EC must retain credibility of Seshan's days: SC
New Delhi, Sep 27 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said the credibility the Election Commission gained when it was headed by T.N. Seshan should be seen in the conduct of the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.
"We want it (credibility) to remain here also (in providing the voters list)," a bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan said while deciding to hold a hearing on the plea seeking voters list to weed out bogus voters.
Madhya Pradesh-based Jaya Thakur has moved the top court seeking directions to the Election Commission.
Pointing to the acts of omission and inaction on the part of the Centre, the Election Commission and the State Election Commission in Madhya Pradesh, the petitioner contended that it would impede a free, fair and unbiased election set for later this year.
The court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to dwell on what it meant by the text mode voters list backed with documents and authorities.
Directing the listing of the matter on October 4, the court said that the credibility the Election Commission acquired during Seshan's time should continue.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
