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Tag: Assembly Elections 2024

  • Jharkhand Assembly Polls: Amit Shah To Launch BJP Manifesto Ahead Of PM Modi’s Visit |

    Jharkhand Assembly Elections: A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jharkhand, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will release the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) manifesto and address three rallies in the poll-bound state on Sunday. Union Minister Shah arrived in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on Saturday night.

    “Union Home Minister Amit Shah will release the “Sankalp Patra” for Jharkhand Assembly elections in Ranchi on Sunday. He will also address three rallies at Ghatshila, Barkatha, and Simaria Assembly constituencies during the day,” the BJP said.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jharkhand on November 4 and address two rallies. Prime Minister Modi’s visit will be followed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is scheduled to hold a public meeting in Jamshedpur on November 5.

    Shah is likely to release 25 key points of the party’s manifesto to underline 25 years of Jharkhand’s formation and a 150-point document, marking the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, BJP leaders said.

    Amit Shah will release the party’s “Sankalp Patra,” said BJP’s Jharkhand election in-charge and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday.

    Announcing that PM Modi and Home Minister Shah will launch the BJP’s Jharkhand campaign, Union Minister Chouhan made a call for a “double-engine” government in the state, claiming the “development work came to a standstill” under the Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress government.

    Jharkhand will vote in the Assembly polls across two phases on November 13 and November 20, with counting on November 23. The BJP will be looking to reverse its 2019 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha results.

    The party fell from 37 Assembly seats in 2014 to just 25 in 2019, losing out in tribal-dominated seats in particular. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the NDA fell from 11 seats to eight but lost all Scheduled Tribe-reserved seats to the JMM and Congress. Recently, the BJP has been raking up the issue of conversions of tribals, besides attacking the ruling JMM government’s record on development and corruption to swing the polls back in its favour.

    With Amit Shah and PM Modi visiting the state in quick succession, the party’s campaign is likely to gain momentum. The JMM and the Congress, in the hopes of countering anti-incumbency, have been touting its welfare schemes, including the Maiyya Samman Yojna to grant women aged 18 to 50 Rs 1,000 per month in assistance.

  • Assembly Elections 2024: Congress Announces 4 Candidates For Maharashtra, 2 For Jharkhand Polls |

    NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Monday, announced a combined list of six candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
    The party announced four candidates for Maharashtra and two candidates for Jharkhand. In Maharashtra, the Congress has announced Madhurimaraje Malojiraje Chhatrapati from Kolhapur North, Sajid Khan Mannan Khan from Akola West, Heera Devasi from Colaba and Chetan Narote from Solapur City Central.

    With this, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 102 of 288 Assembly seats. Congress is a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The MVA alliance have declared candidates for 268 seats so far. Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have fielded their candidates on 84 and 82 seats, respectively.

    The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.

    The Congress also released its final list of two candidates for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, fielding Sweta Singh from Bokaro and Ajay Dubey from Dhanbad. With this, the party has declared a total of 30 candidates for the Assembly polls that will be held in two phases next month.

    Earlier, the Congress had declared two lists of 21 and seven candidates in Jharkhand. The Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) alliance has been in power in the eastern state since 2019. Elections for the 81 seats of the Jharkhand assembly in two phases on November 13 and November 20.

    In the previous assembly election, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats, BJP won 25 and Congress won 16 seats. The counting of votes for both elections will be taken up on November 23.

  • Jharkhand Election 2024: Focus On Nine Seats With Close Margins; BJP, JMM Eye Booster Shot |

    Jharkhand Vidhansabha Chunav 2024: With the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections only a fortnight away, the political parties have upped their campaigning and efforts to woo the voters. Of the 81-member assembly seat, certain seats have witnessed a close encounter while some have been strongholds of either the BJP or the Congress. With 42 seats being the majority mark, the BJP and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) are working to gain an upper hand on seats which have traditionally witnessed a close contest. 

    These nine seats are Kodarma, Mandhu, Baghmara, Jarmundi, Deoghar, Godda, Simdega, Nala, and Jama. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP had won five and the two seats each went to the JMM and the Congress. However, the Jharkhand Lok Sabha poll result gave an edge to the BJP-All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) alliance a lead in eight of these nine seats.

    The election to these seats has also become crucial because the voters are all set to witness a united fight between two blocs – NDA and INDIA. While AJSU, JDU, BJP and LJP are part of the NDA, Congress, JMM, RJD and Left constitute the INDIA bloc.

