By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
POLLING REPORT About 71.3 percent polling was recorded till the end of voting time today for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 state assembly seats in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Barring minor incidents, balloting was on peacefully amid tight security at 30,574 polling booths across 10 districts of Telangana including Hyderabad.
While nine districts recorded heavy polling, the turnout was low in Hyderabad. Chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said 51 percent votes were polled in the city. Highest turnout of 65 percent was recorded in Medak district.
By Mahesh Mahtolia | Delhi
SPECIAL FEATURE The run up to these elections have been momentous, with big news coming every day. One of the biggest bombs was dropped when it was announced that Varanasi was to be the parliamentary constituency from which BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was going to contest from. It produced massive news breaks and led to dizzying political ramifications.
The Gujarat strongman was to fight from two constituencies, one being Varanasi meant many things. First of all, it signaled the confidence and daring of the BJP which was now stepping into the political battlefield of UP, where 80 seats were at stake. In a make or break election, this was the strongest signal which could be sent to its challengers.
By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
POLLING REPORTS Polling begins on a slow note in Hyderabad. Only 38 percent polling recorded 11.30 am. No untoward incident reported from any party of the city. Pollings delayed at many centers because of defective EVMs. Many people are complaining about missing names in voters list.
Brisk polling was reported in parts of Telangana in the initial hours of election today as an air of expectancy enveloped the region that is soon going to be 29th state of the country.
By Kajol Singh | INNLIVE
HUMAN INTEREST Shop owner K Padmarajan doesn't feel like a loser. In fact, he sees much to celebrate in the 158 times he has stood for public office and failed. Starting out in 1988, he had a point to prove -- to those who laughed at the ambitions of a man who repaired tyres for a living and to the cynics who scorned Indian democracy with all its flaws and inefficiencies.
"Back then, I owned a cycle puncture repair shop and a thought struck me that I, an ordinary man with an ordinary income and no special status in society, could contest the elections," he told INNLIVE.
By Shagufta Khanam | Islamabad
SHOCKING The Pakistani government cut off the electricity supply to several major official buildings for non-payment of bills, including Parliament, the prime minister’s offices and the president’s official residence.
Pakistan is blighted by rolling power cuts, caused in part by people not paying their bills, with government offices among the worst offenders.
Ordinary people struggle without electricity for 12 to 18 hours a day in the blistering heat of summer, but up to now little action has been taken against recalcitrant bureaucrats working in air-conditioned offices.
By Saleh Sulaiman | Dubai
EXCLUSIVE An Al Qaeda member on trial in a US military court over the bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in 2000 allegedly plotted other attacks on western targets in Dubai, Saudi and Qatar, a court document shows.
Abd Al Rahim Al Nashiri, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent, is accused of masterminding the attack on the USS Cole and is alleged to have led cells in Qatar, Saudi, the UAE and Yemen as Al Qaeda’s operations chief in the Arabian Peninsula.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ANALYSIS There has always been a pattern in the elections in Andhra Pradesh ever since the advent of the Telugu Desam Party in 1983. An iconic leader or an emotive issue has always driven the voting pattern in the state.
Facing the assembly elections this time, the TRS has a unique combination of both. It has the leader - K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is being projected as its chief ministerial candidate - as well as the emotional issue of Telangana.
The Congress, on the other hand, doesn’t have one leader who can be projected as its chief minister candidate, though the party is trying to claim credit for the creation of Telangana.
By Rajinder Puri | Delhi
OPINION While Mercury across the length and breadth of the country is soaring up, the histrionics of the political parties and their key leaders is also showing a rising graph. It’s a season of pledges, speeches and rhetoric which electorate of this great land experiences every five years. Perhaps this is the only time when the common man has opportunity and due importance to adjudge the candidates in the election fray, if they are well intentioned and speaking truth or simply playing to the gallery.
First it was BJP Bihar MLA Giriraj Singh. Next it was Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia. Latest it was Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam. All three made virulent hate speeches against Muslims and Pakistan. Kadam made his hate speech while BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was sharing the stage with him. Kadam told the public rally that when Modi becomes Prime Minister he will “destroy Pakistan within six months of assuming power”.
