Page 48 - Election Commission Of India

Carpool, minimise paper use, waste disposal: EC for sustainable polls

Avoiding single-use plastics, keeping paper use to the minimum, using eco-friendly vehicles and carpooling are part of the Election Commission's directions to the poll machinery and political parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls to ensure a "sustainable election". According to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is sensitive to environmentally sustainable elections. "In a step towards sustainable or eco-friendly elections, we are making efforts to minimise single-use plastic and encourage eco-friendly practices in the election process. A set of instructions has been issued to the poll machinery and political parties for waste management, minimisation of paper and reducing carbon footprint," Kumar said during a press conference on Saturday when he announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls. The commission has instructed to avoid single-use plastic completely, ensure separate collection bins and proper signage and adequate disposal ...

BJP targets Congress LS candidates in Chhattisgarh through cartoons

The ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh has come up with a set of cartoons on social media to target the opposition Congress' Lok Sabha poll candidates, including former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, over politics of appeasement and other issues. While the BJP said it has only portrayed some incidents which happened during the previous Congress regime through the cartoons which are not meant to hurt anyone, the grand old party accused it of releasing such illustrations out of frustration. The 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will see polling in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7 as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India. The cartoon posters were released over the last one week. One such poster targeting former CM Baghel, who has been fielded by the Congress from Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, was posted with the comment "Rajnandgaon or Jihadgaon...selection is yours". The post shows a caricature of Baghel leading a queue, holding a green flag with "jihadi

Muslim organisations to move ECI seeking change in poll date in 2 states

A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll dates for the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), on Sunday said it will move the poll panel seeking to change the polling dates in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as they fall on Friday. For Tamil Nadu, the polls will be held on April 19 and in Kerala on April 26. Both dates fall on a Friday. The IUML, a major ally of the Opposition Congress party in the UDF, said it will approach the ECI to change the dates of elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as it causes inconvenience to voters, officials, and candidates as Friday is important day for Muslims. Talking to PTI, P M A Salam, state general secretary of IUML, said Fridays are an important day for the Muslims who gather in mosques for prayer. "The announcement of polling on Friday will cause inconvenience to voters, candidates, polling agents, and officials assigned to election duty. We will move the ECI," he said. Other Muslim organisations ar

LS polls: 49.2 mn electors, including 1.1 mn first-time voters in Gujarat

As many as 4.92 crore persons, including 11.32 lakh first-timers and 10,322 centenarians, will be eligible to exercise their franchise for the 26 seats in Gujarat in the Lok Sabha elections, a senior Election Commission official has said. Elections to all the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies and bypolls to five assembly seats in Gujarat will be held on May 7, with the nomination process beginning on April 12, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Bharathi said here on Saturday. Of the total registered voters, 2.54 crore are men and 2.39 crore are women. The state has 1,503 transgender voters, Bharathi said. The number of voters for the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat has increased by 43,23,789 compared to the 2019 elections. A total 4,94,49,469 voters are registered as per the final electoral roll published on January 5, 2024, Bharathi told mediapersons. The State Election Commission is fully prepared to hold the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, and elaborate arrangements have been made in ...

EC launches 'KYC' app to know if candidates have criminal backgrounds

The Know your Candidate (KYC) app is available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, the Election Commission posted on its website while also sharing the QR code to download the app

25,000 CAPF personnel to be deployed for 1st phase polling in West Bengal

Around 25,000 central forces personnel will be deployed for the elections in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in northern West Bengal in the first phase on April 19, an official said on Saturday. Polling will be held in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seats in the first phase. "Around 250 companies of central forces will be deployed in the first phase of elections on April 19. There will be a control room in each of the districts, and senior officers will be in charge of those," the official said. One company of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) consists of around 100 personnel, meaning that around 25,000 personnel will be deployed for elections in these three seats. Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab said all steps were being taken to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election in the state. "No disturbances will be tolerated," he said. He also urged leaders to have "control" over the statements they make during campaigning. "The Election Commission will

Number of voters in Andhra Pradesh rises to 40.9 mn from 40.7 mn: EC data

The total number of voters in Andhra Pradesh as of March 16 is 4.09 crore, an increase from 4.07 crore recorded on January 22, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said on Saturday. The total voters include two crore men, 2.08 crore women and 3,346 of the third-gender, he said at a press conference here, on a day the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha polls. Andhra Pradesh will witness simultaneous legislative assembly and general elections on May 13. He said data on polling stations in the state will be sent to the commission. Currently, there are 46,165 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh, Meena said. The CEO said that 179 women-managed and 50 youth election officers-managed polling stations have been proposed to be set up. Some will be managed by specially-abled personnel, he said. Of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, four are reserved for scheduled castes (SC) and one for scheduled tribes (ST), Meena said. He added that 29 assembly ...

Highlights of the day: LS election counting on Jun 4 after 6 wks of voting

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General Election 2024: Here's what it will take to elect 18th Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha polls: To conduct the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 1.048 million polling booths will be set up, and 5.5 million electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used

Lok Sabha elections: Polling to be held in 7 phases, result on June 4

Voting will begin on April 19 till June 1 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on June 4

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 7: Voting on June 1; check details here

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Elections for the seventh will be held on June 1 in 57 constituencies. The seventh phase will cover 8 States and Union Territories

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 4: Voting on May 13, full details here

Lok Saha polls 2024: 96 constituencies in 10 states and Union territories will go to polls in the fourth phase of the 2024 general elections

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 6: Voting on May 25; check details here

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Elections for the sixth will be held on May 25 in 57 constituencies. The sixth phase will cover 7 States and Union territories

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 3: Voting on May 7, full details here

94 constituencies in 12 states and Union territories will go to polls in the third phase of the 2024 general elections

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 5: Voting on May 20; check details here

Lok Sabha polls 2024: 49 constituencies across 8 states and union territories will go for polls on May 20

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 2: Voting on April 26, details here

89 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories will go to polls in the second phase of the 2024 general elections

Round 14 of India-UK FTA talks put on hold ahead of election schedule

The 14th round of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK has now closed, with formal negotiations being put on hold as India heads into election campaign mode as the general election schedule is announced on Saturday. According to UK officials familiar with the discussions, a lot of progress has been made but the teams are not in a position to conclude an agreement which led to the Round 14 closing on Friday. The next round of formal trade talks can commence only after the Lok Sabha polls have concluded. The India-UK FTA negotiations, which opened in January 2022, are aimed at securing an ambitious outcome for bilateral trade currently worth around GBP 38.1 billion a year as per official statistics from last month. We anticipate that while some talks might happen between rounds, the next round of negotiations will take place after the Indian elections, official sources in the UK said. Neither side is walking away from talks. It's just that we don't h

Congress demands Supreme Court monitored probe on electoral bonds issue

Stepping up its attack on the government over the electoral bonds issue, the Congress on Saturday alleged that thousands of crores have been "extorted" from corporate India and asserted that the need for a Supreme Court-monitored independent probe is pressing. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP's four "corrupt tactics" -- "Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo (give donations, get business), Hafta Vasuli (extortion), Theka Lo-Rishvat Do (get contracts after paying bribe), Farzi Company - Dakait Sangni (loot through shell companies) -- emerged after a quick first analysis of the data on the "electoral bond scam". These four patterns of corruption that have emerged are of grave concern and the need for a Supreme Court-monitored independent probe is pressing, Ramesh said in a post on X. "In fact, since yesterday, we have seen dozens of examples of these kinds of corruption emerge. Thousands of crores have been extorted and extracted from corporate India, and thousands of crores of

Before LS poll announcement, Andhra govt orders releasing DA to employees

Less than 24 hours before the announcement of the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections schedule, the state government issued orders for releasing dearness allowance (DA) to employees pertaining to multiple time periods. Special Chief Secretary (Finance) Shamsher Singh Rawat issued a government order (GO) on Friday night for the release of DA to government employees for the period from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021. He issued orders for the release of DA with effect from January 1, 2022 to eligible government employees. Also, the Special Chief Secretary said the government has issued orders to release DA raising it from 22.75 per cent to 26.39 per cent of the basic pay with effect from July 1, 2022. Similarly, the state government issued orders to revise the DA for government employees from 26.39 per cent to 30.03 per cent of the basic pay with effect from January 1, 2023. The state government issued orders to revise DA rates with respect to employees drawing revised

Election Commission set to announce Lok Sabha elections dates today

The dates for the polls will be announced at a press conference scheduled for Saturday at 3 pm