Page 35 - Elections

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Promise of pre-poll freebies is corrupt practice under People Act: SC told

Promise of pre-election freebies by political parties is a corrupt practice and "bribe" under the Representation of the People Act which is a ground for declaring an election to be void, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. A three-judge bench was deliberating on pleas including the one filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay opposing promises of such handouts by the parties during polls. The petitions have sought direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols of these parties and cancel their registration. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the 2013 judgement delivered by a two-judge bench of the apex court in the matter of S Subramaniam Balaji vs The Government of Tamil Nadu and others required reconsideration. In its 2013 judgement, the apex court had noted that after examining and considering the parameters laid in section 123 of the Representatio

BJP only party that speaks against money culture in elections: Khandu

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu claimed that the BJP is the only party that boldly speaks against money culture in elections. Attending a massive meeting of the BJP at Seppa, the headquarters of East Kameng district, along with Union Earth Science Minister Kiren Rijiju and MLAs of the district, Khandu on Monday called upon the party workers to fight money culture in elections. Hailing BJP as the only party that can deliver, Khandu said that BJP is the cleanest amongst all political parties, a party communique said here. "BJP is the only party that can boldly speak against money culture in elections. I urge you all to campaign for a fair election that is based on performance and not on which candidate can pay how much in cash or kind," he said. "A leader who buys votes will never deliver. Let us unite in the fight against this malpractice to uphold the sanctity of democracy and thwart corruption", he added. The chief minister urged party workers to create awareness of

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Cong seeks info of officials who violated norms to benefit BJP in MP polls

Madhya Pradesh Congress has written a letter to all its 230 candidates who contested the just held state assembly polls, seeking details of officials who allegedly worked against rules to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP, however, said the Congress, with such a move, was trying to find a new excuse for its imminent defeat in the elections. In the letter addressed to all its candidates, the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) claimed the control room set up on the polling day (November 17) received complaints about officials and employees working against rules to provide benefit to the BJP. MPCC vice-president in-charge of organisation Rajiv Singh in the letter asked the party candidates to furnish the information of such employees and officials with their designation and place of posting by November 30 to the state Congress. During the poll campaign, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh repeatedly accused the officials and ...

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Re-polling ordered at a booth in Madhya Pradesh's Ater assembly seat

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered re-polling on November 21 at a booth in the Ater assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, according to an official release. Voting will be held at booth number 3 under polling centre number 71 at Kishupura between 7 am and 6 pm, it said, adding that indelible ink will be applied on the middle finger of voters. The order of repolling has been issued to the district returning officer, it said. A district official said repolling was ordered because of the breach of secrecy as some people had shot videos of voting on November 17 at the concerned booth in Kishupura. Sitting MLA from Ater and BJP leader, Arvind Singh Bhadauria, is facing ex-legislator Hemant Katare of Congress. All 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh went to polls in a single phase on November 17 with a voter turnout of 77.15 per cent, as per the Election Commission. Votes will be counted on December 3.

Haryana-based JJP hopes to emerge as key regional player in Rajasthan polls

The Jannayak Janta Party is confident of putting on a good performance in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, where the Haryana-based outfit is contesting from 20 seats in its first foray outside its home base. Ajay Singh Chautala, who heads the regional outfit, was a two-time legislator from Rajasthan during his time in the Indian National Lok Dal before the party split into the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) in 2018. The JJP is now looking at Ajay Singh Chautala's guidance and experience to manoeuvre the polls in Rajasthan. The party is also banking on Chaudhary Devi Lal, the former deputy prime minister whose political legacy it claims to carry forward, who was the MP from Sikar in 1989. Three of the 20 assembly seats the party is contesting are in the Sikar parliamentary segment. The JJP, a BJP ally in Haryana, was keen to contest the Rajasthan polls jointly but decided to field candidates on its own after the saffron party did not show any inclination. In Haryana, there have bee

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MP assembly polls: Cash, drugs, jewellery worth Rs 340 crore seized

