Youth Congress membership set to touch half million in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, June 6 (IANS) The membership of the Youth Congress is all set to touch the half million-mark in Kerala, a Congress legislator said Sunday.

Congress legislator P.C. Vishnunadh, who will contest for the post of Youth Congress president in the elections to be held in August, told IANS that initial indications are that the total number of Youth Congress members in the state will touch half a million.

‘We can’t make a comparison to the past because such a membership drive has never taken place,’ Vishnunadh said.

‘There could be close to a lakh new members and we feel that there would be at least one lakh women members also. The correct figures are expected in the coming days as the two returning officers are busy compiling the data,’ Vishnunadh said.

The minimum age for entry into the Youth Congress is 18 and the maximum age is 35. This time instead of dividing the Youth Congress based on the 14 districts of the state, each of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state have been divided into two.

Vipin Jose, a member of the Youth Congress who is planning to contest for the post of president from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha unit said: ‘The best part this time is that it has been made very clear in the rules that one person will have only one party post and hence more number of people can move up the ladder. This time a person can take membership from where he lives only.’

Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot and Mohammed Azharuddin had come to the state for interaction with Youth Congress members.

Omar Abdullah lends “unconditional support” to UPA govt.

Srinagar, May 18 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the National Conference (NC) would provide “unconditional support” to the UPA Government.

“The return of Ghulam Hassan Khan is something that we wanted, but it is not against the desires of the Congress Party. The high command of the Congress Party spoke to the President of the NC and expressed the desire that we do everything to bring him back home,” Omar said

“Khan has unconditionally accepted the invitation of the NC and the Congress high command and come back to his home”, he added.

Khan, a senior leader of the NC from Ladakh, had rebelled to fight the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate against the Congress’ P. Namgyal.

Khan defeated Namgyal by over 3,000 votes.

The NC had given the Ladakh constituency to the Congress under a seat sharing agreement between the two ruling partners in the state. Of the six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the two parties contested from three each.

While the NC won all the three seats, the Congress lost Ladakh but won two seats from Jammu region. (ANI)

Omar Abdullah lends “unconditional support” to UPA govt.

Srinagar, May 18 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the National Conference (NC) would provide “unconditional support” to the UPA Government.

“The return of Ghulam Hassan Khan is something that we wanted, but it is not against the desires of the Congress Party. The high command of the Congress Party spoke to the President of the NC and expressed the desire that we do everything to bring him back home,” Omar said

“Khan has unconditionally accepted the invitation of the NC and the Congress high command and come back to his home”, he added.

Khan, a senior leader of the NC from Ladakh, had rebelled to fight the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate against the Congress’ P. Namgyal.

Khan defeated Namgyal by over 3,000 votes.

The NC had given the Ladakh constituency to the Congress under a seat sharing agreement between the two ruling partners in the state. Of the six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the two parties contested from three each.

While the NC won all the three seats, the Congress lost Ladakh but won two seats from Jammu region. (ANI)

Left takes a hit in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance leading

Kolkata, May 16 (ANI): For the first time in nearly three decades, the Left bastion in West Bengal has been cracked.

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the Pranab Mukherjee-led Congress are together leading in 11 of the 15 Lok Sabha constituencies for which trends were available on Saturday morning.

External Affairs Minister and WBPCC chief Pranab Mukherjee is leading in the Jangipur constituency over CPI(M) candidate Mriganka Bhattacharya.

Former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh (BJP) was ahead of his nearest Congress rival Dawa Narbula by 7,343 votes in Darjeeling constituency.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was ahead of her CPI(M) rival Robin Deb by 6,813 votes in the Kolkata South constituency.

Basudeb Acharya (CPI-M) was leading over Subrata Mukherjee (Congress) by 4,500 votes after the first round of counting in Bankura constituency.

CPI(M) candidate Md Selim was trailing by a slender margin of 2,044 votes to his nearest Trinamool rival Sudip Bandopadhyay in the Kolkata North constituency.

Others leading include Dipa Dasmunshi and Adhir Chowdhury (both Congress) and Subhendu Adhikary and Kabir Suman (Trinamool Congress). (ANI with inputs)

Left takes a hit in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance leading

Kolkata, May 16 (ANI): For the first time in nearly three decades, the Left bastion in West Bengal has been cracked.

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the Pranab Mukherjee-led Congress are together leading in 11 of the 15 Lok Sabha constituencies for which trends were available on Saturday morning.

External Affairs Minister and WBPCC chief Pranab Mukherjee is leading in the Jangipur constituency over CPI(M) candidate Mriganka Bhattacharya.

Former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh (BJP) was ahead of his nearest Congress rival Dawa Narbula by 7,343 votes in Darjeeling constituency.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was ahead of her CPI(M) rival Robin Deb by 6,813 votes in the Kolkata South constituency.

Basudeb Acharya (CPI-M) was leading over Subrata Mukherjee (Congress) by 4,500 votes after the first round of counting in Bankura constituency.

CPI(M) candidate Md Selim was trailing by a slender margin of 2,044 votes to his nearest Trinamool rival Sudip Bandopadhyay in the Kolkata North constituency.

Others leading include Dipa Dasmunshi and Adhir Chowdhury (both Congress) and Subhendu Adhikary and Kabir Suman (Trinamool Congress). (ANI with inputs)

UPA leads over NDA as counting on

New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): The Congress-led UPA is surging ahead of the BJP-led NDA in early trends as counting is underway for 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.

As per latest reports, the UPA is leading in 214 seats and the NDA in 135 seats. The Third Front is leading in 57 and Others are leading in 28.

The Congress-led UPA is leading in Kerala and Rajasthan while the NDA is ahead in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. The Congress is also leading in BSP-stronghold of Uttar Pradesh.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is ahead in Amethi, Sachin Pilot in Ajmer, P Chidambaram in Sivaganga and Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram were also ahead.

BJP candidate Jaswant Singh is leading in Darjeeling.

From Congress, Janardhan Poojari and Margaret Alva are straggling in Karnataka. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath is trailing in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh while former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is leading in Hassan in Karnataka.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad is leading in Pataliputra, but trailing in Siwan in Bihar.

Among the Congress candidates who are leading in early trends are Priya Dutt (Mumbai North), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Pranab Mukherjee (Jangipur) and Sandeep Dikshit (East Delhi).

The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani is ahead in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Other candidates from BJP including Vinod Khanna, Sushma Swaraj and Varun Gandhi are leading from Gurdaspur, Vidisha and Pilibhit respectively.

Counting began at 8:00 a.m. in all 28 states and seven union territories. Votes polled in elections to state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim are also being counted simultaneously.

The results are expected to decide the fate of 8,070 contestants, including 556 women.

Around 1,080 counting centres have been set up across 28 states and seven union territories with 4,260 counting halls.

A little over half of the 71.377 crore registered voters cast their ballots through Electronic Voting Machines in the five-phased elections that began on April 16 and ended on May 13. (ANI)

Vote count begins across India

New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): Counting of votes for the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies began across the country on Saturday.

Counting began at 8:00 a.m. in all 28 states and seven union territories. Votes polled in elections to state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim are also being counted simultaneously.

The results are expected to decide the fate of 8,070 contestants, including 556 women.

Around 1,080 counting centres have been set up across 28 states and seven union territories with 4,260 counting halls.

Early trends are expected in about an hour at around 9:00 a.m. while the first results are expected at around 11:00 a.m.

A little over half of the 71.377 crore registered voters cast their ballots through Electronic Voting Machines in the five-phased elections that began on April 16 and ended on May 13.

The Election Commission has deployed 60,000 counting staff for the purpose.

The Commission has also made arrangements for the media to acquire details of every round of counting to them through its websites www.eciresults.nic.in. (ANI)

Fifth phase witnesses approximately 62 percent polling for Lok Sabha

New Delhi, May 13 (ANI): The fifth and final phase of general elections 2009 witnessed an overall 62 percent polling for 86 Lok Sabha constituencies across nine states and two union territories.

The polling for general elections to Lok Sabha came to an end on Wednesday. The polling was by and large peaceful except for stray incidents of violence in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

The last phase saw violence with one death being reported from West Bengal and one from Tamil Nadu.

The counting for all the Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 16.

In Jammu and Kashmir moderate to heavy polling has been reported in the fifth and final phase of elections in the Baramulla and Ladkah Parliamentary constituencies. Latest reports say about forty percent voters had caste their votes in the Baramulla constituency while as the percentage in the Ladakh seat touched around 60 percent.

In Tamil Nadu, 55 per cent voting was recorded. In Puducherry, an estimated 66 per cent voters exercised their franchise to elect the Union Territory’s lone representative in the Lok Sabha.

In Uttar Pradesh, over 50 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the polling for 14 seats of the Western and Rohilakhand region.

In Uttarakhand, more than 35 per cent voting has been recorded in five constituencies. n Punjab, an estimated 62 per cent polling was reported in the nine Lok Sabha seats.

In Himachal Pradesh, 50 to 55 per cent polling was reported in all the four constituencies.

Prominent candidates in the fray include Home Minister P Chidambaram, DMK’s T R Baalu, Dayanidhi Maran and M K Azhagiri, Congress’ Md Azharuddin, BJP’s Maneka and Varun Gandhi and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, MDMK’s Vaiko and SP’s Jayaprada.

Polling has been completed to 457 Lok Sabha seats since the exercise began on April 16.

The Lok Sabha has 545 members, but elections are held to 543 seats as two members are nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. (ANI)

Repolling underway in West Bengal

Kolkata, May 3 (ANI): Repolling is underway in six booths spread across three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal on Sunday.

Of the six booths, two are located under the Jhargram Parliamentary constituency, two under the Bishnupur Parliamentary constituency and another two under the Darjeeling Parliamentary constituency.

According to the State Chief Electoral Officer Debasish Sen, the Election Commission on Saturday had ordered repolling in the state on different grounds such as failure of polling personnel to reach booths in Maoist-hit Salboni in Jhargram and a technical snag at Siliguri in Darjeeling.

In Bishnupur, repoll would be held at two booths in Tarkona Free Primary School, two in Kuliana Primary School in Jhargram and one booth each in Bharati Hindi High School and Shishu Bidyapith in Darjeeling.

Sen said that arrangements were being made to ensure foolproof security for the next two phases on May 7 and 13 when elections to 28 seats of the 42 in the state would be held.

The opposition parties had also demanded a repoll in the Keshpur Assembly segment where widespread rigging was alleged.

However, the Election Commission did not agree to the demand.

In the third phase, the state had reported more than 50 per cent voter turnout. (ANI)

Repolling underway in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, May 2 (ANI): Repolling is underway in seven booths spread across three Lok Sabha constituencies-Rajgarh, Sagar and Morena in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

The three seats had gone to the polls on April 30 in the second and last parliamentary elections in the state.

The Election Commission on Friday had ordered repolling in four polling stations in Morena constituency, two in Sagar and one in Rajgarh following complaints of violence and damage to electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The state government has declared a local holiday at these places tomorrow to enable the people to exercise their franchise. (ANI)

Third phase of Lok Sabha elections witnesses 49 to 50 pct polling: EC

New Delhi, April 30 (ANI): The third-phase of the Lok Sabha elections witnessed a largely peaceful vote on Thursday with 49 to 50 per cent of the total 14.4 crore eligible voters casting their votes in nine States and two Union Terrritories undergoing elections in 107 constituencies despite a scorching heat.

According to the election commission, the voting percentage recorded till evening remained in Uttar Pradesh (45 %), Bihar (48 %), Madhya Pradesh (44 to 45 %), Karnataka (57%), Maharashtra (43 to 45 %), Gujarat (49 to 50 %), Jammu and Kashmir (30 %), West Bengal (for first phase 64%) Sikkim (till last reports 60 %).

