Page 30 - Election Commission Of India

Lok Sabha polls fourth phase highlights: Voter turnout for assmebly polls reaches 62.7% by 7pm

Lok Sabha elections live: Voting is underway in 96 LS seats across 10 states. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha also have their assembly polls scheduled today

Lok Sabha elections: 52.6% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm across 96 seats

Lok Sabha elections 2024: A total of 96 Lok Sabha constituencies in nine states and one Union territory went to polls on Monday

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Telangana records 40.38% voter turnout till 1 pm

Telangana recorded 9.51 per cent voter turnout till 9 am on Monday as polling was underway for 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, according to an Election Commission app. Polling which began at 7 am will end by 6 pm, barring at a few places where it will conclude two hours earlier. Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, film actors Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun and Junior NTR were among the prominent persons who voted. BJP general secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar and the party candidate from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat K Madhavi Latha also exercised their franchise.

Lok Sabha polls 2024: 30.85% voter turnout in Maharashtra until 1 pm

A voter turnout of 6.45 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Monday as polling was underway in 11 of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra during the fourth phase of the general elections, as per data shared by authorities. Polling began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm in Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, and Beed constituencies, an official said. Union minister Raosaheb Danve, BJP leader Pankaja Munde and actor-turned-politician Amol Kolhe are among the prominent candidates. A total of 298 candidates are in the fray with Beed constituency having the highest number of candidates at 41, while Nandurbar has the lowest number at 11. Altogether 2.28 crore voters are eligible to participate in the fourth phase elections in the state. They comprise 1.18 crore men, 1.09 crore women, and 1,272 third-gender voters. In the 11 constituencies, there are 23,284 polling centres, 83 of which are deemed critical. Voting is underway using 5

LS polls 2024: Madhya Pradesh records 48.52% voter turnout until 1 pm

Eight parliamentary seats- Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa- are undergoing polling in the fourth phase of LS polls on Monday from 7 am in the state

Delhi HC dismisses plea on direction to ECI to take action against PM Modi

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking direction to the Election Commission of India to take action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly delivering communally divisive speeches during Lok Sabha poll campaigning in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Justice Sachin Datta said the plea was misconceived and devoid of merits and the ECI can take an independent view on the complaint of the petitioner in accordance with law. The court also referred to its earlier order passed in a plea pertaining to a speech given by the prime minister allegedly seeking votes in the name of religion and deities and went on to say that making any presupposition is unjustified. The counsel for the ECI submitted that it has issued a detailed advisory to all political parties. It said that appropriate action shall be taken if necessary on the reply. The petitioner's counsel said the ECI cannot have different standards for taking action against different politicians. The pl

LS polls: Crackdown on corruption to continue, says PM Modi in Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday vowed to continue with his government's crackdown on corruption, notwithstanding allegations of misuse of central agencies from the opposition. Addressing an election rally in Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar, Modi said the money recovered in raids against politicians belonged to the country's poor. I will tell you why they are crying hoarse against the action of agencies like the ED. During the previous Congress regime, the ED seized only Rs 35 lakh, which could be contained in a school bag. Ever since we took over, the agency has recovered Rs 2,200 crore, which would require 70 small trucks to be carried, said the PM. Modi said unlike his opponents, who were concerned about promoting their offspring, I have no waaris' (successor). The common people are my waaris. He reiterated the charge that parties like the Congress and RJD, which allowed extortion and kidnapping to flourish while in power, will give away reservations to Muslims to

LS polls: SC to hear NGO's plea for release of voter turnout data on May 17

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on May 17 a plea of an NGO seeking a direction to the Election Commission to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the matter will be listed on Friday after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), sought urgent listing of the petition. Last week the NGO filed an interim application in its 2019 PIL seeking directions to the poll panel that "scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)" of all polling stations be uploaded immediately after the polls. "Direct the Election Commission to provide tabulated polling station-wise data in absolute figures of the number of votes polled as recorded in Form 17C Part- I after each phase of polling in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections and also a tabulation of ...

Lok Sabha polls: Akhilesh, Owaisi, Mahua key names in fourth lap. Full list

Lok Sabha elections: Voting for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections is in progress. There are 1,717 candidates in the fray on 96 seats. We bring you a brief profile of a few high-profile candidate

Lok Sabha polls phase 4 today, 177 mn eligible to cast vote. Top 10 updates

Lok Sabha elections: A total of 96 constituencies across ten states and Union territories went to polls on Monday in the fourth stage of elections. Here are ten latest election updates for May 13

LS polls 2024: EC rescues 3 kidnapped TDP polling agents in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Monday said three TDP polling agents who were allegedly kidnapped in Chittoor district have been traced and secured. According to a press release from the CEO's office, the TDP agents were kidnapped from Bokaramanda village in Chittoor district's Sadum mandal, which falls under the Punganuru Assembly constituency. "TDP district in-charge Jagan Mohan Raju complained that TDP agents belonging to polling stations 188, 189 and 199 were kidnapped by YSRCP leaders while going to the polling stations," said Meena. Consequently, the CEO noted that Chittoor district election officials and the Police department responded quickly, rescuing the kidnapped agents from Pileru and later enabled them to attend to their duties. Further, Meena observed that a probe is underway to identify the kidnappers. Simultaneous polls for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats are underway in Andhra Pradesh today.

Checking a 'routine exercise', Shah's chopper was also searched: Bihar CEO

The Bihar Chief Electoral Officer on Sunday dismissed charges that checking of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's helicopter on Saturday was an "instance of targeting the opposition", asserting it was a "routine procedure" and those of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda were also searched. Kharge had addressed a couple of election rallies in the state on Saturday and his helicopter was checked by authorities at Samastipur, the venue of his first public meeting, triggering protests from his party and alliance partners. The Bihar CEO, in a social media post, said, "The allegation that only the helicopter of a leader of one national party was checked is baseless." In the post, the CEO did not mention Kharge or Congress by name but pointed out that helicopters of Shah and Nadda were similarly checked when they were in Bihar last month. "The checking of helicopters during elections follows the SOP laid down by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The ...

LS polls: Kejriwal hits Delhi streets, RaGa 'ready' to debate PM. Updates

The ongoing Lok Sabha elections have gained momentum following the release of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal from Tihar jail on Friday. Here are major election updates for May 11

Kejriwal lashes out at Modi, accuses him of "torturing" AAP, its leaders

Arvind Kejriwal holds his first press conference in Delhi after walking out of Tihar jail, accuses Modi of "orchestrating a political conspiracy" against him and topple his government

LS polls: Phase 4 campaigning ends, 96 constituencies to vote on May 13

ECI further mentioned that the average number of contesting candidates in a parliamentary constituency for the fourth phase is 18

Electoral bonds used as bribe by companies for contracts: Prashant Bhushan

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Saturday labelled the electoral bonds as the biggest scam in the history of Indian democracy and alleged that they were used as bribes for contracts, shielding people from central probe agencies, manipulating policies, and influencing drug regulators. He said the Supreme Court will soon commence hearing on a petition filed before it seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into alleged quid pro quo arrangements between corporates and political parties. "The electoral bonds were used (by companies) as bribes to get contracts, to protect themselves from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI and to save themselves from drug regulators," Bhushan said. Out of the Rs 16,500-crore electoral bonds, half went to the BJP and the rest to parties like the TMC and the Congress. However, those who were not ruling did not get any money, he said. "I see that Rs 5,000-crore worth of electoral bonds were issued, resulting in the sanctioning of contracts

Highlights of the day: Delhi CM Kejriwal to hold meeting with AAP leaders on Sunday

From Jairam Ramesh hitting out at the BJP for giving a ticket to Brij Bhushan's SAon to the damage done by the dust storm in national capital on Friday, catch all the news from around the world here

Voter turnout in phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections at 65.68%, says EC

The updated voter turnout figures for the third phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections stood at 65.68 per cent, the Election Commission said on Saturday. The poll panel had given a similar voter turnout figure on May 8, a day after the third phase of voting took place. In a statement on Saturday, EC said 66.89 per cent of men, 64.4 per cent of women and 25.2 per cent of the registered transgender voters turned up at polling stations. In the third phase, 17.24 crore citizens, including 8.85 crore males and 8.39 crore females, were eligible to vote. Voting for the third phase was held on Tuesday in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories with stray incidents of violence. In phase three of the 2019 parliamentary polls, the turnout of voters was 68.4 per cent.

Varun Gandhi's criticism of BJP govt cost him ticket, indicates Maneka

BJP leader Maneka Gandhi on Saturday indicated that her son Varun Gandhi's writings that were sometimes critical of the government may have cost him the party's Lok Sabha ticket from Pilibhit but asserted that he would do very well even without it. In an exclusive interview with PTI at her residence here, the former Union minister and BJP's Sultanpur candidate also said Varun Gandhi wants to come and campaign for her but a decision on that hasn't been taken yet. The Sultanpur seat in Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on May 25 in the sixth round of the seven-phase general elections. Polling was held in Pilibhit in the first phase on April 19. On Varun Gandhi being denied a ticket and if she felt bad as a mother, Maneka Gandhi said, "Well I can't say I was delighted but I am sure Varun will do very well even without a ticket." Asked about calls from Pilibhit that he should have been fielded from there this time also, she said, "Yes, he should have been there but the party has taken a ...

Kerala CM's foreign trip: Governor Khan 'thanks' media for information

Days after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan embarked on a three-week-long foreign tour, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday expressed his displeasure over not being informed about the trip and "thanked" the media for letting him know about it. When the media sought his reaction about the foreign trip of the CM and his family, Khan sarcastically thanked the media and said at least they had informed him about it. "I am not aware...Thank you very much for informing me...At least you have informed me," the Governor told reporters in nearby Aluva. Khan said he had earlier written to the President of India that the Raj Bhavan was "kept in the dark" about such foreign visits. "Earlier I have written..not this time..honestly I am not aware about it," the Governor added. The CM and his close family members left for various foreign destinations on May 6. While the opposition Congress and BJP had accused the CM of keeping the details of the foreign trip a "secret" and sought to kn