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 suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
Shah arrived in the evening and was received at the airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh, among others.
"Everything may look normal in Kashmir. Everything may look normal here. We may be celebrating the victory, although of course some people believe that that victory or that success of 2024 was perhaps only marginal, perhaps a lot more needs to be done," he said.
'The opposition wants the country to run on the basis of Shariat but this cannot happen'
The People's Democratic Party which has emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir appears to be in the pole position to form the government in the 87 member Assembly. Rediff.com brings you images from the ground.
Braving sub-zero temperatures, hundreds of locals and tourists thronged the iconic Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk on New Year's eve in Srinagar.
Mufti resigned from the post of the chief minister on June 19, 2018 after alliance partner BJP withdrew support to her coalition government.
Terrorism decreased, corruption and dynastic politics ended and an era of peace, development, prosperity started on August 5, 2019, said Shah as he reached out to the youths in the Valley urging them to stand up to disruptive elements and become ambassadors of peace.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday the surrender of Jammu and Kashmir's sovereignty to India was "absolutely complete" with the accession of the former princely state in October 1947, and it was "really difficult" to say that Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state, was permanent in nature.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
Real Kashmir FC overcame the mental turmoil arising out of uncertain situations back home as they beat Chennai City FC 1-0 through a last minute goal in the 129th Durand Cup fixture, in Kalyani, on Wednesday.
The Congress has not released a poll manifesto but a declaration of appeasement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the people have given his government a mandate for stability and continuity for the third consecutive term after seeing its work of 10 years and accused the Congress of trying to build a narrative that it has defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Mehbooba lashed out Omar for his tweets but the former CM hit back, saying it was to make her accountable and he won't back down from speaking on issues of public interest.
The Secretary-General's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during the daily press briefing on Thursday said the UN chief has underscored the need for dialogue as the only way to resolve the issue and, "as part of the solution for the current crisis in Kashmir, to make sure that human rights aspects are very much dealt with, as well."
The IMD has warned of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Leh and Kargil in his second trip to the state ahead of the polls
Police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel were deployed in strength across the valley, especially Srinagar city, to ensure that the plans of separatists to disturb peace do not succeed
The officials said the curbs were intensified in downtown (old city) and some uptown parts of Srinagar in view of the Friday congregational prayers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, officials said in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday invited India to engage in a "comprehensive, sustained and result-oriented" dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue.
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
'Respect the pledges you have made to the people of Kashmir.' 'Jammu and Kashmir is not like any other state of the country.'
Of the 34 SC reserved seats that went to the polls, the BJP won 22 and the Congress 11.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation voiced concern over the human rights situation in Kashmir.
Carrying placards, the opposition members tried to disrupt the governor's address thrice.
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
Environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk said democracy has been compromised in Ladakh and the local people have no say in decision-making.
"As per the information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, two persons from outside Jammu and Kashmir have purchased two properties in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since August, 2019," he said.
Students from the nomadic Bakerwal community attend a seasonal school in the mountains of Tosa Maidan in Kashmir.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Voicing his country's support to Pakistan's stand on the Kashmir issue, he said it can be resolved not through conflict or oppression but on the basis of justice and fairness. "Our Kashmiri brothers and sisters have suffered from inconveniences for decades and these sufferings have become graver due to unilateral steps taken in recent times," Erdogan said.
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets even as he flagged concerns over a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
Peeved over the silence of leaders of separatist groups, their factions in Pakistan and in occupied-Kashmir are making desperate attempts to foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir by giving calls from across the border for 'bandhs' and strikes to mark the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, officials said.
'Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to keep Kashmir on the edge and put the entire blame on the Government of India if there is any untoward incident,' says Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
In his address to the nation on the Kashmir issue after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, Khan assured the people of Pakistan that his government will stand by the Kashmiris till India lifts the restrictions in the Valley.
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