A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of President-elect Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.
The total income of national and regional parties from unknown sources for 2020-21 stands at Rs 690.67 crore.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress on Friday welcomed the statements of opposition leaders condemning Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha and said it was now time for the party to take on the job of building the opposition unity in a "systematic way".
Parties have decided to take this action against a government that, a senior leader alleged, has been routinely "insulting the constitution."
The apex court had earlier restrained the high court from proceedings with the PILs seeking a probe against Soren in the mining lease issue.
While Hemant Soren enlisted the support of small parties and independent MLAs, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief kept the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader waiting till the apex court gave its verdict in the fodder scam case. Anita Katyal reports
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren on Saturday claimed support of more than 41 MLAs -- the simple majority mark in the 81-member assembly-- to form an alternative government in Jharkhand before the term of President's Rule expires on July 18.
Twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.
Hemant Soren was also formally elected as the JMM legislature party leader.
Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who headed a coalition government of Bharatiya Janata Party/ Jharkhand Mukti Morcha /Ajsu party/Janata Dal-United since September 11, 2010, on Tuesday resigned for the third time as the saga of political instability continued in Jharkhand since its creation 12 years ago.
The Jharkhand government has ordered a probe by the Anti-corruption Bureau into the alleged amassing of disproportionate assets by former ministers in the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
The Congress party's decsion to cut its losses and accept the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's hand of friendship shows its dire need for partners, says Anita Katyal
Top leaders of 26 opposition parties were arriving in Bengaluru on Monday for a two-day brainstorming session with a call for unity and are expected to chalk out their joint programme aimed at defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"The governor has returned to Ranchi...so far he has not issued any order," an official source in Raj Bhavan said.
West Bengal CID claimed that two of its teams in New Delhi and Guwahati were restrained on Wednesday morning by the local police in the respective places from carrying out investigations into the cash seizure from three Jharkhand MLAs.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who set off a national debate when he walked the Bharat Jodo Yatra in a T-shirt in north India's cold winter, donned a pheran to ward off Kashmir's bone-freezing chill on Monday.
Bypolls in three assembly constituencies in as many states passed off peacefully on Monday with around over 70 per cent voter turnout, though some technical glitches in electronic voting machine were reported in Tamil Nadu and the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal alleged that the Central Reserve Police Force was "influencing" voters.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
The conference was seen by many as a show of strength by the Opposition with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joining in to raise their voice against oppression of backward classes.
Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais is likely to send the order of disqualification of Chief Minister Hemant Soren as an MLA to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday, Raj Bhavan sources said.
The EC is believed to have told the Governor that Soren should be 'disqualified' as a legislator for violating electoral norms, they said.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Sources said the opposition parties would look to avoid the prickly leadership question as of now and emphasise on building a common ground.
However, the Congress asserted that its coalition government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morchais "completely secure and stable'' and would complete its term.
AICC in-charge for Jharkhand, R P N Singh, said the party is happy for its best performance in the state since its creation in 2000.
Even as the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha opposed the police's move, the law enforcers said the errors would be rectified and the posters put up again.
Vote bank politics cannot be above protecting the sanctity of girls and women, he said virtually launching the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election at Chaibasa, about 150 km from in Chaibasa.
The ruling MLAs took part in the meeting called by Soren with their luggage before leaving for unknown destination.
Senior leader P Chidambaram whose Rajya Sabha tenure is ending from Maharashtra is under consideration from Tamil Nadu as the Congress is all set to get the support of alliance partner the DMK. The G-23 leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Vivek Tankha, are also said to be in contention.
A basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated upon with the contentious issue of seat sharing and leadership questions to be avoided for now.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary board on Tuesday named Droupadi Murmu, the party's tribal leader from Odisha, as the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the presidential election.
The youth leadership taking the reigns of the states was a rare event in the last century as very few broke the glass ceilings.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition's Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
Taking to Twitter, the CM said 'respected father Dishom Guru ji' and mother were diagnosed with the disease on Friday night, and they were undergoing home quarantine.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Hemant Soren as Jharkhand chief minister, to be held in Ranchi on December 29, Trinamool Congress sources said.
The JMM-led three-party alliance stormed to power in Jharkhand, ousting the BJP. Here's the party-wise break-up of results.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea by 14 political parties led by the Congress alleging arbitrary use of central probe agencies against opposition leaders, asserting that laying down guidelines without facts of a criminal case will be "dangerous".
The MLAs of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition in Jharkhand on Tuesday arrived in Raipur by a chartered flight in a bid to thwart the Bharatiya Janata Party's possible attempt to poach them, and moved into a nearby luxurious resort.
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