Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 began at 7:00 am on Friday across 88 Parliamentary Constituencies spread over 12 States and Union Territories. 89 general observers, 53 police Observers and 109 expenditure observers have been deployed in the regions. IMD has forecast normal weather for phase two Lok Sabha polls. The polling time has been extended till 6 PM in many polling stations in Banka, Madhepura, Khagaria and Munger constituencies in Bihar to facilitate voters in hot weather conditions. For convenience for voters, meticulous arrangements have been made by the Election Commission at all polling stations including facilities, to deal with hot weather conditions. It may be recalled that polling for 29-Betul PC in Madhya Pradesh was rescheduled in the third phase due to the death of a candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party. The polling for 102 seats in phase one was completed on April 19. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that adequate arrangements have been made for smooth polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls and urged voters to participate in the festival of democracy in maximum numbers. Over 16 lakh Polling officials will welcome over 15.88 crore voters across 1.67 lakh polling stations in the second phase. 34.8 lakh first-time voters are registered to cast their votes. Additionally, there are 3.28 crore young voters in the age group 20-29 years. 1202 candidates (Males - 1098; Females-102; third gender - 02) are in the fray. Three Helicopters, four Special trains and nearly 80,000 vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel. Webcasting will be done in more than 50 per cent of the polling stations along with deployment of micro-observers in all polling stations. Webcasting is being done in over 1 lakh polling stations. A total of 4553 Flying Squads, 5731 Static Surveillance Teams, 1462 Video Surveillance Teams and 844 Video Viewing Teams are keeping surveillance round the clock to strictly and swiftly deal with any form of inducement of voters. Around 4195 Model polling stations are set up across the 88 PCs with local themes. More than 4100 Polling stations are being completely managed by women including security staff and at over 640 Polling stations by Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). Polling stations in all States/UTs except Bihar and Kerala have less than 1000 average electors per polling station. Bihar has 1008 and in Kerala, it is 1102 electors per polling station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power. The 2024 elections are taking place at a time when opposition leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have been arrested on charges of corruption in the liquor policy case. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 08:06 AM IST | New Delhi | ANITaking cognisance for the first time of a model code violation complaint against a prime minister, the EC issued a notice to BJP president J P Nadda on Opposition charge that PM Narendra Modi gave a divisive speech in Rajasthan. Separately, the poll panel also issued a notice to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks. In the notice sent to Nadda, the EC sought his response by Monday to the complaints filed by the Congress, CPI, CPI (ML) and civil society groups regarding the remarks made by Modi. These complaints had referred to Modi’s allegations that the Congress wanted to redistribute the wealth of the people to Muslims and that the opposition party won’t even spare the ‘mangalsutra’ of women. Congress accuses watchdog of bias towards Modi The Election Commission is “super, super cautious” when it comes to complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress said on Thursday after the poll watchdog asked the BJP to respond to complaints filed by opposition parties, accusing the PM of delivering a divisive speech in Rajasthan. The EC has also asked the Congress to respond to complaints filed by the BJP against the main opposition party’s president Mallikarjun Kharge and its senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:53 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Congress Party released a list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections from Haryana, fielding Kumari Selja from Sirsa and Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak. Mahendra Pratap will contest the elections from Faridabad and Varun Choudhary from Ambala. The Congress has fielded Jai Prakash from Hisar, Divyanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat, and Rao Dan Singh from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. The Lok Sabha elections for the 10 parliamentary constituencies of Haryana are going to be held in a single phase on May 25. Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana Anurag Aggarwal has taken a unique initiative of sending invitation letters to voters urging them to cast their vote to ensure maximum voting in the state which is going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25, authorities said on Thursday. They said that the booth-level officer will welcome voters to take the voter turnout to 75 per cent in the state. In a post in hindi on social media platform X, Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Haryana said, "To ensure maximum voting in Haryana in the Lok Sabha General Elections- 2024, a unique initiative has been taken by the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana, Mr. Anurag Aggarwal, under which invitation cards will be sent to the voters like a wedding to call them to vote this time". "Like a wedding ceremony, booth-level officers will welcome voters. This time the target is to take the voting percentage to 75 percent in Haryana. Voting is to be held on May 25 under the sixth phase in the state and the notification for the elections will be issued on April 29," DPR Haryana added in its post. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state, the BJP swept the state, capturing all 10 seats. In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 7 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won 2 seats and the Congress secured only one seat. The first phase of polling for the 18th Lok Sabha elections was held on Friday. The polling was held in 108 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories. The next round of voting will be held on April 26. The counting of votes and results will be declared on June 4. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:51 AM IST | Gurugram | ANIDelhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the excise policy scam and the arrest of a person for an offence based on material can never violate the concept of free and fair elections, the ED has told the Supreme Court. The Enforcement Directorate claimed that Kejriwal worked in collusion with his ministers and AAP leaders and was also involved in demanding kickbacks from liquor businessmen in exchange for favours granted in the policy. “Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of NCT of Delhi is the kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi excise scam in collusion with ministers of the Delhi govt, AAP leaders and other persons,” the agency said in its 734-page reply affidavit. “Kejriwal was involved in the conspiracy of formulation of the excise policy to favour certain persons and also involved in the demanding kickbacks from liquor businessmen in exchange for favours granted in the said policy,” it said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:50 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesVoting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 89 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala. All 20 seats of Kerala will go to polls besides 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 1,206 candidates with four from Outer Manipur constituency will contest elections in this phase, campaigning for which ended Wednesday evening. Polling officials leave for election duty on in Tripura. Pics/PTI Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh (Cong), and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) are among the key candidates while BJP’s Hema Malini, Om Birla and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking a hat-trick of wins from their respective constituencies. Glimpses of dispatch of polling parties in Imphal. Pic/PTI The first of the seven-phase elections held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories saw a voter turnout of around 65.5 per cent. After Friday’s phase, polling will be over in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura. In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1). 1,206No of candidates that will contest This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:48 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cautioned the public against using websites or applications, and parting with their money to any unauthorized entity. "It had come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that TalkCharge Technologies Pvt Ltd (entity), a company having its registered office at Gurgaon, Haryana is issuing Prepaid Payment Instruments (Wallets) through its website and app (application) 'TalkCharge' without obtaining the required authorisation from RBI under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007", according to RBI's press release. Accordingly, the entity was issued directions dated April 02, 2024 (attached) to stop the issuance and operation of its Prepaid Payment Instruments or Wallets and refund the balances held in the wallets within 15 days (which was later extended on the entity's request to 45 days, i.e., by May 17, 2024). It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank that the entity has issued a legal notice to its customers demanding the return of cashback, failing which the matter will be reported to the RBI. Thus, the entity has created an impression in the minds of its customers that demand for repayment of cashback amount is being made as per the directions of the RBI. It is clarified that the RBI has only directed the entity (TalkCharge Technologies Pvt Ltd) to refund the prepaid amount lying in the wallets, to the customers. Members of the public are urged to exercise utmost caution while using websites / application/s and parting with their money to any such unauthorised entity. Members of the public should verify and satisfy themselves that the website/application used or the entity they are dealing with is authorised to carry out the activity it performs. The list of authorised payment system providers/authorised payment system operators is displayed on the RBI website. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:46 AM IST | New Delhi | ANIIn a significant step towards digitisation, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Thursday announced that the Supreme Court will share information relating to cause lists and filing and listing of cases to advocates through WhatsApp messages, saying it will have a “big-bang impact” and will go a long way in saving paper and the earth. The announcement on integration of WhatsApp with its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services was made by the CJI before a nine-judge bench headed by him commenced the hearing on the vexed legal question arising from the petitions about whether private properties can be considered “material resources of the community” under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:45 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesPolling for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur parliamentary seat commenced on Friday morning, amid stringent security measures, an official said. Voting is underway in 857 polling stations, spanning 13 assembly segments in eight districts, Chief Electoral Officer PK Jha said. During the first phase of elections, parts of the Outer Manipur seat, covering 15 assembly segments, and 32 assembly segments of the Inner Manipur, went to polls on April 19. Four candidates are contesting in this phase - Naga People's Front candidate K Timothy Zimik, Congress' Alfred Kanngam Arthur, and independents S Kho John and Alyson Abonmai. The BJP has not fielded any candidate and is backing its ally, the NPF. Over 4.84 lakh voters, including 8,02,577 women and 246 transgender electors, are likely to cast their votes in this phase. Security measures have been significantly enhanced across all 13 assembly segments, with approximately 87 companies of central paramilitary forces and 4,000 state forces personnel deployed to ensure free and fair elections. In the 2019 elections, the NPF emerged victorious, defeating the BJP by a margin of 73,782 votes. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2024 07:44 AM IST | Imphal | PTIThe best way to tell that you’ve crossed the border from Bengal to Bihar, driving down Siliguri’s Bagdogra airport—even without looking for the toll booth—is to casually study flags that line the highway, shops, constructions, all across. Simple vexillology, as it were. At some point, quite simply, the saffron-green of the BJP’s lotus, and obviously the tricolour with Trinamool Congress’s election symbol, simply recede to a zero. But for a few BJP flags, and fewer INC’s “haath chhaap” tricolour still. You know you’re in Bihar, specifically Kishanganj. What unites with Bengal, though, are the triangular ‘bhagwa dwaj’ (saffron flags)—with Lord Ram, or Hanuman, as with Chhatrapati Shivaji in rural Maharashtra—flying, throughout. The name Kishanganj is so generic, like the district itself, that a colleague in Mumbai told us they’d heard of it. Surely, in a Bollywood movie—to denote a typical small town/village, like Ramgarh in Sholay! That said, Kishanganj also remains among the most backward districts in India, and Bihar, at any rate, which is already the most backward among states. What’s so special? Top candidates Uniformly agrarian Kishanganj, in north eastern Bihar, was an outlier in 2019 elections. BJP-led NDA swept the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar, with 39/40 seats. What about the one seat that kept them from a clean sweep? That was Kishanganj. Kishanganj’s dilapidated Aligarh Muslim University campus The reason is kinda obvious. And for that too, you needn’t study demography as much as simply look at the top candidates in the fray, in 2024—INC’s Dr Mohammed Jawed; Mujahid Alam from Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), that’s now part of NDA; and Akhtarul Iman from Hyderabad’s AIMIM, that’s evidently made deep inroads into the rural parts. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi had camped in Kishanganj for three days to wrap the campaign. Rahul Gandhi had walked through Kishanganj for his Bharat Jodo Yatra. It’s not like BJP has never won from here—Shahnawaz Hussain has been elected once (1999). INC’s Dr Jawed, locally called ‘Doctor Sahib’, is seeking re-election from the Muslim-majority constituency. The town goes to polls on April 26. Which explains why it looks even deader, the day before—whether at the eatery self-explanatorily named, Family Restaurant, or the plusher Hotel Daftari Palace. The cops, overestimating our worth, have checked the boot of our car for possible cash, more than once. Dr Jawed says he can’t meet, because that would be a violation of the electoral code. “All eyes, from the national to the regional party are on us,” his assistant tells us, offering to send over a volunteer, who’s on his way, to take us around. Only to return with another apology, “Somebody will certainly take a photo of him with you, and it’ll be another electoral code violation. The same gentleman has been fined eight times, already. He may not care for the ninth time. But you might get into trouble.” Fair point. Health and education As with several Indian Tier IV towns, the only thing architecturally majestic you come across in Kishanganj is the presence of the government—the railway station, the DM’s office, even the local post office. Despite a relatively low literacy rate, the town seems full of schools, including a top-end DPS (Delhi Public School), whose bus passes us by. The gamechanger, however, is a centre for Aligarh Muslim University, that’s come up in Kishanganj. We excitedly drive over to the campus. To find a small, dilapidated structure, with broken window panes, housing a girls’ hostel, along with an “academic block” inside the same building. No, this cannot be the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)! “No, it’s not,” Alam Mohd Shahzad, who works at the institute, tells us. “In 2013, we were granted an AMU by Central government. The 100-acre campus was supposed to come up. The land usage got blocked due to environmental concerns. This make-shift thing has been given to us since, by the state government. We only offer one course, an MBA, here. The girls in the hostel are mostly from Uttar Pradesh. They don’t have a vote in Kishanganj,” Shahzad says, pointing to a new girls’ hostel that should start soon. Likewise, an All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) was promised for Kishanganj: “These are jumlas. There is an AIIMS in (nearby) Darbhanga as well; still not operational,” Shahzad adds. Caste still central, of course In 2023, Bihar became the first state to release its caste composition survey. Among its revelations was how Muslims in the state identify themselves with their caste, first. A political volunteer, on condition of anonymity, tells us, “Most Muslims in Kishanganj are pasmandas (backward caste). There are also the same castes, between Hindus and Muslims. A key demand of Dr Jawed is reservation for the Surjapuri community.” For a town bordering Bengal, the question of “illegal migrants” comes up in the context of Kishanganj as well. You do bump into several Bengalis. They go by the Shershabadia community. “We don’t vote here,” they tell us. But Kishanganjis are equivocal on how “it’s such an aman-pasandi (peace-loving) place,” as the street vendor Chirag Ali also puts it. As do others. Ask them who’ll they vote for? The cryptic answers are hilarious: “Not teer [JD(U)],” as per Shahzad. “Full pant. Not jeans pant,” goes Pandit-ji, laughing, and then whispering into our ears, BJP, which is technically not even contesting from Kishanganj. April 26Day town goes to the polls
26 April,2024 07:35 AM IST | Kishanganj | Mayank ShekharWith all 20 seats of Kerala going to polls today, mid-day met M G Radhakrishnan, a well-known political observer in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. In a free-wheeling chat, Radhakrishnan discusses the prospects of the mainstream political parties and the challenges they face, in the Lok Sabha polls. Excerpts from the conversation: Congress’s Shashi Tharoor is facing the most challenging election this time. The Thiruvananthapuram constituency will see one of the fierce contests in this election. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has already achieved a hat trick here. Now he is contesting against BJP candidate and entrepreneur Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a three-time Rajya Sabha MP and former minister for industries. This seems to be a vital wicket for Tharoor. Tharoor contested the first Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram in 2009, winning by a margin of nearly 1 lakh votes. In 2014, he was up against O Rajagopal, the veteran BJP leader, and though he won, Tharoor’s winning margin came down to 15,470 votes. In the 2019 general election, he secured 99,989 votes over his nearest rival. Thiruvananthapuram is significant for the BJP and it is pinning its hopes here as the party came second only in this seat in the last two elections. He feels Tharoor’s primary opponent, Chandrasekhar, will strengthen their chances. He can attract some votes beyond the Sangh Parivar constituency. Tharoor is popular among the young, upper-class, educated Hindu section of the population, making him prominent in this constituency. Chandrasekhar can attract some votes which the BJP could not win in the last two elections, and that is why it can be said he could poach Tharoor’s votes. I still think Tharoor is the favourite here, and it isn’t easy to dislodge him. Even though there could be a split in this constituency with the urban, young, political, and upper middle class, where Chandrasekhar could make some inroads, the minorities could be the strongest supporters of Tharoor. About 30 per cent