The Election Commission today will convene an all-party meeting over the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and other electoral reforms in New Delhi today.

In its communication to the presidents of all the seven national and 48 state political parties, the Commission sent a status paper on EVMs and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, VVPAT.

The poll panel will try to assure parties that the EVMs cannot be hacked in any manner.

Last month, sixteen opposition parties had urged the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system saying that the alleged tampering has created trust deficit in the credibility of the EVMs.

However, the poll body has been maintaining that EVMs are tamper-proof and cannot be manipulated.

The poll panel intends to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units attached with EVMs in the coming elections for greater transparency and to keep voters&#39; confidence in the electoral process.

The Union Cabinet had given its nod to sanctioned funds of nearly 3200 crore rupees to procure more than 16 lakh VVPATs as sought by the EC.

Besides EVMs, the meeting is expected to deliberate on making bribery in elections a cognisable offence, disqualification on framing of charges for the offences of bribery in elections and suggestions in VVPAT recount Rules.

On Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), during a special session of the Delhi assembly, conducted a live demonstration on how EVMs can be tampered with.

Reacting to the demonstration, the poll panel said the machine used to conduct live demonstration was a &#39;look-alike&#39;&#39; which was made to function in a &#39;tampered&#39; manner.

&quot;It is common sense that gadgets other than ECI EVMs can be programmed to perform in a pre-determined way, but it simply cannot be implied that ECI EVMs will behave in the same manner because the ECI EVMs are technically secured and function under an elaborate Administrative and Security Protocol,&quot; an official release said.

&quot;Such so-called demonstration on extraneous and duplicate gadgets which are not owned by the ECI cannot be exploited to influence our intelligent citizens and electorate to assail or vilify the EVMs used by the Commission in its electoral process,&quot; it added.

Conducting a mock poll on an EVM machine, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj demonstrated how despite giving two votes each to various parties; the final count showed that votes of some parties had been transferred to one party.

A day before the all-party meeting, the AAP on Thursday forwarded a new demand, calling for an all-party committee to be formed under the monitoring of the EC to ascertain whether EVMS were hacked in the recently held elections or not.

(ANI)

In its communication to the presidents of all the seven national and 48 state political parties, the Commission sent a status paper on EVMs and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, VVPAT

The Election Commission today will convene an all-party meeting over the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and other electoral reforms in New Delhi today. In its communication to the presidents of all the seven national and 48 state political parties, the Commission sent a status paper on EVMs and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, VVPAT. The poll panel will try to assure parties that the EVMs cannot be hacked in any manner. Last month, sixteen opposition parties had urged the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system saying that the alleged tampering has created trust deficit in the credibility of the EVMs. However, the poll body has been maintaining that EVMs are tamper-proof and cannot be manipulated. The poll panel intends to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units attached with EVMs in the coming elections for greater transparency and to keep voters' confidence in the electoral process. The Union Cabinet had given its nod to sanctioned funds of nearly 3200 crore rupees to procure more than 16 lakh VVPATs as sought by the EC. Besides EVMs, the meeting is expected to deliberate on making bribery in elections a cognisable offence, disqualification on framing of charges for the offences of bribery in elections and suggestions in VVPAT recount Rules. On Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), during a special session of the Delhi assembly, conducted a live demonstration on how EVMs can be tampered with. Reacting to the demonstration, the poll panel said the machine used to conduct live demonstration was a 'look-alike'' which was made to function in a 'tampered' manner. "It is common sense that gadgets other than ECI EVMs can be programmed to perform in a pre-determined way, but it simply cannot be implied that ECI EVMs will behave in the same manner because the ECI EVMs are technically secured and function under an elaborate Administrative and Security Protocol," an official release said. "Such so-called demonstration on extraneous and duplicate gadgets which are not owned by the ECI cannot be exploited to influence our intelligent citizens and electorate to assail or vilify the EVMs used by the Commission in its electoral process," it added. Conducting a mock poll on an EVM machine, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj demonstrated how despite giving two votes each to various parties; the final count showed that votes of some parties had been transferred to one party. A day before the all-party meeting, the AAP on Thursday forwarded a new demand, calling for an all-party committee to be formed under the monitoring of the EC to ascertain whether EVMS were hacked in the recently held elections or not. (ANI)

Election Commission to convene all-party meet today, EVM issue, electoral reforms on agenda

The Election Commission of India ( ECI) on Friday said it would offer an &#39;opportunity&#39; to the political parties to prove that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the recently held assembly polls were tampered with or can be tampered even with the safeguards laid down.

&quot;The Election Commission will hold a challenge and offer an opportunity to the political parties to demonstrate that EVMs used in the recently concluded elections were tampered or can be tampered even with laid down safeguards,&quot; Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said after the all-party meet.

He further announced that all the future elections will be held under the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail system).

Zaidi also said the poll panel has &quot;no favourites&quot; and it was equidistant from all parties.

&quot;You should be convinced that EC has no favourites...we maintain equidistance from all parties and groups. It is our constitutional and moral duty to stand dead centre of the circle drawn around us by 56 political parties,&quot; he added.

The Election Commission earlier in the day convened an all-party meeting over the issue of EVM and other electoral reforms.

In its communication to the presidents of all the seven national and 48 state political parties, the poll panel sent a status paper on EVMs and VVPAT.

Last month, sixteen opposition parties had urged the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system saying that the alleged tampering has created trust deficit in the credibility of the EVMs.

However, the poll body has been maintaining that EVMs are tamper proof and cannot be manipulated.

The Union Cabinet had given its nod to sanctioned funds of nearly Rs. 3,200 crore to procure more than 16 lakh VVPATs as sought by the Election Commission.

Besides EVMs, the meeting is expected to deliberate on making bribery in elections a cognisable offence, disqualification on framing of charges for the offences of bribery in elections and suggestions in VVPAT recount Rules.

On Tuesday, the AAP, during a special session of the Delhi assembly, conducted a live demonstration on how EVMs can be tampered with.

Reacting to the demonstration, the poll panel said the machine used to conduct live demonstration was a &#39;look-alike&#39;&#39; which was made to function in a &#39;tampered&#39; manner.

A day before the all-party meeting, the AAP yesterday forwarded a new demand, calling for an all party committee to be formed under the monitoring of the Election Commission to ascertain whether EVMS were hacked in the recently held elections or not. 
 
(ANI)

 
&nbsp;

The poll body said it would offer an 'opportunity' to political parties to prove EVMs used in recently-held assembly polls were tampered with

The Election Commission of India ( ECI) on Friday said it would offer an 'opportunity' to the political parties to prove that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the recently held assembly polls were tampered with or can be tampered even with the safeguards laid down. "The Election Commission will hold a challenge and offer an opportunity to the political parties to demonstrate that EVMs used in the recently concluded elections were tampered or can be tampered even with laid down safeguards," Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said after the all-party meet. He further announced that all the future elections will be held under the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail system). Zaidi also said the poll panel has "no favourites" and it was equidistant from all parties. "You should be convinced that EC has no favourites...we maintain equidistance from all parties and groups. It is our constitutional and moral duty to stand dead centre of the circle drawn around us by 56 political parties," he added. The Election Commission earlier in the day convened an all-party meeting over the issue of EVM and other electoral reforms. In its communication to the presidents of all the seven national and 48 state political parties, the poll panel sent a status paper on EVMs and VVPAT. Last month, sixteen opposition parties had urged the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system saying that the alleged tampering has created trust deficit in the credibility of the EVMs. However, the poll body has been maintaining that EVMs are tamper proof and cannot be manipulated. The Union Cabinet had given its nod to sanctioned funds of nearly Rs. 3,200 crore to procure more than 16 lakh VVPATs as sought by the Election Commission. Besides EVMs, the meeting is expected to deliberate on making bribery in elections a cognisable offence, disqualification on framing of charges for the offences of bribery in elections and suggestions in VVPAT recount Rules. On Tuesday, the AAP, during a special session of the Delhi assembly, conducted a live demonstration on how EVMs can be tampered with. Reacting to the demonstration, the poll panel said the machine used to conduct live demonstration was a 'look-alike'' which was made to function in a 'tampered' manner. A day before the all-party meeting, the AAP yesterday forwarded a new demand, calling for an all party committee to be formed under the monitoring of the Election Commission to ascertain whether EVMS were hacked in the recently held elections or not. (ANI)

VVPATs to be used in all future elections: India's Election Commission

AIADMK (Amma) faction leader T T V Dhinakaran was sent to five-day police custody by a Delhi court in the alleged Election Commission bribery case.&nbsp;

After four days of questioning, T T V Dinakaran was arrested last night by Delhi Police for allegedly attempting to bribe an Election Commission official to get the undivided AIADMK&#39;s &#39;two leaves&#39; election symbol for his faction. 
 
Dinakaran reached the Crime Branch Inter State Cell office in Chanakyapuri at 5pm&nbsp;on Tuesday. He was arrested after being questioned for close to six hours, Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner of police (crime), said. 
 
His longtime friend Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating the deal between the leader and Sukesh Chandrasekar, the middleman in the EC bribery case, after being quizzed for the second day on the trot, he said. 
 
Mallikarjuna had been accompanying Dinakaran everywhere ever since Chandrasekar was arrested on April 16 for allegedly striking a deal of Rs 50 crore to help the AIADMK (Amma) faction keep the poll symbol. 
 
Dinakaran, Mallikarjuna and Chandrasekar were to be&nbsp;questioned together to establish the money trail, details of the deal and whether more people were involved in it.&nbsp;Sources said that Dinakaran&#39;s PA Janardhana has agreed to be a witness in the case. 
 
Dinakaran had yesterday confessed to meeting Chandrasekar, assuming he was a High Court judge. He had, however, denied that he paid money to the middleman for retaining the party&#39;s poll symbol. 
 
