The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections.
Call it a charismatic show by the power couple -- Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren -- whom the Bharatiya Janata Party had dubbed as 'Bunty aur Babli', Jharkhand's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is on track to secure a second consecutive term as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Supporters danced to the beats of 'dhol' and waved party flags, creating a festive atmosphere.
In a viral video, Yerunkar alleged a mismatch in the polling data and EVM numbers. He received only two votes at the polling centre where four members of his family voted, he said, questioning the count.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha from Surat on Monday, he became the first candidate to achieve the feat from Gujarat since its formation 64 years ago though the erstwhile state of Saurashtra saw a similar instance in 1951.
Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has ordered an inquiry against private persons allegedly gathering personal details of women in the name of Mahila Samman Yojana, his office said on Saturday.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
Members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, form the electoral college for the vice presidential election.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP has won the post of joint secretary in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) election, ending a nine-year period out of office. The ABVP's victory marks a significant shift in the political landscape of JNU, breaking the Left's long-standing dominance. Left candidates won the remaining three central panel posts, but the ABVP's victory is seen as a major gain for the right-wing group.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 while Haryana will go to polls in a single phase on October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
The BJP won 74 seats in the 147-member Odisha assembly and was leading in four more seats, the Election Commission of India.
'Can you imagine that Surat's voters won't have any say now in exercising their fundamental right to choose a candidate of their own choice? This is what the BJP has reduced India's democracy to.' 'With this ugly act, in one stroke, the BJP has disenfranchised the voters of Surat.'
Several exit polls have given the BJP an edge over the AAP, which has been ruling in Delhi since 2015.
Nationalist Congress Party-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday turned 84 and celebrated his birthday with members of his family and well-wishers, including estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
'If Modi is re-elected again, we can forget these things for a long time.'
Sources said the leaders during the meeting discussed the possible reasons for the "unexpected" results in Haryana and decided to set up the team to ascertain the reasons behind such results and also look into complaints of "discrepancies" in EVMs, as alleged by party candidates.
Nadda claimed his party will form government in all the states with a big majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Sharif, the three-time former premier, said that there is a need for all the political parties to sit together and form a government to pull Pakistan out of its difficulties.
The BJP registered emphatic victories in seven municipal corporations in Haryana, while its nominees were leading in two other civic bodies in the recently held elections. The Congress, which was hoping to improve its electoral fortunes after a defeat in the 2024 Assembly polls, suffered another setback. The BJP candidates won with large margins in Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonipat, and Ambala. The BJP was also leading in Yamunanagar and Panipat. In Manesar, an Independent candidate, Inderjeet Yadav, won the mayoral election. The results are seen as a major setback for the Congress, which has been facing internal turmoil and factionalism.
The report is likely to recommend that India adopt the German model of 'constructive no-confidence' which stipulates that the unseating of a government must be immediately followed by the formation of a new one, which will serve out the remainder of the legislative term.
'AAP lost as it failed to understand the need to serve people selflessly and took the wrong path. Money took the front seat which dented AAP's image, leading to its defeat'
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.
Wasim Qadir, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate who defeated PML-N's stalwart Sheikh Rohail Asghar from Lahore's National Assembly-121 constituency, joined the PML-N after a meeting with Maryam Nawaz, daughter of the party supremo Nawaz Sharif, at her residence.
'According to JP, Indira Gandhi was not much of a danger to democracy. He said, it was Sanjay Gandhi and his gang.'
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is still in the race for the prime ministerial slot despite his party not securing a simple majority in the Feb 8 general elections in Pakistan, some PML-N leaders said on Monday.
The Bahujan Vikas Aghadi supporters gheraoed Vinod Tawde and raised slogans.
It is voluntary to link Aadhaar with a voter ID and consent is obtained from the elector for Aadhaar authentication in Form 6B which was recently introduced, he said.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
"The voter turnout data for the first two phases of the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections published by ECI on April 30 has been published after 11 days of the first phase of polling... on April 19 and four days after second phase of polling... on April 26.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on May 17 a plea of an NGO seeking a direction to the Election Commission to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
"If she wins by using my name, it means I am a great man. At least my name has enough power to help her sail through," he said.
It will be court's opinion versus the legislative power to enact law, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said as it posted the pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 4.
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
A delegation of opposition party leaders on Friday met the top brass of Election Commission to raise its concerns over poll code violations by the ruling party leaders, and also flagged concerns over delay in release of voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the polls.
This is for the first time the EC has officially come out with a statement on allegations of delay in sharing turnout data.
President Alvi recalled the fight for the EVMs waged by the previous PTI-led government, saying that the entire endeavour -- which involved more than 50 meetings at the presidency alone -- was abandoned.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
The Cabinet also initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase parliamentary elections by sending the Election Commission's recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu.
Kharge said conducting polls in seven phases meant that nearly all the development works will be stopped.
