Tag: Elections

Omar Abdullah

It Would Be Party’s Decision: Omar Abdullah on Contest Elections This Time

By LokMarg

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said on Saturday that it would be the party’s decision whether he would contest the elections this time or not.

“There are a lot of rumours during the election time. Whether or not will I fight the elections or from where I will fight the elections, it would be the party’s decision, not mine. I cannot say anything about it,” he said.

Ahead of the INDIA bloc’s ‘Maharally’ at Ram Leela Maidan tomorrow, Omar said that from his party, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah will participate.

“The INDIA Bloc is going to organise a program at the Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi tomorrow. From the National Conference, leader Farooq Abdullah will participate in it,” he said.

Notably, two Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Trinamool Congress, including Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghose, will join the INDIA alliance rally on March 31 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, said TMC leader Shashi Panja.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Minister Gopal Rai on Friday announced that several prominent leaders from the INDIA alliance will participate in a rally at Ramlila Maidan on March 31 in support of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following his recent arrest.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, Bhagwant Mann, Champai Soren, Tejashwi Yadav, and Sitaram Yechury and many more leaders have been confirmed to join the rally, Rai said.

On being asked about when his party will release the candidate list for the Lok Sabha polls, Omar Abdullah said that they will announce it as per their wish and nobody except Sajjad Lone has declared candidates in the Union Territory.

“Who else has announced the candidates except for Sajjad Lone? I have not heard the name of any candidate for the three seats of Kashmir. Everyone is asking about the candidates for the National Conference as if everyone is waiting for us only. We will announce (the candidates) when we wish. It is possible that the announcement would be made after the notification or at the last date of nomination. It is our wish,” the National Conference leader said.

The Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory will be held in the first five phases on April 19 (Udhampur), April 26 (Jammu), May 7 (Anantnag-Rajouri), May 13 (Srinagar) and May 20 (Baramulla).

The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. (ANI)

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High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay

Abhijit Joins BJP Ahead Of LS Polls

By LokMarg

With Lok Sabha elections months away, former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Thursday joined Bharatiya Janata Party.

After joining the BJP, Gangopadhyay told ANI, “Today’s joining is nice. The way they have welcomed me is overwhelming…Everybody knows corruption is to be fought.”

On Sandeshkhali, he said, “It is a very bad incident. The state leaders have gone there. They have been prevented from reaching there. Despite that, they have reached and stood beside the women there and BJP is taking up the cause of oppressed people in Sandeskhali”.

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay was formally inducted into the party in presence of state party chief Sukanta Majumdar, Leader of Oppostion Suvendu Adhikari and others in Kolkata.

Welcoming him in the party fold, Sukanta Majumdar said, “As a State President of BJP I welcome former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to our party, to the family of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I believe the way he has worked as a Justice for deprived, exploited victims of Bengal, he will carry forward that work with the leadership of the BJP”.

“In the coming future, Bengal’s politics will take a turn. This is the right time for the educated youth of Bengal to come forward and contribute to turning the politics of the state for good,” the BJP leader said.

Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who stepped down as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court earlier in the month had announced that he would join the BJP.

There has been speculation that Gangopadhyay will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from Bengal’s Tamluk constituency on a BJP ticket. The Tamluk seat has been a bastion of the ruling Trinamool Congress in recent elections; the party has held it since the 2009 election.

Former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay has however not indicated anything leaving the decision of his contesting the elections to the BJP. (ANI)

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Pakistan

Pak To Close Borders With Afghanistan, Iran Ahead Of Elections

By LokMarg

Pakistan has announced the closure of its borders with neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran to ensure security during the upcoming general elections slated for February 8, as per Dawn

The decision, disclosed by Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Wednesday, aims to maintain stability during the polling process.

The FO spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, stated, “To ensure full security during the general elections to be held in Pakistan on February 8 , border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran would remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians, as reported by Dawn.

Normal operations would resume on February 9.”

According to Dawn, authorities have duly informed both Afghanistan and Iran regarding the closure.

Notably, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have led to frequent closures of border crossings at Torkham and Chaman in the recent past.

However, despite recent tensions and exchanges of missile fire, the border with Iran remained open last month.

With approximately 128 million voters poised to participate in electing members of the national assembly and four provincial assemblies, stringent security measures have been implemented.

Army troops have been deployed, and nearly half of the 90,000-plus polling stations nationwide have been marked as sensitive.

The province of Balochistan, in particular, has witnessed a surge in terrorist activity leading up to the polls.