The controversial AIADMK leader, who had come under the scanner after the arrest of Chandrasekar, had maintained that he never met him.&nbsp;He was earlier summoned by Delhi Police at his Chennai residence in the case. 
 
Earlier in the day, the police produced Chandrasekar before a special court, which extended his custody till April 28. 
 
The court was told that Chandrasekar had been paid through hawala channels. 
 
&quot;A person named Shah Faisal told that he had collected a parcel from Chennai and gave it to Chandrasekar, who had posed as a member of Parliament,&quot; the police said.&nbsp;It is suspected that the parcel contained Rs 10 crore. 
 
The police said three Chandni Chowk-based hawala operators will also be questioned in connection with the case. 
 
Dinakaran, who was appointed deputy general secretary by AIADMK chief V S Sasikala, has been isolated in his party amid moves to merge rival factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam. 
 
A powerful section of the ruling AIADMK (Amma) recently revolted against the Sasikala-Dinakaran leadership. The development came after Panneerselvam, who is leading the rival faction, demanded ouster of Sasikala and Dinakaran as a condition for merger talks.

(PTI)

AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dinakaran was incarcerated for allegedly trying to bribe a government official to get the official party symbol

AIADMK (Amma) faction leader T T V Dhinakaran was sent to five-day police custody by a Delhi court in the alleged Election Commission bribery case. After four days of questioning, T T V Dinakaran was arrested last night by Delhi Police for allegedly attempting to bribe an Election Commission official to get the undivided AIADMK's 'two leaves' election symbol for his faction. Dinakaran reached the Crime Branch Inter State Cell office in Chanakyapuri at 5pm on Tuesday. He was arrested after being questioned for close to six hours, Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner of police (crime), said. His longtime friend Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating the deal between the leader and Sukesh Chandrasekar, the middleman in the EC bribery case, after being quizzed for the second day on the trot, he said. Mallikarjuna had been accompanying Dinakaran everywhere ever since Chandrasekar was arrested on April 16 for allegedly striking a deal of Rs 50 crore to help the AIADMK (Amma) faction keep the poll symbol. Dinakaran, Mallikarjuna and Chandrasekar were to be questioned together to establish the money trail, details of the deal and whether more people were involved in it. Sources said that Dinakaran's PA Janardhana has agreed to be a witness in the case. Dinakaran had yesterday confessed to meeting Chandrasekar, assuming he was a High Court judge. He had, however, denied that he paid money to the middleman for retaining the party's poll symbol. The controversial AIADMK leader, who had come under the scanner after the arrest of Chandrasekar, had maintained that he never met him. He was earlier summoned by Delhi Police at his Chennai residence in the case. Earlier in the day, the police produced Chandrasekar before a special court, which extended his custody till April 28. The court was told that Chandrasekar had been paid through hawala channels. "A person named Shah Faisal told that he had collected a parcel from Chennai and gave it to Chandrasekar, who had posed as a member of Parliament," the police said. It is suspected that the parcel contained Rs 10 crore. The police said three Chandni Chowk-based hawala operators will also be questioned in connection with the case. Dinakaran, who was appointed deputy general secretary by AIADMK chief V S Sasikala, has been isolated in his party amid moves to merge rival factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam. A powerful section of the ruling AIADMK (Amma) recently revolted against the Sasikala-Dinakaran leadership. The development came after Panneerselvam, who is leading the rival faction, demanded ouster of Sasikala and Dinakaran as a condition for merger talks. (PTI)

Court sends Dinakaran to five-day police custody in party symbol bribery case

The Delhi Police has registered a case against &nbsp;TTV Dinakaran, deputy secretary of Tamil Nadu&#39;s ruling AIADMK for attempting to bribe the Election Commission for the party&#39;s &quot;two leaves&quot; symbol.

The police action against Dinakaran -- nephew of AIADMK chief Sasikala --&nbsp;comes after the arrest of an alleged middleman, Sukesh Chandrasekhar, from the national capital&#39;s Hyatt hotel Sunday night.

Dinkaran has denied the allegations against him.

Delhi Police say at least Rs 1.3 crore has been recovered from Chandrasekhar, and claim he was planning to use the money to bribe Election Commission officials. Police state around Rs 50 crores were to be paid as bribe, a senior police officer told PTI.

&quot;It has been learnt that Sukesh had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore for helping the AIADMK faction keep the &#39;two leaves&#39; symbol. Police have recovered Rs 1.30 crore from Sukesh and two cars -- a BMW and a Mercedes -- have also been seized,&quot; said a senior police officer.

Dinakaran, who is considered to be a close Sasikala aide, will be served notice to join the investigation, police said.&nbsp;

The Election Commission&nbsp;had cancelled the by-election for Jayalalithaa&#39;s constituency of RK Nagar in Chennai, saying the electoral process had been &quot;seriously vitiated&quot; by parties through use of money power.The poll body has not yet decided on a new date for voting for the election which was originally scheduled for April 12.

The AIADMK&#39;s &quot;two leaves&quot;&nbsp;party symbol had been blocked by the Election Commission last month after rival factions led by Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it ahead of a by-poll necessitated by the death of former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.

The poll body, meanwhile, has not ruled yet on which group is the &quot;real AIADMK&quot; and consequently has the right over the original AIADMK party symbol.&nbsp;

The AIADMK had split into two factions after the death of Jayalalithaa. Her close aide VK Sasikala was named the new party chief but was jailed within weeks after the top court found her guilty in a disproportionate assets case. Sasikala placed Dinakaran in-charge of the party before heading to jail.

The Sasikala faction contested the by-elections on the &quot;hat&quot;&nbsp;symbol after the the two leaves symbol was frozen by the Election Commission, acknowledging the split in the party.

The Delhi police case against Dinakaran comes amid a major crisis in the Tamil Nadu government. A section of ministers have revolted against him and are seeking his resignation as AIADMK deputy general secretary.

Dinakaran, who apparently enjoys the support of 38 MLAs, is likely to bring down the Palaniswami government, in the eventuality of a revolt against him, his confidante was quoted as saying.

(WION with inputs from PTI) 
&nbsp;

Dinakaran is accused of trying to get the 'two leaves' poll symbol for his faction of the AIADMK

The Delhi Police has registered a case against TTV Dinakaran, deputy secretary of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK for attempting to bribe the Election Commission for the party's "two leaves" symbol. The police action against Dinakaran -- nephew of AIADMK chief Sasikala -- comes after the arrest of an alleged middleman, Sukesh Chandrasekhar, from the national capital's Hyatt hotel Sunday night. Dinkaran has denied the allegations against him. Delhi Police say at least Rs 1.3 crore has been recovered from Chandrasekhar, and claim he was planning to use the money to bribe Election Commission officials. Police state around Rs 50 crores were to be paid as bribe, a senior police officer told PTI. "It has been learnt that Sukesh had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore for helping the AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol. Police have recovered Rs 1.30 crore from Sukesh and two cars -- a BMW and a Mercedes -- have also been seized," said a senior police officer. Dinakaran, who is considered to be a close Sasikala aide, will be served notice to join the investigation, police said. The Election Commission had cancelled the by-election for Jayalalithaa's constituency of RK Nagar in Chennai, saying the electoral process had been "seriously vitiated" by parties through use of money power.The poll body has not yet decided on a new date for voting for the election which was originally scheduled for April 12. The AIADMK's "two leaves" party symbol had been blocked by the Election Commission last month after rival factions led by Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it ahead of a by-poll necessitated by the death of former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa. The poll body, meanwhile, has not ruled yet on which group is the "real AIADMK" and consequently has the right over the original AIADMK party symbol. The AIADMK had split into two factions after the death of Jayalalithaa. Her close aide VK Sasikala was named the new party chief but was jailed within weeks after the top court found her guilty in a disproportionate assets case. Sasikala placed Dinakaran in-charge of the party before heading to jail. The Sasikala faction contested the by-elections on the "hat" symbol after the the two leaves symbol was frozen by the Election Commission, acknowledging the split in the party. The Delhi police case against Dinakaran comes amid a major crisis in the Tamil Nadu government. A section of ministers have revolted against him and are seeking his resignation as AIADMK deputy general secretary. Dinakaran, who apparently enjoys the support of 38 MLAs, is likely to bring down the Palaniswami government, in the eventuality of a revolt against him, his confidante was quoted as saying. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Delhi Police file case against Sasikala nephew Dinakaran for attempting to bribe Election Commission

The Bharatiya&nbsp;Janata Party&nbsp;(BJP) has won bypolls in five assembly seats out of the ten for which counting started Thursday morning.

BJP candidate Ranoj Pegu won the Dhemaji assembly by-election in Assam defeating his nearest Congress rival Babul Sonowal by 9,285 votes.&nbsp;While the BJP candidate polled 75,217 votes, his Congress rival garnered 65,932 votes.&nbsp;BJP candidate Shobha Rani Kushwah won Rajasthan&#39;s Dholpur&nbsp;assembly bypoll, defeating Congress&#39;s Banwari Lal Sharma by around 39,000 votes.

In New Delhi, BJP-SAD candidate, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, registered a huge victory over his opponents in the Rajouri Garden&nbsp;bypoll. He polled&nbsp;40,602 votes, over 50% of the total votes polled. The AAP candidate came a distant third polling 10,243 votes and lost the deposit, DNA reported. Congress candidate Meenakshi Chandela finished second with 25,950 votes.&nbsp;

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Impressive performance by <a href="https://twitter.com/BJP4India">@BJP4India</a> and NDA in the by-polls in different parts of the country. Congratulations to Karyakartas.
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/852471876005707776">April 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The contest was being closely watched as the AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly in the 2015 elections.

Bharatiya Janata Party&#39;s Anil Dhiman has won the Bhoranj assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh by more than 8,000 votes, ANI reported.

