Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
A man's alleged suicide in West Bengal, with a note blaming the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has ignited a political firestorm between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with accusations of fear-mongering and political exploitation.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
Following the 'dog babu' incident, another canine application for a residence certificate has surfaced in Nawada, Bihar. An FIR has been registered for the attempt.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
The Election Commission (EC) has announced 17 new initiatives for the Bihar Assembly polls, including compulsory webcasting, mobile phone-deposit facilities, and measures to improve voter turnout and accessibility.
A 35-year-old woman in Bihar, India, was mistakenly listed as 124 years old in draft electoral rolls, sparking a political demonstration and raising questions about the accuracy of voter registration.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
Opposition INDIA Bloc leaders are considering an impeachment notice against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about voter roll revision in Bihar and alleged vote theft. The move comes after the CEC addressed a press conference without addressing the opposition's questions.
The Election Commission announced that it has received documents from 98.2% of electors in Bihar as part of the intensive revision of the voters' list. The deadline for claims and objections has been extended, allowing electors to rectify mistakes and submit necessary documents.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
The BJP criticized opposition parties for misspelling 'loktantra' (democracy) on a protest banner during a demonstration against electoral roll revisions in Bihar.
The Election Commission has asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to hand over a voter ID card for investigation after he claimed to possess it despite it not being officially issued. The controversy arose after Yadav alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls and claimed his voter ID number was changed.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
The Election Commission of India has refuted claims of 'vote theft' made by the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, calling them 'factually incorrect'. The EC issued a factcheck and provided evidence of transparency in the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Election Commission (EC) is sharing lists of Bihar electors with political parties and their booth-level agents to verify the status of voters before July 25. The lists include those who have likely died, permanently shifted, or enrolled at multiple places.
This divergence is likely to intensify political dynamics both within the party and across the state, particularly as the opposition Mahagathbandhan -- comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, and Left parties -- has been aggressively protesting the SIR and demanding its immediate scrapping.
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.
The Election Commission of India clarified that claims, objections, and corrections to the draft electoral roll in Bihar's special intensive revision exercise can be filed beyond September 1, but will be considered after the roll is finalized. The Supreme Court directed assistance for voters and parties in filing claims.
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
The PM's speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort today was " stale, hypocritical, insipid, and troubling", the Congress general secretary said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan questioned the attempts being made to implement the SIR in poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal while the Constitutional validity of the Bihar SIR process is under consideration by the Supreme Court.
"The Election Commission's press conference should be welcomed because it is a good step to clear public doubts regarding the SIR process (in Bihar) and other issues," Rawat told PTI in Indore.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
The government is likely to push for the passage of the National Sports Governance Bill in the Lok Sabha, despite ongoing parliamentary disruptions due to opposition protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Other bills are also listed for consideration.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
The Election Commission released a copy of the electoral rolls showing his details, confirming that he was listed at a booth in the Veterinary College in Patna.
The Congress party has voiced its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a 'Tughlaqi process'. The party stated that all options are open for the INDIA bloc to collectively decide on the issue.
The Election Commission will publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar assembly polls, triggering a period for claims and objections amid fears of voter exclusion.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
A prankster in Rohtas district's Nasriganj block had applied for a residence certificate in the name of 'Cat Kumar'.
Election Commission officials report finding a large number of illegal migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during a review of Bihar's voters' list. Measures are being taken to exclude them from the final electoral roll.
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