'A first-time politician can only get such opportunities in AAP. Had I been in some other party, I wouldn't even have got a ticket to contest polls'
The BJP has fielded former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against Arvind Kejriwal.
The BJP is considering having two deputy chief ministers in the new Delhi government to represent the city as a "mini" India, party leaders said. The move is aimed at accommodating MLAs from different castes, communities, and regional backgrounds. The proposal is under consideration by the national leadership, which will also decide on the chief minister and other ministers. The process of government formation is expected to gain momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his foreign visit over the weekend.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has apologized for using the slang term "thulla" to refer to lower-rank policemen in a recent speech. She said it was not her intention to belittle or denigrate police personnel and that she has immense respect for them. She also attributed her past controversial comments on social media against opposition leaders to her lack of maturity then, saying she is not afraid to accept her mistakes. The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly criticised Gupta for her remarks in the Assembly on March 28, which it called were an insult to police personnel.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned for nearly nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday in the excise policy case, amid protests by his party as the Aam Aadmi Party chief claimed that the allegations of scam were false and the agency was acting at the Bharatiya Janata Party's behest.
In face of this confrontation, membership of 21 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs may be cancelled, dealing a huge blow to the Delhi chief minister. Rediff.com explains how things came to this pass.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
Chief Minister-designate Rekha Gupta and her Council of Ministers will take oath at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking a return of the BJP in Delhi after 26 years.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a 'certificate of honesty'.
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the decision that Kejriwal should continue to be the chief minister even after being jailed was that of the people of Delhi.
Atishi, Raghav Chadha and Dilip Pandey are among the first-time MLAs. Atishi, who was fielded from Kalkaji, won the seat by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Dharambir Singh by a margin of 11,393 votes. Chadha, who had also registered victory from Rajinder Nagar, defeated his BJP rival Sardar R P Singh by a margin of 20,058 votes.
The Delhi assembly results have underscored that a section of Arvind Kejriwal's committed supporters abandoned him because they were let down by his refusal to take a stand on crucial issues that impinge on the security and Constitutionally enshrined rights of the people, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
"Special circumstances" exist in Punjab, Wasnik said and added that in view of these, the AAP and the Congress have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls separately in the state.
'Till the BJP does not understand Kejriwal they cannot win Delhi.'
First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will be the new chief minister of Delhi, capping 11 days of suspense over who will get the top post after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
The BJP's victory in the Delhi Assembly elections has sparked speculation over who will lead the next government. Several prominent leaders, including Pravesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, Vijender Gupta, and Satish Upadhyay, are in the running for the chief minister's post. The party's national leadership is expected to make the final decision, leaving the contenders in a state of anticipation.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's unexpected announcement to resign after two days kicked up a strong buzz on Sunday over the names of his wife Sunita and his ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai as his possible replacement.
Kejriwal charged that the BJP toppled Manipur, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments.
AAP organisational general secretary Sandeep Pathak cited the performance of the party in recent local bodies polls in MP and said it will form the next government.
'Now Modi ji is saying it is his guarantee that every corrupt person will be made a minister'
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
All detained persons were released by 2.10 pm, a senior police official said.
A BJP delegation, led by its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari, walked out of the meeting at Kejriwal's residence.
The proceedings began at around 11:20 am and nominated members were first administered the oath by presiding officer Satya Sharma, followed by elected councillors.
The development comes after the resignation of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, the key faces of the city government and were instrumental in steering the national capital through the COVID-19 crisis.
The MCD House witnessed high-decibel protests by the BJP councillors after Oberoi declared that a vote cast during the election was "invalid".
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was 'party to the criminal conspiracy' of the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy since the beginning, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its latest supplementary charge sheet in the case.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
The Punjab cabinet has approved the summoning of a special session of the assembly on September 22 to bring a confidence motion.
The protesters, including AAP MLAs and newly appointed Delhi convener Gopal Rai, alleged that the manipulation of electronic voting machines was killing democracy.
A search is on for suitable accommodation for Arvind Kejriwal and his family, Singh had said.
Police, which had made extensive preparations by putting up three layers of barricades, detained senior AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey along with party volunteers, and took them to Parliament Street police station.
Ahead of their planned protest in Chandigarh on March 5, several Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders were detained in early morning raids at their residences on Tuesday and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann denounced the agitating farmer unions, saying they have turned Punjab into a 'state of dharnas' and caused huge losses to it.
There are 17 post graduates, 29 graduates among 70 newly-elected MLAs.
The BJP released a sting video shot purportedly by a former AAP volunteer from north west Delhi's Rohini to allege the AAP sold tickets for Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.
The AAP leaders have alleged that four MLAs were offered money by the BJP to quit the party.
A total of 16 turncoats were in the poll fray -- nine fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party, three by the Congress and four by the BJP.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, and the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Wednesday announced to contest 85 seats each in Maharashtra assembly elections even as deliberations to seal a final seat-sharing pact are still underway.