A women offers prayers to the Sun God on the occasion of the Chhath Puja in Bhubaneswar.
Besides the national capital, polling for the sixth round of the marathon seven-phase elections will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Those in love with kabristan used to spend public money there, those who love religion and culture are spending the money on their uplift and upgrade, he said
The electoral battle in Varanasi, according to locals and political experts, is not about whether the PM will win for a third successive occasion, but if he will increase his share of the votes polled and his win margin.
Glimpses from the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad, the Jeevan Kite and River Festival in Guwahati and preparations for Makar Sankranti in Nagpur.
Amidst the controversy over the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that labelling Gyanvapi as a mosque complex will only lead to controversy and that the Muslim side should accept its 'historical mistake' and offer a solution.
'If the Congress loses this time, Rahul Gandhi will not look back at Amethi ever again.'
'A strict law against 'love jihad' will soon be brought in the state. Home Department has sent a proposal to the Department of Law,' the Home Department said in a statement on Friday.
While the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates for the remaining three seats.
The speculation on whether Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi will attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony continued with the party on Thursday saying that their decision would be conveyed at the 'right time'.
The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.
'The Congress in the past backed the demand, but will not support it now since the SP opposes any division of UP.'
'Dr Kafeel is being framed by the Yogi government because he talks about the BRD hospital all the time.'
"I can say with confidence that the BJP will form the government in the state," he reiterated.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed officials to speed up setting up of a commando training centre in Rampur and also form a skilled team of women commandos.
Modi also alleged the opposition grouping will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC and give all of it to Muslims.
'Commentators have said that dealing with allies as equals will make Modi more sensitive.' 'Remember that the people Modi is dealing with are equally autocratic in their own lairs.' 'Further, Modi always has handy the threat of dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh polls.' 'Most of his own party, and certainly his allies and opponents having blown their budgets of efforts and resources in the just concluded elections, have no stomach for this.' 'They are all greatly looking forward to the loaves and fishes of office on offer.' 'That gives Modi an unbeatable advantage in any push-comes-to-shove situation,' explains Shreekant Sambrani.
Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma has said the issue of the state's next CM is already 'settled' with the BJP top brass making it clear that the coming assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak said on Tuesday night that all the eight candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party have won in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state.
Taking to the Twitter on Friday, Adityanath said, 'Total destruction of those who even think of harming the self-respect of women in UP is inevitable.' 'They will get such a punishment that will set an example for future. The UP government is committed to the safety and development of mothers and daughters,' he said, adding that this is his government's 'resolve and promise'.
The extended timing to offer prayers at the new Ram temple in Ayodhya came into effect on Thursday with 'darshan' being allowed from 6 am as key roads leading to the temple town remained closed to regulate vehicular movement.
Party sources in Delhi said Rahul Gandhi is keen to visit there on Wednesday, days after his sister and All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police while on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people died and several injured Sunday in the bloodiest clash since the farmers' protest over the Centre's agri laws began last year.
'I always dreamt of becoming a police officer. I used to see that it is a difficult job but I always wanted to wear that uniform once and wanted to see how it felt.'
While conditions have improved over the last decade in western UP, there are still unfulfilled needs.
Three Lok Sabha MPs, including its former Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, figured on Sunday in the BJP's first list of 52 candidates.
Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao played host at a screening of Laapataa Ladies.
Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district early Tuesday with a complaint of abdominal pain.
'The Mughals became completely Indian in every sense and united the vast Indian subcontinent, not only territorially, but also the hearts and minds of people with multiple religio-cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversities' 'The Mughals, arguably, made India an enviable superpower in the then world.' 'Are the Hindutva rulers of today scared of acknowledging Mughal accomplishments?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'After Modi, Yogi is the most popular face of Hindutva, but it's too early to say that he is someone who could succeed Modi.'
Informing about his decision, Maurya said in a tweet in Hindi, 'Due to the attitude of gross neglect towards Dalits, backwards, farmers, unemployed youth and small and medium-sized traders, I am resigning from the council of ministers of Yogi (Adityanath) of UP.'
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The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.
"I am fighting a big battle to save my country from the corrupt. That is why they are behind bars today and not getting bail even from the Supreme Court," Modi said.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
The curious onlookers that greet the candidates are, however, unaware about the importance of history. They are just there to catch a glimpse of 'Rani Ma' Amrita Roy or Mahua Moitra.
Constable Priti Rani was among the hundreds of police personnel deployed for Adityanath's visit.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
Stressing that every question paper has been "accounted for", the NTA said that purported images of the question paper circulating on social media have no relation with the actual paper.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday made a surprise visit to a Dalit hamlet in Lucknow and picked up a broom to clean it, reacting to chief minister Yogi Adityanath's dig at her act of sweeping of floor at a Sitapur guest house during her detention.
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