India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India is likely to roll out the first of pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list next week beginning with "10 to 15 states", including those going to polls next year, officials said on Saturday. Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will go to polls in 2026, and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first. The poll authority is likely to announce the first phase of SIR middle of next week, in which as many as "10 to 15 states" would be included, officials said. The EC will not hold the electoral roll cleanup exercise in states where local body elections are taking place or are due, as the grassroots poll machinery is busy with it and may not be able to focus on SIR, they said. The SIR in such states will be held in later phases. The voters' list cleanup exercise has concluded in Bihar where the final list with nearly 7.42 crore names was published on September 30. The Commission has already held two conferences with state chief electoral officers (CEOs) to firm up the SIR rollout roadmap.
West Bengal's draft electoral rolls reveal 127 Absent, Shifted, Dead (ASD) voters at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's booth. The Special Intensive Revision process identified over 24 lakh dead voters for deletion. The draft rolls are now available for public scrutiny, with claims and objections to be filed until January 17, 2026. With the draft electoral rolls in Bengal published on Tuesday, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that began on December 4, West Bengal C ...Read More >
Kolkata, March 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued a notification for the two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled on April 23 and April 29. In the notification, it has been said that the polling will start from 7 a.m. on both polling days. In the first phase, there will be polling for 152 Assembly constituencies, while in the second phase, there will be polling for the remaining 142 Assembly constituencies. On March 15, the ECI announced the schedule for the West Bengal Assembly elections and the notification for the polling was issued on ...Read More >
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that both Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are unlikely to respond to the party's recent questions concerning BJP's Puducherry President and Raj Bhavan constituency candidate VP Ramalingam and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) chief Jose Charles Martin hosting a Sri Lankan diplomat in Puducherry. Replying to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera's post on X, Ramesh wrote, "The answers to your three questions are self-evident: 1. He will not, 2. He will not, 3. Yes, both will remai ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to finalize their preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in their respective States and Union Territories (UTs). The poll panel issued the directives on the concluding day of the two-day conference of the CEOs at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) here. The conference was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. During the confe ...Read More >
The voter list of all those states where SIR will be done will be frozen at 12 am tonight. All voters on that list will be given Unique Enumeration Forms by the BLOs. These forms will have all the necessary details from the current voter list, says Kumar. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced to carry out pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list, with 12 states and union territories to be covered in phase one. While addressing a press conference, Chief Ele ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 28 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee reiterated that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was a way to exclude voters from the voting list and deprive them of their voting rights. He said that if the voting rights of genuine voters are snatched in West Bengal then one lakh people will gherao the office of the Election Commission of India in New Delhi. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Abhishek Banerjee said, "Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has announced Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal in the mid ...Read More >
Pune: The final voters' list released by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Monday showed at least seven wards recording a difference of over 4,000 voters compared to the draft list published on Nov 20.The voter data showed that ward no.16, comprising Akurdi gaothan and adjoining areas, emerged as the largest ward with 75,105 voters. Earlier, ward 1, covering Talawade-Rupeenagar, had the highest number (74,340). Ward no.23, which includes Keshavnagar and nearby localities, continues ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India on Thursday ordered the transfer of Tamil Nadu's director general of police (law and order) G Venkataraman and appointed Sandeep Rai Rathore as the director general of police (Elections) ahead of the assembly polls. Rathore, a 1992-batch IPS officer, will oversee election-related policing in the state.In a separate order, the commission effected changes in key police postings across Tamil Nadu. Tambaram city police commissioner A Amalraj has been replaced ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India has instructed all the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the states and the Union Territories to finalise their preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in their respective states/UTs at the earliest and report back to it, officials said on Thursday. The instructions were passed on to them during a two-day conference of the CEOs here, which concluded on Thursday, and during the course of discussions, the presentations were given by senior officers of the ECI on the SIR process, as the CEOs raised several queries, which were clarified, ...Read More >
