
New train to Jodhpur from Chennai flagged off
The Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday flagged off the inaugural special of Dr MGR Chennai Central – Bhagat ki Kothi (Jodhpur) Super Fast Express through video conference from a function held at Pune Railway Station.
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L. Murugan joined the function virtually from Mumbai. At Dr MGR Chennai Central, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, officials of Southern Railway, members of Rajasthani Association and Bharat Mata Association, and rail passengers participated in the event.
The new train will strengthen the interstate rail connectivity between Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The train will operate five days a week, catering to growing passenger demand between South India and the Marwar region of western Rajasthan. The train departs from Chennai Central at 7.45 pm and reaches Bhagat Ki Kothi at 12:15 hours on the third day.
Key stoppages enroute are Gudur, Nellore, Ongole, Vijayawada, Warangal, Chandrapur, Wardha, Akola, Bhusaval, Nandurbar, Bharuch, Vadodara, Sabarmati, Mahesana, Bhildi, Raniwara, Marwar Bhinmal, Jalor, Samdari, and Luni.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News18
31 minutes ago
- News18
'Indira Gandhi Fixed Elections': BJP's Nishikant Dubey Cites 1975 Verdict To Hit Back At Rahul
Last Updated: The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election resulted in a sweeping victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which clinched 235 seats in a commanding performance. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urging him to revisit the 1975 Allahabad High Court judgment that found then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices. Dubey's remarks followed Rahul Gandhi's recent statement alleging that the BJP had undermined democratic processes by 'rigging" the 2024 Maharashtra election in its favour. 'Rahul Baba, how is the election fixed or stolen? Read the exploits of your grandmother, Indira Gandhi, which is the judgment of the Allahabad High Court," Dubey said in a post on X. राहुल बाबा इलेक्शन फ़िक्स या कैसे चुराया जाता है,अपने दादी इंदिरा गांधी जी का कारनामा पढ़िए जो इलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट का जजमेंट है1. 1971 के चुनाव में सेना तथा उसके हेलीकॉप्टर का इस्तेमाल हुआ2. प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गांधी जी के चुनाव में शराब,कपड़ा खुले आम बाँटे गए3. हिंदू धर्म के… — Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) June 7, 2025 The Allahabad High Court, in its June 12, 1975 ruling, had found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral misconduct and invalidated her election to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli. The verdict led to her disqualification and became a key trigger for the imposition of Emergency later that month. Dubey also criticised the Congress party's track record on democracy, adding, 'The army and its helicopters were used in the 1971 elections. Liquor and clothes were openly distributed during the election of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Ask for votes in the name of Hinduism. Voters were brought in vehicles. Money is distributed indiscriminately. Government employees engaged in an election campaign. You create the election drama, your family ruins the country, and you will not get the liberty to loot the elections anymore." On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls. 'Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X. The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election resulted in a sweeping victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which clinched 235 seats in a commanding performance. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) solidified its dominance by emerging as the single-largest party, securing 132 seats. First Published:


Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Dharmendra Yadav: ‘SP's alliance with Congress intact in UP … When was Imran Masood given the power to make calls on seat sharing?'
