The high court had held that Returning Officer "illegally rejected" 429 postal ballots during the counting of votes, while the victory margin was only 327.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai launched a scathing attack on Congress, stating that the party takes "pleasure" in insulting Bihar and its people.
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 Supreme Court Monday stayed till further orders the local body election in Maharashtra on 27 per cent seats reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The Election Commission on Sunday ordered the suspension of Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar for violation of the model code of conduct amid the counting of votes, sources said.
The Ajit Pawar faction is the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Election Commission announced on Tuesday, ending months of speculation over the factional fight with his party founder and uncle Sharad Pawar.
As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India-Marxist.
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.
Election Commission officials defend the intensive revision of Bihar's voters' list as 'inclusive' amid criticism from opposition parties, who claim it will disenfranchise voters. The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the revision.
The Madras High Court has vacated a stay against the Election Commission probing internal disputes within the AIADMK, including the leadership and party symbol issues. This ruling is seen as a setback for the incumbent AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami. The court dismissed Palaniswami's petition seeking a stay against the EC's investigation into the leadership tussle and the allocation of the Two Leaves symbol to the AIADMK. The court directed the Election Commission to conduct the probe under the Election Symbols rules. This decision could have significant implications for the future of the AIADMK, as it allows the Election Commission to proceed with its investigation into the internal disputes within the party.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
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 high-octane campaigning for the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Monday, with big guns from all three major parties holding roadshows, public meetings, padayatras and bike rallies in a final push to sway voters. The Aam Aadmi Party remains confident of securing a third consecutive term, highlighting its governance record and welfare schemes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aiming to reclaim power in Delhi after more than 25 years, held 22 roadshows and rallies across the city. The Congress, seeking a revival after failing to win any seats in the last two elections, also intensified its efforts. The election battle has seen sharp political exchanges, with AI-generated spoofs, catchy slogans, and roadshows dominating the discourse. The outcome of this fiercely contested election will determine whether the AAP continues its dominance, the BJP breaks its losing streak, or Congress makes a surprising comeback. The final verdict will be revealed on February 8, as Delhi awaits the results of what has been one of its most high-stakes electoral battles.
The development came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's direction that details of the deleted names be made public by August 19 and a compliance report be filed by August 22.
The Election Commission on Monday allotted 'flaming torch' (mashaal) election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, rejecting their claim to the 'Trishul' citing religious connotation.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) asserts that major political parties participated in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deploying booth level agents despite opposing the exercise in the Supreme Court. The ECI defends its authority to conduct the revision to maintain the integrity of elections.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of deleted names from the voters list in Bihar, along with reasons for non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
The petition contended that the poll panel erred in holding that disqualification under the Tenth Schedule and proceedings under the Symbols Order operate in different spheres and that disqualification of MLAs is not based on cessation of membership of a political party.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
The top court said it needs to go through the case files and posted the matter for hearing at 3:30 pm on Wednesday
Talking tough, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati should think before criticising the EC order to cover her statues and Bahujan Samaj Party's poll symbols in government parks.
The timeline of the Shiv Sena-centric political crisis in Maharashtra.
The Election Commission has assured the Supreme Court that no voter's name will be deleted from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without prior notice and a fair hearing. The EC also clarified that it is not required to share separate lists of those not included in the draft rolls.
The Maharashtra government has reinstated IPS officer Rashmi Shukla as Director General of Police (DGP) after the conclusion of the assembly polls. Shukla was removed from the DGP's post on the Election Commission of India's directive ahead of the elections, with Congress demanding her removal. Sanjay Kumar Verma, who took over as the state's top police officer during the election period, has been relieved of his duties. The BJP-led Mahayuti coalition retained power with a thumping majority in the assembly elections.
The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The State Election Commission in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday imposed restrictions on conduct of exit polls till the last of the eight-phase District Development Council election is completed.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded a thorough probe into 'discrepancies' found in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes of the Haryana assembly polls and demanded that such EVMs should be sealed and secured pending the inquiry.
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 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.
As the comparison between 2014 and 2019 shows, the voter turnout is not only lower than in 2019 but also lower than in 2014 in some of the larger states where polling took place.
I was lucky to be born to the family of Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav said.
'For politicians, winning the next election has become more important than economic stability of the country and broader national interest.'
The top court issued notice to the Election Commission on the PIL filed by author, activist and motivational speaker Shiv Khera.
The government has set up a search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to shortlist names for the appointment of the next chief election commissioner, sources said on Monday, citing an order.
A heated political battle erupted Tuesday over Arvind Kejriwal's claim of the Haryana government 'poisoning' the Yamuna water, with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he cannot be forgiven for his 'dangerous statement', while the Aam Aadmi Party chief asserted he won't let the people of Delhi die due to the dirty, poisonous water.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Based on a private complaint filed under Section 200 of the CrPC by Raghavendra Raju, the judicial officer "acted in undue haste" without conducting any preliminary enquiry and without recording the statement of the complainant, the high court said.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections.
Justice Sameer Jain cancelled the exam 2021 which was the bone of contention for both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress governments in the state and gave a detailed verdict.
