If the BJP has to work as a junior partner of Vijay's TVK, then either the party will have to change the state leader, or the latter should change himself. Incidentally, ever since Vijay started talking politics and elections, the pro-BJP/Hindutva social media had stopped dragging his name into any non-existing issue.' In particular, they have stopped referring to him by his Christian name, 'Joseph Vijay', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Security was beefed up on Monday a day after a row broke out over the removal of a saffron Hanuman flag from Keragodu village in Mandya, with protests demanding its restoration and the incident sparking a political confrontation between the Congress government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular).
MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges the state government's three-language formula is a precursor to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, speaking at a rally with Uddhav Thackeray.
Referring to Abdullah's comments, Saamana claimed that Congress actively contributed to AAP's defeat in at least 14 seats in Delhi, which could have been avoided.
A police officer in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has sparked outrage after suggesting that those uncomfortable with Holi colors should remain indoors, drawing criticism from opposition parties who accused him of bias and demanded action. The officer's remarks came during a peace committee meeting ahead of Holi, which coincides with Friday prayers during Ramzan. Opposition leaders condemned the statements, calling them "condemnable" and accusing the officer of acting as a "BJP agent." They demanded action against him for his "political statement." The incident comes after violence erupted in Sambhal last year during protests against a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque.
Delhi recorded a voter turnout of over 19 per cent in the first four hours of polling on Wednesday across 70 assembly constituencies, with the highest voter participation witnessed in North East district.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra hit back at the Congress a day after it cited some audio clips to accuse some saffron party leaders, including Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, of conspiring to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in the state.
"I condemn is the strongest terms the statement he has made about Sikhs not being able to wear turbans and kadas," the BJP leader from the Sikh community said.
A group of villagers in Maharashtra's Malshiras assembly segment, who had insisted on a "re-election" with ballot papers, have relented after police intervention. The villagers, who claimed the NCP (SP) candidate, Uttam Jankar, had polled less votes in their village than the BJP candidate, Ram Satpute, had planned to hold their own "repoll" on December 3. However, police warned them of legal action, and Jankar, along with police officials, had a meeting with the villagers, who ultimately decided to drop their plan. Despite this, they plan to continue their protest by other means.
'In a bid to polarise the people of India, the BJP govt went all out in promoting the movie, resulting in a huge embarrassment for India on the international scale'
Led by Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule, Group 7 will engage with key countries in Africa -- Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia -- and Qatar to present India's position on Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
A video showing a Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party leader allegedly trying to bribe a kin of a former Chief Justice of India to get a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case aired on the last day of campaigning before polling on May 12.
BJP leaders hit back at the DMK and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if he agreed with the insulting remarks of its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partner against the north Indians.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has hit out at the Opposition for initiating impeachment notices against Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Allahabad high court's Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, saying 'whoever speaks the truth' is threatened in this way.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Pangarkar joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
The Congress on Tuesday said the row between Salman Khurshid and Election Commission on minority sub quota issue is over with the Law Minister writing a regret letter to poll panel.
He also hit out at the Congress' state president DK Shivakumar, accusing him of spreading lies and inciting people.
Election Commission on Tuesday directed social media platform 'X' to 'immediately' take down an animated video shared by the Karnataka unit of the BJP related to the row over reservation for the Muslim community.
A victim of alleged human trafficking and forceful conversion in Chhattisgarh claims she was coerced by Bajrang Dal activists to give a false statement. She also alleges police did not record her statement properly and that the arrested nuns are innocent.
A media suggested the Parliament staff will have a new dress code with the Lotus printed on it.
With BJP workers staging agitations across the state demanding that Thol Thirumavalavan apologise for his remark allegedly denigrating women, the VCK cadres countered it by flash protests and they allegedly attacked saffron party office-bearers at Madurai.
Yogendra Yadav, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), believes the party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls is a setback for the entire opposition and raises questions about its future. He attributed the loss to factors like the liquor scam, the 'Sheesh Mahal' row, and the constant fights between the Delhi LG and the AAP government.
Prajwal Revanna's former car driver Karthik and Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Devaraje Gowda accused each other of leaking the alleged sleaze videos of the Janata Dal-Secular Hassan MP which has caused a big embarrassment to the regional party.
The director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, V Kamakoti, has sparked controversy after making a remark about the "medicinal value" of cow urine, or "gomutra." Kamakoti, while speaking at an event celebrating Maatu Pongal (a festival dedicated to cows and bulls), cited an anecdote about a sanyasi who was cured of a fever by consuming gomutra. He also claimed that gomutra has "anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and digestive properties." The remark has been widely condemned by rationalist organizations, political leaders, and medical professionals who have criticized Kamakoti's statements as "pseudoscience" and "regressive." The controversy highlights the ongoing debate in India around traditional beliefs and scientific evidence.
It had given the BJP a tough fight in 2017 winning 77 of the 182 seats at stake.
A day after the Congress accused Uddhav Thackeray of unilaterally announcing his party's candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra legislative council polls, the two parties finalised a deal on Wednesday under which the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest three out of four seats, while the grand old party will fight one.
The Congress has been in the crosshairs after demeaning remarks on Ranaut and Mandi were posted on the social media handles of its leaders Supriya Shrinate and H S Ahir.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the CM said, "There is no situation for revisiting it at the government level. There is no such intention, there is no such proposal."
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said the guarantee schemes need to be reviewed so that only the economically weaker sections, and not the rich, benefit from them, sparking a debate on the ambitious programmes launched by the Congress government.
The move by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Rahul Kharge comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi returning the 14 sites to Mysuru Urban Development Authority after the Lokayukta police registered a case against Siddaramaiah, his wife and brother-in-law.
A resident of Jainabad in the Chinhat area in Lucknow, Mohit Kumar was arrested in connection with a case on Saturday.
Pradhan further said the opposition had a chance to raise this issue during the motion of thanks to the President's address and asserted the government was ready for any type of discussion.
Rijiju's meeting with Bandyopadhyay came against the backdrop of the Opposition alliance's decision to pull out its members from the panel of chairpersons that will assist Mahtab in conducting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker on Wednesday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed officials on Saturday to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers regarding Waqf land.
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy in a press conference claimed that the adulteration has been confirmed by a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory, on the ghee samples provided by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
'Where would a person living in the forest for 14 years go to find vegetarian food? Is it correct or not (question to the public)? Tell me when I am telling the truth'
Asansol is home to a sizeable migrant population, and the BJP had hoped that Singh would be an effective counter to Sinha, the actor-politician who was in the saffron party for decades before walking out in 2019.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and party's candidate from Kalkaji, Ramesh Bidhuri, has yet again courted controversy by allegedly saying that after victory in the Delhi assembly polls next month, he will develop smooth roads in the constituency like Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's 'cheeks'.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
