The Delhi battlefield may not be a cakewalk for the Rhodes Scholar.
The Supreme Court of India has sought a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding pleas seeking verification of burnt memory and symbol loading units in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The court directed the ECI to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process and to explain the procedure adopted for verification. The bench also expressed concerns over the high cost of verification and directed the ECI to reduce the fee. The court's directive comes following its previous judgement where it allowed aggrieved candidates to seek verification of EVMs.
'Rather than criticising the kind of candidates fielded by political parties from our living rooms, NOTA in a sense implores the electorate to say this by turning up in person at a polling booth to ensure their protest is registered.'
Lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh have always been touch-sensitive about protocol during official meetings and irrespective of the party in power, complaints of breach of guidelines have often cropped up.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
'Party workers sit outside polling booths and they know everything that is happening.' 'Besides, as a voter when you push the EVM button to vote there is a paper slip that comes out showing you who you voted for.'
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
That's a deficit the NDA will have to make up with the help of 'friendly' alliance partners, the very groupings the PM has said are 'family-run'.
Hours after being sworn-in as the Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday urged the elected representatives of the state and the bureaucrats that the welfare of the people should be their ultimate aim.
Delhi on Monday night appeared headed for Assembly elections with Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress expressing themselves against formation of a new government and seeking a fresh mandate to end the eight-month-long political uncertainty.
Prices have declined 18 per cent this year.
The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.
As per the latest trends, the BJP and Congress is neck-and-neck with 35 seats. The fledgling JJP, which fought its maiden assembly polls, is also ahead in 10 seats.
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
I urge voters in these states and seats to turnout in record numbers and enrich the festival of democracy
An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana, brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, died on Thursday at a private hospital in Haryana's Faridabad. He was 59.
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
Union Minister of State Kailash Chaudhary was among the first to cast his vote, exercising his franchise in Balotra.
Jannayak Janta Party chief Ajay Singh Chautala on Wednesday said his party worked with full honesty to fulfil the 'gathbandhan dharma' over the last four and half years of the alliance and his party was never power hungry.
Singh also defended Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath over the latter's comments on 'Hindu Rashtra.'
'Young people say they know all this emphasis on Hindu-Muslim differences is politically motivated.' 'If you stop watching TV and turn off social media, you'll find the situation on the ground different.'
The party hopes that the multiple road projects, schools, canals, and water projects which have come up in the Meo-Muslim-dominated area will be able to sway the votes in its favour.
Knocking out Congress from its bastions, the Modi wave placed BJP on the cusp of forming a government in Maharashtra with unexpected support from Nationalist Congress Party while it stormed to power on its own in Haryana.
The Congress is banking on decisions like reducing electricity tariff and fuel prices, taken during current CM Charanjit Singh Channi's 111-day tenure.
During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said.
The five Independent legislators -- Dharampal Gondan, Nayanpal Rawat, Sombir Sangwan, Rakesh Daulatabad and Randheer Golan -- met Nadda and extended their support to the saffron party, BJP leader Jawahar Yadav said.
The returnees also included three independent MLAs, who too had landed in Panchkula on Tuesday after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday named 14 candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls including former Union minister R P N Singh and Sudhanshu Trivedi -- the only outgoing MP renominated by the party.
Chaduni has made known his displeasure days after talks between his outfit SSP and Rajewal-led SSM for a pre-poll alliance for the state assembly polls.
The rebels, who contested as independents in the assembly polls, marred the prospects of BJP candidates in eight seats while Congress candidates were hit in four assembly segments.
BJP candidate and former chief minister Bhajan Lal's grandson Bhavya Bishnoi on Sunday defeated his nearest rival and Congress nominee Jai Prakash in the Adampur assembly seat by-election, retaining the family bastion.
Phogat and Punia joined the party in the presence of Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, spokesperson Pawan Khera and Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan.
The new party -- Bharatiya Aarthik Party -- claims to represent farmers, traders and labourers,
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been fielded again from Karnal.
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
Never before has the BJP faced such a crisis over the nomination of the Chief Minister as it is facing now, discovers Prakash Bhandari, veteran observer of Rajasthan politics.
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.
The Election Commission will hold the 2019 general election under Arora .
