'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
About 68 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm on Wednesday in 38 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting in the second and final phase ended, officials said.
The Lingayat community, led by its seers, has renewed its call for a separate religion status, raising awareness and seeking government benefits similar to Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
This initiative ensures these voters can participate in the electoral process with ease and dignity, eliminating the need to visit polling stations. Delhi will go to polls on May 25.
Voting for the Delhi Assembly elections began on Wednesday, with prominent leaders like President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi casting their ballots early in the day. Other notable figures who participated in the electoral process included Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, and Delhi Chief Electoral Officer R Alice Vaz. The election is a triangular contest between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress, with the AAP aiming for a third consecutive term. Polling is underway at 13,766 stations across Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates. The results will be announced on February 8.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission defends its directive to verify the identity of burqa-clad women at Bihar polling stations, citing a 1994 order issued during T N Seshan's tenure.
It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
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.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal being out of jail to campaign in the Haryana polls with an aim of denting the Congress' chances.
The BJP cited holidays before and after the election date that could lead to lower voter turnout.
The Commission said it is issuing the clarification 'in view of the anecdotal reports which are not based on empirical facts'.
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'
Following his complaint to the poll panel, the CEO forwarded it to the city police for a factual report, resulting in the registration of an FIR against Shah by the Moghalpura police station at 7 pm on Thursday.
Bangladesh's Election Commission has announced that general elections will be held in the first week of February 2025. The announcement comes amid concerns about ensuring a free, fair, and impartial election. The BNP is expected to participate, potentially without its former ally, Jamaat-e-Islami.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
The other three crore -- nearly 40 percent -- will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth.
According to a circular dated July 31 and signed by Interim Committee chief Ajay Singh, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BFI will be held on August 21 in Delhi-NCR.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
EVMs were damaged on May 13 in seven polling stations in Macherla constituency, including in polling station number 202 where local MLA P Ramakrishna Reddy allegedly damaged an EVM.
They said women electors and first-time voters have registered a significant increase.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar has cultivated women as a distinct constituency. 'To create a broader vote base, he thought it would be better to bring women to electoral politics.'
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has thrown his weight behind villagers in Solapur, Maharashtra, who are demanding a repoll using ballot papers after raising doubts about the accuracy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Pawar met with villagers in Markadwadi, where a police case was filed against over 200 people for attempting to conduct an unauthorized re-election. He expressed support for their concerns, claiming that the villagers were "the ones who thought of conducting polls using ballot papers." Pawar criticized the police action, calling it a restriction on the villagers' right to assemble and vowing to raise the issue with the Chief Minister, the state Chief Electoral Officer, the Prime Minister, and the Election Commission of India.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
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'.
The stage is set for a direct contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the vice-presidential election. The BJP-led alliance has a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
The Election Commission on Monday empowered the returning officers to reject nominations on ground of a candidate holding an "office of profit" at the stage of the scrutiny.
The Election Commission on Friday issued instructions to Chief Electoral Officers of poll-bound states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram for allowing voting rights through postal ballots to all electors subjected to preventive detention.
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).
The story of Bihar's educational reform is a lesson for all reforms done halfway.
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.
At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot to contain the situation.
"While Sinha's age is 57 years in one list and 60 years in another. Is this not fraud and an age scam? He must have filled two different forms in two different assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two votes registered in two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, then did the Election Commission create two different votes for him in two different assembly constituencies based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?" he alleged.
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
