THE HEADLINES:-
- High octane campaign for third phase of Lok Sabha elections with top leaders holding election rallies and road shows across the country.
- Senior BJP leader Amit Shah assures fundamental rights to tribals; Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi promises special budget for welfare of downtrodden.
- IMD issues Red Alert for extreme heatwave conditions in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha; Rainfall likely over Northwest India.
- Iran grants consular access to Indian crew of seized merchant ship; May be freed soon.
- And in IPL Cricket, Rajasthan Royals defeat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in Lucknow.
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The country is witnessing high octane campaign for third phase of Lok Sabha elections with top leaders holding election rallies and road shows in various constituencies.
95 Parliamentary Constituencies across 10 States and two Union Territories will go to polls in this phase on the 7th of May. A total of one thousand 351 candidates are in the fray in this phase.
Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi will address four rallies in Karnataka today. He will be campaigning in the constituencies going to the poll on May 7th. In the morning Mr. Modi will address a public rally in Belagavi. He will then reach Sirsi in Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency and address a public rally at noon. Thereafter the Senior BJP leader will reach Davangere and take up campaigning after noon and finally in the evening will address the final rally for the day from Bellary. Earlier, Mr. Modi while addressing an election rally in Goa last night, said that Goa symbolizes the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
Mr. Modi further added that this election represents a contest between the NDA fulfilling aspirations with a saturation-led approach and an I.N.D.I alliance leading an approach with greed for the sake of family & dynasty.
In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy unveiled the party Manifesto for General Elections-2024 at Tadepalli Party office yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, he stated that his state government completed 99 per cent of the promises made in 2019 Election Manifesto and assured to continue all the existing welfare schemes if voted to power again. He said, assistance to women will be increased to 1.5 lacs from existing 75,000 rupees.
In Gujarat, Senior BJP leader Amit Shah addressed election rallies in Porbandar, Bharuch and Panchmahal. Addressing a rally in Panchmahal yesterday, Mr. Shah said, the BJP government will implement the Uniform Civil Code once it returns to power. He said, BJP government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has freed India from terrorism. Mr. Shah said the BJP government is committed to the development of all sections of society including poor and marginalised people. Addressing a rally in Bharuch, Mr. Shah said, BJP government has not only increased the budgetary outlay for tribal people in the country but also enhanced the education, and health facilities for them. He also assured people that the BJP government would not take away the fundamental rights of tribals.
In another rally at Dharampur in Valsad district Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP government of doing injustice to the poor and tribal people over the last 10 years. She stated that if the Congress party comes to power, it will allocate a special budget for tribal people and work for the welfare of the poor, farmers, and the downtrodden.
Uttar Pradesh is going to witness high-voltage political campaigning today. Senior BJP leader Amit Shah will be addressing three rallies in the State. He will be in Kasganj, Mainpuri, Etawah and Kanpur. Apart from attending rallies in Kasganj, Mainpuri and Etawah, he will have meetings with party functionaries in Kanpur regarding the General Elections. Senior BJP leader and Chief Minister of the State Yogi Adityanath will also address rallies in Bareilly, Badayun and Etah districts. Clash of Titans in the political battleground will be in Bareilly where Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav will also campaign for the Party candidate. He will also address another political rally in Sambhal district.
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In Gujarat, political campaigning is going on in full swing. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh will campaign in favour of BJP candidates today. Mr Singh will address a press conference in Ahmedabad in the morning and later address election rallies at Khambhat and Bhavnagar.
On the other hand, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi will campaign in the state today. Mr. Singhvi will address a press conference in Ahmedabad. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at Patan tomorrow.
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In our series, covering profiles of key constituencies across States and Union Territories during the Lok Sabha elections, today we bring a report on the Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat. A report from our correspondent.
“The Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency named after the state capital Gandhinagar has been a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for over the last three decades. The constituency comprises seven Assembly seats, five from Ahmedabad and two from Gandhinagar district. It has consistently elected BJP candidates since 1989. The most notable MP from Gandhinagar seat was Lal Krishna Advani, who consecutively won from 1998 to 2014. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah, the current Union Home Minister, contested from this seat and secured victory with a significant margin of over 5 lakh votes. Amit Shah is contesting again from this seat in this Lok Sabha polls. A total of Fourteen candidates are in the fray on this seat including Sonal Patel from Congress whose fate will be decided by over 21 lakh 82 thousand voters. As the elections approach, all eyes are on this high profile seat, with the BJP aiming to retain its dominance and the Opposition parties vying for a breakthrough”. Aparna Khunt, Akashvani, Ahmedabad”.
