UP bypoll: Slow polling in Kairana
Lucknow, May 28: In the first two hours the voter turnout has been slow and only 12 per cent polling has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh's Kairana parliamentary seat on Monday, a poll official said.
Voting for Kairana in western Uttar Pradesh and the Noorpur assembly seat began amid tight security at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m.
In Kairana, the main contest is between Mriganka Singh of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Tabassum Hasan.
Singh, daughter of the late BJP MP from Kairana, Hukum Singh is counting on the sympathy wave in the name of her father and the power of the Yogi Adityanath government to win the election, while Hasan is pinning her hopes on the opposition unity as the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nishad Party, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have extended their support to her.
In all there are 16,09,628 voters in Kairana of which 8,73,120 men, 7,36,431 women and 77 of the third gender.
In Noorpur, BJP's Avni Singh is pitted against Naimul Hasan of the SP. There are 3,06,226 male voters, 1,41,924 women and 10 from the third gender.
The Election Commission official said there are 2,056 polling booths and 1,094 polling centres.
To ensure free, fair and peaceful elections, the poll panel has deputed three general observers and two expenditure observers.
All the electronic voting machines (EVM's) being used in the two bypolls will have VVPAT machines to enable the voter to see for whom he or she has voted.
A total of 2,651 EVM control units, 2,651 ballot units and 2,596 VVPAT's are being used in the polling process, the official told here.
Realising that the elections are crucial and high stake, the poll panel has deputed 53 companies of the para-military forces here and 10 companies of the provincial armed constabulary (PAC).
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BJP is targeting one community, misusing its majority: Min. Eshwar Khandre on Waqf Amendment Bill
Bengaluru: Reacting strongly to the passage of the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre accused the BJP-led central government of targeting a specific community and misusing its parliamentary majority.
"The BJP-led central government is targeting a particular community and misusing its majority. We always talk about unity in diversity and it is our responsibility to take everyone along," news agency ANI quoted Khandre as saying.
Khandre further criticised the saffron party for its governance, alleging that the government had failed to address pressing issues such as unemployment and farmers' concerns. He accused the ruling party of shifting focus away from critical issues, stating that they have failed to take action and, under the guise of nationalism, are provoking the public.
The minister also pointed out that significant global concerns, such as the United States imposing reciprocal tariffs on India, were not being discussed in Parliament. “There should have been a discussion on the U.S. imposing 26 percent 'reciprocal tariffs' on India. But they don't allow any discussion on it,” he remarked.
Khandre concluded by stating that the Congress party would come to power and focus on the nation's development, in contrast to what he described as the BJP’s diversionary tactics.
The Waqf Amendment Bill, which has sparked massive controversy, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday by a vote of 288-232, after nearly 12 hours of debate. The Bill was subsequently approved by the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it.
