Heena Sharma Blog

The final voter turnout in Delhi assembly polls was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015, the Election Commission announced on Sunday evening nearly 24 hours after the polling ended, while the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the "delay". Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh, however, said there was no unusual delay in announcing the final voter turnout as the returning officers were busy with scrutiny of data to ensure its accuracy. After elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly were held on Saturday, poll officials had said that there was a turnout of 61.46 per cent, subject to revision. However, as there was no final word from the EC till 4 pm on Sunday, AAP chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter saying it was "absolutely shocking" that the poll panel was not coming out with the voting figures. "What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?" Kejriwal tweeted. Read...

Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government can breathe a sigh of relief as his party won eight seats and leading in one, out of the 22 assembly seats in the by-polls, which could help it survive with a majority on the floor even though Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won 11 seats and was leading in two seats. This was the trend as of 8.30 a.m. on Friday, according to Election Commission of India. While this is a good news for the ruling faction, the disappointment was the poor performance of the party and its alliance partners including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha election in the state. It was a clear sweep by DMK-Congress alliance which was leading in Lok Sabha seats. AIADMK won one Lok Sabha seats, while DMK and its alliance bagged the rest. DMK alone won 23 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Tamil Nadu bypolls and Lok Sabha elections in 2019 are closely watched for two reasons. All the main parties – AIADMK, DMK, AMMA and MNM -- went for ele...

Of the candidates contesting the first phase of Lok Sabha elections , 213 (17%) have declared they are facing criminal cases, of which 146 (12%) face serious criminal charges, as per an analysis of candidates’ affidavits by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). About a third (32%) or 401 of 1,266 candidates whose affidavits were studied have declared assets worth Rs 1 crore or more. Among the major parties, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are notable for having all (25 from TDP and 17 from TRS) ‘crorepati’ candidates. Nearly half of all candidates have declared they have a graduate degree or above, while 1.5% have declared they are just literate, and 5.2% that they are illiterate. About a third of candidates are aged between 25 and 40 years, while more than half are between 41 and 60 years. The first phase of polling began on April 11, 2019. ADR studied the affidavits of 1,266 of the 1,279 candidates who are contesting during this ...

emale voters hold the potential to be game-changers by playing a significant role in ensuring more gender-inclusive laws and policies, making the year 2019 India's " year of women ", Chair of the Hinduja Bank, Switzerland, Hinduja SP Shanu said as the country readies for its upcoming crucial national elections. Shanu said that as India heads to the polls this spring, it is important to note that more women are heading to the ballot than ever before, with voter turnout among women having been higher in several state elections in the country. "More female voters are additionally likely to lead to more gender-inclusive laws and policies. Gender awareness not only transforms how candidates campaign, but also opens doors for more female candidates in the running, and greater opportunities for female leverage within national decision-making bodies," Shanu, the Chair of the Hinduja Foundation US, said in an opinion piece given to PTI. Shanu pointed out that ...

Before the final countdown to the Lok Sabha elections 2019 , the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to placate its sulking allies in the high prized state of Uttar Pradesh, which is heading for a massive showdown during voting in April and May. Its principal allies in UP viz. Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Apna Dal (S) had been unhappy over the ‘high-handed’ approach adopted by the party towards them. While SBSP president and UP cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar had been openly giving statements against BJP leadership and even challenging the Yogi Adityanath government to sack him, Apna Dal (S) patron and union minister Anupriya Patel had also recently expressed dismay over the treatment meted out to her party by the BJP. There were reports of Patel holding parleys with top Congress leadership in New Delhi over a possible pre-poll understanding. In 2014 elections, Apna Dal had won 2 seats (Pratapgarh and Mirzapur), while BJP emerged victorious on 7...

With the model code of conduct coming into force for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls , Uttar Pradesh Police, touted as the world’s largest single command armed police force, had advised cops to exercise restraint over social media activities. UP Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh has underlined the uniformed cops ought not to be seen or perceived as favouring a particular political party or candidate through their social media updates. In the poll related advisory issued last evening, the cops have been asked not to accept any gift from any political party or candidate in light of the model code of conduct. Besides, the policemen have been directed to desist from posting politically coloured social media updates as well for the sake of being impartial and non-partisan during the polls. The state cops have also been advised against indulging in harassment of political functionaries at the behest of rival political party or leader, while ensuring that the policemen do not, t...

A prominent Sunni cleric has expressed dismay over the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s announcement of polling dates for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections , claiming that the voting is scheduled for the holy month of Ramzan in May. The Imam of the revered Lucknow-based Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, has urged the ECI to ‘respect’ the sentiments of Muslims and shift the dates of polling scheduled for May 6, 12 and 19, since Ramzan, the fasting month of Muslims, was expected to begin on May 6. He claimed the moon sighting for Ramzan would be done on May 5 and if sighted, the month of Ramzan would begin from the following date, that is, May 6. “ The voting dates falling on May 6, 12 and 19 would hence fall during the fasting period and subject Muslims to ‘extraordinary’ hardships,” he said in a statement here last night. The Maulana, who is a respected Muslim religious leader in the country, has suggested the ECI to either pre-pone the elections ...