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Andhra scraps two-child norm for local body polls

Information and Public Relations Minister K. Parthsarathi told the media that the Cabinet took the decision while taking note of the declining fertility rate and keeping in view the social and economic needs, population stabilisation, and population balance…reports Asian Lite News

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to scrap the two-child norm for contesting local body elections in view of the declining fertility rate in the state. 

The decision was taken at the meeting of the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday.

The Cabinet gave its approval to repeal the amendments made in 1994 to the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 1955 and the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act 1965, barring individuals with more than two children from contesting the polls. Individuals with more than two children were barred from contesting in urban local body elections. Although the restriction for Panchayat Raj elections was removed in 2019, it continued to apply to other local bodies.

Information and Public Relations Minister K. Parthsarathi told the media that the Cabinet took the decision while taking note of the declining fertility rate and keeping in view the social and economic needs, population stabilisation, and population balance.

The Cabinet noted that while the national fertility rate is 2.1 per cent, the same in Andhra Pradesh is only 1.5 per cent. Currently, the average male reproductive age in the state is 32.5 years which is likely to go up to 40 by 2047. Similarly, the female reproductive age in the state is now 29 years and this is expected to go up to 38 by 2047. It was noted that the number of people who can contribute to economic development will come down drastically.

It was also revealed that currently 11 per cent of the state’s population is aged above 60 years. This is likely to go up to 19 per cent by 2047. This number at the national level currently stands at 10 per cent and this is likely to increase to 15 per cent by 2015.

In this context, the Cabinet decided to repeal the amendments made in 1994 to bar individuals with more than two children from contesting the polls.

The Cabinet also approved the issuance of new Pattadar passbooks (revenue records) bearing the official emblem of the state and QR codes. These will replace 22 lakh land records distributed by the previous government with then Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s picture.

The Cabinet also decided to extend the ban on the Communist Party of India-Maoist and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) by a year as per the Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act, 1992. It decided to implement a new excise policy from October 1.

The minister said quality liquor would be sold at a low price.

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EC holds talks with stakeholders on J&K polls

After their arrival, the ECI team drove straight to the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) situated by the banks of the Dal Lake where they started interactions with representatives of various national and regional political parties…reports Asian Lite News

The full team of the Election Commission, which reached Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to review the preparations for the coming Assembly elections, had daylong deliberations with various stakeholders.

The EC team, headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and including Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, were received by J&K’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), P.K.Pole and Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri.

“The Election Commission of India “commenced a pivotal two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to oversee poll preparations for Assembly Elections in the Union Territory. The visit underscores the ECI’s unwavering commitment to facilitating a seamless and transparent electoral process in the region. Today, the ECI team engaged in extensive deliberations with a spectrum of stakeholders, including representatives from national and state recognised political parties to solicit valuable insights and understand their concerns, thereby fostering their active involvement in the electoral process,” an official statement said.

After their arrival, the ECI team drove straight to the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) situated by the banks of the Dal Lake where they started interactions with representatives of various national and regional political parties.

Those sending their representatives to interact with the commission included the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the CPI-M.

The NC leaders meeting the ECI team included Sakina Itoo, Nasir Aslam Wani, Showkat Ahmad Mir, Peer Afaq Ahmad, and Shami Oberoi. The PDP had sent Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Suhail Bukhari, Asiya Naqash, and Abdul Hameed Kosheen.

Congress leaders included Peerzada Sayeed, Ravinder Sharma, G.N. Monga, Mohd Anwar Bhat and Irfan Nakash, while the CPI-M had sent Mohd Abbas Rather, Abdul Rashid Ittu and Gulam Mohd Shah.

The Aam Aadmi Party was represented by Harpreet Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Amir Kapoor, and Prithipal Singh Sodan.

Party sources of all those meeting the ECI said that they are pressing for the holding of Assembly elections in J&K without any further delay.

Later in the day, the ECI reviewed the poll preparedness with District Election Officers and Superintendents of Police to deliberate on administrative and security arrangements crucial to the conduct of elections.

“Additionally, an evening session was held with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Special Police Nodal Officer (SPNO), and Central Police Forces (CPMF) Nodal Officer to review coordination efforts among various agencies involved in election management. On August 9, the visit will culminate with a final meeting with the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police,” the statement said.

