Page 11 - Election Commission

'Vote Adhikar Rally': Congress prepared for its mega show in Bengaluru

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will hold the party's 'Vote adhikar rally' at Bengaluru's Freedom Park on Friday, which is being organised in protest against the alleged "vote theft". The event, titled "Our Vote, Our Right, Our Struggle," will be held at 10:30 am at Freedom Park, where the Congress will demonstrate its strength for the cause. Through this rally, Congress has decided to use Karnataka as a launch pad for a movement against alleged electoral fraud. The party has alleged electoral fraud during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka based on its study of the Mahadevapura assembly segment. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretaries K C Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC Working Presidents, Ministers, as well as party leaders and workers will participate in the ...

'Submit proof or stop misleading': ECI on Rahul's K'taka voter fraud claim

The Election Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to submit names of voters he claims were wrongly listed, demanding a signed declaration after his allegations of electoral fraud in Karnataka

TMC accuses EC of shameless role in denying voters their democratic rights

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of compromising its constitutional neutrality and attempting to undermine the voting rights of genuine citizens of West Bengal. Addressing a press conference before leaving for Delhi to attend a dinner at Rahul Gandhi's residence for a joint strategy on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and discuss fielding a joint candidate for the VP election, Banerjee said, "The EC also needs to understand and realise that it is an impartial, unbiased organisation and it has to operate within the ambit of the Constitution." The TMC MP went on to accuse the poll body of playing an "active and shameless role" in denying legitimate voters their democratic rights. "Now the EC has taken a shameless role to snatch the voting rights of genuine voters," he alleged. "Yesterday, I saw a report that a residential certificate had been issued under the n

No party raised claim or objection to draft electoral rolls in Bihar: EC

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that not even a single claim or objection has been submitted by any political party regarding the draft electoral rolls in Bihar.The Election Commission has asserted that no eligible elector will be left out and no ineligible elector will be included in the final electoral roll of Bihar. It has appealed to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors in the draft electoral Roll of Bihar, which was published on August 1.However, the EC has received 5,015 claims and objections directly from the electors with respect to the draft roll till today, said the ECI in a daily bulletin on the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar.Forms received from new electors on attaining 18 years of age or above are 27,517.As per the rules, the claims & objections are to be disposed of by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer/Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO/AERO) after the expiry of 7 days.As ..

SC asks EC for details of 6.5 mn deleted voters in Bihar draft rolls

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to furnish by August 9 the details of around 65 lakh electors left out from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked the counsel for the poll panel to furnish the details of deleted voters, the data which has been already shared with the political parties, and give a copy to the NGO, Association For Democratic Reforms. The NGO, which has challenged the June 24 order of the Election Commission directing for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, filed a fresh application seeking direction to the poll panel to publish the names of around 65 lakh deleted voters with the mention whether they are dead, permanently migrated or not considered for any other reason. The bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, that the reason for deletion would come in subsequent time as it is now only a draft list. However, ...

No claims, objections by parties to draft electoral rolls in Bihar: ECI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Wednesday that zero claims or objections had been filed by political parties since the publication of the draft electoral rolls in Bihar on August 1, up until 6th August (9 AM).However, there are 3,659 claims and objections received directly from the electors with respect to the draft roll, said the ECI in a daily bulletin on the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral roll (SIR) in Bihar.Forms received from New electors on attaining 18 years of age or above are 19,186.As per the rules, the claims & objections are to be disposed of by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer/ Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO/AERO) after the expiry of 7 days.As per SIR orders, no name can be deleted from the draft list published on 1st August 2025, without passing a speaking order by the ERO/AERO after conducting an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity.The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral ...

Opposition's demand for discussion on votebandi non-negotiable: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday said the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the "votebandi" by the Election Commission is "non-negotiable" in both Houses of Parliament. There has been a logjam in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, which the Opposition has alleged is being done to cut votes ahead of the state election. Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the Chair in the Rajya Sabha is a continuing entity despite the comings and goings, scheduled and unscheduled. "Yesterday, the Deputy Chairman gave a ruling that because the Lok Sabha Speaker had said so on December 14, 1988, any matter concerning the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament. But on July 21, 2023, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, a Modi appointee, had categorically ruled that 'the Rajya Sabha is entitled to discuss anything under the planet with only one restriction'," Ramesh said in a post on X. "He had gone on to say that th

Bihar draft electoral roll: No demands yet to add or drop names, says EC

Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Political parties and the general public still have time to submit their requests

EC's neutrality questionable, Opposition wants discussion: Gaurav Gogoi

Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday alleged that the neutrality of the Election Commission is questionable, which is why the opposition parties want a discussion on the revision of the voter list in Parliament. Speaking to reporters before the start of the Extended Executive Meeting of the Assam unit of the Congress here, Gogoi, who is also the deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha, questioned the BJP-led central government's decision not to allow a discussion on the EC even though the Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by it. "Today, there is a question mark in the minds of the people regarding the neutrality of the EC. That is why we want a discussion in Parliament. The government is trying to hide something. What is it? Is it their manipulation in the last assembly polls and Lok Sabha election?" the Assam Congress chief asked. Gogoi said the Opposition wants an open discussion in Parliament regarding the voter list, which is being revised in Bihar. "The common

