Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST

New Delhi: Accusing the BJP-led government of ‘wrecking’ India’s economy, the Congress claimed Tuesday that public debt increased by over Rs 30 lakh crore in 57 months of the Modi dispensation, pushing the nation into an ‘unending debt cycle’. Citing Finance Ministry documents, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that between March 2014 and December 2018, India’s public debt increased by a ‘whopping and shocking’ 57 per cent, going up to Rs 83,40,026 crore. “The sensational and shocking documents of the Finance Ministry now reflect that the Modi government has taken loans of Rs 30,28,945 crore post March 2014-Dec 2018. In 70 years, the total debt of the country up to March 2014 was Rs 53,11,081 crore. It is clear that Modi ji took loans on India’s resources and completely decimated India’s economy,” Surjewalla alleged. Surjewala claimed that every individual who is facing a challenge of livelihood has been burdened by the debt taken by Prime Minister Narendra...

New Delhi: The Supreme Court sought response Tuesday from the Election Commission (EC) on a plea by a Congress MP alleging model code of conduct (MCC) violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on their alleged hate speeches and using armed forces for “political propaganda”. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the poll panel was free to pass orders on complaint of Sushmita Dev, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Silchar in Assam and president of the ‘All India Mahila Congress’. The bench, also comprising Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph, fixed Dev’s plea for hearing Thursday. Dev has alleged in her plea that ‘inaction’ by EC on complaints against top BJP leaders was ‘a sign of invidious discrimination’ as also ‘arbitrary, capricious and impermissible’ as it was destructive of the integrity of electoral process. Read more :  SC Asks EC to Reply on Congress MP’s Plea For more details visit us Orissapost.com

Chandigarh:  Actor and BJP candidate Sunny Deol filed Monday his nomination papers from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab. After paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and Durgiana Temple in Amritsar in the morning, Deol filed his nomination in Gurdaspur. He was accompanied by his brother and actor Bobby Deol. Punjab BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Mailk, Haryana Finance Minister and party’s election in-charge of Punjab, Capt Abhimanyu and Akali leader Gurbachan Singh Babehali also accompanied Deol. Deol will be addressing a rally at PUDA ground in Gurdaspur later in the day. Senior leadership of BJP and SAD will also be present in the rally. In a tweet, veteran actor Dharmendra sought support of the people for the victory of his son Deol from Gurdaspur seat. “We seek your support…Support us…it will be your victory. It (victory) will be of brothers of sisters of my Punjab. It (victory) will of India’s beautiful part of Gurdaspur,” Dharmendra tweeted. The BJP h...

Ranchi: An estimated 20.87 per cent of the 45.26 lakh electorate cast their votes till 11.00am Monday in three Lok Sabha constituencies of Jharkhand, in the first phase of elections in the state. Women voters were seen in large numbers at many booths in Lohardaga (ST), Palamu (SC) and Chatra constituencies, where voting began at 7.00 am, election officials said. Ranchi Sadar Sub-divisional officer Garima Singh presented a citation to a woman, who became the first voter to turn up at a booth in Lohardaga constituency, they informed. The election officials said all preparations have been made to ensure fear and free polling till 4.00 pm. There are a total of 6,072 polling stations for the three seats, where 25,727 polling personnel have been deputed. Police said there was no untoward incident reported so far from any part of the three constituencies. A total of 45,26,693 voters will decide the fate of 59 candidates, including two women. Read more: peaceful polling in Jha...

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Thursday targeted the BJP candidate for Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat, Baijayant Panda, alleging that he wanted to be the chief of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to help his family business. BJD spokespersons Sulata Deo, Lenin Mohanty and Sasmit Patra addressed a joint press conference here and said that former MP Panda desperately wanted to become the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in 2014 so that he can help his family business grow. “Panda’s only interest was to ensure that his mining company Imfa got billions as loans from banks and financial institutions. He thought that as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance in Parliament he can influence banks and further his business interests,” Patra alleged. “In May 2014 when the state government was formed after elections, Panda informed a Board of Directors meeting of Imfa held May 20, 2014, that the mining company has succeeded in get...

