Page 6 - Elections

Out of your scope: Law ministry to Parl panel on reverting to ballot papers

The question of holding elections using ballot papers does not fall under the ambit of the joint committee of Parliament examining the two bills on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, the Union law ministry is learnt to have said. Reverting to the ballot paper system was a "suggestion" made by some of the members of the joint committee and the law ministry was to respond to it in writing. While the ministry's Legislative Department gave elaborate responses to a variety of questions posed to it by the committee, it did not give a direct reply on the suggestion on the ballot paper system. The ministry is learnt to have said that the suggestion on the use of the ballot paper system was "out of scope" of the parliamentary panel. Sources explained that the committee is mandated to examine the bills on simultaneous polls -- the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill -- and give its report on whether they are .

Germany's options: A tough leadership test awaits the new chancellor

Much of Mr Merz's leadership of Europe, however, depends on how fast he can revive Germany's economy

IUML asks ally Cong to resolve leadership issues in latter's Kerala unit

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal on Sunday called on the Congress to address any internal leadership disputes in its Kerala unit. His remarks came in response to a political debate ignited by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's recent interview with an English daily. In the interview, Tharoor highlighted the "absence of a leader" in the party's Kerala unit, subtly positioning himself as a viable option by citing his appeal among non-traditional voters. His comments come amid criticism from within the party for his recent praise of the ruling LDF government in Kerala. This is not just about Tharoor's issue. If there are any leadership issues, Congress should address them and move forward, Thangal told reporters. He stated that this view is shared by all constituents of the Congress-led UDF. "With elections approaching, Congress should resolve the issues as it is to lead the front," he added. IUML is a major partner of the grand o

Kharge tells his top party leaders they will be accountable for results

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday told top party leaders that they would be held accountable for election results in the future and warned them against turncoats, remarks that came in the backdrop of the party's Delhi poll debacle. Addressing the new office-bearers at a meeting held at the party's headquarters at Indira Bhawan, he urged party leaders to work at the grassroots level and strengthen the party from the booth level and promote such people who are ideologically committed to the organisation. Kharge also hinted at some more changes in the organisation, saying some changes have already taken place and some more are in the offing. "I want to talk to you about the most important thing of accountability. You all will be held accountable for revamping the organisations in states and for all future election results," he told the office-bearers. The party recently brought in new office bearers in the revamped organisation. Among those who attended the meeting

New CEC Gyanesh Kumar to oversee 22 state polls before 2029 retirement

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) said it would take up the pleas against the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 19 as a "priority"

SC slams freebies, says they discourage people from willing to work

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deprecated the practice of announcing freebies prior to elections, and said people were not willing to work as they were getting free ration and money. The observations came from a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih which was hearing a matter concerning the right to shelter of homeless persons in urban areas. "Unfortunately, because of these freebies... the people are not willing to work. They are getting free rations. They are getting amount without doing any work," Justice Gavai observed. "We quite appreciate your concern for them but would it not be better to make them a part of the mainstream of society and permit them to contribute to the development of the nation," the bench said. Attorney General R Venkataramani told the bench that the Centre was in the process of finalising the urban poverty alleviation mission, which would address various issues, including the provision of shelter for the urban homeless. The bench asked t

Delhi elections: BJP candidates hold victory rallies, distribute sweets

A day after the BJP returned to power in Delhi, the party's winning candidates held thanksgiving rallies in their respective constituencies on Sunday. The candidates celebrated their success by distributing sweets, cutting cakes and thanking voters for supporting them. The BJP returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years, winning 48 of the 70 assembly seats on Saturday. The AAP won 22 seats while the Congress drew a blank in the polls held on February 5. BJP's Moti Nagar MLA-elect Harish Khurana took out a rally in his constituency. "I am here in Moti Nagar to thank the people who have shown immense trust in me. I assure them that I will work honestly for their welfare, focusing on issues like public toilets and water supply," he said. Satish Upadhyay, who won from Malviya Nagar, led a victory procession that saw his supporters dancing to drum beats. He also visited a temple and cut a cake. "The people have supported us and this rally is our way of showing gratitude. We wi

Delhi election results 2025: How to check live results on ECI website

Delhi election results 2025: As vote counting continues for the Delhi Assembly elections on Saturday, the BJP has taken an early lead over the AAP

Delhi Assembly election results 2025: Key constituencies to watch

As AAP, BJP, and Congress compete for power, high-stakes contests in key constituencies like New Delhi, Malviya Nagar, and Okhla will determine Delhi's political fate

Delhi elections 2025: How to search and download voter slip on mobile phone

The voter information slip (VIS), commonly known as the voter slip, contains information about an eligible voter, including their name, age, gender, assembly constituency, and polling station details

European Union rejects election in Belarus, threatens new sanctions

The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power. Today's sham election in Belarus has been neither free, nor fair, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement. The relentless and unprecedented repression of human rights, restrictions to political participation and access to independent media in Belarus, have deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy," Kallas and Kos said. They urged the Belarusian government to release political prisoners, estimating their number at more than 1,000, including an employee of the EU delegation in Belarus' capital, Minsk. Kallas and Kos said that the decision to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe only 10 days ago ..

