Brazilian presidential candidate stabbed at rally
Brasilia, Sep 7 : Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a rally while campaigning for next month's election.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro, notorious for making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks, was being led through a crowd on the shoulders of supporters in Juiz de Fora city in the southern state of Minhas Gervais when an assailant stabbed him from the front and he appeared to scream in pain, reports CNN.
Known to many of his countrymen as the "Brazilian Trump", Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital where medical officials and his family said he was in a stable condition.
"Unfortunately it was more serious than we hoped," tweeted his son Flavio Bolsonaro.
"The wound reached part of his liver, lung and intestine. He lost a lot of blood, reaching the hospital... Almost dead... His condition now seems stable. Please pray!"
Brazil's federal police said that they arrested a man identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, whom a group of people tried to lynch after accusing him of staging the attack, reports Efe news.
Bolsonaro is one of the most controversial candidates in the current electoral round because he is a defender of Brazil's 1964-1984 military dictatorship.
He is also facing court proceedings for inciting violence.
According to a voter survey released on Wednesday, the rightist would finish first in the October 7 election if imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose candidacy was declared invalid by election authorities does not participate, but he would lose in a runoff.
Lula was heading all the voter surveys with some 40 per cent support but recently he was declared "ineligible" to run because of his conviction on corruption charges.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
