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.
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'.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 government on Sunday rejected Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation for removal of Navin Chawla as Election Commissioner, paving the way for his appointment to the key constitutional post. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said President Pratibha Patil has accepted the government recommendation for rejection of the CEC's report against Chawla and arrived at a "considered opinion".
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.
Tandon, an IAS officer of 1965 batch, was appointed as Election Commissioner in 2001.
Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, who has been in the eye of the storm after recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, is currently on a one-week leave to visit various pilgrimages in Gujarat. During his trip, the CEC is scheduled to visit Somnath, Dwarka and Gandhi Nagar. Gopalaswami, an Indian Administrative Service officer from the Gujarat cadre, speaks the native language fluently and considers the state his second home.
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.
A week after her return from the United States after surgery, Sonia Gandhi will be back to active party work by presiding over a meeting of the Congress's Central Election Committee. Party general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that Gandhi will be participating in Thursday's CEC meeting to finalise tickets for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled early next year. This will be the Congress president's first public appearance after she returned to Delhi from the US.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
For people with disabilities, a mobile application called 'Saksham' has been introduced, which they can login to and choose the option to vote.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday night sought to cap the stand-off with the Election Commission over his Muslim sub-quota remarks by writing a letter to the poll body in which he is understood to have said that he has all the respect for the constitutional authority.
BCCI to seek SC approval to relax tenure reform
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the inclusion of the Chief Justice of India in the consultative process for the appointment of chief election commissioner would ensure independence of the poll panel.
Underlining the importance of having a chief election commissioner who is "independent and a man of character", the Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered will it not be a case of "complete breakdown of system" if the CEC does not act against the prime minister in case there are allegations against him.
The three main political parties in Pakistan on Sunday intensified their efforts for the formation of a coalition government after it became clear that the coup-prone country faced a hung Parliament after general elections marred by allegations of rigging.
Chief Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi is not embarrassed by activist Anna Hazare's candid confession that Indian elections are corrupt and if he ever contested in one, he would end up losing his security deposit.When asked about Hazare's statement that Indian voters are not educated enough -- "they take a bottle of alcohol or Rs 500 and cast their vote" -- CEC Quraishi stated that the statement was not at all telling on his job. He argued, "Not at all, not at all."
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday chaired a meeeting of the party's Central Election Committee to finalise candidates for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
The party also rejigged its Central Election Committee and included former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Om Mathur and its women wing chief Vanathi Srinivasan.
The announcement on Presidential election schedule is due shortly, new Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath on Monday said.
In Kolkata, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the prime minister of "putting pressure" on the EC to delay its press conference. He also said the CEC's explanation is "preposterous" and wondered whether Bharatiya Janata Party is the "super EC".
For the sake of neutrality of the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners, CEC N Gopalaswami wants a bar on their joining any political party for ten years after retirement or taking up any government post. In a three-page note to President Pratibha Patil sent on January 16 when he separately recommended removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, he has sought amendment in the Election Commission Act for the purpose.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath on Thursday said that any offensive material on social media during election period will be strictly dealt with.
CEC Dr S Y Quraishi in an exclusive chat explains his plans for ensuring an trouble free election in the five poll-bound states.
"Early elections are possible. Technically it should be possible," Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh told NDTV 24x7.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the fresh revision of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir does not disturb the schedule or conduct part of polls and the poll panel is aware that there is a "vacuum" in the Union territory which needs to be filled.
Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla has taken strong exception to the withdrawal of cases against Karnataka ministers and mining magnates Reddy brothers.
Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla has taken strong exception to the withdrawal of cases against Reddy brothers in Karnataka.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The CEC's letter to the President recommending Chawla's removal is just two pages long while he has dealt with 12 specific cases of partisanship in another 24 pages and annexed more than 800 pages of the Election Commission minutes, internal correspondence, etc in support of the case he has built up.
The apex court raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining from 28 MMT to 35 MMT for Ballari district, and from 7 MMT to 15 MMT for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.
Tandon, 64, an IAS officer of 1965 batch, was appointed election commissioner in 2001 and will be in office till June 2006.
In a surprise development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Tuesday nominated its president Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif.
A Supreme Court-constituted panel has asked the Union environment ministry to amend or withdraw the guidelines related to setting up zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to discourage the use of wildlife habitats for tourism activities which are non-site specific.
The state was asked not to publicise the disbursement during the poll code as part of the condition.
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