Elections

Elections to five municipal corporations and 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab will be held on December 21, the State Election Commission said on Sunday. All necessary arrangements have been made for the civic body polls, it said. Addressing the media here, State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhuri said polling for five municipal corporations and 44 municipal councils and Nagar panchayats will be held from 7 am to 4 pm. "The model code of conduct will come into force from today," he said. The five municipal corporations going to polls are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara. The process of filing nominations will start from December 9 and the last date will be December 12. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on December 13 and the last date for the withdrawal of nominations will be December 14, Chaudhuri said. He said, 37.32 lakh voters, including 17.75 lakh females and 204 others, are eligible to cast their votes in these ...

Congress leaders from Wayanad handed over the election certificate of the parliamentary by-election to party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the presence of Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday. Sources said Priyanka Gandhi is likely to take oath in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Leaders from Wayanad handed over the election certificate of the Wayanad parliamentary by-election to Priyanka Gandhi and conveyed their best wishes. On the occasion, Rahul Gandhi was seen treating Priyanka Gandhi with sweets. Priyanka Gandhi extended her heartfelt gratitude to the people of Wayanad for their overwhelming support and trust. She expressed her deep appreciation of the leaders for their unwavering efforts during the election, they said. During the meeting, Priyanka Gandhi also engaged in meaningful discussions with the leaders about the future course of action, focusing on addressing local concerns and working collectively for the development and welfare of Wayanad, the sources said. Priya

India's legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha show trends of rising educational qualifications, and increased representation of businesspersons, but women's representation remains critically low

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country. "What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale. Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls. When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?". The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows. "Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted. After Paul revealed he ha

Jharkhand Assembly election results is set tp be announced on November 23, with a tight contest between the INDIA bloc and NDA

Jharkhand elections: The second phase of the state Assembly elections concluded on Wednesday, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23

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The ruling National People's Power party led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is poised for a sweeping victory in the Sri Lankan parliamentary election held on Thursday. As of 11 pm local time, with partial results declared, the NPP has secured a substantial 70 per cent of the vote. The main opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and the National Democratic Front (NDF), backed by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, have been reduced to just 11 and 5 per cent of the vote, respectively. In the only polling division result announced so far, the NPP won decisively in the southern province capital of Galle with over 70 per cent of the vote. Analysts note that the NPP has increased its vote share compared to the September presidential election. If this trend continues, the party will surpass the 150-seat mark, achieving an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament. Thursday's election was the first major test for NPP. The snap parliamentary polls were the first after the

Sri Lankans are voting in a parliamentary election Thursday that is key for the country's new Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party's power and follow through on promises of economic recovery. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election on September 21 in a victory that marked a rejection of the traditional political parties, which have governed the island nation since its independence from British rule in 1948. However, Dissanayake's failure to secure more than 50 per cent of the votes has fuelled concerns over his party's outlook in Thursday's election. His National People's Power party must increase its votes significantly from the 42 per cent it won in the presidential election if it is to acquire a minimum of 113 seats to take control of the 225-member Parliament. The biggest challenge for the NPP which was founded in 2019 and is a relative newcomer on Sri Lanka's political scene is that many of its candidates are new faces in politics ...

Average cement prices slumped to a 51-month low around July-end and the first half of August, and only rose marginally in the later part of the quarter

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged Wayanad voters to support his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and said she will be more than just a representative for them and be their sister, daughter and advocate. "I'm reaching out to my family in Wayanad this election, my sister Priyanka Gandhi is ready to be your voice in Parliament," Gandhi said in a post on X. "She will be more than just a representative - ?she will be your sister, your daughter, and your advocate. I am confident she will help unlock Wayanad's full potential," Rahul Gandhi said. "I urge all of you to come out, vote, and support her. Let's ensure a resounding victory together!" the former Congress president said. Voting in the bypolls for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat commenced at 7 am on Wednesday The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and

