Even as railway minister Mamata Banerjee opposes government’s role in acquiring land for private companies , the contentious land acquisition (amendment) bill figures in the list of business for the winter session of Parliament beginning next week. The bill has been hanging fire in the wake of opposition from the Trinamool Congress leader, who recently skipped a meeting convened by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to evolve a consensus within the ruling...
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Bihar polls: 139 candidates with criminal records in fifth phase
As many as 139 candidates figuring in the fifth phase of Bihar assembly elections have criminal charges pending against them. 35 assembly constituencies will go to poll in the fifth phase on November nine. This was found after examining 441 affidavits of the candidates, Kumar Anjesh, state coordinator of NGO 'National Watch,' told reporters here. Of 139 contestants, 75 were facing serious criminal charges like murder and attempt to murder, he said. Claiming that...
More »Kerala won't be quite the same again by P Sainath
Women have rarely held posts of political authority in Kerala. There are, though, processes at play that could alter some things, a sense that big changes are under way. They will account for over 50 per cent of all 21, 682 wards in the 1,209 local bodies going to the polls. A single issue dogs all candidates in the local polls in Guruvayoor municipality of Kerala's Thrissur district. Any of the...
More »Panchayat polls: Unusual candidates try their luck by Maulshree Seth
Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh this time have seen unusual candidates jumping into the fray. There are teachers, shopkeepers, businessmen, relatives of politicians and even wives of BSP ministers. Some of them took leave from their normal work and some even sold their properties to take part in the polls. All claim they want to serve their village, block or district, but it is alleged that the lure of money pouring...
More »Bihar polls: 104 multi-millionaires, 219 tainted candidates in round 2 & 3
Against only 36 multi-millionaires in the last assembly elections, there are over 100 multi-millionaires in the second and third phases of the ongoing Bihar polls, a report by two NGOs has said. It adds that 219 candidates have criminal records. The Association of Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch said on Thursday that 104 candidates contesting for the second and third phases on October 24 and October 28 were...
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