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Rajasthan bypolls: Khinvsar records highest voting at 76%

All voters, including different sections of society, voted in large numbers at a total of 1,915 polling stations…reports Asian Lite News

As the voting for the bypolls concluded on Wednesday across Rajasthan in seven Assembly seats, Khinvsar recorded the highest voting percentage at 75.62 while Dausa witnessed the lowest voting at 62.1 per cent, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.

The Jat-dominated Khinsvar seat witnessed a triangular contest with the BJP’s Revant Ram Danga up against the Congress’ Ratan Chaudhary and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party’s (RLP) Kanika Chaudhary, the wife of party Chief Hanuman Beniwal.

Peaceful and fair voting was recorded in the bypolls across Rajasthan in seven Assembly constituencies — Ramgarh, Dausa, Chorasi, Jhunjhunu, Khinvsar, Deoli-Uniara, and Salumber.

All voters, including different sections of society, voted in large numbers at a total of 1,915 polling stations.

CEO Naveen Mahajan said that the expected voting percentage at the time of closing of polls in the seven Assembly constituencies was 69.29 per cent.

The final (end of poll) data of voting percentage will be available only after scrutiny of documents on Thursday.

He added that even after 6 p.m., there were queues of voters at some polling stations.

Voters started arriving at polling stations in urban and rural areas to exercise their franchise from 7 a.m.

The counting of votes will be held on November 23 from 8 a.m.

However, the voter turnout in 2023 Assembly polls in these seven seats was 74.62 per cent, the CEO said.

Based on the reports received so far from all the returning officers, the constituency-wise voting percentage of the Assembly in Khinvsar was 75.62 per cent, 75.27 per cent in Ramgarh, 74.1 per cent in Chorasi, 67.01 per cent in Salumber, 65.8 per cent in Jhunjhunu, 65.1 per cent in Deoli-Uniara and 62.1 per cent in Dausa.

The CEO said the concept of a live webcast and eco-friendly ‘green and clean’ polling booth was realised for the first time even from outside the polling station.

Eco-friendly selfie booths were also installed at the polling stations.

CEO Mahajan said that out of 1,915 polling booths in seven Assembly constituencies, live webcasting of the voting process was done at 1,170.

In many polling premises, CCTV cameras were installed outside the polling booth and the queue of voters, and the law and order situation was monitored through live streaming.

The CEO added that after the voting, all 1,915 polling parties have reached the storage centres safely along with EVM machines.

After transporting and storing EVM machines, the Election Commission’s guidelines and standard operating procedures are being followed for their security.

He said that one ballot unit, one control unit, and 13 VVPATs were replaced due to technical errors during voting in all seven Assembly constituencies.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer, keeping in mind the convenience of voters at all polling stations, arrangements were made, including ramps, drinking water, shade, wheelchairs, and vehicles for differently-abled voters.

Special polling booths were set up during the bye-elections to encourage the participation of youth, women, and differently-abled people, which were operated by them.

Along with this, young voters also took selfies and uploaded them on social media.

CEO Mahajan said that home voting facility was provided for senior citizens aged 85 years and above and voters with more than 40 per cent disability.

More than 99 per cent of voting took place through home voting in the seven Assembly constituencies across the state.

A total of 3,193 voters applied for home voting, of which 37 died by the time of voting.

During the period from November 4-10, a total of 3,127 voters exercised their franchise from home. Only 29 voters could not vote due to absence.

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Nearly 65% turnout in Jharkhand phase 1 polls 

Voting which commenced at 7 am today, was held peacefully without any incidents of violence and surpassed 63.9 per cent voting in these 43 ACs in the 2019 Assembly Elections…reports Asian Lite News

The first phase of Jharkhand’s assembly elections, which kickstarted on Wednesday, recorded 64.86 per cent voter turnout at 5 pm across the 43 assembly constituencies, surpassing 63.9 per cent voting in the 2019 assembly elections, said the Election Commission of India (ECI). 

Voting which commenced at 7 am today, was held peacefully without any incidents of violence and surpassed 63.9 per cent voting in these 43 ACs in the 2019 Assembly Elections. 

The Election Commission said that the polling for 43 ACs in phase I of the Jharkhand Assembly elections concluded peacefully today with an impressive turnout of voters. 

Polling was marked by a festive mood and enthusiastic participation across all districts, with large tribal populations, including areas affected by Left Wing Extremism. 

Voters from diverse groups including first-time voters, the elderly, women, PwD, and tribals among others were seen exercising their franchise at polling stations across the 15 districts that went to polls today, undeterred by threats and boycott calls. 

In the Budha Pahad area in the Garhwa district, once considered a stronghold of extremists, long queues, and peaceful polling at the Hesatu Polling station signaled the deep penetration of democratic ethos. 

For the first time, this polling station was set up in the Budha Pahad area for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, allowing residents to vote in their own village, they stated. 

Simultaneously, bye-polls were also held today in 31 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in 10 states and in the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala. 2 ACs in Sikkim were uncontested, the poll body stated. 

CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu constantly monitored the situation across over 15,000 polling stations. 

Meticulous planning and constant vigil by the Commission have ensured that the Jharkhand elections this time have been smooth and streamlined, with no repolls recorded so far. Webcasting was in place in 100 per cent polling stations to ensure transparency of the voting process. 

In the Manoharpur and Jaganathpur Assembly constituency of West Singhbhum district, voters chose to cast their vote in spite of boycott posters and threat calls by extremists. 

At polling stations in Sonapi in Jaganathpur AC and Rabangada in Manoharpur AC, security forces thwarted attempts to prevent voters from voting through boycott posters and blockades on the way. 

The Election Commission said that Tribal voters participated enthusiastically and cast their votes at the polling stations. 

For the first time, voters of Lakhaidih village in Potka AC (East Singhbhum district) having a 100 per cent tribal population voted at a polling station set up in their own village. Earlier, they had to travel to a nearby village to cast their vote which is nearly 25 km from the main road and 4 km away through dense forest and hilly route. 

Ahead of the elections, 100 per cent enrollment of the 1.78 lakh members from 8 PVTGs in the state was ensured in the electoral roll. 

Polling Stations were adorned with local themes and elements reflecting the culture of Jharkhand and offered a welcoming atmosphere to the voters. Basic facilities including first aid, drinking water, toilets, shed, ramps, wheelchairs and volunteers were ensured at all polling stations. 

Vigilance and seizures have been fortified by the coordinated efforts of Enforcement agencies resulting in seizures worth over Rs 183 crores in Jharkhand since the announcement of elections including over Rs 145 crores worth of freebies and Rs. 13 crores in drugs. Polling officials were airlifted for 225 booths in five districts which were inaccessible due to dense forests, tough terrains and LWE, the poll body said. 

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said that the first phase of polling across 43 assembly constituencies has concluded peacefully. 

“All complaints were addressed in time… As of 5 pm, the voter turnout was 64.86 per cent. Close of poll data is being collected across constituencies and will be released around midnight,” Kumar said. (ANI) 

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Jharkhand goes to polls

There are 11 Assembly constituencies where voting will be held till 5 P.M. in all polling stations…reports Asian Lite News

Voting for the first phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections began at 7 A.M. on 43 seats on Wednesday.

Out of 15,344 polling stations in the first phase, voting will be held till 4 P.M. in 950 constituencies in the state.

There are 11 Assembly constituencies where voting will be held till 5 P.M. in all polling stations.

These constituencies include Koderma, Barkatha, Barhi, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West, Majhgaon, Ranchi, Hatia, Panki and Bhawanathpur.

Prominent leaders contesting this phase include former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Champai Soren, ex- Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s wife Geeta Koda and Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji.

In the first phase of voting for 43 Assembly seats in Jharkhand there is a fierce contest between the NDA and INDIA Bloc.

In the 2019 elections, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance secured 25 of these seats, while the BJP managed only 13.

The remaining seats were split among Independents (2), NCP (1), and JVM (1). This time, the NDA is looking to improve its tally, while the INDIA Bloc aims to consolidate its previous gains and expand its footprint further.

The prestige of six ministers and several prominent leaders is at stake in this phase.

Among them is Champai Soren, who, after joining the BJP just a month after being ousted from the Chief Minister’s chair, is contesting from his traditional stronghold in Saraikela.

Soren has won this seat six times since 1991, only facing defeat in 2000. This time, he is locked in a direct battle with Ganesh Mahali of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), who was previously the BJP candidate here. The twist is that both have switched sides.

On the Lohardaga seat, Rameshwar Oraon, a Congress Minister in the Hemant Soren government, is up against Neeru Shanti Bhagat of the AJSU Party.

In 2019, a split in votes between BJP and AJSU candidates benefited Oraon. However, with BJP-AJSU united this time, Oraon faces a tougher challenge.

Garhwa constituency sees a triangular contest, with Minister Mithilesh Thakur defending his seat against BJP’s Satyendra Nath Tiwari and Samajwadi Party’s former Minister Girinath Singh, both of whom have previously been MLAs from this constituency.

On the Jamshedpur West seat, Congress Minister Banna Gupta is in a direct contest with former Minister Saryu Rai of the JD-U. Both have won this seat twice. Rai, who famously defeated then Chief Minister Raghubar Das in the 2019 elections from Jamshedpur East, has now returned to his former stronghold.

