Page 25 - Election Commission Of India

Over 12L workers may miss voting in Maha polls: Sugarcane cutters' body

More than 12 lakh sugarcane cutters from Marathwada, north Maharashtra, and Vidarbha could miss their opportunity to vote in the upcoming state assembly elections on November 20. With the cane crushing season set to commence on November 15, lakhs of cutters from various districts have already migrated to the sugarcane belts in western Maharashtra and many other states, according to the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association. The association has approached the Aurangabad High Court Bench, seeking directions to the Election Commission to ensure that this large group of voters is not deprived of their right to exercise their franchise. However, the West Indian Sugar Mills Association, claimed that proper arrangements would be made to send the workers to their hometowns to get their fingers inked on November 20. In their petition, Jeevan Rathod, president of the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association, said that 12-15 lakh cutters from Marathwada, north

Maharashtra elections: 6.3K poll violations reported, EC seizes cash, goods

The Election Commission has received 6,382 complaints related to model code violations in Maharashtra in the past month and has resolved all but one, while agencies under it have seized cash and goods worth more than Rs 536 crore. These complaints were filed through the cVIGIL app of the poll panel between October 15, when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force with the announcement of the election schedule, and November 14, said a statement issued by the office of state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Thursday. cVIGIL is a mobile application developed by the EC to enable citizens to report violations of the MCC during elections. Of the total complaints received in the past month, 6,381 have been resolved by the EC, said the statement. Once a complaint is filed, the relevant team investigates and takes appropriate action, it said. In an enforcement crackdown since October 15, various state and central agencies have seized assets worth Rs 536.45 crore, which include illeg

Amid controversy, EC checks bags of Maha CM Shinde, Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar

Earlier today, the bags of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was also checked by the poll officials at Palghar Police ground helipad as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Jharkhand Assembly elections Phase 1 highlights: 65% voter turnout in 43 seats till 5 pm

Jharkhand Assembly elections LIVE: Voters to decide if JMM stays in power or BJP-led NDA stages a comeback, catch all the LIVE updates here

Raut alleges huge money distribution ahead of Assembly polls, questions ECI

Taking a jibe at the ECI, Raut asked why only the vehicles and planes of opposition leaders are being checked

TMC complains to EC, claims poll code violation by BJP's Suvendu Adhikari

The Trinamool Congress on Monday complained to the Election Commission of India alleging that BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari breached the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by making communal remarks during a campaign rally for the byelection to Taldangra assembly constituency. In West Bengal, bypolls will be held in six assembly constituencies on November 13, necessitated due to resignations of sitting MLAs of the six segments following their victory in this year's Lok Sabha elections. The TMC, in a complaint letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, alleged that the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, "made inflammatory and communal remarks" violating the MCC. The TMC sought immediate intervention of the Election Commission of India in enforcing "appropriate penal action including strict censorship of Suvendu Adhikari and BJP as a stakeholder political party for palpable violation of Model Code of Conduct. A 3-member TMC delegation, comprising lead

J'khand polls: Congress files complaint with ECI over BJP's 'false' ad

Congress claimed that the advertisement violated the Model Code of Conduct and other electoral laws. It alleged that the leaders of JMM, INC, and RJD were being portrayed in a negative and false light

Wayanad bypolls: EC seizes food kits with Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi's photos

The by-election for the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is scheduled for November 13

EC reschedules bypolls in UP, Punjab, Kerala from Nov 13 to Nov 20

The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala from November 13 to November 20 in view of festivals, an official statement said. Nine seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala. Parties including Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout. According to the Congress, a significant portion of the electorate in the Palakkad assembly seat in Kerala will celebrate the festival of Kalpathi Rastholsavam from November 13 to 15. In Punjab, the party had said, the 555th Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Nanak Dev will be celebrated on November 15 and an 'akhand path' will be organised from November 13 onwards. BJP, BSP and RLD had said that in Uttar Pradesh, people travel for three-four days ahead of Kartik Purnima, which will be celebrated on November 15.

ECI orders transfer of Maharashtra DGP Rashmi Shukla ahead of polls

hief Secretary has been directed to submit a panel of three IPS officers for the appointment of the new DGP by 1 PM on November 5, 2024

Findings unacceptable: KC Venugopal on ECI's reply to Cong on Haryana polls

Earlier on November 1, the Congress submitted a 'counter response' to the ECI, describing its initial reply as 'generic' and focused on dismissing the complaints and their petitioners

EC accepts J'khand govt's proposal to appoint Alka Tiwari as chief secy

The Election Commission on Friday accepted the Jharkhand government's proposal to appoint Alka Tiwari as the chief secretary of the poll-bound state. Assembly polls in Jharkhand will be held in two phases -- November 13 and November 20. Tiwari, who is from the 1988 batch, is currently the senior-most IAS officer in the cadre. Before this, the poll panel had also consented to the proposal of a five-month extension of the tenure of former chief secretary Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte, sources said. Meanwhile, the state government issued a notification announcing the appointment of Tiwari as the chief secretary. "The proposal for appointment has been approved by the Election Commission of India," a notification from the department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha said. Her husband and 1986-batch retired IAS officer Dr DK Tiwari had earlier held the topmost bureaucratic post in the state. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a post on X said: "Mr Khiangte has retired

If goal is to strip itself of neutrality, EC is doing remarkable job: Cong

The Congress on Friday hit out at the Election Commission after it rejected allegations over irregularities in the Haryana assembly polls, saying if the poll panel's goal is to "strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality", then it is doing a "remarkable job" at creating that impression. The opposition party claimed that the EC's reply was written in a tone that is condescending and warned that if the poll panel persists with such language then it would have no choice but to seek legal recourse to expunge such remarks. The Congress's response came days after the EC rejected allegations levelled by it over irregularities in the just-held assembly polls, saying the party was raising "the smoke of a generic doubt" about the credibility of an entire electoral outcome like it did in the past. In its letter to the EC signed by nine senior Congress leaders, including general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, the party said, "We have carefully studied your response to ou

Jharkhand polls: MS Dhoni to work for voter mobilisation in state, says EC

Dhoni will work to increase awareness among voters under the SWEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) programme

EC allows candidates to apply for rally permissions on 'Suvidha 2.0' app

The Election Commission has updated its mobile application to allow candidates and parties seek permission for rallies and other campaign-related activities. Candidates and parties, the poll body said, can now apply for campaign-related permissions also in the new and upgraded Suvidha 2.0 mobile application. So far, candidates and parties could only track the status and download approvals on the app and applications for seeking permission could only be done through offline mode or a web-based portal. The platform works on a 'first in, first out' principle and ensures transparent permissions, thereby removing any discretion. The Election Commission constantly endeavours to leverage technology to provide a level-playing field for candidates and parties in elections and the launch of Suvidha 2.0 is yet another step towards technologically empowered elections as candidates who are always on the move during polls can now easily apply and track permissions from their mobile phones, Chief

Forced to make emergency landing, CEC spends night at Uttarakhand village

Forced to make an emergency landing in a remote village near Munsiyari due to bad weather on Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar spent the night in an uninhabited house in sub-zero temperature along with two pilots and two poll officials. The helicopter took off on Thursday morning once the weather cleared and reached the Munsyari Tehsil headquarters safely, sources said. Kumar was scheduled to visit the remote polling stations in Pithoragarh and 14 nearby villages to gain first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by the election officials and the electorate in the high-altitude terrain, the sources said. According to Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vinod Girish Goswami, the chopper, which was on its way to Milam Glacier, left at around 1 pm on Wednesday. However, due to the cloudy weather and low visibility, it landed on a helipad in Ralam village, 42 km away, at around 1.30 pm, he said. In the past too, Kumar had explored the remote polling locations in t

SC notice to Centre, EC on fresh plea against freebies during elections

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre and the the Election Commission on a fresh plea against the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notices to the Union of India and the poll panel on a petition filed by Bengaluru resident Shashank J Sreedhara. The petition filed by advocate Srinivasan has also sought a direction to poll panel to take effective steps to restrain political parties from making promises of freebies during the pre-election period. "The unregulated promise of freebies imposes a significant and unaccounted financial burden on the public exchequer. Further, there exists no mechanism to ensure the fulfilment of pre-poll promises on which votes were secured," the plea said. The top court tagged the matter with other pleas on similar issue. The apex court had earlier agreed to list for hearing pleas against the practice of political par

Maharashtra to vote on Nov 20, Jharkhand on Nov 13 & 20; results on Nov 23

The tenure of the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly ends in November, while the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly's tenure ends on January 5, 2025

EVMs 100% foolproof: CEC refutes Cong claim ahead of poll date announcement

Kumar said, the public answers questions by participating in the voting. As far as the EVMs are concerned, they are 100 per cent foolproof

'Ill-founded': ECI refutes Congress's claim of delay in Haryana results

Haryana Assembly elections: The Congress had alleged that the Election Commission is delaying the uploading of current vote counting trends for the Haryana Assembly elections on its website