THE HEADLINES::
- Campaigning picks up momentum for second phase of Lok Sabha Elections; Top Leaders of political parties holding multiple rallies in various parts of the country.
- Scrutiny of nomination papers for third phase held today; Last day of withdrawal on Monday.
- EPFO adds nearly 8 lakh new members in the work force including 2 lakh females in February this year.
- Met Department says, severe heatwave condition to continue in isolated pockets of Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal.
- In Wrestling, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik and Reetika Hooda clinch Paris Olympics quota at the Asian qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- And in IPL Cricket, match underway between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi.
||<<><>>||
Campaigning for the remaining phases of General Elections has intensified with the completion of the first phase yesterday. Senior leaders and star campaigners of all political parties including Grand Alliance and NDA are holding multiple rallies across the country to woo the voters. With just four days left for campaigning for the second phase, leaders are leaving no stone unturned. In this phase the lok sabha seats going to polls are: all twenty in Kerala, 14 out of 28 in Karnataka, remaining 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, seven seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh and one seat each in Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi addressed election rallies in Nanded and Parbhani in Maharashtra and Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru in Karnataka today. He said, he has come to present his report card and also to seek the blessings of the people. Prime Minister said, SC, ST and OBC communities have benefited from the policies of his Government, and over 25 crore people were brought above the poverty line. He once again expressed his commitment to work 24 by 7 for 2047 Viksit Bharat. Speaking on his 10 years of governance, PM Modi said, today India is the fifth largest economy, there is record foreign investments, exports and manufacturing sectors are growing rapidly and it is a major exporter of mobile phones.
Former Prime Minister and JD (S) leader Deve Gowda who spoke on the occasion said that the corrupt Congress Government had emptied the coffers when it left the Government in 2014.
On the other hand, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah alleged that the Surya Ghar Muft Bijli programme as promised in the BJP manifesto has put the burden on the poor as they have to bear the cost of the solar panels.
In Kerala, as part of the United Democratic Front, UDF, campaign, Congress, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi addressed a meeting at Eriyad. She alleged that Government agencies, meant to protect the law, have turned into unlawful extortionists in the country. Priyanka Gandhi also participated in a public meeting in Pathanamthitta. CPIM Politburo member Brinda Karat was active in various campaign events in Thrissur today in support of the Left Democratic Front, LDF. BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, Vijayadharani spoke at the Ananthapuri Women’s Conference organized in support of NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar today.
Addressing a public meeting in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Senior BJP leader Amit Shah said, this time the people of Uttar Pradesh will make the BJP victorious on all 80 seats.
Speaking at a rally in Amroha, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that if the I.N.D.I. alliance government is formed, the loans of farmers will be waived off. Along with this, the honorarium of MNREGA and Anganwadi workers will be doubled.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi addressed an election rally at Bhagalpur in Bihar. He said, if the I.N.D.I.A. bloc government comes into power, they will end the Agniveer scheme. He said, they will work for the welfare of the poor and tribal community.
In Manipur, the Nagaland Chief Minister and NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio and Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang campaigned for NPF candidates in Senapati district. Both NPF and NDPP are alliance parties of the NDA.
<><><>
In Assam, a total of 61 candidates are in the contest in this phase in five seats. BJP, Congress, AIUDF, TMC, BPF among others are in the fray in the second phase. Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned today at Barak valley for party candidates. Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi who is re-contesting from Nagaon seat, held rallies today at Raha. Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will hold a road show tomorrow evening at Silchar for party candidate Parimal Suklabaidya.
<><><>
Filing of nomination papers for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections ended yesterday. Scrutiny of papers was taken up today. In the third phase, 94 Parliamentary seats in 10 States and two Union Territories will go to polls on the 7th of next month. Monday is the last day for the withdrawal of candidature.
In Gujarat, scrutiny of nomination forms was also taken up for by-elections to five Assembly seats.
Meanwhile, filing of nominations for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls is underway. In this phase, 96 Parliamentary seats spread over nine States and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls on the 13th of May. Nominations for this phase can be filed till the 25th of this month.
<><><>
The Congress has relased a list of four candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. The party has fielded Dulal Chandra Pradhan from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat in Odisha and Urbashi Bhattacharya from Kanthi seat in West Bengal. The Party has repalced Mohan Hembram and fileded Binod Bihari Nayak from Keonjhar seat in Odisha.
<><><>
The Chief Election Office of Manipur has requested the ECI to consider the re-polls in six Polling Stations of Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency where voting took place yesterday in the first phase Lok Sabha Elections.
