After a long time, here's a film that does justice to the people whose stories are never heard or written about, notes Divya Nair.
The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000. The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions - a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
The Kerala Police are investigating the mysterious deaths of an IRS officer, his sister, and their mother in Kochi. The officer, Maneesh Vijay, and his sister, Shalini Vijay, were found hanging inside their house, while their mother, Shakuntala Agarwal, was discovered dead on her bed. Police have not yet established a direct link between the deaths and a CBI case in which Shalini was summoned as an accused. Preliminary findings suggest the siblings died by suicide, but the cause of their mother's death is still under investigation. The family had been residing in the quarters for the past year and a half but reportedly kept to themselves, maintaining limited interaction with neighbours, police added.
Farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders urged the government to provide cheaper long-term credit, implement lower taxes, and double the PM-KISAN income support during a comprehensive pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. The two-hour meeting saw a detailed discussion of proposals, aimed at addressing multiple challenges in the agricultural sector, with key demands focusing on financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investments.
The radical raft of suggestions, which includes men not being allowed to take women's measurements and installing CCTV cameras, followed a meeting held on October 28.
Haryana has recorded a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent with Ellenabad assembly seat in Sirsa district witnessing the highest polling percentage at over 80 per cent, according to the updated figures of the Election Commission on Sunday.
It was a mixed bag for 11 seats with more than 35 percent Muslim voters, where six candidates of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi emerged victorious in the Maharashtra assembly polls on Saturday, while four seats went to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Samajwadi Party rebel candidate Nitin Agarwal was elected deputy speaker of the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Monday, defeating Narendra Verma, the official candidate of Akhilesh Yadav's party, by 244 votes.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
People had also started gathering at Mukhtar Ansari's residence in Ghazipur and there was a large deployment of security personnel around the house.
Besides the national capital, polling 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. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won the mayoral elections in 10 of the 17 municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh, results for which were announced on Saturday, virtually adding a third engine to its "double-engine" government.
Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's alleged aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead on Lucknow court premises on Wednesday, the police said.
Asked about BJP's Gorakhpur (Urban) MLA Aggarwal, the Samajwadi Party chief told reporters in Lucknow, "If you (reporters) can establish contact with him and speak to him, the ticket will be announced and he will get the ticket."
Under Election Commission guidelines, campaigning has to end 48 hours before the close of polls for each phase.
According to the results announced on Thursday, 25 Samajwadi Party candidates were defeated by less than 5,000 votes while a similar fate awaited three nominees of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
'The Congress today has lost contact with the Hindu clergy.' 'They go to to Hindu clergy only during the time of elections.'
Of the 59 seats, the BJP had won 51 in the 2017 Assembly elections, four had gone to the Samajwadi Party, and three to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
As many as 624 candidates are in the fray in this round of voting being held in Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Banda, and Fatehpur districts.
Till 5 pm, Agra recorded 56.61 per cent polling, Aligarh 57.25 per cent, Baghpat 61.35 per cent, Bulandshahr 60,52 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 54.77 per cent, Ghaziabad 54.77 per cent, Hapur 60.50 per cent, Mathura 58.51 per cent, Meerut 58.52 cent, Muzaffarnagar 62.14 per cent and Shamli 61.78 per cent, an EC report said.
The clash took place outside the Kali Mata temple when members of an outfit that calls itself "Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray)" began a Khalistan Murdabad march.
In a major jolt to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, its national general secretary Naresh Agarwal and two sitting legislators from Hardoi joined the Samajwadi Party on Friday. "I am resigning from the Rajya Sabha and the post of BSP national general secretary," Agarwal said while addressing a gathering at a function at the SP headquarters in Lucknow. Besides Naresh, his son Nitin Agarwal and Rajeshwari -- both BSP MLAs from Hardoi -- also joined the SP.
Both the BJP and the Congress have banked on new and young faces, some of whom have been nominated by the parties for the first time.
It was curtains down on the high-decibel campaigning for the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls as sparring among political rivals intensified during the last-minute canvassing on Monday.
In the absence of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Rajya Sabha, a Bahujan Samaj Party member described her junior E Ahammed as a "duplicate minister" on Friday.
The BJP announced names of 107 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
The saffron party is assured of victory in eight of the ten seats in UP going by its dominant numbers in the state assembly.
Gandhi's name was the only name discussed when 18 opposition parties met to decide on their candidate for the vice presidential poll, the sources said.
UP minister Azam Khan surprised MLAs from all parties with unusual 'gifts' of a broom and a pen
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.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has combined three bungalows into one in the prime location of the Lutyen's zone of Delhi and the unauthorised construction has come under the scanner of state-builder Central Public Works Department.
While Agarwal said the government was trying to change character of the country, his other party colleagues said the names of persons 'who have made no contribution to the freedom struggle' are being given.
Two other ministers Swantradev Singh and Mohsin Raza also took oath.
Uproar over the killing of five Indian soldiers on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops on Tuesday led to adjournment of Parliament until noon.
The BJP is seeking backdoor entry for Yogi and four of his ministers to the state legislature.
While the BJP has the numbers to send its eight candidates to the Upper House, its ally, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, which has four MLAs in the 403-member UP assembly, holds key to the fate its ninth nominee.
The notices were issued on Tuesday after damage of nearly Rs 25 lakh was assessed across the district by the police and the administration.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has complained against six major political parties for not appointing Public Information Officers.
A total of 3.32 crore voters will be eligible to cast their ballots at 36,269 polling booths and 11,389 polling stations.
The Congress's share has almost halved, down from 12 in 2014 to six now.
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