The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress's alliance in Uttar Pradesh came under scrutiny as both parties did not hold a single joint campaign for the bypolls to nine assembly seats. While both parties maintained that the alliance is strong, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed a crack in the alliance. The Congress opted out of the bypolls and announced coordination committees for all nine seats to support the SP. However, the absence of joint rallies raised questions about the alliance's strength. The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, while the Congress cited its leaders' busy schedules in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the lack of joint campaigns. The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
Protests erupted in Imphal, Manipur, on Monday, as a group led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) locked government offices in protest of the recent killing of three women and three children in Jiribam. The Manipur government also extended the suspension of internet services for two more days, till Wednesday, in seven districts of the state. The protests come amidst a fresh wave of unrest following the disappearance of six people from a displaced persons camp in Jiribam and the subsequent discovery of multiple bodies.
A meeting of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coordination committee in the state would take place around August 2 or 3, in the backdrop of the recent standoff between the two parties.
'These beach shacks were meant to protect the employment of local Goans who in turn would showcase Goan cuisine and culture on the beaches of Goa.'
'We are not anti-national like these armed secessionists. We have no intention of breaking away from the Indian Union.'
They teamed up with a former AIADMK leader KC Palanisami and appealed to the AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and Panneerselvam to merge their factions and strive for the united AIADMK's victory in the 2026 assembly election.
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.
Curfew was relaxed in three Imphal Valley districts on Tuesday and the suspension on broadband internet lifted with conditions, even as Chief Minister N Biren Singh blamed the Congress for the present crisis in Manipur and NDA MLAs called for a "mass operation" against militants responsible for the killing of six women and children. Peaceful rallies were also staged across the state, with hundreds taking to the streets with empty coffins in Churachandpur district, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam, and members of various civil society organisations bringing out a procession in Imphal West district to protest the reimposition of AFSPA in parts of the state.
The situation remained calm but tense in Manipur's Imphal Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended following violent protests after the discovery of the bodies of six persons, three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam.
Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Wayanad in Kerala on June 12, party sources said on Monday.
The rocket which fell on the compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng's residence seemed to be an improvised one.
The row over alleged offensive remarks made by Union minister Parshottam Rupala escalated on Wednesday with Rajput leaders rejecting the BJP's bid to patch up and threatening to launch nationwide protests if the saffron party fails to withdraw his candidature from Gujarat.
Some constituents of the alliance have raised concern that the panels, particularly the 14-member coordination committee, are at risk of becoming ineffective, as their decisions have so far not been acted upon.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student and activist Umar Khalid has completed four years in jail after being arrested in connection with the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots.
The CPI-M leader was fluent in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bangla, and also Malayalam. He was also well-versed in Hindu mythology, and often used those references in his speeches especially to attack the BJP.
Venue woes present but organisers keen on cricket in next Asian Games in Japan
Organisers keen on cricket in 2026 Asian Games despite venue headache
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
According to sources, while the date for the meeting has not been finalised yet, the meeting will be held in the third week of December.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
The cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 M4 launch vehicle, which successfully injected the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the intended orbit on July 14 this year, made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, the ISRO said.
The alliance leaders are getting together for the third round of the brainstorming session in Mumbai, after Patna and Bengaluru, to chalk out their common campaign strategy to take on the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
'The karyakartas who wanted to contest were disappointed and it took some time to explain to them why we needed an alliance.'
Shivakumar also said that the central observers have spoken to Sukhu, party MLAs and state unit chief Pratibha Singh and all differences have been ironed out.
The discussion will be about setting up various coordination committees, he said.
The OCA has run into troubles after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to recognise its elections last month, and asked India's Singh to carry on as its acting president.
Most leaders agreed for early finalisation of poll plans for 2024 stressing that there was no time left with them and mere meetings would not help.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
The committee will be headed by IGP (administration) K Jayanta, the order said, adding that it will "submit the report at the earliest."
The "interfaith marriage-family coordination committee (state level)" will be headed by Maharashtra's women and child development minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, said a government resolution.
Top leaders of the Opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) held talks in an informal setting in Mumbai on Thursday evening to chart out a concrete roadmap and evolve a structure for cooperation among the alliance partners to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Sudhakar and Somashekar were earlier with the Congress. They were among the 17 Congress-Janata Dal Secular legislators who quit and defected to BJP that led to the collapse of the coalition government and paved the way for BJP to come to power.
Kalita pleaded that she needed the videos and chats to prove her innocence, but the Delhi police counsel contended that her petitions were not maintainable.
During their visit to the holy city, the Congress leaders will take a dip in Saryu river, and then visit the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi temple, Rai said on Sunday.
Fifteen houses were set on fire in Manipur's Imphal West district where fresh violence broke out, officials said on Sunday.
More than 40 people, mostly women, were injured after security forces fired several rounds of teargas shells to disperse thousands of protesters who tried to breach security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Wednesday, officials said.
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