In case the EC doesn't hold elections within six months, the duration in which Banerjee has to become an MLA, the Trinamool Congress is ready with Plan B.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said it is some people's job to create doubts and asserted the systems in place at the Election Commission are strong to ensure no mistakes creep in.
The court also directed the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction to publish a disclaimer in newspapers, including Marathi ones, that the issue of allocation of "clock" symbol was pending in court.
The decision was taken because the term of the two Assemblies is till June 2, which means elections have to be wrapped up on or before that date, said the EC, in a press release.
The bench refused to entertain the plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and dismissed it.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
Taking a stern view of the failure of Gujarat government officials to send a compliance report on transfer and posting of officials ahead of the assembly polls, the Election Commission has sought an explanation from the state chief secretary and the director general of police (DGP).
The proposed first constitutional amendment bill would deal with making provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections together.
Pershant Gujjar and his 40 supporters have also been booked for holding the meeting without permission on Sunday, Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Sunil Sharma said.
The delegation demanded that those responsible for the act should be brought to book as the issue was serious.
Of the 87.54 crore electors in the first six phases of the Lok Sabha polls, as many as 57.77 crore voters turned up at the polling stations to cast their votes.
Even as the two parties appeared confident that they have reached out to every voter and publicised their new symbols, experts suggested varying impact of the split and the symbols on the vote bank.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was surging ahead in two southern states -- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka -- while the respective blocs led by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and Congress in Kerala were on their way for another excellent show, going by the latest trends emerging from the counting of voted polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
The Shiv Sena split last month when more than two-thirds of the party's MLAs withdrew their support from the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray, throwing their lot with Shinde.
A case was booked against Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Bangalore South Candidate Tejasvi Surya for allegedly posting a video on a social media platform and soliciting votes on the grounds of religion, the Election Commission said on Friday.
In the notice issued on Sunday, the ECI has notified the main organiser of the 'Auto Rajakanmar Iftar' event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the election model code of conduct.
The notice requested Rashid or a representative of his to appear before the district expenditure monitoring committee within two days to address the discrepancy and ensure timely submission of the expenditure report to the Election Commission of India.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Tuesday insisted that its commitment to host the 2036 Summer Games "remained steadfast" despite the "internal challenges" her organisation has been facing due to her feud with the Executive Council members.
The orders will come into force from 7 pm on Thursday.
'The EC's role in this is questionable. What is the reason for this delay? Are they waiting for instructions?'
