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In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the voting percentage in Uttar Pradesh was a tepid 59.11 per cent.

The Election Commission of India has set up more than 200 polling stations within housing societies in the urban areas of Uttar Pradesh to increase voter turnout in the politically crucial state.

In an interview with the news agency PTI, state’s Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the poll body is targeting urban areas that have registered a low voter turnout in the past and expressed that Uttar Pradesh will secure the first position as far as voting percentage is concerned.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the voting percentage in Uttar Pradesh was a tepid 59.11 per cent.

“We have taken a number of important steps to ensure that all kinds of barriers that prevent voters from casting votes are removed. We have ensured that the polling station is located within a two-kilometre radius of every voter.

“Also in urban areas, we have undertaken a new initiative of setting up polling stations within gated communities and multi-storeyed housing societies where there has been a low voter turnout in the past,” Rinwa told PTI.

The senior official said 200-plus polling booths have been set up across the state, with Noida taking the lead.

“Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of such polling stations and Noida has taken the lead in this regard. Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly and even Mathura will have such polling stations,” Rinwa said.

Asked if the polling percentage in Uttar Pradesh will exceed 60 per cent this time, the CEO said, “I am confident that UP voters will score the first division and pass with flying colours.” Rinwa highlighted that SVEEP (Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation) activities are also ongoing in the state.

SVEEP is a flagship programme of the Election Commission for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy.

On the tepid voter turnout in 2019, Rinwa said, “To find out the reasons, we have taken a bottoms-up approach for each assembly constituency.

“We have asked the EROs (electoral registration officers) and DMs (district magistrates) to prepare a Turnout Implementation Plan (TIP) — an initiative of the ECI — to identify the reasons for the low turnout in each assembly constituency and polling station. This is happening for the first time in the country,” Rinwa said.

Rinwa said, this time, more than 15.30 crore people across Uttar Pradesh would be exercising their franchise and the voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm — except in two assembly constituencies of Sonbhadra district, as it was earlier affected by Left Wing Extremism.

Sonbhadra shares its boundaries with Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

“Keeping this in mind, the polling timing of 7 am to 4 pm has been proposed to the ECI. The ECI is yet to approve the timing, as it is done phase-wise,” he said.

Robertsganj (SC) Lok Sabha seat in Sonbhadra will go to polls in the seventh phase on June 1.

Asked about the challenges in implementing ‘One Nation, One Election’ in a state like Uttar Pradesh, Rinwa said, “There will be no problems if we have the necessary infrastructure, mainly, sufficient number of EVMs.” “We have over 1.62 lakh polling stations… if ‘One Nation, One Election’ is implemented, a minimum of 3.24 lakh EVMs will be needed, one for LS polls, and one for assembly polls,” he added.

The official further said the weather in April and May will be hot, and it might discourage the voters from coming out.

“Keeping this in mind, we have asked our DEOs (district election officers) to ensure clean drinking water at polling stations and shade for the voters standing in queues.

“We have also asked for some furniture for senior citizens, pregnant women and physically challenged voters,” Rinwa said.

Rinwa said the people have been advised to use the early morning hours to cast their vote to avoid the afternoon sun.

On steps taken by the ECI to ensure that the polling staff also remains physically and medically fit during the election period, the UP CEO said, “We will provide medical kits to all the polling teams, along with a list of do’s and don’ts.” On the challenges faced by the poll body, the official said, “In UP and Bihar, there are a number of voters in the voters’ list, who do not exist. This happens as people do not file Form 7 to get their names deleted.” “In the recent special summary revision, we have taken a number of steps to ensure that our voter list is clean,” he added.

Form 7 has to be filed in case of the death of a voter, shifting to a different constituency, and duplication of a voter’s identity among other reasons. PTI NAV Polling stations in UP’s gated communities to increase voter turnout: 

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation transformed underbridge spaces into vibrant sports hubs. The space has been put to other innovative uses as well

The Gujarat government has transformed areas under overbridges into vibrant sports hubs, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to maximise the potential of urban spaces.

This initiative underscores the government’s dedication to revitalising public spaces and fostering a culture of health and wellness, officials said.

During his last visit to Gujarat, PM Modi shared the idea with the Gujarat government for proper use of areas under flyovers. He suggested these spaces could be used for young people to engage in sports, and for the elderly to spend some time.

Food stalls could be set up, which would create jobs. Local foods can be promoted in the food stalls and women should be prioritised for employment with self-help groups.

PM Modi also suggested some blocks should be reserved for parking.

He said the facilities should help children engage in sports so they may stay away from mobiles.

This vision was turned into a reality by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, which transformed underbridge spaces into vibrant sports hubs. The space has been put to other innovative uses as well.

One such facility is under CIMS railway overbridge in Gota Ward, north-west zone in Ahmedabad. It was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This project costs only Rs 3.5 crore.

It is divided into several zones: games zone, dedicated pickle ball court, box cricket facilities, basketball court, food zone and two parking blocks.

