'The current Election Commission functions more like a government department than an autonomous body.'
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
The Supreme Court has directed the establishment of independent appellate tribunals, led by former high court judges, to address appeals related to voter list exclusions in West Bengal, while also cautioning against undermining judicial officers involved in the process.
West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya refutes Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims of the BJP bringing in outsiders to cause trouble, accusing her of desperation ahead of the assembly elections and highlighting alleged failures of the TMC government.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has recused himself from hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2023 law regarding the appointment of election commissioners, citing a potential conflict of interest.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
In the recent Bangladesh elections, four minority candidates, including two Hindus, secured parliamentary seats, highlighting the evolving political landscape and representation of minority communities within the BNP's victory.
Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections with unprecedented security measures in place, following a period of interim governance and political changes.
This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls to divide the state, alleging a conspiracy to deprive Bengali-speaking people of their voting rights. She claims the Election Commission is complicit in deleting lakhs of names from voter lists.
Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is on track for a significant victory in Nepal's general elections, potentially reshaping the country's political landscape.
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.
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.
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.
If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, Tarique Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 36 years.
With the Rastriya Swatantra Party likely to win a two thirds majority, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah will be Nepal's next prime minister.
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.
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 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.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.
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.
Like the realisation on the failure of development, we have also internalised the failure on democracy, argues Aakar Patel.
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.
Rule of law prevents a government, brought to power by the strength of ballots, from betraying the trust of citizens and "lapsing into a government of caprice, nepotism and finally despotism", the Supreme Court said on Thursday.
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
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.
'No Indian political party functions in a democratic way.'
A new study alleges that Muslim voters are disproportionately represented in Logical Discrepancy (LD) lists during Kolkata's voter roll revision, raising concerns about potential bias in the electoral process.
'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.'
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.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
'The BNP's election manifesto lists grievances against India, mirroring the attitude of past BNP governments.' 'Political parties have been careful not to say bad things about China.'
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demands cancellation of civic elections where candidates won unopposed, alleging corruption and manipulation by ruling parties. He also criticizes the Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker and the misuse of BMC funds.
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.
"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.
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