It was a mixed bag for the many film personalities who contested the Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh. Of the twelve personalities from the film industry who had contested the elections, only four managed to win.
Over 60 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise on Thursday in the by-election to the four Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats,in Andhra Pradesh, widely seen as a referendum on Telangana statehood issue.The polling was largely peaceful barring stray incidents of clashes among political rivals.
The rebellion against the Congress in Andhra Pradesh is out in the open. Last week, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy openly called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi deaf and dumb, and on Monday, six members of Parliament have decided to issue notice for a no-confidence motion.
Even as the schedule of Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly polls is likely to be announced in a week's time, all the major political parties have already gone all out with sarcastic television advertisements targeting their rivals.
The Election Commission is set to conduct 17 by-polls in Andhra Pradesh, according to highly-placed sources. The impending president election is the main reason for the hurry is conducting the assembly by-polls, said the sources, as protocol demands that no assembly or Parliament seat should be vacant during the election of the President of India.
A new government has emerged in Andhra Pradesh with the induction of two legislators of the Praja Rajyam Party into the N Kiran Kumar Reddy Cabinet in Hyderabad on Thursday. State Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ganta Srinivasa Rao, a member of the legislative assembly, and C Ramachandraiah, a member of the legislative council, at a brief function in the Raj Bhavan.
Supporters of Kiran Kumar Reddy say that since the Congress has made it clear that the Telangana issue will not be raised at the AICC meet there is no point in the chief minister attending. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Stepping up its investigation into liquor syndicates in Andhra Pradesh, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has issued notices to three sitting members of Legislative Assembly, one of them from ruling Congress, and others asking them to appear before the ant-graft agency.
The law ministry is the administrative ministry for the Election Commission.
The Congress alleged that the claims made by the ED against Baghel are part of a "conspiracy" hatched by the BJP to tarnish the Chhattisgarh chief minister's image and asserted that the people of the state would give a befitting reply to such tactics in the upcoming Assembly poll.
A war of words between Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Rajasekhar Reddy lead to commotion in the House.
Ahead of Assembly polls due early next year in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that political strategist Prashant Kishor's Indian PAC will manage the poll campaign of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital.
The Election Commission will start counting votes for Vidhan Sabha elections on May 23. The assembly elections were held in four states -- Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim -- simultaneously with the Lok Sabha Elections over April and May. The Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim Assemblies went to polls in the duration between 11 April and 19 May, and the Election Commission will declare the results for at least 534 assembly seats - which is almost as many as the Lok Sabha seats - on May 23.
All eyes in Andhra Pradesh are on the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly constituencies, from where Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalaxmi will be contesting.
Among the free symbols are walking stick, baby walker, air conditioner, balloon, bangles, wheel barrow, whistle, window, wool and needle, water melon, walnut, wallet, violin, vacuum cleaner and trumpet.
The Election Commission on Wednesday announced by-elections on September 10 to fill up 20 seats in the assemblies in seven states, most of which fell vacant from their members getting elected to the Lok Sabha.
Of the 16 assembly seats in Telangana, which went to the bypolls because of en masse resignation of the TRS members, TRS could retain only seven seats. Similarly of the four Lok Sabha seats, which TRS resigned from last year, the party could retain only two and other two were shared by the Congress and the TDP. The ruling Congress party wrested five and the TDP bagged four assembly seats earlier held by the TRS.
How many seats will the TDP win? How many seats will the YSR Congress win?
Leader of the Opposition and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and TRS floor leader G Vijayarama Rao were among those suspended.
In a major political development, Praja Rajyam Party chief and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi resigned from the state assembly on Thursday, in a bid to throw his weight for a united Andhra Pradesh.
Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by Opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission.
A Congress source termed the process of drafting and presenting of the Bill before the state cabinet on Monday as a "unilateral" effort by the chief minister's office and ministers that are close to him.
The tumult in the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of the rout in the assembly bypolls continued on Friday, with some party leaders blaming Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for the poor showing.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist has decided to support the Telugu Desam Party in the Assembly byelections in Andhra Pradesh, except in the four constituencies being contested by the Left parties. The party however said this alliance would stand only for the bye-polls and did not extend to general elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha.
The Congress' washout in the recent by-polls at the hands of rebel Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's fledgling party is understood to have been discussed at a meeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had with his party chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
The muscle-flexing by 140 Members of Legislative Assembly of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, demanding the appointment of late AP Chief Minister Y S Rajshekhara Reddy's son Jaganmohan Reddy as the next CM, has come as a rude jolt to the Congress leadership, according to highly placed sources in the party.The party has realised that the entire power structure in a state should not be handed over to one individual or faction.
The Chandrababu Naidu government on Thursday formally announced in the state assembly that Andhra Pradesh's new capital will be built "in and around Vijayawada". Rediff.com was the first to report the story (below) on May 18.
The launch of Jana Sena party by Union minister Chiranjeevi's brother and Telugu movie star Pawan Kalyan may alter political equations in Andhra Pradesh, more particularly in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, days ahead of elections to Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
Foxconn's business in India has grown to over $10 billion till 2024.
Proceedings were stalled for 25 minutes over the incident wherein the police misbehaved with CPI-M legislator Sunnam Rajaiah and his family members.
The Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly was adjourned on Tuesday with out transacting any business as members of Telangana Rashtra Samiti stalled the proceedings demanding that the House should adopt a resolution on formation of a spereate Telangana state.
'They have no incentive to be part of either the NDA or INDIA at this stage, but they may hedge their bets towards the winning coalition in the post-poll setting.'
Counting of votes for the high-profile by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula constituencies in Andhra Pradesh commenced in Kadapa on Friday morning amidst tight security.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
Voting is underway in three Lok Sabha and 33 assembly seats across 10 states where by-elections are being held on Saturday.
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