Page 42 - Elections

11 people killed as rural West Bengal votes in panchayat polls: Official

At least nine people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said. Among those killed were five TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, and the supporter of an Independent candidate, they said. Besides violent clashes that injured several people, ballot boxes were destroyed in at least two polling booths, they added. The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 9 am, 10.26 per cent voter turnout was recorded. Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence and interacted with voters. BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stop

BJP leaders from eastern states to meet ahead of 2024 LS elections

The eastern region includes the states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Assam, apart from Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha

'Collation of corrupts': Piyush Goyal's jibe at Oppn unity in Rajasthan

In an exclusive interview with ANI, the union minister said that the leaders of the opposition parties cannot influence a single vote outside their respective states

Rajasthan polls: AIMIM chief Owaisi to hold public meeting in Jaipur today

Party chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi is going to hold a public meeting at Ramlila Maidan in Jaipur late this evening and will launch the party's election campaign in Rajasthan

Never spoke about rotational CM post, buzz created by media: TS Singh Deo

A day after the Congress's move to appoint T S Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, the state minister said he had never spoken of an "agreement" over rotation of the chief ministerial post and claimed it was a buzz created by the media. After arriving at the Raipur airport from New Delhi on Thursday morning, Singh Deo expressed gratitude to the party for the announcement of his elevation and said "der aaye durust aaye" (better late than never). A Congress statement on Wednesday said party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for the appointment of Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister in Chhattisgarh. The decision to appoint him as the deputy CM came just a few months ahead of state Assembly elections due this year-end, but Singh Deo said the responsibility given even for a day is crucial. He was accorded a warm welcome on Thursday by a huge crowd of supporters at the airport who raised slogans of "TS Baba zindabad" . Asked about the two-and-

T S Singh Deo's appointment as Chhattisgarh dy CM is his 'insult': BJP

BJP's Chhattisgarh unit chief Arun Sao on Wednesday termed state minister T S Singh Deo's appointment as the state deputy chief minister as his insult, and said the decision will not save the Congress from being defeated in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Talking to reporters, Sao said, the move is just an attempt to settle differences within the ruling party in the state. The Congress - the ruling party in Chhattisgarh - said in a statement on Wednesday night that party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal to appoint Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister in Chhattisgarh. When asked about the development, Sao told reporters in Bilaspur, "Congress party does not have the right to appoint a deputy CM. It is the right of the CM and Governor." "The other thing is that the Congress party, which had promised Singh Deo to make him CM for two-and-a-half-years, has done injustice to him by making him deputy CM for just four months. It is an insult to Singh .

18 former Cong corporators disqualified for cross-voting in mayoral poll

As many as 18 former Congress corporators of Maharashtra's Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) have been disqualified from contesting any elections for the next 6 years for voting against their party's official mayoral candidate in 2019. In an order issued on Monday, the Urban Development Department headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the ex-corporators defied the whip issued by the Congress. Despite the Congress having 47 corporators in the 90-member BNCMC House, its mayoral candidate Rishika Raka lost the poll in December 2019 due to cross-voting by 18 corporators from the party. Pratibha Patil of the Konkan Vikas Aghadi, which had only 4 members in the House, got the support of 20 BJP corporators, the 18 Congress corporators and seven members of smaller allies to secure the mayor's post with 49 votes. Raka's defeat prompted the local Congress leaders to file a petition with the Konkan Divisional Commissioner seeking the disqualification of those who

J'khand cabinet gives nod triple test to decide OBC quota in civic polls

The Jharkhand cabinet on Monday gave the nod to set up a dedicated commission to conduct a "triple test" to decide on OBC reservation in urban local body polls. The opposition parties, mainly AJSU Party, have been demanding a "triple test" before holding ULB polls. The civic polls are pending in many areas including Ranchi. The "triple test" includes setting up a dedicated commission to conduct an inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness in connection with local bodies. The second condition is to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned in the local bodies as per the commission's recommendations. The third test is that the reservation should not exceed 50 per cent of the seats reserved in favour of SCs, STs, and OBCs taken together. "The cabinet gave its approval to set up a dedicated commission for the purpose of reviewing the eligibility for reservations to backward classes," Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel said. The commission is bei

Bring back Modi govt to sustain pace of development: Gambhir tells voters

East Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir on Monday urged first-time voters in Surajmal Vihar here to bring back the Narendra Modi government at the Centre once again to sustain the pace of development in the country. He said that the picture of the country will change for the better if the country's youth showed enthusiasm in politics. Addressing a gathering of new voters, Gambhir said the Modi government at the Centre has worked towards improving the daily life of the youth and has worked to enhance their future. The BJP MP said that young voters should use their vote to guide the country in the right direction. Their vote was crucial at it will decide their present and future, he said. The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held next year. The cricketer-turned-politician also gave autographed certificates to around 250 participants of the youth conference organised by the BJP's Yuva Morcha.

Gauhati High Court stays the Wrestling Federation of India elections

The Gauhati High Court on Sunday stayed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, scheduled for July 11, on a petition filed by the Assam Wrestling Association. Assam Wrestling Association, in its petition filed against the WFI, IOA ad-hoc body and the Sports Ministry, said that though it was entitled to be an affiliated member of the WFI, it was granted one "despite recommendation made by then WFI Executive Committee at WFI's General Council in Gonda, on November 15, 2014. The ad-hoc panel has fixed June 25 as the last date for receiving the names for the electoral college while the while the elections to elect the new governing body would be held on July 11. The petitioner contended that unless their body is affiliated to the WFI, and they can nominate their representative to the electoral college, the election process should be stalled. The court directed the respondents -- WFI ad-hoc body and the Sports Ministry -- that till the next date is fixed for hearing they shou

All-party Opposition meet ahead of 2024 elections today; all you must know

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is hosting the crucial meeting in which most of the non-BJP parties are taking part as they plan to take on the BJP in the next year's general election

Musk's Twitter must bolster resources ahead of elections, warns EU

There are a few critical areas that Twitter needs to focus on immediately, especially around child abuse and controlling disinformation around elections, Breton said

Pakistan enters election mode, poll body starts making arrangements

As per law, the last date of registration, exclusion and verification of voters is July 13

Nitish Kumar is not a PM candidate for 2024 elections, says JD(U) leader

CM Nitish Kumar is spearheading the Opposition gathering, scheduled for June 23, to discuss methods to better challenge the BJP in the upcoming 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