Voting

Delhi Assembly elections LIVE news: AAP, BJP trade accusations over money distribution, fake voting

Delhi Assembly elections 2025 voting LIVE updates: The voting percentage in Delhi was recorded at 33.31 per cent till 1 pm. Catch all the LIVE updates here

2 Delhi CM office staff held with ₹5 lakh cash ahead of Assembly polls

Delhi Assembly elections: The voting for 70 Assembly constituencies started at 7 am on Wednesday, and the polling results will be declared on February 8

To boost voter turnout, Delhi shops, salons to offer special discounts

With the Delhi Assembly elections just a day away, the Chamber of Trades and Industries (CTI) has announced that salons and beauty parlours across the city will offer discounts ranging from 20 to 50 per cent to people who cast their vote. Apart from salons, various businesses, including shops, restaurants, hotels, malls, coffee shops, and dhabas, will also offer discounts between 10 per cent and 50 per cent to customers who vote. In a statement on Tuesday, CTI stated that around 500 salons and beauty parlours will provide these discounts on February 6, the day after voting. "The initiative aims to boost voter turnout in Delhi, where elections for 70 assembly seats are scheduled for February 5," it added. CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal emphasised that this effort is meant to ensure a high voting percentage. "This initiative will encourage more people to cast their vote on February 5 and the voting percentage will increase," said Goyal. He said that more than 500 salon owners and makeup

Delhi elections 2025: How to search and download voter slip on mobile phone

The voter information slip (VIS), commonly known as the voter slip, contains information about an eligible voter, including their name, age, gender, assembly constituency, and polling station details

Most Gen Z voters in Delhi aware of candidates, rely on social media: Study

Most GenZ voters in Delhi are aware of candidates in their constituencies, and women safety, unemployment and pollution are the main pressing issues for them, a study has found. Around 74 per cent of respondents believe that freebies matter and influence votes around the elections, according to the study that was conducted to find how Delhi's youth engages with democracy. "Seven in 10 GenZers turn up to vote consistently, with 71 per cent having participated in past elections. 88 per cent are aware of the candidates from their constituency," the study report said, adding that Delhi's young voters, aged 18-26 years, are aware, active and engaged around state polls. The study, GenZer'sTryst with Polls, revealed that Women Safety (85 per cent) in the city is a top priority, followed by Unemployment (60 per cent) and Pollution (56 per cent) among poll issues for GenZ voters. Around 44 per cent consider Delhi's Law and Order to be poor. Around 35 per cent of them consider social media a

Will Budget tax relief help BJP energise Delhi's middle class voters?

Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?

India nears 1 bn voters, with youth, women driving electoral growth: EC

The number of voters in India now stands at 99.1 crore, up from 96.88 crore when the Lok Sabha elections were held last year, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday. In a statement issued ahead of National Voters' Day, the EC said the electoral rolls bear a youthful and gender-balanced look with 21.7 crore young electors in the 18-29 age group and a six-point increase in electoral gender ratio from 948 in 2024 to 954 in 2025. National Voters' Day is celebrated on January 25 every year to mark the foundation day of the EC, which was established on this day in 1950. Addressing a press conference here on January 7 to announce the Delhi assembly poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said India would soon create a new record of one billion-plus voters. "Electoral rolls were released yesterday (January 6). We are crossing 99 crore voters... We are going to be a nation of one billion voters very soon, which will be another record in voting," he said. "After

Parties get creative with merchandise to woo Delhi voters ahead of polls

Delhi is in the midst of an intense election season and political workers are flaunting their allegiances, sporting creatively designed merchandise with quirky catchphrases and one-liners to attract voters's imagination. The Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP, the Congress and other smaller players, all are trying to outdo each other as merchandise messaging gets sharper, wittier and personal in appeal. There are winter-friendly hoodies and colorful stoles, t-shirts and scarfs, funky sunglasses and key chains, custom-made car flags and cutouts, pens and posters, and even mousepads. Anything that can be leveraged is being leveraged. "These unique items, adorned with party logos and slogans, are not just tools of promotion but also a way to engage supporters in a more personal and vibrant manner," said a leader. The Aam Aadmi Party's hoodies and stoles come in their signature blue and yellow. "These feature the face of party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on the front and the party logo

Bangladesh CEC says 180 million people denied their voting rights

Bangladesh's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday said that almost 180 million people have been denied their voting rights and the Election Commission wants to end their deprivation, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. The CEC, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a training programme for election officers ahead of a voter list updating exercise, said the Election Commission (EC) wants to remove the fact that the people have been deprived of the voting right for so long. We want to remove the pain of their deprivation. We are steadfast in our commitment, he said. The countrywide door-to-door data collection for updating the list of possible voters will start on January 20. The CEC said they are here to hear the 180 million people who have been suffering from the deprivation of voting rights. We've taken the responsibility so that we can remove their deprivation, he said. He said the commission's main goal is to arrange a fair and credible election.

