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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaIndia elections 2024: Vote to be held in seven stagesPublished19 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP is eyeing a record third termIndia’s general election will take place in seven phases over April and May, the Election Commission says.The results will be announced on 4 June, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a news conference.With some 968 million eligible voters, India’s election will be the largest the world has seen.Opinion polls predict a win for Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, which is eyeing a record third term in power. More than two dozen opposition parties, including the Congress, have formed a coalition bloc – called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA – to take on the BJP at this election.India’s opposition challenge to Modi may be implodingIndia’s lower house has 543 elected seats and any party or a coalition needs a minimum of 272 MPs to form a government.The BJP, led by Mr Modi, had won a staggering 303 of the 543 seats in the 2019 election. This year, the party says its target is to win at least 370 seats.Some states will hold polls in several phases. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The 2024 Indian elections will see 26 million new votersVoting will be staggered, beginning on 19 April and ending on 1 June, Mr Kumar said.”We will take democracy to every corner of the country,” he said. “It is our promise to deliver a national election in a manner that we… remain a beacon for democracy around the world.”Some 968 million people – 150 million more than the last elections in 2019 – are eligible to vote.”Over 26 million new voters have been included in the electoral roll, of which approximately 14 million are women, surpassing the newly enrolled men by over 15%,” the Election Commission said.Electronic voting machines will be used and will contain a None of the Above (Nota) button.India appointed two new election commissioners on Thursday to fill vacant spots in the three-person Election Commission. Days before the poll dates were announced, the sudden resignation of Arun Goel, the second-highest officer in the Election Commission, had left the poll body with only one of the three mandated members, the chief election commissioner.Meanwhile, India’s Supreme Court continues to hear a case regarding the controversial electoral bonds scheme that allowed people and companies to make political donations anonymously. The Election Commission has released a list of India’s leading political donors. Mr Modi’s BJP was the biggest beneficiary, securing almost half of the bonds worth 120bn rupees donated between 2018 and 2024.Read more India stories from the BBC:Lottery firm tops list of India’s political donorsWater crisis shakes India’s Silicon ValleyThe cruel Yale benefactor who traded in Indian slavesIndia to enforce migrant law that excludes MuslimsThe journalist caught in Kashmir’s ‘revolving door’ of arrestsRelated TopicsAsiaIndiaTop Stories’He will come back’ – Israeli hostage families cling to hope, and demand a dealPublished6 hours agoCouncils told to consider residents’ support of LTNsPublished6 hours agoIceland volcano lava nears Grindavik in new eruptionPublished4 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Shapps missile threat’ and ‘Strictly stars summit’Game of Thrones creators: Why we swapped dragons for aliens in new showHow much trouble is Boeing in?’I got my first death threat before I was elected’What it’s like styling Zendaya for a red carpetAs notorious death row closes, inmates fear what awaits in new prisonsThe bomb scare, the police and the drag queenIdris Elba ‘dreams big’ with West African eco-city plan’My vet wanted £120 for a cream. 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[ad_1] Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a rare third term in the vote beginning in April.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUS Senate releases deal on border and Ukraine – but will it ever become law?Published37 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, More than 6.3 million migrants have crossed into the US illegally since the beginning of 2021By Sam Cabral and Bernd Debusmann JrBBC News, WashingtonUS senators have unveiled a long-awaited cross-party deal that aims to combat illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border – and, in return, grant new aid to Ukraine and Israel.The bill would introduce much more severe measures to try to stem border crossings, which are at record levels. The influx is one of the biggest political headaches facing Joe Biden.The Democratic-led Senate will vote on the bill this week, but a senior House Republican said the bill was doomed.”Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House,” said Representative Steve Scalise, the majority leader in the House of Representatives, where many Republicans want the bill to be tougher.Included in the huge $120bn funding deal is $60bn to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and $14bn in security assistance for Israel.The military aid became part of a Mexico border deal because Republicans had said they would not agree to more money being sent to Ukraine until action was taken to fix the migrant crisis.Immigration has emerged as the top issue driving Republicans to the polls in support of former President Donald Trump, the front-runner to face Mr Biden in the November general election.Faced with mounting public anger over the migrant inflows, President Biden vowed in January to “shut down the border right now and fix it quickly” if Congress sent a bill to his desk.Biden risks Democrats’ fury again over borderThe bill, which senators of both parties have spent months negotiating, was unveiled on Sunday night.What’s happening at the border? Since President Biden took office in January 2021, more than 6.3 million migrants have been detained crossing into the US illegally between points of entry, according to statistics from the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. Of these, about 2.4 million were allowed into the US, where the majority wait for immigration court dates in which they can make a case for asylum. The system is so overwhelmed that this can take years.A January poll conducted by CBS – the BBC’s US partner – shows that nearly half of Americans view the situation at the border as a crisis, with 63% saying that the administration should adopt “tougher” policies.More than two-thirds of Americans said they disapproved of Mr Biden’s handling of the issue. “Immigration is [Biden’s] Achilles’ heel. He is right up against the ropes on this,” said Tony Payan, the director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Texas.”The Republicans have been very successful at maintaining the issue on the headlines, and tying Biden to what they term ‘chaos’ on the border and an ‘invasion’ of migrants.”What’s in the new deal?The 370-page agreement will, in the words of Republican negotiator James Lankford, move from the current system of “catch and release” to one where migrants are detained and deported.Senator Lankford brokered the deal with Democratic colleague Chris Murphy and independent colleague Kyrsten Sinema. If passed into law, it would be the biggest immigration overhaul since the Reagan era in the 1980s.Among the most significant changes in the deal is a new federal authority that mandates a complete shutdown of the border when migrant crossings pass a threshold of 5,000 in a week.In practice, this would mean that migrants who arrive in the US illegally would no longer be allowed to request asylum and would be deported shortly thereafter.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Immigration is the top issue driving Republican voters to the pollsAdam Isacson, a migration and border expert from the Washington Office on Latin America, told the BBC that the change would mark a “radical” departure from current norms.The new bill, he says, reverts to the spirit of the Trump presidency which took a notably hard line on immigration, introducing Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants. Other reforms included in the deal are fast-tracked decisions on asylum cases, limits on humanitarian parole, expanded authority to remove migrants from the US, stricter consequences for illegal crossings and even $650m to build or reinforce miles of border wall.Collectively, Mr Isacson said these measures would have, not long ago, been largely considered unthinkable in US politics. Before Donald Trump, these kinds of measures were not in the mainstream debate, he said. “It was something that maybe people on the anti-immigrant fringe proposed. It really shows how much the window has shifted.” In endorsing the deal on Sunday, Mr Biden called it “the toughest and fairest” border reforms in decades.”It would give me, as president, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. Get it to my desk so I can sign it into law immediately.”What’s next? The bill needs at least 60 votes to advance through the 100-member Senate.But widespread opposition to the deal among House Republicans means that the immigration bill is unlikely ever to become law. Some Democrats on the left of the party may also be unhappy.Even before its details were announced and his colleague Mr Scalise spoke out against it, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that the deal would be “dead on arrival” in the chamber.Some Republicans have demanded stricter asylum restrictions, limiting programmes allowing migrants to live and work in the US while they wait for hearings.This Republican opposition has prompted Democrats to accuse Mr Johnson and others of bowing to pressure from Mr Trump, who has urged his Capitol Hill allies to kill the bill.”Call it the ‘stupid bill’ and make sure it doesn’t get passed,” the ex-president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, claiming the deal “will make things MUCH WORSE”.Experts say that Mr Trump’s influence has cast a shadow over the negotiations.”Letting the Biden administration twist in the wind is exactly what the Trump campaign wants,” said Mr Isacson. “That sort of status quo, of They want more B-roll of chaos during the campaign.” Related TopicsMexico–US borderUS immigrationDonald TrumpUS politicsUnited StatesJoe BidenMore on this storyBiden risks Democrats’ fury again over borderPublished16 December 2023Times Square attack on police stirs immigration rowPublished2 days ago25 governors back Texas in border row with US govtPublished26 JanuaryTop StoriesWoman killed by dogs while trying to calm puppies – daughterPublished6 hours ago’Blown away’ – Taylor Swift makes history at GrammysPublished30 minutes agoLive. 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