Tag: 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Lalu’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, challenges BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Bihar’s Saran constituency

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

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Sitting BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy’s remark that “my name could enter record books for winning against the maximum number of members of one family” has set the political mood in Bihar’s Saran where RJD president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya has entered the fray to wrest back her father’s erstwhile pocket borough.

Rudy, a former Union minister, who lost to Prasad whenever the RJD supremo was himself in the fray, has been successful against the latter’s wife Rabri Devi in 2014.

Five years later, Rudy defeated Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav’s father-in-law Chandrika Roy.

Acharya, 47, happens to be the sixth member of her family, and fourth among her siblings to enter politics, yet, in more than one respect, she stands out as an atypical politician.

Rudy, 62, had made his debut in parliamentary elections in 1996 from Chhapra, as Saran was known before the 2008 delimitation. In 2004, Prasad wrested the seat in a contest marred by large-scale electoral violence that had necessitated a repoll in the entire constituency.

Five years later, Prasad retained Saran, which made up for an embarrassing defeat in Pataliputra, and he held the seat till 2013, when conviction in a fodder scam case caused disqualification and debarment from contesting polls.

A qualified doctor, Acharya got married at an early age and chose not to pursue a career but settle abroad with her computer engineer husband and raise their two kids.

For quite some time, though, Acharya had been demonstrating that she was no run-of-the-mill homemaker. Be it her stunning decision to donate a kidney to her father or her doughty social media combatant avatar, whenever her family faced a political crisis back home, Acharya grabbed eyeballs.

No wonder that the air was thick with anticipation when she arrived in Saran to win back for her father’s party the seat from where he had begun his political journey as a young MP in 1977, riding high on the Janata Party wave.

The crowds roared in response to her salutation, in chaste Bhojpuri “raua sab ke gor laagatani (I prostrate before you all)” and as she launched into her speech, invoking the memory of legendary poet Bhikhari Thakur, it became clear that she had spark.

Speaking in the presence of the RJD’s two biggest crowd pullers, her father and younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, Acharya demonstrated that she could hold her own as she weighed the track record of Prasad against that of Rudy.

“My father got a rail wheel plant set up in Saran while he was the Railway minister. The current MP had been the Union minister for skill development. He should tell us what he did for the youth here during his tenure”, Acharya said, evoking cheers from the crowds and making it clear that she was new, but not a novice.

The BJP seems to have realised that its challenger here is no pushover, a reason why the party has run a high-profile campaign in the constituency.

The filing of nomination papers was followed, immediately, by a rally of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in an obvious bid to galvanize Rajput voters. The Defence minister also referred to Rudy being a trained pilot and remarked “he will send his opponents flying”.

On paper, both parties look equally well-placed.

In 2019, Rudy won by a comfortable margin of just under 95,000 votes. A year later, in the Vidhan Sabha polls, RJD clawed back, grabbing four of the six assembly segments falling in the Lok Sabha constituency.

As such, Saran is likely to be one of the most keenly watched seats, in Bihar and beyond, when polling takes place on May 20 and votes are counted on June 4.

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

Voters brave heatwave as phase-3 polling concludes, experts weigh in

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

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From the river islands in Assam to the Gujarat coast in the West, and from Coastal Karnataka in the south to Agra in the North, as many as 93 seats across India went to the polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha Elections.

Voters braved the scorching heat and sometimes physical challenges to cast their vote. The elections are happening at a time when temperatures across large parts of India are touching 40 degrees Celsius.

India, along with large parts of Asia, is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record. A presiding officer at a polling booth in Bihar died from a heart attack as voting was underway. A post-mortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of his death.

The BJP had won 71 seats out of these 93 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Election season would officially conclude for over half the Lok Sabha seats after polling ends today.

Voting took place for 25 out of the 26 seats in Gujarat. The BJP has already won the Surat seat unopposed. Prime Minister Modi cast his vote at a polling booth in Gandhinagar, where Amit Shah is the BJP candidate.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rajiv Pathak, Editor, News18 Gujarat said, “Last time in 2019, the voting percentage was around 64%. Despite the scorching heat temperature, around 40 to 43 degrees in most parts of Gujarat, the average percentage by five o’clock was 55%. So by the end of the day, the voting percentage should be around 64%.”

