The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections by submitting a large number of Form 6 applications to illegally register voters from outside the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the TMC of conspiring to include infiltrators in electoral rolls, claiming the party objects to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) while those rightfully removed from the rolls did not protest.
A woman in Goa has been booked for allegedly concealing her Portuguese nationality and fraudulently enrolling in the voter list.
"I'm more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion," Obama told CBS News in an interview.
The report said uncertainty caused by late legal challenges and evidence-deficient claim about election fraud created confusion and concern among election officials and voters.
The Election Commission has ordered an investigation into allegations that foreign nationals fraudulently voted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. The probe was initiated after police arrested ten foreign nationals with indelible ink on their fingers at Chennai and Madurai airports.
The West Bengal government has filed FIRs against five state government employees for alleged lapses in electoral roll revisions, following an Election Commission ultimatum. The action comes after the EC directed the state to initiate criminal cases against the accused for adding fictitious names to voter lists.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the TMC, accusing the party of looting West Bengal for 15 years, destroying the state's identity through corruption and infiltration, and turning Jadavpur University into a symbol of disorder.
TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest alleging irregular activities inside a strongroom housing EVMs in West Bengal, following concerns raised by Mamata Banerjee regarding EVM security.
Opposition MPs in India have moved notices in Parliament seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of bias, misconduct, and acting under the influence of the executive.
The Election Commission on Friday directed officials for a review of the deletions and additions in the electoral rolls of three assembly seats in Karnataka and ordered the suspension of two additional district election officials after allegations of 'electoral fraud' in the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the BJP after the central government failed to pass a Constitution amendment bill for women's quota in legislatures, accusing the BJP of using the bill as a political ploy to divide the country and Bengal.
Opposition parties in India have submitted notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over his appointment, conduct, and alleged manipulation of electoral processes.
Heaps of burnt voter records were found near former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Subhash Guttedar's residence in Kalaburagi district on Saturday as the SIT intensified its probe into alleged 'vote theft' in the Aland assembly segment during the 2023 assembly elections.
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.
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.
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.
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 Election Commission announced that it has received documents from 98.2% of electors in Bihar as part of the intensive revision of the voters' list. The deadline for claims and objections has been extended, allowing electors to rectify mistakes and submit necessary documents.
The RJD leader on Wednesday had accused senior BJP leader and Muzaffarpur Mayor, Nirmala Devi and her two relatives of "having dual voter ID cards".
If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, Tarique Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 36 years.
'Rahul Gandhi is not coming to seek votes, but to reach out to people for awareness of their democratic rights.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections, citing data analysis from a Karnataka constituency. He claims evidence of 'vote chori' and demands transparency from the EC.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
"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.
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.
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.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that the Congress party's setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls in the state was the result of 'illegal manipulation' of the electoral process by the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of 'misusing' the Election Commission.
The Election Commission has asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to hand over a voter ID card for investigation after he claimed to possess it despite it not being officially issued. The controversy arose after Yadav alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls and claimed his voter ID number was changed.
The draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025, which mandates penal action against violators and calls for AI-based bone assessments to accurately determine an athlete's age, is set to become a policy soon with the sports ministry planning to send it for cabinet approval next week.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The Supreme Court has requested the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The court has also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep proceedings on similar petitions in abeyance.
The Bombay High Court ruled that possessing documents like Aadhaar, PAN, or voter ID does not automatically grant Indian citizenship, emphasizing the importance of the Citizenship Act of 1955.
The order also highlights further disparities, citing examples of Denmark and Sweden restricting mail-in voting to those unable to vote in person and rejecting late-arriving ballots regardless of postmark, while many US states have embraced widespread mail-in voting, with some accepting ballots without postmarks or those arriving well after Election Day.
The Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea seeking a special investigation team (SIT) probe into alleged electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies, advising the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to register a landslide victory in Bihar, opening up impressive leads in more than 180 of the state's 243 assembly seats, with early trends also indicating that the saffron party was on track to post its biggest tally.
Can change happen? Not unless the changemakers themselves want it since they benefit the most from the status quo, warns Biswajit Dasgupta.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances