The Odisha Assembly was temporarily adjourned due to a heated exchange between the opposition BJD and the ruling BJP regarding the state's law and order situation, sparked by allegations of rising crime and attacks on public officials.
Ananta Charan Behera went to his former workplace, the Odisha assembly, on Thursday to have a glimpse of President Droupadi Murmu, but was utterly surprised when she spotted him in the crowd and called him by his name.
Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer has ordered a thorough verification of nearly 1 million voter deletions following complaints of wrongful removals, particularly concerning deceased voters and those who may have shifted residences.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
The Odisha Assembly Speaker, Surama Padhy, suspended 12 Congress MLAs for seven days for indiscipline in the House. The suspension followed a motion moved by the government Chief Whip, Saroj Pradhan. The suspended MLAs include the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Rama Chandra Kadam, and other prominent figures. The Congress members protested the decision, playing gongs and demonstrating in the assembly. The opposition BJD condemned the move, calling it motivated to suppress the voice of opposition. The Congress party demanded the withdrawal of the suspension order and criticized the government's actions. The House was adjourned multiple times amid the pandemonium.
Legislators of the opposition BJD in Odisha sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' in the state Assembly, alleging that the House had been "spiritually polluted" by the entry of policemen. The incident follows a protest by Congress members demanding a House Committee to probe crimes against women, which led to police intervention and the eviction of Congress MLAs from the Assembly. BJD members claim the police action was unprecedented and brought shame to Odisha. The Speaker denounced the act, while the Revenue and Disaster Management Minister asserted the House's inherent purity. The opposition also alleged that police prevented BJD MLAs from leaving the assembly premises on the following day.
In terms of MLA salaries, Odisha is followed by Telangana (about Rs 2.7 lakh), Maharashtra (Rs 2.6 lakh), Manipur (Rs 2.5 lakh), and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 2.4 lakh).
The House witnessed a ruckus when Mishra targeted the BJP.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who was chosen as the Biju Janata Dal president for the ninth time in a row, on Saturday called upon party workers to expose the alleged false narrative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
A section of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders in Odisha are expressing discontent over the party's decision to support the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The issue has sparked internal turmoil, with young leaders submitting a memorandum to party president Naveen Patnaik, urging him to address the situation. Patnaik has held meetings with senior leaders, assuring them that necessary action will be taken to mitigate the fallout and maintain the party's secular image.
Move the pointer on the sentiment meter (depending on who you think will get more votes) towards the political parties to see how the outcome is likely to change.
Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), tasked with reviving the party in the state after its crushing defeat in the last year's assembly polls. Sapkal, a veteran politician, replaces Nana Patole, who held the position since 2021. The Congress aims to rebuild its base and prepare for upcoming local body polls, including those in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. The party will also need to work with its allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), to strengthen the opposition against the ruling BJP-led alliance.
The founder of KIIT, Achyuta Samanta, and other top officials of the private engineering college were questioned by a government committee about the alleged suicide of a Nepalese girl in her hostel and the assault on students of her country. The incident sparked outrage in the Odisha Assembly, with opposition members demanding a judicial inquiry. Samanta was questioned for two hours, along with the institute's Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Dean, and two suspended women officials. The committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the student's suicide, the alleged high-handedness of the institute's administration, and the decision to suspend specific students and shut down the institute for them. The Odisha government has assured Nepalese students that it will cover their travel expenses, arrange remedial classes, and reschedule their mid-semester examinations if necessary.
The BJP won 74 seats in the 147-member Odisha assembly and was leading in four more seats, the Election Commission of India.
Here are constituency-wise results mapped for the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha assembly elections 2024.
The results for the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha assembly elections were declared on Tuesday.
A day after his release from Maoist captivity, Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Friday did not rule out the possibility of resigning his membership of Odisha assembly and said he had twice written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue.
In Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, the share of legislators with college degrees increased over the past decade.
The Odisha assembly has a strength of 147 MLAs while there are 21 Lok Sabha MP seats in the state.
Polling for the fourth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will take place on Monday, May 13, 2024, with 96 seats going to the polls across 10 states.
iyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Biseswar Tudu are the 5 Union minsters.
The BJD not only supported the BJP in Parliament on different issues over the last few years but also helped Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw get elected to Rajya Sabha in 2019 and 2024.
The decision was taken because the term of the two Assemblies is till June 2, which means elections have to be wrapped up on or before that date, said the EC, in a press release.
KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were made deputy chief ministers of the state, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday embark on a near two-day meditation exercise at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, and the district has come under a thick security blanket following the high profile event.
Exigencies of electoral politics and individual ambitions often stoke family feuds and sibling rivalries.
Despite the upbeat statement, the party is expected to reflect on what caused the sharp fall in its numbers. It is expected to win about 240 seats against the 303 it had won in 2019.
'The tide started to turn against the BJD when V K Pandian toured the districts gathering people's grievances last year.'
"His own government has destroyed Gandhian institutions in Varanasi, Delhi and Ahmedabad," the Congress leader alleged.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, asserted on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete his full term if elected to power, refuting the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that Modi wants Shah to succeed him after turning 75 next year.
Talks on pre-poll alliance were being held between the ruling Biju Janata Dal and the opposition BJP for the past few days.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
Samal also claimed that the Odisha BJP was confident of winning both the polls.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly and BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra on Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had warned that President's rule will be imposed in the state if the assembly is dissolved early.
'The BJP is not as mighty a political force in Odisha as it is made out to be.'