Assembly Elections 2021 Live Updates:
Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam and 30 seats in Puducherry.Assembly Elections 2021 Highlights: Several Trinamool Congress MLAs and leaders, who were denied a ticket for the upcoming assembly elections, joined the BJP on Monday.
The list includes three-time MLA from Singur Rabindranath Bhattacharya, TMC’s candidate from Malda’s Habibpur Sarala Murmu, four-time MLA from Satgachia in South 24 Parganas Sonali Guha, Basirhat Dakshin (North 24 Parganas) MLA Dipendu Biswas, Shibpur MLA Jatu Lahiri and Sankrail MLA Sital Kumar Sardar. Bengali film actress Tanushree Chakraborty, too, joined the saffron party.
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, national vice-president Mukul Roy, Suvendu Adhikari and Locket Chatterjee welcomed the leaders to the saffron camp.
M K Stalin-led DMK Monday signed the seat-sharing agreement with CPI(M) and allotted them six seats for the upcoming polls in Tamil Nadu. The deal was signed by DMK president MK Stalin and CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan at the DMK headquarters in Chennai. Capping of the seat sharing, DMK has allotted 54 seats to its allies. Congress has received 25 seats, other allies VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK have received 6 each.
Meanwhile, DMK on Sunday released its manifesto on Sunday for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, promising to revive the economy, improve agriculture and farming productivity, focus on health and education, urban and rural development and, abolition of manual scavenging. Stalin also promised a Rs 1000 monthly allowance to homemakers with ration cards.
Addressing a poll rally in Thiruvananthapuram in poll-bound Kerala, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF factions have a healthy competition between them but for doing scams, not for taking Kerala forward. “When UDF comes to power, it commits solar scam and when LDF comes to power, it does Dollar, gold scams,” ANI quoted Shah as saying.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former state minister-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. (File Photo)
A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah threw questions at him, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday replied in kind, throwing counter questions at Shah and calling him an “embodiment of communalism”.
Kicking off his party’s election campaigning at his constituency of Dharmadam in Kannur, Vijayan said, “The entire country knows that Amit Shah is communalism in the flesh. He is ready to do anything for nurturing communalism.’’
Referring to Shah’s allegation that a witness in the gold smuggling scandal had died under mysterious circumstances, Vijayan said the government is ready to probe into it if details are shared.
(With Shaju Philip)
Negotiations on the alliance between the BJP and the NR Congress are ongoing, says Puducherry BJP in-charge Nirmal Kumar Surana. He adds that the final decision on the alliance and seat allocation will be announced soon. (ANI)
The AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has assured an assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to women family heads, in an announcement that bettered the DMK's poll promise of Rs 1,000 made a day ago, with the ruling party claiming it was not a copycat measure and has been in the pipeline.
Making the announcement on the Women's Day and a day after the DMK came out with the cash support to women family heads if the party was voted to power in the assembly polls, AIADMK top leader and Chief Minister K Palaniswami also promised six cooking gas cylinders free of cost to families in a year. (PTI)
Senior Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday alleged the Congress has communally polarised the assembly election environment in the northeastern state by joining hands with Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF which, he said, will benefit the ruling NDA.
Sarma, also convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said had the Congress contested separately, the three-phase assembly polls would have been fought on the plank of development.
But the opposition party has made this poll into a "conflict of civilisation'' by aligning with the AIUDF, Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of book release event.
The AIUDF is a part of the Grand Alliance comprising the Congress, Bodoland People''s Front (BPF), CPI(M), CPI, CPI-ML and the Anchalik Gana Morcha. (PTI)
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh along with BJP national vice president Jay Panda on Monday released the Assamese version of a book on Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The book, titled 'Amit Shah: And the March of BJP', written by Anirban Ganguly, Director of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPMRF), has been translated into Assamese by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The book release event was attended by distinguished personalities from different walks of life, including writers and scholars. (PTI)
Hundreds of CPI (M) workers and sympathisers, including women, took to streets in Kerala in protest against the candidates fixed by the party for the upcoming assembly polls.
In Ponnani in Malappuram district, scores of men and women raised slogans demanding that local CPI(M) leader T M Siddique be made the party candidate. CPI (M) has finalised CITU all India secretary P Nanda Kumar as the party candidate in the seat, currently represented by Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan.
The incumbent legislator is not contesting the polls, as he had completed two consecutive terms as a legislator, a norm introduced by CPI (M) in this election.
(With Shaju Philip)
The BJP on Monday named AP Abdullakutty, national vice-president of the party, as its official candidate in the bye-election to the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala.
This is the first time Abdullakutty will be in the electoral fray for the BJP since his entry into the party in 2019. He was promoted as the national vice-president of the party in September, 2020 and is seen as it’s most prominent Muslim face in Kerala.
Meanwhile, the CPM is likely to name VP Sanu, the national president of the SFI, as it’s candidate in Malappuram bye-election. A source close to Sanu confirmed the news and said a formal announcement will be made by the party on March 10.
(With Vishnu Varma)
BJP candidate and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, who has been fielded by the party for the assembly polls in West Bengal from Debra constituency of West Midnapore district has moved the Supreme Court on Monday seeking stay of arrest warrant and quashing of FIR lodged against her.
A bench of Justice U U Lalit and K M Joseph, which could not take up the matter on Monday, listed it for hearing on Tuesday.
Giving the details of an FIR lodged against her at Keshpur police station for alleged voluntary causing hurt, wrongful restraint and attempt to murder and under provisions of Representation of People’s Act, she said that case was lodged during Parliamentary elections on May 12, 2019. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will file her nomination papers from the Nandigram seat on March 10, while her rival and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari will do the same two days later, as the stage is set for the Battle Royale in the constituency.
After the release of the party manifesto on Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress supremo would leave for Nandigram in the evening and file her nomination papers the next day, party sources said.
She would then attend a workers' meet and return to Kolkata on March 11.
Adhikari, whose name was announced as the BJP candidate from the seat on Saturday, will file the nomination on March 12. (PTI)
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday claimed that the people of the state are "eagerly waiting" to bring back the BJP-led government to power with over 100 seats in the 126-member Assembly.
He said the party is heavily banking upon the developmental work done by the NDA government and sought another term to make Assam one of the best states in India. (PTI)
BJP will not announce the chief ministerial candidate before the Assam polls and a decision in this regard will be taken by its Parliamentary Board at the time of forming the next government, the saffron party state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Monday.
Incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and influential minister and convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma have also said the ultimate decision on selecting a person for the chief minister chair in the new government will be that of the party's Parliamentary board. (PTI)
Congress and DMK on Monday held their second round of seat-sharing talks for the April 6 Puducherry assembly elections and a pact is likely to be reached soon after top leadership-level parleys.
Emerging from the 45-minute-long deliberations, former chief minister V Narayanasamy told reporters that the DMK delegates informed them about the number of seats the party wanted out of the 30 constituencies in the union territory. Declining to make public the quantum demanded by the DMK, he said they would place all the details before the All India Congress Committee. (PTI)
Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM has sealed an alliance with TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK in Tamil Nadu. AIMIM will contest in three Assembly constituencies — Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri and Sankarapuram. (ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister led a rally in Kolkata to protest against LPG price hike on Monday. Some visuals from the protest:
TMC MLAs Sonali Guha, Dipendu Biswas, Rabindranath Bhattacharya, Jatu Lahiri and Sital Sardar as well as TMC candidate from Habibpur seat, Sarala Murmu, join BJP in West Bengal. The TMC leaders were inducted into the party by West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, party's national vice-president Mukul Roy, party leader Suvendu Adhikari and party MP Locket Chatterjee at the party's Hastings office. Actress Tanushree Chakraborty also joined BJP. (With Sweety Kumari)
A day will come when the country will be named after Narendra Modi, says Mamata in Kolkata, taking a dig at the PM over inclusion of his photo in Covid-19 vaccination certificates. "The Covid vaccine has become Modi vaccine. Narendra Modi has also named a stadium after him," says Mamata.
Speaking at a programme in Kolkata to protest against rising prices of cooking gas, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah only come to Bengal to tell lies.
“Covid vaccine has become Modi vaccine. Narendra Modi has also named a stadium after him. Modi and Shah only come to Bengal to tell lies. They have said women are not safe in Bengal. This is absolutely not true. Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh register a lot of crimes against women,” Mamata says.
"BJP is full of lumpen elements. But we have the people of the state with us," she adds.
the ruling AIADMK party which struck the deal with Pattali Makkal Katchi(PMK) in the last week of February, is yet to arrive at an agreement with their ally Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) led by Captain Vijayakant. The talks between the two parties are struggling to make a progress as DMDK had been demanding a higher number of seats than what was offered by the ruling party.
In AIADMK’s alliance, 23 seats have been allocated to PMK, and 20 have been provided to BJP. The ruling party is yet to finalise the seat-sharing talks with other allies such as GK Vaasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress, Krishnaswamy’s Puthiya Tamilagam, etc. (With Janardhan Kaushik)
After several rounds of talks, the DMK on Monday signed the seat-sharing agreement with CPI(M), allotting them six seats for the assembly election. The deal was signed by DMK president MK Stalin and CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan at the DMK headquarters ‘Anna Arivalayam’ in Chennai.
Addressing the reporters, Balakrishnan said since they have a political responsibility to make AIADMK suffer a crushing defeat and also to stop BJP from gaining a foothold in Tamil Nadu, they have settled for six seats. The party leader added they will be contesting in their own symbol. (With Janardhan Kaushik)
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari who defected from TMC, will file nomination papers from Nandigram Assembly seat on March 12. In what will be a heated battleground, Suvendu will face CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in the election.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday named AP Abdullakutty as its candidate to Malappuram Lok Sabha seat for the upcoming assmebly elections in Kerala, ANI reported.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Mamata Banerjee and her government at his first campaign rally in West Bengal, the Chief Minister countered him with her own huge rally in Siliguri, calling him a “liar” and demanding an explanation for the high prices of auto fuels and cooking gas.“Prime Minister will have to answer why the prices of LPG, petrol and diesel are being increased. Otherwise, you have to leave,” she said.
After riding an electric scooter in Kolkata on February 25 – a protest that Modi mocked in his speech at Brigade Parade Ground – Mamata walked with a cardboard cutout of a cooking gas cylinder on Sunday.
The AICC on Sunday issued the second list of three candidates for the prestigious Titabor, Dhakuakhana and Naoboicha assembly constituencies of Assam, which goes to polls in the first phase on March 27. The party had announced on Saturday a list of 40 out of the 47 constituencies going to polls in phase one. Congress' candidate for Titabor, earlier represented by former three-time chief minister Tarun Gogoi who died on November 23, is Bhaskarjyoti Barua.
The candidate for Naoboicha is former minister Bharat Chandra Narah and for Dhakuakhana, the nominee is Padma Lochan Doley. The party has left Bokakhat, Dhing, Tinsukia and Behali seats for its allies. (PTI)
The newly-formed Assam Jatiya Parishad on Sunday announced the second list of 50 candidates for the three-phased assembly polls, with its president Lurinjyoti Gogoi contesting from one more constituency, Naharkatia. Both the constituencies of the former AASU general secretary are in upper Assam and are going to polls in the first phase.
AJP vice president Adeep Kumar Phukan said the party announced names of 68 candidates for all three phases and is in talks with its alliance partner for selecting nominees in some more seats.
The AJP has forged the alliance with the Raijor Dal of jailed anti-citizenship law activist Akhil Gogoi for the assembly elections intending to oust the BJP-led ruling coalition from power.
"We are united to defeat the BJP though there may be friendly contests in a few seats," Phukan said.
AJP working president Pabindra Deka, who had quit the Asom Gana Parishad and resigned from the assembly, to join the party, will contest from Pathacharkuchi and is pitted against BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass. (PTI)
The newly-floated Raijor Dal on Sunday announced the names of two more candidates, following All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) leader Azizur Rahman and former BJP leader Madhab Mushahary joining the party ahead of the assembly polls.
