Actor-politician Vijay, founder-chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will be its chief ministerial candidate for the 2026 Assembly election. The party announced this at an executive committee meeting where they also ruled out any alliance with the ruling DMK or the BJP.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that it will set up mobile phone deposit counters at polling stations to ensure that voters do not have to carry their phones inside the polling booth. This decision was taken after it was observed that several voters were concealing their phones in their clothes due to the absence of a facility to deposit it. The ECI has also rationalized the permissible norms for canvassing in line with the electoral laws to 100 meters from the entrance of the polling station.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
''The outcome of the state polls may lead to some strategy-related permutations and combinations and the markets may extrapolate it to the likely outcome in the general elections.'
'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.
Opposition MLAs flung paper balls at Governor Ram Naik and marshals frantically deflected the projectiles with files as the opening day of the maiden session of the new Uttar Pradesh assembly presented a spectacle of complete mayhem.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Bharatiya Janata Party and all the alliance parties will contest the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu together under the National Democratic Alliance. The significant political development comes ahead of the TN Assembly election to be held in 2026,
In the Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC) held to discuss ticket allocation for the forthcoming Haryana assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi discussed about the possibilities of contesting elections as INDIA bloc, said sources.
Mohammadpur Umri, a small village in Uttar Pradesh near the Indian Air Force's Bamrauli base in Prayagraj, is called a 'village of twins'.
'The chief minister believes the poorest of the poor have the first right on government resources.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
'It is good for us if the JMM contests. That will divide the Opposition and give us the upper hand.'
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
Chail MLA Pooja Pal, recently expelled from the Samajwadi Party, met with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Pal praised Adityanath's actions against gangster Atiq Ahmed, who was accused of murdering her husband. She also addressed comments about her personal life and political career.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections will begin at 8 am on Saturday, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.
Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has dismissed claims of a surge in voter turnout in the final hour of polling for the state assembly elections, calling it an "average " process. He clarified that the state's large size and the usual voting patterns in Maharashtra account for the apparent increase. Chockalingam also addressed concerns raised by opposition parties about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), assuring their reliability and transparency.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The Election Commission of India is conducting a special intensive revision of the electoral roll in Bihar, with over 6.60 crore electors expected to be included in the draft roll.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The EPS camp feels assertiveness will help the AIADMK keep the BJP's seat-share ambitions to the minimum,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
The Odisha assembly has a strength of 147 MLAs while there are 21 Lok Sabha MP seats in the state.
Wearing white caps with a red cross on the words 'SIR' and "vote chori", the protesting MPs started their march from Parliament's Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and "vote chori" while carrying placards and banners.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress's alliance in Uttar Pradesh came under scrutiny as both parties did not hold a single joint campaign for the bypolls to nine assembly seats. While both parties maintained that the alliance is strong, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed a crack in the alliance. The Congress opted out of the bypolls and announced coordination committees for all nine seats to support the SP. However, the absence of joint rallies raised questions about the alliance's strength. The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, while the Congress cited its leaders' busy schedules in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the lack of joint campaigns. The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
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.
The delayed timing of J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's admission has more to do with deflecting the thrust of the Opposition attack on the prime minister and Union home minister during the monsoon session of Parliament, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar rejects allegations of 'vote theft' and misinformation surrounding the electoral roll revision in Bihar, as the INDIA bloc launches a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.
Nationalist Congress Party-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday turned 84 and celebrated his birthday with members of his family and well-wishers, including estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
The Election Commission expressed disappointment over the continued low voter turnout in urban areas of Maharashtra despite their efforts to increase participation. Despite motivational campaigns and measures for ease of voting, cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane recorded a dismal voter turnout. While Maharashtra recorded an overall voter turnout of 58.22 percent as of 5 PM, Jharkhand saw a higher turnout of 67.59 percent. The EC attributed the low turnout to urban apathy, a trend observed in previous state and parliamentary elections.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal after a person allegedly involved in Bangladesh's August 2024 student protests was found listed as a voter in Kakdwip, triggering sharp Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamool Congress exchanges over alleged illegal infiltration and manipulation of the voter list in the state.
'There is a huge risk of misinformation and disinformation, and targeted campaigns that could potentially happen against candidates or to push certain narratives.'
An excerpt from a new book reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how Rabri Devi unexpectedly became the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1997, replacing Lalu Prasad Yadav.
EPS' acceptance of Amit Shah's proposal for an electoral alliance with the BJP is being interpreted to mean how the AIADMK has signed up the NDA national leader as a junior partner. Not many have appreciated EPS for this strategic move that has now forced the BJP to play second fiddle to the AIADMK. This has meant that the BJP has buried its ambitions of capturing power in Tamil Nadu now, and is willing to wait until after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai launched a scathing attack on Congress, stating that the party takes "pleasure" in insulting Bihar and its people.
