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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying its luck in the municipal elections for the first time in Madhya Pradesh, promising free water, better schools and healthcare facilities. The party has chosen mayoral candidates for 14 out of 16 municipal corporations in the State, the AAP’s State unit chief Pankaj Singh said on July 2. “We have chosen mayoral candidates in 14 out of 16 municipal corporations. We have also fielded candidates for corporators post,” Mr. Singh said. The elections to 413 urban bodies in Madhya Pradesh will be held on July 6 and 13. The party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will take out a roadshow in support of his party’s mayoral candidate Rani Agrawal in Singrauli during the day. “Our major poll plank for the municipal elections is free water. We are going to make water tax-free in the urban civic bodies where we win,” Mr. Singh said. He further claimed that schools in the state were in a bad shape. As many as 22,000 institutions were shut … [Read more...] about Madhya Pradesh civic polls: AAP testing electoral waters with promise of free water, better schools

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao has appealed to the electors of the Presidential election, scheduled to be held on July 18, to vote as per their conscience after weighing the two candidates in the fray, and not based on their political affiliation. Addressing a meeting of TRS MPs, MLAs, MLCs, its State executive committee members and other senior leaders of the party convened in support of Yashwant Sinha, the candidate fielded by the Opposition, here on Saturday, the Telangana Chief Minister said Mr. Sinha’s candidature outweighs that of his rival’s as he was a towering personality. “He (Mr. Sinha) is an honest politician and an able administrator who handled the key portfolios of finance and external affairs in the Union Cabinet in the A.B. Vajpayee Government,” Mr. Rao said. In an appeal to all Parliamentarians in the country, the TRS chief said that there was a democratic practice in the country of voting as per conscience on some occasions and … [Read more...] about Telangana: KCR asks TRS legislators to vote as per conscience during Presidential poll

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from Sunday, during which he will hold a town hall meeting on “free electricity” and also administer oath to the newly-appointed party office-bearers, a party leader said in Ahmedabad. During his two-day stay in Ahmedabad, the Delhi Chief Minister will also hold meetings with senior leaders of the AAP and interact with party members, he said on Saturday. The Kejriwal-led party is gearing up to contest elections to the 182-member Assembly in BJP-ruled Gujarat to be held by the end of this year. “Kejriwal will reach Ahmedabad airport at 3 p.m. on Sunday. He will administer oath to 7,500 newly-appointed office bearers at a function at 4 p.m. They will take pledge to work whole-heartedly for the party and encourage workers for the upcoming Assembly election,” AAP’s national joint secretary Isudan Gadhvi told reporters in Ahmedabad. Also read: AAP announces new office-bearers in Gujarat … [Read more...] about Kejriwal to be on two-day Gujarat visit from Sunday; to hold town hall meet on ‘free electricity’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing a public meeting titled as ‘Vijay Sankalpa Sabha’ at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad here on July 3. As the title of the meeting suggests, PM Modi may sound the poll bugle for the 2023 Assembly polls in Telangana to prepare the BJP cadre for the electoral contest. Modi, who landed here on Saturday to attend the BJP’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting, will address the rally on Sunday evening. During his last visit to the city on May 26, Modi, indirectly referring to TRS party, lashed out at family politics saying ‘parivaarvadi’ is democracy’s “greatest enemy”. He had expressed confidence that the BJP would storm to power in the state in the next assembly elections. According to political pundits, Modi is expected to continue his tirade against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and the ruling TRS. Rao, popularly known as KCR, on Saturday in a party meeting in support of opposition parties’ presidential candidate Yashwant … [Read more...] about PM Modi to Address Public Meeting in Hyderabad on July 3

President Joe Biden’s approval rating is down to the lowest of his presidency, at only 31 percent approval and 57 percent disapproval, according to the CIVIQS rolling job-approval average as of Saturday. While 12 percent of all survey participants did not approve or disapprove of the president, the majority of respondents in 48 states disapprove of Biden’s job performance. The only two states in which he is above water are Hawaii and Vermont. Overall, Biden has a net approval of negative 26. The 31 percent approval rating marks Biden’s worst approval rating since becoming president, down from 32 percent and 33 percent in earlier June and 34 percent in May. Biden is underwater with independent respondents — a voter bloc which has an increasingly strong influence on election results. Only 20 percent of independent respondents say they approve of Biden, while 67 percent disapprove, with 13 percent having no opinion. Biden’s marquee legislative proposal , … [Read more...] about CIVIQS Poll: Joe Biden Approval Lowest of Presidency – 31% Overall

