Page 15 - Voting

Lok Sabha elections, phase 1: Nomination process begins, voting on April 19

The nomination process for 102 parliamentary constituencies spread across 21 states and Union territories, where polling would be held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, began on Wednesday with the issuance of a notification. According to the notification issued by the Election Commission on behalf of the President, the last date for filing nomination papers is March 27. However, due to a festival, March 28 is the last date for filing nominations for the Lok Sabha seats in Bihar going to polls in the first phase. Voting in four out of 40 seats in Bihar will be held in the first phase. Nomination papers will be scrutinised on March 28. For Bihar, it would be done on March 30. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 20 while for Bihar, it is April 2. The elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes is on June 4. The states where

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Rajasthan declares holiday on voting days

A paid holiday has been declared for all workers in private, industrial institutions and government undertakings on the voting day for the Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that the Rajasthan government has issued a notification in this regard. According to the notification, there will be a holiday in the offices and work places in the 12 Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday, April 19, for the first phase of voting and the 13 constituencies in the second phase on Friday, April 26, so that the voters can exercise their franchise on the said dates. According to Section 135 'B' of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, there is a provision for granting paid leave to employees on the day of voting. This includes people employed in any business, profession, industrial undertaking or any other establishment. Those entitled to vote will be given leave on the day of polling, an official statement said. These provisions shall not apply to voters wh

No road, no vote: villagers puts up banner outside Amethi ahead of polls

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, local people have put up a banner saying "no road, no vote" outside their village in the Gauriganj tehsil here, drawing attention to their problems. A banner came up outside Purey Alpi Tiwari hamlet in Sarmeny village under Jamo block on Monday warning to boycott the coming elections with the locals raising slogans. Amethi, which is considered as a VVIP constituency, was represented by the Nehru-Gandhi family until Union minister Smriti Irani wrested the Lok Sabha seat in 2019. Gauriganj SDM Digvijay Singh on Tuesday said information about the villagers' protest has been received and effort will be made to solve the problem following further investigation. Omprakash Ojha, a resident of the hamlet, told reporters that there are seven small roads connecting the village to nearby areas but all of them are unpaved. "Due to lack of access to the village, we have to perform the marriages of our sons and daughters elsewhere. Even bikes cannot mov

Delhi poll body sets up flying squads to check on voter intimidation

The office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has set up flying squads and control rooms across the city's seven Lok Sabha constituencies to check incidents of voter intimidation. In a public notice issued on Sunday, the poll office in Delhi said district election functionaries or returning officers will enforce the Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit. Polling for Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of the general elections, with 1.47 crore people eligible to exercise their franchise, according to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India on Saturday. According to the notice, flying squads have been formed to register cases against both the "giver" and the "taker" of bribes and for taking action against those engaged in threat and intimidation of electors. "All the citizens are hereby requested to refrain from any illegal activities as above and in case anybody offers any bribe or is having knowledge about the bribe or c

Vote for leadership which has vision, track record of doing work: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the country has witnessed a historic decade of good governance, security, welfare of all sections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and appealed to everyone to vote for a leadership which has a track record of doing work and a vision to make India developed. He also appealed to youths, women and all voters of the country to participate in this great festival of democracy by voting in maximum numbers to elect the BJP-led NDA which will put the nation first. "The 2024 Lok Sabha elections have been announced today by the Election Commission. Elections are a great festival for the world's largest democracy. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has witnessed a historic decade of good governance, security, welfare of all sections and reconstruction of cultural heritage. "To maintain the pace of India's development journey, cast your vote for a leadership which has a track record of doing work an

Kerala LS polls: Debates on national issues will impact voter sentiments

Ahead of the April 26 Lok Sabha election in Kerala, the political scene in the southern state is buzzing with debates on various key national issues that have the potential to sway voter sentiments significantly. The upcoming elections are poised for a heated contest as critical issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), electoral bond controversies, Manipur's unrest, and human-animal conflicts in the state dominate the electoral landscape, setting the stage for a showdown between the CPI(M)-led LDF, the Congress-led UDF, and the BJP-led NDA. The Left Democratic Front (LDF), which has a considerable sway in Kerala's politics, is facing heavy scrutiny over many issues including the central agencies' probe into Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter's IT firm to the recent allegations of violence against the Left student organsiation, SFI. However, with its staunch opposition to the CAA, the stern secular stance opposing the BJP and the long list of development projects a

Voting in Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats will take place on May 25

Voting in Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats will take place on May 25, the sixth phase of the general elections, with 1.47 crore people eligible for exercising their franchise, according to the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission on Saturday. The notification will be issued on April 29 and the last date for filing nominations is May 6. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is May 9. The city has 1.47 crore voters, including 79.98 lakh males and 67.42 lakh females. The Lok Sabha polls will be held across the country in seven phases beginning April 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4 for the world's biggest election exercise in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bid for a third consecutive term. With the AAP and the Congress having entered a seat-sharing agreement for Delhi this time, the city is set to witness a direct contest between the alliance and the BJP which holds all the seven Lok Sabha seats of the national capital since 2014. The A

Lok Sabha election 2024: 12 states have more women voters than men, says EC

Twelve states have more women voters than men, with a total of 47.1 crore females registered in the electoral roll in the country, the Election Commission said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference on elections to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said gender ratio is 948 women to 1000 men in the country which is a "very healthy sign" of women participation in the electoral cycle. "There are 12 such states where the gender ratio is over 1000 which means that number of women voters is more than males and 1.89 crore new voters have joined, out of them in the age group of 18-19 years there are 85.3 lakh women electors so they are going side by side so that is a very healthy sign that women are also participating equally in our elections," he said. He did not give names of the states. Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and results will be announced on June 4, Kumar said. The other phases will

Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase I: Voting on April 19; check details here

Lok Sabha polls 2024: 21 states and Union territories will go to polls in the first phase of the 2024 general elections

Stage set for world's largest democratic exercise: What 2019 numbers say?

So will the ruling BJP snatch a record third term? Or the Opposition Congress and its allies will script a success story? This is something the ballot will decide now

Lok Sabha polls: EC directs observers to ensure intimidation-free elections

The Election Commission on Monday asked its observers to ensure polls free of coercion and intimidation and pushed for judicious use of central and state forces keeping in mind that their deployment should not favour any particular party. Addressing a meeting of more than 2,100 general, police and expenditure observers here ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections and some state assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar directed them to ensure a level-playing field for free and fair elections. The polls should be free of intimidation and inducement, he said. The CEC reminded them that as observers, they represent the commission, and are expected to conduct themselves professionally and be accessible to all stakeholders, including candidates. The observers were instructed to be tough but polite in their conduct on the field, the Election Commission (EC) said in a statement. The observers were also asked to be confined physically within the boundarie

Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigns weeks ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His tenure was till December 2027. According to a law ministry notification, Goel's resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday. It was not immediately known why he stepped down. Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. Following the retirement of Anup Pandey in February and Goel's resignation, the three-member EC panel has now only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

Mandates and swings

People in democracies need a sense of uncertainty in order to be convinced that their voice and their vote matter

Campaign launched to encourage 1st-time voters to exercise their franchise

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Centre on Tuesday launched a national campaign to encourage first-time voters to exercise their franchise and make the poll process more participative. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Union Ministry of Education launched a jingle -- "Banega Desh Mahan, Jab Vote Karenge Hum" -- aimed at about 1.85 crore first-time voters in the country who are eligible to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "Let us make our electoral process even more participative. I call upon people from all walks of life to spread the message, in their own style, among first time voters," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, using the #MeraPehlaVoteDeshKeLiye hashtag. "As the nation gears up for its biggest festival of democracy, I urge all of you to join the #MeraPehlaVoteDeshKeLiye campaign and encourage young voters to exercise their democratic right," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said. Union Educat

Voting concludes across Pakistan in election marred by sporadic violence

Voting concluded across Pakistan on Thursday in an election marred by sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil terror attacks. The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable a total of 128,585,760 registered voters to cast their ballots. The time for voting ended but the people present inside the premises of the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes. There were reports of voting process facing delays at certain polling stations across the country and at least one terror attack on security forces performing election duties that killed four policemen. The ballot boxes would be unsealed in the presence of the agents of various candidates present inside the polling stations, and counting would be done in the supervision of the presiding officer of each polling station. The presiding officer would prepare the result and annou

Pak's CEC assures mobile service suspension cannot hamper agency's work

Amid the suspension of mobile services in Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation, Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Thursday said its Election Management System is not dependent on the Internet and its work will not be affected due to it. Polling for the general elections started at 8.00 am and will continue without any break till 5.00 PM when a total of 128,585,760 registered voters are eligible to cast their votes. Even when the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had earlier said that internet services would remain functional on the voting day, twin terror attacks that killed at least 30 people prompted the caretaker government to suspend the mobile services due to the deteriorating security situation. Speaking with media persons soon after the polling began, CEC Raja told media persons, Our system is not dependent on it (mobile services). Our system is not independent of the Internet, we have clarified it earlier too. There will

Delhi AAP candidates not to enter villages during polls: Villagers body

A villagers body on Monday accused the MCD of not consulting them on preparing the budget and said the AAP candidates will not be allowed to enter the villages in the upcoming general and assembly elections. A group of people under the banner of Delhi Panchayat Sangh, an umbrella body representing 360 villages in Delhi, pasted a memorandum at the MCD headquarters here for not consulting them on preparing the budget 2024-25 as promised by the corporation. They also protested against Mayor Shelly Oberoi for not taking suggestions by the rural bodies to prepare the budget slated to be presented in the House on February 8. It claimed that the mayor did not give time to meet the leaders of the villages' when approached on Monday. "The mayor's neglect of the villagers will not be tolerated and the Aam Aadmi Party should be ready to bear the brunt of it. Aam Aadmi Party candidates will not be allowed to enter the villages in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections," the body said in

EC collaborates with Rajkumar Hirani for short film on voter awareness

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has collaborated with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani for a short film to spread awareness about voting. Titled "My Vote My Duty", the short is compiled from video messages by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar as well as actors Rajkummar Rao, Amitabh Bachchan, R Madhavan, Raveena Tandon, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Arshad Warsi, Bhumi Pednekar and Mona Singh. Hirani, who most recently directed Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Dunki", has produced the short film, which was shared by the ECI on its official handle on microblogging site X on National Voters' Day on Thursday. It is directed by Sanjiv Kishinchandani. "A short film 'My Vote My Duty' produced by #ECI in association with @RajkumarHirani featuring several renowned celebrities on the theme 'Value of one vote' was released on #NVD2024," read the tweet. The film aims to address attitudinal barriers such as indifference and apathy, and inspire citizens to recognise the significance of their votes. "The mos

Do not agree with One Nation, One Election: Mamata to Kovind-led panel

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to the high-level committee on "One Nation, One Election" expressing her disagreement with the concept of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and assemblies, and said it would be against the basic structure of India's constitutional arrangements. In a letter to the panel secretary, Banerjee said that in 1952, the first general elections were simultaneously conducted for the central and state levels. "There was such simultaneity for some years. But the coevality has since been ruptured...," she said. "I regret that I cannot agree with the concept of 'One Nation, One Election', as framed by you. We disagree with your formulation and proposal," she wrote. "Non-simultaneous federal and state elections are a basic feature in the Westminster system which should not be altered. To paraphrase, non-simultaneity is part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitutional arrangements," the West Bengal chief minister said. The high-l

Voters begin casting ballots in Bhutan, where economic crisis looms large

Voters in Bhutan, a landlocked country in the eastern Himalayan mountain range with a population of around 800,000 people, began casting their ballots Tuesday to elect a new Parliament, hoping the politicians make good on their promises to fix the nation's economic crisis. Some voters are expected to trek in freezing temperatures to reach the polls to elect a set of 47 parliamentarians who will form the next government. Results are likely to be announced later in the night. The national elections are the fourth in Bhutan after it saw a transformation from a traditional monarchy to a parliamentary form of government in 2008. Ballots include only the People's Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, and the Bhutan Tendrel Party headed by former civil servant Pema Chewang. A primary round of voting in November eliminated three other parties. Bhutan lies sandwiched between China and India, with both neighbours vying for influence in the country. Bhutan's severe econom