Ahead of the July 19 presidential election, the Election Commission has made it clear that political parties cannot issue any direction or whip to members to vote or not as it would tantamount to an offence of undue influence
A BJP and a Trinamool Congress worker were killed in separate incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal on Tuesday, police said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly refusing to accept the electoral mandate, claiming democracy is being 'held at gunpoint' in the state.
BJP leader Sobha Surendran appeared before the District Returning Officer in Kerala to address allegations of offering cash for votes during the recent Assembly polls. The controversy stems from a video allegedly showing money being exchanged, leading to complaints from both Congress and Surendran herself.
'98 lakhs in Bengal, 97 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 2.83 crores in Uttar Pradesh.'
Senior DMK leader KR Periakaruppan lost the Tiruppattur assembly seat by one vote to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's Seenivasa Sethupathy R in the Tamil Nadu elections. The defeat highlights the impact of individual ballots and the rise of actor Vijay's TVK.
A clarification by the ministry of external affairs that the passport is not a proof of citizenship has once again brought to the fore the need for a legal framework to provide citizens with a single document to establish they are Indians.
The EC also underlined that for electors whose enumeration forms have not returned, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would identify a probable cause, such as absent, shifted, dead and duplicate entry based on an inquiry from the nearby electors and would note the same.
The Election Commission has warned against any lapses in maintaining law and order ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, questioning the absence of a Narcotics Advisory Committee in the state and directing strict monitoring of financial transactions.
The Election Commission has placed orders estimated at more than Rs 300 crore with Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd to deliver Electronic Voting Machines for the Lok Sabha elections.
A Calcutta High Court judge, Gaurang Kant, disclosed that his elder brother is a national spokesperson for the BJP while hearing Mamata Banerjee's petition challenging the Bhabanipur assembly seat poll result. Despite the disclosure, Banerjee's lawyer expressed full confidence in the judge.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is set to make crucial decisions regarding the disqualification petitions against rebel MPs from the Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) before the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Both parties have sought the disqualification of their defecting members under the anti-defection law, while the Speaker is consulting legal experts and examining precedents to ensure legally sound decisions.
Regina Bibi, wife of TMC leader Jahangir Khan, has been arrested for allegedly masterminding a violent attempt to free him from police custody and leading an attack on the Falta police station earlier this month.
The Supreme Court has permitted the NIA to file its charge sheet upon completion of the investigation into the incident in West Bengal where judicial officers were illegally confined by a mob.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress has filed fresh police complaints against dissident leader Ritabrata Banerjee and his associates. The complaints accuse the rebels of illegally using the party's name, symbol, and designations to mislead workers, marking a significant escalation in the month-long internal struggle following the assembly poll defeat.
BJP leader Sobha Surendran appeared before the District Returning Officer in Kerala to give her statement regarding the 'cash-for-vote' allegation against her during the Assembly polls.
The Congress party has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a 'millstone' around India's neck and accusing him of presiding over the 'murder of democracy', even as he achieved the milestone of becoming India's longest continuously serving elected prime minister.
Opposition parties have submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that the TMC will return to power for a fourth term, urging opposition parties to unite against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. She criticised the BJP's chargesheet against the TMC and alleged corruption in the Haldia dock complex. Banerjee also questioned Prime Minister Modi's claim of being the BJP candidate in all West Bengal seats.
Trinamool Congress offices across West Bengal were allegedly defaced and damaged following the BJP's victory in the Assembly polls, with the TMC alleging BJP involvement, which the BJP denies.
The campaign for the current election cycle ended on Monday as canvassing for the final phase in West Bengal concluded with a bitter war of words between rival parties over cross-border infiltration, corruption, unemployment and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Supporters of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and the ruling TMC clashed in West Bengal's Murshidabad district during the first phase of the state assembly polls, leading to police intervention and heightened security measures.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced that 20 dissident Lok Sabha members from TMC have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and pledged support to the NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The group expects its numbers to increase to 22 and clarified they have no connection with rebel TMC MLAs in West Bengal. Dastidar also highlighted the alleged non-implementation of central schemes in West Bengal by the previous TMC government.
Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora of the AGP has won the Bokakhat assembly constituency for a third consecutive term, defeating Raijor Dal's Hari Prasad Saikia by a significant margin.
The new BJP government also appointed IAS officer Shantanu Bala as the chief minister's private secretary, according to another notification.
Elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra are scheduled for December 2, according to the State Election Commissioner. The schedule for other local bodies will be announced later.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls to divide the state, alleging a conspiracy to deprive Bengali-speaking people of their voting rights. She claims the Election Commission is complicit in deleting lakhs of names from voter lists.
Amid cross-voting from both ruling and Opposition ranks, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti on Monday swept 16 of the 17 Maharashtra Legislative Council seats from local authorities' constituencies even as Nashik delivered a surprise defeat to the governing bloc.
West Bengal's appointment of Manoj Agarwal, the former Chief Electoral Officer, as the new Chief Secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the state's electoral processes.
'They probably imagine any hue and cry in the event Sheikh Hasina is hanged will be shortlived as it happened when Bhutto was hanged in Pakistan in 1979.'
Poll preparations for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi have begun, and the preliminary conference of chief electoral officers of these states will be held in Delhi in the first week of June.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday complained to the Election Commission of partisan behaviour by central police forces in favour of its rival Bharatiya Janata Party, while the saffron party made a counter-complaint that Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee had violated the model code of conduct by being inside a polling booth in Nandigram for two hours on polling day.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has dismissed allegations of 'seat theft' in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, asserting that Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was deliberately undermined by her own party leaders who were vying for the same seat.
BJP workers celebrated in West Bengal as the party took an early lead in the state assembly elections, raising slogans and exchanging sweets.
Kerala Police have registered a case against X and one of its handles for circulating an AI-generated video allegedly depicting the Prime Minister and the Election Commission of India in a misleading and defamatory manner.
As you drive into Chennai, what is striking is the conspicuous absence of posters, banners, hoardings in the city, even though campaigning is at its peak for the April 13 elections in the state.
Change of guard in some states and evolving El Nino dynamics are triggering fresh actions on raging water-sharing disputes in several states.
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha elections 2024, setting the stage for polls to fill 37 seats across 10 states on March 16.
The BJP has taken an early lead in the Gujarat local body elections, winning a significant number of seats as counting progresses. The Congress trails behind, while Independents and other parties, including AAP and AIMIM, have also secured seats.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to hold a dharna in Kolkata against alleged arbitrary deletions in the state's electoral rolls, marking a return to her roots as a street fighter and signalling a key political battle ahead of Assembly elections.
