A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) of the Indian Navy crashed on Monday during a routine training sortie, an official said. The Navy said that at around 5 p.m., an RPA/ Searcher, during a routine training sortie at INS Garuda, Kochi, crashed one mile short of the runway. No injuries or damage to property was reported, an official said.
Even though uncertainty looms over the seat-sharing arrangements among the MahaYuti partners and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies for the Lok Sabha elections despite the announcement of poll schedule, both sides are geared up to take on each other on several issues. This is the first election taking place in Maharashtra after the split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar, who resigned as Bahujan Samaj Party's Telangana unit President two days ago and quit the party, joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Monday. He, with many of his supporters, formally joined the BRS in the presence of party President and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at the latter’s farmhouse at Erravelli in Siddipet district.
The new Election Commissioners of India, Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, today called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.At Rashtrapati Bhavan
Election Commissioners of India Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/HevSuaU0XR— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2024
The US Secretary of Defence,, Lloyd Austin, has appreciated the important role being played by the Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean region. He appreciated the Navy while having a discussion with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the phone on Monday. Both ministers briefly discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the NDA coalition in Bihar has finalised its seat-sharing agreement. According to the arrangement, the BJP is set to contest 17 Lok Sabha seats, JD(U) will contest 16, and LJP, led by Ram Vilas Paswan, will contest five seats. Chirag Paswan's party also secured the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in the seat-sharing deal.BJP, JD(U) and LJP Finalise Seat-Sharing Agreement
NDA's seat-sharing in Bihar: BJP to contest 17 Lok Sabha seats, JD(U) 16, LJP(Ram Vilas) five, two other parties one each— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 18, 2024
Hajipur Lok Sabha seat given to Chirag Paswan's party in NDA seat-sharing deal for Bihar: BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 18, 2024
Ahead of the Lok Sabah elections scheduled in Gujarat on May 7, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday opened a media centre in the Sarkhej area of Ahmedabad. The opening event was attended by Gujarat BJP chief C.R. Paatil and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin on Monday signed a seat-sharing pact with Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President K. Selvaperunthagai for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections at the DMK headquarters here. As per the agreement, the Congress will contest nine seats from the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu, the same it had contested in the 2019 general elections in an alliance with the DMK.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, all seven BJP Lok Sabha candidates from Delhi, along with Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, convened for a press conference in the capital today.BJP Candidates Hold Press Conference
#WATCH | All 7 BJP Lok Sabha candidates of Delhi along with Delhi unit chief Virendraa Sachdeva hold a press conference in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/6yvR2YiOnj— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2024
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, March 18, issued orders for the removal of the Home Secretary in six states namely Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Besides, the ECI also ordered the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, sources said.
Mumbai, March 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting for the Lok Sabha elections in Shivamogga today. This comes two days after his first election meeting in Karnataka was held in Kalaburagi, the home turf of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The party is expecting a turnout of 2.5 lakh people at the Allama Prabhu ground (Freedom Park).
Addressing the INDIA bloc's rally in Mumbai on Sunday after the conclusion of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without “EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax”. Gandhi also claimed that a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother, Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn’t want to go to jail".
On Sunday, the Election Commission revealed fresh details of electoral bonds and funds received by political parties since the scheme was rolled out in 2018. The data now shows how much each party redeemed from a company or individual. As per the data, the BJP received the maximum funds through the bonds at Rs 6,986.5 crore, followed by West Bengal's ruling party, Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,397 crore), Congress (Rs 1,334 crore) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 1,322 crore).
On Sunday, India and the Maldives reviewed the ongoing deployment of Indian civilian technical personnel to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms in the island nation. Both sides carried out the review at the third meeting of the high-level core group held in Male with a focus on the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the island.
Russia has alleged that Ukraine plotted "terrorist activities" to sabotage the presidential election, which is all but certain to hand President Vladimir Putin six more years in the Kremlin. The US military said it destroyed a drone fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, with another presumed to have crashed into the Red Sea. There were no reports of damage or injuries from ships in the vicinity, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday (local time) took a jibe at his Republican challenger Donald Trump over his physical fitness and age and said he was "too old and mentally unfit" to become the president. Trump, 77, has often ridiculed 81-year-old Biden for his age and his mental fitness, a concern among the voters as the world's largest democracy votes in a re-match between the two leaders on November 5. Former US President Donald Trump has said American democracy would likely come to an end if he does not win November's presidential election. He also said it would be a "bloodbath" for the whole country if he did not get elected.