In an embarrassment to the ruling party, two of its sitting ministers lost and six were trailing.
Second seed Angelique Kerber advanced to the fourth round of the Miami Open when Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens was forced to retire in the third set on Sunday.
'This was the first time that I played points and that was too much for me today'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Former champion Caroline Wozniacki reached the semi-finals of the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Germany's Andrea Petkovic on Thursday.
World number two Simona Halep beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open third round on Wednesday for her first win over the Russian in eight attempts.
The French Open champion's grounded personality meant she was always going to present a clear contrast to the main Australian men's title hopefuls of recent years but there has been no shortage of compatriots ready to kick up a fuss on her behalf.
The 24-year-old Tunisian is the only player from the continent in the women's draw and only the second Arabic woman ever to crack the top 100 in the WTA rankings.
In a professional career lasting more than two decades, Venus Williams is closing in on a 50th WTA title and credits her longevity to a love of the game and a desire to constantly improve.
Fifty people were feared killed as Naxalites triggered a powerful blast, targeting two trucks, in which about 100 villagers were returning after attending an anti-Naxal meeting at Darbaguda.
Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the Brisbane International with a hip problem on Tuesday, further putting in doubt the Briton's prospects of being fit in time for the Australian Open later this month.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved confidently into the second round of Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
Ever since the Salwa Judum or peace campaign against the Naxalites started on June 4 last year, over 300 villagers have been killed by Maoists.
Venus Williams carrying the hopes of the Williams clan while her younger sibling takes time out to have a baby.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
IMAGES from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
Photos from matches on Day 2 at the Australian Open on Tuesday
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
American qualifier Sachia Vickery completed an astonishing comeback to stun third seed Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a second-round win at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Friday.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic and women's number two Angelique Kerber look to book berths in the last four of the US Open as the quarter-finals of the year's last Grand Slam get underway on Tuesday.
Former World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki reached the quarter-finals of Eastbourne's Aegon Championships with a topsy-turvy defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova on Wednesday.
As the players warm up before the tournament, meet the players who could well be contenders for the 2017 Australian Open titles.
World number one Rafael Nadal produced a ruthless performance to win his 75th singles title, beating Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 6-1 in the China Open final on Sunday.
Karolina Pliskova reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday and is keen to prove right those tipping her for Grand Slam success.
Rafael Nadal reached the Olympic Games quarter-finals on Thursday, winning the first of 10 matches he will need to sweep in just four days if he is to secure triple Rio gold. The 2008 champion defeated Gilles Simon 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 for his eighth win over the Frenchman in nine meetings. Nadal, a 14-time major winner, is playing in his first tournament in two months after a wrist injury caused an early withdrawal from the French Open.
The Scot lost 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men's draw at the year's final Grand Slam.
In 2014-15 civic elections, excluding urban bodies and Bhilai Municipal Corporation, the Congress had won four out of 10 municipal corporations while the BJP was reduced to four, two less than from the last time.
Osaka survives test to reach last 16
Muguruza used her experience to get out of trouble, eventually set up a meeting with Ukrainian 10th seed Elina Svitolina in just over two hours under a relentless sun at Indian Wells.
Seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams advanced to the third round at Melbourne Park on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele but conceded she was still troubled by an elbow injury that forced her to pull out of the women's doubles.
The manner of her defeat inevitably led to speculation that the 37-year-old may have had a physical problem that stopped her from competing with the effectiveness she had shown in earlier rounds.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza reached her second Wimbledon final in three years with a thumping 6-1, 6-1 win over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.
The 'Big Four' of men's tennis have made it into the second week of Wimbledon unscathed and largely untroubled while the women's draw remains wide open, but "Manic Monday" could offer major clues as to the destination of this year's titles.
Serena Williams battled a misbehaving serve and scorching heat but stayed cool under pressure in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Czech Barbora Strycova to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.
Murray, who is attempting to return to the top of the tennis world after undergoing hip surgery in January, was out of sorts in the first set of the rain-delayed match, losing three service games behind some uncharacteristically soft second serves.
IMAGES from matches played at the Miami Masters in Key Biscayne, Florida
Roger Federer stared down defeat and saved two match points before knocking Tomas Berdych out of the Miami Open on Thursday with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory in their thrilling quarter-final.
Indian tennis stars Leander Paes and Sania Mirza cruised into the mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals of the French Open along with their respective partners in Paris on Thursday. While Paes and his Swiss Partner Martina Hingis, winners of three Grand Slam titles last season, beat German-Colombian pair of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah 6-4 6-4 in the opening round, second seeded Sania and Ivan Dodig of Croatia eased past French duo of Mathilde Johansson and Tristan Lamasine 6-4 6-3 in their opener later in the day. However, it was curtains for another Indian Purav Raja, who, along with Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, crashed out in the opening round of the men's doubles event. The duo lost 1-6 2-6 against ninth seeded Polish-Austrian pair of Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya.
Olympic champion and world number one Serena Williams tumbled out of the Rio de Janeiro singles competition in the third round on Tuesday after a shock defeat to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.