EVMs taken inside a hotel in Bihar, poll official served notice
Muzaffarpur (Bihar): A poll official here was on Tuesday served a show cause notice for keeping six EVMs inside a hotel room while voting was on in Bihar in the fifth phase.
The district authorities have, however, asserted that none of the machines were used or their seals broken.
The matter had come to light Monday when several local leaders of the opposition Mahagathbandhan noticed that poll-related paraphernalia were being taken inside a hotel by sector magistrate Awadhesh Kumar and raised an alarm.
A show cause notice has been issued to Kumar for his action which went against the rules. EVMs are not supposed to be kept at any place other than in the strong room or the assigned polling booth. In addition to the sector magistrate, action may be taken against five police personnel who had helped him in unloading the EVMs at the hotel, Muzaffarpur district magistrate, Alok Ranjan Ghosh, who is also the district election officer, said.
He, however, dismissed allegations of suspected misuse saying None of the EVMs were used for voting and all were sealed. These were kept in reserve, meant for replacement in case of a snag being reported from anywhere.
A demonstration against it was staged by local leaders of 'Mahagathbandhan' (opposition alliance) partner Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), a fledgling outfit, which has fielded its candidate Rajbhushan Chaudhary from the seat and the RJD which is the largest constituent of the opposition formation.
The Mahagathbandhan leaders alleged that the incident pointed towards an attempt to rig the polls by the local administration in favor of the NDA, which is in power in Bihar.
The NDA has fielded sitting BJP MP Ajay Nishad from the seat
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Himanta resigns as Assam CM, paving way for formation of new govt
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday resigned along with his cabinet colleagues, paving the way for formation of a new government led by the BJP, officials said.
The BJP-led NDA bagged 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. The assembly elections were held in a single phase on April 9, and counting of votes took place on May 4.
"Following the formal notification of the results of #AssamElections2026 and to enable the formation of the new government, Dr @himantabiswa tendered his resignation as Chief Minister along with that of the council of Ministers to Hon'ble Governor Shri @Laxmanacharya54 today at Lok Bhawan," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.
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The Governor has accepted the resignation, and requested Sarma to continue as the caretaker CM till the new government assumes office, it said.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the Lok Bhawan, Sarma said the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place after May 11.
“As it was a historic win, we have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grace the occasion," he said.
The new Assam chief minister will be selected at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in presence of central observers, Sarma said.
