'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
On the eve of the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reviews the political landscape in the epicentre and beyond.
The ASI, which was to submit the report of the survey by October 6, now has time till November 6 to do so.
Three bags filled with nearly 145 kg of highly explosive ammonium nitrate were discovered in an abandoned car in Varanasi on Saturday.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
'There was a strong undercurrent of deprivation, and also frustration against misuse of power and authority.' 'This election was an opportunity for the manifestation of this discontentment.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit his Parliamentary constituency Varanasi on September 18, a trip that he has been forced to cancel thrice earlier.
He said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of crores of people depends on "pashudhan".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lashed out at previous governments, saying they seemed to hate development and "looted" public money to win elections.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is underway with assistance from the World Bank.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal will file his nomination for the high-profile electoral contest in Varanasi where he will face stiff challenge from BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
To seek approval for about 2,084 political advertisements in the city, the BJP submitted nearly 517 applications to the poll body from March 13 till May 8, data accessed by PTI showed.
The nomination process began in Varanasi for the most keenly watched Lok Sabha elections, with Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is pitted against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, filing his papers after offering liquor to Lord Kaal Bhairav as per local tradition.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
He said Priyanka could have been a wonderful candidate in Varanasi as well, especially looking at how good the Congress candidate did against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Rakhi Singh has accused the Muslim side of destroying Hindu symbols on the Gyanvapi premises and demanded protection of the entire complex in order to ensure that these symbols are not lost.
The winners of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024 have been revealed.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
The film courted controversy when its trailer got leaked on the internet.
To mark the Good Governance Day celebrations on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi where he will attend a number of programmes on the occasion of the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The world's only 'zero-fuel' aircraft 'Solar Impulse-2' on Wednesday landed in Varanasi for an overnight stopover after its pilot held the Ahmedababd 'administration' responsible for the delay in departure from the city for want of customs and immigration clearance.
Twelve people, including 8 policemen, were injured on Monday in widespread violence and arson in Varanasi during a procession by seers and other locals.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
Aiming to retain power at the Centre for the third time in a row, the Bharatiya Janata Party while banking heavily on its sitting MPs on Saturday released the first list of 51 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections.
'Varanasi has seen elections for ages, but this one is different. Different, in the sense, that it is like an invasion.'
'Election funding needs a little more transparency.'
Solar Impulse-2 takes off for Varanasi from Ahmedabad.
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connect, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the Bharatiya Janata Party's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
Chief Project Manager H C Tiwari and three others were suspended.
After hearing arguments in the matter, Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker posted it for further hearing on Wednesday.
Advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, who is representing the Hindu petitioners, said, "The report in sealed cover was placed before the court by the ASI's standing counsel Amit Srivastava."
The weather office said intensity of heat wave/severe heat wave has slightly reduced over some parts of northwest and adjoining central India.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday asserted that 'something major' will take place, after Lok Sabha results are out, in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seemed to be 'not going along well' with ally Bharatiya Janata Party.
This follows a seven-day sustained campaign by farmers against the acquisition of 121 hectares of land in Katesar village in the district, about 325 km from Lucknow for building 'New Kashi' city as a parallel to Varanasi.
The prime minister said he was also grateful to his opponents who fought against him. At the same time he lamented there was a sense of political untouchability, adding Bharatiya Janata Party workers were being killed for their ideology in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala.
A student of IIT-Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men, who also recorded a video of the act, near her hostel, the police said on Thursday.
Around 18 of the 40 people went missing on Tuesday after a boat carrying them capsized on the Ganga River at Betawar ghat near Shooltankeshwar area in Varanasi, the police said.
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
