Page 8 - Voting

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

EC provides central forces to states post-counting day to prevent violence

Acting tough on post-poll violence, the Election Commission has provided central forces to various states beyond the June 4 counting day to prevent any incidents based on the assessment provided by them as well as central observers, sources said on Saturday. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have been provided with security forces for 15 days after the counting day. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have been provided security forces till two days after the counting day, the sources said. Along with Lok Sabha elections, assembly polls were also held in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The counting of votes in assembly elections in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will take place on June 2.

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Here are all the important news highlights of the day

Will Prashant Kishor be proved right? Here is what exit polls suggest

Exit polls 2024: Five poll agencies predict a resounding victory for BJP, with two expected the party to meet its 400-mark

Will Yogendra Yadav be proved right? Here is what exit polls suggest

Exit polls 2024: Five poll agencies predict a resounding victory for BJP, with two expected the party to meet its 400-mark

Chhattisgarh Exit Poll 2024: Five polls predict clean-sweep for BJP-led NDA

Chhattisgarh Exit Poll 2024: BJP expected to secure 59% of the vote share, Congress 32%

Lok Sabha polls phase 7: Over 58% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm

A voter turnout of 58.34 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths lodged. Polling is underway in seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for 57 constituencies, including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha. Voting is being held amid a severe heatwave in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are also taking place simultaneously. Saturday's voting will mark the end of the marathon polling process that began on April 1

Lok Sabha elections Phase 7: 49.68% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: At more than 60 per cent, Jharkhand recorded the highest voter turnout at 3 pm, Bihar had the lowest at 42.95 per cent

Exit Poll Results 2024: Why do these sometimes turn out to be inaccurate?

While exit polls are watched widely and with great anticipation across the country, their accuracy has always been a topic of discussion

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 40% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: Himachal Pradesh had the highest voter turnout at 48.63

LS elections: Punjab records nearly 38% turnout, Chandigarh 40% until 1 pm

Polling began on Saturday morning for 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab and the lone Chandigarh seat in the seventh and final phase of parliamentary elections. Amid tight security arrangements, polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, said the officials. INDIA bloc allies -- the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -- are contesting separately while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls on their own for the first time since 1996. The Sukhbir Badal-led SAD walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 over the now-repealed three farm laws. Besides the Congress, AAP, SAD and the BJP, two other parties -- SAD (Amritsar) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- have also fielded their candidates. Punjab is going to witness a multi-cornered contest on all the 13 Lok Sabha seats. The AAP, Congress, SAD, BJP, BSP and the SAD (Amritsar) are contesting in all the constituencies of Punjab. However, the .

LS polls: 37.64% turnout till 1 pm in 6 LS, 42 assembly seats in Odisha

Polling commenced for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha on Saturday morning, amid tight security, a poll official said. Voting began at 7 am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats, along with the 42 assembly segments that constitute these parliamentary constituencies. Polling will continue till 6 pm as there are no Maoist-hit zones under these Lok Sabha seats, the official added. Approximately 1 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes across 10,882 booths in the fourth and final round of simultaneous elections in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) NB Dhal assured that adequate arrangements have been made for voters' convenience at all booths, considering the prevailing hot and humid weather conditions. In all, 36,000 security personnel and 72,000 polling officials have been deployed for this round of twin polls in the state. Sixty-six candidates are contesting for the six Lok Sabha seats, whil

LS polls: Over 45% voter turnout recorded in 9 seats in Bengal till 1 pm

Polling in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections to nine seats in West Bengal began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security arrangements, an Election Commission of India (ECI) official said. Voting in Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar seats will continue till 6 pm, he added. A total of 1.63 crore voters, including 83.19 lakh men, 80.20 lakh women and 538 persons of the third gender, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 17,470 polling stations. Of the 124 candidates in the fray, Kolkata Dakshin has the highest at 17, followed by Jadavpur (16), and 15 each in Basirhat and Kolkata Uttar. Fourteen candidates are contesting from Dum Dum, 12 each from Barasat, Diamond Harbour and Mathurapur and 11 in Jaynagar. Several heavyweight candidates, including Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, sitting MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Sougata Roy, and Mala Roy, former Union minister Debas

LS polls: Himachal Pradesh records 48.63% voter turnout till 1 pm

Polling for four Lok Sabha seats and six assembly by-elections began across Himachal on Saturday morning. As many as 62 candidates, including 37 for Lok Sabha and 25 for assembly by-elections, are in the fray. Prominent leaders whose fate will be sealed in these elections include Anurag Thakur (BJP), Anand Sharma (Congress), Bollywood actor Kangna Ranaut (BJP), Vikramaditya Singh (Congress) and sitting BJP MP from Shimla (SC) Suresh Kashyap. Polling is being held for four Lok Sabha seats -- Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla -- besides by-elections for six assembly constituencies of Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi addressed rallies in support of their candidates during the election campaign. Severe heatwave conditions in lower hills a

LS polls 2024: 46.80% turnout recorded till 1 pm in Jharkhand's 3 seats

Voting for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand commenced on Saturday, amid tight security, officials said. Polling began at 7 am in Dumka, Rajmahal, and Godda, and will continue till 5 pm. A total of 52 candidates, including eight women, are contesting in this final phase, the state's fourth and the seventh nationwide. Nineteen candidates each are competing in Dumka and Godda, while Rajmahal has 14 contestants. Approximately 53.23 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these three constituencies, with Godda having the highest number of voters at 20.28 lakh, and Dumka the lowest at 15.91 lakh. Over two lakh are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group, while 439 are aged over 100 years. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said preparations are in place for free and fair polls, including sealing the borders with neighboring Bihar and West Bengal, where polls are also taking place. Arrangements have been made to transport elderly citizens and persons with disabilitie

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 26.3% voter turnout recorded till 11 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seventh phase will see voting in 57 of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, across seven states and one UT

LS polls phase 7: Voting underway in 57 constituencies in 8 states, UT

In the seventh and final phase of the general election on Saturday, polling is being held for 57 constituencies spread across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha. The voting is being held in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and bypolls to six Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are also taking place simultaneously. The voting began at 7 am. Voters were seen standing in queues in front of polling booths since early in the morning among severe heatwave conditions in several parts of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to people to exercise their franchise. "Together, let's make our democracy more vibrant and ...

LS polls: 70,000 security personnel deployed for Jun 1 elections in Punjab

Around 70,000 security personnel, including central forces, have been deployed in the wake of polling in 13 Lok Sabha seats on June 1, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said here on Friday. Besides, 1.20 lakh polling staff have been deployed for the voting in the state, he said. Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place from 7 am till 6 pm on Saturday. Addressing the media here, the Punjab CEO said the total number of voters in Punjab is 2,14,61,739 comprising 1,12,86,726 male voters and 1,01,74,240 female voters and 773 transgender voters. In comparison to the total number of voters during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, there was an increase of around seven lakh in number of voters, said the Punjab CEO, accompanied by nodal officer and IPS officer M F Farooqui. The CEO said 5,38,715 voters belong to the 18-19 age group, who are eligible for casting their votes for the first time. He further said that a target of achieving more than 70 per cent voter turn

Election turnout 35 million more this time compared to 2019: SBI Research

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Centre recovered, returned Rs 17k cr from scams to citizens: Modi in Bengal

During an election rally in West Bengal's Ashoknagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the BJP will return Rs 3,000 crore to the people of Bengal defrauded by the Mamata Banerjee- government