Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is open to discussing electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Opposition not to impose a timeline. Opposition parties staged a walkout after demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
This new year will bring, once again, a repetition of both intent and apathy, expects Aakar Patel.
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
A political slugfest broke out between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress on Monday after the latter accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting Bankim Chandra Chatterjee by calling him 'Bankim da', prompting a counter-attack from the saffron party, which accused West Bengal's ruling party of defiling the state's cultural legacy for a decade.
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.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories between November and February, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal will to polls in 2026 and they are amongst the states where the voters' list cleanup exercise will begin first.
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor announces his participation in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, with the candidate list to be revealed on October 9. He predicts a significant vote share for his party and claims it will be Nitish Kumar's last election as Chief Minister.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
The movement has taken the shape of an unusual reverse migration, which officials and they themselves link directly to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in West Bengal.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the TMC's claims, stating that Banerjee is merely trying to boost morale among party workers.
There has been speculation within state's political circles, especially within the ruling Congress, for some time now about the CM change later this year, citing the power-sharing agreement involving incumbent Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
A proposed polling booth reconfiguration in West Bengal has ignited a political battle, with the TMC, BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) raising concerns about bias, partisanship, and flawed processes.
'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah rejects the ceasefire offer from Maoists, stating that surrender is the only option. He also addresses Naxalism's ideological roots and progress in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
He ruled out an electoral alliance with any party and said next year's Assembly poll will be a straight contest between his TVK and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The two weeks that EPS took fending off the Sengottaiyan rebellion has since become lost time for the AIADMK as that was also the time Vijay took to go all-out against Stalin and the DMK, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rider Fateh Jahan Singh Dhaliwal, aged 16, has also approached the court, through his mother, seeking quashing of the list of selected athletes and requested "further directions to conduct the shortlisting of riders for the Asian Youth Games".
Will Mamata's bhasha andolan campaign sway Bengal's bhadralok before the 2026 election in the TMC's favour?
By ensuring Myanmar remains dependent on Chinese economic and military assistance, Beijing indirectly exerts pressure on India's North Eastern states, making New Delhi's regional security strategy even more complex.
Opposition parties are expected to announce their joint vice-presidential candidate, potentially leading to a 'south versus south' contest. Meetings and discussions have been held to finalize the candidate, with names from Tamil Nadu being considered. The opposition aims to field a non-political figure with national standing.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan accused the BJP of nominating Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan for Vice President for electoral gains in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami urged support for Radhakrishnan, while other leaders offered mixed reactions.
Addressing a massive Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee gave a clarion call to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2026 assembly elections and eventually oust it from power at the Centre, declaring, "If this linguistic profiling doesn't stop, our resistance movement will reach New Delhi."
Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Election Commission of India is preparing for a nationwide special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, following a Supreme Court ruling. This move aims to update voter lists and address concerns about illegal migrants.
A family feud within the politically influential Matua community has erupted between Union minister Shantanu Thakur and his brother, BJP MLA Subrata Thakur, creating ripples in West Bengal's political landscape and posing a challenge for the BJP ahead of upcoming elections.
Cricketer Rinku Singh's wedding with Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj, initially scheduled for November 19, has now been postponed, according to a report.
Actor-politician Vijay, founder-chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will be its chief ministerial candidate for the 2026 Assembly election. The party announced this at an executive committee meeting where they also ruled out any alliance with the ruling DMK or the BJP.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
Former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly has categorically stated that he has no desire to pursue a career in politics, but said he is open to coaching the national side.
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