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.
Kolkata: The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, will hold a virtual meeting with all Election Commission of India (ECI)-appointed poll observers for West Bengal on Wednesday to discuss the current polling booths' infrastructure in the state for the forthcoming two-phase assembly elections scheduled later this month. An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said the Commission is not satisfied with the polling booths' infrastructure as per the initial reports received by the office of the CEC. The insider added that the CEC had decided to chair the virtual meeting with the poll observers and discuss how the polling booths' infrastructure in the state can be improved to the maximum before the first phase of polling on April 23. Already, the Commission has directed the state secretariat to appoint a secretary-level officer in each district to inspect booth infrastructure, identify areas for improvement, and suggest corrective measures. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the state secretariat issued a notification detailing the guidelines for "dry days" to be followed in the state for the two-phase polling and the counting. The first phase of polling for 152 assembly constituencies will be on April 23. All liquor outlets, including off-shops, on-shops, and bars, will remain closed in areas under the jurisdiction of these constituencies from 6 p.m. on April 21 till the end of polling on April 23. The second phase of polling for 142 assembly constituencies will be on April 29. All liquor outlets, including off-shops, on-shops, and bars, will remain closed in areas under the jurisdiction of these constituencies from 6 p.m. on April 27 till the end of polling on April 29. The counting will be on May 4. On that day, all liquor outlets will remain closed throughout the state for the entire day. In case of any re-poll, the same "dry day" formula will be applicable for liquor outlets in the areas concerned.
New Delhi [India], February 7 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved the order on an application moved by Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid seeking custody parole to attend ongoing parliament session amidst jurisdictional row. However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while opposing the custody parole, stated that Rashid Engineer does not need to respond to any questions. They emphasized that this request is generic and pointed out that Engineer has no speech to deliver. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for NIA also argued that taking an oath and campaigning are separate m ...Read More >
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress Chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday strongly objected to the Election Commission of India's (ECI) latest guidelines, which mandate a specific identity card proving citizenship and submission of a self-attested declaration of Indian citizenship for inclusion in the voters' list. Banerjee alleged that the ECI was working in coordination with the Central Government and accused it of "providing emergency weapons to help the BJP." Directly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, she claimed, "Modiji (Narendra Modi) is the Prime Minis ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, on Wednesday, wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, alleging Aam Aadmi Party's open support to illegal Rohingya & Bangladeshi immigrants. 'From legitimising encroachments to provoking anarchy, Arvind Kejriwal is playing with Delhi's safety and India's sovereignty,' Sirsa wrote on X, sharing the letter. In his letter, Manjinder Sirsa said that the efforts of the Aam Aadmi Party to protect illegal immigrants and thus attack this very idea of Citizenship are nothing but a travesty of the Constitut ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) met representatives of various political parties at Nirvachan Sadan on Wednesday, said the Election Commission. The Commission, under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, heard the concerns, issues and queries raised by the party representatives and decoded for them, the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) which is well underway in Bihar and is progressing smoothly, added Election Commission statement. The political parti ...Read More >
Dausa (Rajasthan) [India], July 5 (ANI): Congress leader Sachin Pilot has raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted in Bihar, questioning the Election Commission's "haste" and said EC should carry out its work in a "transparent manner." Speaking to reporters in Dausa on Friday, Rajasthan, Pilot said, "The haste with which the Election Commission has taken this step raises significant doubts, and a group of opposition parties met them and asked questions, but no satisfactory answers were received." Also Read | Centre Notifies Waqf Management ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 5 (ANI): Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Saturday inaugurated the newly constructed road in the Rajouri Garden constituency. 'The people in Rajouri have been suffering from the problem of water supply... no work has been done here in the last five years. The government's mission is to replace the roads, streets, sewage lines...' Sirsa said speaking to the reporters here. Earlier on July 2, Sirsa in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alleged that Aam Aadmi Party was openly supporting llegal Rohingya & Bangladeshi immigrants. 'From legiti ...Read More >
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 26, 2024), indicated a level of hypocrisy attached to criticism about Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), saying ""EVMs are tampered when you lose and fine if you win". The oral remark was made by Justice Vikram Nath before dismissing a petition filed by evangelist K.A. Paul, who urged for a judicial order to return to paper ballots. Also read:EVM-VVPAT case | Cannot disclose 'source code' of EVMs, will result in misuse: Supreme Court Justice Nath, during the hearing, asked Mr. Paul whether he wanted to turn the court into a political arena. Mr. Paul sa ...Read More >
Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alleged on Tuesday that the ongoing 'special intensive revision' of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar was a move to cut votes from the strong booths and constituencies of the Opposition, and add votes to the booths at which the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was stronger. Punching holes in the entire exercise, the RJD leader denounced it as being "full of confusion, uncertainty and repression", and demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) "immediately cancel all confusing orders and issue clear, final and ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Congress on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its recent directive to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's voter list within just one month. With the state elections drawing closer, senior Congress leaders alleged that the move is a "deliberate attempt to delete names of the poor, Dalits, backward communities, and migrant workers." At a press briefing held at the new Congress headquarters in Delhi, Congress Media and Publicity Chairman Pawan Khera, Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, and ...Read More >
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC), on June 21, issued a notification for the three-tier panchayat elections in 12 districts except Haridwar. Polls would be held in two phases, and the district election officers will issue notifications on June 30. The first phase will be conducted on July 24, followed by the second phase on July 28. The counting for all phases will be conducted by July 31. Earlier, the Uttarakhand High Court had stayed the panchayat elections in the state on June 23, at a time when it had already been notified by the SEC. Elections will be held in 89 ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): The Congress party on Sunday named 58 observers for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the list of party leaders, appointing them as observers for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year, the party said in a statement posted on X. As per the statement, Amba Prasad, Wg Cdr Anuma Acharya, Amarjeet Bhagat, Ajeet Bhartiya, Ali Mehandi, Arif Masood, Arun Vidyarthi, Ashok Chandna, Bhuvaneshwar Baghel, Deen Bandhu Boipai, Deepak Mishra, Devendra Nishad, Devendra Singh Rajput, Dhi ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday reaffirmed the Election Commission of India's commitment to conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar on time, amid concerns raised by opposition parties about the timing of the exercise just months ahead of the state assembly elections. Speaking at a Booth Level Officers (BLO) training session held in New Delhi, the CEC stated that the SIR was proceeding as scheduled with full involvement from the election machinery and political parties. "The implementation of Sp ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a significant step toward digital transformation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has revamped its post-election data reporting process by introducing a streamlined, technology-driven system for generating Index Cards and Statistical Reports. The initiative, aimed at enhancing data accessibility and timeliness, replaces the earlier manual process that often delayed dissemination. Under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the new system leverages automation and data integration to enab ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 3 (ANI): Noting that the Election Commission 'undermined' the basis of the democratic system in the last six months, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accused that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the poll body will 'destroy' the country's democracy. Ramesh, who is also Congress' General Secretary in charge of Communications, drew a parallel between the demonetisation in 2016 and SIR by the Election Commission, stating that the PM's 'notebandi' destroyed our economy and the ECI's 'VOTE-Bandi', as reflected in the SIR, will destroy our democracy. In a post on X, Ramesh ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 4 (ANI): Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar is progressing smoothly and on schedule, despite concerns raised by opposition parties about possible voter exclusion. Speaking at a training session for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Gyanesh Kumar said, 'The implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar is running as per schedule with the active participation of all election staff and all political parties in a transparent manner. Despite apprehensions of some persons, ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 4 (ANI): Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Friday has raised objections to the timing of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, stating that it could result in the exclusion of a large number of voters who return to the state only during the festive season. Speaking to ANI, Kishor said, 'We are against this, we have expressed concern, and we have also called a meeting of our executive to discuss this issue because there is a very large section in Bihar that comes from outside during Diwali, Chhath, and for them, coming before Diwali, ...Read More >
Upendra Kushwaha, RLM leader and NDA ally, voiced concerns about the ECI's SIR exercise in Bihar, emphasizing the need to ensure no genuine voter is excluded. He suggested the ECI should have started the revision earlier, given the large population and migrant worker base. Kushwaha highlighted fears among migrant voters and those lacking required documents about potential voter list exclusion.Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader and NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha on Friday raised concerns regarding the S ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Clarifying further amid the raging uproar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls ahead of upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday said eligible citizens should register themselves as voters only in constituencies of which they are 'ordinary residents' and not the place 'where they own a house'. Addressing a group of booth-level officers here, the CEC said, "As per the Representation of the People Act, you are entitled to vote only in the assembly constituency where you are an ordinary resident. For exam ...Read More >
