Page 94 - Lok Sabha Elections

LS polls: Voter turnout in Chhattisgarh at 53.09% till 1 pm in three seats

More than 35 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in the first four hours of polling in three Lok Sabha constituencies, all having Naxalite presence, of Chhattisgarh in the second phase of general elections on Friday, an official said. Amid tight security, polling in Kanker, Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituencies began at 7 am and is underway smoothly. Till 11 am, 35.47 per cent polling has been registered, a poll official said. Till 11 am, Kanker seat had recorded a 39.38 per cent turnout, Mahasamund 34.43 per cent and Rajnandgaon 32.99 per cent, he said. Among the early voters, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma and former MP Abhishek Singh cast their votes in Kawardha town in Rajnandgaon seat, BJP candidate Santosh Pandey and his wife in Sahaspur-Lohara (Rajnandgaon), BJP nominee Rupkumari Chaudhary in Harratar village (Mahasamund), and BJP candidate Bhojraj Nag and his wife in Antagarh (Kanker). The polling booth at Sivni village in Balod district (Kanker se

No Modi wave in Karnataka but one in favour of Cong govt: CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said there is "no Modi wave" in Karnataka but there is one in favour of Congress government's guarantee schemes, as he claimed his party will win about 20 out of total 28 Lok Sabha polls in the state. He was speaking to reporters after casting his vote at his native village Siddaramanahundi in this district. Voting was underway on Friday in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in 14 constituencies. "There is no Modi wave in Karnataka, the wave that is there is the 'guarantee wave'. Congress will win about 20 seats, because our guarantee schemes have reached the people and without any middlemen the money is reaching the bank accounts of the people directly every month," Siddaramaiah said. He expressed confidence about people "blessing" the Congress party, as they did during the Assembly polls last year which saw his party scoring a thumping win. Asked as to how many seats the Congress will win out of 14 seats in the first .

Sunita Kejriwal to campaign, to hold roadshow in East Delhi on Saturday

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will campaign for the AAP in the Lok Sabha polls, senior party leader Atishi announced on Friday. She will begin her campaign with a roadshow in East Delhi constituency on Saturday, she added. Addressing a press conference, Atishi, who is also a minister in the Delhi government, said Sunita Kejriwal will seek votes and blessings for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the people of Delhi. "She will campaign for the party in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana. She will hold her first roadshow in East Delhi on Saturday and then another roadshow in West Delhi on Sunday," Atishi said. Sunita Kejriwal is slowly emerging out of the shadows to assume a bigger role to give a fillip to the AAP's campaigning which has been affected by the chief minister's arrest in a money laundering case in March. Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody has been extended till May 7. The AAP, which is contesting the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Cong

LS polls: No violation of MCC in Ajit Pawar's funds for votes' remarks

The returning officer of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency has filed a report stating that there was no prima facie evidence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar violating the Model Code of Conduct through his funds for votes remarks. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) had filed a complaint against Ajit Pawar with the Election Commission of India alleging the violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act. At a poll rally at Indapur in Baramati constituency, Ajit Pawar recently said, ...As far as funds are concerned, we will cooperate to give you as much as you want, but at the same time, the EVM button needs to be pressed in abundance. If the EVM button is pressed in abundance, I will also feel good allocating funds, or else, I will have to restrict myself, Pawar holds the finance portfolio in the state. The remarks had drawn criticism from the opposition, with NCP (SP) moving EC seeking action against Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congr

LS polls: Omar, Mehbooba ask EC not to postpone voting in Anantnag-Rajouri

NC leader Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday asked the Election Commission not to postpone polls in Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The former chief ministers made the appeal after the EC sought a report from Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and the Chief Electoral Officer on representations submitted by some parties and three candidates seeking rescheduling of elections in the constituency due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal road. "I appeal to the EC that such a step should not be taken.The demand for postponement is not from all parties. The weird thing is that some of the people who have written to the EC are not contesting. If I write to the EC about constituencies in Tamil Nadu etc. will they take notice," he told a press conference in Srinagar. Speaking to reporters in Surankote area of Poonch district, Mehbooba said, They all have ganged up against me because they do not want to see me in Parliament. The people, cutting across

LS polls: Steady voting in Kerala, 33% turnout recorded at 12:20 pm

Polling in all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala for the 2024 general election commenced at 7am on Friday amidst tight security arrangements with the state witnessing 5.62 per cent turnout after the first hour of voting. People queued up since early morning outside the over 25,000 polling booths in the state to avoid the hot weather that was likely as the day progressed. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths in all Lok Sabha seats in the state. As the polling commenced, there were reports of EVM breakdowns in various booths across the state, delaying the election process in those places. However, the machines were replaced and the voting continued smoothly. Polling was carried out amidst tight security arrangements which included deployment of over 66,000 security personnel and live monitoring of the election process by an extensive webcasting system. Voting began after a mock poll was carried out by casting votes in favour of all candidates, including NOTA, whose

Rajiv Gandhi abolished inheritance tax to save family wealth, says PM Modi

Says Congress wanted to bring back estate duty; latter calls claims 'lies'

LS polls: Over 22% polling in 14 LS seats in Karnataka till 11 am

An estimated 22.34 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 11 am during the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies in Karnataka on Friday. Long queues were seen at many polling booths, as people, especially senior citizens and morning walkers, came out to vote during the early hours of the voting, which began at 7 am. According to election officials, the voter percentage till 11 am was about 22.34 per cent. Out of 14 segments that are going to polls today, highest turnout of 30.98 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 29.03 per cent, and the least 19.21 per cent in Bangalore Central. The turnout was 19.81 per cent in Bangalore South, and 19.78 per cent in Bangalore North. In the first phase, the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar. Besides the three, .

LS polls: 8 candidates with over Rs 100 cr assets in fray in Telangana

As many as eight Lok Sabha contestants have declared their family assets, movable and immovable, worth above Rs 100 crore in Telangana, with BJP candidate from Chevella segment K Vishweshawar Reddy topping the chart with Rs 4,568 crore. Significantly, the top three richest candidates in the polls are contesting from Chevella Lok Sabha segment. Congress candidate from Chevella Ranjit Reddy stood in the second place after he declared family assets to the tune of Rs 435.33 crore with Rs 23 crore liabilities. His family has Rs 294.33 crore worth movable assets while immovable at Rs 141 crore. The third palace is occupied by the BRS candidate from the Chevella Kasani Gyaneshwar who declared both movable and immovable assets of his family totalling Rs 228.46 crore. BJP candidate from Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency K Madhavi Latha has declared her family assets worth Rs 218.38 crore. Her family has liabilities to the tune of Rs 27 crore. Madhavi latha is set to take on AIMIM chief ...

LS polls: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor casts his vote in Thiruvananthapuram

Tharoor, who has held the seat since 2009, is facing a challenge as the BJP has named a strong face against him. Chandrashekhar has served as the MoS

LS Polls 2024: Ex-Foreign Secy Harsh Vardhan Shringla votes in Darjeeling

Darjeeling has been a BJP bastion since 2009, with the Trinamool Congress never managing to wrest the seat from the principal opposition party in the state

LS elections 2nd phase: Actor Prakash Raj casts vote in Bengaluru

The actor, clad in a red printed shirt and white trousers, arrived at his designated polling station in Bengaluru to get his finger inked

Lok Sabha polls Phase 2: BJP's Sukanta Majumdar, TMC clash at polling booth

The BJP state chief was allegedly miffed at his name being absent from the initial list, only to find later that it was there

LS polls, phase 2: Elderly among first to vote as polling begins in Noida

Senior citizens dominated the early hours of voting in Noida in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency as polling began here Friday morning in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. The queues were short and many booths reported brisk voting in the first hour, according to some of the electors. District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, who is also the District Election Officer, joined the early voters to exercise his democratic right. "I am also excited like other voters. I appeal to residents to exercise their right and cast votes in large numbers. I hope this time we will have better voter turnout than the last time," Verma said after casting his vote at Cambridge school in Sector 27. Ashok Verma (66), who was among the early voters in Noida, said, "It was a good experience. It hardly took 10 minutes to complete the process," the local resident said. A total of 15 candidates are in the fray for the Gautam Buddha Nagar seat, with over 26.75 lakh people eligible to decide their ..

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 2: Over 9% voter turnout recorded till 9 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The second phase will see voting in 88 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories (UTs)

Battle for Kerala: CPI(M)'s national party status, BJP's likely inroads

In 2019, the BJP secured only 13 per cent of the votes polled in Kerala and 16 per cent along with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies

Don't be swayed by diversionary tactics, vote and save democracy: Kharge

As polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections began, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday urged voters to come out and vote to protect democracy from the clutches of dictatorship. In a fervent appeal to voters, he said this is not an ordinary election and they should not be swayed by any diversionary tactics. He said the Constitution should reverberate in their hearts before they push to voting button. Kharge also appealed to first time voters to come out in large numbers and vote as they were the real changemakers in this movement for democracy. "'We, the people of India' - this soul of the Constitution of India, should reverberate in your hearts and minds, before you push the voting button.Do not forget that this is not an ordinary election. It is an election to protect Democracy from the clutches of dictatorship," he said in his message on X. "To all my dear citizens, from 89 Constituencies in 13 States and UTs, do not get swayed by any diversionary tactics

LS polls: Vasundhara Raje casts her vote in Jhalawar, says PM Modi will win

Rajasthan is voting on 13 seats today in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections

Inheritance tax may nullify decade of progress, says FM as she casts vote

Sitharaman also said that the inheritance tax directly impacts the middle class and aspirational class

After EC's reply to SC queries, verdict on EVM-VVPAT case likely today

In the last hearing, the Supreme Court panned EVM criticism and the calls for a return to ballot papers, saying that efforts should not be made to undermine the electoral process