This is an approximate trend as data from some polling stations takes time to be compiled, the EC said.
District wise polling percentage is Azamgarh registered 20.06 per cent; Bhadohi (22.26 per cent); Chandauli (23.51 per cent); Ghazipur (20.05 per cent); Jaunpur (21.83 per cent); Mau (24.69 per cent); Mirzapur (23.46 per cent); Sonbhadra (19.45 per cent) and Varanasi registered 21.19 per cent till 11 a.m., the EC data showed.
A total of 613 candidates are trying their fortune in this phase on 54 seats in nine districts.
Of the 54 seats, 11 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two for the Scheduled Tribes.
An electorate consisting around 2.06 crore is voting for the final phase poll.
This phase will bring the curtain down on one of the most fiercely contested elections in the state.
Polling is being held in a total of 54 Assembly constituencies of Purvanchal, spread across nine districts. The districts where polling is being held include Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi and Sonbhadra.
The counting for all the phases will be done on March 10.
A total of 613 candidates will be trying their luck in this phase on the 54 seats which include 11 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two for the Scheduled Tribes by an electorate consisting around 2.06 crores.
The final round will also be a test of the alliances carved by both the BJP and Samajwadi Party with small caste-based parties.
BJP's allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party and Akhilesh Yadav's new friends Apna Dal (K), Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) of Om Prakash Rajbhar and others, are key players in the final phase.
Once considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, the region saw BJP making inroads in 2017 by winning 29 seats along with its allies Apna Dal (4) and SBSP (3).
The BSP had got six seats and Samajwadi Party 11 seats.
Prominent contestants in this phase include UP ministers Neelkanth Tiwari, Anil Rajbhar, Ravindra Jaiswal, Girish Yadav and Rama Shankar Singh Patel.
Dara Singh Chauhan who had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and joined the Samajwadi Party is also in contesting from Ghosi in Mau.
SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar (Zahoorabad), Dhananjay Singh (Malhani-Jaunpur) as JD(U) candidate and Abbas Ansari, son of mafia turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, from Mau Sadar seat are other prominent candidates in the final phase.
The BJP is going all out to retain its bastion while the Samajwadi Party is eyeing to regain the constituencies it won in the 2012 Assembly elections.
Also, the seventh and last phase of UP assembly elections will be a litmus test for allies on both the sides-- from Anupriya Patel in BJP-led alliance to Om Prakash Rajbhar in the SP-led alliance.
In this election, BJP has fielded 48 candidates out of 54 seats on the party symbol while its ally Apna Dal (S) and Nishad Party have fielded 3-3 candidates each.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party has fielded 45 candidates on its symbol while its ally SBSP has fielded 7 candidates and Apna Dal (K) has fielded two candidates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP president J.P. Nadda, union ministers, Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, have been extensively campaigning in Purvanchal for the final phase to repeat its 2017 success story.
Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik had announced his party’s support to Singh for the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman post.
Patnaik further informed that a number of political leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had spoken to him in this regard.
After the Rajya Sabha election results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to wish the NDA backed JD(U) candidate.
https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1027451166752366592
Former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Jay Panda also congratulated Singh, who was elected deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha today.
https://twitter.com/mp_office/status/1027450134362238978
With no clear majority of both NDA and UPA, support of regional parties like BJD was considered to be crucial before the election for the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), YSR Congress Party and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had decided to abstain from voting in the election.
"The PDP has decided to abstain from voting... The decision was taken in view of dissolution of coalition with the BJP," party Chief spokesman Rafi Ahmad Mir said.
"Also, the UPA did not approach the PDP. Therefore, after consultations, it was deemed fit to abstain in party interest," he added.
The numbers, however, appear stacked in favour of the ruling coalition which claims the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs.
While Harivansh is a first-time MP of the JD-U, Hariprasad is a three-time parliamentarian of the Congress.
(With PTI inputs)
As per sources, the polling at Hindol NAC recorded a voter turnout of 85.7 percent.
A total of 55 candidates are contesting for 16 wards of the NAC. Voters exercised their franchise at 16 polling booths set up in all the wards.
Earlier in the day Dhenkanal Sub-Collector Bhabesh Kumar Nayak had informed, an ASI rank officer and two OSAP personnels have been engaged for each booth. This apart, four mobile police teams, two supervisory police teams, four sector officers and three sector magistrates were also deployed.
Similarly, 38 candidates are contesting the elections for 12 wards of Attabira NAC. In total 13 booths were set up in the NAC that constitutes of Bhadarpali and Attabira panchayat.
Police forces had been deployed in both the NACs to maintain law and order and avoid any unpleasant situation during the voting.
Counting of votes will take place on April 5.
"Around 80.92 per cent (provisional) of the electorate cast their votes in the bypoll," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha Surendra Kumar said.
Around 81.86 per cent polling had been recorded in Bijepur Assembly segment in the 2014 election, Kumar said.
Stating that the polling remained "completely peaceful," the CEO said no untoward incident was reported, even in the five Naxal-affected polling stations in the Assembly segment, located in Bargarh district.
Barring some interruptions due to technical snags in Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, polling in the segment was peaceful, official sources said.
Kumar said that the presiding officer of booth No.193 was placed under suspension with immediate effect, after he was found trying to influence voters in favour of a particular candidate.
Another officer replaced the suspended officer, identified as Bahadur Sahu, headmaster of a school in Bheden block.
Arrangements have been made to keep the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) under tight security after polling was held from 8 am to 5 pm, he said.
Counting of votes would be undertaken on February 28.
While the electoral fate of a total of 13 candidates were sealed in the EVMs, it appeared to be a triangular contest among nominees of the ruling BJD, the Congress and the BJP.
BJD candidate Rita Sahu said the party has bigger support base due to popularity of party president Naveen Patnaik and late husband Subal Sahoo whose death necessitated the bypoll.
On the other hand, BJP candidate Ashok Panigrahi emphatically stated, “I will win the bypoll with a margin of more than 30,000 votes.”
Pranay Sahu, Congress candidate, said, “People are ready to fight against the issues and will vote for candidates who will address their problems.”
Elaborate security arrangements were made for the by-election, especially in the wake of violence in and around the area, officials said.
As per sources, around 2.21 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in 281 polling booths set up for the by-poll, as against 270 booths during the Assembly polls in 2014.
Of the 281 booths, 155 were identified as critical.
"We have 12 dedicated squads to ensure free and fair polling in all the places," the CEO said.
A total of five companies (500 personnel) of Central Paramilitary Force along with one company (85 personnel) of Odisha Swift Action Force have been deployed on poll duty, sources said.
In addition, 40 platoons (1,200 personnel) of state armed police have been pressed into service.
(With agency inputs)
The contest for the President post is between National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Ram Nath Kovind and candidate of several major opposition parties Meira Kumar, who was former Lok Sabha Speaker.
Security arrangements have been tightened for the polling that is being held at Room No. 54 of the Assembly. The voters are expected to show their identity proofs before entering the polling booth. No mobile phone or camera is allowed into the room. The voting will continue till 5 pm.
CM Naveen exercised his power to vote in the presidential election. Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra was the first to cast his vote followed by deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party Chiranjib Biswal, Congress MLAs Debendra Sharma and Naba Kishore Das.
As per reports, 33 observers have been appointed all over the country by the Election Commission of India to monitor the process. While two observers are deployed at the Parliament, all others are at the State Assemblies.
After completion of casting of votes, the ballot boxes will be taken by the observers to New Delhi by flight.
The ballot papers will be counted on July 20. The winner will succeed the incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee, who demits office on July 25.
Polling is underway at 175 Zilla Parishad zones under 65 blocks of 29 districts, except Deogarh. Poll was not conducted as a Zilla Parishad member was declared elected unopposed in Polsara block of Ganjam district. Around 53.62 lakh voters are exercising franchise at 18581 wards under 1386 gram panchayats.
The State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls. CCTV cameras have been installed at sensitive and hyper sensitive booths. Two polling officers, one presiding officer and two security personnels have been engaged in each booth.
Special security arrangements have been put in place at Maoist-hit districts like Nuapada, Malkangiri,Koraput and Gajapati.
In view of the naxal threat to the panchayat polls, combing operation and scrutiny and frisking of vehicles have been intensified in the extremist-hit zones.
Security will be inspected from air through helicopter in Rayagada as the district went to second phase election today. Security has been tightened in Muniguda and Bisam Katak for elections to four zilla parishad zones.
"We waited till 12 noon and no one turned up for voting. So, the motion was rejected", said Abdul Alim Khan, additional District Magistrate of Kalinga Nagar.
As per the rule, a 2/3 majority of the 26-member civic body was required for voting. So,18 members from the Municipality were needed", Khan added.
The motion was brought against the chairperson for the second time in last three months.
Few days earlier, Rout was suspended from the BJD over disciplinary issues following which a formal no-trust vote was brought against her by 13 BJD councillors.
The Councillors, who had brought the motion, abstained from voting as the party did not issue a whip.
"We 13 BJD Councillors had requested the local MLA and the party chief Naveen Patnaik in written to issue whip before voting. As the whip was not issued, we decided to abstain from voting", Subas Bal, Municipality vice chairperson, said.
Notably, Congress Councillors with the support of Rout’s party members had moved a no-confidence motion against her in September last year.
The motion was also dismissed in absence of required number of members.
Only nine members of the Congress had turned up that time, while the rest of the councillors of BJD and a lone independent councillor had abstained from voting.
As per the announcement, the voting began at 8 am and would continue till 2 pm. Presiding officers and supervising officers have been engaged to ensure smooth conduct of the voting. Besides, police forces have been deployed at all the campuses to avoid any untoward incidents during the day.
After completion of voting, the results would be out in the evening today. On Tuesday, 'What I Stand For' meeting was held in all the campuses under the supervision of faculties.
This year, pre-poll violence was witnessed in various educational institutions. Hence, the authorities of total 32 colleges, including the BJB College here cancelled the election for. The students union elections is being held at 700 colleges across the State.
The voting which began at 9am continued till 2pm ended peacefully. Around 300 voters exercised their franchise to decide the gram panchayat of their choice. The district administration had deployed police forces at the polling site to ensure smooth conduct of the voting.
“The main objective here is to ensure that the people get the benefits of various government schemes. For this people should be able to communicate their issues and problems to the government through the panchayats, which have to be accessible,” said a resident of Jamalapur resident.
“We want a panchayat which is near to our locality and is accessible to us. It will benefit us in the future as well,” said a Chaughani resident.
“The counting of votes will be done as per court order. We will take action based on the final hearing of the case or on the orders passed by the court,” said Jaleswar Tehsildar Ramchandra Kisku.
Notably, the High Court had directed the district administration to hold public voting after division of the gram panchayat triggered controversy over inclusion of two villages, Jamalpur and Chaughani, in the gram panchayats. As per the law, the Rayaramachandrapur gram panchayat has been divided into two gram panchayats- Kotsahi and Rayaramachandrapur.
In Baliguda NAC of Kandhamal district, BJD won nine out of 13 wards whereas Congress and BJP managed to grab three and one seat, respectively.
Similarly in Champua NAC of Keonjhar district, BJD registered victory in nine out of 13 wards whereas independent got four seats. BJP and Congress failed to open their accounts in Champua NAC polls.
Slamming the ruling BJD for adopting unfair practices in the polls, Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “The ruling party has adopted all unscrupulous means to win the polls. We had tried our best but could not succeed. No political party can sustain in the political atmosphere created by BJD.”
To the allegation of Congress the BJD said, the voters have given them the reply.
“Whatever the case may be, you will find an allegation from Congress always. In today’s poll verdict, the voters of both the constituencies have given fitting reply to the party. And I am sure that the people of Odisha will always be with chief minister Naveen Patnaik,” BJD’s Anant Das said.
BJP spokesperson Sajjan Singh however stated that his party has conceded the defeat.
“When there is a by-poll, the poll verdict goes in favour of the ruling party and there is nothing new in it. We will take this poll result in a sportsman spirit and will try to perform better in the coming days,” Singh noted.
Earlier in the day counting of votes for the elections to the two newly-constituted NACs began at 8 am. The polling was held on January 19.
The Congress, BJD and BJP had fielded candidates for all 13 wards in Baliguda while three persons contested the polls as independent candidates. The BJD and BJP had fielded candidates in all 13 wards in Champua while the Congress had fielded eight. Besides, seven persons contested as independent candidates.
Voters turned out in large numbers for the first ever elections to the newly-formed Baliguda and Champua Notified Area Councils (NACs), each with 13 wards on Tuesday.
While seventy four per cent of voters exercised their franchise in Baliguada, the turnout was even bigger at Champua at 83 per cent. A total of 12,764 voters cast their votes in 16 booths in Baliguda while 9508 voters exercised their franchise in 13 booths in Champua.
Delivering his first "Mann Ki Baat" address of 2019, Modi said: "This year, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in our country and this will be the first time that youth born after 2000 will vote.
"An opportunity has come for them to take the responsibility of the nation on their shoulders. They are now going to become a partner in the decision-making process of the country. I urge the youth to register themselves as voters."
Modi also hailed the Election Commission (EC) for holding elections across the length and breadth of the country and said that the people of the country were proud of it.
"The EC was formed on January 25, 1950 and the day is celebrated annually as National Voters Day. Seeing the scale on which the elections are held in India, it is natural for people across the world to be surprised. "
He said the EC was an institution that every citizen must be proud of.
"In our country, no stone is left unturned to ensure that every citizen of India, who is a registered voter, gets an opportunity to vote."
He said when we hear that a polling station is set up 15,000 feet above sea level in Himachal Pradesh, voting arrangements are made in far-flung islands of Andaman and Nicobar, or even in a remote forest area of Gujarat, where there is only one voter, "it is very natural to be proud of the Commission".
"I commend the EC for contiinuous efforts to strengthen our democracy. I also commend the election in all the states, all security personnel. other employees, who participate in the voting process and ensure free and fair elections," he added.
The 'Register Now' button is designed to encourage Indian citizens to register themselves with the Election Commission of India (ECI), the company said in a statement.
The reminder will be rolled out in 13 Indian languages - English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya.
"As part of our efforts, on National Voters Day on January 25, a voter registration reminder will appear at the top of the News Feed as a reminder service for all the voters," said Shivnath Thukral, Public Policy Director for India & South Asia.
By clicking on the 'Register Now' button, people will be directed to the National Voters' Services Portal which will guide them through the registration process.
Facebook had rolled out similar reminder in partnership with Election Commission of India in 2017.
Facebook has over 200 million users in India.
The electoral exercise in these 10 constituencies will end at 3 p.m. Polling will take place in eight other places from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.
The 10 seats where early voting is being held are Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal and Kondagaon.
Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon and Khujji constituencies in Rajnandgaon district and Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot in Bastar district will see polling from 8 a.m.
All the 18 constituencies are known as Maoist hubs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ruled Chhattisgarh for the past 15 years.
In the Valley's Pulwama and Bandipora districts, some candidates have been elected unopposed while in the other wards no candidate had filed papers for the third phase contest.
In Anantnag district, the voting percentage was 1.50 per cent while it was 0.4 per cent in Srinagar and 11 per cent in Baramulla district where voters turned out in good numbers in the Uri border town.
Voting began at 6 a.m. and will end at 4 p.m. in Jammu's Samba district and the valley's Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Pulwama and Bandipora districts.
A total of 365 candidates are in the fray for 96 wards of eight urban local bodies comprising 193,990 electors.
Additional staff were deployed at polling stations with large number of electors, poll officials said.
Shaleen Kabra, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), said the overall poll percentage in the first two phases of the municipal polls that took place on October 8 and 10, has been 47.2 per cent.
Kabra said that to ensure free and fair elections, observers have been deployed, including micro-observers at 222 hypersensitive polling stations in the Kashmir Division and 19 in Jammu Division.
The CEO said that Basic Minimum Facilities (BMF) have been ensured in all the polling stations across the state.
"Deputy Commissioners are undertaking videography of all critical events related to the poll process," Kabra said.
"Control Rooms have been established in all the municipal bodies across the state to respond promptly to any complaints of violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) as also to disseminate information to the public."
The municipal elections that are taking place after 13 years in the state, are being held in four phases, covering 79 municipal bodies with an electorate of about 17 lakh electors.
A total of 3,372 nominations have been filed for 1,145 wards. Voting for the fourth and final phase of these elections will be held on October 16.
The first vote was cast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda.
While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8 a.m., enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7 a.m.
The battle is set to come down to three parties: Shahbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
July 25 has been declared a public holiday by the Election Commission of Pakistan, in an effort to increase voter participation.
A record number of 3,71,388 security personnel have been deployed at polling stations across the country to maintain law and order and take action against harassment, after the nation witnessed one of the bloodiest campaigning.
According to a poll official, 5,878 polling stations have been declared "highly sensitive" -- official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence -- in Sindh; 5,487 in Punjab and Islamabad; 3,874 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA and 1,768 in Balochistan.
Polling stations will remain open for voting till 6 p.m.
The voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m., election department officials said here.
With the prevailing heat wave in Punjab, voters started queuing up early in the day to caste their votes.
Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju said that 1,72,676 voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates in this constituency.
The main contest is between the ruling Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making it a three-cornered contest.
Over 1,000 security personnel, including Punjab Police and Border Security Force (BSF), have been stationed in the constituency for smooth conduct of the voting.
The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Akali Dal legislator Ajit Singh Kohar in February this year.
Kohar, a former minister, was elected five times from this seat. His son Naib Singh Kohar has been fielded by the Akali Dal this time.Congress candidate Hardev Singh Ladi had lost to Kohar by nearly 5,000 votes in the assembly elections in February last year.
The AAP has fielded Rattan Singh as its candidate. The Congress came back to power in the state in March last year after a gap of a decade.
Addressing a press conference Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said polling was going on till late at many places, and those who were in the queue by 5 p.m. will be given an opportunity to vote.
"In many places as reported till late the poll was going on. Those who were in queue at 5 p.m. will be given an opportunity to vote," he said, adding that the final polling figures will come late in the evening.
The first phase of poll for 89 seats in 19 districts recorded 68 per cent polling, and it may touch the figure of 71 per cent, similar to the last assembly elections when the percentage was recorded at 70.7 per cent.
District wise, polling in Kachch district was recorded at 63 per cent, 75 in Surendranagar, 75 in Morbi, 70 in Rajkot, 65 in Jamnagar, 71 in Bharuch, 73 in Narmada, 73 in Khed, 60 in Porbandar, 63 in Devebhoomi Dwarka, 70 in Gir Somnath, 67 in Amreli, 62 in Bhavnagar, 70 in Surat, 75 in Navsari, 70 in Valsad, 60 in Botad, 73 in Tapi, 65 in Junagadh, 70 in Dang,
and 60 in Botad.
Sinha said that there were some complaints of Electronic Voting Machines being connected to bluetooth, but it was found to be "totally false".
He also said that it was the first time EVMs with VVPAT (Voter-verified paper audit trail) was used on such a large scale.
Merkel is seeking a fourth term in office and to keep her Christian Democrat Party's (CDU) status as the largest presence in the Bundestag or the German national parliament, reports the BBC.
The CDU's coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD) led by Martin Schulz, a former president of the European parliament, is its main opponent.
The right-wing nationalist, anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is likely to gain seats in parliament for the first time.
The party has so far held seats only in regional government, but has grown in popularity during a campaign focused on immigration issues.
Other significant contenders include Die Linke (the Left), the Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP).
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m., the BBC reported.
The first exit polls are expected shortly after the voting concludes.
Some 61.5 million people aged over 18 are eligible to vote in federal elections, which are held every four years.
There are two separate votes -- one for a candidate in their constituency and one for their preferred political party.
The election is seen as important because it may result in six parties in the Bundestag for the first time since the Second World War.
Such a result could mean a change in the makeup of the current governing coalition.
More than 65,000 polling stations in Metropolitan France opened at 8 a.m. (local time), with President Emmanuel Macron's party, La Republique En Marche (LERM), widely expected to secure a significant parliamentary majority, reports Efe news.
French citizens living in overseas territories already voted on Saturday, with final results expected on Sunday night.
A total of 573 of 577 seats in the French Lower House will be contested in the second round, after four were settled in the first round last week.
A party needs 289 seats for a majority in the house. The LREM is predicted to win over 400.
In the first round, Macron's party and Moderate Democrats won a combined 32.3 per cent of the vote, reports the BBC.
The centre-right Republicans had 21.5 per cent, while the far-right National Front (FN) had 13.2 per cent, followed by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on just over 11 per cent.
The Socialists, previously France's ruling party, and their allies won a mere 9.5 per cent.
Surveys predicted a low turnout after less than half of the 47.5 million registered voters cast their ballots on June 11.
The elections are being held amid tight security measures, with 50,000 officers deployed throughout the country, which has been in a state of emergency since the terror attacks of 2015.
