'The current Election Commission functions more like a government department than an autonomous body.'
'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
The Election Commission is considering holding the West Bengal assembly elections in two phases to mitigate potential poll-related violence, according to a senior official.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed to remove the BJP from power in West Bengal and then at the national level, accusing the Election Commission of favouring the BJP and criticising the opposition parties.
A Trinamool Congress delegation reported a contentious meeting with the Election Commission, alleging the chief election commissioner dismissed them abruptly, while the EC has accused the TMC of disruptive behaviour.
The announced election schedule for five assemblies reveals fewer phases, a condensed voting period, longer gaps between polling days, and a delayed counting process compared to previous elections.
'One of the principles of the MCC that you should not make hate speeches and create hatred between communities on the basis of religion was violated on a scale that was never seen before.' 'Religious symbols were very liberally used and speeches were made to polarise people on the basis of religion.'
The Election Commission of India is considering launching the final phase of its special intensive revision of voters' lists in the remaining states and Union territories after the assembly elections conclude.
The Election Commission's move to transfer West Bengal's chief secretary and DGP soon after the announcement of Assembly poll dates triggered a political slugfest.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of attempting to illegally include voters from outside the state in West Bengal's electoral rolls, alleging a coordinated effort to interfere with democratic rights.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
A Delhi court has granted bail to Sukesh Chandrasekhar in an ED case related to the AIADMK's 'two leaves' election symbol, citing his detention exceeding half the maximum sentence under the PMLA.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has strongly criticised the Congress party for making what he claims are unverified allegations against him and his family, including accusations of undeclared assets and multiple passports held by his wife. Sarma has vowed to pursue legal action against Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera, and has accused them of spreading misinformation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls to divide the state, alleging a conspiracy to deprive Bengali-speaking people of their voting rights. She claims the Election Commission is complicit in deleting lakhs of names from voter lists.
India has stated it will wait for the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh and the resulting mandate before addressing any existing issues. The country also affirmed its support for free, fair, inclusive, and credible elections in Bangladesh.
Haryana Congress MLAs will visit 'mandis' to assess and support farmers facing difficulties in wheat and mustard procurement, following a decision made at a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Delhi.
Top Congress leaders are questioning whether the Election Commission's announced schedule for the Assembly polls unduly benefits the BJP, citing concerns over the timing and structuring of election phases.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has accused the BJP of misusing democratic institutions and stoking communal discord in Bengal, criticising their 'double engine' governance model.
The counting of votes for all 824 seats across four states and one Union Territory will be held on May 4.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, has stated that the primary goal of the Election Commission is to ensure all voters in West Bengal can participate in the upcoming assembly elections without violence or intimidation.
Nepal's Rastriya Swatantra Party is surging ahead in the general elections after Gen Z protests ousted the previous government, signaling a potential new era in Nepali politics.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of attempting to suppress voting rights through voter roll revisions, describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 'biggest infiltrator'.
Mamata Banerjee is in Delhi to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of attempting to suppress voting rights and polarise the electorate ahead of the assembly elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with families affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, met with the Chief Election Commissioner to voice their concerns and demand a halt to the revision process.
If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, Tarique Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 36 years.
The West Bengal government has filed FIRs against five state government employees for alleged lapses in electoral roll revisions, following an Election Commission ultimatum. The action comes after the EC directed the state to initiate criminal cases against the accused for adding fictitious names to voter lists.
In a first, the Bihar assembly polls this time saw no voting day deaths and no re-polling being ordered in any constituency.
Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of attempting to suppress voting rights through voter roll revisions, describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 'biggest infiltrator'. She framed the upcoming assembly elections as a fight for democratic rights and Bengal's social harmony.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the central government of pressuring the outgoing Governor C V Ananda Bose to resign and alleged that his replacement, R N Ravi, is a BJP cadre.
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal has released an open letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging secret deals with BJP leaders and the central government, raising questions about the LDF government's functioning ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Delhi government, now led by the BJP, has withdrawn all cases filed by the previous AAP administration against the Union government, the Lieutenant Governor, and several senior bureaucrats.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, has reassured the public that individual data collected during the upcoming census will remain confidential and cannot be used for any purpose other than statistical aggregation.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of presenting a misleading picture of West Bengal's development and employment situation during a rally in Kolkata, alleging that he is acting more as a BJP campaigner than as the Prime Minister.
Modi urged the youngsters to celebrate when they or a person around them becomes a voter for the first time.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
Sonia Gandhi's counsel argued in a Delhi court that a complaint alleging she was included in the electoral roll before acquiring Indian citizenship was politically motivated.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, alleging manipulation of voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. She also questioned the abrupt resignation of Governor C V Ananda Bose and accused the BJP of anti-women policies and spreading misinformation.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accuses the TMC of objecting to the omission of names from electoral rolls due to fears of losing the 'infiltrator' vote bank in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.