Five Indian states are going to polls in February in what is seen as a bellwether elections. The elections are crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. They are being watched keenly in India, almost like the midterm elections in the US. In the next two months, elections will also be held in Punjab & Uttarakhand as well as in Goa and the northeastern state of Manipur. VO: Elections would be held for 403 assembly seats in UP, 117 in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa.

India's mammoth state elections: Why are they significant?

CM Mamata Banerjee claims a big victory in West Bengal as the left alliance retains power in Kerala. DMK bags massive win in Tamil Nadu as Puducherry, Assam voted for BJP's alliance.

Indian assembly elections 2021: Political battle in 5 Indian states ends

Facebook&nbsp;Inc said it was taking steps to combat hate speech and misinformation in India as part of its efforts to curb spread of misinformation during elections in four Indian states.

"We recognise that there are certain types of content, such as hate speech, that could lead to imminent, offline harm...To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement," it added.

Facebook&nbsp;has been under fire globally for alleged lapses in controlling hate speech. In the United States, the social media giant put a months-long freeze on political, electoral and social ads to crack down on misinformation and abuses around the November&nbsp;3 presidential elections.

Facebook has drawn flak in the past for its handling of hate speech on the platform in the country. India is among the biggest markets for Facebook and its group companies, WhatsApp and Instagram. According to government data, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook users, and 21 crore users of Instagram.

The US-based company said it has invested significantly in proactive detection technology to help identify violating content more quickly.

In its blog, Facebook said based on lessons it has learned from past elections in India and globally, it is taking steps to enhance civic engagement, combat hate speech, limit misinformation and remove voter suppression amid elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

"To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement,"&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;said.

It has also designed Election Day reminders to give voters accurate information and encourage them to share it with friends on&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and WhatsApp, the company said.

In 2019, led by industry body IAMAI, Facebook had set up a high priority channel with the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to receive content-related escalations.

The company also works with third-party fact-checkers around the world, including eight partners in India, to provide people with additional context about the content they're seeing on Facebook.

In addition to English, these eight partners fact-check in 11 Indian languages including Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Assamese.

When a fact-checker rates a story as false, such content is labelled and shown lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution.

This stops its spread and reduces the number of people who see it, Facebook said.&nbsp;

Facebook Inc said it was taking steps to combat hate speech and misinformation in India as part of its efforts to curb spread of misinformation during elections in four Indian states.

Facebook Inc said it was taking steps to combat hate speech and misinformation in India as part of its efforts to curb spread of misinformation during elections in four Indian states. "We recognise that there are certain types of content, such as hate speech, that could lead to imminent, offline harm...To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement," it added. Facebook has been under fire globally for alleged lapses in controlling hate speech. In the United States, the social media giant put a months-long freeze on political, electoral and social ads to crack down on misinformation and abuses around the November 3 presidential elections. Facebook has drawn flak in the past for its handling of hate speech on the platform in the country. India is among the biggest markets for Facebook and its group companies, WhatsApp and Instagram. According to government data, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook users, and 21 crore users of Instagram. The US-based company said it has invested significantly in proactive detection technology to help identify violating content more quickly. In its blog, Facebook said based on lessons it has learned from past elections in India and globally, it is taking steps to enhance civic engagement, combat hate speech, limit misinformation and remove voter suppression amid elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry. "To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement," Facebook said. It has also designed Election Day reminders to give voters accurate information and encourage them to share it with friends on Facebook and WhatsApp, the company said. In 2019, led by industry body IAMAI, Facebook had set up a high priority channel with the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to receive content-related escalations. The company also works with third-party fact-checkers around the world, including eight partners in India, to provide people with additional context about the content they're seeing on Facebook. In addition to English, these eight partners fact-check in 11 Indian languages including Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Assamese. When a fact-checker rates a story as false, such content is labelled and shown lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution. This stops its spread and reduces the number of people who see it, Facebook said.

Facebook to curb hate speech amid elections in Indian states

On Tuesday, November 3, The United States of America (USA) will vote for its next President. The US election, held once every four years, takes place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, as spelled out in the US Constitution.&nbsp;

Irrespective of who wins the American presidential race, there’s a good chance India will continue to remain important for the US.

There are actually only a few similarities between the organization of the government in the two biggest functioning democracies around the world. Elections in the USA are therefore not quite the same as elections in India.&nbsp;

Here are the main differences between Indian and American elections:

Presidential and Parliamentary form of Government

United States follows the presidential form of the Government and India follows the parliamentary form.

In a presidential system, the central principle is that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government are separate. This leads to the separate election of president, who is elected to office for a fixed term, and only removable for gross misdemeanor by impeachment and dismissal.US citizens technically vote for “electors” and not the presidential candidates themselves, who subsequently elect the President.&nbsp;

In the US presidential system, the President is both the chief executive of the government and the head of state.&nbsp;

India follows the parliamentary system of government. Indian Parliament is a bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and the two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.

India’s parliamentary system does not allow citizens to directly choose the head of the government.In India the Head of state is different from the Head of the government. 
 
Political parties:

The United States has two prominent parties that have the most power the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, both of which are built on a specific ideology. Although the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and other smaller parties exist in US but they are as big as the two major ones.

India, however, has many parties that operate on the different regional level. The two major political parties of India are the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress apart from these two, India is riddled with countless other regional parties which often differs from one state to the other. 
 
Electoral system

According to the US government website, In the US Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress. Each elector casts one electoral vote following the general election; there are a total of 538 electoral votes. The candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the election.

Members of Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house of India's Parliament are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. The MPs of the party or alliance with majority seats choose their leader as the head of the government, who becomes Prime Minister of India.&nbsp; 
 
Voting system&nbsp;

US uses ballot to cast votes and India uses EVM machines for voting. 
 
There is one major disadvantage of the Indian election system is that the people don’t have the choice to elect their Head of State directly.

On Tuesday, November 3, The United States of America (USA) will vote for its next President. The US election, held once every four years, takes place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, as spelled out in the US Constitution.

On Tuesday, November 3, The United States of America (USA) will vote for its next President. The US election, held once every four years, takes place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, as spelled out in the US Constitution. Irrespective of who wins the American presidential race, there’s a good chance India will continue to remain important for the US. There are actually only a few similarities between the organization of the government in the two biggest functioning democracies around the world. Elections in the USA are therefore not quite the same as elections in India. Here are the main differences between Indian and American elections: Presidential and Parliamentary form of Government United States follows the presidential form of the Government and India follows the parliamentary form. In a presidential system, the central principle is that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government are separate. This leads to the separate election of president, who is elected to office for a fixed term, and only removable for gross misdemeanor by impeachment and dismissal.US citizens technically vote for “electors” and not the presidential candidates themselves, who subsequently elect the President. In the US presidential system, the President is both the chief executive of the government and the head of state. India follows the parliamentary system of government. Indian Parliament is a bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and the two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. India’s parliamentary system does not allow citizens to directly choose the head of the government.In India the Head of state is different from the Head of the government. Political parties: The United States has two prominent parties that have the most power the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, both of which are built on a specific ideology. Although the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and other smaller parties exist in US but they are as big as the two major ones. India, however, has many parties that operate on the different regional level. The two major political parties of India are the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress apart from these two, India is riddled with countless other regional parties which often differs from one state to the other. Electoral system According to the US government website, In the US Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress. Each elector casts one electoral vote following the general election; there are a total of 538 electoral votes. The candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the election. Members of Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house of India's Parliament are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. The MPs of the party or alliance with majority seats choose their leader as the head of the government, who becomes Prime Minister of India. Voting system US uses ballot to cast votes and India uses EVM machines for voting. There is one major disadvantage of the Indian election system is that the people don’t have the choice to elect their Head of State directly.

US election 2020: How American election is different from Indian election

As Jharkhand's Hazaribagh seat prepares to go to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/jharkhand-assembly-polls-one-dead-3-injured-in-clashes-in-gumla-266803">polls in the third phase</a>, elaborate security arrangements have been kept in place for polling parties to be dispatched from the district headquarters to the respective booths of five constituencies in the district.

Mayur Patel, Superintendent of Police, Hazaribagh told ANI, "All the five constituencies of Hazaribagh are going to poll on December 12. We have made elaborate security arrangements for the peaceful poll process. We are having 1700 booths throughout the district. The overall arrangement for the security has been beefed up."

"We have made all arrangements so that communal atmosphere does not get vitiated. We have talked with religious leaders and taken them into confidence. We are ensuring that the atmosphere remains calm," he added.

Speaking on tackling the Naxal menace in the state during the polls, Patel said, "We have Naxal problems in the bordering areas with Bihar and inter-district borders. We have our intelligence system through which we get regular updates. We have our special teams which will transport the EVMs."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/jharkhand-assembly-polls-firing-reported-in-gumlas-sirsa-block-266776">Jharkhand</a>, which has an 81-member Assembly, is undergoing polling in five phases.

The first phase of the election in the state took place on November 30 while the second round was held on December 7.

The voting for the third phase will be conducted on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16, and the fifth and last phase on December 20.

The counting of votes will take place on December 23.

&nbsp;

As Jharkhand's Hazaribagh seat prepares to go to polls in the third phase, elaborate security arrangements have been kept in place for polling parties to be dispatched from the district headquarters to the respective booths of five constituencies in the district.

As Jharkhand's Hazaribagh seat prepares to go to polls in the third phase, elaborate security arrangements have been kept in place for polling parties to be dispatched from the district headquarters to the respective booths of five constituencies in the district. Mayur Patel, Superintendent of Police, Hazaribagh told ANI, "All the five constituencies of Hazaribagh are going to poll on December 12. We have made elaborate security arrangements for the peaceful poll process. We are having 1700 booths throughout the district. The overall arrangement for the security has been beefed up." "We have made all arrangements so that communal atmosphere does not get vitiated. We have talked with religious leaders and taken them into confidence. We are ensuring that the atmosphere remains calm," he added. Speaking on tackling the Naxal menace in the state during the polls, Patel said, "We have Naxal problems in the bordering areas with Bihar and inter-district borders. We have our intelligence system through which we get regular updates. We have our special teams which will transport the EVMs." Jharkhand, which has an 81-member Assembly, is undergoing polling in five phases. The first phase of the election in the state took place on November 30 while the second round was held on December 7. The voting for the third phase will be conducted on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16, and the fifth and last phase on December 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 23.

Security in Jharkhand ramped up ahead of December 12 polls

India.com has won the Gold Award for its election coverage in the category of 'Best Content in a News Blog/Website' in the ICL 2019 - India Content Leadership Awards and Conference.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, India.com dedicated a special section to ensure comprehensive election coverage including all election-related news, views and analysis. While words like 'elections', 'vote share', 'seat share' tend to complicate things for readers, India.com (https://www.india.com) took a novel approach of presenting things in an altogether different manner. A minefield of data which won't overwhelm its readers - this was India.com's election website. (https://www.india.com/lok-sabha-election-2019/)&nbsp;

Not just this election, data of all past elections were presented in an easy-to-navigate way, which was also easy on the eyes. Instead of depending on agency reports, all data presented on this election site were verified with that of the Election Commission.

Zee Group's CEO, Digital Publishing, Rohit Chadda said, "Our vision for India.com is to make it the one-stop destination for anything and everything about India - be it news, lifestyle, travel or entertainment. Being the largest democracy in the World, politics and elections are an important part of India and hence India.com. The award is a testament to our commitment to serve the best content to Indians as well Indophiles across the globe."

One major attraction of India.com's election site was its interactive campaign tracker. Elections in India (https://www.india.com/news/india/) present a grand affair. Often it becomes difficult to keep track of everything. The poll-tracker, in a unique way, took the readers on an entire campaign trail in a few clicks. Along with the leaders, the readers too were allowed on a virtual campaign tour. Not only which leader campaigned where - a concise wrap-up of what he/she said was added so that nothing gets lost in the crowd of election information.

