'The current Election Commission functions more like a government department than an autonomous body.'
'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.'
Mamata Banerjee is in Delhi to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
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.
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.
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.
The Delhi government, now led by the BJP, has withdrawn all cases filed by the previous AAP administration against the Union government, the Lieutenant Governor, and several senior bureaucrats.
In a first, the Bihar assembly polls this time saw no voting day deaths and no re-polling being ordered in any constituency.
These civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as they were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in Delhi in February this year.
The Election Commission will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories between November and February, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
The Election Commission (EC) clarified that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is not required to appear for a hearing regarding discrepancies in the spelling of his name in the voter list. The correction will be handled administratively. The EC also issued instructions to ensure timely delivery of notices related to voter list discrepancies.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026.
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
'Some states have become more populous, while others have become less populous. Those who became less populous became economically strong. Those where population increased, they became economically weak
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will to polls in 2026 and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first.
'Theatrics replace analysis. Public spectacle takes the place of public service.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announces legal action against the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, alleging disenfranchisement and procedural flaws.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
Chief Justice of India considers shifting Supreme Court hearings to virtual mode due to severe air pollution in Delhi after experiencing its effects firsthand.
Given Modi's track record from the time he became Gujarat chief minister in October 2001, it is highly improbable that Nabin will get opportunities to display his individual capacity. Even the team of organisational leaders that he will 'appoint' in a few weeks or months, will unlikely to be his choice, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Poll preparations for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi have begun, and the preliminary conference of chief electoral officers of these states will be held in Delhi in the first week of June.
The Election Commission (EC) has de-listed 474 more registered unrecognised political parties for flouting norms, including not contesting elections in the last six years. This follows a previous de-listing of 334 parties in August.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission has directed enforcement agencies and security forces to take proactive measures during the Bihar elections to prevent the use of drugs, liquor, and cash to influence voters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections as a win for good governance, development, and social justice. He congratulated alliance partners and thanked the people of Bihar for their support.
According to reports, the exit polls will be banned from 7 am on Monday when polling for the first phase in Chhattisgarh starts till 5:30 pm on December 4 when the Delhi Assembly polls end.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
The central government has provided armed security to West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer following potential threats related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Suresh Kalmadi brought several top-class events to India including the 2003 Afro Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
India needs to examine some way in which, assuming that there is either no vaccine or a delay in administering it to everyone, voting can be made safer, notes Aakar Patel.
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
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