All posts tagged: ec

Ahead Of Bengal Polls, EC Reshuffles Top Police Officers; Names New Kolkata Police Chief | India News

Ahead Of Bengal Polls, EC Reshuffles Top Police Officers; Names New Kolkata Police Chief | India News

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Last Updated:March 16, 2026, 12:30 IST Ajay Kumar Nand, a 1996-batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Commissioner of Kolkata Police after the EC ordered key police transfers in West Bengal. (Left to right) Siddh Nath Gupta, Ajay Mukund Ranade, Ajay Kumar Nand (Photo: CNN News18) A day after announcing the schedule for the 2026 Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India ordered key police transfers in West Bengal after reviewing poll preparedness. Under the order, several senior officers have been given new postings. Siddh Nath Gupta (IPS 1992) has been appointed DG & IGP (In-charge), West Bengal. Natarajan Ramesh Babu (IPS 1991) has been appointed DG, Correctional Services. Ajay Mukund Ranade (IPS 1995) has been appointed ADG & IGP (Law & Order). He will replace Vinit Goyel who has been removed from the post. Goyal was the Kolkata Police Commissioner during the RG Kar doctor rape and murder case. CM Mamata Banerjee had to remove him under pressure after protests. Ajay Kumar Nand (IPS 1996) has been appointed Commissioner, Kolkata Police. The orders …

Election Commission Announces West Bengal Poll Dates: Voting In Two Phases; Counting On May 4 | India News

Election Commission Announces West Bengal Poll Dates: Voting In Two Phases; Counting On May 4 | India News

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Last Updated:March 15, 2026, 16:37 IST The West Bengal Assembly election will be conducted in two phases. A woman shows her inked finger after casting her ballot to vote in the first phase of India’s general election near the India-Bangladesh border at Durganagar village, Dinhata district of Cooch Behar in the country’s West Bengal state on April 19, 2024. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP) The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election. The elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, respectively.  The counting will be held on May 4. Voters will elect all 294 members, with the current assembly’s term ending on May 7. The final electoral rolls were published on February 28, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). 2021 Election Recap The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which won 213 seats in the 2021 elections, will face a strong challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which holds 77 seats. TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee is seeking a fourth consecutive term as …

Assembly poll dates are out: What’s at stake for Congress, TMC, DMK, Left in the crucial battles | Political Pulse News

Assembly poll dates are out: What’s at stake for Congress, TMC, DMK, Left in the crucial battles | Political Pulse News

Published by Parlour News

Having lost four of the six state elections to the BJP since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Opposition is bracing for a fresh electoral battle and this round is rather make or break for the largest among them, the Congress, and critical as well for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK, the third and fourth largest parties in the Opposition bloc in Parliament. Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will see polls on April 9 in a single phase while Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23 in a single phase. West Bengal will see a two-phased election on April 23 and April 29. Results for all states will be announced on May 4. Much is at stake for all three parties and the Left, which is searching for existence in West Bengal and hoping to retain its dominance in Kerala. Apart from the larger battle against the BJP, the Opposition parties will be up against each other in Bengal, where the TMC, the Congress, and the Left are fighting solo, and in Kerala, where …

West Bengal Assembly Elections Likely To Be Held In 2 Phases: EC Official | India News

West Bengal Assembly Elections Likely To Be Held In 2 Phases: EC Official | India News

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Last Updated:March 12, 2026, 11:49 IST The assembly elections to 294 seats in West Bengal will be held next month. In the previous election, voting was conducted in eight phases. West Bengal Polls for 294 Seats Likely to Be Held in Two Phases The West Bengal Assembly elections are likely to be held in two phases, a senior official of the Election Commission said on Thursday, according to a PTI report. The official said the final decision on the election schedule will be taken after another round of meetings at the Election Commission’s office in New Delhi. “The assembly elections to 294 seats in West Bengal will most likely be held in two phases from next month,” the official said. The Election Commission is expected to finalise the plan after internal discussions. What happened in 2021 election? In the 2021 Assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) won a landslide victory, securing 213 seats out of 294. The result defied several exit polls that had predicted a close contest between TMC and the Bharatiya …

Fix errors in electoral roll, says Assam Cong’s Debabrata Saikia in letter to CEC| India News

Fix errors in electoral roll, says Assam Cong’s Debabrata Saikia in letter to CEC| India News

Published by Parlour News

GUWAHATI: Leader of Opposition in the Assam assembly, Debabrata Saikia wrote to the Election Commission (EC) on Monday, citing discrepancies in the draft electoral roll released in December and demanding that the poll panel make the corrections before the final voter list for the state elections is notified. A booth level officer (BLO) interacts with a voter during verification of voter identification cards as part of ‘Special Revision’ in Guwahati (PTI FILE PHOTO) In his letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Saikia said media reports and ground-level feedback indicated “unauthorised inclusion of non-Assamese speaking voters and other procedural lapses that threaten the integrity of the electoral process”. “Specific instances have come to light where “unknown” persons have been added as voters in households without the knowledge of residents,” Saikia said in a letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The integrated draft electoral roll for the Special Revision was done following a house-to-house drive carried out by block-level officers in the state’s 126 assembly constituencies from November 22 to December 20. The draft list was published on …

BJP’s Purse Swells Over 50% To Rs 6,088 Crore A Year After Electoral Bonds Scrapped | Politics News

