Mumbai suburbs on Monday recorded 5.64 per cent polling in the first two hours as voting got underway for the 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra, an election official said.
Long queues were observed outside several polling stations, indicating the percentage may go up in subsequent hours, the official said.
Voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.
The Mumbai suburban area, comprising 26 Assembly seats, recorded 5.64 per cent polling in the first two hours, he said.
Other urban areas like Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad reported a moderate response, while the turnout in rural areas was on the higher side, he said.
Kolhapur reported 9.93 per cent voting in the first two hours.
Maharashtra recorded 63.38 per cent turnout in 2014 Assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday paid tribute to police personnel, who lost their lives in the line of duty.
While addressing the Police Commemoration Day Parade at National Police Memorial here, Shah said, “So far, 34,844 police personnel have lost their lives in the line of duty. 292 martyrs will be added to this list today.”
The Home Minister said that today we have 144 police personnel in comparison per 1,00,000 people, while ideally, there should 222 police personnel.
Due to this, 90 per cent of the policemen work for more than 12 hours and more than three-fourth of the policemen are not able to take weekly holidays, Shah said.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra will win around 225 seats.
As polling is underway in Maharashtra and Haryana for Assembly elections, Goyal has expressed confidence and said that both Manohar Lal Khattar-led government in Haryana and Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra will come to power again.
“I am confident that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will win around 225 seats, opposition has lost all credibility and is nowhere in the contest. People are with Modi and Fadnavis. In Haryana, we are getting to see our target of 75-plus seats,” Goyal told media.
Polling for 90 seats of Haryana and 288 constituencies of Maharashtra began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm in the evening.
The electoral fate of over 4400 candidates- 1169 in Haryana and 3237 in Maharashtra will be sealed in EVMs by the voters who will exercise their democratic franchise in the assembly elections.
In Haryana, 19,578 polling stations have been set up whereas there are 96,661 polling booths in Maharashtra for citizens to cast their votes.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has been a controversial politician. He parted his ways from the Shiv Sena in 2006 and founded his own party ‘Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’. Raj Thackeray is known for raising the issues of ‘Marathi Manoos’ and targeting people from UP and Bihar. He believes that the migration from these states has worsened the problems of Mumbai. In 2009 Maharashtra assembly elections, his party won 13 seats but in 2014, it could win only one seat. Thus, in the 2019 polls, Raj Thackeray and MNS are struggling to save their ground.
When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to MNS spokesperson Sachin More he said, “MNS has raised the PMC bank issue. We had met PMC bank officials and later on they raised the withdrawal limit to Rs 40,000. We will take future course of action after election.”
Raj Thackeray has become self-made patron of ‘Marathi Manoos’. It is seen that people of different organisations used to meet him and raise their issues before him. Recently, the depositors of the Punjab and Maharashtra cooperative (PMC) bank met Raj Thackeray on Saturday and apprised him of the scam that happened in the bank. The depositors told him that they are facing financial problems as their money is stuck. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed restrictions on withdrawal of amounts from the accounts after the scam. But Raj Thackeray is not in power nor has any power to find any solution and implement it. As per reports, he assured the depositors to raise their issues in his rallies. Interestingly, Saturday was the last day for campaigning in the state assembly elections. Similarly, BSNL workers also met Raj Thackeray and apprised him of their issues. But BSNL or PMC issues are beyond the ambit of Raj Thackeray so he could be just listening and protesting with them.
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “People have lost faith in the government. They are aware that this government doesn’t work for the welfare of the common man. BJP had said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will look into this matter but no breakthrough has been achieved. Even though four people have lost their lives, the government has failed to resolve this matter. We will take up this matter and may also hold protests in the interest of depositors.”
In democracy, every political party or leader can raise the issues related to people or a section of society. In any crisis, people approach these parties or leaders and raise their issues. In return, they assure people to raise the issue before competent authorities and get it solved. In any healthy democratic country, it happens and it is a normal democratic process. Nothing is wrong in it. But some leaders make a mockery of democracy. They put their welfare before the welfare of citizens. They are supposed to solve the problems of common man. But they did not do so. Such leaders only bake their breads on the fire of politics.
In August 2019, the ED interrogated MNS chief in a money laundering case. After this, he remained almost silent. Political parties like NCP began questioning his silence. The boat of Raj Thackeray is sinking as his party MNS is continuously losing its ground. So, how can he save the sinking depositors of the PMC bank whose deposits are endangered? Many depositors died of heart attacks.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said that it will increase its presence in Maharashtra and contest all forthcoming local elections in the state. The AAP vows to create a political culture in Maharashtra free of money and muscle power.
AAP National Joint Secretary Ruben Mascarenhas said, “The opposition has become weak. Farmer suicide has increased and they are unable to avail crop loan and crop insurance. The government is unable to provide basic amenities to people residing in urban areas. Despite all these issues, Congress has failed to play the role of opposition. We have succeeded in doing good work in Delhi. Brighter and best volunteers are working with Delhi government. We are planning to contest the 2022 BMC polls and we will contest 227 seats.”
It is remarkable that the AAP has fielded 24 candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The party is contesting on six seats in Mumbai Metropolitan region. After the end of assembly poll campaign, the party thanked all people extending support to it. AAP said that seeing the fractured and paralysed opposition in the state, party decided to contest elections in Maharashtra. AAP claimed to win the hearts of people with its presence from Aarey to Akkalkuva, from Osmanabad to Brahmapuri. Now it is poised to contest all forthcoming local elections in Maharashtra.
AAP national spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon said, “AAP is going to contest all local elections in future. We will contest Zilla Parishad and Municipal election. We will try to strengthen our cadre. Irrespective of our victory or loss we will play the role of opposition. Congress and NCP don’t utter a word against BJP. We will raise the issue of the common man and will also protest.”
According to AAP sources, the party is hopeful to register a win from Brahmapuri assembly seat where party candidate Paromita Goswami is contesting election. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal canvassed for Paromita Goswami in Brahmapuri. She is popular in this area for her successful liquor ban campaign. Goswami is a household name in this constituency.
AAP sources said that our 24 candidates have a credible track record of raising and fighting for pertinent issues. If they win, people will see that there is someone in the Vidhan Sabha who will raise people’s issues and hold the ruling party accountable to the public. The AAP has run a sincere and simple campaign. The party thanks its volunteers, leaders and candidates, for living up to ideals of honesty and humility throughout the campaign.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set to fight the Assembly elections with 24 contestants, including six in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. They are here with an intention to win all the seats but at the same time they are realistic.
Their 32 pages manifesto, titled ‘Aapla Maharashtra, Ananda Maharashtra’, aims to bring about a political culture without money and muscle power. They don’t accept donations in cash, and people don’t pay them much in white transactions. With fair deals sustaining politics is not easy. They have limited recourses and budget. Their only asset is a committed worker. In spite of all these odds, they are giving their best by taking people into confidence. Their party chief wants to re-engineer Maharashtra that has been reduced to a failed state. They plan to rejuvenate infrastructure at four levels- environmental, social, socio- economic and physical infrastructures. They want tariff on water and electricity would be brought down like it was done in Delhi where the party is in power.
Delhi CM Kejriwal believes that the AAP had acquired “quality governance experience” in the last five years in capital and it would be used as a template. AAP members are silently working on ground levels in their own capacity, hoping that the people would give them a chance to serve. Politics is unpredictable and outcome can be anything but they are committed to bring people’s friendly governance. There are tons of ongoing other works as well, about which the popular media is mostly silent. They are taking their each and every move smartly as they learned a lot from their past mistakes. They are playing the role of constructive opposition very well in various online forums and social networking sites. They are supporting good initiatives taken by PM for example: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and meanwhile writing letter to him for the wrong things happening around. The party kick-started its election campaign with “Save Aarey Movement” led by party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
The AAP members, earlier took a stand against the cutting down of 2700 trees for the construction of metro car shed, stated the BJP has failed to protect the Aarey Colony. Echoing the sentiments AAP has assured the villagers and local tribal living in the area that their party will take the issue to the Parliament in favour of declaring Aarey a forest and a heritage green belt.
Other than Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka were the two states where the IAC movement was very strong and well organised. Once the movement converted itself into a political movement, it again found its strongest support and volunteer base in these two states. If you check the donation details indicates that a majority of the fund for the Delhi elections and Lok Sabha came from these two states. Even the outstate volunteers for Delhi elections consisted of strong contingents from these two states. Most of the volunteers who came over from the IAC movement did not have any political ambition, they were driven by idealism and a wish to see a corruption free India and saw their activities as a self sacrifice towards building a clean political platform.
