Threat to Right to Vote in Bihar to 'Vote Theft' in Karnataka: Many Questions for EC
It has been an eventful week in India's political and foreign policy landscape. Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of major discrepancies in voter rolls during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, giving detailed evidence from one assembly constituency in Karnataka. The special intensive review of electoral rolls in Bihar has come to a close, but questions remain around exclusions, the methodology and the timing. The Trump administration has said it will be hiking the tariff on Indian goods to 50%, as a 'penalty' for continuing to import Russian oil.
Jahnavi Sen discusses all of this with Manisha Priyam, Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor, Monash University, and Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Five dormant political parties from Gautam Budh Nagar delisted by ECI
Five political outfits from Gautam Budh Nagar have been removed from the Election Commission of India's list of registered but unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) after being found inactive for over six years and absent from their registered addresses, officials said on Tuesday. None contested any assembly or parliamentary election since 2019, and verification teams found no operational presence at their registered addresses in the district. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Archives) The delisted parties are Hindustan Krantikari Dal, Jan Kranti Samaj Party, Mother India Party, Paschim Uttar Pradesh Vikas Party, and Rashtriya Mazdoor Kisan Party. None contested any assembly or parliamentary election since 2019, and verification teams found no operational presence at their registered addresses in the district. 'Verification teams found that the five parties had neither contested any election in the past six years nor maintained their presence at the registered addresses in the district, and thus, the outfits have been struck off the Election Commission of India's list of registered but unrecognised political parties,' said Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate and district election officer Medha Roopam. She added, 'The delisting is part of a larger clean-up of inactive political outfits across Uttar Pradesh and the country by the Election Commission to ensure only active and compliant political outfits remain on record.' The action follows a state-wide review of 345 RUPPs ordered by the Election Commission in June 2025. Officials said 334 parties in Uttar Pradesh were found in violation of mandatory provisions under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, such as failing to update office-bearers and addresses or contest elections within six years, leading to their removal. Statewide, 115 parties were delisted, including the five from Gautam Budh Nagar. No public statements surfaced from the delisted parties. Delisted parties lose benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. Aggrieved parties can appeal the decision within 30 days of the order issued on August 9, 2025. Nationally, the purge has reduced the number of RUPPs from 2,854 to 2,520. India now has six recognised national parties and 67 state parties. No public statements have surfaced from the delisted parties.
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Never thought we would see his face again': 19-year-old Bengal migrant returns weeks after sent to Bangladesh
A 19-year-old Bengali migrant who was detained by Rajasthan police on June 19 and later deported to Bangladesh has finally returned home, his family and local leaders said on Tuesday. The case came to light after a video of Amir Sheikh, filmed in Bangladesh, circulated on social media. Amir, a resident of Jalalpur village under Kaliachowk police station in Malda, had gone to Rajasthan to work as a construction labourer. However, his family lost contact with him after his detention. Amir lost his mother five years ago and his father works as a migrant labourer in Uttar Pradesh. Ajmal said the family first saw the video last month and learned that Amir had been pushed into Bangladesh. ' We got a call last evening from someone in Basirhat. I did not know who he was. We then spoke with Amir on video call. I identified him. He said he was in a Bangladesh jail. Then we were told that he would be brought back. This morning we received another call stating that he is with the BSF. We are waiting for further instructions,' Ajmal said. In a video message on social media, Isha Khan Choudhury, Congress MP from Malda Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency, said central agencies and the Border Security Forces (BSF) had traced Amir. 'We are happy to share with the people of the constituency and press colleagues that a wrongly expelled Indian citizen was traced in Bangladesh by the central government and BSF,' she said. After being detained in the labour camp in Rajasthan, Mr Amir Sheikh is being released today. BSF ADG of West Bengal told me that Amir Sheikh is now in BSF control. They will inform the family today about the development.' 'Earlier I had spoken to the home secretary and BSF DG over the issue. I hope such an incident never takes place in the country. Indian citizens and travel throughout the country. It is a fundamental right. It is sad that the person was arrested and deported. But today is a happy day that he has been brought back to India,' added Choudhury in his message. Samirul Islam, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Labour Welfare Board, said the family had been supported from the start. 'Amir Sk, a migrant worker from Malda's Kaliachak, was deported to Bangladesh by the Rajasthan police. Since his deportation, we have been with the family from day one, extending all kinds of support to them. We also helped his father move the Calcutta High Court with a habeas corpus petition. Following the petition, top Rajasthan government officials and those from the Centre were summoned by the hon'ble court. The case was scheduled to be heard tomorrow,' he said. 'As interestingly there was no way to repatriate Amir except through legal intervention, as he had been tagged under a case involving illegal entry into Bangladesh. Amid such a situation, the central government is now trying to repatriate Amir Sheikh to his Malda home to save face and avoid the legal blow for the illegal pushback,' Islam added. ' One has to do something so that this trend of pushing out our Bengal residents to Bangladesh stops. There should be proper rehabilitation for such victims,' said Asif Faruk, state general secretary of the Parijayi Sramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Workers' Unity Forum). In the video last month, accessed by The Indian Express, Amir Sheikh is seen speaking to residents in Bangladesh. He identifies himself, shares his West Bengal address, and alleges that after being detained for two months, he was recently sent across the border into Bangladesh. The incident comes in the wake of similar cases across several states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. On June 14, seven residents of West Bengal were detained in Mumbai and later pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF. After intervention by the West Bengal government, four youths from Murshidabad, one from Purba Bardhaman and a husband-wife duo from North 24 Parganas were brought back.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
18 minutes ago
- First Post
‘We will never leave...': Zelenskyy refuses to cede Donbas region that could be Putin's 'springboard' for future war
Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding more territory to Russia in return for a ceasefire, saying such a deal would only set the stage for another war. 'We will never leave...': Zelenskyy refuses to cede Donbas region that could be Putin's 'springboard' for future war. AFP Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (August 12) has rejected a Russian proposal to cede more Ukrainian territory in exchange for a ceasefire, warning that Moscow would simply use any gains as a springboard for a future war. At a press briefing in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin was demanding Ukraine withdraw from the final 9,000 square kilometres of Donetsk still under Kyiv's control — a message he said was relayed to him by US officials ahead of Friday's planned summit between Donald Trump and the Russian leader. He stressed that agreeing to such terms would 'merely lay the groundwork for another war'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Zelenskyy said he did not believe Trump supported Russia's demands and expressed hope the US leader would act as a fair mediator when he meets Putin in Alaska. The Ukrainian president also said there was no sign Russia was preparing to honour a ceasefire, pointing to reports that small sabotage units had breached Ukrainian defences in eastern Donbas, advancing roughly six miles in three days. He further warned that Russia was planning fresh offensives along three sectors of the frontline. Speaking to reporters ahead of the Trump–Putin summit, and a day before a virtual meeting with US and European leaders, Zelenskyy accused Putin of seeking to dominate Ukraine because he 'does not want a sovereign Ukraine'. He warned it would be dangerous for Ukraine to be pressured by the US into accepting Russia's demand to seize the remaining parts of Donbas after the Alaska talks. The territory sought by Moscow amounted to 'about 90,000 square kilometres' of Ukraine, he said. Last week, Russia signalled for the first time that it might consider a ceasefire in return for Ukraine withdrawing from the areas of Donbas still under its control. While Trump suggested the two countries could explore a 'swapping of territories', Zelenskyy said he understood Russia's offer as merely 'not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere' — with no genuine swaps on the table. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
