Will help anti-communal party: Karuna
Salem: In a veiled hint at supporting the Congress-led Government, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said that his party will extend a hand to those who are against communalism and support minority communities. “DMK will welcome whoever gives a hand (Congress symbol) to support minority communities and are against communalism,” Karunanidhi said at an election meeting here.
EC to provide polling booth info on SMS
New Delhi: Voters can now get information about their polling booth on a click of the mouse or an SMS. The Election Commission on Tuesday launched a major initiative of electoral roll search at National level for voters to search their names and get the information related to polling stations in the nation-wide electoral rolls. It will initially be provided in 16 states and UTs including Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Pondicherry, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Raj candidates, from royalty to labour
Jaipur: Ranging from royalty to daily labourer — 17 women candidates from diverse backgrounds are in the fray for the first phase of lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan but all eyes will be on Jhunjhunu seat that will witness as many as five women battle it out for electoral supremacy. Of the 17 women contesting in 20 constituencies in the first phase, three sitting MPs, including two Congress Union ministers -Chandresh Kumari Katoch and Girija Vyas- hope to cash in on their work to secure victory at the hustings. Urmila (26) the youngest woman candidate in the fray, has mentioned herself as a labour, having a cash of `20,000, in an affidavit submitted to the EC.
TRS chief to contest lS, Assembly polls
Hyderabad: TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao would contest from Medak lok Sabha constituency in Telangana region in the general elections. Rao, who represented Mahaboobnagar in the outgoing lok Sabha, is also contesting from Gajwel Assembly seat in Medak district in the State polls being held in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.
CPI adds six more candidates to AP list
New Delhi: CPI on Tuesday released six more names of its candidates who would contest the lok Sabha polls from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, taking the total number of its nominees to 69. While the party would contest Patiala, Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Amritsar in Punjab, it has also put up its candidates in Khammam (AP) and lalganj-SC (UP), party general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said. In Khammam, the candidate would be CPI’s Andhra Secretary K Narayana, while the nominee from lalganj would Hari Prasad Sonkar.
Using Padma title unfair of candidates
Bhubaneswar: Election Commission has made it clear that the use of ‘Padma’ title in the elections by candidates was unfair. The EC’s views on the use of Padma title was communicated to ruling BJD candidate Dilip Tirkey, who is in the fray in Sundergarh lS seat in Odisha. “It would be unfair if the Padmashree award is being used in election posters, banners, pamphlets, hoardings and others as it may influence voters unduly,” a letter sent to Tirkey by Sundergarh District Election Officer Bhupendra Singh Poonia said. Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain was bestowed the Padmashree in 2004. He is contesting against BJP’s Jual Oram and Congress heavy weight Hemananda Biswal.
AAP names Kulkarni for Vadodara lok Sabha seat
New Delhi : Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday named Sunil Digambar Kulkarni as its candidate from Vadodara lok Sabha constituency against BJP’s Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and Madhusudan Mistry of Congress. A Mechanical Engineer, Kulkarni works as a social worker in the infrastructure field and has been associated with the party since its early days. Vadodara goes to polls on April 30.
Pinaki Mishra richest lS nominee in Odisha
Bhubaneswar : The ruling BJD nominee from Puri Parliamentary constituency Pinaki Mishra is the richest among the 98 candidates for the 11 lok Sabha seats going to polls on April 17 in the state’s second phase polls, according to a report released by Odisha Election Watch (OEW). While Pinaki Mishra, a Supreme Court lawyer, tops the list of rich candidates with property worth Rs 137 crore, Ama Odisha Party nominee Sunjoy Hans comes second with assets of Rs 57 crore followed by BJD’s Balasore aspirant Rabinda Jena with property worth Rs 57 crore and sitting MP Baijayant Panda of Kendrapara with Rs 31 crore, OEW state Coordinator Ranjan Mohanty same. Sabyasachi Mahapatra of CPI(Ml)-Red Star of Cuttack constituency has assets worth just Rs 600 and identified as the poorest candidate in this phase of polls.