Elections

SC flags fiscal strain of pre-poll freebies, questions power subsidies

Bench led by the CJI warns that unchecked largesse strains taxpayers, deepens deficits and may weaken economic foundations as States expand subsidies ahead of elections

Takaichi will be reappointed as Japan's PM with goal of pushing to right

Last week Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a landslide election that she hopes will allow her to move her nation's policies hard right. On Wednesday she will be reappointed as prime minister by the parliament and form her second Cabinet. It's a formality, but Takaichi will look to use the symbolism of the day to further boost her Liberal Democratic Party as it looks to capitalize on a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers. Her goals include an increase in military power, more government spending and strengthened conservative social policies. The power of a supermajority Having two-thirds control of the 465-seat lower house allows Takaichi's party to dominate top posts in house committees and push through bills rejected by the upper house, the chamber where the LDP-led ruling coalition lacks a majority. Takaichi wants to bolster Japan's military capability and arms sales, tighten immigration policies, push ...

BNP chief Tarique Rahman to take oath as new PM of Bangladesh today

Tarique Rahman will take oath as Bangladesh's new Prime Minister on Tuesday after leading his party to a forceful victory in the crucial general elections. Breaking with a long-standing tradition, the swearing-in ceremony of the 60-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairman would be held at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex instead of Bangabhaban. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday afternoon, state-run BSS news agency reported on Monday. "The Parliament Secretariat is set to hold the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet members at 4:00 pm tomorrow. Earlier, the Parliament Members (MPs) will be sworn in at 10:00 am at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex," Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Kaniz Maula told BSS earlier. BNP has called a parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Building at 11:30 am to elect the parliamentary party leader. "As the

BNP secured 50% votes, Jamaat gets 31% in Bangladesh general election

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which swept to power with a two-thirds majority in the recent general elections, received nearly 50 per cent of the votes while its once ally the Jamaat-e-Islami secured 31.76 per cent, according to the Election Commission on Sunday. An EC spokesman said independent candidates collectively won 5.79 per cent of the votes while "other political parties lagged far behind". According to the EC, the BNP led by former prime minister Khaldea Zia's son Tarique Rahman secured 49.97 per cent of the votes as it bagged 209 out of 297 seats. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to the country's 1971 independence from Pakistan, emerged as the main opposition party, registering its best ever performance as it won 68 seats. The BNP alliance won 212 seats compared to 77 for the Jamaat alliance. The National Citizen Party, formed by the Students Against Discrimination, which led the mass protests against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in Aug

SIR discrepancy hearings in Bengal end; final rolls to be released Feb 28

The hearing for 'logical discrepancy' cases in the SIR exercise concluded across West Bengal on Saturday, a senior EC official said, adding that the the final electoral rolls is scheduled to be published on February 28. The hearings, which addressed omissions and inconsistencies in name spellings, began on December 27 and continued across the state at camps set up in schools, club rooms and administrative buildings. "The poll officials will now scrutinise documents till February 21, and the final electoral rolls is slated for publication on February 28," the official said. Any pending data for Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) must be uploaded by Monday. During the enumeration exercise, around 58 lakh names (deceased/duplicate/shifted voters) were referred as fit for omission and kept out of the draft electoral rolls published in December. The last date of publication of the final electoral rolls was February 14, which was later extended by the EC to February 28.

Datanomics: New Bangladesh govt faces muted growth, high inflation

From 2019 to 2024, Bangladesh beat India in terms of per capita income

Preserve SIR records for 5 years: CEC Gyanesh Kumar to Bengal officials

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Friday directed that all records related to the SIR of electoral rolls be preserved for five years and warned of strict disciplinary action against officials found responsible for errors or deliberate lapses, an official said. At a meeting held virtually with district magistrates (DMs), electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) of Bengal, Kumar said decisions taken during the SIR process would remain stored in the commission's database for many years. "These records will not remain for one or two years, but for several years. If any foreign national's name is found in the voter list in future, the officer concerned will face action," Kumar was quoted as saying. In a stern message to the district election officers (DEOs), he cautioned that the poll panel would be empowered to initiate action even years later. "Do not assume you can escape. Even after two years, the commission can proceed

Bangladesh elections 2026: BNP’s big victory and what Tarique Rahman’s win means for India

Bangladesh’s 2026 parliamentary election has delivered a decisive victory to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies.

