Haryana Election

The Congress on Saturday escalated its attack on the Election Commission, with senior party leader Ashok Gehlot alleging that the poll body has failed to respond to questions raised by Rahul Gandhi over alleged "vote theft" during the Haryana elections. In a post on X, Gehlot said the BJP, which "fell short of the 272-seat mark after being caught in the act of theft," had now "got 272 people to sign a letter against Rahul Gandhi to defend the Election Commission." Calling it "unfortunate", he said the letter appeared to have been issued under pressure by individuals who had served for decades in the bureaucracy, judiciary or armed forces. Gehlot further alleged that the EC was "working entirely in favour of the BJP and the NDA," pointing out that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being conducted "in haste" across 12 states despite related cases pending before the Supreme Court. He said Rahul Gandhi was fighting to safeguard democratic institutions and added, .

Gandhi alleged that the modus operandi was "centralised" and the BJP and EC were planning to now "steal" the Bihar Assembly polls

Rahul Gandhi highlighted the image of a woman he claimed was a 'Brazilian model' allegedly used for vote fraud in Haryana, saying her photo appeared under multiple names across 10 booths

Gandhi described the Haryana polls as a "theft," accusing the Election Commission of India of failing to ensure a fair process

The study was based on the evaluation of a maternal cash transfer programme in Jharkhand. Around 480 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), representing 90 per cent in the state, were selected

During the meeting, officials informed Saini that 2,893 Agniveers were recruited in the Army, Navy and Air Force from Haryana during 2023-24 and 2,227 were recruited in 2022-23

The elections were conducted to elect mayors and ward members for seven Municipal Corporations, presidents and ward members for four Municipal Councils, and members for 21 Municipal Committees

The Congress on Sunday made a slew of promises to woo urban voters in Haryana as the party released its manifesto for the upcoming urban local body elections. Party leaders appealed to the electorate for a full majority for the Congress. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the party's state chief Udai Bhan and former minister Ajay Singh Yadav, among others, were present at the manifesto release event in Gurugram. Elections for four municipal councils, 21 municipal committees and seven municipal corporations -- Faridabad, Gurugram, Manesar, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak and Yamunanagar -- will be held on March 2. Polling for the Panipat Municipal Corporation will take place on March 9. Hooda said the state's BJP government could not provide basic facilities despite holding office for 10 years. He appealed to the people to elect mayors and the maximum number of councillors from the Congress. Hooda said the people of Gurugram did not get basic facilities that the BJP had .

For a state that witnessed two elections of great significance this year and accounted for more than 20 per cent of athletes in India's Paris Olympics contingent, it is only fitting that the year's top newsmakers came from two fields: politics and sports. Add to the mix, the issues of farmers and farming -- farmers' protest remained a constant underrunning theme in the state's sociopolitical discourse through the year -- and Haryana's 2024 round-up is almost complete. As Haryana seemed to be settling into the regular humdrum of daily politics after high-pitched election season came the unsettling news of the passing of its five-time chief minister and political stalwart Om Prakash Chautala. He died on December 20 at the age of 89. The state entered 2024 with a great deal to look forward to for everybody: a BJP looking to repeat the 2019 feat of winning all 10 LS seats and also retaining power in assembly, a Congress emboldened by projections it would wrest back a large number of ...

The year 2024 not just reshaped the Indian politics, but also forced the political thinkers to come up with new explanations to describe the electoral behaviour

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is expected to focus on the party's electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana, along with the current political situation

Exit polls, seen as a measure of public opinion, faced criticism this year for being highly inaccurate

The Haryana Congress on Monday formed an eight-member committee to find out, what the party alleged, "malpractices and manipulations" in the recently held state assembly polls "at the behest" of the ruling BJP, leading to its "dismal performance." The committee was led by former MLA Karan Singh Dalal and it also comprises Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed, former MLA Jaiveer Singh Valmiki, according to an office order issued by the Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan. "With a view to find out malpractices and manipulation committed in the recently held Haryana assembly election at the behest of BJP government/party/candidate which led to an unsuspected dismal performance of INC, a committee consisting of following is hereby constituted with immediate effect," it said. The committee will collect the relevant details in consultation with all party candidates and other leaders of the party and submit its report to Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee here within a week for "taking further action in the .

Earlier on November 1, the Congress submitted a 'counter response' to the ECI, describing its initial reply as 'generic' and focused on dismissing the complaints and their petitioners

In a letter to the Congress party, the Commission urged them to refrain from making unfounded claims after every election, accusing the party of creating "generic" doubts without substance

In an effort to discourage farmers from burning crop residue, the Haryana agriculture department has implemented strict measures

Wrestler Sakshi Malik claims not Congress but two BJP leaders helped wrestlers secure permission to protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in Haryana

Further, PM Modi said that India had been moving at an unprecedented scale in all sectors

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini kept key departments, including home and finance, while Anil Vij got energy and transport as portfolios were allocated to the Council of Ministers on Sunday, three days after the swearing-in of a new government in the state. Saini will handle 12 portfolios. Besides home and finance, he is also in charge of planning, excise and taxation, town and country planning and urban estates, information, public relations, language and culture, criminal investigation, law and legislative, and housing for all departments. Vij, who held the home portfolio when Manohar Lal Khattar was the chief minister, has now also been given the charge of the labour department, in addition to energy and transport. The health department, which Vij handled during the Khattar government, has now been allotted to Arti Singh Rao, who will also take care of the medical education and research and Ayush departments, said a government order issued late in the night here. Saini (

With the assembly polls in Maharashtra just a month away, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has launched an extensive outreach programme to shape public opinion in favour of the BJP-led alliance in the state. The RSS, which is the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has started the move in coordination with all of its affiliates, sources said. "Tolis (teams) have been formed across the state and they have started reaching out to people in their respective localities taking the message," a source told PTI. Each team is holding small group meetings with 5-10 people and also reaching out to families through their local network in 'mohallas' in their respective localities, the source said. "In these meetings, they do not explicitly endorse the BJP but shape the people's opinion through intimate discussions around topics of national interest, Hindutva, good governance, development, public welfare and various local issues concerning the society," the source