Election Commission Of India

Election rules tweaked to restrict public inspection of electronic records

The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse. Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), the Union law ministry has amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection. According to Rule 93, all "papers" related to elections shall be open to public inspection. The amendment inserts "as specified in these rules" after "papers". Law ministry and EC officials separately explained that a court case was the "trigger" behind the amendment. While documents such as nomination forms, appointment of election agents, results and election account statements are mentioned in the Conduct of Election Rules, electronic documents such as CCTV camera footage, webcasting footage and video recording of candidates during the Model Code of Cond

Election Commission meets representatives of Delhi's political parties

The Election Commission held a meeting with representatives of political parties at Palika Kendra in central Delhi on Wednesday morning. BJP MP from New Delhi Bansuri Swaraj, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha and party leader Jasmin Shah attended the meeting. An election commission official said the meeting lasted for around half an hour and covered several topics. Sources earlier said the Election Commission will review on Wednesday the preparedness of its poll machinery in Delhi, where assembly elections are due early next year. The term of the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly ends on February 23 next year and polls are to be held before that.

Lawyers, activists call for extending POSH Act to political parties

Legal experts and activists have voiced the urgent need to bring political parties under the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, known as the POSH Act, citing the need for gender equality and accountability. The reaction comes after the Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a plea seeking direction to political parties to follow the procedure for the protection of women in the workplace under the 2013 POSH Act. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Manmohan asked the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a representation for the application of the POSH Act. Sonal Mattoo, a lawyer and director of NGO Helping Hands, called for a shift in perspective, urging political parties to focus on the spirit of the law rather than its technical definition. "The problem is they're looking at the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law. If you look at the letter of the law, yes, you will struggle w

Kejriwal writes to EC, urges action on threat of mass vote deletions

A day after meeting the Election Commission officials over vote deletion issue, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar hoping the poll body will fulfil its "assurances" with necessary action. Earlier on Wednesday, Kejriwal led a delegation of the AAP in the meeting with the election commissioners to urge them for not undertaking any mass deletion of voters names before the Delhi Assembly polls. In his letter to the chief election commissioner, Kejriwal thanked the Election Commission for hearing concerns over "threat of mass deletions of voters names" in Delhi ahead of the assembly elections. We were all reassured by your commitment to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process and to safeguard the right to vote of each and every voter in Delhi," said Kejriwal citing "assurances", including "no mass deletion of votes in any assembly constituency until the Delhi Assembly polls", given to the delegation. He also cited various other

Election Commission colluding with BJP: AAP on 'deletion' of voters' names

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of "colluding with the BJP" as he reiterated his party's claims of deletion of voters' names from electoral rolls ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference here, the Rajya Sabha MP said an application for the deletion of 3,800 voters' names has been submitted in RK Puram constituency and they belong to booths where the AAP has been winning elections. AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and other party leaders have been alleging that many voters' names have been deleted from electoral rolls ahead of the Delhi polls due to be held in February next year. "We came to know that an application for the deletion of 3,800 voters' names has been submitted in the RK Puram constituency. When our workers and local MLA verified these voters, they found that 1,800 of them are still living in the same place and are eligible voters," Singh claimed at the press conference. "The voters named in the applicati

SC refers plea on including political parties under POSH Act to ECI

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a plea seeking direction to political parties to follow the procedure for protection of women at workplace under the 2013 POSH Act. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Manmohan asked the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a representation for the application of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). Senior advocate Shobha Gupta, representing PIL petitioner Yogamaya MG, said there were six national parties in the country that did not have a grievance redressal mechanism against sexual harassment in line with the directions of the apex court and the 2013 law. The PIL arrayed 10 political parties including six national level parties -- BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI(M), National People's Party and AAP. The bench, however, observed political parties were registered under the Representation of Peoples Act and the competent authority under the law should be E

No sudden 'surge' in last hour of polling in Maharashtra, says official

Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has said the seven per cent increase in voter turnout in the last hour of polling for the state assembly elections was not a surge, as claimed by the opposition, but an "average" process. In a video statement on Monday, Chockaligam said Maharashtra is a large state with more than one lakh polling booths. "If 76 lakh voters turn up in the last hour of polling, it is only (an average of) 76 voters in each of the polling centres," he added. The assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were held last month. While the BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, the JMM-led alliance bagged 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly. 'Unlike Jharkhand, Maharashtra votes more in the later half of the day. Whereas in Jharkhand, most of the voting takes place in the first half," Chockalingam said. Jharkhand is a small state compared to Maharashtra and its voting ends at 5 pm, whereas voting in Maharashtra is allow

Markadwadi's DIY polls: This Maha village to hold re-vote after ECI results

Markadwadi village in Maharashtra plans to conduct a re-vote using paper ballots after dissatisfaction with the Election Commission's results in the recent Assembly elections

Maha chief poll officer warns of action over EVM tampering allegations

Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer, S Chockalingam said this amid ongoing allegations from Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders about EVM malpractices during the recent Maharashtra assembly elections

