'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
A referendum on the implementation of a reform package in Bangladesh saw a 60.26 per cent voter turnout, with the 'yes' vote winning a clear majority, the Election Commission announced.
Voting has commenced in 142 constituencies for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, with significant security measures in place. The outcome will determine whether the TMC maintains its dominance or if the BJP can gain ground in the state.
The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the West Bengal government's handling of an incident in Malda district where judicial officers were allegedly attacked. The BJP has accused the TMC of orchestrating the event to obstruct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and protect Rohingyas.
If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, Tarique Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 36 years.
Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is poised to form the next government in Nepal after a decisive victory in the general election, significantly impacting established political parties.
Voting has commenced for the Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry, with millions of voters deciding the fate of numerous candidates across various constituencies. The elections are crucial for determining the future governance and political landscape of these regions.
Bangladesh will hold general elections on February 12, 2026, the first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. A referendum on reform proposals will be held simultaneously.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
'No Indian political party functions in a democratic way.'
With the Rastriya Swatantra Party likely to win a two thirds majority, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah will be Nepal's next prime minister.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the government's handling of the women's quota bill, accusing them of political maneuvering and neglecting the rights of OBCs.
Meghalaya's opposition leader, Mukul Sangma, has called for an independent inquiry into the Garo Hills violence, citing the need for accountability and due process to restore public confidence.
The BJP has nominated Sanjay Bhatia, its former MP from Karnal, for the upcoming Rajya Sabha poll from Haryana. This decision comes as two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana are set to fall vacant, prompting elections scheduled for March 16.
65 candidates from ten municipal corporations in Maharashtra were declared elected unopposed ahead of elections held on January 15, according to the State Election Commission (SEC). The BJP led with 43 unopposed candidates.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.
Like the realisation on the failure of development, we have also internalised the failure on democracy, argues Aakar Patel.
"The CBI Director should be empowered to report directly to the minister and the prime minister with exclusive powers like the Cabinet secretary and should act alone without being under the administration of the central government," the judgment further read.
The Congress party has announced its support for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has criticized the State Election Commission's decision to postpone some local body elections, calling it unfair to candidates. The decision follows petitions and sub judice matters, which Fadnavis argues should not halt the election process. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also expressed disappointment, while tensions rise between BJP and Shiv Sena in Sindhudurg ahead of local polls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed poll rallies in West Bengal, attacking Mamata Banerjee's TMC and promising development if the BJP wins the state elections. He accused Banerjee of appeasement politics and vowed to prevent the construction of a Babri Masjid-like structure in Bengal.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
India needs to examine some way in which, assuming that there is either no vaccine or a delay in administering it to everyone, voting can be made safer, notes Aakar Patel.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the 'hostage' situation involving seven judicial officials in West Bengal's Malda district, demanding explanations from state officials and authorising the Election Commission to seek a CBI or NIA probe.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, alleging manipulation of voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. She also questioned the abrupt resignation of Governor C V Ananda Bose and accused the BJP of anti-women policies and spreading misinformation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a strong attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of appeasement politics, encouraging illegal immigration for votes, and leading the state into misrule and corruption.
Several opposition parties on Wednesday decided to jointly oppose the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, even as they reiterated support for women's reservation, with Mallikarjun Kharge alleging the move is politically motivated.
'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.'
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, has reassured the public that individual data collected during the upcoming census will remain confidential and cannot be used for any purpose other than statistical aggregation.
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are leading in the early trends of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in Maharashtra. Counting began on Monday morning for elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis.
BNP chairman Tarique Rahman called for maintaining law and order and sought cooperation in building a safe and humane Bangladesh after his party's victory in parliamentary elections.
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
The Election Commission sent a notice to Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP's Mumbai chief. This is probably because a leading newspaper highlighted his utterances on its front page.
Pakistan's election commission has expressed its inability to hold general elections within three months due to legal, constitutional and logistical challenges, according to a media report on Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.
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