The Returning Officer submitted a detailed report to CEO Manipur about six Polling Stations where voting was disrupted due to violent incidents yesterday. The Returning Officers said that the concerned Presiding Officer has informed that mob violence, destroying EVM and VVPAT machines and proxy voting occurred in these Polling Stations.
<><><>
In our series, covering profiles of key constituencies across States and Union Territories during the Lok Sabha elections, today we bring a report on Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in the old Mysore region of Karnataka. A report:
Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in the old Mysore region of Karnataka is largely an agrarian constituency having a vast sugarcane belt irrigated by Kaveri river. It is witnessing a keen contest between JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Venkataramane Gowda popularly known as Star Chandru from the Congress party. In this election H D Kumaraswamy is supported by BJP and the fight is against Congress. In 2019, Independent Candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh who is wife of popular Kannada cinema star late Ambareesh had won from the seat with BJP backing her. She had won getting around 51 percent of the total votes. Sumalatha is not contesting from the seat in this election and has joined BJP. The constituency has mostly supported film actors from Kannada film industry. Traditionally the Mandya district politics revolves around Congress and JD(S) with BJP having a mild support base. Sudhindra Akashvani News Bengaluru.
<><><>
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO has added 15.48 lakh net members in the month of February this year. EPFO’s provisional payroll data released today, indicates, around 7.78 lakh new members have been enrolled during the month. Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveils that over two lakh new members are females, which is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18 to 25 years age group, constituting a significant 56.36 per cent of the total new members added in February. It indicates that majority of individuals joining the organized workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.
<><><>
President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar have expressed grief over the loss of lives in a boat capsize incident in Mahanadi river Jharsuguda, Odisha. The President said, she is distressed to learn the loss of many lives and conveyed her condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for speedy recovery of all those affected by the tragedy.
<><><>
On the auspicious occasion of Mahavir Jayanti tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 2,550th Bhagwan Mahaveer Nirvan Mahotsav at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Prime Minister Modi will release a commemorative stamp and coin and also address the gathering on the occasion.
<><><>
President Droupadi Murmu has extended greetings to the citizens, especially to the Jain community on the eve of Mahavir Jayanti. In a message, the President said, this festival gives us the message of love and peace. She said, on this occasion, we should take pledge to spread love and harmony in the society and work with dedication for the development of the nation.
<><><>
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets of Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal till Monday. Heat Wave conditions are also very likely to prevail in some pockets of Jharkhand for the next two to three days. In Odisha mercury level soared to over 45 degree celsius in some parts of the state today. More from our correspondent.
The heat spared the coastal pockets, although humidity levels rose, making life uncomfortable. The Bhubaneswar Met office has predicted that there will be no change in the weather conditions until the following Monday. The state yesterday recorded the season’s first allegations of sunstroke death. A senior Special Relief Commissioner’s office officer said all allegations were sent for inquiry before the final confirmation report. As per the direction of the state government, all schools and Anganwadi Kendra have been suspended for the past three days. SN Pattnaik, Akashvani, Cuttack.
<><><>
In wrestling, Indian women grapplers, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik and Reetika Hooda have clinched the Paris Olympics quota at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek, today. Phogat beat Laura Ganikyzy of Kazakhstan, 10- Nil, in the 50 kg category, while Anshu defeated Laylokhon Sobirova of Uzbekistan 11-nil in the 57 Kg category. Reetika defeated Hui T. Chang of Chinese Taipei, 7- Nil, in the 76 kg category.
<><><>
In IPL Cricket, match between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad is underway at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. In a high scoring match, Sunrisers were 256 for 07 in 19.4 overs, a shortwhile ago. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma led SRH to highest-ever powerplay total in T20 history, amassing 125 runs in the first six overs. Head scored 89 off just 32 while Abhishek Sharma made 46 off just 12. The previous record was held by the Kolkata Knight Riders, who had accumulated 105 runs without the loss of any wicket against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2017 season.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- Campaigning picks up momentum for second phase of Lok Sabha Elections; Top Leaders of political parties holding multiple rallies in various parts of the country.
- Scrutiny of nomination papers for third phase held today; Last day of withdrawal on Monday.
- EPFO adds nearly 8 lakh new members in the work force including 2 lakh females in February this year.
- Met Department says, severe heatwave condition to continue in isolated pockets of Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal.
- In Wrestling, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik and Reetika Hooda clinch Paris Olympics quota at the Asian qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- And in IPL Cricket, match underway between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi.
||<<><><||
