A number of high-profile electoral battles, starring veterans and debutants, formidable opponents and unlikely contestants, feature in Tuesday's outcome.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination papers in Jaipur for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan.
Modi said that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an "all-time low"
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to hold a caste census 'out of fear' of the country's deprived population, to which the opposition was lending its voice.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the core group meeting of five states on Saturday at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
The ruling party appears to have worked to a plan, beginning with the weaning away of Congress MLC and MLAs.
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, would visit Parliament as a teenager to listen to her father Rajiv Gandhi speak as prime minister.
According to the officer, the accused has confessed to the killings and said that he had an affair with the teacher's wife for 18 months which went sour later, leading to him shooting the family.
A special court in Pune on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his alleged objectionable remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Wayanad in Kerala on June 12, party sources said on Monday.
During Emergency Indira Gandhi acquired absolute power. Lakhs of political opponents, students, activists were arrested.
While the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26, that of Jharkhand ends on January 5 next year.
A severe traffic congestion extending for kilometers was witnessed on the routes to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Sunday with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asking the government to make emergency arrangements for the stranded devotees.
Priyanka Gandhi told him to answer the question somebody from the crowd had asked.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted the successful execution of the Maha Kumbh 2025, emphasizing effective crisis management, economic benefits, and the event's role in national unity and infrastructure development. He cited the swift response to a stampede on January 29 and the extensive preparations that ensured a smooth experience for millions of pilgrims.
Adityanath asked the chief secretary and the director general of police to conduct a thorough review of the Maha Kumbh Mela arrangements on Thursday. "Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami," he said.
In a letter addressed to the people of Rae Bareli, the Congress leader also thanked the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which did not field any candidate against her.
American tennis player Taylor Fritz and his doubles partner, Tik Tok personality Addison Rae, won the virtual Stay At Home Slam on Sunday as real-life tennis remains on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. The likes of the Williams sisters, Japanese stars Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori and the recently retired Maria Sharapova competed as their favourite characters from the world of Nintendo to raise money for charity.
Priyanka's victory seems assured, but the broader implications for Kerala's political landscape and South Indian politics remain to be seen.
Sharma was the key person who looked after Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies on behalf of the Gandhis.
'Rahul is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration.
The Congress leader said his sister Priyanka Gandhi will be representing Wayanad if the people give her an opportunity and expressed confidence that she will do an excellent job at being their MP.
A government school teacher, his wife and two daughters were allegedly shot dead at their rented accommodation on Thursday, over a month after the family lodged a first information report (FIR) against a man saying he would be responsible if something untoward happened to them, police said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Saturday she looks forward to being the voice of the people of Wayanad in Parliament and thanked Rahul Gandhi for 'showing her the way and having her back always'.
Shah said before the Yogi Adityanath dispensation assumed office, Uttar Pradesh was known for 'goonda raj' and bad law and order. '...Yogi government has established rule of law,' he said.
Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.
However, Bajpai ruled out any possibility of an epic battle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections between Sonia Gandhi and Arun Jaitley.
Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a "victory" for the people in Amethi.
The last time a non-Gandhi was in the fray from the constituency was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, contested the polls but lost to the BJP's Sanjaya Sinh.
Prayagraj is transforming into a massive temporary city to host the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, expected to draw over 40 crore pilgrims. The preparations include extensive infrastructure development, including 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, and a 1,250-km pipeline network. The event, starting on January 13, will culminate on February 26, bringing together millions of devotees for the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
'Rahul is not even a lamp before the sun'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday set at rest speculation that Uma Bharti could be fielded against Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli after the firebrand leader asserted that she "cannot leave my Jhansi" from where she has already been nominated.
The party also named Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli, a Gandhi family bastion which was won by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi five consecutive times.
Party sources said no date has been finalised and she will visit her constituency as early as possible.\n\n
Brisk polling was seen for the Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala as they witnessed a turnout of 20.54 and 19.08 per cent, respectively, after the first three hours of voting on Wednesday.
Indicating his keenness to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that the people of Amethi expect him to represent their constituency if he thinks of becoming a member of Parliament.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
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