Tag: Voting

Odisha: 55.20 pc voting till 3 pm in Jharsuguda by-poll

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Jharsuguda, A total of 55.20 per cent of the 2.21 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm on Wednesday in Odisha’s Jharsuguda assembly constituency, where a by-election is underway, an Election Commission official said.
Long queues were seen in front of several polling stations even before the voting process started at 7 am.
“There is no report of any untoward incident. Voting is underway peacefully amid tight security arrangements in all 253 polling stations. At least 55.20 per cent of eligible voters have exercised their franchise till 3 pm,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said.

Dhal said the pace of voting reduced in the afternoon due to intense heat as 42 degrees Celsius was recorded in Jharsuguda at 3 pm. He said drinking water and watermelon were distributed among the voters standing in the queue.
The voting will continue till 6 pm.
Over 2.21 lakh voters, including 63 members of the transgender community, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll.
“There has been adequate deployment of personnel including paramilitary jawans in critical booths. Drones are being used to monitor the voting process in many booths,” said Jharsuguda SP Aparmar Smit Parshottamdas.
The by-election assumes significance as it will be the last poll before the 2024 general elections.

More than 1,000 officials and a huge police contingent along with seven companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the by-election, the official said.
Collector cum District Election Officer Aboli Sunil Naravane said this was the first time that webcasting was done in all 253 polling stations.
She said adequate arrangements have been made to provide respite to voters from the scorching heat.
Both BJD candidate Deepali Das and BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy cast their votes early in the morning.
The by-election was necessitated following the murder of the sitting MLA and the then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29, 2023.
Though nine candidates are in the fray in the by-poll, the contest is mainly between the BJD, BJP and Congress.
The BJD has fielded Das’s daughter Deepali Das, while the BJP has nominated Tankadhar Tripathy. The Congress has fielded Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey. All three candidates are debutant contestants.
Votes will be counted on May 13.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had campaigned for BJD candidate Deepali Das, while Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisheswar Tudu had canvassed for BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy.
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#Odisha #voting #Jharsuguda #bypoll
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 10, 2023
Karnataka polls: Brisk voting underway in Hubbali-Dharward

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Hubbali: Brisk voting was underway in Hubbali-Dharwad constituency, where former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is fighting a tough battle against BJP leader Mahesh Tenginkai in the Assembly polls, voting for which got underway on Wednesday morning.
Dharwad district also reported heavy polling in the initial stages.
R. Muniyappa, a trader after voting at Hubbali central said, “I generally go for a morning walk and I thought that I would vote and go back home. Hence am the first among the few to vote. Now there is a light rush in my booth.”

After experiencing rains on Tuesday night, the Hubbali-Dharwad has a sunny morning.
In Karnataka, the ruling BJP is contesting all the 224 seats, while its principal opposition, Congress is fighting in 223 seats and extending support to Darshan Puttaniah of the Karnataka Sarvodaya party in Melukotta Assembly constituency in Old Mysuru.
The BJP is fighting a tough battle against the Congress in this Assembly elections. Congress had an edge during the initial phases of the polls but after the front line leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah stepped in the campaigning, the equation seemed to be changing.
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#Karnataka #polls #Brisk #voting #underway #HubbaliDharward
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 10, 2023
Voting begins for assembly bypoll in Suar, Chhanbey seats in UP

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Rampur: Voting got underway in the by-polls to the Suar and Chhanbey Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh Wednesday morning.
There is a direct contest between the ruling coalition and the opposition Samajwadi Party in the bypolls. Though the results will have no precipitative impact on the constitution of the assembly, it will be a morale booster for the victor before the Lok Sabha poll next year.
According to officials, voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. A total of 774 polling booths have been set up by the Election Commission at 492 polling centres in the two constituencies, while there are 6.62 lakh (3.51 lakh mail, 3.11 lakh female and 82 third gender) eligible voters. A total of 14 candidates are in the fray — six in Suar and eight in Chhanbey.

The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to not contest the by-elections, while the Congress has fielded its candidate only in Chhanbey.
With leaders either campaigning in Karnataka or busy with the urban local bodies elections of Uttar Pradesh, the campaign for the two seats in Rampur and Mirzapur districts has been lacklustre.
The Suar seat in Rampur district, however, will be in focus as it was held by Abdullah Azam Khan, the son of senior SP leader Azam Khan, before it was declared vacant on February 13 after a Moradabad court sentenced the young leader to two years in jail in a 15-year-old case.
In the previous assembly also, the Allahabad High Court had in 2020 set aside his election for not declaring his correct age in the affidavit.
The Samajwadi Party is going all out in its attempt to defend what can be called its last citadel in Rampur while the Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the ruling BJP, is leaving no stone unturned to breach it, especially after the saffron party managed to snatch the Rampur assembly as well as the parliamentary seats, both of which were Azam Khan’s stronghold.

Azam Khan himself was disqualified from the Assembly last year after a court sentenced him to three years in jail in a hate speech case.
In the 2022 UP Assembly election, Abdullah Azam Khan had defeated Apna Dal (Sonelal)’s Haidar Ali Khan on the Suar sear by a margin of over 61,000 votes.
This time, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Anuradha Chauhan from the seat and Apna Dal (Sonelal) has named Shafeek Ahmed Ansari.
The Chhanbey seat in Mirzapur fell vacant following the death of Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA Rahul Prakash Kol in February. The party has fielded Kol’s wife Rinki Kol while Kirti Kol is contesting as the Samajwadi Party candidate. Eight candidates are in the fray for this seat.
The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
In the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the ruling BJP has 255 MLAs, and its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD Party have 11 and six legislators, respectively.
The Samajwadi Party has 109 MLAs while its ally the Rashtriya Lok Dal has nine. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party has six MLAs, the Congress and the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) have two each and the Bahujan Samaj Party has one member in the assembly.
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#Voting #begins #assembly #bypoll #Suar #Chhanbey #seats
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 10, 2023
Voting begins for Karnataka Assembly polls

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Bengaluru: The polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections began amid tight security on Wednesday.
The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
All three major political parties in the state — BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS)– have put in efforts to woo voters, making promises and levelling accusations at each other to secure a majority in the state’s 224-seat Assembly.

The Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters will play a major factor in the elections. Lingayats comprise 17 per cent of the population and Vokkaligas 11 per cent.
The voting is being held for 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka with 2,615 candidates in the fray. The fate of the candidates will be known on May 13, the day of the counting of votes. Polling is scheduled across 58,545 polling stations including auxiliary polling stations.
According to the Election Commission of India, the majority mark to form the government is 113 seats.
A total of 42,48,028 new voters have been registered to vote for the assembly elections.
As many as 5.3 crore general voters are going to cast their vote in 58,545 polling stations in 37,777 locations. Out of which 11,71,558 are young voters and 12,15,920 are 80+ senior citizen voters. There are also 5,71,281 PwD voters. Around 4,00,000 polling personnel are engaged in poll processes.

