The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
To govern effectively, to legislate successfully, Modi must reach out to the Opposition. As long as he does not and he is showing no signs that he accepts the reality, the drift his fans are anguishing over will remain, cautions Aakar Patel.
Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
With this, the ruling BJP has so far declared candidates for 136 seats. Earlier, the BJP had announced 79 candidates, including two lists of 39 each, and another list of one nominee.
UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the BJP parliamentary board and its national leadership will decide under whom the upcoming state assembly elections will be fought.
The BJP got the benefit of a split in Muslim votes in some seats of western UP, and its candidates registered wins from Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Aligarh Lok Sabha seats.
What we find interesting are the crowds Akhilesh Yadav has been attracting on his Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra in the state.
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
Some of it was squandered on a futile opposition, the youth rooted for Modi's promise. But a recent statement from minority affairs minister questioning the minority tag may damage BJP's prospects.
Launching a hard-hitting attack on Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, Narendra Modi on Monday said the "power game by the clan of three parties" is responsible for the poor plight of UP and the nation even as he ridiculed Rahul Gandhi for visiting homes of the poor like tourists who visit Taj Mahal.
The Constitution (116th Amendment) Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha by a determined Opposition, helped by the absence of parties supporting the government from outside like the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal
The new Lokpal Bill was on Thursday at the centre of a fresh controversy before its introduction in the Lok Sabha, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen members protesting exclusion of minorities from the anti-graft bench of the proposed ombudsman.
Besides Mukherjee, who is leader of the Lok Sabha, the committee, headed by Speaker Meira Kumar, will have four other members from the Congress, three from Bharatiya Janata Party each from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Lakhimpur Kheri had been one of the key attack points of the Opposition parties such as the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress against the BJP in the run up to the polls.
The government on Wednesday night exuded confidence to get the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, despite not having a clear majority.
The Left parties, which hold the key to United Progressive Alliance's success in the Presidential election, appeared to be pushing for their own candidate for the polls.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
"The CEO has sought a report in this regard from the local administration," said official sources.
Jailed MLA of Quami Ekta Dal Mukhtar Ansari will withdraw his candidature from Varanasi against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, "to strengthen secular forces and avoid division of votes".
Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Friday evening, and all necessary arrangements have been completed, state Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said in Lucknow on Saturday.
The Congress is a dismal third in 17 of the 19 constituencies where the party's general secretary (east) campaigned in Uttar Pradesh.
'People tell us openly that in 2024 we will vote for Modi.'
Rediff Labs uses a mathematic model to analyse the 2012 UP election results and develop a Sentiment Meter for the 2017 electoral battle.
Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas in his letter to CEC Sunil Arora said that the armed forces are not a "private force" belonging to any individual or political party.
How many seats would the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance have got had they fought the 2014 elections with their current alliance partners? Our RediffLabs team has devised an Election Sentimeter to how the swing in votes affects the election outcome.
In Pasmanda Muslim meets, the BJP leaders are highlighting that the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress always used Muslims as a "vote bank" and did not give them their due.
Neta app claims BJP is down to 212 seats from its 2014 tally of 282.
"I can say with confidence that the BJP will form the government in the state," he reiterated.
It is not much of an issue just now, but it could become one if the idea of caste census captures socio-political imagination, going beyond electoral tags and identities, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The parties failed to make an impact with their voteshares getting restricted to 2 per cent or below.
"The victory margin will be huge since there is an alliance between Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party. Bharatiya Janata Party did not fulfil its promises and now to divert attention, it is using the security forces. It has been a failed government," Dimple Yadav said.
The CM added the BJP has learnt its "lessons" and exuded confidence it will perform better in future polls.
A station house officer was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl who was left outside his police station in Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur by four men after they raped her for three days, officials said on Wednesday.
Yogi will stay in Gorakhpur till May 19 and will address at least three rallies every day in the region, reports Siddharth Kalhans.
The party also declared sitting MP Praveen Nishad as its candidate from Sant Kabir Nagar
The announcement put an end to speculation that Sonia Gandhi may not contest in the upcoming polls due to health reasons and the party's newly appointed general secretary in-charge (East UP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be fielded from her constituency.
The AAP chief also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi would be to blame if Narendra Modi came back to power.
The Congress's share has almost halved, down from 12 in 2014 to six now.
The RJD chief also hailed the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
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