The Election Commission on Friday night dismissed suggestions of differences among its three Commissioners and said it disposes of complaints of model code of conduct violation expeditiously.
The Election Commission has decided to grant two more hours to people to cast their votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies can help reduce difficulties in terms of expenditure and management, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday and asked the Election Commission to take the initiative in bringing political parties on one platform to discuss the issue.
The government is learnt to have described the Union Budget as an annual constitutional exercise covering the entire country and not just a few states.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has written to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is likely to consult the parliamentary affairs ministry before framing his response on the government's plans to advance the budget presentation to February 1, sources said.
Azad said electoral laws make it clear that the ruling party should have no advantage during elections and both the Opposition and the ruling side should be on an equal footing.
The move if implemented, will be a temporary measure to protect both consumers and airlines. A section of airline executives and experts, however, warned that any intervention in pricing would be counterproductive.
The Election Commission has cancelled polls to two Tamil Nadu assembly seats, saying money power has vitiated electoral process.
The term of President Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24.
Asserting that there was no split in the party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader from Sasikala camp M Thambidurai on Thursday requested the Election Commission "not to entertain" the dissenting cadres, who have staked claim to AIADMK symbol and sought fresh election to the general secretary's post.
Independent directors were supposed to safeguard the interest of all stakeholders.
He said that the AAP MLAs were issued two notices by the EC but their response was not in the context of the notice served on them.
The Election Commission of India has decided to seize both licensed and illegal weapons before the Lok Sabha election and will reject requests from political parties for change of poll dates because of festivals in Assam.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already taken a lead with his knock-on-door campaign.
Uttar Pradesh, which is set to witness game-changer elections, and four other states will go to polls simultaneously, most likely in February-March next, commencing shortly after the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.
Accusing Union Ministers Beni Prasad Verma and Kapil Sibal of vitiating the election campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday approached the Election Commission seeking strong action against them for making "baseless" allegations against its leaders.
He said his faction will formally file a petition with the Election Commission of India on Friday.
'The EC should take permission from the PMO at the earliest and register FIRs against the two,' Kejriwal wrote in the letter.
Jagdish Chhokar, founder-member of the Association for Democratic Reforms says there should be a law to regulate the functioning of political parties.
It is thanks to these internal differences that the much-awaited merger between the two factions has not made any headway so far, reports R Rajagopalan.
Parties including the Congress, Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have written to the Election Commission and the President opposing the advancing of the budget presentation to February 1 before the polls.
According to the revised plan, promoter Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal and the directors nominated by the promoter would be asked to step down from the board, and the lenders, as part of the resolution process, will infuse around Rs 1,200 crore into the airline as emergency funding.
Assembly elections in Bihar, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is set for a battle against a united Janata Parivar, are likely to be held sometime in September-October when extensive central forces and a reworked expenditure monitoring system will be deployed to curb money and muscle power.
He, however, did not give any date for the proposed challenge which he announced in his opening remarks at the meeting.
The Commission said it cannot, under the existing law, disqualify a contesting candidate or prevent him from contesting the election, nor can it prevent an elector from casting his vote in an election, if otherwise qualified and eligible, as is being demanded by some of the parties.
His election from the Datia assembly constituency also stands void.
EC received the RBI proposal in the first week of this month, soon after the model code of conduct came into force on March 5.
Upping the ante against Amit Shah after his "fireworks in Pakistan" remark, Janata Dal-United and the Congress on Friday approached the Election Commission demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party chief be barred from entering Bihar for "inciting communal tension" till the election process ends.
The group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol bicycle, the three-member Election Commission headed by Nasim Zaidi said in its order.
The Election Commission sought a detailed report from the district poll authorities in Bhind, where a bypoll is due on April 9.
The Election Commission has a fight on its hand as candidates use ingenious methods to smuggle in money to Voters.
Given Modi's penchant for springing a surprise, the BJP nominee for next President could be anyone. The only thing certain is that it will be an RSS person, reports R Rajagopalan.
The EC's actions remain to be seen on 'money-hoarding and transportation' for poll-time use. The question remains if the polity in the state would push the EC so far as to use the countermanding option. Even then EC would have to push its constitutional powers to find a way to prevent 'money-power' in the state's elections, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Rai says the story is a 'sordid saga of the relations between the Indian state and minorities'.
'No country or society ever prospered or remained secure by marginalising more than one-sixth of its own,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
SP-Congress alliance is likely to consolidate Muslim vote in their favour.
The Opposition can only question us if we stop them from campaigning. The opportunities are equal for all, he said.
The counting for all five states will be held on March 11.
In writing to the government for a change in the law, the Election Commission has actually acknowledged the future possibility of countermanding polls to curb the use of money power, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
Will the EC would make an example of the RK Nagar by-election, either by ensuring free and fair polls or by countermanding the same, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
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