SC refuses to hear Maya's plea; Poll rallies for 2nd phase draw to a close
Here are the latest election updates from various states across the country:
Uttar Pradesh
Poonam Sinha, wife of Shatrughan Sinha, joined the Samajwadi Party in the presence of party leader Dimple Yadav on April 16. She will contest the Lok Sabha elections against Union home minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow. The Samajwadi Party has reportedly confirmed that Sinha will file her nomination from the Lucknow constituency on April 18. On April 6, Shatrughan Sinha, a former BJP leader, joined the Congress. He will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bihar’s Patna Sahib.
Delhi
The Supreme Court on April 16 refused to hear Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s plea against the Election Commission’s (EC) 48-hour campaign ban on her. The court also took note of the EC’s actions on political leaders who violated the poll code. The top court, meanwhile, has said it is satisfied with the action taken by the Election Commission against various politicians, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and BSP chief Mayawati, for violating the model code of conduct. The poll body also issued curbs on Union minister Maneka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan.
Chhattisgarh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Bhatapara in Chhattisgarh. He once again lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for comments made in Karnataka last week. The Congress president in a rally had asked “why every thief has Modi in his name”. “These people are crossing limits daily, according to them anyone whose name is Modi is a thief, what kind of politics is this,” asked Modi. “He insulted the whole community just to insult your ‘chowkidar’.”
Bihar
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu stoked another controversy by urging Muslim voters of a Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar to vote en bloc and defeat Narendra Modi. He was addressing a rally in Bihar’s Katihar district. The incident comes a day after the Election Commission banned BSP chief Mayawati from campaigning for 48 hours for her speech urging Muslims not to divide votes by choosing the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu
Election campaigning came to an end at 6pm in Tamil Nadu on April 16. Stalin struck an emotional chord in Thiruvarur, a constituency represented by his late father M Karunanidhi. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami was in Salem, his home district, on the last leg of his campaign and sought to impress the voters with his developmental works. Actor-turned-politician Vijayakant hit the campaign trail just two days ahead of the end of the stipulated poll-campaign period. On the last day he was busy canvassing support for AIADMK-led alliance candidates in Chennai. TTV Dhinakaran campaigned in support of his candidates in Chennai on the last day of the campaign. The state goes to polls on April 18.
Karnataka
With election campaigning coming to an end in parts of Karnataka, which goes to polls on April 18, income tax officials conducted raids at the residence of Janata Dal (Secular) leaders and close aides of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on April 16. The official raids on JD(S) and Congress leaders, thrice in the past month, irked the CM who lashed out the ruling BJP for vendetta politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rally on April 13 in Bengaluru had said that if the concerned parties who were raided were clean, they should not make a hue and cry about it.
Around 600 people dependent on mining belonging to the Karnataka Gani Avalambithara Vedike (KGAV) from Bellary, Hospet, Chitradurga districts and the surrounding mining belt, protested in Jantar Mantar, Delhi on April 16. They demanded to bring in non-discriminatory practices in iron ore trade in the state. The livelihood of workers has worsened after the mining ban in the state.