Page 7 - Election Commission

EC notice to NDA MP, her MLC husband for possessing two voter cards

The Election Commission on Thursday served notices to LJP (Ram Vilas) MP from Bihar's Vaishali Veena Devi and her husband Dinesh Singh, a JD(U) MLC, for allegedly possessing two voter ID cards each, an official said. The EC's action came hours after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the couple possessed two voter ID cards each. "The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Muzaffarpur assembly constituency has sent notices to the MP and her husband asking them to submit their replies to the EC over the issue of possessing two voter ID cards by August 16," the official said. Yadav, the leader of opposition in the assembly, shared purported screenshots of draft electoral rolls published following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), claiming that the NDA MP and the MLC have two voter cards each. "Is it not a case of fraud, manipulation, and collusion by the Election Commission to ensure a victory for BJP-NDA?" he asked. Speaking to reporters, Veena Devi claimed, "I don't know

Give proof, don't use phrases like vote chori, says EC amid voter data row

Amid relentless attacks by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged voter data fudging, the Election Commission on Thursday said instead of creating false narrative by using "dirty phrases" like 'vote chori', proof should be given. In a statement, the EC said the law for "one person one vote" is already is existence since the first elections in 1951-1952. "If anyone has any proof of any person actually voting twice in any election, it should be shared with ECI with a written affidavit rather than colouring all the electors of India as 'chor' without any proof," it said. The poll authority said that by trying to create a false narrative by using "dirty phrases" like "vote chori" for Indian electors, is not only a direct attack on the crores of Indian electors but also an assault on the integrity of lakhs of election staff. Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, last week cited data to allege that more than one lakh votes were 'stolen' in the Mahadevpura assembly ...

WB chief secy summoned by ECI over refusal to suspend 'tainted' officers

West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, who was summoned by the Election Commission in New Delhi to explain the state government's decision not to suspend "tainted" officers over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision, left for the national capital on Wednesday morning. The poll panel on Tuesday summoned Pant to Delhi to report in person to Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters in the national capital, by 5 pm on August 13. "He will explain the rationale behind the state government's decision," one senior bureaucrat told PTI. The move came in response to Pant's communication to the Election Commission of India on Monday, stating that suspending the identified officers and filing FIRs against them, as directed by the poll panel, would be "disproportionately harsh" and have "demoralising impact" on the officers' community in Bengal.

We'll need some facts, figures on SIR of Bihar electoral rolls: SC to ECI

The Supreme Court of India had earlier said that it will step in immediately in case of a 'mass exclusion' in the SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar

Rahul criticises EC over 'One Man, One Vote,' vows to protect Constitution

Gandhi further accused the Election Commission of neglecting its duty, asserting that the Congress party is committed to protecting the Constitution and will continue to do

PM should resign if EC says there are discrepancies in electoral rolls: TMC

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet should resign and the Lok Sabha be dissolved if the Election Commission says there are discrepancies in the electoral rolls. Banerjee, who is the national general secretary of TMC and considered the number two in the Mamata Banerjee-led party, said that the "EC cannot selectively say" that the voter list is fine in some states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, but not in West Bengal, Bihar or Tamil Nadu. "If SIR (special intensive revision) of electoral rolls is conducted, it should be held across the country and the first step should be the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet and the Lok Sabha has to be dissolved," he said. The TMC leader claimed that if the present government has been elected on the basis of the same voter list, then the legitimacy of the central government is null and void. Lok Sabha polls in the country were held in mid-2024. "If

Cong has no issues with EC where it wins: Dilip Ghosh on 'vote theft' claim

On Monday, the INDIA bloc MPs took out a march from the Parliament to the EC in Delhi against the alleged irregularities in the 2024 general election and against the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar

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Fight against SIR is to protect people's right to vote: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the protest against 'vote chori' and SIR is a fight to protect people's right to vote and a struggle to save democracy, and asserted the INDIA alliance will expose BJP's "conspiracy". His remarks came as top opposition leaders were stopped from taking out a march to the Election Commission office to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. In a post on X, he said, "BJP's cowardly dictatorship will not work!". "This is a fight to protect the people's right to vote. This is a struggle to save democracy," he said. "The allies of the INDIA coalition will surely expose this BJP conspiracy to shred the Constitution," Kharge said in his post in Hindi. Kharge was among those who participated in the Opposition MPs protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission office. The protesting MPs were prevented by the police from moving forward and were detained and taken away in buses. Kharge and Rahul G

MPs dont need permission to walk on streets of Delhi: Ramgopal Yadav

If you cannot meet MPs citing the excuse of space, then that in itself is a comment on what kind of work you are doing.This (SIR) is a fraud; you are not providing classified data, Manoj Jha told ANI

Rahul Gandhi detained during Opposition march to EC protesting Bihar SIR

During the Opposition's protest march to the Election Commission over Bihar's voter rolls stopped by police, Rahul Gandhi and several leaders were detained

EC can restore credibility by addressing election fairness doubts: Tharoor

The Election Commission's own interest lies in addressing these questions, Tharoor said

