Page 2 - Elections

BJP alliance likely to return in Tripura, Nagaland; trailing in Meghalaya

In neighbouring Meghalaya, the ruling National People's Party (NPP) won 6 seats and was leading in 19, while the BJP was leading in 3 seats

Turkish President Erdogan announces govt's plan to hold elections on May 14

"The time is coming. This nation will do what is necessary on May 14. No credit will be given to those who empty talk," Erdogan told his party members in Parliament

No method in the madness

A new critique of the V-Dem democracy rankings highlights where the problem lies

EVM Glitches: Bypolls in three Assembly seats held peacefully

Bypolls in three Assembly constituencies in as many states passed off peacefully on Monday with around 63-70 per cent turnout, though some technical glitches in EVMs were reported in Tamil Nadu and the ruling TMC in West Bengal alleged that the CRPF was "influencing" voters. A voter turnout of more than 63 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the by-election to West Bengal's Sagardighi assembly constituency in Murshidabad district while over 67.96 per cent voting was registered till 5 pm in the Ramgarh assembly constituency bypoll in Jharkhand. Around 70.58 per cent of the voters cast their ballots till 5pm in the bypoll to Tamil Nadu's Erode East by-election, EC officials said. No untoward incident was reported during the voting at the three places, Election Commission officials said. In West Bengal, the ruling TMC accused the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of trying to influence the electors to vote for the BJP. The opposition BJP, however, charged the TMC with trying to crea

Voting in Meghalaya, Nagaland peaceful, no demands for re-poll: EC

Voting for the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly polls went off peacefully on Monday, the Election Commission (EC) said, adding that there was no demand for a re-poll from the two northeastern states. While both states have 60 Assembly seats, polling was held on 59 seats each, the EC pointed out. Polling for the Sohiong seat in Meghalaya was adjourned due to the death of one of the candidates. Since the Akuluto seat in Nagaland remained uncontested with only one candidate, no election was required there. "Polling across 3,419 polling stations in Meghalaya and 2,291 in Nagaland went off peacefully today.... Advance planning and extensive monitoring by the commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar...ensured smooth conduct of elections in the two states with no re-poll reported in any of the 5,710 polling stations," the EC said. In 2018, 11 re-polls were held in Nagaland and one was held in Meghalaya. Polling was also held in the Erode (East) Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu

Meghalaya assembly polls peaceful; over 75% voters' turnout recorded

More than 75 per cent of the 21.6 lakh electors in Meghalaya cast their votes on Monday till 5 pm and the polling was peaceful, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said. The figure is expected to increase as the polling continued for several hours after the scheduled time of conclusion. The ruling National People's Party (NPP) is contesting to retain power while the BJP, Trinamool Congress and other regional parties are attempting to bring about a change in the government in the northeastern state. The Congress and the BJP are contesting in 59 seats, while the NPP has put up nominees in 56 constituencies, the TMC in 57 and the UDP in 46. Though Meghalaya has a 60-member assembly, polling in Sohiong constituency has been adjourned following the death of one of the candidates. "At 5 pm, over 75 per cent turnout was recorded. In 200 odd polling stations in four districts, voting is likely to go on till 9 pm, Kharkongor said. Polling is being held in a free and fair manner. No unto

Over 67% polling for Jharkhand's Ramgarh assembly by-election till 5 pm

A voter turnout of over 67.96 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Monday in the Ramgarh assembly constituency bypoll in Jharkhand, with the polling process being "peaceful", an Election Commission official said. Polling for the by-election began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and it concluded at 5 pm. However, voters' queue was witnessed in many booths even till 5.30 pm, the official said. Ramgarh deputy commissioner (DC) Madhvi Mishra told PTI that 67.96 per cent of 3.34 lakh electors exercised their franchise in the Ramgarh assembly seat. "Voting passed off peacefully. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the constituency," Mishra said. Though 18 candidates, including 14 Independents, were in the fray, the contest would be mainly between the Congress, an ally of the ruling JMM-led coalition, and the AJSU Party, which has tied up with the BJP for the bypoll. The by-election was necessitated after the disqualification of Congress legislator Mamta Devi, follo

Over 82% turnout recorded in Nagaland, stray incidents of violence reported

Polling percentage was 83.85 in the 2018 Assembly polls, and the 2023 turnout is likely to increase after compilation of the reports of the Returning Officers, the officials said

Security tightened in Tripura ahead of vote counting, says Official

Adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure that the vote counting process on March 2 was peaceful, with Director General of Police (DGP) Amitabh Ranjan keeping a close watch on the preparations, a senior officer said. Top officials, including the chief secretary, DGP and the chief electoral officer (CEO), have visited all districts and held meetings with police chiefs, issuing instructions to them to take stock of the situation in their respective areas, he said. Across the state, patrolling has been intensified, nakas set up, and personnel of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), state police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) deployed to prevent any untoward situation. The CAPF is carrying out flag marches regularly in the state, especially in the border areas, in coordination with the BSF. A special drive to randomly check hotels and cars is underway, the police officer said. All political parties have been requested to maintain peace and harmony during and after the coun

