Page 16 - Election

Special drive in Delhi to add transgenders, sex workers in voters' list

The office of Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer has initiated the process to set up special camps to enrol transgenders, sex workers and vulnerable women in the voters' list, officials said on Saturday. With Lok Sabha polls scheduled next year, the CEO office recently recommended to district electoral officers to organise these special camps for including sex workers, destitute and homeless women in the voters list, they said. Currently, the transgender voters are referred to as "Third Gender" in the electoral roll, which is not in consonance with the Transgender Persons (Protection Right) Act, 2019. So, in tune with the Act, they may be referred to as "Transgender", the communication stated. To promote inclusiveness in the electoral process, the district election officers have also been recommended to start a process for mapping transgender in the city to identify and enrol those left out in the electoral rolls, said a senior officer. It has also been recommended that transgender n

The case for decoupled elections

Both the EU and India follow a similar practice of separating elections and there are good reasons to keep it that way

Arrogance of 'ghamandia' alliance broken: BJP after bypoll victories

The BJP hailed its victory in the bypolls to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly seats in Tripura on Friday and said it is the end of the road for the communists in the northeastern state, which was once known as a Left bastion. The saffron party gave the credit for its victory in the Tripura bypolls to the "strong and widely recognised" leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mantra of "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas", and said the results show the people's "approval" to the developmental work carried out by the party's "double-engine" government in the state. "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Tripura for making the BJP victorious in the Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly bye-elections," Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X. The victory in the bypolls will further strengthen "our determination" to transform Tripura into a prosperous state under the leadership of the prime minister, he added. Shah also congratulated Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, state BJP

U'khand bypoll: BJP maintains lead in Bageshwar, Dhami congratulates people

The counting of votes for the Bageshwar assembly by-election started today at 8 am in the presence of Election Observer Rajesh Kumar at Degree College Bageshwar

Results for bypolls to seven assembly seats will be declared on Friday

The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared on Friday in what is being seen as a major test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the polls in five states later this year and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8 am at centres set up in the respective states. The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to poll on September 5. The by-election saw the INDIA alliance putting up a united front in the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the voting was moderate at around 50.77 per cent, and in Jharkhand's Dumri where a total of 64.84 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise. Out of the seven seats, three (Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri) were held by the BJP and one each by the SP (Ghosi), CPI(M) (Boxanagar), JMM (Dumri) and the

Over 49% electorate till 5 pm in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi assembly bypoll

More than 49 per cent of the electorate in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi assembly constituency cast their votes till 5 pm for the bypoll on Tuesday, the first electoral showdown in the state after the formation of the opposition INDIA bloc. Officials said voting being held at 455 polling stations was supposed to conclude at 6 pm but voters present at the polling centres till 6 pm were allowed to cast their votes. The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 UP Assembly polls, from the Samajwadi Party in July. He returned to the BJP and was selected by the party to contest the bypoll. The SP has fielded Sudhakar Singh for the by-election. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party has alleged misuse of official machinery in the bypoll and has written to the Election Commission on the matter. It was alleged that Muslim voters were being prevented from exercising their franchise in some places. Till 5.00 pm, 49.42 per cent of votes polled, t

Tripura bypolls: 76% voter turnout till 3 pm, 6 injured in stray violence

An average voter turnout of 76 per cent was recorded till 3 pm of polling in the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district on Tuesday, an official said. Voting began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and was scheduled to continue till 4 pm. "I urge the people to maintain peace during the polling and repeat the precedent of peaceful voting like of last assembly elections," Chief Minister Manik Saha said in a Facebook post. BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain from there. The Boxanagar assembly segment has 66 per cent minority voters of a total of 43,087 electors. In the last assembly elections in February, the CPI(M) retained the seat. The Dhanpur assembly constituency, once considered a stronghold of the Left, witnesses a fight between the BJP's Bindu Debnath and Kaushik Debnath of the CP

Best of BS Opinion: Voting simultaneously, performance validation & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

One Nation, One Election: Pros and Cons explained

Opposition leaders question Centre's 'one nation, one election' move

Opposition leaders on Friday slammed the government's move to set up a committee to study feasibility of "one nation, one election", alleging it would pose a threat to the federal structure of the country. CPI leader D Raja said Prime Minister Narendra Modi always talks about India being mother of democracy and then how can the government take a unilateral decision without discussing with other political parties. Priyanka Kakkar of the Aam Aadmi Party said this shows the "panic" in the ruling party after they saw the unity of opposition parties under INDIA bloc. "First they reduced LPG prices by Rs 200 and now the panic is so much that they are thinking of amending the Constitution. They have realised that they are not winning the upcoming elections. "Also, can this move take care of inflation or high prices of petrol and diesel. Our Constitution was framed after a lot of discussion and what they want to do poses a threat to federalism," Kakkar told PTI. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader San

Oppn 'INDIA' bloc holds crucial talks to strategise on 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Amid speculation of early polls and formation of a panel to explore the possibility of 'one nation, one election', top leaders of the Opposition bloc INDIA on Friday initiated crucial discussions to give structure to their cooperation and crystallise their plans about seat sharing and a common agenda to take on the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During the formal talks in the third round of opposition meeting, the opposition leaders are likely to come out with a joint statement and announce the coordination panel besides some sub panels to give proper shape to their poll plans. Leaders, who have gathered here from across the country, will move forward on specific issues like setting up a coordination committee and form sub groups to work on their common agenda, media strategy, joint actions and programmes. During informal talks over dinner on Thursday night, the leaders stressed on the urgency to finalise seat sharing and come out with a joint agenda in a few weeks' time, ...

