Page 41 - Election Commission

Telangana polls LIVE: Congress likely to release its second list today

Telangana Assembly elections LIVE: Congress is expected to include Rajgopal Reddy in the second list who recently switched to Congress from BJP

Himanta defends speech against Md Akbar; says Cong withheld info from EC

Notwithstanding the show-cause notice by the Election Commission for his alleged "communally charged statements", Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday defended his speech and said it was a "legitimate criticism" of Chhattisgarh Minister Mohammed Akbar. The Election Commission on Thursday slapped a show-cause notice to Sarma for prima facie violation of the Model Code of Conduct and asked him to respond by October 30 evening. "Congress has withheld the material information from the Hon'ble Election Commission that Mohammed Akbar is their candidate from Kawardha Constituency. Therefore legitimate criticism of a candidate does not amount to communal politics," Sarma said in a post on X. The senior BJP leader asserted that the Congress will have to face the legal consequence of not revealing the crucial fact in their representation. "I have full faith in the collection (sic) wisdom of the Hon'ble Election Commission," he added. The Assam chief minister was reacting to a

EC to require 3 mn EVMs, 1.5-yr preparation time for simultaneous polls

The Election Commission will require around 30 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs) and a preparation time of nearly one-and-half years for the smooth conduct of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, sources have said. An EVM comprises one control unit, at least one ballot unit and one voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) unit. According to the sources, the commission will require nearly 30 lakh control units, about 43 lakh ballot units and about 32 lakh VVPATs for the simultaneous polls, taking into consideration the reserve units kept for replacement in case of any malfunction or damage. Sources said there is a shortfall of nearly 35 lakh voting units -- control units, ballot units and VVPAT units -- for the simultaneous conduct of Lok Sabha and assembly polls. As deliberations on the conduct of simultaneous polls gathered steam, the Election Commission had informed the Law Commission a few months ago that it would also require adequate warehousing

Telangana polls: TPCC Prez Reddy accuses BRS of moral code violation

Reddy also talked about the issue of sinking pillars of the Medigadda barrage, which is a part of the prestigious Kaleshwaram project

Seizures in poll-bound states see sharp rise since implementation of CoC

The trend has continued, with the seizures spiking significantly in the poll-bound Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh after the model code of conduct kicked in on October 9

Election Commission to appoint actor Rajkummar Rao as its national icon

Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao will be appointed as the Election Commission's national icon, the poll body has said

Illicit goods worth over Rs 1,000 cr seized ahead of Rajasthan elections

In the last 15 days, agencies seized Rs 244 crore in cash and various illegal items along with freebies and other items worth Rs 84.22 crore

Rajasthan elections: BJP's Tijara candidate served MCC violation notice

The election officer has sought a clarification regarding a statement made by the Baba Balaknath regarding vote counting

Congress to EC: Book Amit Shah for 'provocative' comments in Chhattisgarh

Amit Shah accused the Bhupesh Baghel government of lynching Bhuneshwar Sahu for 'appeasement and vote bank politics' during a rally in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh

Rs 63 cr worth drugs, liquor, cash seized after MCC enforced in Rajasthan

Drugs, liquor, gold and cash worth more than Rs 63 crore have been seized in since the state election's model code of conduct (MCC) came into force in Rajasthan

Rajasthan SEC seeks reports over alleged MCC violation by Chief Minister

Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore has accused Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of flouting the model code of conduct of the EC while visiting Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Delhi

EC orders transfer of key bureaucrats, senior police officials in Telangana

Director of Prohibition and Excise Department Musharaff Faruqui, and Secretary of Transport K S Srinivasa Raju were among the bureaucrats whose duties stand transferred

ECI changes Rajasthan state Assembly elections date to Nov 25 from Nov 23

The Election Commission of India changed the elections dates for Rajasthan by two days due to a 'large scale of weddings'

A practitioner's guide to elections

Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi is honest and unreservedly generous in his book, which does not shy away from identifying the biggest threat to free and fair elections India

Elections and their discontents

EC pushes for fiscal responsibility

EC orders transfer of senior officers in five poll-going states for laxity

The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the transfer of several top police and administrative officers, including 25 police commissioners and superintendents of police, nine district magistrates and four secretaries and special secretaries, in the five poll-going states after finding laxity in their work, sources said. During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said. The poll panel has asked the transferred officials to immediately hand over the charge to their respective immediate juniors. It has also directed the respective state governments to send by Thursday evening a panel of officers to replace those shunted out. The assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will be held between November 7 and 30, and the counting of votes will take place on

Dispute over NCP's name, symbol: EC fixes Nov 9 as next date of hearing

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday heard the claims of the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP over its claim on the party's name and poll symbol, even as the Sharad Pawar-led group contended that there were discrepancies in the documents submitted by its rival. The EC fixed November 9 as the next date for hearing the warring factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party's name and election symbol. It also asked the Sharad Pawar camp to file its rejoinder to the claims made by the Ajit Pawar faction by October 30. Sharad Pawar faction's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed that the EC had found discrepancies in the more than 9,000 documents submitted by the Ajit Pawar group to support its claim over the NCP's name and poll symbol. Ajit Pawar, who had moved the EC staking claim to the party's name and poll symbol, submitted that he had the support of 42 of the 53 NCP MLAs in Maharashtra, six of the nine MLCs, al

Five states go to Assembly polls from November 7-30, results on December 3

The results of these elections were thought to indicate the national mood, especially of the heartland states, before the Lok Sabha polls

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EC to use tech for real time updates on seizures during assembly polls

The Election Commission has come up with a technology-based mechanism to keep a record of the seizure of cash, drugs and freebies to induce voters during the assembly poll in five states. Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the system will be used for the first time in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. He said the 'Election Seizure Management System' is a new technology-driven platform for real-time updates on seizures from the field by multifarious state and central enforcement agencies. "It facilitates qualitative analysis and planning of the seizures... we have told various agencies to work in coordination and not in silos," Kumar said. The chief election commissioner said the agencies have been directed to update the seizures on the platform. It will also show whether the action taken has been uploaded to the system. Money power, drugs and freebies have been identified as some