Police in Maharashtra have registered two FIRs against BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, party candidate Rajan Naik and others for allegedly distributing cash to voters at a hotel in Palghar ahead of the state assembly elections. A separate FIR was also registered against BJP and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi functionaries for allegedly attempting to hold a press conference, violating election code of conduct. The incidents occurred on the eve of the Maharashtra assembly polls, with allegations of cash distribution and attempts to influence voters.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
As Delhi voters cast their ballots for the assembly polls on Wednesday, allegations of fake voting emerged in some parts of the national capital, including Seelampur and Kasturba Nagar.
Sporadic incidents of unrest marred the West Bengal bypolls, with a local Trinamool Congress worker Ashok Shaw dying following a crude bomb attack in Bhatpara, an area adjoining Naihati assembly constituency where voting was underway.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
'All senior Muslim leaders of the BJP are left behind.' 'Doodh mein se makhi jaisey nikaal dete hain.'
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expanded his cabinet on Thursday, inducting 11 new ministers, including six first-timers and two women. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. The new ministers include six from the JMM and four from the Congress. One minister is from the RJD. The expansion comes after the JMM-led alliance won the recent assembly elections with a comfortable majority. The cabinet expansion is expected to give the government a fresh impetus to push its agenda and accelerate development in the state.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones during campaigning in the New Delhi constituency on Saturday, the party alleged.
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the police, the Congress leaders, including the party candidate Mukesh Malhotra, organised a public meeting on the Morena-Shivpuri highway instead of the Mandi campus for which they were granted permission.
The Election Commission on Thursday asked its Delhi chief electoral officer to probe the Aam Aadmi Party's complaints against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Parvesh Verma and allegations of additions and deletions in the electoral roll of the New Delhi assembly seat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have found confidence in democracy again and are feeling that their vote can bring change, which is the first step towards their empowerment.
Movie star-Minister Suresh Gopi visited Thane over the weekend to campaign for the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra.
'Till the BJP does not understand Kejriwal they cannot win Delhi.'
Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Vinod Tawde on Wednesday dismissed the allegations of distributing money to influence voters, saying he was well aware of the rules and not foolish to indulge in such an activity at the hotel of political opponents.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections saw a fierce contest between two coalitions and six major players. Despite securing over one lakh votes, 58 candidates lost the election. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar suffered the most, with 22 candidates losing despite receiving over one lakh votes. Other prominent losing candidates included former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and senior Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Dhiraj Deshmukh. The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power by winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats.
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'.
Shetty, who won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by margins of more than four lakh in 2014 and 2019, was denied a ticket in the 2024 general elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of making attempts to snatch reservations meant for tribals and hand them over to its 'vote bank'.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Tanwar had joined the AAP in April 2022. Before joining the AAP, he was with the Trinamool Congress briefly.
Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections has begun across states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told PTI.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Results for assembly polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir were declared on Tuesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party scoring a hat-trick in Haryana while the National Conference-Congress alliance emerged victorious in J-K. Here's how some big names fared.
Owaisi said 324 farmers have died by suicide in "Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) division", but no one is talking about it.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alleging that the latter purposely keeps mum on the tragic death of his mother and sister in an attack by Razakars in order to avoid losing Muslim votes. Adityanath claimed that Kharge's village, Varawatti, was burned down by Razakars and that his mother, aunt, and sister died in the attacks. He accused Kharge of suppressing this painful personal memory for political expediency and for fear of losing Muslim votes. Adityanath also alleged that Congress ignores historical atrocities for the sake of vote bank politics and conveniently forgets the history of the Razakars.
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.
BJP candidate from Ballari City G Somasekhara Reddy has said his brother's wife and rival Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) candidate Aruna Laxmi is a 'housewife and has no idea about the problems of the constituency'.
Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan intensified his attack on the Congress, alleging that its general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The election campaign was one of the most vitriolic in the state, but you would not have guessed it from the smiles and selfies from the politicians.
Joshi said that the D'Cunha Commission released an interim report without issuing a notice to Yediyurappa or Ramulu.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections witnessed the continued influence of political dynasties, with prominent families retaining their strongholds across the state. The Thackareys and the Ranes emerged as dominant forces, securing victories in various regions. The Rane brothers, Nilesh and Nitesh, won in Sindhudurg, while Uday and Kiran Samant secured victories in Ratnagiri. In Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray retained his Worli seat, while his cousin Varun Sardesai won in Vandre East. The results underscore the enduring power of family connections in Indian politics.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray were among the famous faces who queued up at the polling booths on Monday to caste their votes in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
In a dramatic development, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Minister C P Yogeeshwara on Wednesday quit his party and joined the Congress, which is now expected to field him in the November 13 assembly bypolls from Channapatna.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party which had emerged victorious on 29 seats have 28 Hindus and one Sikh member as none of its Muslim candidates, including two former ministers, managed to win.
'This fight was against the strongest oppressive forces in the country. And Vinesh emerged victorious.'
The grand old party alleged that these namesake candidates are backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Bharatiya Janata Party to confuse voters.
Much drama is likely to continue in the coming year, within the Sangh Parivar as well as involving the Opposition parties and, of course the BJP's allies, predicts Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Incidents of violence rocked Assam's Samaguri assembly constituency where by-elections will be held on November 13 with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress alleging that gunshots were fired targeting each other's supporters over the last 24 hours, police said on Sunday.
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