Election Commission

EC to visit TN, Puducherry from Feb 25 to 27 to assess poll preparedness

The Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, will visit Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from February 25 to 27 to assess poll preparedness in the state and the Union territory where assembly elections are likely to be held in April. Besides Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, assembly polls are due in Assam, Kerala and West Bengal. The Election Commission (EC) visited Assam this week to assess poll preparedness. CEC Kumar told reporters in Guwahati that the EC would finalise the poll schedule for the northeastern state keeping in mind the festival of Bihu, which falls on April 14. It is usual for the EC to visit states where polls are due before announcing the election schedule. The terms of the five assemblies end on different dates in May and June. While the five-year term of the Puducherry Assembly ends on June 15, the terms of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal assemblies end on May 20, 23, 10 and 7, respectively. Last time, assembly polls in West

EC asks 22 states, UTs to prepare for next phase of SIR expected in April

The Election Commission on Thursday asked 22 states and Union Territories to complete preparatory work related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) at the earliest as the exercise is "expected to start from April". Once the exercise is completed, all states and UTs will be covered. In a letter to the chief electoral officers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand, the poll authority said pan-India SIR of voters' list was ordered in June last year. In Bihar, the SIR exercise was completed and is ongoing in nine states and three UTs. In Assam, a 'special revision', instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.

ECI announces schedule for biennial Rajya Sabha polls across 10 states

The polling is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. The election process will be completed by March 20

EC suspends 7 West Bengal officials for serious misconduct amid ongoing SIR

Using its powers under the electoral law, the Election Commission has suspended seven officials in West Bengal with immediate effect for serious misconduct, dereliction of duty and misuse of statutory powers in connection with SIR. All the suspended officers were working as assistant electoral registration officers for the EC. Booth-level and electoral registration officers and their assistants are state government employees who work on deputation for the EC to update the voters' list and help hold elections. Quoting orders, EC officials said the poll authority has directed state Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravarty that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against these officials by their respective cadre controlling authorities immediately, without any delay and the Commission be apprised in this regard. The EC and the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal have been at loggerheads over the ongoing special intensive revision of the voters' list.

Final voter lists delayed in 9 states, UTs; Puducherry, Lakshadweep publish

Nine states and three Union territories have missed the original deadline to publish their final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing special intensive revision of voters' list. However, the Union territories of Lakshdweep and Puducherry came out with their final rolls on Saturday as part of the Election Commission's ambitious phase two of voters' list cleanup exercise. According to Puducherry's chief electoral officer, the Union territory has 9,44,211 electors in the final voters' list. Lakshadweep has 57,607 electors according to the final voters' list. Announced on October 27 last year, the phase two of the special intensive revision covers a combined electorate of nearly 51 crore in these states and Union Territories. The exercise was to conclude on February 7 with the publication of final electoral rolls. While the deadline was missed, Lakshdweep and Puducherry on Saturday came out with their respective electoral rolls. Rajasthan too was to come up with its final rolls on

Bangladesh EC publishes gazette of new MPs, clears path for swearing-in

Bangladesh's Election Commission has published a gazette of newly elected members of Parliament from the 13th general election, paving the way for their swearing-in, media reports said on Saturday. The gazette was published for 297 out of the 300 parliamentary constituencies late on Friday, state-run BSS news agency reported. The notification was signed by Akhtar Ahmed, secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat. The next step is the swearing-in ceremony, which will officially seat them in Parliament, according to the bdnews24 news portal. Parliamentary elections were held in Bangladesh on Thursday across 299 of the country's 300 constituencies, while the results from two seats were withheld. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) bagged 209 out of 297 seats and is making a return to power after a gap of two decades. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, known to be close to Pakistan, secured 68 seats. The Awami League party of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was barred fro

Assam completes electoral roll revision; 586K names added, 243K deleted

Assam's Chief Electoral Officer explained that, unlike the usual process, the recent exercise involved door-to-door verification to proactively identify eligible voters and collect necessary forms

