Page 10 - Election Commission Of India

Oppn making noise over SIR because they have something to hide: UP Dy CM

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday targeted opposition parties, alleging that those creating a furore over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise "have something to hide". Maurya, who served as co-incharge for the BJP in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, said in a post on his official X handle, "The parties making noise over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists have 'something to hide'. Bihar has proved that their position is weak." The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance swept the Bihar Assembly polls with a two-thirds majority, pushing the INDIA bloc to the margins. Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, have been accusing the government and the Election Commission of manipulating the SIR process. On Saturday, Yadav alleged at a press conference that the BJP government and the Election Commission were conspiring to delete more than 50,000 names from voter lists

SIR form deadline Dec 4, not Nov 26: Kerala chief electoral officer

Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Ratan U Kelkar on Sunday said that the deadline for completing the distribution, collection, and digitisation of forms for the SIR of the electoral roll is December 4, as stipulated by the EC, and not November 26. At the same time, Kelkar said it is possible to complete the process a few days ahead of schedule, which would provide extra time to trace any voters who may have been left out during the Special Intensive Revision. Kelkar added that in many areas, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have already completed the distribution and collection of forms and would soon finish the digitisation process. He further said that camps have been set up in several locations where people can submit their forms directly for digitisation. "Through such a collective process, I am confident we can finish the work before the stipulated date of December 4," Kelkar told reporters at a digitisation camp here. "This will give us time to focus on any voters who may have been

EC failed to answer questions over 'vote theft' in Haryana polls: Gehlot

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, .

BJP, EC plan to delete over 50K votes in SP, INDIA bloc LS seats: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Saturday accused the BJP government and the Election Commission of conspiring to delete more than 50,000 voters from each Assembly segment where his party and the INDIA bloc fared strongly in the last general elections. The allegations came amid the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh and 11 other states. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on the birth anniversary of his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, he said, "We have received information that in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission, is making major preparations." The Samajwadi Party chief opined that SIR should not be carried out during the wedding season and demanded that the poll panel extend the timeline for the voter roll cleanup exercise in Uttar Pradesh. Citing electoral data, he said that while the BJP, which won 255 seats in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, led in only 162 Assembly

Two BLOs die across two districts in MP; families allege SIR work pressure

Two teachers-cum-Booth Level Officers (BLOs) tasked with conducting voter list survey for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) died of "illness" in Raisen and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, officials said. Relatives and friends of the deceased teachers-cum-BLOs, however, blamed heavy workload and pressure to meet enumeration targets as the reasons for the deaths. Separately, a BLO has been missing for the past six days in the Raisen district, and efforts are underway to trace him, officials said. The two BLOs who died on Friday late night were identified as Ramakant Pandey and Sitaram Gond (50). They were posted in Raisen and Damoh districts, respectively. "Ramakant Pandey, a teacher from the Satlapur area, was working on the voter list revision drive in Mandideep.. He died late Friday night due to some illness," sub-divisional officer (SDO) and electoral registration officer of Bhojpur Assembly constituency, Chandrashekhar Shrivastava, told PTI on Saturday. We are .

Congress to rally against alleged 'vote chori' at Ramlila Maidan on Dec 14

The Congress on Friday announced that it will hold a rally on December 14 at Ramlila Maidan here, against the alleged "vote chori". It alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now a "blatantly partisan player" that is "completely destroying" the very concept of a level-playing field for all political parties during elections. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said the spectre of "vote chori" is the biggest danger looming over our democracy today. "To send a message across the nation against these attempts to destroy our Constitution, the Congress will hold the 'Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod' Maha Rally on December 14 (1.30 pm onwards) at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi," he said on X. "We have received crores of signatures from every corner of India, rejecting the BJP-ECI's nefarious tactics like adding bogus voters, deleting opposition-inclined voters, and manipulating voter rolls at a mass scale," Venugopal said. Every Indian has seen how the ECI bends rule

SC seeks EC's response on pleas challenging SIR in Kerala, other states

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and other states. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, SVN Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Election Commission on all the fresh petitions filed by different political leaders, challenging SIR exercises in different states on different grounds. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a petitioner challenging SIR exercise in Kerala, submitted that local body elections are also scheduled to be held in the state and, therefore, there is some urgency involved in the matter. The bench directed the pleas challenging SIR exercise in Kerala will be listed on November 26 and rest of the petitions challenging electoral roll revision exercise in other states will be taken up for hearing in the first or second week of December. The top court is already hearing a batch of pleas challenging the validi

