Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
'There might be some internal tussles that can be expected between any two persons in any party.' 'But I do not see any tussle which might weaken the possibility of dictatorship.'
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are taking place today, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seeking to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hoping for a comeback. The campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra crisscrossing the state to garner votes. The Mahayuti is banking on popular schemes while the MVA focuses on issues like caste-based census and social justice. The elections have also seen a significant rise in the number of candidates and voters.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is considering fielding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Ayodhya as its senior leaders meet to finalise candidates for the assembly polls starting from February 10.
The Kumbh Mela is what it is because of the devotion of millions who make it an experience like no other. It is experiencing the heart and soul of India and the brotherhood of mankind.
Thirteen people have also been injured in the accident and admitted to a government hospital.
There was much speculation on a likely meeting between Bhagwat and Adityanath, especially in the backdrop of the BJP's recent electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
Prayagraj is transforming into a massive temporary city to host the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, expected to draw over 40 crore pilgrims. The preparations include extensive infrastructure development, including 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, and a 1,250-km pipeline network. The event, starting on January 13, will culminate on February 26, bringing together millions of devotees for the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
The CM's swipe was aimed not just at Kejriwal but also at the SP and BSP who have been raising questions about the EVMs.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed confidence that the BJP will win over 74 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
Destiny had decided that a grand temple of Lord Ram will be built in Ayodhya and it chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this, BJP stalwart L K Advani has said in an article to be published in a special edition of the Rashtra Dharma magazine next week.
Here are the 10 key issues likely to be the centre of discussion in the seven-phase general elections that begin on April 19.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
Chavan said the Mahayuti and BJP's policy was Viksit Bharat and Viksit Maharashtra, as spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Keeping up his tradition of celebrating the festival with soldiers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sir Creek near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat's Kutch district and offered sweets to jawans.
The prime minister will be part of the launch of several development initiatives on his birthday.
The priest informed that seven rooms of the CM's residence were 'purified'.
In front of a 50,000 odd strong audience, which also had Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Sunday. Here's a glimpse of the big names that attended the big-ticket event.
Sharing details about the decision, tourism minister Jaivir Singh said the tourism department would provide the company land for the international-level museum on a 90-year lease for a token amount of Re 1.
The top batters in the BJP come to Mandi to swing votes for the movie star fighting her first election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and chief ministers of National Democratic Alliance-ruled States are at the ceremony.
Adityanath has reached Ayodhya by air to see arrangements at the temple, which has been opened for the devotees, Director Information Shishir told PTI.
Karnataka would vote on May 10, and the results will be declared on May 13.
Before the ceremony, Yogi Adityanath, who led the party to a thumping victory in the just-concluded elections, will be elected as the leader of the legislature party, party sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of an international cricket stadium in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
Modi showed the green flag to the train connecting Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations, marking launch of the RRTS in India. The train can run at a speed of 180 km per hour,
Samajwadi Party candidate Afzal Ansari is the incumbent MP and slain don Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother. Afzal had won the 2019 election on a BSP ticket after defeating the BJP's Manoj Sinha, now the J&K lieutenant governor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 14 rallies in Madhya Pradesh during campaigning for polls and reached out to young voters by reminding them of the failures of previous Congress governments on various fronts as he doubled down on development of all sections.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Besides paying his respects to Ram Lalla, the megastar, who was accompanied by his son Abhishek, was seen rubbing shoulders with quite a few dignitaries.
The priest-turned-politician is not someone who minces his words.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Anil Kumar and two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were sworn in on Tuesday as Yogi Adityanath expanded his council of ministers, weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP's losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the UP CM had addressed nearly 75 rallies, has put a big question mark on his ability to deliver in high-octane contests, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
'Slogans like 'Ek hai toh safe hai' and 'Batenge toh katenge' resonated with voters.'
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