ELECTIONS

Tamil Nadu will see an all-important election for its state legislative assembly in 2021. With key political parties already kicking off their campaigns, voters too must do their part to ensure that their names are on the voting rolls. The Election Commission of India has released the draft voters' list for the state. Citizens can go through the draft voter rolls and get any changes in the same made if they find their details to be incorrect or if they have shifted residence. They can do this during the claims and objections period that will last until December 15th.  The required…

Hyderabad has been in a tizzy ever since the sudden call for civic polls on December 1, 2020, followed by ballot counting on December 4th and if required, repolling on December 3rd.  The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is in charge of the civic administration and infrastructure of Hyderabad, which is the 6th most populous urban agglomeration in India and spanning an area of 650 sq km. The GHMC elections are generally held once in every five years. This time around, they have been advanced by two months, causing strong ripples in some sections of the political parties in the…

As Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency goes into bypolls today, how well is the administration prepared to control the spread of COVID? The Election Commission of India (ECI) had released its guidelines for elections in all states including Karnataka, on August 21. Inputs from political parties were considered while preparing these. Further, the ECI had allowed States to come up with their own guidelines. And as per this, Karnataka government released its guidelines on October 16. As per these documents, following are the measures that would be taken on polling day: The polling booth should be completely sanitised, preferably a day…

Having spent the first two months of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown in politicking, to first grab and then stay in power, the Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP government has now launched a 15-day state-wide “Kill Corona” programme from July 1st. The programme includes door to door surveys in urban slums and low-income households having high population density and poor municipal management as a majority of positive cases in both cities have been reported from these areas. As per data from the government's smart city portal, Indore has the second highest slum population (30%) in the state, followed by Jabalpur (46%)…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 The Delhi Assembly elections to be held on February 8 is a three way contest between the INC, BJP and AAP. All three parties have released detailed manifestos outlining their policies and plans on key issues that impact the daily lives of Delhiites. Here is a handy comparison of the stance taken by the three parties on various subjects.  Click here for the complete manifestos: AAP, BJP, INC AAP BJP INC Education World class education facility to be made available for every child Building on the successes of Happiness…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 Unlike other recent state elections, much of the discussion in the Delhi assembly poll campaign has centred around the successful delivery of  civic amenities and public fund utilisation. This campaign tone was set by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose claims have been in sharp contrast to the  BJP’s political agenda. In the run up to polls, both the ruling AAP and the BJP were seen firing on all cylinders, with the Congress proving to be a lazy bystander. But despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s carpet bombing with the…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 Having garnered international appreciation from the likes of former U.N. Secretary Generals Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon for its accessibility and effectiveness, compared to healthcare in general in India which is ranked at a lowly 145 on the global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index, the incumbent AAP government of Delhi is inevitably using his government’s health care initiatives as one of its major electoral campaign planks. With the AAP government making education and health its top priorities, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched several schemes to provide free medicines,…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 In 2014, when the World Health Organisation declared Delhi as the world’s worst polluted city, the national capital became the face of air pollution for India. Since then, Delhi has been branded as a “gas chamber” by its own ruling government. Courts have called out the Delhi government for committing “genocide,” allowing a public health emergency of such mass scale. Every year since then, from Diwali and stubble burning season till the end of winter, politicians announce a slew of measures which fail to address the root cause of…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 Elections to Delhi's legislative assembly are just around the corner with voting scheduled to take place on February 8th. Results will be announced on February 11th. The highly charged elections are a three-way contest between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC). The assembly has 70 seats in total. If you are preparing to case your vote this Saturday, the 8th, here is a quick guide for you that will answer most of the questions that you may be…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 It was a dark December night, when Balvinder Singh, a 36-year old insurance advisor, returned from work and emptied his trouser pockets as usual only to find that his wallet was missing! There was not much money lost, but a credit card and a debit card, which he blocked immediately. But what annoyed him most was that his driving licence and car registration certificate were lost. Getting duplicates was a hassle he was not looking forward to. His wife suggested he call 1076. The couple live with Balvinder’s senior citizen…