The Election Commission has said it will allow suspected fake voters to cast their ballots in the Palakkad assembly by-poll, but will take action against them later. The CPI(M), Congress, and BJP have accused each other of enrolling fake voters. The by-poll is scheduled for November 20.
The Awami League leaders were charged with committing crimes against humanity over the deaths of hundreds of people during last year's anti-government protests by a student platform. The protests resulted in the ouster of Hasina's 16-year-long regime on August 5.
The poll panel also referred to the instances of "inappropriate vocabulary and language" used during the ongoing campaign by persons, "in particular, by those invested with the statutory status of star campaigner".
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
The Election Commission on Friday met the warring factions of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party name and poll symbol.
The Congress on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'Congress shielded terrorism for vote bank' remark and said he has crossed the 'lakshman rekha'.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the verdict is a victory of democracy.
'Eknath Shinde and 40 other traitors have become slaves of Delhi (Centre) to finish off the Shiv Sena'
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand wrote to the Election Commission on Friday night and demanded the suspension of internet services within 2 km radius of the counting centres, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party has deputed 'highly qualified' electronic experts from other states.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which claims itself as the biggest political party in the world, has a whopping cash and bank balance of Rs 7,113.80 crore against the principal opposition Congress party's Rs 857.15 crore as on March 31, 2024, according to figures provided to the Election Commission.
The top court rapped the poll panel for not holding the by-election for the seat for such a long period despite the law mandating conducting polls expeditiously.
Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has dismissed claims of a surge in voter turnout in the final hour of polling for the state assembly elections, calling it an "average " process. He clarified that the state's large size and the usual voting patterns in Maharashtra account for the apparent increase. Chockalingam also addressed concerns raised by opposition parties about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), assuring their reliability and transparency.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the Centre on a plea filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, and listed the matter along with other pending petitions on the issue for hearing in April.
Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal went to the Election Commission's office in New Delhi on Friday and furnished his reply to the poll body over its notice to him on his 'poison mixed' in Yamuna water remark.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
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.
The order also highlights further disparities, citing examples of Denmark and Sweden restricting mail-in voting to those unable to vote in person and rejecting late-arriving ballots regardless of postmark, while many US states have embraced widespread mail-in voting, with some accepting ballots without postmarks or those arriving well after Election Day.
The Supreme Court on Friday said the plea seeking a policy for verification of electronic voting machines should go before the same bench that delivered a verdict in April rejecting the demand for bringing back the old paper ballots.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
The poll panel will now examine whether the symbols are not the same or whether they are not being used by any other party.
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.
The Sports Ministry on Tuesday lifted its suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India, paving the way for the organisation of domestic tournaments.
If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home district to exercise their franchise.
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'
...'hum decide karenge kaun banega mukhyamantri. This decision is not to be taken in Mumbai.'
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said in a hasty midnight move, the government has notified the appointment of the new CEC.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has criticized the government's decision to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in the middle of the night, arguing that it is "disrespectful" and "discourteous" given the ongoing Supreme Court challenge to the selection process. Gandhi presented a dissent note to the selection committee, stating that the process violates the Supreme Court order and undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
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.
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.
Success has put India in the exclusive and limited club of nations that possess the high-power Laser-DEW.
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'.
Former Sports Minister Anurag Thakur's bid to contest the Boxing Federation of India's presidential election was reinstated by the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
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.
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.
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.
He also said that all political parties need to ask the poll watchdog the definition of a political party.
As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India-Marxist.
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.
A new book by former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi claims that former chief election commissioner T N Seshan proposed an immediate halt to the general election process after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 and even offered to become home minister. Gandhi, who was joint secretary to then president R Venkatraman, writes that Seshan was the one who broke the news of the assassination to the president and arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan "super-fast" that night. According to Gandhi's account, Seshan told Venkatraman that he felt the election process needed to be stopped and that he was ready to take on the role of home minister if necessary. However, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra assured the president that the situation was under control and that there was no need to pause the election process. Seshan's suggestions were ultimately ignored, but he did manage to postpone the second and third phases of polling.