Election officials reach polling booths crossing rivers in Meghalaya

Election officials made their way to the polling booths across Meghalaya, trekking steep mountainous paths, crossing muddy rivers and walking for hours, as the northeastern state gears up for the assembly polls on Monday. Over 19,000 polling officials have been deployed at 3,419 booths set up for the elections to the 59 assembly seats, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told PTI. "All the teams that left for their respective polling booths since Saturday have now arrived," he said. The polling teams had to trek steep mountain paths, cross muddy rivers while travelling through difficult terrains -- in some areas through ropeways, to reach their destinations, Kharkongor said. A team headed to Nongriat polling station of Shella assembly constituency in East Khasi Hills district trekked 6,000 steps to reach its destination located near the scenic root bridge, he said. Election officials had to row a boat to reach the Amlarem constituency's Kamsing polling station, which has only 3

Nagaland Assembly elections: A look at key issues dominating state

Earlier, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) had called for the boycott of the polls until its demands are met by the Centre

Polling officials injured in road accident in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya

One of them is seriously injured while the others sustained minor injuries

Delhi mayor should accept report on standing committee election: BJP

The BJP on Saturday claimed that three candidates each of the saffron party and the AAP were to be "elected" as members of the MCD's standing committee, based on calculations by technical experts a day prior, and that the mayor should accept this result and announce it. Addressing a press conference here, Virendra Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP's working president, alleged that the re-election called by Mayor Shelly Oberoi to elect six members of the standing committee was "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional". "BJP members will go to the House on Monday. Maybe the mayor will agree to our demands. But we may explore legal avenues if our demands not met," he said. The press conference comes a day after a fight broke out in the MCD House as BJP and AAP members kicked, punched and pushed one another amid shouting after Oberoi declared one vote invalid in the election to the key six-member municipal committee on Friday. During the ruckus, which forced adjournment of the Municipal Corporation

Cong to prepare 'Vision Document 2024' with an eye on next Lok Sabha polls

With Congress holding its 85th plenary session in Raipur, the party is mulling over preparing 'Vision Document 2024' to achieve electoral success in the next Lok Sabha polls

242 of 250 councillors vote in MCD panel members' election: Delhi mayor

Polling for the election of six members of the MCD's standing committee closed with 242 of the 250 councillors casting their votes, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said on Friday. Eight members did not cast their votes, she said. A municipal official announced the names of the councillors who did not vote -- Mandeep Singh, Ariba Khan, Nazia Danish, Sameer Ahmad, Shagufta Chaudhary Zubair, Sabila Begum, Naziya Khatoon and Zarif. Counting is currently underway, Oberoi said. The panel is the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) highest decision-making body.

Don't waste vote on other parties, pledge support for NPP: Meghalaya CM

"It is no point in supporting TMC or any other parties. NPP is set to form the Government. Let us not waste our vote and come out to vote and pledge support for NPP," he said

Elections of MCD's standing committee stalled due to ruckus in House

The election to pick the six members of the standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday got stalled due to an uproar in the House, hours after the new mayor was elected. The House proceedings began around 11:30 am and business was conducted smoothly as AAP's Shelly Oberoi emerged victorious in the mayoral poll, defeating BJP's Rekha Gupta by a margin of 34 votes. After the mayoral election, the House was briefly adjourned and then it resumed to elect the deputy mayor, again AAP's Aaley Mohammed Iqbal winning the election, defeating BJP's Kamal Bagri Mayor Oberoi then adjourned the House for an hour. However, as the session didn't resume after one hour, BJP councillor Shikha Rai told the municipal secretary that it was getting late and that the mayor be asked to come back to the House. Meanwhile, many BJP members chanted 'Hanuman Chalisa' for several minutes, awaiting resumption of the House. The session finally resumed around 6:15 pm and the proceedings

Meghalaya speaker richest candidate, assets soared to Rs 146 cr in 5 yrs

The assets of Meghalaya assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, the richest candidate to fight the assembly elections, increased by 68 per cent to Rs 146.31 crore in the last five years, according to a report. Lyngdoh, the chief of the United Democratic Party (UDP) who is re-contesting the February 27 polls from the Mairang seat, had declared assets of Rs 87.26 crore in the 2018 assembly elections, according to the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Meghalaya Election Watch. Sixty-eight people were elected to the 60-member Meghalaya assembly in the last five years. Besides the 60 elected in the 2018 elections, eight people were elected in bypolls. The report said it analysed the assets of 61 of these people who are candidates in this election. The average percentage growth in assets of these 61 re-contesting MLAs is 77 per cent, it said. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma reported an increase in his assets, from Rs 5.33 crore in 2018 to Rs 14.06 crore -- a rise of 164

Delhi Mayoral polls: Voting underway in MCD House amid heavy security

After three abortive attempts to elect mayor for the national capital, the voting process for the MCD mayoral poll on Wednesday began in the House amid heavy security.

Presence of many parties to help NPP win: Meghalaya Dy CM Prestone Tynsong

Star campaigners of various parties who are coming to Meghalaya are not well-versed in the affairs of the state and the presence of several players in the electoral field will help the NPP win the February 27 election, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said. On the charges of corruption in the Conrad Sangma government by the BJP which snapped ties with the National People's Party (NPP) ahead of the assembly polls, Tynsong told PTI in an interview that the party did not complain of anything during the five years. With several opposition parties such as the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) contesting in at least 48 seats in the election to the 60-member assembly, the NPP thinks the situation will help it. Asked whether the division of opposition votes will be of help to the NPP, Tynsong said, It will definitely be an advantage. As election fever grips Meghalaya, big leaders from various parties -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Unio