The Bharatiya Janata Party has entered into post-poll alliances with rivals Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in some municipal councils in Maharashtra, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday rejected the tie-ups and warned of action against party leaders involved.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, attended a feast hosted by BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, sparking speculation about his political future.
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan criticized Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's allegations of corruption in the Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, suggesting they are politically motivated ahead of upcoming elections.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
The BJP is expected to win the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections for the fourth consecutive time, owing to its strong organization and the influence of prominent leaders. The party has maintained its dominance in Nagpur since 2007.
Bangla Inside Story: Players kept mum in-front of Nazrul, BCB's annual income could dwindle by 60%
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS release a joint manifesto for Mumbai civic polls, promising free power, allowances for domestic helps, and property tax waivers.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dramatically turned up at the residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
Parties in Maharashtra are engaged in intense negotiations to finalize seat sharing arrangements for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against Enforcement Directorate searches linked to I-PAC, signaling a show of strength ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The march featured cultural elements and participation from party members and celebrities.
United States President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark and several European countries unless they agree to sell Greenland to the United States, framing the move as a national security imperative amid Chinese and Russian interest in the territory.
Analysis of election expenditure reports reveals Congress spent more on propaganda and social media, while BJP's overall expenses were higher in the Delhi assembly elections.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refuted BJP's claims of Congress funding Bihar elections and defended the state's decision on mandatory permissions for using public premises, stating it's a continuation of a previous BJP policy.
The Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) have announced a state-level coordination committee to prepare for upcoming local body elections. The MVA clarified that no proposal has been received regarding an alliance with the MNS.
The Supreme Court has addressed the issue of reservation quotas in Maharashtra local body elections, stating that the final results of elections in 57 local bodies, where the 50% quota ceiling has been breached, will depend on its judgment in the case.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the home of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for the Bihar legislative assembly elections on Monday. The announcement will be made at a press conference at 4 pm.
Whichever combination finally emerges, Malegaon could set a record for being a town run neither by Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti, nor by the Opposition MVA, but by a combination of two or three Muslim parties.
Twelve newly-elected councillors in the Ambernath Municipal Council, suspended by the Congress for joining a post-poll front led by the BJP, have formally joined the saffron party. The Congress criticized the BJP, highlighting the hypocrisy of welcoming defectors despite the Chief Minister's disapproval of the alliance.
In the fourth such instance, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Tuesday walked out of the state assembly without reading his customary address after alleging that the national anthem was insulted, evoking a sharp response from Chief Minister M K Stalin, who dubbed his action as an 'insult' to the House and the people of the state.
The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will contest the January 15 polls to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune municipal corporations separately after seat-sharing talks failed. Leaders from both parties are blaming each other for the breakup. Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.
The UK government has condemned violence in Bangladesh and called for peaceful elections after reports of killings of Hindus and other religious minorities. Concerns were raised in the House of Commons, with calls for UK intervention to protect minorities.
Stepping up political pressure ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress-led Opposition bloc in Assam has lodged an FIR against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Saikia, accusing him of directing BJP MLAs to delete Opposition voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde launched a veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray, invoking characters from a film to criticize Thackeray's leadership and policies ahead of upcoming municipal elections. Shinde highlighted government initiatives and defended his position, while also criticizing the opposition's performance.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah like Nabin because they know he will never answer back, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Shiv Sena and NCP form an alliance with an independent member to stake claim to rule the Ambernath Municipal Council, keeping the BJP away from power.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging interference and obstruction by the West Bengal government, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its probe into an alleged coal-pilferage scam. The ED claims Banerjee removed key evidence during raids on I-PAC offices and the premises of its director, Pratik Jain.
Publishing and transmitting synthetically generated information is a deep threat and challenge because of its ability to masquerade as the truth, it said in a communication addressed to party presidents, chairpersons and general secretaries.
The State Election Commission will adopt the voters' list of the assembly elections for civic polls, the Bombay high court was told on Tuesday, while hearing a plea by an 18-year-old woman who claimed her application to enrol as a voter after she turned 18 in April 2025 was not accepted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday charged the Trinamool Congress government with 'playing with national security by protecting infiltrators' for vote-bank politics, and said ending the ruling party's 'maha jungle raj' was vital to restore law and order, development and investor confidence in the state.
The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh was published after a special intensive revision exercise, with 12.55 crore voters retained out of 15.44 crore listed earlier. Around 2.89 crore voters were excluded due to deaths, migration, or multiple registrations.
Senior DMK leader I Periyasamy reiterated that Chief Minister M K Stalin is firm against sharing power with allies, dismissing any possibility of a coalition government in Tamil Nadu.
The BJP withdrew Pooja More-Jadhav's candidature in the Pune civic polls after old videos surfaced showing her making remarks against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife.
Voters in Bihar's Jehanabad and Ghosi express their hopes for change, particularly regarding job creation and development, in the upcoming government following the state elections.
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