“In Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed 45 per cent of voting, the polls were absolutely peaceful. No incident of any sort was reported. While Madhya Pradesh, which witnessed 44 to 45 per cent polling today, some incidents were reported,” said R. Balakrishan, Deputy Election Commissioner during a press conference.

Polls were held in nine States Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Gujarat, Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka. The two Union Territories being Daman and Diu and Dadar and Nagar Haveli.

During the third phase of elections, the prominent leaders in fray included Congress president Sonia Gandhi (contesting from Rae Bareli), the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani (Gandhinagar), the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda (Hassan), BJP leader Jaswant Singh (Darjeeling), Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav (Madhepura), CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta (Ghatal) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Basudeb Acharya (Purulia).

There were 1,567 contestants including 101 women in this round.

Elections were conducted at 1,65,112 polling stations with 6.6 lakh personnel being on poll duty.

As 15,193 polling stations had been identified as being naxalite-affected in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar and three in West Bengal, the Election Commission had arranged to thwart any attempts by the outlaws to disrupt polling. (ANI)

Yediyurappa confident of BJP winning minimum 8-9 seats in Karnataka

Bangalore, Apr 30 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa came with his son, who is contesting elections for the BJP, to cast his vote on Thursday.

Sounding confident of emerging victorious in the polls, Yediyurappa said, “Out of 11 Lok Sabha constituencies, we are going to win minimum 8-9 seats.”

Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghvendra is contesting from Shimoga seat.

Polling is being held in 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka.
Today’s election will decide the fate of 93 independents out of 156 candidates in Karnataka.

22 independent candidates are contesting from Davanagere Parliamentary constituency.

In Bagalkot, 12 independents are in the fray. Eleven independents are contesting from Dharwad constituency.

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) chief H D Devegowda is contesting from Hassan constituency. Nine independents are also contesting from here. (ANI)

Yediyurappa confident of BJP winning minimum 8-9 seats in Karnataka

Bangalore, Apr 30 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa came with his son, who is contesting elections for the BJP, to cast his vote, on Thursday.

Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghvendra is contesting from Shimoga seat.

Sounding confident of emerging victorious in the polls, Yediyurappa said, “Out of 11 Lok Sabha constituencies, we are going to win minimum 8-9 seats.”

Polling is being held in 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka.oday’s election will decide the fate of 93 independents out of 156 candidates in Karnataka.

22 independent candidates are contesting from Davanagere Parliamentary constituency.

In Bagalkot, 12 independents are in the fray. Eleven independents are contesting from Dharwad constituency.

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) chief H D Devegowda is contesting from Hassan constituency. Nine independents are also contesting from here. (ANI)

55 percent polling by noon in Tripura

Agartala, Apr.23 (ANI): Polling in Tripura has so far been peaceful with 55 per cent of the 20,82,205 voters casting their votes by noon in the single phase of polling in of the two Lok Sabha constituencies.

According to a report there was no report of any threat or intimidation from any political party.

The parties also did not complain of booth capturing and vote manipulation in the state. Voters made a beeline to cast their ballots in the morning forcing organisers to cordon off the areas.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and the Left candidate from the West constituency, Khagen Das, cast their votes in Agartala.

In the bordering areas, the gates were kept open for people to cast their vote.

Nilmohan Sarkar, a resident of the bordering Lankamura village said, “The situation is here is peacefully and I voted early in the morning. Most of the people here are farmers and came in the morning to cast their vote so that they can work during the day time.”

The casting, however, slowed down considerably after 1100 hours in many places because of hot and unpleasent weather.

Over 2.08 million voters, including 1.01 million women, will decide the fate of 19 contestants, including a woman for the two Lok Sabha seats of Tripura.

Authorities have deployed paramilitary troops in strength in the restive north-eastern state of Tripura amidst threats from militant groups fighting for a separate tribal homeland in the state that shares borders with Bangladesh on its three sides.

The election commission of India declared more than 500 polling stations vulnerable to troubles including militant attacks as preparations are on a full swing for conducting parliament elections in the state slated for April 23.

India is holding its fifteenth parliamentary general elections in five phases on April 16, April 23, April 30, May 7 and May 13 and the new parliament will be constituted before June 2. By Pinaki Das (ANI)

Polling for second phase of Lok Sabha elections begins

New Delhi, April 23 (ANI): Polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections began today amid tight security.

In this phase, the election is being held in 141 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 13 states and Union Territories.

The states going to the polls in this phase include Andhra Pradesh (20 seats), Assam (11), Bihar (13), Goa (2), Jammu and Kashmir (1), Karnataka (17), Madhya Pradesh (13), Maharashtra (25), Orissa (11), Tripura (2), Uttar Pradesh (17) and Jharkhand (8).

The prominent leaders who are contesting include Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan from Hajipur in Bihar, LJP leader and noted film-maker Prakash Jha, former JD-U leader and now an Independent candidate from Muzaffarpur (Bihar) George Fernandes, NCP supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader and Union Energy Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde from the newly carved Madha and Solapur (city) Lok Sabha constituencies respectively.

Other are Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Swaraj from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath from Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh, Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Purvi Champaran in Bihar, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh from Vaishali in Bihar and Raghunath Jha from Valmikinagar in Bihar.

A total of 2,041 candidates, including 121 women, are in the fray.

Polling has already been completed in 124 seats in the first phase on April 16.

In the first phase, 58 to 62 per cent of 143 million voters exercised their right to vote.

The five phased polls will be held in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh while Bihar will have four-phased elections.

Maharashtra and West Bengal will witness three phased polls while Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Punjab will have elections in two phases.

Remaining 15 states and seven union territories will have one-day polling.

The counting of votes will take place on May 16.

The 543-member House will be constituted before June 2. (ANI)

Naxals attack Jharkhand CRPF camp, encounter still on

Ranchi, Apr 23 (ANI): A few hours before polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections began today, Naxals struck a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp and blew up a railway station in Jharkhand.

According to police, the Naxals attacked the CRPF camp in West Singhbhum District.

The gunbattle between the militants and the security personnel is still on, official sources informed.

The rebels also bombed the outer cabin of a railway station here. The police is unable to detect the whereabouts of the cabin man and porter since then.

The police further revealed that Naxal rebels have also blasted a road between Giridih and Dumri and cut trees to block it to prevent the people from voting.

On Wednesday, the Naxals took 700-800 people hostage as they were travelling in a train from Barkana in Jharkhand to Mugalsarai in Uttar Pradesh. The Naxals had taken the train to the Latehar Railway Station.

They released the passengers more than four hours later.

The second phase of polling is underway in eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand.

Previously, the Naxals had disrupted the first phase of the five-phased general elections.

On April 16, the Naxals had struck at 14 places, killing at least 16 people. (ANI)

New Delhi school children form a human chain to spread voting awareness

New Delhi, Apr 22 (ANI): Hundreds of school children formed a human chain here on Wednesday to spread awareness amongst people about the importance of voting.he event was organised with the sole aim of soliciting responsible participation from the citizens in the ongoing elections.

Eminent personalities present during the occasion included Saba Karim, the veteran Indian cricketer, Manjit Dua, table tennis player, Madhumita Bhist, the badminton player and singer Malini Awasthi.

“I’m hopeful that this will make the people aware. They will come out and vote. Last time, I remember that nothing of this sort was organised,” said Karim.

Shrishti Kawatra, a student from National Vidhya Public School said that if the people won’t vote, then the country couldn’t develop.

“We are here to create awareness among the people that they should vote for the development of the country. If they don’t vote, the country won’t get developed,” said Shrishti.

The second phase polling for 141 Lok Sabha constituencies in 13 states and 140 assembly segments in Andhra Pradesh and 77 in Orissa will take place on Thursday.

At least 194.8 million people are eligible to vote in the second phase. (ANI)

Campaigning for second phase of Lok Sabha elections ends today

New Delhi, April 21 (ANI): Campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections will come to an end on Tuesday.

