After resorting to quirky measures like debarring party spokespersons from news channel debates, the opposition parties are now overhauling their organisational set-ups and purging respective executives, committees and wings to weed out non-performers and deadwood. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
'I hope he will continue to be what he is. And doing so, he won't be much different from those whose example he is being given right now,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
'After meeting the prime minister and Amit Shah, Yogi has come out with his position secure till the assembly election.'
A 27-year-old burqa-clad woman, who is an instant talaq victim, is campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls to make the Muslim women realise the "good work" being done by the saffron party in the state. Nida Khan believes that unlike other parties, the BJP does not see Muslims as a vote bank only but considers them as equals.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion on Wednesday, several Union Ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned from their posts.
Twenty-four people, most of them attending a funeral, were killed and 17 others injured when the roof of a shelter at a cremation ground in Uttar Pradesh's Muradnagar collapsed on Sunday, police said.
Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cortege left the Bharatiya Janata Party's headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
According to Inspector General of Police K P Singh, Mahant Giri's body was found hanging from the ceiling by his disciples. A purported suicide note of seven-eight pages was also found at the site in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and was ending his life.
Fifty-six months on, the government's record in implementing these schemes and projects has been mixed, report Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana.
Shah asserted that the BJP will once again form the government in Uttar Pradesh with a comfortable majority.
The chief minister will arrive in Agra on Friday night and visit the calamity-hit areas on Saturday morning, Principal Secretary Information Avanish Awasthi said.
"Let them show whatever they have got. We are winning with a majority," Akhilesh Yadav said, dismissing predictions to the contrary on some TV channels.
'It's like the BJP is mocking people: Do what you want, we'll still win.'
The sole intention of the opposition parties is to create roadblocks on the path of development, the prime minister said, as he termed their action "anti national".
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
'Only the prime minister can take the initiative in reaching out to his opponents. The fact that he has been reluctant to do so, leaving it to the Arun Jaitleys and Venkaiah Naidus to hold out the olive branch, has given the Opposition the chance of pointing to his aloofness,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Getting Brijbhushan to rake up Thackeray's anti-north Indian stand is the BJP's way of cutting Raj Thackeray to size.' 'Could just one MP have stopped Raj Thackeray's Ayodhya tour?'
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.
"Didi has already said in Delhi that if Akhilesh Yadav needs our help, we are ready to extend help. The gesture of senior SP leader Jaya Bachchan seeking votes for the TMC during the West Bengal Assembly elections will be reciprocated in Uttar Pradesh," said Laliteshpati Tripathi, who recently joined the TMC.
'If the BJP doesn't want to accept the will of the people, then we will show them what a majority means.'
The chief minister stressed on more hygiene in the areas where cows were kept and gave a direction to ensure availability of green fodder to them.
A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok.
'There are around 400 Lok Sabha constituencies where Dalits and Muslims combined constitute 30% of the electorate.' 'Also, 90% to 95% of Dalits and Muslims go out and vote.' 'So, if they are come together, they become significant electorally.'
Given Modi's penchant for springing a surprise, the BJP nominee for next President could be anyone. The only thing certain is that it will be an RSS person, reports R Rajagopalan.
If not now, when, asks Virendra Kapoor.
The nationwide ban comes into force at 6 am Tuesday, the poll panel said.
'Both the BJP and SP have workers and cadres across the state, and now it will boil down to which party manages booths smartly and gets its voters to come out.'
Modi was addressing a public rally after laying the foundation stone of a factory to manufacture advanced AK-203 rifles in Amethi, represented by the Congress president in Lok Sabha.
BKS and BMS leaders have told the BJP leadership that it is staring at a build-up of anti-government propaganda in the run-up to polls in five states.
Bharti also targeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying by choosing to contest elections from Amethi and Wayanad, he has accepted defeat.
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