The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
A delegation of Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Raj Thackeray, met with the state's chief electoral officer to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the poll process, particularly regarding the voters' list, ahead of local body elections.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
The Election Commission has responded to allegations of voter data fudging made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urging him to provide proof instead of creating a false narrative.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf activists staged a protest after Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan in the prohibited funding case last year.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his 'vote chori' allegations and took a swipe at the Election Commission, calling it an 'election watchman' who 'stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves'.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
He will hold the office till February 9, 2027.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to complete the stalled local body polls by January 31, 2026, criticizing the commission for non-compliance with previous orders.
In an attempt to curb bogus voting and monitor the migration of voters across India, the Election Commission is planning to link the Census data of 2011 with its electoral rolls. The EC then plans to use global positioning system to automatically record the voters' migration or shifting of residence.Once the Census data is made available to the Election Commission, it will be clubbed with the electoral rolls. The GPS chip would be added to the electronic photo identity cards.
Rahul alleged that 25 lakh votes were stolen in Haryana through 5.21 lakh duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid voters, and 19.26 lakh bulk voters.
Chief Elections Commissioner N Gopalaswami and Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and S Y Qureshi will meet representatives of six main political parties later in the day.
The protesters, including AAP MLAs and newly appointed Delhi convener Gopal Rai, alleged that the manipulation of electronic voting machines was killing democracy.
Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar rejects allegations of 'vote theft' and misinformation surrounding the electoral roll revision in Bihar, as the INDIA bloc launches a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.
Bangladesh's election commission on Wednesday said it has 'locked' deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's national identity cards, effectively barring her from voting in the general elections scheduled for February next year.
Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will to polls in 2026 and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first.
A 30-year-old man in West Bengal's Howrah district died allegedly by suicide on Tuesday, as he was reportedly distressed over errors in his identity document amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a police officer said.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
India summoned the Bangladesh envoy to express strong concerns over extremist elements planning to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
Days after Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar undertook an hours-long trek to a remote polling station in Uttarakhand, the poll panel on Tuesday decided to double the remuneration of polling officials going to such booths as early as three days before voting day.
'Challenging an authority like the Election Commission is uncalled for. In my view, Khurshid ought to have settled this diplomatically instead of showing defiance,' says retired Supreme Court Justice Santhosh Hegde.
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday told the poll panel that his remarks were aimed at containing graft and sought a review of its order to allow him to repeat the comments.
According to reports, the exit polls will be banned from 7 am on Monday when polling for the first phase in Chhattisgarh starts till 5:30 pm on December 4 when the Delhi Assembly polls end.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of the July Uprising in Bangladesh, died after being shot, sparking protests and political unrest. The interim government has promised action, while demonstrators have targeted media outlets and blamed India.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea challenging the validity of a provision of the Income Tax Act that allows political parties to receive "anonymous" cash donations below Rs 2,000.
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A team of Election Commissioners will visit Patna to review poll preparedness in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The team will meet with political parties, police, administrative officials, and observers to ensure a free and fair election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections, citing data analysis from a Karnataka constituency. He claims evidence of 'vote chori' and demands transparency from the EC.
'Main chunauti deta hun ke ek naam bhi ghuspaithiya ka bataye jiska SIR mein samne aya ho ya delete hua ho (I challenge you to name even one infiltrator who was identified or deleted in the SIR).'
The Election Commission has warned against the use of bulk SMSes and audio messages during the 48-hour 'silence period' before the conclusion of voting in the Bihar assembly polls. The EC has also mandated pre-certification of political advertisements on electronic media, including social media.
RJD president Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, recently expelled from the party, has announced the formation of a new political outfit, 'Jan Shakti Janata Dal', ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar.
A 28-year-old revenue officer (lekhpal) in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, died by suicide a day before his wedding, allegedly due to excessive work pressure related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The incident has triggered protests and accusations of harassment by revenue staff.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances