The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
A six-phased Assembly elections in West Bengal, a two stage poll in Assam and a single day poll in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry were announced by the Election Commission, setting in motion the largest such exercise after 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the party's Kerala leaders 'stand as one' and were 'united' by the light of purpose ahead.
CPI(M) MLA Kadakampally Surendran alleges that Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold loss case, is conspiring to tarnish his image ahead of the state Assembly election.
Under the TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment.
Petrol and diesel prices in India have been increased by Rs 3 per litre each, marking the first rate hike in over four years. This decision follows a period of stable prices during recent state elections, despite rising global crude oil prices and significant losses for fuel retailers.
Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan has declared assets worth around 3 crore, including movable and immovable properties, in his affidavit filed before the Election Commission for contesting the polls from North Paravoor. Kerala Congress (M) chairman Jose K Mani has also declared his assets.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced a significant increase in Lok Sabha seats for the five southern states following delimitation, countering misinformation and clarifying the timeline for women's reservation implementation.
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
Modi said this time 'a third decisive strength is emerging in Kerala and I am seeing this', thanking the thousands of people who stood braving the scorching heat.
The Election Commission is considering advancing the polls by a month to avoid the May heat, reports R Rajagopalan.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is reportedly upset and likely to skip a strategy meeting for the upcoming Kerala polls due to perceived slights and attempts to sideline him within the party.
Aiyar's endorsement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ignited a political firestorm, drawing sharp rebukes from his own party.
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
With assembly polls to four key states and one Union Terrority at hand, Vicky Nanjappa finds that one in four elected representatives has a criminal record.
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announces the debate and vote on the no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will occur on March 9. The Budget Session's second part will also address important legislation and critical bills.
The Indian government and opposition parties are set for a showdown in Parliament over a Constitution amendment bill concerning the implementation of the women's quota law and the delimitation exercise. The Opposition is concerned about the potential impact of delimitation on the political representation of southern states.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
Talking to reporters at a media briefing, 33-year-old Sreesanth said his name has been cleared by the court in a match-fixing case and he is, therefore, not worried about any Opposition attack on him regarding the controversy.
Over 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted from Assam's electoral rolls following a Special Revision, ahead of upcoming assembly elections. The revision included house-to-house verification and aims to create an error-free electoral roll.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
UPCC chief Ajai Rai clarifies Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's role in Uttar Pradesh Congress campaigns, emphasizing her national leadership while confirming her continued prominence in the state.
Former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, a key figure in Kerala's political history, died on Monday at the age of 101. He was a founding member of the CPI(M) and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011.
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.
Tandon said, after the review meeting at Madurai and Chennai on Tuesday, they would decide on the Tamil Nadu election date.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai launched a scathing attack on Congress, stating that the party takes "pleasure" in insulting Bihar and its people.
Tharoor's recent remarks on Kerala's industrial growth sparked controversy within the Congress state unit.
Among major engagements in 2026 is the visit of the European Union leadership, chief guests at the Republic Day parade.
Nineteen political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, received over Rs 1,100 crore during assembly polls in five states and Union territories in 2021 and spent over Rs 500 crore, a big chunk of which went towards advertisements and travel expenses for star campaigners, a study said on Friday.
The survey, reportedly conducted by a private agency, found that 28.3 per cent of respondents believe Tharoor is best suited to lead the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the TMC government in West Bengal of patronizing infiltration, leading to demographic changes and riots. He reassured refugees and promised action against illegal migration if the BJP comes to power.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
Counting of votes will take place on May 15.
While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26, that of Jharkhand ends on January 5 next year.
The other three crore -- nearly 40 percent -- will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth.
