Page 14 - Assembly Elections

Jammu and Kashmir's economic landscape: Of progress and challenges

But the region spends a considerably higher amount on generating assets relative to its economic size compared to the average seen in other states

News updates: Madhya Pradesh HC asks protesting doctors to return to work immediately

Latest news updates: From Sabarmati train derailment to the doctors' ongoing protest, catch all the news developments from around the world here

BJP will form govt for third time in Haryana with big mandate: CM Saini

Asserting the BJP is completely ready for the Haryana Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday said his party will form the government for a third time in the state with a big mandate. The Election Commission on Friday announced that assembly polls in Haryana would be held in a single phase on October 1 and the results would be declared on October 4. Addressing the media here after the Cabinet meeting, Saini said that he welcomed the announcement of the assembly elections in Haryana. "We are completely ready for the elections. The BJP will form the government for a third time in Haryana with a big mandate," he added. Saini said the BJP government in Haryana undertook overall development in the state without any bias. In the last 10 years, Haryana scaled new heights in terms of development in each sector, he claimed. Targeting the opposition Congress, Saini asked that it would be better to give details about their works to the people of the state rather tha

Polls in J&K to further strengthen roots of democracy: Home minister Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday welcomed the announcement of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election and said the polls will further strengthen the roots of democracy and open the doors to a new period of development for the region. Shah also welcomed the announcement of polls in Haryana and said in the last 10 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state has written a new chapter of good governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Appealing to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to actively participate in the election, Shah said they should vote in large numbers to form a government that will sustain peace and development, and ensure a brighter future for youngsters. "I welcome the announcement of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir made by the Election Commission of India today. In the last 10 years, the Modi govt through a series of relentless initiatives has created a new era of peace, development and strengthening democracy in

10,321 centenarians, 255,000 voters aged 85 & above in Haryana: ECI

Among those who will be casting their votes in the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana are 10,321 centenarians and 2.55 lakh voters aged 85 years and above, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Friday. The Election Commission announced that polls to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 1. Kumar said the Election Commission will make all efforts to ensure they all come out to vote. "Haryana has a robust, healthy lifestyle and among the voters, there are 10,321 centenarians. We salute all of them and we will make every effort to ensure they all come out to vote," he said as he announced the elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. The Election Commission of India has released the draft electoral rolls for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, highlighting significant voter demographics as both regions gear up for the upcoming elections. Haryana's draft roll, published on August 2, 2024, revealed a total of approximately 2.01 crore electors. The state has abo

Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana Assembly election dates announced; check details

The Election Commission on Friday, August 16, announced the Assembly election dates for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Watch the video for more details.

Maharashtra polls: MNS to contest Worli seat against Aaditya Thackeray

With the lead of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate falling to less than 7,000 in Worli in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the MNS senses an opportunity and is likely to field Sandeep Deshpande from this assembly seat currently held by Aaditya Thackeray. A home to some of India's wealthiest residents, Worli, part of Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, is marked by high-rises and thriving business hubs. However, it also contains dilapidated chawls awaiting redevelopment, such as the BDD chawls and police colonies. Many slum rehabilitation projects are stalled, and some redeveloped buildings have not provided the promised monthly rentals to residents. On Saturday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to discuss issues plaguing Worli. The meeting is significant, given the focus on Worli-related concerns. Following the meeting, Shinde directed officials to prioritise addressing Worli's issues, according to the Chief Minister's Office. MNS leade

Political pundit Prashant Kishor to float own party in Bihar: What we know

Prashant Kishor's coming involvement in the Bihar assembly elections represents a full circle, as he was the strategist of Nitish Kumar's 2015 victory against the BJP in the state

