Tag: Tamil Nadu Polls 2021

  • ‘EC trod with caution, was ahead of curve in ensuring safety of voters, personnel’: Sources on HC flak

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: After the Madras High Court observed that the Election Commission must be held “singularly” responsible for the second wave of coronavirus in the country, sources said on Monday that the poll panel has trodden with caution all along to ensure COVID-19-free polls, first in Bihar and then in four states and a union territory.

    They said while enforcing the Disaster Management Act to ensure COVID-19-appropriate behaviour is the responsibility of the State Disaster Management Authority, the Commission invoked its constitutional powers to place curbs on campaigning in West Bengal to reduce exposure of people to the virus.

    “We were ahead of the curve in ensuring safety of voters and personnel in the pandemic,” a functionary said.

    They said that after the successful conduct of the Bihar assembly elections in November 2020 involving 73 million voters at 1,06,000 polling booths, there was widespread appreciation of strength and capability of the constitutional authority.

    The biggest stakeholder in democracy — the electorate — in Bihar reposed their faith and participated in numbers even more than the last assembly polls in the state.

    The Madras High Court on Monday castigated the Election Commission over the COVID-19 second wave in the country, holding it “singularly” responsible for the spread.

    The court called the poll panel “the most irresponsible institution” and even said its officials may be booked under murder charges.

    When counsel for the EC told the judges that all necessary steps were implemented, the bench shot back saying that by allowing political parties to take out rallies and meetings, it (the Commission) had paved the way for the resurgence of the second wave of the deadly virus.

    A functionary said, “From the pedestal of strength, we announced elections to five states in February 2021. By the way, the pandemic then was at its lowest stage. The number of new cases in the country in February were hovering around 11,000 new cases a day and all states and UTs had reported a decline in active cases in January-February. The vaccination was in full swing, signs of economic revival were visible.”

    Despite overall improvement in the COVID-19 situation, general mood of overall revival and no input available on the likelihood of a second wave, the Commission decided to tread with caution and not lower the guards, the sources observed.

    There was a persuasive suggestion to go back to 1,500 voters per polling station as opposed to 1,000 voters, which was resulting in 23,000 more booths (32 per cent increase) just in West Bengal and of course consequential tremendous increase in police and civil manpower and other logistics.

    All protocols of COVID-19, including 1,000 voters per polling station, were enforced in all poll-going states on the same template as was very successfully developed during Bihar elections last year.

    Elections to Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry were over on April 6 before the unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases, they underlined.

    The spread of the pandemic has been dynamic and so has been the response of the EC, the sources stressed.

    In April itself, four directions were issued by the EC to check the spread of the virus amid electioneering.

    The severity of the pandemic and its response strategy, including complete or conditional shutdown, is governed by the Disaster Management Act and is outside the remit of EC, they said.

    “No national or state level lockdown was declared till April 17 (phase 5 polling in West Bengal) by the authorities administering the Act. EC still invoked its power under Article 324 of the Constitution and curtailed the campaign duration, silence period, restricted the campaigning time from 10am to 7 pm. All kinds of road shows and ‘padayatras’ and rallies were later banned and restricted the limit for public meeting to 500,” another functionary said.

    The sources cited electoral laws to say that clubbing of the last three phases of polling in West Bengal as demanded by the Trinamool Congress was not feasible.

    In any case, it was ensured that there is no campaigning between 7th and 8th phase by further extending silence period to 72 hours, they said.

    “In any case, the Commission kept on tightening Covid protocols, finally banning all rallies, road shows. There are large number of cases, including criminal cases, being registered for violation of EC guidelines.”

    “If even temporary disfranchising of voters was to be considered as an option, the hue and cry at an unimaginable level of high decibel would have been the outcome and perhaps rightly so.

    Implications of not completing elections timely, possibly leading to situation of conducting at a later stage under extended term or President’s Rule might be much more damaging and attract sharper objections of favouring one and acting against another,” the functionary said.

    The coronavirus situation remained grim with India’s daily COVID-19 infection tally and death toll touching new peaks in the past few days.

    The country recorded 3,52,991 cases, the highest so far, taking the tally of cases to 1,73,13,163 while active cases have crossed the 28-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The death toll increased to 1,95,123 with a record 2,812 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

  • TN polls 2021: Smriti Irani challenges Kamal Hassan for an open debate with BJP candidate

    By PTI
    COIMBATORE: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday challenged actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan to have an open debate with Vanathi Srinivasan, BJP’s candidate for Coimbatore South constituency, after he took on the Centre on issues of development in his campaigns.

