Page 16 - Assembly Elections

Congress's Gourav Vallabh quits 'directionless' party ahead of LS polls

In his resignation letter, Congress leader Gourav Vallabh cited the party's caste census promise, the decision to skip the Ram temple ceremony, and other reasons

Andhra polls: Cong unveils 9 guarantees', promises Rs 1 lakh annually

The Congress in Andhra Pradesh has announced 'nine guarantees', including Rs 1 lakh yearly to women and Rs 2 lakh farm loan waiver, to be implemented if voted to power in the state in the May 13 Assembly polls. Launching the party's manifesto for the upcoming polls on Saturday, APCC chief Y S Sharmila said if the Congress comes to power at the Centre, it would ensure special category status to Andhra Pradesh for 10 years as its first guarantee. After a lot of brainstorming, the Congress party has brought out excellent guarantees. Every poor family will get nearly Rs 8500 monthly, that is Rs 1 lakh per annum. This will be given to women only under Mahila Mahalakshmi scheme. This will be the party's second guarantee, she said. An additional 50 per cent to farmers on the minimum support price, hike in minimum wage under the Employment Guarantee Scheme to Rs 400 per day, free education from KG to PG are some of the guarantees made by the grand old party. The Congress also promised to .

Arunachal CM among 10 BJP candidates elected unopposed in Assembly polls

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein are among 10 BJP candidates who were elected unopposed in the state assembly polls, an official said on Saturday. Khandu and nine others were elected unopposed following the closure of the nomination withdrawal period, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain told reporters here. Khandu was the only person to file a nomination from the Mukto assembly constituency in Tawang district, while Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein won the Chowkham seat uncontested after his lone rival Bayamso Kri of the Congress withdrew his nomination on Saturday, he said. Single nomination paper has been filed in six assembly constituencies while in four others, opposition candidates withdrew their papers, he said. Elections to other constituencies of the 60-member assembly and two Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 19.

Congress' CEC finalises about 40 more candidates for LS elections

Top Congress leadership on Monday discussed over 60 seats in five states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam and finalised the names of about 40 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the party has decided to field former chief minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav from Jalore in Rajasthan. Speculation was rife about both Kamal Nath and his son Nakul switching over to the BJP ahead of the polls. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are unlikely to contest, with the former's son entering the poll fray and the latter having responsibility of Chhattisgarh as AICC general secretary, the sources added. The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC), chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, met at the party headquarters to finalise candidates, days after the party released its first list of 39 candidates for the polls. Among the seats that were discussed at the meeting ..

Sikkim Democratic Front announces six candidates for Assembly polls

The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) on Monday announced its candidates for six assembly seats, days before the announcement of the election schedule, officials said. Former chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling will be contesting from Namchi-Singhithang in a bid to secure a record ninth term as a legislator, they said. For the three seats in Mangan district, the SDF has nominated former minister Hissey Lachungpa for Lachen-Mangan (BL-Reserved) constituency, while Gnawong Chopel Lepcha and Sonam Gyatso Lepcha will contest from Kabi-Lungchok (BL-Reserved) and Dzongu (BL-Reserved) seats, respectively. Lachungpa recently completed two terms as a Rajya Sabha MP, they said. In Gangtok district, the main opposition party has nominated Ashish Rai for Arithang seat. Rai had previously contested as an independent in 2019 after being denied a ticket by the SDF but has now returned to the party. Norzang Lepcha has been named as the SDF nominee for the Tumin Lingee (BL-Reserved) assembly seat. BL

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EC team visits Sikkim, reviews preparedness for LS, Assembly polls

An Election Commission of India team headed by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Dharmendra Sharma visited Sikkim and held meeting with state government officers to review the preparedness for Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls to be held later this year, an official said on Tuesday. The EC team held a meeting with the Chief Secretary, DGP, Special DGP, Chief Electoral Officer, State Police Nodal Officer, Home Secretary and other senior officials. In the meeting, the overall preparedness of the state for the conduct of general elections was discussed in detail, he said. On Monday, the EC team also held a meeting with all District Collectors and Superintendents of Police to review the preparedness and plan of action of the district administration. All DCs and SPs made a detailed presentation on the matters relating to the electoral roll, printing of EPIC, identification of critical/vulnerable polling stations, availability and training of manpower, arrangements for establishment o

EC publishes final electoral rolls 2024 for Karnataka with 53.7 mn voters

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday published the 2024 final electoral rolls for 224 constituencies of Karnataka with a total electorate of 5,37,85,815, the data shared by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer showed. According to the Draft Electoral Rolls-2024, the total number of general electors was 5,33,77,162, comprising 2,68,02,838 male electors, 2,65,69,428 female electors, and 4,896 other electors. In the Final Electoral Rolls-2024, the total general electors increased to 5,37,85,815. This includes 2,69,33,750 male electors, 2,68,47,145 female electors, and 4,920 other electors. "The net increase in total electors compared to the draft roll is 4,08,653, with a significant rise in female electors by 2,77,717, male electors by 1,30,912, and other electors by 24," the EC said. According to the EC, among the 224 Legislative Assembly constituencies, Bengaluru South in Bengaluru Urban district has the highest number of electors at 7,17,201. Conversely, Sringeri in ...