The results will be declared on June 13, according to Durga Prasad, officer on special duty to the State Election Commission
"In total, 5,297 candidates are contesting in 1,450 wards," Prasad said.
Panchayat elections are not held on party lines in Goa, but independent politicians as well as parties have informally backed candidate panels for the Sunday polls.
Authorities have declared 97 polling booths as sensitive.
The voting for the office-bearers for 2017-19 began from 8 a.m. and will go on till 4 p.m. here.
The counting will take place at 5 p.m. and results will be announced subsequently.
Gautham Vasudev Menon, K.E. Gnanavel Raja, A.L. Azhagappan, A.M. Rathnam, Prakash Raj, Mysskin and S.A. Chandrasekaran are among producers and directors from the Tamil filmdom who are contesting for various posts.
Actor Vishal, producer T. Siva, R. Radhakrishnan, Kalaipuli G. Sekaran and Kothanda Ramaiah aka KR are contesting for the post of president.
The election is being conducted under the supervision of Madras High Court's Justice (retd) S. Rajeswaran.
The first phase poll held on February 13, recorded 71 per cent turnout.
"The state witnessed 73 per cent turnout in the second phase panchayat polls. While Dhenkanal district recorded the highest turnout of 83 per cent, Malkangiri district recorded the lowest with 60 per cent," State Election Commissioner (SEC) R.N. Senapati told reporters here.
Also Read: SEC to conduct repolling in 62 wards of 11 dists
He said they have received information about poll violence at some places in the state.
"We have received information about poll violence including booth rigging, ballot box looting and boycott of voting. We have sought a detailed report from district collectors. Repolling will be held after getting a report from the collectors," Senapati added.
The voting began at 7 a.m. and concluded at 12 p.m. However, the voters, who were in queue, cast their franchise even after the deadline.
The voting was held for 175 Zilla Parishad zones, 1,386 Gram Panchayats having 18,581 wards under 65 blocks of 29 districts except Deogarh.
The SEC made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the polls, with CCTV cameras installed at all the sensitive and hyper sensitive booths.
After the polling process began at 8 am, people could be seen stepping out of their homes despite cold weather and queuing up to exercise their franchise at the polling stations.
According to officials, around 11 per cent voting has been recorded in the first two hours.
Although there were reports of technical glitches in EVMs in Surat and some other centres, the polling process resumed after the machines were replaced, officials of the Election Commission said.
In the first two hours, several important leaders and candidates cast their votes, including Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his opponent on Rajkot-West seat Indranil Rajyaguru, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani and Congress MLA of Amreli seat Paresh Dhanan, among others.
Cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara also cast his vote in Rajkot.
A total of 89 seats out of 182 -- spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions -- are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray.
Prominent candidates for Saturday's battle include Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who is contesting from Rajkot (West), Congress' Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi) and Paresh Dhanani (Amreli).
The election is being viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of soon-to-be Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. The election is a crucial battleground for the Congress and the BJP before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The poll campaign shaped up as a duel between Modi and Gandhi, and often turned personal.
The Congress, in political wilderness in Gujarat for nearly 22 years, is desperate to break the jinx. It has raised issues such as the BJP's "hollow development model", besides demonetisation and GST.
Gandhi emerged as the Congress' pivot to take on the might of the prime minister on his home turf.
While Modi addressed about 15 rallies, Gandhi spent more than seven days in Saurashtra and south Gujarat, addressing a number of meetings.
The first phase of local elections are peacefully taking place at 281 local units out of 283 in province 3, 4 and 6, said the office Election Commission.
It said as the candidates have been elected unopposed in two local units, polls are taking place in remaining local units only.
Altogether 4.9 million voters are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of elections.
Nearly 50,000 candidates are vying for the position of mayor, deputy mayor, ward chairman and ward member in 281 local municipalities.
The second round of polls in provinces 1, 2, 5 and 7 will be held on May 14 and June 14 respectively.
The absence of elected representatives in the local bodies for more than 15 years obstructed development in the villages and towns across the country including the capital city Kathmandu.
Local-level elections could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives.
The elections should be held in every five years but due to political instability, they were halted since May 1997.
Local bodies remained ignored during the long transitional period even after the peace deal signed between the government and the Maoists in November 2006.
Prime Minister Prachanda yesterday appealed to the voters to use their sovereign voting rights by casting votes.
"I urge all the electors to participate in this historic local-level election and use their sovereign voting rights. In a democracy, people can exercise their sovereign rights through election," Prachanda said in a statement.
"On the one hand, the local polls have stood as a linkage to direct Nepal's peace process to a logical conclusion, while on the other, it can be looked upon as a milestone to end the unitary and centralised governing system and establish federal governance," Prachanda said.
This election will open door for meting out the rights and resources centralised at Singha Durbar (central government secretariat) to people's doorstep, the prime minister said.
Nepal has been witnessing political instability.
Although major Madhesi group -- the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal -- has decided to boycott the first phase of polls, two other Madhesi parties -- Federal Socialist Party and Madhesi Peoples Forum Democratic -- are participating in the polls.
Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the Constitution is amended to accommodate their views: more representation in parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.
The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties.
Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community.
"I have exercised my franchise in every election for the last 25 years. I am surprised that my name is not on the list today," said Lata Samal of Kumari under Dharmasala block in the district.
Samal said she went from both to booth to find out her name on the voters' list, but was unsuccessful.
