Tag: Congress

West Bengal Lok Sabha elections 2024: A look at Congress candidates

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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West Bengal, which sends the third-highest number of MPs (42) after Uttar Pradesh (80) and Maharashtra (48), is home to hardcore politics, where parties leave no stone unturned to woo voters in the general elections to get a comfortable majority at Centre. Voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal is taking place across all seven phases, starting with three constituencies on Friday, April 19.

In the second phase, three seats will be up for grabs in the state on April 26, followed by four in the third phase on May 7, eight seats in the fourth phase (May 13), seven seats in the fifth phase (May 20), eight seats in sixth phase (May 25) and nine seats in the last phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be done on June 4.

The major players are the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and a coalition comprising the Congress party and the Left Front.

While the BJP has emerged as a formidable challenger to the Trinamool Congress in the past few elections in the state, the coalition, including Congress, is presenting an alternative option for voters.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress bagged the maximum number of seats — 22 out of 42 — and secured a 43.3% vote share. It faced a neck-to-neck contest from the BJP, which managed 18 seats with a 40.7% vote share. The Congress, meanwhile, ended up with two seats and received 5.67% votes.

West Bengal Lok Sabha elections: Voting dates

Polling for the 2024 elections in West Bengal is taking place in all seven phases. After April 19, voting here will be conducted on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. During the 2019 elections, West Bengal registered a total voter turnout of 81.76%.

West Bengal Lok Sabha elections: Total seats

The state has 42 parliamentary constituencies, of which 10 are reserved for the SC candidates and two are reserved for the ST candidates. The rest of the 30 seats are unreserved.

West Bengal Lok Sabha elections: Congress candidates

The Congress is contesting on a limited number of seats in West Bengal, considering its coalition with the Left Front. Here’s a list of candidates announced by the grand old party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal:

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Experts sceptical of BJP’s chances in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra polls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Senior journalist Ninad Sheth believes that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won’t make significant headway in Tamil Nadu. At the same time, another expert, Sanjeev Srivastava, suggests that Maharashtra poses challenges for the BJP and its allies.

Due to the state’s complicated politics, Srivastava doubted the BJP’s ability to win seats in Tamil Nadu. He also discussed Maharashtra’s political landscape, where the BJP faces strong opposition from parties like the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, both experts analysed the national trends in the elections. They discussed factors such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct connection with voters and the influence of local issues on the election outcome.

“In my opinion in this election, the last time, (BJP’s) tally was 24-odd seats in the south, and it will improve,” said Sheth.

Also Read | Lok Sabha election 2024: A SWOT analysis of DMK vs AIADMK in Tamil Nadu

The voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections began at 7 am on April 19, Friday. As many as 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories are polling today. There are 1,625 candidates of whom only 134 (8%) are women.

Besides the General Elections, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will conduct the Assembly polls simultaneously in the first phase. Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one former governor are in the fray.

The voting for the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases. The counting of votes will be on June 4.

Also Watch | As voting gets underway, CNBC-TV18’s Jude Sannith caught up with DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran to understand what he felt about the prospects of the DMK and the India Alliance in the 2024 elections.

For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video

Also Watch | CNBC-TV18’s Abhimanyu Sharma spoke To Jitin Prasada of BJP about the prospects for the seats going to polls in the first phase of the election.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Election Commission: Nearly 60% polling till 7 pm in phase one of Lok Sabha polls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that nearly 60% voter turnout has been recorded at the end of the phase one of Lok Sabha polls on Friday, April 19. The voting for 102 seats across 21 states and union territories began at 7 am amid heavy security. As many as 1,625 candidates are in the fray in the first phase. Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in this phase. The voting for the first phase ended at 6 pm. Besides Lok Sabha polls, voting began for assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. 

