The BJP has announced former IAS officer Debashish Sharma as its candidate for the upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam. Sharma, who recently took voluntary retirement as Nagaon District Commissioner, joined the BJP and secured the party ticket within days. The by-election is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9. The seat was previously held by Pradyut Bordoloi of Congress, who later joined BJP. A complaint has been filed against Sharma regarding his tenure as DC.
Nationalist Congress Party national working president Praful Patel has dismissed claims of a rift within the party, specifically addressing a legal challenge to Sunetra Pawar's election as party president. A national secretary, Sachchidanand Singh, alleged the election was unconstitutional, but Patel stated the letter carries no weight and senior leaders support Sunetra Pawar. The dispute highlights internal dynamics following the demise of Ajit Pawar.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's remark calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'terrorist' has triggered strong reactions from the BJP, who have demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once told then Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi in 2012, "I will commit suicide," expressing his deep anguish over ministers' "loose talk" criticising the Election Commission's functioning, a revelation made in Quraishi's upcoming book.
The TMC and BJP are clashing over Bengal's food culture, with allegations of potential dietary restrictions adding spice to the West Bengal election campaign.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed an independent review of the world football body's decision-making framework.
A political controversy has erupted in Kerala ahead of the Assembly elections, with the Congress party accusing BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar of concealing details of a high-value property in his election affidavit. Chandrasekhar has denied the allegations, challenging the Congress to prove their claims in court.
Actor Prakash Raj has claimed his name was deleted from Bengaluru's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision process, affecting 6.5 million voters. He expressed frustration and questioned the ruling dispensation, while reports indicate his name was marked as "permanently shifted" due to a previous case involving multiple voter IDs.
The Congress party has formally appealed to the Election Commission, demanding an immediate reversal of the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls, labelling the decision as 'egregious' and a 'subversion of democracy'.
Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has apologised to the Scheduled Caste community for his recent objectionable remarks, stating that as a minister, he should not have used such language.
The appointment of Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer as the Chief Minister's secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising questions about election credibility and sparking accusations of hypocrisy among political parties.
Kerala Police have initiated a crackdown on misleading election-related news circulating on social media platforms, following a controversy over an Election Commission letter bearing the BJP Kerala unit's seal.
India needs to examine some way in which, assuming that there is either no vaccine or a delay in administering it to everyone, voting can be made safer, notes Aakar Patel.
The rejection of senior Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination papers transformed what should have been a routine Rajya Sabha election into a lesson in contemporary political warfare.
In a dramatic election mirroring the Nandigram contest, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, marking a significant victory for the BJP and a setback for the Trinamool Congress.
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has died. He was convicted in two separate cases related to the killings of Sikhs during the riots and was lodged in Tihar Jail.
Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has apologised to the Scheduled Caste community for his recent objectionable remarks, stating that as a minister, he should not have used such language. The apology follows a controversy stemming from an incident on May 26 where Bittu allegedly used casteist remarks against police officers in Dhuri.
A Congress spokesperson, quoted in media reports, summed up the party's thinking by saying, 'Whenever BJP is in trouble on the ground, a new 'apolitical' or 'alternative' party appears with the same ideology and the same backers.'
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The order is is contrary to the Central Information Commission's directive bringing six national parties under the transparency law.
The Election Commission is preparing to launch the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' lists, potentially covering 22 states and Union Territories with approximately 40 crore electors.
'We can never trust the BJP when it comes to elections.'
A recount of postal ballots in the Sringeri Assembly constituency has resulted in a reduction of votes for Congress MLA T D Raje Gowda, following a High Court order. The Election Commission has been notified for further action.
In the first case of action against a politician for 'paid news' syndrome, the Election Commission on Thursday disqualified a woman MLA from Uttar Pradesh for three years for incorrect statement of election expenditure incurred on 'news items' in two Hindi dailies.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government of diverting resources to 'Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators' and warned of losing Bengal if she remains in power.
The appointment of senior IAS officer Rathan U Kelkar as secretary to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has ignited a political controversy, drawing criticism from the CPI(M), CPI, and BJP.
'Dara's case can strengthen the perception among sections of the BJP's traditional support base.'
Newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday hinted at an equal seat-sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
The Election Commission on Tuesday said it has not yet taken a decision on the letter of Law Minister Salman Khurshid regretting his controversial remarks on the minorities sub-quota issue.
The Election Commission of India is considering launching the final phase of its special intensive revision of voters' lists in the remaining states and Union territories after the assembly elections conclude.
Kerala Police have registered a case against X and one of its handles for circulating an AI-generated video allegedly depicting the Prime Minister and the Election Commission of India in a misleading and defamatory manner.
BJP leader Sobha Surendran appeared before the District Returning Officer in Kerala to give her statement regarding the 'cash-for-vote' allegation against her during the Assembly polls.
West Bengal's appointment of Manoj Agarwal, the former Chief Electoral Officer, as the new Chief Secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the state's electoral processes.
'Now if you break the party under the 10th Schedule you have to join another party.' 'You cannot join the NDA as it is not a party. You can only join another party, and that is the BJP.' 'So the question to ask is that these so-called 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who are parting ways with the TMC, are they ready to join the BJP and accept Narendra Modi as their leader?'
Three former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MPs, including Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday and, within hours, were named the saffron party's candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls from West Bengal, underlining both their political rehabilitation and the party's calibrated shift in inducting leaders from the erstwhile ruling dispensation.
BJP leader Sobha Surendran appeared before the District Returning Officer in Kerala to address allegations of offering cash for votes during the recent Assembly polls. The controversy stems from a video allegedly showing money being exchanged, leading to complaints from both Congress and Surendran herself.
The Election Commission suspended three central armed police force personnel after a video surfaced showing them playing carrom inside a Trinamool Congress office in West Bengal. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
'They want to sabotage the caste census and bury Muslim backward classes, Hindu backward classes, Sikh backward classes and Buddhist backward classes.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of attempting to illegally include voters from outside the state in West Bengal's electoral rolls, alleging a coordinated effort to interfere with democratic rights.
Punjab AAP president Aman Arora criticised Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for alleged misconduct and objectionable behaviour towards police personnel in Dhuri, following an incident where Bittu intervened in the detention of a BJP leader during the election silent period.