    In the 2019 assembly elections, the lowest victory margin in these nine seats was in Simdega where Bhushan Bara of Congress defeated Shradhanand Besra of the BJP by 285 votes. In Baghmera, the BJP narrowly edged out the Congress by 824 votes. In the constituencies it didn’t win, the BJP secured the second position in four of them. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), a partner of the JMM and Congress, was the runner-up in three constituencies, while the Congress and the AJSU each took second place in one constituency. Among the closely contested seats that the BJP managed to flip in 2019, it had placed as runner-up in three of them five years prior. This included Torpa, where the party narrowly lost to the JMM by just 43 votes.

    The assembly polls in Jharkhand will take place in two phases – the first phase on November 13 and the second phase on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

  • Is Congress Losing Credibility Among INDIA Bloc? Allies Take Charge Across Poll-Bound States – Analysis |

    Assembly Elections 2024: Two states are going to elect their next governments – Jharkhand and Maharashtra in the coming weeks. Both of these assembly polls are crucial given the results of the recent assembly elections of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. While Congress lost Haryana to the BJP, it’s sitting outside the government in Jammu and Kashmir. The election results of these two states had put a serious dent in the Congress party’s winnability chances. 

    In Jammu and Kashmir, Congress contested 32 seats but could win only six seats. In Haryana, it contested 89 seats and won just 37 in a direct contest with the BJP. Soon after the election result, the INDIA Bloc was quick to raise questions on the Congress party’s strike rate in a direct contest with the BJP. The seat-sharing agreement between Congress and INDIA bloc allies reflected the fallout of the Haryana and J&K results. 

    Uttar Pradesh Bypolls

    Nine assembly seats are going to the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party were locked in an intense seat-sharing deal. But the Samajwadi Party refused to buzz to the Congress party’s demand and finally, it was decided that the Samajwadi Party would contest all the seats on its own. However, Akhilesh Yadav gave a face-saver to Congress by saying that it’s INDIA Bloc’s united fight.

    Bihar Bye-elections

    In Bihar, where the RJD, Congress and Left parties are part of the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress has again scored a duck. Of the four seats up for bypolls, the RJD is contesting 3 and the CPI-ML has got one. Notably, this comes as the Congress party’s strike rate has been very low in Bihar. In the Bihar assembly elections in 2020, Congress contested 70 seats and managed to win just 19.  

    Jharkhand Assembly Elections

    In Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has given 29 seats to the Congress out of the 80. It’s the only state where Congress has been given a respectable seat share by the allies. However, it again leaves the Congress dependent on the allies for government formation. 

    Maharashtra Assembly Polls

    In Maharashtra, the Congress was trying to contest around 110 seats citing its improved performance in the Lok Sabha polls. However, regional parties like Shiv Sena-UBT and the NCP-Sharad Pawar did not buzz and after marathon meetings, the parties agreed to Shiv Sena-UBT’s proposal of contesting below 100 seats. Now, all three big parties will contest 85 seats each, leaving the rest of the seats for Samajwadi Party, PWP, CPI(M), CPI, and AAP.

    Congress Being Pushed To The Wall

    Once the largest party in the country, Congress is increasingly being pushed to the back seats across big states. INDIA bloc allies are forcing the grand old party either to sit out or sit back when it comes to seat sharing. Be it in West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, the allies took control of the polls by bagging the majority shares of the seats. The same is happening across other states where the Congress has failed to perform in a direct contest against the BJP. While Congress has displayed a maturity by playing second fiddle in these polls, the party will suffer in the long-run as the allies will bcome stronger, leaving less space for Congress.

  • Massive Turnout In Kalpetta As Priyanka Gandhi Kicks Off Campaign For Wayanad Bypoll |

    WAYANAD: Thousands of people, including UDF leaders and workers, gathered in Kalpetta on Wednesday to participate in a massive roadshow welcoming Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as she prepares to make her electoral debut by filing nomination papers for the upcoming Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll. Priyanka, who arrived in the hill district on Tuesday night along with her mother — Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi — led the roadshow along with her brother — Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi — from the new bus stand at Kalpetta.

    Priyanka’s husband, Robert Vadra, and one of their children were also seen along with her in the open-roof vehicle along with other senior party and IUML leaders during the roadshow.

    UDF workers and supporters as well as members of the general public of all age groups, who were waiting since early morning, welcomed her carrying placards with Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi’s photographs, balloons in the party colours and drum beats.

