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.
Such meetings are routine, the former state home minister added.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly elections, including Bihar, Fadnavis said in his articles published in the Indian Express and Marathi daily Loksatta.
The Congress followed next with Rs 620 crore or 18.5 percent of the total expenses among the 32 national and regional parties whose records were analysed, the ADR said.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar as it lost the bypolls to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party despite a strong campaign.
Rule of law prevents a government, brought to power by the strength of ballots, from betraying the trust of citizens and "lapsing into a government of caprice, nepotism and finally despotism", the Supreme Court said on Thursday.
Opposition parties in India, led by the Congress, have demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on alleged discrepancies in voter lists. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, highlighting concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The opposition alleges large-scale duplication of EPIC numbers, which they claim undermines voter integrity and the electoral process. They have also pointed out instances of inflated voter lists in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The Election Commission has acknowledged discrepancies but maintains that these are not widespread and that corrective measures are being taken. The opposition, however, insists on a comprehensive discussion on the matter to ensure the integrity of elections in India.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. The court also ruled that the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report. The court accepted the commission's report, which recommended a census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra. The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months. The outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hailed the party's performance in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, calling them a 'semi-final to 2027' and a clear sign that voters would reject both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
Following that, Sudhakaran, at another event in Alappuzha on Thursday, claimed that what he had said earlier was not completely true and he had added something extra to it from his "imagination".
As part of the investigation, EC officials visited Sudhakaran's residence on Thursday and recorded his statement. They said the matter would be submitted to the district collector for further actions.
The Congress demanded that the government and the Election Commission come clean on the EVM issue and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
A female student of primary school was killed in Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory celebration rally taken out even before the results of the assembly bypoll were officially announced.
The Awami League leaders were charged with committing crimes against humanity over the deaths of hundreds of people during last year's anti-government protests by a student platform. The protests resulted in the ouster of Hasina's 16-year-long regime on August 5.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
Sources in the Election Commission (EC) rejected claims on Saturday of rigging in last year's Maharashtra Assembly polls and said defaming the poll panel after receiving an unfavourable verdict from the voters is absolutely absurd.
The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has terminated the membership of BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena after he was convicted and sentenced to three years in jail for pointing a pistol at a sub-divisional magistrate. Meena's membership was terminated effective from May 1, following legal opinion from the advocate general and senior legal experts. Meena had approached the Supreme Court seeking suspension of his sentence, but the top court dismissed his plea and directed him to surrender within two weeks. The Election Commission has been informed of the vacancy, and a by-election on the Anta seat would be held within six months.
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.
Yunus said his administration took over to carry out three mandates 'justice, reform and elections.'
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy has demanded the removal of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha after a spat with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. Roy accused Banerjee of "uncivilised" behaviour on multiple occasions and cited incidents of Banerjee breaking a bottle and throwing it at the chairman of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting and making inappropriate remarks about Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The spat between Moitra and Banerjee reportedly occurred on April 4 when a TMC delegation met the Election Commission over duplicate voter ID numbers. Banerjee was tasked with collecting signatures from TMC MPs on a memorandum to be submitted to the Election Commission, and Moitra alleged that she was not included in the signatories, leading to a heated exchange. Roy, who was present at the time, said he saw Moitra crying and complaining about Banerjee's behaviour. Roy believes that Banerjee's actions warrant his removal as chief whip and left the decision to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The incident has also been highlighted in leaked WhatsApp messages, where Banerjee engaged in heated exchanges with another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, leading to further accusations of uncivilised behaviour.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
Government employees in Bangladesh locked down the main gate of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, protesting a new service law that allows for easier dismissal of officials for misconduct. The protest, which lasted for about half an hour, disrupted government operations. The employees also threatened to continue their protests until the ordinance was scrapped. Meanwhile, the protest by employees of the Dhaka South City Corporation, demanding the installation of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as its mayor, has brought administrative services to a halt. These protests, coupled with concerns raised by the business community and the military, highlight a growing sense of unease in Bangladesh over the policies of the interim government.
