First batch of Haj pilgrims leaves for Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Jul 3: The first batch of Haj pilgrims was flagged off on Wednesday by Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
A total of 419 Haj pilgrims, including 202 women, left from Delhi in the first flight. These Haj pilgrims are from Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh, Agra, Meerut, Rampur and Bulandshahar.
Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi said for first time since Independence, a record number of two lakh Indian Muslims, including about 48 per cent women, are going for Haj this year.
Honest and transparent system developed by the Modi government has ensured that even after the removal of Haj subsidy, there is no unnecessary financial burden on the Haj pilgrims, the minister said.
Naqvi said the two lakh Indian Muslims are going for Haj this year through more than 500 flights from 21 embarkation points across the country.
On Thursday, flights will go from Delhi, Gaya, Guwahati and Srinagar.
Apart from Delhi, Haj pilgrims from UP, Haryana, Uttarakhand, J&K, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh will also proceed for the pilgrimage from the Delhi embarkation point.
Besides Delhi, Haj pilgrims will also embark from Bengaluru (July 7), Calicut (July 7), Cochin (July 14), Goa (July 13), Mangalore (July 17), Mumbai (July 14 and July 21), Srinagar (July 21).
In the second phase, flights will go from Ahmedabad (July 20), Aurangabad (July 22), Bhopal (July 21), Chennai (July 31), Hyderabad (July 26), Jaipur (July 20), Kolkata (July 25), Lucknow (July 20), Nagpur (July 25), Ranchi (July 21) and Varanasi (July 29).
Naqvi said the number of women Haj pilgrims going without 'Mehram' or male companion this year has doubled in comparison to last year.
As many as 2,340 Muslim women from India are going for Haj without 'Mehram' this year, against 1,180 last year.
This year too, the Minority Affairs Ministry has made arrangements to send these women on Haj exempting them from the lottery system.
Naqvi congratulated Haj pilgrims and extended best wishes to them for their pilgrimage. The pilgrims left for Haj with prayers for the country's safety and prosperity.
Delhi Revenue and Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot, Minister for Food Imran Hussain, MP Sanjay Singh, Haj Committee of India Acting Chairman Shaikh Jinah Nabi, and Haj Committee of India Member Hasan Baqar Kazmi were among those present on the occasion.
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Massive turnout in assembly polls across states, women voters outnumber men: EC data
New Delhi (PTI): The recently-concluded assembly elections witnessed exceptionally high voter participation across states, with women voters outnumbering men in turnout percentages, according to Election Commission data.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout among states, with 93.71 per cent polling in 293 constituencies where counting has been completed. The state saw over 6.38 crore votes cast, including postal ballots, against a total of more than 6.81 crore electors.
Women voters recorded a turnout of 93.8 per cent in the West Bengal Assembly polls, slightly higher than the 92.06 per cent participation among men.
The data for West Bengal does not include the figures for the Falta assembly constituency, which is scheduled for repolling.
Tamil Nadu registered an 85.01 per cent turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore votes polled from an electorate of 5.74 crore. Women voters recorded a turnout of 86.2 per cent, higher than the 83.77 per cent among men.
Assam also witnessed robust participation, with the final turnout touching 85.74 per cent. More than 2.15 crore votes were cast in the state, while female turnout at 86.53 per cent marginally exceeded the 84.95 per cent recorded among male voters.
Kerala registered a turnout of 78.11 per cent, with over 2.12 crore votes polled. Female voter participation stood at 81.17 per cent against 74.9 per cent among men.
Puducherry recorded a turnout of 89.82 per cent, with women voters again leading participation at 91.39 per cent. More than 8.5 lakh votes were polled in the Union territory.
Yet, women's representation among elected candidates remained modest.
Tamil Nadu elected 23 women MLAs (9.83 per cent) out of 234 members, West Bengal elected 37 women legislators (12.62 per cent) out of 293, while Kerala returned only 11 women MLAs (7.85 per cent) in the 140-member House.
Only two third-gender candidates contested the elections - one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and both lost, forfeiting their deposits.
The elections also reflected extensive electoral mobilisation infrastructure. West Bengal had the highest number of polling stations at 85,092, followed by Tamil Nadu with 75,064 and Assam with 31,490.
In terms of candidates, Tamil Nadu saw the largest contest with 4,023 candidates in the fray across 234 constituencies, averaging 17 candidates per seat and peaking at 79 contestants in one constituency.
West Bengal pitted 2,920 candidates for 293 constituencies, while Kerala had the fewest contestants among the major states, with 883 candidates for 140 seats.
The data also showed relatively low NOTA votes across states. Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA share at 0.4 per cent of total votes polled, while Assam recorded the highest at 1.23 per cent. In West Bengal, 0.78 per cent of the total votes polled were NOTA, while it 0.77 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the electorate opted for None of the Above (NOTA) in Puducherry and Kerala, respectively.
