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.
Raut also questioned the impartiality of the Election Commission (EC), claiming that significant amounts of cash have been funneled to the constituencies of CM Eknath Shinde and his deputies -- Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.
The BJP's delegation was led by Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The Commission asked the district collector for a report of the search conducted in the hotel rooms of Congresswomen leaders.
A delegation of the BJP met the state chief electoral officer here on Thursday to submit a letter to this effect.
Psephology, the study of elections and voting, came into its own in India, after journalist and economist Prannoy Roy, writing for a weekly magazine, correctly predicted the outcome of the 1984 General Elections.