Jabalpur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Thursday claimed that Malegaon blast accused and BJP candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Pragya Singh Thakur stabbed a man in 2001. Thakur’s conduct did not become of a `Sadhvi’ (ascetic or holy woman), the Congress leader said, speaking at a press conference here. “Pragya Thakur has a connection with our Chhattisgarh. Her brother-in-law worked at a warehouse in Bilaigarh (in Balodabazar district),” Baghel said, when asked whether the BJP was playing the ‘Hindutva card’ by fielding her. “She used to carry a knife and stabbed a young man named Shailendra Devagan in the chest with a knife in Bilaigarh in 2001,” Baghel said. “Pragya also used to indulge in fights, and from the beginning her conduct was like that of a habitual criminal and not like that of a Sadhvi,” the chief minister said. Thakur is currently out on bail. Six people were killed and over 100 injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon, a communally sensitive ...

Jagatsinghpur: The election to the Jagatsinghhpur Lok Sabha constituency and its Assembly segments will be held April 29 during the fourth phase of polls. However, the usual sheen is missing in the campaign in Jagatsinghpur Assembly constituency although just five days are left for the polling. Observers said that this is due to the infighting in all parties, the heat wave and the lack of coordination among party workers and their leaders. All political parties are conducting roadshows, meetings and door to door campaigns, but that has failed to impress voters. The campaigning so far has been lacklustre, but was expected to pick up after the third phase of elections Tuesday. This time the BJD has not fielded its senior leader Bishnu Das from Jagatsinghpur Assembly seat. Instead the party has fielded Prasant Muduli as its candidate and has fielded Bishnu Das from the Tirtol Assembly seat (reserved). Muduli is the incumbent MLA of Balikuda-Erasama constituency in the district. ...

Balasore: A day after Narendra Modi launched a personal attack on BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik and called for his ouster, Chief Minister Patnaik exuded confidence Wednesday of winning once more as he invited the Prime Minister to attend the swearing-in ceremony after declaration of the Assembly results in Odisha. Addressing a rally in this district, Naveen said in a cleverly-worded address, “BJD has already secured majority in the Odisha Assembly Elections 2019, thanks to the blessings of the people. I invite the Prime Minister to attend our swearing-in ceremony.” It may be mentioned here that it is highly unutails visual for the soft-spoken four-term Chief Minister to respond to personal jibes or take a dig at anyone in public. While he has been self-assured about BJD’s performance in the polls, the sarcasm behind inviting the Prime Minister even before the results are out is not lost on anyone. Read more:  CM invites Modi for ‘swearing-in ' For more detail visit us ...

Banda (UP): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Pradhan Prachar Mantri” and accused the BJP of “wasting drinking water” to clean roads in Banda, an arid town in Uttar Pradesh’s Budelkhand region. Priyanka Gandhi’s comments drew a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who said her statements show that the fear of defeat has gripped the Congress. The Congress’s attack on Modi and the BJP came a day ahead of the prime minister’s visit here. Water from tankers were being used to clean roads to “welcome our Pradhan Prachar Mantri (chief publicity minister)”, she claimed. This is happening at a time when “the entire Bundelkhand, the men and women living there, school going children, crops, birds and animals are facing the spectre of drought,” the Congress general secretary said. In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Is he a ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) or a ‘shahnshah’ (emperor) coming from Delhi.” The prime minister is sched...

Badaun (UP): District authorities Tuesday raided a house here after the Samajwadi Party (SP) complained that state minister Swami Prasad Maurya was violating poll rules and camping in the constituency from where his daughter is contesting. Maurya was not found at the house, but the SP nominee Dharmendra Yadav charged persisted with his allegation. SP president Akhilesh Yadav too had referred to ‘reports’ about the minister being present in the constituency. The BJP has fielded Sanghmitra Maurya against Dharmendra, who is seeking re-election from Badaun. Election rules require party functionaries to leave a constituency when campaigning ends – and till polling is over, unless they are themselves registered as voters there. City magistrate Kamlesh Kumar Awasthi said there were reports about the minister being present at a house and a raid was carried out on the directions of DM Dinesh Kumar Singh. But only the house owner’s family members were found there, Awasthi said. Dha...

