The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide details regarding the approximately 65 lakh voters removed from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, a state preparing for elections. The court's order comes in response to a petition filed by an NGO challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
Aiyar's endorsement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ignited a political firestorm, drawing sharp rebukes from his own party.
The Supreme Court has directed the Delhi police commissioner to ensure the appearance of lawyer Mukut Nath Verma, who is accused of making defamatory allegations against Supreme Court judges and members of the SCBA election committee. The court has previously issued bailable warrants against Verma, but police have been unable to locate him.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to steal votes in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls. He also alleged that the poll panel was helping BJP leaders secure two voter cards.
Last time, assembly polls in West Bengal were held in eight phases -- by far the maximum. In Assam, elections were held in two phases, and in a singular phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
'Today, the State looks at everyone with suspicion.'
The RJD leader on Wednesday had accused senior BJP leader and Muzaffarpur Mayor, Nirmala Devi and her two relatives of "having dual voter ID cards".
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) polls and commented on the NOTA option, stating it indirectly helps promote an unwanted candidate.
The Congress high command has intervened to manage discord within the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu, following controversial remarks by state leaders regarding power-sharing demands.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of deleted names from the voters list in Bihar, along with reasons for non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to advocate for fair elections and protect voting rights, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise voters.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has made significant progress in challenging the Thackeray family's control over Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after nearly 25 years. The results mark a potential shift in Mumbai's civic politics, with the BJP emerging as a central force.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of handing over Assam's land to infiltrators for votes during its rule in the northeastern state.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday.
Mohammed Shami on Tuesday appeared before poll officials in Kolkata for his scheduled hearing under the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal.
The second phase of the Systematic Integration of Rolls (SIR) in West Bengal is causing distress among elderly, disabled, and vulnerable voters, leading to political accusations ahead of the assembly polls.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
Stepping up political pressure ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress-led Opposition bloc in Assam has lodged an FIR against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Saikia, accusing him of directing BJP MLAs to delete Opposition voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.
Underscoring the 'presumption of genuineness' of Aadhaar and voter ID, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the publication of draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and said it would once and for all decide pleas against Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Despite her special leave petition being pending before the Supreme Court, she was deported to Bangladesh from the Matila transit camp on December 19.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission has prohibited civic poll candidates from using microphones and moving in large groups during door-to-door canvassing after the end of the public campaign. Opposition parties have criticised the decision.
A 57-year-old man was found dead on Tuesday near Siliguri in West Bengal, with family members alleging that he was under stress over the hearing into special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls, the police said.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Senior Congress functionary Praveen Chakravarty has questioned the DMK's flagship women's assistance scheme, suggesting it's superstitious to believe it alone will ensure electoral success, citing examples of similar schemes failing to secure victories for other parties.
The Opposition has claimed that the move will disenfranchise crores of eligible citizens.
Unidentified miscreants smashed a window and threw "petrol or similar substance" inside before igniting the blaze
A plea has been filed seeking action against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, alleging her name was included in the electoral rolls three years before she became an Indian citizen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday charged the Trinamool Congress government with 'playing with national security by protecting infiltrators' for vote-bank politics, and said ending the ruling party's 'maha jungle raj' was vital to restore law and order, development and investor confidence in the state.
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
Film folk stepped out to vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on January 14, and paused to show off their inked fingers as well as encourage the rest of the voting population to cast their votes too.
A resident of Bhojpur district in Bihar on Thursday called on the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to plead that he was alive.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed anger when a group of women left an event where he was speaking about government initiatives for women's empowerment.
Highlighting the party's broader stance on international relations, he added, "Friends to all, malice to none."
The Supreme Court has stated it will intervene if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, emphasizing the Election Commission's role as a constitutional authority.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is likely to take up the matter in which the EC has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls.
India has stated it will wait for the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh and the resulting mandate before addressing any existing issues. The country also affirmed its support for free, fair, inclusive, and credible elections in Bangladesh.
The Election Commission is set to publish the draft electoral rolls for West Bengal on Tuesday following the completion of the statewide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The publication of the draft rolls will mark the end of the enumeration phase and the beginning of a far more contentious stage - claims, objections and hearings that will stretch into February 2026.
