Pitroda was reported to have said that he does not understand the threat India faces from China, claiming that it is often blown out of proportion.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the fresh revision of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir does not disturb the schedule or conduct part of polls and the poll panel is aware that there is a "vacuum" in the Union territory which needs to be filled.
Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni, R P Goenka, A A Khan, A R Kidwai and Karan Singh are alleged to have donated money to the Trusts run by Navin Chawla and his wife Rupika Chawla.
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of indulging in hooliganism and targeting AAP workers, claiming that Delhi Police is afraid and helpless to tackle the situation.
President Pranab Mukherjee made the appointment filling a vacancy caused by the elevation of V S Sampath as Chief Election Commissioner after S Y Quraishi demitted office.
Achal Kumar Joti will take over as the head of the Election Commission on July 6.
Chief Election Commissioner Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi still takes out time to jam with the who's who of Indian administration -- National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
The Sena (UBT) chief and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday met with Fadnavis and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar at Vidhan Bhavan premises in Nagpur. Aaditya said they extended good wishes to the two and talked about taking a step towards showing political maturity and working together in the interest of the people.
'There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount'
Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal went to the Election Commission's office in New Delhi on Friday and furnished his reply to the poll body over its notice to him on his 'poison mixed' in Yamuna water remark.
Kejriwal's remarks came shortly after the EC expressed dissatisfaction with his reply to its notice and gave him a fresh opportunity to explain his charges against the Haryana government.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Udvav Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that anyone who spreads communal disharmony 'can't be a Hindu', while also affirming that the 'Hindutva' of his party is 'clean'.
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.
He will assume charge with effect from April 19, after the incumbent Hari Shankar Brahma demits office
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.
His tenure will end in December this year.
He will take over from chief election commissioner-designate T S Krishnamurthy on February 8.
A heated political battle erupted Tuesday over Arvind Kejriwal's claim of the Haryana government 'poisoning' the Yamuna water, with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he cannot be forgiven for his 'dangerous statement', while the Aam Aadmi Party chief asserted he won't let the people of Delhi die due to the dirty, poisonous water.
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, an Election Commission team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived in Srinagar to meet with representatives of political parties.
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
Forced to make an emergency landing in a remote village near Munsiyari due to bad weather on Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar spent the night in an uninhabited house in sub-zero temperature along with two pilots and two poll officials.
Voting for the Delhi Assembly elections began on Wednesday, with prominent leaders like President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi casting their ballots early in the day. Other notable figures who participated in the electoral process included Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, and Delhi Chief Electoral Officer R Alice Vaz. The election is a triangular contest between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress, with the AAP aiming for a third consecutive term. Polling is underway at 13,766 stations across Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates. The results will be announced on February 8.
Despite recent fatal stampedes at the Kumbh Mela and a Delhi railway station, pilgrims, driven by faith, continue to participate in the holy gathering in Prayagraj. Despite safety concerns, pilgrims from across India are undeterred by the tragedy and are taking the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam.
"We have submitted a petition to the CEC as per the directions of the Supreme Court seeking removal of Navin Chawla, as he has been favouring a particular party in his decisions," Arun Jaitley said.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking initiation of breach of privilege proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "blatant lies and vilification campaign" during his speech in the House. Dubey alleged that Gandhi used his parliamentary privilege to spread canards without authenticating his charges and distorted historical facts during his speech. Gandhi had claimed that mobile phones were not made in India but only assembled here, China has captured the Indian territory, and India had sent Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony. He also made allegations related to the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the law for the appointment of the elections commissioner. Dubey accused Gandhi of misusing the Constitution's Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He urged the Speaker to initiate proceedings against Gandhi, alleging that Parliament's records and proceedings are a testimony to his irresponsible attitude.
The political parties have been given time slots for the meeting with the Election Commission.
62-year-old Sampath will take over as CEC after incumbent S Y Quraishi demits office on June 10.
'The government does not want to be transparent or accountable. Therefore, they do not want to appoint information commissioners.'
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, the Election Commission on Monday directed the state government to transfer Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla with immediate effect following complaints from political parties, including the Congress, sources said.
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'.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday denied ever having exerted pressure on State Election Commissioner Nand Lal over the delimitation exercise in his constituency and accused him of lying. "The allegation by Nand Lal, that there was pressure from me for dereserving Latur constituency in the delimitation exercise, is baseless," Deshmukh said.Deshmukh's remarks came after Nand Lal, who spent a night Jail, accused the CM of political vedetta.
'The people of Gujarat are more religious than people of other states, this gives the BJP an advantage.'
Upadhyay submitted the resignation to Governor K N Tripathi at the Raj Bhavan.
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.
The Election Commission will hold the 2019 general election under Arora .
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.
A senior IAS officer, Mohammed had served as chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh for nearly eight-and-a-half years.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?