Page 20 - Election Commission

Phase 6 of Lok Sabha elections: J&K shines but Haryana disappoints

The EC pointed out that the voter turnout in the districts of Anantnag, Poonch, Kulgam, and districts of Rajouri and Shopian partially, was the highest since 1989, or in 35 years

LS polls: Priyanka Gandhi, Dimple Yadav hold joint roadshow in Varanasi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party's sitting MP from Mainpuri Dimple Yadav on Saturday held a roadshow in Varanasi in support of INDIA bloc candidate Ajay Rai. The roadshow continued for about four kilometers from Durgakund to Ravidas Temple. "SP MP Smt. Dimple Yadav ji and Congress National General Secretary Smt. Priyanka Gandhi ji took blessings by offering prayers at the Kal Bhairav Temple in Varanasi," the Samajwadi Party said in a post on X. Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X at the beginning of the roadshow, "Roadshow in Kashi, the city of Devadidev Mahadev Lord Shiva." She further wrote, "INDIA storm in Varanasi. INDIA will win." Priyanka Gandhi and Dimple Yadav reached the court of Baba Shri Kaal Bhairav directly from Babatpur airport. After darshan and worship there, they began the roadshow by worshipping Kushmanda Mata located in Durgakund. During the roadshow, both leaders stopped at various places and sought support from the public for the I

LS elections: EVM related complaints from some polling stations in Delhi

Complaints related to electronic voting machines came from some polling stations on Saturday as people in Delhi voted in the seven Lok Sabha constituencies. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat said she came to vote, but the officials said that the EVM battery was down and she had to wait for half an hour. "I came to vote and they are saying that the battery was down. I have written a complaint. What kind of arrangements have they made? People have been waiting here in the heat for so long," she said. A senior election officer said that technical engineers were asked to look into the matter. "We received information about technical snag from two EVMs. Technical engineers were asked to look into the matter and sort out the problem immediately," the officer said. Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Seelampur, said that the EVM machine at Chauhan Banger polling booth was not functioning. "One of the voting machines inside the school was not

LS polls phase 6: 59.06% voter turnout; highest in WB, lowest in J&K

An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19. Incidents of minor clashes and protests were reported from West Bengal while there were instances of EVM malfunctioning at some places, including Delhi. Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 62.74 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 54.03 per cent, Bihar 53.30 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 52.28 per cent, Haryana 58.37 per cent, Odisha 60.07 and Delhi 54.48 per cent, according to the figures released by the Election Commission (EC) as of 7.45 pm. The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in many decades. With the conclusion of this phase, polling is now complete in 486 seats in 28 states and Union territories. The last of the seven phases of polling is scheduled on June 1 and counting

'Pattern in creating false narratives': ECI amid voter turnout data row

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday came out with the constituency-wise data on the number of votes cast in the first five phases of the Lok Sabha polls and said there is a pattern in creating false narratives and mischievous designs to vitiate the electoral process. It also asserted that any alteration in the number of the votes polled is not possible. The poll panel came out with the absolute number of voters on its own a day after the Supreme Court refused to issue directions to it on an NGO's plea for uploading the polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website. The EC said it has decided to further expand the format of the turnout data to include the absolute number of voters in every constituency. The absolute numbers are discernable constituency-wise by all citizens by applying the turnout percentage to the total number of electors, both already made available in the public domain, the poll panel said. Electors are those on the electoral roll and eligible to vote

LS polls: Pink booths, creche facilities elevate voting experience in Delhi

The specially designed pink and model booths were a hit among the voters, who not only cast their votes with ease but also enjoyed clicking selfies on the polling day. The seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi went to polling in the sixth phase on Saturday. A vibrant effort to enhance the voting experience, the polling stations featured model encouragement facilities, including pink sofas, spacious waiting areas with water fans, pitcher water, colourful rangoli, beautiful hanging decorations, selfie booths, carpets and wheelchairs to help the disabled. Speaking about the pink booth arrangement, Priyanka Vajpayee, a voter, said, "I was surprised when I entered the booth because it was not like the last time. It was all decorated with flowers and balloons." The pink booth was managed by female staff and it was decorated with lots of cutouts, motivational quotes and beautification work to enthuse people. Talking about the decoration, another voter Geeta said, "The booth is so colou

INDIA bloc crosses halfway mark, on track for over 350 seats: Congress

As the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls concluded on Saturday, the Congress claimed the BJP's fate is "all but sealed" with the INDIA bloc having already crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats and is on course for a tally of over 350 seats in total. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also claimed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is set to sweep the NDA away. "With six phases of the elections now concluded, voting for 486 seats is over. As the outgoing PM starts figuring out his retirement plans, here's the round-up of the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections: The BJP's fate is all but sealed. It has become clear that they are South mein Saaf, aur North, West, and East mein Half," Ramesh said in a post on X. He claimed the INDIA bloc has grown from strength to strength since Phase 1 and after polling in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and now Delhi, "we are seeing the incredible chemistry that has been built between coalition partners". "Th

LS polls: Does it behove PM to speak like this: NCP(SC) on 'mujra' remark

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing the INDIA bloc of performing "mujra" for its vote bank, and asked whether it behoved him to make such a statement. Speaking at election campaign rallies in Bihar, the prime minister said he would foil the alleged plans of the INDIA bloc to rob SCs, STs and OBCs of their rights and divert these to Muslims. "They may remain enslaved and perform 'mujra' to please their vote bank," Modi added. NCP (SP) Clyde Crasto asked on social media why the PM had a fascination for words starting with the alphabet 'M', referring to his earlier comments. "What is this fascination with the alphabet 'M'? Musalman, Machli, Mangalsutra, Mutton... now '#MUJRA'. Does this behove well for the Prime Minister of India to speak like this?" Crasto said in a post on X.

LS polls phase 6: Dignitaries, politicians, wrestlers queue up to cast vote

Several dignitaries, including President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and politicians cast their vote in the national capital, while in Haryana, many prominent wrestlers like Babita Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt exercised their franchise in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. In the penultimate round, 58 parliamentary constituencies in eight states and Union Territories went to polls. Simultaneously, polling was also held for 42 assembly seats in Odisha. Here are snapshots of the day: ** President Murmu cast her vote at an all-women polling booth -- decorated in pink and white colours -- inside the President's Estate while Vice President Dhankhar voted at the polling station at the CPWD service centre in Delhi's North Avenue. ** Several politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, were seen at polling stations in Delhi along with their family members. Chief Election Commissione

Ranchi provides free ride to urban voters in bid to up polling percentage

In a bid to increase polling percentage in urban booths of Ranchi, the district administration tied up with a bike-taxi aggregator, to provide free pick-and-drop facilities to urban voters, an official said on Saturday. The service will be provided in Ranchi's 181 polling booths across the city. As many as 2,377 polling stations have been set up for the election on Ranchi Lok Sabha seat. Of which, 949 were urban booths and 1,428 were rural polling booths. "I appreciate the initiative of the Ranchi administration for providing free pick-and-drop facility during the election. I just applied the 'vote now' code on the Rapido application and received the service from home free of cost," said Sumit Kumar, a voter. Rapido Jharkhand Head, Jay Kumar Gaur, told PTI, "Around 800 motorbikes were put into service of the voters by the Rapido. The service was aimed to bring the voters to polling booths and contribute in enhancing the polling percentage." Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Ranc

LS polls: PoK belongs to India and we will take it, says HM Amit Shah

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a part of India and "we will take it", Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Saturday as he castigated the Congress for trying to "frighten us" by saying that the neighbouring country possesses atom bombs. "The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) hamara hai, hamara rahega aur hum ise lekar rahenge (PoK is ours and it will remain ours. We will take it," Shah told a rally at Amb in Una district in support of Union minister Anurag Thakur, the BJP candidate from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already won 310 seats in the first five phases of Lok Sabha polls and the target of '400-paar' would be achieved in the sixth and the last phases, while Congress Rahul Gandhi would be restrained at just 40 seats. He also mocked the Congress by asking the crowd at the rally as to who will be the prime minister, if the grand old party comes to power. He also appealed to people to make the BJP victorious in the six assembly seat ..

We need to dispel doubts, suspicions around electoral processes: CEC

Kumar commited to addressing concerns about the integrity of the electoral process

LS polls: All you need to know about India's monumental election logistics

The voter rolls for all 543 parliamentary constituencies are available online, ensuring transparent stakeholder verification

LS polls: SC refuses to issue EC direction to upload voter turnout data

The Supreme Court on Friday refused an NGO's plea to issue the Election Commission directions to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website during the Lok Sabha polls, saying it would be difficult for the poll panel to to mobilise manpower. A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said it cannot issue any such directions at the moment as five phases of polling have concluded and two remain. The top court adjourned the interlocutory application filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to be listed before the regular bench after the elections and pointed out that prima facie it appears the prayers in the application are similar to the main petition pending since 2019 on the issue. The bench said it would be difficult for the poll panel to mobilise manpower for uploading the voter turnout data on its website. Granting any relief in IA will amount to granting relief in the main petition which is pending, the bench said. On M

Lok Sabha elections: What is Form 17C that EC has refused to make public

The ECI's decision has sparked controversy, especially amidst concerns over delays in releasing final voter turnout data and discrepancies between provisional and final figures

Lok Sabha polls Phase 6: List of constituencies, key candidates. Details

Lok Sabha elections: Eight states and UTs including Delhi and Haryana will go to polls in the sixth phase on May 25

Campaigning ends for 6th phase of LS polls in 58 seats, voting on May 25

Voting will take place on all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi and Haryana which BJP clean-sweeped in the 2019 polls

15.2 mn voters to exercise their franchise at 13,641 booths in Delhi: CEO

Reiterating that double voting chances are less, the CEO said that all adequate steps have been taken to avoid these kinds of incidents

EC partners with Rapido, Zomato, Swiggy to encourage voter turnout in Delhi

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer P Krishnamurthy said on Thursday that over one lakh polling personnel have been deployed for the conduct of polls on May 25 while several steps have been taken to protect people from the intense heat wave. Highlighting special initiatives to enhance the voting experience, he said they have set up 70 pink polling stations across Delhi, one in each assembly constituency, which will be entirely operated by women polling staff, according to a statement. Additionally, 70 model polling stations will feature enhanced facilities. For the first time, each parliamentary constituency will have a polling station fully staffed by persons with disabilities (PwD), he added. "We have meticulously planned and executed all aspects of election management, including manpower, logistics and transport management," he said. He emphasised that based on the directives from the Election Commission and the IMD forecast of an intense heat wave, comprehensive measures have been ..

Publishing polling booth-wise data will 'vitiate' electoral space: EC

The Election Commission has opposed in the Supreme Court an NGO's demand to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections, contending it will "vitiate" the electoral space and cause "chaos" in the poll machinery in the midst of the general elections. A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma is scheduled to hear the plea of NGO Association for Democratic Reforms', which has also sought direction 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. In its counter affidavit, the poll panel said there is no legal mandate to provide Form 17C to any person other than the candidate or his agent. It said that public posting of Form 17C - which gives the number of votes polled in a polling station - is not provided in the statutory framework and could lead t