Here’s the list of voter turnout from all major states that saw polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu recorded a voter turnout of 72.09% in the Lok Sabha polls held in a single phase, slightly lower than 72.44% it had recorded in the 2019 polls. The fate of 950 candidates will be decided by about 6.23 crore voters who are set to exercise their franchise in 68,321 polling stations. DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai), A Raja (Nilgiris) and Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), BJP’s K Annamalai (Coimbatore), L Murugan (Nilgiris) and Tamilisai Soundararajan (South Chennai), former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (Ramanathapuram), Congress party’s Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga), AIADMK’s J Jayavardhan (South Chennai) and AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran (Theni) are among the prominent candidates.

Uttar Pradesh

About 58% voter turnout was recorded on eight seats of western Uttar Pradesh where polling took place in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday. According to the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app, 63.29% voting was reported in Saharanpur, 57.83% in Moradabad, 60.39% in Kairana, 59.17% in Nagina, 60.23% in Pilibhit, 54.68% in Bijnor, 52.42% in Rampur and 54.91% in Muzaffarnagar.

Maharashtra

About 32.36% of the over 95 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm. Voter turnout stood at 19.72% in Bhandara-Gondia,  Chandrapur 18.94%, Gadchiroli-Chimur 24.88%, Nagpur 17.73% and Ramtek 16.14%.

Altogether 97 candidates, including Union minister Nitin Gadkari, are in the fray in five seats, all located in eastern-most parts of the state.

There are 95,54,667 voters in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the Vidarbha region. Of these, 48,28,142 are male, 47,26,178 female and 347 transgender voters, an election official said.

West Bengal

A voter turnout of 77.57%  was recorded in the three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. A total of 56.26 lakh people are eligible to vote in Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduars seats. A total of 37 candidates are in the fray in the three constituencies where voting will continue till 6 pm.

Rajasthan

A voter turnout of close to 55% was recorded in 12 parliamentary constituencies of Rajasthan where polling was held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The election authorities said 54.97% of the electorate cast their votes. The final figures would be released later. The highest voter turnout of 62.93% was recorded in the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat while Jhunjhunu saw the lowest turnout of 47.98%, it said. Jaipur recorded a poll percentage of 61.23. The voting percentage in Bikaner was 52.53, Churu 61.05, Sikar 55.06, Jaipur Rural 54.44, Alwar 55.82, Dausa 49.57, Bharatpur 50.97 and Nagaur 56.89. There are 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan and the remaining 13 will go to poll in the second phase on April 26.

Madhya Pradesh

A voter turnout of 66.44% was recorded across six Lok Sabha seats, including high-profile Chhindwara, in Madhya Pradesh in the first phase of general elections. Chhindwara recorded the highest turnout of 78.67%, followed by Mandla 72.92%, Balaghat 72.60%, Shahdol 64.11%, Jabalpur 59.72% and Sidhi 56.18%.

Voting in Baihar and Paraswada assembly constituencies in Naxal-affected Balaghat was held between 7 am and 4 pm for security reasons.

The BJP had failed to win the Chhindwara constituency in the 2019 parliamentary polls. It was the only Lok Sabha seat, out of the total 29 in the state, that the ruling party could not win.

Besides Chhindwara, the other key seat in the first phase is Mandla (ST), from where the sitting MP and Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste is contesting again.

The six constituencies – Shahdol, Mandla (both reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates), Jabalpur, Balaghat, Chhindwara and Sidhi – covered 13 districts and 47 assembly segments in the state.

In the November 2023 assembly elections in the state, 77.82% voting was recorded. The state registered 61.57% voting in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which increased to 71.16% in 2019.

Polling for three more phases of the Lok Sabha elections in the state will take place on April 26, May 7 and May 13 for the remaining 23 seats.

As many as 88 candidates, 81 men and seven women are in the fray across the six constituencies. The total number of registered voters in the six constituencies is 1,13,09, 636 (57,20,780 male, 55,88,669 female and 187 transgender).

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand recorded 53.65% polling.

Assam

The state recorded a voter turnout of 45.12% till 1 pm in the five Lok Sabha seats. Jorhat recorded the highest turnout of 47.73%, followed by Sonitpur with 45.25%, Lakhimpur 44.33%, Kaziranga 44.32% and Dibrugarh 44.02%.

A total of 86,47,869 voters will decide the fate of 35 candidates in these five seats.

Jammu

Around 43.11% of voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur parliamentary constituency.

Voting will decide the fate of 12 candidates, including Union minister Jitendra Singh who is eyeing a third term after winning the seat for the BJP in 2014 and 2019. This is the first major electoral battle after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

Bihar

First phase of Lok Sabha polls in four constituencies passed off peacefully in Bihar on Friday, with a provisional voter turnout of 48.23%, almost 5% less than that of the 2019 general elections, officials said. The prevailing heatwave condition could be a possible reason for the low voter turnout, they said. Gaya registered 52% polling, Aurangabad 50%, Jamui 50% and Nawada 41.50%. The total voter turnout in these four Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections was 53.47%.

Chhattisgarh

More than 42% of the electorate cast their votes till 1 pm in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh. The straight fight is between the Congress’s firebrand leader Kawasi Lakhma and BJP’s Mahesh Kashyap, a fresh face, in Bastar, which the saffron party lost in 2019.

Altogether 14,72,207 voters, including 7,71,679 women, 7,00,476 men and 52 transgenders, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the seat with 11 candidates in the fray.

Manipur

Incidents of firing, intimidation, destruction of EVMs at some polling booths and allegations of booth capturing were reported from conflict-hit Manipur that recorded a turnout of over 68% in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday. Both the BJP and the Congress accused each other of unleashing violence and breaching the election Model Code of Conduct. The state which has been reeling under the conflict of ethnic violence since May last year has traditionally seen a very high voter turnout. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the state recorded a turnout of 82%. Voting took place in two constituencies–Inner Manipur (32 assembly segments) and Outer Manipur (15 assembly segments)- on Friday while polling in the remaining 13 assembly segments in the Outer Manipur constituency will take place on April 26 in the second phase. “A voter turnout of 68.82% has been recorded. While the Inner Manipur constituency has recorded 72.3% turnout, the poll percentage in Outer Manipur stood at 61.98%,” said Pradeep Kumar Jha, Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur.

Arunachal Pradesh

Around 37% of the total 8,92,694 voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm on Friday in the state where polling is underway for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies, officials said. The ruling BJP has already won 10 seats in the 60-member assembly unopposed.

Though the turnout was moderate in the morning hours due to inclement weather, it gathered momentum with weather conditions improving.

Nagaland

The lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland recorded a voter turnout of 56.77%. The polling was underway amid a call given by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) in six districts of the region to abstain from voting over the demand for a separate state.  A total of 13.25 lakh voters are eligible to vote in Nagaland.

Sikkim

Over 68% of the 4.64 lakh voters in 32 Assembly seats and in the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim have exercised their franchise. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, who is spearheading the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM)’s bid for a second term in power, is contesting from the Soreng-Chakung assembly constituency. Tamang is also contesting from the Rhenock assembly seat. Sitting Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba and SDF’s PD Rai are among 14 candidates in the lone Lok Sabha seat.

Tripura

The Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency registered a voter turnout of nearly 80% amid allegations of irregularities. In the by-election to the Ramnagar assembly seat, which was being held simultaneously, a turnout of 43.01% was recorded till 1 pm. Altogether, 14.61 lakh people are eligible to vote in this phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

An estimated 35.70% of the total 3,15,148 voters in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have exercised their franchise till 1 pm.

A total of 12 candidates, including two women and five independents are in the fray for the lone Lok Sabha seat. However, the contest is between the BJP’s Bishnu Pada Ray and Congress-sitting MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma.

The total number of voters in the Union Territory (UT) is 3,15148, which includes 1,64,012 male, 1,51,132 female and four voters in third gender category.

Puducherry

The lone Puducherry Lok Sabha seat recorded 77.86% polling, according to the union territory’s election authorities. The fight is between BJP’s A Namassivayam and Congress MP V Vaithilingam, seeking a successive term.

Lakshadweep

Nearly 60% voter turnout was recorded until 5 pm in the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha constituency, where present MP and NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Mohammed Faizal is engaged in a fierce battle with Congress leader and former MP Hamdullah Sayeed. The constituency spans across the 10 inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep Archipelago, with an electorate of 57,784 as per data shared by the Election Commission. Out of this total, 28,506 are women voters. TP Yousuf of the NCP (Ajith Pawar) is also contesting the election.

Mizoram

More than 56% of the total 8.56 lakh voters in Mizoram exercised their franchise for the lone Lok Sabha seat till 5 pm on Friday, election officials said. State additional chief electoral officer H Lianzela said 56.68 per cent voter turnout was reported till 5 pm when the deadline for voting ended. There are six candidates in the fray.

Meghalaya registered nearly 71% voter turnout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Udhampur Lok Sabha seat recorded 65% voter turnout

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Around 65.08% of voters registered their choice on Friday in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur parliamentary constituency, officials said.

Polling began at 7 am in 2,637 polling stations across the constituency, officials were quoted as saying in PTI report.

This is the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after the Narendra Modi-led government repealed Article 370.

Voting will decide the fate of 12 candidates, including Union minister Jitendra Singh who is eyeing a third term after winning the seat for the BJP in 2014 and 2019.

This is the first major electoral battle after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

Prominent among others in the fray include Congress leader and two-time former Member of Parliament Choudhary Lal Singh and the DPAP’s G M Saroori besides Six independents.

The Udhampur Lok Sabha seat is one of six Parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir UT.

The constituency spans 20,230 square kilometres of steep Himalayan terrain and is the largest in terms of geographical extent.

The Lok Sabha seat of Udhampur comprises 17 assembly constituencies, originating from four districts: Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur, and Kathua.

The BJP has held the Lok Sabha seat of Udhampur for the past decade. Dr Jitendra Singh, who occupies the crucial position of Minister of State, has been fielded for the third time.

While the BJP is said to be the front-runner, Jitendra Singh and Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress are now engaged in a fierce contest in Udhampur.

On June 4, the votes will be counted.

In the 2019 elections, the constituency saw a voter turnout of 70.95%.

List of candidates:

2019 result:

Dr Jitendra Singh of the BJP won the Udhampur Lok Sabha election in 2019, receiving a vote share of 61.38%.

Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress received 31% of the vote.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections 2024: List of Congress candidates

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tamil Nadu, which is all set to vote for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across all 39 parliamentary constituencies in a single phase on April 19, is seeing a three-way contest between the AIADMK, the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA bloc, comprising DMK, Congress and others.

Tamil Nadu is among the few states where the Congress remains quite popular, while the BJP is making all possible efforts to gain ground.

The grand old party is contesting the 2024 general elections in alliance with its long-time partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and others as part of the INDIA bloc.

During the 2019 polls, the DMK-led alliance registered a landslide victory in the state, winning 38 of the 39 seats. Of these, 24 seats went to DMK, while Congress kept 8, CPI and CPI(M) got two each, and VCK and IUML ended up with one seat each. They receive a combined vote share of 53.15%.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which included then allies AIADMK and BJP, could only manage one seat.

Despite facing an uphill task to dethrone the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, the Congress seems confident to win a majority of seats along with its allies in Tamil Nadu, according to 2024 poll surveys.

Hoping for another dominating performance in the state, Congress has fielded nine candidates in Tamil Nadu in the 2024 elections. As per the seat-sharing agreement of the INDIA bloc, the rest of the seats will be contested by DMK (22), CPI (2), CPM (2), VCA (2), MDMK (1) and IUML (1).

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting dates

Polling for the 2024 general elections in the state takes place in the first phase on Friday, April 19. Voting across all the seats will be conducted in a single phase. During the 2019 polls, Tamil Nadu registered a total voter turnout of 72.44%.

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections 2024: Total seats

The state has 39 parliamentary constituencies, of which seven are reserved for the SC candidates, while the rest are unreserved.

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress candidates

Aiming for yet another strong performance in the state, the Congress party is being represented by nine candidates here. Here’s a list of Congress candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu:

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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First phase of voting for Lok Sabha elections begins tomorrow, 1,625 candidates in fray

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The voting for the high-decibel General Elections begins on April 19, Friday, as the first phase goes to  polls. The fate of 1,625 candidates in 102 seats across 12 states and union territories will be sealed tomorrow.  Also, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will vote for state Assembly elections.

Eight Union Minister, two former chief ministers and a former governor will be in fray in the first phase of voting. The elections will be held in seven phases and the voting will end on June 1. The result will be declared by June 4.

Over 16.63 crore voters across 1.87 lakh polling stations will exercise their franchise tomorrow. Voters include 8.4 crore male, 8.23 crore female and 11,371 third gender electors. There are 35.67 lakh first-time voters and another 3.51 crore voters in the age group 20-29 years.

Here is the list of states, UTs going to the polls in the first phase:

Tamil Nadu: Voting will be held in all 39 seats. Key contestants across parties are A Raja, Dayanidhi Maran, Karti Chidambaram, Kanimozhi K Annamalai, Tamilisai Soundarajan.

Uttar Pradesh: Eight out of 80 seats will go to polls. The fate of Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitin Prasada will be sealed tomorrow.

Rajasthan: The state will vote in 12 of the 25 seats in the first phase.  Key leaders include Arjun Ram Meghwal and Bhupendra Yadav.

West Bengal: The fate of candidates in three constituencies will be sealed tomorrow.

Maharashtra: Six seats out of 48 will be polling tomorrow. Nitin Gadkari is in fray from Nagpur.

Bihar: Four seats will be voted tomorrow. The rest of the 36 seats will vote in the six phases.

Madhya Pradesh: Six out of 29 seats will go to polls tomorrow. The lone Congress MP Nakul Nath in contesting tomorrow.

Assam: Five seats in the north-eastern state will vote tomorrow. Tarun Gogoi, Sarbananda Sonowal are contesting tomorrow.

Uttarakhand: Polling for the five seats will be held tomorrow.  Key leaders contesting are Trivendra Singh Rawat, Ajay Bhatt and Virendra Rawat.

Manipur: Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur will be held in the first phase. Polling in Outer Manipur will also be conducted on April 26.

Arunachal Pradesh: Both the seats will vote tomorrow. Kiren Rijiju and Nabam Tuki are in the fray in the state.

Voting will take place in one seat each in Chhattisgarh (Bastar), Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir (Udhampur) and Tripura (Tripura West). Jitendra Singh is contesting from the Udhampur seat.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency sees a 40.15% voter turnout at 1 pm

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency, the voter turnout stood at  40.15% until 1:00 pm as polling commenced for the first phase of General Elections, covering 102 seats across 12 states and union territories, starting at 7 am on Friday, April 19.

The Sivaganga constituency, a Congress bastion, is one of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. The Sivaganga electorate has repeatedly voted for the grand old party, with former finance minister and veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram representing the seat seven times in the lower house of the Indian Parliament. His son Karti Chidambaram made his electoral debut from this seat in 2014 and lost. However, he won his maiden Lok Sabha elections five years later.

Voting date

Sivaganga will go to polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 19.

List of candidates

With Karti Chidambaram looking for his second stint as an MP, here’s a look at candidates contesting against him:

2019 Result

In 2019, Karti Chidambaram got an unprecedented 52.36% of the total votes, bettering his nearest candidate by a margin of almost 3.33 lakhs.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Udhampur Lok Sabha Election: BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh eyes third term; Congress fields Choudhary Lal Singh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Udhampur Lok Sabha seat is one of six Parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir UT. The city will vote in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. This will be the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after the Narendra Modi-led government repealed Article 370.

The constituency spans 20,230 square kilometres of steep Himalayan terrain and is the largest in terms of geographical extent. The Lok Sabha seat of Udhampur comprises 17 assembly constituencies, originating from four districts: Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur, and Kathua.

The main population in the regions of Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, and Bhaderwah is Muslim, but the majority of the population in places like Kathua and Udhampur is Hindu with small pockets of Muslims. Voting patterns have historically been impacted by this demographic difference, with Muslim voters generally siding with the Congress and Hindu voters mostly backing the BJP.

