'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The Election Commission has refuted allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is protecting 'vote chors,' calling the claims incorrect and baseless.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent Rs 1,737.68 crore for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the expenditure report submitted to the Election Commission of India. A majority of the funds were allocated to general party propaganda and candidate-related expenses, with media advertisements accounting for a significant portion. The BJP's election outreach also included extensive use of publicity materials and campaign-related travel. The party's expenditure on public meetings, processions, and rallies, including arrangements for stages, audio setups, barricades, and vehicles, stood at Rs 19.84 crore. The travel expenditure of star campaigners authorized by the party's central headquarters amounted to Rs 168.92 crore, while Rs 2.53 crore was spent on the travel of other party leaders.
The Election Commission plans to issue new voter identity cards to all electors of Bihar after the completion of the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state.
Gandhi's remarks came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
The Supreme Court has requested the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The court has also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep proceedings on similar petitions in abeyance.
The Election Commission of India has refuted claims of 'vote theft' made by the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, calling them 'factually incorrect'. The EC issued a factcheck and provided evidence of transparency in the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
A plea has been filed seeking action against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, alleging her name was included in the electoral rolls three years before she became an Indian citizen.
Opposition parties in India, led by the Congress, have demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on alleged discrepancies in voter lists. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, highlighting concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The opposition alleges large-scale duplication of EPIC numbers, which they claim undermines voter integrity and the electoral process. They have also pointed out instances of inflated voter lists in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The Election Commission has acknowledged discrepancies but maintains that these are not widespread and that corrective measures are being taken. The opposition, however, insists on a comprehensive discussion on the matter to ensure the integrity of elections in India.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
College students in Bihar, many first-time voters, express concerns about job opportunities and education quality ahead of the state elections, desiring a government focused on employment and strengthening the education system.
Election Commission officials report finding a large number of illegal migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during a review of Bihar's voters' list. Measures are being taken to exclude them from the final electoral roll.
Gandhi cited the example of Maharashtra assembly elections, claiming there was an addition of 65 lakh voters to the voter list in two hours, "which was impossible."
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that it has come out with the "final electoral roll" in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls, taking into account all the claims and objections to the draft voters' lists, which were published as part of special intensive revision (SIR).
A section of the media on Thursday reported, quoting an unnamed EC official, that it may not allow RBI to go ahead with the plan before the polls and that they need more clarity from the Mint Road on certain aspects.
Sex workers in Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, are pleading for relief from stringent voter ID rules that they say are impossible to meet, potentially leading to exclusion from the voters' list.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urged the Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath to issue clear guidelines to organisations conducting opinion polls as well as the media for ensuring their authenticity so that those indulging in "frivolous activities" do not get away easily.
Actor-politician Vijay held his first public meeting in Puducherry, criticising the central government for neglecting the union territory's demand for statehood and praising the local government's impartiality. He also targeted the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, suggesting they could learn from Puducherry.
The BJP has accused the Opposition of spreading propaganda regarding the Supreme Court's stance on Aadhaar and voter enrollment in Bihar. The party asserts that the court did not state Aadhaar alone is sufficient for voter registration and that the Opposition is misrepresenting the ruling.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to revise electoral rolls in Bihar. The hearing is scheduled for July 10.
Filing of nomination papers ended on Monday for the second and final phase of Bihar assembly polls, with the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) appearing fractured, as constituents would end up fighting each other in a number of seats.
Fearing use of its electronic data to create 'malicious narratives', the Election Commission has instructed its state poll officers to destroy CCTV camera, webcasting and video footage of the election process after 45 days, if the verdict is not challenged in courts within that period.
The Opposition has claimed that the move will disenfranchise crores of eligible citizens.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
The Bihar Assembly session was adjourned after a heated exchange between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The situation escalated quickly, leading to unparliamentary language and a shouting match between members of the ruling and opposition parties.
Nitish thought that his stakes as chief minister were far greater than his stakes in protecting one of his party MLAs. He could not allow his rule-of-law train to be derailed by a small rock on the track. On the contrary, if he removed it to keep the train moving at a steady speed he would gain strong public admiration and sympathy that would help him take the masses along in carrying out other tasks. A fascinating excerpt from Arun Sinha's Nitish Kumar And The Rise Of Bihar.
The sources said such communication was "routine" in nature and had been sent by the CRPF security wing in the context of Gandhi's security in the past too.
Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel had said.
The video used by the Congress featured Menon's Special Ops character, Himmat Singh, asking viewers to join the campaign.
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
Expressing surprise over political parties not coming forward in filing objections related to 65 lakh excluded voters, the top court directed the chief electoral officer of Bihar to implead them in the court proceedings.
The Election Commission has uncovered significant irregularities in Bihar's voter list, including multiple enrollments and probable deaths, during a special intensive revision.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that it will set up mobile phone deposit counters at polling stations to ensure that voters do not have to carry their phones inside the polling booth. This decision was taken after it was observed that several voters were concealing their phones in their clothes due to the absence of a facility to deposit it. The ECI has also rationalized the permissible norms for canvassing in line with the electoral laws to 100 meters from the entrance of the polling station.
Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on Friday.
The window to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors on draft electoral rolls opened on August 1.
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances