The court had appointed former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi as the administrator-cum-returning officer to conduct the fresh polls to the sports body.
'Democracy cannot be taken for granted. It has to be fiercely guarded.'
The Delhi high court on Tuesday set aside the election of Praful Patel, who was last year elected as the president of All India Football Federation for a four-year term, his third successive tenure.
The full bench of the Election Commission will visit West Bengal on Thursday to oversee the poll preparedness for the last three phases of the assembly polls. Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi and the other two Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and HS Brahma will arrive in Kolkata in the morning and hold meeting with the representatives of the political parties.
"We, in the Election Commission, have not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15," Quraishi said after delivering a lecture on 'J&K Elections 2008', at the India House in London on Tuesday evening. General election in India is the largest electoral exercise in the world involving 671 million voters.
The Election Commission on Wednesday put a lid on the standoff with Law and Minorities Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid after he expressed regrets over his "defiance" of the poll body over his remarks on subquota for minorities in government jobs in Uttar Pradesh.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the committee as a special invitee, while legal affairs secretary Niten Chandra will be secretary to the panel.
Taking strong exception to Law Minister Salman Khurshid's recent comments, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the minister had tried to undermine the authority of the Election Commission with his public utterances.
The schedule for the Bihar assembly polls, which will be held in five phases, is likely to be announced by Saturday. Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi and Election Commissioner V S Sampath held detailed meetings with Home Secretary G K Pillai and chiefs of central police organisations to discuss the deployment of forces in the state during the polls.According to sources, the poll schedule is almost ready and it is being given its final touches.
Gearing up the machinery ahead of the general elections, the full Election Commission will visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar this week to review the poll readiness in these two key states in the Hindi heartland which together accounts for 120 seats.
A day after Election Commission rejected his claim that Electronic Voting Machines are not tamper-proof, former bureaucrat Omesh Saigal on Tuesday stuck to his charge that a particular software can be used to rig the polls.
Former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday suggested an annual compulsory audit of funds and donations received by political parties. "We want that all political funding should be transparent and checked. There should be annual compulsory audits by an independent auditor to be picked up from a panel suggested by the Election Commission," Quraishi said.
The campaign by Team Anna in Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll may have raised hackles of Congress, but the Election Commission on Tuesday said it did not violate any election law and the panel saw no reason for intervention.
Team Anna's demand for incorporating Right to Reject a candidate in Parliament and assembly elections is an "interesting possibility", feels Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi.
'Legally, anything can be promised in the manifestos. However, the SC has said the promises should not be unreasonable'
Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, chief election commissioner SY Quraishi has said that the money seized in raids by the state election commission is only the tip of the iceberg. chief election commissioner SY Quraishi said, "flow of money is our biggest challenge. Even the money confiscated in the recent seizures does not cover it all."
Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi on Friday defended the Election Commission's decision to countermand the assembly by-poll in the Hazratbal assembly constituency in Srinagar."The Election Commission has no powers to overrule the returning officer's decision to accept nomination papers and the decision to countermand the by-election was a legally correct one," Dr Quraishi told reporters in Srinagar.
However, the national party count has gone down to six from 14 in over seven decades.
CEC Dr S Y Quraishi in an exclusive chat explains his plans for ensuring an trouble free election in the five poll-bound states.
In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political parties are extensively using social media to propagate their achievements and seek support from voters.
Role of black money in elections, threat to voters from Maoists, mushroom growth of political parties and casual approach of urban voters impede the electoral process in the country, Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has said.
Chief Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi is not embarrassed by activist Anna Hazare's candid confession that Indian elections are corrupt and if he ever contested in one, he would end up losing his security deposit.When asked about Hazare's statement that Indian voters are not educated enough -- "they take a bottle of alcohol or Rs 500 and cast their vote" -- CEC Quraishi stated that the statement was not at all telling on his job. He argued, "Not at all, not at all."
Lack of adequate Central forces and "sheer compulsions" in the interest of free and fair elections forced the Election Commission to opt for a six-phased assembly polls in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said on Tuesday.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday called for a "complete check" on the menace of paid news during polls and emphasised on keeping a track on the expenditure record of candidates.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
Amid reports that some Samajwadi Party supporters clashed with mediapersons in Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh and were held hostage in a room by the mob collected there, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Tuesday said the journalists were "absolutely safe".
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
The FIH also stated that the draw of the Men's Hockey World Cup, to be hosted jointly by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 next year, will take place as per schedule on September 8.
Complimenting West Bengal government for being extremely cooperative, chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said all suggestions and instructions of the commission were being readily complied with in the poll-bound state.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Friday said all efforts will be made to keep the electoral rolls in West Bengal flawless for the polls due next year.
Government has floated a proposal to bar from elections candidates facing charge sheet for heinous offences one year before elections.
"The Commission is satisfied that the current election process for Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand has been seriously vitiated and cannot be permitted to proceed," the 3-member EC headed by Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said in a 12-page order.
The three-member Election Commission met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and discussed the letter from Y S Vijayalakshmi, YSR Congress honorary president, seeking a direction from the Commission for her son's release.
The SC named a Committee of Administrators (CoA), headed by Justice (retd) AR Dave, with SY Qureshi, former Chief Election Commissioner, and Bhaskar Ganguly, former captain of the Indian football team, to run the day-to-day affairs of the national football federation.
Dozens of statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and numerous that of elephants (which also happens to be ruling Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol) in and around parks and memorials built by her in Lucknow and Noida were being hurriedly veiled from Monday morning by officials in pursuance of the Election Commission's order.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said like the Indian Cricket Board, AIFF can also be asked to frame an amended constitution incorporating the suggestions of the Delhi high court.
Lauding the Election Commission for its 'bold' decision of scrapping the Rajya Sabha poll in Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha has asked it to get a thorough probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation or any other agency into the events since the start of election process.
In the backdrop of several political parties launching their own television channels for publicity during elections, the Election Commission is working on guidelines for the electronic media to ensure a level playing field.
The Prime Minister's Office has sought clarity on a Rs 57-crore project of Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi to establish an India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management at Dwarka in New Delhi as the Cabinet note did not contain comments from various union ministries.
The Election Commission has virtually disfavoured Team Anna's electoral reform proposals saying its demand for 'Right to Recall' will bring instability while 'Right to Reject' will lead to more frequent elections.
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