The BJP has held the Lok Sabha seat of Udhampur for the past decade. Dr Jitendra Singh, who occupies the crucial position of Minister of State, has been fielded for the third time.

While the BJP is said to be the front-runner, Jitendra Singh and Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress are now engaged in a fierce contest in Udhampur.

Voting date:

On April 19, polling for parliamentary seats in Udhampur will be held in a single phase. On June 4, the votes will be counted. In the 2019 elections, the constituency saw a voter turnout of 70.95%.

List of candidates:

2019 result:

Dr Jitendra Singh of the BJP won the Udhampur Lok Sabha election in 2019, receiving a remarkable vote share of 61.38%. Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress received 31% of the vote.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Party apparatchik’, Congress slams India’s envoy to Ireland for critical remarks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Congress on Tuesday, April 16, took strong objection to the criticism directed at it by the Indian envoy to Ireland while responding to an Irish daily’s editorial, saying that attacking opposition parties openly in a manner like a “party apparatchik” was “disgraceful behaviour” and the ambassador should be sacked.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at Indian Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra over his remarks in his “rejoinder” to The Irish Times over what the embassy said was a “highly biased and prejudiced editorial, casting aspersion on Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Indian democracy, law enforcement institutions and ‘Hindu-majority’ people of India”.

In the rejoinder, Mishra said, “Further to ‘The Irish Times’ view on the Indian election: Modi tightens his grip” (April 11th), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys unprecedented popularity and profile not only in India but globally because of his impeccable personal character and integrity and thought-leadership on innovative, inclusive governance and sustainable development.” “…The fight against the deeply entrenched ecosystem of corruption (created by the 55-year rule, including the first 30 years, by a single dynastic party in India) is a major factor behind Mr Modi’s ever-growing popularity,” the ambassador wrote.

Hitting out at the envoy’s remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Ramesh said, “Defending the Government of India is one thing and is to be expected. But to attack Opposition parties openly in this manner like a party apparatchik is not expected from an Ambassador even if he is a political appointment.”

He later said in another post, “I stand corrected. This Ambassador is actually a career diplomat which makes his comments even more shameful, disgraceful and completely unacceptable. He has actually breached service rules and should be sacked right away”.

“This is unprofessional and disgraceful behaviour on his part but is par for the Modi course I guess,” the Congress leader said.

Sharing the envoy’s rejoinder, the embassy said on X, “Ambassador Akhilesh’s rejoinder to Irish Times is highly biased and prejudiced editorial (Modi tightens his grip’ April 11, 2024), casting aspersion on Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Indian democracy, law enforcement institutions and ‘Hindu-majority’ people of India.”

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Nagpur Lok Sabha election: Nitin Gadkari, eyeing 3rd consecutive term, to face Congress’ Vikas Thakre

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nagpur, one of the prominent parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra, is all set to vote on Friday, April 19, in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Nagpur seat comprises six Vidhan Sabha segments, four of which are currently held by the BJP and the remaining two are with the Congress. It has a total of 22,18,259 voters, which includes 11,10,840 males, 11,07,197 females and 222 third-gender persons. It is the largest city in the Vidarbha region and has a connection to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP.

Once a bastion of the Congress, the Nagpur seat was won by Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari in 2014. Back then, he defeated seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. He retained the seat in the 2019 elections, defeating current Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole by 2.16 lakh votes.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari is seeking a third consecutive term from the Nagpur seat and is pitted against Congress’ Vikas Thakre.

Voting date

Polling for the 2024 general elections in Maharashtra — comprising the second-most Lok Sabha seats (48) after Uttar Pradesh (80) — will be conducted in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20.

Voting in Nagpur will be held in the first phase on April 19. During the 2019 polls, the seat witnessed a total voter turnout of 54.94%.

List of candidates

Of all the candidates in the fray from the Nagpur seat, the main contest is between BJP’s Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Vikas Thakre.

2019 result

Nitin Gadkari secured a second consecutive term from the Nagpur seat in the 2019 general elections. He received 660,221 votes and defeated Congress’ Nana Patole by 2.16 lakh votes.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow