The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
As many as 90,000 electors in Goa have either been found absent, shifted, deceased or possessing duplicate voter cards in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, a senior official said on Sunday.
Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is an attempt to cover up "vote theft" and institutionalize it, claiming similar incidents occurred in other states.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the term 'katta' (country-made gun) in a recent election rally in Bihar, calling it an inappropriate choice of words for a Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed NDA parliamentarians, emphasizing that laws and regulations should serve the convenience of the common people and not cause harassment.
Gandhi has been demanding voter lists, poll data and video footage from the election commission, alleging irregularities in Maharashtra assembly elections.
The Election Commission reports a discrepancy of nearly 26 lakh voters' names in West Bengal's current electoral rolls when compared to the 2002 voter list.
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.
The EC reiterated that the process was transparent with the involvement of candidates or their agents at every stage.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order retroactively lowering tariffs on a range of agricultural imports, including beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, with the change taking effect from November 20, CNN reported.
The BJP has dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claims of vote theft in the Haryana Assembly polls as false and baseless, accusing him of defaming India's democracy and questioning the Election Commission to hide his failures.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
On Tuesday, Kumar issued a public apology on X, acknowledging the error in his original post.
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide details regarding the 3.66 lakh voters excluded from Bihar's final electoral roll after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The court's direction came after concerns were raised by petitioners about the lack of notice or reasons given to the excluded voters.
'Women from all castes and religions voted for Nitish Kumar as it was his last election.'
A series of deaths and health-related incidents involving staff deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in multiple states has triggered alarm, even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, calling the ongoing exercise 'chaotic, coercive and dangerous'.
'It is good for us if the JMM contests. That will divide the Opposition and give us the upper hand.'
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
The new iOS 26 design modernises the interface, while Apple Intelligence 2.0 introduces AI in a controlled, privacy-focused way. Ashish Narsale brings you all the juice.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
Booth-level officers in Kolkata scuffled with police during a protest against alleged excessive work pressure related to the ongoing SIR process. The officers allege unrealistic deadlines and lack of support from the Election Commission.
The Congress party has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of incompetence and partisanship following the Chief Election Commissioner's (CEC) defense of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The party alleges the CEC failed to address concerns about voter list irregularities and is acting in favor of the ruling BJP.
Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.
A surge in violent crimes, including targeted killings, has raised concerns about law and order in Bihar. Police attribute the rise to the widespread availability of illegal firearms and ammunition.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
'...in comparison to his presence in the previous election campaign where he looked robust and vibrant.' 'His television and social media interviews looked dull and predictable.' 'There could be a different kind of fatigue of being out of power for a long time at work here.'
College students in Bihar, many first-time voters, express concerns about job opportunities and education quality ahead of the state elections, desiring a government focused on employment and strengthening the education system.
'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?'
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.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
The opposition party is likely to use this new-age technology to reach out to a wider section of people, specially youngsters who are tech-savvy.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. The court also ruled that the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report. The court accepted the commission's report, which recommended a census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra. The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months. The outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.
Sources said a couple of resolutions are expected to be passed at the crucial meeting, with an eye on the upcoming Bihar polls.
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