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.
Kochi, April 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a timely intervention on the eve of polling, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed authorities to take immediate corrective measures to ensure that election duty personnel receive their postal ballots without further delay. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the directive while hearing a writ petition filed by the Kerala NGO Union, which flagged a widespread denial of voting rights to government officials deployed for election duties. The petition highlighted that, under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, polling personnel are entitled to vote through postal ballots. However, despite submitting Form 12 applications within the stipulated time, a significant number of officials allegedly did not receive their ballots. With the designated postal voting window running from April 1 to April 8, delays in distribution rendered the mechanism largely ineffective. According to the Union, even as late as April 6, several voter facilitation centres had not received ballot papers, forcing many officials to return without casting their votes. The situation was further compounded by the tight schedule on April 8, when polling personnel are required to collect voting machines and election materials before proceeding to assigned booths, leaving little to no time to exercise their franchise. The petition argued that the continuous and mandatory nature of election duty made it practically impossible for many officials to vote, effectively disenfranchising a section of government employees tasked with ensuring free and fair elections. Taking note of the urgency, the court recorded submissions from the respondents that steps would be taken to expedite ballot distribution. It directed that postal ballots be made available to all eligible personnel who had not yet received them, subject to the affected list being communicated to nodal officers at designated facilitation centres. The court emphasised that the exercise must be completed at the earliest, and in any case before 2 p.m. on April 8, seeking to ensure that those conducting the democratic process are not themselves excluded from it.
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 [India], July 7 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) move to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to list the matter on Thursday and allowed the parties to give advance notice of the petitions to the Election Commission of India and serve copies of the petitions. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Shadan Farasat jointly mentioned the mat ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear two more pleas challenging the Election Commission of India move to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to hear the pleas on July 10, along with other pending petitions. Advocate Vrinda Grover and another advocate mentioned for urgent listing. Grover said the plea filed by two social activists, Arshad Ajmal and Rupesh Kumar, challenged the poll panel June 24 decision to conduct the SIR of electoral rolls ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: A day before Supreme Court takes up a batch of petitions challenging the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Election Commision took to X to quote from Article 326 of the Constitution, which unequivocally mandates the poll panel to register only Indian citizens above 18 years of age, unless disqualified, as voters.With enumeration forms of nearly 57.5% of Bihar's 7.9 crore voters collected in the initial 15 days of SIR, EC officials told TOI the names of all electors who figured in Bihar rolls on June 24, 2025 and who turn in their filled-up enumera ...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 >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Supreme Court on Thursday orally observed that the clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to revise electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar raises an issue which "goes at the very roots of democracy", involving the right to vote. After the petitioners' side presented their oral submissions, a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi remarked, "There is no question that the issue raised goes at the very roots of democracy -- the right to vote". "They (petitioners) are challenging not only the powers o ...Read More >
New Delhi, Nov 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce ballot paper in place of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale rejected the prayer to return to the ballot system due to the alleged manipulability of EVMs. "When you lose, EVMs are tampered with; when you win, EVMs are fine," remarked the apex court, when the petitioner referred to the statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor Jagan Mohan ...Read More >
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 7 (ANI): Two top Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials -- secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam -- resigned from their posts during an emergency managing committee meeting held on Saturday, accepting 'moral responsibility' for stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The incident occurred during celebrations following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) maiden IPL title win and claimed 11 lives and left dozens injured. KSCA President Raghuram Bhat confirmed the development, saying that the resignations were discussed and accep ...Read More >
New Delhi: Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has moved a writ petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to revise electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the ensuing Assembly polls. As per the petition, order of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, if not set aside, can "arbitrarily" and "without due process" disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, and disrupt free and fair elections and democracy -- a part of basic structure of the Constitution. "The documentation requirements of the ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha has moved the Supreme Court challenging an Election Commission's order directing for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also approached the apex court against the EC's order. Also Read | PM Modi Narendra Highlights Pahalgam Terror Attack at BRICS Summit 2025, Says Condemning Terrorism Should Be Our 'Principle', Not Just 'Convenience'. In his plea filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, Jha said EC's June 24 order be quashed for being violative of Articles 14, 21, 325 and ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Thursday a clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to revise electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi will take up the matter for hearing on July 10. On Monday, the Justice Dhulia-led Bench agreed to urgently list the batch of pleas against the ECI's order directing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar after a battery of lawyers, including senior advoca ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], November 26 (ANI): The Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition on Tuesday seeking the reintroduction of the physical paper ballot voting system in elections in India. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale dismissed the plea filed by evangelist KA Paul seeking physical ballot voting in India. During the hearing, the petitioner said that even leaders like Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering. To this the bench said what happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tamper ...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 >
