Siddaramaiah, DKS to meet Rahul in Delhi today
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Eager wait for BLOs by Patnaites as July 25 deadline to submit EFs approaches
1 2 3 4 5 Patna: Patel Nagar resident Raju Sinha has been eagerly waiting for the booth level officers (BLOs) to deliver enumeration forms (EF) at his residence in the city for the past 18 days. A health worker posted in Bhojpur district, he leaves for office early in the morning every day and upon reaching there, he calls up his wife at repeated intervals to inquire about the the EF. "There are 13 votes at my home, and if our names are not included in the electoral rolls, we would cease to be voters. Time is running fast, and we all are quite worried," Sinha shared his anguish while talking over phone on Sunday. The last date for submitting the EF is July 25. Left with no option, he finally called the office of the district election officer, which assured him that the BLO concerned would be sent to his him "very soon". Munna Singh, a cloth trader, residing in Friends Colony, echoed Raju, "No BLO ever visited our area in the past 18 days." The case of Umesh Singh, a social worker, is no different. "No BLO visited my home at Vijay Nagar locality in Patna. If this is the situation in Patna, you can understand the condition in villages," Singh rued. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Stor mage? Gör detta före läggdags och gå ner i vikt medan du sover Beauty Ideas Läs mer Undo There are a total of four electors in his family, and they never missed the opportunity to cast their votes. They are not alone. There are scores of people in Patna still waiting for the BLOs to visit their home. While many people themselves rushed to the nearest polling booths or the BLOs after arranging their mobile phone numbers, a good many of them are still to submit the EFs. Election Commission (EC) claims more than 80% of the EFs have been collected, explaining that four out of every five electors have submitted the forms, even as the "missing" BLOs remain a matter of concern. As per the directive of the EC, they must conduct door-to-door enumeration, and there are three steps — first to distribute the EFs to all existing electors, guide them to fill the document, and collect the EFs, along with the required documents. Deputy election officer, Patna, Ashutosh Rai said the BLOs were actively involved in the work and would reach every home. "There is nothing to worry about. If they have not reached today, they will definitely come tomorrow," the deputy election officer told the TOI. Leader of opposition in Bihar assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, however, rubbished the claims of 80% collection of EFs. "This claim is fake. What can we say about others, our EFs too haven't been collected," Tejashwi told reporters in Patna on Sunday, asking the poll body to explain the basis of its claim. Tejashwi alleged they have reports of many BLOs submitting the EFs without the consent/signatures of the electors and attaching fake signatures/thumb impressions. "The EC officials are only completing the formality. The whole exercise was being carried out at the instance of a political party," he said, also alleging that electors were not even being given receipts/acknowledgement receipts. He also alleged many EFs were found scattered on the streets of Patna, and are being used for making paper bags. However, the EC denied the report. "We had received an information through social media that EFs were scattered over a city flyover. During an inquiry by the deputy election officer, this was not confirmed," the chief electoral officer, Bihar, said in a social media post on Sunday.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Bihari migrants in Bengaluru are in dilemma over SIR
Migrant labourers from Bihar living in Bengaluru are divided over whether to return to their hometowns to fill out the enumeration form issued by the Election Commission as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. In the lead-up to the Bihar elections, expected to be held in November, the Election Commission is undertaking a voter verification drive, the first in 22 years. Many Bihari migrants working in the city expressed mixed reactions when The Hindu spoke to them. Most of them cited time constraints, travel expenses, and a tedious process, even as the Election Commission continues to push the SIR aggressively. Midway through work Guddu Kumar, a native of Chhapra in Bihar, explained that workers usually travel home in groups for extended periods after completing their contracted work. However, at the moment, they are unable to go either alone or as a group, because they are in the middle of a project. 'If we leave midway and stay back for a long time, the current manager won't re-hire us when we return. Finding a new job again is a tedious task,' said Kumar. His co-workers at the construction site agreed with him. Ashu Raj, who works at a construction site in Ejipura, said that returning home now would be difficult because they would have to travel again for the elections and the upcoming festivals. During festivals 'Diwali and Chhath Pooja are the two festivals we always look forward to. If we go now, it will be hard to afford another trip soon, especially since many of us just returned in February,' Mr. Raj said. He added that some managers withhold part of the workers' salary and release it only when they go home, so many currently lack the savings needed for travel. A contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed this. 'It's not a very common practice, but yes, some managers do withhold wages to ensure workers don't leave a project halfway,' he said. When asked whether they were concerned about missing the chance to vote, some workers said the hassle of going back and forth isn't worth it. They believe and hope the process will be available again when they return home for the festivals. Potential consequences However, others were more cautious and determined to participate in the process, fearing potential consequences. 'There are talks that the government might stop issuing rations and other essential benefits to those who don't complete the SIR. If that happens, our families back in the village will suffer,' said Ramesh, a tile worker near Suddaguntepalya. A few workers, whose names were already included in the 2003 revision, said their families were able to complete the current process on their behalf by submitting identity documents, so they didn't have to travel back. However, officials did not accept documents in the absence of voters if they were registered after 2003. Though EC has given the option of online registration, most The Hindu spoke to said they were unaware of it. Some said they did not have the necessary documents in Bengaluru to complete the process online.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Mahadevappa holds preparatory meeting of Sadhana Samavesha in Mysuru
Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa took part in a preparatory meeting of 'Sadhana Samavesha' here on Saturday. Sadhana Samavesha will be held on Maharaja's College Grounds on July 19, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to launch a series of developmental programmes and lay foundation stone for various works on the occasion. 'The State and national leaders of the Congress will be taking part in it,' Mr. Mahadevappa said, adding that the event will be attended by thousands of people. The Sadhana Samavesha comes at a time when the political debate over change of leadership in Karnataka has peaked amid shadowboxing between Mr. Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Mr. Mahadevappa called upon the partymen at the meeting to ensure that the programme is organised in a systematic manner with proper seating arrangements for dignitaries and the public. He said that separate entry and exit gates for the public, drinking water, toilet, food, and transport facilities should be ensured. Mr. Mahadevappa told the meeting to make Sadhana Samavesha a grand success. Former Ministers Tanveer Sait and C. Puttarangashetty, MLAs A.R. Krishnamurthy, Harish Gowda, Anil Chikkamadu, MLC D. Thimmaian, former MLA H.P. Manjunath, M.K. Somashekar, chairman of Karnataka Exhibition Authority Ayub Khan, Command Area Development Authority (CADA) chairman Mariswamy, Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Lakshmikanth Reddy, Mysuru City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, Zilla Panchayat CEO Yukesh Kumar, Mysuru City Corporation Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif, and others were also present.
