Page 15 - Election Commission Of India

Issue between EC, Congress should not be discussed in Parliament: Rijiju

Rijiju also announced that Parliament will hold a special discussion to honour Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his recent space visit to the ISS as part of India's space mission

Akhilesh asks EC to verify affidavit receipts over 2022 UP poll 'anomalies'

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to see the acknowledgement receipts of affidavits submitted to the poll body by the party regarding "anomalies" in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. In a post on X, Yadav demanded the poll panel to issue an affidavit confirming the authenticity of the digital receipts his party received against its submissions. He also shared screengrabs of their submissions regarding the 2022 Assembly poll results in Amapur, Bakshi Ka Talab, Jaunpur Sadar and Kursi constituencies. His remarks came after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at a press conference on Sunday spoke about the "vote theft" charges levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the poll body. The CEC also spoke on the issues flagged by several opposition parties about the ongoing revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Hitting back at the allegations, the CEC questioned why "vote chori" charges are raised if no elect

AI, deepfakes real challenges before election commission: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose a real challenge for the poll panel, which will try its best to tackle them within the framework of law. He also indicated that machine-readable electoral rolls could result in breach of voters' privacy. Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are indeed real challenges for us. Just yesterday, an X handle had shared an AI-generated video that was far from truth." "The Election Commission will try its best to tackle such challenges, but it can only operate within the framework of the law," the chief election commissioner said. On the opposition demand for machine-readable electoral rolls, Kumar said the Supreme Court has already given a judgment in this regard in 2019. "The Supreme Court has already said in 2019 that it can result in a breach of voters' privacy," he said. Kumar added that a few days ago, photos of several voters we

Give affidavit or apologise: CEC Gyanesh Kumar hits back at Rahul Gandhi

The remarks by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) came on a day when Gandhi-led opposition launched the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar and stepped up attack against the Special Intensive Revision

Voter list in machine-readable form can't be shared: CEC cites SC order

Citing a 2019 Supreme Court judgment, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said that the voter list in machine-readable format cannot be shared with political parties. He also said there was a difference between machine-readable and searchable formats. Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said that the voter list available on its website can be searched using a voter card number and can also be downloaded. He said the machine-readable format is barred as it can be edited and can lead to its misuse. The Congress has been demanding the voter list in machine-readable format, saying it will help it flag flaws. The CEC said that in 2019, the top court had sided with its stand that a machine-readable format cannot be shared as it could compromise voters' privacy. Officials pointed out that the issue was already raised by the Congress before the Supreme Court in a writ petition in 2018 filed by Kamal Nath, the then president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress ...

EC can't discriminate among political parties: CEC on voter fraud charge

CEC Gyanesh Kumar said only those whose names are in the voter list cast their votes to elect their candidate

Rahul Gandhi to kickstart 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram today

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will on Sunday begin from here his 1,300 km-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' that will cover over 20 districts in Bihar, as the Congress steps up its campaign against what it claims to be "vote chori". With the Assembly polls barely three months away, Gandhi, along with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, will launch the yatra from BIADA Ground Sasaram, and after 16 days, the yatra will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1. Gandhi is also expected to address a gathering later this evening at Ramesh Chowk, Aurangabad. In a post in Hindi on X on Saturday, Gandhi had said, "16 days, 20+ districts, 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Adhikar Yatra. This is a fight to protect the most basic democratic right - 'one person, one vote'." "Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution," he added. The 'yatra' will be in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicle, as was Gandhi's Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahea

EC rejects voter data fudging charge, says parties missed scrutiny window

Seeking to counter opposition parties' allegations of fudging in voter data, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said it seems that some political parties did not examine the electoral rolls at the "appropriate time" to point out errors to the poll machinery and noted that it welcomes a scrutiny of the document to help its officials remove flaws. In a statement, the EC said the period for raising claims and objections after the draft voters' list is published is the appropriate time for parties to flag flaws. "It seems that some political parties and their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) did not examine the electoral rolls at the appropriate time and did not point out errors, if any...," it said. It noted that recently, some political parties and individuals raised issues about errors in the electoral rolls, including the electoral rolls prepared in the past. The appropriate time, it said, to raise any issue with the electoral rolls would have been during the "Claims and Objections"

Public has woken up: Rahul shares new video highlighting 'vote theft'

Alluding to Bollywood movies, the Congress stepped up its campaign against alleged "vote theft" on Saturday by releasing a new video titled "laapata vote" to highlight the claim. Posting the video on X, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "'Chori chori, chupke chupke' no more, the public has woken up." His party posted the video on its official social media account and said the "theft of your vote is theft of rights". "Let's raise our voice against vote theft together and save our rights," the party said. In the video, a man is seen pleading in the police station that his "vote has been stolen" and tells the officials there that "lakhs of votes are being stolen", leaving the police personnel wondering if their vote has also been "stolen". The minute-long video is titled 'laapata vote' with 'ladies' cut out from between, a reference to the Kiran Rao-directed movie 'Laapata Ladies'. The Congress released a video depicting how fake votes were being cast on Wednesday, too. Ga

Datanomics: Migration overtakes death for voter deletion in Bihar SIR

These revisions removed 9.4 million voters, with 1.7 million and 1.6 million deletions in 2009-10 and 2023-24, respectively.

