Security Personnel: The Planning For A 'Safe' Elections

By Likha Veer | INNLIVE Bureau

Politicians are busy either lauding or criticising Mr. Narendra Modi. We, the junta, are busy clicking selfies at poll booths. And the media is busy deciding if NDA will win over 300 seats or will AAP spoil everyone’s party. Amidst the entire hullabaloo what all of us have overlooked is the contribution of the security personnel deployed across the country.

The voting for 16th Lok Sabha elections has been split into 9 phases for a reason. This is arguably the largest democratic exercise in the entire planet, and ensuring it is safe and secure is a gargantuan challenge.

How BJP Duped EC With White Lotus, Varanasi On Polling?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

EYE OPENER When the Election Commission finally filed an FIR against Narendra Modi on 30 April for waving a white lotus around while addressing a press conference, it wasn't like the BJP, its prime ministerial candidate and pretty much every party hadn't already been making the most of loopholes in its model code of conduct. 

The case that was finally lodged against Modi was under sections 126- 1(a) 126- 1(b) of the Representatives of People's Act for holding up the party symbol while addressing a press conference. He now faces a maximum punishment of up to 2 years in jail or could be let off with a rap on the knuckles and a fine. 

'This Time NaMo Will Not Become Prime Minister Of India?'

By Gaurav Sharma | INNLIVE

ANALYSIS At his Grand nomination gala at Varanasi, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi all of a sudden chose to interact with the media. The BJP workers, flooded the holly city from across the country, had put up a great show making it impossible for the media to not give continuous break-free coverage. 

All the news channels, all of them gave a big coverage. In the midst of all of this Modi chose to interact with the media and he said, "it is for the first time that NDA has had a pre-poll alliance with almost 30 parties". Yes, a whopping 30! 

Massive Dust Storm In Uttar Pradesh Kills 25, Many Trains Disrupted, 1000 Hoardings Collapsed, Many Trees Uprooted

By Rajesh Mittal | Lucknow

BREAKING NEWS At least 25 people were killed and property worth several million rupees damaged in a dust storm that hit Lucknow and other parts of Uttar Pradesh late Thursday, officials said Friday. 

Three people died in the state capital and Barabanki, eleven were killed in Jalaun, two in Kasganj and two in Faizabad and many others in various places of the state after hutments were uprooted and houses collapsed in gutsy winds that reached up to 75 - 80 km per hour. A two-year-old was buried alive in Dubagga area of the state capital when the wall of a school caved in.

'Defective EVM Transfers 'All Votes' To 'Congress' In Pune'

By Trivikram Sadbole | Pune

SHOCKING POLLING Some days back BJP in the news on EVM key votes in Assam, now it's time for Congress to show the competition on EVM key votes in Pune. The early morning voters of Pune were left stunned when an electronic voting machine (EVM) reportedly "transferred" all votes to the Congress.

The incident happened at a polling booth at Shamrao Kalmadi School in the city when voters found that whichever button was pressed on the EVM, only the Congress light blinked.

Some of the alert voters brought this to the notice of the election officials who stopped voting immediately.

How Election Is Making BJP A New Pivot Of Indian Politics?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT With six major phases of polling still to go in the 2014 general elections, it would be foolhardy to start predicting the results at this stage. For people can still change their minds. But the overall trends have been so consistent for so long in predicting a BJP-led NDA victory, that it is difficult to visualise a major reversal from this stage. 

Three trends have been consistent over the last three months over many opinion polls: a steady and rising vote share for the NDA: a sharply rising prediction of seats; and a rising trend of new alliances for the BJP. At last count, the BJP had 26 parties in its front, four of them major ones (Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, TDP and LJP). 

EC's Concern: Faulty EVMs Waver Voters' Faith In Fair Polls

By Sikender Azam | Guwahati

Free and fair elections are central to the democratic ethos of any country. This includes fair, accurate and transparent electoral process with outcomes that can be independently verified. Behind this gigantic process is a little secret that ensures that the polls are indeed honest. 

The little white box known as the Electronic Voting Machine or simply EVM is the finest innovation of modern India. But this myth was shattered when last week an electronic voting machine during a mandatory mock poll in Jorhat turned out to be faulty, every time a button was pressed, the vote went in favour of BJP. 

A Tale Of TMC And AIADMK Pact: The Hard Poll Bargainers

By Mahesh Mahtolia | Delhi

CLOSE LOOK Elections to 16th Lok Sabha are just started of phase one in Assam and Tripura. In later of this month it will make an impact and grip the poll fever across the country. These elections will decide the political careers of many stalwarts and will signal the end of many others. Many regional parties see this as their chance to cash in and make most of the situation. 

It is these small parties who are bargaining with the large national parties - Congress and BJP. Most are seeking seat sharing arrangements which will only benefit them locally. They usually lack any national perspective or agenda.

ALSO READ: Why 2014 Polls Could Spell The End Of Congress In India?

Elections Tracker: The Church, Muslim League And The Congress In A Tight Secular Embrace In Kerala State

By M Diwakar | Trivandrum

OPINION I have no doubt that  Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, will help his party sweep the polls on the development plank. However, please note that this vote for development will be cast entirely by the Hindus, with negligible or little support from Christian and Muslim voters.

Sonia Gandhi, the Congress President, had sought the support of the Shahi Imam of Delhi to shore up the secular cause. The Shahi Imam, the arch-secularist, responded by asking Muslims and others to vote for the secular Congress. Students of journalism must realize that under India’s peculiar notion of secularism, only the Muslims and Christians qualify to be secular. The others too are, as long as they identify themselves as Dalits, upper caste, OBCs, etc. The moment they call themselves Hindu, they become communal.

World’s Largest Democratic Excercise As Voting Begins In Assam, Tripura - Technical Snag In EVMs Hamper Voting

INNLIVE | Election Bureau

People queued up at polling booths in Assam's five constituencies as balloting began in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election Monday. The state recorded 12 percent voting in the first two hours, officials said here. 

The polling started at 7 am in most of the polling stations, barring a few polling booths under Kaliabor and Tezpur Lok Sabha constituencies where the process was delayed due to some technical snags in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). People were seen queuing up at most of the 8,588 polling booths since early hours in the morning. 

'Small Bite, Big Threat Looms Over Assam's Tea Gardens'

By Nanak Ram | Johrat

IN FOCUS It's an annual affair in Assam's lush tea gardens. As sporadic showers from March build up to a full-blown monsoon a few months later, what looms is the threat of malaria and other vector-borne diseases that often cause death, with children the most vulnerable.

As WHO focusses on vector-borne diseases this World Health Day April 7, experts say that serious steps must be taken to stop the cyclic prevalence of these diseases among the tea tribe every year.

An EVM That 'Votes' Only For BJP Stuns Poll Staff In Assam

By Shankar Ahuja | Guwahati

SHOCKING An electronic voting machine raised many eyebrows across the state during a mandatory mock poll in Jorhat. Every time a button was pressed, the vote went in favour of BJP. 

The Jorhat parliamentary constituency returning officer and deputy commissioner Vishal Vasant Solanki told INNLIVE that all EVMs in his custody are being put through a second level of test by engineers of the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), one of the two companies from Hyderabad, which manufactures EVMs. 

Inside The 'Gandhi War Room', Priyanka Pulls The Strings

By Sanjeev Singh | Delhi

TRENDING STORY Rahul Gandhi may appear to be the man in total command of the Congress, playing the role of the whip master and agent of change as well as the party’s chief campaigner for the upcoming polls, but when it comes to strategy, his sister Priyanka's role is as crucial. 

She is not confined to planning out campaign schedules for Sonia and Rahul in Rae Bareli and Amethi – this is what senior Congressmen would have everyone believe. Instead, she is the powerful backroom manager involved in many important decisions of the party. 

