Page 17 - Assembly Elections

Uttarakhand Assembly polls: 537,000 new voters created in last 5 years

Uttarakhand Chief Electoral Officer Sowjanya on Friday said that in the last five years, 5.37 lakh new voters have been created.

Top headlines: Doctors, nurses prep for 3rd wave; EC set to give poll dates

Centre seeks relaxation in promoter shareholding cap for IDBI Bank sale. More in today's top headlines

Assembly elections to be announced any time, but no decision on e-voting

The ECI has time till January 12, the next hearing of the case, to respond

Uttarakhand HC asks EC if virtual rallies/online voting viable options

The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the Election Commission of India whether it is possible to hold election rallies virtually and online voting in the upcoming state assembly polls. A division bench of the High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Misra and Justice N S Dhanik posed the question to the EC while hearing a PIL on Wednesday seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttarakhand in view of the rising cases of COVID-19 and its latest variant Omicron. Besides asking the EC to explore whether it is possible to hold poll rallies virtually, the High Court also asked it whether it would also be possible to provide for online method of voting. It was claimed in the PIL that election rallies are being held in Uttarakhand even though an application is pending before the court relating to finding an alternative to these rallies or to ban them, if need be. While the PIL has been filed seeking postponement of the elections, the High Court has asked the

Union health secretary to brief EC on Covid situation in poll-bound states

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan will on Thursday brief the Election Commission on the latest Covid situation in the five poll-bound states, sources said. This will be the second time when Bhushan will brief the EC top brass on the emerging COVID-19 situation in the country and in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur in particular. Earlier, he had briefed the poll panel on December 27. During the interaction, the EC had asked the government to ramp up the vaccination programme in the poll-bound states. The EC could announce the dates for elections in these five states in the next few days.

Govt approves 19th tranche of electoral bonds; sale opens on Jan 1

Ahead of assembly elections in five states, the government on Thursday approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. However, Opposition parties have been raising concerns about alleged opaqueness in funding through such bonds. "State Bank of India (SBI), in the XIX Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches with effect from January 1 to January 10, 2022," the finance ministry said in a statement. The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities, such as Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. Assembly elections for 5 states-- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa-- ar

EC unlikely to postpone five state assembly polls amid Omicron: Report

The commission has asked the government to vaccinate all those on election duty ahead of the polls

Farm politics dominated 2021 and its outcome will be seen in state polls

Early 2023 will see another round of crucial state elections -- in Gujarat, for instance

Kharge slams Centre, says Election Laws Bill passed without discussion

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre and said that the Election Laws 2021 amendment bill was passed without any "discussion or debate"

Election Laws (Amendment) Bill brought keeping UP polls in mind: Chowdhury

Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha is related to the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Samajwadi Party to field maximum Brahmin candidates in UP Assembly polls

The Samajwadi Party (SP) will field a maximum number of Brahmin candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Amit Shah to hold 'Nishad Samaj Jan Sabha' in Uttar Pradesh today

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to hold 'Nishad Samaj Jan Sabha' in Uttar Pradesh on Friday in order to set social equations in their favour ahead of Assembly elections.

New Gujarat govt remains election-focused as it nears 100 days in office

The government has also been aggressive in securing the rural and agrarian vote

Goa Assembly polls: BJP 'targeting' 500 minority votes at each booth

For the forthcoming assembly polls in Goa, BJP has set up a target to get 500 minority community votes in each booth.

UP BJP gets into yatra mode ahead of Assembly polls, rolls out six yatras

The 6 yatras will pass through all 403 Assembly constituencies in the state that goes to the polls early next year

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to visit Punjab again on Saturday

The AAP supremo will express support to protesting teachers in Mohali who have been pressing several demands including regularization of the services of contractractual teachers

Election Commission holds meeting with CEOs of states, UTs on poll issues

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday held a conference with chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and union territories here, and reviewed a host of issues related to the poll process

Repeal of farm laws will help in forthcoming assembly polls, feels BJP

The BJP believes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to repeal three farm laws will help the party in the forthcoming Assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections: Akhilesh Yadav focuses on small outfits

The SP's quest to rope in other "like-minded" smaller outfits continues with the polls still three months away

With MNREGS funds over in 21 states, govt should replenish them immediately

The financial statement for the scheme shows a negative balance of about Rs 8,800 crore, and nearly Rs 10,000 crore in pending wages