Polls 2019: Social Media Platforms Removed Over 500 Posts, Says EC
Catch all the updates on the Lok Sabha 2019 elections here.
Today, on 11 April, the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections has officially begun. Polling for the first phase will occur in 91 parliamentary constituencies spread across 20 states. The final results will be announced on 23 May. Catch all the updates on the Lok Sabha 2019 elections here.
Catch the live updates from constituencies voting in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and the Northeast here.
For all the live updates from the Assembly elections in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, click here.
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LS Polls Phase I: Richest to Take on Poorest in Telangana
In an unusual turn of events, the richest and the poorest candidates in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections are pitted against each other from the same constituency.
An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) — an NGO which analysed the affidavits submitted by the candidates to the Election Commission for the first phase of polling — showed that the candidates from Chevella constituency in Telangana have disclosed both the highest and lowest assets.
According to the ADR report, the Congress candidate from Chevella, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, has declared assets worth Rs 895 crore, while one his rivals from the same seat, Nalla Prem Kumar, who is contesting on a Prem Janata Dal ticket, has disclosed assets worth just Rs 500.
Voting Begins for 91 constituencies in Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha Elections
Voting begins for 91 constituencies in 20 states and union territories in the 1st phase of the Lok Sabha Elections.
(ANI)
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Arrives in Nagpur to Cast His Vote
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has cast his vote for the Nagpur parliamentary constituency.
(ANI)
'I Urge Young, First-Time Voters to Vote in Large Numbers': PM Modi
“I call upon all those whose constituencies are voting in the first phase today to turn out in record numbers and exercise their franchise. I specially urge young and first-time voters to vote in large numbers,” tweets PM Modi.
(ANI)
'People Are Looking for a Change': YSR Congress Party Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy
YSR Congress Party Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy after casting his votes in Kadapa: I'm very confident, people are looking for a change, vote without fear.
(ANI)
TSR's K Kavitha Casts Vote in Nizamabad, Telengana
Telangana Rashtra Samithi's K Kavitha casts her vote at a polling station in Pothangal, in Nizamabad parliamentary constituency.
(ANI)
EVM Glitches in Many Places as Voting for LS, Assembly Polls Begins in Andhra Pradesh
Voters queued up in considerable numbers at polling stations to exercise their franchise as voting to elect 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha members in Andhra Pradesh began at 7 am Thursday.
In many places electronic voting machines (EVMs) had glitches resulting in some delay in polling, an official said. 300 BHEL engineers have been called in for the repairs
(PTI)
'Faces of Women in Burkhas Not Being Checked, I Allege Fake Voting is Being Done': Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr. Sanjiv Balyan
Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr. Sanjiv Balyan said, “Faces of women in burkhas are not being checked and I allege that fake voting is being done. If not looked into, I will demand a repoll.”
(ANI)
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat casts his vote in Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat casts his vote at polling booth number 124 in Defence Colony, Dehradun.
(ANI)
Nagaland Sees 21% Voter Turnout Recorded at 9 am
21% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in the Nagaland parliamentary constituency.
(ANI)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tweets Urging People to “Vote for the Soul of India.”
Chattisgarh: Amid Polling, Naxals Trigger IED blast; None Hurt
Naxals triggered an IED blast on Thursday morning in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where voting is underway, a senior police official said.
No casualty was reported in the incident, he said.
"The explosion took place around 4.15 am in Farasgaon area on Narayanpur-Dandwan road when a team of security men were escorting polling personnel to their booth," the official said.
Narayanpur comes under the Bastar Lok Sabha seat.
(PTI)
Jana Sena MLA Candidate Madhusudhan Gupta Arrested After Smashing EVM in Anantapur
Jana Sena MLA candidate Madhusudhan Gupta smashes an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling booth in Gooty, in Anantapur district. He has been arrested by police.
(ANI)
30% of EVMs in Andhra Prasesh Not Working: Reports
Reports say that 30% of EVMs in Andhra Pradesh not working. Voters found returning home unable to stand under the hot sun.
(Deccan Herald)
Voter Turnout Hits 13.3% in Arunachal Pradesh till 9 am
Voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Telangana is 10.6%, 5.83% in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 10.2% in Assam and 13.3% in Arunachal Pradesh.
(ANI)
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Casts his Vote in Hyderabad
AIMIM Chief and Hyderabad MP candidate Asaduddin Owaisi casts his vote at a polling booth in the city. He is a three time sitting MP from the constituency.
(ANI)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Casts Vote in Nagpur, Maharashtra
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari cast his vote at polling booth number 220 in Nagpur parliamentary constituency.
(ANI)
A High of 18.12% Voter Turnout Recorded in West Bengal till 9 am
18.12% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in West Bengal, 17.5% in Mizoram, 10.2% in Chhattisgarh and 15.6% in Manipur.
(ANI)
Dantewada's Villagers Turnout in Large Numbers for the LS Elections After the Naxal Attack on 9 April
Villagers in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh turnout in large numbers to cast their votes for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.
On 9 April, BJP MLA Bheema Mandvi and four PSOs lost their lives in a naxal attack in Dantewada.
(ANI)
Smriti Irani Performs Pooja Ahead of Filing Nomination From Amethi
Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani and her husband Zubin Irani perform 'pooja' ahead of her filing nomination from Amethi parliamentary constituency.
(ANI)
'Repolling Needed Due to EVM Problems' Chandrababu Naidu in Letter to CEC
N Chandrababu Naidu in letter to CEC wrote, “It is likely that many voters who returned may not come back for voting even if polling is resumed after replacement / repair of existing EVMs. Therefore repolling needed in all polling stations where polling had not commenced upto 9.30am.”
(ANI)
TRS Working President KT Rama Rao Casts Vote in Hyderabad, Telangana
Working President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, KT Rama Rao casts his vote at a polling booth in Hyderabad.
(ANI)
'When I Come Back to Power Their Corruption, Loot, Dynastic Politics Will be FInished': PM Modi
PM Modi in Bhagalpur,Bihar said, “When Modi comes back again then their corruption will be completely finished, their dynastic politics will be finished, their loot in name of poor will stop, their politics of catse and religion will stop,'tukde tuke gang bhi tukde tukde ho kar bikhar jaeyga’.”
(ANI)
BJP's Gopal Shetty on Urmila Matondkar: 'She Has Chosen the Wrong Party'
Gopal Shetty, BJP said, “ Urmillaji has been brought to politics, she is celebrity and has been brought because of her face. There is no need to feel bad about this. She is from a political family, she has political knowledge. But she has chosen the wrong party.”
'I Am Hopeful We Will Win': Khammam Congress Candidate Renuka Choudhary After Casting her Vote in Telangana
Khammam Congress candidate Renuka Choudhary casts her vote. She said, “I am hopeful that we will be able to win this race, I am very optimistic.”
(ANI)
TMC Files Complaint with EC Against Modi Web Series
The All India Trinamool Congress has filed a complaint with the EC against the web series on PM Modi. The complaint was filed on 10 April.
(Source: The Quint)
YSRCP and TDP Workers Clash in Andhra Pradesh, Police Resorts to Lathi-Charge
Clash broke out between YSRCP and TDP workers in Puthalapattu Constituency in Bandarlapalli, Andhra Pradesh. Police resorted to lathi-charge.
(ANI)
'We Are Resolving Issue With Congress Button in Shahpur': J&K's Poonch District Election Officer
Poonch (J&K) District Election Officer responded to Omar Abdullah's tweet 'Congress button not working in Poonch polling stations', said, “There was an issue with Congress button in Shahpur, our staff replaced the machine. At another polling station BJP button wasn't working, we changed that also.”
(ANI)
TDP Leader S Bhaskar Reddy Killed in Clashes in Anantapur
TDP leader S Bhaskar Reddy has been killed in clashes in Tadipatri town of Anantapur. TDP has alleged that YSRCP workers are behind the incident.
