Jaipur:

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, enforcement agencies have seized Rs 244 crore cash in the last 15 days, officials said on Tuesday.

A strict vigil is being maintained by the police, excise, income tax and other enforcement agencies and a “new record” has been made in the seizure of illegal cash, liquor, drugs, gold, silver etc. The total seizure figure has crossed Rs 1,000 crore in 2023, officials said.

According to officials, this year there has been a three-fold increase in the total seizure, which was Rs 322 crore in 2021, Rs 347 crore in 2022 and Rs 1,021 crore so far in 2023.

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that since June, the election commission has been working in direct coordination with all the enforcement agencies, and cash and other material worth Rs 648 crore have been seized since then.  In the last 15 days (from October 9 till now), cash and other material worth Rs 244 crore have been seized, officials said.

Gupta said that during this period, Rs 39.30 crore cash was seized by police, Income Tax Department and other agencies. Similarly, over 10.60 lakh litre illicit liquor worth Rs 20.12 crore was seized by the Excise Department, police and other agencies.  He said that drugs and psychotropic substances worth Rs 46.76 crore were seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau, police and other agencies. Police, Income Tax Department and Customs Department have seized gold, silver and other precious metals worth Rs 30.40 crore.

He said that freebies and other items worth Rs 84.22 crore have also been seized by various agencies. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Fertilizers and diesel prices have increased,” said All India Kisan Saba leader from Rajasthan Amra Ram. “Production is decreasing due to no significant increase in MSP. The Centre should have implemented [recommendations of the] Swaminathan Committee report,” he added.
| Photo Credit: AJAY VERMA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has increased the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the finanicial year 2024-25. The increase for wheat, the major Rabi crop, is ₹150 per quintal and the new price will be ₹2,275.

Farmers’ organisations have criticised the “meagre” increase. The Centre procures wheat from about a dozen wheat-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The two States are among those that will witness upcoming Assembly elections.

Welcoming the announcement, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the policies of the Centre have helped farmers to make agriculture a profitable vocation. He said the MSP is much higher than the input cost.

The highest increase in MSP compared with last year is for lentils (masur) at ₹425 per quintal (new price: ₹6,425 per quintal) followed by rapeseed and mustard at ₹200 per quintal (new MSP: ₹5,650 per quintal). For wheat and safflower, the increase is ₹150 per quintal (₹2,275 and ₹5,800 per quintal, respectively). For barley (new MSP: ₹1,850) and gram (new MSP: ₹5,440), the increase is ₹115 and ₹105 per quintal, respectively.

Farmers’ organisations said the MSP did not match the increase in input costs. “Fertilizers and diesel prices have increased,” said All India Kisan Saba leader from Rajasthan Amra Ram. “Production is decreasing due to no significant increase in MSP. The Centre should have implemented [recommendations of the] Swaminathan Committee report,” he added. Five districts in Rajasthan and about eight districts in Madya Pradesh contribute to the wheat procurement by Food Corporation of India.

Coordinator of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugraan) Pavel Kussa said the increase was not sufficient. “Where is the procurement? Without procurement MSP is meaningless. Such announcements do not have any meaning when the government goes away from procurement and leaves everyting to private traders,” Mr. Kussa said.

Separately, the Centre also announced the final estimated production of major crops during 2022-23. Rice production is estimated at 1,357.55 lakh tonnes, wheat at 1,105.54 lakh tonnes, nutri and coarse cereals at 573.19 lakh tonnes, maize at 380.85 lakh tonnes and pulses at 260.58 lakh tonnes.

Oilseeds production could touch 413.55 lakh tonnes, while sugarcane output could reach 4,905.33 lakh tonnes. Cotton is estimated at 336.60 lakh bales of 170 kg each and jute at 93.92 lakh bales of 180 kg each.

Bhopal:

The Congress has fielded popular actor Vikram Mastal against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the upcoming assembly elections. Mr Mastal is best known for his role as Hanuman in Anand Sagar’s 2008 television show Ramayana.

The party today announced its first list of party candidates for the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana assembly elections.

In Madhya Pradesh, the party fielded former chief minister and PCC chief Kamal Nath from his Chhindwara assembly constituency. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh has been fielded from Raghigath seat. He was a minister in the last Kamal Nath government.

Vikram Mastal will be up against Mr Chouhan in the Budhni constituency.

Vijay Laxmi Sadho, a former Rajya Sabha member and minister in the state, has been fielded from the Maheshwar-SC assembly seat. Former cabinet minister Jitu Patwari has been fielded from Rau assembly constituency.

The list includes 47 candidates from the general category, 39 from the OBC category, 30 from the ST category, 22 from the SC category, one Muslim, and 19 women. Sixty-five of the candidates are under the age of 50.

The BJP has already announced candidates for over half of the assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, with a list of 136 out of 230 seats.

Madhya Pradesh will hold assembly elections on November 17 to elect representatives for its 230 constituencies. The election will be held in a single phase, and the results will be announced on December 3.

At least four former BJP leaders are in the Congress’ first list of candidates for the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. They are Avdhesh Nayak (Datia), Rao Yadvendra Singh (Mungaoli), ex-BJP MP Bodh Singh Bhagat (Katangi), and Neeraj Sharma (Surkhi). Tickets have been denied to three sitting MLAs, including former Assembly speaker NP Prajapati

New Delhi:

The BJP has fielded 18 MPs, including four Union ministers, for the latest round of assembly polls so far — seven each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and four in Chhattisgarh. Seventeen of them, including three Union ministers fielded in Madhya Pradesh, are Lok Sabha members and most of them have been fielded on relatively difficult assembly seats, where the party had lost in the last elections.

The party on Monday announced fresh lists of candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest from his traditional Budhni seat as the BJP announced the names of 57 more candidates for the assembly polls to be held on November 17. With this, the BJP has so far announced its candidates for 136 seats in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly.

The names of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and state BJP president Arun Sao figured in its latest list of candidates for the state, taking to 85 the number of seats in the 90-member assembly for which it has named candidates.

Three MPs, including Union Minister Renuka Singh, also featured in the second list of 64 candidates for Chhattisgarh.

The BJP has sent out a message about its determined efforts to put its best foot forward by fielding so many regional heavyweights, including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Faggan Singh Kulaste, and Prahlad Singh Patel in Madhya Pradesh, a state where it is in power and is facing a keen challenge from the Congress.

Party sources said fielding seasoned leaders in the assembly polls also helps defuse factional feuds as they enjoy more acceptance. Such a move also raises the stakes for the satraps seeking key roles in government and organisation by throwing them the challenge of ensuring a good performance for the party in their seats and adjoining constituencies, they said.

Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari and Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore are among the BJP candidates from Rajasthan.

Ms Kumari will fight the elections from Jaipur’s Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency, Mr Rathore, a former Union minister and retired Army officer, has been fielded from Jhotwara, also in Jaipur district.

Vidhyadhar Nagar seat is currently held by BJP MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, a five-time MLA and son-in-law of former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The remaining 40 constituencies for which the BJP announced its candidates are held by the ruling Congress and other parties.

Jhunjhunu MP Narendra Kumar will contest the elections from Mandawa, Alwar MP Baba Balaknath from Tijara, Ajmer MP Bhagirath Choudhary from Kishangarh, Jalore MP Devji Patel from Sanchore, and Meena will fight from the Sawai Madhopur constituency.

Announcing the election schedule at a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said single-phase assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 and Mizoram on November 7 while Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 7 (20 seats) and 17 (70 seats).

The BJP and the Congress will be engaged in a direct fight in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan while the two parties are also in contention for power in Telangana, where Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi is eyeing a third straight term.

The BJP is in power in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party is ready to contest the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan with full strength and the names of candidates will be declared soon, its national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday.

The Election Commission has announced that assembly polls in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana will be held on different days beginning November 7 and the votes will be counted on December 3.

Asked about the AAP’s preparation for the polls, Mr Kejriwal said, “We are prepared to contest the elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh with full strength.”

When asked whether his party will contest the elections as part of the INDIA bloc, he said that “whatever happens will be apprised”.

Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are currently ruled by the Congress, which like the AAP is a partner in the opposition INDIA bloc.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge during a press conference after the bloc leaders meeting, in Mumbai on Friday
| Photo Credit: ANI

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Congress to hold yatras at district level to commemorate one year of Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7

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Ethnic cleansing complete in Imphal Valley, says Chidambaram

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Shivpal Singh Yadav will join the BJP: Om Prakash Rajbhar

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Iran sentences two women journalists to jail time

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Asia Cup 2023: Bangladesh keep themselves alive with 89-run win over Afghanistan

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