Page 31 - Election Commission

Supreme Court directs SBI to disclose all poll bond details by March 21

Refuses to hear industry bodies' plea against sharing alphanumeric codes

Oppn asks EC to act against PM Modi's Whatsapp message on 'Viksit Bharat'

Raising the issue of people receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter on WhatsApp seeking support in building a 'Viksit Bharat', opposition leaders on Monday called on the Election Commission to act against what they said was a "blatant violation" of the model code of conduct. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tagged a post of a person raising the issue of privacy over the prime minister's letter being received by persons living abroad. "Will the @ECISVEEP take note of such a blatant misuse of government machinery and government data to serve the partisan political interests of the ruling party?" Tharoor said on X. Another Congress MP Manish Tewari also posted on X the WhatsApp message which had the letter attached, as received by him on his phone. "This unsolicited WhatsApp message came at 12.09 AM today . It seems to be from @GoI_MeitY (Ministry of Electronics & IT). Is this not a blatant violation of the both Model Code of Conduct & Right to Privacy," Tewari said. "Where ...

Election Commission makes fresh electoral bonds data public: See full list

BJP encashed electoral bonds totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore; Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds

Lok Sabha elections 2024: EC orders removal of home secretaries in 6 states

The Election Commission has ordered the removal of home secretaries in 6 states and Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal

EC launches special campaign in Himachal Pradesh to boost voter turnout

The Election Commission has launched a special campaign in Himachal Pradesh to maximise voter turnout in 414 polling stations which registered less than 60 per cent voting in the last Lok Sabha polls. Bypolls to six assembly seats that fell vacant after disqualification of Congress MLAs would be held simultaneously with four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh in the last phase on June 1. The main focus of the campaign -- "Mission 414" -- is increasing the vote percentage in 414 identified polling stations which registered less than 60 percent voting in the last Lok Sabha polls, Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal Pradesh, Maneesh Garg told PTI on Monday. Awareness campaigns and cultural events would be held besides making these 414 stations model polling stations. Booth youth icons from first time voters would be roped in and special invitation cards made by children would be given to prospective voters, he said. Letters had been sent to the respective Deputy Commissioners in Febru

2024 Lok Sabha polls: Women to overseas voters, here's what numbers say

The seven phases in the 2024 polls are scheduled for April 19 (102 seats), April 26 (89 seats), May 7 (94 seats), May 13 (96 seats), May 20 (49 seats), May 25 (57 seats) and June 1 (57 seats)

Future Gaming & Hotel accounts for 77% of DMK's electoral bond receipts

The latest dataset released by the EC included scanned copies of the disclosures made by the political parties, running into hundreds of pages

LIVE: Undertook yatra to meet people as media ignores issues, says Rahul

From Aam Aadmi Party plans to hold a press conference today to former US President Donald Trump threatening to levy 100% tariffs on Mexican-made cars by Chinese firms, catch all the updates here

Delhi poll body sets up flying squads to check on voter intimidation

The office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has set up flying squads and control rooms across the city's seven Lok Sabha constituencies to check incidents of voter intimidation. In a public notice issued on Sunday, the poll office in Delhi said district election functionaries or returning officers will enforce the Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit. Polling for Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of the general elections, with 1.47 crore people eligible to exercise their franchise, according to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India on Saturday. According to the notice, flying squads have been formed to register cases against both the "giver" and the "taker" of bribes and for taking action against those engaged in threat and intimidation of electors. "All the citizens are hereby requested to refrain from any illegal activities as above and in case anybody offers any bribe or is having knowledge about the bribe or c

EC advances counting date of Arunachal, Sikkim assembly polls to June 2

The decision was taken because the term of the two Assemblies is till June 2, which means elections have to be wrapped up on or before that date

Electoral bonds an 'experiment', says RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Sunday said the electoral bonds is an "experiment" and time will tell how beneficial and effective it has been. The RSS Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) on Sunday re-elected Dattatreya Hosabale for the post of 'Sarkaryavah' (general secretary) for three years. The Election Commission on Thursday released the electoral bonds data, with a number of billionaire tycoons and lesser-known entities being among the buyers. From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations. Asked about concerns being raised on the electoral bonds issue and claims that they were purchased to get favours, Hosabale said the Sangh has not yet discussed about it as the electoral bonds is an "experiment". "It ...

