Tag: voting

  • Shyam Saran Negi, India’s first voter passes away at 106; recently voted via postal ballot

    Shyam Saran Negi, India’s first voter passes away at 106; recently voted via postal ballot

    New Delhi: Independent India’s first voter, the 106-year-old Shyam Saran Negi passed away Saturday morning at his native place in Himachal Pradesh’s Kalpa, days after he cast his last vote in the 14th Assembly elections of the state.

    Negi had cast his first vote in the independent country on October 23, 1951, in the Kalpa polling station, becoming the first voter in the country, and he cast his vote for the 34th time on November 2 this year which became his last, a feat that was acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This is commendable and should serve as an inspiration for the younger voters to take part in the elections and strengthen our democracy,” PM Modi had tweeted.

    The 106-year-old had voted on November 2 through a postal ballot.

    Chief Minister Jairam Thakur consoled Negi’s demise and said that the memory of the first voter of the country casting his last vote “will always be emotional”.

    “Saddened to hear the news of the demise of Shyam Saran Negi ji, the first voter of independent India and who belonged to Kinnaur. While performing his duty, he cast his postal vote for the assembly elections for the 34th time on November 2, this memory will always be emotional,” Thakur tweeted.

    “May God bless his virtuous soul at his feet and give strength to the bereaved family members,” he added.

    Deputy Commissioner of Kinnaur Amandeep Garg said that Negi will be cremated with full state honour.
    Chief Electoral Officer, Maneesh Garg expressed his condolences on the demise of Negi and said that he “motivated generations of voters for exercising their right to franchise for strengthening the democratic set up”.
    In a statement, Garg said, “Such was his commitment that he voted till the last breath of his life as he had cast his vote through postal ballot on 2nd November, at his home in Kalpa.”

    “Negi was a noble human being and I pray to the almighty to give peace to the departed soul and strength to the family members to bear the irreparable loss. He will be cremated with full state honours today,” the statement said.

    Popularly known as Master Shyam, he became the first voter of Indian democracy as the general polls of the country were conducted in January and February 1952. Keeping in mind snow and weather conditions, the polls were conducted in the month of October 1951 in Himachal Pradesh. Negi has participated in every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and all local bodies elections since 1951.

    Born in July 1917 in the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh, Negi had been a state icon since 2014. He had cast his vote 16 times in the Lok Sabha elections.

    INdia's 1st voter

    According to the Chief Electoral Office of Himachal, Negi, a teacher by profession, the centenarian has voted in every election since 1951 and has never missed an opportunity to vote.

    On the day the 106-year-old cast his last vote, he asked the people of the country to exercise their right to franchise to strengthen the democratic set up.

    “The young voters should consider their duty to vote and contribute to strengthening the nation,” he said adding that we should feel proud of our voting right as it helps in choosing the right representative to lead the nation.
    District Election Officer cum Deputy Commissioner, Abid Hussain Sadiq said that a red carpet was laid to bring him to the postal booth set up in the compound of his house, according to an official release.

    “Negi was brought on a red carpet till the booth where he exercised his right to franchise and soon thereafter his vote was sealed in an envelope and dropped in the ballot box,” Sadiq said.

    Sadiq along with the returning officer cum SDM Kalpa, Major (retd) Dr Shashank Gupta and the other officers and officials of the district administration honoured the first voter of Independent India.
    The Chief Electoral Officer also had extended his felicitation to the centenarian voter.

  • Uttarakhand elections: Pushkar Dhami, Harish Rawat trailing

    Uttarakhand elections: Pushkar Dhami, Harish Rawat trailing

    New Delhi: Two political heavyweights in Uttarakhand–Chief Minister Pushkar Singh and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat are trailing from their respective assembly constituencies as the counting of votes is underway.

    Dhami is trailing behind Congress’ Bhuwan Chandra Kapri in the Khatima seat with a margin of 6,579 votes. On the other hand, former chief minister Harish Rawat is trailing behind BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht with a margin of 17,527 votes in Lalkuwa.

    As per the latest poll trends, in Uttarakhand, BJP has won 15 seats and is leading on 32 seats as of 5:20 pm.

    Congress has won 4 seats and is leading with 15 seats. Bahujan Samaj Party and Independent are leading with 2 seats each.

    Polling in Uttarakhand took place on February 14 and the counting of the votes is underway.

     

  • Returning officer of Nandigram said recounting order can lead to his life risk, claims Mamata Banerjee

    Returning officer of Nandigram said recounting order can lead to his life risk, claims Mamata Banerjee

    New Delhi: A day after West Bengal Assembly Election result was announced Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that Returning officer of Nandigram said recounting order can lead to his life risk.

