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.
By- Kaushik.Pradhan@timesofindia.comKOLKATA: A high-level election review meeting on Wednesday turned volatile when a senior election observer openly challenged CEC Gyanesh Kumar, later leading to the observer's removal.During the virtual meeting convened by the full bench of the EC, Cooch Behar South general observer Anurag Yadav objected to remarks made by the CEC. The situation escalated when CEC Kumar told the officer to "go back home", said sources. Sources said Yadav shot back, saying, "You
The Election Commission introduces new rules for voter enrollment. Voters enrolled after 2003-04 must now provide proof of citizenship. This includes a self-attested declaration and supporting documents. The move aims to remove illegal immigrants from the electoral roll. Bihar will be the first state to implement the special intensive revision. Other states will follow soon.In a move to identify and remove illegal immigrants wrongly included in the electoral rolls, the Election Commission has man ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Despite their protests over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral roll, the state's opposition parties have already joined the exercise in full strength, deploying over 56,000 booth level agents (BLAs) to monitor every stage of the process.RJD has appointed 47,143 BLAs, making it second only to BJP that has positioned 51,964 BLAs in the field. Congress has appointed 8,586 BLAs, CPI(ML) (Liberation) 233, CPM 76, and BS.BJP allies JDU, Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party have appointed 27,931, 2,457 and 264 BLAs, respectively, taking the total ...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 >
GURGAON: The investigation into the murder of a 25-year-old former international tennis player, allegedly by her father, has revealed a sudden deterioration in their relationship. The apparent reason was a disagreement over the academy she ran near their house, but the roots clearly run deeper. The father, who claims to have spent Rs 2 crore on his daughter's tennis career, told interrogators he was troubled by questions about her "character" that some of his associates had raised.Deepak Yadav, who shot Radhika at their house Thursday morning, had allegedly been insisting for two weeks on her ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi on Tuesday, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show "India's Got Latent", officials said. Raina was also among the five social media influencers who appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities. Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his ...Read More >
Ludhiana, Jun 8 (PTI) Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday asserted that his party will win the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on june 19, with a "record margin". "Congress practically has no competition here", he claimed. Warring, who is also the Ludhiana MP, said that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was badly mistaken that the Congress would allow it to abuse power and misuse the official machinery for the elections. "First of all, we will not let any misuse of the official machinery and second, in case any official is found to be misusing ...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 >
Chandigarh: Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday said the state govt was consistently working to provide better resources to the doctors and quality healthcare services to the citizens.He mentioned that medical colleges were being established in every district.While there were only six medical colleges in 2014, the number has now increased to 15, and nine new colleges are under construction. As a result, MBBS seats in the state increased from 700 in 2014 to 2,185, at present. The state govt aims to increase the MBBS seats to over 3,400 by 2029, said Saini.The CM was addressing a ...Read More >
Puri: Lord Jagannath and His Siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were adorned with 208 kg gold ornaments during the 'Suna Besha' ritual on chariots Sunday, an integral part of the annual Rath Yatra festival in Puri. The devotees can have 'darshan' of the deities from 6.30 pm to 11 pm, said the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). According to temple sources, the deities adorn around 30 different designs of ornaments which include gold, diamond, silver and other precious metals. "Initially, around 138 designs of ornaments were used during the era of King Kapilendra Deb in 146 ...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: With the Bihar elections approaching, the Election Commission has directed Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across all states to initiate preparations for a Bihar-like Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. However, Opposition parties have criticized the move, questioning the "hurry" of implementing a nationwide SIR without consulting political parties. Parties across the Opposition spectrum, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, and the Left, said on Sunday that the Election Commission should have waited for the Supreme Court to conclude its hearing on the matter befo ...Read More >
Patna: In a development with potential political and electoral implications, a door-to-door verification campaign by the Election Commission (EC) has found the presence of people from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar residing in Bihar. According to EC sources, many of these people may have unlawfully entered the country's voting system, though officials suggest their names are unlikely to appear in the final electoral roll due to be published on Sept 30.The revelations, it is learned, emerged during ...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 >
DHARMAPURI: For the third time in the past two months, a wild leopard wandered into a private farmland near Valaithottam village near Palacode and hunted chicken raised by a local farmer. Locals are increasingly distressed and urged the forest department to take steps to relocate the leopard. Over the past few months, there have been several reports of leopard sightings in forest areas near Palacode, particularly in Valaithottam village, near the forest's fringe. There have been two instances when the leopard attacked farmlands, taking away a domestic dog and a chicken. On Saturday, the leop ...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 >
