During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said.
The court also directed the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction to publish a disclaimer in newspapers, including Marathi ones, that the issue of allocation of "clock" symbol was pending in court.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thackeray, and sought response of the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs on a plea moved by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party challenging Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring the group led by the deputy chief minister as the real NCP.
This might be the first time in the country's electoral history that the poll body has convened a press conference on the conclusion of polls.
TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose submitted a letter to the Election Commission on Thursday.
In a complaint to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, the Congress mentioned about a video uploaded on social media platform 'X' by the official account of Karnataka State Bharatiya Janata Party @bjp4karnataka which is operated by Amit Malviya, the head of IT cell on instructions of J P Nadda, BJP national president, B Y Vijayendra, BJP state president and social media in charge- Karnataka BJP on May 4 at 5.34 pm.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat on Saturday alleged she had to wait for almost an hour to cast her vote as the battery of the electronic voting machine (EVM) control unit at her polling booth 'drained out'.
The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered the delisting of another 86 'non-existent' registered unrecognised political parties, raising the number of such organisations red flagged by the poll panel for failing to comply with electoral rules to 537.
The proposed first constitutional amendment bill would deal with making provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections together.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph is likely to give its verdict.
The counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls along with six assembly and one Lok Sabha by-elections will commence at 8 am on Thursday with prohibitory orders in place around counting halls to ensure peace and tranquillity.
The last assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, five years before the erstwhile state was reorganised into two Union territories on August 5, 2019.
The RTI also sought the details of the fees paid by the SBI to senior advocate Harish Salve to defend its case against the disclosure of the electoral bonds' records, citing that the records are held in a fiduciary capacity and the information is personal in nature.
Advocate Mohit D Ram was a panel counsel for the EC in the Supreme Court since 2013.
The poll panel has convened a press conference to announce the schedule. The term of the 182-member Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Tuesday insisted that its commitment to host the 2036 Summer Games "remained steadfast" despite the "internal challenges" her organisation has been facing due to her feud with the Executive Council members.
The Election Commission on Wednesday asked the Gujarat chief electoral officer to inquire and take action "as warranted" after the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that its Surat (East) candidate was abducted and coerced by the Bharatiya Janata Party to withdraw from the poll fray.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said it is some people's job to create doubts and asserted the systems in place at the Election Commission are strong to ensure no mistakes creep in.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has been sent as a special officer to oversee the counting process in Meerut and Bihar's CEO to Varanasi.
Mumbai, home to 1 crore voters and 420 candidates vying for 36 assembly seats, is gearing up for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 20. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has completed all preparations for smooth conduct of the polls, ensuring a robust security arrangement and dedicated facilities for senior citizens and differently-abled voters. The BMC has also urged citizens to exercise their franchise, emphasizing the importance of active participation in strengthening democracy.
'The poll body should have taken a decision in a holistic manner rather than passing an interim decision'
Soren's comment comes in the wake of the governor saying on October 27 that he has sought a "second opinion" in the case and claimed that an "atom bomb could explode any time in Jharkhand", apparently indicating to his pending decision in the matter.
The Election Commission on Thursday made public a fresh data set of electoral bonds, including their alpha-numeric numbers that can help match their purchasers with the political parties that received the funds.
Amid a debate on the freebies, the Election Commission on Tuesday proposed amending the model code to ask political parties to provide authentic information to voters on the financial viability of their poll promises.
According to an Election Commission statement, the two have decided not to avail exemption from income tax on sumptuary allowance and to surrender two of the three Leave Travel Concessions (LTC) available each year.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
The Karnataka State Election Commission on Tuesday told the high court of Karnataka that the state government had taken away its powers, making it unable to hold elections to zilla panchayat and taluk panchayats as mandated by the Supreme Court.
The decision was taken because the term of the two Assemblies is till June 2, which means elections have to be wrapped up on or before that date, said the EC, in a press release.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
The Congress, referring to Gandhi's speech at a campaign rally at Hubballi on Saturday, said in a tweet that the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson "sends a strong message to 6.5 crore Kannadigas,' and also posted pictures of her speaking at the public meeting.
'These machines are standalone devices with no external connectivity, making hacking impossible. The chip in EVMs is one-time programmable, ensuring no changes can be made. Strict security and administrative protocols further prevent any tampering'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar convened the meeting of leaders of opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which was attended by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) member Anil Desai and Bharat Rashtra Samithi member K Keshav Rao among others.
Of the 87.54 crore electors in the first six phases of the Lok Sabha polls, as many as 57.77 crore voters turned up at the polling stations to cast their votes.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a 'certificate of honesty'.
The campaigning for phase one of Uttar Pradesh assembly election on February 10 ends on February 8 evening.
Lok Sabha polls held over 5 phases so why hold assembly elections in single phase, asks Oppn.
This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.
