That's all for the day!! We will be back tomorrow with more updates on Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

May 22, 2019 10:12 PM

May 22, 2019 8:18 PM

EC decision on VVPAT slips "dark day for Indian democracy":TDP ## EC decision on VVPAT slips "dark day for Indian democracy":TDP

The Telugu Desam Party on Wednesday termed as "a dark day for Indian democracy", the Election Commission of India turning down a demand to count VVPAT slips ahead of the EVMs during the counting process on Thursday.Reacting to the ECIs decision, TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh said in a tweet, "A genuine and fair demand for transparency is chucked out the window without a reason.A dark day for Indian democracy!" In another tweet, he said: "By ignoring the genuine demand of the majority of parties in the country to count 5 VVPAT slips first, the Election Commission has shown once again whose side it wants to take."

May 22, 2019 8:08 PM

Baig speaking out of "thirst for power," says Siddaramaiah ## Baig speaking out of "thirst for power," says Siddaramaiah

Rebuking senior MLA Roshan Baig for his outburst against the party leadership, including him, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Wednesday said his act was out of "thirst for power"."Roshan Baig I don't know...maybe because he did not become Minister and as he was not given ticket for MP (Lok Saba election- he has spoken like that)," Siddaramaiah said.Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said, "Because of his thirst for power, such things happen, nothing can be done. The party will take care of it."

May 22, 2019 7:36 PM

May 22, 2019 7:32 PM

MHA asks states, UTs to remain alert; says calls given in various quarters for inciting violence ## MHA asks states, UTs to remain alert; says calls given in various quarters for inciting violence

A day before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls, the Union Home Ministry Wednesday alerted all states and Union Territories on the possibility of violence in different parts of the country, saying calls were given in various quarters for inciting violence.In a statement, the ministry also said it has asked the states and UTs to maintain law and order, peace and public tranquillity. "The home ministry has alerted the state chief secretaries and directors general of police regarding possibility of eruption of violence in different parts of the country in connection with the counting of votes tomorrow," the statement said.

May 22, 2019 6:51 PM

Pawar playing key role in forming alternative government: NCP ## Pawar playing key role in forming alternative government: NCP

Claiming that the BJP-led NDA will fall short of a simple majority after the Lok Sabha poll results, the NCP on Wednesday said party chief Sharad Pawar is playing a key role in the formation of an alternative regime. NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik also said Pawar has repeatedly made it clear that he was not a claimant for the prime minister's post given his party's limited strength. "We are sure there would be a hung House. The NDA is not going to get a simple majority," Malik told reporters.

May 22, 2019 6:44 PM

May 22, 2019 6:05 PM

Congress will accept LS poll results with humility: Ashok Gehlot ## Congress will accept LS poll results with humility: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the Congress will accept the Lok Sabha election results with "humility", but maintained that exit poll projections have been wrong several times. Counting of votes of the just-concluded seven-phase polls will be done on Thursday.He also accused the BJP of not doing issue-based politics and trying to polarise voters during the elections."Prediction by exit polls have gone wrong several times. Good results (for the Congress) will come out tomorrow. We believe that the results will be in our favour."Whatever the results, we will accept them with humility," Gehlot told reporters after reaching here from New Delhi.He was on the same plane from the national capital as his predecessor Vasundhara Raje.

May 22, 2019 6:05 PM

SC grants protection from arrest till May 28 to BJP candidate from Barrackpore LS seat ## SC grants protection from arrest till May 28 to BJP candidate from Barrackpore LS seat

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted protection from arrest till May 28 to Arjun Singh, a BJP candidate from Barrackpore constituency in West Bengal, in various criminal cases lodged against him by the state police.The top court said that no coercive action will be taken against Singh, a four-time MLA, as it took note of wide-spread violence in the politically sensitive West Bengal during the Lok Sabha polls.A vacation bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah made it clear that Singh will not be arrested by the state police till May 28 from today and granted him liberty to approach the appropriate forum for bail after the apex court's protection ceases to exist.

May 22, 2019 6:03 PM

Kumaraswamy will be CM till Friday morning, says Union minister ## Kumaraswamy will be CM till Friday morning, says Union minister

Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda claimed on Wednesday that the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka would collapse after the Lok Sabha poll results and HD Kumaraswamy would be the chief minister only till May 24 morning.Gowda, a former Karnataka chief minister, also said the stage would be ready for the formation of a new government in the state after that."Kumaraswamy will be the chief minister of Karnataka till tomorrow evening only. Tomorrow evening or by day-after-tomorrow morning, because if he does not get to sleep in the night...so day-after-tomorrow morning, hundred per cent Kumaraswamy will step down," he said.Speaking to reporters here, the BJP leader said, "The stage will be set for the formation of a new government."

May 22, 2019 5:36 PM

May 22, 2019 5:16 PM

May 22, 2019 4:54 PM

Counting of votes in 36 centres;Stakes high for TDP,YSRC in AP ## Counting of votes in 36 centres;Stakes high for TDP,YSRC in AP

In a few hours from now, the verdict of the people will be out on whether they voted for a change or status quo in Andhra Pradesh, even as stakes are high for the two main contenders--the ruling TDP and YSRC.The general mood of the voters apart, most pre-poll surveys and exit polls have given a thumping victory for the opposition YSR Congress (YSRC) but ruling Telugu Desam president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is betting "1000 per cent" on his partys victory."Exit polls have proved to be incorrect and far from ground reality in many instances. While undoubtedly TDP govt will be formed in AP, we are confident that non-BJP parties will form a non-BJP govt at the center (sic)," Naidu said recently.

May 22, 2019 3:50 PM

VVPAT count to be held at the end like in the past: EC sources ## VVPAT count to be held at the end like in the past: EC sources

The Election Commission is learnt to have stuck to its plan of counting the paper trail machines slips at the end of counts and not in the beginning as demanded by opposition parties.The Commission is also learnt to have decided to count postal ballots simultaneously with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count due to the "sheer size" of the ballots received this time from service voters.Till now, the postal ballots were counted in the beginning followed by votes polled in voting machines.The Commission on Wednesday is learnt to have decided to follow the established procedure of counting voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips for the mandatory five polling stations per assembly segment of each parliamentary constituency at the end of the entire counting process.The opposition parties which had approached the EC on Tuesday wanted five random VVPATs to be counted first so that if there is a problem or a mismatch, all VVPAT slips can be counted before it is too late.

May 22, 2019 3:46 PM

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