Little Relief in Income tax for Indians.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's maiden budget has lived up to BJP's promise of ushering in achhe din — at least for the average Joes and Jyotsnas. The basic exemption limit for ordinary taxpayers has been raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh. 

For senior citizens, the limit for income on which they don't have to pay tax has been raised from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. 

There is no change in the Rs 5 lakh tax exemption for very senior citizens above 80. The budget has also enhanced the annual deduction available under Section 80C from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh. This was a long-pending demand of taxpayers. 

The Rs 1 lakh limit was set nearly a decade ago and quickly gets exhausted due to the multiplicity of investments included under Section 80C, a provision that allows investors to reduce their tax liability. The proposed changes can lead to big tax savings for middle-class taxpayers. Those earning more than Rs 10 lakh a year stand to save up to Rs 20,000 annually in tax. 

Raising the basic exemption limit by Rs 50,000 will result in a tax saving of Rs 5,000. A Rs 50,000 increase in the investment limit under Section 80C will help save another Rs 15,000. However, the potential tax savings are lower for those in the lower tax brackets. Taxpayers earning up to Rs 10 lakh a year will be able to save Rs 15,000 while those with an income of up to Rs 5 lakh a year will save a maximum of Rs 8,000 in tax. 

And that too if they can find the additional Rs 50,000 to invest in Section 80C options. But those in the lowest tax bracket still have something to smile about. The budget has not removed the Rs 2,000 tax relief given last year to those earning below Rs 5 lakh a year. This means individuals earning up to Rs 4.2 lakh a year and investing Rs 1.5 lakh under Sec 80C will go out of the tax net. 

The FM also announced additional tax benefits to home loan customers, increasing the deduction from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh a year. Those with a home loan, availing of tax benefits, and in the highest tax slab can save an additional Rs 15,000 in tax. 

Those earning up to Rs 10 lakh a year can save Rs 10,000 while those in the lowest tax slab stand to reduce their outgo by Rs 5,000. Another key positive is the raising of the annual investment limit in PPF Fund from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh. 

WILL RAILWAYS IN INDIA BE ON TRACK?? TODAY WHAT RAIL BUDGET WILL SAY??

Departing Platform One at New Delhi station last week was India's fastest train: the test run of the Delhi-Agra express - dubbed "semi-high speed" by local media - topped a record-breaking 160 kilometres per hour on its way to the Taj Mahal. But the velocity, though triple the 50 kilometres average clocked on trips across the country, is barely one-third of the top-speed of China's fastest train, showing the extent to which India's expansive but under-funded train network has failed to keep pace."The capacity of the track is almost saturated," Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager for Delhi, said in his office next to New Delhi's giant station. "We could go as high as 200 km but we would need to have a completely new track for higher speeds." Budget may not announce major exemptions for salaried class Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started out selling tea outside a train station, has promised to modernise India's railways and build high-speed engines befitting Asia's third-largest economy. On Tuesday, his new government will unveil its maiden railways budget, with expectations high that he will offer bold plans to improve the service - a lifeline for 23 million Indians every day. Among the goals is bringing much more private money into one of the country's largest state-controlled industries. At present, there's small private involvement in suburban services and locomotive manufacturing. In a speech last week, Modi hinted at how much of a revamp he believed the railways needed, telling an audience in Kashmir that he wanted an upgrade of stations, many of which look much as they did under the British. "Why do our railway stations need to be so old, why can't they be better than our airports?" he said, after waving a green flag to inaugurate services on a stretch of track in the mountain state. PARTNERSHIPS NEEDED Modi's government will announce plans for public-private partnerships in railway infrastructure, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing government sources, and he is expected to update the country on plans for a high-speed rail between the financial capital Mumbai and Ahmedabad. "If the railways are to fully benefit the climate, the economy, society, the government needs to bring in more money... including from private and foreign investment" said G. Raghuram, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and co-author of a report about railway modernisation. Raghuram said allowing private money into freight was a simple and relatively easy shift that would boost the economy. Railways' share of freight has fallen from 90 percent of the country's cargo in 1950 to one-third today, as congested tracks and slow speeds force shipments onto roads - in turn clogging them. The tougher task for Modi will be finding a sustainable fix to the funding crunch facing the railways, including by allowing foreign direct investment into the network, a move resisted by the railways in the past. By a conservative estimate, the railways need 20 trillion rupees ($334 billion) of investment by 2020, according to economist Tirthankar Patnaik at Religare Capital Markets said. That's far in excess of the 1.4 trillion rupees the sector is estimated to earn this year even after an unpopular fare-hike pushed through last month. "Though there are some areas where the private sector can play a role, the bulk of the investment will have to come from the government," said Shri Prakash, a former member of the Railway Board. Prakash said Modi needs to strike a balance between appealing to private profit-seeking investors and keeping fares affordable for the millions who depend on the network. In New Delhi, railway manager Sachan said the job of the railways was to "cater to the masses". "High speed is definitely important but it is much more important to give transport to our poor people," he said.

source: http://www.moneycontrol.com

Achey din (Good Days) will come with Budget 2014-2015?

Will ‘Acchey Din’ (Good Days) come with the Union Budget 2014-15? That’s a million dollar question. Whether you are a salaried worker, farmer, students, senior citizen, corporate leader, entrepreneur, investor, or a home maker, expectations from the new government are running very high.

What’s in store for the common man will be answered by the new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 10, 2014. However, there are lots of expectations from him.

What does a common man want from the upcoming Union Budget 2014-15 :

1. Income Tax Exemption Limit

The Narendra Modi government should give a serious thought for raising the limits for tax exemption, which is currently Rs 2 lakh per annum. The middle class is surely finding it difficult to make the both ends meet, especially because of the soaring prices of essential items. Hence, there is an urgent need to raise tax limits to at least Rs 3 lakh per annum or if possible to Rs 4 lakh. This will help disposable income to increase, thereby expanding the market. The women participation in the workforce is also increasing slowly but steadily. As an incentive, tax exemption for them too needs to be raised to at least Rs 4-4.5 lakh.

2. Inflation

One of the major poll planks of Narendra Modi was to contain inflation on becoming the Prime Minister. Now it is time for him to keep his words. If we look at the inflation rates, we will see that in May 2014, it reached 8.28 per cent, well above the safe inflation limit of 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent (as per RBI guidelines). Since 2012, inflation rate has hovered between 7.5 per cent (Jan 2012) and 11.6 per cent (Nov 2013), as per the data published by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, India. The government must work in tandem with the RBI, and use both the fiscal and the monetary policies judiciously to contain inflation, which is eating into the purchasing power of the common man.

3. Fuel and Cooking Gas Prices

Any upward movement of fuel prices directly increases inflation. Petrol price have jumped by more than Rs 20 per litre during August 2010- May 2014.

Any increase in the price of diesel increases the transportation cost of essential items. And, rise in the cooking gas prices adversely affects households. So, if these prices increase any further, that will lead to the further weakening of the economic status of the country’s burgeoning middle class. Therefore, a mechanism needs to be put in place where the government has adequate control on fuel prices and does not let them subject to the fluctuating prices of global crude oil prices.

4. Education

A large population of India is young and mostly in schools and colleges. Therefore, there need to be adequate educational institutions so that every citizen can access proper education. Some activists demand that at least 6 per cent of India’s GDP should be allocated to education sector because that would ensure quality education for all. A World Bank report shows that in the last few years, public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in India is hovering around 3 per cent.

Therefore, time has come to increase fund allocation for education and create more educational institutions in India, matching global standard so that the brain drain doesn’t take place. To make domestic higher education more affordable, the government must take adequate steps to decrease education loan rates across the board.

5. Housing

The spiralling property and real estate prices are creating impediments in the way of people to buy a house of their own. The Government can help the people by raising tax exemption limit on payment of interest per annum on housing loans from Rs 1.5 lakh to at least Rs 3 lakh. The tax exemptions that are available on principal loan amount are currently included in Section 80C. However, a special category for exempting taxes on housing loans can be created by the government.

These are the top five expectations of people from the upcoming Budget 2014-15.

source:http://www.elections.in/

Arvind Kejriwal's letter to PM Narendra Modi on Gas Prices : Another Drama or what?

This entry was posted on June 25, 2014, in Arvind Kejriwal's Letters.

Shri Narendra Modi,

Prime Minister of India

New Delhi

Respected Shri Modi,

Before the elections you had promised the people of the country that after coming to power you will bring down the prices and reduce corruption. However, during the past one month, instead of reducing prices and taking steps to curb corruption, prices of many essential commodities have been increased leading to public outrage.

It is being seen that your government is resorting to increasing prices without eradicating corruption and this will not solve any problem. The extra money generated from such hikes is pilferaged.

