Sixteen Maoists, including top leader Anal, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Thursday, Union home minister Amit Shah said.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
Former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren is on ventilator support in critical condition. Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren was airlifted to Delhi after suffering a brain stroke.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, a towering figure in the state's tribal movement, was cremated with full state honors in his native village of Nemra. Thousands gathered to pay their respects to the 'Dishom Guru,' including political leaders and villagers.
Eighteen Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were suspended from the assembly till 2 pm of August 2 and were removed by marshals after they refused to leave the House on Thursday.
An NDRF team is deployed to rescue miners allegedly trapped in an abandoned coal mine in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, but operations are delayed as the exact location remains unidentified. Officials claim no signs of an incident have been found, while local residents and politicians allege a mine collapse during illegal mining activities.
Following are the constituency-wise results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections.
Accompanied by wife, Sakshi, and father Pan Singh Dhoni and mother Devki Devi, Thala made his way to the polling booth amid tight security.
A day before the assembly poll results, the Congress on Friday appointed observers for Maharashtra and Jharkhand to oversee the post-election scenarios.
An FIR has been lodged against 10 named and 200 unidentified individuals in connection with a clash and stone-pelting incident during a religious procession in Jharkhand's Hazaribag. The clash, involving two communities, broke out over the playing of an objectionable song. Police fired two rounds into the air to control the situation. The incident led to uproarious scenes in the Jharkhand Assembly with BJP MLAs demanding action against the perpetrators.
Gangster Aman Sahu was killed in an encounter when members of his gang tried to free him from police custody in Jharkhand's Palamu district.
Elections for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be held in two phases; the fist phase on November 13 and the second on November 20, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23.
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'.
Soren pleaded before the court that he is a members of the assembly and has a right to participate in the special session.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand wrote to the Election Commission on Friday night and demanded the suspension of internet services within 2 km radius of the counting centres, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party has deputed 'highly qualified' electronic experts from other states.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday recused from hearing a batch of pleas challenging the exclusion of the CJI from the panel meant for selecting the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. The CJI, who was sitting on the bench with Justice Sanjay Kumar, told the advocates appearing for the PIL petitioners that he couldn't hear the pleas now. The cases will now be listed before another bench after the winter break.
Fissures surfaced among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coloured Maharashtra a vivid saffron on Saturday as it swept aside the Maha Vikas Aghadi for a landslide win while the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) retained Jharkhand, voters in both states giving the parties in power an emphatic thumbs up.
Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has dismissed claims of a surge in voter turnout in the final hour of polling for the state assembly elections, calling it an "average " process. He clarified that the state's large size and the usual voting patterns in Maharashtra account for the apparent increase. Chockalingam also addressed concerns raised by opposition parties about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), assuring their reliability and transparency.
As the verdict for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections is out, here is how some of the big faces fared in the contest.
Union minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said his Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas wants to fight the assembly election in Jharkhand and a final decision will be taken soon on whether it would contest under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or alone.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren on Sunday met Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and staked claim to form the government, soon after leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in the state unanimously elected him as the legislature party leader.
While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26, that of Jharkhand ends on January 5 next year.
Sources in AAP claimed that the party was contacted by the Shiv Sena-UBT and the NCP-SP for campaigning by Kejriwal in Maharashtra.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
There were three people on board the helicopter apart from the pilot. They are all safe and waiting for the weather to clear up to return to Munsiyari, the DM said.
Amid a raging controversy over allotment of a 'namaaz' (Islamic prayer) room in the Jharkhand Assembly, speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on Thursday formed an all-party, 7-member panel, on the last day of the Monsoon session to look into the issue and come out with a report within 45 days.
The Election Commission is all set to hold elections to the Jharkhand Assembly in mid-December with the state governor K Shankarnarayan recommending the dissolution of the assembly.
Shah alleged that Congress was "hell-bent on snatching reservations from OBCs, tribals and Dalits and "planned to give it to minorities".
The Jharkhand assembly was adjourned twice on Monday after an opposition Member of Legislative Assembly ripped off his shirt inside the House to press for demands. As soon as the assembly convened at 11 am, Opposition members trooped into the well of the House and raised a din over a plethora of demands.
Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Thursday promised that LPG cylinders will be provided in Jharkhand at a subsidised rate of Rs 450 even for 'infiltrators', sparking a political row in the midst of assembly elections in the eastern state.
'Jairam Mahto's new party dented the NDA because he pulled a lot of the OBC vote.'
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance throwing all its weight to snatch Jharkhand from the hands of a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-headed coalition, the saffron camp suffered a debacle leaving the party's rank and file wondering what had gone wrong.
About 68 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm on Wednesday in 38 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting in the second and final phase ended, officials said.
JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony in Ranchi, amid the presence of a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders. This is Soren's fourth stint as chief minister. The JMM-led alliance won a majority in the recent assembly polls, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly.
He posted a picture of Soren meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.
'Maharashtra election result is a chamatkar of EVM.' 'There has been a sudden one percent rise in the voting percentage after the counting day.' 'This is what made the difference to the election results.' 'How did this vote percentage increase after counting day?