Cash worth Rs 40.18 crore and liquor, drugs, jewellery and other items cumulatively valued at nearly Rs 300 crore were seized in Madhya Pradesh since the model code of conduct for the state assembly elections came into force on October 9, a top official has said. Polls to 230 assembly seats in the state were held on Friday, while the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. A voter turnout of nearly 76 per cent was recorded. Talking to reporters on Friday, state Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said continuous action was taken by the enforcement agencies across the state since the code of conduct came into force after the poll schedule was declared. Illicit liquor, narcotic drugs, cash, precious metals, gold, silver, jewellery and other materials worth about Rs 339.95 crore have been seized by the joint team of Flying Surveillance Team (FST), Static Surveillance Team (SST) and police, he said. "From October 9 to November 16, these joint teams seized Rs 40.18 crore cash

Palliatives, not solutions: When politicians hide failures under largesse

Voters have learnt to look for what they can get today, not tomorrow, and seem to choose parties offering the most generous packages - which encourages a rush to raid the treasury - notes T N Ninan

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CM Shinde consents to Kamakhya temple proposal in Maha: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde has given consent to a proposal for providing land for the construction of a Kamakhya temple in the western state. While interacting with a group of visiting journalists from Maharashtra recently, Sarma said he plans to build a Namghar, a place of worship for Vaishnavites, along with the temple. "We want to build a good Kamakhya temple in Maharashtra. I have already spoken to (Eknath) Shinde. Maharashtra CM is a big devotee of Maa Kamakhya," he said in a video of the meeting shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. The Kamakhya temple atop the Neelachal hill on the bank of the Brahmaputra river is one of the biggest and oldest Shakti Peeths in the country. This temple of Goddess Kamakhya is an important pilgrimage centre for tantric worshippers and Hindus. When Shinde had visited Assam last time, Sarma requested him to provide land to construct a Kamakhya temple and Namghar in Maharasht

No hung assembly, BJP will get majority in Telangana: Kishan Reddy

In the face of "simmering anger" against the ruling BRS in Telangana, the BJP will get a comfortable majority to form its first government in the state after the November 30 polls, state BJP chief G Kishan Reddy has said. There will be no hung assembly and the saffron party will land in the ruling saddle comfortably, Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, told PTI in an exclusive interview. Reddy said it is palpable that Telangana people want a change as they have lost faith in both the BRS and Congress, believing that "they are in cahoots." "There is no question of a hung assembly because there is simmering anger against the BRS government. It will explode like a volcano. People are not coming out because of the fear of police and goons." "The Bharatiya Janata Party will get an absolute majority. We are working with the intention that the party would get an absolute majority and it will come also," Reddy said. He said the Telangana unit of the BJP has requested the central leadershi

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For his fourth term as CM, Gehlot faces challenge of job creation

In quest for a fourth term, the chief minister confronts the dual dilemma of rising unemployment and overskilled workers labouring for underpaid jobs in Rajasthan. ASHISH TIWARI reports from Jaipur

IAF made 404 sorties to ferry polling staff during Chhattisgarh elections

The Indian Air Force conducted 404 sorties with eight MI-17 choppers for six days, ferrying polling parties along with voting machines in Naxal-affected Bastar division during the recently held first phase of Chhattisgarh polls, a senior election official said on Friday. Twelve constituencies of Bastar division were among 20 assembly segments in Chhattisgarh that went to the polls in the first phase on November 7. A high voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded in these 20 seats. The Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer wrote on X on Friday, Defying all challenges, the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted 404 sorties with Eight MI 17s, securely ferrying 853 polling team members to and from 43 locations, enabling a successful electoral process in a tough LWE-affected region. Salute to the India Air Force. More than 860 polling party members were sent through MI-17 helicopters to 156 polling stations in five districts of Bastar division Sukma, Bijapur, Kanker, Dantewada and Narayanpur

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8 Naxal encounters, IED blast reported during 1st phase of C'garh polls

An IED blast carried out by Naxalites and eight encounters between them and security forces marred the first phase of assembly elections held in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said. Four security personnel were injured in an encounter in Sukma district while a commando of CoBRA, an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) sustained injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the same district. A Border Security Force jawan injured in an IED blast in Kanker district on Monday during poll duty succumbed at a hospital in Raipur on Tuesday. In Sukma district, encounters took place between the security forces and naxalites in Banda, Minpa and Lakahpal areas on Tuesday, a senior police officer here said. In the Minpa encounter four security personnel were injured, he said. In Kanker district, encounters took place at Chhote Pakhanjur and Chhotebethiya areas, the official added. An AK-47 rifle was recovered after a skirmish between a joint team of the BS