Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the 129th Constitutional Amendment Bill, implementing 'One Nation, One Election' in Lok Sabha. However, opposition leaders, including Congress MP's Manish Tewari and Gaurav Gogoi, raised objections to the Bill, stating that the Parliament does not have the competence to pass such a legislation. Despite the opposition, the Bill was passed with a majority and the House was adjourned till later in the day. Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested sending the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for further consultation when it was first approved by the Union Cabinet.
The BJP has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Odisha, after the resignation of several members. The Election Commission has announced the polling date to be on December 20, with the results to be declared on the same day. The BJP has fielded Ryaga Krishnaiah from Andhra Pradesh, Rekha Sharma from Haryana, and Sujeet Kumar from Odisha, and will be facing opposition from other parties for the vacant seats.
Indian equities continued their upward trend for the second day, with Nifty and Sensex both registering gains of over 1.5%. Bank Nifty also saw an increase of nearly 2%, led by gains in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank. This surge can be attributed to the positive sentiment post the state election results, which have been deemed as highly positive for the market. Analysts predict that the rally may continue for a few more days, driven by short covering and bullish momentum. Meanwhile, Asian markets also traded in the green as the US Treasury secretary selection caused a downward movement in the dollar and bond yields.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised India for successfully counting 640 million votes in just one day for their Lok Sabha elections. In contrast, California, with a significantly smaller population, is still struggling to tally the results of their presidential election which took place 18 days ago. Musk's post on X highlights the efficiency of India's electoral process and the shortcomings of the US system, which has led to a delay in vote counting in the most populous state.
With the Jhunjhunu bypoll results set to be announced on November 23, 2024, the race is on to see who will be elected as the next Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from this important Assembly constituency in Rajasthan. With a total of 11 candidates in the fray, including big names from major political parties like the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the stakes are high. In the previous election, INC's Brijendra Singh Ola emerged victorious, but with many new candidates vying for the seat, it remains to be seen who will come out on top in 2024. Stay updated with live result updates on the day of the bypoll to find out who will win and who will lose.
With the Maharashtra Assembly election results just a day away, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is confident of coming out on top with a projected win of 160-165 seats. However, as the parties in the alliance differ on their choice for the CM face, fissures have emerged within the alliances. In the midst of this, the MVA and Mahayuti, comprising of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, are holding informal meetings amidst projections of a win for the BJP-led bloc in exit polls. The MVA claims they will form the government within 12 hours of the results being declared.
The day of reckoning has arrived in Jharkhand as the Election Commission of India (ECI) begins the vote counting process. All eyes are on the results, which will determine whether the current JMM-led alliance will retain power or if the BJP-led NDA will make a comeback. With the INDIA bloc alliance currently leading in 50 out of 81 seats, the outcome is still uncertain. The ECI's website is providing live updates and both political parties are anxiously awaiting the final outcome.
The much-anticipated Maharashtra Assembly Elections for 2024 kicked off on Wednesday, with all 288 constituencies heading to the polls. With a total of 4,140 candidates in the running, the real competition lies between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and Mahayuti alliances. The MVA, composed of Shiv Sena (under Uddhav Thackeray), NCP (led by Sharad Pawar), and Congress, is going head to head with Mahayuti, which includes Shiv Sena (under Eknath Shinde), NCP (under Ajit Pawar), and BJP. Mark your calendars for key dates of the election: Gazette Notification on October 22, Last Date for Nominations on October 29, Nomination Scrutiny on October 30, Last Date for Withdrawal of Nominations on November 4, and Voting Day on November 20.
Indian stock markets will shut down on November 20, 2024, due to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. This announcement by the Election Commission of India has led to a one-day market closure, with trading and settlements not taking place on the National Stock Exchange and the BSE. The next market holiday will be on December 25 for Christmas, followed by the final market holiday for the year. However, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) will also be closed for the day, with contracts expiring on November 20 settling a day earlier. As for the market recap on November 18, 2024, both benchmark indices ended in the red due to weak global cues and cautious investor sentiment ahead of the state elections.
On Election Day, the FBI issued a statement acknowledging that multiple polling locations across several US states had received phony bomb threats, believed to originate from Russian email domains. At least two locations in Georgia were briefly evacuated, and the state's Secretary of State attributed the interference to Russian meddling. The threats were deemed not to be credible, but Georgia officials are seeking an extension for voting hours in affected counties.