West Bengal: Polling begins in 5th phase

April 30, 2016

Kolkata, Apr 30: Polling began for 53 constituencies in the fifth and penultimate phase on West Bengal assembly polls on Saturday.

Voting began at 7am for 31 constituencies in South 24 Parganas and 18 in Hooghly districts besides four in South Kolkata.

polling

Today's 53 constituencies are considered very important as they are spread over an area considered the citadel of the state's ruling party Trinamool Congress. Several crude bombs were found from different parts of the city yesterday during random check by Kolkata Police.

Four persons have been detained in connection with the recoveries, a senior police officer had said yesterday.

Nearly 1.24 crore (1,23,97,832) voters across 14,642 polling stations, including 77 auxiliary booths, are eligible to decide the fate of 349 candidates -- 43 of them female.

The Trinamool and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are contesting in all the seats in this phase.

The Left Front, which has tied up with the Indian National Congress, is in the fray in 37 seats - CPI-M ( 31), All India Forward Bloc (three), Revolutionary Socialist Party (two) and Communist Party of India (one). The Congress has nominated 14 candidates. The combine has lent support to the Nationalist Congress Party in one seat, and is backing an independent in another.

Earlier, police seized ten crude bombs kept inside a bag lying in the backyard of a club in the Tiljala area in the southern part of the city, a day before the fifth phase of Assembly polls.

As per the Election Commission's directives, all clubs where likelihood of outsiders assembling and intimidating the voters have been identified and brought under strict vigilance.

The Kolkata Police is maintaining strict vigil in and around the city to avert any incident during today's polling in the city and surrounding areas under its jurisdiction.

Checking of vehicles at crucial places both at the entry and exit points of the city, increase of patrolling both at day and night at "sensitive areas" were continuing.

Meanwhile, as many as 680 companies of central forces have been deployed in poll-bound districts of South 24 Parganas, Kolkata and Hooghly during the fifth phase of polls today, besides thousands of city and state police personnel, quick response and night intervention teams and flying squads.

According to additional chief electoral officer Dibyendu Sarkar, central forces deployed in 1,064 sectors spread across the three districts will be significant in maintaining law and order in the fifth phase.

Trinamool faces Narada, alliance challenge in its citadel

The fate of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be decided today alongside that of several Trinamool Congress leaders allegedly caught accepting illegal money in the Narada sting video

In the backdrop of the Calcutta High Court ordering on the poll eve a forensic test on the Narada sting tapes, 31 constituencies in South 24 Parganas, 18 in Hooghly district and four in Kolkata South, all known bastions of the Trinamool, are going to the hustings.

In the 2011 assembly polls, the Trinamool - then an ally of the Congress and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) - had bulldozed all opposition to capture 46 seats. The SUCI-C had bagged one.

The Left Front had won only six, with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) getting four, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc one each.

Over the past five years, the Trinamool has come up with spectacular electoral successes in the region, be it the assembly polls, or elections to the Lok Sabha, civic or rural bodies.

However, the opposition Congress-Left Front is hoping to put up a better showing, on the strength of the alliance arithmetic and the furore created over the Narada videos.

State ministers and party heavyweights Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, city mayor Sovon Chatterjee and Iqbal Ahmed - all contesting the polls - were among the leaders allegedly shown taking money in return for doling out favours to a fictitious company.

The Narada footage has dominated the election campaign, with the ruling party battling corruption charges levelled by the opposition, and seemingly jittery over the likely fallout in the urban areas, especially Kolkata.

Besides, the alliance chemistry of the LF-Congress combine, has made a number of constituencies in Hooghly and South 24 Parganas a close call.

All eyes will be on south Kolkata's Bhawanipur, where Mamata Banerjee -- seeking re-election -- is facing a challenge from Left Front-backed Congress nominee Deepa Dasmunshi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose of the BJP.

Elsewhere, prominent candidates include ministers Arup Biswas and Manish Gupta -- both from Trinamool -- and CPI-M state secretariat members Rabin Deb and Sujan Chakraborty.

Another star candidate is Abdur Rezzak Mollah, a high-profile minister during the Left Front regime, who is contesting on a Trinamool ticket from Bhangore in South 24 Parganas.

Celebrated actress Debasree, the sitting legislator from Raidighi in South 24 Parganas, is taking on CPI-M heavyweight and former state minister Kanti Ganguly.

As part of fool-proof measures for ensuring free and fair polls, the Election Commission has decided to strictly enforce prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Indian Penal Code on Saturday to prevent unlawful assembly.

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News Network
March 15,2024

SCSBI.jpg

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Supreme Court on Friday took exception to the State Bank of India (SBI) for not disclosing complete details of Electoral Bonds, including unique alfa numeric numbers, furnished to the Election Commission for uploading on the website.

A five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the SBI seeking its response on Monday after the court was informed that the issuing bank for the Electoral Bonds has not disclosed unique alfa numeric number of each bond.

"They have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India. All details have to be provided by the SBI," the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said as per the Constitution bench judgment of February 15, 2024, all details were to be disclosed.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted since the SBI was a party to the judgment, notice may be issued to it.

The court said the counsel for SBI should have been here.

"If you see the judgment, we have specified that bond numbers have to be provided," the bench said.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the main petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

On an application by the EC, the bench said the details of Electoral Bonds furnished by the poll panel before the top court should be scanned and returned to it for the purpose of uploading on the website.

The Election Commission through advocate Amit Sharma filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to release data on electoral bonds furnished to the top court in terms of previous orders of April 12, 2019 and November 2, 2023.

As per March 11, 2024 order, the Election Commission on Thursday uploaded the data on electoral bonds furnished to it by the SBI.

However, in an application, the poll panel said it had furnished to the Supreme Court a number of sealed envelopes, containing details on EBs encashed by the political parties, during the course of hearing in the matter.

It sought a direction for the return of those sealed envelopes to comply with the directions to upload it on the website as per order of March 11.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had told the SBI to furnish details of purchasers of Electoral Bonds and names of political parties redeemed those instruments by March 12 to the Election Commission, rejecting its plea for extension of time until June 30 for the purpose.

It had then directed the Election Commission to publish the information provided by the SBI on its website on March 15.

In its February 15, 2024 judgment, the SC had declared the Electoral Bonds scheme, introduced in 2018 for donation to political parties, as "unconstitutional" for being violative of the right to information.

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News Network
March 16,2024

AIE.jpg

Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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News Network
March 17,2024

bonds.jpg

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain.

These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week.

The BJP encashed electoral bonds totalling Rs 6,986.5 crore; maximum Rs 2,555 crore received in 2019-20, as per the EC data.

The Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,397 crore through electoral bonds, second largest recipient after BJP, as per the EC data.

On the other hand, the Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds.

DMK received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming.

BJD encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 944.5 crore, YSR Congress Rs 442.8 crore, TDP Rs 181.35 crore.

Political parties had filed data on electoral bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court's interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement.

"Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website," EC said.

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