In Chaibasa, JMM Minister Deepak Birua faces BJP’s Geeta Balmuchu, a first-time candidate who has gained significant local traction due to her active social and political engagement.

JMM MLA and Minister Ramdas Soren on the Ghatsila seat is up against Babulal Soren, son of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, running as a BJP candidate. This is Babulal’s electoral debut, with his father’s reputation backing him.

The Latehar seat is witnessing a high-stakes rivalry between JMM’s Baidyanath Ram and BJP’s Prakash Ram. Voters here have traditionally changed their MLA every election cycle. The question remains whether Baidyanath can break this pattern and secure consecutive wins.

In Ranchi, a high-profile constituency, former Speaker and BJP minister C.P. Singh faces JMM’s Dr Mahua Maji, a Rajya Sabha MP.

In Potka, BJP’s Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, is challenging sitting JMM MLA Sanjeev Sardar.

The Jaganathpur seat sees a battle between Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, and Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku.

In Jamshedpur East, Congress spokesperson and former IPS officer Ajay Kumar is fighting against BJP’s Purnima Das Sahu, the daughter-in-law of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das. BJP rebel candidate Shivshankar Singh is also in the fray, adding a third angle to this contest.

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Deora, Nirupam in Sena’s second list of 20 candidates

The list features Milind Deora, who will contest against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray in Worli. Sanjay Nirupam has been fielded from the Dindoshi constituency….reports Asian lite News

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Sunday released its new list of 20 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The list features Milind Deora, who will contest against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray in Worli. Sanjay Nirupam has been fielded from the Dindoshi constituency.

Nilesh Rane, son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane to contest elections from the Kudal seat.

Milind Deora is currently a Rajya Sabha member and is a three-time MP from South Mumbai. Deora was given the task during the Lok Sabha polls to handle Worli.

Earlier today, BJP leader and former Union Minister Raosaheb Patil Danve’s daughter Sanjana Jadhav joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Along with Sanjana Jadhav, former BJP MP Rajendra Gavit and former BJP Corporator Murji Patel also joined the party.

Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress — have intensified their preparations for the upcoming elections to 288 Assembly seats in the State. The BJP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance alongside the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.

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Sena (UBT) slams Milind

Launching a scathing attack against Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora (Shinde faction), Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey on Monday said that there is nothing he can show and that he got defeated in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“…Aaditya Thackeray has a history of 5 years to show (the works which he has done in the past 5 years for Worli.). What history of work do you have to show? Milind ji (Milind Deora), you lost the 2014 Lok Sabha, lost the 2019 Lok Sabha, and disappeared completely from politics to do rehabilitation. Then you took the Rajya Sabha path from the back door,” said the Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson.

“Now when Eknath Shinde’s so-called Shiv Sena could not find any candidate, on whose head should the blame of defeat be put, then after a lot of thinking and brainstorming you were brought forward… Why should Sandeep Deshpande get himself disgraced alone, two are better than 1. Now Aaditya Thackeray will defeat both Sandeep Deshpande and Milind Deora and then become a minister….” said Anand Dubey hailing Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar will file his nomination from the Baramati assembly seat today. His nephew and grandson of Sharad Pawar, Yugendra Pawar, is contesting from the same constituency as the NCP-SP candidate. (ANI)

NCP releases list of 49 candidates

The Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday, released its list of 49 candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The party’s chief national spokesperson Brijmohan Srivastav shared the information in a press note on Sunday. He stated that the final selection of candidates was conducted in parliamentary board meetings.

The Ajit Pawar-led party informed that the decision over the 49 names was taken across different parliamentary board meetings.

38 candidates were announced in the first phase, followed by seven in the second, and four in the third phase. To date, a total of 49 candidates have been finalised, the release stated.

“The candidate selection process was overseen by the NCP Parliamentary board, chaired by National President Ajit Pawar. He was joined by National Working President Praful Patel and State President and MP Sunil Tatkare with other board members,” it added.

Among some prominent names, Sana Malik, daughter of NCP leader Nawab Malik has been fielded from the Anushakti Nagar constituency.

Zeeshan Siddiqui, son of deceased leader Baba Siddiqui, has been fielded from Bandra East.

NCP’s third list included Vijaysingh Pandit from the Gevrai constituency, Sachin Sudhakar Patil from the Phaltan, Dilipkaka Bankar from Niphad and Kashinath Daante from the Parner constituency.

On October 25, NCP announced its second list for the elections.

The NCP’s second list included former BJP leaders Nishikant Patil for Islampur and Sanjaykaka Ramchandra Patil from Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal, who joined the party in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)

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EC announces polls for Maharashtra, Jharkhand  

The CEC said Gazette notification for the two phases in Jharkhand will be issued on October 18 and 22 respectively…reports Asian Lite News

Jharkhand is set to vote in two phases in assembly polls to be held on November 13 and 20 while Maharashtra will go in for a single-phase election on November 20, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. Votes will be counted in the two states on November 23.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the date of polling in the two states in a press conference here. A total of 2.60 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in Jharkhand and there are 1.31 crore male and 1.29 crore female voters. The state has 11.84 lakh are first-time voters and there are 66.84 lakh young voters.

The CEC said Gazette notification for the two phases in Jharkhand will be issued on October 18 and 22 respectively. The last date of making nominations for the two phases is October 25 and 29, the date for scrutiny of nominations is October 28 and 30 and last date for withdrawal of candidatures is October 30 and November 1 respectively.

Jharakhand Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said they welcome the dates announced by the ECI for the election in Jharkhand. “We are fully prepared for the elections…People of Jharkhand have made up their minds and they will once again choose the alliance government here,” he said.

The term of the Jharkhand assembly will end on January 5, 2025, with elections scheduled in 81 constituencies (44 General, 9 SC, 28 ST) in the state.

The CEC said that in Maharashtra, the date of issue of Gazette notification is October 22, last date of filing nominations is October 29, the date for scrutiny of nominations will be October 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is November 4.

The key contenders in the Maharashtra elections are the ruling Mahayuti Alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress.

In the recent parliamentary elections to 48 seats in the state, the opposition MVA fared well. The BJP’s share fell to 9 seats, down from 23 seats five years ago. MVA secured 30 seats. In the 2019 assembly election, the BJP won 105 seats and the Congress 44.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said there will be change in Maharashtra and the ruling alliance will be voted out. “We appeal EC to not to let Maharashtra election to become like Haryana election…money game might take place…if Election Commission considers themselves unbiased, we don’t though, they will have to take care of all these things…EVM is not full proof…no matter what governement will change. This unconstitutional government that was formed with the support of PM Modi, Amit Shah and the Supreme Court, will change,” he said.

NCP working president Praful Patel said the people will vote for development and good work. “Maharashtra elections are due and it is imperative to have the assembly formation before November 26. I am very happy that the Election Commission has announced the poll dates today.”

“I am very sure that in Maharashtra, the people will go for development, good work and of course the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which has led to the NDA victory for the third time as well as the fact that we have recently seen the polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. People have voted for good work and development and the schemes which the government of India and the respective state governments have given to the people. So I feel that in Maharashtra we will come back to power again,” he said.

Maharashtra has 288 assembly seats. The Chief Election Commissioner also announced the dates for bypolls to 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats.

Bypolls to 48 Assembly seats

Election Commission on Tuesday announced bypolls to 48 assembly constituencies including nine seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.

The announcement was made by the Chief Commissioner Rajiv Kumar at a press conference in which he also announced dates of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

There are 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh but bypolls were announced for nine seats. Kumar said election was not announced for Milkipur seat in Ayodhya as election petition is pending.

While polling will be held on 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Nov 13, it will be held on one assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and Nanded constituency in Maharashtra on November 20. Assembly polls in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23.

The bypolls are spread over 15 states – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The largest number of bypolls will be held in Uttar Pradesh and seats going to the polls are Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Phulpur, Katehari, Majhawan, and Sishamau.

The bypolls in Uttar Pradesh are crucial for BJP as it suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls. BJP could win only 33 seats compared to 62 it won in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP would be keen to regain its winning momentum in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav, won 37 seats in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year.  (ANI)

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Congress cracks the whip before Maha polls

Congress national leadership had summoned senior Maharashtra leaders for urgent confabulations to the national capital on Monday, a report by Quaid Najmi

After the embarrassment faced in the recent Haryana Assembly elections, the Congress top leadership has cautioned Maharashtra leaders against any kind of complacency or cockiness in the upcoming state Assembly elections, party sources said on Monday.

Congress President and Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha), besides AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal had summoned senior Maharashtra leaders for urgent confabulations to the national capital on Monday.

They included state party chief Nana F. Patole, Mumbai unit chief and MP Varsha Gaikwad, Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress Legislature Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat and ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan, and all returned to Mumbai this afternoon for the Congress Parliamentary Board meeting scheduled later on Monday.

Party sources here said that among the topics discussed were the Congress Manifesto and the combined pronouncement of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)-India block comprising Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) and other smaller allies.

Besides, the status of the seat-sharing formula among the big and small allies for the elections, the challenges posed by the ruling MahaYuti alliance, the pros and cons bedevilling both sides, etc, are also said to have figured in the tough deliberations held at Kharge’s home.

The discussions assume significance with the Election Commission of India (ECI) slated to sound the bugle for the polls to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly shortly.

Both Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have apparently conveyed in a no-nonsense manner to the state leaders on the need to remain united, cooperate with allies to vanquish the MahaYuti, shun airs of overconfidence and ensure victory, without citing Haryana where the Congress missed the opportunity to unseat BJP by a few close whiskers.

On its part, the state delegation apprised the Central leadership on the prevalent caste-community permutations and combinations, the impact of the Maratha-OBC upheavals on the polls, and the potential vote-divisions with multiple groupings likely to enter the fray.

The state law-and-order situation, the insecurities among minorities, the blatant killings of ex-Congress Minister and ruling ally Nationalist Congress Party’s Baba Ziauddin Siddique and earlier SS-UBT leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a Facebook Live interaction, plus other incidents that have shaken the people of the state cropped up.

In 2024, Maharashtra is stepping into 15th Assembly polls after a tumultuous five-year tenure that witnessed the break-down of two major parties – Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party and NCP (SP).

There were unprecedented three CMs in the state, comprising an 80-hour-long two-man regime of CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, followed by MVA’s CM Uddhav Thackeray with Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM, then the toppling game of June 2022 that saw CM Eknath Shinde with Deputy CM Fadnavis and a year later even Ajit Pawar as the Deputy CM for a record 6th time.

After a decent performance in the Lok Sabha polls when it bagged a total of 31 (of 48) seats, the MVA has been exuding supreme confidence of a repeat show in the Assembly polls.

The elections would see a multitude of parties in the fray – the three main allies each of the MahaYuti and MVA plus their smaller partners, the upcoming groupings of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Prakash Ambedkar, the Marathas contemplating to enter the contests and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray.

Besides, there will be other smaller parties in some local pockets, not to mention potential rebels from all parties, the host of independents and others who are likely to crowd the poll scene, and serve to split votes.

Left & progressive parties seek ‘inclusivity’

In the wake of the Haryana results, prominent Left and progressive parties have called upon the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to adopt an ‘inclusive’ approach to seat-sharing along with pro-people policies ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In a run-up to the polls, the progressive parties held a meeting in Mumbai and will now have a grand state-level convention in Nashik on October 16, to be attended by thousands of activists from across the state, said CPI (M) leader Ashok Dhawale.

He said that the Nashik Convention will remind the MVA that although it bagged 31 out of the 48 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra, the difference in voting percentage between the MVA and NDA was wafer-thin – barely 0.4 per cent.

“While the MVA bagged 44 per cent of the vote share with the broad support of all the anti-RSS-Bharatiya Janata Party forces, the NDA secured 43.6 per cent. This means that the MVA needs to take some drastic inclusive and comprehensive measures to ensure Maharashtra doesn’t end up the Haryana way,” warned Dhawale.

This would necessitate the MVA-INDIA bloc to announce alternative pro-masses policies and include all the progressive parties in the seat-sharing arrangements if it hopes to defeat the ruling MahaYuti alliance.

For this purpose, the progressive parties shall conduct negotiations with the MVA and ensure that they are given a suitable share of the 288 seats in the state Assembly, and the opposition bloc emerges stronger after the polls.

They include Samajwadi state President Abu Asim Azmi, Peasants and Workers Party President Jayant Patil, CPI chief Bhalchandra Kango and CPI(M)’s Dhawale.

The group of progressive parties, including many which are with the opposition alliance in the state and the centre, comprise CPI, CPI(M), PWP, SP and Satyashodhak Community Party.

It may be recalled that in the LS polls, the MVA allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) had contested all the seats with the quiet support of the progressive parties which were not allotted a single seat to fight.

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BJP Set For Haryana Hat-trick; Congress-NC Wins In J&K

As votes were counted for assembly elections held last month, it was a mixed bag for the Congress and the BJP  …reports Asian Lite News

The ruling BJP edged past the Congress in Haryana while the National Conference-Congress alliance was headed for a majority in Jammu and Kashmir, according to trends on the Election Commission website on Tuesday.

As votes were counted for assembly elections held last month, it was a mixed bag for the Congress and the BJP – the saffron party headed for defeat in Jammu and Kashmir but bucked early morning trends to move ahead of the Congress in the nail biting Haryana contest. If the trends hold, the Congress may well have to settle for a loss in the heartland state and a ‘second partner win’ in the union territory.

The BJP, hoping for a third consecutive term in Haryana, was ahead in 47 of the 90 seats in Haryana, two over the halfway mark. The Congress, which had surged ahead in morning leads, was leading in 36 seats.

As the vote count oscillated between the ruling and the opposition parties, the vote share was also tantalisingly close at 11 am, three hours after counting began. The BJP was at 38.7 per cent and the Congress a little more at 40.5 per cent.

“The Congress will get a majority. Congress will form government in Haryana,” veteran Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda told reporters in Rohtak.

“The credit will go to Rahul Gandhi ji, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji, and other leaders,” he said, adding that the real credit goes to the people of Haryana. Kumari Selja, his party colleague and a rival for the chief ministerial post should the Congress win Haryana, was also sure her party would emerge victorious. Hold your horses. Congress will form a government with overwhelming majority,” she said.

“We are pretty confident we will win Haryana with a good margin and form government for a third time,” party leader Harish Khurana told NDTV.

Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly elections are being held for the first time since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated and the state bifurcated into union territories, looked set to throw up a decisive verdict.

The NC-Congress alliance was ahead in 47 of the 90 seats – 39 for the NC and eight for the Congress. The BJP was leading in 28 seats, Independents in eight and the PDP in four.

“If the mandate of the people is against the BJP, then the BJP should not indulge in any ‘jugaad’ (machinations) or something else,” NC leader Omar Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.

“The Raj Bhavan and the Centre should accept the decision of people the way we did in the Parliamentary polls… We have hopes of a win, but the rest is in the hands of God. We will come to know around the noon what the people of J-K have decided,” he added.

“Early trends are positive, it will improve…Voters wanted to send a message to BJP,” said Congress leader Suhail Bukhari. Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina was trailing in the Nowshera assembly constituency.

A three-tier security set up has been put in place at all the counting centres to ensure that all goes well in the restive border UT, long a stress point and witness to repeated instances of terrorism, insurgency and infiltration from across the border.

Cong alleges ‘misleading trends’ on ECI website

airam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, has alleged that there is a slowing down in uploading up-to-date trends in the Haryana Assembly election’s vote counting on the Election Commission website.

He asked whether the BJP trying to build pressure on the administration by sharing “outdated and misleading” trends.

“We are filing a memorandum in the next 5-7 minutes. We are lodging a complaint. We hope that the EC will answer our questions. The results of 10-11 rounds are already out but only 4-5 rounds have been updated on EC website. This is a tactic to pressure the Administration,” Ramesh told ANI.

“There is no need to be disheartened. The game is not over. Mind games are being played. We will not deter, there is no need to be disheartened. We are going to get the mandate. Congress is going to form the government,” he added.

Earlier in the day, in a post on X, he said: “Like the Lok Sabha elections, in Haryana we are again witnessing slowing down of uploading up-to- date trends on the ECI website. Is the BJP trying to build pressure on administration by sharing outdated and misleading trends.”

Ramesh has also written to the Election Commission, requesting to issue immediate directions to officials to update the website with “true and accurate figures”.

“Over the last two hours between 9-11AM, there has been an unexplained slowdown in updating of results on the ECI’s website.

“As you can imagine this allows bad faith actors to spin narratives that undermine the process. You can see examples of it already playing out on social media. Our fear is also that such narratives can then be used by these mala fide actors to influence processes where counting is still underway i.e. in most of the counting centres,” he wrote in the letter.

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Congress, AAP pact likely for Haryana polls

Sources indicate that AAP has demanded 10 seats from Congress during talks between party leader Raghav Chadha and KC Venugopal

Congress and AAP have started seat-sharing talks for the Haryana assembly polls, which could lead to a continuation of the alliance they had in the state during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

The Congress has formed a three-member committee, which includes the party’s screening committee chairman for the state, Ajay Maken, AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for seat-sharing talks with Aam Aadmi Party and Samajwadi Party. Party general secretary KC Venugopal will oversee the work of the committee.

Congress sources said that the party is willing to give 3-5 seats to AAP and one to the Samajwadi Party in Haryana, which has a 90-member assembly.

They said the discussions with AAP follow the suggestion of party leader Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. The sources said that during the Congress Central Election Committee meeting, Rahul Gandhi discussed the possibilities of contesting elections as INDIA bloc and said that the party should make efforts to ensure that the votes of the alliance are not divided.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh later welcomed the suggestion and said that a final decision would be taken after consultations with party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

“We welcome it. Our priority is to defeat the BJP. Our Haryana in-charge Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta will discuss it and take a final decision and inform Arvind Kejriwal about it, and a decision will be taken accordingly,” Sanjay Singh said.

Deepak Babaria told the media that talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regarding the alliance are in the preliminary stage.