Twn more overbridges in Ahmedabad, two in Surat, four in Vadodara, two in Rajkot and two in Gandhinagar Mahanagar Palika will be transformed similarly under this initiative.

Union Budget will initiate reforms in six areas – taxation, urban development, mining, financial sector, power and regulatory framework, said Ms Sitharaman.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the Union Budget 2025-26 will initiate reforms in six areas of taxation, urban development, mining, financial sector, power and regulatory framework.

Presenting her eighth consecutive budget, she said the government’s development track record of the past 10 years and structural reforms have drawn global attention.

A Viksit Bharat will have zero poverty, quality education, high-quality, affordable and comprehensive healthcare, she said and added that the budget’s focus is to take everyone together on inclusive growth path. 

According to the Disaster Management officials, most of the rivers in Tripura are overflowing while the state’s main river Gomati, is still flowing at 22.30 meters, which is above extreme danger level of 22 meters.

The flood situation in Tripura, which witnessed catastrophic monsoon deluge for the first time in over three decades, slightly improved on Friday but vast areas including human habitations in urban and rural areas, still inundated.

According to the Disaster Management officials, most of the rivers in Tripura are overflowing while the state’s main river Gomati, which flows through Gomati and Sepahijala districts before entering into Bangladesh, is still flowing at 22.30 meters, which is above extreme danger level of 22 meters.

An official said that around 65,500 people are taking shelter in 450 relief camps in all eight districts.

He said that 17 lakh people were affected in the entire state, which witnessed the devastating floods since Monday.

However, since Thursday afternoon, the rain in most places either stopped or its intensity reduced.

Till Thursday, at least 21 people, including women and children, had died in landslides and drowning in flood water in South Tripura, Gomati, and Khowai districts since Monday and two persons were reportedly missing.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Udaipur, Amarpur and Karbook areas under Gomati and he also visited many relief camps.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been in touch with the Chief Minister and inquired about the flood situation of the state, said in a post on X, “Given the flood situation in Tripura, the central govt, under the leadership of Modi Ji, has approved the release of Rs 40 crore in advance, as the central share from SDRF, to provide relief to the affected people.”

“The 11 NDRF teams, three columns of the Army, and four helicopters of the Air Force deployed by the Centre are already assisting the state govt in relief and rescue operations. No matter what, our sisters and brothers in Tripura will find the Modi govt standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them to battle these difficult times, Shah said.

Tripura Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister and Home Minister for helping the state to deal with the devastating floods.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in a statement said on Friday that heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over tripura for next five days.

“A low pressure area lies over northern parts of West Bengal and adjoining areas of northeast Jharkhand on Friday. The associated cyclonic circulation extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level. It is likely to move nearly westwards towards Jharkhand during the next 24 hours.

Another, a cyclonic circulation lies over north Bay of Bengal at 5.8 km above mean sea level,” the statement said.

The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has cancelled several local trains in Tripura.

An NFR spokesman said that due to heavy rain, railway tracks were damaged in Gomati and south Tripura districts, forcing the authorities to cancel these trains.

According to Disaster Management Department officials, over 1,055 houses were damaged either fully or partially and hundreds of trees were uprooted blocking many important highways.

Landslides occurred in 2,032 places across the state, most of which, however, were cleared by Thursday evening.

As per preliminary estimates, around 5,000 hectares of vegetable farms and 1.20 lakh hectares of other crop lands are still submerged.

The objective of the scheme is to generate employment in rural and urban areas and to connect the youth of the state with self-employment.

Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved the implementation of the ‘Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Promotion Policy, 2024’ to ensure quality education for the youths. Under this policy, sponsoring bodies will be provided stamp duty exemption, capital subsidy and special benefits. Also, additional benefits will be given to universities that rank in the top 50.

Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay said that this policy will encourage private investment to meet the growing demand for higher education in the state. It will benefit students to get high-quality education in the state itself.

The establishment of private universities will also generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the youth of the state.

The meeting also approved the setting up of two new private universities in Mathura and Meerut. A letter of intent has been issued to ‘Rajiv Memorial Academic Welfare Society’ for setting up KD University in Mathura. Similarly, a proposal of ‘Vidya Bal Mandali’ for setting up Vidya University in Meerut on 42.755 acres of land has also been approved.

With the aim to provide self-employment opportunities to youths, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to implement a scheme under which subsidy will be provided on loans for projects up to Rs 5 lakh in microenterprises and service sector.

Minister of MSME Rakesh Sachan said that under this scheme, 10 lakh micro units will be established in the next 10 years, through which financial assistance will be provided every year to one lakh educated and trained youths of the state.

The objective of the scheme is to generate employment in rural and urban areas and to connect the youth of the state with self-employment. Under this scheme, the minimum educational qualification of the applicant should be class eight pass, although intermediate pass applicants will be given priority, he said.

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