Fifteen candidates in the recently concluded elections to the Rajya Sabha have pending criminal cases against them, of which six of them have serious charges, a report by the Association of Democaratic Reforms and National Election Watch has stated.
Maharashtra will see a total of 588 candidates with a criminal background battling the elections this time. A report prepared by the National Election Watch states that of the 3,559 candidates battling in the elections, 588 have a criminal background.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
'While I was performing it, I had a weird feeling that people would love it because it's so bizarre.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
As the curtain falls on the campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday, April 24, a ringside view of the closing ceremonies.
'The nation cannot afford a government indifferent to its plight/'
Modi told Times Now that the responsibility to take action in the raging matter lay with the state government as it was a law and order issue, according to the transcript of the interview provided by the broadcaster.
All 41 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Telangana were elected unopposed on Friday after the biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently.
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
'Outrage will take place sooner than later, because it's not only that their mandate has been stolen, but the most important issue right now is the sinking economy in Pakistan.' 'Inflation is 26%-27%. It is backbreaking inflation.' 'Food, energy, education, health, which are the primary things that every family requires, is going beyond the reach of the masses.'
The 'Pesta Demokrasi' is a cause for celebration not only for Indonesia but also for democracy and forces for peace all over the globe, notes Sandeep Chakravorty, India's Ambassador to Indonesia.
We used to hear of the Modi-Shah pair as the hyphenated top of the BJP leadership. Lately, the hyphen has disappeared and it is only Modi at the top. Yogi Adityanath gets honourable mentions, but he is still a good distance away from being anointed a worthy successor, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
People in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand say the Agnipath military recruitment scheme and the Ankita Bhandari murder case will have a bearing on the electoral prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party here as these issues weigh heavy on the minds of the electorate.
An organisation that is trying to prevent people with criminal charges against them from contesting the coming general elections has started with a look at the sitting lawmakers. Of the 543 Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, 123 or 24 per cent are criminals.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has assets worth a whopping Rs 87.27 crore, according to the National Election Watch, which has analysed the affidavits filed by the chief ministers of the five poll-bound states.
Whatever else the outcome of the forthcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, it would be interesting to see if the electorate votes in as many candidates with criminal charges against them as it did the last time around.
While some parties including the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party were keen on having early seat-sharing talks, the Congress delayed the deliberations pending the outcome of assembly polls.
About 40 per cent of sitting MPs have criminal cases registered against them out of which 25 per cent have declared serious criminal cases under charges of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
'Rahul is not even a lamp before the sun'
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday declared her nephew Akash Anand as her 'uttaradhikari (heir)', a party office-bearer said.
When it comes to financial contributions/donations, political parties in the country seem to benefit a lot by them as a significant part of their income depends upon them.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, being organised in Ayodhya, in a grand manner in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The former chief minister also sought to distance JD-S's alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the case, amid attacks by the ruling Congress seeking their response on the issue.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
More than 2,000 candidates will fight for 117 seats on what is set to be the second busiest day of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Know their details.
The seat equation for the opposition alliance will become a matter of debate as UP Congress state president Ajay Rai mentioned that Congress is prepared for all 80 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and is ready to contest on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The National Election Watch has put out a report pertaining the chief ministers of the five states going to polls -- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
The union territory of Puducherry has the dubious distinction of having the laziest legislators in India. A report shows that in comparison to the other four poll-bound states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam -- the legislative assembly in Puducherry had the lowest number of sittings in the past 5 years.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Varun, by remaining silent on the BJP action against him but at the same time remaining unperturbed and active, has shown that he is no pushover, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
By winning the New Hampshire primary after the Iowa Caucus, Trump has made the strongest ever case to be the Republican party's nominee for the November presidential elections.
"I will personally on Friday, May 31 at 10 am will come before the SIT and will cooperate with the investigation and will respond to it (charges). I have faith in court and I am confident I will come out of false cases through court," Pajwal said in a video statement aired on Kannada TV channel Asianet Suvarna News.
The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the month of Ramzan, a breakthrough coming after more than five months since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
You don't prep for 2028 but for 2040, or even 2044. Sustained sporting excellence is based on mass support, grassroots development, and funding - and it is this trifecta India needs to work on, systematically, asserts Prem Panicker.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi high court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.
The parliament duty group of the CRPF wound up its entire administrative and operational paraphernalia -- vehicles, weapons and commandos -- from the complex on Friday and its commander, a deputy inspector general-rank officer, handed over all the security points in the complex to the incoming CISF group, the sources said.
"His own government has destroyed Gandhian institutions in Varanasi, Delhi and Ahmedabad," the Congress leader alleged.
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