Supreme Court upset with Centre and EC over non-compliance of its order on tainted candidates
The Times of India today reported the apex court had issued a notice to the Centre and the Election Commission for non-compliance of its order on disclosures of candidates with criminal backgrounds.
In September 2018, a five-member Supreme Court bench had stated all political parties would have to disclose the criminal antecedents of all its candidates and make available complete information on its website and also publicize the same through print and electronic media so voters can vote for the best candidate based on informed decisions.
Unfortunately, political parties have not followed up on the Supreme Court order, and now the court has pulled up the centre and the Election Commission for inaction.
PM Modi confident of NDA crossing 300 seats
Speaking to Republic Bharat news channel, PM Modi exuded the confidence of NDA forming the next government by winning excess of 300 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Referring to the 2014 election, the PM said the people were unsure of his capabilities as an administrator and politician. In 2019, the nation had seen him lead the country and therefore, more people would vote for the NDA. He also spoke of the failure of the opposition Mahagathbandhan to get its act together and how infighting was benefiting his party.
Mr Modi took on the Gandhi dynasty and Congress accusing them of treating defence deals like ATMs for personal gains at the cost of national security. He spoke of his government’s speed and transparency in defence deals, a practice not seen earlier under the Congress-led UPA.
Mahagathbandhan in Bihar finalizes seat sharing
After much speculation, the Mahagathbandhan has announced its list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls contesting in phases 3 to 7. There has been a lot of wrangling for seats between opposition alliance partners in Bihar, and after much debate and hard bargaining, the Mahagathbandhan has announced candidates who will contest 31 constituency seats out of a total of 40, between phases 3 and 7.
RJD candidate Abdul Bari Siddiqui will be contesting from Darbhanga while Misa Bharati, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s elder daughter, shall contest from Patliputra.
The family rift within Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family came out in the open with Lalu’s son and Tejaswi Yadav’s elder brother, Tej Pratap resigning from the RJD Youth Wing. Tej Pratap announced he would be contesting as an independent candidate against his estranged wife’s father, Chandrika Rai, from the Saran constituency. Tej Pratap is miffed with the family for excluding him from party seat distribution talks.
Poll outcome may be decided in Eastern U.P
A battle royale is brewing in eastern U.P and at stake is the political future of the country. Why eastern U.P, some may ask? For one, eastern U.P holds 35 Lok Sabha seats, 32 of which was won by the BJP in 2014. This region takes pride in having presented 21 Chief Ministers of U.P since independence.
Analyzing the importance of the region, the Times of India highlights the region as a BJP stronghold since 2009 Lok Sabha polls controlling the maximum vote share. This is where the SP-BSP alliance and also the Congress, are concentrating their efforts to dislodge the BJP. A win here will open up the path to Delhi.
