EC to host int’l conference on democracy, poll management
New Delhi, Jan 7: The Election Commission will host the inaugural India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM) here later this month. The January 21 to 23 conference is being organised by India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), the training arm of EC. IICDEM 2026 will be the largest global conference of its kind hosted by India in the field of election management and democracy, and will be attended by nearly 100 international delegates representing election management bodies (EMBs) from across the world, EC said. Representatives from international organisations, foreign missions in India and academic and practising experts in the field of elections will also attend the event. The conference, the poll authority said, will carry forward the agenda laid out by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar upon India’s assumption of the chairship of the Council of Member States of International IDEA for the year 2026, anchored in the theme “democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient and sustainable world”. (PTI)
Nadda begins 2-day Bengal visit today
New Delhi, Jan 7: BJP national president J P Nadda is set to embark on a two-day visit to West Bengal on Thursday to participate in several meetings and “accelerate” the party’s preparations for the forthcoming assembly polls in the TMC-ruled state. During his visit, Nadda will address district presidents of the BJP, conveners of the party’s various departments and ‘pravasi karyakartas’, the party said in a statement on Wednesday. The BJP chief will also hold a meeting with the West Bengal BJP state core team, it added. The BJP’s preparations for the upcoming West Bengal polls are in full swing with its key strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah leading the party’s electoral foray in the state to unseat the Mamata Banerjee government from power in the state. (PTI)
