Page 36 - Elections

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

Cambodian template for Bangladesh elections

The 2024 general election will clearly take place in an environment full of geopolitical and economic challenges, with the US seeing the China challenge in Bangladesh

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

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