West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates: Banerjee said she think BJP has copied the “reservation for backward Hindu castes” point from TMC manifesto Ahead of Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami slammed opposition parties and said that DMK is a party that follow dynastic politics while AIADMK allows leaders to make their own space. Setting out on the campaign trail in Wayanad district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday attacked the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-NDA fronts alleging that they have joined hands in an attempt to stop the developmental activities in the state. Vijayan claimed central agencies were trying to destroy the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) which has changed the development prospects of the state. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has said that his father, TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Contai, East Midnapore, said reports. Speaking at a rally in Chandipur Suvendu also said that he will ask his father to attend Amit Shah’s rally as well. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee launched the TMC manifesto. “Maa, maati, manush is the thrust of our manifesto,” she said, as per reports. “We will ensure minimum annual income of Rs 6,000 and Rs 12,000 for general category and backward community people respectively in Bengal,” Banerjee said. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded the cancellation of the nomination of BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, who is pitted against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram, as his name also “seems to appear” in the electoral roll of Haldia constituency. The Election Commission said record seizures worth Rs 331 crore have been made so far in the four poll-going states and Puducherry as part of the expenditure monitoring process. A maximum of Rs 127.64 crore worth seizures have been made in Tamil Nadu, while Rs 112.59 crore worth seizures have been made from West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Opposition BJP wanted to keep her indoors ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, which apparently resulted in her injury. Addressing a public meeting in Gopiballavpur in the Jhargram district, Banerjee alleged that earlier it was CPM which used to physically attack her, and now the BJP was doing the same. Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya wrote to NCP’s Sharad Pawar and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav over campaigning with Trinamool Congress for West Bengal Assembly polls The Assam Election Watch and ADR have analysed the sworn affidavits of 259 out of the 264 candidates in the first phase. Out of 259 candidates analysed, 41 (16 percent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves and 34 (13 percent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, the ADR said. Firebrand woman leader Sobha Surendran has been fielded by BJP from the Kazhakootam constituency. Sobha is expected to give a tough fight to LDF candidate Kadakkampally Surendran, Devaswom and Tourism minister, whois seeking re-election from the same seat. Dr SS Lal is the UDF candidate. The campaign will highlight his government’s measures, including developmental projects and welfare schemes such as pension and food provisions since the COVID-19 lockdown. The faction led by Thomas would merge with the Kerala Congress headed by senior leader PJ Joseph, which is a constituent of the Congress-led UDF. The BJP has finalised candidates for four phases of West Bengal polls. It has also finalised almost all candidates for polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam. The TMC supremo had earlier said the manifesto would be released on 11 March but that had to be postponed after she was injured while campaigning on 10 March. The All India Congress Committee announced the list of candidates for 14 seats which significantly did not include the name of Narayanasamy, whose government fell last month after it lost the trust vote. The Congress on Tuesday announced names of candidates for 14 seats for the 6 April Puducherry Assembly elections but the list did not mention name of party veteran and former chief minister V Narayanasamy. The Congress, which heads the Secular Democratic Alliance in the union territory, was allotted 15 of the 30 Assembly seats while its ally-the DMK- was earmarked 13 constituencies. VCK and CPI, the other constituents of the alliance, have been earmarked one seat each. While the candidates for 14 constituencies were released, the nominee for Yanam, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh, has not been announced. Former Industries Minister Shah Jahan has been fielded from Kamaraj Nagar. He had contested the election in 2016 from Kalapet constituency which has been by and large the traditional seat for the Congress. PCC president AV Subramanian is contesting from his hometown of Karaikal (north). Former Ministers M Kandasamy and R Kamalakannan have been fielded again in Embalam (reserved) and Tirunallar in Karaikal respectively. The 14 seats are spread over Puducherry (10), Karaikal (three) and Mahe (one). Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party which has been allocated nine seats as part of the NDA, also released its list of candidates. Former PWD Minister A Namassivayam has been fielded from Mannadipet constituency and the president of the BJP State committee V Saminathan is the nominee for the Lawspet segment. A John Kumar and his son Richards John Kumar have been allotted the Kamaraj Nagar and Nellithope seats respectively.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 Updates: Mamata promises OBC status to 4 castes, disses BJP's reservation promise
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates: Banerjee said she think BJP has copied the “reservation for backward Hindu castes” point from TMC manifesto
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West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Mamata promises OBC status to 4 castes
Promising to help Mahishya, Tili, Tamul and Sahas get OBC status and Mahatos ST status, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that she will appoint a Special Task Force to examine and propose OBC status to all the communities which are not recognised as OBCs
Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
EC orders transfer of TN’s IG, South Zone to non-election post
The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the transfer of Tamil Nadu’s Inspector General, South Zone S Murugan to a non-election post with immediate effect.
It also asked the state government to send a list of names of officers for appointment as IG, South Zone in place of Murugan, official sources said.
Also, based on the inputs of the special police observer, the commission has ordered the transfer of various ACPs and DSPs in the southern state with a direction to attach them with the DGP, Headquarters.
Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Modi to address rallies in Bengal, Assam tomorrow
A day before addressing rallies in poll-bound West Bengal and Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that there is a desire for a change in Bengal with the BJP’s agenda of good governance striking a chord among the people.While the BJP is running a campaign to end the running Trinamool Congress’ 10-year rule in Bengal, it is working to retain power in Assam.
Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Narendra Modi arrives for BJP CEC meeting
Puducherry Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
121 candidates file nominations
As many as 121 candidates belonging to different political parties and Independents on Wednesday filed nominations for the April 6 poll in Puducherry, raising the total number of those who have filed papers so far to 162. Among those who filed the papers were founder-leader of AINRC and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing territorial Assembly N Rangasamy He is seeking election from the lone segment in Yanam, an enclave of Puducherry, in Andhra Pradesh. Rangasamy, former Chief Minister of the Union Territory, had filed nomination on Monday seeking election from Thattanchavady segment and has now filed papers for election from Yanam too.
Kerala Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
UDF and BJP joined together in bid to stop development in state, alleges CM
Setting out on the campaign trail in Wayanad district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday attacked the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-NDA fronts alleging that they have joined hands in an attempt to stop the developmental activities in the state. Vijayan claimed central agencies were trying to destroy the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) which has changed the development prospects of the state. After nine days of campaigning in his home
constituency Dharmadam in Kannur district, Vijayan addressed three rallies in Wayanad in the three constituencies– Mananthawady, Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta.
“The Left party assures the people of the state that the future of the country will be secured by defeating the Kerala-level alliance between the Congress and BJP which has been hindering the progress of Kerala,” he said at a campaign meet at Kalpetta from where Loktantrik Janata Dal candidate MV Shreyamskumar is contesting. Targeting the Congress, Vijayan claimed the party has become a “commodity for sale” and its policy was to contest in the name of Congress party and then join the BJP. “Puducherry and Congress are the examples,” he said. “The UDF and the BJP have joined together and attempting to stop the developmental activities in the state. The central agencies are trying to destroy KIIFB which has changed the development prospects of the state.” “Such attempts will be dealt legally.No one can do anything to KIIFB but they are just threatening,” Vijayan said.
PTI
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Sisir Adhikari will support BJP, says Suvendu
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
BJP holds wheelchair rally in Kolkata
BJP took out a rally in Kolkata on Wednesday with five of its members in wheelchairs apparently mocking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,
who has taken to campaigning that way after being injured in Nandigram. The procession moved from Rabindra Sadan to Hazra crossing, a distance of about 2.5 km, to protest against the alleged killing of about 130 BJP activists in West Bengal. Hazra crossing is incidentally near Banerjee’s residence in the city. Banerjee is campaigning in various parts of the state in a wheelchair after being injured while campaigning at Nandigram after filing her nomination on March 10. She had claimed that she was attacked by four to five people.
PTI
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Rajya Sabha accepts Swapan Dasgupta’s resignation
The Rajya Sabha accepted the resignation of nominated member Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday. Dasgupta tendered his resignation from the Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday after being named as a BJP candidate in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls. Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said the chairman has received Dasgupta’s resignation letter dated 16 March and accepted his resignation with effect from 17 March.Dasgupta, who became a Rajya Sabha member on 25 April, 2016, has been named by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its candidate from the Tarakeshwar constituency in poll-bound West Bengal. His term as a member of the Upper House was till 24 April, 2022.
Dasgupta’s resignation came after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mohua Moitra raised objections to him being named as a candidate of the saffron party for the West Bengal polls.
