STATE TIMES NEWS

SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has extended hearty congratulations to the voters of first phase of Assembly Election for the record turnout.
In a social media post, the Lieutenant Governor said, their enthusiastic participation is a testament to the strength of Indian democracy and people’s faith in democratic values.
“Congratulations J&K for a historic voter turnout! I would like to thank all voters, who exercised their franchise in 1st Phase. Record polling in the peaceful, free & fair election attests to the strength of Indian democracy & people’s faith in democratic values.
I must congratulate all my sisters & first-time voters for participating in large numbers to celebrate festival of democracy. Heartfelt gratitude to outstanding security forces, JKP & Election Officials. Approx 59% polling in first phase shows Jamhooriyat is flourishing in J&K. Long queues of voters in Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag demolished the motivated propaganda of the adversaries. People have also rebuffed the agenda of divisive elements and reaffirmed their faith in democracy”, the Lieutenant Governor posted on X.

Giant stride towards electoral reforms’: Shah

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the Union Cabinet’s acceptance of the proposal for ‘one nation, one election’ as recommended by the Kovind panel, saying it will be a giant stride towards landmark electoral reforms in the country. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accepted the high-level Ram Nath Kovind panel’s recommendations for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise. “Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, Bharat has been witnessing transformative reforms. Today, in this direction, Bharat takes a giant stride towards landmark electoral reforms with the Union Cabinet accepting the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on One Nation One Election,” Shah wrote on ‘X’.
The home minister said this reflects Prime Minister Modi’s “iron will” to bolster the country’s democracy through clean and financially efficient elections and accelerate economic growth through more productive allocation of resources.