Ensuring a free and fair electoral process is imperative for maintaining people's trust in representative democracy, the Supreme Court has said.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Tension prevailed outside a polling booth in Baramati town in Maharashtra's Pune district after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar's mother alleged intimidation and malpractices by workers of the rival Nationalist Congress Party led by sitting MLA Ajit Pawar.
Army sources, however, said preliminary investigations indicate that the complaints are unfounded.
Delhi recorded a voter turnout of over 19 per cent in the first four hours of polling on Wednesday across 70 assembly constituencies, with the highest voter participation witnessed in North East district.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the TMC's claims, stating that Banerjee is merely trying to boost morale among party workers.
As Delhi voters cast their ballots for the assembly polls on Wednesday, allegations of fake voting emerged in some parts of the national capital, including Seelampur and Kasturba Nagar.
'ADR's success is its ability to remain non-partisan for a very long period, sheer professionalism and tenacity, and that makes it one of the good things to happen to our democracy.'
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at multiple locations in Maharashtra and Gujarat as part of a money laundering investigation targeting a Malegaon-based trader suspected of misusing bank accounts to carry out transactions exceeding Rs 100 crore. The probe is linked to an FIR filed by Malegaon Police against Siraj Ahmed Harun Meman, who operates a tea and cold drinks agency, for allegedly misusing bank accounts for illegal transactions. The ED suspects the trader may have been using the funds to divert and route money for certain individuals by misusing the banking credentials of ordinary citizens. The possibility of electoral malpractice being involved is also under scrutiny.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who has been on a fast unto death to press the demand for cancellation of a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam, on Sunday sought the support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the disqualification of Janata Dal-Secular MLA D C Gowrishankar Swamy from the Tumkur Rural constituency in Karnataka and allowed him to contest the upcoming assembly polls in the southern state.
Widespread violence between supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over alleged electoral malpractices in strife-torn Sandeshkhali marred the final phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal on Saturday, resulting in injuries to a number of people.
Police registered a case against more than 200 persons from Markadwadi village and nearby areas in Maharashtra's Solapur for allegedly trying to conduct a 're-election' using ballot papers on Tuesday in an unauthorised manner, officials said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
Kangana Ranaut's decline as an actor feels complete, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
The court directed the State Election Commission, the state government and the central government to file affidavits dealing with all the allegations made in three petitions alleging malpractices.
'Five months after the elections in February 2024, the Pakistan army has not been able to break Imran Khan's resolve and break his political party.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed an election petition against Suvendu Adhikari before the Calcutta high court and the matter is listed for hearing before a single bench.
The top court is scrutinising the ballot papers and watching the video recordings which were brought before it by a judicial officer appointed by the Punjab & Haryana high court's Registrar General.
The commission said enforcement authorities have seized Rs 4,650 crore even before polling begins for the Lok Sabha elections and it is the "higher than total seizures" made in the 2019 polls
'Bangladesh has become unstable and this instability will impact India.'
An angry Banerjee slammed a minister, a former Trinamool Congress mayor and a few bureaucrats for their "below-par performance".
A councillor of the Aam Aadmi Party has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Punjab and Haryana high court order that has refused to grant any interim relief to the party seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh.
Around 1.5 crore polling and security personnel, about 55 lakh EVMs and four lakh vehicles will be deployed for the polls, according to the poll authority.
Kumar said the Commission will follow the time-tested methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any reforms and will not shy away from tough decisions, according to an Election Commission (EC) statement.
Various constituents of the INDIA bloc condemned Kejriwal's arrest and claimed that the BJP is scared of the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and acting out of panic to create problems for the opposition.
According to the official, 8,67,282 litres of all types of alcohol, including country-made and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), was sold on November 13. The figures for the next two days stood at 9,17,823 and 8,81,550 litres, he said.
'The fraud is the electronic voting machine is being manipulated by humans, and not counting the votes that is shown on VVPAT.'
In its complaint against Shah, the Congress told the EC that the home minister claimed in a speech in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon on October 16 that "...Bhupesh Baghel's government, for appeasement politics and vote bank politics, lynched Chhattisgarh's son Bhuneshwar Sahoo and got him killed..."
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
The US president mentioned that there was no "big blue wave" (Democrats) as pollsters had predicted, instead, there was a "big red wave" (Republicans).
The plea had also sought to bar the BJP and its leaders from using the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan during the poll campaign in the state.
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Trump campaign has alleged that a significant number of mail-in ballots arrived after the 8 pm deadline of closing of polls on November 3.
As the CBI continues to probe into the NEET-UG paper leak case, career experts help us understand what the future holds for undergraduate medical aspirants.
The high court had on May 12, nullified 2017 election of Chudasama on the ground of malpractice and manipulation and have also refused to stay of the operation of the order till the disposal of his appeal
Creating a positive reform that does away with an official who constitutes a flawed aspect of Indian democracy will allow the BJP to rightfully claim this as one of its positive legacies, suggests Karan P Shah.
Pronouncing the judgement, Justice Khanna said the court has rejected all the petitions, including those seeking resorting back to ballot papers in elections.
He has refused to concede the election, while the mainstream US media has declared 77-year-old Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as the winner, who is now the President-elect.
Tharoor's campaign team has also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.
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