New Delhi:
The Election Commission deferred the Haryana assembly election voting date to October 5 from 1 to ensure a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community can be held with community members’ full participation. Votes will be counted on October 8.

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New Delhi:

The Haryana assembly election will be held on October 5 instead of 1 to honour the voting rights and respect the traditions of the Bishnoi community, whose festival falls during this period, the Election Commission (EC) announced today.

Accordingly, the counting day for both Haryana and the Jammu and Kashmir elections has been revised to October 8 from 4.

The EC acknowledged that the Bishnoi community has upheld a centuries-old practice to participate in the Asoj Amavasya festival in remembrance of Guru Jambeshwar.

The EC had received representations from the All India Bishnoi Mahasabha based in Rajasthan’s Bikaner for rescheduling voting day in Haryana. The Bishnoi group said that for generations numerous families from Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana have observed a tradition of visiting their village Mukam in Rajasthan during “Amavas” in the month of “Asoj”, for their annual festival in Bikaner in the memory of their Guru Jambheshwar.

This year, the festival falls on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families living in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar would be travelling to Rajasthan on voting day, denying them their voting rights, the EC said.

The EC has often adjusted election dates to respect the sentiments of various communities.

For instance, during the Punjab assembly election in 2022, the EC postponed the election by a week to accommodate devotees travelling to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Similarly, in Manipur during the 2022 assembly elections, the EC changed the polling dates to respect the Christian community’s Sunday prayers.

In the 2023 Rajasthan assembly election, the EC rescheduled polling originally scheduled on Devuthani Ekadashi, a day significant for mass weddings in Rajasthan.

In the Uttar Pradesh assembly election 2012, the poll date was changed due to Barawafat. Coincidentally, the revised polling day would also resolve any concerns of a six-day holiday by taking a one-day leave on September 30, the EC said.

There is no delay, underscored the Chief Election Commissioner when pointed out that the polls dates for Jammu and Kashmir are crossing the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court.

Jammu and Kashmir, where previous assembly elections were held in the 2014, will have polls in three phases – September 18, 25 and October 1, the Election Commission announced today. The votes will be counted on October 4.

The decision to hold fresh elections follows a December order by Supreme Court that rejected petitions challenging the revocation of Kashmir’s special status and set a deadline of September 30 for holding the polls.

“The Amarnath Yatra ends on August 19. The parliamentary polls ended on June 4,6. Thereafter bad weather, Amarnath Ji Yatra. There is no way one could have gone exactly on the date which is 19th. We are not giving even half a day when one could have started. And it is well begun within the time period and it will be finished in time,” said Rajiv Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner.

“So, it is not a day here and there which is important. What is important is that we go by the spirit. The amendments to J&K Reorganization Act, in terms of providing the reservations, came in December 2023 so the time period for the Commission started only in December 2023. Thereafter came the parliamentary elections, so we are not delayed at all,” the Chief Election Commissioner stressed.

Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 and the state was split into two federally-administered territories.

Nearly 9 million people are registered to vote for the 90-member legislative assembly, the election panel said.

The territory recorded its highest turnout of 58.46% in 35 years in parliamentary elections held in April and May this year.

The Modi government and election officials said this reflected the faith of Kashmir’s voters in the democratic process.

Amid an uptick in the terror-related incidents in the recent past, the Chief Election Commissioner said, “Security threats to candidates will be thoroughly under the radar of the establishment and will be taken care of.”

“There is festival season in J&K. There is season of apple. Of Jasmine. Of Saffron. There are shikaras and tulips. There is a Gurez festival also. All these things have come together,” said the top poll officer, underlining that the time is right for the polls.

New Delhi:

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for assembly elections on Friday afternoon.

An Election Commission invite to the media for a press conference around 3 pm did not mention the states for which the election schedule would be announced.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra end on November 3 and November 26, respectively. The poll panel also plans to hold assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, the deadline set by the Supreme Court.

The Election Commission has visited Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana recently to oversee the poll preparedness but is yet to visit Maharashtra. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

The Election Commission of India has confirmed that it will visit Jammu and Kashmir next week to review preparations for elections. The move is being seen as an indication that the Assembly elections in the Union Territory will be held before the deadline of September 30 set by the Supreme Court.

The full commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, will meet officials of the administration as well as representatives of political parties in Srinagar and Jammu during the visit, which will take place from August 8 to 10, it was announced on Friday. 

Sources said the commission is expected to announce the Assembly polls sometime after  August 15 to meet the September 30 deadline. 

In December last year, while delivering its verdict on Article 370, a five-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had directed the poll body to hold Assembly elections in the Union Territory by September 30. It had also asked the Centre to restore statehood at the earliest.

On Wednesday, the Commission had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to transfer officials posted in their home districts as well as those connected with the election process who will be completing a three-year tenure on or before September 30.

Similar directions had been given to the chief secretaries of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, where elections are due later this year.

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government for over six years and the last Assembly elections were held in December 2014.

Next week, Jammu and Kashmir will also complete five years as a Union Territory. On August 5, 2019, the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories and its special status under Article 370 was removed. Since then, Jammu and Kashmir has been administered by the lieutenant governor.

The Centre has also recently amended the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, giving sweeping powers to the lieutenant governor in the Union Territory. The amendments are in line with the Delhi Union Territory model, where the elected government has little authority over bureaucracy and many powers are vested in the Lieutenant Governor.

Opposition parties have reacted strongly to the Centre’s move and termed it “anti-democratic”. They allege that giving sweeping powers to the LG will make the elected government a rubber stamp.

During his visit to Srinagar in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that Assembly elections would be held in Jammu and Kashmir soon, and statehood would also be restored.

New Delhi:

Lok Sabha election over, both Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling BJP knocked at the doors of the Election Commission today in tit-for-tat moves. While the Opposition asked the Commission to ensure that all guidelines are followed during Tuesday’s counting, the BJP warned the poll body against “coordinated attempts” by the Opposition to “undermine the integrity” of the electoral process.

“They (the Opposition) are directly attacking the Democratic institutions and pose a threat to the electoral process,” read the letter from the BJP, signed by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal.

Accusing the Opposition of working according to a plan that first discredits institutions and then the electoral process, the BJP mentioned the recent hearing on Electronic Voting Machines in the Supreme Court.

“They have a clear pattern, 1st they target the institution then they target the process and methods of the Institution and then if the judgement goes against then they’ll raise questions and cases on the elections process, EVM and VVPATS,” the letter read. “When they are losing an election they are looking for a scapegoat and looking to justify the loss and they don’t want to accept the reality of who the voters choose,” it added.

The top court, the BJP pointed out, has rejected the appeal for a return to ballot papers, with some strong comments.

Earlier today, the Congress said this was the third time they were meeting the Commission during the election. Among other things, the parties flagged the issue of ensuring security to the Electronic Voting Machines and VVPATs (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail machines).

They have urged officials to ensure that the control units of the EVMs are moved through CCTV-monitored corridors and verify the current date-and-time display of the control units.

“This verification is important because unless it is done, there is no authenticity that it is the same control unit that came from the polling booth, that it has not been changed,” said CPM’s Sitaram Yechury.

The Opposition parties have also underscored the need for election officials to stick to the guidelines during counting. The letter was sent to the Commission after a 2.5-hour meet of the INDIA bloc yesterday, focusing on a strategy for the counting day.

The Opposition’s frequently flagged concerns about the EVMs have been brushed aside by the Supreme Cour last month. While the court gave a massive vote-of-confidence to EVM machines, the landmark judgment also included a precautionary measure — the sealing of a crucial part of VVPAT machines and enabling the first and second runners-up in an election to challenge the outcome without going to court.

Last month, the Opposition had also flagged an instance where CCTV cameras at the spot where Electronic Voting machines were stored for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, was switched off for 45 minutes.

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) alleged that it was “suspicious’ and demanded an explanation from the Election Commission. The Returning Officer for the constituency said only the “display was temporarily closed”, but cited no reason for it.

New Delhi:

The Election Commission has arranged for massive security during counting and after, for two states that have made headlines with poll-related violence. Central forces will be stationed Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for 15 days after the votes are counted on Tuesday, sources said. Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh have been provided with security forces for two days after the counting day.

Sources in the Commission told NDTV that the poll body will be tough on post-poll violence. The provision of troops has been made on the basis of an assessment provided by the states and Central observers.

The Commission’s decision came as the long-drawn seven-phase election concluded this evening. Even today, violence in Bengal made headlines.

In South 24 Parganas district, an angry mob forced its way into polling stations, seized an EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) and threw it in a nearby pond after some polling agents were allegedly barred from entering the booths.  Clashes were reported from the heart of Kolkata too — Satuliya area in Bhangar within the Jadavpur constituency. Several people were injured in the confrontation between the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and CPI(M).

Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha — which was a running theme for the BJP in this election after allegations of sexual exploitation against the  local Trinamool leader — also witnessed violence that started on Friday night and continued till after polling started in the morning.

Diamond Harbour, the stronghold of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, saw clashes between TMC and BJP supporters.

In Andhra Pradesh, clashes between workers of Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and the ruling YSR Congress made headlines on the second phase of polling in May.  

With exit polls predicting advantage for the BJP and NDA in both states, calm could prove elusive.

New Delhi:

The Election Commission has asked concerned Chief Electoral Officers and state authorities to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather or rainfall wherever predicted in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls.

The poll panel has made adequate arrangements for the Phase 6 of the Lok Sabha polls to be held on Saturday.

Polling is scheduled in 58 PCs across eight states/UTs. Haryana and NCT of Delhi will head to polls in this phase. Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal are the other states/UTs which will continue with their polls in this phase. Polling for 42 assembly constituencies for the Odisha State Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously.

The poll panel said that polling stations are ready to welcome the voters with ample shade, drinking water, ramps, toilets, and other basic facilities to ensure that polling takes place in a comfortable and secure environment.

Polling parties have been dispatched along with machines and poll materials to their respective polling stations.

The Commission has called upon voters to turn out in large numbers at polling stations and vote with responsibility and pride.

“Voters of PCs in urban centres like Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad are specially reminded about their right and duty to vote and break the trend of urban apathy,” Election Commission said in a release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has adjourned – till after the Lok Sabha election – pleas seeking release of voter turnout data, including votes polled and/or rejected, within 48 hours of end of polling at each booth.

The pleas sought directions to the Election Commission to compile and publish this data on its website after each phase, beginning with the next round of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

A vacation bench of the court reasoned an immediate ruling could “overburden the Election Commission during polls… by changing the process midway”. The bench also noted five of seven voting phases had been completed and that the results were due in less than two weeks, on June 4.

Perhaps more significantly, Justice S Narasimha and Sanjay Karol pointed out the interim appeal by the current petitioner – the Association for Democratic Reforms – was similar to a writ petition by the Trinamool’s Mahua Moitra in 2019, which wanted the EC to “formulate a protocol mandating reporting of Form 17C… within 48 hours (for a Lok Sabha election)”, which is unresolved.

I was original petitioner in Supreme Court in 2019 itself via WPC 1389/2019 asking EC to publish within 48 hrs of polling all voter data of Form 17C. Case is listed on May 24 for hearing.@AITCofficial@MamataOfficialpic.twitter.com/F1aqS9nK4R

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 20, 2024

“We are simpliciter (directly) adjourning… (and) giving one observation as to why relief cannot be granted at this stage,” the court said, stating also that this did not constitute a dismissal of the pleas.

