Page 34 - Elections

EC orders transfer of senior officers in five poll-going states for laxity

The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the transfer of several top police and administrative officers, including 25 police commissioners and superintendents of police, nine district magistrates and four secretaries and special secretaries, in the five poll-going states after finding laxity in their work, sources said. During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said. The poll panel has asked the transferred officials to immediately hand over the charge to their respective immediate juniors. It has also directed the respective state governments to send by Thursday evening a panel of officers to replace those shunted out. The assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will be held between November 7 and 30, and the counting of votes will take place on

Elections 2023: A look at what happened in 5-poll bound states in 2018

The polls would set the groundwork for the last major electoral exercise ahead of the 2024 general elections

Election Commission announces dates for polling in five states; check here

Assembly elections 2023: The polling in five states will take place from November 7 to November 30, and the results will be announced on December 3

Complaints on C-Vigil to be resolved in 100 minutes: Raj electoral officer

The general public can use the 'C-Vigil' (Citizen Vigilance) app to take effective action on violation of the Model Code of Conduct in the upcoming Assembly elections, Chief Electoral Officer of Rajasthan, Praveen Gupta said. He said that any complaint related to the Model Code of Conduct on this app will be resolved in just 100 minutes. The chief electoral officer said that till now, strict action could not be taken on complaints of violation of the Model Code of Conduct due to lack of sufficient evidence. But now, through this app, it will be possible to take action within the stipulated time on complaints received through the Fast Track Complaint Receipt and Resolution System. He said anyone can download the Android-based C-Vigil app on a mobile phone, and this application can be used only in those states where the election process is going on. Gupta said people should take a photo or make a 2-minute video briefly describing the activities that violate the Model Code of ...

2024 general elections: BJP to hold massive outreach plan for minorities

Mizoram, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will poll for their respective state legislative assemblies in November

Around 64,000 polling stations set up in Madhya Pradesh for assembly polls

A total of 64,523 polling stations are set up in urban and rural areas of Madhya Pradesh for the assembly elections scheduled on November 17, a top official said on Monday. As of now, 17,000 of these stations are sensitive and will be manned by Central forces. With the announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has kicked in in Madhya Pradesh and any work that can influence voters cannot be undertaken, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan told reporters. Voting for all 230 seats will be held on November 17 in a single phase. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. Rajan said out of 5.60 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh, 2.88 crore are men and 2.72 crore women. Of them, 22.36 lakh are first-time voters. Talking about poll preparedness, Rajan said 64,523 polling stations, including 16,763 in urban areas and 47,760 in rural parts, have been set up. "Among these centres, around 17,000 are sensitive as of now and will be manned by Central forces". I

Assemblies in 5 poll bound states met for less than 30 days a year: Report

As five states go to polls, data compiled by a think tank showed that these state assemblies -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram -- met for less than 30 days a year and the number of sittings have been going down over the years. The Rajasthan assembly met for 29 days in a year on an average and the Telangana assembly for 15 days, according to a report by PRS Legislative Research. Between 2019 and 2023, average sittings of the assembly in Chhattisgarh was 23 days a year, with average sitting time being five hours. The Madhya Pradesh assembly had sittings for 16 days, around four hours a day on average, and the Mizoram assembly sat for 18 days, with each sitting being around five hours, it stated. The Election Commission on Monday announced the assembly poll schedule for these five states, to be held between November 7 and 30. Single-phase assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 an

Rajasthan elections: BJP will win with strong mandate, say party leaders

BJP leaders in Rajasthan on Monday said the party organisation is strong at the ground level in the state and exuded confidence that the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give them an edge in the ensuing assembly polls. Voting for all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23 and counting of votes will take place on December 3. Shortly after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore told PTI, The BJP is fully prepared for the elections. The Congress government formed on the basis of lies will end. He charged that the chief minister did nothing except glorifying himself with public money. Deputy leader of opposition Satish Poonia said, Modi's face and work will give the party an edge in the election. The party organisation is strong at the ground level. The BJP will be winning with a strong mandate.The Congress will have to face the impact of public resentment, he said. Poonia said corruption and pa

National Conference, Congress alliance sweep LAHDC-Kargil elections

The counting took place on Sunday for the first key election in Kargil after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and the creation of the Ladakh Union territory

Kargil will create an atmosphere against BJP, says NC ahead of results

The National Conference and the BJP on Saturday expressed confidence of a good performance in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil (LAHDC) elections, a day before the announcement of its results. The election to 26 seats of the 30-member hill council was held earlier this week. Four councillors with voting rights are nominated by the administration. It was the first poll in Kargil after the abrogation of Article 370 and the creation of the Union Territory of Ladakh in August 2019. The NC and the Congress had announced a pre-poll alliance, but put up 17 and 22 candidates respectively. Both parties said the arrangement had been restricted to areas where there was a tough contest with the BJP. The BJP, which won one seat in the last election and later took its tally to three with the joining of two PDP councillors, fielded 17 candidates this time. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tried its luck from four seats, while 25 independents were also in the fray. The NC, which hea

Poll freebies: SC takes note of PIL, seeks response of MP, Rajasthan govts

Freebies being doled out by the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments ahead of the assembly polls Friday came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court which sought responses from the two states, the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL alleging misuse of public money. The top court, which was initially reluctant to consider the plea and asked as to how it can control all kinds of promises made by the respective governments before elections, later agreed to take it up. Before elections, all kinds of promises are made and we cannot control this, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, and asked as to why the plea was not filed in the high court. There can be nothing more atrocious than the government distributing cash before the polls. This is happening every time and the burden is on the taxpayers ultimately, lawyer Varinder Kumar Sharma, appearing for the petitioner, said. He also said the plea pertained to grant of ...

Assembly elections 2023: When will ECI announce poll dates for 5 states?

Ahead of announcing the schedule for Assembly polls in five states, the ECI has taken stock of poll preparedness in Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh

Telangana Assembly elections 2023: A glance at K Chandrashekhar Rao's life

KCR has a master's degree in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Hyderabad. His children, K T Rama Rao and K Kavitha are both active in Telangana politics

EC calls meeting of observers before announcing schedule for Assembly polls

Elections are likely to be conducted in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram and Rajasthan in November-December

Ahead of polls, govt likely to unveil new pension model for staff: Report

A source said that the pension for government staff under the tentative model will be adjusted for inflation only every five or ten years

AAP releases 2nd list of candidates for C'garh, MP assembly elections

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday released the second list of its candidates for the forthcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.AAP issued a list of 29 candidates for Madhya Pradesh and 12 candidates for Chhattisgarh.In Chhattisgarh, the party has fielded Tarun Vaidh from the Raipur Gramin constituency, Raja Ram Shyam from Pratappur, and Dev Prasad Koshle from the Sarangarh constituency.Releasing the list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh, the AAP wrote on X, "Our second list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023. Many congratulations to all our candidates, and best wishes for the campaign."The AAP has fielded Ramani Devi Jatav, a candidate belonging to the Scheduled Caste from Bhander, Rahul Kushwah from Bhind, Satinder Bhadoriya from Mehgaon, Mohammad Sood from Bhopal Uttar, Raisa Begam Malik from Narela, Chanda Kinnar from Malhara and Vijay Mohan Palha from Patan.Earlier on September 8, the party ...

Early voting begins in NZ's election and in Australia for Indigenous Voice

Early voting began on Monday in New Zealand for the nation's October 14 general election, with conservative contender Christopher Luxon casting his ballot. Early voting also began in some parts of Australia in a referendum that would enshrine in Australia's constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that affect their lives. In New Zealand, the campaign of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faced a setback on Sunday when he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he would isolate for five days or until he returned a negative test, but planned to continue with some engagements over Zoom. Hipkins and his liberal Labour Party have been lagging behind the opposition National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, in opinion polls.. After a rough night I woke up this morning feeling pretty unwell and just got this test result, Hipkins wrote on Instagram, and said he'd work twice as hard when he got back out on the campaign trail. Luxon on Sunday released a 100-da

Muted performance by first-term MPs in 17th Lok Sabha, shows data

For every 100 debates involving experienced MPs, first-term MPs participated in 182 in the previous Lok Sabha. This ratio dropped to 92 in the 17th Lok Sabha, falling behind experienced ones

Upcoming polls battle between 'dharma' and 'adharma': Smriti Irani in MP

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said the upcoming election will not be a fight for votes but a battle between "dharma" and "adharma" (righteousness and non-righteousness). She was speaking at a public rally in Sehore as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra'. MP Assembly polls are set to be held at the end of the year. "This is not a fight for votes. This is a battle between dharma and adharma," she said. In an apparent reference to the remarks against Sanatan Dharma by some DMK leaders, she said, "The British came and went back, the Mughal empire ended but we (Sanatan Dharma) are still here and will continue to be there tomorrow as well." Referring to the upcoming polls, Irani said this fight is between those who take the name of Lord Ram and those who, with the blessings of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, whose party was in power at the Centre at the time, submit documents in court claiming Lord Ram does not exist. "This is not going to be an ordinary ..

Cong appoints chairman, co-chairman of Central War Room for Rajasthan polls

IAS-turned-politician Sasikanth Senthil has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central War Room