Meanwhile, Congress won both seats in Karnataka much to the relief of party cadres and the Congress high command which has been facing a string of defeats since the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.

Congress party&rsquo;s Kalale Keshavamurthy defeated BJP&rsquo;s V Srinivas Prasad by a margin of 21,334 votes while Geetha Mahadev Prasad won the Gundlupet seat beating her BJP rival Niranjan Kumar by 10,887 votes.

In Madhya Pradesh, bypolls were held in two assembly constituencies of&nbsp;Ater and Bandhavgarh,&nbsp;BJP&#39;s Shivnarayan Singh won from Bandhavgarh.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress candidate, Chandrima Bhattacharya, won from West Bengal&#39;s Kanthi Dakshin seat.&nbsp;

Bypolls were held in the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, and Assam. By-election was also held in Srinagar Parliamentary constituency on Sunday but due to widespread violence which led to the killing of eight people, the Election Commission ordered repolling in 38 polling stations on Thursday.&nbsp;

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The bypolls were held on April 9 for ten assembly constituencies spread across eight states

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won bypolls in five assembly seats out of the ten for which counting started Thursday morning. BJP candidate Ranoj Pegu won the Dhemaji assembly by-election in Assam defeating his nearest Congress rival Babul Sonowal by 9,285 votes. While the BJP candidate polled 75,217 votes, his Congress rival garnered 65,932 votes. BJP candidate Shobha Rani Kushwah won Rajasthan's Dholpur assembly bypoll, defeating Congress's Banwari Lal Sharma by around 39,000 votes. In New Delhi, BJP-SAD candidate, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, registered a huge victory over his opponents in the Rajouri Garden bypoll. He polled 40,602 votes, over 50% of the total votes polled. The AAP candidate came a distant third polling 10,243 votes and lost the deposit, DNA reported. Congress candidate Meenakshi Chandela finished second with 25,950 votes. Impressive performance by @BJP4India and NDA in the by-polls in different parts of the country. Congratulations to Karyakartas. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2017 × The contest was being closely watched as the AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly in the 2015 elections. Bharatiya Janata Party's Anil Dhiman has won the Bhoranj assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh by more than 8,000 votes, ANI reported. Meanwhile, Congress won both seats in Karnataka much to the relief of party cadres and the Congress high command which has been facing a string of defeats since the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. Congress party’s Kalale Keshavamurthy defeated BJP’s V Srinivas Prasad by a margin of 21,334 votes while Geetha Mahadev Prasad won the Gundlupet seat beating her BJP rival Niranjan Kumar by 10,887 votes. In Madhya Pradesh, bypolls were held in two assembly constituencies of Ater and Bandhavgarh, BJP's Shivnarayan Singh won from Bandhavgarh. Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress candidate, Chandrima Bhattacharya, won from West Bengal's Kanthi Dakshin seat. Bypolls were held in the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, and Assam. By-election was also held in Srinagar Parliamentary constituency on Sunday but due to widespread violence which led to the killing of eight people, the Election Commission ordered repolling in 38 polling stations on Thursday. (WION)

India byelection results: BJP wins bypolls in five assembly seats, Congress wins two seats in Karnataka

There has been a growing concern around the use and reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in India. 
The debate has become so fiercely polarised that it has left a group of political parties and the Election Commission divided into two.

Political parties have been alleging that EVMs continue to be tampered with in elections, and therefore, they are urging the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system in future elections. The Election Commission, on the other hand, is confident of the purported hack-proof technology behind these machines. So much that the ECI has thrown an &quot;open challenge&quot; daring experts, technocrats, scientists and citizens to hack into their voting machines.

While unverified videos on the Internet, rumour mongers and other speculations have fuelled that EVMs can be tampered with, there is no concrete evidence to validate such claims. Instead, the ECI aims to explain how these machines are hack-proof and why EVMs used in India cannot be compared with the ones used abroad.

As explained by the ECI, we bring you the technology behind EVMs in India. It will help you in getting a better understanding of vulnerabilities of these machines and their hacking possibilities, if any.

An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in India consists of two units - a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit, which is joined by a five-metre cable. The Control Unit is with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is kept inside the voting compartment. The Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit presses the Ballot Button, and this, in turn, enables the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice.

As ECI explains, the EVM in India is a fully standalone machine and is not connected to any network. And therefore, there is no provision for any input. In other words, these electronic voting machines cannot be remotely accessed by hackers - which generally happens in other hacking incidents where machines are connected to the Internet.

In addition to that, the software in the ECI-EVM chip is one time programmable and is burnt into the chip at the time of manufacture. Nothing can be written on the chip after it is manufactured. The microchip used in EVMs is sealed at the time of import. There is, therefore, no chance of programming the EVMs in a particular way to select any particular candidate or political party, claims the Election Commission of India.

Unlike in India, most of the systems used in other countries are PC-based and run on operating systems. Hence, those machines could be vulnerable to hacking. ECI, therefore, believes that no comparison can be made between EVMs used in India and the ones used in foreign countries.

Also, the EVMs in India are programmed in such a way that the machines can record only five votes in a minute. So even if these machines are forcibly taken away by miscreants, they can record only a maximum of 150 votes in half-an-hour. And chances are that by that time, appropriate measures would have been taken and police reinforcement would have arrived.

(WION)

EVMs in India are standalone machines and are not connected to any network

There has been a growing concern around the use and reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in India. The debate has become so fiercely polarised that it has left a group of political parties and the Election Commission divided into two. Political parties have been alleging that EVMs continue to be tampered with in elections, and therefore, they are urging the Election Commission to revert to the paper ballot system in future elections. The Election Commission, on the other hand, is confident of the purported hack-proof technology behind these machines. So much that the ECI has thrown an "open challenge" daring experts, technocrats, scientists and citizens to hack into their voting machines. While unverified videos on the Internet, rumour mongers and other speculations have fuelled that EVMs can be tampered with, there is no concrete evidence to validate such claims. Instead, the ECI aims to explain how these machines are hack-proof and why EVMs used in India cannot be compared with the ones used abroad. As explained by the ECI, we bring you the technology behind EVMs in India. It will help you in getting a better understanding of vulnerabilities of these machines and their hacking possibilities, if any. An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in India consists of two units - a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit, which is joined by a five-metre cable. The Control Unit is with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is kept inside the voting compartment. The Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit presses the Ballot Button, and this, in turn, enables the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice. As ECI explains, the EVM in India is a fully standalone machine and is not connected to any network. And therefore, there is no provision for any input. In other words, these electronic voting machines cannot be remotely accessed by hackers - which generally happens in other hacking incidents where machines are connected to the Internet. In addition to that, the software in the ECI-EVM chip is one time programmable and is burnt into the chip at the time of manufacture. Nothing can be written on the chip after it is manufactured. The microchip used in EVMs is sealed at the time of import. There is, therefore, no chance of programming the EVMs in a particular way to select any particular candidate or political party, claims the Election Commission of India. Unlike in India, most of the systems used in other countries are PC-based and run on operating systems. Hence, those machines could be vulnerable to hacking. ECI, therefore, believes that no comparison can be made between EVMs used in India and the ones used in foreign countries. Also, the EVMs in India are programmed in such a way that the machines can record only five votes in a minute. So even if these machines are forcibly taken away by miscreants, they can record only a maximum of 150 votes in half-an-hour. And chances are that by that time, appropriate measures would have been taken and police reinforcement would have arrived. (WION)

Explained: Why Election Commission believes EVMs in India are hack-proof

The Election Commission is planning an open challenge for scientists, technologist &amp; political parties in India next month to prove the authenticity of Electronic Voting Machines(EVM), reports said.

The row over EVMs was kicked up by BSP chief Mayawati during the Uttar Pradesh elections after her party was defeated by the BJP, other parties too joined the debate later to put the blame on EVMs for their poor show.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/ec-promises-to-attach-every-evm-with-vvpat-machine-in-next-lok-sabha-elections-centre-fails-to-release-funds-13468">Also Read:&nbsp;EC promises to attach every EVM with VVPAT machine in next Lok Sabha elections, Centre fails to release funds</a>

The EVM debate in India took a violent turn today as angry protesters went on a rampage in Kashmir reportedly stealing at least sixteen EVMs and damaging over 33 EVMs during protests, media reports said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the debate recently declaring that the EVMs which are to be used for the Delhi municipal polls do not have any security feature and can be easily tampered. The Election Commission was quick to dismiss the allegation of &quot;manipulation&quot;.

In fact, the Election Commission has repeatedly said that EVMs are &quot;fully tamper-proof, as ever&quot; but political parties and several activists have often said it can be manipulated.

Based on consultations with political parties in 2010, the Election Commission had explored the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with a view to enhance transparency.

In VVPAT, a paper slip is generated bearing name and symbol of the candidate along with a recording of a vote in Control Unit, so that in case of any dispute, a paper slip could be counted to verify the result being shown on the EVM.

A printer is attached to the balloting Unit and kept in the voting compartment. The paper slip remains visible on VVPAT for 07 seconds through a transparent window.

In June 2014, the Commission proposed to implement VVPAT at every polling station in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and sought Rs 3,174 crore for the same from the Law Ministry.