    Balloons in the party colours of the Congress and its ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also lined both sides of the nearly two kilometer long roadshow route. Green flags of IUML and the tricolour of the Congress, which were absent during Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow in April this year, were also seen, but in very few numbers.

    Priyanka would be contesting against LDF’s Sathyan Mokeri and BJP’s Navya Haridas. The by-election for Wayanad LS seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls from there and Rae Bareli constituency, decided to vacate Wayanad.

  • Jharkhand Election 2024: JMM Releases 1st List Of 35 Candidates, Hemant Soren To Contest From Barhait |

    RANCHI: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha released its first list of 35 candidates for the upcoming assembly polls on Wednesday, fielding Chief Minister Hemant Soren from Barhait and Kalpana Soren from Gandey segments. The assembly polls will be held in two phases — on November 13 and 20 — while the results will be declared on November 23.

    Hemant Soren is the sitting MLA from Barhait (ST) constituency in Sahibganj district. He won the seat by 25,740 votes over his nearest BJP rival Simon Malto in the 2019 assembly elections. His wife Kalpana Soren had won the Gandey bypoll by 27,149 votes over her nearest BJP rival Dilip Kumar Verma. The seat had fallen vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.

    Of the 35 JMM nominees, Basant Soren, the incumbent chief minister’s brother, will contest from Dumka, Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindranath Mahto from Nala, Minister Mithilesh Thakur from Garhwa, Sonu Sudivya from Giridih and Bebi Devi from Dumri.

    Basant defeated former BJP minister Lois Marandi by over 6,842 votes in party stronghold Dumka, the constituency vacated by his elder brother Hemant Soren after he won Dumka and Barahit in the December 2019 assembly elections and decided to retain the latter.

    Assembly Speaker Mahto won Nala in Jamtara by a margin of 3,520 votes, defeating Satyanand Jha of the BJP in the last elections. Mahto had won the seat in 2005 and 2014 also.

    The other candidates announced by the JMM include Dipak Birua from Chaibasa and Kedar Hazara, a three-term sitting MLA of BJP who joined the party recently, from Jamua.

  • Maharashtra Election 2024: Amid Seat-Sharing Deadlock, Sena-UBT’s ‘Sacrifice’ Message For Congress |

    With stalemate continuing over seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, Shiv Sena-UBT Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has suggested that parties should make a few sacrifices for the betterment of Maharashtra. Giving an example of the Lok Sabha polls where Congress contested more seats, Raut said that this election is about removing a ‘corrupt’ government from Maharashtra.

    Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “We have been in politics for years, every party feels that their workers should be made candidates…Everyone has the right to speak about their role but when it comes to seat sharing, everyone has to make a few sacrifices and take a step back.”

    When asked if Congress is ready to sacrifice and give up a few seats to other allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, Raut says, “This is not about sacrifice, this is about national interest and Maharashtra’s interest…We had indeed shown big-heartedness (during seat sharing for Lok Sabha elections) because we had to defeat enemies of the Constitution. Today, we have to remove from power, a corrupt Government in Maharashtra.”

    Raut said that the seat-sharing talks will be finalised by this evening. The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena-UBT are part of Maha Vikash Aghadi. The assembly elections for the 288 seats will take place on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

    The Congress is keen on contesting around 110 seats while the Sena-UBT is of the view that all three major partners should contest an equal number of seats or at least below 100 to accommodate smaller allies like the Samajwadi Party, Left parties, and the Peasants and Workers Party. 

  • Jharkhand Election: BJP Releases First List Of 66 Candidates, Fields Champai Soren From Saraikella |

    BJP released the first of 66 candidates list on Saturday for Jharkhand Assembly Polls. The saffron party has nominated state chief Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, Lobin Hembrom from Borio, Sita Soren from Jamtara, former CM Champai Soren from Saraikella, Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa, Geeta Koda from Jaganathpur, Meera Munda from Potka.

     

    BJP releases the first list of 66 candidates for the #JharkhandElection2024

    Party’s state chief Babulal Marandi to contest from Dhanwar, Lobin Hembrom from Borio, Sita Soren from Jamtara, former CM Champai Soren from Saraikella, Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa, Geeta Koda from… pic.twitter.com/uXhfDpfTxq
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2024

    The BJP is going to contest on 68 of the 81 assembly seats in the state, leaving the rest for its allies.

    The party aims to oust the JMM-Congress alliance from power in the upcoming two-phase polls, which are scheduled to be held on November 13 and 20.

