Page 15 - Voting

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

Karanpur poll: Another election, another loss for daily wager Titar Singh

Titar Singh, 78, is used to losing elections. So the result of the Karanapur assembly poll on Monday wouldn't have surprised him. The habitual contestant who has fought about 30 elections so far got 1,223 votes in this election, in which Rajasthan minister Surendra Pal Singh, the BJP nominee, lost to Congress rival Rupinder Singh Koonar. This secured Titar Singh, a daily wage labourer, the fourth place, higher than the NOTA (None of the Above) option. Titar Singh has contested every election in Rajasthan, from sarpanch to Lok Sabha, since the 1970s and forfeited his deposit every time but that hasn't deterred the Dalit community leader from trying his luck. "Why should I not fight? The government should give land, facilities... this election is a fight for rights," Titar Singh had told PTI in an interview in November last year. According to Election Department data, Koonar won the Karanpur election with 94,950 votes. BJP's Surendra Pal Singh got 83,667 votes, Aam Aadmi Party's .

ECI to release West Bengal's final voters list in January 2024: Official

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will release West Bengal's final voters list in January, 2024 a senior official said on Saturday. After publishing the list, the ECI will be sending its full bench to West Bengal, he said, adding that the state chief secretary and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) have been sent communications asking to start preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. "The final list of voters will be published early next month (January) and after that, the full bench of the ECI will come to West Bengal. Similar steps are likely to be taken for other states as well. We have directed the chief secretary and CEO of West Bengal to start the preparations for the general election," he told PTI. When contacted, a top bureaucrat said that in the letter the poll panel has directed the West Bengal chief secretary to prepare a list of both administrative officials (IAS officers) and police officers (IPS officers and WBPS officers) detailing their current posting and the ...

330,000 elderly, PwDs used home voting facility in last 11 assembly polls

As many as 3.30 lakh people with disability and electors who are 80 years and above have availed the home voting facility in the last 11 assembly elections, sources said on Saturday, citing data. Persons with disability (PwD), voters above 80 years of age and those suffering from Covid can avail the home voting facility. Representatives of political parties and polling personnel visit the residence of electors who opt for home voting at a predesignated time. The home voting option is exercised using ballot paper under prescribed secrecy norms and the process is video-graphed. Over 2.6 lakh senior citizens who are 80 years and above and over 70,000 PwDs have availed the home voting facility in last 11 state assembly elections, the sources said. While the latest set of assembly polls were held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana, elections were earlier held in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Karnataka. Home voting, the sour

TMS Ep579: Women voters, hosting COP28, Adani group stocks, Global South

Are women voters the new trump card? What would India gain by hosting the COP28 summit? Is the worst over for Adani group stocks? What is the Global South? All answers here

Rajasthan elections 2023 highlights: BJP to form govt, wins 115 seats

Rajasthan state Assembly elections LIVE: Catch all the latest updates of Rajasthan elections 2023 here, counting of votes to take place today

Chhattisgarh's Kanker to set an example via all women-led vote-counting

District Election Officer and Kanker Collector Priyanka Shukla said, "This time the counting process is being done through women in the district''

Assembly elections: D-Day looms as counting to begin for 4 states at 8 am

The polling in five states, straddling the north, east and southern parts of the country, is tipped to set the course of the political headwinds going into the Lok Sabha elections next year

Fate of BRS, Cong in T'gana to be unsealed as vote count to begin tomorrow

Amid several exit polls suggesting that the Congress will have an advantage over the ruling BRS in Telangana, counting of votes polled in the November 30 Assembly elections will be taken up at 8 AM on Sunday. It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked made any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening. As many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray in the elections, including BRS supremo Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind and Soyam Bapu Rao. The BRS fielded candidates in all 119 seats. The BJP and Janasena contested in 111 and 8 seats respectively in a pre-poll pact while the Congress gave one seat to its ally CPI. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments in

Telangana Election Results 2023: Date, time & where to watch counting

Telangana Assembly Election Results 2023: A party needs to secure 60 or more seats to gain majority in Telangana Assembly

Assembly election 2023 FAQs: What happens on the day of counting of votes?

At the end of voting, the EVMs and VVPATs are kept in strong rooms, which are opened on the counting day of votes. The process is filmed to ensure transparency

Mizoram Election Results 2023: Date, time, how & where to watch counting

Mizoram Assembly Election Results 2023: A party needs to secure 21 or more seats to gain a majority in Mizoram Assembly

Bhutan votes in preliminary round of elections, results likely on Friday

Nearly half a million of the country's fewer than 800,000 people are eligible to vote for the five political parties that are in the fray