Government sources have clarified that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship in India, a stance consistent for the past 12 years and rooted in the Passport Act 1967. This clarification, reiterated by the Ministry of External Affairs, has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and public figures.
Opposition parties have submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
The BJP has taken an early lead in the Gujarat local body elections, winning a significant number of seats as counting progresses. The Congress trails behind, while Independents and other parties, including AAP and AIMIM, have also secured seats.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the BJP of orchestrating the recent blasts in Amritsar and Jalandhar to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of upcoming assembly elections. Mann alleges the BJP seeks to incite violence and intimidate the public to gain votes, a tactic he claims they employ in every state where they contest elections.
'98 lakhs in Bengal, 97 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 2.83 crores in Uttar Pradesh.'
The TMC has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at an EVM strongroom in Kolkata. TMC workers protested outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, claiming that postal ballots were taken to a room without CCTV coverage. Similar protests occurred at a strongroom in North 24 Parganas, while the BJP shared a video from Purba Bardhaman district.
Despite numerous appeals, only two names have been restored to the West Bengal electoral rolls after 2.7 million deletions, raising concerns about voter access and the functionality of proposed tribunals.
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha elections 2024, setting the stage for polls to fill 37 seats across 10 states on March 16.
The BJP has won the repoll to Bengal's Falta Assembly seat with a significant margin, marking a dramatic shift in the political landscape of West Bengal. The TMC's candidate slipped to fourth place and forfeited his deposit in what was once considered a TMC stronghold.
Clashes erupted between locals and security personnel in West Bengal's Birbhum district after allegations of EVM malfunctioning triggered tension during the first phase of the state assembly elections.
A woman in Goa has been booked for allegedly concealing her Portuguese nationality and fraudulently enrolling in the voter list.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised one lakh jobs for youths each year based on merit if the BJP won the West Bengal election, and also pledged to make the state free of infiltrators.
The Madras High Court has restrained TVK MLA R Srinivasa Sethupathi from voting, including in the upcoming confidence motion, due to a petition challenging his one-vote victory.
The campaign for the current election cycle ended on Monday as canvassing for the final phase in West Bengal concluded with a bitter war of words between rival parties over cross-border infiltration, corruption, unemployment and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused central forces of attempting to search her car while en route to Kolkata airport, alleging misuse of central machinery by the BJP ahead of state elections.
The Election Commission has warned against any lapses in maintaining law and order ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, questioning the absence of a Narcotics Advisory Committee in the state and directing strict monitoring of financial transactions.
The Bhabanipur assembly segment is Banerjee's political bastion, where she is locked in a prestige battle against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in what is being seen as a symbolic rematch of Nandigram, where he had defeated her in the 2021 assembly polls.
The BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal has not merely redrawn the electoral map but overturned the operating logic of politics in the state, breaching the TMC's entrenched fortress despite a decade-and-a-half of dominance, minority consolidation, and a sustained "outsider" narrative.
The Congress-led UDF has swept back to power in Kerala, sparking celebrations and discussions about forming the new government. Senior leaders are vying for the Chief Minister's post, while the defeated CPI(M)-led LDF grapples with the reasons for their loss after 10 years in power.
The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a petition concerning the deletion of names from voter lists in West Bengal, directing the petitioners to seek redressal through established appellate tribunals.
Maharashtra BJP MLC Pravin Darekar announced the launch of 'Devabhau' and 'Chhava' cooperative taxi services in Mumbai, aiming to counter private aggregators and benefit drivers directly, but the scheme has drawn sharp criticism from social activist Anjali Damania and the Opposition Congress over the proposed use of Mumbai Bank funds and its political branding.
As industrial plants boost the village's profile, locals demand priority hiring, alongside better storage facilities and water security.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to end 'goonda raj' and 'syndicate raj' in West Bengal if the BJP wins the state elections. He also pledged to identify and take action against infiltrators and stop cattle smuggling.
Kerala Police have registered a case against X and one of its handles for circulating an AI-generated video allegedly depicting the Prime Minister and the Election Commission of India in a misleading and defamatory manner.
If West Bengal does not begin to reclaim its lost pride, the state would have lost -- perhaps irreversibly, this time, notes Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
NDA partner Bodoland People's Front (BPF) is expected to secure a majority of the 15 Assembly seats in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, leading in 10 constituencies, according to Election Commission data. The BJP, a major partner in the ruling NDA, leads in three seats, while the UPPL and Congress are ahead in one seat each.
India has stated it will wait for the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh and the resulting mandate before addressing any existing issues. The country also affirmed its support for free, fair, inclusive, and credible elections in Bangladesh.
The TMC has written to the Election Commission alleging procedural irregularities in the scrutiny of nomination papers of BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate Rahul Sinha, claiming discrepancies in his election affidavit were overlooked.
TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest alleging irregular activities inside a strongroom housing EVMs in West Bengal, following concerns raised by Mamata Banerjee regarding EVM security.
West Bengal is on edge as it awaits the results of its recent election, with the TMC and BJP vying for control. The counting process will be conducted under tight security, with the Election Commission implementing stringent measures to ensure a fair and transparent process.
Special police observer Ajay Pal Sharma toured West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district during the second phase of Assembly elections, facing political controversy and allegations of intimidation from TMC leaders.
The Supreme Court has declined the Centre's request to postpone the hearing on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2023 law, which excludes the CJI from the committee responsible for appointing election commissioners, stating the matter is of utmost importance.
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.
US President Donald Trump described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 'a Great One', while Russia hailed him as the 'doyen of all Indian prime ministers' as world leaders congratulated him on becoming India's longest continuously serving elected representative at the top post.
Through his commitment to democratic norms, debate, dissent and constitutionalism, Jawaharlal Nehru helped ensure that parliamentary democracy took deep root in independent India. Utkarsh Mishra evaluates Nehru's 17 years as India's first prime minister, examining his role in nation-building, democratic institution-building, economic planning, scientific advancement and foreign policy.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) has named Jyotiprakash Chatterji as its new president, a development that follows the merger of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel Lok Sabha faction with the party. This announcement by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a key figure in the dissident camp, comes amidst speculation about the party's leadership after its founder stepped down. However, details about Chatterji and the party's internal workings remain unclear, with some existing members expressing unawareness of the change.
The BJP has made significant gains in the Kerala Assembly elections, securing three seats and marking a potential breakthrough in a state where it has traditionally struggled.
The West Bengal cabinet has approved the formation of two panels headed by retired judges to investigate alleged institutional corruption and atrocities against women and children during the previous TMC regime.
TMC's Falta candidate Jahangir Khan withdrew from the May 21 re-election, citing Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's promise of a special development package for the area.
BJP's Panihati candidate Ratna Debnath faced protests by TMC workers when she visited a booth in the assembly constituency in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district where polling was underway. She also accused the ruling party activists of preventing her from leaving the booth premises, following an altercation with them over an allegation of influencing voters.
