As many as 1,500, or 19 per cent, of all candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, face criminal cases, according to an analysis by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The rates of price rise in many services used by the common man, including hospital and nursing, cook, domestic help and bus (fare), among others, have also touched double digits during the last four years, putting a burden on disposable income.
From disbursing Rs 25.11 crore to political parties in 2014-2015, the Tata group is learnt to have contributed Rs about Rs 600 crore towards the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The journey for 24-year-old Akash Anand would be much tougher, because dynastic succession goes against the grain of Dalit politics that B R Ambedkar founded.
The BJP's rediscovery of its allies, including the PM touching the feet of Parakash Singh Badal, would be interpreted as the party's efforts to keep its flock together if it falls short of the majority mark on May 23.
Infrastructure projects were the top picks for MPs, with 40% of the total funds spent on the development of railways, roadways, pathways and bridges.
One of Modi's foremost critics will contest if he is the common candidate of a united Opposition, but fielded by the Congress.
CBDT feels 30% growth in income-tax not feasible.
'When you come through the hassles and struggles of business life, your mind is wired differently.' 'You are more connected to reality,' Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral tells Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan
The direct tax collections are likely to fall short of the revised Budget target by Rs 650 billion and, in fact, were Rs 150 billion lower than the original estimate for the fiscal
'The EC is a sacred institution.' 'In the last few years, more than once, we have found the EC bending over backwards to accommodate the government.'
Will 'Bhaiyyaji', as Priyanka is called in UP, contest against Modi?
With Rahul showing a significant lead over Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in opinion polls across southern India but lagging in the north, the Congress believes his contesting from the south will help galvanise cadres.
Some of the key proposals of the agenda relate to transforming the banking sector, addressing agrarian distress, countering hate crimes and discrimination, and spurring employment generation.
The party's research department team, which Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda heads, has sifted through the suggestions received in the last five months, and the manifesto is slated to be released later this month, reports Archis Mohan.
The Congress surveys, at least until now, have indicated the nationalistic fervour over the Pulwama terror attack is more an effort by mainstream media outlets, like news channels and newspapers, to shape a particular narrative, when the people on the ground are still asking basic questions of livelihood, jobs and better price for farm produce.
'Whoever whispered in his ears that go for demonetisation, misled him completely' and the PM lacked the sagacity to know that it would not work, Yashwant Sinha tells Archis Mohan.
The interim Budget has attempted to tick all the boxes that could help the Modi government return to power, reports Archis Mohan.
With the two members quitting, the NSC now has only two members -- Chief Statistician Pravin Srivastava and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
While some in the Congress were apprehensive that land grab allegations against her husband Robert Vadra could turn out to be Priyanka's Achilles heel, much of the BJP leadership opted not to bring up the issue at the current juncture.
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