    BJP will contest the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections along with their allies including All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the party said, ANI reported.

    As per the current agreement, AJSU will likely to contest on 10 seats, JDU on 2 seats and LJP will contest the lone seat of Chatra and BJP will contest on remaining 68 seats.

     

    The 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly elections are set for November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. 

    In Jharkhand, approximately 2.60 crore voters are eligible to participate, including 1.31 crore male voters and 1.29 crore female voters. Notably, there are 11.84 lakh first-time voters in the state.

  • Maharashtra Polls: Number of Total Electors Cross 8.9 Crore With 70 Lakh New Voters |

    MUMBAI: The number of registered voters in Maharashtra has increased by nearly 70 lakh since the 2019 assembly elections, a top poll official said on Wednesday. Assembly elections will be held in the state on November 20. “There were 8,94,46,211 voters in Maharashtra ahead of the 2019 assembly elections. After the special enrollment drives conducted by the election commission, the number has increased to 9,63,69,410, a rise of 69,23,199,” said Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam. 

    A polling booth generally has 1,500 voters, but if there are more voters, additional booths would be set up, he said, speaking to reporters here a day after the election schedule was announced. There were 96,654 polling booths during the 2019 assembly elections, while there would be 1,00,186 booths this time, Chockalingam informed. 

    There are 6,36,278 voters with physical disabilities, while 1,16,355 voters are from the armed forces. The number of first-time voters, those between 18-19 years of age, is 20,93,206, he said. Notably, of 12,43,192 voters above the age of 85 years, as many as 47,716 are centenarians, said Chockalingam. Nearly six lakh state government employees would be roped in for election work, he said. 

    As to how many voters can be inside a polling booth at a time, he said there would be four tables in each booth. “We have issued instructions that three to four voters can be present inside. During the Lok Sabha elections, some officials allowed only one person inside at a time which resulted in delays in voting,” he added.

    On the use of terms such as “vote-jihad” which has communal overtones, Chockalingam said, “The model code of conduct has come into force yesterday. If some leaders tend to use it (such terms), we will not spare anyone. If we receive any complaint, we will check it within the legal framework and submit our report accordingly.” 

    BJP leader and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had two weeks ago blamed “vote jihad” for the BJP’s poor show in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. “Out of 48 Lok Sabha constituencies (in Maharashtra), 14 seats witnessed vote jihad. Hindu religion never disrespected other faiths; tolerance is in our blood. I call for the need to awaken Hindutva if someone is voting for electing anti-Hindu leaders to top posts,” he had said at a public event in Kolhapur.

  • Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 Dates, Phase, Voting Time, Other Details |

    Maharashtra Election Dates 2024: The Election Commission of India announced the dates for the Assembly Polls for Maharashtra on Tuesday. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with the two Election Commissioners – Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu announced the details of the much-awaited election. The legislative assembly of Maharashtra is set to end on November 3. 

    As per the Election Commission of India trends, the 288 legislative assembly seats are likely to go to the polls in single phase. The counting of votes may get concluded before November 26. 

    The Election Commission of India (ECI) reported, the state has 9.63 crore registered voters, with 4.97 crore male voters and 4.66 crore female voters. A total of 52,789 polling stations will be set up, including 39,048 in rural areas and 13,741 in urban areas.

    Maharashtra Assembly Election Full Schedule 2024 

    Nomination Filing Start Date: 22-10-24
    Nomination Filing End Date: 29-10-24 
    Scrutiny of nomination: 30-10-24
    Withdrawal of nomination: 4-11-24
    Voting Date: 20-11-24
    Result Counting Date: 23-11-24

    In 2019, the assembly elections were held on October 21 while the counting of votes was held on October 24. During the last elections, the BJP and then an undivided Shiv Sena had contested the polls together. The BJP had bagged 105 seats while the Sena had got 56 seats. Congress had managed to win 44 seats, and NCP 56 seats.

    However, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance failed to form a government after no consensus was reached over sharing the Chief Ministerial post. Then, Shiv Sena had joined hands with Congress and the undivided NCP to form Maha Vikas Aghadi which ruled the state for around three years. Later, a rebellion in Shiv Sena led by current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde propelled the BJP to power. Subsequently, Ajit Pawar led a rebellion in NCP and joined the ruling Mahayuti coalition as well. 

    The Maharashtra elections 2024 will be a litmus test for Shiv Sena-UBT, Shiv Sena-Shinde faction, NCP-Ajit Pawar faction and NCP-Sharad Pawar.