Page 24 - Election Commission

LS polls 2024: AAP delegation meets EC over its LS polls campaign song

A delegation of senior AAP leaders on Tuesday met the Election Commission (EC) over the Delhi poll panel asking the party to modify its campaign song, and asserted that there was "nothing objectionable" in its lyrics. The party on Sunday had claimed that the commission has "banned" its Lok Sabha campaign song "Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se Denge", but officials of the Delhi poll body had said the AAP was asked to modify the contents of the song since it violated EC's guidelines and advertising codes. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation included Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi, national secretary Pankaj Gupta and senior leader Dilip Pandey. After meeting the EC, Bharadwaj said they told the commission that many objectionable hoardings had been put up by the BJP all over Delhi for about a month. "In these hoardings, opposition leaders, especially (AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal, have been shown in an objectionable manner through pictures. We ha

HC says 'it trusts EC' to take steps to stop deepfake videos' circulation

The ECI told Delhi high court that the videos of Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Aamir Khan, and Ranveer Singh, referred to in the petition, have been taken down and criminal complaints have been filed

Seek votes on performance, not through 'hate speeches': Kharge to PM Modi

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in "divisive and communal speeches filled with lies" to avoid an inevitable defeat. Kharge urged the prime minister to seek votes on the performance of his government over the last ten years instead of indulging in "hate speeches". The Congress president made the remarks in a letter to Prime Minister Modi in which he rebutted the attack and charges levelled against his party in the PM's letter to NDA candidates after the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Modi has asked the BJP-led NDA candidates in the Lok Sabha polls to spread awareness among voters about the Congress's intention to snatch "reservation from SC, ST and OBC communities and give it away to their vote bank". In a personal letter written to them, Modi also accused the Congress and its allies of having divisive and

LS polls 2024: EC increases polling time in Telangana in view of heat wave

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday increased the polling time for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana by an hour in view of heat wave conditions prevailing in the state. The new timing would be 7 am to 6 pm against the earlier 7 am to 5 pm. Polling for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on May 13 in the fourth round of the seven-phase elections. While the extended time for voting will be applicable in all assembly segments of 12 Lok Sabha constituencies, in the remaining five parliamentary seats, the timing will apply in certain assembly segments, according to a notification issued by the commission. The hours of polling will be 7 am to 6 pm in the Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool (SC), Nalgonda and the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat, it said. The new timing will also be applicable in five assembly segments of the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, three of Peddapalle seat, six of Warangal (SC) s

EC bars KCR for 48 hours from campaigning for remarks against Congress

The Election Commission on Wednesday reprimanded Bharat Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrashekar Rao and barred him from campaigning for 48 hours for his "objectionable" remarks against the Congress. The EC said his remarks at a press conference Sircilla on April 5 were violative of the provisions of the model code of conduct and its advisories. The English transcript of his statement provided by the EC in its order shows he used invectives against the Congress which rules Telangana. The 48-hour ban of the former Telangana chief minister comes into force at 8 pm on Wednesday. After Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, Rao is the second politician to be banned from campaigning for 48 hours in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. In his reply to a show-cause notice issued by the poll authority, Rao had claimed that his words were "twisted". He also said the local poll officials could not follow the local Telugu dialect. The order served on him reminded that Rao had violated the po

EC revises protocol on storage of symbol loading units after SC verdict

The Election Commission has come out with a new protocol for handling and storage of symbol loading units following the directions of the Supreme Court which had ordered that the machines should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs at least for 45 days post the declaration of results. In a statement on Wednesday, the poll authority said all state chief electoral officers have been directed to create necessary infrastructure and provisions to implement the new protocols for handling and storage of the symbol loading units (SLUs). "As mandated by the Supreme Court, the revised protocols are applicable in all cases of completion of the symbol loading process in the VVPATs undertaken on or after May 1, 2024," the Commission said. The top court had on Friday last issued directions to seal and store symbol loading units and also paved the way for verification of micro-controllers embedded in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) on the reques

Voter turnout and Lok Sabha poll outcome: Here's the story so far

A total of 189 seats went to polls in the two phases

LS elections: Phase 1 turnout at 66.14%, Phase 2 at 66.71%, says EC

A voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in phase one and 66.71 per cent in phase two of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Congress, CPI-M and TMC questioned the EC over the delay in announcing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, 11 days after the first round of polling on April 19. Officially sharing the turnout figure, the poll panel said in phase one of the elections, 66.22 per cent of male and 66.07 female electors turned up to vote. The turnout for registered third-gender voters stood at 31.32 per cent. In the 2019 polls, the turnout in the first phase stood at 69.43 per cent. In the second phase of elections held on April 26, the male voter turnout was recorded at 66.99 per cent, while the female turnout stood at 66.42 per cent. As many as 23.86 per cent of the registered third-gender voters came out to vote. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in phase two, the turnout was 69.64

