PM Narendra Modi secures big lead in Varanasi against Cong's Ajay Rai

News Network
May 23, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is surging ahead in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, according to early trends. His main opponents Ajay Rai of Congress and Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party are trailing. Modi's constituency went for polls in the last phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on May 19. A total of 25 contestants fought elections against the PM from Kashi. These candidates belong to various states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Apart from Modi's two-day mega show of strength before filing his nomination from Kashi on April 26, the saffron party's big leaders like Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Sushma Swaraj and Yogi Adityanath held several poll campaigns in this high-profile constituency. Opposition parties, led by Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, also held road-shows but none of them matched the enthusiasm and euphoria of Modi's rallies.

Echoing the scenes of his 2014 election campaign when the Modi wave swept the entire nation, his 2019 poll rallies had also created a similar buzz among the people of Kashi. The city of gods was virtually painted in saffron when thousands thronged the streets chanting 'Modi, Modi' and 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' as Modi traversed through the streets of Varanasi on his black Range Rover.

In 2014, PM Modi had 41 candidates contesting the poll against him but the number this time has gone down to 25. Modi won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by defeating Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by a massive margin of 3.37 lakh votes. Congress' Ajay Rai had secured mere 75,614 votes in 2014 and finished third after Kejriwal while BSP candidate Vijay Prakash Jaiswal had got 60,579 votes.

Modi had received 5, 16,593 votes -- about half of the total votes. Modi's victory margin in this eastern Uttar Pradesh constituency was the highest ever for the Lok Sabha seat in 2014. However, it remains to be seen if the BJP leader succeeds in breaking his own record this time.

Among the main opponents of Modi in 2019 Lok Sabha is SP-BSP alliance candidate Shalini Yadav. A newbie in the electoral politics, Yadav had contested mayoral polls in Varanasi in 2017 but had finished second after securing 1.14 lakh votes. She is the daughter of former Union minister and Congress leader Shyam Lal Yadav.

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News Network
December 6,2025

indigoticket.jpg

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
December 20,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 20: The Mangaluru City Police have issued a detailed traffic advisory ahead of the inaugural ceremony of Karavali Utsava, which will be held at the Karavali Utsava Ground on Saturday.

The festival will be inaugurated at 6:00 pm by Dakshina Kannada District Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. Cultural and public programmes will be held at the venue every evening and will continue until January 2.

According to City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, parking of vehicles is strictly prohibited on both sides of the road from Lalbagh to Karavali Utsava Ground. Visitors are requested to park their vehicles only at designated parking areas.

To help the public, traffic signboards and parking guidance flex boards have been installed along the routes leading to the venue. The police have urged commuters and visitors to follow these instructions to ensure smooth traffic movement.

Designated Parking Locations

•    Urwa Market Ground – Cars
•    Gandhinagar Government School (near Press Club) – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Ladyhill Church parking area – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Canara School Ground, Mannagudda – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Thimmappa Hotel premises – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Scout and Guide Bhavana premises (behind Karavali Utsava Grounds) – Two-wheelers
•    Urwa Market Road – Two-wheelers
•    Hat Hill Road – Two-wheelers

The police have appealed to the public to cooperate by following traffic rules and parking guidelines to avoid inconvenience during the festival.

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News Network
December 6,2025

indigoticket.jpg

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
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