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.
JP acknowledged his debt to Gandhiji’s thoughts on elections. “It is necessary to emphasise that the issue before us cannot be narrowed down merely to that of a better electoral system than the present one.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has reaffirmed the role of the Election Commission of India in capacity building programmes for election management bodies (EMB) of countries around the globe.
Sources in the poll panel stated, “As per procedure, any Constitutional body, including the ECI, will formally respond only when Rahul Gandhi writes to them. It is very strange that even after 24 hours, he has neither submitted a written complaint nor requested a meeting.”
While the DMK-led INDIA bloc appears to have a fairly settled understanding on seat-sharing, the situation remains fluid in the AIADMK camp.
This is also a step to make the voting process more accessible and streamlined for citizens.
