Election Commission Of India

Mehbooba backs Rahul Gandhi on EC, flags attack on democratic institutions

Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti on Monday expressed concern over the alleged erosion of democratic institutions in the country and backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks against the Election Commission of India. Mufti also welcomed the registration of an FIR against Army personnel accused of assaulting a professor in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. "It is true that our institutions are being compromised. What Rahul Gandhi said that there was a huge increase in the number of voters between the parliamentary elections and Maharashtra assembly polls needs to be investigated," Mufti told reporters here. She added that even the Supreme Court was not being spared, citing recent backlash from the BJP against the top court's verdicts related to governors and Waqf. "The Supreme Court gave verdicts regarding the governors and Waqf, and the entire BJP attacked it. Even institutions like the Supreme Court are being undermined. The Election Commission consists

Some use religion to 'push hateful politics': SY Quraishi slams BJP's Dubey

Former CEC SY Quraishi's comments came in response to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's remarks, in which he called Quraishi a 'Muslim commissioner' for criticising the controversial Waqf Act

'Election Commission in India compromised': LoP Rahul Gandhi in Boston

Rahul Gandhi is currently on a US tour where he addressed the Indian diaspora in Boston. He will also address a gathering at Brown University on Monday

SC to hear pleas on CEC, ECs' appointment under 2023 law on May 14

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed May 14 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan fixed the date after advocate Prashant Bhushan urged the bench to accord urgent hearing in the matter. Bhushan, appearing for a petitioner NGO challenging the appointment process, said the issue was covered by the Constitution bench verdict of 2023. Justice Kant told Bhushan that the court will take up the matter on May 14 by cancelling a special bench matter on the said date. Bhushan said though the matter is listed in the business of the day of the bench, they are urging the court to take it on top of the board. Justice Kant said the bench will be taking several part-heard matters involving land acquisition on Wednesday. On March 19, the top court had fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of

How EC was formed after Ambedkar's amendment in Constituent Assembly

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, considered the key architect of the Indian Constitution, is also credited with the creation of the Election Commission. An amendment brought by him in the Constituent Assembly led to the establishment of the Election Commission, an independent body mandated to hold elections to the office of President and Vice President, and Lok Sabha, state assembly, Rajya Sabha and state legislative council polls. Certain provisions of the Constitution, including the one related to the EC, came into force immediately after it was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. The rest of the provisions came into force on January 26, 1950. The EC came into being on January 25, 1950, a day before India became a Republic. Before Ambedkar brought the amendment, draft Article 289 proposed separate election commissions for the Centre and the states, scholarly articles and Constituent Assembly debates suggest. But Ambedkar proposed a more centralised body to be headed

EVMs in country absolutely safe, not being tampered with: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

CEC stated that wherever democracy was present, electoral rolls and election processes were different, and in some countries, electronic voting systems were used

EC holds nearly 5K meets with political representatives at various levels

Seeking to resolve the issues of political parties, the Election Commission has held nearly 5,000 meetings with their representatives at different levels across the country. In a span of 25 days, a total of 4,719 meetings were held, including 40 by state chief electoral officers (CEOs), 800 by district election officers, and 3,879 by electoral registration officers. The process involved engagements with over 28,000 representatives of political parties nationwide, the Election Commission (EC) said on Tuesday. The decision to hold the meetings was taken at a recent conference of CEOs held here. The engagements were aimed to resolve any pending issues by the concerned competent authority at different levels. An action taken report has been sought from all the states for further assessment. Any issue, if unresolved within the existing legal framework, will be taken up by the poll panel.

Election Commission 'dysfunctional', 'failed institution', says Kapil Sibal

Terming the Election Commission "dysfunctional" and a "failed" institution, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has claimed that a large section of the people do not have faith in the poll body as it has not discharged its functions in accordance with its constitutional responsibilities. In an interview with PTI, Sibal said the quicker the issue of lack of faith in the Election Commission is dealt with, the greater is the chance of saving democracy. "The Election Commission is a dysfunctional body. The Election Commission has not discharged its functions in accordance with its responsibilities which are expected of it under the Constitution," he said when asked about the Congress' and TMC's allegations about voters list irregularities. The Election Commission as it stands today is a "failed institution" and there is no confidence in the Election Commission among a large section of the people of this country, the Independent Rajya Sabha MP said. "Therefore, the quicker we deal with this issu

ECI holds all-party meetings to resolve booth-level polling issues

ECI said that this grassroots-level engagement has been welcomed by political parties, with their active and enthusiastic participation in meetings

