NOTA voting option can't be permitted in Rajya Sabha polls: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the option of none of the above (NOTA) cannot be permitted in Rajya Sabha elections.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud has set aside the Election Commission's notification allowing NOTA option in the ballot papers for Rajya Sabha polls.

The apex court had questioned the poll panel's notification and said that NOTA was meant to be exercised by individual voters in direct polls.

The verdict came on a plea of Shailesh Manubhai Parmar, who was the Congress's chief whip in the Gujarat assembly during the last Rajya Sabha polls, in which the party had fielded sitting MP Ahmed Patel.

Parmar had challenged the poll panel's notification allowing the NOTA option in ballot papers.

The top court had earlier said by introducing NOTA, the poll panel was legitimising the act of not voting.

The Gujarat Congress leader had alleged that if the NOTA provision was allowed in the Rajya Sabha polls, it would encourage "horse-trading and corruption".

The poll panel had said NOTA was first introduced in 2014 following an apex court verdict a year earlier and they (the Congress) did not have any objection in subsequent polls as it suited them.

Need legal framework to conduct simultaneous polls, says CEC Rawat

Simultaneous elections are not possible without a legal framework as any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies will require a constitutional amendment, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat said on Tuesday, a day after the BJP made a fresh push to hold Lok Sabha and assembly polls together.

Pointing at the need for a legal framework, he virtually ruled out holding simultaneous polls any time soon.

"If the term of some state assemblies needs to be curtailed or extended, then a constitutional amendment will be required... Logistics arrangements with regard to 100 per cent availability of VVPATs (paper trail machines) will be a constraint," he told reporters to a question on whether simultaneous elections can be held anytime soon.

"On the issue of 'one nation one poll', the Election Commission had given inputs and suggestions in 2015 itself... Other requirements of additional police force, polling personnel would also be needed," he said.

The CEC said the poll panel would continue to deliver its responsibility of conducting elections whenever term of the state assemblies come to an end.

Kremlin: Russia election boycott campaign may be illegal

Russian officials should review opposition leader Alexei Navalny's calls for an election boycott to see if they might be breaking the law, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, hinting at possible legal repercussions.

In a widely anticipated decision, Russia's top election body yesterday ruled to formally bar anti-corruption crusader Navalny from running in the presidential election next March.

Navalny promptly put out a video statement, saying that the ban shows that President Vladimir "Putin is terribly scared and is afraid of running against me," and called on his supporters to stay away from the vote in protest.

Putin, who has been in power for 18 years, announced his bid for re-election earlier this month, but so far has refrained from canvassing.

In contrast, his most prominent rival, anti-corruption crusader Navalny has been campaigning aggressively all year, reaching out to the most remote parts of the country. Opinion polls say that Putin should easily win the March vote.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today wouldn't comment on the Election Commission's decision to bar Navalny but said the "calls for boycott ought to be carefully studied to see if they are breaking the law."

Peskov also rejected suggestions that Navalny's absence on the ballot could dent the legitimacy of Putin's possible re-election.
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Gujarat polls: EC bars BJP from using 'Pappu' in electronic advertisement

The Election Commission has barred the ruling BJP in Gujarat from using the word "Pappu" in an electronic advertisement, which apparently targeted Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, calling it "derogatory".

"Pappu" is perceived as a social media slur coined to target Gandhi.

Confirming the development, sources in the BJP today said the script of the advertisement did not link the word to any individual.

According to BJP sources, the media committee under the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement which was submitted by the party for approval last month.

"Before making any election-related advertisement, we have to submit a script to the committee to get a certificate. However, they raised objection to the word 'Pappu', saying it is derogatory. They asked us to remove or replace it," a senior BJP leader said.

He said the party will replace the word and submit a new script for the EC's approval.

"Since there was no direct mention or linkage with any person while mentioning 'Pappu' in the entire script, we had appealed to the committee to reconsider their decision, but they rejected it. Now, we will change that word and submit a new script for approval," he said.

When contacted, Gujarat CEO BB Swain said he was not aware of any such development and can comment only after getting the details tomorrow.
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Gujarat poll dates likely to be out today, to be conducted in 2 phases

Amid the row over the "delay" in declaring the Gujarat Assembly elections, the Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for a two-phase poll in the state on Wednesday, officials said on Tuesday.

The term of the 182-member Gujarat assembly gets over on January 23 next year.

The Commission has been under attack from opposition parties for not having announced the dates for Gujarat Assembly elections along with Himachal Pradesh.

The opposition has been alleging that by "delaying" the announcement of the Gujarat polls, the EC was giving time to the BJP government in the state and at the Centre to sidestep the provisions of the model code and offer sops to the electorate to swing votes in favour of the saffron party.

After the EC did not announce the election schedule for Gujarat, the Congress had alleged it was done to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to play a "false Santa Claus" and announce freebies for voters before the model code of conduct kicked in.

Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti had defended the decision of announcing Himachal Pradesh's poll schedule before that of Gujarat, saying that multiple factors including the weather, flood relief work and festivities were considered before taking a call on election dates.
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Pakistan EC rejects Hafiz Saeed-linked MML's registration application

Pakistan's Election Commission today rejected an application for registration of Milli Muslim League, an offshoot of Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah, as a political party after the Interior Ministry raised objections over its links with the terrorist groups.

The League had applied for registration with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for recognition as a political party so that it could use the platform to contest elections.

The ECP rejected the application after a hearing and asked the party to get clearance from the Interior Ministry which, through a letter, had asked the election commission not to register MML due to its ties to banned terrorist outfits.

"The Interior Ministry's letter mentions that the MML is backed by banned terrorist outfits," chief election commissioner Sardar Raza Khan said.

In a detailed letter last month, the ministry advised the ECP to ban the newly formed MML as it was associated with Saeed, who carries a $10 million US bounty on his head.

Saeed's JuD has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States in June 2014.

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Vice President election 2017: MPs to vote today, result to be out by 7 pm

Ruling NDA's candidate M Venkaiah Naidu is tipped to be India's next vice president as members of Parliament gear up to cast their ballot today.

The name of the next vice president of India will be known today evening after members of Parliament cast their ballot during the day in Parliament House.

The ruling NDA, which has a majority in the Lok Sabha, will find it easy to place its candidate as the next vice president.

The opposition has fielded Gopal Krishna Gandhi against Naidu.

The BJD and the JD(U) which had supported NDA nominee Ramnath Kovind for the post of president, have decided to back opposition nominee Gandhi.

Though the JD(U) has broken ties with 'mahagathbandhan' and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in Bihar, it has decided to vote for Gandhi, a former governor of West Bengal.

Members of Parliament will use special pens for marking their choice in the election to be held between 10 am and 5 pm tomorrow.
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