West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee escalates tensions ahead of assembly polls by accusing President Droupadi Murmu of political bias and criticising her stance on tribal welfare, sparking a major controversy.
The Election Commission (EC) defended its power to revise electoral rolls and ensure no foreigners are registered as voters before the Supreme Court. The EC argued it has a constitutional duty to maintain the purity of electoral rolls and exclude those not eligible to vote.
The sources refused to give details of the opinion. The Commission had earlier heard the arguments of both complainant Omesh Saigal, a retired IAS officer, and Ramadoss.
The Supreme Court has urged political leaders to promote fraternity while declining to entertain a PIL seeking guidelines on political speeches, emphasizing the need for objectivity and even-handedness in addressing concerns about hate speech and constitutional values.
'Tarique Rahman's refrain during the electoral campaign was that the minorities are safe under BNP. He has to honour that promise.'
Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
More voter deletions recorded in draft SIR exercises than to the combined SSRs in the past 10 years.
Gandhi did not speak to the media persons after the meeting, as the leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, of which the Congress is a part, remained in a state of disbelief after the NDA swept the polls.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
Mohammed Shami on Tuesday appeared before poll officials in Kolkata for his scheduled hearing under the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal.
The Election Commission has allotted the 'whistle' symbol to actor Vijay's political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), for the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections. Party workers are enthusiastically promoting the symbol across Tamil Nadu.
India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has projected the aggregate fiscal deficit of states to rise to 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026-27 (FY27), from an estimated 2.8 per cent in 2025-26 (FY26), citing higher revenue expenditure amid election-related pressures and scheme cost-sharing requirements.
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
When the margin of victory is less than the number of postal ballot papers rejected, all such rejected postal ballot papers shall be mandatorily re-verified before declaration of the result.
'No Indian political party functions in a democratic way.'
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. The court is also addressing concerns about disenfranchisement and citizenship issues related to the revision process.
The Election Commission has defended its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court, refuting allegations of mass deletion of genuine voters as exaggerated and politically motivated.
'The BNP's election manifesto lists grievances against India, mirroring the attitude of past BNP governments.' 'Political parties have been careful not to say bad things about China.'
'Some states have become more populous, while others have become less populous. Those who became less populous became economically strong. Those where population increased, they became economically weak
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has approached the Supreme Court, contesting the legality of the Election Commission's order for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, alleging it is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court expressed concern over threats to election officials in West Bengal and other states, urging the Election Commission to take action. The court also addressed the lack of cooperation from state governments in electoral roll revisions.
Bangladesh is preparing for elections and a referendum on reforms, but the absence of the Awami League and rising political tensions are raising concerns about the legitimacy and stability of the process.
Since 2004, 12 states have added 160 million people to their rolls.
Dismissing Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal's apprehensions that electronic voting machines could be rigged to favour BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission on Wednesday said the machines are "non-tamperable".
The Election Commission has ordered a 'Special Revision' of electoral rolls in Assam, with the final voter list to be published on February 10, 2026. The revision aims to ensure clean and accurate electoral rolls, with house-to-house verification taking place from November 22 to December 20.
The results for the election to the 243-member Bihar assembly will be available on Friday, November 14, 2025.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
The Assam Cabinet has decided to request the Gauhati High Court to establish a fast-track court to expedite the trial in the Zubeen Garg death case, following a request from the singer's family.
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.
The BJP has accused the Congress party, particularly Rahul Gandhi, of using social media accounts based in foreign countries to create an anti-India narrative. The BJP alleges that accounts originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, and the US are being used to target the BJP, RSS, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Booth-level officers in Kerala boycotted work following the suicide of a colleague allegedly due to work strain related to the Special Intensive Revision exercise. Trade unions and political leaders are demanding investigations and changes to the process.
Criticising the Election Commission ahead of the local body elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday claimed that 9.6 million fake voters have been added, as per the information received.
'I don't want to be called a new Indian voter when I am an old Indian voter.'
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.
The Election Commission reports a discrepancy of nearly 26 lakh voters' names in West Bengal's current electoral rolls when compared to the 2002 voter list.
The Indian Army's Eastern Command has sought the intervention of West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in connection with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent allegation that a senior army officer was using the command base at Fort William and working on the SIR exercise at the behest of the BJP.
Tamil Nadu's electoral roll has been revised, resulting in the removal of 9.74 million voters following an enumeration exercise. The state's electoral roll now stands at 5.43 crore voters.
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