Voter list updates to be strengthened with birth, death records: EC

Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission said on Thursday that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities. Technical consultations between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and experts of the EC will begin soon on voter list-Aadhaar linkage, it said, adding that though an elector can only vote in the assigned polling booth and nowhere else, the poll body has resolved to remove duplicates countrywide and end a decades-long issue within three months. "Regular updation of the voter list shall be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities," the EC said in a statement. In the EC's interactions with political parties, it was clarified that any inclusion or deletion in the draft elector list is governed by the process of appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections available t

SC fixes April 16 for hearing pleas against appointment of CEC, ECs

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh fixed the date for hearing the pleas after advocate Prashant Bhushan said the matter is listed at number 38 and is not likely to reach for hearing during the course of the day. Bhushan requested an urgent hearing of the matter, saying it goes to the root of democracy and the issue is covered by the 2023 Constitution bench verdict. Justice Kant said the court understands all these arguments but a lot of urgent matters are listed every day. "We will fix it on April 16, so that the matter is finally heard," the bench said. Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, said the matter involved a short legal question -- whether the 2023 Constitution bench verdict should be followed for the appointment of the CEC an

Willing to talk about putting online booth-wise voter data: EC tells SC

The PILs sought a direction to the poll panel to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections

Open to talk about putting online polling booth-wise voter data: EC to SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday noted the Election Commission of India's (ECI) submission that it was willing to deliberate over the demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website and asked the petitioners to make representations before the poll panel in 10 days. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan was hearing two PILs filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms in 2019, respectively. The PILs sought a direction to the poll panel to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar wanted to meet and discuss the grievance. "Here is a new chief election commissioner now. The petitioners can meet him and it may be addressed, he said. The CJI then said, "In the meanwhile, the .

EC to introduce new option in its software to detect 'ghost' voters

Amid the Trinamool Congress raising the issue of 'fake voters', the Election Commission has decided to introduce a new option in its software for the detection of 'ghost' electors, an official said. The new option would help the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) find out if multiple names are attached to a particular EPIC number, he said. "The chief electoral officers in all states have been informed about this decision," he said. On Monday, a letter was sent to the chief electoral officers of the states informing them about a new module for correcting 'duplicate EPIC numbers', the official said. West Bengal's Acting Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Das had on Monday held a virtual meeting with senior officials in the districts and briefed them about the decision, he said. Corrections on the voter list of West Bengal have been ordered to be completed by March 21, he added.

CEC calls for discussion on linking of EPIC and Aadhaar on March 18

Election Commission of India (ECI) has invited suggestions from all national and state political parties by April 30, to address any unresolved electoral issues

Matter related to duplicate voter card numbers a 'legacy issue': EC sources

The poll body had recently clarified that irrespective of the EPIC number, an elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station

Congress slams EC's response on duplicate voter IDs as 'duplicitous'

The Congress on Friday termed as "duplicitous" the Election Commission's explanation on duplicate voter ID numbers and asked the poll body to come clean on the issue. Amid allegations of a cover-up over duplicate voter identity card numbers, the poll panel earlier in the day said it would address the "decades-long" matter in the next three months. "The Congress party rejects this feeble and duplicitous explanation by the ECI and reiterates its demands to come clean on the sanctity of voter lists in India," the Congress' Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE) said in a statement. The group said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a duplicitous response on the issue of the same voter IDs being allotted to multiple voters. "The ECI, in its response, hides behind its processes to offer a feeble explanation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, the ECI has been forced to admit that its voter lists are flawed and not trustworthy," it said. The EC, in a letter is

Duplication of voter card numbers does not indicate fake voters: EC

Amid reports flagging issuance of identical voter card numbers to electors in two different states, the Election Commission on Sunday said duplicate numbers do not necessarily imply fake voters. It also said that while elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers of some of the voters "may be identical", the other details including demographic details, assembly constituency and polling booth are different. "Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective constituency in their state or union territory where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else," the poll panel said. It explained that identical EPIC numbers or series were allotted to some electors from different states and union territories due to a "decentralised and manual mechanism" being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all states to the ERONET platform. This resulted in certain state chief electoral officers us

Ruling, opposition parties prepare for Jharkhand assembly face-off

The budget session of the Jharkhand Assembly is set to commence on Monday, as the opposition gears up in its efforts to corner the state government over issues around alleged examination paper leaks, claims of corruption and unemployment. The assembly session will conclude on March 27. The state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal will be tabled on March 3. BJP's Hatia MLA Naveen Jaiswal, after a legislature party meeting here, said, "The people gave their mandate to the JMM-Congress- RJD alliance, but that is being disrespected now. The state government forgot all the promises made to the people of Jharkhand after winning the election. Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi chaired the meeting. "We have decided to question the government on several public issues such as paper leak, rising corruption and unemployment," said Jaiswal. He also alleged that incidents of paper leaks were earlier confined to recruitment tests only, but now it is happening even in board examinations. "This .

Watch: Gyanesh Kumar takes charge as India's 26th Chief Election Commissioner