West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee escalates tensions ahead of assembly polls by accusing President Droupadi Murmu of political bias and criticising her stance on tribal welfare, sparking a major controversy.
Gandhi has been demanding voter lists, poll data and video footage from the election commission, alleging irregularities in Maharashtra assembly elections.
Stepping up political pressure ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress-led Opposition bloc in Assam has lodged an FIR against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Saikia, accusing him of directing BJP MLAs to delete Opposition voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his 'vote chori' allegations and took a swipe at the Election Commission, calling it an 'election watchman' who 'stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves'.
Over 130 Lok Sabha and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging partisan conduct and obstruction of electoral fraud investigations.
A plea has been filed seeking action against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, alleging her name was included in the electoral rolls three years before she became an Indian citizen.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting individuals involved in voter deletion and election rigging, citing data from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
A political controversy has erupted in West Bengal after President Droupadi Murmu raised concerns about the lack of development among tribal communities, leading to a clash between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A Trinamool Congress councillor in West Bengal protested being listed as deceased in the draft electoral rolls by walking into a crematorium, highlighting concerns about voter list accuracy ahead of state elections.
The Supreme Court has begun hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special intensive revision exercise in Bihar ahead of elections, raising concerns about voter exclusion.
Protests erupted across several districts of West Bengal over alleged harassment of people in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, leading to road blockages and tyre burning. Demonstrations were held in South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Jhargram, and Purba Medinipur.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the central government of pressuring the outgoing Governor C V Ananda Bose to resign and alleged that his replacement, R N Ravi, is a BJP cadre.
The Election Commission has assured the Supreme Court that no voter's name will be deleted from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without prior notice and a fair hearing. The EC also clarified that it is not required to share separate lists of those not included in the draft rolls.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a new unemployment allowance of Rs 1,500 per month for young job seekers in the state, starting March 7. The announcement comes ahead of the assembly elections and aims to support unemployed youth aged 21-40 who have passed their secondary exams.
The BJP has released its first list of candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, featuring Suvendu Adhikari against Mamata Banerjee in a high-stakes electoral battle. The Left Front has also announced its initial list of candidates, setting the stage for a crucial election.
The Supreme Court has warned that it will set aside the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar if any illegality is found. The court is reviewing the validity of the Bihar SIR and its potential impact on a similar exercise across India.
The application claimed that since the inception of the SIR process in the state, the EC has issued instructions to officers at the ground level through "informal and extra-statutory channels", such as WhatsApp messages and oral directions conveyed during video conferences, instead of issuing formal written instructions.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is likely to take up the matter in which the EC has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls.
A resident of Bhojpur district in Bihar on Thursday called on the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to plead that he was alive.
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.
The window to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors on draft electoral rolls opened on August 1.
Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar reveals millions of voters missing or deceased, prompting Election Commission action.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announces legal action against the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, alleging disenfranchisement and procedural flaws.
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
In her third letter to Kumar since the SIR began, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of political bias, insensitivity, and high-handedness during the exercise.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
"While Sinha's age is 57 years in one list and 60 years in another. Is this not fraud and an age scam? He must have filled two different forms in two different assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two votes registered in two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, then did the Election Commission create two different votes for him in two different assembly constituencies based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?" he alleged.
The central government has provided armed security to West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer following potential threats related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing the alleged 'vote chori' (theft)' in the Aland Assembly segment in 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka, has filed a charge sheet naming seven persons, including a former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, his son and his close aide.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to address typographical errors and other mistakes in the final Bihar electoral roll. The court will hear further arguments on November 4.
On deletions, Kumar clarified that they are processed only through Form 7 or Form B, following strict guidelines.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The Special Investigation Team probing the 'vote chori' (vote theft) in Aland assembly segment in 2023 assembly elections in Karnataka has discovered that "attempts" were made to delete votes and zeroed in on at least six suspects involved in the scam.
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.