Congress will impose 55% inheritance tax, if voted to power: PM Modi

Alleging that the Congress would impose 55 per cent inheritance tax if voted to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said when the whole world was economically progressing, India was suffering from policy paralysis under the previous UPA government. Addressing a poll rally in Medak district of Telangana, Modi accused the Congress government in the state of collecting corrupt money and sending it to Delhi. If Congress comes to power, they will bring out inheritance tax. Congress is planning to collect more than half- 55 per cent as tax on inheritance (received from parents), he claimed. Wherever Congress is in power, it has five political symbols- false promises; vote bank politics, supporting mafia and criminals, dynastic politics and corruption, he said in broadside. Modi further alleged that first it was BRS which looted Telangana and now it is Congress.

Rahul asks candidates to carry copy of Constitution to public meetings

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged all party candidates to carry a copy of the Constitution with them during nominations, public meetings and outreach programmes, and tell the people that as long as the Congress is there, let alone the BJP, no power in the world can snatch away the Constitution. The former Congress chief has been carrying a copy of the Constitution in his public meetings. He did so in Gujarat's Patan and Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur on Monday and in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind on Tuesday. "A boon for the poor, respect for the deprived and pride of every citizen -- our Constitution! I request all Congress candidates and leaders to keep the sacred Constitution with them during nominations, meetings, speeches and public outreach," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. "Announce it in every village and every street that as long as the Congress is there, let alone BJP, no power in the world can snatch away the Constitution of India," the former Congress chief said. In a

LS polls: EC to hand out diamond rings to Bhopal voters to boost turnout

Concerned about the low turnout during the initial phases of the Lok Sabha elections, election officials in Bhopal have decided to conduct a lucky draw every two hours on voting day

BJP, Cong seeks more time to respond to EC notice regarding MCC violation

ECI has invoked Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act and held party presidents responsible, as a first step, to reign in star campaigners

Delhi High Court rejects plea to bar PM Modi from elections for six years

The petition alleged that the Prime Minister had violated the Model Code of Conduct by invoking 'god and place of worship' in his recent speech in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh

Battleground 2024: Rivals misusing tech to spread fake videos, says PM

In Delhi, a BJP delegation, led by Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, complained to the EC alleging that the Congress circulated a "deep fake and morphed" video of Amit Shah to derail the poll process

LS polls: Congress' Indore candidate withdraws nomination, could join BJP

Besides Indore, seven more seats in Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls on May 13, concluding elections to the state's 29 seats

36 out of 266 LS poll candidates in Gujarat face criminal cases: ADR data

Thirty six out of the 266 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat have criminal cases against them, with some also facing attempt to murder and dacoity charges, as per an analysis of their affidavits by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Elections to 25 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on May 7. The BJP candidate from Surat seat has already been declared elected unopposed. "Out of the 266 candidates, 36, or 14 per cent, have criminal charges against them, as per details provided by them in the affidavits. Out of them, 21, or 8 per cent, have serious criminal cases against them," ADR's Gujarat coordinator Pankti Jog told reporters here on Monday. Serious criminal cases are those which attract a maximum punishment of 5 years or more, are non-bailable, related to murder, rape, kidnapping, bribery, assault, causing loss to the exchequer, crimes against women, hate speech, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, she said. Among the majo

Probe 'terrible mismanagement' of Lok Sabha polls in Kerala: Congress to EC

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said the elections in Kerala were "grossly mismanaged", leading to considerable delays in numerous polling booths

Among national parties, Bahujan Samaj Party's candidate owns fewest assets

Baluswamy owns less than an average Indian household

Chasing paper trails

Supreme Court puts VVPAT controversy to rest

Lok Sabha polls: Mandi will teach lesson to Cong's prince, says Kangana

People of Mandi will teach a lesson to the gangs of "shehzadas" for making inappropriate comments and disrespecting the women of the state, BJP candidate from Mandi and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut said on Saturday. Addressing a public gathering in the Jhakari area of the Mandi Parliament constituency, Kangana trained her guns at Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, calling him "Prince of Rampur," and took exception to his referring to her Bollywood connection. Vikramaditya Singh is a scion of the erstwhile Bushahr estate, now known as Rampur, one of the 17 assembly segments in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. Referring to Kangana, Singh had earlier said, "I pray to Lord Ram to give her wisdom and hope she goes back pure from 'Dev Bhoomi' Himachal to the Bollywood because she will not win the election since she knows nothing about people of Himachal." In her rally, Kangana responded to the dig, saying, "Now they are saying that I am impure because I have come here after working