Polling

Delhi Elections 2025: What's open, what's closed on polling day, Feb 5

The Delhi government has announced a public holiday on February 5, allowing employees to exercise their right to vote

Delhi Assembly elections 2025: What time do polls open today, Feb 5

Delhi Assembly elections 2025: Over 15.5 million voters will cast their ballots across 13,033 polling stations in Delhi on Wednesday, counting of votes to take place on Feb 8

Delhi polls: CEO Vaz assures voter-friendly steps for smooth Feb 5 voting

Around 1.56 crore voters are set to exercise their electoral franchise in the Delhi Assembly election on February 5 as voter-friendly measures have been put in place for the smooth polling process, Chief Electoral Officer R. Alice Vaz said. To facilitate voting, 13,766 polling stations have been set up across 2,969 polling premises. Of these, 733 polling stations are designated for persons with disabilities, Vaz said. Around 1.56 crore voters, including 83.76 lakh men, 72.36 lakh women, and 1,267 individuals from the third gender will cast their ballot on February 5. The Delhi Election Office has introduced several voter-friendly measures to ensure a smooth polling process. These include ramps, wheelchairs, medical teams, crche services, themed polling stations, a queue management mobile application and a home voting option for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, she said. Vaz emphasised that over 1 lakh polling personnel have been deployed, and all polling stations will

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

J&K assembly elections 2024: Phase 3 voter turnout

J-K Assembly elections: Over 28% polling recorded till 11 am in third phase

A voter turnout of 11.60 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of polling for the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections of Tuesday, according to Election Commission (EC) data. Polling in 40 assembly segments across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir began at 7 am amid tight security. Long queues were seen outside polling stations. More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig. Polling is underway in three border districts of north Kashmir --? Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara. The assembly segments where polling is being held are Baramulla, Uri, Rafiabad, Pattan, Gulmarg, Sopore and Wagoora-Kreeri in Baramulla district; Kupwara, Karnah, Trehgam, Handwara, Lolab and Langate in Kupwara district; and Bandipora, Sonawari and Gurez in Bandipora district. A total of 202 candidates are in the fray in these 16 segments. Voting is also being hel

J&K Assembly polls: Second phase of polling witnesses over 56% turnout

The second phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections saw a voter turnout of over 56 per cent on Wednesday, with the democratic exercise passing off peacefully amid tight security. While there was significant participation in key constituencies in 26 seats spread over six districts with long queues of voters at polling stations since early morning, 20 of these segments recorded a marginally lower turnout than in the 2014 assembly elections, when the overall voting was 60 per cent. The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer P.K. Pole announced a preliminary turnout figure of 56.05 per cent, stating that it might change as polling continued in some areas, including Hazratbal and Reasi. He emphasised that the election proceeded smoothly, with only minor incidents ...

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls: Kashmiri Pandits cast votes at special polling booths in Delhi

Elon Musk launches poll on X asking if Tesla should invest $5 bn in xAI

Nearly 3 hours after the poll was posted, roughly 386,000 people had participated with 70% voting in favour of the investment.

LS polls: 45,576 EVMs at 20,031 polling stations in Haryana, says officer

A total of 45,576 EVMs will be used in the state for the Lok Sabha elections and the by-election of Karnal Assembly constituency, Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal said on Wednesday. Agarwal said 24,039 control units and 26,040 VVPAT machines will be used at 20,031 polling stations for the elections. Among the polling stations set up, 19,812 are permanent and 219 are auxiliary stations, he said. There are 99 polling stations which will be operated entirely by women staff and 71 polling stations will be manned by Person with Disability (PwD) employees, he said. There are 5,470 polling stations in urban areas and 14,342 polling stations have been set up in rural areas, he said. Voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and bypoll for Karnal assembly seat will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of general elections. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. The state CEO said that 176 model polling stations have also been established. In view of the prevailing severe hea

Love taking selfies? Doing so inside a polling booth could land you in jail

Rules 39 and 49M of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, uphold polling secrecy by prohibiting electronic devices and identity-revealing activities in polling stations

