On June 13 elections to the legislative Council from the Assembly will take place.

"Modi is giving you a guarantee with an open heart that reservation for Dalits and backward tribals will neither end nor will it be allowed to be divided in the name of religion," he said.

For the coveted position of president, the Election Committee has declared 35 candidates eligible, while 37 contenders have been approved for the vice-president role.

Russia is conducting a presidential election widely anticipated to secure Vladimir Putin's leadership well into the 2030s. The primary voting period spans three days starting from March 15, with early and postal voting already underway. This includes regions within Ukraine under Russian occupation where efforts to assert authority are ongoing.

The 71-year-old former-cricketer-turned-politician’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party postponed the scheduled intra-party polls earlier this month, asserting that it could “divert” attention from the February 8 general elections.

The union minister today offered prayers at the famous temple of Goddess Bhagya Lakshmi at Charminar here and launched the 'Raths' to be used in the 'yatras'. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant, and other senior BJP leaders are expected to attend the mass-contact programme.

“I am taking responsibility for all this wrongdoing and telling you that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice are also completely involved in this,” Chattha said. 

A majority of the candidates are likely to get elected unopposed. February 20 is the last date of withdrawing candidature. Voting is scheduled to take place from 9 am to 4 pm on February 27 and the counting will be held on the same day from 5 pm onwards.

SC's ruling brought criticism to the Central government from the opposition as they welcomed the verdict. 

"The Election Commission has evaluated the requests made by the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all States and Union Territories and decided to deploy a maximum of approximately 3400 CAPF companies in all States and Union Territories in a phased manner to ensure the conduct of free, fair, and peaceful elections," reads the ECI order.

Railway Minister Vaishnaw is likely to get elected with the support of the state's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), as was the case during the former IAS officer's election for the first term in 2019.

Jha, who is currently a member of the state legislative council, will be sent to the Upper House of Parliament, the party sources said, adding that a formal announcement will be made soon.