Publish list of voters deleted in Bihar SIR before Aug 19: SC to EC

SC orders EC to publish names and reasons for deletion of 65 lakh voters in Bihar's SIR by Aug 19, with booth-wise online access and publicity across multiple platforms

SC tells ECI to publish list of 6.5 mn deleted Bihar voters with reasons

The Supreme Court has told the Election Commission to publish names of 6.5 million voters removed from Bihar's rolls, along with reasons, and ensure the list is easily available to the public

SC asks ECI to detail docs considered in 2003 Bihar electoral roll revision

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to inform about the documents considered during the 2003 intensive electoral roll revision in Bihar. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which resumed the hearing on a pleas challenging the June 24 ECI decision to conduct the special intensive revision (SIR) in the state said, "We would like ECI to state what documents were taken in 2003 exercise". The remarks came after advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for one of the parties, said referred to the court reportedly saying "if the date of January 1, 2003 (the date of earlier SIR) goes then everything goes". "I must submit that nothing was there to show why this date is there The impression sought to be conveyed is that it is the earlier date when the intensive exercise for revision of the electoral roll was held. It is stated that the EPIC (voter) card issued then is more reliable than issued during summary exercises conducted from time to time,

EC notice to NDA MP, her MLC husband for possessing two voter cards

The Election Commission on Thursday served notices to LJP (Ram Vilas) MP from Bihar's Vaishali Veena Devi and her husband Dinesh Singh, a JD(U) MLC, for allegedly possessing two voter ID cards each, an official said. The EC's action came hours after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the couple possessed two voter ID cards each. "The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Muzaffarpur assembly constituency has sent notices to the MP and her husband asking them to submit their replies to the EC over the issue of possessing two voter ID cards by August 16," the official said. Yadav, the leader of opposition in the assembly, shared purported screenshots of draft electoral rolls published following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), claiming that the NDA MP and the MLC have two voter cards each. "Is it not a case of fraud, manipulation, and collusion by the Election Commission to ensure a victory for BJP-NDA?" he asked. Speaking to reporters, Veena Devi claimed, "I don't know

Give proof, don't use phrases like vote chori, says EC amid voter data row

Amid relentless attacks by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged voter data fudging, the Election Commission on Thursday said instead of creating false narrative by using "dirty phrases" like 'vote chori', proof should be given. In a statement, the EC said the law for "one person one vote" is already is existence since the first elections in 1951-1952. "If anyone has any proof of any person actually voting twice in any election, it should be shared with ECI with a written affidavit rather than colouring all the electors of India as 'chor' without any proof," it said. The poll authority said that by trying to create a false narrative by using "dirty phrases" like "vote chori" for Indian electors, is not only a direct attack on the crores of Indian electors but also an assault on the integrity of lakhs of election staff. Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, last week cited data to allege that more than one lakh votes were 'stolen' in the Mahadevpura assembly ...

SC says multiple documents for citizenship in Bihar SIR are voter-friendly

Bench notes that allowing 11 documents to prove citizenship is less restrictive than earlier summary revisions; hearing to resume on Thursday

Bihar SIR requires 11 documents, exercise deemed voter-friendly: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the 11 documents required to be submitted by an elector for Bihar's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roll as opposed to seven documents in summary revision conducted previously showed the exercise was "voter friendly". A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which resumed hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the June 24 decision of Election Commission to conduct SIR in poll bound Bihar, said despite petitioners' arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar was exclusionary, it appeared the large number of documents was "actually inclusionary". "The number of documents in summary revision conducted earlier in the state was seven and in SIR it is 11, which shows it is voter friendly. We understand your arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar is exclusionary but a high number of documents is actually inclusionary," the bench said. The top court noted electors were required to submit any one of the 11 documents in the ...

Cong highlights 'vote chori' with video, Kharge asks people to raise voice

The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' by releasing a new video depicting how fake votes were being cast and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asking people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the "clutches of the BJP". Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also shared the minute-long video and said, "Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai." Tagging the advertisement titled 'booth par vote chori", Congress president Kharge said, "Do not let your rights to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers this time! Raise your voice against vote chori." "Free constitutional institutions from the clutches of the BJP," he said in his message to the people on X. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the video on X, and said, "the theft of your vote is theft of your rights, theft of your identity." "Save your right to vote, Raise your voice against vote theft," sh

WB chief secy summoned by ECI over refusal to suspend 'tainted' officers

West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, who was summoned by the Election Commission in New Delhi to explain the state government's decision not to suspend "tainted" officers over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision, left for the national capital on Wednesday morning. The poll panel on Tuesday summoned Pant to Delhi to report in person to Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters in the national capital, by 5 pm on August 13. "He will explain the rationale behind the state government's decision," one senior bureaucrat told PTI. The move came in response to Pant's communication to the Election Commission of India on Monday, stating that suspending the identified officers and filing FIRs against them, as directed by the poll panel, would be "disproportionately harsh" and have "demoralising impact" on the officers' community in Bengal.

Bihar SIR row 'largely a trust deficit issue', says Supreme Court

Petitioners told the SC that the EC's Bihar voter roll revision reverses the burden of proof of citizenship and could exclude lakhs of eligible voters from electoral rolls