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New Delhi, The <keyword id="19895782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Election Commission" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Election Commission">Election Commission</keyword> on Friday said it has identified 266 <keyword id="20809469" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliamentary-constituencies" source="keywords">parliamentary constituencies</keyword>, including 215 in rural areas, with <keyword id="21207154" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="low-voter-turnout" source="keywords">low voter turnout</keyword> and is planning <keyword id="21207534" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="targeted-intervention" source="keywords">targeted intervention</keyword> to enhance <keyword id="19973117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voting-percentage" source="keywords">voting percentage</keyword> in the upcoming <keyword id="19912155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-polls" source="keywords">Lok Sabha polls</keyword>. Municipal commissioners from major cities and select district election officers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh discussed enhancing voter engagement and participation in identified urban and rural Lok Sabha seats. At its conference on low <keyword id="20108198" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-turnout" source="keywords">voter turnout</keyword> here, the EC said 266 parliamentary constituencies -- 215 rural and 51 urban -- with low voter turnout have been identified. Eleven states and Union territories - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand - had a voter turnout lower than the national average of 67.40 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Addressing the participants, <keyword id="19998985" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chief-Election-Commissioner" source="keywords">Chief Election Commissioner</keyword> Rajiv Kumar stressed that 'one size fits all' approach will not work and different strategies have to be worked out for different areas and segments. Polling for the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls begins on April 19. Kumar emphasised on a three-pronged strategy of providing facilitation at polling stations, such as queue management, sheltered parking in congested areas; targeted outreach and communication; and involvement of critical stakeholders including RWAs, local icons and youth influencers to persuade people to come to polling stations on voting day. He told officials to prepare a booth-wise action plan for enhanced participation and behaviour change. He asked the participants to prepare different strategies for urban and rural areas and plan interventions accordingly for different target audiences. Discussions were centred on critical issues such as optimising queue management at polling stations and facilitating voting in high-rise buildings. Urban specific hurdles to increased voter turnout were identified and targeted city-specific interventions were planned. The officers were encouraged to develop tailored, region-specific outreach programs that resonate with the unique needs and demographics of their constituencies. The Commission recalled that nearly 29.7 crore eligible voters did not vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections "underscoring the scale of the problem which calls for proactive measures". In the last Lok Sabha elections, of the 50 seats with the lowest voter turnout, 17 were in metropolitans or major cities. It said recent elections across various states have highlighted trends of urban apathy towards the electoral process, warranting targeted interventions and collaborative endeavours.

EC identifies 266 Lok Sabha seats with low voter turnout, mostly in rural areas

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): The mammoth exercise to count votes polled for the Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 elections will begin at 8 am on Tuesday, with trends and results following shortly thereafter. Results of the <keyword id="6372146" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Assembly-elections" source="Orion">Assembly elections</keyword> in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were held simultaneously with voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha. Results of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies will also be declared today. Here're the LIVE results: <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Infographic"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will seek a third consecutive term in government, while the Congress-led opposition aims to unseat them. Most <keyword id="43771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exit-polls" source="Orion">exit polls</keyword> have predicted a return of PM Modi to power, a development which will make him the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to secure a third successive term in power, Meanwhile, a delegation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders met with the Election Commission of India urging it to ensure that postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the outcome of the EVMs is announced. Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had said that a "very robust system" has been put in place. "There are around 10.5 lakh booths. Each booth will have 14 tables. There are observers and micro-observers. Nearly, 70-80 lakh people are involved in the process," he said. The national capital is all set to witness the battle. With tight security arrangements in place, Delhi is well-prepared to watch the results of the 2024 <keyword id="19923279" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-Elections" source="keywords">Lok Sabha elections</keyword>. Around 70 companies of the security forces will be deployed at all seven counting centres across the national capital as part of the elaborate security arrangements made by the Delhi Police for today. Delhi traffic police issued a fresh advisory ahead of the counting of votes scheduled for Tuesday, listing key roads where traffic restrictions and diversions will start from 5 am onwards to ensure smooth vehicular movement. Prime Minister Modi's hometown, Gujarat, is also preparing for the vote-counting day as security forces rehearse and perform drills for the effortless conduct of D-day. Exit polls have predicted the return of the BJP to power. Various exit polls have given the BJP more than 64 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised for a hat-trick win in Lok Sabha polls with a massive majority. Exit polls were predicted on Saturday and indicated that the ruling party at the Centre would improve its performance in several states ruled by other parties. A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of "400 paar" stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition's UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52. The Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases- on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting trends and results, as per data entered by RO/ARO for AC/PC will be available on the ECI website as well as on the Voter Helpline App, both iOS and Android Mobile Apps, according to the ECI. The Voter Helpline App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple Play Store. Users can use the available filter to find out the winning/leading or trailing candidate details, along with the constituency-wise or State-wise results from the Voter Helpline App. The local display of the trends and results by the CEOs/ROs/DEOs may also be done through the Digital Display Panels, it said.

Lok Sabha elections 2024 results: Mammoth vote-counting exercise set to begin at 8 am, amid high security

Descendants of royal families, who are contesting the 2024 <keyword id="19923279" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-elections" source="keywords">Lok Sabha elections</keyword> on <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords">BJP</keyword> tickets, have performed fairly well with a majority of them leading with a huge margin on their respective seats. <keyword id="29632" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jyotiraditya-scindia" source="Orion">Jyotiraditya Scindia</keyword>, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior who severed his 18-year-long ties with the <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> in 2020 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is leading with over 5 lakh votes from the Guna parliamentary constituency in <keyword id="19898705" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhya-Pradesh" source="keywords">Madhya Pradesh</keyword>. The Union civil aviation minister is pitted against the Congress' Rao Yadvendra Singh. This is the first time in his political career that Scindia (53) is contesting as a BJP candidate from Guna, which was earlier represented by his late father Madhavrao Scindia and late grandmother Vijayaraje Scindia. The BJP is having a clean sweep in Madhya Pradesh by securing huge vote margins on all 29 seats. Another royal candidate Dushyant Singh, Prince of Dholpur state in <keyword id="19898913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajasthan" source="keywords">Rajasthan</keyword>, who has been elected four times in the past, is also leading from Jhalawar-Baran with over 3.5 lakh votes against his rival Urmila Jain of the Congress. Mahima Kumari Mewar, the wife of <keyword id="21351143" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vishvaraj-singh" source="keywords">Vishvaraj Singh</keyword> Mewar who is a descendant of Maharana Pratap, is also leading from Rajsamand Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan with around 4 lakh votes against her nearest rival Dr Damodar Gurjar of the Congress. In Rajasthan, the BJP has won one seat and is leading on 13 out of 25 parliamentary constituencies. In the south, <keyword id="20932800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yaduveer-krishnadatta-chamaraja-wadiyar" source="keywords">Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar</keyword>, 31-year-old US-educated who was crowned as the titular head of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family in 2015 making him the 27th 'King' of the Wadiyar dynasty, is a BJP candidate for the Mysuru Lok Sabha seat. Yaduveer is leading with over 1.3 lakh votes against Congress' candidates M Lakshmana from this seat. As per the latest trend, the BJP has won one seat and leading on 15 seats out of 28 parliamentary seats in Karnataka. The Congress is leading on 10 seats. In Odisha, while contesting as a BJP candidate, Malvika Devi, wife of former MP Arka Keshari Deo, a member of the royal family of Kalahandi district, is leading with about one lakh votes against her nearest rival Lambodar Nial of Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The BJP has put up a significant performance in Odisha as its candidates are leading on 19 out of 21 seats. Among the Northeastern states, Kriti Singh Debbarma, a member of the Tripura's erstwhile royal family, who is a joint candidate of the regional party Tipra Motha and the BJP, is leading with over 5.5 lakh votes on Tripura East seat from her nearest rival Rajendra Reang of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Tripura has two parliamentary constituencies and the BJP is leading on both of them. Among the losing royal challengers of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is Vikramaditya Singh, who is contesting from the Congress from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. Singh, the heir of the Rampur royal family and son of the late Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, is trailing as his rival, actress-turned-politician Kangna Ranaut of the BJP, is ahead of him with over 70,000 votes. Another royal candidate is Rajmata Amrita Roy from the Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal, who is also trailing by over 50,000 votes against Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Mahua Moitra. Roy, married to the family of Maharaja Krishnachandra Roy, is revered as the "Rani Maa" or Queen Mother by the constituency, carrying a legacy rich in tradition and aristocracy.

Lok Sabha polls: Royal family candidates heading towards a comfortable victory

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): With counting slated for today for the <keyword id="19923279" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-elections" source="keywords">Lok Sabha elections</keyword>, which have seen the largest voter participation, the electoral fate of several leaders across the political spectrum will be decided. Prime Minister <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword>, Home Minister <keyword id="19899491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Shah" source="keywords">Amit Shah</keyword> and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are among the senior BJP leaders in the fray. Key opposition leaders, including former Congress chief <keyword id="19895780" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahul-Gandhi" source="keywords">Rahul Gandhi</keyword>, NCP's <keyword id="20083020" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supriya-Sule" source="keywords">Supriya Sule</keyword> and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, are also contesting the poll. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Infographic"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Here is a look at some key contests involving prominent leaders: 1. Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Modi, is seeking a third term from Varanasi, the constituency that paved his way to the Lok Sabha after his stint as Chief Minister. He is pitted against Congress leader and INDIA bloc candidate Ajay Rai. PM Modi won the seat by huge margins in 2014 and 2019. 2. Amit Shah: The Union Home Minister entered the Lok Sabha in 2019 from Gandhinagar and is seeking his second straight term from the seat, which has been held by BJP veterans in the past. Shah, who earlier served as BJP President, is against Congress candidate Sonal Patel. 3. Rahul Gandhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from two seats -- Wayanad and Raebareli. Gandhi, who lost the family bastion seat of Amethi in 2019 and entered the Lok Sabha from Wayanad, is aiming to maintain the party's lone bastion left in the state. He is up against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh and BJP's K. Surendran, as well as CPI-M's Annie Raja in Wayanad. 4. Supriya Sule and <keyword id="20734555" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sunetra-pawar" source="keywords">Sunetra Pawar</keyword>: The Baramati constituency is another 'hot seat' that will decide the future of the 'Pawar' legacy. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule is against his cousin Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, from the seat. The exit polls have predicted a tight contest. 5. <keyword id="42749" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shashi-Tharoor" source="Orion">Shashi Tharoor</keyword>: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is a three-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, is facing a three-way contest against BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI-M's Panniyan Ravindran. The exit polls have predicted a tight contest. 6. K. Annamalai: BJP Tamil Nadu chief and rising face in the south, K Annamalai, is aiming to make the party's inroads in the state. Contesting from Coimbatore, the former cop is up against DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK's Singai Ramachandran. 7. Rajnath Singh: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is seeking a third term from Lucknow. The former Uttar Pradesh CM served as the Home Minister in BJP's first term and Defence Minister in the second term. Singh is facing SP candidate Ravidas Mehrotra and BSP candidate Sarwar Malik. 8. Abhishek Banerjee: As the BJP is aiming to make further inroads in West Bengal, and TMC is looking to maintain its fortress, TMC general secretary and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee is contesting from Diamond Harbour seeking a second term from the seat. Banerjee is pitted against CPI(M) candidate Pratikur Rahaman and BJP's Abhijit Das. 9. Akhilesh Yadav: Former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav made a surprise entry in the Lok Sabha polls, announcing his candidature from Kannauj. Yadav, who is an MLA from Karhal assembly constituency, is facing incumbent MP and BJP leader Subrat Pathak. 10. Asaduddin Owaisi: The Hyderabad constituency is bracing for a big showdown with four-time MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi facing a challenge against BJP candidate and actor-turned-politician Madhavi Latha. The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats of the lower house were held across seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on Tuesday, June 4. The Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a third straight term in power, while the Opposition under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc is seeking to wrest power from the ruling party. Meanwhile, all the exit polls have predicted the BJP returning to power with a resounding majority, with further inroads in Odisha, West Bengal, and southern states.

From Modi and Shah to Gandhi and Tharoor, here's a look at some key Lok Sabha seats ahead of election results

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): With counting progressing in <keyword id="19912155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-polls" source="keywords">Lok Sabha polls</keyword>, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led <keyword id="20344628" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Democratic-Alliance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Democratic Alliance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Democratic Alliance">National Democratic Alliance</keyword> is leading on more than 100 seats as per the latest trends according to TV channels. Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with postal ballot papers amid tight security. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies also began. The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats of the lower house were held across seven phases. The <keyword id="19931558" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharatiya Janata Party" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bharatiya Janata Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> is eyeing a third straight term in power, while the Opposition under the umbrella of the <keyword id="19895684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="INDIA-bloc" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="INDIA bloc" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="INDIA bloc">INDIA bloc</keyword> is seeking to wrest power from the ruling party.Most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (<keyword id="41281" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDA" source="Orion">NDA</keyword>). The Congress party and its allies dismissed the exit polls as "orchestrated" and a work of "fantasy", asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre. Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general election. With counting began for the Lok Sabha elections, which have seen the largest voter participation, the electoral fate of several leaders across the political spectrum will be decided. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are among the senior BJP leaders in the fray. Key opposition leaders, including former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, NCP's Supriya Sule, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, are also contesting the poll. Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition's UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52. Even before the counting of the votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat of Surat Lok Sabha. Earlier on April 22, Mukesh Dalal won the election "unopposed". Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected. His candidacy was rejected because of alleged discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers.

Lok Sabha election results: BJP-led NDA leading in 100 plus seats in early trends

New Delhi [India], May 16 (ANI): <keyword id="9766785" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-elections-2024" source="Orion">Lok Sabha elections 2024</keyword> have seen a <keyword id="20108198" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-turnout" source="keywords">voter turnout</keyword> at polling stations of about 66.95 per cent so far, as approximately 451 million people have voted during the first four phases of ongoing general elections. In a bid to encourage voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers, ECI has enhanced its targeted interventions to reach out to every eligible voter. The Commission led by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, further directed CEOs of the states going to poll in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases to timely distribute voter information slips to all electors and enhance outreach activities. "Commission strongly believes that partnership and collaboration are essential pillars of the voter awareness programme. It's heartening to see that, at the Commission's request, different institutions, influencers and celebrities with significant reach are working enthusiastically on a pro-bono basis," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. Further, he added that a higher voter turnout would be a message from Indian voters to the world, about the strength of Indian Democracy. He urges all the voters to cast their vote in huge numbers, as voting day is not a holiday but a day of pride, by participating in the festival of democracy. According to an official release, various <keyword id="21686177" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-awareness-drives" source="keywords">voter awareness drives</keyword> and campaigns have been carried out by stakeholders in collaboration with ECI. Telecom Service Providers such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Bharti Airtel Limited, Jio Telecommunication, and Vodafone-Idea Limited are reaching out to every mobile user in the respective parliamentary constituency through push SMS/Flash SMSs, outbound dialling calls to mobile users, RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging and WhatsApp messages/alerts. These activities are carried out two/three days before the poll and even on the poll day, in regional languages, with an appeal to vote. ECI has collaborated with BCCI for voter awareness activities during the ongoing IPL season. The voter awareness messages and songs are being played at different stadiums during the cricket matches. The most innovative aspect of this campaign is the administration of voter's pledges by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in a pre-recorded video message, at various IPL venues. Further, voter awareness messages are integrated into cricket commentary. Cricketers from 10 IPL teams have encouraged voters to participate in the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections in 2024 with their recorded voter awareness messages. A voting day alert was sent to all Facebook users pan India to inform and inform the voters about the general elections and to nudge them to participate in the festival of democracy, the release mentioned. The release further stated that WhatsApp personalised messages have begun on polling day. Google India is contributing through its iconic feature of Google Doodle on poll days and banners appearing on YouTube, Google Pat and other Google platforms. The Retail Association of India has been actively engaging with voter awareness activities, through their retail network, whereby retail chains are encouraged to celebrate the election as a festival. The vast network of post offices and banking institutions was utilised by ECI to reach out to a wide and diverse audience across the length and breadth of the country. In collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the parliamentary elections campaign logo "Chunav ka Parv, Desh ka Garv" has been integrated with the IRCTC portal and tickets. Voter awareness announcements have been integrated with the public address system at all railway stations. The logo stickers are used on coaches of the superfast trains. In collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, hoardings on voter awareness have been installed in about 16,000 retail outlets. In collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airlines are making an inflight announcement with an appeal message to participate in the ensuing elections. Voter guides are being kept in aircraft seat pockets. Apart from this, many airports are providing space for the display of voter awareness messages. Selfie points have been installed at airports in 10 major cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, and Pune. Cinema theatres across the country are playing ECI voter awareness films and ECI Song Main Bharat Hoon, Hum Bharat Ke Matdata Hai, at regular intervals, as a part of the Public Service Awareness (PSA) film. Sansad TV is creating short films on Unique Polling Stations set up in remote corners of the country by the election machinery after navigating difficult terrains to demonstrate the challenges in ensuring voting at the last mile. AMUL, Mother Dairy and other milk co-operatives have started branding their milk pouches with the message 'Chunav Ka Parv, Desh ka Garv' and encouraging voters through social media platforms. AMUL is also encouraging voters with its unique messaging through AMUL Girl Topical advertisements in newspapers. Prasar Bharati: Doordarshan has produced, various short films, including appeals from constitutional functionaries like President of India, Vice President of India, and Chief Justice of India, among others. Further, unique polling stations are being covered by the regional Kendra's audio-visual documentation. Music App Spotify is running a campaign called 'Play Your Part', and they have issued print advertisements, and curated the playlists for the elections, on their app. Payments app PhonePe has integrated voter awareness message into their app and is actively encouraging voters. BookMyShow has launched an integrated campaign, titled "Aaj Picture Nahi, Bigger Picture Dekho," to raise awareness among voters. MakeMyTrip is running a campaign titled 'MyVoteWalaTrip', whereby discounts are offered to citizens going to vote. Food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy are disseminating voter awareness messages through their platforms and social media activities. Grocery App Blinkit changed its logo to "Inkit" for the elections, incorporating a message encouraging people to "Go out and Vote" as a tagline. Uber India is reaching out to voters through multi-channel messaging (in-app, emails, push notifications), offering discounts for rides to polling stations, and amplifying voter awareness messages on social media platforms. Bike app Rapido has been encouraging voters with a free ride to vote. Urban Company has launched 'I Have Voted Campaign' to encourage voters. Tata Neu app, serving as the Tata Group's group-wide consumer-facing mobile app, prominently features the "Cast Your Vote" animated banner on its homepage, with additional initiatives currently underway. Truecaller is enhancing its layout by displaying voter awareness message during outbound calls Some other independent initiatives are Mankind Pharma #VotingVirgin campaign, clothing brand Neeru's "Vote ki Taiyaari" TVC, Tinder's "Every Single Vote Counts" campaign, creatively curated social media post by Matrimonial sites like Jeevansathi.com, etc and discounts for voting by popular brands such as Shoppers' Stop, MakeMyTrip, Chroma and many more. Four phases of Lok Sabha polls have been held and the voting will conclude on June 1 with results on June 4. The remaining phases will be held on May 20, May 25, and June 1.

451 million voters! First four phases of Lok Sabha elections witness 66.95% voter turnout so far

Actor-turned-politician <keyword id="20008310" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suresh-Gopi" source="keywords">Suresh Gopi</keyword> who is poised for a <keyword id="21145935" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="historic-win" source="keywords">historic win</keyword> in the parliamentary seat of <keyword id="19977207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thrissur" source="keywords">Thrissur</keyword> said he is "ecstatic" about the <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords">BJP</keyword> breaching the bastion in <keyword id="19896018" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kerala" source="keywords">Kerala</keyword> according to trends announced by the Election Commission on Tuesday in the counting of votes in the 2024 <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections. "What was very impossible became gloriously possible," said the actor who contested from the seat for the second time after losing in the last general elections in 2019. Gopi said he "bowed down to" the "truly <keyword id="21934911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="secular-voters" source="keywords">secular voters</keyword>" of Thrissur, adding that there were attempts to "corrupt" the voters' mind away from the BJP but the Gods "led them in the correct path". "Attempts were made to mislead the voters but God led them on the correct path to accept my party through me ...even if some of you feel that this is a miracle, this miracle was imminent...The victory is due to people's blessings. I bow down to the truly secular voters of Thrissur who made this victory possible," the actor said. He further said that "...Narendra Modi is my political God. ..I am not believing in just a manifesto...I will work for the whole Kerala...I will work as Kerala MP..." The 65-year-old actor said, " I am in totally an ecstatic mood. What was very impossible became gloriously possible...it was not a 62-day campaign process, it was an emotional carriage for the past 7 years...I work for Kerala as a whole. My first pick will be to have AIIMS..." Gopi also credited his victory to the BJP workers who worked in his election campaign. "I also credit my party workers who worked in more than a thousand booths in the constituency. A lot of mothers and sisters from other districts and states also worked for me. Many of them came from Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Their effort made a positive impact," he said. Suresh Gopi was leading with 400706 votes in the Thrissur constituency with a margin of 73091 votes over <keyword id="21934912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="v-s-sunil" source="keywords">V S Sunil</keyword> Kumar of the CPI and <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword>' Muraleedharan of the Congress who polled 319560 votes as per data on the poll body's website at 2 pm. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was leading by 3,28,460 votes in Wayanad constituency over his nearest rival CPI's Annie Raja, as per Election Commission data. Congress sitting MP Shashi Tharoor took a lead over BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram with 325896 votes and CPI's Pannian Raveendran in third spot, data by EC said. Congress' KC Venugopal was leading with 364811 votes against nearest rival AM Ariff of the CPI (M) while BJP's <keyword id="21418632" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sobha-surendran" source="keywords">Sobha Surendran</keyword> trailed in the third place. The polling in Kerala was held in single phase on April 26. The voter turnout was recorded at 71.27 per cent. Out of the total 2,77,49,158 voters in Kerala, a total of 1,97,77,478 exercised their franchise. In the 2019 General Elections, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP failed to open its account in the southern state. In its attempt to garner votes in Kerala, the BJP focussed on the Christian community in the state which accounts for 18.38 per cent of the total population. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP crossed the majority mark in early leads and the INDIA bloc above 200, defying all exit poll predictions. The BJP is currently leading on 240 seats, as per the latest trends by the ECI. The Lok Sabha elections were held across the country in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. (ANI)