of the population in this constituency comprises minorities—Muslims and Christians. In 2014, this seat had witnessed the fiercest battle as Tharoor lagged behind O Rajagopal until the last round, so much so that the latter went public saying he had won. In the last round, Tharoor got all the votes, especially from the coastal sections. There could be some drop in the ballots because of the Vizhinjam Harbour deal. Most minority votes may go to Tharoor and the remaining to the CPI candidate. That could be problematic for Chandrasekhar and not easy to overcome. Voter turnout is always good here, and on the occasion, it dropped last time in the coastal regions, veteran Congress leaders like AK Antony came out and spoke to Church leaders who urged people to vote. This helped Tharoor substantially. Locals say they are not happy with Tharoor’s performance. Yes, there is a lot of criticism of Tharoor that he could not do much for the constituency. Tharoor’s justification is that in the last two elections—2014 and 2019, it was the BJP in power in the centre, so whatever he tried was not made possible by the central government. He also blamed the state government by saying the LDF did not support him. He claimed the Trivandrum Corporation, led by the Left, did not support him when he tried to bring in some investments. So, this could be a challenging issue for him, and Chandrasekhar is pointing out that despite being an MP for 15 years, Tharoor hasn’t done much for the constituency. Chandrasekhar is positioning himself as an entrepreneur and technocrat and also possibly a minister if the BJP comes to power. He is positioning himself as the change. It may work to some extent in his favour. Despite Thiruvananthapuram being an essential constituency for BJP, the party hasn’t done much to attract voters. Not just the constituency but for the entire state, the party hasn’t done much in terms of projects or budget allocation; Kerala is fighting with the Centre. In the Rail Budget, Kerala has been neglected. Though the BJP considers Kerala a possible wicket for the BJP, neither the central leadership nor the NDA government has helped Kerala in terms of investments. The central government’s investments are decreasing in the last 15-20 years. This is what Tharoor is saying, and Chandrasekar has been complaining about him, but the latter has been a Rajya Sabha MP since 2006. Despite being a Malayalee, he has not done anything for Kerala. How can any Keralite trust him or the party in the future, say the voters? The perception of the 70s that Kerala is a labour-problem state continues, but if you look at the statistics in the last two decades, industrial or labour disputes are very low. The Techno Park in Kerala employs over 50,000 people, and not a single day has been lost due to labour unrest. The minimum wage here is high, which may be a disincentive for investment. Kerala has risen in sectors like IT, healthcare, and tourism, for instance, but insufficient to solve Kerala’s educated unemployment or lagging industries and agriculture. Will BJP make in-roads in the South?The party still has a long way to go, as it has not established credibility as an alternative to the LDF or the UDF. It hasn’t positioned itself as a party which takes care of Kerala’s needs. It hasn’t. BJP has in-built structural issues like the minorities. How do you cross this thing if, despite its Hindu majoritarianism, the BJP can help Kerala? The LDF has not functioned well, economic management is terrible, and the Congress has been tried many times, but what has the BJP to show as an alternative? Its leadership is bankrupt in Kerala, and I don’t see any potential in BJP leadership in Kerala. BJP has been in power at the centre since 2014 but hasn’t done anything for Kerala. So why should Kerala trust the BJP? Kerala people are educated, and they don’t see anything significant in states run by the BJP. If BJP is going to be the difference, it must show the difference. It hasn’t. But now there is corruption, and there are the electoral bonds and washing machines. Anyone tainted in any party is happily welcomed into the BJP. BJP has been complaining about dynasty politics against Congress, and all the sons and daughters of Congress leaders have joined the BJP. But it can give projects and investments to Kerala. The state government is the only government that has to pay R5000 crore for highway development, and this does not happen in the Northeast or Uttar Pradesh, for instance. The state elections are between LDF and UDF. Whatever good the BJP hopes to have with the churches here was lost by what happened in Manipur. The Muslim community in Kerala is very advanced compared to other states in the country and has come up in every sphere. There has been a renaissance within the community because of foreign remittances. The education of women is high. The UCC and CAA have made the community very suspicious of the BJP. The Muslim League is a major political party and can claim 100 per cent wins in every constituency. They will never vote for the BJP despite having some Muslim leaders. Migration is not a recent