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PM Modi indicated Maharashtra CM and Haryana CM would continue Election news : The results of the Assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra, and the by-polls to 51 Assembly seats across 17 states and two Lok Sabha constituencies, announced on Thursday, belied expectations of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep. In less than 150 days since the BJP and its allies won by a landslide in the Lok Sabha polls, electorates in Maharashtra and Haryana looked beyond such national issues as the scrapping of Article 370, which were the BJP’s leitmotif for its election campaign, jolting the party out of complacence amid widespread concerns over the economic slowdown and rural distress. The election results are set to reinvigorate a moribund Opposition, make BJP’s march to a Rajya Sabha majority more arduous, strengthen the hands of the veterans in the Congress in their tussle with former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and give a fresh lease of life to the political careers of... read more

The Congress, which had won 10 seats in the region in 2014, won 17 this time Election news : The Maharashtra Assembly elections threw up a mild surprise, by giving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena — known as the Mahayuti —fewer seats than what any of the exit polls had predicted. Not just that, the seat count of the Mahayuti, at the time of going to press, was less than what the two parties had secured in 2014, when they had contested separately. Despite retaining a strong edge over the majority mark, the Mahayuti lost 24 seats from its kitty, seeing its tally reduced to 161 from 185. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance increased its tally from 81 to 98. Independents and smaller parties bagged 29 seats (from 20 earlier). The unexpected result may be attributed to two regions of the state — the relatively prosperous western region, and drought-prone Vidarbha — both of which turned their back to... read more

In Haryana, a predominantly rural state, crop prices have been constantly falling for the past two years Election news : The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) less than satisfactory performance in the Assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra has once again raised questions on its inept handling of the economy, triggering calls for more focus on it, particularly the rural sector. The sector seems to have played a decisive role in several seats in both the states. Its showing has indicated the continuing slowdown in demand, wages, and consumption in rural areas has started affecting politics. In Haryana, the ruling BJP was marginally short of a majority, just months after it won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in... read more

Aaditya Thackeray has been given charge of the Yuva Sena and is tussling with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Election news : Few parties manage to stay relevant through a generational change. Shiv Sena is the exception. When it was formed, its founder Bal Thackeray saw it as forum to arouse the Maharashtrian-ness of those who lived in the state, making the Mangalorean, the North Indian, the Tamil, Telugu, and the Malayali the ‘other’. The Communists and the Congress were also targets of Marmik, a cartoon magazine Thackeray founded that poked fun at the outsiders and the meek Maharashtrians. It also gave an ideological cover for breaking the Communist-dominated trade unions in and around Mumbai's textile mills. But he soon found that the ‘Maharashtra for Maharashtrians’ slogan had limited appeal outside Mumbai where non-Maharashtrians were seen as performing an economic service and not necessarily as a threat. A change of track followed with Sena supporters becoming t...

After the poll results came out on Thursday, the ruling BJP fell six short of the halfway mark needed to form the next government Election news : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar left for Delhi on Friday morning to meet senior party leaders and discuss a way forward as the ruling BJP emerged as the single largest party with 40 seats in a hung assembly. After the poll results came out on Thursday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell six short of the halfway mark needed to form the next government. The Congress won 31 seats, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) 10, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) one each... read more

As Malegaon's residents queue up to vote for the Assembly polls on Monday, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 of them are unified in their concern for survival of the fledgling industry   Election news :  Elections usually bring with it communal tensions in this city famous for its power looms and small-budget movies. The bridge over the Girna river on Mumbai-Agra highway divides the city’s Hindu and Muslim habitations, while symbiotic business ties of the two communities unite them to keep violence at bay. As Malegaon’s residents queue up to vote for the Assembly polls on Monday, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 of them, mostly Muslims and some Hindus, who earn their livelihoods from recycling ‘single-use plastic’, are unified in their concern for survival of the fledgling industry. In Malegaon, only a handful are associated with the film industry. The textile industry is the biggest employer. An estimated 150,000 power looms operate in the city. Lesser known is... read...

Voting for by-election to 11 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh begins Election news :  Voting for the bypolls to 11 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh began on Monday morning amid tight security. Polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue till to 6 p.m. Eight of the 11 seats were held earlier by the BJP and one by BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal). The seats of Rampur and Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar) were held by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, respectively. The BJP, BSP, SP and the Congress have fielded their candidates on all the seats. According to the office of UP's Chief Electoral Officer, 109 candidates are in the fray for the bypolls to the Assembly seats of... read more

Seven companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the four assembly segments   Election news :  Polling for the bypolls to four assembly seats in Punjab began on Monday morning. Polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m., officials said. The four assembly seats where the bypolls will be held include Phagwara (reserve), Jalalabad, Dakha and Mukerian. Around 7.76 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of 33 candidates. The results of the elections will be declared on October 24. Seven companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the four assembly segments, the official said. A total 920 polling stations have been set up. Some polling... read more

Besides the two states, assembly bypolls are underway in 51 seats and Lok Sabha by-elections in two constituencies across India Election news :  As polling is underway in Maharashtra and Haryana on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to come out in large numbers to cast vote and enrich the "festival of democracy". Besides the two states, assembly bypolls are underway in 51 seats and Lok Sabha by-elections in two constituencies across India. "Elections are taking place for Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies. There are also by-polls taking place in various parts of India. I urge voters in these states and seats to turnout in record numbers and enrich the festival of... read more

Polling began on Monday morning in all 288 Assembly constituencies of the state Election news : RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was among the early ones to cast his vote on Monday in Nagpur for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. Bhagwat went to a polling booth in Mahal area of the city around 7 am and exercised his franchise. Later, to a query by reporters on the Congress targeting the RSS over the demand of Bharat Ratna award for Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, Bhagwat dubbed it as "politics". "We have been targeted since last 90 years. So, there is no need to worry as the society is one and will always be one. It is politics, all this is part of it. But the society is one and will always will... read more