Latest news with #ManojKumarAgarwal
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
EC refutes TMC charge over webcasting contract to Guj firm
Kolkata: The Election Commission on Thursday dismissed Trinamool's allegations of partisanship in offering a contract for webcasting to a Gujarat-based firm. Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said all norms were followed and there was no irregularity in the process. Agarwal said for the Kaliganj bypolls, an e-tender was conducted as per EC norms, and accordingly, the firm from Ahmedabad was awarded the contract. On Wednesday, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim claimed in the assembly that the tender was awarded to the Gujarat company by ignoring companies from Bengal. State finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also pointed fingers at the EC with similar allegations. Meanwhile, a vendor of the EC — given the contract for webcasting since the 2016 assembly polls — was fined Rs 1.5 crore for not following the poll panel's norms and violating rules, an official said. The official questioned how a tainted company with questionable evaluations continued to receive the contract for years. He said guidelines for webcasting were not followed since 2016. "The company received the contract for the 2021 assembly polls and also for the 2024 LS polls and breached agreements in several instances. The same images were repeatedly shown, or the screen went blank or black during webcasting," the official said. As a penalty, Rs 1.5 crore was deducted from its payment for the 2024 LS polls.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
EC to set over 1 lakh polling booths for 2026 assembly elections
1 2 Kolkata: EC would set up over 1 lakh polling booths across the state for the 2026 assembly elections, said Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday. He said there were around 81,000 booths at present, but with EC's decision to have a maximum of 1,200 voters per booth, the number was expected to go up by over 22,000. There would be 309 booths at the Kaliganj bypoll, which will be held on Thursday, Agarwal said, adding the number of booths had to be increased from 261. Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had at a recent meeting in Delhi decided to cap the number of voters at 1,200 per booth. The poll panel wants voters to be able to find their booths within a kilometre or two. Consequently, the number of EVMs and VVPATs to be used will also increase. Bengal now has 7.6 crore total voters; 3.8 crore are male and 3.7 crore female. The number is expected to rise with EC pushing for a major voter enrolment drive from July. Booth level officers will be going door to door to help everyone aged 18 and above enrol on the voters' list. They will also make note of those who passed away or shifted homes, so that bogus voters are removed for the list. The location of the additional 22,000 booths will be finalised by July. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Todos os idosos deveriam ter um desse no banheiro! Veja só! Evite quedas e escorregões Saiba Mais Undo Meetings will then be held with political parties so there are no objections later when polling is declared. Consultations are ongoing with political parties and electoral registration officers (EROs) and sub-divisional officers (SDOs) on the matter. EROs are also holding talks with residents of multi-storied buildings where there are community halls, so that polling booths can be set up there, and also cater to nearby slums and housing societies. SDOs are looking for open spaces where booths can be installed for slum-dwellers.
