Election Commission

February 20, 2025 7:11 PM

Questioning the Election Matrix of the CEC and Election Commissioners

“It is no use blaming the looking glass if your face is awry." - Nikolai Gogol The Election Commission of India is the apex constitutional body for conducting elections for the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, President, Vice President, and state legislature. Its head, the Election Commissioner, is appointed through a select committee, including the PM, the Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha, and a Union Minister nominated by the PM. The role of the committee is to ensure transparency in the ap...

February 18, 2025 10:49 PM

Former CEC Rajiv Kumar bids farewell, calls Election Commission ‘place of worship of democracy’

Rajiv Kumar, the 25th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, bid farewell to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, hailing the institution as a “place of worship of democracy.” Expressing optimism about its future, he said he was confident that under the incoming leadership, the ECI would reach even greater heights. In his parting remarks, Kumar praised the pivotal role played by voters and political parties in strengthening Indian democracy. “This building is the place ...

February 18, 2025 8:39 AM

Gyanesh Kumar appointed as new Chief Election Commissioner

The Central government on Monday announced the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will be replacing Rajiv Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre and is senior to the two other commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar. The other commissioner on the panel is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre and Vivek Joshi. The government also announced the appointment of Vivek Joshi as...

February 18, 2025 4:48 PM

Tracing Delhi Voter Turnout: From the 1951 Legislative Assembly to 2025

Delhi recorded a 60.44% voter turnout in the 2025 Assembly election, which concluded yesterday, according to revised figures released by the Election Commission of India. When compared to past electoral data, this turnout is lower than that of the previous three Assembly elections. The 2020 Assembly election in Delhi registered a voter turnout of 62.55%, while the turnouts in 2015 and 2013 were 67.12% and 65.63% respectively. India’s National Capital has witnessed the evolution of its politic...

February 5, 2025 6:49 PM

Delhi records 57.70% voter turnout till 5 pm

A voter turnout of 57.70% was recorded by 5 PM on Wednesday during the single-phase Delhi Assembly elections, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The North-East district led the voter participation with a turnout of 63.83%, while the South East district logged the lowest at 53.77%, just below New Delhi district's 54.37%. Other districts reported varied participation rates, including South West (58.86%), East (58.98%), North (57.24%), North West (58.05%), Shahda...

January 27, 2025 11:45 AM

ECI to review Delhi election preparedness in high-level meeting on Monday

With Delhi's Assembly elections just a week away on February 5, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will convene a high-level meeting today to assess the city’s poll readiness. The meeting, chaired by the Deputy Election Commissioner, will include top officials such as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi, senior officers from the ECI, and key representatives from Delhi Police, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and the Cantonment Board. Observers and returning officers deployed...

November 26, 2024 8:21 PM

Election Commission announces bypolls for six Rajya Sabha seats on December 20

The Election Commission of India has announced bypolls for six vacant Rajya Sabha seats, with elections scheduled for December 20. The results will be declared the same day. The six vacancies include three seats from Andhra Pradesh and one each from Odisha, West Bengal, and Haryana. All the seats became vacant following the resignations of their respective members. The Election Commission has set December 10 as the last date for filing nominations, with the deadline for withdrawing candidature...

February 18, 2025 5:37 PM

BJP’s rise as Maharashtra’s main political pole: The electoral triumph

With the current assembly election outcome in Maharashtra, the BJP has cemented its position as the main political pole of the state. Going by the trends and results available so far, based on the Election Commission of India dataset, the party has won 125 assembly seats and is leading on 7. That means a 132-seat count or 46% seat share in a 288-member state assembly. The BJP-led alliance Mahayuti is expected to win 234 seats, crossing comfortably the majority mark of 145 and thus retaining t...

November 20, 2024 2:36 PM

Low voter turnout in Maharashtra at 32.18%; Jharkhand records 47.92% by 1 pm

Voter turnout in the ongoing single-phase assembly elections in Maharashtra remained sluggish on Wednesday, with only 32.18% of the electorate casting their ballots by 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India. Among Maharashtra's constituencies, Gadchiroli district led with a turnout of 50.89%, while district of Mumbai city reported the lowest participation at 27.73%. As per the data of the ECI, Mumbai Suburban recorded a voter turnout of 30.43%, Nagpur 31.65%, Thane 28.35%, Aurang...

November 4, 2024 3:48 PM

EC reschedules by-polls in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rescheduled by-polls in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab, shifting the polling date from November 13 to November 20. The decision comes after requests from national and state parties, including INC, BJP, BSP, and RLD, to avoid low voter turnout. National and state parties had requested the EC to shift the dates in these states due to various festivities. The Congress party had raised concerns that a large number of voters in the Palakkad assembly con...