BJP’s Purse Swells Over 50% To Rs 6,088 Crore A Year After Electoral Bonds Scrapped | Politics News

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Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 09:23 IST BJP received Rs 6,088 crore in donations in 2024-25, an increase of more than 50 per cent from the Rs 3,967 crore it received in 2023-24. File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah (PTI photo) The scrapping of the Electoral Bond Scheme has done little to dent the BJP’s fundraising. Instead, the ruling party recorded its highest-ever donations in 2024-25, raising Rs 6,088 crore in the first full year after the scheme was struck down by the Supreme Court, according to an Indian Express Report. According to its latest Contribution Report, BJP received Rs 6,088 crore in donations this year, an increase of more than 50 per cent from the Rs 3,967 crore it received in 2023-24. The report was submitted to the Election Commission on December 8 and published last week. BJP far ahead of Opposition parties The scale of BJP’s fundraising stands out sharply when compared with other political parties. In 2024-25, the party’s total donations were nearly 12 times higher …

As Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi target 3 ECs at Delhi rally, Congress sends an unmistakable signal | Political Pulse News

As Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi target 3 ECs at Delhi rally, Congress sends an unmistakable signal | Political Pulse News

Published by Parlour News

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday warned the election commissioners — Gyanesh Kumar (CEC), Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi – of a “retroactive law” and action when the Congress comes to power. Speaking at the party’s “vote chor, gaddi chhod” rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, Rahul said in the “fight between truth and lies”, the Election Commission of India is standing with “lies” and the three poll body officers should remember that they are election commissioners of India and not of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the current government can give the election commissioners “whatever immunity”, but they will eventually face action. Although Rahul has targeted CEC Kumar in his press conferences in the past, this is the first time that the Gandhi siblings have attacked the three together taking their names from a public platform. The attack signals the Congress’s intention to intensify their campaign against the EC despite the issue coming a cropper in Bihar Assembly elections. Although the Congress had toyed …

Aadhaar Can Verify Identity, Not Citizenship For Electoral Roll Inclusion: Poll Body To Top Court | India News

Aadhaar Can Verify Identity, Not Citizenship For Electoral Roll Inclusion: Poll Body To Top Court | India News

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Last Updated:November 15, 2025, 20:50 IST In a response to the apex court, the poll body noted that the court had, on September 8, clarified that Aadhaar may be used only to verify identity Supreme Court Of India (PTI) The Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Supreme Court that it has already directed officials in Bihar to use Aadhaar strictly as proof of identity, not citizenship, when updating the state’s revised electoral roll. In a response submitted to the apex court, the Commission noted that the court had, on September 8, clarified that Aadhaar may be used only to verify identity under Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950. Section 23 governs the procedures for adding or removing names from electoral rolls. Following this clarification, the EC said it issued instructions on September 9, 2025, to Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, reiterating that Aadhaar should not be treated as evidence of citizenship during voter roll revisions. The EC’s submission was filed in response to an interlocutory application by advocate Ashwini Kumar …

‘Lesson For INDIA Bloc, But EC’s Misdeeds…’: Stalin After NDA’s Landslide Bihar Win | India News

‘Lesson For INDIA Bloc, But EC’s Misdeeds…’: Stalin After NDA’s Landslide Bihar Win | India News

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Last Updated:November 15, 2025, 09:09 IST While extending congratulations to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the victory, Stalin did not hold back in criticising what he called the ECI’s declining credibility. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin reacted strongly to the National Democratic Alliance’s sweeping victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, terming the result both a “lesson” for the INDIA alliance and a reminder of what he described as the “misdeeds” of the Election Commission of India (ECI).  While extending congratulations to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Stalin did not hold back in criticising what he called the ECI’s declining credibility. Notably, DMK is part of the opposition INDIA bloc. What Stalin said? In a detailed post on X, Stalin congratulated JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar for the NDA’s decisive win, saying the veteran leader had earned the trust of the people of Bihar. He also appreciated RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for leading a spirited and energetic campaign despite the opposition alliance’s poor overall performance. However, …

Bihar Polls 2025: Actress Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Loses To BJP’s Rohit Pandey In Bhagalpur | Elections News

Bihar Polls 2025: Actress Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Loses To BJP’s Rohit Pandey In Bhagalpur | Elections News

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Last Updated:November 14, 2025, 21:30 IST Actor Neha Sharma’s father Ajeet Sharma, a senior Congress leader, has held the Bhagalpur Assembly seat since 2014, winning again in 2015 and 2020. Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Trails in Bihar’s Bhagalpur. As vote counting wrapped up in the Bhagalpur Assembly constituency on Friday, Congress MLA Ajeet Sharma, father of Bollywood actor Neha Sharma, lost to BJP candidate Rohit Pandey by a margin of more than 13,000 votes. According to the Election Commission, Sharma secured 87,296 votes, while the BJP candidate received 1,00,770 votes after 28 rounds of counting. Who is Ajeet Sharma? The three-time MLA, who has been a prominent figure in the constituency for a decade, faces a tough contest this time despite an energetic campaign that saw his actor-daughter take centre stage. Ajeet Sharma, a senior Congress leader, has held the Bhagalpur Assembly seat since 2014, winning again in 2015 and 2020. Known for his organisational networks and personal outreach, he has long been considered one of the party’s dependable faces in the region. With …