THE HEADLINES:
- Top Political leaders hold marathon rallies as campaigning heats up for fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
- Today is last day for withdrawal of candidature for seventh phase.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Election Commission of India is a marvel to the World. - Met Department forecasts severe heatwave conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi till Monday; Wet spell in Peninsular India to continue.
- In Table Tennis, Manika Batra and Sharat Kamal to lead the six member Indian squad to Paris Olympics.
- In Boxing, Nikhat Zareen and three other Indian pugilists advance to finals of Elorda Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan.
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Election heat surges as leaders hold marathon rallies ahead of fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections. In Uttar Pradesh, star campaigners of different political parties are campaigning for next phase of elections today. Prime Minister and Senior BJP Leader, Narendra Modi will campaign in Uttar Pradesh on the second consecutive day.
“Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi will address rallies in Barabanki, Fatehpur and Hamirpur Lok Sabha seats today. Clash of Titans will be in Raebareli where Union Home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah will address a political rally. Interestingly the organiser of the rally is Manoj Pandey who is MLA from Samajwadi Party. Speculations are rife that Mr.Pandey may take the membership of BJP in the rally. The whole Gandhi family will also be in Raebareli today where Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi along with Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav will jointly address a rally. Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi will also campaign in favour of Kishori Lal Sharma the congress candidate from Amethi who is contesting against incumbent M.P and BJP nominee Smriti Irani. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi will hold a political rally along with Pallavi Patel, the President of Apna Dal Kamravadi in Kaushambi district. Sushil Chandra Tiwari, Aakashwani News, Lucknow.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a rally in Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha Constituency, in Maharashtra today. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to attend a public meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai.
Senior BJP Leader and Union Minister, Amit Shah will be in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand today. In UP, he is likely to address a rally in Amethi Lok Sabha Constituency. In Jharkhand, he is likely to attend a road show in Ranchi Lok Sabha Constituency.
Mr. Shah is also scheduled to address party’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra at Rourkela in Odisha.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is scheduled to hold four public meetings at Kabisuryanagar, Kantabanji, Loisingha, and Delang-Kanas today.
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INDIA alliance is organising a rally on Bandra- Kurla Complex Ground in Mumbai. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Senior Leader Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders of INDIA alliance are expected to address the rally.
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Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi held election rally in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. He said this Lok Sabha election is an opportunity for the country to choose a leader who can run a strong government which makes the world aware of India’s strength.
He also addressed political rallies in Azamgarh, Bhadohi and Pratapgarh districts of the state. On the other hand Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned in Raebareli. Attacking the BJP she said the saffron party is promoting lawlessness. She also criticised the government for lack of facilities in cow shelters.
Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the BJP in Banda and said the State and Central Government are neck deep in corruption. He also addressed another political rally in Fatehpur district.
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The Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal kicked off party’s Lok sabha election campaign from Amritsar last evening. Along with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, he held a road show in Amritsar city and appealed people to make the Aam Aadmi Party win all the 13 seats of the state. He said that after coming out of jail, he immediately came to Punjab. During his jail meetings with CM Mann he used to ask about Punjab and its people the most, he added.
Before the road show both the leaders paid obeisance at Golden Temple and Durgiana Mandir.
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Today is the last date of withdrawal of candidature for the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha polls. A total of 57 Lok Sabha Constituencies in seven States and one Union Territory will go to poll in this phase on the 1st of the next month. Thirteen seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine seats of West Bengal, eight seats of Bihar, six seats of Odisha, four seats of Himachal Pradesh, three seats of Jharkhand and one seat in Union Territory of Chandigarh will go to polls in the seventh and last phase. The counting of votes for all the phases will take place on the 4th of June.
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In our series of key constituencies for Lok Sabha polls, today we bring you a report on Barabanki parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting will be held on 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh on 20th of May. This also includes Barabanki seat adjacent to the state capital, Lucknow. In the last two elections, BJP candidates have been winning this seat. This time BJP has canceled the ticket of the sitting MP and made District Panchayat President Raj Rani Rawat its candidate. On behalf of the alliance, Congress has fielded Tanuj Punia, while the BSP has made Shiv Kumar its candidate.
“There are five assembly constituencies in Barabanki Lok Sabha seat. These include Kursi, Zaidpur, Ramnagar, Haidergarh and Barabanki Sadar. There are a total of 23 lakh 37 thousand voters in this parliamentary constituency. In Barabanki Lok Sabha seat, the public has not expressed confidence in any one party for a long time. Out of the total 17 Lok Sabha elections held so far, Congress has won the maximum five times. Barabanki Lok Sabha seat, which was once a stronghold of Congress, became a safe seat for SP but BJP won here in the Modi wave. In 2014, Priyanka Singh Rawat from BJP and in 2019, Upendra Singh Rawat from BJP were elected MPs from here. This time, BJP has canceled the ticket of sitting MP Upendra Singh Rawat and has made District Panchayat President Rajrani Rawat its candidate. Rajrani Rawat has also been an MLA from Fatehpur assembly seat. Congress candidate Tanuj Punia is in the election fray from Indi Alliance. This time BSP has fielded an external candidate, Shiv Kumar Dohre. OM AWASTHI, AKASHWANI NEWS, LUCKNOW.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that the Election Commission is a marvel to the rest of the world. In an interview to a media house in Delhi yesterday, Mr. Modi stressed that it is his government’s responsibility to showcase its exemplary work to the world. He added that in a democracy, elections must not be compartmentalised as merely losing or winning. He said elections provide an opportunity to convey a party’s message directly to the people without any dilution or diversion.