“Prima facie we are not inclined to grant relief at this stage, in view of similarity of prayers… granting interim relief would mount to final relief. Therefore, we list these applications after the vacation…”

“What is the nexus between 2019 and 2024 applications? Why didn’t you file a separate writ petition?” the court questioned ADR, insisting it would not intervene in the middle of an election.

“This application will be heard after the election… in-between an election, hands off! We cannot interrupt (the electoral process)… we are also responsible citizens,” Justice Datta said.

Form 17C Hearing In Supreme Court

Today’s hearing began with senior advocate Maninder Singh, arguing for the Election Commission, criticising the petition as a “classic case of abuse of law” and said it was only meant to “erode the integrity of the election”. “These are false allegations… done only on apprehensions,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh questioned opposition leaders and political activists’ claim of five to six per cent discrepancy in voter data released by the poll panel on the day of voting and updated figures released days later; in the case of the first phase this updated data was released after 11 days.

Several opposition leaders, including Mahua Moitra and the Congress’ Pawan Khera, have red-flagged what they claim as possible vote fraud – i.e., there is concern the increased number of votes shown after polling could be illegally added to the tally of any one political party.

However, Mr Singh told the court, “This is false… data will differ only by one or two per cent.”

READ | Making Form 17C Data Public Will Cause Confusion: Poll Body

In the last hearing the EC had argued there is no legal mandate requiring release of Form 17C data to a “general entity”, and that this information had only to be released to the polling officer in a booth.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Ms Moitra, had argued that even if the petition had travelled from 2019 to 2024 it should be heard as it deals with a serious issue.

The court then noted that even if it were to consider and rule on the petitions, it had to “very conscious of the ground reality”. “Tomorrow (May 25) is the sixth phase… this particular compliance would require manpower (and) we feel this could be heard after the vacation,” Justice Datta said.

“(There are) roughly 10 lakh Form 17C forms for a total of 543 constituencies… it is manageable because of the army below them (the Election Commission),” Mr Singhvi responded.

The court, though, was not convinced.

Form 17C Row In Supreme Court

The row is over the swift release of data from Form 17C and Form 17C (Part II) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which records a multitude of data, starting with the name of each polling booth and includes the number of voters, number of votes rejected, and the number finally accepted.

NDTV Explains | Form 17C And Row Over Poll Panel’s Voter Turnout Data

The second part of Form 17C is also critical; this comes into play on counting day (June 4, in this case) when the number of votes for all candidates is cross-checked against the total number of accepted votes on polling day. This is to guard against manipulation of votes for/by any party.

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New Delhi:

The Election Commission, criticised over what many called its kid-glove treatment of the BJP and its leaders, today read the Riot Act to the ruling party as well as the Opposition for campaigning along the lines of “caste, community, language, and religion”. The party in power at the election time has extra responsibility. No unlimited extra space should go to the opposition either, the Commission said ahead of the last two phases of election.   

“Political parties will have to take primary responsibility for the conduct of their candidates, star campaigners in particular. Campaign speeches by those holding high positions are of more serious consequences,” the Commission said.

The BJP — as the ruling party at the Centre — has been asked to stop campaign speeches that may divide society.

The Commission said it expects the BJP to “fully align campaign methods to the practical aspects of the composite and sensitive fabric of India”.

The star campaigners of the party have to adhere to the Model Code direction that “No Party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing difference or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic,” the Commission said.

“India’ socio-cultural milieu is an enduring preserve cannot be made a casualty to elections,” the Commission said. The two big parties are not allowed to weaken the heritage of quality electoral experience of Indian voter, the poll body said.  

The poll body’s statement came amid massive criticism of its handling of Model Code violation allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress’s Rahul Gandhi. After each party filed petitions against the other’s leader, the Commission sent notices to the respective party chiefs.

The critics have also questioned the Commission’s silence about Model Code Violation complaints and its findings. The poll body has also been criticised for discontinuing the traditional practice of holding press briefings after every phase of election.