Page 13 - Election Commission Of India

EC rejects Rahul Gandhi's charge of rigging in Maharashtra elections

Sources in the Election Commission (EC) rejected claims on Saturday of rigging in last year's Maharashtra Assembly polls and said defaming the poll panel after receiving an unfavourable verdict from the voters is absolutely absurd. The EC sources were responding to an article written by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, alleging "match-fixing" in the Maharashtra polls. They said any misinformation being spread by anyone brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by political parties during elections and demotivates lakhs of poll staff who work tirelessly for the gigantic exercise. They pointed out that unsubstantiated allegations raised against the electoral rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law. Underscoring that match-fixed elections are a "poison" for any democracy, Gandhi wrote that the side that cheats may win the game, but it damages institutions and destroys public faith. In a post on X, the Congress leader outlined the

EC launches new system for faster, accurate voter turnout reporting

he Election Commission of India has introduced ECINET, a digital app that enables real-time voter turnout reporting, ensuring quick updates at the constituency level on polling days across India

First time in 2 decades, EC holds revision of voters' list for bypolls

For the first time in nearly two decades, the Election Commission revised the voters' list of five constituencies for holding assembly bypolls there in a bid to ensure a "spotless" electoral roll. The last time a special summary revision took place for a bypoll was in 2006 in Tamil Nadu, officials pointed out. Citing provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, officials said the electoral roll is to be revised before every election and bypoll unless otherwise directed by the EC. If the electoral roll is not revised, the validity or continued operation of the said electoral roll shall not be affected, they said, quoting the law. The validity of the current electoral roll continues till the completion of the special revision. Officials underlined that it is for the commission to decide if revision of electoral rolls has to be conducted or not, depending on the requirement. Bypolls to five assembly seats in four states will be held on June 19, the poll authority announ

Centre moves 41 officers in major joint secretary-level reshuffle

The Centre on Wednesday effected a major Joint Secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, reposting as many as 41 officers belonging to various services in different central government departments. Bhanu Prakash Yeturu, a 2003 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India, a Personnel Ministry order said. Senior IAS officers Anbalagan P and Sanjay Kumar Agarwal have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, it said. Their service-mates, Manisha Chandra and Meera Mohanty, have been named as joint secretaries in the Department of Defence Production. Senior civil servant Ishita Ganguli Tripathy has been appointed as Joint Secretary and Additional Financial Advisor, Ministry of Defence. More Ashish Madhaorao has been named as Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services. Anshul Mishra, a 2004 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre,

ECI releases schedule for bye-polls in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal

ECI announces bypoll schedule in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal; mobile deposit rules and 100-meter canvassing restrictions to ensure smooth polling

EC investigates Bengal BJP chief's wife for holding two voter IDs

The Election Commission (EC) has started an investigation into a complaint alleging that the wife of BJP's West Bengal president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar possesses two voter identity cards, a senior official said on Friday. Initial probe found that the minister's wife, Koel Majumdar, holds two voter ID cards with different EPIC numbers one registered in Balurghat and another in Jalpaiguri. While one card was issued under her maiden name, Koel Chowdhury, the second was created after her marriage under the name Koel Majumdar. "This could have been avoided had she submitted Form 18. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to notify the EC of any changes. In this case, the commission was not informed," the official said. He further explained that a new voter card was issued in Balurghat after she submitted Form 6. "Because the EPIC numbers and surnames were different, the error was not immediately detected. We are now verifying the photographs and other personal details

Court grants bail to Derek O'Brien, TMC leaders in 2024 ECI protest case

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to 10 TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, in a case registered against them for their protest in April last year in front of the Election Commission of India despite a prohibitory order being in place. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal also granted relief to TMC leaders Santanu Sen, Dola Sen, Nadimul Haque, Vivek Gupta, Arpita Ghosh, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Sudip Raha, on an application moved by their lawyer. While nine TMC leaders were physically present before the court, Vivek Gupta appeared through video conferencing. The court has granted bail to five of the leaders, who are sitting MPs, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. The rest were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 along with a surety of like amount. While granting bail, the judge noted that the chargesheet was filed without the arrest of the accused persons. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on May ...

EC interacts with BSP chief Mayawati for better understanding of issues

The Election Commission on Tuesday held an interaction with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati here as part of an initiative to push for greater and regular engagement with different stakeholders, including political parties. BSP's national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra and party treasurer Shridhar were also present. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi spoke with the BSP leadership at the Nirvachan Sadan. The meeting is in continuation of the Election Commission's emphasis on fostering greater and regular engagement with different stakeholders. The poll authority has initiated interactions with national and state political parties to provide a long-felt need of constructive discussions which enable party chiefs to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the Commission. This initiative aligns with the Commission's broader vision of further strengthening the electoral process in accordan

EC building unified digital platform to integrate 40 mobile, web apps

The Election Commission is developing a new digital interface for voters, poll officials and political parties which will integrate over 40 of its existing mobile and web applications. ECINET will provide a singular platform for all electoral-related activities, the poll panel said on Sunday. The new platform will reduce the burden of users from downloading and navigating multiple Apps and remembering different logins. The platform was proposed by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a recent conference of chief electoral officers. ECINET will also enable users to access relevant electoral data on their desktops or smartphones. To ensure that data is as accurate as possible, the data on ECINET will be entered solely by the authorised EC official. Entry by the official concerned would ensure that the data made available to the stakeholders is as accurate as possible. However, in case of any conflict, the primary data as duly filled in statutory forms will prevail, t

Aadhaar sharing for voters to remain voluntary; no legal changes planned

As the Election Commission works to purify electoral rolls of duplicate entries, sources in the government asserted on Tuesday that Aadhaar sharing by voters on a voluntary basis as prescribed in the law will remain unaltered. They underlined that sharing Aadhaar details with poll authorities is voluntary under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 and it will continue to remain so. The sources also noted that there is no plan to tweak the law or related rules in this regard. They were responding to questions on whether there was a proposal to make Aadhaar sharing compulsory as also whether voters who don't share details will have to explain before poll authorities the reasons for not giving out details. They said the ground rules will remain unaltered and no provision is proposed to be added as of now. Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission had said last month that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close ...

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