"Miracle was imminent", says Suresh Gopi after BJP's historic Lok Sabha victory in Kerala

<keyword id="21033069" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="women-candidates" source="keywords">Women candidates</keyword> like Selja, <keyword id="19941210" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kangana-Ranaut" source="keywords">Kangana Ranaut</keyword>, <keyword id="19968072" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hema-Malini" source="keywords">Hema Malini</keyword>, <keyword id="19960481" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dimple-Yadav" source="keywords">Dimple Yadav</keyword> and <keyword id="20377641" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Misha-Bharti" source="keywords">Misha Bharti</keyword> are leading by a significant margin in their respective constituencies in the general elections. Amethi's incumbent MP <keyword id="19899683" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smriti-irani" source="keywords">Smriti Irani</keyword> and Sultanpur MP Maneka Gandhi are among MPs trailing by huge margin in their constituencies. Selja, <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> candidate from Sirsa, is also leading from her constituency by over 2.5 lakh votes, as of 3.35 pm. <keyword id="20453436" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bansuri-Swaraj" source="keywords">Bansuri Swaraj</keyword>, who has been fielded by the BJP from New Delhi constituency is leading by over 50,000 votes. A total of 797 women contested the Lok Sabha elections. Some of the prominent women candidates who are leading in the contest include Kangana Ranaut, Hema Malini, Dimple Yadav and Misha Bharti. At 3 pm, Ranaut, first time contender from BJP in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, is leading by over 70,000 against Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh. Incumbent MP from Mathura Hema Malini is leading from the constituency with a margin of over 2 lakh votes against Congress candidate Mukesh Dhangar. Dimple Yadav, the incumbent MP from Mainpuri, has also maintained a comfortable lead of over 2 lakh against BJP's Jayveer Singh. Misha Bharti, daughter of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, is also leading against union minister and incumbent MP from Bihar's Pataliputra by a margin over nearly 50,000 votes. <keyword id="19981448" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahua-Moitra" source="keywords">Mahua Moitra</keyword>, incumbent MP from West Bengal's Krishnanagar, is also leading in her seat by a margin of over 50,000 votes while Baramati's incumbent MP Supriya Sule also leading by over 20,000 votes. DMK's Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, incumbent MP from Thoothukkudi, is also leading from her constituency by over 2.5 lakh votes.

LS polls: Kangana, Hema Malini, Dimple Yadav among women candidates leading with comfortable margin