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: The Supreme Court on Thursday raised serious concerns over the timing of the Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, stating that while the process itself may be lawful, its execution so close to the upcoming Assembly elections risks disenfranchising eligible voters. A bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia remarked, "Your exercise is not the problem... it is the timing." The court observed that voters whose names are omitted from the rolls during this revision may not have sufficient time to appeal or seek redress before the elections. "The ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) The Congress on Friday said the Supreme Court order on pleas challenging the Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar makes it clear that "no stay was asked for by any of the petitioners", and hoped the ruling will save a vast majority of voters from being disenfranchised. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents during its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, set to go to polls later this year. Calling SIR a "consti ...Read More >
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday raised questions over the fresh electoral roll revision guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of Bihar assembly polls scheduled this year. Expressing apprehensions, Banerjee said that these fresh guidelines might be implemented in Bengal ahead of the assembly polls in 2026. Speaking to ET, Banerjee said that she has apprehensions that these guidelines may be even worse that National Register of Citizens ( ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, accusing them of trying to erase the names of poor and marginalised voters from the electoral rolls."The Election Commission has suddenly announced a special intensive revision. This means that the voter list published in February, which had the latest additions and deletions, has now been set aside."He said that the entire list of eight crore Bihari voters has been sidelined, and now a fresh voter list will be created from scratch.He raised doubts over why this ...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 >
New Delhi, July 6: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India (ECI) decision to order Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, apprehending that such a second revision of the voters list could be replicated in West Bengal. In her petition, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, Moitra claimed that she has information that the "said (SIR) exercise is stated to be replicated in West Bengal from August 2025 for which instructions have already been given to EROs". Bihar Electoral Roll Revision Row: P ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 6: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP on Sunday of conspiring to deprive the people of Bihar of their voter rights through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and said the voters of the state would teach the saffron party a lesson for its attack on democracy and the Constitution. He cited a new advertisement issued by the Election Commission (EC), urging the voters of Bihar to only fill a form under the SIR, and alleged that "when people rise, BJP backtracks". "With the support of the Election Commission, the master plan that the BJP had ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram, July 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to intervene in the matter of the Kerala University Vice-Chancellor's decision to suspend the varsity's Registrar. Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal suspended Registrar Dr K.S. Anil Kumar for allegedly issuing a notice cancelling a private programme, attended by Governor Rajendra V. Arlekar, at the Senate Hall, where a portrait of Bharat Mata carrying a saffron flag was displayed. Soon after the suspension order came, Kunnummel went on a foreign trip and handed over to charge to Ciza Thomas, who is currently ...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 >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 9 (ANI): Following the violent protest at Kerala University, a case has been registered against 27 activists of the ruling CPM's Students Federation of India (SFI), including its state secretary P S Sanjeev, who has been named the prime accused, police said. The case also names 1,000 identifiable protesters who have been accused of damaging public property, forcibly entering the university campus, and assaulting police and university staff, police said on Tuesday. Also Read | Nobel Peace Prize 2025: From Mahatma Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru, Check Full ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday questioned the independence of the Election Commission amid revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, accusing it of acting in favour of the ruling party. This comes amid the ongoing row over the electoral roll revision in Bihar and the Opposition-led Bihar Bandh.. Also Read | Amit Shah Shares 'Retirement Plan', Pledges To Take Up Vedas, Upanishads and Natural Farming in Later Years (Watch Video). Taking to the social media platform X, Khera wrote, "Baba Saheb Ambedkar on the role of 'Central Election Commission' in prote ...Read More >
Kochi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday struck down a last-minute change made by the state government to the KEAM 2025 entrance exam prospectus, calling it "illegal, arbitrary, and unjustified". The state government filed an appeal before a division bench against the single bench's decision, hours after it issued the order on a petition filed by a group of CBSE students who sat for the KEAM (Kerala Engineering, Architecture, and Medical Entrance Examination). The matter is expected to be considered on Thursday. Earlier, in their plea, the CBSE students argued that the change, i ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 10: The Supreme Court on Thursday orally observed that the clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to revise electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar raises an issue which "goes at the very roots of democracy", involving the right to vote. After the petitioners' side presented their oral submissions, a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi remarked, "There is no question that the issue raised goes at the very roots of democracy -- the right to vote". "They (petitioners) are challenging not only the powers of the Election Co ...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/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 >