Page 1363 - Politics
Another Cong MLA to quit and join TRS
In further setback to Congress in Telangana, another MLA is likely quit the party and join the ruling TRS. Congress MLA from Yellandu Haripriya Banoth would join the party, TRS sources said Sunday. Already, three Congress MLAs Rega Kantha Rao, Atram Sakku and Chirumarti Lingaiah have announced their decision to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The development is seen as a jolt to the Congress ahead of the MLC election (to be elected by MLAs) scheduled for March 12. The Congress has fielded one candidate in the March 12 election to fill five vacancies in the Council. Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Congress MLA and former minister P Sabita Indra Reddy would also quit the party and join TRS. Sabita Indra Reddy had served as Home Minister during the Congress regime before 2014 in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Seven-phase polls proves Bengal lacks atmosphere for free and fair polls: BJP
The BJP's West Bengal unit on Sunday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to hold seven-phase Lok Sabha polls in the state, claiming that the schedule was proof that the state lacks a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections under the Mamata Banerjee government.
DMDK ties up with AIADMK, gets four Lok Sabha seats
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK has entered into an electoral pact with actor-politician Vijayakanth's DMDK, which contest four Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, Deputy Chief Minister and party Coordinator O. Panneerselvam said on Sunday.
Simultaneous Assembly, LS polls in Sikkim on Apr 11
Sikkim will go to Assembly and Lok Sabha polls simultaneously on April 11, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ravindra Telang said on Sunday. The polls in the Himalayan state would he held on the first of the seven-phase election in the country. Sikkim has 4,23,325 voters who will exercise their franchise to elect 32 members of the Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha member, Telang said. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect after announcement of the poll schedule by the Election Commission in New Delhi, the CEO said.
Lok Sabha polls in 7 phases from April 11, counting on May 23: EC
Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 11 and continue for over a month till May 19 across seven phases, followed by counting of votes on May 23, the Election Commission announced Sunday, kick-starting a mega electoral battle where the BJP will pitch for a re-election of the Modi government amid the Opposition's efforts for a united fight to unseat it. The polling will be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19 for 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country in which nearly 90 crore voters would be eligible to vote, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told a packed press conference here. Assembly elections will also be held in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, the CEC said. However, elections for Jammu and Kashmir assembly have been deferred, the EC said citing security reasons. The state has been under President's Rule after the ruling alliance between the BJP and Peoples Democratic Party ...
Saudi junior foreign minister to arrive in India on Monday, will hold talks with Swaraj
Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir will arrive in India on Monday for a brief visit during which he will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jubeir's nearly four-and-a-half-hour visit to India comes days after his trip to Islamabad. The Saudi minister met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in Islamabad, and delivered a "special message" from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, according to Pakistani media reports. His visit to Islamabad took place amid global efforts to de-escalate tension between India and Pakistan triggered by the Pulwama attack and subsequent aerial strike by India on a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit in Balakot on February 26. Pakistan retaliated the strike next day by unsuccessfully attempting to target Indian military installations. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. In Pakistan, Jubeir also held talks with Pakistan ...
Why voter identity slip dispensed with, wonders ex-CEC
Former Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath here on Sunday wondered why the Election Commission has dispensed with the voter identity slip, issued by the Commission, as one of the identity documents for an elector to cast his vote.
Lok Sabha polls: Chhattisgarh to vote in three phases
Voting for Chhattisgarh's 11 parliamentary constituencies will take place across the first three phases of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.
Owaisi welcomes single-phase polling in Andhra, Telangana
MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to have single-phase polling in Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Multi-phased vote in UP, Bihar, West Bengal to help BJP run a concerted campaign
As per the Lok Sabha election schedule, announced by the Election Commission here on Sunday, many states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been making effort to expand its base or where it faces tough contest will go for a multi-phased contest, giving the party time to carry out a concerted campaign to improve its prospects.
Indian elections pose 'immense challenges'
Elections to the world's largest democracy pose immense challenges with respect to logistics as well as human and material management, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Sunday.
Assam parties welcome LS polls dates for state
Major political parties in Assam, here on Sunday, welcomed the dates announced by the Election Commission (EC) for Lok Sabha polls in the state, even as the dates of first two phases clash with Rongali Bihu celebrations.
No simultaneous polls in J&K, parties assail decision
Citing constraints over availability of central forces and other logistics, the Election Commission on Sunday said the elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will not be held along with the Lok Sabha polls.
Odisha parties welcome dates for simultaneous polls
Major political parties in Odisha here on Sunday welcomed the announcement of poll dates for the general and assembly elections in the state.
AINRC alliance with AIADMK, BJP showed it was "politically
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Sunday said the AINRC's alliance with the AIADMK and BJP for the coming Lok Sabha polls showed that it had become "politically weak." Talking to reportershere, he said the then N Rangasamy-led dispensation did not measure up to the promises made during the run up to the polls in 2011. "Rangasamy had failed to fulfil the expectations of the people particularly the government staff and also the down trodden," he alleged. The very fact that Rangasamy had clinched an alliance with the AIADMK and BJP now to fight the coming Lok Sabha polls indicated that he had become "politically weak" and was at the mercy of the saffron party and other parties to win the poll, he added. Accusing Rangasamy of ditching the AIADMK while forming the government after the 2011 polls, although they both were alliance partners, the Chief Minister said, "It is amusing that the AIADMK had now accommodated AINRC in its alliance." Expressing confidence that the .
Over 1.74 cr eligible to cast vote for 10 LS seats in Haryana
Over 1.74 crore people in Haryana are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 10 Lok Sabha seats of the state, the election for which will be held on May 12. Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Rajiv Ranjan Sunday said the photo electoral rolls prepared on the basis of January 1, 2019, as qualifying date and finally published on January 31 along with the supplements prepared under continuous updation thereafter will be used. There are 1,74,48,293 crore electorate in the state, as against over 1.60 crore in 2014 LS polls. Of these, 80,51,140 are females, he said. Electoral Photo ID Cards (EPICs) are issued to 100 per cent electors and coverage of photo electors are 100 per cent, Ranjan said, adding there are 19,425 polling stations in the state out of which 5,494 falls in urban and 13,931 in rural areas. He said for the first time VVPAT machines will be used in all 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state. In the 2014 state elections, VVPATs were used in some Thanesar ...
22 states including AP to have single-phase polling, UP among 4 states with 7 phases
Twenty-two states and union territories (UTs), including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, will have Lok Sabha election in a single phase while it will be spread across seven phases in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Election Commission announced Sunday. Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan and Tripura will have election in two phases, while Assam and Chhattisgarh will have three-phase polling. Four states -- Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha -- will have elections in four phases. Jammu and Kashmir, where the poll panel decided not to have assembly elections simultaneously with LS polls, will have five-phase voting. There is no state where elections will be conducted in six phases. Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the poll panel has decided to take up polling in Left Wing Extremism-affected states in one go. "Every thing depends on movement of security forces. Phases have been accordingly decided," he said when
New kind of nationalism on rise, says IPS officer
IPS officer Sandeep Tamgadge Sunday claimed the rise of a "new kind" of nationalism, which he said is based on subjective perceptions. Speaking at the 'Madhukarrao Tamgadge memorial' scholarship programme 2019-20 here, Tamgadge, who serves as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Nagaland, also questionned "silence" of a section of Dalits on the issue of the freedom of speech. He was the Investigating Officer (IO) in the alleged fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati, and alleged murder of Shaikh's wife Kausar Bi. He had also served as the superintendent of police, the CBI, Nagpur region. "A new kind of nationalism is going on wherein people are defining it as per their own interpretations," he told the gathering. Observing that a "nationalist environment" is building up in the country in the last 10-15 days, Tamgadge narrated his own example wherein he was questionned about his "patriotism" by a person, after the IPS officer asked him ..
Solution to Naga issue not found before LS polls, Rio laments
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio Sunday lamented that the solution to the decades-old Naga political issue could not be found before the Lok Sabha election. "We were hoping against hope that the solution will come before the election," he said. Rio was speaking on the occasion of the completion of one year of his People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) government of which the BJP is a part. A new government, which came to power in Nagaland under Rio early last year, had raised hopes of a solution to the Naga political problem. Earlier Sunday in Delhi, the Election Commission announced that the Lok Sabha election will be held from April 11 to May 19. The government and the Naga people now do not know what the negotiating parties are thinking, Rio told reporters without elaborating it. "If it (Naga political solution) does not come...it will be problem for our Naga society to carry on," the chief minister said. Even after the signing of the framework agreement with the NSCN(IM) in 2015 ...
Polls 2019: Varanasi to vote on May 19; Gandhi bastions on May 6
With the Election Commission sounding the bugle for Lok Sabha elections, the date sheet shows Varanasi constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi voting last on May 19 while a number of high-profile seats including of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi will vote on May 6. Voting in Lucknow, which elected Home Minister Rajnath Singh in 2014, would also vote on May 6 and so will be the case for another high-profile union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Hajipur constituency. Vadodara, which had also elected Modi in the 2014 general elections, will go to vote on April 23 and so will Puri in Odisha, which is being widely rumoured as another seat from which the prime minister can fight the 2019 elections. However, there has been no official word from the BJP on this. BJP's senior leader Lal Krishna Advani's Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat will also vote on April 23, the same day when polling will take place in Pilibhit, currently represented by Maneka ...