VVPAT not mandatory for local body polls, not feasible: EC to Bombay HC

The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that the use of VVPAT machines was not mandatory for local body polls, and it was also not technically feasible. The commission filed an affidavit opposing a petition filed by Congress leader Prafulla Gudadhe before the Nagpur bench of the high court, challenging its decision to not use VVPAT in the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. Gudadhe in his plea said the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system was essential for a transparent election process. During the hearing on Wednesday, a bench headed by Justice Anil Kilor sought to know the reason for not using VVPAT machines especially when a Supreme Court judgment said the use of VVPAT was a must. The commission's lawyer told the court that the SC judgment applied only to the general elections, and not local body polls. VVPAT machines were not used during the 2017 municipal polls too, he pointed out. The commission in its affidav

Mamata slams ECI after death of BLO, alleges 'unbearable SIR pressure'

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed shock over the death of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Jalpaiguri's Mal block, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has imposed "inhuman" pressure on field workers and led to 28 deaths so far. The chief minister claimed the deceased an anganwadi worker engaged as a BLO died by suicide due to the "unbearable pressure" of the revision exercise being undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI). In a strongly worded statement posted on X, Banerjee criticised the Election Commission for what she described as an "unplanned, relentless workload" ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. "Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work," she wrote on X. She said 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began, some due to fear and .

Kerala govt asks Supreme Court to defer SIR to after local body polls

The state government sought deferment of the SIR until the ongoing process for Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) in the state is completed

Assam to undergo special electoral roll revision as ECI sets 2026 deadline

During the SIR drive being carried out in other states, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are tasked with conducting house-to-house verification using blank forms

Bihar results: Poll body in line of fire amid recriminations in Oppn ranks

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha accused both the RJD and Congress for the loss

BJP's Chhoti Kumari wins Chapra election, beats Khesari Lal by 7,600 votes

Chapra election result: RJD's Khesari Lal Yadav is contesting his maiden election against BJP's Chhoti Kumari on Chapra Assembly seat

Lakhisarai election results: BJP's Vijay Kumar Sinha wins by 24,000 votes

Bihar Assembly elections 2025: BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha wins the Lakhisarai Assembly seat with 122,408 votes

Bihar elections results 2025: Date, time, where to watch live vote counting

Bihar Assembly elections results: Polling was held in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, across all 243 constituencies

Phase-2 of SIR: Over 37 crore enumeration forms distributed so far

More than 37 crore or 72.66 per cent of enumeration forms have been distributed to electors in 12 states and Union territories so far as part of the Special Intensive Revision exercise being undertaken by the Election Commission. The ambitious voters list clean-up exercise in nine states and three UTs will cover nearly 51 crore electors. In a bulletin issued on Wednesday, the poll authority said that for more than 7.66 crore electors in West Bengal, 6.80 crore or 88.8 per cent of enumeration forms have so far been distributed. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the 12 states and UTs is being held between November and February next year. The states and UTs are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to polls in 2026. In Assam, where elections are also due in 2026, the ..

SC seeks EC reply on pleas against rollout of SIR in TN, West Bengal

The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging its Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls and directed High Courts to defer similar pending cases

SC seeks EC reply on pleas challenging SIR in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

The Supreme Court asked high courts in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puducherry and Bihar to pause hearings on voter list pleas till it decides the matter; next hearing is on November 26

Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging pan-Indian SIR on Tuesday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to commence hearing pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct pan-India Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on Tuesday. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which is scheduled to commence hearing pleas challenging the poll panel's decision on the pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, said any fresh matter needs to be mentioned for listing before Chief Justice of India B R Gavai. "We are only seized of Bihar SIR matters and any fresh petition with regard to other states needs to be mentioned for listing before the Chief Justice of India. "We don't know whether other matters will also be allocated to us. It all depends on the CJI," the bench told the counsel appearing for the West Bengal unit of Congress seeking urgent listing of a plea filed by the party. The West Bengal Congress and leaders of other political parties in the state have moved the apex court challenging the Election Commission

Bihar Assembly elections: When and where to watch exit poll results live?

Bihar elections 2025 exit polls: Bihar votes in the final phase on November 11, with exit poll predictions expected after 6:30 pm