ECI defers publication of Goa SIR's final electoral roll to Feb 21

The final electoral rolls of Goa, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list, will be published on February 21 instead of February 14, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday. In a letter to the state chief electoral officer, the EC said "... final publication of electoral roll in respect of special intensive revision (SIR) ... shall be done on February 21, 2026 (Saturday)". It asked the CEO to inform political parties and other stakeholders accordingly. While the draft rolls were published on December 16 last year, the final rolls were slated to be published on Saturday. Of the 11.85 lakh electors in the draft rolls, 10.84 were included in the draft list, while another 1.01 lakh were put in the ASD (absent, shifted, dead/duplicate) category.

Over 243,000 names deleted from final voter list in poll-bound Assam

The final electoral roll comprises nearly 12.5 million men, 12.4 million women and 343 third-gender voters

SIR in Telangana expected to be announced during April-May, says CEO

Telangana CEO C Sudharsan Reddy has said that the SIR of electoral rolls in the state is expected to be announced during AprilMay this year. Addressing a meeting with representatives of recognised political parties on Thursday, he said Booth Level Agents (BLAs) should preferably be drawn from the local area of the polling station and work in close coordination with Booth Level Officers. The Chief Electoral Officer informed the parties that the SIR is currently underway in 12 states, and that the schedule for the remaining states, including Telangana, is expected to be announced during AprilMay 2026. Given the limited time available for the revision once notified, he said preparatory work had already commenced in the state, a release quoting him late on Thursday said. Political parties were urged to appoint at least one BLA for every polling station ahead of the forthcoming SIR of electoral rolls, with the Chief Electoral Officer stressing that strong booth-level coordination would

West Bengal govt moves resolution in assembly over 'hardships' due to SIR

The West Bengal government on Thursday moved a resolution in the assembly over alleged hardships being faced by people due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Moving the resolution under Rule 169, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shovandeb Chattopadhyay claimed that the SIR process led to harassment of voters and the death of 107 people due to anxiety over the exercise. Criticising the Election Commission, he asserted it had "turned into a commission of harassment" ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Speaker Biman Banerjee, however, rejected the proposal, contending that since the matter was pending before the apex court, the assembly could not deliberate on it.

SC agrees to hear PIL against poll freebies promises by political parties

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing in March a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before polls. Lawyer-petitioner Ashwini Updhyaya told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the notices on his PIL were issued to the Centre and the Election Commission in 2022 itself, and urged it to list the matter soon. "Except Sun and Moon, everything is promised by political parties to voters during elections and this amounts to corrupt practice," the lawyer said. "This is an important issue. You please remind us and mention it at the end. We will list in March," the CJI said. On January 25, 2022, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice N V Ramana had sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on the PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before ..

Trinamool will support any motion that seeks to remove CEC: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal CM says Opposition lacks numbers to remove CEC but wants issue on record; alleges bias in special revision of electoral rolls

Mamata accuses EC of bulldozing Opposition for BJP, harming democracy

Terming the Election Commission's celebration of National Voters' Day as a "tragic farce", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the poll panel of bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of the country's democracy on "behalf of the BJP". Banerjee alleged that the commission was working as "His Master's Voice" and was busy "snatching away" people's voting rights. "On behalf of BJP, their Master, they are busy in bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of Indian democracy, and yet they have the guts to celebrate Voters' Day!!" Banerjee wrote on X. The chief minister has been accusing the EC of holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal in undue haste. "Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters' Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission -- working as His Master's Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people's voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebra

SIR voter roll revision to be rolled out in remaining states soon: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday said the special intensive revision of voters' lists in the remaining states will be rolled out soon as he described "pure" electoral rolls as the bedrock of democracy. On the eve of the Election Commission's foundation day -- also celebrated as National Voters' Day -- Kumar said the revision exercise is presently being conducted "smoothly" in 12 states and Union territories. The chief election commissioner said pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy and added, "With this objective, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was initiated to ensure that every eligible elector's name is included in the electoral roll and that every ineligible name is removed." This exercise has been successfully completed in Bihar, and a 'special revision' of electoral rolls is separately underway in Assam, Kumar said. He said, "It (SIR) will soon be rolled out in the remaining states as well. "The most compelling testame

