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.
Chennai, April 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) The process of finalising candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections has reached its final stage, with the last date for withdrawal of nominations scheduled for Thursday. Polling for the Assembly elections will be held on April 23. The filing of nomination papers began on March 30 and concluded on April 6, with submissions taking place over four working days due to intervening holidays. A significant rise in the number of nominations was recorded as the deadline approached, reflecting heightened political activity across the state. According to data released by the Election Commission, a total of 573 nominations were filed on the first day (March 30). This number rose to 1,361 on the second day, followed by a sharp increase to 3,430 on the third day. The final day of filing witnessed a surge, with as many as 7,599 nomination papers submitted across constituencies. All nomination papers were taken up for scrutiny on April 7 by Returning Officers in their respective constituencies. Following detailed verification, officials confirmed that 5,081 nominations were found to be valid, while 2,480 were rejected for various reasons. Additionally, 38 candidates withdrew their nominations after the scrutiny process. Thursday marks the final opportunity for candidates to withdraw their nominations. The withdrawal window is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., during which candidates or their authorised agents can formally submit withdrawal requests to the Returning Officers. Once the withdrawal process concludes, the Election Commission will prepare and release the final list of contesting candidates later in the day. This list will play a crucial role in the next phase of election preparations. Officials stated that based on the final candidate list, ballot papers carrying the names, symbols, and colour photographs of candidates will be printed for use in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Necessary arrangements are being made to ensure the timely completion of this process. With the candidate field set to be finalised shortly, political parties are expected to intensify their campaign efforts across Tamil Nadu ahead of polling day, as the state gears up for a closely watched electoral contest.
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 >
Jaipur: Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a chargesheet Wednesday against Jaikrishn Patel, who represents the Bagidora constituency in Banswara district, and three others. They were arrested on May 4 in a first-of-its-kind 'cash-for-no-query' scandal in the state. ACB has kept the investigation pending against Rohitash Meena, the personal assistant of the MLA, as he is on the run since the trap in which the legislator was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh in the parking lot of the MLA quarters near the state assembly building.ACB prosecutor Shalini Gautam said the cha ...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 >
Kochi: Edison Babu's neighbours in Muvattupuzha knew him as the quiet engineer who had returned home during the pandemic. The 35-year-old former auto industry professional seemed to lead an unremarkable life in this sleepy Kerala suburb, occasionally visiting the local post office with packages: nothing unusual for someone running what appeared to be a small online business. What they didn't know was that their mild-mannered neighbour had built India's most sophisticated darknet drug empire, one that relied heavily on the very government postal service that was meant to serve the community. ...Read More >
Patna: Amid mounting criticism from opposition parties, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday clarified that there has been no change in the instructions governing the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and that the existing rules continue to apply.Releasing an official statement, the EC reiterated that the SIR process is being carried out as per its June 24 guidelines. It said the names of electors who submit enumeration forms by July 25 will be included in the draft electoral rolls due for publication on Aug 1.Importantly, it added that the absence of docum ...Read More >
Chandigarh, Jul 12 (PTI) The BJP's Punjab unit on Saturday held demonstrations at many places in the state against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's remarks criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits. The BJP leaders and workers shouted slogans against Mann and also burnt his effigies. Party leader Tarun Chugh slammed the CM's remarks as "vile and disgraceful". Chugh said Mann is "drunk with power and arrogance" to the point where he doesn't even know what he is saying. "He's attacking a prime minister who's been elected three times by the people of India with a historic mandate ...Read More >
Jaipur, July 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) For the first time in independent India, senior constitutional authorities, including former Chief Justices of India, Supreme Court judges, Chief Ministers, and Assembly Speakers, are participating in deliberations on the One Nation One Election (ONOE) proposal before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), BJP MP and JPC Chairperson P.P. Chaudhary has said. Calling the moment "historic and unprecedented," Chaudhary underlined the scale and seriousness of the consultations. Speaking exclusively to IANS, he said, "For the first time since independence, former ...Read More >
Imphal, Jun 8 (PTI) A delegation of Manipur MLAs called on Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Sunday, and one of the legislators claimed after the meeting that altogether five people were arrested in connection with earlier incidents of violence, which triggered widespread protests in the northeastern state. Among the five arrested people, one was apprehended by the CBI, BJP legislator K Ibomcha said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed the arrest of a member of the Meitei outfit Arambai Tenggol, while the police did not disclose details of the four others. The CBI said it has ar ...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 >
Gyanesh Kumar NEW DELHI: With enumeration forms distributed to 93.7% of Bihar's 7.9 crore electorate so far and 13.2% electors already submitting the completed and signed forms, EC officials Saturday told TOI that documents can be added or uploaded by electors whose enumeration forms were submitted with incomplete documentation, right until July 25. July 25 is the last date for submission of the filled-up enumeration forms."As of Saturday 6pm, over one crore enumeration forms (13.2% of Bihar's electors) have been received. The percentage of forms distributed has also gone up to 93.6%, with 7.4 ...Read More >
Lucknow, Jul 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the state's health services must be made future-ready to keep pace with global advancements and effectively respond to emerging challenges. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying and inauguration ceremony of various health projects worth Rs 1,000 crore at King George's Medical University (KGMU) here. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who also holds the Health portfolio, and Medical Education Minister Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh were present on the occasion. The chief minister said institutions like K ...Read More >
