The Election Commission on Tuesday appointed special observers for administrative, security and expenditure monitoring purposes in several states to ensure a level playing field during the upcoming elections.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, saying the decision was taken keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during the first day of review of poll preparedness of the state asked the district election officers and municipal commissioners to explain the steps taken by them to deal with 'urban apathy'.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the verdict is a victory of democracy.
The Election Commission on Sunday ordered the suspension of Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar for violation of the model code of conduct amid the counting of votes, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Congress' data analytics department chairperson Praveen Chakravarty on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, seeking assembly-wise voter rolls in excel sheet format for the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls in Maharashtra.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi) has started preparations for the eighth Economic Census (EC), which is expected to be formally launched next year, sources told Business Standard, even as the results of the seventh edition are yet to be made public. "Centre has asked states and Union Territories (UTs) to submit requirements for funds and manpower in a bid to start work on the eighth EC. "The states and UTs are required to set up a dedicated unit to conduct the exercise.
IOA president P T Usha on Sunday slammed the revolting executive council members, saying they 'seem more focused on self-serving power play and monetary gain'
'Eknath Shinde and 40 other traitors have become slaves of Delhi (Centre) to finish off the Shiv Sena'
Should not entertain him, must be removed: Bhaichung Bhutia criticises AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey for corruption, mismanagement
The BJP cited holidays before and after the election date that could lead to lower voter turnout.
Nearly Rs 3,400 crore (Rs 34 billion) in cash and other items were seized in the elections in 2022-2023, an increase of 835 per cent over 2017-2018.
The poll panel will now examine whether the symbols are not the same or whether they are not being used by any other party.
If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home district to exercise their franchise.
Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha had another heated confrontation with the body's Executive Council on Thursday after a majority of its members reiterated their opposition to Raghuram Iyer's appointment as CEO but the embattled track-and-field great refused to back down and rejected their demand for his removal.
The Election Commission on Friday directed officials for a review of the deletions and additions in the electoral rolls of three assembly seats in Karnataka and ordered the suspension of two additional district election officials after allegations of 'electoral fraud' in the state.
'What are the compulsions of the Election Commission that it cannot see any violations by the prime minister'
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal filed his nomination for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections from the New Delhi constituency on Wednesday, declaring net assets totaling Rs 1.73 crore. According to Kejriwal's affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC), his assets include Rs 2.96 lakh in bank savings and Rs 50,000 in cash. His immovable assets are worth Rs 1.7 crore. The affidavit also revealed that Kejriwal owns no house or car. Kejriwal's wife, Sunita, has total assets worth Rs 2.5 crore, including a house in Gurugram and a small car. The couple's combined net assets are worth Rs 4.23 crore. Senior AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain also filed his nomination, from the Shakur Basti assembly constituency, declaring a net worth of Rs 4.4 crore.
A delegation of Congress leaders met EC officials and raised several issues, including the use of pictures and large cut-outs of the prime minister in government buildings and colleges and demanded that those be removed to maintain a level-playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
'There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount'
The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for the appointment of election commissioners and asked how six names were shortlisted from 200 within a few hours.
Citing convention followed in 2017, the poll panel had not announced the Gujarat poll schedule when it came out with Himachal Pradesh election dates earlier this month.
Justice Sanjeev Narula said it would be in the interest of both -- the two Shiv Sena factions and the general public -- that the Election Commission's proceedings on the use of Shiv Sena's bow and arrow election symbol and name are concluded soon. It asked the poll panel to decide the issue as expeditiously as possible.
He also said that all political parties need to ask the poll watchdog the definition of a political party.
The political parties have been given time slots for the meeting with the Election Commission.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Hearing a petition by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission's interim order freezing Shiv Sena's name and election symbol, the Delhi high court on Monday asked why it should not wait for the final decision of the poll panel on the dispute between the party factions.
The Election Commission on Monday asked the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party to provide "verifiable and traceable" facts by Tuesday evening regarding its newspaper advertisement describing the Congress as "the most corrupt party in the world".
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
Kumar also hinted that the Maharashtra elections could be held after Diwali.
An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.
Outgoing Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has expressed concerns about long-pending cases questioning electoral processes, arguing they fuel distrust and should be scheduled with consideration for election periods. He also advocated for enhanced transparency in political promises, with clear disclosures on financial viability and impact on state finances. Kumar further stressed the need for a totaliser system to maintain polling station-wise voting confidentiality and urged the empowerment of NRIs to vote remotely. He highlighted the potential of biometric authentication and technology to address issues like impersonation and multiple voting.
The high court said it is needless to state that the EC will proceed in accordance with the procedure followed by the commission while adjudicating a petition under... Of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.
"Mock polls" are part of the first level check (FLC) process.
It has been alleged that IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav and some other officials are continuing in office in violation of the age and tenure cap set by the National Sports Code.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Mukesh Dalal was on Monday elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat after all other nominees withdrew from the fray, a poll official said.
'This is total fraud. You are showing me the slip of my vote but not counting it so this is fraud.'
