As Musharraf finalised his plans for re-election, a senior minister said the general will be deemed to have been elected unopposed for another term if the opposition parties did not put up any candidate against him
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi talks to Kavita Chowdhury on the need to speed up electoral reforms.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Friday said polls to local bodies from other backward class reserved constituencies, which were scheduled on December 21, will now be held on January 18 and these seats will be converted as general category ones.
It also made the EC a party to a petition filed by former Rajya Sabha member Kuldeep Nayar challenging recent amendments to the election procedure.
Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5 with the counting of votes on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced.
The Election Commission on Wednesday put off its proposed visit to Jammu and Kashmir for review of election preparedness following the flood situation in the state.
The government may come into confrontation with the Election Commission over its attempt to curb the latter's immense authority to almost take over all administration powers through the Model Code of Conduct during the elections.
The Congress on Friday hit out at the Election Commission after it rejected allegations over irregularities in the Haryana assembly polls, saying if the poll panel's goal is to 'strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality', then it is doing a 'remarkable job' at creating that impression.
V V S Laxman said the Indian team's aggressive approach is the primary reason behind the wholehearted support they receive anywhere across the globe.
The leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc are meeting on Monday morning ostensibly to redraw their strategies to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP both inside the Parliament and in the electoral arena.
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
The Election Commission on Monday extended the ban on roadshows, padyatras, vehicle rallies and processions till February 11, but enhanced the number of people allowed in door-to-door campaigning from the present 10 to 20 and permitted a maximum of 1,000 people for physical public meetings.
The Indian CEC has observed that the US electoral system lacks uniformity of the Indian one.
"The agenda as published at the moment, is much ado about nothing - all this could have waited till Winter session in November. I am sure the legislative grenades are being kept up their sleeves to be unleashed at the last moment as usual. Parde ke peeche kuch aur hai!" he said.
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.
Insiders say President Kovind has been told he will not be re-nominated, reveals R Rajagopalan.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said that the debate on Lokpal Bill does not have any link with the Election Process as the model code of conduct does not apply to Parliament.
So, he approached Rajiv Gandhi and the then president Venkataraman and was advised by both to accept it only if no other job was available.
The incident sparked a political blame game in the state where bypolls to nine assembly seats will be held on November 20. Opposition parties blamed the BJP government in the state and said the deaths raise serious questions about the negligence of the administration.
Citing convention followed in 2017, the poll panel had not announced the Gujarat poll schedule when it came out with Himachal Pradesh election dates earlier this month.
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
The Election Commission has postponed the elections in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on December 27.
'The BJP is using administrative machinery to fight elections'
Tata Sons will likely choose Singapore as a "key partner" for its semiconductor plans, a senior minister from the city-state said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier in the day, Singapore's minister for home affairs and law K Shanmugam said semiconductors was a "big discussion" point during the meeting. "If they (Tatas) want to, they can do business with anybody in the world.
As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified before a Commission of Inquiry, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said what it has heard only 'confirms' New Delhi's consistent stand that Canada has 'presented us no evidence' in support of the serious allegations Ottawa chose to level against India and Indian diplomats.
Underscoring the importance of voter satisfaction and trust in the electoral system, the Supreme Court on Thursday told petitioners who sought its direction to go back to using ballot papers not to suspect the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and appreciate if the Election Commission does good work.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by Opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was on Wednesday elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile and would take over the political duties relinquished by spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
'In the Uttar Pradesh election last time, there were four presiding officers who had a heart attack on the day of the poll. It is a high pressure job and we must compliment our bureaucracy,' says former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi who headed the Election Commission in the 2009 general election.
The satta market is accepting bets on how many times Modiji will mention Nehru at his election rallies, says A Ganesh Nadar with a wink.
The party has demanded immediate dismissal of the state government.
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday it cannot 'control the elections' or issue directions simply because doubts have been raised about the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), as it reserved its judgment on a clutch of petitions claiming the polling devices can be tinkered with to manipulate the results.
The firing took place outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui's office.
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.
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