Twin terrorist attacks in Pishin and Qilla Saifullah on Wednesday resulted in casualties and raised concerns about election security.

Despite challenges, authorities have affirmed their commitment to conducting the elections as scheduled in Balochistan.

Similarly, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province has been on high alert following frequent terrorist incidents, including an attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan where 10 police officials were martyred.

Observers anticipate significant challenges for authorities and law enforcement agencies in ensuring trouble-free polls in both provinces, given the heightened violence.

However, authorities remain resolute in their determination to safeguard the democratic process from disruption by terrorist elements. (ANI)

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MLA Poaching Claim by AAP

Why Notice Sent To Me Just Two Months Before Elections: Kejriwal

By LokMarg

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday replied to the Enforcement Directorate’s fourth summons issued to him related to the Delhi Excise policy case and asked why the notice had been sent to me just two months before the elections.

ED had issued a summon to Kejriwal for the fourth time in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case asking him to join the investigation on January 18.

“This is illegal and invalid in the eyes of law. Whenever such notices have been sent, they have been quashed by the courts. I have written to ED several times, but they are not responding. These notices are being sent as part of a political conspiracy. This investigation has been going on for 2 years and they have not found anything yet,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.

“The courts have asked them many times whether any recovery has been made from anywhere. How much money has been received? People are being beaten and false statements are being taken. Why is the notice sent to me 2 months before the elections? Because they wanted me to stop campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. The aim of all this is to stop Kejriwal by any means before the elections,” he added.

The fresh summons to Delhi CM follows the third summons which he skipped last week.

Kejriwal has so far skipped summons issued by the ED on three occasions including on January 3, November 2 and on December 22, calling them “illegal and politically motivated.”

The ED wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.

While skipping the third summons issued by the ED, Kejriwal termed it “illegal”, saying he was ready to cooperate, but the agency’s intention was to arrest him and stop him from election campaigning.

The Excise Policy case is based on a First Information Report (FIR) alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.

The excise policy was aimed to revitalize the city’s flagging liquor business and replace a sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders. It promised swankier stores and a better buying experience. The policy introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor for the first time in Delhi. (ANI)

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Imran Khan

Imran Out Of Election Race As Lahore HC Upholds Rejection

By LokMarg

In a setback for Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan, the Lahore High Court on Wednesday upheld the rejection of his nomination papers for the February 8 general elections, Dawn News reported.

The high court upheld the decisions of the returning officer (RO) and appellate tribunal given against acceptance of the disqualified former premier’s nomination papers from NA-122 and NA-89 constituencies.

It reported that Imran’s nomination papers had been rejected primarily on the grounds of being convicted in the Toshakhana case, in which he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The case, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), had accused Imran of not mentioning the details of state gifts in his tax declarations.

Imran’s nomination papers from NA-122 were also dismissed on the grounds of the proposer not being a voter from the constituency.

The appellate tribunals had also upheld the decisions of the respective returning officers (ROs) with an observation that the conviction and sentence were two different terms as conviction pertained to the guilty verdict and sentence stands for the rigours following conviction.

Earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) reserved the decision on a writ petition filed by Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan against the election appellate tribunal’s dismissal of his appeal regarding the rejection of his nomination papers by the Returning officer (RO), The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday.

Arguing during the hearing, Imran Khan’s counsel contended that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lacks the authority to disqualify an individual.

The tribunals had noted that the conviction meant a guilty verdict pronounced by a court in reference to the delinquency attributed to an accused, whereas the sentence denoted the quantum of punishment.

Subsequently, Imran had filed two petitions in the LHC asking the high court to set aside the decisions of the ROs and the appellate tribunals of rejecting the nomination papers of the petitioner from both constituencies of the National Assembly.

During the previous hearing, Advocate Uzair Bhandari had argued on behalf of Imran that the conviction on the charge of moral turpitude did not fall under the definition of disqualification. He said the conviction of the petitioner could not be equated with the conviction for corruption or accumulating illegal assets, Dawn News reported.

He also pointed out that an Indian court enlisted the offence of moral turpitude lower than the offence involving financial corruption. However, the bench observed that the standards of morality in Pakistan were different from other regions.

Bhandari further argued that the RO had no jurisdiction to pass the impugned order on the basis of the conviction on moral turpitude. Meanwhile, a lawyer for the ECP argued that the petitioner’s conviction was still in force and he had not been acquitted by the high court.(ANI)

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Mallikarjun Kharge INDIA

Kharge Turns Down Proposal To Be INDIA Alliance’s PM Candidate

By LokMarg

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has turned down suggestion about being the prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and said the issue will be decided later and their first priority is to try and get a majority by working together.

