New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): The Election Commission has announced that biennial elections will be held to replace three Members of Parliament of the Rajya Sabha from Kerala, whose terms are due to end in April.
The biennial election to the Council of States from Kerala will be held on April 12, the Election Commission informed on Wednesday.
According to the poll body, the term of three members of the Rajya Sabha elected from Kerala is due to expire on their retirement on April 21, 2021.
“The term of Abdul Wahab, KK Ragesh and Vayalar Ravi of the Rajya Sabha elected from Kerala is due to expire on their retirement on April 21, 2021, ” the ECI said.
The polling will be held on April 12 from 9 am to 4 pm and counting of votes will be done on the same day from 5 pm onwards.
Nominations for the biennial polls can be filed till February 23 and scrutiny of the same will be held on March 31. The withdrawal of names can be done by April 5.
The ECI also directed every person to wear masks during election-related activity and to maintain social distancing as per the extant COVID-19 guidelines of the state government and Ministry of Home Affairs. (ANI)

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 17 (ANI): Karnataka on Wednesday reported as many as 1,275 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours, the state health department informed on Wednesday.
With this, the total positive cases now stand at 9,63,614, including 9,40,968 recoveries and 10,220 active cases.
As many as 12,407 lives have been claimed by the coronavirus in the state so far.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka government informed that the daily tests of COVID-19 will be increased to one lakh in the state.
“In order to prevent and mitigate the second wave of COVID-19, the daily target of tests in the state has been increased to one lakh,” read a release by the state health department.
According to the union health ministry, Karnataka is one of the five states (Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu) that has accounted for 71.10 per cent of the 28,903 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): Delhi reported 536 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which is the highest number of cases since January 1 this year.
The death toll in the city has gone up to 10,948 with three more deaths.
Officials said that the national capital had seen 585 new cases on January 1 and the number reported on Wednesday was the second-highest this year.
Delhi had reported 425 new COVID-19 cases and related death on Tuesday.
According to the Delhi government Health Bulletin, 319 more patients recovered in the last 24 hours.
The total count of cases is 6,45,025 and total recoveries stand at 6,31,375.
The city has 2,702 active cases and the positivity rate in the last 24 hours is 0.66. The cumulative positivity rate is 4.77 per cent while the case fatality rate is 1.70 per cent.
India reported 28,903 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. (ANI)
Delhi sees 536 new COVID-19 cases, highest since Jan 1 this year

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 17 (ANI): Former deputy chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffar Hussain Beig on Wednesday joined the People’s Conference.
Addressing media person, People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone said, “We have very close ties with him. He had raised us. Also, he started his political career at the People’s Conference. As a nephew, I came along with my associates, to seek my right and he gave that.”
J&K Peoples’ Conference also announced that Beig has joined the People’s Conference.
“It is with great pleasure we announce that one of the towering leaders of the state Mr Muzaffar Hussein Baig is now a part of the party from where he started his political journey. It is a nostalgic and a proud moment for all of us,” J&K Peoples’ Conference tweeted.
In November last year, Muzaffar Beigh had quit the People’s Democratic Party. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): The All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced the names of two more candidates on Wednesday for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.
Congress leaders Abdur Rezzak Mollah and Avjit Narjinary will contest from Falta and Kalchini assembly seats respectively.
On Sunday, the Congress Party released a list of 34 candidates for the forthcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
Among the key names mentioned in the list include Abdul Mannan, Shiladitya Haldar, Amitabha Chakraborty and Alok Ranjan Banerjee.
Mannan, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly will contest from Champdani seat. Chakraborty will contest from the Shyampur assembly seat and Banerjee from Sreerampur.
Congress has made an alliance with the Left Front to contest in the ensuing West Bengal Assembly polls. However, the newly-formed Indian Secular Front (ISF) has also joined the Congress-Left alliance in the poll-bound Bengal. Till now, 92 seats have been finalised for Congress in the alliance.
Earlier this month, Congress had released the names of 16 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly polls.
Elections to 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): A meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began at the party headquarters on Wednesday evening to finalise candidates for the remaining four phases of the West Bengal assembly elections.
The high-level meeting is being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda and other leaders.
The BJP has finalised candidates for the first four phases of the West Bengal polls. It has also finalised almost all candidates for polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam.
Till now, BJP released the names of 112 candidates for the first four phases of the forthcoming assembly polls in the state. In its earlier list, the party has fielded four MPs including Union Minister Babul Supriyo, Locket Chatterjee, Swapan Dasgupta and Nisith Pramanik.
BJP has also fielded eminent economist Ashok Lahiri from the Alipurduar assembly seat. Further, several actors such as Yash Das Gupta, Tanusree Chakraborty, Payal Sarkara, Anjana Basu and Hiraan Chatterjee have also been fielded by the BJP for the upcoming polls.
Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (ANI)