Heavy security, long queues and missing Trinamool booth agents defined the opening hours of Falta repolling ordered by the Election Commission after alleged poll irregularities.
Over 1.13 lakh names have been deleted from Jammu and Kashmir’s Panchayat electoral rolls while 3.39 lakh new voters were added during the latest revision exercise, pushing the total electorate past 72.24 lakh ahead of the upcoming panchayat polls.
The Supreme Court on Thursday termed it “very unfortunate” that political parties demand an independent Election Commission when in opposition, but turn silent on the issue or take a completely contrary stand once in power, even as the court was told that free and fair elections — a part of the basic structure of the Constitution — necessarily presuppose an independent and impartial Election Commission.
After losing ground in key constituencies, Mamata Banerjee accused authorities of unfair practices, questioned the election outcome’s legitimacy, and signalled a political fight ahead for her party.
ECI enforces strict counting rules in Bengal, stopping Abhishek Banerjee at a Kolkata centre while issuing directions over mobile phone violations during Bhabanipur vote counting.
BJP state spokesperson Harish Srivastava made these remarks while targeting Akhilesh Yadav. He said that the opposition is completely frustrated and disappointed. The public's trust remains with the government.
Party workers marched from the Congress state headquarters toward the Election Commission office, raising slogans such as “Vote chor gaddi chhod” and “RSS ki nai shakha—Chunav Aayog.”
The Samajwadi Party has decided to provide financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to the dependents of the deceased of the BLOs in the state.
The ECI is carrying out SIR pan-India to weed out ineligible voters and illegal immigrants who have somehow managed to enter the electoral rolls, in order to protect the integrity of the poll process. However, the Opposition has alleged that the aim of the exercise is to disenfranchise genuine voters who support opposition parties and thereby help the BJP.
Trivedi alleged that Jharkhand minister Irfan Ansari had openly stated that if any booth-level officer from the Election Commission came merely to collect information, “he should be taken hostage.” He questioned whether such statements did not put the Constitution at risk, adding that “wherever the INDIA alliance comes to power, the spirit of the Constitution is sidelined.”