VCK parliamentarian Thol. Thirumavalavan told ANI after a meeting of INDIA bloc parties on Tuesday that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed that Kharge should be the coordinator of the INDIA bloc and that he should be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha battle.

Kharge responded to the issue during an interaction with the media after the INDIA block meeting.

“First, all of us have to win, we should think about what needs to be done for victory. Who will be PM, this will be decided later. If there are less MPs, what is the point of talking about PM. First, to increase our numbers, (by) coming together, we will try to bring majority. First we will try to win,” he said.

Kharge also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of arrogance after BJP won three of the five states where elections were held last month.

The VCK MP said that Kharge rejected the suggestion to be the prime ministerial face of the INDIA parties.

“Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal proposed that Mallikarjun Kharge must be the coordinator of this INDIA team and we will project him as the Prime Minister in the forthcoming elections. But Khargeji rejected this categorically. He said – no need for this suggestion, after the election only we can decide who is the PM. He immediately rejected this point,” Thirumavalavan told ANI.

However, Kerala Congress leader PJ Joseph said Mamata Banerjee did not take any names and said that it will be good if the alliance projects a “Dalit PM”.

“She did not suggest so. While she spoke, Mamata Banerjee said that it would be good if we could project a Dalit PM. She did not say the name of any person. The matter was not discussed much because she spoke last,” Joseph told ANI.

Kharge, a former union minister, belongs to the Dalit community.

The fourth meeting of the ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc took place in the national capital on Friday and was attended by leaders from 28 parties.

Congress leader KC Venugopal told reporters after the meeting that the seat-sharing talks should start without delay and there is a proposal for “joint rallies” also.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of escalating tensions between the government and the opposition over the suspension of parliamentarians during the winter session of Parliament.

An unprecedented 141 MPs have been suspended in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for “misconduct”, most of them for the remainder of the winter session which concludes on December 22.

INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) parties are seeking to put a united challenge against the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting happened in Mumbai on August 31-September 1.

In the Mumbai meeting, the opposition parties adopted resolutions to collectively contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible in a spirit of give-and-take. (ANI)

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Imran Khan

Imran Addresses Supporters Using AI From Prison

By LokMarg

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to construct a voice clone, the former Pakistan prime minister, Imran Khan, addressed his supporters as part of his campaign months ahead of the much-anticipated general elections in the country, CNN reported.

Khan was convicted of corruption in August and has been imprisoned ever since.

In addition, he is charged with disclosing classified material, a charge that the former politician and cricket player has refuted time and again and claims are meant to prevent him from running in the February general elections.

The government shut down the internet for three days after Khan’s brief incarceration in May provoked fatal rioting, causing the country’s media regulator to forbid television stations from airing Khan’s talks, according to CNN.

Khan has been the subject of private legal proceedings. Since his arrest in August, no public image of Khan in custody or in court has been released.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held an online rally on Sunday that lasted about seven hours, during which it released a roughly four-minute clip that used AI technology to mimic Khan’s voice. The audio was overlayed with old footage and photographs of the country’s former leader.

According to CNN, the caption on the video read, “AI voice of Imran Khan based on his notes for Jalsa (a rally) from jail.”

“My fellow Pakistanis, first, I would like to praise my social media team for this historic attempt,” the AI voice said, adding, “Perhaps you are wondering what my condition is in jail … My determination for real freedom is strong.”

“Our party is not allowed to hold public rallies … Our people are being kidnapped and families are being harassed,” the AI voice said, according to CNN.

In 2018, Imran Khan swept to power. However, opposition leaders accused him of driving the nation to the verge of economic catastrophe four years into his term.

In April 2022, a legislative no-confidence vote resulted in his removal from office.

Tens of thousands of people attended nationwide demonstrations against Khan’s removal for months afterward.

In an attempt to overcome an ‘unspoken ban’ on public gatherings and rallies, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) organised a “virtual power show” on Sunday through social media to energise its supporters ahead of the upcoming polls, Dawn reported.

However, the online event encountered disruptions, with users reporting difficulties accessing social media platforms in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad after 8 p.m. Internet services were also reported to be slow, the report added.

NetBlocks, an internet tracking agency, observed a “nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across Pakistan, including X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.”