84,119 State Police Officers and 58,500 CAPF police in 650 CoYs are on Law and Order and security duty today across the state. All Police officers are on rounds to ensure Law and Order efficiently and handle MCC violations. 185 Interstate Border Check-posts are on high alert by the Police and other personnel. 100 Excise interstate border check-posts are also on high alert. The Commercial Tax officers are deployed in 185 Check Posts (SSTs) and 75 Excise Check-posts.
CEC Rajiv Kumar said “CEO and DEOs have been instructed to provide all facilitation will be provided across more than 58k polling booths set up across 224 ACs. Specifically, 996 Women Managed Booths, 239 Booths were managed by Persons with Disabilities, 286 were managed by youths, and 737 theme-based and ethnic Polling stations.” Basic facilities like drinking water, toilets, ramps, wheelchairs, electricity, volunteers, shades, help desks and parking facilities have been provided at all the polling stations.
The high-voltage campaign for the assembly elections in Karnataka ended on Monday with all party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding 19 public meetings and six roadshows while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi camped in the state for 12 days.
Some of the key constituencies which will make a major mark in the polls are Varuna, Kanakapura, Shiggaon, Hubli-Darwad, Channapatna, Shikaripura, Chittapur, Ramanagara, and Chikmagalur.
Both BJP and Congress are fielding some of their top guns in the major constituencies. The BJP has also taken a chance by contesting 50 new faces in its 224 candidates list. This move by BJP to deny tickets to several senior leaders ultimately led to them quitting the party and joining Congress or JD(S).
One of them is former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar who was denied a ticket for the Hubli-Darwad West Assembly constituency then joined the Congress and will be contesting from the same constituency as the Congress candidate. It is a seat Shettar has won multiple times.
Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is yet another key candidate who is contesting from the Shiggaon constituency where he has won three consecutive terms.
Also, Varuna is yet another-eyed constituency. Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah is contesting from Varuna which is also his sitting seat with a winning streak starting from 2008.
BJP’s veteran leader and former CM BS Yediyurappa declined to field his son BY Vijayendra from Varuna though reports suggested that party workers wanted Vijayendra to be fielded against Siddaramaiah. BY Vijayendra will be contesting from Shikaripura which is a stronghold of his father BS Yediyurappa.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar will be contesting from Kanakapura. He is also the Congress party’s chief ministerial candidate and he will be contesting against BJP’s Vokkaliga strongman and state revenue minister R Ashoka.
Coming to Channapatna, a seat of the hot battle between JD (S) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, BJP’s Yogeshwar and Congress party’s Gangadhar. Both Kumaraswamy and Yogeshwara belong to the dominant Vokkaliga community.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge will be contesting from the Chittapur Assembly constituency. He was also a former minister in the Siddaramaiah government.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy will be contesting from the Ramanagara Assembly constituency after hitting a loss in the 2019 elections. He will be facing Congress veteran HA Iqbal Hussain and BJP’s Gowtham Gowda.
Lastly, Chikmagalur is also among the major seats BJP will be eyeing during this poll. The party is fielding its national general secretary CT Ravi from the seat. Ravi has a winning streak from the Chikmagalur from 2004 and belongs to the Lingayat community giving him a stronghold in the constituency.
The BJP which is facing an air of anti-incumbency factor, is eyeing a second term in the state and has exuded confidence in retaining power with a full majority.
Significantly, Karnataka is the only state in the South where BJP is in power.
With top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigning for the party, BJP has put all its might to strengthen its support base.
The Congress also conducted high-decibel campaigning with high promises with top leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are some of the promises assured by the BJP in its manifesto.
Congress in its manifesto promises to bring back the Muslim quota, higher reservations for various classes, cash handouts and freebies.
The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
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#Voting #begins #Karnataka #Assembly #polls
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 10, 2023
Karnataka High Court permits serving free food after voting

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Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday allowed distribution and serving of free food at hotels after voting in the Karnataka Assembly elections on Wednesday.
The court has permitted hotels to serve food in order to encourage voting. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had prohibited serving of free food on election day after voting as many hotels came up with the offer.
The State Election Commission had also warned hotels of strict action on this count. However, the Hotel Owners’ Association and the owners of Nisarga Grand Hotel in Bengaluru had challenged the order and approached the high court. The high court, after admitting the petition, has quashed the orders in this regard by the BBMP and the State Election Commission.

Senior counsel Satish Bhat, who appeared for the Hotel Owners’ Association and the Nisarga Grand Hotel, submitted before the court that the hotels have come up with the offer to create awareness among the voters.
It would have been a lure if the food was to be offered before voting, the court noted. The food will be served only after checking the black ink mark on the fingers of the voters. Considering this argument, the court permitted serving of food.
Krishnaraja S.P., the owner of Nisarga Grand Hotel, welcomed the decision.
“Free food and cold drink are served to the voters after polling at the hotel to create awareness among the electorate,” Krishnaraja said.
Nisarga Grand Hotel will offer butter dosa, Mysuru pak (sweet dish) and cold drinks to the people after voting. Free cinema tickets will also be offered to 100 first-time voters, he said.