Victory of Himachal CM's wife in Assembly bypolls creates new record

The victory of Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in the assembly by-election from Dehra seat has scripted history as for the first time both husband and wife are members of the house. No independent was elected in the by-election and it was also for the first time that the house was without any independent member. The strength of Congress, which had won 40 seats in the 2022 assembly polls, has increased to 40 again and the government which had become stable with 38 seats in the 68 member Vidhan Sabha after winning four by-elections in June this year has become stronger. In the 2017 assembly elections, a record was set as former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh were elected and incidentally the duo were oldest and youngest members of the house. Veteran Congress leader Sarla Sharma and her husband Parasram (CPIM) also remained members of the Vidhan Sabha but they were never members of the same house. Parasram was elected i

Assembly bypolls results: INDIA bloc candidates lead in 11 of 13 seats

Candidates of INDIA bloc parties -- Congress, AAP, TMC and DMK -- on Saturday were leading in 11 of the 13 assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week, according to the counting trends on the Election Commission (EC) website. While the BJP was in the lead in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur, its partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the JD(U), was leading in Rupauli in Bihar. Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday. In Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Jalandhar West assembly bypoll candidate Mohinder Bhagat appears to be heading for a victory from the seat as he was leading by more than 23,000 votes against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Surinder Kaur, according to the EC. Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Nami Adhikari, Madhuparna Tahkur and Supti Pandey are in the lead in assembly bypolls in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda and ...

Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Cong leading in all three assembly by-polls

Congress' candidates, including Himachal Pradesh Chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife, are in the lead in all three assembly constituencies in the state where bypolls were held earlier this week, officials said on Saturday. The counting of votes for the by-elections in Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh, held on Wednesday, began at 8 am. Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur was leading by 636 votes against her nearest rival and BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh after the fifth round of counting, the officials said. In the Hamirpur assembly seat, Congress' Pushpinder Verma was ahead by 1,704 votes against BJP candidate Ashish Sharma after the second round of counting, they said. Congress candidate Hardeep Singh Baba was leading by 646 votes in the first round against BJP candidate K L Thakur in the Nalagarh assembly seat, the officials. Thirteen candidates were in the fray from the three seats. The Nalagarh assembly constituency had recorded the highest polling at 79.04 per cent, followed by Hamirpur

Assembly by-polls begin for 13 constituencies across seven states

Assembly by-polls are being held in West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh

Delhi BJP holds meeting, asks workers to gear up for 2025 Assembly polls

The Delhi BJP unit on Sunday congratulated its workers on the party winning all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital in the recent polls and asked them to step up efforts to ensure the BJP's victory in the 2025 assembly elections here. They were lauded for their work at the unit's extended executive committee meeting at the JLN stadium. It was chaired by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and inaugurated by Union Minister Piyush Goyal. The BJP's MPs from Delhi and the unit's functionaries as well as officer bearers and workers from the ward to the district level were part of the gathering. During the meeting, which focused on the BJP's preparedness for the assembly elections, leaders and workers were asked to inform people about the Narendra Modi-led central government's schemes and welfare projects while highlighting the "failures" of the AAP-led Delhi dispensation. Talking about the BJP's Lok Sabha win in Delhi, Goyal said, "This victory is not ordinary and Delhi's ..

Cong, Sena (UBT) and, NCP (SP) to jointly contest Maha polls: Sharad Pawar

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party, Congress, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray will jointly contest the Maharashtra assembly polls, due in October this year. Addressing a news conference here, Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NCP (SP), Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which was in power in the state from November 2019 till June 2022 before the collapse of the Thackeray-led government. Pawar said the opposition will keep a collective face before the people of Maharashtra. There is need for a change in the state and it is the moral responsibility of the opposition coalition to discharge it, Pawar said. "As Arjuna's target (in the epic Mahabharata) was an eye (of a fish), our eyes are all set

Haryana assembly polls: First session of BJP meeting begins in Panchkula

The first session of the BJP's extended state executive meeting to discuss strategy for the Haryana assembly elections due later this year began in Panchkula on Saturday. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP's election in-charge for Haryana, co-in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, his predecessor and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and senior leader Saudan Singh were present during the session at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the meeting during the afternoon session, a BJP leader said. Besides preparing the outline for the elections, Shah will infuse fresh zeal and enthusiasm in the party workers, the leader added. Shah will also give tips to the party workers and share his roadmap and guidance for the polls, said the leader. Senior state-level BJP leaders, office-bearers and around 4,500 party workers from all 90 assembly constituencies are attending the meeting. The first session of the extended st

Ahead of Haryana polls, 23 IPS officers transferred with immediate effect

In a major administrative reshuffle ahead of assembly polls, the Haryana government Wednesday transferred 23 IPS and 27 Haryana Police Service officers with immediate effect. Among the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who have been shuffled included some district police chiefs. According to a government order, among the IPS officers transferred included Satender Kumar Gupta, Inspector General of Police, Karnal Range, who has been posted as Sonipat Police Commissioner replacing B Satheesh Balan. Balan has been posted as Commissioner of Police, Jhajjar. Jashandeep Singh Randhawa, Superintendent of Police, Ambala, and Kurukshetra SP Surinder Singh Bhoria will swap places. Hisar SP Mohit Handa will be the new SP of Karnal in place of Deepak Saharan, who will be the new SP of Hisar. Vijay Pratap, DCP, Crime, Gurugram, has been posted as SP, Nuh in place of Narendra Bijarniya, who has been made SP, Special Task Force and DCP, Crime, Gurugram. Gaurav, DCP (East), Sonipat has been p

EC begins J&K Assembly polls prep, electoral roll expected by Aug 20

State and UT Assembly elections will be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra, along with 47 by-polls

Bypolls to 5 legislative council vacancies in 4 states on July 12

Bypolls to fill five legislative council vacancies in four states will be held on July 12, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. Elections to three of the five seats were necessitated due to the resignation of members of legislative council (MLCs) and to the remaining two due to disqualification. In Karnataka, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar had resigned as an MLC in January. He had quit the BJP and joined the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest the election from the Dharwad Central Assembly seat which he represented. Shettar had later rejoined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and won the parliamentary election. A vacancy was created in the Uttar Pradesh legislative council when Swami Prasad Maurya quit the Samajwadi Party and resigned from the House in February. One seat each in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh fell vacant due to the disqualification of sitting members. Another seat in the Andhra Pradesh legislative council fell vacant in April when YSR Congres

AJSU Party chief unveils strategy for upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand

AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto on Monday unveiled the party's strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jharkhand, emphasising their commitment to resonate with people's sentiments in the state. Mahto highlighted the prevailing discontent among people due to what he termed as erroneous policies and governance practices of the current coalition government over the past four-and-a-half years. He declared the party's resolve to amplify the voices of all segments of society against the incumbent administration. He announced that June 22, the party's foundation day, would be commemorated as 'Balidan Diwas' across all 81 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand. Each segment will feature a video presentation highlighting the state's history and sacrifices leading to its formation. Mahto outlined the party's roadmap leading up to the elections, including padyatras, youth gatherings, and recognition programmes for grassroots party workers. Regarding electoral alliances, Mahto confirmed t

Cong-SP alliance in UP natural, will continue in Assembly polls too: Rai

The Congress-Samajwadi Party coalition is a "natural alliance" and it would continue in the next assembly polls as well to "uproot" the BJP from power in Uttar Pradesh, state Congress chief Ajay Rai said on Friday. The two parties fought the Lok Sabha polls together and performed well in Uttar Pradesh, with the SP emerging as the largest party in the state by wining 37 seats. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi won from the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, apart from Kerala's Wayanad. "Our alliance with the Samajwadi Party is natural and this will also continue in the next assembly elections in UP," Rai told PTI. The PCC chief said he will be going to Delhi on Saturday and "make a strong request that Rahulji retains the Rae Bareli seat in Parliament". Rai, who lost the Lok Sabha election to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, said the victory margin for the BJP stalwart has come down substantially and "this is a moral loss for him". Modi won from Varanasi by a margin o