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Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Christopher Rowley is on a visit to Mumbai to promote bilateral relations with India and to discuss the issue of opening a Cricket Academy in Trinidad. Dr Rowley and his wife Sharon Rowley were accorded a ceremonial reception by Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais and Smt Rambai Bais at Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai yesterday.
Expressing the need to further strengthen relations with India, Dr Keith Rowley said that India’s investment will be a major contribution to the development of Trinidad and Tobago.
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The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has apprehended five Sri Lankan fishing boats poaching illegally in Indian waters. ICG ship Rani Durgavati, on patrol near Palk Strait, sighted the suspicious boats about 15 miles from Point Calimere on Tamil Nadu coast. All five boats were equipped with fishing gear and were actively engaged in fishing well inside Indian waters. The five boats, with 14 Sri Lankan nationals were apprehended by ICG ship for violation of MZI Act 1976. The boats and crew will be handed over to Coastal Security Group in Nagapattinam for further legal action.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast severe heat wave conditions are very likely to prevail in some parts of West Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi till 20th of May. East and central India are also likely to witness heatwave conditions from 18th of this month. IMD also predicted heatwave conditions over Northwest India and Bihar for the next four days.
“The weather department also forecast wet spell with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over southern parts of India till 22nd of May. Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely to occur over South India’s Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe regions today. In East India, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya are expected to witness similar weather conditions for the next few days. IMD said, the southwest monsoon is very likely to advance into south Andaman sea and some parts of Southeast Bay of Bengal and Nicobar Islands within the next three days. The maximum temperatures over many parts of Northwest, Central and East India are expected to increase gradually by about 2-4 degrees Celsius for the next 3-4 days. Meanwhile, in Delhi, the IMD forecast a partly cloudy sky with maximum temperatures to hover around 43 degrees Celsius today. This is Pallavi Parmar for Akashvani News, Delhi.”
Punjab has been experiencing scorching heat for last few days. The Meteorological Department has predicted a further increase of heat in coming days. The state government has announced the summer vacation in schools from 1st of June.
In Kerala, the Met Department forecasts heavy rain to continue in the coming days. Yellow alert is issued in six districts today and Orange alert is issued in Palakkad and Malappuram districts for tomorrow.
In Telangana, heavy rain lashed Hyderabad city and its outskirts last evening bringing much needed relief to people from heat.
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Indian number one women’s paddler Manika Batra and Veteran Sharath Kamal will spearhead a six-member Indian table tennis team for the Paris Olympics 2024. The squad was announced by the Table Tennis Federation of India, yesterday.
All six players for the Indian Olympic table tennis team were selected based on world rankings.
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In Women’s Boxing, reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen, along with three other pugilists entered the finals of Elorda Cup 2024 in Kazakhstan capital Astana. Nikhat registered an impressive 5-0 win over the local, Tomiris Myrzakul in women’s 52kg semi-final yesterday.
In 48kg category, Minakshi bagged her win against Kazakh boxers Gulnaz Buribayeva, while Manisha in 60kg category defeated Tangatar Assem. In 50kg category, Anamika was adjudged victorious after her opponent Kazakhstan’s Gulnar Turapbay was disqualified.
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In IPL Cricket, Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the IPL play offs after their match against Gujarat Titans was abandoned without toss due to incessant rain. The fight for the fourth and last spot in play-offs is still on between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings.
Today, Mumbai Indians will take on Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:-
⦁ “Modi launches east UP push with four rally blitz” is the headline in The Hindustan Times; Modi: INDIA bloc wants 5 PM’s in 5 years, will collpase after June 4 headlines the Asian Age; PM in UP: Modi, Yogi will change face of Purvanchal in 5 years headlines The Indian Express.
⦁ All papers also have on their front page the story of the Supreme Court firmly refuting the Enforcement Directorate’s contention that granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal was an exception. The Pioneer headlines ” Interim Bail to Delhi CM justified: SC; The Indian Express headlines ” After Shah remark on Kejriwal interim bail, SC says made no exception, criticism welcome.
⦁ And Finally, the Supreme Court tells the DDA to plant 100 trees for each 1 cut in Ridge.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Top Political leaders hold marathon rallies as campaigning heats up for fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
- Today is last day for withdrawal of candidature for seventh phase.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Election Commission of India is a marvel to the World.
- Met Department forecasts severe heatwave conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi till Monday; Wet spell in Peninsular India to continue.
- In Table Tennis, Manika Batra and Sharat Kamal to lead the six member Indian squad to Paris Olympics.
- In Boxing, Nikhat Zareen and three other Indian pugilists advance to finals of Elorda Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan.
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