[Nasheman news] Srinagar Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who was summoned by the NIA to appear before it on Monday, has decided not to and submit a written statement instead.

“The Hurriyat Conference has decided that the Mirwaiz will not appear in person at New Delhi before the NIA. Instead, a written statement would be submitted to the agency,” a spokesman said.

The National Investigation Agency had summoned Umer Farooq to appear before it at their New Delhi office at 10.30 a.m. on Monday in connection with the 2017 terror funding case.

The agency has also summoned Naseem Geelani, son of senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Voting for Madhya Pradesh’s 29 parliamentary constituencies will take place in four phases between April 29 to May 19, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.

The first phase of voting will take place in Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara on April 29 – the fourth of the seven-phase polls – while voting would be held in Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satana, Rewa, Hoshangabad and Betul on May 6 – the fifth phase.

Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal and Rajgarh will vote on May 12 in the penultimate phase of the polls and the last phase of voting in the state – and the 2019 polls – would take place on May 19 in Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsour, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa.

Counting will be held on May 23.

The BJP, which was in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003 till the 2018 Assembly polls, had won 27 of the 29 seats in the state in 2014.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress won 114 seats while the BJP finished at 109 seats, seven short of a majority. The two parties were locked in a nail-biting contest.

Voting in the by-poll to Chhindwara Assembly constituency would also be held on April 29.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Over 1.5 crore electors in 18-19 year age group will be eligible to vote for the first time in the seven-phased Lok Sabha election beginning April 11 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling upon them to vote in record numbers.

These voters in the age group of 18-19 years constitute 1.66 per cent of the of the total electorate. All citizens who turned 18 on January 1 this year and registered as electors will get opportunity to cast their vote in upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

“The total electorate in the country as per finally published e-rolls in January 2019 is approximately 900 million compared to 814.5 million in 2014. This marks an increase of more than 84 million electors. Over 15 million electors are in 18-19 years age group. Electors in the age group of 18 to 19 years constitute 1.66 per cent of total electors,” the Election Commission said on Sunday. 

The Election Commission has allowed enrollment of transgender persons with gender written as “Others” in the electoral rolls since 2012. The number of electors enrolled as “others” gender is 38,325.

The poll panel said that parliament has amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950, allowing enrollment of Indian citizens living overseas as electors. 

The number of overseas electors enrolled in the current electoral rolls is 71,735. “There are 1,677,386 service electors in the electoral rolls,” it said. 

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in 1,035,918 polling stations across the country compared to 928,000 set up during the last Lok Sabha election in 2014. 

Modi, in a tweet after the declaration of poll schedule, hoped for a record turnout. 

“The festival of democracy, Elections are here. I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout. I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers,” he said. 

[Nasheman news] New Delhi  Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday began his three-day visit to the US to carry out bilateral consultation and strategic security dialogues with American President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Foreign Secretary will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other US Congress leaders in Washington D.C..

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: “Gokhale will be consulting with his US counterparts Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson, respectively, during the bilateral Foreign Office Consultation and Strategic Security Dialogue.”

Kumar said that these were regular high-level dialogue mechanisms to review bilateral relations, exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related developments and coordinates respective positions on issues of common interest. 

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kappor’s unique take on eggs, making the perfect breakfast, dishing out ‘Eggs Kejriwal’ has met with some droll trolls.

“Eggs ‘kejriwal’…khaansi toh nahin aayegi ise khaakar ..ya phir dharna morcha annshan se pehle khaana chahiye?” asked Anu, who was concerned about whether the recipe posted on Saturday could give a cough and cold. Was there a need to fast before having it? the user asked.

Another user said Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, might charge them for using his name.

Eggs Kejriwal is a popular dish in restaurants worldwide. It is made of crisp toast topped with fried eggs, avocado, chillies and mint mayo. 

Twitter users said former AAP MLA Kapil Mishra, who was suspended from the party after he attacked Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain and Kejriwal over a Rs 2 crore bribe case, should have Eggs Kejriwal for breakfast. 

Savitha Arunkumar said on odd days she would use white bread and on even days the brown one. 

“Sanjeev, awaiting eagerly for Mulayam chicken… Mamata fish curry…,” another user on the social media platform, said.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal will see staggered Lok Sabha elections spread over all seven phases starting from April 11 to May 19, it was announced here on Sunday.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told the media that 22 states and union territories will see single-phase election, Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan and Tripura will see polling in two phases, Assam and Chhattisgarh will have three-phase polling, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha will see four-phase polling and Jammu and Kashmir will have five-phase elections.

The places where elections will take place in a single phase are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 and the votes will be counted on May 23, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced on Sunday.

Calling the Indian parliamentary battle the “largest festival of democracy”, he said that 91 constituencies (spread across 20 states) will see polling on April 11, 97 constituencies (13 states) on April 18, 115 (14) on April 23, 71 (9) on April 29, 51 (7) on May 6, 59 (also 7) on May 12 and 59 constituencies (8 states) on May 19.

The staggered election will see about 900 million voters, up from 814.5 million in 2014, when Narendra Modi led the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to power ending a decade of Congress-headed UPA rule.

Of this, some 15 million will be first-time voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years.

Approximately 10 lakh polling stations, one lakh more than in 2014, will be set up and a total of 17.4 lakh VVPATs will be used with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all polling stations, Arora told a crowded press conference.

“The Election Commission has attempted a very comprehensive preparation for the conduct of the election”, he said.

“The panel believes that purity of electoral roll is the foundation of fair elections,” he added.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi  The Model Code of Conduct came into effect on Sunday following the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule by the Election Commission.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi  The number of voters in the Lok Sabha elections will be around 900 million, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced on Sunday, calling the upcoming polls the “largest festival of democracy”.

There would be approximately 10 lakh polling stations this year, up from 9 lakh in the last general election in 2014.

Of the total electorate, 15 million will be in the age group of 18 to 19 years.

“The Election Commission has attempted a very comprehensive preparation for the conduct of the election,” he said.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi  President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the Padma Awards on March 11 and 15 in two investiture ceremonies at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the Modi government has claimed to have transformed the national honours into “people’s choice” trophies by involving the general public in sending entries.

For the awards announced on the eve of Republic Day, the government received a record 50,000 nominations, 20 times more than the 2,200 entries in 2014.

The awardees include 12 farmers from nine states, 14 doctors from 11 states, nine sportspersons, 16 social workers and others representing various fields.

Of the 112 named for the awards, 56 will receive the honour on March 11.

Among those to be awarded on March 11 include Balasaheb alias Balwant Moreshwar Purandare from Maharashtra who will be honoured with the Padma Vibhushan. 

There will be eight Padma Bhushan honours to be given to John Chambers, Sardar Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, Vishwanathan Mohanlal, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Karia Munda, Kuldip Nayar (posthumous) and Hukumdev Narayan Yadav.

The Padma award winners will interact with the winners of Padma Quiz organised by the government last week which saw participation by 35,499 people.