Many hotels across the state have made similar offers.
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#Karnataka #High #Court #permits #serving #free #food #voting
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Shipping containers to be used as voting booths in Turkey’s earthquake zone

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Istanbul: With many public buildings still damaged across Turkey’s 11 southern provinces following devastating twin earthquakes on February 6, special containers have been set up to facilitate voting on Sunday’s presidential elections.
The custom-made 21 sq mt containers will house two voting booths on the back corners for earthquake victims to vote in privacy, while election officials will be seated in the middle to monitor the process, Xinhua news agency reported.
Multiple firms in the quake-hit southern province of Gaziantep are manufacturing the special containers that are also sent to nearby provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Adiyaman, and Malatya, local media reported.

“We were normally producing containers for living when new demand for the election came up,” Ahmet Yirtici, owner of one of the manufacturing firms, told the state-run Anadolu Agency.
His company was commissioned to produce 1,000 containers.
“To meet this demand, we had to increase our workload to three shifts across 24 hours,” Yirtici said.
Following the elections, the containers will be converted into residences.
Dozens of containers have already been set up at school yards around Kahramanmaras province, the epicentre of the deadly earthquakes which claimed nearly 51,000 lives. Meanwhile, Hatay province, one of the worst hit by the disaster, has had 167 containers set up at schools and outside neighborhood administrators’ offices.

Flights to the Hatay airport have been canceled due to safety considerations until May 17, three days after the elections, Hatay Mayor Lutfu Savas recently told reporters. The airport was severely damaged during the earthquake but had been temporarily open for a while.
Of the 60.7 million eligible voters in Turkey, nine million reside in provinces hit by the earthquake. With many people fleeing to other cities, it is difficult to determine precisely how many have shifted their registration and how many will return to vote, and the lack of airport access might reduce voter turnout.
The presidential elections will be a tight race between two of four candidates: Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeking a new five-year term following two consecutive terms, and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who is running as the candidate for an alliance of opposition parties.
Both candidates are also campaigning on promises of improving the quality of life for many Turks affected by the recent economic downturn. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round, a second round will be held on May 28.
Meanwhile, 24 parties are running for the concurrent parliamentary election, according to Supreme Election Board (YSK), many of which have formed alliances. The ruling Justice and Development Party’s People’s Alliance and the leading opposition Republican People’s Party’s Nation Alliance are the two main blocs.
The election also boasts major symbolic significance, with 2023 being the centennial of the founding of the republic, Xinhua news agency reported.
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#Shipping #containers #voting #booths #Turkeys #earthquake #zone
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Appeals court upholds Florida voting restrictions approved by GOP lawmakers

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But on Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Walker’s 288-page order was based on legal errors and “clearly erroneous” findings of fact. The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for review.
It also reversed the requirement that Florida needs prior clearance to change parts of voting law. It affirmed Walker’s ruling that a restriction on soliciting voters within 150 feet of a ballot drop box was unconstitutionally vague.
Jeremy Redfern, deputy press secretary to DeSantis, hailed the ruling as a “great win for Florida’s voters.” Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground, which was a plaintiff in the case, said she was disappointed and maintained that the election law diminished the power of Black voters.
The case began in 2021, when the Florida Legislature approved voting restrictions that placed new limits on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, blocked solicitation of voters within 150 of those drop-off points and placed restrictions on collecting and delivering voter registration applications. At the time, Democrats and civil rights organizations criticized the legislation and subsequent law, saying it disenfranchised Black voters and lead to voter suppression.
The Legislature approved the measure in the wake of the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump was publicly railing against — without evidence — election results.
After the law was challenged in federal court, Walker, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, framed the law as another in a long line of changes that were aimed at Democrats and placed illegal burden on minorities.
“At some point, when the Florida Legislature passes law after law disproportionately burdening Black voters, this court can no longer accept that the effect is incidental,” Walker wrote, adding, “Florida has a horrendous history of racial discrimination in voting.”
The 11th Circuit, however, said Walker erred from the start in establishing a pattern of discrimination in Florida’s voting laws.

“We have rejected the argument that ‘a racist past is evidence of current intent,’” the appeals court said in citing another of its rulings in a 2021 Alabama voting case.
Justice Jill Pryor of the appeals court dissented from the opinion, stating that the district court “in its thorough and well-reasoned order” had committed “no reversible error.”
There was no immediate response from the House and Senate’s Republican leaders. But the Republican National Committee called the ruling “a landmark victory for election integrity and Florida voters and a major blow to Democrats’ election integrity misinformation campaign.”
Blake Summerlin, statewide communications manager for the League of Women Voters of Florida, said while the group was disappointed by the reversal of the district court’s “well-reasoned, factually supported opinion, our fight is not over.”
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#Appeals #court #upholds #Florida #voting #restrictions #approved #GOP #lawmakers
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 28, 2023
Newsom slams Blackburn for voting against gun control bill in wake of Nashville shooting

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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tweet is part of a broader push by Democrats nationwide to pass gun safety legislation. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn on Twitter Monday night for voting against gun safety laws and accepting over $1 million in donations from the NRA over her career after the senator tweeted she was “ready to assist” in the wake of the deadly elementary school shooting in Nashville.
Blackburn, a Republican, tweeted on Monday, “Chuck & I are heartbroken to hear about the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. My office is in contact with federal, state, & local officials, & we stand ready to assist. Thank you to the first responders working on site. Please join us in prayer for those affected.”
Later that night, Newsom responded with, “You received $1,306,130 in donations from the NRA. You voted against the most recent bipartisan gun package in June. If you’re so ‘ready to assist’ — start by doing your job and passing commonsense gun laws that will help prevent tragedies like the one today.”

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#Newsom #slams #Blackburn #voting #gun #control #bill #wake #Nashville #shooting
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
BJP leader moves PIL seeking compulsory voting in Parliament, Assembly polls

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New Delhi: BJP leader and practicing lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking compulsory voting in Parliament and Assembly elections.
With an aim to increase the voters’ turnout, promote political participation, improve the quality of democracy and to secure the right to vote, the petitioner also sought direction from the Law Commission to prepare a report on ‘Compulsory Voting’.
According to his plea, the low voter turnout is a persistent problem in India and compulsory voting can help resolve this, particularly among marginalised communities.
“It ensures that every citizen has a voice and that the government is representative of the people’s wishes. When voter turnout is high, the government is more accountable to the people and is more likely to act in their best interests,” the PIL stated.
“Compulsory voting ensures that the elected representatives are chosen by a larger and more representative group of people. This increases the legitimacy of the government and enhances the quality of democracy,” the plea further stated.
It has been said that when voter turnout is low, the government may not be representative of the people’s wishes, and this can lead to a lack of trust in the democratic process.
“Compulsory voting can help to ensure that the government is truly representative of the people,” it said.
The plea further stated that ‘Compulsory Voting’ is in practice in many countries.

“The Constitution provides for the right to vote as a fundamental right under Article 326. This right is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law. Compulsory voting can be implemented as reasonable restriction in the interest of ensuring the smooth functioning of democracy. The Supreme Court has also held that the right to vote is a statutory right, and the government has the power to impose reasonable restrictions on this right,” it added.
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#BJP #leader #moves #PIL #seeking #compulsory #voting #Parliament #Assembly #polls
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023
Voting for Nagaland Assembly elections begins amid tight security

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Kohima: The voting for the Nagaland Assembly elections began on Monday morning amidst heavy security measures, election officials said.
Voters, comprising men, women and first time electorates, in large numbers queued up in front of most polling stations before the voting at 59 of the 60 Assembly seats started at 7 a.m.
The voting in 2,291 polling stations, manned by 11,500 polling staff, would continue till 4 p.m. without any interruption.
Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Shashank Shekhar said that around 13.16 lakh voters including 6,55,144 women would decide the electoral fate of 183 candidates including four women nominees in Monday’s elections.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, 190 candidates, including five women, had contested the elections. Votes to be polled in Nagaland on Monday would be counted on March 2 along with Meghalaya and Tripura.
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#Voting #Nagaland #Assembly #elections #begins #tight #security

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 27, 2023