Post Delhi elections, the groupism between Arvind’s team, Ankit, Ashutosh, Ashish, Sanjay, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, etc. came out in the open. The attempts to take control made most of the old volunteers rethink whether the party is a suitable platform for their idealism. In Karnataka since the members of the core state committee were pro-Arvind (and those who were not exited quietly), many volunteers left the party in disgust and became inactive. The party unit continued its existence but as an empty husk of either Arvind supporters or political opportunists. In Maharashtra, Mayank and a few other core members raised the banner of revolt against the arrogance of Arvind’s Team, this formed the nucleus around which those who were disgusted, they remained in the party and started working towards internal cleansing of the party. Since Delhi was unable to take absolute control over the Maharashtra unit the party High Command dissolved the party unit in Maharashtra initially. But when your intentions are clear and in the larger interest then things move for some betterment. Preeti Sharma Menon and her team really worked hard to regain the faith of people and restore the glory of party.
The contestants, AAP has chosen, are mostly grassroots workers. That should help them in translating into votes but not all. There are two kinds of people who attract votes, people who have worked in those areas and people who have appeal. Of course in our kind of system, it is believed that if you spend a lot of money and buy several people, which will get you votes. So, they don’t have thousands of people with them but they have a few people who are very committed. While the common man is busy guessing political moves and motives, BJP and SS have pulled the biggest trick in the history of Indian Politics. BJP and SS are ideologically the same and no matter what comes along. They have managed to keep voters glued to their media channels, where other parties are struggling to reach people without much coverage. AAP is contesting the elections with virtuous focused and real issues. Success and failure, winning or losing is all decided by the voters, that time has to decide, but we must accept the fact that they have stood as an alternative in present scenario of glossy politics.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
For Maharashtra assembly election 2019, more than 40,000 policemen will be on duty in Mumbai for the security of people. The Mumbai Police has taken all efforts for a peaceful election process.
It is reported that, to stop mischievous elements, during the election a special drive was initiated.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Mumbai, Pranay Ashok said “To ensure safe, fair and impartial elections, more than 40,000 personnel will be deployed. Since imposition of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), 511 illegal weapons were seized. Cash of around Rs. 8,14,20,403 was also seized.”
He further said various arms of police like anti-terrorism squad (ATS), city crime branch, anti-terrorism cells at police stations, anti-sabotage teams, quick response teams, dog squads, and special forces are also on alert.
At a time when human considerations have become rare, the time has come to lend a helping hand to the seniors, especially to women, who toiled hard for upbringing the family and thereby failed to take care of failing health and suffer from doing their routine work and suffer even for walking for their regular needs.
Have you ever thought of doing something different? Like, helping out at a children’s home or planting trees or cleaning up your neighbourhood? Try it and in the long run you might even like it. There are so many opportunities available with organisations, and if not, you can even take the initiative to create opportunities, as volunteering not just helps you give back to society, but also helps you build confidence, versatility, offers you a wider perspective of the world around you and empowers you. To add to your educational qualification it will look good on your profile as well.
We are a very busy lot, with school work, homework, extracurricular classes, TV, video games and birthday parties, there are so many things that we pack in a day. What if we could cut down on, say TV time, and dedicate some time to the world we live in? It need not always be about saving the world, but also about bringing a smile on someone’s face or helping make someone’s life better, even if it is an animal. Volunteering is not necessarily something that just adults engage in; even you, as school children, can volunteer in your own capacity and capability — how much time you can spare, your interest, how much you can venture out and so on.
Call neighbourhood NGOs or animal shelters and find out how you can help. They may need help in different areas like collecting funds, publicity, awareness creation, day-to-day operations or event organisation. Find your neighbourhood or school playground in need of cleaning? Why not gather your friends and help clean up with permission, and under the supervision of adults. You could sit at home make calls, post requests online or simple go door to door to raise money for a cause or a particular NGO. If not money, you could also help organise a clothes/ toy/ books drive for a children’s home or an old age home of your choice. Don’t stop with just collecting the material and delivering them, spend time with the children or the aged at the home. Your time and care are the most precious things you can give away.
Volunteer your skills by teaching underprivileged children at homes or a community centre. You could teach them computer skills, English, basic Mathematics and science or events arts and crafts — just about anything that will engage them and you productively. And finally, you can even volunteer your time online to do a bit of social awareness. Put up Facebook updates and tweets on Twitter to advocate a cause that is closest to your heart – links, tags, pictures, videos or your own opinion on an social issue will help at least a few sit up and take notice.