He added, “BJP was struggling in some seats because of the Kshatriya agitation. But in today’s polling, we could not see much impact on the polling and first of all Gujarat always votes to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister. Narendra Modi has been Gujarat Chief Minister and if he becomes prime minister then even if he contests from Varanasi, the people of Gujarat feel that he is a Gujarati Prime Minister.”

Read Here | 2024 Lok Sabha Elections | Why phase-3 is a tightrope walk for all parties

Fourteen seats in Karnataka went to polls, mostly in the northern districts. The BJP had won all in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This is the last phase of polling in the state.

Eleven seats across Maharashtra went to polls. The BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena had won four seats each in 2019. Sitting MP Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar faced off in Baramati, the Pawar family bastion.

Syed Zafar Islam, National Spokesperson for the BJP, expressed confidence in the party’s prospects, particularly in Maharashtra.

He said, “The honourable Pirme Minister has won the confidence and the admiration of the people of this great country. We are not overly concerned. Supriya ji is going to lose for sure because the man who is working on the ground is Ajit Pawar and his wife and everyone knows the kind of work they have done. The people have seen who has done the hard work on the ground and they will vote for Mrs Pawar rather than Supriya ji. So we are confident of our victory; we are not overly concerned.”

Voting also took place for both Lok Sabha seats in Goa. Polling also took place in 31 seats across Hindi heartland states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Voters in four seats in West Bengal and four constituencies in Assam cast their votes as well. Polling season concludes in Assam after phase 3.

Watch this video for more

Also Read | Lok Sabha Election 2024: How Indian political parties are leveraging AI

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

Rajkot Lok Sabha elections: BJP aims for third consecutive win as 58% voting registered

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

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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

Karnataka polls | Revanna issue dominates, but electoral impact uncertain, says expert

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

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The stage is set for the second phase of elections in the 14 remaining Lok Sabha seats on Tuesday, May 7, with the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) locking horns in what will be a straight fight in these Parliamentary constituencies located in the northern districts. NDA ally Janata Dal (Secular) is not contesting these seats.

A key issue in this stage of polls could be the Prajwal Revanna sexual assault case, with the sole MP representing the JD (S) suspended by his party.

Currently abroad, Prajwal’s absence doesn’t diminish the gravity of the situation. In a twist, the Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) has apprehended his father, HD Revanna, a prominent JD (S) MLA, in connection with a kidnapping case.

Despite these developments, veteran BJP leader and former CM BS Yeddyurappa has said the case against Prajwal will not impact the BJP’s prospects.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, DP Satish, Network 18’s group editorial advisor, emphasised the relatively minor role of JD (S) in the 14 parliamentary seats up for contention. While the Prajwal Revanna issue dominates discussions across Karnataka, its direct impact on the election’s outcome remains uncertain.

He added, “Congress has made it a big issue. During the election campaign, Congress leaders made it a big issue and wherever they went in the last one week, they spoke about this issue. But I don’t know if it is going to affect the outcome. Because that is very difficult to say, people are discussing this issue, but I don’t know if it is going to affect the electoral outcome.”

Read Here | Karnataka Lok Sabha elections 2024: Schedule, seats, BJP candidates and more

Talking about the Lingayat factor, Satish said Lingayats make up 15–16% of the population. The alliance of Lingayats with lower castes will make it an interesting contest. The Congress has fielded five Lingayat candidates and wants to eat into some of the Lingayat votes of the BJP in this phase.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, Congress has fielded former MP and veteran leader Jai Prakash Aggarwal from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk seat. Aggarwal lost to the BJP’s Harsh Vardhan in 2019. This time, he will be facing Praveen Khandelwal, the founder of the Confederation of All India Traders, who is contesting on a BJP ticket. Delhi will be going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25.