Will reply to EC notice, says Bihar Dy CM on possessing 2 voter cards

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has been served with a notice by the Election Commission for allegedly possessing two voter ID cards, on Monday asserted that he respects constitutional bodies and will respond to the poll panel's queries. The senior BJP leader, who has been left with egg on his face, was replying to questions from journalists here, a day after the Election Commission notice was served to him in the backdrop of the anomaly being highlighted by the opposition. Sinha said, "I respect the country's Constitution and all constitutional bodies. I am not like Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav." Notably, Yadav, the RJD leader, and the Congress had targeted the BJP leader over his name appearing at two different places in Bihar in the draft electoral rolls published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The BJP leader had clarified before the media that he had been registered as a voter of Bankipur constituency in Patna, and last year, he applied f

Bihar govt upgrades security for Samrat Choudhary, Tejashwi Yadav, others

Bihar government has upgraded security cover for Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, and several other politicians, according to a notification from the state home department. According to the latest notification, Choudhary, already a Z-plus protectee, will now also be covered under the Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) protocol, which requires coordination between local agencies including district administration, police, health, and other departments to ensure safety. The protocol also mandates anti-sabotage checks and multi-layered security rings. RJD leader and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav will now be provided Z-category security, following a review of threat levels for VIP protectees in the state, it added. The government has also granted Y-plus security to Independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Araria MP Pradeep Kumar Singh, and Barh MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu. JD(U) MLC Neera Kumar has been provided Y-category .

No claim or objection submitted by any party over SIR in Bihar: EC

Releasing its daily bulletin today, the poll body said that from August 1 to August 11, over 1,60,813 Booth Level Agents across national and state parties have not filed any objections

Clean voter roll imperative for free, fair elections: Rahul Gandhi

Vote Chori is an attack on the foundational idea of 'one man, one vote, said Rahul Gandhi

No deletion in Bihar voter roll without notice, reasoned order: EC to SC

The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that there would be no deletion of any voter's name from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without issuance of prior notice, affording opportunity of being heard and a reasoned order. The poll panel also said that statutory framework does not require it to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone in the draft rolls for any reason. The EC filed an additional affidavit in the apex court on Saturday, days after it came out with the much-anticipated draft electoral rolls in Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters but knocking off more than 65 lakh names, claiming that most of the persons concerned had died or migrated. Separately, the EC also filed its reply to an application filed by the petitioner seeking direction to the poll panel to publish a full and final assembly constituency and part/booth wise list of names and details of ...

Congress launches campaign urging people to register against 'vote chori'

Upping the ante over Rahul Gandhi's poll rigging claims, the Congress has launched a web page where people can register to demand accountability from the Election Commission against what it called was "vote chori" and express support for his demand for digital voter rolls. Anyone can click on the portal link and download "vote chori proof, demand EC accountability and report vote chori". It also carries Gandhi's video in which reiterated his explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in the polls through collusion between the BJP and the EC He had cited an analysis in a constituency in Karnataka, and said it was "a crime against the Constitution". The portal also carries a message which states that the vote is the foundation of our democracy but it's under "systematic attack by the BJP, with the Election Commission complicit". "In just one assembly segment of Bangalore Central, we found over 1 lakh fake voters that helped the BJP win this Lok Sabha seat. Imagine this happening in

Congress alleges irregularities in Odisha's 2024 Assembly, LS polls

The opposition Congress in Odisha on Saturday alleged that irregularities had taken place in the state during the simultaneous elections to the assembly and Lok Sabha last year. Addressing a press conference, state Congress president Bhakta Charan Das claimed that about 42 lakh votes were cast in the state between 5 pm and 9 pm on the day of the polling. "How come such a huge number of voters came to the polling stations in the evening?" he questioned. Das also raised questions on the BJD not winning a single Lok Sabha seat in the state. "The BJD won 51 assembly seats, but was unable to win a single Lok Sabha constituency. The BJD won four or five assembly seats in some Lok Sabha constituencies, but its candidates could not become MPs. How did it happen?" he asked. The Congress won only one Lok Sabha seat, Koraput, as it has won six out of the seven segments that are part of it, he said. Thanking the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, for bringing the alleged irregularities

Bihar draft voter list: No claims from parties nine days after release

The Election Commission on Saturday said that since the Bihar draft voter list was published nine days ago on August 1, no political party has approached it for inclusion or deletion of names of individuals from the rolls. The draft roll will be available till September 1 for claims and objections under which parties and individuals can seek inclusion of eligible citizens left out and exclusion of those they believe are ineligible. The EC said between August 1 and August 9 (Saturday), no booth-level agent appointed by parties has approached poll authorities in the claims and objections procedure. On the other hand, 7,252 individuals have approached it for inclusion or deletion of names from the draft voters' list. "The Election Commission is repeatedly stating that no eligible elector is to be left out and no ineligible elector is to be included in the final electoral roll of Bihar. "Submit your claims and objections to rectify any errors in the draft roll of Bihar," a functionary