Page 15 - Election Commission

'No room for manipulation': ECI chief on Kejriwal's 'voter deletion' charge

'Draft rolls are sent to political parties on January 1, and they are given the opportunity to raise claims and objections,' CEC Rajiv Kumar said

Election Commission to announce Delhi poll schedule at 2 pm today

The Election Commission will on Tuesday announce the schedule for polls to the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The Commission has convened a press conference at 2 pm on Tuesday to announce the election schedule. The term of the 70-member Assembly ends on February 23, and elections have to held before that to constitute a new House. Delhi has traditionally seen assembly polls in a single phase.

Only 27% of registered third gender electors voted in 2024 LS polls: EC

More people enrolled themselves in the voters' list for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the 'third gender' category but only 27 per cent of them turned up at the polling stations, according to Election Commission data. According to the data issued by the poll authority last week, 48,194 people were eligible to vote as third gender elector in 2024, compared to 39,075 in 2019 -- an increase of 23.5 per cent over the five-year period. But only 13,058 of them actually exercised their franchise, which comes to 27 per cent of the total registered third gender electors. As per the data, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of registered third gender elector -- 8,467. But only 2,709 cast vote. Their overall participation in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 14.64 per cent -- almost half as compared to the latest parliamentary polls. There have been reports that several enrolled third gender voters have expressed reluctance to queue up at polling booths, claiming that they are viewed with dis

28% of Lok Sabha seats had no woman candidate in 2024, shows ECI report

The highlight of the 2024 LS election was again the better turnout of woman electors in percentage terms than men

EC data on LS polls: Women outshine men again in exercising franchise

As many as 64.64 crore voters exercised their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year with women voters outnumbering men, according to statistical data released by the Election Commission on Thursday. The female voter turnout stood at 65.78 per cent as compared to 65.55 per cent for male electors, the EC said. EC functionaries asserted that such granular data is not shared by any of the election management bodies in democracies across the world. The data on Lok Sabha polls, 2024 and four assembly elections -- Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- held alongside parliamentary polls comes against the backdrop of allegations of non-disclosure by the EC. "This suo motu initiative is to enhance the public trust that constitutes the underpinning of India's electoral system," the EC said. Referring to women participation in the polls, EC said the number of female contesting candidates was 800, compared to 726 in 2019. Maharashtra had the highest number

86% of 8,300 candidates who contested LS polls lost deposit: EC report

As many as 86 per cent of the over 8,300 candidates who contested the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year lost their deposits. According to the statistical data issued by the Election Commission on Thursday, a total of 12,459 nominations were filed in 2024, compared to 11,692 in 2019. Out of the over 12,000 who filed nominations, 8,360 qualified as contesting candidates after rejection of nominations and withdrawals across the country. The number of contesting candidates in 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 8,054. According to the data, 7,190 of the candidates lost their deposits, which comes to 86 per cent. Of the 7,190 who lost their deposit, 584 were from the six recognised parties, 68 from recognised state parties, 2,633 from registered, unrecognised political parties and 3,095 independent candidates. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 6923 candidates had lost deposit. A total of 3921 independent candidates had contested but only seven were elected. The vote share in percentage terms po

6 national parties bag over 63% of vote share in 2024 LS polls: EC report

The six national parties bagged over 63 per cent share of the total valid votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections held this year. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and National People's Party (NPP) are the six national parties. Besides the six recognised national parties, 47 recognised state parties and 690 registered, unrecognised political parties contested the parliamentary polls, according to statistical data issued by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday. According to the data, 3,921 independent candidates contested but only seven of them were elected. Besides, 3,905 independent candidates forfeited the deposits. Their vote share stood at 2.79 per cent of the total valid votes. Out of the 3,921 independent candidates, 279 were women, the EC noted. The none of the above (NOTA) option got 63,71,839 or 0.99 per cent votes in 2024 compared to 1.06 per cent in 2019. Over 9

No arbitrary addition, deletion in voters list in Maha: EC to Congress

Amid concerns flagged by the Congress, the Election Commission on Tuesday said there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters in Maharashtra where assembly polls were held recently. In its response to the Congress, the poll authority said it would not be correct to compare 5 PM voter turnout data with final polling data. It also explained how increase in voter turnout from 5 PM to 11:45 PM was normal, being part of the process of aggregation of voter turnout and how there can be bona fide but inconsequential differences in votes polled and votes counted. The EC asserted that it is impossible to change actual voter turnout as statutory Form 17C giving details of voter turnout is available with authorised agents of candidates at the time of close of poll at the polling station itself. It said rule-based process was followed with transparency in Maharashtra electoral roll preparation and there were no irregular pattern in voter deletions in the state. It told the Congress t

Why is ECI afraid of transparency, asks Cong after election rule tweak

The Congress on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission for tweaking an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage, asking why the poll panel was afraid of transparency. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the party would legally challenge amendment. "If there was ever a vindication of our assertions regarding the rapidly eroding integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in recent times, this is it," Ramesh said in a post on X. Sharing a December 20 notification, the Congress leader said, "This move of the ECI will be challenged legally right away." The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse. Based on the recommendation of the poll panel, the Union law minist

EC reviews Delhi polls preparedness, meets leaders from political parties

The Election Commission held a meeting with representatives of political parties in central Delhi on Wednesday, in the run-up to the assembly polls here due early next year. BJP MP from New Delhi Bansuri Swaraj, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha and party leader Jasmin Shah attended the meeting. An election commission official said the meeting lasted for around half an hour and covered several topics. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also reviewed poll preparedness for the upcoming Delhi elections. In a post on X, the Election Commission mentioned, "CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sandhu review poll preparedness for the upcoming Delhi Legislative Assembly elections. Meeting with enforcement agencies is currently underway. Earlier in the day, commission met representatives of the political parties." Sources earlier said the Election Commission will review on Wednesday the preparedness of its poll machinery in Delhi, where assembly elections are due early

