Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to advocate for fair elections and protect voting rights, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise voters.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The None of the Above (NOTA) option once again found few takers, with 0.75 per cent of the electorate pressing the button in Maharashtra and 1.32 per cent in Jharkhand. Votes for the assembly elections in these two states were counted on Saturday.
The State Bank of India has not shared details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties till Wednesday, the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Coming down hard on the Election Commission for its response on 'vote theft' allegations, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Sunday said the poll body should have ordered a probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's charges instead of 'shouting' at him in a language that was 'objectionable and offensive'.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to submit data on Other Backward Classes to the State Backward Classes Commission to examine its correctness and make recommendations on their representation in elections for the local bodies.
The Election Commission on Thursday made public a fresh data set of electoral bonds, including their alpha-numeric numbers that can help match their purchasers with the political parties that received the funds.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, an Election Commission team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived in Srinagar to meet with representatives of political parties.
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
The Election Commission (EC) has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, marking a key step ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The publication follows a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
'The long term strategy is that this government wants to create a second class citizen list.'
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India to provide details of cases in which it had either removed or reduced the period of disqualification from electoral rolls of leaders post their conviction in criminal cases.
'The collegium system will remove any such doubts from the minds of people and the political parties.'
The assertion comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directing the SBI to submit the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
Following the 'dog babu' incident, another canine application for a residence certificate has surfaced in Nawada, Bihar. An FIR has been registered for the attempt.
The certificate of residence was issued last week in Masaurhi circle, falling under the eponymous sub-division, apparently as part of a scramble for such documents during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said it is some people's job to create doubts and asserted the systems in place at the Election Commission are strong to ensure no mistakes creep in.
The Bihar Assembly session was adjourned after a heated exchange between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The situation escalated quickly, leading to unparliamentary language and a shouting match between members of the ruling and opposition parties.
The winter session of Parliament is set to begin with the government prioritizing its reforms agenda, including a bill to open the civil nuclear sector to private players. The opposition is expected to raise concerns about electoral roll revisions and air pollution.
Alankar Agnihotri, a 2019-batch Provincial Civil Service officer, resigned from service citing deep disagreement with government policies, especially the new UGC regulations.
'Approaching the SC, getting a favourable decision and overturning the situation (the speaker's order), will be too much to ask for in too short time.'
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that it has come out with the "final electoral roll" in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls, taking into account all the claims and objections to the draft voters' lists, which were published as part of special intensive revision (SIR).
A 35-year-old woman in Bihar, India, was mistakenly listed as 124 years old in draft electoral rolls, sparking a political demonstration and raising questions about the accuracy of voter registration.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
The review pleas filed by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara and others contended that the matter related to the scheme falls in the exclusive domain of legislative and executive policy.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on the Election Commission's plea against Madras high court remarks holding its officials responsible for the surge in Covid-19 cases and fastening them with murder charges.
Kumar, who played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir during his stint in the Union home ministry, took charge as an election commissioner on March 15, 2024.
The Supreme Court has requested the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The court has also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep proceedings on similar petitions in abeyance.
'There are many smaller parties, which in the age of ballot paper, might not have come into existence'
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
The portion of 'none of the above' option or NOTA dropped from 1.08% in 2014 to 1.06% in 2019.
The portion of 'none of the above' option or NOTA dropped from 1.08% in 2014 to 1.06% in 2019.
The plea was filed by Pawar senior in his personal capacity through lawyer Abhishek Jebaraj on Monday evening.
Future Gaming and Hotel Services whose director is the lottery magnate Santiago Martin is the top purchaser of electoral bonds having purchased bonds worth Rs 1,368, according to data uploaded by the Election Commission of India on its website on Thursday.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