    ” I received an SMS from someone wherein Returning Officer of Nandigram has written to someone if he allows recounting then his life would be under threat. For four hours server was down, Governor also congratulated me. Suddenly everything changed,” said Mamata Banerjee.

    “I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and not indulge in any violence. We know BJP and Central Forces have tortured us a lot but we have to maintain peace. At present, we have fight COVID19,” she said.

    Mamata Vs Suvendu and their Nandigram connection; Will TMC’s ‘soft Hindutva’ yield results

    This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari defeated incumbent West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram constituency by a margin of nearly 2,000 votes.

    Adhikari, who was once a close aide of Banerjee, joined the BJP just a few months ahead of the state assembly elections. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), Adhikari won with a margin of 1,956 votes in Nandigram.

    mamata-Suvendu Adhikari

    Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee claimed that she has information that some manipulations were done after the declaration of results for the Nandigram seat. Earlier on Sunday, there were reports of Mamata Banerjee winning from the Nandigram constituency.

    Making the game of thrones in Bengal more interesting, Mamata chose Nandigram over her home turf Bhabanipur seat this time to test her fate in the 2021 elections. It was the agitation in Nandigram and Singur against the Left government’s land acquisition policies that made Mamata Banerjee the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

  • West Bengal election UPDATES: 52.89% voter turnout till 1:30 pm in phase 4

    West Bengal election UPDATES: 52.89% voter turnout till 1:30 pm in phase 4

    New Delhi: Voting for 44 constituencies in West Bengal’s fourth phase Assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security.

    This phase of the elections will witness an intense battle between 373 candidates in 44 constituencies of the state across five districts – Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar.

    A total of 1,15,81,022 voters will participate in this phase, out of which 2,63,016 are first-time voters. The smallest constituency is Bally with 1,76,001 electorates whereas Chunchura is the biggest constituency with 3,13,701 electorates.

    As many as 15,940 polling stations will be used, including 12,361 main and 3,579 auxiliary stations.

    Against the higher number of constituencies in this phase, security has also been beefed up in all 44 constituencies with a total of 900 companies of security forces deployed to ensure a peaceful election.

    UPDATES:

    ITBP troops conducted night patrols before fourth phase polling in Chandannagar Assembly constituency in Hooghly district.

    Out of these, 140 companies of central forces are deployed in the nine Assembly seats in Howrah, 175 for Hooghly’s 19 seats, 185 for South 24 Parganas’ 11 seats, 105 coys in Alipurduar and 188 in the nine seats of Cooch Behar.

    Among the most high-profile contests, one is the Tollygunge constituency, where BJP has fielded Union Minister Babul Supriyo against sitting TMC MLA Aroop Biswas.

    Biswas, also a minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal cabinet has been representing the Tollygunge Assembly constituency for the last three terms. Worth mentioning, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan campaigned for TMC candidate Aroop Biswas. Meanwhile, CPI(M) has fielded Debdut Ghosh from the seat.

    In Howrah’s Domjur, BJP leader Rajib Banerjee is taking on TMC candidate Kalyan Ghosh and CPI(M) candidate Uttam Bera. Rajib, a former minister in the TMC government joined the BJP ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    In the Dinhata constituency, BJP has fielded party MP Nisith Pramanik against TMC MLA Udayan Guha and Forward Bloc’s Abdul Rauf. In the Alipurduar constituency, there is a contest among TMC’s Sourav Chakraborty, BJP’s Suman Kanjilal and Congress’ Debprosad Roy.

    In the Chunchura Assembly constituency, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee is standing against TMC’s Asit Mazumdar and Forward Bloc’s Pranab Ghosh.

    BJP and TMC engaged in extremely heated debates before and during the elections, with both sides accusing each other of the violence that has marred the previous three phases. On the other hand, the Sanjukta Morcha – a coalition of Left, Congress and Indian Secular Front (ISF) has been relatively quiet.

    The fifth phase of the assembly elections will commence on April 17. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.

  • Assam elections: State records 37.06% turnout till 1 pm in first phase voting

    Assam elections: State records 37.06% turnout till 1 pm in first phase voting

    New Delhi: Polling for the first phase of the Assam assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday for 47 constituencies across 12 districts of the state.

    Over 81.09 lakh voters, including 40,77,210 males and 40,32,481 females, are eligible to cast their votes at 1,1537 polling stations in this phase. The polling will continue till 6 pm. A total of 264 candidates are in the fray for 47 seats — 42 seats from 11 districts of Upper Assam and northern Assam region and five seats from central Assam’s Nagaon district.