One nation, one election will damage idea of parliamentary democracy: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said holding simultaneous elections in the country will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy and the basic structure of the Constitution. It will not be able to deal with hung legislature and will actively encourage anti-defection, the AAP said. The remarks of the AAP, a constituent of the INDIA bloc, came a day after the Congress, also part of the same grouping, strongly opposed the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country, saying it goes against the guarantees of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution. In a statement on Saturday, the AAP said, "'One nation, one election' will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy, the basic structure of the Constitution and federal polity of the country. It is unable to deal with hung legislature, will actively encourage the evil of anti-defection and open buying-selling of MLAs and MPs." It added that the cost sought to be saved by holding simultaneous elections is a mere 0.

Participate in elections to reduce influence of dynasts: Modi to youth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described India's present-day youth as the most fortunate generation of the 21st century, poised to take the country to greater heights during 'Amrit Kaal', and urged them to participate in the electoral process to "reduce" the influence of dynastic politics. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 27th National Youth Festival here, Modi said dynastic politics has caused immense harm to the country and urged the youth to get themselves enrolled as voters as soon as possible. He also asked young people to stay away from drugs. India is the mother of democracy. If youth express their political views by casting their votes, the future of the country will be good. Better participation of youth in the democratic process will ensure a better future for the country, he said. First-time voters can bring new energy and power to India's democracy, he said. If you participate in active politics (and electoral process), you will be able to reduce th

Cong blames EVMs, internal sabotage for rout in MP polls at review meeting

Most of the 164 nominees of Congress who lost the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls last November on Saturday blamed EVMs for the poor show against BJP at a review meeting held here, a leader said. Some contestants claimed "internal sabotage" was the reason for the drubbing and demanded strict action ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP swept the state assembly elections to retain power by winning 163 seats out of 230, reducing the Congress tally to 66. About 164 defeated contestants of Congress attended the marathon meeting which lasted for nearly six hours chaired by MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari, one of the candidates who contested unsuccessfully. Many of them said the "EVM issue" should be raised nationwide and those in the state Congress unit responsible for the sabotage should be dealt with an iron hand if the party wants to put up a good show in the Lok Sabha elections, said the party leader, who had lost the elections, after attending the meeting. "Majority of the defeat

Kovind-led panel on simultaneous polls invites suggestions from public

The panel on 'One Nation, One Election' led by former president Ram Nath Kovind has invited suggestions from the public "for making appropriate changes in the existing legal administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country". In a public notice, the high-level committee said the suggestions received by January 15 would be taken up for consideration. The suggestions can be posted on the committee's website onoe.gov.in or sent by e-mail to sc-hlc@gov.in, the notice said. The committee has held two meetings since it was constituted in September last year. It had also recently written to political parties seeking their views and an interaction on a "mutually agreed date" on the idea of holding simultaneous polls. It had later sent a reminder to the parties. Letters were sent to six national parties, 33 state parties and seven registered unrecognised parties. The committee has also heard the views of the Law Commission on simultaneous polls. The law panel could b

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Rajasthan elections: 57% winners with cases won with vote share above 50%

Rajasthan Assembly elections 2023: On the other hand, 38% (53) out of 138 winners with clean backgrounds won with a vote share of 50% or above

Karnataka CM launches registration of fifth poll guarantee 'Yuva Nidhi'

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday launched the registration of the fifth and last poll guarantee 'Yuva Nidhi' here offering unemployment assistance to graduates and diploma holders. The disbursement of the scheme will start from January 12, 2024, which is the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The scheme offers monetary assistance of Rs 3,000 to the graduates and Rs 1,500 to the diploma holders who passed in the 2022-23 academic year. The money would be given to those who do not get a job even after completion of 180 days from the date of passing of the degree/diploma, officials said, adding that the candidates are required to prove domicile of Karnataka for a minimum of six years. The unemployment allowance would be given for a period of two years from the date of announcement of the result or till he/she becomes employed/self-employed whichever is earlier. The amount will be directly transferred to the bank account of the beneficiaries. Candidates who are ..

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BJP raised Rs 341.65 cr during Karnataka Assembly polls, spent Rs 196.7 cr

The BJP spent Rs 196.70 crore on the Karnataka assembly elections held in May, including Rs 16.83 crore on air charters for star campaigners, the party said in a report submitted to the Election Commission. The BJP central headquarters received Rs 341.65 crore in the period from the announcement of the Karnataka election to the date of completion of the process, according to the report. It stated that the party spent Rs 78.10 crore on advertisements in print and electronic media, bulk messages, websites and TV channels, and Rs 14.21 crore on organising rallies and public meetings. The expenditure also included Rs 34 crore as total lump sum payments to candidates of the party or other candidates authorised or incurred by the state unit. Of the total spending of Rs 196.70 crore, the BJP declared Rs 149.36 crore as expenditure on general party propaganda and Rs 47.33 crore as expenditure on candidates.

253 of 678 winning candidates have declared criminal cases, says ADR report

As many as 146 winning candidates in the Assembly elections of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana have declared serious criminal cases against themselves

Oppn welcomes HC ruling on Pune LS seat bypoll, BJP says avoid politics

Opposition parties in Maharashtra have welcomed the Bombay High Court order asking the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately hold the bypoll for Pune Lok Sabha seat, stressing people from the constituency cannot be left unrepresented for a long time. However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol said the HC's ruling must be respected and should not be seen through political prism. He said as a political party, the BJP is always ready to contest elections and pointed out that the Pune Lok Sabha seat was won in 2019 by its candidate Girish Bapat, whose death has necessitated the bypoll. The HC on Wednesday passed its order on a plea filed by Pune resident Sughosh Joshi against a certificate issued by the Election Commission to not hold bypoll to the constituency, which fell vacant following the death of sitting BJP MP Bapat on March 29. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata ripped into the ECI's stand on not holding

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