Following a Supreme Court directive, details of names deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls have been published online. The Election Commission defends the special intensive revision process.
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 Election Commission (EC) has announced 17 new initiatives for the Bihar Assembly polls, including compulsory webcasting, mobile phone-deposit facilities, and measures to improve voter turnout and accessibility.
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.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA member, announced it will contest 153 seats in the upcoming Bihar elections after not being allocated any seats by the NDA. The party claims the BJP's Bihar unit provided a negative report regarding their strength.
Kumar, who played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir during his stint in the Union home ministry, took charge as an election commissioner on March 15, 2024.
The Election Commission will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories between November and February, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
The Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea seeking a special investigation team (SIT) probe into alleged electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies, advising the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India.
'They have been found wanting in taking stern measures to stop this because the Constitution has given them this authority and the power to ensure a free and fair election in the country.'
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
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.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
A GST Deputy Commissioner, Prashant Kumar Singh, resigned in protest against Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand's remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, citing attempts to divide the nation on caste and religious lines.
A 25-year-old Hindu man died after jumping into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in northwestern Bangladesh, in the latest incident of violence targeting the minority community. The incident highlights rising concerns about communal violence in the lead-up to general elections.
If the draft constitution is approved on Sunday at the SGM along with this clause, a majority of the AIFF's Executive Committee members may have to resign from their positions or lose their top posts in the state units.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
On deletions, Kumar clarified that they are processed only through Form 7 or Form B, following strict guidelines.
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4 for the world's biggest election exercise in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bid for a third consecutive term.
The views came in the wake of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar wondering on Friday that how could the CJI, even by "statutory prescription", get involved in executive appointments such as that of Central Bureau of Investigation director, and said it was time to "revisit" such norms.
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar polls was a mandate against infiltrators in the country because citizens will never favour those parties that support such illegal immigrants.
India has suspended visa operations at its application center in Chittagong, Bangladesh, following heightened tensions and protests after the death of a student leader.
Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting individuals involved in voter deletion and election rigging, citing data from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
Bangladesh police have formally charged 17 people in connection with the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, alleging it was an act of political vengeance orchestrated by the Awami League.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association has failed to comply with the safety and security requirements at M Chinnaswamy stadium, said Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
'Pakistan's role in Bangladesh will always be negative, since it's a one-point agenda is hostility against India.'
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by his parents Dr Subodh Kumar Gupta, mother Satyawati Gupta and wife Anuradha Kumar, took a dip in the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Monday, February 24, 2025.
The ED said the actions of Banerjee and the Kolkata Police commissioner resulted in "obstructions" in the ongoing investigation and proceedings being undertaken as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dramatically turned up at the residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
A rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized by the Inqilab Moncho party, demanded justice for slain student leader Sharif Osman Hadi and called for the cancellation of work permits for all Indians residing in Bangladesh. The protest also sought the repatriation of alleged killers believed to be in India, further straining relations between the two countries.
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 Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
The Bombay High Court criticized the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its lack of action in addressing air pollution in Mumbai, questioning the approval of numerous large construction projects and urging preventive measures.
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