Bangladesh election tests Gen Z uprising, India-China power balance

Bangladesh's first election since Muhammad Yunus took charge as interim leader will test whether Gen Z-led protest movements can convert street momentum into stable, long-term political power

Japan PM Takaichi eyes defence, immigration reforms after landslide win

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's gamble that her personal popularity would lead to big election gains for her struggling party paid off hugely. On Monday, she began the process of translating that new power, made manifest in a two-thirds supermajority gained in parliamentary elections the day before, into what she hopes will be sweeping conservative legislation that will shift Japanese security, immigration, economic and social policies. The first steps include reappointing her Cabinet and pushing forward on a delayed budget, and the votes next week that will re-elect her as prime minister. Takaichi, in an interview with public television network NHK following her victory, said her efforts will make Japan strong and prosperous. NHK, citing vote count results, said Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, alone secured 316 seats by early Monday, comfortably surpassing a 261-seat absolute majority in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber ...

Who is Thailand's leader Anutin and how did he seal clear win in elections?

Anutin is now set to head a coalition govt with comfortable majority that may end bouts of political upheaval which have rattled the Southeast Asian nation in recent years and left its economy adrift

Trump congratulates Japan PM Takaichi for 'landslide victory' in elections

Commending Japanese voters, Trump said the wonderful people of Japan had voted with enthusiasm and would always have his strong support

2 elections, 2 different results: Aam Aadmi Party's 'great disruption'

AAP's contrasting performances in Punjab and Goa highlight growing questions over its centralised leadership model and refusal to forge alliances in local elections

Facing democracy test, Bangladesh at a crossroads ahead of elections

India will closely watch the first post-Hasina parliamentary polls, amid concerns over minority safety, regional alignments and a tight BNP-Islamist contest

Thailand votes in early election with three main parties vying for power

Voters in Thailand went to the polls Sunday in an early general election seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics. The battle for support from 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment. While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three - the People's Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai - have the nationwide organisation and popularity to gain a winning mandate. A simple majority of the 500 elected lawmakers selects the next prime minister. No outright winner expected Local polls consistently project that no single party will gain a majority, necessitating the formation of a coalition government. Although the progressive People's Party is seen as favoured to win a plurality, its reformist politics aren't shared by its leading rivals, which may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government. The People's Party, led by ...

Portugal voters choose between moderate, populist in presidential runoff

Centre-left Socialist candidate Antonio Jose Seguro is heavily favoured to defeat hard-right populist Andre Ventura in Portugal's runoff presidential election on Sunday in a vote that will test the depth of support for Ventura's brash style of politics. Recent opinion polls say Seguro will collect twice as many votes as Ventura in the head-to-head between the two top candidates in last month's first round of voting, when none of the runners captured more than 50 per cent of the vote required for victory. But making it through to the runoff is already a milestone for Ventura and his Chega (Enough) party, which has quickly grown into a significant force in Portuguese politics during a wider European shift to the right. Seguro, a longstanding Socialist politician, has positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal's centre-right minority government, repudiating Ventura's anti-establishment and anti-immigrant tirades. In Portugal, the president is largely a

Japan election: What to know as PM Takaichi's coalition eyes big win

Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, could capture around 300 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament, polls showed

Rising prices dominate Japan election as voters seek cost-of-living relief

The election pits the PM Takaichi-led Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) coalition against the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, with inflation and affordability shaping voter sentiment nationwide

Japanese Takaichi hopes for big win as polls open in national elections

Polls opened Sunday in parliamentary elections that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hopes will give her struggling party a big enough win to push through an ambitious conservative political agenda. Takaichi is hugely popular, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for most of the last seven decades, is not. She called Sunday's snap elections hoping to turn that around. She wants to make progress on a right-wing agenda that aims to boost Japan's economy and military capabilities as tensions grow with China. She also nurtures ties with her crucial US ally, and a sometimes unpredictable President Donald Trump. The ultraconservative Takaichi, who took office as Japan's first female leader in October, pledged to "work, work, work," and her style, which is seen as both playful and tough, has resonated with younger fans. The latest surveys indicated a landslide win in the lower house for the LDP. The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist ...

SIR in Telangana expected to be announced during April-May, says CEO

Telangana CEO C Sudharsan Reddy has said that the SIR of electoral rolls in the state is expected to be announced during AprilMay this year. Addressing a meeting with representatives of recognised political parties on Thursday, he said Booth Level Agents (BLAs) should preferably be drawn from the local area of the polling station and work in close coordination with Booth Level Officers. The Chief Electoral Officer informed the parties that the SIR is currently underway in 12 states, and that the schedule for the remaining states, including Telangana, is expected to be announced during AprilMay 2026. Given the limited time available for the revision once notified, he said preparatory work had already commenced in the state, a release quoting him late on Thursday said. Political parties were urged to appoint at least one BLA for every polling station ahead of the forthcoming SIR of electoral rolls, with the Chief Electoral Officer stressing that strong booth-level coordination would