New Delhi: A delegation of the INDIA Bloc met the senior officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI) here on Wednesday and discussed issues related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar. The delegation comprised leaders of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CPI (ML) Liberation. Elections in Bihar are scheduled to take place in October-November later this year. During their meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi at ECI headquarters here, the delegation raised var ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Wednesday met representatives and apprised them about the process adopted by it in the conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's Electoral Roll ahead of assembly elections, officials said. The commission comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi during the meeting at ECI headquarters, addressed the concerns raised by the representatives of political parties. A senior poll panel official said, "A few of the participants were given appointments and others were allowed t ...Read More >
Kargil , Jul 2: Pursuant to putting in place a comprehensive legal framework to ensure fair, inclusive, and transparent recruitment to public services, the Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh has initiated a large-scale recruitment drive for 359 Gazetted posts through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This marks the first-ever recruitment of Gazetted posts through UPSC since the formation of the Union Territory, officials said. This follows the establishment of a unique and dedicated legal framework specifically designed for Ladakh. The framework ensures maximum local re ...Read More >
New Delhi: Was it the pitch? Was it the conditions? Was it the bowling? The questions doing the rounds after yet another strange show in good batting conditions by India were many. But with the exception of Shubman Gill, who became just the second Indian captain, after Mohammad Azharuddin, to score hundreds in consecutive matches in England, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, few India batters managed to answer them in a satisfactory manner. After being put into bat by England, India looked like they were in control at various points during the day but then somehow contrived to gift away wickets and end t ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 4 (ANI): Independent MP from Bihar's Purnia, Pappu Yadav, on Friday accused the Election Commission (EC) of trying to disenfranchise poor, Dalit, and migrant workers through its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Speaking to ANI, Yadav alleged that the EC is demanding proof of citizenship dating back to before 1987, documents he claims most Dalits, Adivasis and migrant labourers do not possess. 'Are we not Indians? Are we from Nepal or Bangladesh? You released all the lists six months ago--what's the point now, after 22 years ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 4 (ANI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday came down heavily on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) over its pitch to reconsider the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution while saying that it was 'all talk'. He dared and challenged RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and top leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the centre to remove the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble. 'Days before, I heard that some RSS person said that we should remove Secular and Socialist words from ...Read More >
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule is consulting experts on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) following Maharashtra's assembly poll results. The opposition questions EVM credibility after the Mahayuti coalition's significant win. Sule advocates for ballot papers, citing other countries' adoption, and will announce a final decision soon.NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Saturday said the opinion of experts is being sought over the "EVM issue" in the wake of the Maharashtra assembly polls' mandate as she b ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced that it would streamline its technology-driven system for generating Index Cards and various other post-election statistical reports. The new system will ensure faster reporting through automation and data integration. "This upgraded mechanism replaces the traditional manual methods, which were often time-consuming and prone to delays. By leveraging automation and data integration, the new system ensures faster reporting," the press note issued by the Election Commission read. Also Read | Delhi: Hig ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana, who was part of the all-party parliamentary delegation to Europe, said that during their recently conclued visit they successfully communicated India's development story and its resolute stand against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan. Highlighting the delegation's key discussions during the tour, Khatana told ANI, 'We discussed how we dismantled the terrorism factory in Pakistan by responding... We also talked about tourism infrastructure, G20 Summit, and projects like the six-lane roads, bridges, solar initiatives, our ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud has raised some concerns about simultaneous state and parliamentary elections in his submissions to a joint parliamentary committee and called for a level-playing field between smaller and national parties, people aware of the matter said on Thursday. Ex-CJI Chandrachud and another former CJI, JS Khehar, are set to attend on July 11 a meeting of the JPC examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which are intended to roll out simultaneous polls in the country, the pe ...Read More >