Municipal Polls

Shiv Sena, BJP tie-up possible for municipal elections in Mumbai, elsewhere

After days of bickering, the ruling allies BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have decided to contest the elections to municipal corporations in Maharashtra including Mumbai and Thane as an alliance, Sena sources claimed on Tuesday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Shinde decided at a late-night meeting on Monday that the ruling parties will contest these polls as members of the existing Mahayuti alliance, the sources said. The dates for the municipal corporation elections are yet to be announced. At the meeting attended by BJP leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Ravindra Chavan in Nagpur, where the winter session of the state legislature is underway, it was also agreed that the BJP and Shiv Sena will not poach each other's leaders and workers, they added. "There was a positive discussion between the leaders of the two parties regarding contesting municipal elections across Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Thane, together as Mahayuti alliance," said a S

Maharashtra sees 7.94% voter turnout for municipal elections till 9:30 am

An estimated 7.94 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling on Tuesday for elections to 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra, officials said. Two suspected bogus voters were caught at a polling station in Buldhana barely an hour-and-a-half after voting began for the municipal council elections there, the Maharashtra Congress claimed. It also alleged that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was bringing people to cast "bogus" votes in the Buldhana Municipal Council elections. There was no immediate response from the authorities on the allegation. The polling began at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm, election officials said. Till 9.30 am, 7.94 per cent of the electors cast their votes, they said. A man allegedly attempted to cast a vote in the name of local resident Vaibhav Deshmukh at the Gandhi Primary School polling centre in ward no. 15 of Buldhana. The individual is said to be a resident of Kothali in Motala taluka, the

Maharashtra civic polls on Dec 2: What will remain open, what will close?

Maharashtra gears up for local body elections on December 2, marking a key test of political sentiment across urban municipalities and nagar panchayats

SC issues notice to ECI on Kerala's petition seeking postponement of SIR

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Kerala government, submitted in the court that the SIR schedule clashes directly with the state's upcoming local body elections

Bombay HC seeks Maha SEC response over absence of VVPATs in local polls

A petition in the Bombay High Court argues that VVPATs are essential for transparent and verifiable voting, citing a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that deemed them indispensable for ensuring free and fair

Uttar Pradesh govt plans civic infrastructure outlay of ₹3.44 trillion

Yogi 2.0 drafts 'Mission 2031' blueprint

In a first, Bihar to launch voting by mobile phones in June municipal polls

To be able to use the new facility, voters need to first download the SECBHR app and link it to their mobile number listed in the electoral rolls

Voting for Punjab's Municipal Corporation elections commences in Ludhiana

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Ashok Parashar Pappi exercised his franchise at the Government Primary Smart School in Ludhiana

CM Dhami meets MPs as BJP prepares for upcoming Municipal polls in U'khand

discussion was held in the presence of BJP National General Secretary and State In-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam

Punjab: Elections to 5 MCs, 44 councils to be held on December 21

Elections to five municipal corporations and 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab will be held on December 21, the State Election Commission said on Sunday. All necessary arrangements have been made for the civic body polls, it said. Addressing the media here, State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhuri said polling for five municipal corporations and 44 municipal councils and Nagar panchayats will be held from 7 am to 4 pm. "The model code of conduct will come into force from today," he said. The five municipal corporations going to polls are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara. The process of filing nominations will start from December 9 and the last date will be December 12. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on December 13 and the last date for the withdrawal of nominations will be December 14, Chaudhuri said. He said, 37.32 lakh voters, including 17.75 lakh females and 204 others, are eligible to cast their votes in these ...

MCD polls on Sep 26 to determine who will dominate Delhi's civic body

A crucial day awaits the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday, as the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP vie for dominance in the key Standing Committee elections. The election, set to fill the sole vacancy in the 18-member Standing Committee, the MCD's highest decision-making body, will take place on Thursday. This vacancy was created after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat resigned following her election from the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat earlier this year. In a setback for the AAP on Wednesday, three of its councillors switched sides and joined the BJP just a day before the Standing Committee election. Dilshad Colony Garden councillor Preeti, Green Park councillor Sarita Phogat, and Madanpur Khadar East councillor Praveen Kumar joined the BJP changing the numbers dynamics in the corporation. The BJP said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lost majority in the MCD House and hence the "moral authority" to be in power. "The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has today lost majority among

MCD seeks EC's permission for Delhi mayoral polls on April 26

This move comes in light of the ongoing implementation of the Model Code of Conduct due to the Lok Sabha elections

Chandigarh Municipal re-election: BJP's Sandhu wins senior dy mayor post

Reelections for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation are being held here on Monday. The Supreme Court on February 20 had overturned the January 30 results of the Chandigarh mayoral poll in which the BJP candidate had emerged an unlikely winner, and declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the city's new mayor. The process for election for the two posts is being conducted by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kumar who recently assumed the charge of Chandigarh mayor. In the January 30 poll, BJP's Manoj Sonkar had defeated Kumar to become mayor. Alleging tampering of ballots, councillors of the AAP and the Congress boycotted the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, leading to the victory of BJP's Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma. For the Monday elections, Congress councillors Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi are the candidates for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy .

If BJP can rig mayoral polls, imagine what it can do in LS polls: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday attacked the BJP, saying if it can "rig" the Chandigarh mayoral polls, it could go to any extent in assembly and Lok Sabha elections. He was addressing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers at a protest at the party's office here. The demonstration was planned in front of the BJP headquarters, a few hundred metres away on the DDU Marg, but AAP members could not reach there because of heavy police deployment and barricading. The world's biggest party was caught on camera "stealing" votes in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, Kejriwal said. The elections to the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor were held on Tuesday and the BJP won all defeating the Congress-AAP alliance "In the last few years, we had heard that BJP rigs polls. They tamper with EVMs, get names of voters deleted from voter lists, but never was any evidence found. They were caught red-handed in Chandigarh stealing votes," he alleged. "If they can indulge

BMC presents Rs 59,954.75 crore budget; 10.5% higher than last year

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's richest civic body, on Friday presented a Rs 59,954.75 crore budget for the year 2024-25. The budgetary estimates this time are 10.5 per cent more than the 2023-24 amount of Rs 54,256.07 crore. The civic administration presented the budget to municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who was appointed as BMC administrator by the state government after the five-year term of corporators ended in March 2022. The budget estimates for the financial year 2024-25 are proposed at Rs 59,954.75 crore, which exceeds the budget estimates of 2022-23, that is Rs 54,256.07 crore, by 10.5 per cent, said the budget document. This is the second time after 1985 that the BMC administration has presented the budget to an administrator as the five-year term of its corporators has ended.

BJP's Manoj Sonkar beats AAP-Cong candidate to win post of Chandigarh mayor

BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar on Tuesday defeated AAP's Kuldeep Kumar, who was fielded as part of an alliance with the Congress, to win the post of mayor in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. Sonkar polled 16 votes while Kumar secured 12. Eight votes were declared invalid. Councillors of INDIA bloc parties AAP and Congress protested as soon as the results were announced. From Delhi, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of "cheating". The newly elected mayor will hold the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. As part of the alliance, the AAP was contesting for the mayor's post while the Congress has fielded candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The polls, being held following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, assume significance with opposition INDIA bloc members Congress and AAP joining hands, even though they are yet to agree on seat-sharing in Punjab. The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal ...

Cheating in broad daylight: Kejriwal reacts to BJP's victory in Chandigarh

Arvind Kejriwal said that if the BJP could 'stoop so low' in mayoral elections, it could go to any extent to win the Lok Sabha elections

Security tightened at Chandigarh Municipal office ahead of Mayoral polls

The Mayoral Elections in Chandigarh were scheduled to be held on January 18 but due to the "ill health" of the designated presiding officer, the election was postponed to February 6

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

Voting for 3rd phase of municipal elections underway in 21 Bihar districts

Voting for the third phase of municipal elections got underway in 21 districts of Bihar on Friday