    Haasan is also contesting from this Constituency.

    Addressing the ‘North India Community Outreach Programme’, organised at Gujarati Samaj here, the BJP leader recalled that she had participated in a debate with him a few years back.

    “I challenge Kamal Haasan to come for a debate with Vanathi Srinivasan, to prove to the people who is it that really knows the issues well, gives solutions and implements policies.”

    Reeling out statistics on infrastructure development, she said the Centre has built 10 crore toilets nationwide, of which 90 lakh was in Tamil Nadu.

    Similarly, the PM initiated the Jandhan scheme through which government was able to directly transfer money to people’s accounts, benefiting 40 crore people all over the country, of which 90 lakh were in Tamil Nadu The state received 1.25 crore drinking water taps of the five crore installed in India in the last two years, she said, speaking in Gujarati and Hindi.

    A central government scheme through which farmers get Rs 6,000 annually had benefited 10 crore of them and 50 lakh of them were in Tamil Nadu, the minister said.

    The Centre has also sanctioned 11 medical colleges and an AIIMS for Tamil Nadu, she said.

    “All this was possible because the people of India blessed and elected Narendra Modi as Prime Minister…who chose to be the first public servant of the nation,” she said Appealing the people to cast their votes for the BJP on April 6, she said “Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) is coming not with torch, but on Kamal (Lotus).”

    Later, replying to a question from reporters on why she targetted only Kamal Hassan when other parties, including Congress, were in the fray, she quipped “Congress is not at all in the picture.” 

  • BJP looking to achieve ‘Mission East’ in Bengal, make inroads in South

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The upcoming assembly polls assume great significance for the BJP as it looks for an ideological victory in West Bengal by achieving “Mission East” and expand its footprint in the south beyond Karnataka.

    BJP leaders feel that a better performance in these polls will be a big boost for the party in pushing its reform agenda set in the recently presented Union Budget.

    West Bengal is a high-stakes battle for the BJP and its master strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is himself handling the affairs and has set a target of more than 200 seats out of the total 294 assembly constituencies.

    Talking about BJP’s prospects in Bengal, where it is running a high-octane campaign, its co-incharge Sunil Menon said the party registered victory in almost 125 assembly segments in the 2019 general elections when it won 18 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 42 and lost narrowly in two.

    “The BJP got 41 per cent votes in the 2019 general elections and with every passing day it is improving its position in the state and will emerge victorious in the assembly polls,” he said, adding that it will not only be an electoral success but an ideological victory for the party.

    The BJP has its own government or of its allies in all seven northeastern states and is confident of again coming to power in Assam as the Congress will hugely miss the services of Tarun Gogoi who ruled the state for 15 years.

    Post the massive victory in 2019 general elections when the BJP swept north-western parts of the country, the party eyes on eastern and southern states to emerge as a force to reckon with and in this context, these elections are of much important to the saffron party.

    With the Congress decimated in Puducherry, the BJP with the help of its ally All India NR Congress and AIADMK is confident of opening another front in the south after Karnataka.

    “People of Puducherry are fed up with the corruption and misgovernance of the Congress. They want good governance of the Modi government and therefore will want to give BJP a chance this time to serve them,” senior party leader and Union minister Arjun Meghwal said.

    He is BJP’s poll-incharge for Puducherry.

    Barring Assam and West Bengal, the BJP has nothing much to lose especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala where it is looking to make inroads and its presence felt.

    BJP’s incharge for Kerala and Union minister Pralhad Joshi said the party will definitely improve its performance in Kerala and emerge as a third front in the state.

    Kerala has been choosing between Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF.

    The Election Commission on Friday announced poll dates in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

    The elections will begin on March 27, with West Bengal witnessing the maximum of eight phases of polling continuing till April 29.

    Counting of votes for the four states and Puducherry will be taken up on May 2.

    West Bengal polls will be held in eight phases and Assam three while polling for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assemblies will take place in a single phase.

  • EC announces poll dates: TN, Kerala, Bengal, Assam and Puducherry results on May 2

    By Online Desk
    The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Assembly elections for  Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, Assam and Puducherry on Friday.

    The results of all the elections will be known on May 2. West Bengal will have an unprecedented eight-phase election, TN, Kerala and Puducherry single-phase elections, and Assam a three-phase election.

    Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam, and 30 seats in Puducherry. 

