Following a hung result in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation elections, both the Congress and BJP are claiming they will secure the Mayor's position. Congress emerged as the single largest party, but the BJP claims to have support from Congress corporators.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which withdrew support from the ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, of pursuing a politics of blackmail and adopting undemocratic methods. State BJP president G Kishan Reddy refuted MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's allegation of connivance between the Congress government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Bharatiya Janata Party combine.
Congress on Monday claimed that the United Progressive Alliance government is "strong and stable" despite the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen becoming the third constituent to withdraw support after Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Babualal Marandi's Jharkhand outfit.
A local court in Andhra Pradesh on Monday extended till February 5 the judicial remand of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, accused of sedition and criminal conspiracy for his "hate speech."
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Editor in chief of the popular Urdu daily, Siasat, Zahid Ali Khan, says that the speech was a desperate attempt to garner Muslim votes.
Although sources in Jaganmohan Reddy's party say that a patch-up between the YSR Congress and the Congress in highly unlikely, they would still prefer Pranab for President as the UPA is better than the BJP-led NDA, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The Adilabad court on Wednesday directed the authorities of the Adilabad jail where Akbaruddin Owaisi is currently lodged -- to treat the MIM leader as a VIP prisoner. The jail authorities will not have to agree to Owaisi's demands for a different mattress and a cot. He will receive home-cooked food for his meals and may even get a separate television set.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator, who has been accused of sedition, is being questioned on his childhood days, the films he likes, the books he reads as he undergoes a personality test in prison. Police officials and psychiatrists are on the job. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Asaduddin Owaisi said that the high court judgment was a big set back for the Muslim community. "it is a huge disappointment to the Muslim boys and girls who were dreaming a better future because of this 4 per cent quota. Now what will happen to their aspirations".
Even as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Muslim political party with tremendous clout in Hyderabad, still keeping its cards on Telangana issue close to its chest, several other Muslim organisations have become active in support of the Telangana state.
More than four years after they were "falsely implicated" in criminal cases in the aftermath of the bomb blast in Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, 70 Muslim youth will now get a sum of Rs 70 lakh from the Andhra Pradesh government as "compensation" in line with the recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities.
Most parts of Hyderabad remained shut on Saturday after several Muslim organisations, including the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, called for a strike to mark the 16th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Shops remained closed and roads wore a deserted look in the old city, where thousands of policemen, along with two companies of the Rapid Action Force, maintained a tight vigil. All educational institutions, business establishments remained shut.
The ruling Congress party has emerged as the single largest party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation by winning 52 of the 150 seats, results of which were announced on Thursday. However, the hopes of the Congress leaders of sweeping the elections and bagging two-third of the seats were dashed.
'Some of his ministers have performed abysmally, and Bommai has faced an unwanted campaign of religious polarisation imposed by national BJP leaders.'
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi will join hands with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen to fight the corporation elections together. Vicky Nanjappa reports
From all indications, Sunil Kanugolu is here to stay, though whether his magic will help the Congress in the northern states in the Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen, wonders Aditi Phadnis.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party have finally reached an electoral alliance in Andhra Pradesh.
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
Ending weeks of acrimonious spats and mudslinging, the BJP and its ruling ally Shiv Sena have finally worked out the modalities for running the KDMC.
Ahead of the crucial trust vote in the Maharashtra assembly, the Shiv Sena has come out in the open criticising their former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Notwithstanding exit polls giving a clear mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Friday said the party still prefers to support a Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
Booth-level surveys conducted by political parties say the electorate voted differently in the 119 assembly and 17 Lok Sabha segments in Telangana. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Wednesday is a historic day for the 2.8 crore voters from Telangana as they exercise their franchise for electing the first government of the new state that will formally come into existence on June 2.
As leaders go, while Modi's visits to the state will be watched with curiosity, Rahul will need to be dislodged from the popular consciousness -- Tamil Nadu is one state where he's present, notes Aditi Phadnis.
TDP Telangana unit president Ramana said they favoured a 'grand alliance' for the elections in the interest of Telangana people.
YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy's unexpected release on bail -- after spending 16 months behind bars on charges of corruption -- has set many tongues wagging.
As TDP maintains a distance from the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party may get a new alliance partner in the form of Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Vicky Nanjappa reports on the changing political scenarios in the newly-formed regions of Telangana and Seema-Andhra in this election season.
Lateef Mohammed Khan, convenor, Muslim Forum for Telangana, speaks with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about the mindset of the Muslims in the Telangana region and also explains why the MIM is worried about the formation or a de-merger of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
The Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are talking about secularism only to cover up their failures in governance and corruption, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu alleged in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Both the TRS and Congress are desperately looking for alliances to form the first government in Telangana, however, the last resort for both of them will be to join hands. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
In an exclusive interaction with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Congress MP Goud says that he is certain that the Telangana sentiment will work for him in Nizamabad. As he prepares for hectic campaigning, the leader says that the BJP, which was initially expecting to make some gains in the newly-formed state, has wasted its chances after it aligned with the Telugu Desam Party.