Page 45 - Election Commission

Telangana Assembly polls: PM urges people to vote in record numbers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday urged the people of Telangana to vote in record numbers in the assembly polls and strengthen the festival of democracy. Polling is underway to elect 119 members of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, with voters queuing up to exercise their franchise amid tight security on Thursday. In a post on X, Modi said, "I call upon my sisters and brothers of Telangana to vote in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy." "I particularly urge young and first-time voters to exercise their franchise," he said. Voting began at 7 AM in the 35,655 polling stations across the state, officials said. Polling would be held till 5 PM in 106 constituencies, while it would conclude at 4 PM in 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected seats.

12,000 critical polling stations identified: Telangana CEO ahead of polls

The CEO added that as many as 27,000 registered voters in the state have already registered their votes by enlisting for the home-voting system this year

MP Postal Nodal officer suspended over opening of ballots in Balaghat

"No postal ballot votes were counted in Balaghat. Though a procedural error occurred there about opening the ballot box before time. It was opened before the due date," the CEO said

Congress writes to MP CEO over postal ballot 'malpractice', officials deny

The Congress on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer seeking action against the Balaghat collector for allegedly taking postal ballots out of the strong room and indulging in malpractice. Assembly polls were held in MP on November 17, while votes will be counted on December 3. Chief electoral officer Anupam Rajan denied the allegations and said local Congress leaders have expressed satisfaction at the procedure. "The service votes (postal ballots) were being segregated Assembly wise by taking them out from the strong room in the presence of authorized Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party agents. These were kept in the boxes meant for it," Rajan told PTI. A total 429 service votes of Baihar, 553 of Lanjhi, 452 of Paraswada, 1308 of Balaghat, 391 of Waraseoni and 126 of Katangi were segregated in the presence of authorized agents, he added. JP Dhanopia, Congress vice president and the party's in charge of the Election Commission, in the memorand

EC asks Telangana govt to stop aid to farmers; BRS blames Congress

In a stern message on maintaining sanctity of the poll code, the Election Commission on Monday withdrew permission to the Telangana government to distribute financial aid to farmers for rabi crops under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme after a state minister violated the code by going public about it. Assembly elections in Telangana will be held on November 30 and results announced on December 3. The poll panel had given its nod to the state government to disburse the rabi installment during the model code of conduct period on certain conditions, and had asked it not to publicise the disbursement. The Congress slammed the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) over the Election Commission's (EC) withdrawal of permission, alleging it was a result of the irresponsible and self-serving approach of the K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR)-led party. In a post on X, Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said due to the irresponsible and narrow self-serving approach of the BRS and (minister) Harish

250,000 staff to work for T'gana polls, seizures stand at Rs 709 cr: EC

More than 2.5 lakh staff will be engaged in poll duties for the November 30 Telangana assembly polls, Chief Electoral officer Vikas Raj has said. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he said out of 1,68,612 postal ballots issued, 96,526 have been polled till November 26. "Almost definitely not less than 2.5 lakh people will be making this (poll) arrangement. When it comes to police, 45,000 Telangana police will be deployed. A total of 23,500 Home Guards were sought from neighbouring states. They are expected in a day or two," he said. The EC will also deploy 3,000 personnel from other uniformed services in Telangana, 50 companies of Telangana State Special Police and 375 companies of Central forces will be manning the security arrangement, Raj said. The official further said as many as 26,660 voters exercised their franchise through the "Home Voting" facility. Law enforcement agencies have seized cash, gold, liquor, freebies, among others, all worth over Rs 709 crore in poll-bound ...

BJP accuses Rahul of poll code violation with his X post, seeks EC's action

The BJP Saturday accused Rahul Gandhi of violating poll guidelines with his post on X on the day of the Rajasthan assembly polls and urged the Election Commission to seek suspension of the Congress leader's social media account and initiate other actions against him. In his post, Gandhi urged people to elect the Congress and said, "Rajasthan will choose free treatment. Rajasthan will choose cheaper gas cylinder. Rajasthan will choose interest-free agricultural loan. Rajasthan will choose English education. Rajasthan will choose OPS. Rajasthan will choose caste census." The BJP wrote to the Election Commission, saying his post violates the silence period of 48 hours during which any type of campaign is barred. It accused the ex-Congress chief of violating the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct and sought the EC's action. "The social media platform X and its functionaries may also be directed to immediately suspend the account and remove the aforestated ...

Rajasthan registers nearly 25% voter turnout till 11:30 am, says EC

Voting began at 7 am on Saturday after days of hectic campaigning by major political parties, including the ruling Congress and BJP

EC gives nod to assistance under Rythu Bandhu to ryots in Telangana

The Election Commission has given green signal to the Telangana government to disburse the financial assistance under Rythu Bandhu scheme, an investment support to farmers, before November 28. In a communication on Friday, the EC said, The Commission has no objection to disbursement of Rythu Bandhu amount and has further directed that the DBT scheme will not be affected during silence period and poll day in the State." According to a government release, on account of bank holidays on November 25,26 and 27 and the Election Commission directive that distribution of Rythu Bandhu aid is not allowed on November 29 and 30, the funds will be transferred directly to the farmers' bank accounts through online DBT method. The State Agriculture Department noted that 70 lakh farmers will benefit through Rythu Bandhu initiative in this Yasangi (rabi) season.

Sharad Pawar camp questions before EC the premise of dispute in NCP

The Sharad Pawar faction on Friday questioned before the Election Commission the very premise of dispute in the NCP, claiming those who were part of conducting organisational polls in the party in 2018 cannot claim in 2023 that those elections were flawed. Sharad Pawar faction's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said between 1999 and 2018, there were no allegations that Sharad Pawar was not the leader of the party or that the elections were faulty. "It is for the first time in 2023 that an allegation was levelled that the polls held in 2018 and subsequently at the lower level were flawed and so was the national convention," he told reporters as the hearing continued at the EC on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's claim on party name and symbol. He said his arguments will continue at the next hearing. He said those levelling allegations include Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel when it was Patel himself who had issued the notice under his sign calling the national convention. He

Steady progress over the years but election fight still tough for women

Even if they win in a contest, it is not certain that political parties will field them again

Election Commission issues notice to Rahul Gandhi for 'panauti' jibe at PM

Rahul Gandhi, at a poll rally in Rajasthan's Jalore, called PM Modi a 'panauti' and said his entry made India lose the 2023 World Cup final match against Australia

BJP urges EC to take action against Rahul, Kharge for remarks targeting PM

The BJP on Wednesday stepped up its protest against Rahul Gandhi for his 'panauti' jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged the Election Commission to take action against the Congress leader. A party delegation, which included its general secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal and another functionary Om Pathak, also sought the poll watchdog's action against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, accusing him of falsely claiming that Modi's caste was included in Gujarat's OBC list when he was the state chief minister. The Ghanchi caste, a community traditionally employed in oil pressing, was included in the OBC list in 1999 while Modi became chief minister in 2001, Pathak said. "We request the Election Commission to intervene urgently by taking appropriate legal action against Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for their continued fraudulent, baseless and abusive practice and to pass a prohibitory order against them," the BJP delegation said in its communication to the ...

Chhattisgarh Assembly polls: Here's how the votes will be counted in state

The voting was conducted in two phase, with the first phase of voting on November 7 and the second phase on November 17, with a 76.31% voter turnout

Sharad Pawar faction urges EC to take penal action against Ajit camp

The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP on Monday urged the Election Commission to take penal action against the Ajit Pawar group, alleging it filed fake affidavits before the poll panel. Two days before rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar to join the Maharashtra government in early July, Ajit Pawar had approached the Election Commission on June 30 staking claim to the party name as well as the symbol. He had subsequently declared himself as the party president with the support of 40 lawmakers. After the fourth personal hearing by the EC on Monday, Sharad Pawar's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters that the alleged fake affidavits filed by the Ajit Pawar camp can be categorised into 24 categories of "fraud". He alleged that it was a case of "complete, shameless fraud" committed by the Ajit Pawar camp. Party founder Sharad Pawar was present when Singhvi spoke with reporters. The hearing will continue on Friday. Singhvi said "not one affidavit" submitted by the opposite side s