Like Samal, a number of voters across the block were seen returning home without casting their votes because their names did not feature on the voters' list at several polling stations in the block.
Jajpur Sub Collector and Returning officer Narayan Chandra Dhal said voting for the first phase of panchayat polls in Dharmasala and Jajpur blocks in the district was held and more than 61 per cent polling was recorded.
He also admitted of receiving several complaints from voters about their name being missing on the voters' list.
The state govenrment has accepted a proposal in this regard given by the State Election Commission (SEC).
The Panchayati Raj department has directed all District Collectors to declare the polling day as a holiday in places where polling takes place.
Also Read: Panchayat polls: Odisha Govt shifts Proj Dir of DRDA, Cuttack
Polling will be held on February 13,15,17,19 and 21.
State government employees will have to apply to their higher authorities to avail the three days leave facility - one day before the polling day, one day on the polling day and one day after the polling day.
Seven candidates - two each from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Conference and one from the Congress - are in the fray.
Voting started at 9 a.m. at the state legislature complex here and it will end at 4 p.m. The results will be announced in the evening.
The PDP and the BJP are fighting these elections jointly, each fielding two candidates for the four seats.
The National Conference has announced support to Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress' Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who is seeking re-election as his present term ends in February.
National Conference president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah was among the first to cast his vote. He said he is sure of Azad's victory with his party's support.
He questioned the secrecy being maintained by the BJP and the PDP over their alliance to form the next state government in the state.
"What are they shying away from now when their alliance is already known to everybody," he said.
The former chief minister confirmed his party would sit in the opposition in the assembly.
On being asked about the Delhi polls Saturday, he said he would take the media poll surveys, predicting a clear win for the Aam Aadmi Party, with a pinch of salt.
"In assembly elections, you had given us only five, but we got 15 (seats)," he said.
A staunch believer in democracy, he wants other Indians too not to miss an opportunity to vote.
Negi has been appointed a brand ambassador by the state Election Commission for its SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) campaign.
An appeal would be issued soon on his behalf to the people to vote for the May 19 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Chand told IANS.
Negi lives with his youngest son Chander Parkash in the picturesque village of Kalpa in Kinnaur district, some 275 km from the state capital.
The centenarian, who lost his wife at the age of 80 years in 2014, said it is important to vote.
"I am appealing to all the voters, especially the younger generation, to spare time and elect an honest man who can take the country to new heights," Negi told IANS, speaking through his son Parkash.
Negi, who is hard of hearing, will turn 103 on July 1. He likes to listen to radio.
He is survived by three sons and five daughters and has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his eldest son in 2002.
According to Parkash, his father does his routine chores on his own and has good vision.
A team of election officials called on Negi last week to know his well-being.
Retired as a junior basic teacher from a government school in 1975, Negi was among the first to vote in independent India's first Lok Sabha battle in 1951 in Chini constituency - later renamed Kinnaur.
At that time, balloting in the snow-bound area was held ahead of other places in the state and the country.
In 2010, then Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla visited Negi's village to honour him as part of the Election Commission's diamond jubilee celebrations.
Negi has voted in every general, Assembly and panchayat elections since 1951. He pledges to vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too.
"Yes, I will be among the first to cast my vote," Negi said.
The election department has a video of Negi casting his vote in 2007, 2012 and 2017 Assembly and the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections.
Kalpa village is part of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Kullu and Mandi and parts of Chamba and Shimla districts besides the tribal-dominated Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts.
(Story By: Vishal Gulati)
Actors Sudheer Babu, Manchu Vishnu, Amala Akkineni, composer MM Keeravani and filmmaker S.S Rajamouli among others, also stepped out to vote on the first day of the Lok Sabha elections.
Chiranjeevi voted along with his family members, including his wife, son Ram Charan and daughter-in-law Upasana Konidela.
Jr. NTR was joined by his mother and wife at the polling booth.
Actor and Janasena party chief Pawan Kalyan cast his vote in Vijayawada.
Nandamuri Balakrishna was accompanied by his wife to cast the vote.
Allu Arjun preferred to go alone and vote.
A thrilled Rajamouli after voting took to twitter and wrote: "Half of my unit members left to their towns and villages to exercise their vote. Good. Do vote. If you think no party/candidate makes a difference, make use of nota."
Newlywed couple Akkineni Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Akkineni came together to vote.
Of the total voters, 39.45 lakh male, 37.47 lakh female and 605 others will cast their votes in 9,117 booths, said sources at Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
A total of 35 candidates are in the fray for the five Lok Sabha seats including 30 male and five female candidates. Similarly, 244 candidates are contesting for the 35 Assembly seats of which 219 are male and 25 female.
In 739 booths, central forces have been deployed and in 883 booths web casting will be done. As many as 892 booths will be under the scrutiny of micro-observers. Like the first phase polls, mock polling will be conducted 90 minutes prior to voting. The polling process will begin at 7 AM and continue till 6 PM in the evening. In view of security concerns at 13 booths, voting process will continue till 4 PM while more than 60,000 employees will be on-duty at different booths.
"To ensure smooth conduct of voting, many steps have been taken by the Election Commission. In 883 booths, web casting has been done and 623 CCTV cameras have been installed. For the first time, vehicles of all the sector officers will be tracked via GPS," said CEO Surendra Kumar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will try to retain Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat -- the lone seat it had won in 2014. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram is contesting from the parliamentary constituency against BJD candidate Sunita Biswal, daughter of former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal, and Congress candidate George Tirkey.
