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
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
Roorkee, January 17 (Doaba News Service) Ahead of the assembly elections in Uttarakhand, UPA Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday kickstart her party Campaign in Roorkee. Taking on the BJP govt on the issue of corruption, Sonia said," Whatever development you see here is the work of the Congress govt, be it IIT or any other higher educational institutuions. Uttarakhand people have been betrayed so far. "There is a lot of corruption in the state and the state govt has lied. They just changed the chief minister but nothing has changed. Corruption is prevalent. They did corruption even in Kumbh Mela." The Congress Chief would next address a rally in Tehri in th BJP- ruled states. This is her first trip to Uttarakhand for the upcoming Assembly ... Read Full Story
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 ...