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Also Read | Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seats to date, all you need to know about third phase of voting

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

Congress’ Amethi move to field Kishori Lal Sharma may surprise BJP, says senior journalist

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

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After weeks of suspense, the Congress party has released the names of candidates for the Lok Sabha seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi will be contesting from Rae Bareli, which his mother Sonia Gandhi represented for two decades. He filed his nomination today. When it comes to Lok Sabha elections, Rae Bareli has remained largely a Congress bastion for over four decades.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls, the Samajwadi Party won four of the five assembly segments that comprise the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance.

Rahul Gandhi will be contesting against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh, who has been nominated from the seat for the second consecutive time. He lost against Sonia Gandhi in 2019 but reduced her vote share significantly. Singh had left Congress and switched to the BJP in 2018.

Read Here | Amethi Lok Sabha elections: Who is Kishori Lal Sharma, Congress’ pick against BJP’s Smriti Irani

For the first time in 25 years, no member of the Gandhi family will be contesting from Amethi. Congress has fielded Kishori Lal Sharma, a loyalist of the Gandhi family. Sharma played a key role in Sonia Gandhi’s first win in Amethi in 1999. He will be contesting against the BJP’s Smriti Irani. Irani had defeated Rahul Gandhi by over fifty thousand votes in 2019.

During a rally in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Congress for fielding Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi. The PM said he is scared and is running from one seat to another.

Discussing Congress’s move to back Kishori Lal Sharma for Amethi, senior journalist Sharat Pradhan said the decision to field Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi could catch the BJP off guard, which might be part of Congress’s strategy.

“It might surprise the BJP, as it’s unexpected. In politics, the past doesn’t always predict the future. High-profile candidates have lost before.”

Sujata Paul, the Congress spokesperson, stated in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that their choice of candidates and constituencies is solely their decision and not influenced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She clarified that Rahul Gandhi is running in Rae Bareli, while KL Sharma, a dedicated party worker, is contesting from Amethi.

On the other hand, Anuja Kapoor, the BJP spokesperson, portrayed Rahul Gandhi as avoiding Amethi due to potential defeat and suggested fear of losing. She claimed that Amethi witnessed significant development only after Modi came into power in 2014, citing over 700 crores in development projects.

For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi to contest from Raebareli, close aide KL Sharma from Amethi

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

Lok Sabha election 2024: High-stakes showdown in Gulbarga, Kharge’s son-in-law vs BJP’s giant-slayer

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

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Will the son-in-law avenge the defeat of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, or will the Surgeon, who created history by ensuring the Congress stalwart’s first-ever electoral loss in his home turf, recreate history? The contest in Gulbarga Lok Sabha segment has heated up amid the scorching summer.

Congress wants to wrest Gulbarga back at any cost; failure to regain the lost bastion of its chief will be a huge embarrassment for it.

The BJP is fighting to retain this high-profile SC reserved segment to assert itself in this region, which was long the grand old party’s citadel.

The 81-year-old Kharge has opted out of the electoral race, citing his age along with the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the INDIA bloc. The party has fielded his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman who also manages educational institutions.

While the BJP has once again fielded Umesh Jadhav, a medical surgeon, who emerged as the giant-slayer by defeating Kharge in 2019.

Considered to be the gateway for the Kalyana Karnataka region, which is among the backward areas of the state — Gulbarga, now known by its old name Kalaburagi or Kalburgi (stony land) was part of the region that was transferred from Hyderabad State to Karnataka at the time of re-organisation of the state in 1956.

Famous for toor dal and the limestone deposits, the region once hosted the celebrated capital of the Rashtrakuta kingdom.

Kharge, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had won from the Gulbarga segment twice (2009, 2014), but lost the 2019 polls to Jadhav by 95,452 votes. Popularly known as ’Solillada Saradara’, (a leader without defeat), for Kharge, who was a nine-time MLA, that was the first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.

Jadhav had quit as Congress MLA and joined the BJP to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Gulbarga.

The 2019 election was considered a tough one for Kharge, as senior leaders of Congress like Baburao Chinchansur, A B Malaka Reddy and Malikayya Guttedar, from the region had quit the party and joined the BJP.

These leaders along with Jadhav, who had quit the Congress upset over the ”dominance” of Kharge and his Minister-son Priyank Kharge, in the region, found a common ground and aggressively campaigned against the father-son duo.

However, all these three leaders have now gone back to the Congress, and are campaigning for the party candidate.

Jadhav, who seems to have maintained his popularity with his work as an MP, especially among his Banjara community, is also banking on Modi charisma. In fact, the Prime Minister began his Karnataka campaign from Gulbarga.

”However big or small the opponent is, the election is an election. We will fight, taking the election seriously and considering the opponent as strong. People have realised they made a wrong decision in Assembly polls believing in guarantees (pre-poll promises of Congress). Law and order have deteriorated,” Jadhav said, asserting people are in favour of BJP and Modi.

Doddamani, while maintaining a low profile, has always worked actively behind the scenes in managing and strategising for Kharge’s successive electoral campaigns, and is said to be popular among party workers and supporters.

Kharge, Priyank Kharge have extensively campaigned for Doddamani, and so did top party leaders including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, indicating the importance of the segment for Congress, which is also banking on guarantee schemes.

Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the people of his home constituency Gulbarga, Kharge during a public meeting here last month said, ”If you miss your vote this time (if you don’t vote for the Congress candidate), I will think that I don’t have any place here for me and I could not win your heart.” ”Whether you vote for us (Congress) or not, but at least come to my funeral if you think that I have worked for Kalaburagi,” the Congress veteran appealed.

Doddamani said he is getting a good response from the people and is confident about winning the seat. ”I’m not new to the constituency, I know the workers and people here.” Gulbarga has eight assembly seats of which Congress currently holds six, and BJP and JD(S) one each. Before 2019, Congress had lost its hold over the constituency only in 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha polls when the Janata Dal and BJP had won the seat, respectively.

Lingayats and SC community have dominance in the segment, which also has considerable Muslim voters.

”We want Modi once again. Kharge has done good work, but Modi did more here and for the country. Jadhav will win once again. Kharge’s charisma has diminished because of Congress,” an auto driver in Kalaburagi said.

A woman professional said, ”If Kharge had himself contested it would have been good, Doddamani is new…but Congress will win, Kharge has worked a lot here, it will benefit the party.”

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

Lok Sabha elections: Eight candidates in T’gana declare assets over ₹100 crore, BJP’s KV Reddy leads with ₹4,568 crore

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

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As many as eight Lok Sabha contestants have declared their family assets, movable and immovable, worth above ₹100 crore in Telangana, with BJP candidate from Chevella segment K Vishweshawar Reddy topping the chart with ₹4,568 crore. Significantly, the top three richest candidates in the polls are contesting from Chevella Lok Sabha segment.

Congress candidate from Chevella Ranjit Reddy stood in the second place after he declared family assets to the tune of ₹435.33 crore with ₹23 crore liabilities. His family has ₹294.33 crore worth movable assets while immovable at ₹141 crore. The third palace is occupied by the BRS candidate from the Chevella Kasani Gyaneshwar who declared both movable and immovable assets of his family totalling ₹228.46 crore.

BJP candidate from Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency K Madhavi Latha has declared her family assets worth ₹218.38 crore. Her family has liabilities to the tune of ₹27 crore. Madhavi Latha is set to take on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress’ Sameer Waliullah in Hyderabad constituency.

Nama Nageswara Rao BRS candidate from Khammam Lok Sabha constituency declared ₹155.89 crore worth assets of his family-movable and immovable. BB Patil, BJP candidate from Zahirabad segment has family assets to the tune of ₹151.68 crore.

Kamy Mallesh who is contesting on BRS ticket from Zahirabad has declared ₹145.33 crore worth of family assets. Nizamabad sitting BJP MP D Arvind has declared ₹109.89 crore worth of assets and liabilities to the extent of ₹30.67 crore. He will take on Bajireddy Goverdhan of BRS and T Jeevan Reddy from Congress.

According to the affidavits filed by candidates of various political parties, over 30 contestants have declared assets over ₹10 crore. Elections for 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will be held on May 13. Last date for filing nominations ended on Thursday. Last date for withdrawal is April 29.

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