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition is now gearing up for a national protest after losing Maharashtra state elections. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, which suffered a crushing defeat in last week's Maharashtra state elections, is now gearing up for a national protest against the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which it blames for its loss. The MVA, led by the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (led by Sharad Pawar), is planning to challenge the use of EVMs in court and demand a return to ballot paper voting. Fo ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 8 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, instead of introspecting on the defeat in the 2024 state assembly polls, has been repudiating the mandate given by the people because they rejected him. The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly elections, including Bihar, Fadnavis said in his articles published in the Indian Express and Marathi daily Loksatta. On Saturday, Gandhi, in an article published in several newspapers and in posts on X, claimed the 2024 Maharas ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The special intensive revision of electoral roll in Bihar, and eventually rest of India, will not only exclude people added as electors after 2003-04 on grounds of non-submission of documents to prove Indian citizenship, but also migrants who avoid being registered as electors in the constituency where they are ordinarily residents, only to retain their vote in their "native" place and state or where they own a house. "For example, if you ordinarily reside in Delhi but own a house in Patna, your vote should be registered in Delhi," CEC Gyanesh Kumar told TOI.It is a common practice ...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 >
Patna, Jul 13 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday cast doubts over the Election Commission's claim that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was progressing at a brisk pace and would be completed before the July 25 deadline. Addressing a press conference here, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly also took strong exception to the EC's "silence" on the Supreme Court's suggestion that Aadhar card and ration card be included in the list of acceptable documents, to be submitted by voters whose names did not figure in the electoral rolls of 2003 when ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) Field-level functionaries of the Election Commission have found "a large number of people" from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar during house-to-house visits made for the ongoing intensive review of the voters' list in Bihar, officials said on Sunday. They asserted that a proper inquiry of such people will be conducted after August 1 and the names of illegal migrants will not be included in the final electoral roll to be published on September 30. Citing ground reports, EC officials said that during house-to-house visits, "a large number" of people from Nepal, Bangladesh ...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: 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 >
Digha: A day after Rath Yatra, the festive fervour continues in Digha as the seaside town is now gearing up to host Ulta Rath or the return journey of the deities from the 'Masir Bari' or the old Jagannath temple. On July 5 -- the Ulta Rath day -- hotels are hoping for fresh tourist influx. Though the deities are currently in Masir Bari, a large queue of devotees visited the newly-constructed Jagannath temple on Saturday. They offered prayers to the stone idol permanently installed there. It is the wooden idols of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra that have taken the chairot rides. Bipradash Cha ...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: Former Chief Justices of India have reportedly endorsed the constitutionality of the 'one nation, one election' (ONOE) concept, while conveying their views to a parliamentary committee on the Bill proposing simultaneous polls. They have also raised concerns over its various aspects, including the power given to the Election Commission, and offered suggestions. Former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, in his opinion submitted to the joint committee of Parliament, dismissed the Opposition's criticism that the synchronisation of Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls violated the Constitution's basic ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 5 (PTI) BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at a grand ceremony here to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries. Fadnavis, who would be occupying the CM's post for the third time, along with two deputy chief ministers will take the oath of office, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar told reporters, adding that other members of the cabinet will take oath later. Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde are expected to take oath as ...Read More >
PATNA: The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said all activities related to special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list were progressing as per schedule. The EC's contention came a day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asked whether it was possible to develop the voters' list for 8 crore people within 25 days. An EC statement said SIR has already started successfully in Bihar for verifying the eligibility of each elector with full participation of all political parties. "Out of the existing 7,89,69,844 electors, 4.96 crore electors, whose names are already in the last intensive rev ...Read More >
Patna, Jun 29 (PTI) RJD leader and former cricketer Tejashwi Yadav showcased his quick reflexes when he ducked to avoid being hit by a drone which crashed into his podium during a rally at Patna on Sunday. The incident took place when the former deputy chief minister was addressing the 'Save Waqf, Save Constitution' rally at the historical Gandhi Maidan here. Speaking to PTI, Patna SP (Central), Diksha said, "We are looking into the incident. It was a restricted area and such an object should not have landed there. The police team was busy managing the crowd when the rally was underway. But ...Read More >
Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer encourages urban voters to actively participate in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision. While rural areas show strong form collection, urban areas lag behind. Voters can submit forms now, even without all documents. Supporting documents can be submitted later. Bihar CEO on Friday urged urban voters to actively take part in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and submit their enumeration forms. While about 77% of forms have been collected from rural ar ...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 >