Take the latest example of railway passenger fare hike. We all fully well know about the rampant corruption in Railways. The government logic is that to provide better facilities, fares have been hiked. But how can we accept this argument?

Every government gives this faulty logic to justify the price hike. However, it’s been seen that despite regular fare hikes, facilities in railways have only deteriorated

It would have been better had your government deferred the railway fare hike for a year or six months atleast, and instead should have taken some strong measures to curb corruption in railways. It is possible that after having done that, maybe after a year there would have been no need to increase the passenger fares.

What is more saddening is that though your government has increased the railway fares, it has taken no step to curb corruption in railways.

Now your government appears to be making the same mistake in the matter of gas pricing also.

According to reports coming out in newspapers, your government is preparing to shortly increase the prices of natural gas. We had apprehended earlier only that after the elections the prices of natural gas will be doubled. We sincerely request you not to hike gas prices which will only benefit Mr. Mukesh Ambani and the people will be further burdened by rising prices.

Through this letter I am bringing some facts to your notice, which state that actually the prices of natural gas in India need to be reduced rather than increasing them.

Today you purchase a unit of gas from Reliance for $ 4.205. The RIL spends less than a dollar on production of one unit of gas. That means the RIL is reaping a profit of more than 325 per cent. The facts below prove that the RIL actually spends less than a dollar on excavation of a unit of gas:

1. NICCO is RIL’s partner in gas production. Please find enclosed NICCO’s financial statement for the financial year ending on 31 December 2012 submitted to the Canadian government. These papers show that NICCO was incurring a cost of $ .43 to $ .74 per unit of gas on excavation with the RIL. The papers show that NICCO and RIL were earning a profit of $ 3.02 to $ 3.31 per unit of gas after deducting the royalties etc.
2. Also attached is a letter by the RIL to the government of India on 22 May 2009 in which the company itself conceded that the cost of production comes to $ .8945 per unit of gas.
3. Pricing was the root cause of the gas dispute between Ambani brothers. The younger brother wanted to buy gas from his elder brother Mukesh and the dispute on gas pricing first reached the Bombay High Court. At that time Mr. Mukesh Ambani wanted to sell natural gas to NTPC for 17 years at the rate of $ 2.34 per unit and not $ 4.25.  The RIL had conceded before the High Court that by even selling gas at $ 2.34, It would get a good profit. At that time the exchange rate for dollar was Rs. 47.4. This means the RIL was to get around Rs 111 from NTPC for per unit of gas sold. And it had itself conceded that it was getting profit even at that rate.

Despite this it’s beyond any reasonable understanding as to why the then Congress led UPA Central Government on April 1, 2009 decided to hike the gas prices to dollars 4.25 per unit.

Today the exchange rate for dollar is Rs. 60.2. This means that at today’s rate the RIL is getting Rs. 252.8 per unit. It’s not difficult to comprehend that if the RIL was making a good profit in 2009 by selling gas at Rs. 110.9 per unit, taking into account even the rate of inflation today, how much profit the RIL is making by getting a rate of Rs. 252.8 per unit.

It is amply clear that the rate of $ 4.25 was fixed by the UPA government to allow the RIL a hefty profit.

We have been consistently saying that gas prices in India are much higher as compared to many other countries. Please have a look at the prices of gas in some countries

1. Russia                                                   $ 2.6
2. United States                                    $3.3
3. Bangladesh                                         $ 2.34

The Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) has tried to audit the RIL accounts but the RIL has resisted it by refusing to show its complete account. The question that naturally arises is, if the RIL has nothing to hide, why it is not showing its complete account to the C&AG. Whatever accounts have been made available to the C&AG, this auditor has found major irregularities.

In this matter the C&AG has submitted its two reports to the government, both of which point towards large scale corruption and embezzlement. If despite all this no action is taken against the RIL and gas prices are raised to benefit it, this will be a big fraud on the people of this country.

The government owned ONGC has filed a case against the RIL in the Delhi High Court alleging theft of its gas to the tune of Rs. 30 thousand cr. An FIR must be immediately be registered against such a company which is openly indulging into the loot of natural resources.

The purpose of giving oil and gas wells and fields to the RIL was that it fulfills energy needs of the country. Reliance was produce 80 mmscm gas everyday, but it has failed to produce even 10 per cent of it. Allegation is that the RIL is hoarding gas and is deliberately creating artificial scarcity of gas so that it can blackmail the government for increasing the gas prices. These tactics of the RIL are forcing the government to import the gas at a very high price. Now the government has to decide whether it wants to cave in to RIL’s blackmail or to take stern action against the RIL and stop the wrong doings by the company.

The BJP had strongly resisted the UPA governments attempt to hike the gas price. The Parliamentrary Standing Committee headed by Shri Yashwant Sinha in its report presented to Parliament on August 7, 2013 had strongly recommended that the prices of natural gas should not be hiked.

On March 25, 2014, senior BJP leader Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad had publically stated that the party completely agreed to standing committee recommendations.

Since the BJP while in opposition was strongly opposed to any hike in gas prices then why after coming to power it wants to change its stand and increase the prices. In our view, it’s not correct to go for a price hike without checking corruption.

When it is clearly written in black and white in the C&AG reports about the corruption and fraud of the RIL, it is my sincere request that you should not increase the prices of natural gas without taking strict action against the RIL.

If you take a decision to increase the prices of natural gas, it will lead to a disastrous price rise in the country. CNG, PNG and electricity – everything will become costly.

You are requested to reconsider the decision of your government to hike the prices of natural gas.

Thanking you

Arvind Kejriwal

Former CM Delhi                                                                              June 25, 2014

Inflation: A passion for Indian Government.

This is one topic in which I do not have to think before writing an article. The recent price rise in the essential commodities has hurt the common man where it hurts the most. The prices of onion , tomatoes, pulses have skyrocketed which adds flavor to the otherwise normal lifestyle of below average Indian. The above statement is a sarcasm in itself, but its necessary to show the grave situation which the normal citizens of this country are facing in the normal time.

The prices of pulses which is nearly a staple diet for most of the country has risen to a large extent from the last 2 years. This may be due to less area under production for pulses in country or less per hectare yield of pulses or growth in demand. But the apathy is that there is no supportive government policy which could have helped India to raise the pulses production by giving more incentives to the farmers growing pulses, reducing loses to the intermediaries. One more benefit of higher pulses production is it takes less of nitrogenous fertilizers and is essential for regular wheat rice fields.

The prices of onion has risen nearly 300% or more in the last month. The first reason is inefficient government policy which do not foresee demand supply situations, since onions are perishable quantities. The recent unseasonal rains in Nasik area has destroyed 10% of the crops, but still the quantum of price rise cannot be substantiated. The major culprit here is no control over the last leg of supply chain i.e retailers , they are having the profit margin of more than 50% . They are speculating on the deficient supply and holding the common man on ransom. Moreover in India expert was stopped at a much later stage , which led to the spike in prices for the first instance.The rest and the last reason which is common to all, I would discuss in the later part of the article.

There is another factor which is at play in high inflation rates across the commodities and it is ever increasing rates of petrol and diesel. The common plea given by the government to the people of India during every rate increase is rising international crude prices, But they should first answer why there is double taxation by center and state on sale of petrol and diesel. My first question to the respective governments is why cannot these duties be reduced, so that at least the transportation cost for the common commodities is reduced.

Now let us come to the contentious issue which is common to all the commodities price rise and bone of contention between the government and opposition parties that is forward trading. Now some people will criticize me of knowing very little of the commodity trading, but my only point is why do you need speculative trading on the essential commodities, when you could have such trading on nearly each and every finance vehicle like equity shares, currency exchanges etc. The forward trading increases the speculation in markets and people who are really not in the supply chain of these commodities get into it and unnecessarily disrupts the chain leading to disparity in normal price mechanism of these commodities.

Similarly prices of milk and other commodities could be discussed singly, but I just want to make a point that a concerted serious action is required for dealing the situation as it is hurting the foundation of common man economics in India. All the arms of government machinery, NGO's, common man should make an effort to discuss this problem and devise solutions which are practical and pragmatic in nature. Well I am doing my part by writing and publishing this article on net, so that our online community is more educated on the topic which is raging in India currently.

Total Tax collection in India

It is a stunning figure....

The Statement above summarizes, by broad categories, the estimates of tax receipts for 2013-14. 

Modi on Fire : He will hit the Bull's Eye..

Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is set to become India's next prime minister, four major exit polls showed on Monday, with his opposition party and its allies forecast to sweep to a parliamentary majority in the world's biggest ever election.

Modi, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), electrified the lengthy contest that ended on Monday, with a media-savvy campaign that hinged on vows to kickstart India's economy and create jobs.

Yet much depends on Modi winning enough seats to form a stable government that can push through promised reforms.

Elections are notoriously hard to call, and polls taken before and after voting have a patchy track record at best. Results of the ballot are due to be announced on Friday.

A Modi victory would be a blow for campaigners who have long maintained he is an autocratic Hindu supremacist responsible for an outbreak of religious riots in his home state, Gujarat, in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people died, mostly Muslims.

Modi, who rose from humble roots as a tea vendor's son, was shunned by Western nations for years after the bloodshed in Gujarat, where he has been chief minister since 2001.

However, his rise on the national stage forced a rethink among the European Union and the United States, whose ambassadors have met him to patch up relations.

Modi denies the accusations against him and a Supreme Court inquiry found no evidence to prosecute him.

A majority of 272 seats in parliament is needed to form a government, although that is often achieved with outside support from regional parties.

India's staggered voting, spread over five weeks to reach the country's 815 million voters and move security forces around its varied terrain, ended at 1800 IST (1230 GMT) on Monday.

CONGRESS FACES HUMILIATION

The BJP-led alliance is forecast to win 270-282 seats, according to a poll conducted by research group CSDS for the CNN-IBN television network.

It forecast just 92-102 seats for the coalition led by the Congress party, which would be worst ever result for the ruling party led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

Congress spearheaded India's independence movement and has governed the country for over 50 years since freedom from British rule in 1947.

If the BJP and its pre-election allies can win an outright majority, it will be the best showing by a single group since Congress and its allies won 414 seats in 1984, when the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi created a swell of public sympathy for the party.

Several national exit polls over-estimated the BJP's seat share in the last two general elections in 2004 and 2009. The Congress party went on to form coalition governments on both occasions.

"We will only know if this 'Modi wave' has really happened after the election results," said Praveen Rai, a political analyst at CSDS who recently published a report on exit polls. "It still might be more of a media wave, a manufactured wave."

Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and a crucial political battleground, is particularly tricky for pollsters to forecast because it is a caste-sensitive state where some voters are afraid to speak frankly about who they chose, said Rai.

Another poll released on Monday, by Nielsen for ABP News, showed the BJP-led alliance hitting 281 seats. A third, by Cicero for the India Today group, predicted Modi's alliance would take between 261 and 283 seats, and pollster C-Voter forecast a tally of 289.

One outlier poll, by Today's Chanakya, showed the BJP emerging with enough seats to rule on its own.

BULL MARKET

The election reached a climax on Monday as Modi sought to secure his ticket in Varanasi, a holy city for Hindus on the river Ganges in Uttar Pradesh.

Stock markets have in recent days hit record highs on hopes that the exit polls would show the BJP and its allies winning a majority, boosted by both Modi's pro-business image and the prospect of an end to the coalition governments that have slowed the pace of reform in recent years.

The Nifty index breached the psychologically key level of 7,000 points for the first time on Monday, breaking a record high of 6,871.35 that it hit on Friday.

The benchmark BSE Sensex hit an all-time high and the rupee touched its strongest levels in 10 months on Monday. Several analysts expected the rally to continue through the week.

"The implications of a strong NDA government at the centre is that the quality and composition of the capital flows will improve," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. The BJP and its allies are known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Should Modi fall short of a majority when the results come in on May 16, he will need to strike a coalition deal with some of India's increasingly powerful regional parties.

Most Educated Candidate in Amethi: Dr. Kumar Vishwas

So Finally the List is out for Public for all the candidates in Amethi. Dr. Kumar Vishwas is the most Educated candidate in Amethi.

Another surprising thing is Mr. Rahul Gandhi is having half Share of Farm House in Mehrauli near Delhi Gurgaon Border & the cost of that Farm House is just 2 crore rupees where as if you see the flat rates there you will be surprise to know that there is no flat less then a crore there (3 BHK Flat).
I am attaching the Details of his Farm house below (details submitted by him to Election Commission India).

End of 7th Phase of elections with attack on AAP candidate : Dharamvir Gandhi

Moderate to high turnout marked the polling on Wednesday in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections on a day when Narendra Modi sparked a major controversy by violating the election law by making a speech and displaying BJP's poll symbol in a booth.

The fate of some of the top guns of Congress, including Sonia Gandhi, and BJP like Modi, L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi and Arun Jaitley were decided in the seventh round that covered 89 constituencies across seven states and two union territories.

The whole of Gujarat with 26 seats and Punjab with 13 seats were among the constituencies which went to polls today in which 13.83 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise.

While Punjab recorded a turnout of 73 per cent, the day's second highest after 81.35 per cent in nine seats in West Bengal, Gujarat witnessed a 62 per cent turnout, a quantum jump from 47.92 percent in the last Lok Sabha polls.

In Gujarat, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and party veteran L K Advani were among the early voters in Gandhinagar.

However, in an embarrassment for Modi, he violated election laws by displaying BJP's poll symbol 'Lotus' and making a speech after casting his vote in a booth in Gandhinagar, after which an FIR was registered against him by police following a directive of the Election Commission.

Vadodara constituency in Gujarat, where Modi is contesting LS poll for the first time, saw a turnout of 70 per cent. He is pitted against Madhusudan Mistry of Congress.

In Punjab, clashes erupted between Akali Dal and Congress workers in Moga, Khadoor Sahib and Amritsar, leaving 15 people injured.

Among the riveting contests in the state is that between BJP's Arun Jaitley, also making his debut in Lok Sabha poll, and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh in Amritsar. Ambika Soni, who too is contesting her first national elections, is in fray from Anandpur Sahib.

An estimated 70 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in Telangana to elect its 119 representatives to the proposed state's first assembly and 17 representatives to Lok Sabha.

Uttar Pradesh saw a turnout of 57.10 per cent in 14 seats where SP, BSP, Congress and BJP are locked in a bitter battle to establish supremacy. Congress, which had done quite well in this region last time, may find the going tough this time but Sonia Gandhi appears comfortably placed to win from Rae Bareli for a third consecutive term.

Polling in seven constituencies in Bihar, crucial for RJD, BJP and JD(U) whose chief Sharad Yadav is in fray from Madhepura, saw a turnout of 60 per cent.

JD(U), which broke ties with BJP in the state on Modi as PM issue, finds an uphill task this time, according to ground reports.

Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, where union minister and NC leader Farooq Abdullah is in fray, saw a turnout of 25.62 per cent, the lowest in today's exercise.

The seventh round saw completion of polling in 438 of the total of 543 constituencies. The exercise was already over in 349 constituencies in the first six phases. Voting in the remaining 105 constituencies will he held on May 7 (64 seats) and May 12 (41) before counting of votes is taken on up on May 16.

In a case related to poll violence, Aam Aadmi Party's Patiala candidate Dr Dharamvir Gandhi was attacked by workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday evening.

Gandhi along with his supporters were attacked allegedly because he was protesting against booth capturing by SAD workers. The AAP nominee has suffered injuries in the incident. Police is investigating the matter.

Deepinder Singh Dhillon is SAD's contestant from Patiala. SAD workers had earlier in the day damaged the control unit of EVM at the Bajwa Colony at Patiala and later banged the machine on the floor.

If History of 1947 will repeat?

It is a surreal coincidence, the likes of which rarely happen and go down in the annals of history when they do. The year of Independence, 1947, started with a Wednesday and this year also starts with the same day. There's more. All the days and national holidays of 2014 correspond with 1947. Even Independence Day, August 15, falls on a Friday, like it did in 1947. For city residents, this strengthens the desire to experience the intensity of 1947 again. Is it natural or Kejriwal Effect?

Fifth Phase of Loksabha Elections. Mark on your finger makes you proud..

High turnout was on Thursday witnessed across 12 states covering 121 constituencies in the fifth phase - the biggest of the nine-phased Lok Sabha polls. While there was nearly 79 per cent polling in rural districts of West Bengal, around 65 per cent polling was recorded in Karnataka. The IT hub Bangalore, which has 2 former Infosys honchos contesting, saw just above 50 per cent polling. The Karnataka capital didn't even have bad weather conditions, pointing to voter apathy in the city's four seats.
There were a few incidents of violence, including blasts, in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh in which four people, including three security personnel, were injured.
Nandan Nilekani (Congress), Maneka Gandhi, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (JD-S), Union Minister Veerappa Moily (Congress) and Srikant Jena, Supriya Sule and Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti figure among the 1,769 candidates in the fifth of the nine-phased elections. Forrmer Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar along with his family after casting votes for Lok Sabha elections at a polling station in Hubli.
Karnataka: An estimated 65 per cent of the 4.62 crore voters in Karnataka exercised their franchise on Thursday for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the single-phase polls in which the ruling Congress and BJP are playing for high stakes.
"Polling ended peacefully at 6 pm in all the 28 parliamentary constituencies across the state. As per the provisionalfigures available with us, an average of 60.75 percent voting took place till 6 p.m.," chief electoral officer A.K. Jha said.

The elections held under the watchful eyes of some 85,000 security personnel, including the central forces, passed off peacefully with no major untoward incident, officials said.
As per Election Commission data, the turnout was around 58 per cent in 2009.Nandan Nilekani with his family after using his franchise.
West Bengal:Nearly 79 per cent votes were cast at the close of polling in the first of the five-phase Lok Sabha elections inWest Bengal, which determined the electoral fate of 47 candidates.
"On an average 78.89 per cent of the 60,33,310 voters cast their votes in Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in north Bengal," state's Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said here.

The figure as of now was lower than previous Lok Sabha election turnout of 80.85 per cent.RJD chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti after using her franchise. Photo: PTI.
Maharashtra: The 19 constituencies in Maharashtra where polling was held today in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state recorded an average 61.7 per cent turnout by 6 pm, the closing time.

Thursday's polling decided the fate of 358 candidates, including Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and former chief minister Ashok Chavan (both Congress) and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde in Maharashtra. Catholic nuns wait in a queue to cast their votes in Jharkhand. Photo: PTI.
Uttar Pradesh: Around 62 per cent of the electorate voted in the second phase of polling in six Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Polling in Uttar Pradesh decided the fate of 150 candidates, including ManekaGandhi, Santosh Gangwar, Saleem Sherwani and Begum Noor Bano.

According to EC sources, Nagina witnessed 61.98 per cent polling while Moradabad and Rampur recorded 61.22 per cent and 69.32 per cent polling respectively.
In UP's Shahjahanpur and Pilibhit districts, people decided to boycott polling in a total of six polling stations over issued related to development and missing names in electoral rolls, Deputy EC Vinod Zutshi said.
In Rampur constituency of UP, some 60 people entered a booth and cast 40 votes. A repoll is likely in the polling booth, he said.
Bihar: Polling gained momentum as 54 per cent votes were cast in seven parliamentary seats in Bihar.

A maximum 54 per cent voting was recorded in Buxar and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats each followed by Arrah, Munger and Jehanabad where 47 per cent votes were cast till 4 pm, the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Bihar, said in a statement.
Jharkhand: Around 62 per cent of the electorate voted in the second phase of polling in six Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand amid Maoist violence that left five persons, including 4 CRPF men, injured.
"Around 62 per cent polling was recorded in the second phase for six seats," Chief Electoral Officer P K Jajoria told a press conference here.

Polling was held in Ranchi, Giridih, Jamshedpur, Singhbhum (ST), Khunti (ST) and Hazaribagh seats under strict security and helicopter surveillance.
Chhattisgarh: Around 65 per cent voter turnout was recorded in three Naxal-hit Lok Sabha constituencies of Chhattisgarh where Maoists targeted a polling team but there was no casualty.
Barring the one Naxal-related incident, polling was by and large peaceful in the state which completed the second phase of voting that decided the fate of Congress leader Ajit Jogi and CM Raman Singh's son Abhishek (BJP) among others.Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his wife show their fingers after using their franchise in Ranchi. Photo: PTI.
Odisha: An estimated 70 per cent voters exercised their franchise for the simultaneous second and last phase of the elections to 11 Lok Sabha and 77 assembly constituencies in Odisha on Thursday.
In Odisha's Cuttack, miscreants damaged an EVM, while in other case, a member of the flying squad was caught doing "wrong thing" inside a polling station. He was suspended and a case lodged, Deputy EC Alok Shukla told reporters here without elaborating.Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje shows her finger after using her franchise in Jhalawar on Thursday, April 17, 2014. Photo: PTI.
Madhya Pradesh: A moderate 54.41 per cent polling was recorded in Madhya Pradesh for ten Lok Sabha seats amid rains, intense heat conditions and poll boycott in some villages.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia of Congress and state BJP President Narendra Singh Tomar were among prominent candidates whose fate was locked in EVMs in the second phase where voting was largely peaceful.
This year's turnout was 8.20 per cent higher than the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when the figure was 46.21, election office sources said.
Guna recorded the highest turnout at 61.1 per cent so far, followed by Sagar at 59.1 per cent and Rajgarh at 58.95 per cent. The state capital recorded a turnout of 58.42 per cent. All you want to know about Lok Sabha electionsStudent Nida casts her first vote in Rampur.
Rajasthan: First phase of polling in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies ended with 63 per cent voter, the Election Commission said.
"It was mostly incident free poll barring a few incidents of party workers' altercation and jostling in Bikaner, Ajmer and Jhunjhunu districts outside the booths over voters' list or supermacy," DGP-Law and Order Navdeep Singh said.

In Manipur Inner constituency, the turnout was an impressive 80 per cent and it was likely to go up further.
Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir, where senior Congress leader and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is in fray, recorded over 69 per cent polling.

Source: India Today

Mostly searched Politician on internet..

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was the most searched politician, followed by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, on Google in India during March-August period of this year, the Internet giant said today.

According to the Website's search trends during the period, BJP was the most searched political party on Google India, while Congress and Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party came in the second and the third positions.Google India also released a survey 'Urban Indian Voters', which said 42 per cent of respondents were undecided about who to vote for in elections.

The trends showed that the three-time Gujarat Chief Minister is the most searched. Congress Vice-PresidentRahul Gandhi is second, while UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi occupies the third position.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, TN Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and Congress leaderDigvijay Singh were the other most searched politicians.

In terms of political parties, BJP was the most searched, followed by Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena in that order.

How to get an election card was the most searched query, followed by how to find electoral roll number. Getting election card online, how to vote were the other top queries.

Google India's survey 'Urban Indian Voters' was conducted offline by research firm TNS during July-August 2013. It covered 41,000 people, with a focus on 7,042 respondents who were registered voters and active Internet users.

"Interestingly, a large proportion of the urban Indian registered voters (42 per cent) were undecided about whom to vote for in the upcoming elections," the study said.

Thirty five per cent respondents said their decision will be based on the party, while, 36 per cent said localcandidate matters to them, the study said.

"Interestingly, 11 per cent said the prime ministerial candidate of the political party will play an important role in their final voting decision. In the west, the preference for the local candidate was the highest at 45 per cent and was the lowest in east at 27 per cent," it added.

Sixty eight per cent of respondents were in the age group of 18-35 years. Male respondents were 63 per cent, while female respondents were 37 per cent.

source:Economic Times

Fourth Phase of Elections of Lok sabha goes viral...

The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in seven constituencies spread across four states witnessed an impressive turnout with East Tripura registering 81.8% per cent voting.

Two seats of Goa, three of Assam and one each of Tripura and Sikkim went to polls on Saturday where more than five million voters sealed the fate of 74 candidates in voting machines.

The Election Commission here said that the polls were by and large peaceful. In Goa’s north and south seats, the voter turnout was 75%. Assam’s three seats—the Autonomous District, Karimganj and Silchar seats saw 75% turnout. The turnout in whole of Assam was 69.6% in the last Lok Sabha polls. The state has 14 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Tripura’s Tripura (East) seat which went for polls on Saturday saw a voter turnout of 81.8%. Last time, however, the turnout was much higher at 83.11%.

Sikkim went for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections on Saturday. The lone seat witnessed turnout of 76%. The voter percentage in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections was way above at 83.79%.

“The voter turnout percentage will be higher as we are yet to get finalfigures. There were still long queues of voters at polling stations,” said deputy election commissioner Alok Shukla.

Prominent candidates from North Goa include Ravi Naik (Cong), BJP’ssitting MP Shripad Naik and AAP’s Dattaram Desai. From the South Goa seat, Congress’ Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar and AAP’s Swati Kerkar are among the prominent contenders.

Tripura saw a multi-cornered contest. There are 12 candidates in the fray including CPM’s Jitendra Chowdhury, who is the state industries minister,Congress’ Sachitra Debbarma, a prominent educationist, BJP’s Parkshit Debbarma, an ex-armyman, and Trinamool Congress leader Bhriguram Reang.

In the lone Lok Sabha seat of Sikkim, SKM’s Tek Nath Dhakal is expected to give sitting SDF MP Prem Das Rai a tough fight. BJP, Congress, Trinamool and Aam Aadmi Party had also put up candidates.

The contest in Assam’s Karimganj (SC) and Silchar was triangular between the Congress, BJP and AIUDF, while in the Autonomous District (ST) it was a fight direct between the Congress and the BJP