The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a "formidable machinery", which must be fought on all fronts.
Actor Kamal Haasan launched Makkal Needhi Miam at a public meeting in Madurai in 2018.
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
Of these only 150 attacks were successful, officials said on Monday.
The Election Commission of India has invited all national and state political parties to provide suggestions by April 30 on any unresolved issues related to the electoral process. This call for feedback comes amid allegations of electoral roll manipulation, with opposition parties demanding a discussion in Parliament on the issue. The EC has also proposed an interaction with party presidents and senior members to further strengthen electoral processes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Chandrabhanu Paswan was leading by 3,991 votes over the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ajit Prasad after the first round of counting for the Milkipur assembly bypoll on Saturday, according to the Election Commission website.
A 22-year-old youth and a person with disability died, while at least 11 were injured, in separate rain-related incidents in the national capital on Wednesday evening. The incidents occurred amid sudden changes in weather in Delhi, as a rainy storm marked by hail wrecked havoc across the city, throwing traffic out of gear as far as Delhi-Noida, Delhi-Ghaziabad, and Delhi-Gurugram roads and uprooting several trees.
The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated over Rs 1,400 crore to the law ministry to meet carry forward expenditure for holding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and purchase of new electronic voting machines for the Election Commission. The allocation includes Rs 500 crore for the elections, Rs 300 crore for voter identity cards, Rs 597.80 crore for "other election expenses", and Rs 18.72 crore for new EVMs. The law ministry is the nodal agency for the Election Commission, polls, electoral laws, and appointment of members to the poll panel.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded that the Election Commission (EC) accept its error in issuing duplicate voter card numbers within 24 hours, threatening to release more documents on the issue if the EC fails to do so. The party alleged that the EC issued the statement after the TMC announced it would hold a press conference on the issue, and termed it an "Epic Scam." The EC had said it would rectify the issue and update its technology-driven platform, but the TMC insists the EC must accept the error. The party also demanded an in-depth probe into the matter.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of a "scam" after the poll panel admitted to the existence of duplicate voter ID numbers. The ECI has said it will address the issue in the next three months. TMC leader Saket Gokhale alleged that the ECI is trying to "protect" someone and demanded answers about the extent of the duplication and why it took 25 years to address the problem.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
Infighting within West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to the fore after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral. The incident reportedly involved a public altercation at the Election Commission headquarters, followed by a heated exchange on the party's WhatsApp group, leading to accusations of misconduct and leaked screenshots. The controversy has triggered calls for action against the party chief whip, Kalyan Banerjee, who is accused of misbehavior and tarnishing the party's image.
The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000. The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions - a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
On the eve of counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Election Commission (EC) of refusing to upload Form 17C, which contains details of votes polled per booth in each Assembly segment. In response, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a website where it has uploaded Form 17C data for all the Assembly seats. Kejriwal stated that ensuring such transparency should have been the responsibility of the apex poll body. The office of the chief electoral officer responded by saying that the rule requiring presiding officers to furnish Form 17C to polling agents was complied with on the day of polling.
Amid opposition allegations of manipulation of electoral rolls, sources in the Election Commission Monday said the matter related to duplicate voter identity card numbers is a 'legacy issue' with such cards being issued even between 2008 and 2013 when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was not in power.
Quraishi asserted that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on March 18 a plea seeking to debar from polls, candidates charged with serious offences. The plea, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeks directions to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restrain such candidates put on trial for serious offences. The plea alleges that despite recommendations of the Law Commission of India and court's previous directions, the Centre and the ECI did not act. The plea also highlights the increasing number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009, with one MP declaring 204 criminal cases against him, including culpable homicide, house trespass, robbery, criminal intimidation, etc. It claims that political parties are competing with each other in a race to the bottom as they couldn't afford to leave their competitors free to recruit persons with criminal antecedents.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority.
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