The polling will be held on April 23.

In the second phase, the election will be held in 141 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 13 states and Union Territories. The elections would also be completed in the state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh (140 seats) and Orissa (77 seats).

The states going to the polls in this phase include Andhra Pradesh (20 seats), Assam (11), Bihar (13), Goa (2), Jammu and Kashmir (1), Karnataka (17), Madhya Pradesh (13), Maharashtra (25), Manipur (1), Orissa (11), Tripura (2), Uttar Pradesh (17) and Jharkhand (8).

The prominent leaders contesting in the second phase include Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan, LJP leader and noted film-maker Prakash Jha, former JD-U leader and now an Independent candidate from Muzaffarpur (Bihar) George Fernandes, NCP supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader and Union Energy Minister Sushil kumar Shinde from the newly carved Madha and Solapur (city) Lok Sabha constituencies respectively.

One Parliamentary seat in Manipur that falls under this phase will, as an exception, witness voting on April 22. Campaigning here ended on Monday itself.

Polling has already been completed in 124 seats in the first phase on April 16.

The 15th Lok Sabha elections will take place in five phases on April 16, 22, 23, 30 and May 7 and 13 throughout the country. (ANI)

Pranab Mukherjee, Mamata Banerjee jointly criticise left parties

Kolkata, Apr. 20 (ANI): In a move to could indicate future Trinamool Congress alliance with Congress, party chief Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress have shared a platform for the first time.

Addressing an election rally Dinajpur region of West Bengal, both the leaders harshly criticized ruling left parties.

The whole country is laughing at the Communists and their dream of forming a government. CPM in the last 32 years of its rule has brought down the state to the twelfth position. Now it would be difficult for the people to trust them and they themselves will not prefer to vote for them for taking up country’s responsibility,” Mukherjee said.

Banerjee hit out at the Communist Party of India-Marxist for failing to bring about development in the West Bengal.

“Ask the CPM leader and the Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. It has been 32 years and still CPM has not solved the problems prevailing in Darjeeling. Instead, it has surrendered to the BJP leaving the issue of Darjeeling in that party’s hands,” Banerjee said.

Polling in West Bengal will be held in three stages on April 30, May 7 and May 13 as a part of the five-phased elections that commenced on April 16 to elect a new federal government.

As a part of their alliance, the Congress party and the Trinamool Congress will share the seats in the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal.

The Trinamool will contest for 27 seats leaving the rest for the Congress party. (ANI)

Dalit voters in Bihar protest

Chapra (Bihar), Apr 17 (ANI): Voters belonging to Dalit community in Bihar took to the streets as a mark of protest against certain persons preventing them from casting their votes at one of the booths in Lal Bazar near Chapra.

The Lal Bazar is a part of the Saran constituency from where Lalu Prasad of Rashtriya Janata Dal is facing Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Salim Pervez.

The irate protestors alleged that the hooligans from certain political parties tried to prevent them from casting votes on the candidates of their choice and were later attacked with knives.

“When we went to vote and as soon as we entered the polling booth they told me to vote on their candidate. They tried to force me when I opposed them. They then attacked me with knives. Around ten to fifteen persons attacked me at the same time and stabbed me with knives all over,” said Pintu, a Dalit voter, Lal Bazar booth.

Infuriated, the Dalits blocked roads and raised slogans until the police personnel arrived and pacified the protestors.

Meanwhile, in Patna, Lalu Prasad accused his political rivals of indulging in electoral malpractice.

He termed the incident as a sheer failure of the State Government and demanded action against all those who were involved in preventing people from casting their votes.

“A lot was tried to disrupt the electoral process and I believe it might have happened in different places. People from weaker sections of society especially the Dalits were attacked in Chapra’s Lal Bazaar by men of Awadhpura with knives. They are now suffering and fighting for their lives. This is a complete failure by the Nitish Kumar Government,” he said.

As a part of the multi-phased elections, the first phase of polling was held in 124 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 17 states and Centrally administered territories on Thursday. (ANI)