Page 40 - Elections

West Bengal rural polls: Section 144 imposed near nomination centres

The state election commission (SEC) has directed all district magistrates and superintendents of police to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CRPC in a 1km-radius of all nomination centres of panchayat elections, a senior official said on Monday. The step was taken to ensure that the nomination process passed off safely, he added. The order will be in force till Thursday. We decided to impose prohibitory orders in a 1km radius of nomination centres, the official said, adding that an order to this effect was issued by the SEC on Sunday. The panchayat polls will be held on July 8. The SEC said only two persons could step inside a nomination centre for filing papers, he said. The official said over 10,000 nomination papers had been filed so far for three-tier elections on the first two days across the state with the majority numbers filed by opposition parties.

Will contest 2024 polls from Kaiserganj, announces WFI chief Brij Bhushan

WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, announced on Sunday that he will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election once again from his Kaiserganj constituency

Bihar municipal elections: Counting of votes for 805 posts underway

The counting of votes for 31 municipal bodies in Bihar is underway on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements, a state election commission official said. Armed police personnel have been posted at 58 centres where the counting began at 8 am for posts of ward councillors, mayors and deputy mayors, he said. Altogether 4, 431 candidates, including 2,234 women aspirants, are in the fray for the Bihar Nagar Nikay elections. Nine of them have already been declared elected unopposed. Elections to the 31 civic bodies were held on June 9. The polling took place in Patna, Buxar, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Vaishali, Nalanda, Nawada, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Munger, Lakhisarai, Saharsa, Jamui and Banka districts. The State Election Commission, Bihar used a facial recognition system (FRS) for the first time to confirm voters' identities. The 31 urban local bodies include 24 where polls were not held in the last ur

Time to use tech-driven methods to allow overseas voters to vote: CEC

The time has come to use technology-driven methods such as e-postal ballot to allow eligible overseas Indian voters to participate in elections here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Friday. He also said that the timely and continued delivery of credible electoral outcomes since 1952 was an important ingredient of worldwide acknowledgement of India's comprehensive national power, especially in an era of "democratic backsliding". Kumar made these remarks while addressing the 2022-batch Indian Foreign Service officer-trainees on the theme "India-the Mother of Democracies and Role of ECI" at the Nirvachan Sadan here. Speaking on the common challenges being faced by election management bodies in the conduct of free and fair elections, the chief election commissioner referred to the rising threat from fake news and deepfakes on social media derailing the election narratives. According to sources, when asked about voting by overseas voters, Kumar said that the time has com

MCD poll: AAP, BJP get 3 seats each in standing committee, after HC verdict

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's standing committee will have three members each from the AAP and the BJP as the results of the poll held on February 24 to elect members of the key panel were declared on Thursday. The results were declared days after the Delhi High Court set aside the decision of Mayor Shelly Oberoi to call for a repoll and directed her to declare forthwith the results of the poll. Oberoi said following the court order, the result of the election for members of the standing committee has been declared. "The AAP government of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is committed to form committees as soon as possible," she said. The names of the elected councillors were announced during a meeting of the civic body's House, according to an MCD notification. Mohd Aamil Malik, Mohini and Raminder Kaur from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Gajender Singh Daral and Pankaj Luthra from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the six councillors who have

Oppn parties' wish for 2024 polls will wash away like Bihar bridge: BJP

The BJP on Thursday took a swipe at opposition parties over their meeting in Bihar on June 23, saying they may be looking for support in each other but their wish will wash away in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls like the Rs 1,750-crore bridge which collapsed in the state recently. Union Minister and party leader Smriti Irani also targeted the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's claim of running "mohabbat ki dukan" (shop of love) and asked if this "mohabbat" meant denouncing the Hindu way of life, killing of Sikhs, partnering with those who wish ill for India and seeking outside intervention to harm India's democracy. "What kind of love is this which is not for the country but for your politics. It does not say anything when 'Kerala Story' is shown," she said at a press conference. Does this love not extend to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she asked, lauding his spirit of "service", and added that she will be surprised if the Congress has any kind word for him. "It is incumbent upon the Congress

BJP 'scared' of facing united opposition in 2024 elections: Tejashwi Yadav

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday claimed that the BJP was "scared" of fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which it may have to face a united opposition. The RJD leader was responding to questions from journalists about remarks of some BJP leaders who have sought to make light of the conclave of opposition parties to be held in Patna on June 23. "It is not for the BJP to decide what impact the opposition conclave is going to have. They are scared of facing the Lok Sabha polls. They recently lost assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. They are staring at a series of defeats in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Haryana," claimed Yadav. Notably, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U)'s supreme leader, who dumped the BJP last year, has since been advocating a "united opposition" to take on the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. Yadav and JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' had on Wednesday announced that t

Pak SC wants parties to agree on holding general, provincial polls together

Pakistan's Supreme Court expects the country's warring political parties to reach a consensus on holding general elections and provincial polls for all the legislatures on the same day to end the polarisation in the polity, a media report said on Tuesday. "It is appreciable that the political leadership of the country made efforts to resolve the present political impasse. Political issues can best be addressed through dialogue and consensus, said a written order issued by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday. The bench was hearing a petition seeking to hold elections for all assemblies on the same day. We, therefore, expect the political parties in the country to heal the polarisation in the polity and to arrive at a single date for holding general elections to all the constitutional assemblies," the bench said in its order.

Only heads of respective parties should be at oppn meet: Bihar CM Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that he was insistent upon heads of respective parties attending the opposition meet, which was scheduled on June 12, but has been postponed. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, the JD(U) supreme leader said a new date for the much talked about meeting will be announced after consultation with all parties. We had to put off the June 12 meeting after the Congress and another party conveyed to me that they found the date inconvenient. I have therefore decided to postpone the meet and asked the Congress to suggest a new date after consultation with other parties. But I have made one thing very clear. All parties which agree to attend the meeting, must be represented by their respective heads, Kumar said. If any party insisted that it be represented by someone else, that would not be acceptable, he said. For example, there was an impression that the Congress may send someone else other than its president. This was

How Erdogan won in Turkey and what does it mean for the country's future

If Recep Erdogan serves the full five-year term, he will have held power for 26 years - almost the entire history of Turkey in the 21st century.

UP MLC election: Two BJP candidates win, CM congratulates winners

The ruling BJP sailed comfortably in the MLC bypolls held on Monday with both its candidates clinching victory over Samajwadi Party nominees. Returning Officer of the election Mohd Mushahid told PTI that BJP's Manvendra Singh bagged 280 votes while his rival from the Samajwadi Party, Ram Jatan Rajbhar, got 115 votes. The BJP's other candidate, Padmasen Chowdhary, got 279 votes in the bypolls while Samajwadi Party's Ramkaran got 116 votes. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated both the winners.

Polls open in Greece's first election since international controls ended

Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. The two main contenders in Sunday's vote are conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard-educated former banking executive, and 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, who heads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime minister during some of the financial crisis' most turbulent years. Although Mitsotakis has been steadily ahead in opinion polls, a newly introduced electoral system of proportional representation makes it unlikely that whoever wins the election will be able to garner enough seats in Greece's 300-member parliament to form a government without seeking coalition partners. The winner of Sunday's election will have three days to negotiate a coalition with one or more other parties. If that fails, the mandate to .

All you need to know about Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan's rival in Turkey

Known as Turkey's Gandhi, Kemal Kilicdaroglu is the first real challenger to President Erdogan's two-decade-long presidency in Turkey

Elections in India, Turkey and Thailand show democracy is not dead

Nevertheless, the last week has been full of reminders that, even in an age when democracy seemed to be in retreat, voters retain the power to prevent their countries from collapsing into autocracy

'Bangkok Spring' sets up showdown over role of monarchy in Thailand

Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old Harvard-educated leader of Move Forward, staked his claim to becoming Thailand's prime minister after his party won the most seats

Turkey heads into runoff election as Erdogan falls short of majority

Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu are staring at a runoff vote after none of them managed to secure the necessary 50% votes

Pakistan SC urges govt, opposition to hold talks on holding elections

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday urged the federal government and the opposition to resume dialogue for restoring peace in the country as the apex court adjourned for one week the hearing on the election commission's plea on the impasse over holding elections in Punjab province. The apex court had previously ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in the politically crucial province on May 14. A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, heard the matter on Monday as the May 14 deadline for holding the polls expired on Sunday. The chief justice noted that the election commission's stance was that it would conduct elections if given the resources. He continued that the ECP had now opened the Pandora's Box. Justice Bandial maintained that he had asked the government and the opposition to find high moral standards. Further hearing of the case was adjourned till next week, the Exp

Turkey Elections: Prez Erdogan, Opposition prepare for runoff poll phase

A runoff election between Turkey's President and his rival seems possible as neither appeared likely to reach the 50% threshold required to win the presidential race

Thailand's pro-democracy groups dominate vote after decade of military rule

Emerging as the biggest winner of the night, Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat was greeted Sunday evening by supporters shouting "Prime minister! prime minister! prime minister!"

LIVE: DK Shivakumar hints at intent to become next Karnataka chief minister

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