'It was then that the game started. It was decided that under no circumstances, the seat tally of the Congress should increase from 206 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls'
Biennial elections are being held for 58 Rajya Sabha seats across several states and by-poll for one in Kerala.
A product of the 1942 Quit India movement, a Gandhian and a Socialist who remains closely connected with grassroot movements, Dr G G Parikh remains a familiar figure in Maharashtra.
'If machines (EVMs) are so reliable, if our electoral system is so reliable, then why has the Election Commission so far not even responded to an ADR plea to share data of 79 (Lok Sabha) constituencies where there's a (alleged) dispute?'
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'Whether somebody else can take up (Narendra Modi's position) the answer to it is yes but for that (to happen) some kind of crisis must come and in that crisis Modi must lose the (trust) vote.' 'Only then another candidate from the BJP can come and most likely it could be Nitin Gadkari because he enjoys the confidence (of the RSS as well as that of BJP MPs).'
'Just because the NDA has a majority and the BJP is the single largest party does not mean that this Modi government enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha.' 'It is always possible that some members (of the NDA and even the BJP) may defect, some members may not want him to be the prime minister and they might vote differently (against Modi) in the confidence vote.'
'If the Maha Vikas Aghadi thinks that they have won 30 (Lok Sabha) seats and that would translate to winning 180 assembly seats they would be living in a fool's paradise.'
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha committees had recommended that their suspension be withdrawn after they expressed regret for their conduct during the Winter session when their relentless protests prompted the Chairs to take action.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
Sixty-eight Rajya Sabha members, including nine Union ministers, are completing their tenure this year, triggering a race of sorts among leaders across political parties to eye a six-year term in the Upper House of Parliament.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
On the eve of the Maharashtra assembly election, Loksatta Editor Kumar Ketkar, one of the most accomplished commentators on the state's politics, speaks to Prasanna D Zore.
As Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra travels across Maharashtra, Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com captures scenes from the walkathon to spread kindness and harmony from Nanded.
According to a Rajya Sabha bulletin, nine of the MPs are from the Congress and three from the AAP.
Parliament remained paralysed for the sixth day in a row on Monday due to protests from rival sides.
Parliament's Budget session has been a washout since the beginning of its second part on March 13, with the BJP demanding an apology from Gandhi.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were disrupted as Opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout.
'Eknath Shinde's credibility will not grow beyond Thane, Uddhav's credibility will rise across Maharashtra and perhaps in the rest of the country'
As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
Bal Thackeray described himself as a missionary warrior for the cause of Marathi, but what it meant could never be deciphered by anyone, writes Kumar Ketkar
India needs sustainable political and governance reform, not 'Mr India'-type prime-time populism, says Sanjaya Baru
The South Asia Media Commission has condemned the arrest of Mumbai journalist Tarakant Dwivedi alias Akela, who exposed the faulty storage of weapons purchased after the 26/11 attack in the Railway Protection Force armoury.
The deabate about who Bombay/Mumbai belonged to was taken up at the Outlook Magazine's 15th anniversary celebration in the city. analyses these divergent points of view.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday removed its Maharashtra unit vice-president Vinayak Mete from the post over the attack on the house of the editor of Marathi daily Loksatta.State NCP chief Arun Gujrathi announced Mete's removal from the post after a meeting of party leaders in Mumbai. The matter has also been referred to the party's disciplinary panel, Gujrathi said.Activists of Shiv Sangram organisation, headed by Mete, had attacked Ketkar's house.
According to the sources, the angry mob, belonging to the Shiv Sangram group made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Ketkar's house at around 1015 hours. They banged the main entrance of the house. Having failed to enter the house, they became furious and pelted stones on the house breaking its window glasses.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Friday issued a show cause notice to Vinayak Mete, who has claimed responsibility for the attack on the residence of Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar, by his organisation Shiv Sangram .NCP state general secretary Gurunath Kulkarni told PTI, "The show cause notice has been served to Mete. The party has asked him to reply within seven days. "If he is found guilty or failed to reply, he will be removed from the party post."
The recent attacks on north Indians by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are a shrewd ploy of party chief Raj Thackeray to embarrass the Shiv Sena and usurp its core Marathi constituency, political observers in Mumbai say.
Party chief Rahul Gandhi formed a nine-member Core Group Committee, a 19-member Manifesto Committee and a committee comprising 19 top party leaders who will look after the publicity during the elections.
As part of its celebrations for the 125th birth anniversary of India's first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Congress will this week organise a conference bringing together many writers and historians, including Left leaning, to discuss freedom, equality, democracy and secularism in today's context.
If the BJP or even the regional parties delude themselves that they are going to win the 2019 Lok Sabha election, then they are over-interpreting the assembly election results, says Kumar Ketkar.
Her speech was laced with Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit and even Tamil verses.
A list of prominent journalists who also became successful politicians.
'When real issues hit everybody, the frenzy of Hindutva will start fading.'
'I have no problem with people from the right wing who speak with a certain integrity of position.'
Of the 15 people who led the 132-year-old party post independence, four have belonged to the Gandhi-Nehru family.
'America's withdrawal from Vietnam was an inspiring moment for all of us. We believed that it was a glorious victory of ideology and spirit and as historic as the defeat of the Nazis exactly 30 years ago,' remembers Kumar Ketkar 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War.
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