India

Dehradun, Apr 11 (PTI) Over 57 per cent of the electorate in Uttarakhand cast their vote Thursday to seal the fate of 52 candidates as polling was held in the first phase of the general elections to its five Lok Sabha seats.

The turnout recorded at 5 pm across the five seats was 57.85 per cent, Chief Electoral Officer Soujanya said.

Alipurduar/Kolkata, Apr 11 (PTI) An estimated of 80.85 per cent of 34.52 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the two Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal where polling was held in the first phase on Thursday, officials said.

"Today we had a peaceful polling in the two constituencies of Coochbehar and Alipurduar. However, There have been some isolated incidents," Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab said.

Mumbai, Apr 11 (PTI) Bracing for a possible shuttering, Jet Airways Thursday grounded services across the Eastern and Northeastern markers and also suspended its international operations for a day, while 1o more planes were forced out of the fleet.

In related developments, its board met in Mumbai and discussed "operational" issues, while airlines' strategic partner Etihad Airways submitted initial bids for higher stake in the crippled carrier.

Amethi, Apr 11 (PTI) Union minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani Thursday submitted to the Election Commission that she did not complete her graduation from Delhi University.

In her affidavit filed during her nomination, Irani, who is contesting against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, said she passed secondary school examination in 1991 and senior secondary school examination in 1993.

She has said she did not complete her Bachelor of Commerce (Part-I) a three-year degree course from Delhi University's School of Open Learning in 1994

Noida/Lucknow, Apr 11 (PTI) Several security personnel on election duty in Noida were served meals in packets labelled "Namo Foods", triggering criticism from the opposition even after the local police said the packs only displayed the name of a food shop.

The Bahujan Samaj Party said it has complained to the Election Commission.

"NaMo" are widely-recognised Hindi initials of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, previously seen on BJP merchandise and recently as the name of a TV channel.

Pithoragarh, Apr 11 (PTI) Over 828 voters of Bacham, the village adopted by Rajya Sabha MP and Congress candidate from Almora parliamentary constituency Pradeep Tamta, boycotted polling as the seat along with four others went to polls in the first phase of the general elections on Thursday.

The village in Kapkot Assembly constituency of Bageswar district boycotted the election, citing neglect in development schemes by the state government.

Mumbai, Apr 11 (PTI) Maharashtra registered 55.97 per cent voting till 5.30 pm across seven constituencies in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections Thursday, officials said.

Final figures will be announced Friday as polling was on till 8 pm in some centres, said an election official.

Ahmedabad, Apr 11 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court has quashed three notifications of the state government aimed at stopping export of livestock from Tuna Port, terming it "colourable exercise of powers" to do something which cannot be done directly.

A division bench of justices Harsha Devani and Bhargav Karia passed the judgment last week.

Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI) The Shiv Sena Friday advised its ally BJP to "speak less" on the Rafale deal, in which the Congress has alleged corruption, cautioning that unwanted statements may increase troubles for the national party.

The Sena also said the ban on NaMo TV could have been avoided had the BJP been satisfied with the coverage being given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign rallies on electronic channels.

Jammu, Apr 12 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district remained under curfew for the fourth consecutive day Friday amid strict vigilance by the Army, officials said.

Authorities are planning to relax the curfew for one hour from 4 pm Friday, they said.

A senior RSS leader Chanderkant Sharma and his security guard were killed on Tuesday when a militant opened fire inside a health centre in Kishtwar town, prompting authorities to impose curfew and call the Army to maintain law and order in the communally sensitive region.