'The EC is a sacred institution.' 'In the last few years, more than once, we have found the EC bending over backwards to accommodate the government.'
After Nasim Zaidi retired as Chief Election Commissioner in July, there was a vacancy in the poll panel.
The Supreme Court referred to a larger bench the legal issues stemming from a plea of BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, including the question whether a prior sanction to prosecute is needed under the Prevention of Corruption Act after a magisterial court order of inquiry. The questions revolve around the interplay between the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure on the issue of prior sanction to prosecute a public servant.
The Election Commission will hold the 2019 general election under Arora .
"For the Lok Sabha elections, we are making meticulous planning on all fronts including electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT)," he said.
In a joint statement, they noted that while the incident highlights the prevailing "apathy, misgovernance and lack of accountability" in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the state government's "apparent inclination" to shield perpetrators rather than protect victims is a "grave miscarriage of justice".
Former Uttar Pradesh-cadre Indian Administrative Service officer Anup Chandra Pandey was appointed as an election commissioner.
The much-awaited press conference by the Election Commission of India to announce the dates for the elections.
Arora gave the example of recently-held JEE and NEET examinations, saying thousands of candidates from various district across India came out to write the test.
The CEC said 7.2 crore single-use gloves for voters to press electronic voting machine buttons, more than seven lakh units of hand sanitiser, about 46 lakh masks, about six lakh personal protection equipment (PPE) kits, 7.6 lakh units of face shields have been arranged.
Among other things, the model code of conduct bars the government from announcing any policy move that may impact voters' decision.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday.
Postal ballot facility for eligible overseas Indian electors cannot be extended for the upcoming assembly polls as the matter is still under discussion with the Ministry of External Affairs to iron out logistical challenges in implementing the proposal, Lok Sabha was informed.
The three commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioner, are entitled to a salary which is "equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court", according to the provisions of a law governing their conditions of service.
The Election Commission is considering advancing the polls by a month to avoid the May heat, reports R Rajagopalan.
CEC Sunil Arora will meet former heads of Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on Friday to discuss ways to keep a check on black money disbursements in South India, especially Tamil Nadu.
A day after announcing the dates for assembly polls in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Saturday removed Additional Director General of Police (Law and order) Jawed Shamim and brought in Jag Mohan in his place, an official order said.
He also said the Bihar chief electoral officer has already responded to everything. The EC held four press conferences on counting day on November 10 to respond to various aspects of the process, Arora pointed out.
The probe into alleged tax evasion and holding of directorship in multiple firms against the former banker pertains to a time period between 2015-17, they said.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday appointed Chandra as 24th CEC on Monday.
'...the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner with effect from the 31st August, 2020,' the notification said.
Police said the jailbreak in all likelihood was plotted at their hideout in Dehradun.
The plea had also sought to bar the BJP and its leaders from using the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan during the poll campaign in the state.
Counting of votes in all elections will be held on May 2.
The EC said that the data should be deleted by health authorities once the vaccination exercise concludes.
With the Election Commission (EC) facing flak from some quarters for announcing eight-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal, officials on Friday said the polling had to be spread out due to festivals, the movement of security forces and an increased number of polling stations keeping in mind the Covid protocols.
Ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Thursday met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) is threatening people in the border areas of the state to cast their votes in favour of a particular political party.
Lavasa said, 'My view is very clear that transparency is important ... minority view should be included and there should be time-bound procedures'.
Lavasa would soon be joining the Asian Development Bank as vice president
Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas in his letter to CEC Sunil Arora said that the armed forces are not a "private force" belonging to any individual or political party.
Intermediary platforms would take down content that violates the code of conduct in 'real time', once they receive a legal notice from the EC officers tasked with looking at content violations, reports Neha Alawadhi.
The election is likely to witness a three-cornered contest involving the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
The voting will be held on November 30, December 7, 12, 16 and 20.
The term of the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly comes to an end on November 29.
Sushil Chandra will conduct the UP, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand elections before he retires in May 2022.
The trouble for Ashok Lavasa's family began a few months back when his wife, Novel Singhal Lavasa, came under the scanner of the income tax department on charges of alleged tax evasion.
Elections for 18 of these 24 seats were deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Of these 18 seats, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, x'two from Jharkhand, and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya.
As people queued up to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations.
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