The Commission had earlier this month informed the Supreme Court that it will get the 15.5 lakh VVPATs manufactured in 30 months from the time of the release of fund by the government. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(WION with agency inputs)

The Electronic Voting Machine debate took a violent turn today as protesters reportedly stole and damaged several machines in Kashmir

The Election Commission is planning an open challenge for scientists, technologist & political parties in India next month to prove the authenticity of Electronic Voting Machines(EVM), reports said. The row over EVMs was kicked up by BSP chief Mayawati during the Uttar Pradesh elections after her party was defeated by the BJP, other parties too joined the debate later to put the blame on EVMs for their poor show. Also Read: EC promises to attach every EVM with VVPAT machine in next Lok Sabha elections, Centre fails to release funds The EVM debate in India took a violent turn today as angry protesters went on a rampage in Kashmir reportedly stealing at least sixteen EVMs and damaging over 33 EVMs during protests, media reports said. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the debate recently declaring that the EVMs which are to be used for the Delhi municipal polls do not have any security feature and can be easily tampered. The Election Commission was quick to dismiss the allegation of "manipulation". In fact, the Election Commission has repeatedly said that EVMs are "fully tamper-proof, as ever" but political parties and several activists have often said it can be manipulated. Based on consultations with political parties in 2010, the Election Commission had explored the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with a view to enhance transparency. In VVPAT, a paper slip is generated bearing name and symbol of the candidate along with a recording of a vote in Control Unit, so that in case of any dispute, a paper slip could be counted to verify the result being shown on the EVM. A printer is attached to the balloting Unit and kept in the voting compartment. The paper slip remains visible on VVPAT for 07 seconds through a transparent window. In June 2014, the Commission proposed to implement VVPAT at every polling station in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and sought Rs 3,174 crore for the same from the Law Ministry. The Commission had earlier this month informed the Supreme Court that it will get the 15.5 lakh VVPATs manufactured in 30 months from the time of the release of fund by the government. (WION with agency inputs)

Election Commission planning open challenge with scientists, political parties to prove authenticity of EVMs

India&#39;s Election Commission -- the agency responsible for poll processes in the country -- is set to acquire new electronic voting machines that can become &quot;inoperable&quot; if they are tampered with.

This comes amid doubts over the credibility of existing EVMs.

The agency will need around Rs 1,940 crore (about $299 million) to procure the next-generation machines called &quot;M3&quot;-type machines.

Such EVMs will only recognise genuine voting machines in the field, and thereby eliminate claims of discrepancies.

The commission plans to purchase them as the 9,30,430 existing EVMs in the country near its 15-year life cycle, Asian Age reported.

Last year, India&#39;s federal government released a tranche of Rs 1,009 crore (roughly $155 million) for the commission to replenish the existing voting machines before the country&#39;s next general elections in 2019.

The exisiting machines have come under severe scrutiny in recent days following the regional elections in India.&nbsp;

Several political parties in India have asked the Election Commission to replace the machines as fresh doubts surfaced in during local elections in central India last week.

In Bhind, a town in central India&#39;s Madhya Pradesh state, there were reports of an EVM dispensing slips of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party only, much to the consternation of a host of opposition parties.

Electronic voting machines have been used by India for the last 15 years, but there remain doubts about ist credibility.

Several countries like Ireland, Germany and The Netherlands have done away with such machines over worries about them being prone to hacking.

(WION)

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The agency will need about $299 million to procure the next-generation machines that will eliminate tampering of votes

India's Election Commission -- the agency responsible for poll processes in the country -- is set to acquire new electronic voting machines that can become "inoperable" if they are tampered with. This comes amid doubts over the credibility of existing EVMs. The agency will need around Rs 1,940 crore (about $299 million) to procure the next-generation machines called "M3"-type machines. Such EVMs will only recognise genuine voting machines in the field, and thereby eliminate claims of discrepancies. The commission plans to purchase them as the 9,30,430 existing EVMs in the country near its 15-year life cycle, Asian Age reported. Last year, India's federal government released a tranche of Rs 1,009 crore (roughly $155 million) for the commission to replenish the existing voting machines before the country's next general elections in 2019. The exisiting machines have come under severe scrutiny in recent days following the regional elections in India. Several political parties in India have asked the Election Commission to replace the machines as fresh doubts surfaced in during local elections in central India last week. In Bhind, a town in central India's Madhya Pradesh state, there were reports of an EVM dispensing slips of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party only, much to the consternation of a host of opposition parties. Electronic voting machines have been used by India for the last 15 years, but there remain doubts about ist credibility. Several countries like Ireland, Germany and The Netherlands have done away with such machines over worries about them being prone to hacking. (WION)

India's Election Commission to buy new voting machines amid fresh doubts

The Election Commission of India has sought a report from the district electoral officer on media reports alleging an EVM malfunction during a trial at Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, according to PTI.

According to media reports, VVPAT in Bhind was only dispensing slips of BJP symbol during the trial.

&quot;We have sought a detailed report from district election officer and would come up with a response in the evening,&quot; a Commission spokesperson said.

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<h5>&quot;We have sought a detailed report from district election officer and would come up with a response in the evening,&quot; a Commission spokesperson said.</h5>
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An Assembly bypoll is due in Bhind next week and the demonstration was part of the familiarisation exercise.

VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home.

According to media reports, the receipt showed the vote going to BJP, irrespective of the button pressed, during the demonstration.

The reports also claimed that Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Madhya Pradesh, Saleena Singh was seen telling journalists that the news should not appear in newspapers, else they would be detained at the police station.

The development comes days after several political parties had alleged that the EVMs were tampered with in Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and also in Punjab.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

According to media reports, VVPAT in Bhind was only dispensing slips of BJP symbol during a demonstration exercise

The Election Commission of India has sought a report from the district electoral officer on media reports alleging an EVM malfunction during a trial at Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, according to PTI. According to media reports, VVPAT in Bhind was only dispensing slips of BJP symbol during the trial. "We have sought a detailed report from district election officer and would come up with a response in the evening," a Commission spokesperson said. "We have sought a detailed report from district election officer and would come up with a response in the evening," a Commission spokesperson said. × An Assembly bypoll is due in Bhind next week and the demonstration was part of the familiarisation exercise. VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home. According to media reports, the receipt showed the vote going to BJP, irrespective of the button pressed, during the demonstration. The reports also claimed that Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Madhya Pradesh, Saleena Singh was seen telling journalists that the news should not appear in newspapers, else they would be detained at the police station. The development comes days after several political parties had alleged that the EVMs were tampered with in Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and also in Punjab. (WION with inputs from PTI)

India: Election Commission seeks report on VVPAT dispensing BJP slips in Madhya Pradesh

The electronic voting machines are &quot;fully tamper-proof, as ever&quot;, the Election Commission said today dismissing claims of BSP supremo Mayawati and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who had questioned their reliability.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Commission said &quot;baseless, speculative and wild allegations are being made which deserve to be rejected&quot;.&nbsp;The poll panel said it did not receive specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering of EVMs during recently held election process.

It said the BSP&#39;s representation on EVM tampering was without any specific allegation and it had rejected the claim of the party.&nbsp;&quot;Such concerns about alleged tamperability of ECI-EVM have been raised earlier also since their introduction including before high court and the Supreme Court.

&quot;These allegations have been dismissed. ECI unequivocally reiterates that given effective technical and administrative safeguards, EVMs are not tamperable and integrity of electoral process is preserved,&quot; it said.

The EC&#39;s rebuttal came a day after Mayawati said she will move court against the alleged tampering of EVMs. Kejriwal too had alleged that EVMs may have been tampered with in Punjab, adding &quot;it is about the credibility of the Election Commission and the faith of people in the electoral system. We have strong prima facie evidence of foul play.&quot;

The Commission today said that so far, no one has been able to actually demonstrate that EVMs used by the Election Commission can be tampered with or manipulated.&nbsp;It said &quot;what has been demonstrated or claimed to have been demonstrated is on a privately assembled look-alike of ECI-EVMs and not the actual ECI-EVMs.&quot;

Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd are the two PSUs which manufacture the EVMs for EC.&nbsp;The poll watchdog assured that its EVMs are tamper-proof and it is &quot;fully satisfied with the integrity of electoral process using EVM&quot;.

Since the year 2000, EVMs have been used in 107 assembly polls and three Lok Sabha elections held in 2004, 2009 and 2014.

It recalled that the &quot;controversy&quot; over the reliability of the machines was raised by political parties after the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. &quot;However, no specific allegation was raised nor could they prove before any court,&quot; the statement said. 
It said in an &quot;extraordinary&quot; move in August, 2009, it had invited those who had expressed reservations about the EVMs to come and demonstrate the flaws in the machines.

Those invited included political parties, petitioners before various courts and some individuals who had been writing to the Commission on this issue.

One hundred EVMs were brought from ten states -- Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh -- and were kept at the Commission&#39;s office here for scrutiny and for any application to establish its alleged fallibility.

&quot;The outcome of this exercise was that none of the persons, who were given the opportunity, could actually demonstrate any tamperability of the ECI-EVMs. They either failed or chose not to demonstrate,&quot; it elaborated.

Some activists had then showed on TV a machine which they claimed can be manipulated. The Commission had countered the allegation stating that the machine was stolen from EVM warehouse in Mumbai and modified by the activists. &quot;Thus it was no longer the machine used by EC,&quot; it said.

Based on consultations with political parties in 2010, the Commission explored the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with a view to enhance transparency.

In VVPAT, a paper slip is generated bearing name and symbol of the candidate along with recording of vote in Control Unit, so that in case of any dispute, paper slip could be counted to verify the result being shown on the EVM.

A printer is attached to the balloting Unit and kept in the voting compartment. The paper slip remains visible on VVPAT for 07 seconds through a transparent window.

In June 2014, the Commission proposed to implement VVPAT at every polling station in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and sought Rs 3,174 crore for the same from the Law Ministry.