Delhi polls: Over 700 Model Code violations reported till January 25

More than 700 cases of alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) have so far been registered ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls, an official said on Friday. The cases were lodged between January 7, when the MCC into force, and January 25. A total of 21,841 people were arrested under various legal provisions, including those under the Excise Act, during this period, according to a statement. Ahead of the polls, police have intensified vigilance at border checkpoints and conducted crackdowns on illegal activities, including the smuggling of arms, liquor and drugs. Delhi Police has recorded 718 cases of alleged MCC violations and confiscated 348 illegal firearms and 439 cartridges, the statement said. It has also seized 57,504 litres of liquor worth more than Rs 1.7 crore, 155.08 kg of drugs worth over Rs 72 crore and more than 1,200 banned injections. Law enforcement agencies have also seized Rs 6.19 crore in cash and 37.39 kg of silver, the statement said. Po

India nears 1 bn voters, with youth, women driving electoral growth: EC

The number of voters in India now stands at 99.1 crore, up from 96.88 crore when the Lok Sabha elections were held last year, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday. In a statement issued ahead of National Voters' Day, the EC said the electoral rolls bear a youthful and gender-balanced look with 21.7 crore young electors in the 18-29 age group and a six-point increase in electoral gender ratio from 948 in 2024 to 954 in 2025. National Voters' Day is celebrated on January 25 every year to mark the foundation day of the EC, which was established on this day in 1950. Addressing a press conference here on January 7 to announce the Delhi assembly poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said India would soon create a new record of one billion-plus voters. "Electoral rolls were released yesterday (January 6). We are crossing 99 crore voters... We are going to be a nation of one billion voters very soon, which will be another record in voting," he said. "After

Delhi Elections 2025: AAP vs BJP vs Cong; who promised what?

As Delhi gears up for Assembly elections on 5th February, the political heat is rising. It's a 3-way contest between AAP, BJP, and Congress. What are the three parties promising this time?

TikTok meddled in various elections, including India's, say US Senators

Ahead of a looming ban on TikTok in the United States, US senators have alleged that the Chinese Communist Party-owned platform has interfered in the elections of various countries, including India. A group of lawmakers has called for extending the deadline to shut it down. Participating in a debate on TikTok, the lawmakers also applauded India's ban on the social media platform which is highly popular among teenagers and youths. As per a law signed by President Joe Biden a year ago, TikTok faces a ban from US app stores unless the Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. divests its American arm by Sunday, January 19. TikTok meddles in the politics of other countries by amplifying divisive content in for instance, Israel, India and of course America. Don't forget that TikTok harvests a vast trove of user data including name age, email address, phone number, credit card number, facial features, voice prints, keystrokes photos, videos and viewing habits, Senator Tom Cotton said on the .

Matter 'closed', says IT House panel chief Dubey after Meta apology

Zuckerberg had said that "2024 was the big election year around the world and a lot of countries like India and a tonne of countries that had elections and incumbents basically lost every single one"

Delhi HC questions necessity of granting interim bail to Tahir Hussain

Delhi Police opposed Tahir's interim bail plea, citing the case of Amritpal Singh, who had filed his nomination from jail, as a precedent

Delhi polls: Within 5 yrs, slums in Delhi will be demolished, says Kejriwal

The AAP national convener claimed that the BJP does not intend to build houses for the slum dwellers

Musk holds discussions with Germany's 'far-right' leaders ahead of polls

Tech billionaire Elon Musk live-streamed a chat with a leader of Germany's far-right party on Thursday, using the power of his social media platform, X, to amplify its message ahead of an upcoming national election and raising concerns across Europe about potential meddling by the world's richest man. Musk, who worked last year to help reelect Donald Trump in the United States, told Alice Weidel, a co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party and its candidate for chancellor, that he was strongly recommending that people vote for AfD, using the acronym for the party. The two agreed that Germany's taxes are too high, that there is too much immigration and that it was a mistake for the country to shut down nuclear power plants. More than 190,000 X accounts tuned into the conversation. Musk has previously used X to endorse AfD, and he authored an article for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, claiming Germany under center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz is teetering on the edge of economic

EC defends rule change curbing release of polling booth CCTV footage

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday defended the recent amendment to election rules restricting CCTV footage of polling booths from public inspection, saying it is meant to protect voters' privacy and prevent use of data for creating fake narratives. Based on Election Commission's recommendation, the government had last month tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera footage of polling stations to prevent misuse. In his first remarks on tweak of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, Kumar said only sharing of CCTV footage from inside and outside polling booths have been restricted. Addressing a press conference here to announce the schedule for Delhi Assembly polls, he said such data or footage was banned for public inspection through EC's instructions in 2024. He said certain other documents which are allowed under Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules will continue to be available. Some documents which