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In Telangana, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) are extending support to Congress for the Lok Sabha Elections in the State to defeat the BJP. CPI-M leaders held talks with PCC President and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy regarding this yesterday. Both parties have withdrawn from the electoral battle except in Bhongir though CPI-M has fielded its candidate in Bhongir.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramaraka called on CPI leaders to seek support for the Congress. The CPI has agreed to support the Congress to defeat BJP in the State as it did not file nominations in any of the constituencies.
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Iran said, yesterday that the Indian crew of a Portuguese flagged ship that was seized by Iranian forces in its maritime territory two weeks ago is being granted consular access. A statement from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they are considering the release of the ship’s crew as a humanitarian issue. Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there are certain technicalities involved in the return of the remaining 16 Indian crew members. Mr Jaiswal said Indian officials had met the crew and are in constant touch with their families.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Earlier this month seized the Israeli-affiliated, Portuguese-flagged , a container ship as a result of a series of attacks between Iran and Israel.
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Iraq’s parliament on saturday passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships. The Law bans same-sex relations with maximum of 15 years in prison, and mandates at least seven years in prison for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution. It also imposes between one and three years in prison for anyone who changes their biological gender or dresses in an effeminate manner. The law was backed mainly by conservative Shi’ite Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in mainly Muslim Iraq’s parliament. According to the officials, the move is aimed to uphold religious values and to protect Iraqi society from moral depravity.
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At least five people have died and several injured after a tornado struck China’s Guangzhou on Saturday. The tornado was followed by multiple days of heavy rains and deadly floods lashing southern China. According to local authorities, as many as 141 factory buildings were damaged, but no residential houses collapsed.
China Meteorological Agency has issued a warning regarding heavy rain and strong storms that are expected to persist until the end of the month.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for severe heatwave conditions in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha. Heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over Bihar, Jharkhand, Rayalaseema, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Mahe, Konkan, Uttar Pradesh, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are likely to prevail till the next four to five days. IMD further said that hot and humid weather is very likely to prevail over West Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura till tomorrow while similar conditions are likely to prevail in Kerala, Mahe, Coastal Karnataka, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Konkan till the first of May.
Meanwhile, the weather agency has forecast rainfall and hailstorms over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu-Kashmir-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad tomorrow. It has also predicted thunderstorms and lightning in North East India for the next two to three days.
In Delhi, a partly cloudy sky is likely to prevail today. The maximum and minimum temperatures are slated to hover around 39 and 22 degrees Celsius.
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In IPL Cricket, Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow last night. Chasing a target of 197 runs set by Lucknow, Rajasthan Royals scored 199 for 3 in 18.5 overs.
Today, Gujarat Titans will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will start at 3.30 PM. In another match, Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The match is scheduled to begin at 7.30 PM.
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NOW, FOR A LOOK AT TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS,
- India exported smartphones worth around 15 billion dollars in 2023-24 – a result of the government’s efforts to make India a key player in electronics manufacturing, writes The Indian Express.
- ‘Over 140 hectares gutted in Uttarakhand forest fires,’ headlines The Hindu. The Pioneer shows a photograph of the raging fire tearing through the forest with the headline, ‘Forest on fire: Army, Air Force pressed into service in Nainital.’
- The Tribune reports that 60 roads have been shut after fresh snowfall in Himachal Pradesh.
- An India-bound oil tanker was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile launched by Houthi rebels, causing minor damage to it, reports The Asian Age.
- And finally, a new research paper has predicted that the Indian Ocean basin will see accelerated warming at a rate of 1.7 to 3.8 degrees celcius per century, during the period 2020 to 2100, reports Hindustan Times.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
- High octane campaign for third phase of Lok Sabha elections with top leaders holding election rallies and road shows across the country.
- Senior BJP leader Amit Shah assures fundamental rights to tribals; Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi promises special budget for welfare of downtrodden.
- IMD issues Red Alert for extreme heatwave conditions in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha; Rainfall likely over Northwest India.
- Iran grants consular access to Indian crew of seized merchant ship; May be freed soon.
- And in IPL Cricket, Rajasthan Royals defeat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in Lucknow.
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