The Commission had earlier this month informed the Supreme Court that it will get the 15.5 lakh VVPATs manufactured in 30 months from the time of release of fund by the government.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

(PTI)

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Election Commission's rebuttal came a day after Mayawati said she will move court against the alleged tampering of EVMs during the UP polls

The electronic voting machines are "fully tamper-proof, as ever", the Election Commission said today dismissing claims of BSP supremo Mayawati and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who had questioned their reliability. In a strongly-worded statement, the Commission said "baseless, speculative and wild allegations are being made which deserve to be rejected". The poll panel said it did not receive specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering of EVMs during recently held election process. It said the BSP's representation on EVM tampering was without any specific allegation and it had rejected the claim of the party. "Such concerns about alleged tamperability of ECI-EVM have been raised earlier also since their introduction including before high court and the Supreme Court. "These allegations have been dismissed. ECI unequivocally reiterates that given effective technical and administrative safeguards, EVMs are not tamperable and integrity of electoral process is preserved," it said. The EC's rebuttal came a day after Mayawati said she will move court against the alleged tampering of EVMs. Kejriwal too had alleged that EVMs may have been tampered with in Punjab, adding "it is about the credibility of the Election Commission and the faith of people in the electoral system. We have strong prima facie evidence of foul play." The Commission today said that so far, no one has been able to actually demonstrate that EVMs used by the Election Commission can be tampered with or manipulated. It said "what has been demonstrated or claimed to have been demonstrated is on a privately assembled look-alike of ECI-EVMs and not the actual ECI-EVMs." Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd are the two PSUs which manufacture the EVMs for EC. The poll watchdog assured that its EVMs are tamper-proof and it is "fully satisfied with the integrity of electoral process using EVM". Since the year 2000, EVMs have been used in 107 assembly polls and three Lok Sabha elections held in 2004, 2009 and 2014. It recalled that the "controversy" over the reliability of the machines was raised by political parties after the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. "However, no specific allegation was raised nor could they prove before any court," the statement said. It said in an "extraordinary" move in August, 2009, it had invited those who had expressed reservations about the EVMs to come and demonstrate the flaws in the machines. Those invited included political parties, petitioners before various courts and some individuals who had been writing to the Commission on this issue. One hundred EVMs were brought from ten states -- Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh -- and were kept at the Commission's office here for scrutiny and for any application to establish its alleged fallibility. "The outcome of this exercise was that none of the persons, who were given the opportunity, could actually demonstrate any tamperability of the ECI-EVMs. They either failed or chose not to demonstrate," it elaborated. Some activists had then showed on TV a machine which they claimed can be manipulated. The Commission had countered the allegation stating that the machine was stolen from EVM warehouse in Mumbai and modified by the activists. "Thus it was no longer the machine used by EC," it said. Based on consultations with political parties in 2010, the Commission explored the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with a view to enhance transparency. In VVPAT, a paper slip is generated bearing name and symbol of the candidate along with recording of vote in Control Unit, so that in case of any dispute, paper slip could be counted to verify the result being shown on the EVM. A printer is attached to the balloting Unit and kept in the voting compartment. The paper slip remains visible on VVPAT for 07 seconds through a transparent window. In June 2014, the Commission proposed to implement VVPAT at every polling station in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and sought Rs 3,174 crore for the same from the Law Ministry. The Commission had earlier this month informed the Supreme Court that it will get the 15.5 lakh VVPATs manufactured in 30 months from the time of release of fund by the government. (PTI)

Electronic voting machines are 'fully tamper-proof': Election Commission

The Indian government&#39;s income-tax (I-T) department has submitted a report to the election commission which states that the audit reports prepared by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for donations of about Rs 27 crore do not match with the actual funds received by it from various donors.

Officials said this could form the basis for the cancellation of tax exemptions given under the I-T Act to the AAP and could also follow a stringent action of deregistration of the party, but all such decisions were exclusively under the domain of the Election Commission, PTI reported.

The report states that the records of donations made to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP during 2013-14 and 2014-15 are incorrect and have discrepancies, PTI&nbsp;reported. The department has been investigating the donations list of the party for over a&nbsp;year.

Income Tax officials said the AAP treasurer had acknowledged &quot;certain errors&quot; in the records in their communication with the taxman, PTI reported.

The officials said the alleged discrepancies in the donation records of the&nbsp;party&nbsp;were about Rs 27 crore.

Parties prepare audit reports, in consultation with their chartered accountants, and submit a copy to the I-T department as per the law.

The I-T report suggested that the violations were in contravention of tax laws that governed political donations as stipulated under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that it was a &quot;dirty trick&quot; by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get the AAP deregistered because of fear of losing the state elections in Punjab and Goa, which begin tomorrow.

&quot;Modiji&#39;s dirty tricks. Losing badly in Goa n Punjab, he tries to deregister the winning party 24 hrs before elections. Shameless dictator,&quot; he tweeted.

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Modiji&#39;s dirty tricks. Losing badly in Goa n Punjab, he tries to de-register the winning party 24 hrs before elections. Shameless dictator <a href="https://t.co/XMSdXj1OSg">https://t.co/XMSdXj1OSg</a>
&mdash; Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/827362823936307200">February 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The AAP feels it is in with a chance in the Punjab polls, where it faces a triangular contest with the Congress and the incumbent SAD-BJP combine.&nbsp;

The AAP is hopeful of disturbing the ruling BJP&#39;s prospects in Goa as well.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

In a report to the poll body, the I-T department said the donation records prepared by the AAP do not match with the actual funds received

The Indian government's income-tax (I-T) department has submitted a report to the election commission which states that the audit reports prepared by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for donations of about Rs 27 crore do not match with the actual funds received by it from various donors. Officials said this could form the basis for the cancellation of tax exemptions given under the I-T Act to the AAP and could also follow a stringent action of deregistration of the party, but all such decisions were exclusively under the domain of the Election Commission, PTI reported. The report states that the records of donations made to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP during 2013-14 and 2014-15 are incorrect and have discrepancies, PTI reported. The department has been investigating the donations list of the party for over a year. Income Tax officials said the AAP treasurer had acknowledged "certain errors" in the records in their communication with the taxman, PTI reported. The officials said the alleged discrepancies in the donation records of the party were about Rs 27 crore. Parties prepare audit reports, in consultation with their chartered accountants, and submit a copy to the I-T department as per the law. The I-T report suggested that the violations were in contravention of tax laws that governed political donations as stipulated under the Income Tax Act, 1961. AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that it was a "dirty trick" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get the AAP deregistered because of fear of losing the state elections in Punjab and Goa, which begin tomorrow. "Modiji's dirty tricks. Losing badly in Goa n Punjab, he tries to deregister the winning party 24 hrs before elections. Shameless dictator," he tweeted. Modiji's dirty tricks. Losing badly in Goa n Punjab, he tries to de-register the winning party 24 hrs before elections. Shameless dictator https://t.co/XMSdXj1OSg — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 3, 2017 × The AAP feels it is in with a chance in the Punjab polls, where it faces a triangular contest with the Congress and the incumbent SAD-BJP combine. The AAP is hopeful of disturbing the ruling BJP's prospects in Goa as well. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Aam Aadmi Party donation records inaccurate, could lead to deregistration by Election Commission: I-T department

Sweeping aside objections raised by opposition parties, the government will present the Union Budget 2017-18 on February 1 but will refrain from making any announcements pertaining to poll-bound states.

The government has before the Election Commission vehemently defended its move to advance budget presentation by a month saying it had made clear its intention on this way back in September 2016 so as to help begin the investment cycle right from the first day of the new fiscal, April 1. &quot;Budget presentation on February 1 is a done deal, we will not make any specific announcement for poll-bound states,&quot; a top source said.

Opposition parties including Congress and TMC had approached the Election Commission against presentation of the budget just hours before the first of the five states goes to poll on February 4.

But the government stoutly defended the move. The source said that in view of the model code of conduct, the budget will not make any announces related to poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

According to the scheme drawn, the first part of the budget session of Parliament will start on January 31 with President Pranab Mukherjee&#39;s address and tabling of the economic survey, which sets the scene for finance minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s fourth annual budget. The budget will be presented the next day. The cabinet had in September last year decided to scrap nearly century-long practice of having a separate railway budget and instead merged it with the general budget.

It had also decided to scrap a distinction between plan and non-plan expenditures.

(PTI)

Opposition parties had approached the Election Commission against presentation of the budget just hours before state elections on February 4

Sweeping aside objections raised by opposition parties, the government will present the Union Budget 2017-18 on February 1 but will refrain from making any announcements pertaining to poll-bound states. The government has before the Election Commission vehemently defended its move to advance budget presentation by a month saying it had made clear its intention on this way back in September 2016 so as to help begin the investment cycle right from the first day of the new fiscal, April 1. "Budget presentation on February 1 is a done deal, we will not make any specific announcement for poll-bound states," a top source said. Opposition parties including Congress and TMC had approached the Election Commission against presentation of the budget just hours before the first of the five states goes to poll on February 4. But the government stoutly defended the move. The source said that in view of the model code of conduct, the budget will not make any announces related to poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. According to the scheme drawn, the first part of the budget session of Parliament will start on January 31 with President Pranab Mukherjee's address and tabling of the economic survey, which sets the scene for finance minister Arun Jaitley's fourth annual budget. The budget will be presented the next day. The cabinet had in September last year decided to scrap nearly century-long practice of having a separate railway budget and instead merged it with the general budget. It had also decided to scrap a distinction between plan and non-plan expenditures. (PTI)

India: Government to present budget on February 1

Mulayam Singh Yadav, patriarch of Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling Samajwadi Party indicated on Monday that he wanted to end the ongoing feud within the party, stating that his son Akhilesh was the face of the party for the upcoming elections in the state.&nbsp;

Mulayam Singh told news agency ANI that the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state.

&quot;For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever in the party and we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that,&quot; he told ANI.

SP is in the middle of an intense power struggle with Mulayam and his brother Shivpal Yadav on one side and Mulayam`s son, Akhilesh, and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav on the other.

The warring factions had taken their dispute all the way to the Election Commission, staking their claim on the party&#39;s election symbol, the &#39;cycle&#39;. 
 
