News Analysis India

Tag: Assembly Elections

  • Would like to ensure ongoing assembly polls are held in peaceful and fair manner: CEC Chandra

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Sushil Chandra, who assumed charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner on Tuesday, said he would like to ensure that the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal are held in a very peaceful and fair manner so that voters in even the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear.

    Chandra was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office. “I would like to ensure that the elections (in the remaining phases in West Bengal) should be held in a very peaceful and very, very free and fair manner so that voters even in the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear,” Chandra told PTI after assuming charge as CEC.

    The high-octane assembly election campaign in West Bengal, where the BJP and the Trinamool Congress have unleashed a no-holds-barred attack against each other, has seen the EC clamping down on leaders of both parties for their objectionable utterances. The first four phases of polls in the state have been marred by violence.

    While the three-phased assembly polls in Assam and the single-phase elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have concluded, West Bengal is going through eight phases of polls.

    The fifth phase is on April 17. Chandra said that an “atmosphere has to be created” to ensure free and fair polls. Asked how the poll panel will go about it, the CEC said the EC is monitoring and talking to all the officers on the ground as well as the observers and detailed meetings are taking place.

    Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

    Under him, the Election Commission will hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year. The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year.

    Chandra belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Revenue Service. He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission since February 18, 2020, looking after the process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Having held several posts in the Income Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Chandra was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman on November 1, 2016.

    He spent considerable time as Director of Investigation and Director General of Investigation, Mumbai and Gujarat, respectively followed by his stint as Member (Investigation), CBDT and thereafter assuming the post of Chairman of this apex body.

    “Transparency and purity of political finance are of vital importance for a free and fair electoral process and the creation of a level playing field.

    “Continuing the crusade that he started as CBDT Chairman against the menace of black money, Chandra was proactive as the erstwhile Election Commissioner in curbing the use of money power that vitiates the electoral process,” the Commission said on Tuesday.

    He has constantly emphasised the concept of “inducement-free” elections and it has become an integral dimension of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections, the EC said.

  • Busy day for EC as BJP and rivals walk in with complaints 

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Election Commission of India (ECI) was busy on Friday, receving complaints from political parties of several hues. While TMC went to the Commission with allegations of malpractice in the ongoing polls in West Bengal, a BJP delegation led by Union Minister Prakash Javdekar complained against Mamata Banerjee. Congress approached the Commission to seek the cancellation of election in the constituency in Assam where a BPF candidate has defected to BJP.

    Javdekar alleged that Mamata violated the code of conduct. The BJP’s allegation came after drama in the Nandigram constituency where the Bengal CM is pitted against BJP’s  Suvendu Adhikari. “We have demanded action against her for violating the model code of conduct,” said Javdekar. 

    A TMC team headed by Yashwant Sinha met Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Aftab and complained that Central security forces are following BJP’s instructions at certain polling centers. The delegation said the Commission must ensure free and fair polls.

    The Congress delegation said that defections induced by illegal means in Assam even before the counting of votes is a new phenomenon. It robs the electorate of the freedom of choice in the election of their representative, they argued. The delegation lso sought an enquiry into how EVMs were loaded in a vehicle belonging to a BJP candidate. The Election Commission informed the delegation that officers stand suspended.

  • Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora asks IPS trainees to be ready for poll duties

    By Express News Service
    HYDERABAD:  In view of elections to be held in four States, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora asked the IPS probationers of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy to be prepared for election duties and help in ensuring smooth conduct of polls. 

    Interacting with the IPS probationers on Friday, Sunil Arora welcomed the NPA’s move to send the IPS probationers to poll-bound States of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to understand the election process at the ground level.

    “IPS probationers would soon be working in a very complex ecosystem. Policing is no longer confined to law enforcement. In a rapidly changing environment, policing faces several contemporary challenges which require the force to be extremely agile and well equipped to respond to these new challenges,” he said.

  • Nearly 40,000 fresh Covid-19 cases recorded in India, highest single-day spike in 2021

    By Agencies
    NEW DELHI: India saw 39,726 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, the highest single day rise recorded so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,15,14,331, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    Registering an increase for the ninth day in a row, the total active caseload has reached 2,71,282, which now comprises 2.36 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.26 per cent, the data stated.

    The daily rise in infections (39,726) was the highest recorded in 110 days, while the death toll increased to 1,59,370 with 154 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    As many as 41,810 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on November 29.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,83,679, while the case fatality rate has further to 1.38 per cent, the data stated.

    ALSO READ | South India staring at second Covid wave?

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past  60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    According to ICMR,  23,13,70,546 samples have been tested up to March 18 with    10,57,383 samples being tested on Thursday.

  • Curtailment of Parliament session on cards amid assembly polls in various states

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: In view of assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory, the curtailment of Budget Session of Parliament is on the cards with parties across the aisle in agreement on this idea, sources said on Sunday.