Kolkata: Hoping to break the party’s anti-minority image with their messaging, the BJP’s two Muslim candidates say their outreach was not based on the triple talaq poll plank but on issues such as domestic violence and the need to educate women in the community. Humayun Kabir, contesting from the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat, and Mafuja Khatun, who is fighting from Jangipur, are the party’s only two Muslim candidates in its list of 42 for the state. While Kabir is a former Trinamool Congress minister, Mafuja is a two-time CPI(M) legislator. Both Jangipur and Murshidabad Tuesday voted in the third round of the seven-phase election. The BJP made triple talaq one of its major poll planks in this election but Kabir and Mafuja said they were not keen on highlighting the issue as it may not have yielded results. Basic issues such as the need to empower Muslim women and end domestic violence will be more effective in mobilising votes of the community which forms nearly 30 per cen...

Mumbai: Leaders of various opposition parties on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)-VVPATs, claiming they are ridden with glitches and vulnerable to programming error. Addressing a joint press conference here with other leaders, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said only 18 out of 191 countries in the world have adopted EVMs for elections, which include three of the 10 most populated nations. “EVMs can be manipulated, hacked and they even malfunction, besides being susceptible to programming error,” Naidu said, expressing concern. He demanded to know why the voter slip in the new VVPATs is visible for only three seconds though it should be seven seconds and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party can get votes only by manipulating EVMs. Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar said “people are in a mood to change the present government, but the main worry is manipulation through EVMs.” Discussing ...

Bhubaneswar: A team of Biju Janata Dal ( BJD) representatives Tuesday approached the Chief Electoral officer (CEO), Surendra Kumar demanding a week-long campaign ban against Union P&NG Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for allegedly violating ‘Model Code of Conduct’. The delegates accused the minister of campaigning for his party at the polling booth after casting his vote Tuesday and demanded strict and immediate action against him. “Campaigning for his political party and that too at the polling booth, and this being telecast across the state is a flagrant violation of the election model code of conduct and guidelines by BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan,” the party accused. “We demand in line with the precedents set nationally for political leaders in this election and the bans they have been served by the Election Commission of India (ECI), it is becoming that Dharmendra Pradhan for this massive violation is banned for one week from campaigning for his party,” the complaint of ...

Pimpalgaon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said his government took bold steps to counter terror attacks in contrast to the ‘craven’ approach adopted by the earlier Congress-led regimes while dealing with them. Modi’s remarks at a poll rally here in Nashik district of Maharashtra came a day after a terror attack in Sri Lanka killed 290 people in a series of eight blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in the island country. “Bomb explosion in the neighbouring country (Sri Lanka) killed hundreds of people…before 2014, in India too, serial explosions took place in Mumbai, Delhi, Ayodhya,” Modi said. “What did the then Congress-NCP government do? It held condolence meetings and expressed grief. They went about crying across the world, saying Pakistan did this and Pakistan did that. But what did we do? We changed that craven policy,” Modi said. Modi accused the Congress of ‘destroying’ the state- run HAL and added his government increased defence production unde...

Begusarai: Supporters of CPI candidate from Bihar’s Begusarai Lok Sabha seat Kanhaiya Kumar and a group of locals clashed Sunday, after the former JNU students’ union president was shown black flags here during a roadshow, police said. The incident occurred when more than a dozen local youths raised slogans against Kumar and waved black flags at him, while he was taking out a road show at Koray village in Gadhpura block of the constituency, a police officer said. A police team reached the spot and brought the situation under control, he said. Read more :  Kanhaiya Kumar Supporters, Villagers Clash in Bihar For more visit us Orissapost.com