Delimitation process to be completed by Dec 14: Pakistan's electoral body

The chief election commissioner reassured the ANP representatives that the watchdog would try to further reduce the time required for the delimitation process

Court likely to pass order in Fadnavis's non-disclosure case next week

Final arguments in a case related to Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's alleged non-disclosure of criminal cases against him in an election affidavit ended before a magistrate's court here on Tuesday. The Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Sangram Jadhav is likely to pass the order on September 5, a lawyer said. Satish Uke, a city-based lawyer, had filed an application seeking criminal proceedings against the BJP leader, alleging that cases of cheating and forgery were registered against Fadnavis in 1996 and 1998 but he did not disclose this information in his poll affidavit ahead of the 2014 assembly elections. The final arguments by lawyers on both sides ended on Tuesday. Uke has also filed an application seeking transfer of the case to another court. He is presently in jail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money-laundering case.

Pakistan Prez invites top election official for meet to set date for polls

Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday invited the top election official of the country for a meeting to set a date for the upcoming general elections. Alvi wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, citing the constitutional requirement for the president to decide a date for general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA). The National Assembly was dissolved on August 9 which makes it mandatory for the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold polls within 90 days after the dissolution. However, the ECP is set to delay the election in order to carry out delimitation in the light of the new census, which is also a constitutional requirement. The president wrote a letter to CEC for a meeting to be held "today or tomorrow to fix an appropriate date for general elections, according to the letter posted on platform X through the President's account. Alvi wrote that "by virtue of Article 48(5) of the Constitution of the .

Srettha Thavisin wins vote to become Thailand's 30th prime minister

Srettha can form his cabinet once his appointment is endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a Royal Gazette

Over 30.6 mn voters in Telangana after Special Summary Revision: Official

Telangana's total electorate stands over 3.06 crore as per the draft roll after the second Special Summary Revision (SSR) was released, a senior official said on Monday. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj said the draft roll for the second Special Summary Revision was published in all 119 Assembly Constituencies on August 21. As per the draft roll, the total number of voters in Telangana stood at 3,06,42,333 comprising 1,53,73,066 male voters, 1,52,51,797 female voters and 2,133 voters belonging to the third gender, an official release said. The state has 119 Assembly constituencies and there are 35,356 polling stations. The total number of general electors in the state is 3,06,26,996, the CEO said. There are 2,742 NRI voters and 15,337 service electors in the electoral roll. The number of young electors in the age group of 18-19 stood at 4,76,597, Raj said. The CEO said the period of filing claims and objections is from August 21 up to September 19. As part of clai

EC makes fresh push for eco-friendly campaigns ahead of state polls

Ahead of assembly polls in five states, the Election Commission has expressed concern over the use of non-biodegradable materials for campaigning and urged political parties to avoid plastic and polythene for making posters and banners. The poll panel has come out with consolidated instructions issued by it from 1999 onwards on making election campaign "eco-friendly". In a letter to presidents of all recognised national and state parties on August 18, the poll panel said, "In today's world, the environmental concerns have become more significant. Election Commission is also very concerned with the issue of environment hazards caused by use of non-biodegradable materials in elections." The commission pointed out that since 1999, it has been urging all political parties and candidates to avoid the use of plastic and polythene for preparation of posters, banners during election campaign. "Protecting the environment is not an individual task but a collective responsibility and hence th

BJP announces candidates for September 5 Tripura assembly bypolls

The BJP has announced its candidates for the September 5 bypolls to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly constituencies in Tripura's Sepahijala district, a party leader said here on Wednesday. The party nominated Taffajal Hussain for the Boxanagar assembly seat and Bindu Debnath for the Dhanpur segment, he said. Hussain is a local leader of Boxanagar, while Debnath is the party's mandal president in Dhanpur. Senior leaders are going to Boxanagar and Dhanpur to begin booth-level campaign from today. Our candidates will file nomination papers on Thursday," Tripura BJP's media in-charge Sunit Sarkar said. The bypoll to the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated due to the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque. Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik's resignation as the MLA of Dhanpur necessitated the by-election to that seat. The CPI(M)-led Left Front has fielded Kaushik Chanda and Mijan Husain as its nominees for Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly constituencies respectively. The last date for filing t

Uttarakhand BJP sends 3 names to party central board for Bageshwar bypoll

Uttarakhand BJP has sent three names to the party's central parliamentary board for selection of one candidate for the upcoming assembly bypoll in Bageshwar. The process of filing nominations for the by-election, scheduled for September 5, has already begun and will continue till August 17. Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt said the names of the top three contenders for the seat have been sent by the state unit's election committee to the party's central parliamentary board. The board will announce the BJP candidate soon after due consideration of the list of names forwarded to it, Bhatt said. A by-election is being held on the seat Bageshwar as it fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ramdas in April this year. He had won the seat on a BJP ticket for four consecutive terms. BJP has fixed August 16 for filing its nomination, Bhatt said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Bhatt, apart from a host of party workers, will accompany the

Ecuador arrests 6 in prez candidate Villavicencio assassination case

The six men arrested as suspects in the assassination of an anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate are Colombian nationals, a police report said Thursday as authorities investigated the motive for a crime that shocked a nation already reeling from a surge in drug-related violence. The six men were captured hiding in a house in Quito, Ecuador's capital, said the report, which was reviewed by The Associated Press. Officers also seized four shotguns, a 5.56-mm rifle, ammunition and three grenades, along with a vehicle and a motorcycle, it said. Fernando Villavicencio, 59, who was known for speaking up against drug cartels, was assassinated in Quito on Wednesday, less than two weeks before a special presidential election. He was not a front-runner, but his death deepened the sense of crisis around organised crime that has already claimed thousands of lives and underscored the challenge that Ecuador's next leader will face. Ecuador's interior minister, Juan Zapata, had earlier