2 from TDP, 1 from ally BJP file nominations for RS seats in Andhra Pradesh

They filed their nominations on Tuesday with Rajya Sabha Elections Returning Officer R Vanitha Rani at the Assembly building

Maha chief poll officer warns of action over EVM tampering allegations

Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer, S Chockalingam said this amid ongoing allegations from Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders about EVM malpractices during the recent Maharashtra assembly elections

Election Commission files complaint against man claiming to hack EVMs

Mumbai Cyber Police has lodged an FIR against a man who claimed he could hack EVMs by isolating machine frequency, Election Commission (EC) officials said. The complaint in the matter was lodged by the Maharashtra chief electoral officer (CEO), alleging that the claims made by the accused, Syed Shuja, were false, baseless and unsubstantiated, they said. The FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act at Cyber Police Station, Dakshin Mumbai on November 30 "against the person in this video", the CEO said. The EC action came after some social media users shared a video in which a man is heard claiming that he could hack and tamper with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Maharashtra elections by isolating the machine's frequency. EC officials here identified the man as Syed Shuja. In 2019, the EC ordered filing of an FIR against Shuja for making similar claims. "In a similar incident involving false claims, an FIR was lodged on the direction of the

Cong accuses IPS Rashmi Shukla of poll code violation, demands EC action

The Congress on Monday demanded that the Election Commission take action against IPS officer Rashmi Shukla for allegedly violating the model code of conduct during the Maharashtra assembly elections by meeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Congress's chief spokesperson, Atul Londhe, claimed Shukla met Fadnavis, the state home minister, when the model code of conduct was in place. The IPS officer reportedly met Fadnavis at his official residence on the evening of November 23, the day votes were counted. Earlier this month, the Election Commission had directed the Maharashtra government to transfer DGP Rashmi Shukla with immediate effect following complaints from political parties, including the Congress. The poll body directed the Maharashtra chief secretary to hand over Shukla's charge to the next senior-most IPS officer in the cadre. Talking to reporters, Londhe said, "Rashmi Shukla met the state home minister when the model code of conduct was in place, which is a

BSP won't contest bypolls until EC prevents fake voting: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday alleged irregularities in voting in the recent Uttar Pradesh bypolls and said her party will not contest by-elections in future, particularly in the state, "until Election Commission takes measures to prevent fake voting". By-elections to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh were held on November 20 and results of it were declared on Saturday. Bahujan Samaj Party contested all nine seats but failed to win any. "In the bypolls held for nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, there is widespread discussion about the votes cast and the results announced yesterday. I am not saying this myself; it is a common perception among people that earlier, during elections conducted with ballot papers, fake votes were cast by misusing the system, often through fraud," Mayawati said in a press conference here. "Now, similar practices are being carried out using EVMs, which is a matter of deep sorrow and concern for democracy," the former UP chief minister said. Not only

Maharashtra Assembly polls see 66% voter turnout, up from 61.1% in 2019: EC

The turnout in Maharashtra assembly polls was 66 per cent as per EVM votes, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019, Election Commission officials said on Thursday. Polls to the 288-member state assembly were held on Wednesday, while votes will be counted on Saturday. "The official figures for each assembly constituency will depend on the count of postal ballots reported. The 66 per cent turnout figure refers specifically to the votes cast on electronic voting machines," the chief electoral officer said in a statement. The increase, excluding postal ballots, highlighted the EC's efforts to engage a broader electorate, the statement added. Kolhapur led with 76.63 per cent, followed by 75.26 per cent in Gadchiroli, which has some Left Wing Extremism affected pockets, while the lowest was in Mumbai island city at 52.07 per cent and 55.95 per cent in the metropolis' suburban district. More than 68,000 citizens aged over 85 and 12,000 individuals with disabilities cast their votes through home .

Maharashtra urban voters pour cold water on EC efforts to improve turnout

But Jharkhand reports 68% turnout in 38 seats that voted in Phase II, 1% rise compared to 2019

Assembly polls: Maharashtra logs 45% voter turnout, Jharkhand 61% by 3 pm

The counting of votes for Maharashtra Assembly elections and Phase I and Phase II of Jharkhand Assembly elections will be conducted on November 23

EC must check irregularities in inclusion of names in voters' list: Gadkari

Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to address issues in the voter enrolment process, citing irregularities in the inclusion of names in the voters' list. The Maharashtra assembly polls were underway from 7 am on Wednesday. Gadkari cast his vote in Nagpur city located in the state's Vidarbha region. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Gadkari said, "Some names of the people who have passed away are still in the voters' list, while names of those who have filled the forms for enrolment are missing. The EC should take serious cognisance of this and review its methods for including names in the voter list." The current system was causing disappointment to many people, he said. "The system is not appropriate, and several people have expressed their disappointment to me. The EC must make the process leak-proof to ensure that all voters have their rightful opportunity to exercise their franchise," he said.

EC seeks BJP, Cong chiefs response on complaints filed against each other

In the wake of the BJP and the Congress lodging complaints against each other with the Election Commission (EC) for poll code violations, the election panel asked the presidents of the two parties on Saturday to comment on the charges levelled against their leaders. The EC wrote separate letters to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, asking them to comment on the complaint of the other. The commission exchanged the complaints between the two parties while seeking their responses. The EC has sought formal responses from both the party presidents by 1 pm on Monday (November 18), while reminding them of the commission's earlier advisory to them during the Lok Sabha election to keep star campaigners and leaders under check so that public decorum is not flouted and the model code is followed in its letter and spirit during campaigning. Top leaders of the two parties are campaigning in Jharkhand and Maharashtra for the ongoing Assembly