Indian Polls

Lucknow Apr 15 (PTI) Slapped with a 48-hour ban on campaigning by the EC for her "provocative" communal remarks, BSP supremo Mayawati Monday alleged the decision appears to have been "taken under pressure" and it will be remembered as a "black day".

Terming the ban a "sudden unprecedented order based on wrong facts", she asserted that the poor and deprived sections of the society will not forget it as she was being deprived of her right to appeal to uproot the BJP from power.

Tura, Apr 15 (PTI) Around 93 per cent voters cast their ballots during repolling at the Konarchar booth in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills on Monday, for both the Lok Sabha and the Selsella bye-elections, officials said.

The repoll was necessitated due to a mix up of the EVMs for the Lok Sabha and Selsella by-election held on April 11, they said.

Out of a total of 674 eligible voters under Konachar polling station, 665 cast their ballot for the Lok Sabha elections and 663 for the assembly by-poll, election officials said.

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Lok Sabha polls in Vellore constituency in Tamil Nadu is likely to be cancelled over excess use of money power, sources aware of the development said Monday.

The Election Commission is learnt to have prepared a recommendation in this regard to be sent to the president.

"It would be sent today itself," an official said on Monday.

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Election Commission on Monday "strongly condemned" Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BSP supremo Mayawati for their communal remarks and barred them from campaigning for different periods.

While Adityanath was barred for 72 hours, Mayawati has been barred for 48 hours, separate EC orders said.

The two have also been "censured".

Ballia (UP), Apr 15 (PTI) The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, on Monday said it will go alone in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls in the state.

"The SBSP will contest the Lok Sabha election on its own. It will field candidates from 25 seats (in Uttar Pradesh) and their names will be announced soon," party chief and state minister Om Prakash Rajbhar told reporters at his residence here.

The SBSP had won four seats in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora here and submitted a memorandum alleging that a large number of EVMs malfunctioned during polling in the state on Thursday and inadequate security led to incidents of violence.

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party is capable of defeating both the BJP and the Congress in the city and an alliance is possible with the grand old party only when it will be done on 33 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa, said AAP leader Gopal Rai Friday.

Earlier in the day, the Congress announced that it will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi alone, but maintained that it is still willing to have an alliance with the AAP provided that the tie-up is restricted only to the national capital.

Lucknow Apr 12 (PTI) Alleging that EVM malfunction during the first phase of polling resulted in votes cast going in BJP's account, BSP chief Mayawati asked the Election Commission to take a serious note of this and initiate steps to check its recurrence in the remaining six phases of the general elections.

She said that if the poll panel does not initiate any strict step, the ongoing election process "would be of no use" and hoped that something concrete will be done in this regard.

New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party Thursday held talks with Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) to discuss seat sharing in Haryana for the Lok Sabha elections after talks with the Congress on a tie-up in the state was called off recently.

Sources said AAP is eyeing the Faridabad, Gurgaon, Karnal and Ambala seats in Haryana in a 4:6 ratio but the JJP is proposing a seat sharing equation of 3:7.

Ahmedabad, Apr 11 (PTI) Election authorities in Gujarat Thursday gave a warning to BJP MLA Madhu Srivastava, accused of violating the model code of conduct by threatening voters during a rally in Vadodara district on April 3.

Vadodara collector and district election officer Shalini Agarwal said she has also directed the district superintendent of police (DSP) to conduct a further inquiry into the matter.

Srivastava is the sitting BJP MLA from Waghodia in Vadodara district.