Wednesday, 22 May 2019

No change in counting process, Opposition request on VVPAT rejected

The Election Commission on Wednesday rejected Opposition demand to tally the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips before the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on counting day - May 23.

The confirmation of results, on Supreme Court's order, will be matched with the VVPAT slips of five randomly-selected EVMs per assembly segment.

On Tuesday, 22 Opposition parties Tuesday requested that VVPAT slips ought to be checked first, and in the event that any inconsistency happens, then VVPAT slips should be counted for the entire assembly segments. However, the EC today dismissed the update presented by the Opposition parties.

"We told the EC that the VVPAT machines ought to be checked first and on the off chance that there is any discrepancy, at that point every one of them in that portion ought to be counted. During elections, there were many EVMs which broke down and much of the time, when votes for one political party were cast, it showed votes for some other party, especially the BJP," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters here after meeting EC officials.

"These things we have told the EC. We, in the last three-four years have been complaining about the EVMs in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and even in states," he included.

Leaders of these opposition parties, who held a meeting here on the issue and then jointly approached the EC, also raised concerns over reports about EVMs being "replaced" at various places.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha election took place from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes begins at 8 am on May 23.

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India focuses on terror, connectivity, Afghanistan at SCO Foriegn Ministers meet

NEW DELHI, May 22 Terror, connectivity and Afghanistan were the main focus areas for India during External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj statement at the Shanghai Co-task Organization (SCO) Foriegn Ministers meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Recalling the Sri Lanka terror attack on April 21, Swaraj stated, "Our wounds of Pulwama attack were still raw and the news from the neighborhood has made us more determined to fight firmly resolutely against this menace."

SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure or RATS has emerged as a significant discussion for counter-terror cooperation and India has called for making it more effective. On connectivity, India discussed 5 connectivity activities the International North-South Transport Corridor that will connect Mumbai with Moscow, Chabahar Port that will interface India to afghanistan and past, the Ashgabat Agreement for central asia connectivity, the India Afghanistan air corridor and towards the east the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. However, New Delhi said the connectivity projects needs to be, "inclusive, sustainable, transparent and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity", a comment that questions Chinese Belt & road initiative that is causing debt crisis in many countries participating in it.

Lastly on Afghanistan, Sushma Swaraj stated, "India stands committed to any process" which can help "Afghanistan to rise as an assembled, quiet, secure, stable, inclusive and economically vibrant nation, with guaranteed gender and human rights." Comments on Afghanistan comes in the backdrop of Delhi's increased engagement with stakeholders such as US, China, Iran and Russia on the Afghan peace process.

This is the last high level engagement of Sushma Swaraj in a foriegn nation as the external affairs minister under the present government. This is the second SCO FMs meet in which New Delhi is participating as a full member of SCO, the last being in April last year in Beijing.

During the SCO FMs meet on Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani partner Shah Mahmood Qureshi met for first time since the Pulwama terror attack on 14th February whose obligation was taken by Pakistan based UN listed terror group Jaish e Mohammad. On expected lines, no meeting happened between the 2 India Pakistan ministers.

The last time both ministers were under same roof was during informal SAARC meet on the sidelines of United Nation General Assembly in New York in 2018. India got full membership of the grouping along with Pakistan in 2017 amid the Astana summit of SCO with the process starting during 2015SCO summit in Russia.

The SCO FMs meet comes weeks before the SCO leaders summit in Kyrgyzstan in which the new Indian Prime Minister will be participating. Focus in that summit will be on his possible meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping or if New Indian PM might want to meet his Pakistani counterpart- Pakistani PM Imran Khan.

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Expound arrangements in MP for LS polls counting

Bhopal, May 22 Counting of votes in favor of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held at 292 centres crosswise over 51 district headquarters on Thursday and results are expected by late evening, a senior election official said.

Around 1,800 CCTV cameras have been introduced at the counting centres where internet and wi-fi services won't be accessible, state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters here on Tuesday.

"The counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held from 8 am on Thursday in 292 halls across 51 district headquarters. Given the number of candidates and counting rounds, the first result may start coming in by 10 pm," he said.

After the finish of counting, five randomly selected Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips from each Assembly segment of that particular Lok Sabha seat would be matched with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said.

The highest 29 rounds of counting will be held in Indore and the lowest 14 in Katni, he said.

Around 9,000 personnel, including 17 companies of central forces, have been sent for the security of strong rooms in which the EVMs have been kept, Rao said.

Polling for the 29 seats in the central state was held in four stages on April 29 (six seats), May 6 (seven seats), May 12 (eight seats) and May 19 (eight seats).

In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP packed away 27 of these seats while the Congress figured out how to win just two.

Afterward, the Congress increased its tally to three by winning the Ratlam seat by-election.

After wresting power from the BJP in the state after a year ago's Assembly elections, the Congress is optimistic of a good show in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Bhopal Lok Sabha seat saw one of the most keenly watched contest between Congress veteran Digvijay Singh and Hindutva activist and 2008 Malegaon blast case denounced Pragya Singh Thakur.

The Guna and Chhindwara seats, won by Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, respectively, in 2014 were also in spotlight this time.

The Congress this time selected Nakul Nath from Chhindwara after his dad and sitting MP Kamal Nath turned into the state's chief minister.

