Heena Sharma Blog

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...

When voting for Phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections 2019 ends on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government might heave a sigh of relief. The region going to the polls today is the one where, according to data, the Modi government is the least popular and gets the least credit for its 'tough on Pakistan' stance, especially with the Balakot air strike. Voting in all five states of South India — Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana — will have concluded on April 23. Together, these states account for 129 parliamentary constituencies, or close to a fourth (23.75 per cent) of the total. While Uttar Pradesh might be the state that will decide the fate of the Modi government, the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies' (CSDS') National Election Study pre-poll survey, conducted towards the end of March this year, shows that Modi might face the toughest time in winning over voters in South India. Among all regions, South India ha...

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 ...

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said his party, if it were to form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections, would ensure a minimum income of Rs 6,000 per month to 20 per cent poorest of poor households, or 250 million people. While the Narendra Modi government had promised to Rs 6,000 per year to poor farmers, the Congress has promised a matching amount to all poor, particularly the landless. The party, however, scrapped its earlier proposal that envisaged topping up the gap between a poor household’s income to bring it to Rs 12,000. It has now promised a flat Rs 6,000 per month allowance, or Rs 72,000 per year, if a family’s income is below Rs 12,000. Gandhi said a committee of party leaders, which included Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, had calculated that the basic living income each family needs to survive is Rs 12,000. Calling the scheme “ last attack on poverty ”, Gandhi said the income would be transferred to the bank accounts of women in each ...

The BJP in its first list of 28 candidates for West Bengal has pinned hopes on its veterans and defectors from the ruling Trinamool Congress to take on the Mamata Banerjee's government in the state. Of the 28 candidates, nearly 25 are new faces, with a thrust on active political workers rather than greenhorns from the glamour world. The saffron party, which bagged two Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 elections, is now targeting 23 of the state's 42 constituencies. Unlike the TMC list, which had 18 new faces and a mix of both old timers and greenhorns, hardcore politicians and personalities from the film industry, the BJP has put faith on its own leaders and defectors from other parties. There are four women candidates and one Muslim nominee in the first list. Of the candidates, five had recently defected to the saffron party from the Trinamool Congress and one from the CPI(M). Union minister and BJP MP from Asansol Lok Sabha constuency Babul Supriyo has been renom...

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 ...

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 narrowing gender-gap in voter turnout illustrates the important role women, as a constituency, will play in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections . The 2014 Lok Sabha elections were a high point for female voter participation, with a historic narrowing of the gender-gap in voter turnout becoming evident. The male voter turnout at 67.09 per cent stood at just 1.79 percentage points above the female voter turnout at 65.30 per cent. This was the narrowest difference recorded between the two figures till date for general elections since 1967 (see table below). On International Women's Day 2019, it would be pertinent to look at data and statistics provided by the Election Commission of India for past general elections to see how women voters have fared and their increasing influence in Indian politics. Some key observations can be made from the above figures. In 2004, the difference between male and female voter turnout stood at 8.36 percentage points. In 2009, it stood at 4.4...

In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP on its way to secure a comfortable majority in Parliament. Its ally, Apna Dal, won two seats in the politically crucial state Economy & Policy News : With the 2019 Lok Sabha election less than a year away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah bet on Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the party repeating its 2014 performance and returning to power at the Centre. Addressing a public meeting at Chandauli district in eastern UP, on Sunday, Shah recalled that in run up to the 2014 poll, he had said the path to victory in Lok Sabha poll would traverse through UP. “I am repeating the same today for the 2019 Lok Sabha poll that UP would play a key role in forming the next government at the Centre and re-electing the Narendra Modi government,” he added. In 2014, the BJP had won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, ally Apna Dal won two. Shah said he was confident the tally would rise to 74. ...