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.
“The arrival of the central forces personnel was completed on late Friday night and in that 11th hour it was hardly possible to ensure proper deployment,” said a state Election Commission official.
Days after splitting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Ajit Pawar-led faction on Wednesday approached the Election Commission of India, staking claim on the party and the party's clock symbol.
The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security across the state.
The exit polls which were out after voting ended on May 10 predicted a hung assembly with some showing Congress returning to power with a majority. Most of the exit polls had predicted that the BJP will fall short of the halfway mark, 113.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will now demand a CBI probe into the missing names in the voters' list in Uttar Pradesh.