On Reports of EVM Problems, Bijnor Sector Magistrate said 'No Such Issues, Elections Being Held Peacefully'
Rakesh Kumar, Bijnor Sector Magistrate on reports that ‘Lotus’ symbol is being displayed after pressing ‘Elephant’ symbol on EVM said, “No such incident has taken place. Elections are being held peacefully. There were some issues during mock polling so we changed the entire set.”
(ANI)
'Arrogance to Believe He is Bigger than the People of India' Rahul Gandhi on PM Modi
Rahul Gandhi said, “There have been many people in Indian history who had arrogance to believe that they're invincible & bigger than the people of India. Narendra Modi for the last five years has done nothing for the people of India. His invincibility will be in full view after election results.”
(ANI)
'Dont Forget 2004' Says UPA Chaiperson Sonia Gandhi to PM Modi
“Don't forget 2004, Vajpayee ji was invincible but we won,” says Sonia Gandhi.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination from Raebareli.
(NDTV)
Shamli, Uttar Pradesh: Security Personnel Fired Shots in the Air at People Who Tried to Cast Vote Without Voter ID
Security personnel fired shots in air after some people tried to cast vote without voter ID at a polling station in Shamli.
District Magistrate says,“BSF personnel, fired in air for security reasons after some ppl without voter ID tried to cast vote. Voting has resumed now."
(ANI)
'Laser Pointed at Rahul Gandhi's Head': Congress Alleges Security Breach in Letter to Home Minister
The Congress wrote to the Home Minister over a breach in the security of it’s president Rahul Gandhi yesterday. The letter says Gandhi was addressing media after filing nomination from Amethi, "a persual of his interaction will reflect that a laser was pointed at his head, on at least seven separate occasions."
(ANI)
EC Issues Notice to Mayawati Over Her 'Communal Remark'
The Election Commission has issued a notice BSP supremo Mayawati over her communal remark in a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband. The commission has given her 24 hours to respond.
Social Media Platforms Removed More Than 500 Posts, Ads With Objectionable Content: EC
Social networking platforms Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook have removed more than 500 posts, advertisements, accounts and other objectionable content found to be violating the poll code, following directions of the Election Commission between April 10 and 11, the poll body said on Thursday, 11 April.
"Facebook -468 posts were reported and removed. The posts included violations of MCC and voter misinformation. One post from Karnataka, two posts from Assam and the remaining from Telangana. 32 ads active in Telangana were removed. Seven ads and two post are reported, awaiting action," the EC said.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has removed two accounts while action on 39 others is awaited.
"One was fake account of CEO UP, the account was deleted. The other account was promoting animosity between communities. The account was suspended. 39 tweets are reported on account of MCC violations," it said, adding that the account of one WhatsApp user from Manipur was disabled for spreading content promoting animosity between various communities.
Between 10 March and 9 April, the media platforms have removed six such contents - two tweets were reported on Twitter, one was creating public mischief and the other was violation of the model code of conduct.
Five violations, all from Karnataka, were reported on Facebook during this period and all have been removed.
Day Ahead of Rahul's Address, Stage Collapses in TN; None Hurt
A stage erected for Congress president Rahul Gandhi to address an election campaign meeting on Friday, 12 April, in Theni town in Tamil Nadu collapsed, but no one was injured.
Gandhi is to address the meeting in support of the party candidate E V K S Ilangovan.
The stage was put up on a grand scale on Theni-Annanji road.
(Source: PTI)
No Political Content on Namo TV Without Pre-Certification: EC Tells Delhi CEO
The Election Commission today said since NaMo TV is sponsored by the BJP all recorded programmes displayed on the platform should be pre-certified by media certification and monitoring committee of Delhi and all political publicity contents being displayed without pre-certification be removed immediately.
The poll panel said any political content has to be permitted by the local media certification committee "strictly in accordance with the EC's instructions in this regard".
After the Congress filed a complaint with the poll panel about the channel disturbing the level playing field, the EC had asked the CEO Delhi to file a report on the issue.
(Source: PTI)