Page 20 - Assembly Polls

Ahead of assembly polls, 23rd tranche of electoral bonds opens for sale

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds opened for sale on Wednesday. The bond sale will close on November 15. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 23rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches from November 9-15, the finance ministry had said in a statement earlier this week. Usually, electoral bond tranches are open for sale between 1-10 of a designated month. For instance, the 22nd tranche of bond sales took place from October 1-10, 2022 while 21st tranche was from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. The authorised SBI

Govt clears 23rd tranche of electoral bonds; open for sale on Wednesday

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Monday approved issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on November 9. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 23rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches from November 9-15, the finance ministry said in a statement. Usually, electoral bond tranches are open for sale between 1-10 of a designated month. For instance, the 22nd tranche of bond sales took place from October 1-10, 2022 while 21st tranche was from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. The authorised SBI branches

Gujarat Assembly polls: Congress announces first list of 43 candidates

The Congress on Friday released its first list of 43 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled to be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. According to the list released here, former Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadiya has been fielded from Porbandar, Himanshu Patel from Gandhinagar South and Hiteshbhai Vora from Rajkot South. The list was declared after candidates' names were finalised during a meeting of the party's central election committee (CEC) chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge here. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the meeting online, while the rest of the participants attended it physically at the AICC headquarters here. The Congress is seeking to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from government in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the saffron party has been in power for more than two decades. Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5 -- and the votes

HP Assembly polls: 'Cong promises jobs, old pension scheme', says Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said her party will provide 1 lakh jobs, restore the Old Pension Scheme and provide financial assistance of Rs 1,500 to every woman in the state if it is voted to power in the upcoming Assembly polls. Addressing a rally here, Vadra said the Congress will also fight the drug menace, which is ruining the future of the youth and build English-medium schools in every Assembly constituency. She also targeted the state government, saying the state has "drowned" in debt under the BJP dispensation and 63,000 government posts are lying vacant. Citing the work done by the Congress in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the only two states where the party is in power on its own, Vadra said her party will fulfil its promises in Himachal as well. "The Congress will create 1 lakh jobs... Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is sitting here, he has provided 5 lakh jobs in three years. The Congress government in Rajasthan has provided 1.30 lakh jobs,"

Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls: PM Modi to address two rallies on Nov 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two rallies in Sindar Nagar and Solan on Saturday in his campaign for the BJP in the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls scheduled for November 12. Official sources said he will also visit Radha Soami Satsang in Beas in Punjab. The sect has a large following in the hill state as well. The BJP will release its 'vision document' (manifesto) for Himachal Pradesh a day later in Shimla on Sunday. It was earlier expected to be released on Friday. The BJP is in power in the state and is pulling out all stops to remain in the saddle by breaking the precedent of the incumbent being voted out.

Himachal Assembly polls: A total of 5,093 cast vote through postal ballot

The number of postal ballot cast were 366 in Kangra, 297 in Kullu, 1,991 in Mandi, 528 in Una, 838 in Bilaspur, 315 in Solan, 669 in Shimla, and 89 in Kinnaur

Assembly byelections 2022: Polls for 7 vacant seats over 6 states tomorrow

Voting will be held on Thursday in bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states - a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties. While in Haryana former chief minister Bhajan Lal's family is trying to hold on to its bastion of five decades, Bihar will see the first electoral test for the Nitish Kumar-led 'Mahagathbandhan' government, formed less than three months ago after the JD(U) parted ways with the BJP. The saffron party is seeking to retain Gola Gorakhnath seat in Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar in BJD-ruled Odisha, banking on sympathy votes as it has fielded the sons of sitting MLAs whose death necessitated the bypolls. The BJP and the ruling TRS had been campaigning aggressively in Manugoda in Telangana, where the Congress MLA had resigned and is fighting on the saffron party's ticket. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for polling, including the deployment of 3,366 state police and 15 companies of central security personne

Himachal Assembly polls: J P Nadda to release BJP's manifesto on Friday

BJP president J P Nadda will release on Friday the party's 'vision document' (manifesto) for the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls. The elections to the 68-member assembly is scheduled for February 12. Party sources said Nadda would release the manifesto in Shimla on November 4. They added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address at least two public meetings each on November 5 and 9. On Saturday, he will address rallies in Mandi and Solan, they said. The BJP is in power in the hill state and is pulling out all the stops to remain in the saddle by breaking the precedent of the incumbent being voted out.

INLD eyes revival in 2024 Haryana Assembly polls as mega oppn gathers steam

The INLD is looking to make a comeback in the state riding on the support it extended to farmers when they were struggling against the now-withdrawn three central farm laws

Will travel across Karnataka to strengthen BJP ahead of polls: Yediyurappa

Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa on Friday said he would tour the state to strengthen the party ahead of next year's assembly polls. Yediyurappa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda here on Friday and held discussions on the political situation in the state and its preparations for the 2023 assembly polls. Talking to PTI, Yediyurappa said his inclusion in the BJP Parliamentary Board, the party's apex decision-making body, has "sent a good message not only in Karnataka but across south India." Thanking Prime Minister Modi and the party's central leadership, Yediyurappa said he would continue to his activities and "from the first week of September, will travel across the state, visit all districts to strengthen BJP and the hands of the state leadership." The former Karnataka chief minister, however, made it clear that he is not going to contest the elections. During his tour across the state in three phases, Yediyurappa s

No race for CM face, Cong to go for K'taka polls with collective leadership

After long deliberations and discussions with the Karnataka leaders in Delhi, the Congress party is all set to move with the collective efforts to win the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls

Aazad Samaj Party(K) plan to fight Rajasthan polls: Chandrashekhar Azad

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has a plan to contest the Assembly elections in Rajasthan due next year end, its founder Chandrashekhar Azad said here on Sunday

After Congress' drubbing in Assembly polls, Sonia revamps Manipur unit

Keisham Megchandra Singh replaces Loken Singh, who has been adjusted in the executive committee of the Manipur Congress

76 women won recently-held elections in five states: Govt in Rajya Sabha

According to the data, there were 6,944 contestants in the five states, including 760 women. Seventy-six of them won the polls

UP poll results show people voted for nationalism, development: Yogi

Uttar Pradesh caretaker Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday participated in the traditional Bhagwan Narsingh Shobhayatra at Ghantaghar here

Shashi Tharoor joins Congress rebels meet over assembly polls drubbing

The sources said the meeting was convened to apprise all the members of the G-23 about the decisions taken at the crucial Congress Working Committee meeting on Sunday

Assembly polls: 45% winners in 5 states with criminal cases, says ADR

Of the 690 candidates, 219 (32 percent) winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, it said

Gujarat: Modi holds roadshow after BJP victory in Assembly elections

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state BJP president C R Paatil flanked Modi as the vehicle passed cheering crowds

Voters send 36 Muslim candidates to 18th UP Assembly, 2 more than earlier

Voters have sent 36 Muslim candidates to the 18th Uttar Pradesh Assembly, two more than the previous Assembly.

Time to reform Congress' organisational leadership: Tharoor on poll results

Shashi Tharoor said it is time to reaffirm the idea of India that Congress stands for and reform the party's organisational leadership in a manner that will reignite those ideas and inspire the people