Bypoll pits pro-Telangana allies against each other -
Pioneer
The by-election to the Parkal Assembly constituency in Warangal district is once again threatening to split the Telangana State movement vertically, as two parties in support of the same movement — Telangana Rashtra Samiti and BJP — have decided to field their separate candidates. The seat fell vacant as sitting Congress MLA Konda Surekha was disqualified from the Assembly for supporting Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR-Congress, in violation of the party whip. |
Election Commission relaxes model code of conduct -
Seema Chishti , Lalmani Verma, Indian Express
In a move with far-reaching implications, the Election Commission, “on an experimental basis”, will “rationalise” the model code of conduct. This was decided at a full meeting of the commission in Nirvachan Sadan today. This will begin with byelections in 28 constituencies on June 12 — including a parliamentary seat in Nellore — which were notified two days ago. The code of conduct will now apply “only in respect of the areas falling in the assembly constituency(s)/parliamentary constituency going for byelection and not to the entire district(s) in which such constituency is situated”.
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RLD launches efforts to retain Mat seat in bypoll -
Pioneer
With announcement of bypoll on Mat Assembly seat in Mathura, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has launched efforts aimed at retaining the seat which was won by party chief Ajit Singh’s son Jayant with a handsome margin but which the party is now fearing losing. RLD chief, Ajit Singh has started brainstorming to find a winnable candidate while senior party leaders are being roped in to pacify the voters who are not happy with the decision of Jayant Chaudhary who resigned from the seat and preferred retaining his Lok Sabha membership. Following his resignation, the Election Commission has announced holding bypoll on June 12 in Mat. |
Andhra bypolls a do-or-die battle for Congress -
Pioneer
The by-elections to 18 State Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh, slated for June 12 will be a do-or-die battle for the ruling Congress party as it faces a tough challenge for the fledgling YSR Congress party of YS Jaganmohan Reddy with main Opposition Telugu Desam Party going all out to benefit from the division of Congress votes. Such is the political significance of these by-elections that this was being described as “mini general election” or a semi-final in the run up to the 2014 general elections. |
Bypolls for 29 seats to be held in June -
Indian Express
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the schedule for holding bypolls for the Nellore Lok Sabha seat and 28 Assembly constituencies in 10 states. While Neyyanttinkara (Kerala) and Cortalim (Goa) Assembly seats will go to polls on June 2, polling for the remaining seats will be held on June 12. The counting of votes will be held on June 15. With the announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect. |