Patana: Electioneering came to an end Sunday evening for the third phase of elections in Keonjhar. Patana Assembly constituency, reserved for ST, is apparently going to witness a tough fight between BJD and BJP. The No. 23 Assembly segment comprises 56 panchayats. Of them, 20 each are under Patana and Saharapada blocks, 10 under Jhumpura block and six under Champua block. The number of voters is 1, 93, 974, including 95, 202 women. BJP leader Gourahari Nayak (as BJD-BJP alliance nominee) was elected from this seat twice in 2000 and 2004. After the two parties parted their ways in 2009, the ruling party nominee Hrushikesh Nayak was elected from the seat in 2009 and 2014. In 2014, Hrushikesh clinched the seat from his nearest rival BJP’s Bhabanishankar Nayak by a margin of only 8,843 votes. The narrow margin in the electoral loss has given the BJP hopes to plug the gap this time. While the BJD had got 29.91 percent vote, the BJP had 23.98 percent vote. That time, Independent can...

New Delhi: The Election Commission Monday submitted its detailed report to the Supreme Court on the biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took the EC’s report on Modi’s biopic and asked the poll panel to supply a copy of the report to the producer of the movie. The bench, which also comprised justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, has now fixed the plea of producers challenging the EC’s ban on the movie for hearing Friday 26. The apex court had April 15 directed the Election Commission to re-examine its earlier order and take an informed decision on banning pan-India the release of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after watching the full movie. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for film producers who have challenged the EC’s ban on the biopic’s release till the current general elections are over, had told the top court that the poll panel has taken the decision after watching the promo, and not the entire m...

New Delhi: High voter turnout marked polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections Thursday covering 95 constituencies in 11 states and Puducherry, with both the Union territory and Manipur clocking a percentage of 80. The Srinagar seat in Jammu and Kashmir recorded a percentage of only 14.8. Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 while in Puducherry it was 80.47. Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said in Delhi that the overall turnout in the second phase was 66 per cent. Officials said the figures are likely to go up as there are many people in queues even after the scheduled timing for voting elapsed. Except for a few sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal and Manipur and EVM glitches in some seats, polling was by and large peaceful. Tamil Nadu registered 63.73 per cent polling for the 38 Lok Sabha seats and 67.08 per cent in by-polls to 18 Assembly constituencies. In Madurai, polling took place t...

Mainpuri (UP) April 18: At loggerheads for decades, SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati are scheduled to share the dais at a joint rally of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the Samajwadi Party citadel of Mainpuri Friday. Preparations are underway for the rally at Christian Field to send out a message to our political opponents that the alliance against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh shares a strong bond, an SP party leader said. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have been bitter rivals since 1995 when SP cadres allegedly attacked the state guest house where the BSP chief had been camping with her supporters. The SP patriarch, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the party bastion of Mainpuri was conspicuous by his absence at the three joint rallies held earlier in Deoband, Badaun and Agra due to his aversion to his party’s alliance with the BSP. Reports suggest that Mulayam Singh Yadav was not too keen on attending Friday’s rally as well but was cajoled by h...

Bhubaneswar: The electoral fortune of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and four of his council of ministers besides Opposition leader Narashingha Mishra will be put to test as Odisha goes for second phase elections in five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats Thursday. Altogether 279 candidates are in fray for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats. Although all the seats will witness multi-cornered contests, the real battle for ballots would be mostly confined to the ruling BJD, the BJP and the Congress. All eyes are on Bijepur Assembly seat in Western Odisha where BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is seeking election besides his home constituency Hinjili seat in South Odisha. For the first time in the electoral history, the Chief Minister is seeking election from two Assembly seats. Patnaik, who has been winning Hinjili Assembly seat since 2000 Assembly elections, this time decided to test his credibility and popularity in Western Odisha by contesting the Bijepur Assemb...

Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of World Heritage Day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday urged people of the state to preserve the richness and diversity of Odisha’s heritage. “#Odisha is endowed with treasure trove of natural beauty, cultures, idyllic rural landscapes which are integral part of our rich heritage. On International Day for Monuments and Sites, let’s pledge to preserve & cherish the richness and diversity #WorldHeritageDay,” the CM wrote on his official Twitter handle. The day is observed as International Monuments and Sites Day, also known as World Heritage Day, to celebrate and promote the cultural heritage across the world. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982, suggested that April 18 be celebrated as the International Day for Monuments and Sites and UNESCO approved the proposal the following year, during its General Conference. Read more :   CM Urges People to Preserve the State’s Heritage For more visit us Orissa...

