The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with electronic voting machine (EVM) raked up only when people lose polls.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
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.
Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.
Nationalist Congress Party-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday turned 84 and celebrated his birthday with members of his family and well-wishers, including estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Women-centric schemes could have proved a game-changer in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, as both states witnessed a surge in women voters in the recently held assembly polls as well as return of the ruling alliances with a thumping majority.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Monday, amid hopes that he will bolster the country's economy and eliminate corruption.
The Election Commission expressed disappointment over the continued low voter turnout in urban areas of Maharashtra despite their efforts to increase participation. Despite motivational campaigns and measures for ease of voting, cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane recorded a dismal voter turnout. While Maharashtra recorded an overall voter turnout of 58.22 percent as of 5 PM, Jharkhand saw a higher turnout of 67.59 percent. The EC attributed the low turnout to urban apathy, a trend observed in previous state and parliamentary elections.
The Election Commission of India has dismissed claims by the Congress party alleging voter list irregularities during the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. In a detailed response, the EC asserted that there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters and that the electoral process was conducted with transparency and adherence to rules.
Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has ordered an inquiry against private persons allegedly gathering personal details of women in the name of Mahila Samman Yojana, his office said on Saturday.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during the first day of review of poll preparedness of the state asked the district election officers and municipal commissioners to explain the steps taken by them to deal with 'urban apathy'.
Seizures were made to stop any inducement of voters in Maharashtra, where polling will take place on November 20.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission and state election bodies to address purported duplication and multiple entries in voter lists. The court suggested the petitioner approach high courts with specific grievances and file representations with appropriate authorities.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones during campaigning in the New Delhi constituency on Saturday, the party alleged.
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.
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
A poll flying squad conducted a search at an automobiles showroom belonging to NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar's father in Baramati town ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. The 'Sharayu Motors' outlet was searched late Monday night but nothing suspicious was found, officials said. Yugendra Pawar, candidate of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), is taking on his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP in a high-profile contest from Baramati seat in Pune district in the state assembly polls scheduled on Wednesday.
Kolewadi gram sabha in Maharashtra's Satara district has resolved to conduct future elections on ballot papers, becoming the second village in the state to pass a resolution against EVMs.
Meanwhile, the Congress' data analytics department chairperson Praveen Chakravarty on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, seeking assembly-wise voter rolls in excel sheet format for the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls in Maharashtra.
While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26, that of Jharkhand ends on January 5 next year.
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.
The Mumbai district election officer has said all establishments, businesses and other workplaces within the Brihanmumbai limits are mandated to grant leave to their employees for voting in the Maharashtra assembly polls on November 20.
...'hum decide karenge kaun banega mukhyamantri. This decision is not to be taken in Mumbai.'
It will be court's opinion versus the legislative power to enact law, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said as it posted the pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 4.
The Election Commission of India has announced that the Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 5, 2023, with the counting of votes scheduled for February 8. The last date to file nominations is January 17, and the scrutiny of nominations will be done by January 18. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until January 20.
The Election Commission of India has released detailed statistical data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, revealing a record voter turnout of 64.64 crore, with women outnumbering men. The data also highlights the participation of women candidates and the use of postal ballots, along with insights into overseas Indian electors.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
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 on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
With the cane crushing season set to commence on November 15, lakhs of cutters from various districts have already migrated to the sugarcane belts in western Maharashtra and many other states, according to the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday hit out at the Election Commission for the 'tone and tenor' of its recent letter to his party while also urging the poll body to act against 'communal and incendiary rhetoric' allegedly used by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during poll campaigns.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
A turnout of about 59 percent -- the highest in the past seven elections -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.
Thackeray had on Monday claimed his bag was inspected by the election authorities when he arrived in Maharashtra's Yavatmal to campaign for the November 20 assembly elections.
Dismissing Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal's apprehensions that electronic voting machines could be rigged to favour BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission on Wednesday said the machines are "non-tamperable".
Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections.
The proposed first constitutional amendment bill would deal with making provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections together.
The sources refused to give details of the opinion. The Commission had earlier heard the arguments of both complainant Omesh Saigal, a retired IAS officer, and Ramadoss.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
Incidents of violence rocked Assam's Samaguri assembly constituency where by-elections will be held on November 13 with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress alleging that gunshots were fired targeting each other's supporters over the last 24 hours, police said on Sunday.
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