He was accompanied by his brother Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh, both senior leaders of the party who are being held responsible for the infighting within the party by the Akhilesh camp.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There is no rift between me and my son Akhilesh Yadav. My son is being provoked by one person,&quot; Mulayam Singh said after emerging from a meeting with the Election Commission in New Delhi today.&nbsp;

&quot;There is some problem in the party, one person is behind this feud. Am sure that issues will be resolved,&quot; Mulayam Singh said in an apparent reference to his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav.

He had also said that the Election Commission will decide on which faction would have claim over the party&#39;s symbol, the cycle.

Ram Gopal Yadav, the party&#39;s general secretary, had called a national executive meet earlier this month and declared Akhilesh Yadav as the party&#39;s national president in place of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In his meeting with the Election Commission, Mulayam Singh also contested the affidavits of party leaders submitted by the faction owing allegiance to his son, alleging they were forged and asked the EC to get them verified.

The Akhilesh-led camp represented by Ram Gopal had on Saturday submitted an affidavit to the EC affirming that Samajwadi Party leaders were supporting the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Ram Gopal had said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh.

Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, wrote&nbsp;a letter to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) chairman, Hamid Ansari,&nbsp;asking him to expel&nbsp;Ram Gopal Yadav from the SP and as leader of the party in the Upper House, PTI reported on Monday.&nbsp;He also urged Ansari to shift Ramgopal&#39;s seat to the back benches following his expulsion from the party.

Sources in the party told PTI the letter informed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Ram Gopal was expelled from the party for six years on 30 December, 2016 and ceased to be leader of SP&#39;s Parliamentary Party in the Upper House.

Party sources said he also told the Election Commission that the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav was unconstitutional. He also said that while there was a resolution appointing Akhilesh as party president and another one appointing him as its mentor, there was no resolution removing him from the party chief&#39;s post. 
 
The assembly elections in the most populous and politically significant state in India will be held in seven phases beginning February 11.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The Samajwadi Party patriarch said the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state

Mulayam Singh Yadav, patriarch of Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party indicated on Monday that he wanted to end the ongoing feud within the party, stating that his son Akhilesh was the face of the party for the upcoming elections in the state. Mulayam Singh told news agency ANI that the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state. "For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever in the party and we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that," he told ANI. SP is in the middle of an intense power struggle with Mulayam and his brother Shivpal Yadav on one side and Mulayam`s son, Akhilesh, and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav on the other. The warring factions had taken their dispute all the way to the Election Commission, staking their claim on the party's election symbol, the 'cycle'. He was accompanied by his brother Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh, both senior leaders of the party who are being held responsible for the infighting within the party by the Akhilesh camp. "There is no rift between me and my son Akhilesh Yadav. My son is being provoked by one person," Mulayam Singh said after emerging from a meeting with the Election Commission in New Delhi today. "There is some problem in the party, one person is behind this feud. Am sure that issues will be resolved," Mulayam Singh said in an apparent reference to his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav. He had also said that the Election Commission will decide on which faction would have claim over the party's symbol, the cycle. Ram Gopal Yadav, the party's general secretary, had called a national executive meet earlier this month and declared Akhilesh Yadav as the party's national president in place of Mulayam Singh Yadav. In his meeting with the Election Commission, Mulayam Singh also contested the affidavits of party leaders submitted by the faction owing allegiance to his son, alleging they were forged and asked the EC to get them verified. The Akhilesh-led camp represented by Ram Gopal had on Saturday submitted an affidavit to the EC affirming that Samajwadi Party leaders were supporting the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Ram Gopal had said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh. Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, wrote a letter to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) chairman, Hamid Ansari, asking him to expel Ram Gopal Yadav from the SP and as leader of the party in the Upper House, PTI reported on Monday. He also urged Ansari to shift Ramgopal's seat to the back benches following his expulsion from the party. Sources in the party told PTI the letter informed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Ram Gopal was expelled from the party for six years on 30 December, 2016 and ceased to be leader of SP's Parliamentary Party in the Upper House. Party sources said he also told the Election Commission that the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav was unconstitutional. He also said that while there was a resolution appointing Akhilesh as party president and another one appointing him as its mentor, there was no resolution removing him from the party chief's post. The assembly elections in the most populous and politically significant state in India will be held in seven phases beginning February 11. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Akhilesh will be chief minister after elections, no question of Samajwadi Party splitting: Mulayam Singh

The Election Commission today (January 29) ordered poll authorities in Goa to register a police complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks about bribes made at a poll rally in the state.

The poll body also termed as &quot;scurrilous&quot; the AAP leader&#39;s claim that the Commission is encouraging bribery by restraining him from uttering such statements.

The poll body said the First Information Report (FIR)/complaint be lodged against the AAP leader under provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with bribing voters and relevant sections of the IPC.

&quot;Being Chief Minister of Delhi and a star campaigner of AAP in Goa, he is expected to conduct in an exemplary manner in election campaigns in a law abiding manner so as to be a role model for others to emulate but he has on several occasions again violated provisions of MCC by breaking his assurance to EC...

&quot;The Commission directs that necessary legal action be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for the statements...Compliance report in this regard should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00 PM on January 31,&quot; the poll panel said.

The Commission recalled that it has censured Kejriwal for violating the provisions of MCC and expected him to be more circumspect in public utterances during election time.

&quot;Arvind Kejriwal has again written a letter... Stating therein that he is not abetting bribery by appealing to voters to accept money from any party but to vote in favour of Jharu (AAP)... He stated that the Commission is encouraging bribery by refraining him from uttering such statements.

&quot;These submissions being baseless and scurrilous are totally unjustified in the light of the provisions of law on bribery and are not acceptable to the Commission,&quot; the Commission said.

While directing the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to lodge FIR/complaint against Kejriwal, the Commission also responded to his letter in which he had asked that he be allowed to raise issue of voters being bribed.

&quot;The Commission is quite concerned about your conduct, public utterances and demeanour. Even after being reprimanded by the Commission...You are still continuing with your statements of instigating voters to take money from other parties.

&quot;Instead of making wild allegations, you are most welcome to adduce any evidence of distribution of black money...,&quot; the letter to the AAP leader said.

The poll panel once again directed him &quot;not to indulge in making any further statements which directly or indirectly instigate voters&quot; in accepting money.

It warned of &quot;stern action&quot; if Kejriwal continued with his statements on the issue.

In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party said the Election Commission has directed Kejriwal not to make any further statements in the reference to his bribery remarks.

The party said, the order &quot;does not convey that any criminal case has been registered against Kejriwal&quot;.

&quot;Rather it is being highlighted that section 171(b) which defines the offence of bribery in the Indian Penal Code and its punishment defined under Section 171(e) of IPC, is not only a non-cognizable offence, but is also bailable. So being a non-cognizable offence no FIR can be registered for this particular offence,&quot; the party said in a statement.

The party said Kejriwal&#39;s statement does not amount to any offence. &quot;We have decided to avail all legal remedies available after any order is communicated to us or comes to our notice,&quot; the party said.

The party hit out at the poll panel again, this time questioning its independence and targeting Election Commissioner A K Joti.

&quot;Election Commissioner Joti never worked outside Gujarat in his entire career. A 1975-batch IAS officer, Joti retired as chief secretary in January 2013. Is Election Commission impartial &amp; independent? One of the commissioners was chief secretary of Gujarat before he retired in 2013.

&quot;Within 24 hours of PM Modi dictating criticism of EC is not acceptable, EC orders registration of FIR against @ArvindKejriwal coincidence?&quot; Nagender Sharma, Media Advisor to Kejriwal, said in a series of tweets.

His tweets were retweeted by Kejriwal.&nbsp;

(PTI)

 
&nbsp;

The poll body also termed as "scurrilous" the AAP leader's claim that the Commission is encouraging bribery by restraining him

The Election Commission today (January 29) ordered poll authorities in Goa to register a police complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks about bribes made at a poll rally in the state. The poll body also termed as "scurrilous" the AAP leader's claim that the Commission is encouraging bribery by restraining him from uttering such statements. The poll body said the First Information Report (FIR)/complaint be lodged against the AAP leader under provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with bribing voters and relevant sections of the IPC. "Being Chief Minister of Delhi and a star campaigner of AAP in Goa, he is expected to conduct in an exemplary manner in election campaigns in a law abiding manner so as to be a role model for others to emulate but he has on several occasions again violated provisions of MCC by breaking his assurance to EC... "The Commission directs that necessary legal action be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for the statements...Compliance report in this regard should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00 PM on January 31," the poll panel said. The Commission recalled that it has censured Kejriwal for violating the provisions of MCC and expected him to be more circumspect in public utterances during election time. "Arvind Kejriwal has again written a letter... Stating therein that he is not abetting bribery by appealing to voters to accept money from any party but to vote in favour of Jharu (AAP)... He stated that the Commission is encouraging bribery by refraining him from uttering such statements. "These submissions being baseless and scurrilous are totally unjustified in the light of the provisions of law on bribery and are not acceptable to the Commission," the Commission said. While directing the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to lodge FIR/complaint against Kejriwal, the Commission also responded to his letter in which he had asked that he be allowed to raise issue of voters being bribed. "The Commission is quite concerned about your conduct, public utterances and demeanour. Even after being reprimanded by the Commission...You are still continuing with your statements of instigating voters to take money from other parties. "Instead of making wild allegations, you are most welcome to adduce any evidence of distribution of black money...," the letter to the AAP leader said. The poll panel once again directed him "not to indulge in making any further statements which directly or indirectly instigate voters" in accepting money. It warned of "stern action" if Kejriwal continued with his statements on the issue. In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party said the Election Commission has directed Kejriwal not to make any further statements in the reference to his bribery remarks. The party said, the order "does not convey that any criminal case has been registered against Kejriwal". "Rather it is being highlighted that section 171(b) which defines the offence of bribery in the Indian Penal Code and its punishment defined under Section 171(e) of IPC, is not only a non-cognizable offence, but is also bailable. So being a non-cognizable offence no FIR can be registered for this particular offence," the party said in a statement. The party said Kejriwal's statement does not amount to any offence. "We have decided to avail all legal remedies available after any order is communicated to us or comes to our notice," the party said. The party hit out at the poll panel again, this time questioning its independence and targeting Election Commissioner A K Joti. "Election Commissioner Joti never worked outside Gujarat in his entire career. A 1975-batch IAS officer, Joti retired as chief secretary in January 2013. Is Election Commission impartial & independent? One of the commissioners was chief secretary of Gujarat before he retired in 2013. "Within 24 hours of PM Modi dictating criticism of EC is not acceptable, EC orders registration of FIR against @ArvindKejriwal coincidence?" Nagender Sharma, Media Advisor to Kejriwal, said in a series of tweets. His tweets were retweeted by Kejriwal. (PTI)

Election Commission orders police complaint against Delhi chief minister for bribe remarks

India&#39;s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Sunday rejected the Election Commission&#39;s request to enhance the weekly cash-withdrawal limit for candidates contesting the upcoming&nbsp;elections in five states,&nbsp;prompting an angry reaction from the poll panel. 
 
The Election Commission had written to the RBI on Wednesday, asking it to increase the weekly withdrawal limit for candidates contesting the assembly elections to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 24,000 per week. It had asked for the facility to be extended till March 11, the day of counting. The EC wrote another letter to the RBI on Friday (January 28), expressing its concern at the &#39;&ccedil;ursory manner&#39; in which the central bank was dealing with the issue.

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EC wrote to RBI Governor Urjit Patel on issue of cash withdrawal limits for candidates <a href="https://t.co/b7RkWsbyKN">pic.twitter.com/b7RkWsbyKN</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/825658363690180608">January 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Candidates are bound to open an election account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitored by the poll panel.

But RBI said that it was not possible for it to hike the limit at this stage.

An apparently peeved Commission has now written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel expressing &quot;serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with&quot;.

&quot;...(It) appears that the RBI has not realised the gravity of the situation...It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the Commission to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level-playing field to all candidates...In order to facilitate proper conduct of elections, it is imperative that directions issued by the Commission are complied with,&quot; the poll panel said.

It urged the central bank to reconsider the proposal.

The Commission had told RBI Governor Urjit Patel that it has been apprised of the problems candidates were facing due to withdrawal limits imposed after demonetisation, PTI had reported.&nbsp; 
 
The poll panel&nbsp;said with a weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000, a candidate would be able to withdraw Rs 96,000 in cash during the election process which lasts for three&nbsp;to four weeks.&nbsp;

It reminded the Central bank that as per law, candidates contesting assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab can spend Rs 28 lakh for electioneering. The limit in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from PTI)

The RBI rejected the Election Commission's request to increase the withdrawal limit. A peeved EC has has now written back to RBI Governor

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Sunday rejected the Election Commission's request to enhance the weekly cash-withdrawal limit for candidates contesting the upcoming elections in five states, prompting an angry reaction from the poll panel. The Election Commission had written to the RBI on Wednesday, asking it to increase the weekly withdrawal limit for candidates contesting the assembly elections to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 24,000 per week. It had asked for the facility to be extended till March 11, the day of counting. The EC wrote another letter to the RBI on Friday (January 28), expressing its concern at the 'çursory manner' in which the central bank was dealing with the issue. EC wrote to RBI Governor Urjit Patel on issue of cash withdrawal limits for candidates pic.twitter.com/b7RkWsbyKN — ANI (@ANI_news) January 29, 2017 × Candidates are bound to open an election account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitored by the poll panel. But RBI said that it was not possible for it to hike the limit at this stage. An apparently peeved Commission has now written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel expressing "serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with". "...(It) appears that the RBI has not realised the gravity of the situation...It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the Commission to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level-playing field to all candidates...In order to facilitate proper conduct of elections, it is imperative that directions issued by the Commission are complied with," the poll panel said. It urged the central bank to reconsider the proposal. The Commission had told RBI Governor Urjit Patel that it has been apprised of the problems candidates were facing due to withdrawal limits imposed after demonetisation, PTI had reported. The poll panel said with a weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000, a candidate would be able to withdraw Rs 96,000 in cash during the election process which lasts for three to four weeks. It reminded the Central bank that as per law, candidates contesting assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab can spend Rs 28 lakh for electioneering. The limit in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh. (WION with inputs from PTI)

India's central bank, poll panel spar over enhancing cash withdrawal limit for election candidates

India&#39;s Election Commission, an authority that overlooks election processes in the country, has censured Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his bribe remarks made at a poll rally in India&#39;s western state of Goa and said if he continues to violate the model code, stern action would be taken against him and his party, including suspension or withdrawal of recognition to AAP. 
 
&quot;...The Election Commission hereby censures you for violating...provisions of MCC (Model Code of Conduct) and expects that you shall be more circumspect in your public utterances during election time. 
 
&quot;You may also note that in case of similar violation of MCC in future, the Commission shall take stern action against you and your party, using all powers available to it including action under Para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968,&quot; it said in its order issued yesterday. 
 
Para 16A gives the poll panel power to &quot;suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party for its failure to observe Model Code of Conduct or follow lawful directions and instructions of the Commission&quot;. 
 
While issuing him show cause notice on January 16, the Commission had quoted him as saying at an election rally that Congress and BJP will come to distribute money. People should accept it in new currency and ask for Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 5,000 keeping in mind the inflation. He had said that the vote should go to AAP. The elections in Goa will take place on February 4, 2017. 
 
Reacting to the order, Kejriwal said EC is wrong and will challenge it in the court. 
 
&quot;EC order against me completely wrong. Lower court gave order in my favor. EC ignored court&#39;s order. Will challenge EC&#39;s latest order in court,&quot; Kejriwal tweeted.

(PTI)

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal opposed the Election Commission's view and said he'd explore legal options to challenge the repoach

India's Election Commission, an authority that overlooks election processes in the country, has censured Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his bribe remarks made at a poll rally in India's western state of Goa and said if he continues to violate the model code, stern action would be taken against him and his party, including suspension or withdrawal of recognition to AAP. "...The Election Commission hereby censures you for violating...provisions of MCC (Model Code of Conduct) and expects that you shall be more circumspect in your public utterances during election time. "You may also note that in case of similar violation of MCC in future, the Commission shall take stern action against you and your party, using all powers available to it including action under Para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968," it said in its order issued yesterday. Para 16A gives the poll panel power to "suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party for its failure to observe Model Code of Conduct or follow lawful directions and instructions of the Commission". While issuing him show cause notice on January 16, the Commission had quoted him as saying at an election rally that Congress and BJP will come to distribute money. People should accept it in new currency and ask for Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 5,000 keeping in mind the inflation. He had said that the vote should go to AAP. The elections in Goa will take place on February 4, 2017. Reacting to the order, Kejriwal said EC is wrong and will challenge it in the court. "EC order against me completely wrong. Lower court gave order in my favor. EC ignored court's order. Will challenge EC's latest order in court," Kejriwal tweeted. (PTI)

India's election body censures Delhi chief Kejriwal for bribe remark at poll rally

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav enjoys &quot;overwhelming majority support&quot; of legislators and party delegates, the Election Commission held today while allocating the Samajwadi Party election symbol &#39;Cycle&#39; to him.

The Commission also went by past precedents when it had based its judgements on numerical strength as directed by the Supreme Court in a 1972 verdict.

&quot;...A mere look at the figures...Will evidently demonstrate that Akhilesh Yadav enjoys overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organisational wing of the party.&quot;

&quot;As a logical consequence of the above finding and applying the test of majority support approved by the Supreme Court in the case of Sadiq Ali and consistently applied by the Commission thereafter in all cases of disputes in recognised political parties arising before it from time to time...The group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol Bicycle..,&quot; the 42-page order of the EC said.

Rejecting the stand of the Mulayam Singh Yadav camp, the Commission said there is a clear split in the party.

&quot;...The Commission is satisfied that a split has arisen in the Samajwadi Party resulting in the formation of two rival groups -- one, led by Akhilesh Yadav and the, other, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, each claiming to be that party, and, therefore, the matter needed to be determined by the Commission under para 15 of the Symbols Order,&quot; the poll panel said.

It said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 National Executive members have sided with Akhilesh.

Also, 4400 of the 5731 National Convention delegates have signed in favour of the chief minister, the order said.

The Commission referred to a contention by Mulayam&#39;s side that the affidavits filed by Akhilesh&#39;s group do not contain averment that they were sworn without any fear, favour or influence as needed and said except for the &quot;above vague allegation&quot;, the group did not file any affidavit from any member despite repeated opportunities given to it.

&quot;... Neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect or questioned the above numbers claimed by Shri Ram Gopal Yadav either on 13 January, 2017 at the time of hearing or at any time thereafter,&quot; the order said.

It also mentioned that while the counsel for the Mulayam group wanted to make a mountain of a molehill by referring to a typographical mistake in the affidavits of the Akhilesh group, the counsel had no reply when it was pointed out that its leader Amar Singh had said in the concluding para of his affidavit that &quot;I refute my point on the illegibility of January 1, 2017 convention of Samajwadi Party and unconstitutionality of their resolution thereby&quot;.

The seven-phased polls in the state begin on February 11.

The order came within a fortnight of Akhilesh being anointed the national president of the party.

A jubilant Ramgopal Yadav said the EC took the right decision as the Mulayam camp did not have any supporting documents to claim symbol and party name.

&quot;The Chief Minister is very happy,&quot; he said.