    Out of these, 37 sitting MLAs are re-contesting including 24 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six each from Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and one from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

    The Election Commission (EC) has made adequate arrangements and taken precautionary measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    A total of 375 companies of security personnel including both central and state armed police forces like the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF) and State Armed Police (SAP) of other states have been deployed for the polls. 300 units will be active during the first phase.

    LIVE UPDATES:

    Key candidates for this phase of polling include incumbent Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Majuli. Sonowal had wrested the seat from Congress’ Rajib Lochan Pegu in the 2016 assembly elections. Pegu, who had won the seat for three straight terms since 2001, has again been fielded by Congress.

    Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami is in the poll battle from Jorhat, ministers Ranjit Dutta from Behali, Naba Kumar Doley from Jonai and Sanjoy Kishan from Tinsukia.

    The fate of ministers from NDA ally AGP — Atul Bora from Bokakhat and Keshab Mahanta from Kaliabor — will also be sealed.

    Congress’ Ripun Bora is trying his luck from the Gohpur seat, where his wife Monika Bora lost in the 2016 polls. The 60-year-old leader will face sitting BJP MLA Utpal Bora.

    The BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance, central public welfare schemes, and the image of Sonowal to retain power.

    The Congress is heading into the political battleground against the ruling party, bringing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to the fore.

    In 2016, the BJP and its ally AGP had swept the elections in the region by winning 35 of these seats. The BJP alone had bagged 27 seats. Congress could manage to win only 9 seats despite securing nearly the same vote percentage.

    Till 2014 Lok Sabha, Upper Assam area was dominated by the Congress but the matric changed after popular leader Himanta Biswa Sarma shifted his base to BJP from Congress.

    Over the last few days, the seats going to polls in this phase witnessed election rallies by Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Nadda. From the Congress’ side, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among top leaders who tried to woo voters.

    For the three-phase assembly elections, there are 126 constituencies across 33,530 polling stations covering more than 2.33 crore electors in the state.

    Polling for the next two phases will be held on April 1 and April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (ANI)

  • West Bengal elections: 40.73% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm amid incidents of violence

    West Bengal elections: 40.73% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm amid incidents of violence

    New Delhi: Polling for the first of the eight-phase assembly polls in West Bengal began at 7 am on Saturday with voters deciding the fate of 191 candidates in 30 constituencies.

    All constituencies in Purulia, Jhargram and segments of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur are going to decide the electoral fate of 191 candidates, including 21 women candidates in the fray. The polling will end at 6.30 pm.

    In the first phase, a total of 73,80,942 electorates will cast their votes including 7,52,938 male voters, 36,27,949 female voters, 55 of the third gender and 11,767 service electors. The Election Commission (EC) has made adequate arrangements and taken precautionary measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    As many as 730 coys of central forces, including 92 for Bankura, 169 for Purba Medinipur, 139 for Paschim Medinipur, 186 for Purulia and 144 for Jhargram have been deployed for this phase.

    Further, there are 10,288 Control Units, 10,288 Ballot Units and 10,288 voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs). The EC has also made arrangements for 2,560 reserved Control Units, 2,787 reserved Ballot Units and 3,492 reserved VVPATs.

    LIVE UPDATES:

  • DDC elections: 42.79% votes polled till 1 pm across J-K

    DDC elections: 42.79% votes polled till 1 pm across J-K

    New Delhi: The sixth phase of District Development Council (DDC) elections recorded voter percentage of 42.79 per cent across 31 constituencies spread over different districts of Jammu and Kashmir till 1 pm on Sunday.

    As per the figures given by the office of State Election Commissioner, in Kashmir Division, Pulwama has recorded a voting percentage of 6.80 per cent, Baramulla 26.68 per cent, Kulgam 32.71 per cent, Shopian 3.66 per cent, Anantnag 20.95 per cent, Bandipora 40.57 per cent, Ganderbal 45.89 per cent, Kupwara 41.21 per cent and Budgam 27.44 per cent till 1 pm.

    Similarly, in Jammu division, Udhampur has recorded a voting percentage of 54.69 per cent, Jammu 55.62 per cent, Kathua 50.09 per cent, Ramban 61.91 per cent, Doda 53.39 per cent, Samba 60.61 per cent, Poonch 60.73 per cent, Rajouri 63.07 per cent and Reasi 61.21 per cent till 1 pm.

    Moreover, it was informed that the Kashmir Division recorded an overall polling percentage of 26.28 per cent while Jammu Division recorded 56.90 per cent upto 01:00 pm.

    In the sixth phase of DDC elections, voting is being held in 31 DDC constituencies, 14 from Kashmir division and 17 from Jammu division.

    Moreover for smooth conduct of elections, 2071 polling stations, 1208 in Kashmir division and 863 in Jammu division have been set up in this phase, where 748301 electors (390432 male and 357869 female voters) will exercise their right to franchise.

  • Karnataka: Yediyurappa, states ministers celebrate as trends show the party leading on both the seats

    Karnataka: Yediyurappa, states ministers celebrate as trends show the party leading on both the seats

  • Bihar polls: PM Modi urges voters to participate in ‘holy festival’ of democracy, set new voting record

    Bihar polls: PM Modi urges voters to participate in ‘holy festival’ of democracy, set new voting record

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to the people of Bihar to participate in the “holy festival of democracy” in greater numbers and set a new voting record.

    “Today is the third and last phase of voting in Bihar assembly elections. I request all voters to participate in this holy festival of democracy in greater numbers and set a new voting record. And of course, be sure to wear masks and social distancing as well,” Modi tweeted.

    Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the youth to come out and vote to encourage development and good governance in Bihar.

    “I appeal to all the voters of the third and last phase in Bihar to vote in maximum numbers. Especially I appeal to the youth to vote vigorously to encourage development and good governance in Bihar and motivate others to do the same,” Shah tweeted.

    Polling began on 78 assembly constituencies across 16 districts in the third and final phase of Bihar elections at 7 am on Saturday.

    About 2.35 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise and the Election Commission has made adequate arrangements and taken precautionary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The electoral fate of 1,204 candidates will be decided in the elections.

    Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded the maximum number of 46 candidates, followed by the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) at 42, Janata Dal (United) at 37, Bharatiya Janata Party at 35, and Congress at 25.

    Apart from NDA, Mahagathbandhan and a third front comprising Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), BSP, AIMIM, and some other parties are contesting the election. There are also new entrants and smaller parties in the fray.

    Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar polls

    The prominent candidates include Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) president Mukesh Sahni, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, and former Union Minister Sharad Yadav’s daughter Subhashini.

    Eight ministers from JD-U are in the fray, namely Bijendra Prasad Yadav from Supaul, Madan Sahni from Bahadurpur, Maheshwar Hazari from Kalyanpur, Narendra Narayan Yadav from Alamnagar, Ramesh Rishideo from Singheshwar, Khurshid alias Firoz Ahmed from Sikta, Bima Bharti from Rupauli and Lakshmeshwar Roy from Laukaha.

    Four ministers from the BJP — Pramod Kumar from Motihari, Suresh Sharma from Muzaffarpur, Binod Narayan Jha from Benipatti, and Krishnakumar Rishi from Banmankhi — are also to contest.

    modi-bihar

    The Election Commission has already mandated face masks, hand sanitisers, thermal scanners, gloves, face shields, and PPE kits during the electoral process while ensuring social distancing norms.

    It also laid down guidelines for each polling station, including sanitisation a day before the poll, markers for social distancing, putting up of COVID-19 awareness posters, and availability of hand gloves.

    Polling was held for 71 and 94 constituencies in the first and second phases on October 28 and November 3 respectively.

    The counting of votes will take place on November 10.

    Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 55.69 per cent in the first phase and 53.51 per cent in the second phase of polls for 243 member assembly.

  • Centre extends postal ballot facility to voters above 65, COVID-19 patients under quarantine

    Centre extends postal ballot facility to voters above 65, COVID-19 patients under quarantine

    New Delhi: The government has extended the postal ballot facility to electors above 65 years of age and COVID-19 positive patients who are under home or institutional quarantine.

    Centre extends postal ballot facility to voters above 65, COVID-19 patients under quarantine

    The changes have come about months before assembly elections in Bihar, which are likely to take place later this year.

    According to a notification by the Law and Justice Ministry, the Centre after consulting the Election Commission of India (ECI) made rules to further amend the Conduction of Election Rules, 1961.

    An electoral staff marks ink to a voter after the casting of her vote

    The notification said that in the rule 27A, clause (aa) of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, after the words “or persons with disability” occurring at the end, the words, letter and figures “or the COVID-19 suspect or affected persons” shall be inserted.

    Electoral staff with EVMs & VVPATs

    In clause (e), for the figures and word “80 years”, the figures and word “65 years” shall be substituted.

    After clause (e), according to the notification, a clause (f) shall be inserted which will read “COVID 19 suspect or affected persons” means the electors who are (i) tested as COVID 19 positive by the government hospital or the hospital recognised by the government as COVID hospital, or (ii) under home quarantine or institutional quarantine due to COVID 19, and certified by such competent authority, as may be notified by the state government or union territory administration.” (ANI)