Indian Polls

New Delhi, Dec 23 (PTI) As the JMM-led alliance appeared set to cross the majority mark in the Jharkhand Assembly polls on Monday, the Congress exuded confidence that the alliance will form the government with Hemant Soren as chief minister.

Ranchi, Dec 23 (PTI) The opposition JMM-Congress-RJD alliance in Jharkhand is leading in 43 out of the 81 seats of state Assembly till 10.45 am on Monday, while the ruling BJP is ahead in 27 seats.

The JMM is leading in 25 seats while its alliance partner Congress is ahead in 11 and the RJD in five.

The JVM(P) is leading in four seats while the AJSU Party in ahead in three and the BSP in two constituencies.

Ranchi, Dec 20 (PTI) Most exit polls telecast by news channels soon after voting ended for the fifth and final phase of the Jharkhand elections on Friday indicated a hung assembly.

Results for the elections to the 81-member state assembly will be announced on December 23.

Patna, Dec 10 (PTI) The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Tuesday resolved to install Lalu Prasads heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav as the next Chief Minister of Bihar and defeat the current dispensation, headed by Nitish Kumar, in the assembly elections due next year.

A resolution to the effect was passed by the RJDs national council meeting here, which was for the first time held in the absence of its founding president who is in Ranchi serving sentences in fodder scam cases.

Mumbai, Dec 1 (PTI) Senior Congress MLA Nana Patole was on Sunday elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Pro tem speaker Dilip Walse Patil made the announcement after BJP candidate Kisan Kathore withdrew his nomination earlier in the day.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and some senior MLAs then escorted Patole to the Speaker's chair.

Ranchi, Nov 28 (PTI) Curtains came down Thursday on campaigning in Jharkhand for the first phase of polling to be held on Saturday in 13 assembly constituencies.

A total of 37,83,055 voters of Chatra (SC), Gumla (ST), Bishunpur (ST), Lohardaga (ST), Manika (SC), Latehar (SC), Panki, Daltonganj, Bishrampur, Chhatarpur (SC), Hussainabad, Garhwa and Bhawanathpur constituencies will decide the fate of 189 candidates in the first phase.

Voting will take place across 3,906 polling stations, out of which 989 will have webcasting facilities, an Election Commission release said.

Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) West Bengal's ruling TMC on Thursday looked set to win all the three assembly seats bypolls which were held on Monday, bagging Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar, and establishing an unassailable lead in Karimpur.

Tapan Deb Sinha of the Trinamool Congress won the Kaliaganj seat in a close contest, defeating his nearest BJP rival Kamal Chandra Sarkar by 2,418 votes, EC officials said.

New Delhi, Nov 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission on Monday to pass a "reasoned order" on a representation seeking to restrain political parties from fielding candidates with criminal antecedents in polls.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde passed the order while refusing to entertain a PIL filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a direction to the poll panel to devise a mechanism to ensure that parties be restrained from fielding candidates with criminal records.

Kolkata, Nov 25 (PTI) Around 75.34 per cent of over 7 lakh electorate on Monday cast votes in the by-polls to three Assembly seats in West Bengal, amid allegations that TMC activists orchestrated an attack on the BJP candidate from Karimpur segment, Jay Prakash Majumdar.

Besides Karimpur, by-polls were also held in Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj Assembly seats.

Mumbai, Nov 24 (PTI) A day after his stunning volte face, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said he was still with the NCP, adding Sharad Pawar continued to be his leader.

In a series of tweets after thanking BJP leaders for their congratulatory messages, Ajit Pawar also said the "BJP- NCP alliance" will provide a stable government in Maharashtra for the next five years.