Page 31 - Lok Sabha Elections

Near China border, people at world's highest polling booth get inked today

It is the highest polling station in the world. And, despite all the odds, it has clocked 100 per cent voting in the past

Exit polls: All eyes on Andhra Pradesh Assembly as BJP eye inroads in South

Andhra Pradesh witnessed simultaneous assembly polls on May 13, as votes were cast for the fourth phase of 2024 general elections

Lok Sabha polls: India votes in final phase of massive, 6-week elections

"Calling upon the voters to turnout in large numbers and vote," Modi said as polls opened in the northern state of Punjab and the eastern states of Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha

LS polls: INDIA bloc to form next govt, NDA to be voted out, says Tejashwi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday asserted that the INDIA bloc, of which his party was a part, would form the next government at the Centre and that the ruling BJP-led NDA was on its way out. The former Bihar Deputy CM, who spearheaded the Lok Sabha polls campaign of the opposition coalition in the state, was talking to reporters here after casting his vote. "The INDIA coalition will form the government after results are out on June 4. The NDA will be voted out", claimed the 34-year-old leader, whose exertions have left him with an injured spine, causing him to move around in a wheelchair. The RJD seemed to share ally Congress' skepticism over exit polls, when asked about the latter's decision not to take part in TV debates on the post-poll surveys. "You tell me who are the people conducting these exit polls and which one of these should we take seriously? The fact is, we have been on the ground, among people, and we have a first-hand sense of the public mood", asserted Yadav.

Difficult for BJP to cross even 200 seats in LS polls: Himachal Cong chief

Meanwhile, exuding confidence in the BJP sweeping all four seats in Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut said that there is a complete 'Modi wave' in Himachal

Exit polls and the rules governing it in India: All your questions answered

Exit polls in India, regulated by the Election Commission, are surveys conducted after voting but before results are declared, with a prohibition period before elections

Exit Poll Results 2024: Why do these sometimes turn out to be inaccurate?

While exit polls are watched widely and with great anticipation across the country, their accuracy has always been a topic of discussion

BJP slams OpenAI for late report on 'dangerous threat' to Lok Sabha polls

OpenAI should have released this report on 'dangerous threat' earlier, not when polls are ending: BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar

2024 Odisha Legislative Assembly elections: Here's all you need to know

As voting is currently underway in the fourth phase of the Odisha Assembly polls 2024, here's a quick look at the assembly seats, polling dates and key candidates

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 40% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: Himachal Pradesh had the highest voter turnout at 48.63

Lok Sabha polls: Over 35% polling in eight LS seats in Bihar till 1 pm

Polling commenced on Saturday morning for eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, along with the by-election to the Agiaon assembly seat, to determine the fate of 134 candidates. Voting began at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad, Buxar, Nalanda, and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm. Over 1.6 crore people in these eight seats are eligible to cast their votes to decide the electoral fate of the candidates, a senior official said. Voting is underway at 16,634 polling stations, with 3,885 situated in urban areas. Several high-profile candidates are in the fray such as Union Minister RK Singh, who is seeking his third term from Arrah, where his principal challenger is Sudama Prasad, a sitting MLA of CPI(ML) Liberation. The Arrah Lok Sabha seat includes six assembly segments, including Agiaon, a reserved seat, where a by-poll is also being conducted simultaneously due to the disqualification of CPI(ML) MLA Manoj Manzil following his convic

LS elections: Punjab records nearly 38% turnout, Chandigarh 40% until 1 pm

Polling began on Saturday morning for 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab and the lone Chandigarh seat in the seventh and final phase of parliamentary elections. Amid tight security arrangements, polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, said the officials. INDIA bloc allies -- the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -- are contesting separately while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls on their own for the first time since 1996. The Sukhbir Badal-led SAD walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 over the now-repealed three farm laws. Besides the Congress, AAP, SAD and the BJP, two other parties -- SAD (Amritsar) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- have also fielded their candidates. Punjab is going to witness a multi-cornered contest on all the 13 Lok Sabha seats. The AAP, Congress, SAD, BJP, BSP and the SAD (Amritsar) are contesting in all the constituencies of Punjab. However, the .

Lok Sabha polls: Votes Modi needs to break his 2019 record. Check numbers

On June 4, attention will be centred around the BJP-led coalition's poll performance, with a particular interest in Varanasi on Narendra Modi's vote margin where he vies for a third term as an MP

INDIA bloc leaders to meet in Delhi today; TMC and PDP likely to skip

Top leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet here on Saturday to discuss their strategy for the counting of votes on June 4, even as the TMC and PDP are set to skip the meeting. Senior leaders of the Congress, CPI-M, CPI, DMK, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharad Pawar) will hold discussions at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence this afternoon. TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already said they will not attend the meeting as there are elections in the state, while PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti is likely to skip the meeting. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann are also likely to attend the meeting, besides senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal. DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said party leader T R Baalu will attend the meeting. "June 4th will mark the beginning of a new dawn for India. In today's meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, DMK will be represented by o

LS polls: 37.64% turnout till 1 pm in 6 LS, 42 assembly seats in Odisha

Polling commenced for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha on Saturday morning, amid tight security, a poll official said. Voting began at 7 am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats, along with the 42 assembly segments that constitute these parliamentary constituencies. Polling will continue till 6 pm as there are no Maoist-hit zones under these Lok Sabha seats, the official added. Approximately 1 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes across 10,882 booths in the fourth and final round of simultaneous elections in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) NB Dhal assured that adequate arrangements have been made for voters' convenience at all booths, considering the prevailing hot and humid weather conditions. In all, 36,000 security personnel and 72,000 polling officials have been deployed for this round of twin polls in the state. Sixty-six candidates are contesting for the six Lok Sabha seats, whil

LS polls: Over 45% voter turnout recorded in 9 seats in Bengal till 1 pm

Polling in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections to nine seats in West Bengal began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security arrangements, an Election Commission of India (ECI) official said. Voting in Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar seats will continue till 6 pm, he added. A total of 1.63 crore voters, including 83.19 lakh men, 80.20 lakh women and 538 persons of the third gender, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 17,470 polling stations. Of the 124 candidates in the fray, Kolkata Dakshin has the highest at 17, followed by Jadavpur (16), and 15 each in Basirhat and Kolkata Uttar. Fourteen candidates are contesting from Dum Dum, 12 each from Barasat, Diamond Harbour and Mathurapur and 11 in Jaynagar. Several heavyweight candidates, including Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, sitting MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Sougata Roy, and Mala Roy, former Union minister Debas

LS polls: Himachal Pradesh records 48.63% voter turnout till 1 pm

Polling for four Lok Sabha seats and six assembly by-elections began across Himachal on Saturday morning. As many as 62 candidates, including 37 for Lok Sabha and 25 for assembly by-elections, are in the fray. Prominent leaders whose fate will be sealed in these elections include Anurag Thakur (BJP), Anand Sharma (Congress), Bollywood actor Kangna Ranaut (BJP), Vikramaditya Singh (Congress) and sitting BJP MP from Shimla (SC) Suresh Kashyap. Polling is being held for four Lok Sabha seats -- Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla -- besides by-elections for six assembly constituencies of Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi addressed rallies in support of their candidates during the election campaign. Severe heatwave conditions in lower hills a

LS polls 2024: 46.80% turnout recorded till 1 pm in Jharkhand's 3 seats

Voting for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand commenced on Saturday, amid tight security, officials said. Polling began at 7 am in Dumka, Rajmahal, and Godda, and will continue till 5 pm. A total of 52 candidates, including eight women, are contesting in this final phase, the state's fourth and the seventh nationwide. Nineteen candidates each are competing in Dumka and Godda, while Rajmahal has 14 contestants. Approximately 53.23 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these three constituencies, with Godda having the highest number of voters at 20.28 lakh, and Dumka the lowest at 15.91 lakh. Over two lakh are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group, while 439 are aged over 100 years. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said preparations are in place for free and fair polls, including sealing the borders with neighboring Bihar and West Bengal, where polls are also taking place. Arrangements have been made to transport elderly citizens and persons with disabilitie

LS polls 2024: More than 40% voting till 1 pm in 57 constituencies

Till 11 am, the approximate polling percentage was 26.3, according to the EC's voter-turnout app

LS polls phase 7: UP records more than 28% voter turnout till 11 am

Polling for the final phase of Lok Sabha elections in 13 Uttar Pradesh constituencies that include Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term, began at 7 am on Saturday. The state sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament and the polling has been spread over all seven election phases. The bypoll for the Duddhi (ST) assembly constituency in Sonbhadra district is also being held on Saturday. Six candidates are contesting from the seat that fell vacant after BJP MLA Ram Dular's disqualification following his conviction in a rape case. The parliamentary seats where polling will take place are Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC), spread across 11 districts. Besides Modi, there are 143 candidates in the fray. Of them, 134 are male candidates and 10 are female candidates. According to the Election Commission, voting for all the L