The counting began at 8 am to decide the fate of the candidates contesting the polls, among whom all eyes will be on Dimple Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's elder daughter-in-law and the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, necessitated by the demise of Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav in October.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced a significant increase in Lok Sabha seats for the five southern states following delimitation, countering misinformation and clarifying the timeline for women's reservation implementation.
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
The proportion of postal votes polled in the general elections has gradually risen since 2009.
Former JD(U) leader KC Tyagi has joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), citing shared ideologies with Chaudhary Charan Singh and Ram Manohar Lohia. He aims to strengthen the party and champion the cause of farmers.
"Mock polls" are part of the first level check (FLC) process.
Except drubbing in Delhi and Bihar, the BJP president has had a good record since he took over the reins of the party in June 2014, says Archis Mohan.
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.
"We are going to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh," All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said.
The BSP chief said she does not want to see any damage to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
Aiming at a repeat of its success in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in which it secured a majority on its own, the Bahujan Samaj Party has now started preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.
The INDIA bloc faces a significant challenge as the Congress and DMK part ways, raising questions about the alliance's future and unity.
In West Bengal's electoral chessboard, governments are rarely made in the hills of North Bengal or the forested region of Jangalmahal. Power is usually decided in the crowded plains of South Bengal, where elections are won less by momentum and more by mathematics.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
Around 1.72 crore voters, including 94.60 lakh men and 77.84 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes in this round to decide the fate of 635 candidates.
The BSP has not entered into any alliances and has also been keen to shed the tag of being a 'B-team' of the BJP.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
73 constituencies will vote on Saturday.
Akhilesh Yadav had won the Karhal assembly seat in the recently-held assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
UPCC chief Ajai Rai clarifies Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's role in Uttar Pradesh Congress campaigns, emphasizing her national leadership while confirming her continued prominence in the state.
Voting is underway in three Lok Sabha and 33 assembly seats across 10 states where by-elections are being held on Saturday.
Samajwadi Party MP Ajendra Singh Lodhi has been booked in Mahoba for allegedly assaulting a public official and promoting hate speech after referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 'anti-national'. The BJP is staging protests across Uttar Pradesh in response to the remarks.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Reiterating her view for trifurcation of the state, Mayawati told her audience that she had once again written another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking creation of an independent Purvanchal (Eastern UP), a Western UP and Bundelkhand "to ensure comprehensive development of every part of an oversized Uttar Pradesh."
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The Congress party is intensifying its efforts to strengthen its organizational base in Uttar Pradesh, with plans to contest all 403 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections. Senior leaders emphasize grassroots preparations, voter outreach, and public meetings to regain political ground in the state.
'The Supreme Court stated that once the delimitation plan is approved by Parliament and receives assent of the President, it cannot be undone. Nor can it be modified.'
There are 218,442 voters over 100 years on the electoral rolls.
Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday after taking the oath of the office said that Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting to win more than 75 seats out 80 from Uttar Pradesh in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul Gandhi accuses Mamata Banerjee of not directly fighting the BJP, alleging that this indirect approach benefits the ruling party. He also criticised her government's performance on job creation and handling of corruption.
If the BJP wants to win 60 out of UP's 80 seats, it will need a jump of 30 percent in its vote share -- which is a mammoth task.
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
In view of the Congress-led coalition getting a simple majority with the help of its pre-poll allies, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister could not play kingmaker at the Centre.
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.
With the CAA rules being issued, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from the three countries.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that the people of Diamond Harbour have been unable to exercise their voting rights for a decade. He assured people that the scenario has now changed, and the May 21 repolling in the Falta Assembly seat will re-establish voter rights.
'We will give Rs 25,000 to parents having a second child or more at the time of delivery itself.'
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