BJP got Rs 6,986.5 cr via poll bonds; Future Gaming top donor for DMK

The JD(S) received bonds worth Rs 89.75 crore, including Rs 50 crore from Megha Engineering, the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds

Polling in 7 phases in West Bengal proves EC is 'long arm of govt': Sibal

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal is an evidence that the Election Commission is "a long arm of the government". Sibal also raised questions over the appointment of two election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu recently, saying they were appointed despite the fact that there is a Constitution bench judgment stating that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) should also be a member of the committee that recommends the names of appointees. "As far as the seven phases (of the Lok Sabha polls in the country) are concerned, that was expected," he told PTI Videos. "In fact the way they appointed these two election commissioners despite the fact that there is a Constitution bench judgment saying that the CJI should also be a member of the committee. The way they have discarded the Constitution bench decision despite the challenge pending in the Supreme Court and the way they preponed the appointment, only shows that

Plea seeks details of electoral bonds sold from Mar 1, 2018 to Apr 11, 2019

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking disclosure of the details of electoral bonds sold from March 1, 2018, to April 11, 2019, saying voters are entitled to know funding to political parties for the entire period since the start of the scheme. In a landmark verdict last month, the top court scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered the State Bank of India (SBI), the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit the details of the bonds purchased from April 12, 2019 to February 15, 2024 to the Election Commission of India (ECI). A new application, filed by Citizen's Rights Trust, has submitted that 9,159 bonds worth Rs 4,002 crore have been sold between March 2018 to April 2019 which should also be disclosed. The petition seeks a direction to the SBI to share the details of electoral bonds sold and redeemed from March 1, 2018, to April 11, 2019, including the alphanumeric

25,000 CAPF personnel to be deployed for 1st phase polling in West Bengal

Around 25,000 central forces personnel will be deployed for the elections in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in northern West Bengal in the first phase on April 19, an official said on Saturday. Polling will be held in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seats in the first phase. "Around 250 companies of central forces will be deployed in the first phase of elections on April 19. There will be a control room in each of the districts, and senior officers will be in charge of those," the official said. One company of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) consists of around 100 personnel, meaning that around 25,000 personnel will be deployed for elections in these three seats. Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab said all steps were being taken to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election in the state. "No disturbances will be tolerated," he said. He also urged leaders to have "control" over the statements they make during campaigning. "The Election Commission will

EC to use two laws to tackle misinformation during Lok Sabha election

The Election Commission will use a two-pronged strategy to deal with misinformation and fake narratives on social media during the Lok Sabha polls, with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar asserting that the poll body will "join the issue" to provide the correct picture to voters. Addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, Kumar said the commission will soon launch a "Myth vs Reality" project to clear the air around fake news being spread on social media. "Misinformation troubles us a lot during elections. We are conscious of two facts -- that social media helps us in our outreach programmes and there is freedom to criticise anybody in a democracy. But one cannot be allowed to create fake news, which is not based on facts because it can disturb public order," he said. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar said that under sections 69 and 79 (3) of the IT Act, authorities in each state are empowered to ask to take down fake social

Highlights of the day: LS election counting on Jun 4 after 6 wks of voting

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Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting schedule extends six days longer than 2019

Polling for 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be conducted in seven phases, between April 19 and June 1, followed by counting of votes on June 4

Lok Sabha election 2024: 12 states have more women voters than men, says EC

Twelve states have more women voters than men, with a total of 47.1 crore females registered in the electoral roll in the country, the Election Commission said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference on elections to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said gender ratio is 948 women to 1000 men in the country which is a "very healthy sign" of women participation in the electoral cycle. "There are 12 such states where the gender ratio is over 1000 which means that number of women voters is more than males and 1.89 crore new voters have joined, out of them in the age group of 18-19 years there are 85.3 lakh women electors so they are going side by side so that is a very healthy sign that women are also participating equally in our elections," he said. He did not give names of the states. Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and results will be announced on June 4, Kumar said. The other phases will

Assembly elections: Schedule for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal, Sikkim

Election Commission announces dates for state Assemblies which will be conducted alongside the Lok Sabha poll, from April 19