Page 4 - State Assembly Polls

Odisha Assembly polls: BJP challenges Naveen Patnaik's BJD in tight race

The BJP is leading in 73 seats in Odisha, followed by Patnaik-Biju Janata Dal at 50 seats and Congress is leading in 13 seats, shows the trend on Election Commission website available for 138 seats

Counting of votes begins for 32 Assembly seats in Sikkim amid high security

Counting of votes for 32 assembly seats in Sikkim began on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements, officials said. The counting was underway at one location each in all six districts of the state. Postal ballots will be taken up first for counting while votes in the EVMs will be counted later, officials said. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, his spouse Krishna Kumari Rai, ex-Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, former Indian footballer and SDF leader Bhaichung Bhatia, state BJP president DR Thapa, Speaker Arun Upreti and senior minister Lunga Nima Lepcha are the prominent candidates among 146 nominees. Tamang and Chamling are contesting from two assembly constituencies. An estimated 80 per cent of the 4.64 lakh voters exercised their franchise on April 19. An additional four per cent of votes were cast through postal by government officials and employees, the CEO office said. Tamang is contesting from the Rhenock and Soreng Chakung constituencies, while Chamling is in

Sikkim assembly polls: SKM, SDF candidates awaits ahead of counting on Sun

The ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) hopes for a second consecutive term and the opposition SDF to unseat it from power as votes polled in 32 assembly constituencies in the Himalayan state will be counted on Sunday, officials said. Also in the fray are nominees of the BJP, Congress and Citizen Action Party-Sikkim (CAP-S) as counting will be held at six locations in as many districts amid tight security arrangements from 6 am on Sunday. Preparations have been made for counting votes for nine seats in Gangtok district, seven in Namchi, five in Pakyong, four each in Soreng and Gyalshing and three in Mangan, they said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made under the supervision of the observers deputed by the Election Commission of India to carry out the process in a free and fair manner, the officials said. An estimated 80 per cent of the 4.64 lakh voters exercised their franchise in 32 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in the first phase on April 19. Votes

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

Lord Jagannath remark: Why Sambit Patra is seeking atonement with 'upvaas'

BJP's Sambit Patra caused uproar by suggesting Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi. Patra apologised, vowing to observe fasting as penance amidst ongoing elections

When will Assembly polls be held in J-K, Jairam Ramesh asks PM Modi

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, the Congress accused the BJP-led Centre on Friday of suspending democracy in the Union Territory and asked it when would the Assembly polls be held there. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while the prime minister was in Udhampur, in its attempt to retain power in the erstwhile state, the BJP-led government has suspended almost all tiers of democracy and refuses to hold fresh elections. "PM Modi must answer for his suspension of democracy," Ramesh said while posing several questions to the prime minister. He said the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been under the Centre's direct rule ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support to the Mehbooba Mufti-led government in 2018, citing a "deteriorating security situation". "The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been left without an elected government since then. Four seats in the Rajya Sabha also remai

Sikkim Assembly elections 2024: BJP releases second list of 9 candidates

Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier released a list of 14 candidates for the Sikkim state Assembly polls, scheduled for April 19. A party requires 17 seats to secure majority

NCP vs NCP: SC allows Ajit Pawar faction provisional use of 'clock' symbol

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to recognise Sharad Pawar's NCP faction and allowed them to use a new symbol for the upcoming state and general elections

Number of voters in Andhra Pradesh rises to 40.9 mn from 40.7 mn: EC data

The total number of voters in Andhra Pradesh as of March 16 is 4.09 crore, an increase from 4.07 crore recorded on January 22, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said on Saturday. The total voters include two crore men, 2.08 crore women and 3,346 of the third-gender, he said at a press conference here, on a day the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha polls. Andhra Pradesh will witness simultaneous legislative assembly and general elections on May 13. He said data on polling stations in the state will be sent to the commission. Currently, there are 46,165 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh, Meena said. The CEO said that 179 women-managed and 50 youth election officers-managed polling stations have been proposed to be set up. Some will be managed by specially-abled personnel, he said. Of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, four are reserved for scheduled castes (SC) and one for scheduled tribes (ST), Meena said. He added that 29 assembly ...

Assembly elections: Schedule for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal, Sikkim

Election Commission announces dates for state Assemblies which will be conducted alongside the Lok Sabha poll, from April 19

BJP worker killed in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur; Naxalites suspected: Police

A local worker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was killed by suspected Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday evening, police said. This was the seventh killing of a BJP leader or member by suspected Naxalites in Maoist-affected areas of the state in the last one year. The incident took place around 8 pm at Toynar village when Tirupati Katla, a BJP member of the Janpad Panchayat, was attending a wedding, a senior official said. As Katla left the venue of the function, he was attacked with sharp-edged weapons. He was shifted to the Bijapur district hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added. Ahead of the assembly polls in November, Ratan Dubey, the BJP's Narayanpur district unit vice president, was hacked to death while he was campaigning. On October 20 last year, BJP worker Birju Taram was shot dead at Sarkheda village in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district. In June 2023, a local BJP leader was killed by Naxalites in Bijapur district

ED summons ex-U'khand minister Harak Singh Rawat for questioning on Feb 29

Notably, the ED had conducted raids across Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Delhi, including Rawat's residence, on February 7 in the alleged forest scam case

Andhra Cong charges Rs 25k donation for LS, 10k for Assembly from aspirants

Kicking off the poll process, the Andhra Pradesh Congress unit on Wednesday started accepting applications from candidates planning to contest the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections to be held in a few months. According to Manickam Tagore, AICC in-charge for AP, following the footsteps of the Karnataka and Telangana Congress model, the Andhra Pradesh unit will charge Rs 15,000 as the "donation" from the aspiring candidates of the reserved category and Rs 25,000 for the rest, for Lok Sabha while it is Rs 10,000 for candidates (unreserved category) and Rs 5,000 for the reserved in case of assembly ticket. Applications will be accepted for the next two weeks, he said. Tagore further said all the applications will be processed through the Pradesh Election Committee and afterward it will go through the screening committee of the AICC. Then the list will be sent to the Congress Central Election Committee headed by President Mallikarjun Kharge. "It (Congress) is a democratic party. Therefor

BJP holds 'marathon' meet to devise strategy for LS, Assembly polls in J-K

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday conducted a high-level meeting to assess feedback on the party's outreach programmes and devised a fresh strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. The primary focus of the meeting was to formulate a winning strategy for all five seats in Jammu and Kashmir, including plans to strengthen and secure parliamentary constituencies where the party has faced challenges in the past. "A very significant and important BJP meeting was held today. In a marathon session starting around 10 am and continuing until 7 pm, extensive discussions were held on various political issues and developments relevant to the upcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir for both Parliament and Assembly," a BJP leader said. The meeting, presided over by J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, included key figures such as party's national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Seh Prabhari Ashish Sood, national secretary Narinder Singh Raina, Union Minister ..

Rajasthan: Over 40% voter turnout in Karanpur Assembly polls till afternoon

A turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded in Karanpur by early afternoon as polling took place for the Rajasthan assembly constituency where minister Surendra Pal Singh is contesting as the BJP nominee. The election for this seat was postponed due to the death of the Congress candidate and the then MLA Gurmeet Singh Koonar. The Congress has fielded Koonar's son, Rupinder Singh, from the seat. Surendra Pal Singh has already been inducted into the Rajasthan ministry after the BJP won the assembly polls, bagging 115 of the 199 seats where the elections were held. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said 40.45 per cent of voters had cast their vote till 1.30 pm. "Voters are coming to cast their votes amidst severe cold and fog," he said. The Congress has criticised the BJP nominee's induction in the ministry, terming it a violation of the model code of conduct. As per the rules, Kooner has six months to get elected to the assembly

Cong cries foul over BJP nominee for Karanpur poll's induction as Raj min

Surendra Pal Singh, the BJP's nominee for the January 5 poll to the Karanpur assembly seat, was inducted as a minister in the Rajasthan government Saturday, drawing flak from the Congress which accused the ruling party of violating the model code of conduct. Apart from Singh, 21 BJP MLAs were sworn in as ministers by Governor Kalraj Mishra at a ceremony in the Raj Bhawan here. While 12 leaders have been sworn in as cabinet ministers, five have been made ministers of state (independent charge) and five ministers of state. Singh took oath as Minister of State (independent charge). Hitting out at the BJP for inducting Singh into the council of ministers, the Congress' Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra said his party will bring this matter to the Election Commission's notice and demand action. Polling to the Karanpur Assembly seat of Rajasthan was adjourned following the death of a Congress candidate. The election will now be held on January 5 and results will be declared three

MP, Chhattisgarh CMs to take oath today; PM Modi, Shah likely to attend

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, among others, are likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony at both places

In Rajasthan, first-time legislator Bhajan Lal Sharma is BJP's CM pick

Move seen as party's attempt to woo Brahmins in crucial Hindi heartland states

Bhajanlal Sharma named Rajasthan CM; Diya Kumari, Prem Chand Bairwa Dy CMs

Bhajanlal Sharma, 56, hails from Bharatpur, has been a long-time member of the BJP party but this was his first run as MLA from the Sangner Assembly seat, which falls under the Jaipur Lok Sabha consti

Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh: BJP's another surprise chief minister pick

Party sends signals to Yadav community in UP, Bihar ahead of Lok Sabha polls