Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel had said.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
Meanwhile, the Congress' data analytics department chairperson Praveen Chakravarty on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, seeking assembly-wise voter rolls in excel sheet format for the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls in Maharashtra.
Gandhi's remarks came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United made public the names of candidates for all 101 seats it will be contesting in the assembly polls, with more than half of them from the backward and extremely backward classes.
Opposition parties in India are demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. They raised concerns about federalism, national security, and the purity of voter lists during an all-party meeting.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, is also credited with the creation of the Election Commission of India. An amendment he brought to the Constituent Assembly led to the establishment of the Election Commission as an independent body responsible for conducting elections. Ambedkar's amendment consolidated election authority into a centralized body, headed by a chief election commissioner appointed by the President, rather than separate commissions for the Centre and states. This article delves into the historical context and the importance of Ambedkar's contribution in establishing the Election Commission of India.
From 1952 to 1967, each of the three Lok Sabhas sat for an average of 600 days and more than 3,700 hours. In comparison, the 15th Lok Sabha -- from 2009 till 2013 -- has met for just 345 days and 1,331 hours, says Shreya Singh
Union Minister Suresh Gopi expressed his desire to step down from his ministerial post and recommended BJP's newly elected Rajya Sabha member C Sadanandan Master as his replacement in the central cabinet.
Opposition members, including from the Congress and the TMC, started raising slogans and showing placards to attack the government on the snooping issue as soon as the House met for the day at 11 am.
Election Commission data reveals Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal recorded significantly higher voter deletions compared to Nandigram, sparking political debate ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
A Delhi court has granted Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid, currently jailed on terror funding charges, permission to vote in the upcoming Vice Presidential election.
"One party has held a meeting to hold the election in advance, though my information may not be correct," Mamata Banerjee told a meeting of Trinamool Congress without naming the party.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India of engaging in "vote chori" (vote theft) to benefit the BJP, claiming his party possesses substantial evidence of electoral irregularities.
The INDIA bloc is set to field a joint candidate for the upcoming vice presidential elections. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is engaging with opposition parties to identify potential candidates and build consensus. The decision reflects a unified front among opposition parties aiming to send a strong political message.
Gandhi asserted that the Congress is going to defeat the BJP and its ideology.
After the setback in the Lok Sabha election, the ruling Congress on Friday recorded a big win in the bypoll to three assembly seats in Uttarakhand retaining Dharchula seat which went to Chief Minister Harish Rawat and wresting Doiwala and Someshwar seats from Bharatiya Janata Party.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
The debate between the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party on seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections has taken a new turn. The NCP has told the Congress to go ahead on its own if it was sure of winning all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Both TRS and BJP are contesting on the separate statehood plank while the Congress is banking on development of the region and TDP has expressed its support for "Samaikya" (United) Andhra Pradesh.
A voter turnout of 69.69 percent was recorded in the third and final phase of voting Tuesday in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission said.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, IT expert Nandan Nilekani and cricketer Mohd Kaif are among 194 candidates as Congress tonight released the first list of its nominees for Lok Sabha polls that contains several new and young faces.
'The EPS camp feels assertiveness will help the AIADMK keep the BJP's seat-share ambitions to the minimum,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday after taking the oath of the office said that Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting to win more than 75 seats out 80 from Uttar Pradesh in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Election Commission plans to issue new voter identity cards to all electors of Bihar after the completion of the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state.
The Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea seeking a special investigation team (SIT) probe into alleged electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies, advising the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India.
Speaking at the Diwali Mangal Milan programme organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi said that it appears that there is a halt in debate on some issues, and if media plays its role in carrying forward the debate, it will be good.
Speaking to reporters at Tezpur, Sarma also said that he would be happy if Gogoi files a case against him for making such a remark.
The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench has disposed of a petition challenging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship, allowing the petitioner to explore other legal options. The court stated that since the central government couldn't provide a timeframe for resolving the petitioner's complaint, there was no reason to keep the petition pending.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
In a move signalling his larger role in the party, Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday made the head of the Congress coordination committee for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his party will soon come out with a 'hydrogen bomb' of revelations about 'vote chori' and after that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to show his face to the country.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi are set to address public rallies in Bihar on Wednesday in support of their respective party nominees. Other leaders will also campaign ahead of the upcoming elections.
The Congress-led UDF secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF, while the BJP gained significant ground, including winning control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
The Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday after 19 sittings that saw the passage of 14 legislation while Rajya Sabha came to an end after passing nine bills.
Like Uttar Pradesh, the Aam Aadmi Party has decided to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in next general elections.
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