Campaigning for marathon Lok Sabha elections finally ends

May 10, 2014

New Delhi, May 10: Campaigning in the bitterly fought marathon elections for the 16th Lok Sabha spread over five weeks drew to a close today as top leaders sought to muster a final show of strength in the ninth and concluding phase for 41 seats in three states that included Varanasi where Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal are in the fray.

The campaign marked by attacks and counter-attacks by leaders across the political spectrum and use of derogatory language sometimes through the 9 phases ended at 6 PM for 18 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in West Bengal and six in Bihar. Voting will take place on Monday.

Counting of votes in the world's largest exercise in democracy in which voters have turned up in large numbers will be taken up on May 16 with opinion polls projecting BJP of which Narendra Modi is the Prime Ministerial candidate to be the single largest party.

The ninth phase will witness the mother of all contests in Varanasi involving Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister, and Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief. Five-time MLA from UP Ajay Rai is the Congress candidate. Modi is also fighting from Vadodara in his home state of Gujarat.

Polling was by and large peaceful in the previous eight phases barring incidents of Maoist violence in Chattisgarh and Jharkand.

The country registered a record turnout of voters, surpassing the previous record in 1984, as 66.27 per cent voting was reported in 502 Lok Sabha seats where polling has been conducted in eight phases that began on April 7. The 2009 elections recorded a 57.94 per cent turnout.

Modi spearheaded the BJP challenge and criss-crossed the country addressing scores of rallies besides holding innovative 'chai par charcha' meetings and also 3D video campaign.

The Nehru-Gandhi family made a vigorous push for votes with Rahul, his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi leading the party challenge.

Sonia and Rahul are contesting from the family pocketborough in Rae Bareli and Amethi in UP where the Congress Vice President is pitted against BJP's actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani and AAP's youth leader Kumar Vishwas.

A total of 606 candidates are in the fray for the ninth phase--328 in UP, 188 in West Bengal and 90 in Bihar.

All the 18 parliamentary constituencies in UP that goes to polls on Monday are in the eastern part of the politically crucial state where 80 seats are at stake. OBCs, Muslims and Dalits form a significant part of electorate there.

This includes Azamgarh from where SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav is among the candidates. The former UP Chief Minister is contesting from eastern UP for the first time besides being in the fray from his traditional Mainpuri seat.

Union Minister and Congress leader RPN Singh and Congress turncoat Jagdambika Pal, who joined BJP recently, mafia-don turned politician Mokhtar Ansari, senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra, Yogi-turned politician Yogi Adityanath, Bhojpuri movie star Ravi Kishan and former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar's son Neeraj Shekhar are among other candidates in the fray in UP.

In West Bengal, prominent TMC candidates in the race are Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Dinesh Trivedi and Sougata Roy besides celebrities like actors Dipak Adhikari (Dev) and Tapas Paul.

Trinamool Yuva President Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is also in the fray.

On the rival side, CPI-M's Subhasini Ali is among the key candidates.

BJP nominee magician P C Sorcar (Junior) and WBPCC President Adhir Chowdhury, besides former West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta of the CPI-M and former Union minister Tapan Sikdar of the BJP, pitted against each other in Dum Dum, are the key contestants in the last phase.

In Bihar, filmmaker Prakash Jha and former union minister Raghubansh Prasad Singh are among the 90 contestants.

During the course of the no-holds barred campaign, the Election Commission also came under attack from BJP and Samajwadi Party.

The EC was targeted by BJP over denial of permission for Modi's rally at the venue it wanted in Varanasi while it incurred the wrath of UP's ruling party in connection with the ban on Azam Khan from campaigning following his alleged hate speeches.

Modi's close aide Amit Shah, who is UP's BJP incharge, was also banned by EC from campaigning over an alleged hate speech. The ban was later lifted.

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India’s Tougher Pilot Fatigue Rules: Why IndiGo’s Operations Crashed Into Turbulence

News Network

December 6,2025

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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