joined us. I welcome all of them to realise the promise of our Prime Minister to make Viksit Bharat,” Maadam said.
“In all 22 leaders with over 400 supporters from different regions of Jamnagar Lok Sabha constituency joined BJP. These include sitting corporator of Jamjodhpur municipality, former and current members of district and taluka panchayats, several current and former sarpanches among others,” the MP said in a statement.
Azad Samaj Party leader Chandrashekhar Azad and Samajwadi Party’s Manoj Kumar on Friday filed their nomination papers from the Nagina (SC) Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Two other candidates filed their nomination papers Har Kishor Singh of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) for the Moradabad parliamentary seat and Sanjay Kumar Bharti of the Rashtriya Samaj Dal (R) for the Rampur seat.
So far, only these four nomination papers have been filed for the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh scheduled to be held on April 19, a senior official said.
Mizoram’s lone Rajya Sabha member and Mizo National Front (MNF) leader K. Vanlalvena, who was named the party’s nominee for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state on Friday, sparked a controversy by asserting that the BJP-led NDA regime needs to be challenged and opposed.
Addressing a gathering soon after being nominated as the party candidate for LS elections, Vanlalvena predicted that the NDA would secure victory in the forthcoming parliamentary polls. He warned against the potential introduction of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if the NDA retains power.
“It appears that the NDA will retain power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. If it does, it is likely that the UCC will be introduced in the country. For this reason, the NDA government should be opposed. I have been constantly opposing the NDA government in the present Rajya Sabha,” the MNF leader said.
The BJP’s Beed Lok Sabha candidate Pankaja Munde on Friday said she did not want to contest general elections and wanted to work in Maharashtra. Munde, who was given a rousing welcome in Dhamangaon after entering Beed from neighbouring Ahmednagar district, said people of the state love her and “I had to take decisions with intellect”.
“Some people thought my shop would be closed after the defeat in the 2019 Assembly polls from Parli in 2019. But it won’t end in such a manner. The maths of votes is different while doing politics,” she claimed.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday claimed that the enthusiasm for BJP he has been witnessing during his door-to-door campaign, it is clear that the saffron party alone will cross the 370-seat mark. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has predicted that the BJP will “definitely” get 370 seats and the ruling National Democratic Alliance will cross 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Wherever I go, I find an overwhelming response for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. The people are enthusiastic to vote for the BJP. I am sure the BJP will cross the 370-seat mark in the upcoming elections,” he said.
The top Congress leadership met on Friday to discuss and finalise its candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. The party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) met under the chairmanship of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi in attendance. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi was, however, not present during today’s meeting.
The committee discussed several candidates for the nine Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu that have come in the Congress’ share in its alliance with the DMK. AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and party leaders from Tamil Nadu were present in the meeting.
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