"BJP govt to take oath in Odisha on June 10 after PM Modi's oath-taking": Himanta Biswa Sarma

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"BJP govt to take oath in Odisha on June 10 after PM Modi's oath-taking": Him...

"BJP govt to take oath in Odisha on June 10 after PM Modi's oath-taking": Himanta Biswa Sarma

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take oath first after the Lok Sabha election results on June 4 and following that, the Bharatiya Janata Party government will take oath in Odisha on June 10.

Ganjam, May 10: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take oath first after the Lok Sabha election results on June 4 and following that, the Bharatiya Janata Party government will take oath in Odisha on June 10.

"After 4th June, first, PM Modi will take oath. After that, the BJP government will take oath in Odisha on 10th June. All of us will be attending," Sarma said speaking to ANI on Thursday.

Speaking about Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader VK Pandian's claim that Naveen Patnaik will be sworn as the Chief Minister for the sixth time, Sarma said, "Pandian can say what he wants. He is in government. But it is most important to listen to what the public is saying. Is one person the voice of the public? Will you be listening to four crore people in Odisha or to one person?"

Assuring that the BJP will perform well in the Lok Sabha as well as the Assembly polls, the Assam Chief Minister said, "We will be winning around 18 to 20 seats in the Lok Sabha and will get good numbers in the Vidhan Sabha. We will be forming the government. I cannot say exactly whether we will be getting 100 or 120 seats in the Vidhan Sabha in one day. But we will certainly win more than 75 seats."

Rubbishing prospects of alliance with the BJD, Sarma said that he had indirectly told reporters during his last visit to the state that there would be no alliance between the two parties.

"When I came to Bhubaneswar three months back, I had told you that I would come for the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP. I told you last time that there won't be any alliance and we will be fighting on our own. I had told you indirectly," Sarma said.

Speaking about the candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha, Sarma said, "All the candidates of BJP are very good and are the followers of PM Modi, his 'Pariwar' (family). PM Modi's pariwar is good. So Naveen Patnaik is campaigning for the BJP. BJP is going to form its government in Odisha."

On the positive response shown by the people of Odisha to the BJP, Sarma said, "People have given a great response, they are very well aware of all the points mentioned in our manifesto. This is an indication that BJP is going to win in Odisha."

The state of Odisha will hold Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in four phases from May 13 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.

(ANI)

Read Odisha News

Iran President Raisi's death: India declares one day state mourning on Tuesday

by Utkalika Mohanty

New Delhi, May 20: India on Monday declared one day of state mourning on May 21 as a mark of respect to Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and the country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

"On the day of mourning (Tuesday), the National Flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings where the National Flag is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment on the day," read a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Raisi and Abdollahian were among nine people who died after their helicopter crashed in Iran's mountainous north-west region while they were returning from the Azerbaijan border after flagging off joint projects in the region.

(IANS)

56.68 pc turnout in fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls till 5 pm, West Bengal leads with 73 pc voting

by Utkalika Mohanty

New Delhi, May 20: The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 49 parliamentary constituencies saw a cumulative voter turnout of 56.68 per cent till 5 pm, as per the data shared by the Election Commission.

According to the poll body, West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout (73 per cent), followed by Ladakh (67.15 per cent), Jharkhand (61.90 per cent), Odisha (60.55 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (55.80 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (54.21 per cent), Bihar (52.35 per cent) and Maharashtra (48.66 per cent).

Mumbai continued to disappoint with voter turnout failing to cross 50 per cent till 5 pm. Mumbai North recorded a turnout of 46.91 per cent; Mumbai North Central saw a turnout of 47.32 per cent, Mumbai North East saw a turnout of 48.67 per cent per cent, Mumbai North West recorded a turnout of 49.79 per cent. Mumbai South had the lowest turnout in the city with 44.22 per cent recorded till 5 pm. Mumbai South Central saw a turnout of 48.26 per cent.

As per the ECI, over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting. The fifth phase is witnessing key contests in various constituencies.

Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are looking for electoral success.

The eight states/UTs polling in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Cities like Mumbai, Thane, and Lucknow are polling in this phase, which has in the past suffered from urban apathy in voting. Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.

A total of 216 international border check posts and 565 inter-state border check posts are keeping a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash, and freebies. Strict surveillance has been kept on sea and air routes, the ECI said.

(ANI)

"Thank you Puri, bow in gratitude to this iconic place": PM Modi

by Utkalika Mohanty

Puri, May 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to the holy city of Puri hours after holding a roadshow and said the heat did not deter the crowds from coming and blessing us.

PM Modi also appreciated the divinity and culture of the holy city and said each of these blessings inspires us to work harder for the people.

Thank you Puri. I bow in gratitude to this iconic place, associated with divinity and culture. The roadshow this morning was spectacular. The heat didn’t deter the crowds from coming and blessing us. Each of these blessings are cherished and inspire us to work harder for the… pic.twitter.com/FVEzalTpbQ — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2024

PM Modi also shared some pictures of the roadshow held in Puri today on his official social media account.

"Thank you, Puri. I bow in gratitude to this iconic place, associated with divinity and culture. The roadshow this morning was spectacular. The heat didn't deter the crowds from coming and blessing us. Each of these blessings is cherished and inspires us to work harder for the people," PM Modi posted on X, (formerly Twitter).

Urging people to vote amid the scorching heat, PM Modi pointed out a wheel-chaired youth at a rally and said this affection makes him work even harder to fulfil people's dreams.

"It's very satisfying to see people from all walks of life come to bless me at the rallies across India. At Dhenkanal, one of the attendees was young Anshuman Mohapatra from Angul. Despite his health challenges and the scorching heat, he came to the rally. This affection is humbling and makes me work even harder to fulfil people's dreams," PM Modi added.