62-year-old Sampath will take over as CEC after incumbent S Y Quraishi demits office on June 10.
Unlike the past when G V G Krishnamurthy, J M Lyngdoh, R Peri Sastry, H S Brahma, and V S Sampath held positions in the ECI representing all corners of India, this ECI will be North India-centric.
President Pranab Mukherjee made the appointment filling a vacancy caused by the elevation of V S Sampath as Chief Election Commissioner after S Y Quraishi demitted office.
He will assume charge with effect from April 19, after the incumbent Hari Shankar Brahma demits office
Former secretary in the Union ministry of energy, Hari Shankar Brahma, was appointed as the new Election Commissioner on Wednesday.
Making the electoral process inclusive and giving voting rights to the maximum number of citizens is worthy cause to make our democracy better, says Col Anil Athale.
Om Prakash Rawat, a former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer who till recently was Secretary at the Centre, was on Thursday appointed as the new Election Commissioner.
The Election Commission on Thursday justified the decision to deny permission to Narendra Modi's rally in Varanasi city and came to the defence of the district magistrate whose removal is being demanded by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on the allegation that he had violated secrecy of voting by entering the enclosure of the Electronic Voting Machine in one of the polling booths in Amethi on May 7.
The next general elections would be held in multiple phases next year and be completed in time to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha by June 1, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath has said.
The Election Commission is mulling a proposal to increase the polling hours during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in light of a jump in the cumulative number of voters in the country and the trend of bigger turnout at recent elections.
The Election Commission on Monday refrained from commenting on whether President Pranab Mukherjee is free to sign ordinances when the Model Code of Conduct is in force for Delhi assembly elections, saying he (the president) knows when to use his constitutional powers.
The confrontation between the Election Commission and the West Bengal government escalated by a few notches on Tuesday, with Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath asking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to transfer five superintendents of police and one district magistrate (North 24-Parganas) by 2.30 pm on Tuesday, after Opposition parties complained against these officers and accused them of being biased.
The Election Commission arrived in Gujarat on Sunday on a routine visit ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year, official sources said. The commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Election Commissioner H S Brahma, Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi and other officials, arrived in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening.
India has provided 1,935 electronic voting machines to Bhutan for the country's second national elections to be held on Saturday.
The Election Commission on Sunday called on President Pranab Mukherjee and handed over the list of 543 newly-elected members of Lok Sabha that will enable him initiate the formal process of new government formation.
The Election Commission on Friday announced the schedule for assembly elections in five states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
In Indian elections today, India's Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath says, "Muscle Power has been replaced by 'Money Power,'" adding that the Election Commission's greatest dilemma is worrying about how the media can be prevented from influencing the outcome in the coming general election.
Certification of Election of Pranab Mukherjee as President of India has been handed over to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.
The dates for the crucial assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have been finalised and will be announced by the Election Commission on Wednesday.
The Election Commission has rejected a demand to make mandatory the filing of affidavits by candidates in the Presidential poll disclosing their assets and criminal record, if any.
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.
Assembly elections in 288 seats in Maharashtra and 90 seats in Haryana will be held on October 15 and counting will take place on October 19, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
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.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath on Thursday said that any offensive material on social media during election period will be strictly dealt with.
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.
There was no move to advance elections to the assembly in Kerala which would be held in the mid-May next year, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said on Tuesday.
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.
The term of the 15th Lok Sabha ends on May 31.
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.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said on Tuesday that the Election Commission would "dispassionately" examine Rahul Gandhi's speech made at Indore on October 24, stating that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was in touch with victims affected by the Muzaffarnagar riots.
Find out when your constituency goes to poll
Aditi Phadnis profiles V S Sampath, India's newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner.
If there is no possibility of NRIs coming to India to vote, why should they get enrolled, asks Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held from April 7 to May 12 spread over nine days in the highest number of polling days so far involving an electorate of 81.4 crore, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday.
The Election Commission on Friday said it would like criminal candidates as well as those facing charges of heinous crime to be 'immediately' debarred from contesting elections.
Assembly elections in Tripura will be held on February 14 and in Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 23 and their results will be out on February 28, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
Voicing concern over the announcement of direct cash transfer scheme after the Model Code of Conduct had been implemented, the Election Commission has directed the government to keep in abeyance its implementation in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the poll process is going on.
Karnataka Assembly election will be held in a single phase on May 5 and counting of votes will be on May 8, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.
The Election Commission on Tuesday cautioned Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar against misuse of official machinery for political purposes in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
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