Election Financial News

voter turnout in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections has touched the 66.7 per cent mark, which is less than the figures of the 2019 parliamentary polls. Both phases of the ongoing polls have seen a dip in the voter turnout as compared to the last general election. The 66.7 per cent figure is approximate, sources said. The Election Commission is yet to come out with the polling percentage formally. Phase two of the Lok Sabha elections was held on Friday across 88 constituencies spread in 13 states.

West Bengal registered a voter turnout of over 76 per cent in the three Lok Sabha seats where polls were held a day earlier, an Election Commission official said on Saturday. Balurghat topped the list with 79.09 per cent polling, followed by Raiganj (76.18 per cent) and Darjeeling (74.76 per cent), he said. «Polling has been peaceful. There was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the three parliamentary constituencies. A total percentage of 76.58 polling has been registered,» the official said. A total of 47 candidates, including state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, were in the fray in the second phase having a total of 51.17 lakh eligible voters.

Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress should apologise to the country for doubting the integrity of the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Speaking at an election rally here, he also said Goa was a model of the BJP ''saturation approach'' to the implementation of the central government's schemes, which was true secularism and means of doing social justice. Congress lied about EVMs and tried to instigate people, but the Supreme Court has held in its recent ruling that there was nothing wrong with EVMs, the prime minister said, adding that Congress should apologise to the country for its stand. «Goa is a model of the BJP's saturation approach (to welfare scheme) which has benefited farmers, the poor, fisherfolk, women. Modi lives to fulfill your dreams and aspirations,» he said, The coastal state is the land of patriots and known for its magnificent temples and churches, Modi added.

Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday said he has given his assent to five Bills passed by the state assembly which had been pending for long. The bills include the Land Assignment Amendment Bill, Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment), the Paddy Wetland Amendment Bill, the Dairy Cooperation Bill and the Abkari Law Amendment Bill. Governor Khan who met the media said the assent was given a few days ago and the details were revealed today as the General elections in the state had concluded yesterday. «We had received many petitions (against the bills). So we had to send it to the government and seek their comments. Then other petitions also came in favour of the Bills. It takes time to evaluate everything and make a decision,» Khan said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted the Congress-led INDI alliance, saying it is mulling to have five prime ministers in five years if voted to power. Addressing a rally at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, Modi said the opposition bloc cannot even reach a three-digit figure or «at the doorstep of forming a government, but has plans to have one prime minister every year if they get a chance». «In Karnataka, Congress has planned to rotate the post of the chief minister by handing it to the deputy chief minister after 2.5 years. They had this arrangement in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well,» he said. Modi said the Congress wants to extend the «Karnataka model wherein Muslims were inducted in the 27 per cent quota for OBCs», in the entire country.

Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday staged a demonstration at the BJP headquarters against the postponement of the election for the mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. According to an official statement, over a dozen AAP MLAs and volunteers, including MLAs Rakhi Birla and Ajay Dutt, along with mayoral candidate Mahesh Khichi were detained by the police during the protest. The AAP accused the BJP of «conspiring» with the Lt Governor VK Saxena to «cancel» the mayoral elections fearing the win of the AAP candidate in the polls. The AAP alleged that the BJP wanted to stop a person from the Dalit community from becoming the Mayor of Delhi.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that it was due to a «misunderstanding» that a leader from Maharashtra had expressed his resentment over the party not fielding any Muslim in the Lok Sabha polls in the western state. Without naming the disgruntled party leader, Kharge said that he would be «compensated», maintaining that Rajya Sabha and assembly elections in Maharashtra were also due. «To say that no Muslim candidate was fielded is wrong. It is a three-party alliance there (in Maharashtra) and mutual decisions were taken,» the Congress chief said at a press conference here. He was reacting to a question on the Maharashtra Congress leader (Naseem Khan) criticising the party for not naming any Muslim candidate in the western state, where the Congress is fighting the Lok Sabha polls as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with Udhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, on Saturday set out to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Saturday's roadshow is her maiden political apperance. «Your Chief Minister is a sher, nobody can break him or make him bow down,» Sunita Kejriwal said at the roadshow. She said the Delhi Chief Minister was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics.

We sometimes lose sight of how downright weird so much news reporting has become. Imagine you’re the New York Times. Donald Trump might return to the presidency so you report, as the paper did on April 12, on the “distrust" that exists between him and the U.S.

BJP) has fielded Ujjwal Nikam, who was a special public prosecutor in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack, from Mumbai North Central in the Lok Sabha elections. Nikam, a senior public prosecutor, has appeared for the government in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack case. Ujjwal Nikam will be contesting the polls against Congress's Varsha Gaikwad.

Election Commission on Saturday updated the total polling percentage of the April 26 Lok Sabha polls to 71.16 percent in Kerala. The final official figures of the general election in the state would be made available later, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said here in a statement. As per the latest update, a total of 1,97,48,764 (71.16 per cent) of the total 2,77,49,159 voters exercised their franchise in the Friday elections. Among the constituencies, Vadakara had recorded the highest poll percentage, 78.08, while Pathanamthitta registered the lowest at 63.35 per cent. The polling percentage in other constituencies are: Thiruvananthapuram (66.46), Attingal (69.40), Kollam (68.09), Pathanamthitta (63.35), Mavelikkara (65.91), Alappuzha (74.90), Kottayam (65.60), Idukki (66.53), Eranakulam (68.27), Chalakudy (71.84), Thrissur (72.79), Palakkad (73.37), Alathur (73.20), Ponnani (69.21), Malappuram (72.90), Kozhikode (75.42), Wayanad (73.48), Vadakara (78.08), Kannur (76.92), Kasaragod (75.94).

Amit Shah on Saturday said people must not make the mistake of voting for "urban Naxals" and asserted that the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were «anti-tribals». Addressing a rally in Gujarat's Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency, where the AAP has fielded a candidate as part of its alliance with the Congress, he urged the people to vote for BJP's sitting MP Mansukh Vasava. «You will never get a public representative like Manuskh Vasava. If you make a mistake, then some urban Naxal will take his place (as MP) and destroy this tribal region,» Shah said. Mansukh Vasava is pitted against the AAP's sitting MLA Chaitar Vasava in Bharuch, which is part of south Gujarat that has a sizable presence of tribals. «The Congress and AAP have come together to loot people. I have no hesitation in saying the Congress is an anti-tribal party and AAP will exploit tribals after getting their votes,» Shah asserted.

boarding a chopper during election campaigning in the state’s Durgapur city. The incident comes in the middle of the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections in which Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is involved in a high-stake battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in 42 seats of West Bengal. In 2019 general elections, the TMC had won 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.

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Lok Sabha elections 2024: Nationalist Congress Party-SCP chief Sharad Pawar warned that voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to power for the third term is 'dangerous', claiming that his government will “impose dictatorship" in India. Addressing an election rally in Sangola in Maharashtra’s Solapur on Friday, Pawar said, “It is dangerous to vote Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to power. He will impose dictatorship in the country." The veteran leader claimed foreigners have visited India to "monitor elections" to see if "democracy will survive in India".

₹3,000 to ₹3,500 per month and govern the state from Visakhapatnam. The chief minister noted that welfare pensions, which are currently at ₹3,000 per month, will be raised to ₹3,250 from January 2028 and subsequently to ₹3,500 from January 2029.

YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday released the party manifesto for the coming elections and promised to gradually hike welfare pensions from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month and govern the state from Visakhapatnam. The chief minister noted that welfare pensions, which are currently at Rs 3,000 per month, will be raised to Rs 3,250 from January 2028 and subsequently to Rs 3,500 from January 2029. «Immediately after YSRCP forms the government in 2024, Visakhapatnam will be made the executive capital as the seat of the government. It will be developed as the growth engine for the state,» said Reddy, addressing a press conference.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said Narendra Modi has undermined the dignity of the Prime Minister's post with lies and inflaming people's sentiments. «Narendra Modi is very good at lying. They have marketed lies. He is trying to harm the dignity of people by saying irrelevant things, inflaming people's feelings, polarizing them, which undermines the dignity of the post of Prime Minister,» Siddaramaiah said, while addressing a press conference. He said Congress has complained about this to the Election Commission. «We have complained to the Election Commission regarding his speeches on reservation and 'Mangalsutra' issues. No action has been taken yet. Notice has been given to them. We look forward to taking action,» the Chief Minister said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the Centre has approved Rs 3,499 crore as drought relief and released only Rs 3,454 crore and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give the balance amount as soon as possible. The chief minister thanked the Supreme Court for warning the Central government and providing some drought relief to the state. «According to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) rules, the state was supposed to be paid Rs 18,171 crore, but the Central government has only approved Rs 3,498.98 crore. This money is not sufficient for the drought relief. Our fight for the arrears will continue,» he told reporters here.

Congress on Saturday slammed as «false propaganda» Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'snatching quotas' remarks and alleged that it was the BJP that was against reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the reality is that since 1950, reservation in education and employment has been possible when there have been Congress prime ministers and Congress governments at the helm. In a video statement, Ramesh said, «The prime minister is repeatedly indulging in the false propaganda that the Congress is against the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and wants to snatch it away. This is absolutely false.» «The reality is that the provisions in the Constitution for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were made because of B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other Congress leaders. So, this was the contribution of the Congress,» Ramesh said.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to weaken the democracy in the country and has pressurised every institution in the last 10 years to not comment against it. Addressing an election rally in Valsad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, «They (BJP) want to weaken the democracy and people of the nation. Institutions that protect your rights be it media have been weakened. Media used to ask us every day but nothing of that sort is happening today.» Referring to remarks of BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde on «rewriting constitution», Priyanka Gandhi said that it is a «dangerous» trend.