Election Commission rejects LoP Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha poll-rigging claim

The Election Commission on Saturday rejected claims of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the 2024 Lok polls were rigged, saying it appears that these "unfounded allegations" are intended to exert undue pressure on the election machinery and even threaten poll officials. Addressing a Congress event here, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha cited data collected by the Congress from an assembly constituency in Karnataka where the party checked the photographs and names of electors physically and reportedly found out that 1.5 lakh votes were "fake" out of a total of 6.5 lakh voters. "The election system in India is dead," he said, adding that the Lok Sabha elections were rigged. In a fact-check post on X, the poll authority said Gandhi's statements are "misleading and baseless." It said during the preparation of the electoral roll for LS-2024, both the Draft and Final Electoral lists were shared with all political parties, including the Congress, and were appealable under ...

VP election to be held on September 9, with nominations due by August 21

The Election Commission announces the Vice Presidential election for September 9, with the last date for filing nominations set for August 21. The result will be declared the same day

Vice-presidential poll to be held on Sept 9 after Dhankhar's resignation

The Election Commission said nominations close on August 21, with polling and counting-if required-scheduled for September 9

EC to release Bihar draft electoral rolls today amid exclusion concerns

The Election Commission (EC) is all set to publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on Friday following the completion of a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls. This would also kick off the process of "claims and objections", which would continue till September 1, and during the period, voters with complaints of wrongful deletion of names can approach the authorities concerned seeking a remedy. The EC claims there were 7.93 crore registered voters in the state before the SIR began late last month. The process has faced criticism and protests from the opposition, with concerns over potential mass deletion of voters. In the first stage of SIR, voters were provided with "enumeration forms", either by booth-level officers (BLO) or booth-level agents (BLA) nominated by political parties, which they were to return after putting their signatures and appending documents acceptable as proof of identity. People also had the option of

Will step in if there is mass exclusion in Bihar SIR: Supreme Court to EC

SC says it will intervene if voters are widely excluded from Bihar's draft rolls due August 1, after pleas challenge EC's special intensive revision exercise

We will intervene if mass exclusion found in Bihar electoral roll SIR: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority and it is deemed to act in accordance with law, but if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the court will step in. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners, once again alleged that people are being left out from the draft list to be published on August 1 by the poll panel, and they will lose their crucial right of voting. Bhushan said the EC has issued a statement that 65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere. He submitted that these people will have to apply afresh

Adhikari urges ECI to exclude domiciles issued after July 25 from WB's SIR

Adhikari suspected that the West Bengal Administration is issuing domicile certificates to Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

Bihar electoral roll: EC receives enumeration forms from 91.69% of voters

As the month-long first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral roll has concluded, the Election Commission (EC) said on Sunday that enumeration forms from 7.24 crore or 91.69 per cent voters of the state have been received. The poll panel also said 36 lakh people were found to have either permanently shifted from their previous addresses or were not found. It pointed out that seven lakh Bihar voters were found to have enrolled themselves at multiple places. The first phase of the SIR related to distributing and receiving back enumeration forms ended on Friday (July 25). The EC said booth-level officers did not find these electors or get back their enumeration forms because they have either become voters in other states or Union territories, or were not found in existence, or did not submit the forms till July 25. Another reason was that they were not willing to register themselves as voters for some reason or the other. The poll watchdog said the exact

Congress stages protest demanding SIR not be conducted in West Bengal

Congress workers on Sunday staged a protest here demanding that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal not be conducted. An SIR is being conducted in neighbouring Bihar, where assembly elections are due later this year. Assembly polls are likely to be held in West Bengal in mid-2026. "The main issue is illegal immigration from Bangladesh," Congress leader Asutosh Chatterjee, who participated in the demonstration in south Kolkata's Bhawanipur area, said. He demanded that immediate steps be taken to fence every inch of the international border between India and Bangladesh in West Bengal. "Our national leadership has opposed the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, and we also oppose any plan to hold the same in West Bengal," he told reporters. The Congress workers raised slogans against the SIR. Chatterjee alleged that the Election Commission was working at the behest of the BJP. The Congress leader also questioned how Leader of Opposition in West Bengal

EC's refusal to accept Aadhaar as voter ID in Bihar is 'absurd': ADR

ADR criticised the Election Commission's refusal to accept Aadhaar as valid voter ID in Bihar's roll revision, calling the move "patently absurd" given Aadhaar's widespread use in official documents

EC will decide SIR of electoral rolls in Bengal: WB chief electoral officer

Stating that the decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls lies solely with the Election Commission, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday said training of booth-level officers (BLOs) and supervisors will ensure preparedness if the process is initiated. He said training of the BLOs was an ongoing process, and a similar session would be held in Kolkata on Saturday and in the other districts in the following days. "The EC has decided to train the officers. Earlier, there was no such training. The poll panel has an institute, IIIDEM, where people have been trained to make them understand the work, their statutory functions," Agarwal said. According to sources, the CEO held a virtual conference with the BLOs on Friday. The IAS officer said the training would help if the SIR of electoral rolls was initiated in Bengal. "If SIR takes place, the training will equip BLOs to carry out their responsibilities effectively. However