Bengaluru civic polls to be held after May 25 with ballot papers: State EC

Elections to the five city corporations, under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be held after May 25 with ballot papers instead of EVMs, Karnataka Chief Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi said on Monday. He also said that that zilla and taluk Panchayat polls, that are expected later this year, will also be held using ballot papers "Elections will be held tentatively after May 25, after SSLC (class 10) and PUC (class 11 and 12) examinations are over," Sangreshi said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, this time the GBA election will be held using ballot papers. "There are two best practices to hold elections, ballot papers were held since the beginning, but since the last 20-30 years EVMs are being used. Use of ballot papers is not barred by law or by the judgements of the Supreme Court," he said, defending the decision to use ballot papers. The Congress government in Karnataka in September last year had decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to h

Counting of votes for high-stakes civic polls begins; all eyes on Mumbai

Counting of votes polled in elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra began on Friday morning with the spotlight on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti bloc is locked in a prestige battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins for control of India's richest civic body. Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations, including 227 in Mumbai, took place on Thursday. As many as 15,931 candidates are in the fray in the 29 civic corporations, which had 3.48 crore eligible voters. Around 50 per cent polling was recorded in the 29 municipal corporations, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said after the end of voting. A voter turnout of 52.94 per cent was recorded in the Mumbai civic polls, down from 55.53 per cent in the last elections in 2017, officials said on Friday. In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose annual budget is over Rs 74, 400 crore, 1,700 candidates are vying for 227 seats in elections being held after a

Goa SIR: EC clarifies notice to ex-Navy chief over missing details

The Election Commission of India on Monday issued a clarification on the notice issued as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in Goa to former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), stating that his enumeration form did not contain mandatory particulars related to the previous SIR. The ECI had asked Prakash, who has been settled in Goa since his retirement, to attend a meeting to establish his identity as part of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. Several netizens, including those who retired from the armed forces, had expressed concern about such a notice to Prakash, a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the India-Pakistan War of 1971. In a clarification issued on Monday, Electoral Registration Officer Dr Medora Ermomilla D'Costa said, "In the context of media reports relating to notices issued during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), it is clarified that during the course of SIR, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Part No. 43 of Cortalim Assembly Constituency ...

UP SIR manipulated due to pressure from BJP, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged manipulation in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Uttar Pradesh electoral roll under pressure from the ruling BJP and termed it a case of "vote theft". The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh was published on January 6, with 12.55 crore voters making it to the list and the names of 2.89 crore deleted, according to official data. In a statement issued here, Yadav said the Election Commission (EC) conducted the SIR of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly voter list and the State Election Commission simultaneously conducted the exercise for panchayat elections. In both exercises, the work was done by the same booth-level officers, he said. "Surprisingly, after the assembly SIR, the total number of voters in the state dropped by 2.89 crore to 12.56 crore. On the other hand, after the panchayat SIR, the number of rural voters increased by 40 lakh to 12.69 crore," he added. Questioning the EC, the SP chief said, "Tell us whic

EC launches 'Book-a-Call with BLO' facility for UP electoral roll revision

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched a "Book-a-Call with BLO" facility to make voter services more accessible during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, even as the claims and objections period remains open till February 6, 2026. According to an official statement, voters can now book a phone call with their respective booth level officer (BLO) to seek information or assistance related to the electoral roll, including inclusion, deletion or correction of details. The service is available through the ECI portal voters.eci.gov.in and the ECINET mobile application. After logging in with a registered mobile number or completing the sign-up process using an OTP, voters can book a call by entering their EPIC or reference number, or alternatively by providing details such as state, district, assembly constituency and booth number. The concerned BLO will contact the voter within 48 hours. The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh