Mangalore City South recorded 65.1 per cent voter turnout, Mangalore City North 72.32 per cent, Moodabidri (76.11), and Belthangady (80.8)…reports Asian Lite News
A voter turnout of 72.67 per cent was recorded in the Karnataka Assembly elections on Wednesday, where polling for the 224 Assembly seats ended at 6 p.m., the Election Commission (EC) has said.
Barring few incidents, the polling was overall peaceful, the EC Secretariat said in a statement.
The southern state had crossed 50 per cent of voters turnout in the post-lunch period. By 5 p.m., 65.69 per cent of voters turned out and excercised their voting rights.
The voter turnout in the high voltage Varuna seat was recorded at 84.39 per cent. It is one among the keenly observed seats as Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and Minister for Housing V. Somanna are contesting from this seat.
The trend of huge voter turnout in coastal and hilly regions in the state continued. The voter turnout touched 74.07 per cent in Virajpet, while in Madikeri it was at 75.39 per cent.
Dakshina Kannada district which witnessed revenge killings and communal incidents also saw a large number of voters turning out to booths. Sullia recorded 78.94 per cent polling, Puttur (80.02), Bantwal (80.17), and Mangalore (77.6).
Mangalore City South recorded 65.1 per cent voter turnout, Mangalore City North 72.32 per cent, Moodabidri (76.11), and Belthangady (80.8).
The Udupi districts assembly segments Karkal saw 81.3 per cent polling, Kapu (78.79), Udupi (75.87), Kundapura (78.94) and Byndoor recorded 77.84 per cent voting.
Channapatna seat, from where former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and BJP former minister C.P. Yogeshwar have locked horns had recorded 85.23 per cent voting. Kanakapura from where Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar is contesting registered 84.52 per cent.
Shikaripura seat, from where former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra is contesting, had seen 82.57 per cent turnout.
Hubli-Dharwad Central, from where former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is contesting on Congress ticket, has seen 64.18 per cent voter turnout. Athani seat, being contested by former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, recorded 80.23 per cent polling.
Musk had earlier said that any account doxxing real-time location information of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation…reports Asian Lite News
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has started lifting suspension of some journalists on the micro-blogging site after running a poll on the platform, asking if he should “Unsuspend accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time”.
The Twitter poll included two options — “Now” or “In 7 Days”.
Of the two options, “Now” won with 59 per cent of responses, while “In 7 days” received 41 per cent.
Nearly 3.7 million users responded to the poll.
“The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now,” Musk tweeted.
Doxxing (also spelled doxing) is the act of revealing someone’s personal information online. It is a form of online harassment that means publicly exposing someone’s real name, address, job or other identifying data.
At the moment, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, Mashable’s Matt Binder, and The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell’s accounts are all visible on the platform.
The Twitter CEO on Thursday suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists on the micro-blogging platform, including Donie O’Sullivan from CNN and Drew Harwell from The Washington Post as they covered his “exact real-time location”.
Musk had earlier said that any account doxxing real-time location information of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation.
Moreover, the Twitter CEO also defended his decision after suspending accounts on the micro-blogging platform of more than half a dozen journalists.
In defence of the decision to suspend reporters, Musk said: “Everyone’s going to be treated the same. They’re not special just because you’re a journalist,” reports BuzzFeed.News.
Corruption, unemployment and poor performance of the government will be among the major issues in the forthcoming Assembly elections, said AICC spokesperson Alka Lamba…reports Asian Lite News
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will start the election campaign from Solan in Himachal Pradesh from October 10 and will address a rally in the state.
Priyanka Gandhi is likely to hold the fort of the Congress in the state since Rahul Gandhi is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress is eyeing a comeback in the hill state and this will be the first election in the state which will be without Virbhadra Singh. However, the Congress has appointed his wife Pratibha Singh as the state president.
The Congress is confident of clawing back to power, and banks largely on the trend of alternate governments in the state since 1985. The party is, however, facing a leadership crisis in the state and has also witnessed veterans jumping ship to the BJP.
The latest high-profile exit from the Congress party was loyalist and three-time legislator Harsh Mahajan, who for over a decade played a crucial role in strengthening the party’s organisation at the grassroots under Virbhadra Singh.
Mahajan, 66, also close to Congress loyalist-turned-rebel Ghulam Nabi Azad, was president of the state Youth Congress for nine years, the longest serving president so far, and served as a cabinet minister and a parliamentary secretary for 10 years.
Before Mahajan, the other prominent leaders who defected were five-time legislator Ram Lal Thakur, who resigned as vice-president of the party committee citing “displeasure” over its working, and two sitting legislators — Lakhwinder Rana and Pawan Kajal.
Interestingly both Mahajan and Kajal were appointed the state working presidents, along with two others, Rajinder Rana and Vinay Kumar, when the three-term MP Pratibha Singh, the widow of Virbhadra Singh, was appointed the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president in April.
Corruption, unemployment and poor performance of the government will be among the major issues in the forthcoming Assembly elections, said AICC spokesperson Alka Lamba.
She said the BJP government, both at the Centre and the state, has been making false claims.
Underlining the need of a well-defined electoral college, Karti Chidambaram said any ad hoc electoral college is meaningless…reports Asian Lite News
The process for the Congress President’s election has come in spotlight after few leaders questioned the non-availability of electoral rolls in the public domain.
Two Congress leaders, Manish Tewari and Karti Chidambaram, on Wednesday urged the Central Election Authority, headed by Madhusudan Mistry, to make the electoral rolls public and available on the Congress website.
However, the CEA said that these rolls will be made available to candidates contesting elections.
Tewari and Karti Chidambaram had raised concerns over the manner in which the presidential poll in the party is being held.
Underlining the need of a well-defined electoral college, Karti Chidambaram said any ad hoc electoral college is meaningless.
In a tweet on Wednesday. he said: “Every election needs a well defined & clear electoral college. The process of forming the electoral college must also be clear, well defined & transparent. An ad hoc electoral college is no electoral college.”
Anandpur Sahib MP Tewari too has raised doubts over the electoral rolls ahead of the party’s presidential poll, saying these should be made public to ensure a free and fair election process.
Tewari was reacting to veteran party leader Mistry’s remark that party members wishing to contest can get access to the list in PCC offices as the list of electors has not been made public.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, he said: “With great respect @MD_Mistry ji How can there be a fair & free election without a publicly available electoral roll ? Essence of a fair & free process is that names & addresses of electors must be published on @INCIndia website in a transparent manner.”
She said if she is elected as Vice President, she will commit herself to work tirelessly to uphold the Constitution and to strengthen parliamentary democracy…reports Asian Lite News
Opposition’s candidate for the Vice President’s post, Margaret Alva has written a letter to the MPs across the party lines and said this V-P election should be seen as a referendum on how Parliament is being run.
“I’ve written to Members of Parliament, across parties, explaining why I think the VP election on Aug 6th is not just another election, but must be seen as a referendum on how Parliament is being run. The MPs have the power to bring about change. I’ve urged them to use that power,” she tweeted.
In the letter she said the Vice President’s election, in which only members of Parliament vote, is not just another election. “It must be seen as a referendum on the manner in which Parliament is being run and the breakdown in the fundamental democratic process of building consensus on important national issues, in which you, as the representative of the people, are an important stakeholder.”
She alleged that Parliament is virtually at a standstill, with communication between the members broken and there is distrust, anger, and the inability to debate issues of critical national importance without personal attacks and abuse. This diminishes Parliament and its members in the eyes of the people.
“The time for change is now. The reason the election to the Vice President’s post is not subject to a party whip and is by secret ballot, is to give members an opportunity to vote without fear for a candidate they believe will do justice to this critical position. A candidate who will be impartial, fearless, and run the upper house in a manner befitting its stature. I believe I am that candidate, and I’m writing to ask you for your support and your vote on August 6th,” she wrote.
She said if she is elected as Vice President, she will commit herself to work tirelessly to uphold the Constitution and to strengthen parliamentary democracy. As Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, she will work to build bridges between different political parties, forge consensus on issues of national importance, and help restore the glory of Parliament.
She also mentioned that she has 50 years in public life, as a member of both Houses of Parliament, a Union Minister, a Governor, and a proud representative of India at the United Nations and on other global platforms.
