THE HEADLINES :-
- West Bengal registers over 92 per cent voter turnout in second and final phase of Assembly Elections; State records highest-ever overall voter turnout of more than 92 per cent since Independence.
- Counting of votes for West Bengal, Keralam, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry assembly polls to take place on 4th of next month.
- Most exit polls predict BJP retaining power in Assam; BJP also shown ahead of TMC in West Bengal. Congress likely to come back to power in Keralam; DMK-led alliance leading in Tamil Nadu; NDA also retaining Puducherry.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hails India-New Zealand FTA as a once-in-a-generation opportunity; Highlights scale and potential of Indian market.
- India achieves goal of sourcing 50 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuel, five years ahead of target.
- Indian wrestlers bag four medals comprising two gold, one silver and one bronze at Asian Beach Games in China.
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West Bengal has registered over 92 per cent voter turnout for the second and final phase of Assembly Elections. A total of 142 constituencies across seven districts went to polls in this phase today. Long queues of first time voters, women, youth and senior citizens were seen in Kolkata, Howrah, and North and South 24 Parganas districts. Voting was largely peaceful across the state.
We now go over live to our correspondent Kalyan Laha for more details.
Question: Kalyan, How was the polling process across the state in the second phase today?
Question: Kalyan, what were the key issues that dominated this West Bengal Assembly elections this time, and what measures did the Election Commission take to ensure the high voter turnout?
Thank You Kalyan for that update.
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The Election Commission today said that West Bengal has recorded the highest-ever overall poll-participation since Independence. The poll panel said in a statement that in phase one of the assembly elections, the poll-participation was 93.19 percent. The combined poll-percentage over the two-phases stands at 92.47 percent. Previously, the highest poll-participation in West Bengal was 84.72 percent in 2011 assembly elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr. SS Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi kept a close watch on the polling through live-webcasting which was ensured in 100 percent of the Polling Stations in West Bengal.
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Counting of votes for the Assembly elections held in West Bengal, Keralam, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, will be held on the 4th of next month. Voting for all 126 seats in Assam, 140 in Keralam and 30 seats in Puducherry was held on the 9th of this month. Polling for all 234-Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and for the first phase in West Bengal, covering 152 seats across 16 districts was held on the 23rd of this month.
Simultaneously, on the 4th of next month, counting will also take place for Assembly by-polls for Bagalkot and Davanagere South in Karnataka, Koridang in Nagaland, Dharmanagar in Tripura, Baramati and Rahuri in Maharashtra and Umreth in Gujarat.
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Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel has termed the assembly polls held in the state on the 9th of this month as historic, noting that the state witnessed a single-phase poll after more than three decades.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati today, Mr Goel outlined counting preparations. He said, 40 counting centres have been set up across all 35 districts, with Kokrajhar, Tinsukia, and Jorhat having two centres each, and Nagaon three.
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Most of the exit polls have predicted the BJP retaining power in Assam. According to the Exit polls conducted by several TV channels and private firms, the BJP led alliance is expected to get around 87 to 100 seats, while the Congress is expected to secure around 26 to 36 seats.
In West Bengal, some of the exit polls are predicting a BJP victory while others have forecast a win for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). According to exit polls, BJP is expected to win around 140 to 160 seats whereas TMC is likely to secure around 120 to 140 seats.
Meanwhile, in Keralam, as per exit polls, Congress is likely to come back to power. Exit polls have predicted the Congress led UDF winning 75 to 90 seats while LDF is expected to win in 45 to 60 seats.
Most exit polls in Tamil Nadu have shown a clear lead for the DMK-led alliance. Exit polls have predicted DMK to clinch around 112 to 140 seats with AIADMK securing 60 to 100 seats.
In Puducherry, Exit polls have forecast the NDA alliance to win 16 to 20 seats with the DMK-Congress alliance winning 6 to 8 seats.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the 594-km-long Access-Controlled Greenfield Ganga Expressway in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said, the transformative infrastructure project will boost connectivity and drive progress across Uttar Pradesh.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described India-New Zealand free trade agreement, FTA as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, underscoring the scale and potential of the Indian market. In a social media video message, Mr. Luxon noted that with a population of around 1.5 billion and rising income levels, India presents a vast and increasingly affluent market seeking high-quality goods and services.
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The Medical sector has hailed the Free Trade Agreement achieved between India and New Zealand. Talking to Akashvani News, Executive Director, Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices, Praveen Kumar Mittal said, the FTA has given the opportunity to boost the export of Indian medical devices.
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India has achieved its goal of sourcing 50 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources, five years ahead of its own target. This was stated by Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Prahlad Joshi on the sidelines of the Resilient Futures Summit 2026 in New Delhi today. Talking to media, Mr Joshi informed that nearly 30 percent of the country’s electricity is now generated from a mix of renewable sources including wind, solar, battery storage and pumped storage.
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The sacred relics of Lord Buddha have arrived at Leh in Ladakh by a special Indian Air Force aircraft for the public exposition, beginning from Friday till 15th of May. A ceremonial Guard of Honour was accorded by the Ladakh Police, followed by sacred rituals marking the reception. Our correspondent reports that the arrival of the holy relics has drawn deep reverence, with arrangements made for devotees to pay their respects. We have a report:
“Following the ceremonial reception, the relics were taken in a grand procession to Jewetsal Photang ,which is the first designated venue for public exposition at Leh. The event witnessed participation from across Ladakh reflecting unity, faith and collective reverence as thousands of devotees dressed in traditional attire lined the route upto Jewetsal photang to catch a glimpse of the sacred relics. On May 1st which marks the 2569th Buddha Purnima there will be the inaugural function for Tathagata Holy Relics Exposition. The relics brought from New Delhi National Museum will be for public exhibition from 2nd May to 14th May in Ladakh. From May 2 to May 10 there will be public veneration of holy relics at Jewetsal Photang followed by exposition in Zanskar, Kargil district on May 11 and May 12. LG Ladakh VK Saxena describing the occasion as highly auspicious stated that this is the first time that the holy relics have been brought out of their original place of preservation for exposition within India although the relics have been exhibited in several countries in the past. Phuntsok Wangmo from Leh Ladakh for Akashvani News.”
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar received a phone call from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi this evening. Both Ministers had a detailed conversation about various aspects of the current situation in West Asia. Dr Jaishankar said in a social media post that they agreed to remain in close touch.
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At the Asian Beach Games, Indian wrestlers bagged four medals comprising two gold, a silver and a bronze at Sanya in China today, taking the country’s overall tally to six medals.
In the women’s 60 kg final of Beach Wrestling, Pushpa Yadav beat Asian champion Xie Mengyu of China 3-nil to clinch gold. Asian medallist Priya Malik secured the country’s other gold after edging out Mongolia’s Bolortungalag Zorigt 3-2 in the women’s the70 plus kg final. Jaspreet Kaur won the bronze medal bout, 2-nil against Beibit Seidualy of Kazakhstan in 70 kg event. In Men’s 70kg category, Siddharth settled for silver.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- West Bengal registers over 92 per cent voter turnout in second and final phase of Assembly Elections; State records highest-ever overall voter turnout of more than 92 per cent since Independence.
- Counting of votes for West Bengal, Keralam, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry assembly polls to take place on 4th of next month.
- Most exit polls predict BJP retaining power in Assam; BJP also shown ahead of TMC in West Bengal. Congress likely to come back to power in Keralam; DMK-led alliance leading in Tamil Nadu; NDA also retaining Puducherry.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hails India-New Zealand FTA as a once-in-a-generation opportunity; Highlights scale and potential of Indian market.
- India achieves goal of sourcing 50 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuel, five years ahead of target.
- Indian wrestlers bag four medals comprising two gold, one silver and one bronze at Asian Beach Games in China.
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