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 EC also ordered the removal of Principal Secretary (Home) Atri Bhattacharya and Additional Director General, CID, Rajiv Kumar from their postings in West Bengal.
Uddhav claimed that splits were engineered in many parties using central agencies and arrests were made illegally.
Lauding the Election Commission for its 'bold' decision of scrapping the Rajya Sabha poll in Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha has asked it to get a thorough probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation or any other agency into the events since the start of election process.
The full bench of the Election Commission will meet on August 25 in New Delhi after the return of Chief Election Commissioner S Nasim Zaidi to discuss the Bihar assembly polls.
"It has been learnt that Sukesh had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore for helping the AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol. Police have recovered Rs 1.30 crore from Sukesh and two cars -- a BMW and a Mercedes -- have also been seized," said a senior police officer.
He secured required 44 votes after votes of two Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP were rejected by EC.
The Gujarat University on Thursday told the high court in Ahmedabad the Right to Information Act cannot be used for satisfying someone's "childish curiosity" as it defended its petition seeking quashing of an order under the transparency law to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday refused to accept the West Bengal State Election Commission's plea for 800 companies of central armed police force for holding the panchayat poll in the state and directed that the state may requisition them from other states or the Centre if there was any shortfall.
'One big leader said you might get 3 lakh votes and still lose.' 'I said if I do I will make sure you are sleepless because it will be me and three lakh people.'
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
The biopic was originally set to release on April 12, but its producers had advanced it by a week, claiming 'public demand'.
The judge had reserved the order after hearing arguments on Sisodia's plea seeking relief claiming that his custody was no longer required for investigation.
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party is ahead in 20 seats in Manipur, with Chief Minister N Biren Singh leading by a handsome margin of more than 16,000 votes against his nearest Congress rival in Heingang constituency, Election Commission data showed.
Expressing relief over the release of the abducted policemen by the Maoists, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said such incidents could recur in the state where elections are due later this year and demanded that all polling booths should be manned by Central forces.
The Election Commission on Friday rebuffed Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan for his reported statement that central police force (CPF) personnel would be confined to barracks during by-polls to three assembly seats in the state tomorrow.
The Opposition can only question us if we stop them from campaigning. The opportunities are equal for all, he said.
The polling body said any such film that subserves purpose of any political entity or individual should not be displayed in the electronic media.
The Election Commission on Tuesday asserted that EVMs used in the Lok Sabha polls are "absolutely safe" in strong rooms, dismissing allegations that the voting machines used in the elections were being switched with fresh ones ahead of counting of votes on May 23.
The united Opposition on Wednesday checkmated yet another promise given by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to set up a central agricultural university in the Bundelkhand region, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Amid concerns over minorities being targeted in India, former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday cautioned that an 'anti-minority' image for the country can lead to loss of market for Indian products and may also result in foreign governments perceiving the nation as an unreliable partner. India enters the perception battle from a position of strength, the professor at Chicago's Booth School of Business said, alluding to credentials like democracy and secularism, but warned that this battle is "ours to lose". The comments came a day after bulldozers tore down several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque in Jahangirpuri as part of an anti-encroachment drive, days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence.
The six week-wait for who will rule Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal will end on Friday as counting of votes for assembly elections begins.
'The central BJP has worked out an arrangement -- Yogi manages the state while Modi manages the Centre.'
With assembly elections due in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram in the next few months, the Congress is working on poll strategies in these states and has convened a meeting of state leaders on May 24.
'The Badals have made the Akali Dal a family enterprise and undermined the Sikh faith. They have no right to call themselves Akalis. We have approached the Election Commission to register ourselves as the Akali Dal with a different nomenclature. We will impress on people's minds that we are the real Akali Dal' Sai Manish reports on the fight for supremacy over the Akali Dal.
Will appeasement, rising unemployment and her dictatorial style become major obstacles in her path? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
EC received the RBI proposal in the first week of this month, soon after the model code of conduct came into force on March 5.
The crowd allegedly beat up a homeguard jawan and an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker and also tried to snatch the weapon of the on-duty CISF personnel when they intervened, they said.
The EC is yet to decide on RBI's request to grant new licences during the election season.
Santosh Sabde, who is contesting as independent from the central Maharashtra town, said Election Commission officials on Friday were hesitant to accept the deposit in coins, but "acquiesced eventually".
Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set for an unprecedented third five-year term as he was 'elected' to the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party on Saturday while several top leaders including Premier Li Keqiang have been left out in the major shake-up at the top.
More than Rs 8 crore unaccounted cash has been seized in subsequent raids at various locations by Lokayukta. The arrested officer's father is Madal Virupakshappa, the MLA representing Channagiri constituency in Davangere district of the state.
The bench said most of the allegations in the corruption case registered by the CBI against Sisodia were "hearsay", based on the statements made by approvers and would not pass scrutiny before the trial court without any concrete material.
Reversing the burden of evidence means that the principle of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. It is exactly the opposite: Guilty as charged, until you can convince the judges of the contrary, points out Shekhar Gupta.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday defied a ban on his election meeting in Lucknow by addressing it and accused the SP government of following a communal agenda.
A Ganesh Nadar shares interesting vignettes that usually get lost in the heat-and-dust of election coverage.
The apex court also said it will consider whether the matter should be put before a five-judge bench
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