Sapphire news

Tejashwi Yadav claims Vaishali MP Veena Devi has two EPIC numbers

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Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. File | Photo Credit: ANI On the second consecutive day, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday (August 14, 2025) claimed that Vaishali MP Veena Devi’s husband and Janata Dal-(United) MLC Dinesh Singh also has two voter I-cards. In a post on ‘X’ Mr. … Read more

Political parties say they have filed many claims and objections after Bihar draft roll, though ECI lists zero complaints

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Even as the Election Commission maintains that no claims and objections have been filed by political parties over names wrongfully included or excluded in the draft electoral list in Bihar, political workers — including Booth Level Agents (BLA) on the ground — claim that they have filed many such complaints. In fact, party workers say … Read more

The post of Deputy Speaker is not symbolic or optional

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The Office of the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is not merely a ceremonial seat but also a constitutional imperative. Mandated under Article 93 of the Constitution of India, this role is not just supplementary to the Speaker’s. It is vital for the uninterrupted functioning of the lower House of Parliament. However, in recent … Read more

Election Commission of India delists 334 registered unrecognised political parties for failure to follow norms

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Representative image | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Election Commission of India on Saturday (August 9, 2025) said it has delisted 334 Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) after an inquiry. If a party does not contest elections continuously for six years, it will be taken off the list of registered parties, the guidelines for the … Read more

ECI again asks Rahul Gandhi to submit evidence of irregularity in Karnataka Assembly election under oath

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Election Commission of India (ECI) again asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit under oath the allegations made by him on voter roll manipulation in a Karnataka Assembly Constituency.  The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday (August 9, 2025) again asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit under oath the allegations made by him … Read more

No name will be deleted without notice, says ECI on Bihar SIR

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Election Commission of India (ECI) assured the Supreme Court that deletion of voters’ names in the Bihar draft electoral roll, published on August 1 as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, would be done only after issuing prior notice indicating the grounds for the action. The Election Commission of India (ECI) assured the … Read more

Bihar leaders find SIR draft rolls ‘difficult’ to compare

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Opposition parties in Bihar on Monday, August 4, 2025, accused the ECI of “deliberately” making it “difficult” for them to compare the electoral rolls issued ahead of the Lok Sabha election in January 2024 with the draft rolls published on August 1. Photo credit: X/ AICC Opposition parties in Bihar on Monday (August 4, 2025) … Read more

​Power and agenda: On the AIADMK-BJP alliance

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AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s assertion that Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while in Chennai last week, did not talk of power sharing in the event of the victory of the newly stitched AIADMK-BJP alliance in the 2026 Assembly election, is not surprising given the State’s contemporary political history. Tamil … Read more

NDA seeks legal action against Tejashwi Yadav for allegedly holding two Voter ID cards

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BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok with JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar addresses a joint press conference of the NDA spokespersons, at Atal Sabhagar, BJP Headquarters, in Patna on August 3, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday (August 3, 2025) urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take cognisance … Read more

‘Politics of religion’: BJP criticises Mamata for ₹1.1 lakh grant to community Durga Pujas

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File | Photo Credit: PTI The BJP criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of indulging in politics of religion over her announcement of a Rs 1.1 lakh government grant for community Durga Pujas. BJP’s state general secretary Agnimitra Paul on Saturday (August 2, 2025) alleged that … Read more

Senior Bihar Congress leader Ashok Kumar joins JD(U)

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Ashok Kumar joins JD(U) in the presence of party leaders, including Sanjay Jha. Videograb: X/@Jduonline In Bihar, where State Assembly elections are just months away, senior State Congress Party leader Ashok Kumar (Ram) on Sunday (August 3, 2025) joined the ruling party Janata Dal (United), alleging that the party has no “respect for Dalit”. Mr. … Read more

ECI asks Tejashwi Yadav to hand over his EPIC card after his name was found on the draft poll roll under a different number

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The Election Commission of India has written a letter to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to provide details of EPIC number, a day after he raked up controversy that his name is missing from the draft electoral rolls published on August 1, 2025. The Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition … Read more

Bihar SIR: Draft poll roll is out, voters dip by 65 lakh

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The number of voters in Bihar has dropped by 65 lakh, according to Bihar’s draft electoral roll, which was published by the Election Commission on Friday after the completion of the first phase of its Special Intensive Revision exercise. More than 7.24 crore electors in the State filled up enumeration forms and have been included … Read more

Nitish government doubles honorariums of cooks, watchmen, health instructors at Bihar schools

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File photo of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. | Photo Credit: ANI The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Friday (August 1, 2025) doubled the honorarium for cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors working in government schools. The announcement was made with months left for the Assembly elections in the State. “Cooks, … Read more

Mass inclusion, and not exclusion, should be the goal of the Bihar SIR, says Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court on Monday (July 28, 2025) pushed harder for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept Aadhaar and the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) as identity documents in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying “mass inclusion” and not “en masse exclusion” should be the outcome of the exercise in the poll-bound … Read more

Bihar rumblings: On political parties and the Bihar poll

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Parties and alliances, and variegated caste and interest groups, are repositioning themselves to optimise their strengths in Bihar before the Assembly election which is due later this year. After the BJP’s victory in Haryana for a third time in a row and the NDA recouping its losses in the 2024 general election to return to … Read more

Clearing the air on ‘citizenship’ in Bihar poll roll revision

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It is fundamental that unless a person is a citizen of India he cannot be an elector. Consequently, he cannot become a legislator also. Therefore, it is very surprising that some seasoned politicians have raised objections to the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar (where Assembly elections are … Read more

Bihar Assembly polls: Nitish government hikes monthly pension of retired journalists by ₹9,000 to ₹15,000

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File photo of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. | Photo Credit: ANI Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday (July 26, 2025) announced an increase in the pension of retired journalists under the ‘Bihar Patrakar Samman’ scheme by ₹9,000 per month. Now, all eligible retired journalists, registered with the Bihar government, will receive ₹15,000 per month … Read more

Any of the 11 documents accepted for SIR verification are susceptible to falsification: petitioner counters EC in Supreme Court

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A Booth Level Officer (BLO) checks documents during Special Investigation Revision to electoral roll Drive at Kamalpur Village under Jalalgarh Block in Purnia district in Bihar. | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP Petitioner-NGO Association for Democratic Reforms on Saturday (July 26, 2025) countered the Election Commission of India’s (EC) refusal to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID, … Read more

Bihar SIR: survey of 338 migrant workers finds that over one-third of them do not have documents sought by EC

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BLOs fill and collect the counting forms from the electors in Patepur block of Vaishali, Bihar. | Photo Credit: ANI Around 68% of the migrant workers from Bihar working in different parts of the country do not have the correct information on the documents required for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls … Read more

Married women facing the heat of SIR in Bihar

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Married women born between July 1, 1987 to December 2, 2004 and born after December 2, 2004 are at the receiving end in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as they need to provide the documents related to the maternal house (Maika) instead of in-laws (Sasural). On the last day of form submission many women … Read more