Other prominent faces in this election were BJP state president Rakesh Singh (from Jabalpur), party pioneer Prahlad Patel (Damoh), Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar (Morena), ex-Union ministers and Congress candidates Kantilal Bhuria (Ratlam-Jhabua), Arun Yadav (Khandwa), and former leader of opposition Ajay Singh (Sidhi).

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Counting of votes at 28 centres in Gujarat:LS polls

Ahmedabad, May 22 Counting of votes for elections to 26 Lok Sabha constituencies and bypolls in four Assembly seats of Gujarat will be taken up on Thursday at 28 centres over the express, a senior authority said.

Polling for all the 26 Lok Sabha and four Assembly seats was held in a single phase on April 23, recording a voter turnout of 64.11 percent, the highest in the state since 1976 when there was around 63.77 voting.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah saw 63.66 percent polling.

The BJP at that time won all the 26 seats.

"Counting of votes will be held on Thursday at 28 centres. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at all the counting centres," state Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishnan said in a release.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed confidence that the BJP will hold all the 26 seats in the state.

"There is a Modi 'wave', people of the state are enthusiastic to make Modi the prime minister once more. The results are sure," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda, however, claimed his party will succeed at least 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"The results of Gujarat will surprise all," he said.

In the 2017 state Assembly polls to 182 seats, the Congress won 77 seats while the BJP bagged 99 and came to power with a wafer thing majority.

The Congress is hoping to repeat that performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

The main contenders from the BJP this time were party chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat and Union minister Jaswantsinh Bhabhor from Dahod.

The Congress fielded former Union minister Bharatsinh Solanki from Anand and its leader of opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani from Amreli situate.

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Tuesday, 21 May 2019

NEWS HEADLINES FROM NEWS4EXCHANGE.COM DTD 21.5.2019

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EVMs 'totally safe' in strongrooms: EC

New Delhi, May 21 The Election Commission Tuesday declared that EVMs used in the Lok Sabha polls are "totally safe" in strongrooms, rejecting allegations that the voting machines used in the elections were being exchanged with fresh ones ahead of counting of votes on May 23.

Alluding to the claims and complaints, the commission said it would like to "emphatically and unambiguously" clarify that all such report and allegations are "completely false and factually incorrect."

The visuals on TV and social media "don't pertain to any EVMs used during the polls", it said.

In aa statement, the EC stated, after the end of polls, all polled EVMs and VVPATs are brought under security cover to designated strongrooms, which are fixed with twofold secures within the sight of competitors and observers of the commission.

The whole process of storage and sealing of the strongroom is videoed.

"Continuous CCTV camera coverage is done till completion of counting. Every strongroom is protected with nonstop security by Central Armed Police Forces.

"Further, candidates or their designated agents stay present at the strongroom for 24X7 vigil at all times," the statement said.

On counting day, the strongrooms are opened within the presence of candidates or their specialists and onlookers. This is likewise videoed.

Prior to tallying begins, the checking specialists are demonstrated the location labels, seals and sequential number of EVMs to fulfill themselves to the validity and realness of the machines used in the polls, it said.

The provisions and protocols have been explained to political parties on multiple occasions, including in several of the 93 meetings held with them at the commission, since the announcement of elections, the EC pointed out.

"It very well may be valued, the definite managerial conventions, security structure and procedural rules commanded by the commission totally abandon and pre-empt the likelihood of any naughtiness or control in the surveyed EVMs and VVPATs put away in the assigned strongrooms.

"The slanders in clasps being used in media just relate to the capacity or movement of reserve unused EVMs," the statement said.

It made it clear that any case of lapse, even in handling of reserve EVMs, is thoroughly investigated and disciplinary action taken against the officers responsible.

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Nitish Kumar terms EVM issue fake, clears stand on Article 370

Patna, May 21 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi to attend a dinner hosted by BJP president Amit Shah for NDA allies and before flying from Patna, Kumar associated with media and talked on Article 370, Uniform Civil Code (UCC), EVMs and on Ayodhya matter.

The Bihar chief minister said that people are raising bogus questions on the credibility of EVMs, including that elections have turned out to be straightforward after the presentation of EVMs. "It's an innovation which has been scrutinized on different occasions and has been replied by the election commission ... faction which starts losing says there were errors in elections. It's not new," said Nitish.

The Bihar chief minister also talked about the contentious issues of Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code and said that JD(U) has no inconsistency over these issues. "There's no contradiction. We've always maintained Article 370 shouldn't be scrapped, Uniform Civil Code shouldn't be imposed," Nitish said.

Discussing Ayodhya issue, Nitish Kumar said that the dispute should be resolved either through mutual understanding or court's intervention. "The dispute ought to be settled through mutual agreement/court's intervention. We've kept up this since we first forged an alliance with BJP," Nitish stated, including that BJP's stand these issues isn't new and it is known to everybody. "A party has its very own stand yet when there is a coalition, the majority of this is talked about. So there is no issue there," commented the JD(U) leader.

Meanwhile, besides Nitish, several other NDA leaders including Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and AIADMK leaders E K Palaniswamy and O. Pannerselvam are expected to attend Shah's dinner at BJP headquarters in Delhi.

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PM Modi: Congress insulted voters by questioning BJP's huge win

New Delhi, June 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday blamed the Congress for offending voters of the nation by questioning the massive ...