They said there was "genuine concern" that if the present ruling dispensation loses people's mandate, the transition of power may not be smooth and there could be a constitutional crisis.
The commission said enforcement authorities have seized Rs 4,650 crore even before polling begins for the Lok Sabha elections and it is the "higher than total seizures" made in the 2019 polls
The BJP has often highlighted the global recognition of his leadership and India's enhanced stature at the international level in its political discourse, an issue which is likely to rise in salience following the G20 meeting.
Taking potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
"You love democracy and hate politicians, this is not possible" -- quipped Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Tuesday as he heaped praised on the country's political leaders, noting that because of their policies India is marching towards becoming a super power.
The government is examining the Supreme Court's verdict on the appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners and it will take "appropriate action" on it, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
However, there is no official word on the status of the controversial recommendation of the CEC for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, though Law Minister H R Bhardwaj has rejected it and had indicated that Chawla will be the next CEC.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced that independent candidates, a majority of them supported by the PTI secured 101 seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 75 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) getting 54 seats, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) bagging 17 seats.
Jyothika said the Indian women's relay team can hope for a medal in the 2028 Olympics.
Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy has pitched for single-phase elections and substantially curtailing public campaigning time in future polls.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
The winter session of Parliament is likely to commence in the second week of December and could conclude ahead of Christmas, sources said on Wednesday.
"The Commission, with certain additional resources, can undertake the exercise of (holding) simultaneous elections in future," he said.
While the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telangana by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by the Mizo National Front.
Low-profile Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi, brings with him rich experience as a thoroughbred civil servant of more than 35 years to become the first Muslim Chief Election Commissioner of India.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
other polls being held in the union territory, CEC Rajiv Kumar said.
Union Law Minister H Bharadwaj on Monday slammed Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for 'overstepping his powers' by recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to President Pratibha Patil."The CEC overstepped his powers. His allegations are unfortunate. He cannot behave like a political boss," Bharadwaj told mediapersons in New Delhi on Monday. He added that Chawla will take over as the next CEC once Gopalaswami demits office on April 20.
ICC introduces stop clock in men's ODI and T20Is, five-run penalty on third offence
The Bharatiya Janata Party government has begun the search for the new chief election commissioner when the present incumbent V S Sampath demits from office on January 15, 2015.
He also lamented that EVMs are being used as a 'football' and some sections are doing a 'motivated slugfest' over their use.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
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.
The CEC said that in the case of Wayanad, the remainder of the term is more than a year.
Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
The recommendation comes about three months before Gopalaswami is to demit office on April 20 and is based on a petition by the BJP which had complained against the "partisan" functioning of Chawla. The BJP had alleged that Chawla was close to the Congress party
Taking strong exception to Law Minister Salman Khurshid's recent comments, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the minister had tried to undermine the authority of the Election Commission with his public utterances.
The Congress on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami of being favourable to the Bharatiya Janata Party and cited two incidents -- the CD case and distribution of sarees during a rally -- to buttress its point. "For three years, the BJP has accused Election Commissioner Navin Chawla of supporting the Congress. The Congress has rejected it several times. Now, we would like to point out how the CEC has been favourable to the BJP," said a Cong leader.
Constitutional experts on Saturday attacked Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's decision to suo motu recommend removal of Navin Chawla as Election Commissioner, saying the move has created a 'crisis' and its timing just ahead of the elections could make people believe there is 'some motivation'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
The decision to schedule/postpone the UP election will be taken by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey.
From Instagram to X, social media platforms, in the run-up to the polls have seen bitter poster wars and even bitter meme battles for political one-upmanship.
I had said that eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable to see the election process through instead of creating ill-timed controversies.
This is in contrast to a Supreme Court judgment of March which said the panel should comprise of the prime minister, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
The lawyer of Zakia Jafri on Thursday alleged before the magistrate's court here that Special Investigation Team probing the 2002 Gujarat riots cases "ignored and manipulated" conclusions of National Human Rights Commission and Chief Election Commissioner.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances