Chandigarh, March 8 (DNS)- The SAD MLA from Amritsar South, Inderbir Singh Bolaria, (31) is the youngest and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (84) is the oldest member of the Punjab’s newly elected “not-so-young” Assembly where only 14 members are below 40 years of age.
None of the 117 newly elected MLAs is less than 30 years and the Chief Minister and Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Chunni Lal Bhagat are octogenarians, four are between 71 and 80 years and 29 are between 61 and 70 years. Maximum number of 35 MLAs is between 51 and 60 years of age.
BJP’s Seema Kumari from Bhoa constituency, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring from Gidderbaha, Harpreet Singh from Malout are all aged at 33.
Rajwinder Kaur (34), MLA from Nihal Singh Wala, Navtej Singh (36) from Sultanpur Lodhi, Bonny Amarpal Singh Ajnala (36) from Ajnala, Baljit Singh Jalal Usma (37) from Jandiala, Manpreet Singh Ayalai (37) from Dakha, Gurkirat Singh Kotli (38) from Khanna, Parminder Singh Dhindsa (38) from Sunam, Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind (38) from Baba Bakala and Simarjit Singh Bains (39) from Atam Nagar in Ludhiana all represent the “thirties-club” of the Assembly.
Only 14 newly elected MLAs are in their thirtees, while 101 are between 40 to 84 years.
The septuagenarians’ club is represented by Charanjit Singh Atwal (74) from Payal, Madan Mohan Mittal (72) from Anandpur Sahib, Tota Singh (70) from Dharmakot, Chatin Singh (70) from Budhlada, Hari Singh Zira (71) from Zira, Ajit Singh Kohar (71) from Shahkot. This time the Assembly ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, March 8 (DNS)- The 14th Vidhan Sabha will be an unusual conglomeration of major political families. A few families have not let go any opportunity to get either into Parliament or the state legislature or both, indicating the growing dynastic tendency in the body polity.
While seven families will be represented both in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, four others just missed the bus. The Five MP-MLA couples from Punjab are Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat, Justice Nirmal Singh (retd) and Paramjit Kaur Gulshan (both SAD), Navjot Kaur Sidhu and Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP), Amarinder Singh and Preneet Kaur and Charanjit Kaur Bajwa and Partap Singh Bajwa (both Cong).
Former Punjab Congress chief Mohinder Singh KP and Santosh Chaudhary, however, just missed joining this select band as their spouses Kusum and Ram Lubhaya were defeated at the hustings.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal with his wife and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal at Badal village on Wendesday. A Tribune photograph Two new members in the Vidhan Sabha - Amarpal Singh Bonny and Parminder Singh Dhindsa - have their fathers in Parliament. They are Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
Dilraj Singh Bhunder , son of Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder, and Raninder Singh , son of Lok Sabha member Preneet Kaur, lost also lost the electoral battle.
Normally, senior members of the state legislature graduate to the national legislature, Parliament. In case of Punjab, it appears to be the other way round. Chief Minister Parkash Singh ... Read Full Story
Ludhiana, February 18 (DNS)- An electronic voting machine (EVM) in the Gill constituency kept at Punjab Agricultural University here started beeping in the wee hours today. Border Security Force (BSF) jawans guarding the EVMs in the university strongroom immediately contacted the officials concerned.
“On being informed of the matter by the Returning Officer, I rushed to the site. Without wasting time, we wrote to the Election Commission of India about the snag in the machine. We received orders from the EC to switch off the battery button and reseal the machine," District Election Officer-cum-DC Rahul Tewari said. He said everything was done in the presence of all the seven candidates of the constituency and the proceedings video-recorded. Reports of an EVM emitting a sound was received from Ferozepur too. Tewari said it seemed that the official incharge had forgotten to switch off the EVM battery while sealing it.
A similar snag had occurred in the Jalandhar constituency two days ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh/Dehradun, January 31 (DNS)- Elections to the assemblies of Punjab and Uttarakhand on Monday recorded a turnout of at least 77% and 70%, respectively, the Election Commission (EC) said, citing figures furnished by polling authorities.
Barring stray incidents, polling in the two states was peaceful, officials said. However, a report from Firozepur in Punjab said one person died of gunshot wounds.
The elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand will decide the fate of 1,866 candidates, including chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal and B.C. Khanduri.
Polling began on a dull note due to the morning winter cold in both states, but picked up as the day progressed. Long queues of voters, including a large number of women, were seen at the polling stations. Earlier, various parties had complained that cold weather conditions may hamper the turnout.
Minor skirmishes were reported from Ludhiana, Bhatinda and Amritsar in Punjab. In Ludhiana, BJP Yuva Morcha general secretary Sanjay Kapoor received minor injuries in a clash, while some people pelted stones at the office of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in Bhatinda.
While there are 1,078 contestant vying for 117 seats in Punjab, the number of candidates for 70 seats in Uttarakhand is 866. Counting will take place on 6 March.
Talking to reporters before leaving for Patiala, state Congress president Amarinder Singh said the Dera Sacha Sauda, which supported the party in the 2007 polls, was backing it again. “This was expected (after) the way Akalis had treated the ... Read Full Story
NEW DELHI, January 29 (Doaba News Service)- Punjab and Uttarakhand will vote on Monday to elect new assemblies with the Congress hoping to oust the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine in the country's grain bowl and the BJP in the hill state.
According to the Election Commission, 1.76 crore voters are eligible to vote in the 117 constituencies of Punjab in the second round of five-state elections that began on Saturday. The voter population is around 6.3 million in Uttarakhand, which has a 70-member house.
In Punjab, the Congress led by former chief minister Amarinder Singh has levelled major charges of corruption against the government of Parkash Singh Badal. Most seats in Punjab will see a triangular contest between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress and the Sanjha Morcha, which includes the Left and People's Party of Punjab (PPP) led by Manpreet Badal, a nephew of the chief minister who broke away from the Akali Dal.
The main contestants include Badal (Lambi), Amarinder Singh (Patiala city), Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (Jalalabad) and Amarinder's son Raninder Singh (Samana). Congress leader and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has been fielded from Lehra.
Two former officials, D.S. Guru, who was principal secretary to the chief minister, and P.S. Gill, a former director general of police, are contesting from Bhadaur and Moga respectively.
In Uttarakhand, Chief minister B.C. Khanduri, who replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank last year after corruption allegations ... Read Full Story
Bathinda, January 28 (DNS)- During the assembly elections in five states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttrakhand, Anna Hazare factor will not work in any way, as Anna is now playing politics in place of waging a war against corruption. “This is the reason he is not getting much support these days from the people,” said Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan, while campaigning in favour of his party candidates at Balluana, Kotkapura, Kotshameer and Faridkot. LJP state president Kiranjit Singh Gehri, who is the LJP candidate from Bathinda (Rural) assembly constituency, also accompanied him.
Paswan further said that his party had some basic differences with Anna Hazare as Anna and his associates did not accept democratic process for getting the Lokpal Bill passed.
He said there was a Parliament to discuss and pass the Bill, but they were adamant to get their version of the Jan Lokpal Bill passed. He also termed Anna as a “puppet” of the RSS and the ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, January 28 (Doaba News Service)- Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal earns Rs 4.58 crore a year and makes the maximum money among all candidates in the election fray. Following him at second position is his father and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, with income of Rs 2 crore.
These facts were made public by the Punjab Election Watch, an NGO, which studied the Income Tax returns of the candidates and released its analysis of 408 candidates belonging to major political parties in the fray.
The father-son duo is followed by Congress candidate Rana Gurjit Singh with an annual income of Rs 1.59 crore, Kewal Singh Dhillon (Congress) at Rs 1.53 crore and Deep Malhotra (SAD) at Rs 1.10 crore, as per their latest Income Tax returns.
As many as 92 candidates (23 per cent), of the 408 candidates analysed by the Punjab Election Watch, have declared that they had never filed IT returns. The party-wise percentage is: Congress, 15 candidates (13 per cent); SAD, 11 candidates (12 per cent); PPP, 20 candidates (22 per cent); BSP, 27 candidates (44 per cent) and the BJP, one candidate (5 per cent).
Top three candidates with maximum assets but who have never filed IT returns are Karan Kaur of the Congress who is contesting from Muktsar. She has assets worth Rs 128 crore, followed by Ramanjit Singh Sikki of the Congress (Khadoor Sahib candidate) and Gurpartap Singh Wadala of the SAD (Nakodar candidate) having assets worth Rs 20.12 crore and Rs 13.71 crore, respectively.
As many as 47 candidates (12 per cent) ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, January 28 (DNS) The campaigning in Uttarakhand and Punjab for the Assembly elections slated for January 30, ends on Saturday.
In Uttarakhand 800 candidates are in the fray for 70-member Assembly seats, while as 1880 aspirants are in the fray for 117-member Assembly seats in Punjab.
The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure free and fair polls in both the states slated on January 30.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari will address rallies in Pathankot and Chandigarh while his colleague, MP Shatrugan Sinha is scheduled to campaign in Ludhiana on Saturday.
Amarinder Singh's Congress, the Parkash Singh Badal-headed SAD-BJP combine and the Chief Minister's nephew Manpreet Singh Badal have come out as strong contenders over weeks of campaigning.
Meanwhile in Uttarakhand, Congress veteran ND Tiwari on Wednesday jumped into the race of chief ministerial post in the event of his party returning to power.
Earlier on January 25, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN said that the use of black money during the Assembly elections was a major cause for concern and the EC was trying its best to deal with it.
Across the five states getting ready for the Assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, nearly Rs 45 crore of illegal money has been seized so far. Out of that, nearly Rs 30 crore has been seized from Punjab only.
Sources in the Election Commission said that money is just the tip of the iceberg to buy votes in ... Read Full Story
ਨਵੀਂ ਦਿੱਲੀ, 7 ਮਾਰਚ (ਏਜੰਸੀ)-ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਸੋਨੀਆ ਗਾਂਧੀ ਨੇ ਉ¤ਤਰ ਪ੍ਰਦੇਸ਼ ਸਣੇ 5 ਸੂਬਿਆਂ ’ਚ ਵਿਧਾਨ ਸਭਾ ਚੋਣ ਨਤੀਜਿਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਨਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਚਰਚਾ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਅੱਜ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਸਕੱਤਰਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਦੂਜੇ ਉ¤ਚ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਬੈਠਕ ਕੀਤੀ।। ਸੋਨੀਆ ਨੇ ਇੱਥੇ ਸਰਵ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਕਮੇਟੀ ਦਫਤਰ ’ਚ ਉਕਤ ਨਾਲ ਮੁਲਾਕਾਤ ਕੀਤੀ ਅਤੇ 5 ਸੂਬਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਚੋਣਾਂ ਦੇ ਨਤੀਜਿਆਂ ’ਤੇ ਚਰਚਾ ਕੀਤੀ।।ਉ¤ਤਰ ਪ੍ਰਦੇਸ਼ ’ਚ ਜਬਰਦਸਤ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰ ਮੁਹਿੰਮ ਚਲਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਸਕ¤ਤਰ ਰਾਹੁਲ ਗਾਂਧੀ ਇਸ ਬੈਠਕ ਤੋਂ ਦੂਰ ਰਹੇ।।ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਸਕ¤ਤਰ ਅਤੇ ਉਤਰ ਪ੍ਰਦੇਸ਼ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵੀ ਦਿਗਵਿਜੇ ਸਿੰਘ, ਉ¤ਤਰਾਖੰਡ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵੀ ਚੌਧਰੀ ਵਿਰੇਂਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ, ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵੀ ਗੁਲਚੈਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਚਾੜਕ, ਗੋਆ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵੀ ਜਗਮੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਰਾੜ ਅਤੇ ਮਣੀਪੁਰ ਦੇ ...
ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ/ਦੇਹਰਾਦੂਨ, 30 ਜਨਵਰੀ (ਦੋਆਬਾ ਨਿਊਜ਼ ਸਰਵਿਸ)-ਪੰਜਾਬ ਅਤੇ ਉਤਰਾਖੰਡ ਵਿਧਾਨ ਸਭਾ ਚੋਣਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੋਮਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਕ੍ਰਮਵਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਫ਼ੀਸਦੀ ਵੋਟਿੰਗ ਹੋਈ। ਦੋਹਾਂ ਰਾਜਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੋਮਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਵੋਟਰਾਂ ਨੇ 1866 ਉਮੀਦਵਾਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਕਿਸਮਤ ਦਾ ਫੈਸਲਾ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਦੀ ਕੁਰਸੀ ਦੇ ਦਾਅਵੇਦਾਰ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ, ਕੈਪਟਨ ਅਮਰਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਅਤੇ ਭੁਵਨ ਚੰਦਰ ਖੰਡੂਰੀ ਸ਼ਾਮਲ ਹਨ। ਸਵੇਰੇ ਸਰਦੀ ਹੋਣ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਨ ਦੋਹਾਂ ਹੀ ਰਾਜਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੋਟਿੰਗ ਦੀ ਰਫ਼ਤਾਰ ਮੱਧਮ ਰਹੀ, ਪ੍ਰੰਤੂ ਦਿਨ ਚੜ੍ਹਨ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਲੋਕ ਘਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਨਿਕਲਣ ਲੱਗੇ।
ਫਿਰੋਜ਼ਪੁਰ ’ਚ ਅਕਾਲੀ-ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਦੇ ਸਮਰਥਕਾਂ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ ਝਗੜੇ ’ਚ ਇੱਕ ਮੌਤ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਖ਼ਬਰ ਮਿਲੀ ਹੈ। ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ, ਅਬੋਹਰ ਅਤੇ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਾਪਰੀਆਂ ਹਿੰਸਕ ਘਟਨਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ...
