Page 36 - Elections

149 polling stations in Bastar shifted to nearest police stations, camps

Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: As many as 149 polling stations in Bijapur, Narayanpur, Antagarh, Dantewada, and Konta have been relocated to closest police stations and camps for security reasons

Increasing populism

The trend will elevate macroeconomic risks

Nomination filing process for Telangana assembly polls begins on Nov 3

The nomination filing process for the November 30 Telangana Assembly poll in would begin on Friday with a gazette notification being issued for the conduct of election. Nominations can be filed from 11 AM to 3 PM on working days from November 3 to 10, an official release said on Thursday. The nominations would be scrutinized on November 13 and November 15 is the last date for withdrawal of candidatures, according to the schedule of election. Polling would be held on November 30 and counting of votes would be taken up on December 3.

Electoral bonds generated donations worth Rs 9,188 cr, BJP's share at 57%

Electoral bonds generated donations worth over Rs 9,188 crore for all political parties put together till 2021-22, of which the BJP alone accounted for over 57 per cent as against 10 per cent for the Congress, according to ADR data. Between 2016-17 and 2021-22, the last year for which the data is available, seven national parties and 24 regional parties received a total donation of Rs 9,188.35 crore through electoral bonds. Of this, the BJP received Rs 5,272 crore and the Congress received Rs 952 crore, while the rest went to other parties. A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing a batch of pleas challenging the validity of the electoral bond scheme for political funding of parties. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), national parties experienced a significant surge in electoral bond donations, witnessing a 743 per cent increase between FY 2017-18 and FY 2021-22. In contrast, corporate donations to national parties incre

Opaque electoral bonds scheme will destroy democracy: Petitioners to SC

Here's a lowdown on the important cases heard in the Supreme Court

Kamal Nath wanted MP poll tie-up with SP with full honesty: Digvijaya Singh

The relation between the SP and the Congress party has been strained lately, with Yadav being dissatisfied over the failure to achieve a seat-sharing strategy for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh elections

In this hour of despair, comeback kid Nawaz Sharif is not what Pak needs

Nawaz Sharif, who in the past has served as prime minister three times, returned home Saturday after living in London in self-imposed exile for nearly four years

Mizoram's ruling MNF forms alliance with HPC(R) ahead of assembly polls

The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram and the Hmar People's Convention (Reformation), a faction of the HPC party, on Saturday formed an alliance ahead of the November 7 assembly polls in the state. An agreement for the alliance was signed by MNF general secretary Lalmuanthanga Fanai and HPC(R) general secretary HT Vunga. According to the agreement, the two parties will work together in the upcoming assembly polls and the HPC(R) will extend full support and make efforts to ensure that MNF candidates in the three Hmar people-dominated constituencies -Tuivawl, Chalfilh and Serlui- in the Sinlung Hills Council area are elected. The MNF, if it retains power, will take steps to implement the 2018 Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) between the then Mizoram government and the erstwhile underground outfit Hmar People's Convention (Democratic), functionaries of both parties said. If the MNF returns to power, the government will "provide rehabilitation and other welfare benefits, includ

Govt completes Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, ops begin Nov 1

Freight corridors are special tracks made for goods trains, aimed to decongest the railway network, ensuring faster movement of goods

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 ...