BJP received Rs 256.25 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust in FY 2022-23

The BJP received a total of Rs 256.25 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust, while the BRS received Rs 90 crore and the YSRCP Rs 16 crore from the fund during the financial year that ended in March 2023. The trust gave total donations of Rs 363.15 crore to political parties during the year, according to its filing before the Election Commission (EC). The data shared by the trust reveals that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received 70.56 per cent of the donations made by it during the past year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received a total of Rs 90 lakh from the fund in two tranches of Rs 45 lakh each. The contributions made by the trust to the BJP were in 17 tranches. The trust made three contributions to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), totalling Rs 90 crore. The maximum contribution of Rs 75 crore was made in one tranch to the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party while another of Rs 10 crore and yet another of Rs 5 crore were given to the ruling party in Telangana. The YSRCP, which

AAP complaints against BJP to EC over social media content against Kejriwal

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission accusing the BJP of using "absurd" content on social media to tarnish the image of its convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. An AAP delegation requested the Election Commission to take cognisance of the complaint and ensure proper action against the BJP, senior AAP leader and party MP Raghav Chadha said. "The BJP is using substandard and absurd content while trying to spoil the image of our party and leader Arvind Kejriwal. They are trying his character assassination," he charged, objecting to a post on November 5. Last week, the Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Kejriwal for alleged disparaging remarks made by AAP against Prime Minister Narendra Modi its social media handle and asked him to respond to the charge of poll code violation by November 16. A day later, Chadha had accused the BJP of running a "derogatory and misleading" campaign on social media against Kejriwa

Re-polling ordered at a booth in Madhya Pradesh's Ater assembly seat

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered re-polling on November 21 at a booth in the Ater assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, according to an official release. Voting will be held at booth number 3 under polling centre number 71 at Kishupura between 7 am and 6 pm, it said, adding that indelible ink will be applied on the middle finger of voters. The order of repolling has been issued to the district returning officer, it said. A district official said repolling was ordered because of the breach of secrecy as some people had shot videos of voting on November 17 at the concerned booth in Kishupura. Sitting MLA from Ater and BJP leader, Arvind Singh Bhadauria, is facing ex-legislator Hemant Katare of Congress. All 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh went to polls in a single phase on November 17 with a voter turnout of 77.15 per cent, as per the Election Commission. Votes will be counted on December 3.

'Caged parrot' Election Commission a sham, is favouring BJP, alleges Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Election Commission of India had become a caged parrot and a sham and was "practising double standards in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party". In his weekly column 'Rokthok' in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana', Raut also accused the BJP of resorting to religious propaganda to "bribe" voters after losing ground in five states where Assembly polls are being held (in November). Latching on to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Madhya Pradesh last week promising people of government-organised tours to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya if the BJP retains power, Raut said this was clearly campaigning on religious lines. If such a statement had been made by a Congress leader, then the ECI, like the Enforcement Directorate, would have been at the doorstep with a "warrant", the Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP alleged. Garnering votes by"bribing" the electorate is shocking and the ECI has shut its eyes, which is detrimental to ...

Mizoram: EC allows students' scholarship disbursal after hundreds protest

Mizoram's student body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) called off its agitation late on Thursday after the state government assured disbursement of scholarships following approval by the Election Commission. Earlier in the day, officials said that the scholarship money was not disbursed due to the model code of conduct being in place for the state assembly polls held on November 7 and that they were waiting for the Election Commission's nod. The counting of votes will take place on December 3. MZP general secretary Chinkhanmanga Thomte said that the agitation was called off at 8:30 pm on Thursday as the Election Commission has approved the petition to disburse the scholarship money. Hundreds of students, under the aegis of MZP, were protesting from Tuesday over the alleged negligence of the state scholarship board to disburse money. They demanded that the second installment of scholarship money be immediately released to the beneficiaries. The protesters staged a sit-in outside the Mizoram