Delhi elections: Here's how you can vote even if you don't have a voter ID

Eligible voters in India can still cast their vote without a physical voter ID card by presenting one of 12 alternative documents, provided their name is on the electoral roll

Voter ID alone doesn't ensure voting rights: Delhi chief electoral officer

Delhi's Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls nears completion and the final voter list will be published on January 6, 2025

EC data on LS polls: Women outshine men again in exercising franchise

As many as 64.64 crore voters exercised their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year with women voters outnumbering men, according to statistical data released by the Election Commission on Thursday. The female voter turnout stood at 65.78 per cent as compared to 65.55 per cent for male electors, the EC said. EC functionaries asserted that such granular data is not shared by any of the election management bodies in democracies across the world. The data on Lok Sabha polls, 2024 and four assembly elections -- Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- held alongside parliamentary polls comes against the backdrop of allegations of non-disclosure by the EC. "This suo motu initiative is to enhance the public trust that constitutes the underpinning of India's electoral system," the EC said. Referring to women participation in the polls, EC said the number of female contesting candidates was 800, compared to 726 in 2019. Maharashtra had the highest number

Opposition stages protest against using EVM on Vidhan Bhawan steps

Opposition members staged a demonstration on the steps of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan here on Monday and raised slogans against the use of EVMs in elections. The protest was held on the opening day of the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur. Leader of opposition in the state legislative council Ambadas Danve led the demonstration of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, who called for "saving" the Constitution and democracy and opposed the use of EVMs. They raised slogans like "EVM Hatao Desh Bachao", "EVM Hatao Constitution Bachao" and "EVM Hatao Democracy Bachao". Danve was joined by Congress legislators Vijay Wadettiwar, Nitin Raut, Bhai Jagtap and Vikas Thakre, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Bhaskar Jadhav, Varun Desai and Sachin Ahir, and NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad. Talking to reporters, Danve claimed the Electronic Voting Machines were "dangerous" for democracy and that people were opposing the use of EVMs in elections. "We think the EVMs should be remov

Post-election power struggles spark concerns over democracy across US

While the election was over a month ago, voters in some parts of the country are discovering that having their say at the ballot box is not necessarily the final word. Lawmakers in several states have already initiated or indicated plans to alter or nullify certain results. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are moving to undercut the authority of the incoming Democratic governor, Republicans in Missouri are taking initial steps to reverse voter-approved abortion protections, and Democrats in Massachusetts are watering down an attempt by voters to hold the Legislature more accountable. The actions following the Nov. 5 election continue a pattern that has accelerated in recent years and has been characterized by critics as undemocratic. I think certainly when you're a voter and you're voting on the issue, you're not thinking about whether someone's then going to overturn or just ignore the things that you voted on, said Anne Whitesell, an assistant professor of political science

Jayant Patil raises concerns over EVMs, demands use of ballot papers

While the EVM is a simple calculator, it increases the vote count automatically at night, Maharashtra NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Jayant Patil alleged

SC dismisses petition for reverting to ballot paper voting in elections

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country. "What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale. Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls. When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?". The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows. "Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted. After Paul revealed he ha

Jairam Mahato's JKLM shakes up Jharkhand elections with Dumri victory

Jharkhand Assembly elections: 30-year-old 'Tiger' Jairam Mahato registered his party Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JKLM) just three months ago

What are postal ballots and how do they impact early voting trends?

Assembly elections 2024: The counting of votes for all 288 Maharashtra Assembly seats and 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats began at 8 am on Saturday

Assembly elections updates: 58.43% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in Maharashtra, 68% in Jharkhand

Maharashtra, Jharkhand Election Voting: Catch all the updates on the Assembly elections here

Assembly polls: Maharashtra logs 45% voter turnout, Jharkhand 61% by 3 pm

The counting of votes for Maharashtra Assembly elections and Phase I and Phase II of Jharkhand Assembly elections will be conducted on November 23