West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announces legal action against the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, alleging disenfranchisement and procedural flaws.
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.
Chief Justice of India considers shifting Supreme Court hearings to virtual mode due to severe air pollution in Delhi after experiencing its effects firsthand.
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.
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'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.'
The Election Commission is preparing to roll out a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, potentially before the end of the year. Most voters may not need to provide additional documents if they are already on the electoral roll from the last special intensive revision in their state.
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 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.
'The Congress has no positive vision for the country. The truth is that today the Congress has become the Muslimleegi Maowadi Congress -- MMC. The Congress' entire agenda revolves around this, so now a new faction is emerging within Congress itself, which is uncomfortable with this negative politics.'
Suresh Kalmadi brought several top-class events to India including the 2003 Afro Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The Election Commission sent a notice to Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP's Mumbai chief. This is probably because a leading newspaper highlighted his utterances on its front page.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the NDA of plotting to steal the Bihar assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Election Commission and voter roll manipulation.
In a decision that is likely to have an impact on several state chess associations affiliated with the All India Chess Federation, the AICF's ethics commission has ordered that Bharat Singh Chauhan cannot be recognised as, or continue as, president of the Delhi Chess Association.
'Should China's interest in the Teesta River projects be approved, it would likely result in heightened Chinese presence near the Siliguri corridor.'
West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer reports over 10 lakh SIR enumeration forms identified as 'uncollectable' due to absentee voters, duplicates, deaths, or permanent relocation. The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway with significant BLO involvement.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
A team of Election Commissioners will visit Patna to review poll preparedness in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The team will meet with political parties, police, administrative officials, and observers to ensure a free and fair election.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections, citing data analysis from a Karnataka constituency. He claims evidence of 'vote chori' and demands transparency from the EC.
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
Rahul alleged that 25 lakh votes were stolen in Haryana through 5.21 lakh duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid voters, and 19.26 lakh bulk voters.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is open to discussing electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Opposition not to impose a timeline. Opposition parties staged a walkout after demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting individuals involved in voter deletion and election rigging, citing data from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The Lok Sabha will debate the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' and electoral reforms after an all-party agreement, potentially breaking the logjam over discussions on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission on Friday gave the go-ahead to the airing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann ki Baat programme on Sunday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India of engaging in "vote chori" (vote theft) to benefit the BJP, claiming his party possesses substantial evidence of electoral irregularities.
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the AAP, ruling Punjab, has not fulfilled the promises it made to the people of the state.
The Uttarakhand high court has asked two top officials of the state to find out whether an officer who has no knowledge of English can effectively control an executive position after an additional district magistrate responded in Hindi during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL).
A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals that a significant number of registered unrecognised political parties in Bihar have not made their mandatory financial disclosures public for 2023-24.
The Election Commission has strongly criticized Rahul Gandhi's allegations of election cheating in a Karnataka constituency, calling them baseless and threatening.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
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