The proposed first constitutional amendment bill would deal with making provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections together.
While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 12 municipal bodies, it has majority in five of these bodies.
Polls to 108 municipalities of West Bengal will be held on February 27, the State Election Commission said in its notification on Thursday, setting the stage for yet another contest for the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, nine months after the assembly polls.
Mumbai, home to 1 crore voters and 420 candidates vying for 36 assembly seats, is gearing up for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 20. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has completed all preparations for smooth conduct of the polls, ensuring a robust security arrangement and dedicated facilities for senior citizens and differently-abled voters. The BMC has also urged citizens to exercise their franchise, emphasizing the importance of active participation in strengthening democracy.
Thackeray also drew a comparison between the current regime and Hitler.
Around 65 per cent polling was reported in elections to 147 municipal councils and 17 nagar panchayats in Maharashtra on Sunday.
The BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party in West Bengal after winning 77 seats in the assembly polls last year, failed to win even a single civic body.
The changes suggested include the amendment to the provisions of the Constitution relating to preparation of the electoral roll by the Election Commission of India in consultation with the State Election Commission(s) for the elections to the local bodies (in Article 325).
Such meetings are routine, the former state home minister added.
The opposition Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist failed to open their account in the AMC.
A senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said the MCD had sent the proposal suggesting this date on Thursday.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray has sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting their past differences are "trivial" and uniting for the greater good of "Marathi manoos" is not a difficult task. The comments come amid a political landscape in Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a tough battle to retain its stronghold in Mumbai in upcoming civic polls, with competition from the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is leading in a string of urban local bodies across Tamil Nadu as counting of votes began on Tuesday for the just concluded civic polls.
According to a notification issued by the Union home ministry, the Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 will come into effect from May 22.
The BJP government in Gujarat has formed a five-member committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to assess the need for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state and to draft a bill for the same. The committee will submit its report within 45 days. The decision has sparked debate with the Opposition claiming it is an attempt to divert attention from pressing issues ahead of the upcoming local body polls, while the government insists the UCC will protect the rights of tribal communities. The committee will consult with religious leaders, including those from the Muslim community.
Confident from his recent victory, the Gujarat chief minister recommended that elections should be held at the earliest and simultaneously for 89 municipalities, 15 taluka panchayats and two district panchayats.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
The BJP secured a runaway victory in the Municipal Board elections in Assam, pocketing 72 civic bodies out of 80. The Congress, the principal opposition party of the state, could not even win a single civic body.
A 30-year-old man was hacked to death by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on the suspicion of being a police informer. The incident comes close on the heels of the murder of two men, one of them a former Naxalite, in neighbouring Bijapur district two days ago. The two were killed by Naxalites, as per the police. Earlier on January 26, Naxalites killed a 41-year-old man in Bhairamgarh area of Bijapur, accusing him of being an informer. On January 16, Naxalites killed a 48-year-old man in Mirtur area of Bijapur for the same reason.
Elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that were slated for April 26 were postponed on Thursday, with Lt Governor V K Saxena citing 'unprecedented' circumstances where the chief minister is under judicial custody and cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges the state government's three-language formula is a precursor to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, speaking at a rally with Uddhav Thackeray.
Amid violence against Hindi-speaking people, Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashish Shelar on Sunday drew parallels between the Pahalgam terror attack and the beating of 'Hindus' in Mumbai, which he said is condoned by some leaders.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government will implement 'one nation, one election' within its current tenure, sources said, exuding confidence that the reform measure would receive support across party lines.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
Voting for the 75 municipalities was held on last Saturday and the results were declared on Monday.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday stayed the elections to 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats in view of the next week's hearing on OBC reservations before the Supreme Court.
The ruling BJP is confident of bettering its 2017 performance, especially with the new UP party chief, Bhupendra Chaudhary, at the helm of affairs, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
This was the third public meeting between the cousins in the last two months, further intensifying speculation of a thaw in ties between the two parties.
The Supreme Court on Monday gave its nod for holding municipal polls in Uttar Pradesh but agreed to examine a plea opposing reservation of posts of chairperson of civic bodies for members of SC, ST and OBC communities.
With the elections to municipalities and a civic body due in May-June and assembly elections next year in West Bengal, alliance partners Trinamool Congress and Congress announced on Tuesday that they would contest the polls jointly.
The GMC poll was being seen as a litmus test for the BJP in the backdrop of its sudden and surprising decision to change the state's chief minister and the entire cabinet recently, ahead of the state Assembly polls due next year.
The Supreme Court on Friday said the nominated members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) cannot vote in the mayoral election.
The run-up to the polls, which should have been a humdrum affair, became a cause celebre after it was marred by violence, arrests, sit-ins in far-away Delhi and a Supreme Court intervention asking officials to ensure peaceful polling.
No major glitches in electronic voting machines were reported and the voting passed off peacefully with high security observed at the 3,360 critical booths in 493 locations where more than 25,000 police personnel, nearly 13,000 home guards and 100 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed, officials said.
In a neck-and-neck electoral race, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won 1,443 out of the total of 3,351 wards while opposition parties including Congress and Independents won 1,908 wards in the Rajasthan civic body polls, results for which were announced on Thursday.
Polling was held for over hundred civic bodies in Punjab on Sunday amid stray incidents of skirmishes at some places.
In a blow to the Gujarat government, the high court on Wednesday quashed an ordinance issued by it to pave way to delay local bodies polls.
The Law Commission is working on a formula to synchronise all assembly polls by extending or reducing the tenure so that all state elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls 2029 onwards, sources said on Friday.
The panel may recommend amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.
Nitish Kumar wants to assure the BJP leadership that he will continue to be a part of the NDA. But he also wants to secure a larger number of seats for his party in the 2025 assembly elections in Bihar.