Election Commission files complaint against man claiming to hack EVMs

Mumbai Cyber Police has lodged an FIR against a man who claimed he could hack EVMs by isolating machine frequency, Election Commission (EC) officials said. The complaint in the matter was lodged by the Maharashtra chief electoral officer (CEO), alleging that the claims made by the accused, Syed Shuja, were false, baseless and unsubstantiated, they said. The FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act at Cyber Police Station, Dakshin Mumbai on November 30 "against the person in this video", the CEO said. The EC action came after some social media users shared a video in which a man is heard claiming that he could hack and tamper with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Maharashtra elections by isolating the machine's frequency. EC officials here identified the man as Syed Shuja. In 2019, the EC ordered filing of an FIR against Shuja for making similar claims. "In a similar incident involving false claims, an FIR was lodged on the direction of the

Followed poll processes transparently, will review concerns: EC to Cong

The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all poll procedures it followed in Maharashtra were transparent and assured that it would review all legitimate concerns flagged by the Congress, which alleged serious inconsistencies. In its interim response to the party, the poll authority invited a Congress delegation on December 3 to discuss concerns expressed by it. The Congress on Friday raised with the Election Commission "serious and grave inconsistencies" which it said were being revealed in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently-concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls and sought an in-person hearing to present relevant evidence. In the response, the EC reiterated that the process was transparent with the involvement of candidates or their agents at every stage. The commission also assured of a review of the Congress' legitimate concerns and a written response after hearing the party's delegation in person. It asserted that a transparent ...

IAS officer removed by EC before polls reinstated as Ranchi dy commissioner

The Hemant Soren government has reinstated Manjunath Bhajantri as the Ranchi district deputy commissioner (DC), from which he was removed by the EC before the Assembly elections following a complaint by the BJP, according to a notification. The decision to bring Bhajantri back to the post was taken hours after JMM leader Hemant Soren took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The 2011 batch IAS officer was appointed as Ranchi DC by the Hemant Soren government on September 30 ahead of the polls which took place in two phases - November 20 and 23. He was removed on October 15 following a complaint by the BJP legal cell to the Chief Electoral Officer and shifted to Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society as its CEO. "Chief Executive Officer of Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) Manjunath Bhajantri has been transferred and appointed as Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi, till further orders," a notification from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms .

MVA candidates to seek EVM verification after Maharashtra poll loss

The Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates who faced defeat in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls have decided to seek verification of the EVM-Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) units in their segments, a leader of the opposition alliance said. Many losing candidates of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) pointed fingers at the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during their interaction with party head Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. Thackeray took stock of the lacklustre performance of his party at a meeting held at his residence in Mumbai. The poll verdict last week saw the Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP, retaining power with a massive mandate, pushing the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to margins. The Mahayuti won 230 seats and MVA only 46 in the 288-member House. The Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) emerged as the largest party in the opposition camp by winning 20 seats, followed by Congress which bagged 16 constituencies, while the NCP (Sharadchandra

Raut demands re-election, cites EVM irregularities in Maharashtra polls

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections. The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested. "We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said. Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM

Too close: Victory margin lowest at 162 for AIMIM candidate, 208 for Patole

Several candidates emerged victorious in the Maharashtra assembly polls by wafer thin margins, including an AIMIM nominee in Malegaon Central by 162 votes and state Congress chief Nana Patole by 208 votes from Sakoli. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) sitting MLA Mufti Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique defeated Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra by 162 votes in Malegaon Central seat in Nashik district. Patole defeated BJP's Avinash Brahmankar by 208 votes in Sakoli in Bhandara district, as per the results announced by the Election Commission on Saturday. BJP's Manda Mhatre won from Belapur in Navi Mumbai by a margin of 377 votes, while Shiv Sena's Sanjay Gaikwad won from Buldhana by 841 votes. In Karjat-Jamkhed, sitting NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar retained his seat by 1,243 votes, while state minister and NCP candidate Dilip Walse Patil won from Ambegaon constituency with a margin of 1,523 votes. Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena ...

Officials gear up for counting in Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly polls

Security has been tightened at counting centres in Maharashtra, including Kalina and Dharavi, as per the visuals

EC seizes Rs 1,000 cr during state polls, Maharashtra leads with Rs 858 cr

The Election Commission seized over Rs 1,000 cr in cash, liquor, and drugs during polls across Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and 14 states; seizures in Maharashtra and Jharkhand seven times higher than 2019

UP bypolls controversy: ECI warns against bias, suspends 7 police officers

The Election Commission has suspended seven police officers in Uttar Pradesh over allegations of voter suppression during bypolls, warning against bias and ensuring fair elections

Assembly polls: Maharashtra logs 45% voter turnout, Jharkhand 61% by 3 pm

The counting of votes for Maharashtra Assembly elections and Phase I and Phase II of Jharkhand Assembly elections will be conducted on November 23

WATCH: Voter complains to Akshay Kumar over his donated toilet in Juhu

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: During his visit to the polling station, an elderly man approached actor Akshay Kumar and raised concerns about the Juhu beach toilet installed by the actor in 2018