Rahman will contest from Naoboicha and Mushahary from Jonai constituencies, both of which are in Upper Assam and go to polls in the first phase on March 27.
RD working president Bhasco De Saikia said the party has decided to contest from a minimum number of seats to ensure votes are not divided and the BJP is defeated.
"We are not fighting the elections for the lust of power but with the sole objective of defeating the BJP to save Assam and its identity. If the BJP-RSS is allowed to rule the state, the people of Assam will be doomed," he said. (PTI)
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an alliance partner of the ruling BJP-led combine in Assam, on Sunday declared its first list of eight candidates for the approaching assembly polls in the state. Announcing the candidates for the first phase of polling on March 27, AGP general secretary Ramendra Narayan Kalita told a press conference that newcomer Prithviraj Rabha would contest from the prestigious Tezpur seat.
Veteran AGP leader and five-time MLA Brindaban Goswami was denied ticket and replaced by Rabha, who was inducted into the party fold during the day.
AGP president and state minister Atul Bora will contest from Bokakhat, while his cabinet colleague and working president of the party Keshab Mahanta will be in the fray from Kaliabor constituency.
Names of sitting MLAs Renupoma Rajkhowa (Teok), Bhabendra Nath Bharali (Dergaon) and Prodip Hazarika (Amguri) feature in the list. The party has fielded Ponakan Barua from Chabua and Jayanta Khaund from Naoboicha constituency respectively, Kalita told reporters.
The party currently has 13 MLAs in the 126-member Assam Assembly, which is going to polls in three phases. (PTI)
'Metroman' E Sreedharan on Sunday said he was ready to take up any responsibility given to him by the BJP, which he had recently joined.
Speaking at a rally attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at nearby Shangumugham, Sreedharan said he wanted to utilise his energy for the state of Kerala.
"For the last 67 years I was a government servant. Many people have asked me why I ventured into politics after these many years. For 67 years, I worked as part of many projects for this country."
"I am still energetic and want to utilise my energy for the state of Kerala. Whatever responsibility is given to me I will take it up with all courage and energy," he said at the rally marking the culmination of the Vijay Yatra taken out by BJP state president K Surendran from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, ahead of the April 6 assembly polls.
'Metroman' E Sreedharan on Sunday said he was ready to take up any responsibility given to him by the BJP, which he had recently joined.
Speaking at a rally attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at nearby Shangumugham, Sreedharan said he wanted to utilise his energy for the state of Kerala.
"For the last 67 years I was a government servant. Many people have asked me why I ventured into politics after these many years. For 67 years, I worked as part of many projects for this country."
"I am still energetic and want to utilise my energy for the state of Kerala. Whatever responsibility is given to me I will take it up with all courage and energy," he said at the rally marking the culmination of the Vijay Yatra taken out by BJP state president K Surendran from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, ahead of the April 6 assembly polls. (PTI)
Sunday was an eventful day in all the poll-bound states, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata attacking TMC for letting “corruption flourish”; an Assam BJP minister resigning to join the Congress; and in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Union Home Minister Amit Shah raising the poll pitch.
Here are all the important assembly elections-related updates you need to know today.
DMK leader M K Stalin releases 10-year vision document. He promises to revive economy, improve farming productivity, Agriculture, Health and Education, Urban and rural development. Rs 1000 monthly allowance to homemakers, abolition of manual scavenging are part of the reform plans.
M K Stalin-led DMK released its manifesto on Sunday for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, promising to give Rs 1000 per month to every homemaker with ration card.
Addressing a poll rally in Thiruvananthapuram in poll-bound Kerala, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF factions have a healthy competition between them but for doing scams, not for taking Kerala forward. "When UDF comes to power, it commits solar scam and when LDF comes to power, it does Dollar, gold scams," ANI quoted Shah as saying.
"I heard Kerala CM saying that Central agencies are working under political pressure. I want to ask him if the main accused in Dollar & gold smuggling cases were working in his office or not? You should tell people if your govt gave them Rs 3 lakhs per month salary or not," he added.
He further said, "You (Kerala CM) should tell if the CM office put pressure when illegal gold was recovered by the Customs at the airport or not. ED and Customs officers were attacked. Has he conducted a detailed investigation in this case?"
Ten smaller outfits, including the former Member of Parliament, A C Shanmugam-led Puthiya Needhi Katchi, on Sunday extended their support to the AIADMK for the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the ruling party said.
Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi's N R Dhanapalan, Akila Indiya Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam founder leader N Sethuraman, Pasumpon Desiya Kazhagam leader N Jothi Muthuramalinga Thevar, were among those who promised support to the AIADMK.
Bharatiya Forward Block's Muruganji, Indiya Uzhavar Uzhaipalar party leader Vettavalam K Manigandan, Tamil Maanila Muslim League president S Sheikh Dawood, Inidya Desiya Kudiyarasu Katchi's founder chief C Ambedkar Priyan, Veera Mutharaiyar Munnetra Sangam's KK Selvakumar and Tamil Telugu Desiya Katchi's EVS Ramkumar Naidu were the others who pledged the backing of their respective outfits to the AIADMK. (PTI)
The Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), a constituent of the opposition 'Grand Alliance' in Assam, on Sunday expressed unhappiness over the "slow pace" at which the Congress is moving on several issues of the combine.
The AGM also announced the names of two candidates for constituencies going to polls in the first phase on March 27.
Rajya Sabha MP and AGM president Ajit Bhuyan made public the names of Lachit Bordoloi from Batadroba and Pranab Doley from Bokakhat at a press conference here.
Bhuyan said though there are certain issues within the alliance, but "we are going to work towards strengthening it and there is no question of leaving" as our sole objective is to prevent the BJP from forming government in the state.
"The AGM had asked for four to five seats in the first phase but due to various reasons, the Congress said it had problems, and finally we asked for the Batadroba and Bokakhat constituencies," he said. (PTI)
Addressing the crowd at the BJP's Kerala Vijay Yatra in Shangumugham, Kerala BJP leader E Sreedharan said, "Many people ask me why I entered politics at this age. My answer is -- I worked on many projects for the country. At this age too, I have enough energy to work and I want to use it for the development of Kerala. That's why I joined BJP."
Sharing dais with Sreedharan and Home Minister Amit Shah, state BJP chief K Surendran said, "Only BJP can save Kerala. People here are seeking a change from the corrupt fronts of LDF and Congress. The reformers have dreamed of a Kerala which is not this Kerala."
The party also inducted actors Devan and Radha at the rally. Former bureaucrat K V Balakrishnan also joined the BJP.
(inputs from ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah met representatives of 27 religious mutts across the state at Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama in Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram.
He also attended the valedictory function for BJP's Kerala Vijay Yatra being held in Shangumugham area of Thiruvananthapuram. 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan was also present at the event.
Launching a fresh tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said he was "peddling lies to mislead the voters" in the poll-bound state.
Banerjee, addressing a rally in Siliguri following her protest march over LPG price hike, said the prime minister made many "empty" promises over the years, and people no longer trust him. She sought to know "why the PM has not yet deposited Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every citizen, as promised by him before 2014 Lok Sabha polls".
"You have made many empty promises. People will not accept your falsehood every day. We demand you make LPG cylinder affordable to every citizen of the country. You have made LPG cylinders inaccessible for the common man," Banerjee said in her address.
The CM also said that Modi should be "ashamed of his habit of telling lies". "He gives speech in Bangla, but the script in always written in Gujarati, and kept under a transparent sheet of glass before him. He just pretends that he knows Bangla well," she said.
"Your party had vandalised Vidyasagar's bust. Your party dishonoured Birsa Munda. Your party wrongly said Rabindranath Tagore was born in Santiniketan. This shows your depth of knowledge about Bengal and its culture," she said. (PTI)
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been requested by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to campaign for her in the West Bengal Assembly elections and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha will take a decision on this soon keeping in mind the objective of giving a pushback to the BJP's poll prospects, a senior JMM leader said on Sunday.
The development assumes significance as the JMM is an alliance government with the Congress in Jharkhand and the Sonia Gandhi-led party has tied up with the Left and the Indian Secular Front in West Bengal against the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
In West Bengal, communication keeps happening with Mamata Banerjee as being in neighbouring states, issues are regularly discussed, a senior JMM leader said on condition of anonymity.
"It was our demand that some regions of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha should have been made part of Jharkhand as they had been part of the movement for the state, but in 2000 the borders that were created, some areas were left out," the leader said.
"As a result, you would see that in West Bengal's tea gardens, a majority of the people are from Jharkhand. So, we do have an influence there," the leader said. (PTI)
Taking a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s electric scooty ride in protest of rising fuel prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said while he did not wish anyone to fall, what could he do if “Didi’s scooty is destined to fall in Nandigram” — the seat from which she is contesting the Assembly elections.
The Prime Minister, who addressed a mega rally at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground, said: “When you took over the scooty a few days ago, everyone was praying for your safety. It is good that you did not fall, or you would have made the state where the scooty was manufactured your enemy.”
“You turned your scooty towards Nandigram instead of Bhawanipur. Didi, we want the good of everyone, we do not want anyone to get hurt. But what can I do if the scooty is destined to fall in Nandigram.” Read more
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched his party's campaign for the April 6 Lok Sabha bypoll here and exuded confidence that the party would not only win here, but that the NDA in Tamil Nadu would emerge victorious in the Assembly elections too next month.
Launching his "Vetri Kodi Eandhi Tamizhagam Velvom" (Will Win Tamil Nadu Carrying the flag of victory) campaign from Suseendiram in this district, Shah said he was confident that a coalition government of the NDA will come to power in the state after the April 6 assembly polls.
Addressing reporters, he said, "We have started the campaign to take the BJP's Lotus symbol door-to-door," and appealed to the public and the voters to elect Radhakrishnan as the party "needs him."
"I am sure about the outcome (of the polls), looking at the excitement of the people", both in Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat as well in the Assembly polls, he said, implying that the NDA would emerge victorious in the hustings.
"I am confident that a coalition government of AIADMK-BJP-PMK will be formed (after the Assembly polls)," he added. (PTI)
Shri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik on Sunday claimed he has sought a BJP ticket to contest the Belagavi Lok Sabha seat and said this would be his final attempt to enter active politics. "I am aspiring to become an MP from Belagavi and have sought a ticket from the BJP," Muthalik told PTI.
Muthalik had sought a BJP ticket from the state unit in February and had met senior BJP and RSS leaders in this regard.
He said this would be his final attempt to get into active politics. "This is my last chance to get into electoral politics because I am 66 now. If I miss the opportunity, which seems unlikely, I will not contest elections in future," he said. (PTI)
BJP leader and MP Gautam Gambhir, who is likely to join party's campaign in poll-bound West Bengal, Sunday said he always felt at home in the state.
Gambhir said he felt "sad and dejected" over West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks that the BJP was a party of "outsiders" and it had no place in the state. "Not even for a brief moment was I made to feel that I was an outsider and was not born or brought up in Kolkata or anywhere else in Bengal, that I had not attended Presidency College or Jadavpur University or that I did not have egg rolls from Park Street while growing up."
"I always felt like a part of this huge and happy family which showered me with love and blessings every time I visited the state," the former cricketer said.
Gambhir, under whose captaincy Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won two finals of the IPL, has a fan following among the youth of the state where polls for 294 assembly seats will begin on March 27.
The fate of the West Bengal people and the state cannot be decided by bombs and bullets, Gambhir said expressing concern over "incessant and mindless" killings of political workers and violent clashes between parties. (PTI)
Leading a march in Siliguri against the LPG hike, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said: 'Khela hobe'. I am ready to play one-on-one... If they (BJP) want to buy votes, take the money and cast your vote for TMC. (ANI)
Retorting PM Modi's remark at Brigade Ground where he questioned women's security in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri said: "Poribortan (change) will happen in Delhi, not in Bengal. He (PM Modi) said there is no women security in Bengal but look at UP, Bihar and other states. Women are safe in Bengal." (ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leads 'padyatra' (foot-march) against LPG cylinders' price hike in Siliguri.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday hit out at BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari for his remarks that West Bengal will become like Kashmir if the Trinamool Congress came back to power in the state.
"But according to you BJP wallas Kashmir has become paradise after August 2019 so what's wrong with West Bengal becoming Kashmir? Anyway, Bengalis love Kashmir & visit us in large numbers so we forgive you your stupid, tasteless comment," Omar said in a tweet.
The former J-K chief minister was reacting to Adhikari's reported statement that West Bengal would become like Kashmir if the TMC returned to power in the assembly elections. (PTI)
Attacking CM Mamata Banerjee, PM Modi said, "I have known Didi since ages. She is not the same person who raised her voice against the Left. She speaks someone else's language now and is being controlled.
"You've pushed Bengal towards separation instead of development, and thus the lotus is blooming. You've divided people on religious lines, and thus the lotus is blooming," he added.
PM Narendra Modi in Kolkata: Tolabaazi, syndicate, commission cut. You have done so many scams that a 'Corruption Olympics' game can be organized. You have played with the hard-earned money of the people and their lives.
PM Modi: You have played with people's lives, with their hard-earned money. You locked the tea gardens, plunged the state into debt. You took away jobs from youth, their salary. Now this will not work, now this game will not work.
PM Modi: I appeal to all of you to not be afraid! Vote for BJP without any fear. Vote against ill-governance and for freeing people of fear. Bengal wants development and vote for it.
PM Modi: The Corona vaccine is so expensive in the world. But I arranged for my friends to be vaccinated at the government hospital for free.
PM Modi: "Nowadays even our opponents say that I work for friends. We all know that where we grew up in childhood, where we played, people we studied with, are sure our friends for life."
"I too grew up in poverty and so I can experience the sorrow and pain of my friends even if they are in any corner of India."
"So yes, I work for friends and I will continue to work for friends only."
Taking a jibe at Mamamta Banerjee, PM Modi said: 'When you took over scooty a few days ago, everyone was praying that you are safe. It is good that you did not fall, otherwise you would have made the state where the scooty was made your enemy.
"You turned your scooty towards Nandigram instead of Bhawanipur. Didi, we want the good of everyone, we do not want anyone to get hurt. But what should we do if you decide to crash your scooty in Nandigram itself."
PM Modi: "The people of Bengal had chosen you as 'Didi' but then why did you remain the aunt of a nephew? The people of Bengal are asking only this one question from you."
"You are well aware of the condition of 'Maa, Manush, Maati'. Mothers are being attacked on streets and in their houses. Recently, the cruelty unleashed on an 80-year-old mother has shown their cruel face to the entire country."
PM Modi: Emphasis will be given to the expansion of the new National Education Policy in West Bengal. Study of subjects such as engineering, medical, technology, will be emphasised in Bangla language.
Blaming TMC, PM Modi said: "You can guess that due to their commissioning, many work related to Kolkata airport has been stopped. Every such work will be given a fast pace in the BJP government. The smart city project here will get new energy in the BJP government."
PM Modi: Kolkata is the City of Joy. Kolkata has a rich past and also future prospects. There is no reason why it cannot be made a City of Future by keeping its culture safe.
PM Modi: We promise a government where everyone's support, everyone's development, and everyone's faith will be the mantra of governance. Where everyone will upgrade and there would be no appeasement for anyone. Where intrusion and intruders will be stopped.
PM Modi at Brigade Ground: The next 25 years are very important for development in Bengal...In 2047, when India will celebrate 100 years of independence, Bengal will lead the country once again.
PM Modi: We have come here to give assurance of 'Asol Poriborton' (real change) in Bengal. Assurance of development, changing situations, increase investment, redevelopment, and to protect the culture of Bengal.