56 percent turnout in final phase of Bihar polls

November 5, 2015

Patna, Nov 5: Around 56 percent of the 1.55 crore electorate voted till late afternoon on Thursday in the fifth and final round of the staggered assembly elections in Bihar, officials said.bihar-poll

Eight voters were injured when central paramilitary forces resorted to baton charge at polling booths in Araria and Katihar districts.

Four voters were injured at a polling booth in Jokihat assembly constituency in Araria, as security forces baton-charged villagers after someone attacked a security personnel on duty.

Similarly, security personnel had to use force at a polling booth in Katihar district to disperse anti-social elements trying to indulge in bogus voting, in which four people were injured, officials said.

Thousands of people -- women outnumbering men -- stood in long queues at polling stations from early in the morning, officials as well as witnesses said.

Polling took place in the last 57 of the 243 constituencies across seven districts: Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria and Katihar in Seemanchal region, and Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul in Kosi region.

A total of 827 candidates contested on Thursday -- with the battle mostly between contestants of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP-led four-party alliance and the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Voting began at 7 a.m. and was scheduled to end at 5 p.m.
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) president Sharad Yadav voted in Madhepura and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain in Supaul.

The Jan Adhikar Party of expelled RJD MP Pappu Yadav, is also in the fray.
However, Pappu Yadav, who was admitted at a hospital in Purnea, was scheduled to be taken to the AIIMS in Delhi on Thursday after his condition deteriorated.
Bihar Police chief P.K. Thakur said polling was mainly peaceful.

The 57 constituencies cover some of Bihar's most backward pockets notorious for poverty, illiteracy and mass migration.

Stray clashes took place between rival groups.
At some places, the electronic voting machines malfunctioned. Apart from that, it was a smooth exercise.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is also contesting from six seats in Seemanchal region.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is banking heavily on Modi's appeal and the support of the upper castes -- Brahmins, Bhumihar, Rajputs -- and also hopes to gain the backing of other communities.

Allied with the BJP are the Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Upendra Kushwaha -- both union ministers -- and the Hindustani Awam Morcha of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
The Grand Alliance includes the JD-U, the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad and the Congress.
The millions of votes polled in the staggered elections that began on October 12 will be counted on November 8.

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News Network
June 16,2020

New Delhi, Jun 16: With an increase of 10,667 cases and 380 deaths in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 count in India has reached 3,43,091 on Tuesday, according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

It is noteworthy that today's spike in cases is lower than the 11,502 registered in the country yesterday and has also stayed below the 11 thousand mark it had been crossing for the past two days in a row.

However, there is an increase in the number of deaths due to the infection from yesterday, with 380 deaths being reported from across the country, the toll due to COVID-19 has now reached 9,900.

The COVID-19 count includes 1,53,178 active cases, while 1,80,013 patients have been cured and discharged or migrated so far.

Maharashtra with 1,10,744 cases continues to be the worst-affected state in the country with 50,567 active cases while 56,049 patients have been cured and discharged in the state so far. The toll due to COVID-19 has crossed the four thousand mark and reached 4,128 in the state.
It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 46,504 and the national capital with 42,829 confirmed cases.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 8: Arvind Kejriwal is set to return as Delhi chief minister and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will virtually sweep the assembly elections, exit polls predicted Saturday.

As polling came to a close at 6 pm, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) projecting a voter turnout at 60.24% (as of 9:50 pm), a poll of polls covering 10 exit polls gave 52 seats to AAP, 17 to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one to the Indian National Congress.

The polls, which are sample surveys conducted among voters exiting polling booths, signalled that the Delhi voter responded to AAP’s campaign that focused on “kaam”, or getting work done.

Kejriwal, a former civil servant and activist who stormed into electoral politics with an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, led a campaign focusing on the development work his government did in Delhi, especially in education and healthcare, as well as sops such as lower electricity bills and free bus rides for women.

The exit polls gave AAP between 47 and 68 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

They predicted an absolute rout for Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms between 1998 and 2013. The maximum seats to AAP were given by India Today TV-Axis exit poll, which predicted 59-68 seats for the party, while giving 2-11 for the BJP and none to the Congress.

If these figures hold, the results will come as a disappointment for the BJP, which had hoped its sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 would reflect in the assembly polls.

Delhi’s voter turnout saw a sharp fall over the 2015 elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout till 9 pm was projected at 60.24% — lower than 67.12% in 2015.

Traditionally, a lower voter turnout is read as a vote for the incumbent.

The voter turnout in Delhi has been similar during the Congress regime under Sheila Dikshit, when she won consecutive terms. In 2003, when Delhi voted a second time for the Dikshit government, the voter turnout was 53.42%, and a comparable 57.58% was the turnout in 2008.

Later, in two consecutive elections — 2013 and 2015 — voters turned out in big numbers to vote Dikshit out of power. In 2013, 65.63% of Delhi turned out and the percentage increased further to 67.12% in 2015.

Across constituencies, Matia Mahal in Central Delhi registered the highest voter turnout of 68.36%, whereas Bawana assembly constituency in North district saw the lowest turnout at 41.95%. Among districts, North East district registered the highest (62.75%) voter turnout, while the lowest turnout was recorded in South East district (54.15%), according to the ECI app.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: With 9,887 new positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count touched 2,36,657 on Saturday surpassing Italy's latest tally of over 2.34 lakh, taking India to the sixth spot among countries with the highest caseloads of the virus.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said that India registered a spike of 9887 new cases and 294 deaths in the past 24 hours taking the tally to 1,15,942 active cases and 6642 deaths.

Today's count was the highest single-day spike in the country, which has now overtaken Italy, according to the tally posted by the Johns Hopkins University which posted that globally the coronavirus had infected over 66.64 lakh people and claimed over 3.91 lakh lives so far.

In india, the MoHFW informed that 1,14,073 persons have been cured/discharged/migrated so far.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit State as the total number of COVID-19 positive cases reached 80,229. While the total number of active cases in the state stands at 42,224.

In Tamil Nadu, 28,694 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 26,334 coronavirus cases.

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