Some take the opportunity to act as a scribe for a visually challenged student or an ably handicapped person. From the childhood we learnt the art of helping each other. We do help within our family and later on extend that to as a social service. We get maximum experience when we keep in touch with different types of human soles. When we grow older, we help out seniors, who need help during their old age. After all our life is to help out and make ourselves busy so that when we are in trouble someone will lend you a helping hand. Helping each other is a way of life.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Manmohan Singh kept his ‘Lips sealed’ when he was the Prime Minister and his sudden outburst on matters of economic interest comes as a surprise. He was a great economist undoubtedly and wore many hats from being the FM to PM but political compulsions did not allow him to open his mouth when it mattered the most. His own FM Chidambaram is warming the benches of the Tihar jail and he should actually be speaking about the scams under his tenure as PM than advising the government on economy.
Indian economy has hit the rough patch and various economic surveys indicate a slowdown which no one is debating. Economic growth is a successive process and Congress government is equally responsible for the slowdown due to the corrupt policies of the government under Singh’s leadership. Our country needs to eradicate corruption from the roots.
S.N. Kabra
Chandni Chowk redevelopment-plan should be suspended during Diwali
Historic Chandni Chowk in walled city of Delhi between Red Fort and Fatehpuri mosque is presently undergoing redevelopment for restoring its glory as major tourist-attraction of ancient era, with complete road closed for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Although redevelopment-plan has badly hurt trade-activities in area, but it was unavoidable.
Road-stretch between Red Fort and Gurudwara Sisganj is nearing completion, but will not be finished before Diwali-rush starting from Dhanteras on October 26, 2019. Delhi government should ensure day-night super-fast working on this stretch till midnight of October 25, 2019 after which work on this stretch may be suspended from October 26, 2019 till Diwali on October 28, 2019. with partially completed stretch open for pedestrians for these three days. It is necessary because famous Dariba bazar between this stretch is considered auspicious for purchase of idols of Ganesh-Laxmi and silverwares, thus not only for traders in Dariba but also for those coming from far-away localities for auspicious-considered purchases.
Devotees of Gurudwara Sisganj traditionally light candles outside Gurudwara on the day of Diwali. Therefore in interest of devotees, general public and Dariba traders, Lt Governor and Delhi Government should open stretch between Red Fort and Gurudwara Sisganj for pedestrian movement for limited period from 26-28 October 2019. Also road-blocks kept unnecessarily at Chandni Chowk side of Dariba should be permanently removed.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Girls in sainik school
Kudos to Defence minister Rajnath Singh and the Defence Ministry for approving the proposal to admit girls in Sainik Schools from the 2021-2022 academic session. This is an excellent step to bring in gender equality and is another very good step towards women empowerment. The success of the pilot project launched by the Defence Ministry for admission of girls in the Sainik School at Chhingchhip in Mizoram two years ago paved way for the approval. Our girls are not behind the boys and definitely they are going to get a wonderful opportunity to achieve their ambition of joining and serving the defence forces. Whether it is our great Indian mythology or history or political galaxy, it is beautifully studded with women stars who have been an inspiration to all Indians and the whole world.
M Pradyu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Auto-rickshaw drivers in Maharashtra’s Akola district have decided to ferry disabled voters free of cost to their polling booths during voting for the state Assembly polls on Monday, officials said. This is a very good initiative by auto-rickshaw drivers of Akola district. They are also creating awareness about voting among people.
Under an initiative of the district auto-rickshaw union, over 100 drivers have put up posters on their vehicles displaying phone numbers on which the physically challenged voters can call them to get a free ride to their polling booth, they said.
The message on the posters reads: “Our one day for the disabled voters”.
“It is our duty to vote. So, we will first ourselves go to vote and then take every divyang voter to his/her respective polling station,” district auto-rickshaw union leader Santosh Sharma told news agencies on Sunday.
Akola Collector Jitendra Papalkar said that the auto- rickshaw drivers are raising awareness about voting and asking people to come out in large numbers to exercise their democratic right.
“There are around 13,602 ‘divyang’ voters in Akola. The district administration is making all efforts to increase their turnout in the Assembly elections,” he added.
Polling for all 288 Assembly seats in the state will be held on Monday and counting of votes will take place on October 24.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday paid tribute to police personnel, who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra will win around 225 seats.
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Auto-rickshaw drivers in Maharashtra’s Akola district have decided to ferry disabled voters free of cost to their polling booths during voting for the state Assembly polls on Monday, officials said. This is a very good initiative by auto-rickshaw drivers of Akola district. They are also creating awareness about voting among people.