All political parties put together received more than Rs 12,000 crore till last fiscal since the introduction of the now-annulled electoral bond scheme in 2018, of which the ruling BJP got nearly 55 per cent or Rs 6,565 crore, according to the data available with Election Commission and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
A hearing on making the income tax returns of members of Parliament public was held on Thursday at the Central Information Commission premises in New Delhi.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
When a senior minister in Uttar Pradesh makes a statement such as 'steal a little, but don't loot', then this bit of data regarding corporate donations to political parties in the past three years would be interesting to take note of. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social media post by a key aide of Bangladesh's interim government that claimed certain areas of Indian territory should be part of that country. The post, which included a map showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam as belonging to Bangladesh, was made by Mahfuz Alam, a de facto minister in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. The post sparked backlash and was subsequently deleted. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reminded all concerned to be "mindful" of their public comments and emphasized the need for responsibility in public articulation.
Nearly Rs 3,400 crore (Rs 34 billion) in cash and other items were seized in the elections in 2022-2023, an increase of 835 per cent over 2017-2018.
About 24 or 31 per cent ministers have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, robbery etc.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
The total income of national and regional parties from unknown sources for 2020-21 stands at Rs 690.67 crore.
The analysis of five candidates could not be completed as their affidavits are either badly scanned or complete affidavits are not uploaded on the Election Commission of India website, they said.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a landmark verdict with regard to convicted MPs and MLAs. The judgment has ruled that a convicted elected representative cannot continue in office and the conviction will lead to instant disqualification of the elected representative. The judgement is important considering the fact that India has 1,460 sitting MP's and MLA's with a criminal background.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated criticism of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and calls for reverting to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a "humongous task" and attempts should not be made to "bring down the system".
About 42 per cent ministers in Karnataka self-declared criminal cases pending against them in their affidavits filed during the last held assembly elections in 2008.
Only three of the 188 candidates analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the Nagaland Election Watch have criminal cases pending against them. This is a refreshing change as elections in India often witness hordes of tainted politicians contesting for the coveted seats.
A breakdown of candidates in the first five stages of the election by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch offers a fascinating insight into the declarations made by this year's Lok Sabha hopefuls.
The manner in which Members of Legislative Assembly spent their funds during the recent four-state assembly elections is something that needs to be looked into.
The petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms alleged that two political parties -- Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have violated the Representation of People's Act, 1951 and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by taking donations from government companies and foreign sources, which is prohibited under both legislations.
Underscoring the importance of voter satisfaction and trust in the electoral system, the Supreme Court on Thursday told petitioners who sought its direction to go back to using ballot papers not to suspect the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and appreciate if the Election Commission does good work.
Implementation of Lodha Committee recommendations in the Board of Control for Cricket in India will be complete in the next four-five months, said Vinod Rai, head of the Supreme Court-appointed panel of administrators to manage the cricket board's affairs.
Latest records show that only one MLA in the newly-elected Gujarat assembly spent more on the election expenses than the limit specified by the Election Commission, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
There has been a national outcry seeking harsher laws for rapists in India. As the outrage grows against the heinous incident of gangrape in Delhi and Parliament discusses the issue, Vicky Nanjappa takes a look at the background of our lawmakers (members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assembly) with respect to rape cases and other crimes against women based on their self-sworn affidavits.
Balbir Singh Verma, an independent candidate from Chopal constituency in Himachal Pradesh, has declared the highest income among all candidates -- Rs. 1.41 crore -- in his income tax returns, according to a report prepared by the Himachal Pradesh Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms.
During the last assembly elections held in Himachal Pradesh in 2007, only 16 per cent of the total candidates were crorepatis. According to a report just released by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the Himachal Pradesh Election Watch, today 33 per cent of the total 445 candidates are crorepatis.
'The estimated expenditure is expected to be more than double the Rs 60,000 crore spent in 2019'
The apex court bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, will assemble at 10.30 am to hear the two petitions.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said a representation may be made by petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay to the poll panel or other authorities for consideration.
Data put out by the Karnataka Election Watch (KEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms analysed 179 outgoing MLAs who are contesting again in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, will also hear a separate plea which has sought initiation of contempt action against the SBI alleging it "wilfully and deliberately" disobeyed the apex court's direction to submit details of the contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
Crores received by the Congress between 2005 and 2009 are unaccounted for, the BJP follows suit. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The Indian National Congress leads the political pack with most number of candidates who will contest the Tripura Assembly elections to be held in March.
Of the 360 candidates analysed for the 6th phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, 128 candidates or 36 per cent of them have criminal cases registered against them.
A full bench of the Central Information Commission on Monday passed a historic judgment, stating that political parties would under the ambit of the Right to Information Act). While the CIC verdict was made about a case connected to the Communist Party of India, fresh complaints may be filed against all other parties before the CIC to secure a similar verdict and put them under the ambit of the RTI.
Phase two of the Uttar Pradesh elections will see a whopping 118 candidates with a criminal background. The details released by the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that out of the 337 candidates analysed for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, 118 candidates have declared criminal cases against them. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Five legislators, who are contesting the forthcoming assembly polls, have serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, robbery etc pending against them. This information has been revealed by the Punjab Election Watch which, along with the Association for Democratic Reforms, has assessed the financial and other details of the members of legislative assembly seeking re-election in Punjab.
Of the 258 candidates in the electoral fray in Manipur for the forthcoming assembly elections, only three have criminal charges registered against them. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, which analyses the affidavits filed by candidates, only three face criminal charges. As many as 33 candidates contesting the assembly polls are crorepatis.
All political parties in India except the Communist Party of India have declined to provide information through a Right To Information application on political donations.
'Democracy cannot be taken for granted. It has to be fiercely guarded.'
Statistics from the Association for Democratic Reforms analysis of the newly-elected legislative assemblies in Nagaland and Tripura indicate that there are 36 and 8 crorepatis respectively in both the Houses. Vicky Nanjappa reports:
