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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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)
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)
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.
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.