The <keyword id="20000743" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RJD" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="RJD" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="RJD">RJD</keyword> on Tuesday afternoon claimed that Bihar Chief Minister <keyword id="19907431" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nitish-Kumar" source="keywords">Nitish Kumar</keyword> and Telugu Desam Party president <keyword id="19926151" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrababu-Naidu" source="keywords">Chandrababu Naidu</keyword> "shared a dislike for vendetta politics" which could lead them away from the BJP-led <keyword id="19938590" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDA" source="keywords">NDA</keyword>. RJD national spokesperson Manoj <keyword id="20785661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kumar-jha" source="keywords">Kumar Jha</keyword> also recalled the forecast of Kumar, who heads the JD(U), that "those who came to power will be ousted in 2024", and the efforts he made in laying the foundation of the <keyword id="19895684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="INDIA-bloc" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="INDIA bloc" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="INDIA bloc">INDIA bloc</keyword>. "We have been, formerly, in alliance with both Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. We know they share a dislike for vendetta politics which the <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword> stands for. Narendra Modi seems to be on his way out. We are hopeful that the two leaders will play a crucial role in the change of guard at the Centre," Jha told reporters here. He also made it clear, "I am making no appeal to Nitish Kumar or Chandrababu Naidu. I am only expressing my hope, given the understanding I have of their temperament". Notably, the JD(U) has put up a better than expected performance in <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> polls, establishing a lead in 14 out of the 16 seats it had contested, surpassing the BJP which had fought 17 but was trailing in five of these. In Bihar, the INDIA bloc was leading in only eight out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats but Jha was confident that the numbers would look up for the coalition in the state, even as he complained about the tardy pace of counting. "We have written to the Election Commission drawing attention towards the extremely slow pace of counting. Only 3-4 lakh votes have been counted till afternoon in most seats in Bihar where, on an average, about 10 lakh people have exercised their franchise in each constituency," said Jha. "We are confident that as the counting progresses, in many seats where we are trailing by slender margins, the picture will change. But we urge the Election Commission to carry out the exercise as per the rule book and not act on any telephone calls they may be getting from Delhi," said the Rajya Sabha MP, who has been alleging that the poll panel has often acted under pressure from the ruling BJP at the Centre. "To all our cadres in the INDIA coalition, I would appeal not to let their guard down. Counting may continue till late in the evening. We must remain vigilant," said Jha. Among the INDIA constituents in Bihar, RJD had contested 23 seats, out of which it was trailing in all but four, while Congress, which got nine seats, was leading in two. The CPI(ML) Liberation, which had contested three seats, was leading in two.

Nitish, Naidu may dump NDA, help INDIA bloc form govt: RJD

Former <keyword id="19904807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Haryana" source="keywords">Haryana</keyword> Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh <keyword id="20201620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hooda" source="keywords">Hooda</keyword> on Tuesday said that <keyword id="19934969" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="farmers" source="keywords">farmers</keyword>' plight, <keyword id="21440881" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agnipath" source="keywords">Agnipath</keyword>, <keyword id="19916979" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="unemployment" source="keywords">unemployment</keyword>, <keyword id="19938433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="law-and-order" source="keywords">law and order</keyword>, and <keyword id="19895000" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inflation" source="keywords">inflation</keyword> were key issues which the ruling <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword> failed to address. As the <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> appeared set to wrest five Lok Sabha seats from the ruling BJP in Haryana, Hooda said that he had been saying "there is a wave blowing in favour of the Congress". "You asked me about exit polls predicting most seats to the BJP, to which I said wait for the actual poll results on June 4," the Congress veteran said. Haryana is known for "jai jawan, jai kisan, jai pehalwan". "But what did they (BJP) do. They brought Agniveer (Agnipath scheme), which faced opposition from the youth. They did not redress farmers' issues. And everyone knows the treatment that was meted to our wrestler daughters, who had to protest (at Delhi's Jantar Mantar)," he said. Hooda said that unemployment increased in the state during the BJP rule while the law and order situation also deteriorated. He claimed that the Congress' performance in the <keyword id="19912155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-polls" source="keywords">Lok Sabha polls</keyword> in the state will have an impact on the Vidhan Sabha elections, which are due in October. "This is clear indication that people of Haryana have made up their mind to bring the Congress to power in the Assembly polls," Hooda claimed. Referring to the Lok Sabha polls, Hooda said people have supported the Congress. The Congress leader said that he had been maintaining that BJP will be "wiped out in south, halved in north" "Look at Haryana and Rajasthan...People have given us good support," he added. On the BJP's claims that NDA will win 400 seats this time, Hooda said, "I had been saying that it was a mere slogan. In Haryana too, in the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP had given slogan of 'Abki baar 75 paar' (claiming to win 75 of the 90 seats). Everyone knows how many seats they later won. (BJP had won 40 seats)." Hooda said that he had maintained that it will be a direct fight between the Congress and BJP in Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls. "I had been repeatedly saying that it is going to be a direct fight between the Congress and BJP. And that has been proved," said Hooda. "The people have rejected the 'vote katu' (vote cutters) outfits," he added referring to the JJP and INLD. Going by the trends available late afternoon, the Congress appeared on course to win Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak, Sirsa and Sonipat seats. The grand old party had contested nine of the ten Lok Sabha seats leaving the Kurukshetra seat to its INDIA bloc ally AAP. AAP's Sushil Gupta, was, however, behind BJP's Naveen Jindal from the seat.

