While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, wants to break the 38-year jinx and retain its southern citadel, the Congress is seeking to wrest power to give the party much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was mystified as to how bureaucrat Arun Goel applied for voluntary retirement on November 18 last year if he was not aware about the proposal to appoint him as an election commissioner.
The final electoral roll has a total of 83,59,771 electors -- 42,91,687 males, 40,67,900 females and 184 third gender -- Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir Anil Salgotra said.
The indication of a timeline comes two days after the Election Commission initiated the revision of electoral rolls in the union territory and prepare the draft rolls by August 31.
The Election Commission on Monday allotted 'flaming torch' (mashaal) election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, rejecting their claim to the 'Trishul' citing religious connotation.
The Commission said a ban has been put in place effective January 1, 2023 on the creation of new administrative units in the state till the exercise is completed.
Unlike the past when G V G Krishnamurthy, J M Lyngdoh, R Peri Sastry, H S Brahma, and V S Sampath held positions in the ECI representing all corners of India, this ECI will be North India-centric.
The Indian economy is coming out of the pandemic-induced degrowth and GDP growth will enter the positive territory in the fourth quarter of this fiscal, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday. In an interview to PTI, Kumar also said the Centre's new agriculture reform laws are aimed at increasing the income of farmers and the present agitation was a result of misunderstanding and miscommunication which need to be removed.
The income tax department on Wednesday conducted raids in multiple states as part of a pan-India tax evasion probe against certain registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) and their alleged dubious financial transactions, official sources said.
The bench said the petition has relied on a March 2 verdict of the apex court which had ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity of election".
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the inclusion of the Chief Justice of India in the consultative process for the appointment of chief election commissioner would ensure independence of the poll panel.
The Commission did not announce the elections for the Gujarat assembly, the term of which ends on February 18, 2023.
Amid a debate on the freebies, the Election Commission on Tuesday proposed amending the model code to ask political parties to provide authentic information to voters on the financial viability of their poll promises.
Asserting that the dharma yudham is on, Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS said he and his followers would go to the people to seek justice.
President Droupadi Murmu will administer the Oath of Office to the elected Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11.45 am on Thursday.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey carried out a review and directed the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer to map the redrawn assembly constituencies.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) is duty bound to act in a fair and legal manner and a person who is weak-kneed before the powers cannot be appointed as an election commissioner.
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
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The counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections was delayed on Friday in Maharashtra and Haryana over alleged violation of rules, officials said.
A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Pawan Kumar Bansal, Vivek Tankha and Ranjeet Ranjan met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum by Ajay Maken, its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll in the state.
In separate letters to Chirag Paswan and Pashupati Paras, the poll panel said it has allotted the name 'Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)' and the election symbol 'Helicopter' to the Chirag Paswan group.
Tata Motors on Monday said its subsidiary and Ford India have inked a pact with the Gujarat government to acquire FIPL's Sanand vehicle manufacturing plant. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) -- a subsidiary of Tata Motors -- and Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPL) have today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Gujarat government for the potential acquisition of FIPL's Sanand vehicle manufacturing facility, including land, buildings, vehicle manufacturing plant, machinery and equipment, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. The MoU also includes the transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL Sanand's vehicle manufacturing operations, subject to the signing of definitive agreements and receipt of relevant approvals, it added.
The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered the delisting of another 86 'non-existent' registered unrecognised political parties, raising the number of such organisations red flagged by the poll panel for failing to comply with electoral rules to 537.
Shinde, Thackeray can't use party name and its symbol in the Andheri East assembly bypoll.
If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home district to exercise their franchise.
'BJP and Modi are confident they will win the 2024 election.'
'The collegium system will remove any such doubts from the minds of people and the political parties.'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to produce before it the file related to the appointment of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, who was appointed on November 19.
The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Aron police station, some 160 km from the state capital, around 3 am when the police personnel had gone to nab the miscreants.
Sixty-six such parties claimed IT exemption in FY20 without complying with statutory requirements under the Representation of the People Act and 2,174 have not submitted contribution reports, the EC said.
The top court reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the Chief Election Commissioner and asked the parties to file written submission in five days.
The Election Commission is considering advancing the polls by a month to avoid the May heat, reports R Rajagopalan.
The opposition is likely to put up a joint candidate for the July 18 presidential election despite not having numbers on its side, and consultations in this regard have already begun.
Indian economy is expected to grow by 10 per cent or more in the current fiscal, and 8 per cent plus in the next fiscal year, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Tuesday. Addressing a book launch event, Kumar further said that seven years of the Modi government has laid a strong economic foundation for businesses to thrive in India. "There was a hiccup (in economic growth) for two years due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Announcing the election schedule with a strong focus on digital and virtual modes of campaigning, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the ban on rallies, roadshows, nukkad sabhas, padayatras and vehicle rallies will be reviewed on January 15.
Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar debunked claims of jobless growth, saying how can a country grow at an average of 7 per cent without employment.
The notification for the President poll will be issued on June 15, the CEC said, and June 29 will be the last date for the filing of nominations.
Prompt measures and legal actions taken by the Indian government and PNB helped in securing the extradition of diamantaire Nirav Modi by the UK on Friday, a senior official said. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday signed off on the order to extradite Nirav Modi, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges related to the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. According to the government official, a scam of this magnitude had potential to create instability in the financial sector but the deft handling saved the entire public sector banking space from the crisis and litigation.
The commission also directed political parties to adhere to the provisions of the model code of conduct and broader guidelines on Covid-19.
