Voters in Gujarat village boycott poll

May 9th, 2009 PATNA - A man has been ostracised and fined Rs.15,000 for exercising his right to vote in Bihar's Nalanda constituency. His neighbours boycotted the poll Thursday to protest lack of development.

May 9th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Separatist leader and Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference or APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have again urged voters to boycott the fifthnd last phase of general elections. Addressing a large gathering at the Jama Masjid on Friday, he urged the people of north Kashmir, who will be casting their votes on May 13, in the last and final phase, to stay away from the polling process.

May 7th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Defying the boycott call given by the separatists, residents came out in large numbers to cast their votes in Kashmir on Thursday. Defying the boycott call, a large number of men and women stood outside the polling station waiting for their turn to cast their votes.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the sun beating down mercilessly, two Gujarat polling officials were rushed to the hospital Thursday after suffering heat strokes. The presiding officers at two polling booths in Manavdar and Mangrol Port, both in Junagadh district, complained of dizziness and unease.

April 30th, 2009 ANANTNAG - The trickle of voters steadily increased as the day passed in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag constituency where turnout in the parliamentary elections went up to 11.83 percent in the first four hours of polling till 11 a.m. The trend had officials hoping that the turnout by the end of the day would exceed the 15.04 percent that the constituency had seen in the 2004 parliamentary elections.

April 30th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - About 20 percent of Gujarat's voters exercised their franchise in the first three hours of polling in all 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state Thursday, poll officials said. Chief Minister Narendra Modi cast his ballot at 9 a.m.

April 23rd, 2009 SRINAGAR - The moderate faction of the Hurriyat conference on Thursday took a U-turn on its decision not to call for a poll boycott in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the people to stay away from ongoing general elections. Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that election is no substitute to the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

April 23rd, 2009 LUCKNOW - Voters in two villages of Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district Thursday boycotted the Lok Sabha elections to protest the lack of development of the area. As many as 650 registered voters in Janki and Phaguia villages of the district did not exercise their franchise.

April 23rd, 2009 DODA - Voters in a remote village, about 1200 in number, have decided to boycott elections in Kashmir. They are angry particularly over the government's indifference to 80 deaf and dumb villagers.

April 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to zip zap zoom to victory. Or so it would seem from the Nano memorabilia - modelled on the world's cheapest car - the party is handing out to voters in Gujarat.

April 10th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - As many as 558 people have filed nominations for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. The nomination papers were filed April 8 and 9, a senior poll official at the State Election Office said Friday.

April 9th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat has sought more paramilitary forces for poll duty, pointing out that the state has been on the terror map, an official said here Thursday. 'As of now, the central government has allotted 100 companies of paramilitary forces for poll duty in Gujarat against the state government's demand for 375 companies considering that Gujarat is a potential terrorist target,' the senior home department official told IANS.

March 30th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - With exactly a month to go before Gujarat holds elections April 30, poll officials will meet here Tuesday to review arrangements for polling. Deputy Election Commissioner J.P.

March 3rd, 2009 AHMEDABAD - A priest, who is the lone voter in Banej village deep inside the Gir forest - the home to Asiatic lions - in Gujarat, Monday said he would vote in the Lok Sabha poll. Living in a temple in the forest, Guru Shree Bharatdasji Bapu is the only voter in the village, which comes under the Una assembly segment of the Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency.

February 16th, 2009 PALANPUR - Workers of diamond polishing units from north Gujarat, who lost their jobs due to the global financial meltdown, have threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections to protest government apathy towards their plight. 'We are firm on boycotting the Lok Sabha elections.