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The suspense is over—it is Rahul Gandhi, not Priyanka Gandhi, who is contesting from Rae Bareli, the seat their mother, Sonia Gandhi represented five times since 2004 until she entered Rajya Sabha a month ago. And party worker Kishori Lal Sharma will face BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi.

In the beginning, Narendra Modi promised “good days”, but it didn’t come even after 10 long years of his rule in India. Then there was opposition’s hue and cry against him. General Election 2024 was knocking at the door. Under his nose, in the capital city, his seat of power, the most vociferous noises against him were being heard, being made by Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi.

If Mayawati, the Czarina of Dalits, has betrayed her Dalit comrades, the self-proclaimed Vishwa Guru and the public face of Hindutva, Narendra Modi, has lost the trust of the Hindus. Mayawati has been known for her cunningly crafted political stratagem, but the manner in which Modi’s lieutenant Amit Shah coerced her to withdraw her party candidates right in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections, has portrayed her as an object for pity and mercy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laughs at politicians you never think he thinks of. Like for example, Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, the quietest politician in the hemisphere and not even remotely a threat. But Prime Minister Modi sees an adversary and Patnaik gets Modi's goat, even when he is minding his own business and doing a swell job of it. Not all politicians are in the business of yakking for a living.

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party national president Mayawati is under tremendous pressure to retain 10 Lok Sabha seats won in 2019 and also to help BJP. In the beginning the manner in which Mayawati fielded candidates and announced her nephew Akash Anand to be national coordinator and her successor to launch the campaign it appeared that she was serious to regain the lost ground in Uttar Pradesh.

Across the globe, people observe Labour Day on May 1 to commemorate the protests in 1886 at Haymarket Square, Chicago and express solidarity with workers. But not many people know that much before this incident, the world’s first organised labour and trade union movement had taken place in the streets in Srinagar— the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

The launch of Boeing’s new CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which was scheduled to carry astronaut Sunita Williams, an astronaut of Indian descent, into space for her third mission, has been delayed because of a technical issue. No new launch date has been announced. This was set to be the third space mission for Williams, who has spent 322 days in space and previously held the record for the most spacewalk hours by a woman, a title now held by Peggy Whitson.

Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau was interviewed by Rebel News and the interviewer asked him: why people don't like you. Trudeau replied: “I think there is a lot of frustration with the way the world is unfolding and the frustration is being taken out on people in positions of power. I get that. That's part of my job. But my job is to stay focused on the solutions that people are going to need. There is a level of polarization and toxicity in a very visible way on social media and in real life most Canadians remain powerful and open and decent and yes frustrated and worried about the future. But I also know Canadians are good people who are willing to work together for their future and I am part of that.”

Jos Raul Mulino was elected as the new president of the Central American country Panama in the national polls held on Sunday May 5. He got 34.35 per cent of the votes as against 24.83 per cent received by his closest rival Ricardo Lombana. There were five more candidates. Mulino will take over the presidency on July1 this year for a period of five years.

The crucial third phase of Lok Sabha election is most likely to bring more seats in the BJP’s bag compared to the first and second phase of elections, but it is not bringing any cheer on PM Narendra Modi’s face. Conversely, the struggle of the BJP in retaining its seat, and there is every likelihood of losing many of them, has made PM Narendra Modi ever more concerned, since it enhances the challenge of making up the losses in the first three phases in the last four phases of election much more difficult.