The convoy of West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, was allegedly attacked by TMC workers during a protest in Cooch Behar. Bulletproof glasses of Adhikari's vehicle were smashed. TMC denies involvement, calling it a 'well-scripted drama'.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Prime Minister Narendra D Modi interacted with India's Asian Para Games contingent at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
Clashes broke out between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district after a public meeting addressed by Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Paramanik got over and a rally led by state minister Udayan Guha was about to begin nearby.
The ED officers are conducting raids at 15 places in the state during the day and Sajahan's house is one of them, an officer said.
The average age of the new Union council of ministers has reduced to 58 years from 61 years previously following Wednesday's reshuffle.
Sindhu will be looking to do one better than her last outing at the Olympics where she won the badminton silver at the Rio Games in 2016.
Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections has begun across states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told PTI.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Giving a clarion call to defeat the Mamata Banerjee-led party in West Bengal, the prime minister while addressing a mega rally in Siliguri said, "The road to oust the corrupt TMC government from West Bengal will open from the Lok Sabha polls."
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
L Murugan, 44, is the only newly-sworn minister who is not a member of Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
His comments come against the backdrop of a campaign by Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, which has claimed that applying for CAA would turn legal citizens into foreigners.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
The apex court said the high court will be at liberty to take a fresh view on whether the investigation by the state police has been fair and proper, and if not, whether a case has been made out for the transfer of the investigation to the CBI.
Discontentment seems to be increasing by the day in sections of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal with several leaders of both camps expressing displeasure over the selection of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, whereas Kirti Aazd will fight from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency.
Wednesday's expansion shows that Modi still has a keen eye on Bengal. The BJP is gearing up for the panchayat elections in Bengal next May and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
About 24 or 31 per cent ministers have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, robbery etc.
Several Union ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, said, "Amit Shah has set a target of 35 seats. We will achieve that".
The Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to nominate Ananta Rai 'Maharaj', who has been demanding a separate state of 'Greater Cooch Behar' to be carved out of West Bengal, as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from the state, has kicked off a fresh storm with the ruling Trinamool Congress accusing the saffron party of fanning separatism in the state.
'Watch our Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics,' Virat Kohli said in a video
Assistance from PLA has been sought to locate the individual on their side and return him as per established protocol, sources noted.
Images from the felicitation for India's Tokyo Olympics medal-winners, in Delhi, on Monday.
India, on the other hand, finished runners-up twice in 2010 and 2014 editions.
The teenager, identified as Miram Taron, was abducted by the PLA from Lungta Jor area under Siyungla area on Tuesday.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are among the star campaigners of the party for the October 30 bypolls to four Assembly seats in the state, but interestingly, the names of actor-turned-MP Nusrat Jahan and former BJP leader Babul Supriyo, who recently joined the TMC camp do not feature in the list.
Election officials said a report on the incident has been sought from the district officials.
These flights belong to the fleet of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Spice Jet, Vistara, Go Air, and also planes from Air Force.
Thakur lauded her and all others who finished on the podium, presenting them with mementos to honour their feats.
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
Modi leads politicians and sportspersons in wishing countrymen on National Sports Day
A high voter turnout of nearly 71 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday in West Bengal's four assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, an official said.
Opposition members led by Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked the government to clear its stand over the nationality of the minister. Without naming the minister, Sekhar said: "The prime minister has been allowed to lay a list of the ministers after the reshuffle. Go through Wikipedia, then you will find that the name of the gentleman... a minister of state for home affairs is a reportedly a Bangladeshi." Sekhar was also supported by Kharge and other opposition members.
The byelections are of critical importance to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who lost the assembly poll to Bharatiya Janata Party's Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.
Athletes and officials from eight disciplines of archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting landed in Tokyo
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