On the other hand, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will defend the other four Lok Sabha seats.
Several political heavyweights including BJD Rajya Sabha members Prasanna Acharya and Achyuta Samanta, sitting Lok Sabha member from BJD Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo, BJP National Secretary Suresh Pujari, former MP Sangeeta Singhdeo are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in the second phase.
Among the Assembly constituencies, BJD President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is fighting from two seats -- Hinjili under Aska LS constituency and Bijepur under Bargarh LS constituency.
Besides, senior Congress leader and opposition leader Narasingha Mishra is fighting from Bolangir Assembly segment while BJP legislature party leader K.V. Singhdeo is contesting from Patnagarh Assembly seat.
(With IANS inputs)
Voting for electing MLAs in 35 of Odisha's 147 assembly seats also started along with polling for five of the state's 21 Lok Sabha constituencies. In these constituencies, electors will cast two votes each.
A total of 97 seats across 13 states were slated to see voting in the phase, but the election in Tamil Nadu's Vellore has been rescinded and polling to Tripura East has been deferred to the third round on April 23.
"The campaigning is going good and we are hopeful that BJP will register a win in this constituency. We are getting a lot of affection and love from the people," said Arundhati Devi, wife of Nitesh Gangdev, who is BJP’s candidate for Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Similarly in Paradip Assembly constituency, amidst intensifying poll campaigning, wives of all the three major candidates are leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory for their husbands.
"People know what all Naveen-led government has done for them, so we don't have to tell them whom to vote," BJD candidate Sambit Routray's wife Geetanjali said.
Congress candidate Bapi Sarkhel's wife Monideepa who is also campaigning for her husband said that they are receiving a lot of positive response.
"People believe that Bapi Sarkhel will bring development. All the positive responses are inspiring us to intensify our campaigning," Monideepa said.
BJP candidate Sampad Swain's wife Sushreeta said," We are doing door-to-door campaigning and making people aware of the welfare schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
A total of 116 seats across 14 states were slated to see voting in the phase including polling in the first of the staggered polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag constituency.
Voting also began in Tripura East, which was slated in the second phase of polling on April 18 but was deferred by the Election Commission to the third phase on security concerns.
The chief of the two main political parties are in fray in the third phase with BJP President Amit Shah making his Lok Sabha election debut from Gandhinagar and Congress President Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad, which he also contesting along with his traditional Amethi seat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will aim to defend the 62 of the 117 third phase seats it won in 2014 and its performance in this phase will be crucial in deciding its political fortunes.
While voting started in all seats in Gujarat (26), Kerala (20) and Goa (2), it also started in the remaining 14 of Karnataka's 28 seats and 14 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra.
Of Uttar Pradesh's 80 constituencies, voting started in 10 of them while it also began in seven out of 11 constituencies in Chhattisgarh, six out of 21 in Odisha, five each in Bihar (out of 40) and West Bengal (out of 42).
People also came out to vote in four constituencies in Assam (out of 14), and the lone seats in the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
With the third phase, voting will be completed in all seats of Gujarat, Kerala, Goa, Karanataka, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
The new feature, which is an addition to existing approach to tackling malicious automation and other forms of platform manipulation, would become effective from Thursday, Twitter said.
Social media platforms, including Twitter, earlier faced criticism from the government for being slow in removing fake news from their platforms.
Thus, if you see misleading information about how to vote or register to vote, including those that suggest that one can vote by tweet, text message, email, or phone call, you will be able to report such information for review from within the platform.
The rules will also cover misleading information about requirements for voting, including identification requirements, misleading statements or information about the official announced date or time of an election.
The platform, to start with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the European Parliament polls, will be rolled out for other elections, Twitter said in a statement.
In a blog post in February, Twitter said India was one of its largest and fastest-growing audience markets and the 2019 Lok Sabha was a key priority for the microblogging site.
It earlier launched its Ads Transparency Centre that allows anyone across the globe to view details on political campaigning ads and billing information.
A total electorate of 12.79 crore is eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase covering 17 seats in Maharashtra, including Mumbai's six seats, six in Odisha, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, five in Bihar, and eight in West Bengal, while Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh have their first phase of polls with voting in 13, 3 and 6 constituencies, respectively.
Voting will also be held in the second phase of the staggered polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag constituency.
The phase will also see polling in the final phase of the Odisha Assembly elections as well the bypoll to Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara Assembly seat from where Chief Minister Kamal Nath is contesting in order to become a legislator.
Prominent candidates in this phase include Union Minister Babul Supriyo (BJP), who faces yesteryear actor Moon Moon Sen (Trinamool Congress) in West Bengal's Asansol, his colleague Giriraj Singh (BJP), who faces former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar (CPI) in Bihar's Begusarai, film actress Urmila Matondkar (Mumbai North), and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav (Kannauj).
Also contesting are Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot (Jodhpur), his predecessor Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh from Jhalawar-Baran, and Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara.
In the fourth phase, the BJP will be defending 45 of the seats it won in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle -- 13 in Rajasthan, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, five in Madhya Pradesh, three in Bihar, three in Jharkhand and one in West Bengal.
In Maharashtra, all the remaining nine seats were won by the Shiv Sena while in Bihar, the remaining two seats were bagged by BJP's ally Lok Janshakti Party. The Congress got only two -- one in Madhya Pradesh and one in West Bengal.
