The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined tourgently consider a plea for matching VVPAT in increased polling booths in each constituency, saying it can't issue any direction at the last minute before counting of votes in five stateAssembly elections.
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Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said talks were on between leaders of his party and other opposition parties in Goa ahead of counting of votes in the Assembly elections in the coastal state.
"All poll EVMs should be kept in strongroom under protection of armed forces... even reserve EVMs should be kept in the strongroom. What is being done is unfair," he says, appealing to people to sit on guard outside strongrooms to curb malpractice.
"The ruling party is engaging all weapons in its arsenal, including illegal means and paid exit polls, to ensure victory in polls," says Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh claims that party members waylaid a vehicle in which EVMs were being moved, despite Varanasi DM claiming that these were a few involved in training exercises.
Citing examples of alleged mal practices in Rae Bareli and Varanasi, Akhilesh says that he does not trust the district magistrates. "Why weren't other political parties notified if EVMs are being moved?" he says.
"What sort of governance is this? This is the times for everyone to be vigilant against mal practices," says Akhilesh Yadav.
A day after the exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in Goa, hectic political activities have begun in the state with the Congress focusing on keeping its flock together and plans to shift all its candidates to a resort, a senior party leader said on Tuesday.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said talks were on between leaders of his party and other opposition parties in Goa ahead of counting of votes in the Assemblyelectionsin the coastal state.
“We are confident that the people of Goa have given us a clear, simple majority. I am more confident today than I was, say last week, because I have spoken to every candidate,” Chidambaram told NDTV. “We are willing to work with the other parties,” he said.
With most of the exit polls predicting a hung Assembly in Goa, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, the state's oldest regional outfit, is being sought after by the BJP and Congress to form the next government in the coastal state.
While both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress—the two major outfits in Goa—are claiming that they will win majority seats, they have also said they will seek the support of the Deepak Dhavalikar-led MGP in case they fall short of the majority mark of 21.
Amid speculation of a hung Assembly in Manipur, the Congress has dispatched three observers to the state to oversee the post-poll scenario. In 2017, the party failed to form the government in Manipur despite emerging as the single-largest party in the polls.
Goa Congress has moved its candidates to a resort amid defection fears, reports NDTV quoting sources.
With exit polls pointing to a possible hung Assembly in Goa, the Congress is not taking any chances of being pipped to the post and has deputed Karnataka Congress President DKShivakumar to monitor and strategise to attain power.
Shivakumar left for Goa on Tuesday after getting directions from Delhi.
Sources in the Congress state that he is going to camp in Goa for three days to ensure that the age-old party, which missed a chance to form the government by a whisker after the last Assembly elections, do not commit the same mistakes again. Shivakumar is going to stay put in Goa till the new government is formed if needed, sources added.(IANS)
Goa CM Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that theBJP will be winning more than 20 of the 40 Assemblyseats. "Most exit polls show BJP winning. We will form the government with the support of independent and regional parties. Central leadership will be in talks with them over their demands, will seek MGP's support, if needed," he said.
Sawant also met PM Modi andheld poll discussion.
"Nobody can predict what will happen in Goa... let's wait for the election results. Within threemonths, the party has taken a vertical jump in the Goan political scenario. We will soon fight the Panchayat elections," saysLuizinho Faleiro, National Vice President, TMC.
In view of the counting of votes at Government Polytechnic College, Altinho in Panaji, all licensed premises for the sale of liquor will remain closed on March 10, theDistrict Magistrate, North Goa, said.
"We have set a target of 40+ seats and are confident of forming a stable government. When the final results are declared we expect the number to be 40+ only... We haven't taken a decision on CM (face), no question of a new CM," says BJP Manipur president Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Monday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah ahead of the results of assembly polls in five states.
Singh, who contested the Punjab Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP, told reporters that he had a general discussion with Shah on various issues. He also exuded confidence that his Punjab Lok Congress and the BJP have done well in the assembly elections.(PTI)
Seeking to keep its flock together in case of a hung assembly in Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab, the Congress has worked out a plan and deputed some of its leaders in these states in case of a post-poll scenario.
The Congress has also deputed party leader Deepinder Hooda as its special observer in Uttarakhand, who along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will work out a post-poll scenario after the results on March 10. Hooda will leave for Uttarakhand on Tuesday morning. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Monday said the party will repeat its performance of 2017 in the assembly elections. During his Jaipur visit, Sharma said the achievements of the Modi and Yogi governments have reached households in Uttar Pradesh and its impact will be visible in the results.(PTI)
"The performance of the party has been similar in the assembly elections to the 2017-assembly election. The number of seats could be higher or could remain near the present tally," he said before the exit polls results were out.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked the electorate after voting for the final phase of the Assembly polls ended on Monday and said each vote strengthens democracy and good governance.
Over 57 per cent turnout was recorded on Monday in 54 assembly seats in the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh polls, marking the end of the voting process spread over two months in the crucial state.
Counting of votes will be held on March 10.
In a tweet in Hindi, Adityanath said, "The final phase of the 2022 UP Legislative Assembly election has been held peacefully. Congratulations to every voter who discharged his responsibility in the festival of democracy. Your one vote will strengthen democracy and good governance. 'Bharat Mata ki Jai." (PTI)
The Republic TV's Poll of the Polls has predicted that the BJP will retain power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Manipur while Goa is likely to witness a hung Assembly and Punjab is to be swept by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The counting will be held on March 10.
The BJP is predicted to win Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, breaking the 37-year-old jinx by coming to power for a second consecutive term. However, the Samajwadi Party is likely to increase its seats.
The poll of exit polls has predicted a landslide victory for Arvind Kejriwal's AAP while the ruling Congress is set to emerge as prime opposition in Punjab. (IANS)