Bhopal: Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath along with his son, incumbent MP Nakul Nath, and other family members cast their votes in Chhindwara Friday. Nakul Nath is seeking re-election from Chhindwara -- one of the largest (area-wise) and a tribal-populated Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh. Congress veteran Kamal Nath represented Chhindwara...

New Delhi: Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers. He especially called upon the young and first-time voters to vote...

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju cast their votes on Friday at their native villages as the polling for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies is underway, officials said. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein also exercised his franchise in his village in the Chowkham assembly segment. Rijiju cast his...

Guwahati: Long queues were seen outside booths since the morning as polling was underway for five constituencies in Assam in the first phase Friday. Poling began at 7 am in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Kaziranga seats, and 86.5 lakh voters are eligible to vote. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of the BJP and Congress's deputy leader in...

Lucknow: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is monitoring polling across 50 per cent of the booths through webcasting. Additionally, the ECI has deployed 1,510 video teams at the polling booths, as stated by the chief electoral officer (CEO). The commission has established 111 model polling stations, with 45 booths managed by women personnel, 36 by youths,...

New Delhi: Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi will be the new Navy Chief by the end of this month succeeding incumbent Admiral R Hari Kumar. Admiral Kumar will retire from service April 30. Vice Admiral Tripathi is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. "The government has appointed Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, presently serving...

Jaipur: A wax statue of ace India cricketer Virat Kohli was installed at the Jaipur Wax Museum on the occasion of World Heritage Day Thursday. Visitors will now get the opportunity to click themselves with the former India captain's wax figure at the wax museum housed in the Nahargarh Fort, said Anoop Srivastava, the Founder-Director of Jaipur...

Dubai: Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near a major airbase at the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It remained unclear if the country was under attack. However, tensions remain high after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted...

Jaipur: Voting for the first phase of elections was underway in 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan Friday. The voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m. Rajasthan Chief Secretary Sudhanshu Pant was among the first 50 voters to cast his vote. He joined the queue of voters at 7 a.m. and cast his...

Rourkela: With the district administration making elaborate security arrangements to tackle any unpleasant situation, Ram Navami celebrations in Sundargarh district remained peaceful. Contrary to other areas in the district, the procession was taken out Thursday in Rourkela. “This is the tradition we have been following from the beginning,” said one Shankar of Daily Market Akhada. A total...