The online gathering, primarily broadcast on YouTube, garnered viewership of 72,487 within minutes of commencement, reaching 89,190 half an hour later. The viewership fluctuated between 70,000 to 80,000 for an hour before dropping to 53,000 after two hours, Dawn reported. (ANI)

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BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao

EC Sets Jan 5 As Polling Date For Karanpur Seat In Rajasthan

By LokMarg

The Election Commission of India has fixed January 5, 2024, as the date of voting for the elections in the Karanpur constituency in Rajasthan on which the polls were postponed due to the death of Congress candidate.

Rajasthan polls were conducted on 199 seats out of 200 assembly seats on November 25, as elections in the Karanpur constituency were adjourned due to the passing of the Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.

“The last Date of Nominations is December 19, 2023, the last Date for Withdrawal of candidatures is December 22 and the date of counting is January 8, 2024,” the ECI further informed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Rajasthan assembly polls and is set to form the government in the 200-member state Assembly, as the party crossed the majority mark by securing 115 seats.

Congress came a distant second with 69 seats.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje won from the Jhalrapatan constituency by a margin of 53,193 votes, garnering a total of 1,38,831 votes. She defeated Congress candidate Ramlal who got 85,638 votes.

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker and senior Congress leader CP Joshi suffered defeat at the hands of BJP candidate Vishwaraj Singh Mewar by a margin of 7,504 votes in Nathdwara.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot registered victory from the Sardarpura seat with a margin of 26,396 votes over rival BJP candidate Mahendra Rathore.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot defeated the BJP candidate Ajit Singh Mehta by a margin of 29,475 votes. Sachin Pilot got 1,05,812 votes, whereas the rival candidate was able to garner 76,337 votes.

After securing victory, the BJP’s focus has now shifted to who will be the chief minister in Rajasthan.

According to sources, the BJP top brass would come together and brainstorm on the party’s CM candidate for Rajasthan in the coming days.

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Mahant Balak Nath, who emerged victorious from the Tijara assembly constituency on Sunday, Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi and Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat are said to be among the top contenders for the chief minister’s chair, according to sources. (ANI)

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Rajasthan Congress

Rajasthan: Cong To Begin Assembly Poll Campaign From Oct 16

By LokMarg

The Congress will begin its election campaign for the upcoming assembly election in Rajasthan from October 16 with “Kaam kiya dil se, Congress fir se” as its slogan, state party president Govind Singh Dotasra said on Sunday.

Dotasra, while addressing the media after the meeting of the State Congress War Room, said that the party will keep the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) on its priority list and start campaigning from Baran district and cover 12 districts of eastern Rajasthan where the canal is proposed for meeting out drinking and irrigation water for the people.

“Congress will start its campaign ‘Kaam Kiya Dil se, Congress Sarkar Phir se’ from October 16. We will begin it from the centre’s broken promise on ERCP (Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project)… We will start in 12 districts from October 16… We will do meetings in every district where at least one lakh people will come…” Dotasra said.

Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk and Dholpur will be part of the Congress’ poll campaign in eastern Rajasthan.

He further said that the Congress government has fulfilled 98 per cent of the promises made in its manifesto and the next manifesto will be prepared on the basis of the ‘Vision 2030’ document.

The leader further said that at the Congress Working Meeting (CWC) meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Delhi on Monday, the state election committee will present the names of potential poll candidates to the screening committee for consideration.

Speaking with the media about the meeting, Rajasthan Congress Incharge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said, “We will start our election campaign from Eastern Rajasthan. The BJP has made false promises that the canal (Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project) would be constructed…”

Randhawa further said that this is the ‘misfortune’ of Rajasthan that despite Gajendra Singh Shekhawat being the Jal Shakti Minister, the state could not get the project.

“Before talking about the entire country, they should have looked into their home state,” Randhawa added. (ANI)

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan MP Polls BJP

MP Polls: BJP Releases 2nd List of 39 Candidates, Fields 3 Union Ministers

By LokMarg

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its second list of 39 candidates for the forthcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh including Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel.

Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel have been fielded from the Dimani and Narsingpur constituencies.

Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste will be contesting from the Niwas constituency.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP MP Rakesh Singh have been fielded from Indore-1 and Jabalpur Paschim constituencies. 

Other notable candidates in the list included MPs Ganesh Mantri, Rakesh Singh and Reeti Pathak.

On September 13, the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) held a meeting to discuss Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections at the party’s headquarters in the national capital.

The meeting was attended by PM Modi including BJP President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah, along with other members of the election committee and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

The BJP released its first list of candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections on August 17, revealing the names of 39 candidates. 

The state is scheduled to go for the Assembly polls later this year. Through the polls, the state will elect legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies. (ANI)

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