Among other parties, the Biju Janata Dal won all six in Odisha, the Trinamool Congress six in West Bengal and the Samajwadi Party one in Uttar Pradesh.
With the fourth phase, voting will be completed in all seats of Maharashtra and Odisha.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
A total electorate of over 8.75 crore is eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase which covers the remaining 12 constituencies in Rajasthan, as well as 14 in Uttar Pradesh, including the high-profile Amethi, Rae Bareli and Lucknow seats, five in Bihar, and seven in West Bengal.
Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh go in for their second phase of polls with voting in four and seven constituencies, respectively.
Voting is also being held in the final phase of the three stage polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, as well as the state's Ladakh constituency. It will be a challenge for security forces to ensure smooth polling in Anantnag, as violence was reported on Sunday in Shopian and Pulwama which will vote on Monday.
Among the 674 candidates in this phase, prominent ones include Congress President Rahul Gandhi from his traditional Amethi constituency where he faces Union Minister Smriti Irani, his mother and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi from neighbouring Rae Bareli, and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who faces actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha (Samajwadi Party) in Lucknow.
Also contesting are Union Ministers Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore - who faces fellow Olympian Krishna Poonia in Jaipur Rural - and Jayant Sinha (Hazaribagh), former Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) in Barrackpore, and actress-turned-BJP leader Locket Chatterjee in Hooghly.
In this phase, the BJP will be defending 39 seats -- all 12 in Rajasthan and a similar number in Uttar Pradesh, all seven in Madhya Pradesh, three in Bihar, all four in Jharkhand and one in Jammu and Kashmir.
In West Bengal, all seven seats were won by the Trinamool Congress, in Bihar, one was won by BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party and one by then ally Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, and in Jammu and Kashmir, one seat was won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Congress had only bagged two -- Amethi and Rae Bareli.
With the fifth phase, voting will be completed in all seats of Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
This time, dad M S Dhoni can once again be seen with the little one, cheering for her and it looks like in this little age, Ziva has understood the significance of voting. The adorable video was shot after the Dhonis casted their votes in Ranchi, which went to polls on May 6.
While you may want some extra dose of awww-dorable videos, we are leaving you with some blasts from the past, for which all the credit goes to Ziva.
During an Indian Premier League(IPL) match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in March, Ziva was seen cheering her father “Go Papa” from the stands.
'Paaapaaaaa, comeon papaa!' What better than cheering for your dad at his workplace?! #Ziva #WhistlePodu #Yellove #DCvCSK ?? pic.twitter.com/FC5Wxo0GyB
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 26, 2019
Ziva accompaied her father during last year’s IPL as well to a lot of matches and being a part of his post-game celebrations. Dhoni had shared a video of him and Ziva in which the two can be seen exchanging greetings in two languages – Bhojpuri and Tamil.
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A total electorate of 10.17 crore is eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase, which covers 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal and four in Jharkhand as well as all 10 seats of Haryana and seven in Delhi.
Prominent among the 879 candidates in this phase include three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who faces state BJP chief Manoj Tiwari in Delhi North East, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav from Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh against BJP's Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal, former cricketer Gautam Gambhir (BJP) is contesting against AAP's Atishi in East Delhi and Olympian boxer Vijendra Singh (Congress) is the fray from South Delhi.
Also contesting are Union Ministers Maneka Gandhi, from UP's Sultanpur, Radha Mohan Singh from Bihar's East Champaran, Harsh Vardhan from Delhi's Chandni Chowk and Rao Inderjeet Singh from Gurugram, Congress' General Secretary (West UP) Jyotiraditya Scindia from Madhya Pradesh's Guna, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Sonipat while Bengali film hero Deepak Adhikari 'Dev' (Trinamool Congress) will lock horns with the BJP's Bharati Ghosh, a former IPS officer and once a trusted lieutenant of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in Ghatal.
In this phase, the BJP will be defending 45 seats -- seven of the eight seats in Bihar, eight of 10 in Haryana, all four in Jharkhand, seven of eight in Madhya Pradesh, 12 of 14 in Uttar Pradesh and all seven in Delhi.
BJP's allies Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Apna Dal had won one seat each in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively. The Congress had won two seats - Guna and Rohtak - while the Samajwadi Party and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had won one seat apiece in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, respectively.
The Trinamool had won all the eight seats going to the polls in the sixth phase in West Bengal.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Singh arrived at the Sant Garh polling booth in a wheel chair and was greeted by his relatives and well-wishers, some of whom even offered him bouquets.
Delhi Election Commission officials said that Singh was the oldest voter in Delhi.
Following the 2016 US Presidential election, Facebook faced flak for failure to stop those who used the platform to spread misinformation. Some even published ads telling people not to vote in 2016.
"To protect elections, we have a team across product, engineering, data science, policy, legal and operations dedicated full time to these efforts," Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a blog post announcing the report.
"They're already working to ban ads that discourage people from voting, and we expect to finalize a new policy and its enforcement before the 2019 gubernatorial elections," she added.
The new initiative builds on the work Facebook has done over the past year to prevent voter suppression.
"This is a direct response to the types of ads we saw on Facebook in 2016," Sandberg said.
"Just as civil rights groups helped us better prepare for the 2018 elections, their guidance has been key as we prepare for the 2020 Census and upcoming elections around the world," she added.