About party&#39;s plans for an alliance with Congress in the state for the coming elections, he said, &quot;The party president will be deciding it. I hope it will happen.&quot;

As soon as he got the news, Akhilesh went to meet his father to seek his blessings.

Interestingly, the EC announcement came hours after Akhilesh supporters put up his brand new name plate at the SP headquarters that read &quot;Akhilesh Yadav, Party President&quot; strategically positioned directly under his father&#39;s nameplate which mentions Mulayam as &quot;Party President&quot;.

(PTI) 
&nbsp;

The EC said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 national executive members have sided with Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav enjoys "overwhelming majority support" of legislators and party delegates, the Election Commission held today while allocating the Samajwadi Party election symbol 'Cycle' to him. The Commission also went by past precedents when it had based its judgements on numerical strength as directed by the Supreme Court in a 1972 verdict. "...A mere look at the figures...Will evidently demonstrate that Akhilesh Yadav enjoys overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organisational wing of the party." "As a logical consequence of the above finding and applying the test of majority support approved by the Supreme Court in the case of Sadiq Ali and consistently applied by the Commission thereafter in all cases of disputes in recognised political parties arising before it from time to time...The group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol Bicycle..," the 42-page order of the EC said. Rejecting the stand of the Mulayam Singh Yadav camp, the Commission said there is a clear split in the party. "...The Commission is satisfied that a split has arisen in the Samajwadi Party resulting in the formation of two rival groups -- one, led by Akhilesh Yadav and the, other, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, each claiming to be that party, and, therefore, the matter needed to be determined by the Commission under para 15 of the Symbols Order," the poll panel said. It said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 National Executive members have sided with Akhilesh. Also, 4400 of the 5731 National Convention delegates have signed in favour of the chief minister, the order said. The Commission referred to a contention by Mulayam's side that the affidavits filed by Akhilesh's group do not contain averment that they were sworn without any fear, favour or influence as needed and said except for the "above vague allegation", the group did not file any affidavit from any member despite repeated opportunities given to it. "... Neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect or questioned the above numbers claimed by Shri Ram Gopal Yadav either on 13 January, 2017 at the time of hearing or at any time thereafter," the order said. It also mentioned that while the counsel for the Mulayam group wanted to make a mountain of a molehill by referring to a typographical mistake in the affidavits of the Akhilesh group, the counsel had no reply when it was pointed out that its leader Amar Singh had said in the concluding para of his affidavit that "I refute my point on the illegibility of January 1, 2017 convention of Samajwadi Party and unconstitutionality of their resolution thereby". The seven-phased polls in the state begin on February 11. The order came within a fortnight of Akhilesh being anointed the national president of the party. A jubilant Ramgopal Yadav said the EC took the right decision as the Mulayam camp did not have any supporting documents to claim symbol and party name. "The Chief Minister is very happy," he said. About party's plans for an alliance with Congress in the state for the coming elections, he said, "The party president will be deciding it. I hope it will happen." As soon as he got the news, Akhilesh went to meet his father to seek his blessings. Interestingly, the EC announcement came hours after Akhilesh supporters put up his brand new name plate at the SP headquarters that read "Akhilesh Yadav, Party President" strategically positioned directly under his father's nameplate which mentions Mulayam as "Party President". (PTI)

How the Election Commission arrived at the verdict to grant 'bicycle' symbol to Akhilesh Yadav-led faction

Reconciliation efforts in the Yadav clan seem to be gaining pace, with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav meeting his father and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday.

After a ninety minute long meeting between the two on Tuesday morning, Mulayam Singh assured that his son, Akhilesh Yadav will be the chief ministerial face of the party in the upcoming state assembly election.

&ldquo;For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever&hellip; we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that,&rdquo; he said.

According to sources in the Mulayam camp, the SP patriarch reportedly maintained that he will remain the party`s national president.

He has also urged Akhilesh to withdraw the letter he had sent to the Election Commission (EC) claiming support of 212 out of 229 MLAs.

Mulayam Singh`s confidante Shivpal Yadav and close aide Amar Singh were not present at the meeting, reports ANI.&nbsp;

The SP has been battling a damaging power struggle between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, the younger brother of Mulayam, for months.

Matters came to a head on the New Year&rsquo;s Day when Akhilesh ousted Mulayam to take over as the SP chief at an &ldquo;emergency party meeting&rdquo; called by Ramgopal.&nbsp;

On Monday, Ramgopal asked the poll panel to expedite the verification of the affidavits of support submitted by their camp so that a decision on the party symbol could be taken at the earliest.

The two leaders had separate meetings with the EC over who should be awarded the party&rsquo;s cycle symbol.&nbsp;

The EC is yet to pronounce its ruling.

The state of Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on February 11, in a seven-phase election that concludes on March 8.&nbsp;

The SP is hoping to retain power in what is likely to be a fiercely contested election come February. 
&nbsp;

Mulayam Singh has urged Akhilesh to withdraw the letter he had sent to the Election Commission (EC) claiming support of 212 out of 229 MLAs

Reconciliation efforts in the Yadav clan seem to be gaining pace, with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav meeting his father and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday. After a ninety minute long meeting between the two on Tuesday morning, Mulayam Singh assured that his son, Akhilesh Yadav will be the chief ministerial face of the party in the upcoming state assembly election. “For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever… we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that,” he said. According to sources in the Mulayam camp, the SP patriarch reportedly maintained that he will remain the party`s national president. He has also urged Akhilesh to withdraw the letter he had sent to the Election Commission (EC) claiming support of 212 out of 229 MLAs. Mulayam Singh`s confidante Shivpal Yadav and close aide Amar Singh were not present at the meeting, reports ANI. The SP has been battling a damaging power struggle between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, the younger brother of Mulayam, for months. Matters came to a head on the New Year’s Day when Akhilesh ousted Mulayam to take over as the SP chief at an “emergency party meeting” called by Ramgopal. On Monday, Ramgopal asked the poll panel to expedite the verification of the affidavits of support submitted by their camp so that a decision on the party symbol could be taken at the earliest. The two leaders had separate meetings with the EC over who should be awarded the party’s cycle symbol. The EC is yet to pronounce its ruling. The state of Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on February 11, in a seven-phase election that concludes on March 8. The SP is hoping to retain power in what is likely to be a fiercely contested election come February.

Akhilesh will be the face of CM for Uttar Pradesh elections, 2017: Mulayam Singh Yadav

Rebutting the charge of Opposition parties that the annual federal budget was being deliberately presented ahead of the assembly elections in five states, the government said the federal budget was an annual constitutional exercise covering the entire country and not just a few states.

The federal government was replying to the Election Commission which had asked it to respond to a representation by opposition parties urging the poll panel to make the government postpone the budget till assembly polls are over, PTI reported.

The opposition had alleged that the budget would be used to woo voters in the poll-bound states.

The cabinet secretariat replied to the Election Commission today.

The government said that advancing the budget presentation was necessary as it would ensure that all budgetary provisions were allocated to different sectors from April 1, the beginning of the new fiscal.

The budget is usually presented around the last week of February and, as a result, the approval of the budget spills over to the next financial year, delaying the start of new programmes, the government said.

The Budget Session has been convened from January 31 when the President will address the joint sitting of the two Houses. The federal budget and the Economic Survey are to be presented the next day.

The parliamentary committees have already been informed to study budgetary proposals in the recess period between February 10 and March 8, the government had said earlier.

It said that the government had made its intentions clear to advance the session in September last year and the federal cabinet had also cleared the proposal.

The opposition parties had written to the President and the Election Commission objecting to the presentation of the federal budget on February 1 ahead of the assembly elections and demanded that the government be asked to defer the annual exercise till March 8, the last day of voting.

A delegation of opposition parties comprising Congress, JD U(), BSP, SP, DMK and RJD had met chief election commissioner, Nasim Zaidi, on January 5, urging it to defer the budget presentation till March 8 at the least. 
 
Punjab and Goa go to polls on February 4 and the last phase of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur will be held on March 8.

(WION with inputs from PTI) 
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The opposition parties had alleged that the presentation of the budget was being pushed ahead to woo voters in the poll-bound states.

Rebutting the charge of Opposition parties that the annual federal budget was being deliberately presented ahead of the assembly elections in five states, the government said the federal budget was an annual constitutional exercise covering the entire country and not just a few states. The federal government was replying to the Election Commission which had asked it to respond to a representation by opposition parties urging the poll panel to make the government postpone the budget till assembly polls are over, PTI reported. The opposition had alleged that the budget would be used to woo voters in the poll-bound states. The cabinet secretariat replied to the Election Commission today. The government said that advancing the budget presentation was necessary as it would ensure that all budgetary provisions were allocated to different sectors from April 1, the beginning of the new fiscal. The budget is usually presented around the last week of February and, as a result, the approval of the budget spills over to the next financial year, delaying the start of new programmes, the government said. The Budget Session has been convened from January 31 when the President will address the joint sitting of the two Houses. The federal budget and the Economic Survey are to be presented the next day. The parliamentary committees have already been informed to study budgetary proposals in the recess period between February 10 and March 8, the government had said earlier. It said that the government had made its intentions clear to advance the session in September last year and the federal cabinet had also cleared the proposal. The opposition parties had written to the President and the Election Commission objecting to the presentation of the federal budget on February 1 ahead of the assembly elections and demanded that the government be asked to defer the annual exercise till March 8, the last day of voting. A delegation of opposition parties comprising Congress, JD U(), BSP, SP, DMK and RJD had met chief election commissioner, Nasim Zaidi, on January 5, urging it to defer the budget presentation till March 8 at the least. Punjab and Goa go to polls on February 4 and the last phase of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur will be held on March 8. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Budget covers entire country, not few states: Indian Govt to election body on advancing budget date