POLL SNIPPETS: PM to address poll rally in Meerut on Sunday, RLD chief to participate
Published: Mar 30, 2024 - 20:15
Updated: Mar 31, 2024 - 15:40
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart his Lok Sabha election campaign in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday with a rally in Meerut where the BJP has fielded actor Arun Govil of TV serial 'Ramayan' fame as its candidate.
Apart from Govil, who became a household name after essaying the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan', Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, will share the dais with the prime minister.
A senior BJP leader said that apart from Meerut, people from nearby Baghpat, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar and Kairana Lok Sabha constituencies will participate in Sunday's rally.
"This is the first rally of the 2024 elections (in Uttar Pradesh). Party workers are fortunate that the prime minister is going to start the election campaign from Meerut," a BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, according to RLD spokesperson Atir Rizvi, party chief Jayant Chaudhary will share the stage with BJP leaders at the rally.
INDIA bloc rally not person-specific but to save Constitution, democracy: Cong
The Congress asserted on Saturday that the INDIA opposition bloc's "Loktantra Bachao Rally" that will be held at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi is not aimed at protecting a person, but at saving the Constitution and democracy.
The opposition party said a "strong message" will be sent out from the rally on Sunday to Lok Kalyan Marg (where the prime minister's residence is located) that the BJP-led government's "time is up".
Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi will address the rally, among other senior leaders.
"It is not a person-specific rally. That is why it is called Loktantra Bachao Rally. This is not one party's rally, about 27-28 parties are involved in it. All constituents of the INDIA jan bandhan will be taking part in the rally," Ramesh said.
His remarks assume significance in view of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders pitching the rally as being specific to protesting against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate.
Ramesh said Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, NCP (SP) chief Shared Pawar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, TMC's Derek O'Brien, among others, will participate in the rally.
Ex-Union home minister Shivraj Patil's daughter-in-law joins BJP
Archana Patil, the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
She joined the BJP in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the BJP's state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule in Mumbai on Saturday.
Shivraj Patil, who hails from Latur in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, was Union home minister during the UPA-I government, but stepped down in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Prior to that, he had also served as the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said Archana Patil has been associated with social work and her joining the BJP will help the party in Latur and the Marathwada region. The move is also being viewed as the BJP's efforts to bolster its prospects in the Marathwada region.
Last month, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, a heavyweight hailing from Nanded region of Marathwada, also joined the BJP.
I-T notice to Cong warning to all political parties: Chidambaram
The Income Tax department's notice to the Congress, imposing a penalty of Rs 135 crore, is a warning to all political parties of the BJP's intention to destroy them, former Union minister P Chidambaram has alleged.
"The BJP government imposed a fine of Rs 135 crore on the Congress party though the saffron party obtained Rs 8,250 crore through electoral bonds. This is a warning to the political parties and people that the BJP wants to destroy all the parties," he told reporters at Pudukottai (Tamil Nadu).
Meanwhile, the Congress has received fresh I-T notices asking it to pay another Rs 1,823.08 crore.
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Vote for INDIA bloc if you want democracy: CM Stalin to people
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has called on people here to vote for the INDIA bloc if they want democracy and social justice to prevail in the country.
Slamming Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Stalin on Friday said that if her claim of not having enough money to contest the Lok Sabha polls was true, the question is what happened to the fund the BJP received through electoral bonds.
"Madam, if you want to contest the polls, you should meet the people and should toil hard for people's welfare. Since you know the result that the people will not vote for you, you have decided not to contest," he said at Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu).
At a recent event in New Delhi, Sitharaman had commented that she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections, pleading that she did not have the "kind of funds" required for the fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
Seeking votes for the DMK's Dharmapuri candidate A Mani and Congress nominee for the Krishnagiri constituency Gopinath, Stalin said people should vote for the INDIA bloc to ensure democracy and social justice prevail in the country.
