Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
India's T20 star Rinku Singh and Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj got engaged on Sunday in a grand ceremony graced by a host of prominent political figures on Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Chandrabhanu Paswan was leading by 3,991 votes over the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ajit Prasad after the first round of counting for the Milkipur assembly bypoll on Saturday, according to the Election Commission website.
The Congress' Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai's symbolic gesture of hanging 'nimbu-mirchi' (lemon-chillies) on a toy jet, mocking the Centre's alleged inaction in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, has triggered a political storm. The BJP has condemned the act, calling it an insult to the armed forces. Rai, however, maintained that he was merely highlighting the government's delay in utilizing the Rafale jets. The controversy comes amidst a heated debate over the government's response to the recent terror attack.
In a major upset in the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, where the temple town of Ayodhya is situated, Samajwadi Party candidate Awadhesh Prasad defeated sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MP Lallu Singh by a margin of 54,567 votes.
He lashed out at the state government terming it an "extremely sad and inhuman" crime.
This has invited sharp reaction from the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party saying that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it moved the court for "stalling" polls on the assembly seat.
This comes a day after the Uttar Pradesh government suspended six officials of civic agencies for alleged gross negligence following the road cave-ins and waterlogging at several sections of the newly-built Ram Path.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
Despite this setback, Pandey emphasised that discussions regarding ticket distribution are ongoing and solutions will be found through timely communication.
She was referred to King George's Medical University as the women's hospital in Ayodhya did not have the facility to provide adequate treatment, the district's chief medical officer Sanjay Jain said.
Bypolls to 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be a litmus test for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s unity after the group's success in the recent Lok Sabha polls when they won more than 40 seats, significantly contributing to the Bharatiya Janata Party's failure to win a simple majority in parliament.
Participating in the eighth edition of Deepotsav in Ayodhya - the first since the consecration of Ram temple on January 22, Adityanath said, "This is a historic first as after 500 years, Lord Ram is now in his abode in Ayodhya for Diwali."
Lok Sabha constituencies that sprung a surprise in the 2024 polls.
Several opposition parties have claimed that the mandate of 2024 Lok Sabha elections was against the ruling haratiya Janata Party, even though it was able to form the government with support of other parties.
'Mayawatiji no more controls the bahujan vote in UP.' 'In this election more than 40 per cent of the BSP's core voters blessed the SP without the SP even asking for it.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party would oppose the Centre's move to bring a bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.
The year began with Ayodhya getting ready for the Ram temple consecration ceremony. Almost four months later, the excitement has settled down and some voters are crediting the Bharatiya Janata Party for fulfilling its promise while others feel that development should reach every corner of the district.
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
Gandhi said the party will defeat the saffron party and Narendra Modi in Gujarat just the way it was defeated in Ayodhya.
The Samajwadi Party and Congress have announced that they will contest together under the INDIA bloc.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
'The 2024 election results will lead to much intense targeting of Modi, more intense debates, many more breakdowns in Parliament and many more movements on the streets.' 'The results have hit Modi's standing, and the politics of the Opposition parties will be sharply focused to ensure that Modi doesn't get back his charisma of being 'invincible' with help of State power.' Sheela Bhatt looks at the political situation through the prism of 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently stirred controversy over his remarks on Ramcharitmanas, and veteran leader Azam Khan are also among the 14 national general secretaries.
The BJP has won just eight out of the 40 zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya, a disappointment for the ruling party in the district on which the Centre and the state government have lavished much attention.
Taking serious note of a girl being raped in Faizabad while returning home after attending a laptop distribution programme, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has sought an explanation from the minister whose late arrival had delayed the event and ordered that all such functions be concluded before evening.
Even though Mulayam Singh decided which ministers to drop and which ministers to lose their portfolios, the reshuffle is being projected as a reflection of Akhilesh Yadav's assertive self.