Latest news with #GeneralElections
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Free of cost': EC counters Rahul Gandhi's voter roll demand; says polls details already provided
NEW DELHI: After repeated attacks on the Election Commission by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , the chief electoral officer of Maharashtra on Monday advised the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to download the voter rolls of the Maharashtra legislative elections from its website — "free of cost". Hours after Rahul asked the EC to specify the exact date by which it would furnish the voter rolls, the Commission said it maintains the practice of sharing the details with recognised political parties — first at the draft stage and again after finalisation. "Electoral Rolls are revised annually through a participatory exercise. During this annual exercise, the Electoral Rolls are shared, free of cost, with recognised political parties, including the INC — first at the draft stage and again after finalisation. A similar exercise was carried out in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024, and copies of such Electoral Rolls were then shared with the INC as well as other political parties," the EC said in a statement. "A complete copy of the Electoral Roll used in the General Elections to the Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra–2024 is also available on the website for the public to freely download. Even for earlier electoral rolls, a copy of the finalised Electoral Rolls is retained by the District Election Officer. Under Rule 33 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, any person, including the INC, can apply to the concerned District Election Officer and obtain a copy of the retained Electoral Rolls on payment of the prescribed fee. The CEO, Maharashtra, reiterated this statutory position on 22nd May 2025 to a Hon'ble Member of Parliament from the INC who sought a copy of electoral rolls that had already been provided to the INC during revisions in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024," it added. Earlier, Rahul had asked the Election Commission to specify the exact date by which it would furnish the voter rolls of the Maharashtra and Haryana legislative elections. In a social media post on X, Rahul welcomed the EC's decision and said, "Good first step taken by EC to hand over voter rolls." "Can the EC please announce the exact date by which this data will be handed over in a digital, machine-readable format?" he asked. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also shared a screenshot of a media report claiming that the EC had cleared the way for sharing electoral-roll data for Haryana and Maharashtra from 2009 to 2024, following an assurance it gave to the Delhi High Court earlier this year. This development came a day after Rahul, in an article, outlined a "step-by-step manipulation" of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. "My article shows how this happened, step by step: Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi wrote in a post on X. "It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing — the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence, judge for themselves, and demand answers," Gandhi had said. "Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing," the Leader of Opposition claimed. Later, the poll body issued a statement calling Rahul's allegations of "match-fixing" in the electoral process "completely absurd." "The entire nation is aware that each election process — including the preparation of electoral rolls, polling, and counting — is held by government staff, and that too in the presence of authorised representatives formally appointed by political parties/candidates from polling station up to constituency level," the EC said. "Any misinformation being spread, by anyone, is not only a sign of disrespect towards the law, but also brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections," it added. "After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised is completely absurd," the statement by the ECI read. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP won 235 of the 288 seats, with BJP securing 132 alone. Shinde's Sena secured 57 seats, and Ajit Pawar's NCP got 41 seats. On the other hand, it was a disappointing show by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which had hoped for a grand comeback. Uddhav's Sena got 20 seats, Congress 16, and Sharad Pawar's NCP secured 10 seats.
Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Electoral rolls were provided to Congress twice, office of CEO
Two days after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi wrote an article in The Indian Express, raising questions over the conduct and alleged malpractices in the Maharashtra the legislative Assembly elections, the office of Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Monday issued an official statement saying electoral rolls are shared with all recognised political parties, including the Congress, twice. 'Electoral rolls are revised annually through a participatory exercise. During this annual exercise, the electoral rolls are shared, free of cost, with recognised political parties, including the INC, first at draft stage and second time after its finalisation. The similar exercise was done in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024 and copies of such electoral rolls were then shared with INC, as well as with other political parties,' said the statement. After his article in The Indian Express, Gandhi also raised the demand of publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra. The demand was also for releasing all post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths. The statement added that a complete copy of electoral roll used in General Elections to Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra-2024, is also available on website for free download. 'Even for earlier electoral rolls, a copy of finalised electoral rolls is retained by District Election Officer as well. Under Rule 33 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, any person, including INC, can apply to the concerned District Election Officer and get a copy of such retained electoral rolls, on payment of prescribed fee,' it said. It claimed that the CEO, Maharashtra, had reiterated this statutory position on May 22, 2025, to a Congress MP who sought a copy of electoral rolls, which were already provided to the INC at the time of revision in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024.