The Election Commission of India on Monday said it will conduct the second phase of the electoral roll revision in 12 states and union territories. In this pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, which will begin from Tuesday (October 28), three states and one UT - Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry - will go to polls next year while three states - Goa, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh - will have elections in 2027. The Election Commission (EC) said the SIR exercise in these ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday reported significant progress in Phase II of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 of electoral rolls, with 99.72 per cent of Enumeration Forms (EFs) already distributed across 12 states and Union Territories. According to the Daily Bulletin, the nationwide EF distribution has reached 99.72 per cent, reflecting strong field mobilisation by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and participation from Booth Level Agents (BLAs). During the ongoing enumeration phase, which runs from November 4 to December 11 (Earlier th ...Read More >
Puducherry (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 31 (ANI): Days ahead of the upcoming Puducherry assembly polls, former Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai on Tuesday trained guns on the opposition INDIA bloc, saying that it "lacks unity". "This is a strange alliance that does not exist anywhere in the world. In Puducherry, Congress candidates have been fielded in places where alliance parties are contesting, violating the alliance dharma," Annamalai said while talking to reporters after attending a roadshow held in support of Puducherry BJP president VP Ramalingam. Also Read | P ...Read More >
Puducherry [India], April 4 (ANI): The Election Commission has directed administrative and police officials in the Union Territory of Puducherry to ensure the conduct of free, fair, and fearless Assembly elections scheduled for April 9, 2026. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Puducherry, in a high-level review, emphasised that all officers engaged in election duty are deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and must discharge their duties with strict impartiality. Also Read | Gold Rate Today, April 4, 2026: Yellow Metal Slips 17% From Record High Despite War T ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], October 28 (ANI): Congress leader Rashid Alvi, in view of the second phase of Special Intensive Revision in all 12 States and Union Territories, questioned why the Election Commission of India is rushing to conduct the SIR. He stressed that the ECI plans to implement the SIR during the Bihar elections and alleged that the Centre is involved with the ECI in doing so. "The biggest question is, why is the Election Commission in a hurry to conduct the SIR at a time when elections are underway in a big state like Bihar? Can they not start the SIR after 14 November?... They want ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], October 27 (ANI): Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Monday questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) announcement for the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 12 States and Union Territories, asking for the number of "infiltrators" removed from the electoral roll in the first phase in Bihar. Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, "From the Home Minister to the Prime Minister, they were talking about infiltrators, but did the Election Commission say how many infiltrators they removed (during SIR in Bihar)? Now they could have shared figures on this." Whil ...Read More >
New Delhi (India), December 16 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahshank Mani on Tuesday said that the process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is progressing steadily and is being presented to the citizens of India in a transparent manner. Speaking to ANI, Mani added that the publication of the electoral roll will strengthen the backbone of the Constitution and contribute to the nation's overall development. "The process of SIR is progressing, and it is presented to the citizens of India in a transparent manner. I believe that the backbone of the Constitution will be stronger ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 16 (ANI): The Election Commission published the draft rolls on Tuesday following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in West Bengal, with 58,20,899 electors, accounting for 7.59 per cent, deleted due to death, being untraceable, or permanent migration. According to a press release by the Election Commission, out of a total 7,66,37,529 voters, 7,08,16,630 electors have submitted their enumeration forms as of December 11. The poll body stated that genuine electors can still be added back in the electoral rolls during the Claims and Object ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced an extensive home voting initiative for the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections and bypolls, enabling over 2.3 lakh elderly people and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to cast their votes through postal ballots. According to an official press note issued by the poll body, the facility will be available for voters aged 85 years and above, as well as PwD electors who have been flagged in the electoral rolls. The move is part of the Commission's efforts to enhance inclusivity and accessibility in the electoral process. The elect ...Read More >
Puducherry [India], April 2 (ANI): Puducherry Police has tightened the security, setting up 35 checkposts to monitor the movement of persons and vehicles for the fair conduction of assembly polls. Speaking with ANI, R Kalaivanan, SSP, Puducherry, Law and Order, said, "Puducherry is having an election on the 9th of April, and for this, we have done all the preparatory measures. Around 35 checkposts have been established in Puducherry. We are strictly monitoring the movement of persons and vehicles." "Apart from this, we are also having flying squads; 3 flying squads in each assembly constitue ...Read More >
Guwahati (Assam) [India], April 2 (ANI): Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday dismissed the allegations levelled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) influence on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing them of "misleading" the people. He said that the BJP believes in "impartial, independent and fair democracy". "All these allegations are wrong. It is an attempt to mislead the people. BJP believes in an impartial, independent and fair democracy," Gadkari told ANI. His remarks come after TMC in West Bengal, and DMK ...Read More >
According to an ECI press note issued on August 8, 2025, the Commission had revised the food and refreshment allowance for polling personnel from ₹150 per head to ₹500, the first such increase since 2016. However, the April 3, 2026 directive from the West Bengal CEO, signed by the Joint Chief Electoral Officer and addressed to the Accountant General (A&E), West Bengal, fixes the meal entitlement at ₹170 per head. It further states that if a packed meal cannot be arranged, a cash payment of ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 4 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Saturday, to further facilitate Voter convenience in the forthcoming Assembly Elections in West Bengal, has approved the creation of 4660 auxiliary polling stations where the number of voters exceeded 1200. ECI has also approved the shifting of 321 polling stations for the convenience of the voters. Including auxiliary polling stations, there are now a total of 85,379 polling stations in West Bengal. Also Read | Shashi Tharoor Reacts After Malappuram Attack, Says He Is Safe, Security Guard Also Well Afte ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], April 5 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that both Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are unlikely to respond to the party's recent questions concerning BJP's Puducherry President and Raj Bhavan constituency candidate VP Ramalingam and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) chief Jose Charles Martin hosting a Sri Lankan diplomat in Puducherry. Replying to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera's post on X, Ramesh wrote, "The answers to your three questions are self-evident: 1. He will not, 2. He will not, ...Read More >
Amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in 12 states, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh filled his enumeration form in Lucknow. The ECI reports high distribution rates, with the final list to be published on February 7, 2026. Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in 12 States and Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Defence Minister and three-time Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh filled the enumeration form on Sunday and handed it over to SDM ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday said more than 2.37 lakh electors will avail home voting in the upcoming Assembly polls and by polls in different states and Union Territory (UT). The poll panel announced the schedule for the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 6 states including Tripura and Karnataka on March 15. Elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu , Puducherry and Assam will be held in a single phase and West Bengal in two phases. The ECI said while citing Section 60(c) of the Representation of the People A ...Read More >
Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Saturday, approved the creation of 4,660 auxiliary polling stations to enhance voter convenience in the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. These have been set up in areas where the number of voters exceeded 1,200. The ECI has also approved the shifting of 321 polling stations for voter convenience. With the addition of auxiliary polling stations, the total number of polling stations in the state now stands at 85,379. ECI Secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra, in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, stated that i ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday encouraged voters to use the ECINET platform to access information about candidates' educational qualifications and criminal antecedents for the upcoming Assembly Elections and by-elections in 2026. In a press release, the ECI highlighted the importance of informed voting and stated that citizens can easily obtain key details about candidates through the "Know Your Candidates" module available on ECINET. The ...Read More >
Digvijaya Singh, a senior Congress leader, has threatened legal action by the INDIA bloc if the Election Commission of India (ECI) doesn't address their concerns regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Singh alleges the NDA government is attempting to disenfranchise marginalized voters ahead of the state elections through this drive.Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said all constituents of INDIA bloc may knock the door of judiciary against the o ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that the Aadhaar card must be treated as the 12th document for the purpose of identity for inclusion of voters in the revised voters list of Bihar in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, said it is clarified that authorities shall be entitled to verify the authenticity and genuineness of the Aadhaar card itself. Aadhaar card shall not be accepted as proof of citizenship, clarified the bench. It also asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to i ...Read More >
Kolkata: Draft electoral rolls of three states and two Union Territories will be published on Tuesday as part of the ongoing special intensive revision of voters' list. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said draft rolls of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Goa, Puducherry and Lakshadweep will be published on Tuesday. The chief electoral officers (CEOs) and district election officers (DEOs) will share hard copies of the draft rolls with all recognised political parties. The rolls will be uploaded on CEO and DEO websites as well. Lists of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate electors will also be up ...Read More >