Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha of the Bharatiya Janaat Party, sat next to Choudhary and he was seen exchanging pleasantries with Kumar.
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
Cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, whereas Kirti Aazd will fight from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
The police have also applied for remand of the five people who were arrested over the case and sent to judicial custody, an official said.
Holidays on Ram Navami and Janmashtami, associated with the most popular of Hindu deities Lord Rama and Lord Krishna respectively, have been done away with and on the other hand, the number of days requiring schools to remain shut for Muslim festivals has been increased, Modi alleged.
Opposition members of the Lok Sabha ethics committee on Thursday stormed out of a meeting along with Mahua Moitra, accusing the panel's chairperson of asking the Trinamool Congress MP personal and unethical questions.
In the first information report (FIR), the cyber crime branch of the Ahmedabad police said that people from across the country have received Pannun's threat via a pre-recorded voice message sent from a foreign number.
The Opposition INDIA bloc on Friday finalised a 14-member coordination-cum-election strategy committee comprising members of various parties, and it will function as the alliance's highest decision-making body and start work on seat-sharing immediately, sources said.
Sunday also proved to be a good day for Delhi's star 400m runner Amoj Jacob, whose winning time was 45.92 seconds.
'It could backfire on the BJP and boost the Opposition parties.'
Sources said former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for early passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha during the upcoming session as the same has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The alliance adopted a resolution to this effect and said its theme for the elections will be "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India, (India will unite, India will win)".
A BJP leader in Bihar on Thursday died while taking part in a 'Vidhan Sabha march' against the state's Nitish Kumar government, evoking allegations from senior party leaders that he was "killed in a brutal lathi charge".
The veteran socialist leader, who ended his long alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party last year, was responding to queries from journalists about the 'Hindu Rashtra' clamour, which was openly endorsed earlier this week by his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath.
The protesters assembled outside Dogra Chowk in the heart of the city and tried to take out a march in violation of prohibitory orders when the police swung into action and restored to mild lathicharge before detaining several of them, the officials said.
'This is only a passing phase and the Sena would rise again like a phoenix'
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday suspended Congress member of Parliament Rajani Ashokrao Patil for the remainder of the current Budget Session for filming House proceedings.
Bihar Assembly Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari on Wednesday accused outgoing Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha of having "insulted Dalits" by denying him the opportunity to conduct proceedings of the House after stepping down.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is headed for a big win in the Uttar Pradesh legislative council polls, bagging Barabanki and Ayodhya and leading in several other places. But it lost Varanasi to an Independent candidate.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirodi Lal Meena moved for leave to introduce the bill to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout India and for matters connected therewith during the private member's business.
Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, less than two years after returning to the party, and announced formation of the 'Rashtriya Loktantrik Janata Dal'.
Addressing an election rally in the family bastion of Saifai, Akhilesh Yadav also asserted that his party will register a historic win in the bypoll.
Candidates contesting from Kunda (in Pratapgarh), Malhani (in Jaunpur), and Rasara (in Ballia) failed to secure enough votes to prevent forfeiture of their deposits.
Unless controlled and contained, given the untested belief that the north Indian labour support and follow the Hindutva kind of political ideology, there is a potential in terms of ideological clashes with their Dravidian brethren in the local neighbourhoods, and it all escalating into violence, especially during election time, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and former state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya had also dropped a hint in a recent tweet, saying Yaduvanshi (Yadavs), Ravidasiyo (Jatavs) and Pasmanda Muslims will be brought closer to the BJP so that the lotus 'blossoms' in every booth in UP.
His remarks came a day after the Samajwadi Party wrote to Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go wherever they feel they can get more respect.
The assembly bypolls in Bihar and Maharashtra, scheduled for November 3, are set to be the first electoral test of the popularity of the respective state governments after a change in the political alignment.
The Leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly was asked about his decision to support Yashwant Sinha, a former Union minister, and not Murmu who is tipped to become the first tribal woman to occupy the top post.
Jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's spokesperson accuses Akhilesh Yadav of ignoring Khan and the Muslim community, sparking speculation over another rift in the party.
The Shiromani Akali Dal skipped the meeting, besides the Aam Aadmi Party, the TRS and the BJD.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday met senior party leader Azam Khan at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a meeting that came amid speculations of a rift between both leaders.
Justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav of the Lucknow bench of the HC passed the order on Thursday on an application moved by the complainant who had lodged an FIR in the matter in 2003.
The CWG is set to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The new cabinet, predictably, has a sizeable number of Yadavs and Muslims, though members of other sections of the society also find a place.
Chaudhary met Azam Khan's wife Tazeen Fatma and his son Abdullah Azam at their home in Rampur.
Wishing him, President Droupadi Murmu said the work for nation-building under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continue to advance.
Several legislators in states on Monday said they have cross-voted in favour of National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu by not following their respective party lines in the presidential election.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances