Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday demanded a probe into the charges made by the self-proclaimed US-based cyber expert, terming them as "very serious" as they concern the survival of democracy in India.
The state had recorded overall 79.80 per cent turnout in 2012.
There are 64 vacancies in the legislative assemblies of various states and one in Lok Sabha.
'Although the Election Commission remains convinced about the EVM's integrity, as a fair umpire of the game it was necessary to travel the last mile to convince political players that the entire process was not only fair but transparently so.' A fascinating excerpt from former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's new book, Excerpted from Every Vote Counts: The Story Of India's Elections.
In the first such initiative, the Bharatiya Janata Party has invited the ruling and Opposition parties from around the world to witness the Lok Sabha elections in India first-hand.
Voting in the first phase began with reports of multiple faulty electronic voting machines at various booths, prompting Congress leaders to request quick action from the poll body.
G V L Rao, part of Save India Democracy which exposed the frauds being committed through EVMs, told rediff.com that the bigger issue was that the government dragged its feet on sanctioning funds for the introduction of VVPAT despite the Supreme Court passing its order a year ago.
A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa speaks to Satya Dosapati, an official of Save Indian Democracy, the organisation which exposed the fraud, who says that the EC's decision is alarming.
'We cannot override the CJI's order... This is nonsense'
Akhilesh said people feel that they have been misled (by the BJP) for forming the government.
He also lamented that EVMs are being used as a 'football' and some sections are doing a 'motivated slugfest' over their use.
Enthusiasm to take part in the democratic process by exercising their right to franchise transcended the age boundaries on Tuesday as old and young alike, the many-time voters and the first-time ones, came out to vote in the first phase of elections in Kashmir.
The law allowed Jadhav to challenge his conviction in the high court through a review process which was a requirement of the ICJ verdict.
Bihar Chief Electoral Officer H R Srinivasa said the Election Commission has established a three-tier security system for strong rooms (housing the electronic voting machines) and the counting centres. The inner core is being guarded by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), then there is the Bihar Military Police (BMP) and then the district police, he told reporters.
The SC agreed to hear next week a review plea filed by 21 Opposition leaders seeking further increase in random matching of VVPAT
He, however, did not give any date for the proposed challenge which he announced in his opening remarks at the meeting.
Kejriwal administered newly-elected AAP councillors a pledge of "loyalty".
'EVMs did not accept votes polled for any party other than BJP'. The BSP chief said that the results in UP and Uttarakhand were surprising and not palatable to anyone.
The Election Commission, however, termed the allegations 'baseless'.
Most leaders agreed for early finalisation of poll plans for 2024 stressing that there was no time left with them and mere meetings would not help.
'They can't be tampered with because of the very nature of the machines -- they are standalone, and not networked.' 'Also, they can't be rigged because of the kind of custodial security they are subjected to during the election process.'
The apex court said that a debate on polls reforms can only take place after the election process in the state is over.
The BJP secured a runaway victory in the Municipal Board elections in Assam, pocketing 72 civic bodies out of 80. The Congress, the principal opposition party of the state, could not even win a single civic body.
About 65.46 per cent electorate on Tuesday exercised their franchise in the second of the five-phase polling for the 20 Maoist-hit assembly constituencies as the day passed off peacefully.
In a statement, the EC said the presiding officer and three other officials have been placed under suspension.
If left unchecked, the 2024 elections may be infamously remembered as the election of deepfakes. The ECI has a tough task ahead, but, more importantly, it has an opportunity to become a global model for scores of countries going to polls this year, notes Ajay Kumar.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the death of a Kanpur businessman in a police raid, claiming that the case is linked to an extortion racket and "someone" is trying to save himself.
'Hopefully, the new majority government will give the country a fool-proof electoral system,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Whatever happens with this election, there is going to have to be a serious rethink of how the ECI, and elections, are run in India. There can't even be the whiff of impropriety. In a country that believes in democracy, EVM rigging isn't stealing an election, it's stealing the soul of a nation, says Cleo Paskal.
Shuja had on Monday claimed at an event in London that the EVMs can be tampered with and that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections were rigged.
An Election Commission official said minor clashes between political workers were reported from some areas.
Seventy-one parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states voted in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Voting will be held on Thursday for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state where 788 candidates are in the fray.
Vishwas, who is the party's Rajasthan in-charge, held a meeting of nearly 600 volunteers at the AAP office sitting on the ground.
Braving scorching sun, voters queued up since early morning in the wards falling under three corporations - South Delhi Municipal Corporation (7), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (4) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (2).
EC said it has decided to 'withdraw' the press note announcing the elections to RS seats from Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal.
Banerjee also alleged that the BJP is manipulating electronic voting machines to increase its vote share.
A total of 851 candidates are in the fray for 93 seats spread across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat, in the final phase of the polls, where 2.22 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal's recent comments on large e-commerce players have reignited the debate about their impact on smaller offline retailers. On Wednesday, Goyal said that the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a "cause for concern" and is diminishing the market share of small, mom-and-pop stores by offering high-margin products such as consumer electronics and apparel at discounted rates.