“We are exploring it. If there is any further development in the next 2-3 days, we will let you know,” he said.

Congress sources also said that the party has formed a sub-committee to take a decision on the pending seats in Haryana.

The panel includes Madhusudan Mistri, Ajay Maken and Deepak Babaria and will hold separate talks with the party’s three senior leaders in Haryana – Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja.

The meetings with the three leaders are expected to take place on Thursday.

Party sources said that about 24 seats are in the pending list, and no agreement could be reached on these in the meeting of the Central Election Committee.

AAP sources said that there have been talks with Congress. They said that the party has demanded 10 seats from Congress. They said talks have been held between party leader Raghav Chadha and KC Venugopal. (ANI)

BJP expected to list of candidates soon

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release the first list of candidates for at least 50 seats on Wednesday in the run-up to the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

The party sources said that the first list of candidates is expected to be released tomorrow.

“We will release the first list tomorrow on maximum seats. Though discussion on all seats have been done but we will release the of list of around 50 candidates first and rest will be announced later,” the source said.

Earlier in the day, a key meeting was held at around 7.30 pm at former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence in Delhi. The meeting was attended by BJP Haryana Election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-incharge Biplab Dev, State incharge Satish Punia, and state co-incharge Surender Nagar among others.

On September 2, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national President JP Nadda, BJP Haryana Election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-incharge Biplab Dev, State incharge Satish Punia, State Co-incharge Surender Nagar and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met and held talks regarding the candidates.

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NDA Touches Majority Mark In RS

With 12 leaders elected unopposed, including Union ministers and senior politicians, the NDA now holds 112 seats in the Rajya Sabha, reducing dependence on allies. Opposition numbers stand at 85….reports Asian Lite News

Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha Tuesday along with senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former minister Upendra Kushwaha.

Other candidates who were declared winner after the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination ended at 3 pm were BJP leaders Kiran Choudhry (Haryana), Mamata Mohanata (Odisha) and Manan Kumar Mishra (Bihar).

Bypolls were announced on 12 seats that fell vacant as the sitting members, including Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were elected to Lok Sabha recently.

Four candidates — the BJP’s Dhairyasheel Patil and NCP’s Nitin Patil (both from Maharashtra), and Rameswar Teli and Mission Ranjan Das (both from Assam) — were declared winner on Monday.

Thus, while 11 candidates have been elected unopposed, the winner from the seat in Tripura will be decided by voting on September 3.

Tripura BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee is up against CPI(M)’s former MLA Sudhan Das from the state.

Senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Singhvi was declared unopposed from Telangana on Tuesday.

Union minister of state and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu was elected unopposed as a member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan where three candidates had filed nominations.

One of them was a BJP dummy candidate.

The nomination paper of independent candidate Babita Wadhwani was cancelled during scrutiny on August 22.

BJP’s dummy candidate Sunil Kothari withdrew his nomination on Friday, making Ravneet Singh Bittu as the only candidate in the bye-election. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly principal secretary and election officer Mahavir Prasad Sharma presented a certificate to Yogendra Singh Tanwar, the authorised election agent of Bittu.

The opposition Congress had decided not to field a candidate in the by-election. The election was held after Congress’s KC Venugopal resigned as RS MP when he was elected in the Lok Sabha polls.

From Madhya Pradesh, Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee George Kurian was declared elected unopposed by the returning officer. The vacancy was created following Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s election to the Lok Sabha in June.

Besides Kurian, two others, including state BJP vice-president Kantdev Singh, had filed their nomination papers. Singh, who hails from Singrauli, had submitted his nomination papers as a dummy candidate of the saffron party.

However, nomination papers of one of the two other nominees was rejected during scrutiny, while Singh withdrew his candidature on the last day for opting out of the race (August 27), leading to the unopposed election of Kurian as a Rajya Sabha member for the remaining term (lasting till 2026) of the seat vacated by Scindia, an official said.

The BJP’s Kiran Choudhry, who switched over from the Congress, had filed her nomination for the bypoll from Haryana. And being the lone candidate in the contest in the state, she was declared elected unopposed.

The 69-year-old was given a certificate at 4.33 pm by Returning Officer Saket Kumar for the bypoll at the Haryana Vidhan Sabha secretariat here. Kiran Choudhry, daughter-in-law of former chief minister Bansi Lal, represented the Tosham seat in the Haryana Assembly.

From Odisha, BJP candidate Mamata Mohanata returned to the Rajya Sabha after winning unopposed in the by-election, necessitated by her resignation as a BJD MP and switching sides. Mohanta was declared elected unopposed as there was no candidate in the fray when the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended, officials said.