Balasore: With the fourth phase of polls slated April 29, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its Sankalp Patra (manifesto), focusing on Pujari Bandhu Yojana, at a private hotel here Wednesday. In the manifesto, the saffron party has promised an “efficient and careful” government in the state if voted to power. BJP’s MP nominee Pratap Chandra Sarangi among others released the manifesto, which has Pujari Bandhu Yojana as its cornerstone. The party has pledged to ensure elimination of poverty, return of money to chit-fund victims, providing drinking water, healthcare coverage and electricity to all and provision of land pattas to tribals. Among other promises it has made are implementation of Ayushman Bharat, opening of mini Jan Aushadhi Kendra in each government hospital, cold storages in each block, setting up of mini stadiums and development of tourism infrastructure at Udaypur, Talsari, Bhusandheswar, Chandipur, Pancha Lingeswar and Remuna. In view of possibilit...

Karanjia:   Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik today claimed that there has been a conspiracy to render his flagship KALIA scheme futile. Addressing a public meeting at Panasdiha field of Thakurmunda panchayat in Karanjia Assembly constituency, Patnaik Wednesday said “even though KALIA scheme has potential to uplift as many as 40 lakh farmers, there has been a conspiracy to put this scheme in deep freeze. However, I won’t let this happen so long as I am alive. Nobody can stop it.” Interestingly, Naveen stopped short of naming the conspirator even though his target was obvious. This apart, he took the audience through the welfare schemes of his government and urged the audience to vote for his candidates in the upcoming polls. Read more :   Naveen Claims of Conspiracy to Kill KALIA Scheme | Odisha News For more details visit us Orissapost.com

Bhubaneswar: A day after a video came to fore where union minister Dharmendra Pradhan was seen shouting at Election Commission flying squad members and asking them if they inspect Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s vehicles, another video surfaced today that shows the officials actually inspecting Naveen’s chopper. According to reports, the sudden inspection was carried out Tuesday at Rourkela. Reports further further suggest that unlike Dharmendra, Naveen sat in the chopper all through the inspection and cooperated with the investigators. Read more :   EC Flying Squad Inspects Naveen’s Chopper For more details visit us Orissapost.com

New Delhi, April 16: The Congress Tuesday asserted that it has shown a “big heart” by agreeing to form an alliance with the AAP in Delhi and said the ball is now in the court of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to take a decision. A day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal indulged in a public spat over the issue, the grand old party said it has already offered AAP four seats in the national capital and now the decision has to be taken by it. “Party president Rahul Gandhi has made it pretty clear that an alliance can be formed just in Delhi in a ratio of 4:3,” he told reporters, in response to a question on alliance. “People have expressed their doubts to us over AAP but despite that we have shown a big heart and for a common objective we have agreed to form an alliance in Delhi.” “Senior party leader Randeep Surjewala has made it clear on the party’s stand on alliance in other states,” he said. He accused Kejriwal of playing “hid...

New Delhi, April 16: After weeks of focusing exclusively on national security, the BJP has decided to expand the scope of its campaign to include its earlier theme of development. The midway course-correction is based on the feedback received by the party after the first phase of election, sources said. There are six more rounds of polling to go that will be spread over a month. The second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held Thursday. “Development” was the big promise of Narendra Modi ahead of the 2014 elections, which brought the BJP a sweeping victory – a first in three decades when a single party had won majority. Sources said this time, the feedback was that apart from national security and nationalism, the achievements of the government and the promises for the next term should also be underscored. It would be a counter to the Congress’s NYAY – the Basic Minimum Income Scheme, under which it has promised Rs 72,000 a year to 20 per cent of the poorest families. The BJP...

Bijepur (Bargarh): The BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a meeting in Bijepur Tuesday on the concluding day of the campaigning for the second phase of elections in the state. The CM is contesting from Bijepur in addition to his home turf Hinjili Speaking at a public meeting here, Naveen said, “Some of our friends from this area had met me at Bhubaneswar and requested me to contest from Bijepur. Hence, I took the decision and am contesting from here. Bijepur’s development is my duty.” The BJD chief said he received love and affection from the people of Bijepur during the by-poll last year. He pledged to ensure all round development of the area which he said is his prime duty and responsibility. He held similar meetings at Bargarh, Barapali and Gaisilet. At all these places, the CM reiterated the BJP government at the centre has conspired to stop KALIA scheme. Read more :  Naveen Tears into Saffron at Bijepur For more visit us Orissapost.com

Bhubaneswar:  The state crime branch (CB), despite its tall claim of having the most advanced scientific facilities, has performed miserably, if its report card over past 12 years is any indication. The premier wing, working under the administrative control of the state police, deals with high profile cases. Cases are either directly referred to it by the local police or the agency takes up investigation of sensitive cases when it is directed by the Home department. Many of its cases were also referred to it by courts. Most of them related to missing or kidnapping. Its reply in response to an RTI query has revealed the poor track record of the premier investigating agency of the state. Over 50 per cent of the cases referred to it are still under investigation. The RTI query covered cases handed over to CB from 2007 to 2019. There are 345 sensitive cases referred to the crime branch, out of which 90 per cent (309) came from police stations. During this period, the state home d...

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of doing an “U-turn” on the alliance talks between the two parties and said the doors of the Congress are open, but time is running out. However, Kejriwal claimed that the talks are still on and accused Gandhi of helping the BJP by “dividing anti-Modi votes in Uttar Pradesh and in some other states” The Congress president on Twitter said his party is willing to give four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to ensure that the their alliance defeats the BJP. The BJP had won all the seven seat in the national capital in 2014. “An alliance between the Congress and AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up 4 Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this. “But, Mr Kejriwal has done yet another U turn. Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out,” Gandhi tweeted. He used the hashtag “AbAAPkiBaari” to target the AAP leaders...

Kolabira: Voting will be held in the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency April 18 in the second phase of elections. Electioneering is at its peak all over the constituency. Candidates are now going door to door to win voters. Nine candidates are contesting here including those of the three major political parties, the BJD, the BJP and the Congress. The Jharsuguda Assembly constituency belongs to the general category. The BJD has fielded ex-MLA Naba Kishore Das. He had left the Congress and had joined the BJD a few days back. The BJP’s nominee is Dinesh Jain who had contested earlier from the seat. The Congress candidate is Mahendra Naik, who was an administrative officer at the Secretariat. There is likely to be a stiff triangular fight between the BJD, BJP and the Congress here. In 2014, Naba Kishore Das was elected from here as a Congress candidate. Kishore Mohanty, who had contested on a BJD ticket, came second. After Naba Kishore Das left the Congress and joined the ...

Hinjili/Bijepur: The people of Hinjili and Bijepur Assembly segments have a common complaint against BJD candidate and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that they have seen him in television and posters numerous times, they want to have a face-to-face interaction with him. Though people of both the Assembly segments are happy that the chief minister is contesting from their areas, they rue that they hardly find Patnaik canvassing for votes like nominees of rivals – BJP and Congress. Patnaik has been elected to the state Assembly four times in a row from Hinjili in Ganjam district since 2000. In addition to seeking a fifth term from the seat, this time he has also entered the fray from Bijepur, a key Assembly constituency in western Odisha. Polling in both Hinjili and Bijepur Assembly seats will take place in the second phase April 18. While Hinjili is 175 km from Bhubaneswar, the distance between the state capital and Bijepur is 348 km. BJD leaders, including ministers are c...

Mumbai: Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar was Monday granted police protection after a group of “BJP supporters” clashed with Congress workers during her poll campaign in north Mumbai. The scuffle took place near Borivali railway station where Matondkar, the Congress candidate from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency, was canvassing, police said. An onlooker said some BJP workers shouted ‘Modi, Modi’ as they confronted the Congress workers outside the railway station. The BJP has fielded sitting MP Gopal Shetty from the constituency. Matondkar told reporters that she lodged a police complaint “after some BJP workers barged into her rally”. “We received an application from Matondkar and granted her protection till the elections get over,” said Sangramsinh Nishandar, DCP, Zone XI. Asked if those involved in the scuffle were supporters of the BJP as claimed by Matondkar, the DCP said police do not have any such proof at this moment. “What we can say is that...

BJP Election campaigns of 2014 were a tremendous success and their ‘achche din’ and Rs. 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every Indian promises are equally big, but failures. Owing to the immense popularity of the tag lines due of BJP’s inability to deliver their tall promises, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, known to be a strong critic of PM Modi, tried to introduce humour by projecting himself at the foment political campaigning of the present Lok Sabha elections. He took to Dubsmash (a lip-syncing app) and dubbed PM Modi’s ‘acche din’ and ‘15 lakh’slogans from a 2014 rally speech. In the 17-second video that was posted on Twitter, Yadav is seen wearing a grey t-shirt in his iconic hairdo however the location of the video is unknown. In 2014, PM Modi the prime ministerial candidate then had promised ‘achche din’ and depositing of Rs. 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every Indian if his party was voted to power. Since then, he has been constantly accused by opposition leaders ...

Agra: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Monday alleged that the BJP had deviated from the path of truth and it seemed that the saffron party neither has faith in democracy nor in the people. The Congress secretary general in-charge for Uttar Pradesh (East) also said the BJP instead of speaking about India and what it had done for its youth was talking about Pakistan. “It seems that the government has faith neither in democracy, its institutions nor the people had they been real nationalists they would have tread the path of truth,” she said. “They would have understood that this country is based on truth and those who deviate from it are not let off…you will also not be excused as you, too, have deviated from the path of truth long ago,” she added. The Congress leader was campaigning for the party’s Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat candidate and Uttar Pradesh unit president Raj Babbar. Lashing out at the BJP government, Priyanka Gandhi said during election time, they ar...

Bhubaneswar: BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday appealed to the people of the state to strengthen the regional party as he claimed that the BJD will play a major role in government formation at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections. “No national party will get majority to form government at the Centre after elections. Therefore, your BJD will have a major role in government formation at the Centre,” Patnaik said while addressing three back-to-back election meetings in Kandhamal, Boudh and Sonepur districts. Patnaik said, “BJP central leaders did not visit Odisha during calamities but now during the election time, they are shedding crocodile tears for the state.” The BJD supremo lambasted the BJP-led NDA government accusing it of ‘apathy’ towards Odisha. The Chief Minister said Odisha had informed the BJP-led Central government about the Chhattisgarh government locking the Mahanadi water and requested its early intervention. Read more :  BJD ...

Alipurduar/Kolkata: An estimated 83.79 per cent of 34.52 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase of polls in the state, an election department official said Friday. In Cooch Behar (SC), 83.88 per cent electorate cast their votes till 6 pm Thursday, while Alipurduar (ST) seat registered 83.70 per cent polling, he said. No incident of violence was reported from any part of the two constituencies and the first-phase of the seven-phase election in the state was largely “peaceful”, he said. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as well as the opposition BJP and the Congress, however, complained that polling was not undertaken in a free and fair manner in the two parliamentary seats. TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh alleged that EVMs malfunctioned in several booths and it could be part of the opposition’s conspiracy to manipulate votes. Read more :  83.79 % Polling Rec...

Hinjilcut: Senior BJP leader and Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan made a serious allegation against the BJD while visiting Hinjilicut Monday. The BJD’s legal cell said that the allegations of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MLA candidate Pitamber Acharya were totally false. Pitamber had alleged at a press meet here that common people were being terrorised by the BJD in Hinjilicut. He said that if anybody protests against the BJD the police and the administration threaten them. Read more :   BJP’s Pitamber Accuses Govt of Misusing Powers For more visit us Orissapost.com