Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Thursday promised that LPG cylinders will be provided in Jharkhand at a subsidised rate of Rs 450 even for 'infiltrators', sparking a political row in the midst of assembly elections in the eastern state.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
The income-tax department has detected "unaccounted" transactions and investments worth more than Rs 100 crore after it raided two Jharkhand Congress MLAs, their alleged associates and linked coal and iron ore businesses across the state last week.
Congress minister Alamgir Alam said the party's Bermo MLA Kumar Jaimangal has lodged a police complaint against the three legislators for allegedly luring other MLAs by offering Rs 10 crore each and a ministerial berth if the BJP forms government in the state.
A miner was on Tuesday killed while an official went missing after water gushed into a coal mine of the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in Bokaro district during excavation of coal.
Voting began on Tuesday morning for the third phase of elections for 11 seats in Jharkhand amidt tight security.
Amid tight security, 62.60 per cent of 56,18,267 voters exercised their franchise in 17 to decide the fate of 309 candidates.
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
An estimated 60.89 per cent polling was recorded in 17 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand where polling for the third of the five-phase took place on Tuesday.
The counting will begin at 8 am, and as per the Election Commission's COVID-19 guidelines, a candidate, his poll agent and counting agent can remain present in the counting hall, officials said, adding various measures have been taken to ensure social distancing and avoid crowding.
Extensive arrangements have been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic including personal protective equipment kits for election staff, more polling booths, thermal screening, sanitisers, masks and gloves for voters and markings to ensure social distancing, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
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