PM’s speeches cause for concern: Pawar

Mumbai: The statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the opposition in this poll season are a cause for concern, claimed NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday. Talking to reporters here, he also welcomed the BJP-led Mahayuti government’s appeal to the Election Commission (EC) to relax the model code of conduct to expedite relief work in areas reeling under water scarcity in Maharashtra.

35K security personnel deployed in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Around 35,000 security personnel have been deployed for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to be held in Odisha on May 25, a senior police officer said. Six parliamentary constituencies – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri and Sambalpur – along with 42 Assembly seats will go for polls in the third phase in Odisha and phase-six in India.

Home Guard on election duty dies

Sultanpur: Pawan Kumar, a Home Guard personnel on poll duty here, has died, the police said on Friday. Kumar’s health suddenly deteriorated under suspicious circumstances on Thursday. He was taken to the district hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, SHO Satendra Kumar Singh said. The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem and his family has been informed, SHO Singh said.

Over 26,000 displaced KPs to vote today

Jammu: Over 26,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandit (KP) voters are eligible to vote at 34 polling stations in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Anantnag constituency on Saturday. This marks the conclusion of voting in the Union Territory, with polling already completed in the other four constituencies. The newly created Anantnag-Rajouri LS seat will cover the districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, Rajouri and Poonch.

Chirag pays ‘courtesy call’ on Nitish

Patna: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan on Friday paid a “courtesy visit” on fellow NDA partner and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Paswan, who has reconciled with the state’s longest-serving CM after having fought him bitterly, said, “It was a courtesy meeting in a relaxed atmosphere with just two more phases of LS poll to go. I have campaigned for JD(U) candidates in many seats. I shared my reading of the situation there.”

BJP wants to change Constitution: Tejashwi

Deoghar: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday alleged that the BJP wanted to snatch the rights of deprived communities by changing the Constitution, and asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc would never let that happen. Addressing an election rally in Jharkhand’s Deoghar for Congress’s Godda candidate Pradeep Yadav, he accused the BJP of spreading “hatred” in the country.