The Supreme Court will hear on February 19 pleas challenging the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners under the 2023 law. The court will take up the matter on a priority basis, after some urgent listed matters. The government has appointed a new CEC and ECs under the new law, which excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, despite a 2023 Supreme Court verdict directing the inclusion of the CJI in the panel. The petitioners argue that the exclusion of the CJI undermines the independence of the election commission.
The Election Commission has refuted allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is protecting 'vote chors,' calling the claims incorrect and baseless.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by his parents Dr Subodh Kumar Gupta, mother Satyawati Gupta and wife Anuradha Kumar, took a dip in the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Monday, February 24, 2025.
The Election Commission (EC) has announced 17 new initiatives for the Bihar Assembly polls, including compulsory webcasting, mobile phone-deposit facilities, and measures to improve voter turnout and accessibility.
On deletions, Kumar clarified that they are processed only through Form 7 or Form B, following strict guidelines.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar polls was a mandate against infiltrators in the country because citizens will never favour those parties that support such illegal immigrants.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleges Mumbai police surveillance, claiming an officer entered his room. He questions if CM Fadnavis ordered the snooping. BJP denies the allegations. Sapkal also raises questions about a hostage situation and accuses the CM of shielding criminals.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
Security has been strengthened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh's Sylhet city in the wake of heightened tensions following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, officials said on Saturday.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
If the draft constitution is approved on Sunday at the SGM along with this clause, a majority of the AIFF's Executive Committee members may have to resign from their positions or lose their top posts in the state units.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
The winter session of Parliament is likely to commence in the second week of December and could conclude ahead of Christmas, sources said on Wednesday.
Two teachers-cum-Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Madhya Pradesh died of illness while conducting voter list surveys. Relatives allege heavy workload and pressure to meet targets as the cause. A third BLO is missing.
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.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The government is examining the Supreme Court's verdict on the appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners and it will take "appropriate action" on it, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
A 25-year-old Hindu man died after jumping into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in northwestern Bangladesh, in the latest incident of violence targeting the minority community. The incident highlights rising concerns about communal violence in the lead-up to general elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting individuals involved in voter deletion and election rigging, citing data from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The views came in the wake of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar wondering on Friday that how could the CJI, even by "statutory prescription", get involved in executive appointments such as that of Central Bureau of Investigation director, and said it was time to "revisit" such norms.
'Pakistan's role in Bangladesh will always be negative, since it's a one-point agenda is hostility against India.'
The ED said the actions of Banerjee and the Kolkata Police commissioner resulted in "obstructions" in the ongoing investigation and proceedings being undertaken as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
A delegation of Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Raj Thackeray, met with the state's chief electoral officer to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the poll process, particularly regarding the voters' list, ahead of local body elections.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
The Uttarakhand high court has asked two top officials of the state to find out whether an officer who has no knowledge of English can effectively control an executive position after an additional district magistrate responded in Hindi during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL).
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
Clue: He was appointed to an important position recently...
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala Cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. Kumar, who was previously an Election Commissioner, will serve until January 26, 2029. His appointment comes amidst controversy as the Congress party demanded the government defer its decision until the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel. Kumar's tenure will see him oversee several state assembly elections, including Bihar, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
The Election Commission has sought a report from the Kolkata Police Commissioner regarding a protest by booth-level officers (BLOs) at the West Bengal CEO's office, citing a "serious security breach".
Pandey's retirement comes days before the Election Commission is to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls.
A rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized by the Inqilab Moncho party, demanded justice for slain student leader Sharif Osman Hadi and called for the cancellation of work permits for all Indians residing in Bangladesh. The protest also sought the repatriation of alleged killers believed to be in India, further straining relations between the two countries.
He said that ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) have also spoken about the duplication of voters and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association has failed to comply with the safety and security requirements at M Chinnaswamy stadium, said Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
Funeral prayers were held for Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia amid tight security. Millions joined the namaz-e-janaza of Zia, a three-time Prime Minister and political icon of Bangladesh.
The Bombay High Court criticized the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its lack of action in addressing air pollution in Mumbai, questioning the approval of numerous large construction projects and urging preventive measures.
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