Page 27 - Elections

Jayant Sinha becomes second BJP MP to opt out of 2024 general elections

BJP MP Jayant Sinha on Saturdday said he has requested the party president J P Nadda to relieve him from direct electoral duties, joining the list of party leaders not contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a post on social media platform X, the MP from Jharkhand's Hazaribagh said he will continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues. The BJP is said to be contemplating giving tickets to several new leaders and some other sitting MPs also are understood to have told the party that they would like to focus on other organisational work. Earlier in the day, BJP's East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir also said he said asked the party to relieve him from political duties so that he can focus on his upcoming cricket commitments. Sinha, a former union minister, said he wants to focus his efforts on "combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world". "I have had the privilege of serving the people of Bharat and Hazaribagh for the past ten years. Moreover

Number of candidates contesting LS polls rose 4-fold between 1952 and 2019

The number of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls has seen a rise of over four times from 1,874 in 1952 to 8,039 in 2019, according to official data. The average number of candidates per constituency has jumped from 4.67 to 14.8 in the same period, the data showed. With the Lok Sabha polls nearing, the battleground is set but it is yet to be seen how many candidates are in the fray even as the proportion of candidates contesting has seen a rise since 1952 when the first elections were held. On an average, there used to be only around three to five contestants per Lok Sabha seat until the sixth Lok Sabha elections in 1977 but in the last elections 14.8 candidates on average contested from per constituency across the country. According to an analysis by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research, there were 8,039 candidates contesting from 542 Parliamentary constituency seats in the 2019 general assembly elections. A closer look at the last Lok Sabha polls in 2019 show t

Putin promises $110 bn in state support ahead of general elections

The costliest pledge concerned 4.5 trillion roubles for modernising public infrastructure and 1 trillion roubles on the construction, repair and equipping of hospitals

West Bengal highlights: Arrested TMC leader Shahjahan suspended from party

LIVE news updates: Catch the latest updates on TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh's arrest in Sandeshkhali

Pakistan National Assembly to meet after President Alvi summons session

Pakistan's newly-elected Parliament will meet on Thursday for its maiden session as President Dr Arif Alvi finally summoned the Assembly after differing with the caretaker government over the issue of former prime minister Imran Khan's party-backed candidates being allotted the reserved seats. Early on Thursday, Alvi approved a move from the caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry to summon the newly-elected National Assembly's first session on February 29, according to a statement posted by the president's X account. "Subject to some reservations, President Dr Arif Alvi has summoned to convene the National Assembly on February 29 in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 54(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," the statement said. It said that the president accorded his approval keeping in view "the mandate and implications of the timeline given in Article 91 (2) and subject to some reservations and expecting the resolution of the issue of the reserved

Pakistan's army still firmly in command despite national election rebuke

The military, which has ruled Pakistan directly or indirectly for most of its modern history, is set to make all important decisions on foreign policy and security for the country's new government

Cross-voting helps BJP gain RS seats; NDA now four short of majority mark

BJP netted two extra seats from cross-voting in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

Highlights of the day: Discovery ends Paramount merger talks, says reports

Latest news updates: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

On NITI Aayog CEO's 'poverty at 5%' claim, Kharge rips into Modi govt

The recent release of the 'Household Consumption Expenditure' report has become the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the Opposition, with the Congress alleging data manipulation in the report

Meta will set up team to counter misinformation, AI abuse in EU elections

European Parliament elections will take place June 6-9. Its 720 lawmakers, together with EU governments, pass new EU policies and laws

Pakistan's Election Commission to hold presidential poll by March 9: Report

A senior Pakistan Peoples Party office-bearer said, 'The president will be elected by the present senators after setting up all four provincial assemblies,'

New Pak govt likely by March 2; presidential election before Mar 9: Report

With a power-sharing deal already inked, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party are moving ahead with plans to form a coalition government by March 2 and hold the presidential election before March 9, according to a media report on Friday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be backed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has agreed to form a new government after the February 8 elections resulted in a hung Parliament. Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is set to return to the top post after his elder brother Nawaz, decided to nominate the PML-N president for premiership. The party has clarified that the three-time former prime minister did not want to lead a government in which the PMN-L does not have a majority in Parliament. Both parties won fewer seats than candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Quoting sources, The News .

Lok Sabha polls: Congress offers Trinamool a new seat-sharing deal

In Bengal, the Congress is keen to contest four or five of the state's 42 seats in alliance with the ruling Trinamool

Aam Aadmi Party, Congress set to clinch seat-sharing in three states

It would also mean that the Congress is set to contest the least number of seats since 1952

Pak election committee completes inquiry into poll rigging allegations

A high-level committee formed by Pakistan's election commission has completed its inquiry into the allegations of poll rigging in the garrison city of Rawalpindi levelled by a senior government officer and will submit its report to the electoral body, a media report said on Thursday. On Sunday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) formed the committee to probe the explosive allegations levelled by former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body took place against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Chattha alleged on Saturday that the candidates who were losing the February 8 elections were made to win in the city. Before resigning from his post, he claimed that 13 candidates from Rawalpindi were forcefully declared winners. The ECP's inquiry committee formed to investigate the allegations completed its work within the stipulated period of three days and .

Iran begins first election campaign since 2022 protests over Amini's death

Candidates for Iran's parliament began campaigning on Thursday in the country's first election since the bloody crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. State television said 15,200 candidates will compete for a four-year term in the 290-seat chamber that hardliners have controlled for two decades. That is a record number and more than twice the candidates who contested the 2020 election, when voter turnout was just over 42 per cent, the lowest since 1979. Amini died on September 16, 2022, after her arrest by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict headscarf law that forced women to cover their hair and entire bodies. The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran's clerical rulers. In the severe crackdown that followed, over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested, according to human rights activists in Iran. On Wednesday, the Guardian Council election watchdo

Election Commission aiming for more than 83% polling in Andhra Pradesh

The Election Commission is working towards ensuring more than 83 percent polling in the forthcoming general elections in Andhra Pradesh, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Wednesday. As part of this goal, the CEO noted that several programmes are being undertaken to educate voters on the importance of exercising their franchise. "During 2019 polls, the state recorded an average polling percentage of 79.77 while the national average was 69 percent," said Meena in a press release. Meanwhile, an Election Commission team from New Delhi arrived to evaluate Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programmes in Andhra Pradesh. Meena called on the team, and observed that SVEEP programmes are being undertaken to ensure a polling percentage greater than 83 . He highlighted that extensive SVEEP programmes are being executed in the districts to enlighten every citizen and voter on the election process and make them stakeholders in the forthcoming

76.4 million eligible to cast votes in Bihar in Lok Sabha polls: Chief EC

Rajiv Kumar informed at a press conference in Patna on Wednesday that there are 9.26 lakh first time voters in the age group of 18-19 in the state. There are 21, 680 voters above the age of 100 years

S African prez sets May 29 as election day as polls show a drop in support

South Africa will hold its national election on May 29, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday. Ramaphosa's ruling African National Congress, the party once led by Nelson Mandela, is expected to face a stern test to retain its majority in South Africa's seventh fully democratic national election since the end of the apartheid system of forced racial segregation in 1994. Before 1994, Black people were not allowed to vote. The ANC, which led the anti-apartheid movement, has won every national vote by a clear majority since the racist system was dismantled and has been in government for 30 years. But several polls this year have predicted it may slip below 50 per cent of the vote in a general election for the first time. South Africans have grown weary of a troubled economy and record unemployment, a stream of corruption allegations against ANC figures, and an electricity crisis that has resulted in daily rolling blackouts for homes and businesses. If the ANC slips below 50 p

SC declares AAP's Kuldeep Kumar as 'validly elected' Chandigarh mayor

The Supreme Court noted that the eight ballots which were invalidated by Returning Officer Anil Masih were valid