-The Hindu Miscreants opposing panchayat polls torch houses, schools; ethnic clashes trigger exodus Guwahati: At least 12 persons including three women were killed — 10 persons in police firing and two in ethnic clashes between Rabha and non-Rabha groups in Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) areas in southern Assam’s Goalpara district on Tuesday. The clashes have triggered huge exodus of people from the affected and nearby villages. Fleeing villagers have taken shelter in...

-The Hindu When a political party puts up candidates with criminal charges, it results in the alienation of large sections of people from the political class and politics itself When the Election Commission of India turned 60 on January 25, 2010, The Hindu opened its lead editorial of January 29 with the words, “After overseeing 15 General Elections to the Lok Sabha, the ECI, in its diamond jubilee year, can with justifiable...

-The Hindu The incorporation of the Aadhar number in the electoral rolls will help to minimise malpractices and enable more people to participate in elections Every October, the Election Commission begins the annual exercise of revising the electoral rolls with the following January 1 as the effective date. This October, there was another important news — the launching of Aadhar enabled service delivery in Dudu in Rajasthan. The EC and Aadhar can...

The results for the assembly elections held across five Indian states, announced yesterday, threw up some surprises. But a welcome surprise in these elections was the high voter turn out. Voters, and particularly women voters, went to the polls in unexpectedly high numbers. Voter turnout jumped nearly 50 percent in one state, Uttar Pradesh, and women voted at higher rates than men in all five states that had elections. Activists credit...

A government panel has floated the idea of making voting compulsory in civic and panchayat elections, with a fine of Rs 25 for anyone who chooses not to vote despite the absence of disabling circumstances. The panchayati raj ministry task force has argued that higher polling is likely to reduce the influence of money power on election results. A low turnout suggests that only committed voters and those who have accepted money...