Pune: State Election Commission (SEC) will use the July 1, 2025, updated legislative assembly voters' list for the upcoming local body elections with chairperson Dinesh Waghmare directing district collectors and municipal commissioners to begin preparations based on the updated voter rolls during video conferences on Thursday and Friday.Elections are due for 29 municipal corporations, 290 nagar panchayats and parishads, 32 zilla parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, as their terms have expired. "There is no separate voters' list for local body polls. The Election Commission of India (ECI)'s up ...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 >
Jalpaiguri: A BJP MLA's son and his driver were arrested on Friday following an attack on a Cooch Behar Trinamool neta. Raju Dey, karmadhyaksha of Cooch Behar Block 2 Panchayat Samity, was travelling to his home on his bike when four persons shot at him near Jhinaidanga around 11 pm on Thursday, police said. The bullet hit Dey on his right shoulder. He underwent a surgery early on Friday at a private nursing home. His condition is said to be stable.Besides arresting Cooch Behar (Uttar) Sukumar Roy's son Subhankar and his driver Uttam Gupta, cops have also impounded the black SUV used by the at ...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 >
New Delhi [India], July 7 (ANI): Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare & Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday inaugurated the 11th edition of the India Maize Summit, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with (IIMR) Indian Institute of Maize Research. Speaking at event, Chouhan emphasized that 'Farmers' sewa is our mool mantra,' reaffirming the government's commitment to farmer-centric policies. He outlined a multi-pronged strategy to boost maize production, and increase farmer incomes, while ensuring environme ...Read More >
Guwahati: As legal tensions rise over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Supreme Court on Monday (July 7, 2025) reminded petitioners that the Election Commission (EC) does not hold unchecked authority under the Constitution. A bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia referenced the 1977 M.S. Gill vs. Chief Election Commissioner ruling, emphasizing that the EC cannot act as a "law unto itself." Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge! The observation came as Opposition parties, united under the INDIA bloc, challenged the ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday debunked all allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about rigging and match-fixing in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. In his articles titled 'Those Rejected by the People Deny the Mandate', published in the same three newspapers where Gandhi's write-ups appeared, CM Fadnavis advised the Congress MP to "accept defeat, introspect on where you went wrong, why your connect with the people is lacking, and what needs to be done." He taunted Gandhi, saying that the latter was preparing excuses for "defeats ...Read More >
Patna: A nine-member team from the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by senior deputy election commissioner Maneesh Garg, on Thursday held a detailed meeting with Bihar chief electoral officer, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, and other senior officials in Patna to review preparations for the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections.Addressing the meeting, Garg stressed the need for a special intensive revision in Bihar, given that assembly elections are scheduled to take place later this year. Deputy election commissioner Sanjay Kumar b ...Read More >
Kolkata, Jul 6 (PTI) TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday alleged that ECI's order for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was intended to deprive the bonafide young electorate from voting in this year's polling, and the panel's next target would be West Bengal. Moitra, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the order of the ECI, alleged that it violates several provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950. Also Read | No Change in Instructions for 'Special Intensive Revision' in Bihar, Says Election Commission After Advertisement Lead ...Read More >
New Delhi/Patna, Jul 6 (PTI) The controversy over special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar intensified as Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, RJD's Manoj Jha and several NGOs moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the Election Commission's order, which they claimed violated the Constitution. The Election Commission (EC) issued a statement on Sunday clarifying that it has not changed its instructions on the revision process, after several social media posts, including one by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, cited an advertisement by the election body publish ...Read More >
PATNA: Congress leader and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) national incharge Kanhaiya Kumar, along with Pappu Yadav, who is an independent MP from Purnia Lok Sabha constituency, on Wednesday were snubbed by security from boarding a van during the Mahagathbandhan protest against electoral roll revision in poll-bound Bihar. The incident occurred when both leaders attempted to board the van carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, but were stopped by security guards. Videos of the incident show Kanhaiya Kumar and Pappu Yadav being prevented from joining Rahu ...Read More >
Kolkata, Jul 15 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hailed the safe return of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from space, calling it a matter of national pride. Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer and test pilot, on Tuesday returned to the Earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station. Also Read | Will Samosa and Jalebi Display Cigarette-Style Health Warnings? PIB Fact Check Debunks Fake News, Says Health Ministry's Advisory Doesn't Mention Warning Labels on Indian Food Products. "Welcome home, Shubhanshu Shukla! We are r ...Read More >