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Phase-IV records 63% voting among 96 seats

Polling in Srinagar highest since 1996 Lok Sabha elections at 37%

Kharge writes to opposition leaders on 'discrepancies' in EC's polling data

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the leaders of various parties of the INDIA opposition bloc on Tuesday, questioning the alleged discrepancies in the voting data released by the Election Commission (EC). In his letter, Kharge urged the INDIA bloc leaders to raise their voice against such discrepancies, for "our only objective is to protect the culture of a vibrant democracy and the Constitution". "Let us ensure the independence of the Election Commission of India and make it accountable," he said in his letter. "As the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), it should be our collective endeavour to safeguard democracy and protect the independent functioning of the ECI. All the aforementioned facts force us to ask a question -- could this be an attempt to doctor the final results?" he asked. "We all know how Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and the BJP are visibly flustered and frustrated by the voting trends and their receding electoral fortunes in the

Polling in India: Triumph of tech

Online voting could reduce costs associated with transporting and safeguarding booth materials and EVMs and potentially expedite vote-counting processes

LS polls: From 69.9% to 65.5%, first phase polling sees drop in vote share

The decline in voter turnout in the Nagaland Lok Sabha constituency was over 25 per cent because of calls for a poll boycott across six districts

Summer heat: EC asks poll officers to ensure facilities at polling stations

The Election Commission has sought "strict compliance" of its directive of providing assured minimum facilities at polling stations, including drinking water, shade and medical kit, for the Lok Sabha elections in the backdrop of the IMD predicting a harsh summer. It has also shared with its state chief electoral officers a set of 'dos and don'ts' issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to minimise the impact of the impending heat wave. In a letter sent out to its CEOs on March 16, the day it announced schedule for the Lok Sabha elections, the EC reminded them about its earlier set of instructions on assured minimum facilities at polling stations. According to the June 2023 instructions on assured minimum facilities, which have been circulated afresh, during summer, every polling party shall be supplied with oral rehydration salts (ORS) for their own use as well as for any voter needing the same due to heat-stroke. "A hand bill on 'Dos and Don'ts' in case of heat

Poll positions

Enforcing the model code of conduct could be a challenge

Muslim organisations to move ECI seeking change in poll date in 2 states

A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll dates for the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), on Sunday said it will move the poll panel seeking to change the polling dates in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as they fall on Friday. For Tamil Nadu, the polls will be held on April 19 and in Kerala on April 26. Both dates fall on a Friday. The IUML, a major ally of the Opposition Congress party in the UDF, said it will approach the ECI to change the dates of elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as it causes inconvenience to voters, officials, and candidates as Friday is important day for Muslims. Talking to PTI, P M A Salam, state general secretary of IUML, said Fridays are an important day for the Muslims who gather in mosques for prayer. "The announcement of polling on Friday will cause inconvenience to voters, candidates, polling agents, and officials assigned to election duty. We will move the ECI," he said. Other Muslim organisations ar

LS polls: 92 mn people eligible to cast vote for 48 seats in Maharashtra

A total of 9.2 crore persons, including more than 50,000 centenarians, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, an increase of 34 lakh from 2019, according to a senior state Election Commission official. The Lok Sabha polls for the 48 seats in Maharashtra will be held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 and votes will be counted on June 4. According to Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, there are 4,78,50,789 male and 4,41,74,722 female voters in the state as of March 15. The state has 5,559 transgender voters. The number of voters has increased by 34,69,534 since 2019, he said. There are 1,78,84,862 voters in the age group of 18 to 29 years. Maharashtra has 13,15,166 eligible voters aged over 85 years, including 52,908 over 100. The state has 97,325 polling centres, the official said. The Lok Sabha polls in the country will be held in seven phases spread over 44 days starting April 19, Chief Election Commiss

BJP demands polling booths in housing societies, high-rises for LS polls

Party slams EC's media monitoring committee's functioning as erratic and whimsical