Alka Dhupkar
'Post-poll harassment of voters is real, totaliser can curb it'
N Gopalaswami was India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) from June 30, 2006 to April 20, 2009. A totaliser prototype was made and demonstrated to political parties in his tenure. While he believes that EVMs cannot be hacked, he told TOI+ that totalisers can reduce the post-result harassment of voters. Edited excerpts from the interview:
- Alka DhupkarSunil Baghel
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Dear voter, do you know how ‘secret’ is your ‘secret vote’?
Armed with EVM data, political leaders can pinpoint neighbourhoods – even buildings – that have voted against them. Some have issued veiled threats to voters who chose their rivals. A machine developed 16 years ago could have ended this menace, but the government is not keen to introduce it
- Alka DhupkarSunil Baghel
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Meet the people who have made Constitution simpler for commoners
Is the Constitution a jargon-filled document meant only for legal experts? Some concerned citizens believe it’s a document that empowers every Indian. They have volunteered to explain it to the common people in plain language so as to cultivate ‘constitutional morality’ in society, as BR Ambedkar emphasised
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Was this Mumbai poll rigged like Chandigarh mayor election?
Just 48 votes separated the winner (Ravindra Dattaram Waikar - right) from the runner-up (Amol Gajanan Kirtikar- left) in Mumbai North West constituency, but were rules bent and did an OTP change the result? The losing side thinks so
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Why mid-term polls in NDA 3.0 is a possibility
Narendra Modi is opposed to the idea of compromises and give and take. That’s why if push comes to shove, he might seek the people’s mandate again, says political scientist Suhas Palshikar
- Alka DhupkarArun George
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Maha debacle: What next for Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, Shinde?
Fadnavis was tasked to win 40+ seats to make BJP’s ‘abki baar 400 paar’ target possible. He broke one family, two parties and tied up with a third. Yet, the coalition he led (BJP+Shinde Sena+Ajit Pawar’s NCP) could win only 17. Where does he go from here?
Why is this Padma Shri winner toiling as a manual labourer?
In 2022, kinnera maestro Darshanam Mogulaiah had a hit Tollywood song, a Padma Shri and a ₹1 crore cash prize from the government. Two years later, he is struggling to make ends meet
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Why and how rationalist Narendra Dabholkar was murdered
A Pune court on May 10 found two accused guilty in the 2013 murder case of activist Narendra Dabholkar. The other three, including the key accused, were acquitted
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Prosecutor who sent Kasab to death on why he's fighting polls
The BJP has fielded lawyer Ujjwal Nikam from the Mumbai North Central seat, replacing sitting MP Poonam Mahajan. Nikam, best known for his role as special public prosecutor in the 26/11 accused Ajmal Kasab case, says national security is his top priority in this election
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
104 FIRs, but there’s no stopping this BJP MLA’s hate speeches
When it comes to abusing Muslims, T Raja Singh is a serial offender. But he is never punished. For how long can he get away from doing so under the guise of free speech?
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
‘Patients have stopped medication and suffered due to Patanjali’s ads’
Dr Jayesh Lele, honorary secretary general of the Indian Medical Association, explains why the Supreme Court’s actions against Patanjali have come late and what more needs to be done
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Modi, Rahul or someone else: Who will GenZ vote for?
TOI+ speaks to first-time voters, aged 18-23, across India to understand their hopes and expectations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
How BJP’s overseas friends are working online and offline to ensure Modi 3.0
The saffron party is said to enjoy the support of 6mn out of the 32mn-strong Indian diaspora. Hundreds of volunteers are arriving in India to give the final push to BJP’s election campaign
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
‘India could become a weak electoral democracy...that’s my worry’
Eminent political scientist Suhas Palshikar explains the challenges Opposition parties face in taking on the BJP in spite of many of their leaders being jailed
- Alka DhupkarArun George
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
‘Why must married women ask government or ex to retain their maiden name?’
A recent government notification requiring a husband's NOC for married women to revert to their maiden surnames, which is being challenged in the Delhi High Court, has caused much outrage. Here’s a look at how it tramples over women’s rights
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
I’m fighting the BJP, not Sunetra Pawar: Supriya Sule
The three-term MP from Baramati, pitted against her sister-in-law, insists there is no rift in the family even though her father, Sharad Pawar, has lost control of the NCP that he founded to his nephew
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Why WHO says obesity is India’s next big health crisis
In a country that has a high burden of heart ailments, the Lancet reports that 80mn Indians, including 10mn in the 5-19 age group, are obese, and why urgent steps need to be taken
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
'Congress ready to fight BJP, just as it fought the British'
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera talks about why he doesn’t believe the 2024 general elections is a foregone conclusion for his party, and how it plans to take on the BJP despite it facing a financial crisis
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
‘Only Ashok Chavan knows why he quit. Congress is not in crisis’
Ramesh Chennithala, the Congress party’s man in-charge for Maharashtra, explains why the former chief minister’s exit says more about the desperation in the BJP ranks than the Congress
- Alka Dhupkar
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM