Smriti Irani to again take on Rahul Gandhi from Amethi
New Delhi, Mar 21: Several parliamentary constituencies are set to witness high-profile contest this election with the BJP announcing its first list of candidates and fielding Union minister Smriti Irani against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
Irani had lost to Gandhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but was seen to have put up a spirited fight.
The Congress has earlier announced the candidature of Gandhi from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
In 2014, Gandhi (4,08,651 votes) defeated Irani (3,00,748) by 1,07,903 votes.
Besides this, the BJP's first list also set the stage for a high-octane battle in several constituencies such as Mumbai North Central, where BJP's youth wing President Poonam Mahjan will again take on Congress's candidate Priya Dutt.
Mahajan, the daughter of late BJP leader Pramodh Mahajan had defeated Dutt, the daughter of former Union minister Sunil Dutt, in the 2014 general election.
A similar battle is expected in the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP has pitted former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan against the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate Ajit Singh. Singh heads the RLD.
Both, Balyan, the sitting MP, and Singh are Jats, which is a dominant caste in the western UP constituency.
The BJP released its first list of the candidates for 184 Lok Sabha constituencies which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, party chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.
The Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be conducted in seven phases starting from April 11 and will continue till May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
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Child rape-murder: Hundreds protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune; traffic hit
Pune (PTI): Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.
Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child.
A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim, assuring them of strict action against the accused and a fast-track trial.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court.
Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
