-The Hindustan Times Although crusader-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal seems optimistic about his Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) performance in the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, many voters apparently think otherwise. Many of the voters in Delhi hail Kejriwal's decision of launching the party, but they are not sure whether they would exercise their franchise in favour of the newly-launched 'people's party'. According to them, the party lacks local presence, has a one-point agenda and indicates no...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to return nearly 10,000 acres from its land bank to 30,000-odd original owners by the end of the year with an eye on electoral gains, officials said. No one in the government would go on record but The Telegraph has seen a land and land reforms department order, sent to the departments holding the plots and the district authorities, to start the land-return...

-The Hindu The Election Commission has filed 2,655 FIRs in various police stations of Karnataka under Section 171B of the Indian Penal Code relating to bribery in view of Rs. 24.52 crore cash, gift articles including saris and watches, and liquor seized during the run up to the just concluded Legislative Assembly poll in the State. Informed sources said this was one of the highest numbers of FIRs registered by the poll...

Statesman News Service KOLKATA: The whole perception of the state government about availability of security forces is unreliable, State Election Commission counsel Samaraditya Pal submitted before Mr Justice Biswanath Somaddar of Calcutta High Court on the last day of the hearing of the challenge to some provisions of the West Bengal Panchayat Election Act today. The judgment of the case will be delivered expeditiously, Mr Justice Somaddar said. Earlier, citing...

-Live Mint Panchayat-related caste violence continues unabated and has become a part of the social reality today In ancient India, the panchayat system was based on the age-old caste system, social status and family. Although the local self-government concept was introduced in 1882, it took more than 100 years for the local self-government institutions to become a part of the Indian Constitution. While tremendous possibilities have been opened up in the...