    It is yet to be decided for how many days the session will be curtailed, but there are suggestions to curtail it by almost two weeks, the sources said, adding that the final call could be taken in the floor leaders’ meeting on Monday.

    Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has made arrangements for the vaccination of parliamentarians in the Parliament premises.

    After the vaccination drive, the Parliament might also witness simultaneous sitting of both Houses from 11 am, they said.

    At present due to COVID-19 pandemic, the parliament sits in two shifts — Rajya Sabha in the morning and Lok Sabha in the evening.

    The second half of the budget session was scheduled to be held from March 8 to April 8.

    Elections are being held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry from March 27 to April 29.

  • BJP denies tickets to 11 sitting MLAs in Assam

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Eleven sitting MLAs, including a minister, were denied tickets in Assam by the BJP which fielded two Congress defectors who served as Cabinet ministers in the Tarun Gogoi government.The party on Friday announced the names of 70 candidates for the first and second phases of Assam elections.The sitting MLAs to miss the bus are Hills Area Development Minister Sum Ronghang, Rituparna Barua (Lahowal seat), Amar Chand Jain (Katigorah), Ashok Sarma (Nalbari), Joyram Engleng (Howraghat), Mansing Rongpi (Baithalangsu), BB Hagzer (Haflong), Dilip Paul (Silchar), Kishore Nath (Borkhola), Debananda Hazarika (Bihpuria) and Nabanita Handique (Sonari).In Ronghang’s place, BJP fielded Bidya Sing Engleng. He is a former MLA and former chief of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). He had lost the last election, which he contested as a Congress candidate, to Ronghang.In the Lahowal seat in Dibrugarh district, BJP fielded Binod Hazarika, the sitting Chabua MLA. His house was torched by the protestors of Citizenship (Amendment) Act during the height of the agitation in December 2019.The BJP fielded Jayanta Malla Barua, a former Congress MLA, in the Nalbari seat. He is a confidante of BJP leader and Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the chairman of Assam Tourism Development Corporation. In 2016, he was new in the BJP and the party had fielded Ashok Sarma from Nalbari. He has a background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).In Joyram Engleng’s Howraghat seat, BJP fielded Dorsingh Ronghang. He has a background in the Left. He joined BJP a few years ago.In the Baithalangsu seat, represented by Mansing Rongpi, the BJP fielded Roop Sing Teran. He is the chairman of KAAC.BB Hagzer represented Haflong. The BJP fielded Nandita Garlosa in the seat. Nandita is the sister of Dima Hasao Autonomous Council chief Debolal Garlosa.Dilip Paul is a former Assembly Deputy Speaker who represented Silchar. The BJP fielded Dwipayan Chakraborty, who is a businessman, in the seat. Similarly, Amalendu Das, who has a background in the RSS, has been fielded in place of Kishore Nath in the Borkhola seat.In Bihpuria and Sonari seats, the party fielded Amiyo Bhuyan and Dharmeswar Konwar replacing Debananda Hazarika and Nabanita Handique respectively. Handique had got elected to the Assembly in 2019 by winning a by-election.The two former Congress Ministers who made the cut are Ajanta Neog and Gautam Roy. Neog will contest from her constituency Golaghat and Roy, who earned the “King of Barak Valley” moniker from Katigorah in place of Jain. Neog has been representing the Golaghat seat since 2001.BJP sources said the party assessed the performances of the sitting MLAs prior to deciding on the candidates. It had earlier asserted that the non-performing Ministers and MLAs would not be fielded.Assam BJP chief Ranjit Kumar Dass, a sitting MLA, will contest from Patacharkuchi instead of his Sorbhog constituency. There is a perceived wave against him in Sorbhog.BJP leader and Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told journalists in Delhi, “We have decided that Ranjit Kumar Dass will contest from Patacharkuchi as wished by our party workers.”The BJP will contest the polls in alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) which is headed by the chief of autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council.Sarma said the AGP would contest from 26 seats. In 2016, it had contested from 28 seats, including four where it had friendly contest with BJP.Incidentally, Sarma, fielded from the Jalukbari seat, had earlier announced that he would not contest the polls. On Friday, he said he is contesting as was decided by the party.A confident Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who will contest from Majuli, said: “There is peace and progress in Assam. We could ensure peace. BJP will retain power.”Meanwhile, mixed scenes were observed after the names of the candidates were announced. The supporters of MLAs who were snubbed erupted in protests. For the supporters of others, who will be contesting, there was early celebration of Rongali Bihu. 

  • BJP likely to release first list of candidates for upcoming Assembly polls in first week of March

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Bhartiya Janta Party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) is likely to meet in the first week of March to decide the candidates’ list for the upcoming assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory.

    According to sources, BJP is likely to announce its first list for the state assembly election in the first week of March after the CEC’s meeting. The meeting is likely to take place on March 4.

    BJP’s CEC consists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others.

    The election for the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry were announced last Friday by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

    The terms of legislative assemblies of four states Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and West Bengal are coming to an end in May and June. In Puducherry, President’s rule has been imposed and the assembly is kept under suspended animation after the former Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence in the parliament.

    Assam has 126 Members in its Legislative Assembly, West Bengal has 294, Tamil Nadu has 234, Kerala has 140 and Puducherry has 33 seats (30 elected and 3 nominated by Centre).

    As per the schedule, West Bengal State Assembly elections will be in eight-phases, while Assam will be voting in three phases.Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 6. Counting of votes for all four states and one Union Territory will take place on May 2.

  • BJP to draw on experience of veterans in Assembly elections

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The BJP national office bearers meeting on Sunday in the national capital will aim to capitalise on party’s resources for the upcoming polls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal.  The BJP is gearing up to make full use of the election veterans from the party ranks. The BJP leaders maintain that the rising petrol and diesel prices along with the farmers’ agitation could pose serious challenges for the party in the state polls. 

    On Sunday, BJP chief JP Nadda will preside over the national office bearer’s meeting in which the chiefs of the state units and organisational secretaries were invited. BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, in a letter to the state chiefs, has called for reports on organisational issues.

     “The state elections are very crucial for the BJP because they will set the tone for big elections in the BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Also, the BJP’s Mission South will be tested,” said a senior BJP functionary.

    Nadda is likely to call upon the election veterans from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh to camp in Assam and Bengal. On the same line, the BJP poll veterans from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra will be asked to camp in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

    “The BJP has a large group of leaders who have rich experiences in managing elections at the polling booth levels. Such leaders are well acquainted with the demography of the bound states,” said another BJP functionary.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to ask the BJP leaders to take the “pro-people” budget proposals and achievements to the electorate. The senior leaders are also likely to call upon the state functionaries to be more proactive in countering the opposition campaign against the farm laws. 

  • Bhupesh Baghel leaves for Assam tour, says Congress victory in assembly elections

    Bhupesh Baghel has left for Assam tour. Assam Incharge Secretary Vikas Upadhyay has also left along with CM.
    Before leaving for Assam tour, CM Bhupesh Baghel, while speaking to reporters, said that the Congress would win in Assam. The Congress has an alliance with six parties.
    On imposing agricultural cess, CM Bhupesh Baghel said that inflation has increased the burden on the general public. We will not get the amount of cess, it will cause loss.

  • Bihar officials share experience with five poll-bound states on how to conduct polls amid Covid safely

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar election officals who successfully conducted the country’s first stand-alone assembly elections during the COVID-19 pandemic period will be sharing tips with their counterparts in five poll-bound states.

    The states of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, TN and Pudducherry are scheduled to go to polls this year and it is learnt that Bihar officials along with state chief election officer HR Srinivas have started sharing their experience and also tips through video conferencing.

    The officials will share details on efforts taken like an app developed for the Bihar polls. They will also share the strategy used for booth-managements, force deployments, adherence to safety protocols and distribution of safety kits among the poll personnel. 

    Election officials also shared about proper uploading of details of criminal records of candidates coming into the fray.

    Since Bihar was the first state to introduce ballot papers for voters with physical disability and those abouve 80-years of age, officials have also shared the strategy behind it.

    Recently, Bihar CEO HR Srinivas had visited Tamil Nadu and Pudduchery and shared the tips with elections officials in the states.

    Officials of other departments involved in the election process have also shared strategy details over video conference

    “Whatever we have learnt, the tips and information having conducted safe elections in the Covid times in Bihar are shared with officers of other poll bound states through proper channels”, said Bihar CEO HR Srinivas.

    He said that it was indeed a tough task to conduct polls in Bihar after the COVID-19 outbreak but it was completed successfully thanks to team effort of officials and all departments under the continuous guidance of chief Election officer of India with his team of experts.

    Principal health secretary Pratyay Amrit said that a request for a detailed presentation on steps taken in adherence to the COVID-19 safety and arrangements hasbeen received from poll-bound Assam government recently. “A team of health officials will soon visit Assam and if needed other poll-bound states also”, he said.

    According to official sources, Bihar had made arrangements for 7.3 crore of voters and procured 18 lakhs face shields, 70 lakhs face masks, 5.4 lakhs single-use hand gloves for personnel involved in election duty.

    Nearly 10 lakhs of ASHA workers and Jeevika didis associated with SHGs were trained and mobilised for packaging safety kits at Gaya, Patna, Muzaffarpur and Purnia and the kits were dispatched timely. For poll waste collection, collection baskets were put up in each booth and truck were arranged for transport and dumping of the waste.