    Here is the schedule

    STATE / UT (number of seats) 
    NUMBER OF PHASES
    POLLING DATES
    COUNTING DATE
    Tamil Nadu (234 seats) 
    Single-phase
    April 6
    May 2
    Kerala (140 seats)Malappuram by-poll
    Single-phase
    April 6
    May 2
    West Bengal (294 seats)
    Eight-phase
    Phase1- March 27Phase 2- April 1Phase 3- April 6Phase 4- April 10Phase 5- April 17 Phase 6- April 22Phase 7- April 26Phase 8- April 29
    May 2
    Assam (126 seats) 
    Three-phase
    Phase 1- March 27Phase 2- April 1Phase 3- April 6
    May 2
    Puducherry (30 seats)
    Single-phase
    April 6
    May 2
    Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora in his press conference in New Delhi paid tribute to COVID warriors.

    Arora said, “Our tributes to the COVID warriors, doctors, paramedics, nurses, researchers, scientists and all our officials on election duty who are located on the frontline.

    “In the thick of the pandemic, ECI started test trials with elections to 18 seats to Rajya Sabha. After that, came the challenge of the Bihar elections, it was indeed a watershed moment for ECI. It proved to be a litmus test.” 

    The CEC further added that a total of 824 assembly constituencies will be going to the polls during these elections. 18.68 crore electors are eligible to cast their vote at 2.7 lakh polling stations in the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry. 

    Among some key points announced by the CEC were the extension of voting time by one hour like in the Bihar polls, door-to-door campaigning being restricted to five people and the allowing of roadshows, subject to COVID protocols being followed. 

    #Breaking: Kerala Assembly elections 2021. @ECISVEEP says Kerala will have 40,711 polling stations, up from 21,794 in 2016. @NewIndianXpress
    — TNIE Kerala (@xpresskerala) February 26, 2021

    Critical police stations have been identified and adequate security arrangements have been made. CCTV monitoring and webcasting will be done in all critical and vulnerable polling stations, Arora said, further adding that all the poll officials will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before elections for the five assemblies.

    Model code of conduct comes into force in all five States including Tamil Nadu which are going to polls; Tamil Nadu to have 88,936 polling stations, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress
    — T Muruganandham (@muruga_TNIE) February 26, 2021

    The terms of the legislative assemblies of these four states are ending in May and June. 

    In Puducherry, President’s Rule has been imposed after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress resigned earlier this week ahead of the trust vote.

  • Modi the person through which Balakot information went to Arnab: Rahul lashes out at Republic TV chief

    By PTI
    KARUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the “person through which” prior information on India’s air strikes in Balakot in Pakistan in 2019 was made available to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.

    The Congress MP, however, did not provide evidence to back up his claim.

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also did not immediately respond to the unfounded claim.

    Addressing a roadshow here during his final day of election campaign in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, he said only five people including the PM and the Defence Minister would have prior information of the planned strikes.

    “Some days back it came out that a journalist knew about the air strikes in Balakot. Three days before the (Indian) air force bombed Pakistan, an Indian journalist was told it was going to happen,” he said.

    This meant the lives of our IAF pilots were put at ‘risk,’ he said.

    “Now, five people in this world knew about Balakot (air strikes). Prime Minister of India, the Defence minister of India, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of the Air Force and the Home minister.”

    “Nobody else in the world knew about Balakot before it happened. Now I want to understand why an enquiry has not started on who told this journalist about Balakot before it happened. The reason is that one of these five people told this man. One of these five people betrayed our Air Force,” he charged.

    He alleged that “one of these people put the lives of our pilots in danger.”

    “If the Prime Minister did not do it then why is he not ordering an enquiry. Think about it. The only reason that the Prime Minister has not ordered an enquiry is because he is the person through which that message has gone to this journalist,” Gandhi claimed.

    Else, the PM should investigate and tell which one of these five people did it, Gandhi demanded.

    Purported chats between Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) head Partho Dasgupta, which mentioned that the former was privy to the 2019 air strike, by the IAF on the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot had surfaced recently.

    The IAF had carried out the strike deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in the wake of killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district then by Pakistan- based Jaish-e-Mohammed.

    Gandhi also hit out at Modi once again over the Sino-India face-off, saying “today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory.”

    “The Prime Minister has said he has a 56 inch chest, big chest. Today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory. Thousand km of Indian land has been taken by the Chinese,” he said.

    He alleged that Modi cannot say the word China as he “does not have the courage to say” so.

    “You look at his speeches for the last 3-4 months, he does not say the word China. When the Chinese entered our territory he lied that nobody has come. After some days the Army and Defence minister said the Chinese army had come into Indian territory,” Gandhi added.

    “And the only reason the Chinese have the guts and the courage to come into this country is because Narendra Modi has destroyed the economy and weakened (the country) by dividing it,” he charged.