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.
Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar reveals millions of voters missing or deceased, prompting Election Commission action.
A section of the media on Thursday reported, quoting an unnamed EC official, that it may not allow RBI to go ahead with the plan before the polls and that they need more clarity from the Mint Road on certain aspects.
Coming down hard on the Election Commission for its response on 'vote theft' allegations, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Sunday said the poll body should have ordered a probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's charges instead of 'shouting' at him in a language that was 'objectionable and offensive'.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urged the Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath to issue clear guidelines to organisations conducting opinion polls as well as the media for ensuring their authenticity so that those indulging in "frivolous activities" do not get away easily.
Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel had said.
The Karnataka chief electoral officer has issued a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, requesting documents supporting his allegation that a woman voted twice. The Election Commission has also asked Gandhi to either substantiate his claims of vote theft or apologize.
'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The effective strength of both the Houses together is 786 and the winning candidate will require 394 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise.
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday called on President Droupadi Murmu separately within hours at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Mumbai, infamous for its voter apathy, stepped out to exercise its franchise on Wednesday.
Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on Friday.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were a 'blueprint for rigging democracy' and this 'match-fixing' would next happen in Bihar and 'anywhere the Bharatiya Janata Party is losing'.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the BJP-led NDA parliamentary party meeting, focusing on current issues, the upcoming vice president's election, and likely addressing opposition concerns.
Trump further pointed out India's strong economic position and high tariffs on US goods, stating, "They got a lot of money. They're one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high."
Salient features of the National Sports Governance Bill that promise to overhaul several aspects of sports governance and the grievance redressal system for athletes and administrators alike in the country.
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).
His victory means that his party will have to learn from him, because after the rise of Donald Trump, the Democrats have been in disarray. They have had no real answer to the Trump phenomenon and Zohran, with his emphatic and clear policies aimed at working class Americans offers them a national path for a return, asserts Aakar Patel.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refuted BJP's claims of Congress funding Bihar elections and defended the state's decision on mandatory permissions for using public premises, stating it's a continuation of a previous BJP policy.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar arrived in Bihar to review preparations for the upcoming assembly elections. The visit includes meetings with political parties, police, administrative officials, and state leaders to ensure smooth conduct of the polls. The visit follows the publication of the final electoral roll after a Special Intensive Revision, which has sparked controversy among political parties.
The Election Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to share details of wrongful entries and omissions in voters' list. Gandhi hit back, asserting he has already taken oath in Parliament to uphold the Constitution.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
The election for the post of Vice President will be held on September 9, with the notification being issued on August 7 and the last date for filing nominations on August 21.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea seeking a directive for 100% manual counting of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in addition to electronic counting. The court cited its previous rulings on the safety and security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and stated that the issue was not open for reconsideration. The plea argued for a modified VVPAT system where voters could verify printed ballots before leaving the polling station, and for 100% manual counting of VVPAT slips. The court upheld the Delhi High Court's decision dismissing the plea, referring to previous Supreme Court judgments on the matter.
The sources in the government said the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued "in the next few hours".
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is likely to take up the matter in which the EC has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls.
The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
The Supreme Court has directed the Bihar State Legal Service Authority to assist voters excluded from the final electoral rolls in filing appeals with the Election Commission.
As the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral roll ended on Friday, the Election Commission (EC) said its local poll machinery has reported that nearly 35 lakh electors have either permanently migrated or could not be traced since June 24.
The Election Commission (EC) has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, marking a key step ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The publication follows a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
It also aims to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, with some authorities shifted to the proposed Constitutional Court, and immunity to the president from criminal proceedings for life.
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 bill which seeks to put in place a mechanism to hold simultaneous elections in the country has a provision for situations when election to an assembly cannot be held with those of Parliament.
Addressing a massive Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee gave a clarion call to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2026 assembly elections and eventually oust it from power at the Centre, declaring, "If this linguistic profiling doesn't stop, our resistance movement will reach New Delhi."
Shinde He said anyone can go anywhere, it is their personal choice, but people support those who work for them and think about their welfare.
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