BJP failed to address key issues like inflation and unemployment, says Bhupinder Hooda

New Delhi, More than 10 years after a Supreme Court judgement paved way for introduction of the <keyword id="20335981" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nota" source="keywords">NOTA</keyword> button on EVM for polls, the number of voters choosing it still remains low, with the experts dubbing it as a "toothless tiger" with no implications on the results. NOTA (None of the Above) was introduced in India through the Supreme Court's judgement in September 2013. The need to introduce NOTA was felt to discourage the parties from fielding tainted candidates. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to make necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs so that the voters can decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray. Introduced in 2013, the NOTA option on electronic voting machines has its own symbol - a ballot paper with a black cross across it. After the Supreme Court order in September 2013, the Election Commission added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel. One ballot unit has 16 buttons. Before the apex court order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling what is popularly called form 49-O. But filling out the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter. However, even as NOTA has secured over 1.29 crore votes in the state assembly elections and the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections combined in the last five years, the number of candidates with criminal records has increased in both the general and the assembly elections. According to a report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the share of MPs with declared criminal cases against them has been increasing in the last decade. While 30 per cent elected MPs had criminal cases against them in 2009, which went up. Of the 543 winners analysed by the ADR in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 162 (30 per cent) had declared criminal cases against them, with 76 (14 per cent) had serious criminal cases against them. In 2019, the share of MPs with criminal and serious criminal cases increased to 43 per cent and 29 per cent. "NOTA has made no difference as far as criminality is concerned, in fact the number of candidates with criminal cases has increased," Major General (Retd) Anil Verma, Head of ADR, told PTI. "The concept of NOTA was that some pressure would be on the parties not to field tainted candidates. It has not happened," he said. Overall in different state and general elections, votes polled on NOTA have been between .5 per cent to 1.5per cent, according to data compiled by the ADR. It secured around 1.06 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and among states, highest was when it got 1.98 percent of the total votes in the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls. The lowest number of votes NOTA in the Lok Sabha was 100 votes in Lakshadweep, and among the state polls, it secured the lowest percentage of vote share - 0.46 percent in both the Delhi State Assembly Elections, 2020, and the Mizoram State Assembly Elections, 2018. "Unfortunately, it turned out to be a toothless tiger. It merely provided a platform to express dissent or one's anger for political parties to take note and nothing more," <keyword id="20887282" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maj-gen-verma" source="keywords">Maj Gen Verma</keyword> (Retd) said. He, however, pointed out that overall, the percentage of NOTA votes in seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe has been slightly higher, which may indicate there are more grievances among these groups. "In the reserved constituencies, we have seen the percentage of NOTA votes are higher. Perhaps the tribals and SCs have more grievances so they go in larger numbers for NOTA," he said. Constituency wise, NOTA has secured as high as 27,500 votes in Maharashtra's Latur Rural constituency, a seat reserved for the SC community, over 13 per cent of the total votes. NOTA got the second spot, with Congress' Dhiraj Deshmukh winning with over 67 per cent of the total votes. In 'Red Alert Constituencies', the seats with three or more candidates with criminal cases contesting the elections, NOTA secured 26, 77,616 votes (26.77 lakhs) in the state assembly elections since 2018. It ranges from 1.63 per cent in Bihar in 217 red alert constituencies to 0.43 per cent in Delhi. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of NOTA votes (51,660) were polled in Bihar's Gopalganj, another reserved SC constituency, where it secured the third spot getting 5.03 per cent of the total votes. Axis India chairman <keyword id="20816878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pradeep-gupta" source="keywords">Pradeep Gupta</keyword> said there is a requirement to give more teeth to the NOTA option. "I believe that candidates, who have lost against NOTA should not get a chance to contest again. That is what the logic is all about. Since there is no such rule, many voters think what is the point of choosing NOTA," Gupta told PTI. "In 2014, 1.08 pc voters chose NOTA, the percentage was 1.06 pc in 2019. It is a sizeable number but I believe it is more due to error and less due to intention," Gupta said. "But if a rule is brought in barring the rejected candidates from contesting again, I believe the number will go up like anything. The political parties understand the sensitivity of this and that is why I believe no one will favour such a law and hence NOTA is a toothless option," he added. Calls have also been made for scrapping NOTA. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel had last year sought scrapping NOTA, stating that in certain cases it polled more votes than winning margin. In 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that NOTA option should not be given in the <keyword id="19895369" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajya-sabha" source="keywords">Rajya Sabha</keyword> elections.

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