Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claims Union Home Minister Amit Shah appeared 'under pressure' during a Parliament debate on election reforms and avoided addressing allegations of 'vote chori'.
Quraishi asserted that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
Electors in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls will be required to present either a voter photo ID card or any one of the 12 alternative identity documents approved by the State Election Commission to cast their vote, officials said.
The Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for the Bihar legislative assembly elections on Monday. The announcement will be made at a press conference at 4 pm.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announces legal action against the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, alleging disenfranchisement and procedural flaws.
He will assume charge with effect from April 19, after the incumbent Hari Shankar Brahma demits office
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission has prohibited civic poll candidates from using microphones and moving in large groups during door-to-door canvassing after the end of the public campaign. Opposition parties have criticised the decision.
'When I met the prime minister, he asked me, "Dr Ganguly, what do you do with people in your company who lie to you?"' 'I said, "Prime Minister, we counsel them and give them a gentle warning. If they lie again, they are sacked".' '"This is my problem,'" Rajiv responded. "I can't sack people in government".' A revealing excerpt from former Hindustan Lever Chairman Dr Ashok S Ganguly's We Are Our Future: Reflections On Life.
A Trinamool Congress councillor in West Bengal protested being listed as deceased in the draft electoral rolls by walking into a crematorium, highlighting concerns about voter list accuracy ahead of state elections.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Election Commission to halt the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, citing irregularities and potential disenfranchisement.
The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance secured a majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning 118 out of 227 seats and ending the Thackeray family's long-standing control.
62-year-old Sampath will take over as CEC after incumbent S Y Quraishi demits office on June 10.
His tenure will end in December this year.
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Friday held that a person employed with the government cannot work as state election commissioners (SECs) and came down on the Goa government for giving its law secretary the additional charge of the SEC.
Amid speculation in political circles over Shiv Sena's stand vis-a-vis the next mayor of Mumbai, party leader and minister Uday Samant said the civic body polls were contested as the Mahayuti alliance.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday denied ever having exerted pressure on State Election Commissioner Nand Lal over the delimitation exercise in his constituency and accused him of lying. "The allegation by Nand Lal, that there was pressure from me for dereserving Latur constituency in the delimitation exercise, is baseless," Deshmukh said.Deshmukh's remarks came after Nand Lal, who spent a night Jail, accused the CM of political vedetta.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
A senior IAS officer, Mohammed had served as chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh for nearly eight-and-a-half years.
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.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Phase-wise counting of votes in Mumbai civic polls, instead of simultaneously across all 227 electoral wards as done in 2017, could delay the declaration of results when the enumeration process begins on Friday morning, civic officials said on Thursday.
The Election Commission has directed enforcement agencies and security forces to take proactive measures during the Bihar elections to prevent the use of drugs, liquor, and cash to influence voters.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has come under fire for his controversial remarks against the Chief Justice of India and now, he has targeted former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, calling him a "Muslim commissioner". Dubey's comments come after Quraishi criticized the Waqf (Amendment) Act as a "sinister and evil plan of the government to grab Muslim lands". Dubey's remarks have been met with widespread condemnation, with many calling them inflammatory and divisive.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the Election Commission of being complicit in 'vote theft' in Bihar, alleging manipulation of voter lists and preventing people from voting. He claims the EC officials are committing 'treachery against the Constitution'.
Newly elected Vice President C P Radhakrishnan met the Opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate retired Supreme Court Justice B Sudershan Reddy in New Delhi.
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.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
Alankar Agnihotri, a 2019-batch Provincial Civil Service officer, resigned from service citing deep disagreement with government policies, especially the new UGC regulations.
"The Election Commission's press conference should be welcomed because it is a good step to clear public doubts regarding the SIR process (in Bihar) and other issues," Rawat told PTI in Indore.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded an apology from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi after Congress workers allegedly threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life at a rally.
Odisha and Uttar Pradesh are among the first to roll out the digital exercise.
Upadhyay submitted the resignation to Governor K N Tripathi at the Raj Bhavan.
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.
Security has been strengthened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh's Sylhet city in the wake of heightened tensions following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, officials said on Saturday.
'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.'
A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
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 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).
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