The opposition BJD and Congress did not field any candidates. However, BJP fielded Jagannath Pradhan as a ‘dummy candidate’, but he withdrew his nomination papers before the end of the deadline, paving the way for Mohanta’s re-election.

Dummy candidates are often fielded by political parties to have a cushion in case the nomination of the official candidate gets rejected. Chief Minister Maohan Charan Majhi congratulated Mohanta in the assembly after the result was declared.

From Bihar, former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha and Supreme Court lawyer Manan Kumar Mishra were elected unopposed. Kushwaha, who heads Rashtriya Lok Morcha, and BJP leader Mishra were candidates of the ruling NDA.

The Rajya Sabha seats, for which the by-elections were held, became vacant after Vivek Thakur of the BJP and Misa Bharti of the RJD were elected to the Lok Sabha. Following today’s bypoll results, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has risen to 96 members, contributing to a total of 112 seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upper house. This marks a significant increase in the NDA’s legislative power.

Opposition numbers in the Upper House is at 85. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has eight vacant seats: four from Jammu and Kashmir and four for nominated members. This leaves the majority mark in the 245-member house at 119 seats.

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Seven states see varied turnout in 13 assembly bypolls

In Himachal Pradesh, where bypolls were necessitated by the resignation of the sitting Independent members, who later joined the BJP, it was a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP…reports Asian Lite News

Bypolls were held in 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states on Wednesday in the first electoral contest since the Lok Sabha polls with the results likely to have an impact on the political fate of the state’s ruling and opposition parties.

The bypolls were held in West Bengal (4 seats), Himachal Pradesh (3 seats), Uttarakhand (2 seats), Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Punjab (1 seat each) to fill the seats falling vacant due to the demise or resignation of incumbent members.

In Himachal Pradesh, where bypolls were necessitated by the resignation of the sitting Independent members, who later joined the BJP, it was a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP. The stakes are high for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with his wife Kamlesh Thakur making her electoral debut from Dehra in Kangra district.

This constituency was carved out after delimitation in 2010 and the Congress has never won this seat.

The Chief Minister campaigned aggressively in Dehra, compared to two other seats, to ensure victory for Kamlesh Thakur, who is in the fray against BJP nominee Hoshiyar Singh.

Election officials said that Himachal witnessed a voter turnout of over 71 per cent till 7 p.m. and polls were largely peaceful.

As per the Election Commission, the Nalagarh constituency recorded the highest polling of 78 per cent, followed by Hamirpur (67.7 per cent) and Dehra (65.42 per cent).

In Bihar, the Rupauli Assembly segment in Purnea district, where RJD candidate Bima Bharti the only woman among the 11 candidates, registered 52.75 per cent polling till 6 p.m.. Bharti, who had resigned from the Rupauli seat to contest the Lok Sabha elections, faces ruling JD-U’s Kaladhar Mandal (JD-U).

Several incidents of violence were also reported during the day leaving four persons, including an SHO, injured in clashes.

The people allege that the district police forcibly stopped them from polling their votes, leading to a scuffle that escalated into stone-pelting. The district police, however, have denied these allegations.

Another incident was reported in Gorier village, where the wife of independent candidate Shankar Singh accused the police of carrying out a baton charge on voters. She sat on a dharna, but the situation soon stabilised while the voting resumed.

In West Bengal, the bypolls were held for Raiganj, Ranaghat-Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala seats amid violence and alleged malpractices.

The polling saw 62.71 per cent voter turnout by 5 p.m. – as per the last available figures. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office has said that the final polling percentage will be available only on Thursday after the completion of the tabulation of reports coming from different polling booths.

The maximum polling percentage was reported from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district at 67.12 per cent, while the lowest was reported from Maniktala in Kolkata at 51.39 per cent.

Over 51 per cent polling was recorded, till 5 p.m., in Punjab’s Jalandhar West (SC) constituency where Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had made the contest a prestige issue by campaigning extensively for his AAP candidate Mohinder Bhagat.

In Madhya Pradesh, 78.38 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Amarwara Assembly seat in Chhindwara district – the erstwhile bastion of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath – where the bypoll was necessitated by sitting Congress MLA Kamlesh Shah resigning and joining the BJP, which fielded him.

A low of 47.68 per cent turnout was recorded in Uttarakhand’s Badrinath seat, while Manglaur recorded a high of 67.28 per cent.

In Tamil Nadu’s Vikravandi Assembly seat, where the contest is between the state’s ruling DMK and NDA constituent PMK, with the AIADMK not contesting, 77.73 per cent turnout was recorded till 5 p.m.

An election official said that the results for all 13 seats will be declared on July 13.

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