Expressing her gratitude to all edit staff, which includes young and energetic journalists, for the award-winning work, India.com News Editor Ruchi Dua said, "Instead of making data analysis a complex exercise, we gave direct information to our readers. In fact, to break the nerdy monotony of most election sites, India.com conceived a funny IQ test which became a major takeaway of the website. It was a fun game to test the general knowledge of the readers about politics, political parties and leaders. This award proves that India.com provides the best user experience on any election to its users."

The infographics and the video section were there to aid in the understanding of the poll issues, not to cram the brain of the readers.

"While we aspired to stand out for our election coverage, the key driver for us was rich media storytelling. In addition to quick turnaround with news updates, we added a list of new formats such as infographics, elections timeline dating back to 1952, election rally tracker and a hangman-style trivia game. This cumulative approach for our election coverage meant engagement levels were far higher on election results day," said India.com AVP Product Dileep Venkatkrishna.

India.com, one of the leading news and information websites from the Zee Digital, keeps its readers informed on latest national, international developments in politics, education, infotainment and policies. True to its domain name, &nbsp;India.com, voices what matters to people the most.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

India.com has won the Gold Award for its election coverage in the category of 'Best Content in a News Blog/Website' in the ICL 2019 - India Content Leadership Awards and Conference.

India.com has won the Gold Award for its election coverage in the category of 'Best Content in a News Blog/Website' in the ICL 2019 - India Content Leadership Awards and Conference. Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, India.com dedicated a special section to ensure comprehensive election coverage including all election-related news, views and analysis. While words like 'elections', 'vote share', 'seat share' tend to complicate things for readers, India.com (https://www.india.com) took a novel approach of presenting things in an altogether different manner. A minefield of data which won't overwhelm its readers - this was India.com's election website. (https://www.india.com/lok-sabha-election-2019/) Not just this election, data of all past elections were presented in an easy-to-navigate way, which was also easy on the eyes. Instead of depending on agency reports, all data presented on this election site were verified with that of the Election Commission. Zee Group's CEO, Digital Publishing, Rohit Chadda said, "Our vision for India.com is to make it the one-stop destination for anything and everything about India - be it news, lifestyle, travel or entertainment. Being the largest democracy in the World, politics and elections are an important part of India and hence India.com. The award is a testament to our commitment to serve the best content to Indians as well Indophiles across the globe." One major attraction of India.com's election site was its interactive campaign tracker. Elections in India (https://www.india.com/news/india/) present a grand affair. Often it becomes difficult to keep track of everything. The poll-tracker, in a unique way, took the readers on an entire campaign trail in a few clicks. Along with the leaders, the readers too were allowed on a virtual campaign tour. Not only which leader campaigned where - a concise wrap-up of what he/she said was added so that nothing gets lost in the crowd of election information. Expressing her gratitude to all edit staff, which includes young and energetic journalists, for the award-winning work, India.com News Editor Ruchi Dua said, "Instead of making data analysis a complex exercise, we gave direct information to our readers. In fact, to break the nerdy monotony of most election sites, India.com conceived a funny IQ test which became a major takeaway of the website. It was a fun game to test the general knowledge of the readers about politics, political parties and leaders. This award proves that India.com provides the best user experience on any election to its users." The infographics and the video section were there to aid in the understanding of the poll issues, not to cram the brain of the readers. "While we aspired to stand out for our election coverage, the key driver for us was rich media storytelling. In addition to quick turnaround with news updates, we added a list of new formats such as infographics, elections timeline dating back to 1952, election rally tracker and a hangman-style trivia game. This cumulative approach for our election coverage meant engagement levels were far higher on election results day," said India.com AVP Product Dileep Venkatkrishna. India.com, one of the leading news and information websites from the Zee Digital, keeps its readers informed on latest national, international developments in politics, education, infotainment and policies. True to its domain name, India.com, voices what matters to people the most.

India.com wins Gold Award for election coverage

This segment of WION brings to you top stories of the morning from across the globe. Watch this video to get updated with the latest information.

WION Speed News: Watch top national and international news of the morning - May 27th, 2019

The 4th phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 has been summed up, though it had witnessed violence in various provinces in West Bengal.

Lok Sabha election 2019: TMC workers clash with cops at polling booth

4th phase of The Lok Sabha election 2019 has been summed up. Watch big battles for the 4th phase of polls.

Lok Sabha election 2019: Watch big battles for the 4th phase of polls

A trailblazer inside the boxing ring, Olympic bronze-medallist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/search?q=Vijender+Singh">Vijender Singh</a> says he will draw inspiration from Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in his political innings which start with the Congress in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/elections">ongoing general elections</a>.&nbsp;

The 33-year-old from the cradle of Indian boxing -- Bhiwani in Haryana -- was on Monday nominated from the South Delhi constituency by the Grand Old Party locking him in a three-way fight with BJP's sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha.&nbsp;

Speaking to PTI on Tuesday, India's only male boxer with an Olympic medal and the first to claim a world championship medal sounded upbeat as he spoke about a decision which not many saw coming.&nbsp;

"I want to be India's Manny Pacquaio. It would be great if I can be as good as him because I am not giving up boxing. That's my first love, will always be. That's my identity and I am not going to give it up," said Vijender as he headed to file his nomination.&nbsp;

The last active sportsperson to fight an election in India was legendary cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who lost from Gurgaon back in 1971 while competing for a regional party.&nbsp;

The man Vijender is looking up to is, however, another story. &nbsp;

Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing. He is also the first to win major world titles in four out of eight weight classes -- flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. &nbsp;

The 40-year-old was elected to Philippines' House of Representatives, from the province of Sarangani, in 2010. He was re-elected in 2013 before winning the election to his country's Senate in June 2016. His term is till 2022. &nbsp;

All this while he remains an active boxer and defended his WBA welterweight title in January this year against American Adrien Broner. 
Vijender said his path is not going to be too different if he goes on to win on debut. &nbsp;

"Even if I make it to Parliament, I will identify myself as boxer Vijender Singh and will continue to juggle my responsibilities," he said. &nbsp;

Vijender's boxing career has been a stellar one, comprising a gold medal in the Asian Games, three medals at the Commonwealth Games, and multiple Asian Championship medals. He turned professional in 2015 and has been unbeaten so far. &nbsp;

He recently signed up with the legendary Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions and is expected to make his debut on the American soil in the next few months.&nbsp;

Does he have a plan to manage two diverse careers in different continents on top of it?&nbsp;

"What plan? Rab aape hi karda hai sab kuch (God takes care of everything). He wants me to be a leader, he will make me one. I follow his wish," was his rather philosophical take. &nbsp;

Discussing politics, Vijender said the issues he will focus on are youth and, of course, sports.&nbsp;

"I am genuinely concerned about employment, which I think is a prominent issue for the youth. And being a sportsperson, I am also keen on working towards developing sports infrastructure. It's about time we had good infrastructure so that budding athletes can actually flourish," he said.&nbsp;

Asked why he opted for the Congress, a party which did not win a single seat in Delhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vijender said, "I relate to the ideology and the leadership."&nbsp;

"As is propagated by our leadership, I want to be a friend of the electorate. I don't wish to be the neta that visits once in five years. I am not going to do rallies or road shows. I am going to connect with the voters spontaneously." &nbsp;

Elaborating on his campaign strategy, Vijender said he will be relying heavily on social media. &nbsp;

"I am just going to post where I will be and at what time, on my social media pages. I leave it to people whether they want to join me or not. It is not going to be coordinated because I believe, they should see me as their friend or brother not an imposing neta," said the boxer whose Twitter following stands at 3.79 million.&nbsp;

Being embroiled in a drug scandal in 2013, when he was accused of buying heroin by Punjab Police, remains the only low point of his public life. He was eventually cleared of that as well after a dope test by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA). &nbsp;

In the rough and tumble of the election campaign, where personal attacks are not unchartered territory, he could become a target but Vijender said it doesn't bother him. &nbsp;

"When have I not been attacked? It's routine for me. And as they say, dogs bark, let them. It didnt affect me earlier, it's not going to affect me now," he said.&nbsp;

"I just want to be someone who touches lives and it is not dependent on whether I win or lose," he added.&nbsp;

A trailblazer inside the boxing ring, Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh says he will draw inspiration from Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in his political innings which start with the Congress in the ongoing general elections.