The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's silence on journalist's derogatory comments on women of Amaravati, indicates his involvement, alleges BJP leader Bhanu Prakash Reddy
BJP State official spokesperson and TTD Board member Bhanu Prakash Reddy has demanded a public apology from YSRCP president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to the women of Amaravati, for his failure to condemn the derogatory statements made on them by a journalist on Sakshi TV. The failure of Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy to condemn the statements indicates that the YSRCP president was supporting the derogatory language used by the Sakshi journalist on the women of Amaravati. It shows that while the journalist had made the statement, the 'script, screenplay and direction' was by the YSRCP president, Mr. Bhanu Prakash Reddy alleged at a press conference, here, on Monday (June 09). Defending the action of the police for beating up three youths in full view of the public, in Tenali, the BJP leader said that the accused were involved in ganja trade and other illegal activities. Ridiculing Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for going to meet and console them, he said that the former Chief Minister would be restricted to holding of 'Odarpu yatras' (consoling victims) and would not have any 'Jaitra yatra' (victory rally) in future, if he continued with such reprehensible behaviour. He recalled that the former Chief Minister had labelled Amaravati as 'Kammaravati' and had put a spoke in the wheel of the capital construction activity. The BJP leader said that the coalition government in the State was committed to put down rowdyism with an iron fist. Reiterating the demand for tending an apology to the women of Amaravati, he said the YSRCP, which had to contend with 11 seats in the last General Elections, would not even get those seats in future, if the leaders do not mend its ways. BJP Parliamentary district president MMN Parasurama Raju said that already 1.75 crore people have already registered for participating on the International Yoga Day event in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating, in Visakhapatnam on June 21. The programme would be held block-wise, on a 25 km stretch on the RK Beach – Bhimili Beach stretch. He appealed to the public to participate in large numbers and make the programme a grand success.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will there be a Hamilton by-election exit poll and when will the result come in?
CONSTITUENTS in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency have been casting their votes all day in the Holyrood by-election. Polls are open from 7am to 10pm, with counting to go on into the night. The National is on the ground at the count and is keeping you up to date on all the latest behind-the-scenes chat on our live blog. We'll also have livestreams with our political reporters on what to expect, and our charts and graphs will show all the key numbers as the result comes in. The campaign in this by-election has been, for the most part, dominated by the rise in support for Reform UK – and a row over one of the party's online adverts. The ad alleged that Anas Sarwar (below) would 'prioritise' the Pakistani community – but it was quickly branded racist by Labour, who together with rivals in the SNP demanded it should be taken down. SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney meanwhile urged voters in the constituency to back his party in a bid to 'stop Nigel Farage'. His plea comes after an opinion poll in Scotland last month indicated Reform could come second in next year's Holyrood elections, ahead of both Labour and the Tories. READ MORE: There will not be an exit poll as this is not standard practice in a by-election. At General Elections however, there is usually an exit poll carried out and published at 10pm, predicting what the results could look like. The research is done by asking voters who they backed immediately after they leave the polling station. In recent years, UK exit polls have been fairly accurate in providing an overall picture of the result. READ MORE: As the votes have to be physically counted, it is impossible to say exactly when the result will come in. It is unlikely that it will be announced before 1am ... so if you're staying up like we are, you might be in for a long night. Don't worry if you need to get your beauty sleep, because our live blog will have all the details you need recorded in digestible chunks for when you wake up on Friday. We also have a handy article showing the results of the vote in graphs and charts at a glance.
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Is there a Hamilton by-election exit poll and what time is the result?
Polls are open from 7am to 10pm, with counting to go on into the night. The National is on the ground at the count and is keeping you up to date on all the latest behind-the-scenes chat on our live blog. We'll also have livestreams with our political reporters on what to expect, and our charts and graphs will show all the key numbers as the result comes in. The campaign in this by-election has been, for the most part, dominated by the rise in support for Reform UK – and a row over one of the party's online adverts. The ad alleged that Anas Sarwar (below) would 'prioritise' the Pakistani community – but it was quickly branded racist by Labour, who together with rivals in the SNP demanded it should be taken down. SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney meanwhile urged voters in the constituency to back his party in a bid to 'stop Nigel Farage'. His plea comes after an opinion poll in Scotland last month indicated Reform could come second in next year's Holyrood elections, ahead of both Labour and the Tories. READ MORE: The John Curtice verdict as Hamilton by-election looms Will there by a Hamilton by-election exit poll? There will not be an exit poll as this is not standard practice in a by-election. At General Elections however, there is usually an exit poll carried out and published at 10pm, predicting what the results could look like. The research is done by asking voters who they backed immediately after they leave the polling station. In recent years, UK exit polls have been fairly accurate in providing an overall picture of the result. READ MORE: See the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election odds What time will the Hamilton by-election result come in? As the votes have to be physically counted, it is impossible to say exactly when the result will come in. It is unlikely that it will be announced before 1am ... so if you're staying up like we are, you might be in for a long night. Don't worry if you need to get your beauty sleep, because our live blog will have all the details you need recorded in digestible chunks for when you wake up on Friday. We also have a handy article showing the results of the vote in graphs and charts at a glance.