PTI
Assam Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Progress was not on Congress’a agenda, says Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday held the Congress responsible for lack of development and illegal influx in the North East and rise of militancy in Kashmir in its quest for power. Addressing a poll campaign rally, the senior BJP leader charged the Congress, the main Opposition party in
Assam, of ignoring the people’s welfare and development of the region in its quest for power. Adityanath said the northeast looked for development
under the successive Congress governments. “But no development took place as progress was not on their agenda.” “Congress never worked for development and progress of the region or the country’s unity or welfare of the people, but only to grab power. This forced the people here to endure its misrule for a long time and the problem of illegal migration in the area,” he alleged.
PTI
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
TMC MP Sisir Adhikari will attend Modi’s rally in Contai, says son Suvendu
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has said that his father, TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Contai, East Midnapore, said reports . Speaking at a rally in Chandipur Suvendu also said that he will ask his father to attend Amit Shah’s rally as well. According to a report in the Indian Express, Sisir claims to have dissociated himself from the TMC and said he will attend Modi’s meeting “Who said I am still with Trinamool? The ruling party leaders have been abusing my family since last December", the report quotes him as saying.
Assam Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Development, security election issues in Assam, not Ajmal or AIUDF: BJP state chief
A battery of leaders belonging to the saffron party might have focussed on Badruddin Ajmal and his party AIUDF, allegedly “out to divide the country”, while campaigning in Assam, but the party’s state unit chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass has said, development and security are the only two issues for the approaching assembly polls. From Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to senior NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, leaders of the saffron party have been raising the issue of Ajmal, president of the AIDUF, and the party’s alliance with the Congress for the Assembly polls. “The official campaign of BJP is centred around two aspects —development and security of Assam. There is no other theme,” Dass told news agency PTI.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Mamata Banerjee promises to set up 10 lakh MSME units in Bengal
At the launch of the Trinamool Congress’ manifesto, Mamata Banerjee promised to set up 10 lakh MSME units in Bengal. reports news agency PTI. “We will form special task force to examine and propose OBC status to all communities who are not recognised,” she further said.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
DMK chief MK Stalin holds road show in Madurai
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Manifesto not political, but development oriented, says Mamata Banerjee
“This is not a political manifesto, it is a development-oriented manifesto. This a manifesto of the people, for the people, and by the people,” ANI quotes Mamata Banerjee as saying at the TMC’s manifesto launch. “Duare Sarkar program will be held four months a year. Free ration will be provided at doorstep,” the news agency quotes her as saying. “We have reduced poverty by 40 percent in Bengal,” the TMC supremo claimed, as per PTI. “We will ensure minimum annual income of Rs 6,000 and Rs 12,000 for general category and backward community people respectively in Bengal,” she further said.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Ten promises are my personal commitments, says Mamata Banerjee
In a series of tweets, West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee revealed the 10 promises in her party’s manifesto. “For the first time, female heads of 1.6 crore households will benefit from a monthly Basic Income Support scheme, students will be able to take loans upto Rs 10 lakh using Student Credit Card at four percent interest rate only. Additionally, we are going to provide Rs 10,000 per acre per annum to all small and marginal farmers. All 10 ‘Ongikars’ (promises) are my personal commitment and I promise to deliver them to the people of Bengal,” she said
TMC’s manifesto promises widow pension, student credit card
“In another commitment which we have put in our manifesto, which is that when we come to power we will give widow pension which will be Rs.1000 per month. We will also provide Student Credit Card for meritorious students,” News18 quotes Mamata Banerjee as saying.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
TMC promises five lakh job opportunities in a year
“We will decrease unemployment. Five lakh job opportunities will be generated in a year,” new agency ANI quotes TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as saying at the launch of her party’s manifesto.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Mamata Banerjee releases TMC manifesto
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee launches the TMC manifesto. “Maa, maati, manush is the thrust of our manifesto,” India Today quotes her as saying.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates
Congress urges Tejashwi Yadav to ‘avoid campaigning’ for TMC
Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya has written a letter to party ally RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, requesting him to “avoid campaigning” for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections, said reports . In the letter, Bhattacharya said that since Congress is fighting against TMC in Bengal, Yadav’s presence as star campaigner would confuse the voters in the state.
The Congress leader had written a similar letter to NCP chief Sharad Pawar.