The tension between INDIA bloc allies Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress in Uttar Pradesh was rekindled last month after Congress MP Imran Masood said the '80-17 formula' won't work in the 2027 Assembly elections. Masood was referring to the seat-sharing arrangement for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that saw the Congress contest 17 of UP's 80 parliamentary seats, while the rest went to the SP. The parties reaped the benefits of the alliance, with the alliance outperforming the BJP-led NDA. But the road to the seat-sharing agreement was mired in tension, which came to the fore during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in October 2023. The SP's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Dharmendra Yadav, who is also party chief Akhilesh Yadav's cousin, speaks to The Indian Express about the alliance with the Congress, the INDIA bloc's future, and the government's announcement of the caste census, among other issues. Excerpts: * Some leaders, including Congress leader P Chidambaram, have questioned whether the INDIA bloc is still together. What is your view on this? I think the alliance is doing a very good job as the Opposition in the country. The alliance is playing a positive and constructive role… The bloc has never done negative politics. * The government has decided to include caste data in the next Census. It has also announced the timeline for the Census. The government has caved to the pressure from the Samajwadi Party. In 2011, when the last Census was done, the party had demanded caste data to be included. The honourable Mulayam Singh Yadav was among us then, and he had also raised the demand for caste to be included in the Census. Other leaders, Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad, and the entire Opposition were demanding a caste census. The caste census has been announced because of the movement led by the Samajwadi Party … This is a win for our struggle. * How is the SP preparing for the 2027 UP Assembly elections? It is going very well. People trust the party and our leader Akhilesh Yadav. The issues of the PDA — Pichhde (backward classes), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities) — are being raised. The people of UP have realised the future of the state lies in Akhilesh Yadav's leadership. People are unhappy with the current BJP government. Unemployment and corruption are at their peak, the law-and-order situation is at its worst, and the youth and farmers are struggling. * In the 2022 Assembly elections, the SP formed an umbrella alliance with smaller parties. Those parties have left the SP. Will there be a similar umbrella alliance in 2027? I feel the whole PDA family is with us. All sections of society are looking at Akhilesh Yadav with hope. You are right, there was an alliance in 2022 with smaller parties. But after the elections, when we couldn't form the government, these parties deserted us, and that is in front of the people. For 2027, when public support is with us, it is not important which parties are with us and which aren't. * Your alliance with the Congress made a significant impact in the Lok Sabha polls. But, before the elections, and since then too, there has been some tension. You supported the AAP in Delhi. Are there problems between the two parties? The INDIA bloc's fundamental principle was that it would go with the strongest party in the states. In Delhi, naturally, the AAP was the main Opposition party. It was in power. Today, too, they are in the Opposition in Delhi, but they are stronger than the Congress. The decision to support the AAP was as per that principle of the INDIA bloc. But this will have no impact on UP politics. Our alliance in UP is with the Congress and I have 100% hope that it will continue. And there will be a majority government of the INDIA bloc under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav in UP … If anyone is fighting for the people, it is the SP and Akhilesh Yadav. I have full faith that the Congress will help us form the government in the state. * Recently, Congress MP Imran Masood said the '80-17 formula' won't work in 2027. He said the SP won't decide the seats that the Congress will contest. I believe that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi can take such a decision. I don't know when the Congress gave Masood the power to make such calls. The top leadership of the Congress will decide based on the ground reality. * How many seats will the SP be willing to leave for the Congress? Akhilesh Yadav will decide that. We are Samajwadis, we follow our leader … Those falling into the BJP's trap can speculate on such things. We won't fall into these traps.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Ongoing plot to add voters in states going to polls: TMC's Kunal Ghosh supports Rahul Gandhi's claims
Following Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged" and the same will be repeated in Bihar, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had caught the rigging in West Bengal and there is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to the state going to polls. Kunal Ghosh said, "The voter list had several irregularities. Mamata ji caught this in Bengal. Voters of other states were added to Bengal's voter list. When this happened in Maharashtra, at the time of election, it was the responsibility of the Opposition there to catch this. But they could not identify it at that time. This happened in Delhi. But in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and TMC identified this, and we protested. We told the Election Commission about this. This was a plot. We had been making these allegations for much longer. Mamata ji was the first in the country to protest against this. There is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to this one." He further said that the TMC party is scrutinising voters' list on booth level by visiting every houses. "The survey is going on. Following the process of the Election Commission, whatever is required to check the voters' list legally, we are doing it," he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. Live Events In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the "rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls." Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X. The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. "Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said. He further labelled rigging as "match-fixing", saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. "It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing, the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," the Rae Bareli MP said. Gandhi warned that the "match-fixing" of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then "anywhere" the BJP was losing elections. "Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," he added.