The ECI team will then travel to Jammu for a review with various agencies and culminate in a press conference.

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‘Centre may restore J&K statehood and hold polls by October’

Union minister Ramdas Athawale said he had a fruitful half-hour meeting with J&K Lt.Governor, Manoj Sinha in Srinagar…reports Asian Lite News

Union Minister of State (MoS) for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday that statehood could be announced for J&K before October this year.

Addressing the media here, the MoS said, “Centre may announce restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before October this year. The legislative Assembly elections may also be held in October. Polls are scheduled to be held in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh before October. I think before October, statehood can be restored and election may also happen in October,” the minister said.

He appealed to the people to ensure record-breaking turnout. He reiterated that the home minister had announced at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 that Assembly elections and statehood would be restored.

He hailed the high voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections and lauded people for strengthening democracy.

He said he had a fruitful half-hour meeting with Lt.Governor, Manoj Sinha in Srinagar.

“Tourism has flourished since the abrogation of Article 370. More than 2.11 crore tourists, including foreigners, have visited here. People don’t fear going to Kashmir now. Earlier, they wanted to come but terrorism was stopping them from arriving here. The Lt Governor told me peace is prevailing amid some untoward incidents,” said the Union Minister.

“The administration has given over two lakh pre and post-matric scholarships to SC and above 84,000 scholarships to OBC students in J&K. SC and OBC constitute eight per cent each in J&K, but there is not a single SC family in Kashmir,” Athawale said.

“A total of 74 cases were registered under the Atrocities Act against SC and OBCs. We are planning to start one old age home in each district of J&K. Currently, we have 16 old age homes in J&K,” he said.

Ramdas Athawale belongs to the Republican Party of India. He said his party would fight around 16 seats in the Assembly polls in J&K.

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Uddhav meets Congress top leaders ahead of Maharashtra polls

Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are bracing for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. Congress also held a meeting of its state leaders on August 4…reports Asian Lite News

In line with the preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi.

Uddhav was accompanied by his son, Aditya Thackeray, and the duo met Congress top brass in New Delhi.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and Congress MP KC Venugopal were also present in the meeting.

On August 3, Sharad Pawar met Maharashtra CM Shinde at Varsha Bungalow and discussed the issues of the Maratha reservation, amongst others.

Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are bracing for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. Congress also held a meeting of its state leaders on August 4.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday criticized Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief, Uddhav Thackeray, claiming that he is bowing to the Congress High Command in Delhi purely out of a desire for power.

Speaking at a press conference held at Balasaheb Bhavan, he said, “Uddhav Thackeray’s current visit to Delhi exemplifies his helplessness.”

He mentioned that despite the improbability of their government forming, leaders such as Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Jitendra Awhad, Anil Deshmukh, and Aaditya Thackeray are all vying for the top spot.

“Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Delhi is an attempt to position himself as the chief contender for the Chief Ministership within the MVA,” he said.

However, Nirupam pointed out that Sharad Pawar is unlikely to endorse Uddhav Thackeray for the role, leading Thackeray to seek support from other leaders within the INDIA Alliance to exert pressure on Pawar.

The state is likely to go to poll for the 288-member legislative assembly later this year, as the tenure of the current government ends in 2024.

However, the Election Commission has yet to announce the dates.

The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.

The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) got nine seats while the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar won eight seats. (ANI)

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Biden tells Americans to ‘cool it down’

Madison: President of the United States Joe Biden gestures to the crowd as he delivers remarks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Saturday, July 06, 2024.(IANS/X/@JoeBiden)

President promises a “thorough and swift” review and asks the public not to “make assumptions” about the shooter’s motives or affiliations…reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden on Sunday urged Americans to reject political violence and recommit themselves to resolving their differences peacefully, saying the upcoming presidential election will be a “time of testing” in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

In a prime-time national address from the Oval Office, Biden said political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.” The president said his party and the Republicans can compete forcefully over different policy visions — but must do it in a civil fashion.

“All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches,” Biden said. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Biden spoke for six minutes in his third address to the nation since Saturday evening’s attack by a shooter that left Trump with a bloodied ear, killed one rallygoer and seriously injured two others. His warning came hours after FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said agents have seen increasingly violent rhetoric online since the attack at the Trump rally.

Since the shooting, the president and his team had been grappling with how to calibrate the political path forward after the weekend attack targeting the very person Biden is trying to defeat in November’s election. Biden sharply condemned the attack, but indicated he plans to continue to press his campaign agenda and has “no doubt” Republicans will do the same when they open the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

He emphasized that said those disagreements must remain peaceful.

“We can do this,” Biden pleaded, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. Biden also warned that political tensions were being inflamed by a balkanized media environment and exploited by American enemies.

“Here in America we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours,” Biden said.

Earlier Sunday, Biden was briefed in the White House Situation Room and condemned the attempted assassination of Trump as “contrary to everything we stand for as a nation.” He said he was ordering an independent security review of how such an attack could have happened.

The president said he has also directed the US Secret Service to review all security measures for the RNC. Hours later, Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the Secret Service’s coordinator for the convention, said the weekend attack against Trump did not warrant any changes to the agency’s security plan for the event and officials “are fully prepared.”

Biden promised a “thorough and swift” review and asked the public not to “make assumptions” about the shooter’s motives or affiliations.

The president said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for the family of Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief who was shot and killed during the Trump rally Saturday night in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“He was protecting his family from the bullets,” Biden said. “God love him.”

The president also said he’d had a “short but good conversation” with Trump in the hours after the shootings and said he was “sincerely grateful” that the former president is “doing well and recovering.”

Trump, who has called for national resilience since the shooting, posted on his social media account after Biden’s remarks, “UNITE AMERICA!”

Biden, who has set out to brand Trump as a dire threat to democracy and the nation’s very founding principles, put a temporary pause on such political messaging after the shooting. Shortly after Saturday night’s attack, Biden’s reelection campaign froze “all outbound communications” and worked to pull down its television ads.

The president also postponed a planned trip to Texas on Monday, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library. An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned.

Biden’s campaign said that, after the NBC interview airs on Monday night, the Democratic National Committee “will continue drawing the contrast” with Trump over the course of the GOP convention. It was unclear when campaign ads will resume.

Biden still plans to make a planned trip to Las Vegas, which will include a campaign event Wednesday. Vice President Kamala Harris postponed her planned campaign trip to Florida on Tuesday, where she had been set to meet with Republican women.

Trump, meanwhile, arrived Sunday evening in Milwaukee for the Republican convention, where criticism of Biden and the Democrats is sure to be searing.

The weekend developments were only the latest upheaval in a campaign that has been extraordinarily topsy-turvy in recent weeks.

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Over-confidence caused harm in polls, says Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister urges party workers to use social media platforms as much as possible to refute rumours…reports Asian Lite News

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that everyone will have to be active from now on for the Assembly by-elections to be held on 10 seats in the state and the 2027 Assembly elections.

Addressing the state working committee meeting held at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Auditorium of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, CM Yogi emphasised that they have to hoist the BJP flag once again in the state.

“Everyone will have to be active from now on for the assembly by-elections to be held on 10 seats in the state and the 2027 assembly elections,” adding that along with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, MLAs, MLCs, District Panchayat Presidents, Mayors, Block Pramukhs, Chairman and Councilors, everyone should start preparing for the 2027 assembly elections from today itself.

“We have to hoist the BJP flag in the state once again. BJP leaders and workers will have to be super active on social media and immediately refute any kind of rumours,” he said.

Yogi said that under the leadership of Modi, the state had maintained constant pressure on the opposition in UP, achieving great success in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

“The percentage of votes that was in favor of BJP in 2014 and subsequent elections, BJP has been successful in getting the same number of votes in 2024 as well, but the shifting of votes and overconfidence have hurt our expectations. The opposition, which had earlier accepted defeat and sat down, is again jumping and dancing today,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that in 2022, the opposition had resorted to violence after the elections. Then all our workers felt that, in reality, our government’s Mafia-free UP’s dawn is for these goons.

“Today, with your support, we have succeeded in making UP Mafia-free. Apart from this, when Shri Ramlala was seated in his temple in Ayodhya, the wait of 500 years has also ended,” the UP CM said.

The Chief Minister said that we have to use social media platforms as much as possible.

“Using this social media, opposition forces and foreigners were engaged in conspiracy, in which they became successful. We are people with a nationalist mission. BJP workers have to see what is going on social media. We have to immediately refute the rumours,” Yogi asserted.

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Chhattisgarh CM seeks review of bypoll results

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BJP leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said that the recent Assembly bypoll results, in which the BJP suffered a setback, need to be reviewed.

The opposition INDIA bloc won 10 out of 13 seats in the by-polls in seven states and the BJP won only two seats.

Sai said that there are different political situations prevalent in the country and in a democracy, the decision lies with the people.

“There are different situations. In a democracy, the decision lies with the people. The results need to be reviewed,” he said.

Meanwhile, reacting to the bypoll results, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that if the Lok Sabha election schedule had been advanced 6-8 months, the BJP would not have won more than 120 seats.

“Right after the look Sabha elections, we have won 12-13 seats in 4-5 states, which clearly indicates that the BJP’s graph has been falling. Had the Lok Sabha elections been organised after 6-8 months, BJP would not have won more than 120 seats,” he said.

“For the first time, NDA parties are performing better than the BJP in their respective states and the BJP is absolutely relying on them… The BJP has multiple organ failures and is failing in multiple states. It is soon headed to an ICU,” he further stated.

The results of the assembly by-polls came as a setback for the BJP, where the party won only two of the 13 seats, with the INDIA bloc winning 10 seats and an independent candidate winning a seat in Bihar.

Polling took place on July 10 for the assembly seats in seven states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of West Bengal.

Uttarakhand witnessed the BJP losing both the two seats and saw the victory of Congress. In Badrinath, Lakhapat Singh Butola defeated Rajendra Singh Bhandari by a margin of 5224 votes, whereas in Manglaur, Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin secured victory against the BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 422 votes.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress secured a win on two out of three seats, where Kamlesh Thakur from Dehra and Hardeep Singh Bawa from Nalagarh secured victory. Ashish Sharma from the BJP secured victory in Hamirpur.

In Punjab, the INDIA alliance’s partner, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), secured victory in Jalandhar West. In Tamil Nadu also, INDIA alliance partner DMK secured a win from Vikravandi.

In all four seats of West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress, which is the partner in the INDIA alliance, secured victory and defeated the BJP. In Bihar, neither the JDU of the BJP-led NDA nor the RJD of the INDIA alliance managed to secure a victory. (ANI)

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INDIA bloc wins 10 seats, BJP gets two in assembly bypolls

The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of Uttarakhand…reports Asian Lite News

The results of assembly bypolls came as a setback for BJP which won only two of 13 seats with INDIA bloc winning 10 seats and an independent candidate winning a seat in Bihar defeating the ruling NDA.

The results brought a lot of comfort to Congress, which won two of three seats in Himachal Pradesh and two seats in Uttarakhand. Congress winning two seats in Himachal Pradesh has increased the comfort factor for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government which now has 40 MLAs against 28 of BJP.

The Congress had failed to win any seat in the two states in the Lok Sabha polls.Some of those who lost the assembly polls were leaders who had joined BJP after quitting their parties.

Polling took place on July 10 for the assembly seats in seven States: Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

Congress leader KC Venugopal targeted the BJP and said that the results of the bye-elections in the country reflects a resounding victory for democracy and a strong rebuke to the BJP’s divisive politics.

In a statement issued by the party’s General Secretary (Organisation), Venugopal said, “Today’s by-poll results stand as a resounding victory for democracy and a strong rebuke to the BJP’s divisive politics. Out of the 13 seats contested across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, the INDIA alliance has secured an impressive 10 seats demonstrating the rejection of the BJP’s anti-people, anti-youth policies, and divisive politics.”

Stepping up his attacks on the BJP, he said, “Even amidst their attempts to undermine our democracy, the truth and the will of the people have prevailed. Today’s results are a tight slap on the BJP’s face, showcasing the public’s strong disapproval of their pro-rich, dictatorial politics.”

He added, “The defeat of those who abandoned our cause for the BJP in Himachal and Uttarakhand underscores the rejection of opportunism over principled governance. Not only that, they used all their dirty tricks departments, be it ED or CBI, to intimidate our leaders. The people, however, rejected this dangerous politics resoundingly.”

