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On this episode of To The Point, the escalating conflict between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Rahul Gandhi is examined. Following repeated allegations of voter fraud and 'vote chori' by the opposition, the Election Commission held a press conference challenging Rahul Gandhi
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Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Congress now alleges electoral irregularities in Rajasthan
Congress leader Tikaram Jully on Wednesday alleged large-scale electoral irregularities in Rajasthan's Tijara, Bhiwadi, and Alwar constituencies, claiming voting patterns showed clear signs of manipulation. He said they were gathering documents showing how voting percentages spiked abnormally after 5pm during the 2024 national and 2023 assembly polls. He said multiple voters were registered at the same addresses. Congress said outsiders managed to get their names added to the voter list. (X) The fresh allegations came days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday called the Opposition's 'vote theft' charges during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral roll false and baseless. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is undertaking a 1,300-km Voter Adhikari Yatra in Bihar against the ECI and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s alleged 'conspiracy' to steal the Bihar assembly polls. Jully said outsiders managed to get their names added to the voter list in Bhiwadi and vote. 'Whenever questions were raised [during elections], the same complaint came were voting for one party but the vote was being recorded for the BJP symbol, the lotus. This was reported from many places.' Jully said voters in a village in his constituency pressed the button for Congress, but the votes were recorded for the BJP. '...such fraud has taken place everywhere. In Lok Sabha and assembly elections, large-scale fraud took place in Tijara and Bhiwadi. In Alwar, too, due to mismanagement, rigging occurred. All of this needs to be investigated.' Jully said the ECI acted with haste in poll-bound Bihar and revised the entire voter list within a month, and removed 6.5 million names. He called it striking that not a single new name was added. He said that if a special intensive revision of the electoral roll is also done in Rajasthan, it should be done properly. 'People should be facilitated. We do not want fake voters to be added, but genuine votes should not be removed. There are still three years left for elections in Rajasthan, so it can be done smoothly. What happened in Bihar, where everything was done in one month, is wrong. And here too, people must not be harassed unnecessarily.' He asked why a poor person would be forced to submit 20 photocopies and lose daily wages to prove their right to vote. 'The ECI must verify house-to-house and not trouble the common man.' BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bharadwaj said Congress has lost hope of winning elections through the people's mandate. 'Just to console their workers, they are spreading lies. The public will give them an apt reply.' He said the real problem was with the Congress leadership, which they cannot change. 'Hence, they are only looking for excuses for their defeat.'
Mint
26 minutes ago
- Mint
ICSSR issues show cause notice to CSDS for ‘data manipulation' amid ‘Vote Chori' row
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has issued a show cause notice to CSDS for alleged data manipulation related to election analysis, citing biased interpretations amid the 'Vote Chori' row. The ICSSR notice read, 'It has come to the notice of ICSSR that an individual holding responsible position at CSDS, an ICSSR-funded research institute, has made media statements that had to be retracted subsequently citing glitches in data analysis regarding elections in Maharashtra. Futher, the institute has published media stories based on biased interpretation of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India..." Highlighting the role of the Election Commission, it said,'ICSSR holds the Indian constitution in highest esteem. The Election Commission of India is a high constitutional body that has been holding free and fair elections in the largest democracy in the world for decades." Alleging the CSDS to tarnish the sanctity of the Election Commission, it noted,'ICSSR takes serious cognizance of the data manipulation by CSDS and its attempt to create a narrative with the intention of undermining the sanctity of the Election Commision of India. This is a gross violation of the Grant-in-Aid rules of ICSSR, and ICSSR shall issue a Show Cause Notice to the Institute." The notice follows an apology from Lokniti-CSDS co-director Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday for his post about Maharashtra elections, which reported a significant decline in voter numbers in two assembly seats compared to the recent Lok Sabha elections. 'I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation,' Lokniti-CSDS co-director wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
Bangladesh general polls to be held in Feb, Election roadmap this week
Dhaka, Aug 20 (UNI) Bangladesh will hold its 13th parliamentary elections in February next year, with the Election Commission expected to release a detailed action plan within the week. Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) that a draft of the election roadmap has been prepared and will soon be submitted for final approval. He said the plan will focus on inter-departmental coordination and operational issues to ensure smooth conduct of the polls. The announcement comes amid doubts raised by political parties over whether elections will be held on schedule. Leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have argued that polls cannot take place without key reforms and the completion of trials initiated by the interim government. Reaffirming the government's commitment, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said that preparations for the polls were moving ahead as planned. 'The polls will be held in February, and the government's stance on this remains firm,' he told reporters after a Cabinet Division meeting. Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' administration has repeatedly stressed that the upcoming elections will be the "most transparent and credible in Bangladesh's history", despite scepticism from opposition parties. Nazrul downplayed such statements, calling them part of Bangladesh's political tradition. 'You have always seen this. Traditionally in Bangladesh, political parties make such comments. The same is happening now. There has not been any major qualitative change in this discourse. Ultimately, the responsibility for conducting elections lies with the government, not political parties,' the local newspaper quoted him as saying. Notably, protests last August toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bringing an end to 15 years of Awami League rule. Hasina fled to India after weeks of student-led demonstrations escalated into a nationwide uprising against her government's authoritarian practices. Yunus, appointed caretaker leader soon after Hasina's ouster, initially suggested June 2026 as a possible date for the polls. But under pressure from opposition groups including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the NCP, he revised the timeline, pledging elections before Ramadan in February 2026. 'For many years, none of us have been able to vote,' the 85-year-old said in a televised address. 'This time, we will all vote. No one will be left out. Let us all be able to say, 'I cast my vote to set the country on the path to building a new Bangladesh.'' Yunus also unveiled the 'July Declaration,' which pledges to enshrine the student-led uprising against Hasina in the constitution. UNI XC AAB ARN
