Election Commission officials report finding a large number of illegal migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during a review of Bihar's voters' list. Measures are being taken to exclude them from the final electoral roll.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dramatically turned up at the residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
'A poor candidate was given a chance so that the concerns of ordinary, needy citizens could be represented.'
NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar demonstrated the preparation of a fake Aadhaar card in Donald Trump's name and its use to register bogus voters.
Film stars arrived at polling booths in Mumbai to cast their votes in the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The elections are seen as crucial for major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
A Booth Level Officer (BLO) was found dead in West Bengal's Bankura district, leading to allegations that work-related pressure from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may have been a factor. Political accusations have followed.
The Election Commission has uncovered significant irregularities in Bihar's voter list, including multiple enrollments and probable deaths, during a special intensive revision.
The Supreme Court is examining the validity of the Election Commission's decision to conduct special intensive revisions of electoral rolls in several states, focusing on concerns about democratic participation and the burden on ordinary voters.
In its instructions issued to the chief electoral officer of Assam, the poll authority said that "software-based" reports should be generated for 'black and white images', 'not to specification images', 'non-human images' and 'no image' entries.
Elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra are scheduled for December 2, according to the State Election Commissioner. The schedule for other local bodies will be announced later.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
This year's Golden Globes was a test to see if Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is still riding on an unstoppable train, similar to one that Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer rode on in 2023, observes Aseem Chhabra.
In Bihar, women outvoted men and, perhaps, became one of the decisive factors behind the NDA's landslide victory in the assembly polls in the state on Friday.
Abdullah emphasised the 24x7 model of politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, and said that "no sooner has one election finished, they've already moved into the next territory... We will move into those states two months before the elections. We will be lucky if we sew up our electoral alliances before the last date of filing nominations".
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal announced the Congress party's goal to win 100 seats in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. He highlighted the party's strategy, including early candidate selection, opportunities for youth, and addressing alleged alliances between CPI(M) and BJP.
Election Commission officials defend the intensive revision of Bihar's voters' list as 'inclusive' amid criticism from opposition parties, who claim it will disenfranchise voters. The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the revision.
'The writing is on the wall for both Shinde and Ajit Pawar.'
Chandra, a native of Patna, appeared in several Bollywood movies such as 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!' and 'Garam Masala'.
The window to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors on draft electoral rolls opened on August 1.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP of 'vote chori' in collusion with the Election Commission, calling it an anti-national act. He raised concerns about election reforms and institutional capture.
The first phase of polling for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra was disrupted by violence and allegations of bogus voting. Clashes occurred between supporters of ruling allies BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena. The Bombay High Court directed the SEC to postpone the counting of votes.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
The empty cartridges found at Pahalgam and those after test firing by the recovered guns were matched by the forensic lab, Shah said. The ballistic report is with him, he added.
A notorious criminal with over 100 offenses, including murder, was arrested in Indore while attempting to register to vote. Abdul Rashid, also known as Talwar Singh, was wanted in multiple cases in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will contest the January 15 polls to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune municipal corporations separately after seat-sharing talks failed. Leaders from both parties are blaming each other for the breakup. Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.
Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will to polls in 2026 and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Booth-level officers in Kerala boycotted work following the suicide of a colleague allegedly due to work strain related to the Special Intensive Revision exercise. Trade unions and political leaders are demanding investigations and changes to the process.
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claims Union Home Minister Amit Shah appeared 'under pressure' during a Parliament debate on election reforms and avoided addressing allegations of 'vote chori'.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar polls was a mandate against infiltrators in the country because citizens will never favour those parties that support such illegal immigrants.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Two teachers-cum-Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Madhya Pradesh died of illness while conducting voter list surveys. Relatives allege heavy workload and pressure to meet targets as the cause. A third BLO is missing.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
