Election News Digest: Bengal BJP Chief Flaunts Weapons During Ram Navami

Kolkata: West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Dilip Ghosh on Saturday, donning a saffron headgear, participated in a Ram Navami celebration in West Medinipur district's Kharagpur and flaunted traditional weapons, such as a sword, a mace, a bow and arrows.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) had earlier raised their concerns before the Chief Electoral Officer over Ram Navami celebrations during the election.

Asked about opposition parties' claim that this act during the election was aimed at creating a communal divide, Ghosh said: "If carrying weapons means breaking the code, then the weapons of the jawans and Goddess Kali should also be taken away from their hands. People who are not man enough speak all these things."

The BJP leader mentioned that if the state administration indulges in wrong-doing and gives shelter to miscreants, he will come in between.

"Weapons are a symbol of power," the BJP leader said, adding that "Almost all our ancestors had taken up weapons and it has been a tradition. We will carry forward the tradition.”

AAP Again Open to Talks of Tie-up With Congress

New Delhi: Giving another chance for a poll alliance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday said it was open for tie-up with the Congress in 18 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Speaking to the media, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said although AAP was born due to corruption of the Congress, today's political scenario was different and the duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah was dangerous for the nation.

"Today, the political picture is different and the Modi-Shah duo is dangerous for the country, be it in terms of social fabric or institutions. They are very dangerous for the nation," he said.

Sisodia, also the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said AAP was ready to join hands with anti-BJP forces with a hope to stop it. "We believed if anti-BJP parties joined hands the duo (Modi-Shah) could be stopped."

He also blamed the Congress for wasting a month in thinking (over the alliance). "We wanted to defeat the BJP in 33 seats in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Goa and Chandigarh," the AAP leader said.

Named in 34 Cases, BJP’s Sakshi Maharaj Claims to be Saint

Lucknow: With 34 criminal cases registered against him, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj claims that he is a saint and curse will befall all those who do not vote for him.

"A saint has come to your door. When a saint comes to beg and is not given what he asks for, he takes away all the happiness of the family and in turn curses the family…. Those who do not vote for me will face divine displeasure," he said on Friday while addressing an election meeting in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

A look at the affidavit filed with his nomination papers, gave detailed account of criminal cases registered against him. The list makes him look less of a saint and more of a criminal.

According to his own admission, Sakshi Maharaj has cases ranging from promoting enmity, four cases related to criminal intimidation, robbery, dacoity, murder, forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Though he has not been convicted, there are eight cases where cognizance has been taken. These cases are registered in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad, Etah and in Delhi.

Security Beefed up for 2 Wayanad Candidates

Wayanad: The police have beefed up security provided to two Wayanad Lok Sabha candidates -- P.P. Suneer of the Communist Party of India and Tushar Vellapally of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena -- following a threat from Maoists, officials said on Saturday.

The special branch of police, after getting fresh reports of a possible kidnapping, provided an armed security guard to both.

The forest in the constituency that extends to the neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are hideouts of Maoists, police said.

Kerala goes to the polls on April 23 to elect 20 Lok Sabha members.

Rs 169 crore Unaccounted Cash Seized in TN So Far

Chennai: A total of Rs 169.61 crore unaccounted cash has been seized by Election Commission officials and Income Tax (IT) department in Tamil Nadu till date, a senior poll panel official said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters here, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said: "The Election Commission has seized unaccounted cash totalling Rs.129.51 crore in the state while the IT department has seized unaccounted cash of Rs 40.10 crore."

He said precious metals (gold and silver) worth Rs 284.67 crore, liquor worth Rs 34.80 lakh and other items were also seized.