The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide details regarding the approximately 65 lakh voters removed from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, a state preparing for elections. The court's order comes in response to a petition filed by an NGO challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
A total of 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar spread across 16 districts went to polls on Wednesday in the first phase amid tight security and with COVID-19 guidelines in place.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
The first phase of Election 2024 on Friday, April 19, 2024, covered 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories.
Widespread violence between supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over alleged electoral malpractices in strife-torn Sandeshkhali marred the final phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal on Saturday, resulting in injuries to a number of people.
The term of the 70-member Assembly ends on February 23, and elections have to held before that to constitute a new House.
Election Commission data shows 15.88 crore (158.8 million) voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase on Friday.
Polling for the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections commences on Friday, April 19, 2024, with 102 seats out of 543 seats going to the polls.
The ruling Mahayuti is poised to retain power in Maharashtra with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) also putting up a strong show in assembly polls, most exit polls predicted on Wednesday after conclusion of polling on 288 seats in the state. Jharkhand is likely to see a change of government with BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coming to power in the state, three exit polls said on Wednesday with one poll giving majority to the ruling JMM-led alliance.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai, Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukon and a host of Cabinet ministers and Congress veterans are among the total 485 candidates whose fate will be decided on Monday in the first phase of the Assembly elections in Assam to be held in 62 Local Authorities Constituencies spread over 13 districts.
Amid tight security, 62.60 per cent of 56,18,267 voters exercised their franchise in 17 to decide the fate of 309 candidates.
The Election Commission on Saturday announced five-phase election dates for Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir
Polling for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 94 seats will take place today, covering 11 States and Union Territory.
The second phase polls on February 14 will be held in 29 constituencies.
The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years.
The male-female turnout gap was wide in Bihar and Jharkhand. While in Bihar, the male turnout was 52.42 percent, the female turnout was 61.58 percent.
Without opposing the EC's decision to hold a five-phased general election, Left parties on Monday said some parties would find it difficult to sustain their campaigns in certain states and expressed the view that a two-phase election in West Bengal would have been better.
The Election Commission will publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar assembly polls, triggering a period for claims and objections amid fears of voter exclusion.
The IMD has warned of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days.
Of the 87.54 crore electors in the first six phases of the Lok Sabha polls, as many as 57.77 crore voters turned up at the polling stations to cast their votes.
Of the 76.41 crore eligible voters in the first five phases of the Lok Sabha polls, as many as 50.72 crore people have cast their vote, according to data shared by the Election Commission on Saturday.
A new book by former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi claims that former chief election commissioner T N Seshan proposed an immediate halt to the general election process after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 and even offered to become home minister. Gandhi, who was joint secretary to then president R Venkatraman, writes that Seshan was the one who broke the news of the assassination to the president and arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan "super-fast" that night. According to Gandhi's account, Seshan told Venkatraman that he felt the election process needed to be stopped and that he was ready to take on the role of home minister if necessary. However, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra assured the president that the situation was under control and that there was no need to pause the election process. Seshan's suggestions were ultimately ignored, but he did manage to postpone the second and third phases of polling.
The poll panel had given a similar voter turnout figure on May 8, a day after the third phase of voting took place.
The party claimed 16 lakh votes were polled in the last one hour of polling on December 5.
The Election Commission of India defends its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, stating it enhances election purity by removing ineligible voters. The commission addresses concerns about Aadhaar usage, emphasizing its limited role in identity verification during the SIR-2025 exercise.
A 35-year-old woman in Bihar, India, was mistakenly listed as 124 years old in draft electoral rolls, sparking a political demonstration and raising questions about the accuracy of voter registration.
Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer has ordered an investigation into Rahul Gandhi's allegations of election fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The CEO has requested supporting documents from Congress leader D K Shivakumar.
The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 94 seats will take place on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, covering 12 states.
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.
Central security forces have taken positions well in advance in and around 1038 booths in Bandipora, Poonch, Leh and Kargil districts to instill confidence among the voters and foil the 'evil designs' of terrorists to disrupt the electoral process, officials said. Of the 1038 polling stations, more than half of them have been described as 'hyper sensitive' while the rest have been placed under 'sensitive' category.
Poonch district of Jammu region recorded the highest turnout at 75.42 per cent. Ganderbal district recorded the highest polling in Kashmir valley at 56.28 per cent.
The final round of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is taking place on Wednesday, with the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition seeking to retain power while the BJP-led NDA aims to take control. The election will decide the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife, and several other candidates. Key issues during the campaign included alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption, and Hindutva.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
29 per cent candidates have declared assets worth Rs 10 million or more in the third phase.
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.
The state had recorded overall 79.80 per cent turnout in 2012.
Accoding to data collected by the Association for Democratic Reforms, of the 695 candidates in the fray, 227 are crorepatis.
The poll authority noted that in the past these cities have "suffered" from urban apathy in voting.
The O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee has withdrawn from the BJP-led NDA coalition, a year after joining. The move follows meetings between Panneerselvam and DMK Chief Minister M K Stalin, fueling speculation about future alliances.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
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