Over 1.2 lakh duplications found in Delhi electoral rolls: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: Over 1.2 lakh duplications have been detected in the electoral rolls of Delhi, the Election Commission said today while asserting that a variety of steps have been taken to prevent bogus voting in upcoming assembly polls.

The EC's response came on complaints by Aam Aadmi Party and Congress that Delhi's electoral rolls carried names of a large number of bogus voters.

Writing to the two parties, the Commission said that 1,20,605 duplications have been noticed in the electoral rolls.

Quoting a letter written to it by Delhi Joint Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Goyal, the EC told both the parties that while 89,017 entries have been rectified and published in the final publication of electoral rolls, the rest will be published in the supplementary list to be available on the last date of nomination.

The move comes ahead of EC's plan to announce assembly elections in Delhi in the coming days. EC is likely to hold the polls in Delhi, under President's Rule now, in the middle of February.

As per the final electoral roll published on January 5, Delhi has 1,30,85251 electors.

During the process of summary revision, which started on October 15 last, the Delhi poll body used 'de-duplication software' following which it found "probable duplicity" in the electoral rolls.

The Delhi poll body has constituted ADM level probe in each of the districts to identify the reasons behind duplicacy.

It said prima facie multiple applications by an elector, error at the level of data entry and technical glitches in the IT based platform can be attributed as some of the reasons for the flaw in electoral rolls.

Seeking to allay fears relating to fake voters, it said strict instructions have been issued to apply a thick layer of indelible ink to those who cast their vote. Bogus voting attracts jail term of upto one year or fine or both under the IPC.

The poll watchdog said it will also undertake focused publicity of legal provisions regarding bogus voting and and step up vigilance during the last 48 hours before the polls.

Alleging that more than 3 lakh voters in the capital had more than one voter ID card, AAP had last week approached EC and urged it to rectify discrepancies. Congress too had raised the issue of "bogus votes" before the Commission.

Elaborate arrangements underway for Surajkund mela

Elaborate arrangements are being made for the 29th edition of Surajkund international crafts mela which will begin here on February 1.

A review of the arrangements was carried out on Thursday by managing director (MD) Haryana tourism corporation Sumita Mishra here during a meeting with senior government officials.

Mishra said efforts should be made to make the fair a grand affair so that it is unforgettable experience for the visitors.

Faridabad deputy commissioner (DC) Amit Kumar Agrawal also met several officials concerned in this connection.

In the fortnight-long fair, Chhattisgarh is the theme state and Lebanon the partner nation for the fair which is jointly hosted by Haryana tourism Ccrporation and Surajkund mela authority in collaboration with the union ministries of tourism, textiles and culture and external affairs.

Jammu & Kashmir to have stable government soon: BJP

Hinting that Governor’s rule imposed two days back in Jammu and Kashmir may be for a brief spell, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said a stable government would soon be in place in the state which will see all round development.

Addressing party workers in Poonch, state president of the party and MP from Jammu, Jugal Kishore Sharma said,”Government shall be in place soon and a huge task is ahead for all of us to provide equitable development for all the areas in the region.”

J and K was placed under Governor’s rule following failure of PDP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats, and BJP with 25 seats in the 87-member Assembly failing to cobble up the required numbers to take a shot at government formation. National Conference won 15 seats and Congress 12 in the results announced on December 23.

The decision was also prompted by Omar Abdullah who refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister on the ground that the state needs a full-time administrator.

BJP would also work in all the neglected areas to ensure full-scale development in the days to come, Sharma said.

“The areas that have been neglected need immediate attention… It is high time that due attention is given to all the sectors where no attention had been paid by successive governments,” he said.

In Akhnoor, a senior Congress leader accused BJP of “hijacking” the agenda of Kashmir-based separatists to create political instability in the state.

“BJP is least interested in formation of government in the state, they just want to hijack the agenda of the Hurriyat Conference to create political uncertainties and instability in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sham Lal Sharma said while addressing youth workers of the party.

“People voted for a change, let them now judge how their mandate is being humiliated. Despite having the requisite numbers they failed to form a government which resulted in the imposition of the Governor’s rule in the state,” he said.

BJP has compromised with the sentiments and aspirations of the people of the Jammu region, he said.

The Governor’s report sent to Home Minister Rajnath Singh had contained some suggestions including the option of a spell of Governor’s rule in the wake of no party getting the number required to form a government after the highly-fractured verdict in the Assembly elections.

After the election results were out neither PDP nor BJP could get the magic figure of 44 to stake claim to form a government.

BJP President Amit Shah had said in Vijayawada on Friday that his party was in talks with both the PDP and the NC to form the next government in the state. “Our talks are going on with the two parties in Kashmir…We are trying to form a BJP government in the state,” he said.

Casino busted in Gurgaon, 43 arrested

The Gurgaon police on Saturday night busted a casino in Gurgaon that had been operating illegally from a house in residential block L in DLF City Phase 2.

The police arrested 43 people including five women and seized more than Rs. 20 lakh in cash. The arrested people are businessman from Delhi and Gurgaon.

ACP (DLF) Ramesh Pal said, “We acted on a tip-off. The casino was operating in a rented accommodation for the last one month. It was designed by a professional from Nepal.”

The organiser had hired five women from Kathmandu, Nepal, who were already working in a casino.

The entry charges of the casino were Rs. 1lakh and more than 100 persons visited everyday, according to the police.

The neighbours were probably aware of some suspicious activity, but no one complained as they were not certain, the police said.

Sensex, Nifty consolidate; HUL gains for 6th straight day

10:25am Jaguar to enter luxury SUV segment

British car maker Jaguar, known for its sporty sedans, will launch the F-PACE offroader in 2016, entering the ultra popular segment of the luxury sports utility vehicle in a radical departure for the 80-year-old brand.

Luxury SUVs have long been built by parent company Jaguar Land Rover, which already owns the Range Rover brand, in what has become a popular segment among women and family buyers.

"The F-PACE is our family sports car," Ian Callum, Jaguar's director of design said.

The company is also launching two diesel powered Range Rover models in North America in 2016 with new engines promising fuel savings of up to 30 percent when compared with gasoline engine powered models, reports Reuters.

10:00am Market Check

The market was directionless in morning trade today after seeing rally in previous two sessions. It is eyeing for more third quarter earnings after getting strong start from the software services exporter Infosys on Friday. Also the December inflation and November IIP data will be closely watched, which will be declared this week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 31.61 points to 27426.77 while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 1.80 points to 8286.30. However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising half a percent.

About 1212 shares have advanced, 703 shares declined, and 354 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindustan Unilever gained for the sixth consecutive session today, up 2.4 percent in addition to 14 percent rally in previous week.

Shares of Axis Bank, L&T, SBI, Infosys, ITC, Sun Pharma, BHEL and Maruti Suzuki were up 0.2-1.3 percent whereas Reliance Industries, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ONGC, M&M, GAIL and Tata Steel fell 0.8-1.8 percent. Coal India tanked 4 percent on divestment buzz.

The Indian rupee advanced 19 paise to 62.13 a dollar while Brent crude fell 1.44 percent to USD 49.39 a barrel and US crude declined 1.47 percent to USD 47.65 a barrel. 

Why does networking work

A large recruiting company did a survey recently of about 250 of the largest companies in the U.S., mostly well-known brands of national and international scope that cover a range of major industries.  They wanted to find out what were the major sources of hiring for these companies.

They found that most hires, about 45%, are done internally by promoting or transferring existing staff.  The biggest source of hiring outside the company was from referrals, about 25% of hires.  What is true for these huge companies is true for most companies of 500 employees or more in Ottawa or anywhere.

Moreover, a job seeker who is referred is conservatively 3-4 times more likely to be hired (some studies have found that a job seeker who is referred is 14 times more likely to be hired) than someone who applies for a position without a referral.  This is essential information for anyone seeking a job or wanting to make a job change.

In a recent article, I explained how networking works, but WHY is it so effective?

The answer is simple:  human nature.

The problem with human beings is that we are not perfect! We all have weaknesses, shortcomings, faults, biases, prejudices and vices. In short, there is a downside to every individual. Every potential employee is a risk to a manager… a risk that might jeopardize his or her career!

You are an unknown quantity. Human beings are full of rational and irrational fears when it comes to protecting their self-interests. You need to understand how hiring works from the employer's point of view.

As a certified job change expert, I have also been in the position to hire others.  Believe me, when a hiring manager looks at resumes from people whom they don't know, they might be thinking: “This person looks good on paper but what if they have a personality flaw and can't get along with anybody here, we get into a dispute, end up in a grievance or, worse, end up in court? What if they have a secret addiction and fall to pieces as soon as I give them a deadline or put them under pressure, and we lose our biggest account, millions of dollars in revenue, and the CEO fires me? What if they have a secret agenda to [insert your irrational fear of choice]?

We live in a litigious society, and managers must protect themselves from litigation, not to mention all the aggravation that comes with making a bad hire. One of the easiest ways to do that is to minimize risk. Since you, as a job seeker, are a potential risk, the easiest way to minimize that risk is to NOT hire you.
In other words, a manager will not hire you until they feel SAFE with you. And, they cannot feel safe with you, unless they meet you face-to-face. In most cases, managers are not going to jeopardize their careers by hiring candidates with whom they don't feel safe.


As human beings, we fear what we don't know. I'm not saying it's right or equitable or fair; it's human nature!

When you approach potential employers as a stranger, their automatic fear response kicks in because they don't know you, and they fear what they don't know.

Here is some key job change advice: networking is not first and foremost about you, about your needs and priorities for a job.  It’s first and foremost about a manager’s need to protect his/her career, to ensure that they can proceed with developing their career without looking over their shoulder.  They want you to cover their back.

This is why the old adage, “People hire who they know” is so true…not because of nepotism, cronyism, or corruption (all exist of course but rarely operate in a hiring situation which is governed by law and common sense)…but because of human nature, the desire for a sure thing, the desire to first, protect, then promote our own careers.

In this context, my next article will explain why referrals are so highly regarded by managers, why it helps make a hiring decision easier.

For more info: http://www.jobjoy.com