A delegation of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) legislators on Saturday met the Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha and expressed their support for him, ahead of the election slated for July 18. “Four MLAs—Ahmed Balala, Kausar Mohiuddin, Mumtaz Khan and Moazzam Khan—met Mr. Sinha. They said that as per our party president’s decision, they would support him in the Presidential elections,” a party source familiar with the development told The Hindu . On June 27, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced that his party would support Mr. Sinha’s candidature. “AIMIM legislators will be voting for opposition candidate @YashwantSinha in the #PresidentialElections. Mr Sinha spoke to me on a call earlier as well,” Mr. Owaisi had tweeted. Party sources said that AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was not present at the meeting as he was addressing a public meeting in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, where municipal polls are due on July 6. “We have fielded 11 … [Read more...] about Telangana: AIMIM extends support to Yashwant Sinha

There was a lot of commotion outside as the BJP national office bearers and executive committee meeting began at the HICC-Novotel Hotel in Madhapur here on Saturday. Even while most local mediapersons had to walk their way through the meandering route into the hotel with police stopping them and checking for passes at every check point, party leaders from across the country began to troop in in their vehicles. As TV cameramen and reporters tried to swamp every leader thrusting mikes or cameras in front, they just smiled or did polite exchanges refusing to speak anything on the agenda as strict orders were said to have been given to keep the lips sealed. Crestfallen mediapersons had to hang around the briefing centre seemingly for eternity when the first official briefing by BJP vice-president Vasundara Raje took place at 2 p.m. and the next briefing was by Union Minister Smrithi Irani four hours later. Only photographers were let in when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated … [Read more...] about ‘Official briefings only please!’

Oleksandr Usyk danced with fans on the streets of Jeddah after going face-to-face with Anthony Joshua in a series of media appearances this week. The unified world heavyweight champion, 35, was in Saudi Arabia to launch his highly-anticipated rematch with Joshua, which is set for August 20 at the Jeddah Superdome. He and his British rival, 32, took part in a number of promotional events in the region to push the show, which is expecting a crowd in the region of 40,000. They participated in a photoshoot that almost doubled as a sort of open workout, with fans lining the streets to watch the pair take part in a makeshift ring. They went head-to-head and, after the photos were done, Usyk came out to dance and meet with fans in the city. Joshua didn't get as animated with his fans but did meet supporters, shaking hands and posing for selfies with them. He and Usyk are now set to come to London on Wednesday for a press conference before returning to camp for final preparations. … [Read more...] about Oleksandr Usyk dances with fans after rematch face-off with Anthony Joshua

How many urban constituencies does India really have? How many Muslim-dominated constituencies do we have? These are key questions around our elections that we have simply not been able to answer – until now. [A brief aside on a frustrating data issue, before I get to the meat of the matter. Feel free to scroll down to the charts if this does not interest you.] Most demographic data for India comes from the Census, which splits its data down from the state and district level to the block, village and town level. The smallest unit of Census data is an Enumeration Block (EB) which consists of around 150 households. Electoral data, on the other hand, comes from the Election Commission of India (ECI), and is centred around parliamentary and assembly constituencies, the smallest unit of which is a polling booth which covers around 1,000 voters. The problem is that the ‘twain don’t meet. Theoretically, if the ECI simply listed all the Census EBs in an assembly or parliamentary … [Read more...] about Urban voters, Muslim voters – Lok Sabha mysteries solved

Boris Johnson sent for his official ministerial jet to fly home after a seaside jaunt with wife Carrie and their children. The Tory PM was last night accused of using government planes as his “personal taxi service”. The trip came the weekend before his embarrassing defeat in the Tiverton by-election, when the Prime Minister was snapped enjoying a day on the beach with Mrs Johnson. Mr Johnson is said to have spent the “whole weekend” campaigning ahead of the crunch vote, which saw the Tories lose the seat to the Lib Dems for the first time in a century. Ministers are usually prohibited from using official jets, paid for by the taxpayer, for party political visits. But the Sunday Mirror has established an official Government plane, complete with United Kingdom livery and the tail number G-GBNI, was despatched from London to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, a helicopter base near the village of Goonhusband, early on the morning of Monday 13 June. It returned to London … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson sent for ministerial jet to bring family home from Cornwall jaunt