The survey of 10,000 respondents carried out by multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) in April also looked into the opposition Labour Party’s prospects in the election. It found that it would emerge as the single largest party, but fall short of a majority by 18 seats, reports Ashis Ray
An opinion poll in Britain — amid a grim economic situation and a spiralling tension in Northern Ireland — says Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lose his House of Commons seat in the next general election.
Johnson is an MP from the west London constituency of Uxbridge and Ruislip.
The survey of 10,000 respondents carried out by multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) in April also looked into the opposition Labour Party’s prospects in the election. It found that it would emerge as the single largest party, but fall short of a majority by 18 seats.
On the other hand, if Labour Party undertakes seat adjustments with Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, the combination would win a comfortable majority. The figure of 326 is the magic mark for a party or alliance in a chamber of 650 lawmakers.
Correspondingly, if the hard-line pro-Brexit Reform Party stands down in seats where Johnson’s Conservative Party is vulnerable, this could further dent Labour’s prospects.
A spokesperson for ‘Best for Britain’, an internationalist organisation, said: “Once again, Best for Britain’s seat level analysis shows the safest route to victory in defeating this (Johnson’s) corrupt government is for the opposition parties to work together during election time.”
If Labour Party falls short, it could be dependent on the separatist Scottish National Party, which could demand independence for Scotland or at least another tricky referendum as a condition for its support.
Analysis for ‘Best for Britain’ by Focaldata indicated that 54 per cent of Labour supporters and 56 per cent of Liberal Democrats supporters want their respective leaders to work more closely with the Greens.
However, after its showing in this month’s countrywide local elections, Labour Party will hope its chances will progressively improve as Johnson and the Conservatives plummet further in public esteem.
Appearing before a House of Commons Select Committee, the Governor of the Bank of England, Britain’s central bank, Andrew Bailey warned of “apocalyptic” food prices. He of course blamed it on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Figures due out on Wednesday are expected to reveal that the annual inflation rate has climbed above 9 per cent and it going beyond 10 per cent when the energy price cap is lifted even more in the autumn.
“Another factor that we’re dealing with at the moment is a further leg of Covid-19, which is affecting China. We have seen a series of supply shocks coming one after another and that’s unprecedented.”
In such circumstances for Johnson to contemplate a unilateral scrapping of parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol with the European Union (EU) is considered in political circles to be ill-conceived, as an introduction of tariffs by the EU by way of retaliation, could have a devastating inflationary impact.
In refusing to agree to tax-free trade with the EU and opting for a customs border between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea, the Prime Minister has predictably created an economic and political crisis in Catholic and Protestant conflict-ridden Northern Ireland.
So much so that the United States (with a significant Irish American population, including President Joe Biden, as a powerful pressure group), which stands as guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ushered relative peace to the region after nearly 75 years of unrest or violence, has been compelled to intervene.
However, Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin Chancellor of the exchequer, is reported to be working on fiscal measures to ease the cost of living crisis, having refused to incorporate these in his budget statement in March.
The steps could include relief for pensioners and benefits claimants and cutting duties on imported food.
Punjab voted to elect MLAs to its 117-member legislative and recorded a turnout lesser than 2017, as per the Election Commission of India, reports Asian Lite News
The voting percentage on Sunday in the third phase Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh was 60.46 per cent and 63.44 per cent in Punjab, the Election Commission said.
In Uttar Pradesh, third phase polling was held in 59 Assembly seats spread over 16 districts. Lalitpur district recorded the highest polling at 67.37 per cent followed by Etah with 63 per cent, and Mahoba 62.01 per cent till 5 p.m.
Tough battle in Punjab
Punjab voted to elect MLAs to its 117-member legislative assembly on Sunday. The state recorded 65.32 per cent voter turnout compared to 77.36 per cent in 2017, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Trends show that voter turnout was slow in the early hours of polling on Sunday and picked up pace towards the evening. Voter turnout was 57.58 per cent as of 3 pm with urban pockets witnessing lower participation compared to rural Punjab.
The state is witnessing a multi-cornered fight with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Akali Dal-BSP and BJP-Punjab Lok Congress in the fray. This resulted in a high-decibel campaign with drugs, corruption and employment emerging as key issues.
The 2022 Punjab Assembly polls are being viewed as a prestige battle for the Congress, which is contesting to retain power in the state. Congress won 80 of 117 seats in Punjab in 2017.
Its main contender, the AAP, has been trying to advertise its ‘Delhi model’ in a bid to vote the voters of Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party has declared Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial candidate.
However, the AAP was also seen engaging in damage control in the run-up to the election after former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas accused party chief Arvind Kejriwal of having ties with pro-Khalistani separatists. Kejriwal has categorically denied the charges.
Battle in Malwa
This election in Punjab is also a prestige battle for Captain Amarinder Singh, who brought the Congress to power in the state in 2017 and served as chief minister until September of last year. Congress then chose Chamkaur Sahib MLA Charanjit Singh Channi as Captain’s successor.
Captain Amarinder Singh later floated his own party – Punjab Lok Congress – and entered into an alliance with the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).
All eyes are now on Patiala, which is seen as Captain Amarinder Singh’s bastion. A princely state during British rule, Patiala has gained a reputation in Punjab’s political circles as a power centre.
Led by Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress had won seven out of the eight seats in Patiala in Punjab’s Malwa belt in 2017 with the remaining one seat going to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
However, the AAP had emerged as the second biggest party in Malwa region in the previous assembly polls.
Long battle in UP
An average of 60.46 per cent voting was recorded in 59 Assembly constituencies Uttar Pradesh in the third phase of elections on Sunday.
As many as 627 candidates are in the fray in this phase, in which over 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote in 16 districts.
Among the high-profile candidates is Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who is contesting from Karhal assembly seat. The BJP has fielded Union minister S P Singh Baghel against him. Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat.
Among the prominent political leaders who cast their votes on Sunday are Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and UP minister Satish Mahana.
Meanwhile, Kanpur Mayor Pramila Pandey and former BJP office-bearer Nawab Singh have landed in trouble for posting videos in which they are seen casting their vote inside the polling booth.
Pandey took her mobile phone inside the polling booth at Hudson School, and clicked a selfie while exercising her right following which an FIR has been lodged against her, said a senior official.
The Election Commission has banned the use of mobile phones inside polling stations.
The mayor has shared a video that has gone viral on social media platforms.
District Magistrate Neha Sharma said the Kanpur Mayor has violated the rules of the Election Commission by revealing the name of the party she voted for.
Former city president of BJP’s Yuva Morcha was also allegedly caught while violating rules. Singh also took a mobile inside the booth and shot a video while casting vote.
Polling officials with EVMs leave for their respective polling booths on the eve of the Punjab Assembly Election in Amritsar on Saturday, February 19, 2022.(Photo:IANS/Pawan Sharma)
In the 2017 UP Assembly elections, the polling percentage in these 16 districts was 62.21 per cent, the Election Commission said.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 49 of the 59 seats while the SP had settled for nine. The Congress had got one seat while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank.
The 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases. The results are scheduled to be announced on March 10.
The Prime Minister said that the double engine governments in Lucknow and Delhi had taken a lead to address the aspirations of the youth…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called upon first-time voters to support the BJP in forming the government again so that their aspirations can be fulfilled.
Addressing the first virtual rally for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Prime Minister said: “Uttar Pradesh is working towards ensuring its progress. The Yogi government is making sure that all benefits of our schemes percolate down to the last beneficiary. The number of houses we built for the poor has risen to 800 in Baghpat in the previous government to 33,000 in the same district in Yogi regime.”
The Prime Minister came down heavily against the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) government on the law-and-order issue.
“Five years ago, there was the ‘dabbang’ and ‘dangai’ in Uttar Pradesh. The mafia ruled the state and women and girls could not move out safely. When the riots took place here (Muzaffarnagar), some people were enjoyed an ‘utsav’. The land of the poor, Dalits, OBCs and deprived sections were forcibly taken away,” he said.
He further said that when BJP came to power here, it was with the resolve to serve people.
“Yogi Adityanath has dealt with the mafia and made them understand the meaning of law. Today, the same people are using all their force to bring back a government that remains favourable to them. Today, employees, farmers, traders are all safe and secure.
