General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Apr 18, 2019

Madras HC Upholds Decision to Cancel Election

The Madras High Court upheld the decision of the Election Commission of India to cancel the election to the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency.
Dismissing a petition moved by AIADMK candidate AC Shanmugam and independent candidate K Sugumar, the High Court upheld the ECI decision which was taken in view of excess use of money power seen in the constituency.
ECI had taken note of reports of money power being used in the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency and had recommended that the election scheduled for April 18 - be cancelled.
It was a recommendation that was upheld by President Ram Nath Kovind also.

AAP-Cong Talks Stall

Alliance talks between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress failed, with the Congress agreeing to a tie-up in Delhi but refusing to include a seat-share in Haryana.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who was heading the alliance talks for the Aam Aadmi Party, said that the Congress was not in a mood for an alliance.

Sadhvi to Take On Digvijaya

The BJP named Malegaon blasts case accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh as its candidate for Bhopal to take on Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh.
The contest in Bhopal, a stronghold of the BJP, has become a battle of prestige for both BJP and Congress. The Sangh Parivar and the Congress have taken special interest in the seat, which the BJP bagged after the emergence of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1989.
The Ram Rath Yatra by then BJP president L. K. Advani in 1990 that touched the Bhopal constituency decisively changed its political direction.
Since then, the BJP has held its ground by unfurling strong Hindutva sentiments in this Lok Sabha seat that has sent 16 MPs.
The other candidates are Dr. K.P. Yadav for Guna, Raj Bahadur Singh for Sagar and Ramakant Bhargav for Vidisha. The four seats go to the polls on May 12.

Apr 17, 2019

Campaigning Ends for Second Phase

Campaigning ended for the second phase of the 17th Lok Sabha elections in 97 constituencies, spread over 12 States and a Union Territory that will vote on Thursday.
In the second phase, all 39 constituencies of Tamil Nadu, 14 in Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra, eight in Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam, Bihar and Odisha, 3 each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, two in Jammu and Kashmir and one each in Manipur, Tripura and Puducherry will be voting.
Karnataka is the only south Indian State where the BJP has a significant presence and the party had won 17 of its 28 seats in 2014.

Candidates in Fray for Eight Lok Sabha Seats in UP

A total of 85 candidates are in the fray for eight Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in second phase of Lok Sabha election. The constituencies going to poll in this phase are- Nagina, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. A total of 125 candidates had contested for these seats in 2014 Lok Sabha poll.
In this General Election, the number of independent candidates has come down on these eight seats. While 40 independent candidates had contested in 2014, this year only 26 Independent candidates are in the fray for these seats.

Om Prakash Rajbhar to Go Solo in UP

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, will contest on 39 Lok Sabha seats separately.
As per reports, SBSP President Om Prakash Rajbhar had waited long enough for the BJP to share seats. But the BJP gave Apna Dal two seats and none to SBSP.
Rajbhar has announced candidates against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow among others.
The SBSP candidates will make a dent in the BJP's vote share since the Rajbhar concentration is sizeable in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

RJD and Congress Leaders to Contest as Independents

The Grand Alliance in Bihar received a setback with a prominent leader each of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress giving up their party positions and deciding to contest the Lok Sabha election from Madhubani as independent candidates.
Four-time Darbhanga MP, Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi, of the RJD and former Union minister and Congress's senior spokesperson, Shakeel Ahmad, will both be running for election to the prestigious seat that has been allotted to the Vikassheel Insaan Party, making its electoral debut.

Apr 16, 2019

Centre Extends Truce with Naga Militants

The Centre extended the ceasefire agreement by one year with two insurgent groups in Nagaland, while a fresh pact for suspension of operations was signed with another outfit.
A ceasefire is in operation between the Union government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Neopao Konyak/Kitovi) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland/Reformation (NSCN/R).
It was decided to extend the suspension of operation agreement with NSCN(NK) and NSCN(R) for a further period of one year with effect from April 28 this year till April 27, 2020.
Meanwhile, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K-Khango) has also entered into a fresh ceasefire agreement with the Union government for a period of one year.

EC Curbs Campaigning by Yogi, Mayawati, Azam

Shortly after the Supreme Court decided to examine the Election Commission's claims that its powers are limited in the face of hate and communal speeches, the poll panel slapped a 72-hour prohibition on campaigning by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
A 48-hour campaign ban was also imposed on Union Minister and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, and BSP chief Mayawati.

Creation of Deputy CAG

A meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the creation of the additional post of Deputy Comptroller and Auditor-General.
The Deputy CAG shall oversee the coordination among State Audits, the audit of telecommunication and coordinate the various Information Systems initiatives in the Indian Audit & Accounts Department.

Apr 15, 2019

Private Sector Specialists in Government Departments

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has appointed nine non-governmental professionals at Joint Secretary level posts on contract basis in central government departments.
This is the first time, nine private sector specialists were selected for appointment as joint secretaries in central government departments.
These appointments were made in the departments of agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare, civil aviation, commerce, economic affairs, environment, forest and climate change, new and renewable energy, road transport and highways, and shipping.

BJP Names Two More Candidates for Haryana

The BJP announced names of its remaining two candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Haryana.
The party has decided to field Haryana cadre IAS officer Brijendera Singh from Hisar. Arvind Sharma, a former Congress MP who joined the BJP, will contest from Rohtak.
He is pitted against sitting Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda. Brijendera Singh is son of Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh.
Earlier, the BJP had announced names of eight candidates for the State, which has a total of 10 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Apr 14, 2019

Nagaland Registers 83.12% Voter Turnout

An overall 83.12% voter turnout was recorded in Nagaland for the lone Lok Sabha constituency on April 11.
For the 26-Aonglenden bypoll, held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election, around 84.35% voters cast their ballots.
The CEO said that altogether 10,02,670 voters out of the total 12,06,287 exercised their franchise for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The voter turnout in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll was 88.25%.
Mr. Sinha said that 5,07,404 were male voters and 4,95,266 female.

Polling in Uttarakhand

According to the final polling percentage released by the Election Commission after collating data received from remote corners of the hill State, a total of 61.50% of the 78.56 lakh voters exercised their franchise on the polling day.
The final polling percentage in Uttarakhand released by the poll body is only slightly lower than 61.67% recorded in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.
The break-up of the final percentage on all the five seats of the State is Haridwar recorded the highest turnout of 68.92% followed by Nainital which recorded a turnout 68.69%. Tehri recorded 58.30%, Pauri 54.47 and Almora (a reserved seat) 51.82%.
There were 52 candidates in the fray for the five seats of Uttarakhand where the contest was mainly between the BJP and the Congress.

DMK Names Candidates for Four Bypolls

The DMK announced candidates for the four Assembly constituencies for which the by-election will be held on May 19.
Party president M.K. Stalin said that former Minister Senthil Balaji, who recently joined the DMK, would be the candidate for the Aravakurichi constituency.
Former Minister N. Pongalur Palanisami is the candidate for the Sulur constituency, and P. Saravanan will contest in Tiruparankundram.
M.C. Shanmugaiah is the candidate for the Ottapidaram (reserved) constituency. The DMK is the first party to announce its candidates.

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