THE HEADLINES:
⦁ As many as 1,210 candidates left in fray for second phase of Lok Sabha polls across 13 States and Union Territories.
⦁ Election Commission asks Union Home Ministry to deploy 100 more companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in West Bengal to conduct free and fair Lok Sabha elections.
⦁ Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi says India has demonstrated that nothing is impossible for it to achieve.
⦁ In Maharashtra, Maha Vikas Aghadi announces its seat-sharing deal.
⦁ Delhi Court extends judicial custody of jailed BRS Leader K Kavitha till the 23rd of this month in connection with Delhi excise policy scam.
⦁ Sensex crosses 75,000-mark for first time; Nifty also climbs to new high.
<><><>
The Election Commission has said that one thousand 210 candidates are in fray for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls across 13 States and UTs. A total of 2633 nominations were filed for 88 constituencies. After the scrutiny, 1428 nominations were found to be valid. Yesterday was the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Voting for this phase will be held on the 26th of this month.
In second phase, Kerala has a maximum of 500 nominations from 20 Parliamentary Constituencies, followed by 491 nominations from 14 Constituencies in Karnataka. Minimum of 14 nominations were received from one constituency in Tripura. Nanded Parliamentary Constituency in Maharashtra received a maximum of 92 nominations.
<><><>
The Election Commission has directed the Union Home Ministry to deploy 100 more companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces CAPF in West Bengal to conduct free and fair Lok Sabha elections. Sources said, 55 companies of Central Reserve Police Force and 45 companies of Border Security forces are being deployed by the Home Ministry on the instructions of the Commission. The sources said, officials have been directed to complete the deployment of an extra 100 companies of CAPF in West Bengal on or before the 15th of this month.
<><><>
The Election Commission, which is set to hold the biggest democratic exercise on earth, has adopted people friendly technology to make things easy for the voters.
Understanding the candidates is similar to having a map before starting a journey. It guides voters in selecting leaders who share their vision and values. In addition to this, being aware of any past legal troubles or controversies empowers voters to hold candidates accountable. The Election Commission has developed an app called Know Your Candidate or KYC, which tells voter if a candidate has ever been in trouble with the law. It’s available on both Android and iPhones and is user-friendly. Voters just need to select the type of election and the name of the area. Then, user can see a list of candidates or search for a specific one. The app will show if the candidate has any criminal cases against them, details about the cases, and their status. It’s a tool for voters to learn more about the people who want to represent them and make better choices when they vote. Durgesh Bhadauria Akashvani News, New Delhi.
<><><>
Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi has said that India has demonstrated that nothing is impossible for it to achieve. Prime Minister was addressing an election rally at Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh today.
The Prime Minister said that the Congress government used to seek help from the world but during the COVID pandemic, India sent medicines and vaccines to the world. He added that when the country is strong then the world listens to that country. The Prime Minister said there is an emergence of new job opportunities for the youth.
Eight parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 19. These are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.
<><><>
Prime Minister will address an election rally in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh this afternoon.
Prime Minister will be on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu beginning today. He will hold a roadshow in Chennai today and address two public meetings tomorrow. The roadshow in Chennai will cover segments of both South Chennai and Central Chennai. Tamilisai Soundararajan is BJP’s South Chennai candidate, while Vinoj P Selvam is taking on DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran from Central Chennai.
Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will first address a public meeting in Vellore, canvassing votes in support of ally PMK’s Dharmapuri candidate Soumya Anbumani and AC Shanmugam, another alliance party leader who is contesting on the BJP symbol from Vellore.
The Prime Minister will then reach Mettupalayam, near Coimbatore, and address a public meeting in support of BJP candidates from Nilgiris – Dr L Murugan, Coimbatore – K Annamalai and Pollachi – K Vasantharajan.
Elections to 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on 19th of this month.
<><><>
In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has announced its seat-sharing deal. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and State Congress president Nana Patole announced the seat-sharing arrangement for the 48 parliamentary seats in the State. The Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest on 21 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress party will fight on 17 and the NCP (SP) on 10 seats in Maharashtra.
<><><>
Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, former BJP leader from Haryana and former Union Minister Chaudhry Birender Singh today joined the Congress. He joined the party in the presence of senior Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik and Bhupinder Singh Hooda in New Delhi. His wife and former MLA Prem Lata also joined the Congress party today.
<><><>
Nawada parliamentary constituency of Bihar is a very sensitive and politically volatile Lok Sabha segment. Since 1989 no sitting MP has been re-elected from here. Polling will be held on the 19th April in Nawada along with three other constituencies of Jamui, Aurangabad and Gaya.
In Nawada parliamentary constituency more than 17 lakh electorates will decide the political fate of 8 candidates who are in the fray. The main contest is between NDA and opposition Grand Alliance. In the 17th Lok Sabha the seat was won by Lok Jan Shakti Party candidate Chandan Singh who defeated RJD candidate Vibha Devi. This time the BJP has kept this seat for its candidate in a seat sharing agreement among the members of NDA. Vivek Thakur of BJP is contesting for the first time from Nawada seat while from Grand Alliance RJD has also pitted a first timer Shrawan Kushwaha from this seat. RJD rebel Binod Yadav and Bhojpuri singer Gunjan Singh are also prominent candidates who are trying to make the contest multi corner. Nawada shares a boundary with neighbouring state Jharkhand. Rajauli and Govindpur assembly constituency under this parliamentary seat are naxal affected. Most of the area of this constituency is underdeveloped. Areas like Meskaur are facing perennial water crisis. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, Akashvani News, Patna.
Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has extended the judicial custody of BRS leader K Kavitha till the 23rd of this month in a money laundering case linked to Delhi excise policy scam. She is in judicial custody after arrest in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case. A Delhi court had yesterday denied interim bail to her.
Kavitha is allegedly a key member of the South Group. It has been accused of paying the ruling AAP in Delhi kickbacks of 100 crore rupees in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital. Kavitha was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate.
<><><>
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today moved the Calcutta High Court and has sought quashing of an FIR against its officials, who went to West Bengal’s Bhupatinagar for a raid in connection with the agency’s probe into a blast case. NIA counsel Arun Kumar Mohanty said that Justice Jay Sengupta granted permission to file the application and move his court in the post-recess session of the day.
The petition also seeks interim protection from any coercive action by the state police against the NIA officials.
<><><>
In Uttarakhand, eight Nepali-origin workers died and two others injured after their vehicle fell into a gorge at Unchakot in Nainital district late last night. Police along with SDRF carried out a rescue operation and recovered all eight bodies.
<><><>
Chaitra Sukladi, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand, Navreh and Sajibu Cheiraoba are being celebrated across the country today. President Droupadi Murmu ,Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have greeted people on the occasion. In her message, President Murmu said that these festivals are the occasions to welcome the spring season and Indian New Year. In his message, Vice President said, celebrated by different names but with the same joy at its core, these festivals mark the beginning of the traditional New Year in various corners of our nation, symbolizing hope, prosperity and renewal. Greeting people on Nav Samvatsar, Prime Minister wished that the new year will be filled with happiness, prosperity and good health for everyone. Wishing people on Navratri, the Prime Minister hoped that the great festival of worshipping Shakti will bring happiness, prosperity, good fortune and good health to everyone.
<><><>
People across Maharashtra are celebrating Gudi Padwa or the Maharashtrian New Year today. It is that time of the year when grand rallies are taken across the state out to herald the New Year.
Marking the arrival of spring, the festival of Gudi Padwa is being celebrated with much fanfare across Mumbai and Maharashtra. Among the most awaited Shobha Yatras, the Girgaon-based cultural committee, Swami Vivekananda Yuva Prathisthan have planned the yatra to commemorate 350 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation. Also keeping in mind the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya earlier , the committee aims to express how Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s rajya was Ram Rajya. Meanwhile, Mumbai Suburban District Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar has urged citizens to unfurl the Gudi of democracy this year and participate in the upcoming general elections by voting. NISHA RANEY, AKASHWANI NEWS, MUMBAI
<><><>
In Telangana, people are celebrating Ugadi, the New Year-day with traditional fervour today. The festival is being celebrated across the two Telugu states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to mark the beginning of the Hindu Lunar calendar.
People across Telangana, both in rural and urban areas are celebrating the Krodhi Nama Ugadi of Telugu Calendar, in a colourful manner as they decorated the entrance of their houses with Mango and the Neem leaves along with Jasmine and marigold flowers. People savour special Ugadi chutney today comprising Neem flower, jaggery, salt, sugar cane, tamarind and mango to indicate six basic tastes and listen to Panchangam, the forecast of the New Year as it is an ancient practice on the occasion.Lakshmi, Akashvani News, Hyderabad
<><><>
In Jammu and Kashmir, Navreh is being celebrated by the Kashmiri Pandits today. Navreh is the celebration of the first day of the Kashmiri New Year.
<><><>
In some business news, benchmark equity indices continued their record-breaking rally as the BSE Sensex breached the 75,000-mark this morning for the first time ever and Nifty climbed to its fresh new record peak. Buying in IT stocks contributed the most to the markets rally in early trade.
<><><>
On to sports, in IPL Cricket, Punjab Kings will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh today. The match will begin at 7.30 this evening.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
⦁ As many as 1,210 candidates left in fray for second phase of Lok Sabha polls across 13 States and Union Territories.
⦁ Election Commission asks Union Home Ministry to deploy 100 more companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in West Bengal to conduct free and fair Lok Sabha elections.
⦁ Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi says India has demonstrated that nothing is impossible for it to achieve.
⦁ In Maharashtra, Maha Vikas Aghadi announces its seat-sharing deal.
⦁ Delhi Court extends judicial custody of jailed BRS Leader K Kavitha till the 23rd of this month in connection with Delhi excise policy scam.
⦁ Sensex crosses 75,000-mark for first time; Nifty also climbs to new high.
<><><>