Sri Lanka is set to hold its parliamentary election on Thursday with all arrangements in place to ensure a fair and transparent process, a top election commission official has said. Voting will take place at over 13,314 polling stations across the country, from 7 am to 4 pm local time on Thursday. Director General of the Elections Commission Saman Sri Ratnayaka on Tuesday said that all ballot boxes and other equipment needed at the polling stations would be dispatched on Wednesday. The polling station officials will carry out rehearsals from 7 am on Wednesday," Ratnayaka said. Over 17 million voters from the island's 21 million population are eligible to vote. 225 members would be elected from voting based on proportional representation. The western province district of Gampaha would elect the highest number of Members of Parliament 19 with the capital district of Colombo from the same province having 18 MPs elected. The eastern province district of Trincomalee will elect the lo

People in Mauritius voted on Sunday for a new Parliament with the ruling party seeking to secure a second five-year term for Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in one of Africa's most stable democracies. Jugnauth's government has faced criticism recently after it banned social media websites following a wiretapping scandal in which recorded conversations involving politicians, businesspeople, activists and journalists leaked and were published online. The ban was lifted after a few days but has raised concern among the opposition and civil society. At least 1 million people were registered to vote in the 12th elections since Mauritius gained independence from Britain in 1968. An alliance of parties led by Jugnauth's center-left Militant Socialist Movement won a majority of seats in Parliament to cement his leadership in 2019. He is being challenged by opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam's Alliance for Change. Mauritius, which sits about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) off Africa's east .

More than 9,000 security personnel will be deployed on the polling day for the by-elections to the seven assembly seats in Rajasthan, officials said. "Strong law and order arrangements have been made for free, fair and transparent elections in all seven assembly constituencies of Ramgarh, Dausa, Jhunjhunu, Salumber, Chaurasi, Khinvsar and Deoli-Uniyara," Rajasthan Chief Election Officer Naveen Mahajan said. Mahajan said strong security measures will be implemented in these areas on the polling day on November 13, for which over 9,000 security personnel, including 43 companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) and 17 companies of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC), will be deployed. A total of 6,275 personnel of state police and 650 jawans of Home Guard are also being deployed, he added. Mahajan said flying squads and static surveillance teams will be deployed in every assembly constituency for intensive checking and monitoring on the polling day. Additional monitoring teams h

The opposition MVA on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation. The manifesto, titled 'Maharashtranama', also assured a caste-based census, establishment of a separate department for the empowerment of self-help groups, formation of a dedicated ministry for child welfare, and six cooking gas cylinders every year at Rs 500 each to women. It also promised to frame a 'Nirbhay Maharashtra' policy and enforcement of the Shakti law for the safety of women and children. The MVA also assured to provide Rs 1 lakh each to girls on attaining the age of 18 years. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge released the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) manifesto for the November 20 state polls at a press conference in Mumbai where NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut were also present. Replying to ...

In the run-up to the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, police have seized Rs 2.3 crore cash from 12 persons at Kalbadevi in south Mumbai, officials said on Friday. Acting on inputs, a team of Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station and poll officials intercepted a group of people on Thursday night. While a search led to the discovery of Rs 2.3 crore, the individuals could neither produce any documents linked to the cash nor explain why they were carrying so much money, an official said. As the model code of conduct for the state elections is in force, surveillance teams formed on the instructions of the Election Commission are checking the movement of potential inducements like cash, liquor, and other items. After paperwork and questioning, which went on till the early hours of Friday, the money was seized and the 12 persons carrying the cash were detained, he said. The cash was later handed over to the Income Tax department for further probe, the official added.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, Johnny Graves had set up a DJ booth outside the polling station at Lincoln A.M.E. Church, pepping up morning voters with the Miley Cyrus track "Party in the U.S.A."

Critics point out that rarely are questions asked and probes ordered on the utilisation of public money under these schemes, or when done, it is mostly to settle political scores around election time

The Prime Minister's visit comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the BJP's manifesto

All but one CM have been members of ST communities. Still two-thirds of tribal-dominated districts have high levels of multidimensional poverty