phenomenon Kerala society has been traditionally footloose for two reasons: In the 70s, the oil boom helped a lot of Keralites for better money opportunities outside. There are no investment and employment opportunities here. In the last 15 years, over 2 lakh people surrendered their passports despite BJP’s nationalism. As lakhs of students from India study abroad, while Kerala ranks 7th, this list is topped by Gujarat. In 1956, Kerala was the poorest state in the country, and now it is among the top 10 wealthiest states. It is because of the education and public healthcare facilities. In terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) —literacy, sex ratio, education, etc., Kerala is the best. It attracts the most significant foreign remittances, and is why Kerala is still economically prosperous. Kerala has done reasonably well in the economy and very well in HDI. Gulf money has saved Kerala, but is that sustainable after COVID-19? The remittances haven’t decreased, and people have returned to their jobs. Kerala is a plantation economy and is dependent on international prices. Kerala has to get into new areas for development. For the social economy, the state has to earn more money. The tax rates are high, and the state has collected the money where it can. Most of the public sector undertakings suffering losses will continue because of left-of-centre political thinking. Out-of-the-box ideas are needed to bail out Kerala’s weak programs. Higher education numbers are high, but quality is lacking. With its fragmented politics Kerala has to find solutions for its issues. Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad Gandhi is a national political leader and does not have much time for the constituency. Rahul Gandhi will win for sure. The Muslims and the Muslim League know that they have their only hope in Congress.
26 April,2024 07:33 AM IST | Thiruvananthapuram | Vinod Kumar MenonAll eyes are on Meerut now, which goes to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections today. The ruling party has thrown its full weight behind actor Arun Govil, who is contesting elections on a BJP ticket for the first time in Meerut constituency. The party is hoping that people make the Ram connect and vote for Govil—who played the role of lord Ram in the television series Ramayan—in large numbers. The Meerut constituency is important and significant for the BJP, as it has sidelined its sitting parliamentarian Rajendra Agrawal to field fresh candidate Arun Govil. Though the actor-turned-politician has been able to pull in the crowds during campaigning and road shows, it is equally important to see what percentage of the crowd is influenced by the ‘Ram’ quotient to vote for BJP. Arun Govil played the role of Lord Ram in the TV series Ramayan BJP leader Agrawal won the Meerut Lok Sabha seat three consecutive times, and local supporters are a little upset over the party’s decision to field an actor because, in the history of Indian politics, actor-turned-politicians have always disappointed people. Though people are having mixed reactions over the selection of Govil, a large chunk of the crowd felt that a seasoned politician who can develop the area is needed rather than an actor who people only want to visit for selfies. The general opinion is that people always lament after voting for an actor-turned-politician. In a bid to make a landslide victory in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the BJP inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya and promoted it on a grand scale to use as a poll plank to decimate the Opposition. Heavyweights from the saffron brigade, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, among others, visited the constituency to campaign. Interestingly, Adityanath visited the constituency at least five times in the past few days for campaigning. The saffron brigade knows the religious nerves of the local residents of Meerut, where they invited key characters of Ramayan, including Dipika Chikhlia (who played the role of Sita) and Sunil Lahri (Laxman), to campaign for Govil. Since the political campaign reminded locals of Ramayan, the BJP is making all efforts to influence and translate huge crowds into votes to win this important seat. Though the BJP has been exuding confidence towards a cracking victory in the constituency, the saffron party is still cautious because the Opposition, including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati has conducted massive campaigns and public meetings to cut its votes. Phase-II of elections in UP >> 91 candidates in the fray for eight Lok Sabha constituencies>> These seats are Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura>> 81 male and 10 female candidates>> 1,67,77,198 voters in total, including 90,26,051 male, 77,50,356 female and 791 third gender voters About Meerut constituency>> Eight candidates in fray>> 20,00,530 voters in total, including 10,75,368 male; 9,25,022 female; and 140 third gender voters 2 lakhApprox no of voters in Meerut 8No of candidates in fray for Meerut
26 April,2024 06:55 AM IST | Meerut | Faisal TandelADVERTISEMENT