Elaborating on the number of seats won by the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, Venugopal said, “In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress party has won two out of the three seats in Dehra and Nalagarh, reclaiming our position with a total of 40 seats. This triumph is a testament to the unwavering faith of the people of Himachal who have rejected the BJP’s politics of horse trading and defections.”

The Congress leader in his statement also talked about the results in Uttarakhand and said that the party in the state emerged victorious in both Badrinath and Mangalur. “This significant win sends a clear message that the misuse of religion for political gains, as seen in Ayodhya and now in Badrinath, will not be endorsed by the electorate,” Venugopal said.

The by-elections were held in one seat of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats of Uttarakhand, three seats of Himachal Pradesh, and four seats of Uttarakhand.

The constituencies included Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress secured a win on two out of three seats, where Kamlesh Thakur from Dehra and Hardeep Singh Bawa from Nalagarh secured victory. Ashish Sharma from BJP secured victory in Hamirpur. Thakur defeated BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh by a margin of 9,399 votes. Meanwhile, Bawa defeated BJP’s KL Thakur by a margin of 8,990 votes. On the other hand, Sharma defeated Dr Pushpinder Verma of Congress by a margin of 1,571 votes.

In Punjab, the INDIA alliance’s partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured victory in Jalandhar West. AAP’s Mohinder Bhagat defeated BJP’s Sheetal Angural by a margin of 37,325 votes.

In Tamil Nadu also, INDIA alliance partner DMK secured a win from Vikravandi seat. Anniyar Siva defeated Anbumani C. of Pattali Makkal Katchi party by a margin of 67757 votes.

Uttarakhand, which is ruled by BJP, witnessed the party losing both the two seats and saw the victory of Congress. In Badrinath, Lakhapat Singh Butola defeated Rajendra Singh Bhandari by a margin of 5224 votes, whereas in Manglaur, which saw a very close competition, Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin secured victory against BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 422 votes.

In all the four seats of West Bengal, All India Trinamool Congress, which is the partner in the INDIA alliance, secured victory and defeated the BJP. In Raiganj, Krishna Kalyani defeated BJP’s Manas Kumar Ghosh by a margin of 50,077 votes. Ranaghat Dakshin, TMC’s Mukut Mani Adhikari secured a win against Manoj Kumar Biswas of BJP by a margin of 39,048 votes. In Bagda, Madhuparna Thakur defeated Binay Kumar Biswas of BJP by a margin of 33,455 votes. In Maniktala, Supti Pandey secured a win against BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey by a margin of 62,312 votes.

In Bihar, neither the JDU of the BJP-led NDA nor the RJD of the INDIA alliance managed to secure a victory. The Rupauli seat in Bihar saw the win of independent candidate Shankar Singh, who defeated JDU’s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by a margin of 8,246 and RJD’s Bima Bharti. Notably, the bye-election in Rupaul was necessitated by the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who had won the seat for JD(U) several times in the past but quit the party recently to contest Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket. (ANI)

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Dowden warns of Russian interference in upcoming polls

Oliver Dowden. (Photo:twitter@OliverDowden)

Labour has enjoyed poll leads of more than 20 points throughout the campaign, but Sunak insisted on Sunday that he will still be Prime Minister come Friday morning…reports Asian Lite News

The deputy prime minister warned that the country’s upcoming general election faces threats from hostile actors such as Russia seeking to influence the UK’s democratic process.

The country will go to the polls on Thursday, in an election expected to oust the governing right-wing Conservatives and put the opposition Labour party in power.

His comments came after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that it had uncovered five Facebook pages spreading the same pro-Kremlin talking points.

Some of them encouraged support for the hard-right Reform UK party led by Brexiteer Nigel Farage — a big challenger to the ruling Conservatives in Thursday’s vote.

“There is a threat in all elections, and indeed we see it in this election from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign,” Oliver Dowden told Sky News.

“Russia is a prime example of this, and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook,” he added, noting however that the examples were “relatively typical, low-level stuff”.

Farage — an admirer of former US president Donald Trump — dismissed claims that Russian bots might interfere in the election as “cobblers”, using a British slang term for nonsense.

He has been criticised in the campaign for saying that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine.

His anti-immigration party is tipped by pollsters to contribute to a landslide win by the centre left opposition Labour party by taking votes away from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tories.

Labour has enjoyed poll leads of more than 20 points throughout the campaign, but Sunak insisted on Sunday that he will still be Prime Minister come Friday morning.

“I’m fighting very hard and I think people are waking up to the real danger of what a Labour government means,” he told the BBC.

Labour, led by Keir Starmer, received another boost Sunday when the influential right-of-centre newspaper the Sunday Times endorsed his party. Music sensation Elton John also announced he was backing Labour.

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Polls point to ‘electoral extinction’ for Tories

Labour’s 25-point lead was the largest since the premiership of Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, whose tax cut plans prompted investors to dump British government bonds, pushing up interest rates and forcing a Bank of England intervention…reports Asian Lite News

Three British opinion polls released late on Saturday presented a grim picture for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, and one pollster warned that the party faced “electoral extinction” in July 4’s election.

The polls come just over halfway through the election campaign, after a week in which both the Conservatives and Labour set out their manifestos, and shortly before voters begin to receive postal ballots.

Sunak surprised many in his own party by announcing an early election on May 22, against widespread expectations that he would wait until later in the year to allow more time for living standards to recover after the highest inflation in 40 years.

Market research company Savanta found 46% support for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, up 2 points on the previous poll five days earlier, while support for the Conservatives dropped 4 points to 21%. The poll was conducted from June 12 to June 14 for the Sunday Telegraph.

Labour’s 25-point lead was the largest since the premiership of Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, whose tax cut plans prompted investors to dump British government bonds, pushing up interest rates and forcing a Bank of England intervention.

“Our research suggests that this election could be nothing short of electoral extinction for the Conservative Party,” Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta, said.

A separate poll by Survation, published by the Sunday Times, predicted the Conservatives could end up with just 72 seats in the 650-member House of Commons – the lowest in their nearly 200-year history – while Labour would win 456 seats.

The poll was conducted from May 31 to June 13.

In percentage terms, the Survation poll had Labour on 40% and the Conservatives on 24%, while former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party – a right-wing challenger to the Conservatives – was on 12%.

A third poll, by Opinium for Sunday’s Observer and conducted from June 12 to June 14, also showed Labour on 40%, the Conservatives on 23% and Reform on 14%, with the two largest parties yielding ground to smaller rivals.

ALSO READ-Reform UK overtakes Tories in opinion polls

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Exit poll predicts TDP win in Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls

During the 2019 elections, YSRCP registered a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, winning 151 of the 175 seats in the Assembly, dethroning the TDP government…reports Asian Lite News

The exit polls on Sunday have predicted victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly polls held on May 13.

The Assembly polls took place on May 13 in a single-phase polling process. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

The Axis My India predicted 78-96 seats for TDP, 55-77 seats for YSRCP, 16-18 seats for JSP, 4-6 seats for BJP, and 0-2 seats for Congress.

Polling for all 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh was held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP conducted rallies hailing the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

The ruling YSRCP contested on all 175 seats eyeing another term while as part of a seat-sharing arrangement among NDA partners, TDP is contesting on 144 assembly seats, Jana Sena on 21, and BJP on 10.

During the 2019 elections, YSRCP registered a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, winning 151 of the 175 seats in the Assembly, dethroning the TDP government.

Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, the exit polls predicted a clear majority for the BJP-led NDA in Andhra Pradesh winning most of the Lok Sabha seats while predicting that the INDIA bloc is unlikely to open an account.

According to News 18 exit poll, NDA will win 19-22 seats of the 25 seats, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) is expected to win 5-8 seats and INDIA bloc may draw a blank.

In the 2019 general elections, the YSCRP won 22 seats and Congress in 3 seats and BJP drew a blank while in the 2014 elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won 15 seats, BJP won 2 and YSRCP got 8 seats.

As per ABP C Voter exit poll, NDA is expected to win 21-25 seats and YSCRP is likely to win 0-4 seats. The ABP C Voter exit poll has also predicted that the INDIA bloc is likely to draw a blank in Andhra Pradesh.

The exit polls also predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised to retain power at the Centre with a thumping majority and register its third straight win in the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP-led NDA improved its numbers in 2019 Lok Sabha polls compared to the 2014 election. It is again poised for an upward trajectory, the exit polls predicted. (ANI)

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