As the campaign reaches its peak, Priyanka is playing a more involved role in the strategic affairs of the Congress party, say Congress sources on condition of anonymity. She has stepped in as Rahul remains busy traveling across the country to canvas for party candidates.

Netas' Sons, Daughters Contesting Above 50 Seat In India

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

ELECTIONS 2014 At least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians. From President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by ‘sons and daughters’ of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Of these, a majority of candidates have been fielded from the ruling Congress party.

Abhijit Mukherjee, a sitting MP, is contesting on a Congress ticket from his present Jangipur (West Bengal) constituency while Rahul Gandhi and Varun Gandhi are fighting from Amethi and Pilibhit constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, respectively.

Opinion: Is Hindu Vote Bank Developing In Eastern India?

By Dr.Shelly Ahmed (Star Guest Writer)

We know that the BJP is not contesting on the Hindutva plank this time. But if there is any region where there is a subtle possibility of a Hindu vote bank materialising even without the party adopting a formal Hindutva stance, it is in eastern India – in the states of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. 

Even as Muslims stop thinking like a vote bank in many states as development becomes the core issue for them, demographic changes are leading to the opposite concerns among some Hindus in eastern India.

Angst and Aspiration: Hindu, Muslim Vote Bank Politics

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

ANALYSIS The Hindu vote bank lasted all of 15 years – from 1989 to 2004. It began with the Ram Mandir movement, and petered out with the fall of the NDA in 2004, as rising prosperity and fast growth gave Hindus a reason to think beyond self-defeating communalism. 

The Muslim vote bank has been with us since partition and independence – nearly 67 years now. But even this vote bank is showing cracks in the vault and elections 2014 could mark the beginning of the end.

Will 'Telangana' Gamble Pay Off For The Congress Party?

By Likha Veer | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT The Congress finally manages to ram the Telangana Bill through. But will the gamble pay off. For all those who fought for Telangana, a 45-year-old struggle has finally borne fruit. More than 900 families had lost a loved one to self-immolation in the name of the cause and each one of them know that the new state could have been formed under better circumstances. 

Everyone wishes that their demand for a separate state had been addressed on its own merit as opposed to what the Congress has pulled off — a cynical move with an eye on elections, delivered with an utter lack of grace.

Will Forgotten 'Ghost of Godhra' Make Gujarat Muslims To Caste Thier Vote For 'Narendra Modi' In 2014 Lok Sabha?

By Shaukat Kazmi | INNLIVE

ANALYSIS After playing Dalit card, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to prevent polarisation of Muslim "vote bank" that can help or deny victory to competing political parties in the upcoming general elections. For this, the BJP has decided to field Muslim candidates from some minority-dominated constituencies.

There are even some within the saffron brigade who fear that his strident Hindu bias might alienate the Muslim community, raising the chance that they could vote as a block against a Modi-led BJP.

Naxal Corridor Becomes Suicide Zone For Security Forces

By Mithilesh Mishra | Raipur

India's Red Corridor has turned into a suicide zone for our security personnel fighting Maoists of central and south-central India. Death can surprise our soldiers any time as rebels in the Red zone are inducting experts to carry out explosions in the most innovative ways. The terrain of the area itself poses extreme danger as the rebels manage to operate from deep inside the jungles.

Rebels in the Red zone are killing more soldiers than are dying in all insurgency-hit areas put together. A soldier fighting Maoists deep inside the jungles of central and south-central India is far more likely to be killed than his uniformed brothers taking on militants in Jammu and Kashmir or insurgents in the North-East. 

Opinion: An Indian Law Focussed For A Solid Vote Bank

By Tavleen Singh (Guest Writer)

This piece is being written in the hope that by the time you read it, the BJP will not have changed its mind on the communal violence Bill. I say this because past experience shows us that the BJP’s senior leaders are very good at stalling Parliament with a lot of sound and fury for a day or so and then quietly letting pass every new piece of dodgy legislation that Sonia Gandhi puts before them. If they do exactly the same with this new law, then they will be doing India an unforgivable disservice.