The Prime Minister said that the double engine governments in Lucknow and Delhi had taken a lead to address the aspirations of the youth.
“We have new avenues for jobs and career building-from medical colleges, universities to IITs. A number of industries have come to Uttar Pradesh and this will ensure more jobs. The defence corridor and other projects will create new employment,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said that the ban on triple talaq had brought immense relief to Muslim women, adding that his government had raised the marriageable age of girls to 21 years so that they could study further and make their career.
Lauding the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, the Prime Minister said that the BJP was being opposed by those who are arrogant and cater to the rich.
Ambedkari contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri seats, but forfeited his deposit. He fought the zila panchayat elections in 2021…reports Asian Lite News
The Kheragarh Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra will witness a unique contestant — 74-year-old Hasanuram Ambedkari, who is all set to contest his 94th election this time. He has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate.
Ambedkari said he works as a farm labour and has a MNREGA job card. He does not have any formal schooling, but can read and write Hindi, Urdu, and English. A member of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) founded by Kanshi Ram, Ambedkari said that he fought all elections according to the ideology of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
He has been unsuccessfully contesting elections since 1985 for various bodies, including the Lok Sabha, state Assembly, and panchayat elections from different seats.
In 1988, his nomination for the post of the President of India was rejected. He said, “I contest elections to lose. The winning politicians forget the masses. I want to set a record of losing elections 100 times. I do not care who my opponents are as I contest elections to give an option to voters who believe in Ambedkar’s ideology.”
Ambedkari contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri seats, but forfeited his deposit. He fought the zila panchayat elections in 2021.
He secured the highest number of votes (36,000) in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections from the Firozabad seat. Ambedkari has started door-to-door campaigning with his wife and supporters. He said, “My agenda has always been impartial and corruption-free development and welfare of the marginalised in society.”.
He was also briefly a member of the BSP as well. “I was a dedicated worker of BAMCEF and also worked for the BSP to strengthen its roots in UP. In 1985, when I asked for a ticket, I was ridiculed and told that not even my wife would vote for me. I was deeply disheartened and since then, I have been contesting every election as an independent candidate,” he said.
Aparna, wife of Prateek Yadav, had contested the 2017 elections from the Lucknow Cantt seat but lost to BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi…reports Asian Lite News
The Lucknow Cantt seat has suddenly turned into a much-coveted Assembly segment with several BJP leaders making a bid for it even though the party has a sitting legislator on it.
BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who won the seat in 2017, now wants to field her son Mayank Joshi, who is making his political debut.
She had vacated the seat in 2019 after she won the Lok Sabha seat from Allahabad.
Joshi has been lobbying hard for the ticket and her supporters claim that if Rajnath Singh, an MP, can get a ticket for his son Pankaj Singh, and Rajvir Singh, also an MP, can get a ticket for his son Sandeep Singh, they Rita Bahuguna Joshi also deserves to field her son.
Suresh Tiwari, a former MLA, regained the seat for the BJP in 2019 when he won the by-election from here. He had won the seat in 1996, 2002 and 2007 also.
According to party sources, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma also has an eye on this seat that has a sizeable upper caste vote.
While the other Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya has been named as a candidate for the Sirathu seat in Kaushambhi district, Sharma’s candidature is yet to be cleared.
According to a party leader, Dinesh Sharma would prefer the Cantt seat which has 1.5 lakh Brahmin voters, 60,000 Sindhi and Punjabi voters who are traditionally BJP supporters, 25,000 Vaishya voters and Muslim voters are only about 40,000.
What has suddenly made this seat into a VIP seat are reports that Aparna Yadav, younger daughter-in-law of Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, is all set to contest this seat.
Aparna, wife of Prateek Yadav, had contested the 2017 elections from the Lucknow Cantt seat but lost to BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
There have been speculations that Aparna is preparing to join the BJP, but sources close to her claim that this is likely to happen only if she is denied a ticket by the Samajwadi Party.
Her uncle Shivpal Yadav has already advised her to stay in the family and the party and work. “She will get a reward at the right time,” he said.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, feel that Suresh Tiwari should be renominated for this seat since he got barely two years after he was elected in the by-election.
