Page 24 - Elections

LS polls: EC launches 'Myth vs Reality Register' to tackle misinformation

In a bid to check the spread of misinformation during the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Tuesday launched a "Myth vs Reality Register" that will be updated regularly to include the latest fake news busted. With the proliferation of misinformation and false narratives, this proactive initiative seeks to ensure that voters have access to accurate and verified information throughout the electoral process, the poll panel said. The microsite was launched by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. The register will be continuously updated to include the latest busted fake information and fresh frequently-asked questions, the EC said.

Democracy, autocracy, or both?

Most democracies, or autocracies, fall in a category of one. Why then are we trying to judge all of them in the same way?

'Cong threatening nation will be on fire if BJP wins': PM Modi in Rajasthan

'This is the first election in which leaders of the Congress party are not talking about winning elections,' PM Modi said in Rajasthan

Election Commission asks Centre to stop Viksit Bharat WhatsApp campaign

After receiving several complaints from citizens and Opposition parties, the ECI directed MeitY to stop the delivery of 'Viksit Bharat' WhatsApp messages since the Model Code of Conduct is in force

In setback to Erdogan, Turkey's Oppn makes huge gains in local election

Turkiye's main opposition party retained its control over key cities and made huge gains elsewhere in Sunday's local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas. With nearly 60 per cent of the ballot boxes counted, incumbent Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, was leading in Istanbul, Turkiye's largest city and economic hub, according to state broadcaster TRT. Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara, retained his seat with a large margin, the results indicated. The CHP was leading in 36 of Turkiye's 81 provinces, according to the results reported by TRT. The vote was seen as a barometer of President Erdogan's popularity as he sought to win back control of key urban areas he lost to the opposition in elections five years ago. The CHP's victory in Ankara and Istanbul in 2019, had shattered Erdogan's aura of invincibility. The main battlegrou

Lok Sabha polls: No Sunny Deol from Punjab as BJP announces eighth list

In the eighth list, the party gave tickets to a number of turncoats like Bhartruhari Mahtab, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Sushil Kumar Rinku, and Preneet Kaur

LS elections: Prakash Ambedkar's VBA declares 11 more nominees for Maha

Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) on Sunday declared its second list of 11 candidates from Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. With this, the VBA has so far declared 20 candidates. The 11 constituencies include Hingoli, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Satara, Dhule, Hatkanangale, Raver, Jalna, Mumbai North Central, and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. Notably, VBA candidates finished third in many of these constituencies in the 2019 general elections wherein Congress or NCP (undivided) nominees could finish second, indicating that votes were split in favour of winning candidates, mostly from BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided). The VBA last week released its first list of nine candidates, fielding Ambedkar from Akola, signalling the outfit is no longer pursuing an alliance with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Lok Sabha elections: The rise of the no-result political parties

More parties have begun contesting the elections, with an increase by 45 per cent between the previous election in 2014, and the election conducted in 2019

May 25: Before and after

For someone who is such an indefatigable litigant, what is stopping Mr Saxena from using the law to depose Mr Kejriwal?

Using app, citizens send 79,000 complaints of poll code violations: ECI

The Election Commission said that since the announcement of General elections on March 16, there have been numerous complaints of MCC violations on the cVigil app, most of which have been resolved

Ceiling for LS polls expenditure: District poll panels fix menu, rates

Candidates in Punjab's Jalandhar can spend Rs 15 for a cup of tea and the same price for a samosa they offer to people during public meetings and campaign trails in the Lok Sabha elections. However, those in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla can spend Rs 7 for a cup of tea and another Rs 7.50 for a piece of samosa, considered a staple snack in many parts of the country. With polls to elect the 18th Lok Sabha approaching, district poll panels are fixing the rates for expenses as part of the election expenditure monitoring process. The candidates will have to manage their expenditure within the prescribed limit. These rate cards often become a subject of "meme-fest" on social media about the prices not being in sync with the current inflation level. In most states, including Andhra Pradesh, the expenditure ceiling for a Lok Sabha candidate is set at Rs 95 lakh. However, in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim, the limit is slightly lower at Rs 75 lakh per candidate. Similarly, for Union territori

LS elections: Varun Gandhi pens emotional note for Pilibhit after BJP snub

Gandhi was replaced with former Congress leader Jitin Prasada in the party's fifth list of candidates to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit seat

LS polls: Notification issued for 2nd phase of polling in 3 Bengal seats

The Election Commission on Thursday issued notification for the second phase of polling in three parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal on April 26. Voting will take place in the Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat Lok Sabha constituencies in the second phase. "The notification for the three Lok Sabha constituencies going for polls in the second phase has been issued today," an EC official told PTI. The notable candidates in the second phase are BJP's West Bengal president and sitting MP from Balurghat, Sukanta Majumdar, who is pitted against TMC's Biplab Mitra. In the Darjeeling constituency, the TMC has nominated Gopal Lama against BJP MP Raju Bista. BJP's Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma, however, has announced that he would contest as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee from the Darjeeling seat. Sharma had earlier told PTI that he would remain within the BJP while contesting as an independent, and the party can take any disciplinary action it des

Centre notifies 3-10% hike in MGNREGA wage rates for FY25 ahead of polls

Wage rates in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are set to experience the lowest increase at 3% for FY25 compared to FY24, while Goa will see the highest increase at 10.6%

LS polls: Congress releases list of 14 candidates for UP, Telangana, MP

It also fielded Pratap Bhanu Sharma against former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Vidisha. Tarvar Singh Lodhi has been nominated from Damoh

I do not have the kind of money to contest LS elections: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls. The minister said that the BJP President (J P Nadda) gave her the option to contest either from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. "After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say... maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It's also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use...Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it," she said. Sitharaman was speaking at the TIMES NOW Summit 2024 here. "I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting," she added. When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok S

Lok Sabha elections second phase: Schedule announced for filing nominations

The Election Commission announced kept April 4 as the last date for filing nominations, while the candidates can withdraw their candidacy till April 8

LS elections: TMC complains against BJP MP Dilip Ghosh for violating MCC

TMC moved the Election Commission after the BJP MP from Medinipur constituency, Dilip Ghosh, made personal remarks about Mamata Banerjee's ancestry, calling it a violation of the model code of conduct

LS elections: Congress invites Varun Gandhi to join the party post-BJP snub

In its fifth list of candidates released on Monday, the BJP replaced the sitting Pilibhit MP with ex-Congress MP Jitin Prasad for the upcoming elections

LS polls: Congress-Kangana row boils, BJP's solo bet in Punjab. Updates

Lok Sabha polls: The BJP has intensified its attack on the Congress over the objectionable remarks on Kangana Ranaut, made via the social media account its spokesperson Supriya Shrinate