A trailblazer inside the boxing ring, Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh says he will draw inspiration from Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in his political innings which start with the Congress in the ongoing general elections. The 33-year-old from the cradle of Indian boxing -- Bhiwani in Haryana -- was on Monday nominated from the South Delhi constituency by the Grand Old Party locking him in a three-way fight with BJP's sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha. Speaking to PTI on Tuesday, India's only male boxer with an Olympic medal and the first to claim a world championship medal sounded upbeat as he spoke about a decision which not many saw coming. "I want to be India's Manny Pacquaio. It would be great if I can be as good as him because I am not giving up boxing. That's my first love, will always be. That's my identity and I am not going to give it up," said Vijender as he headed to file his nomination. The last active sportsperson to fight an election in India was legendary cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who lost from Gurgaon back in 1971 while competing for a regional party. The man Vijender is looking up to is, however, another story. Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing. He is also the first to win major world titles in four out of eight weight classes -- flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. The 40-year-old was elected to Philippines' House of Representatives, from the province of Sarangani, in 2010. He was re-elected in 2013 before winning the election to his country's Senate in June 2016. His term is till 2022. All this while he remains an active boxer and defended his WBA welterweight title in January this year against American Adrien Broner. Vijender said his path is not going to be too different if he goes on to win on debut. "Even if I make it to Parliament, I will identify myself as boxer Vijender Singh and will continue to juggle my responsibilities," he said. Vijender's boxing career has been a stellar one, comprising a gold medal in the Asian Games, three medals at the Commonwealth Games, and multiple Asian Championship medals. He turned professional in 2015 and has been unbeaten so far. He recently signed up with the legendary Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions and is expected to make his debut on the American soil in the next few months. Does he have a plan to manage two diverse careers in different continents on top of it? "What plan? Rab aape hi karda hai sab kuch (God takes care of everything). He wants me to be a leader, he will make me one. I follow his wish," was his rather philosophical take. Discussing politics, Vijender said the issues he will focus on are youth and, of course, sports. "I am genuinely concerned about employment, which I think is a prominent issue for the youth. And being a sportsperson, I am also keen on working towards developing sports infrastructure. It's about time we had good infrastructure so that budding athletes can actually flourish," he said. Asked why he opted for the Congress, a party which did not win a single seat in Delhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vijender said, "I relate to the ideology and the leadership." "As is propagated by our leadership, I want to be a friend of the electorate. I don't wish to be the neta that visits once in five years. I am not going to do rallies or road shows. I am going to connect with the voters spontaneously." Elaborating on his campaign strategy, Vijender said he will be relying heavily on social media. "I am just going to post where I will be and at what time, on my social media pages. I leave it to people whether they want to join me or not. It is not going to be coordinated because I believe, they should see me as their friend or brother not an imposing neta," said the boxer whose Twitter following stands at 3.79 million. Being embroiled in a drug scandal in 2013, when he was accused of buying heroin by Punjab Police, remains the only low point of his public life. He was eventually cleared of that as well after a dope test by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA). In the rough and tumble of the election campaign, where personal attacks are not unchartered territory, he could become a target but Vijender said it doesn't bother him. "When have I not been attacked? It's routine for me. And as they say, dogs bark, let them. It didnt affect me earlier, it's not going to affect me now," he said. "I just want to be someone who touches lives and it is not dependent on whether I win or lose," he added.

I am aspiring to be India's Manny Pacquaio: Vijender Singh

Know about the bitter history of Mayawati and Mulayam. Watch complete video to know in detail.

IEW: The Bitter History of Mayawati and Mulayam

Tomorrow is the first day of Lok Sabha elections 2019 of India. See how it is difficult to conduct voting in remote locations and how the preparedness is going on for tomorrow.

Preparedness started, How polling is a challenge in remote locations of India?

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