Polling for the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024, with 57 seats going to the polls across 8 states.
Barring 2004 and 2009 when Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar seat as a BJP MP and 1998 when Daya Singh Sodhi from BJP was elected as the MP, it has essentially a Congress bastion.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has thrown his hat into the ring as an Independent.
'Why don't you resign from the Lok Sabha? Why does the Akali Dal party not withdraw support from the Modi government?'
'The fight is between the Congress and Akali Dal.'
A video purportedly showing gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, lodged in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Central Prison since August 2023, speaking to Pakistan's gangster Shahzad Bhatti on a video call surfaced on Tuesday, prompting the Gujarat government to order a probe.lawr
Emergency is caught up in a controversy after Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.
Amid the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, a heated argument broke out between Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday when the former accused the latter of getting the farm laws enacted while she was a minister in the Union Cabinet, and added that she 'doing drama' over the laws and showing 'fake support' to the farmers' cause.
Narain Singh Chaura, a former terrorist with a history of violence and involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak case, attempted to shoot Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal outside the Golden Temple. The attack, which occurred while Badal was sitting in a wheelchair, was thwarted by quick action from security personnel. Chaura has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
Arora will have to resign from the Rajya Sabha if he wins the bypoll, the date for which is yet to be announced.
Punjab's 117 assembly seats are going to be a keenly-watched contest with the Congress, the AAP, the SAD-BSP alliance, and the BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt) battling to form the government in the state, with a probable entry of farmers' front in the form of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha.
Majithia had moved a court on Thursday after the case was registered and a lookout circular issued against him.
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.
The man, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the Golden Temple.
The biographical drama is caught up in controversy after some Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Akali Dal objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
Zee Entertainment Enterprises, co-producer of Kangana Ranaut's film Emergency, on Friday told the Bombay high court it has agreed to the cuts suggested by the censor board.
'An emergency has been imposed on my film too. It's a very hopeless state.'
The worst-hit in the Pakistani shelling was Poonch district which accounted for all the civilian deaths, the officials said, adding 28 persons were also injured and the condition of some of them was stated to be critical.
Senior Congress leader and former Punjab deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that Sikhs bravely fought the 1962, 1965, 1971 wars and the Kargil battle, but no helmet issue arose then.
The biographical drama is caught up in controversy after some Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Akali Dal objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.
Once a staunch ally of the BJP, the Akali Dal has severed the ties in protest against the laws
Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut says she was forced to sell off her property in Mumbai after the release of directorial venture Emergency was postponed due to delay in getting a censor certificate.
Police said they have made five arrests in the incident. Those arrested have been identified as Prabhjit Singh, the main accused, Kulbir Singh, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, they said.
"The film has been made to insult the entire Sikh community. We will not let the movie release in Mohali or anywhere in Punjab. The SGPC is united in this matter," said Rajinder Singh Tohra, a member of the SGPC.
The Akali Dal is convinced that Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh are part of a bigger plan to create a law and order problem in the state, leading to the imposition of central rule and even the exclusion of Punjab from the Lok Sabha polls as was done in 1991.
Narain Singh Chaura, a former Khalistani terrorist, attempted to kill Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Chaura, who had been visiting the temple for two days, opened fire at Badal from close range but missed as he was overpowered by plainclothes policemen. The police have seized a 9 mm pistol from Chaura and are investigating whether any organization was behind the incident or if it was carried out to "gain sympathy".
Singh's described Kejriwal's act as "theatrics" as the Delhi government had given approval to the "black farm laws" by notifying one of them last month, adding that the Aam Aadmi Party leader was indulging in "petty politics" now.
Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of radical Sikh outfits as well as that of Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar at the Golden Temple on the 38th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
In a video message posted on X, Kangana Ranaut claimed that she and the members of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) have been receiving threats. She said she is under pressure to not show the assassination of the former prime minster by her security guards.
With numbers on its side -- the ruling NDA has about half the votes of the electoral college -- and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, the AIADMK and the YSRCP, the NDA candidate will likely sail through the contest.
Sukhbir Badal also announced the candidature of his 94-year-old father and five-time state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from the Lambi assembly seat.
The statements the separatists make, the abominable tableaux at their parades, the slogans, posters, and selfies with assault rifles are not India's problem. If they are a nuisance, it should bother their host countries, because they are armed and have their own underworld with deadly gang rivalries. Significantly, none of this happens in the US -- only in snowflaky Canada, points out Shekhar Gupta.
A senior ruling Akali Dal leader of Punjab and two other persons from the state, who were allegedly been kidnapped in Hong Kong where they went to finalise a land deal, have been freed unharmed and the prime accused in the case arrested, police said.
Aam Aadmi Party calls Bhagwant Mann its people's choice for CM candidate in Punjab. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com traces what makes Mann so indispensable for his party.
The 79-year-old widely respected and popular leader steered the Congress in 2017 to a landslide victory in the 117-member assembly to occupy the chief minister's post for the second time.
The Shiromani Akali Dal-Sanyukt will contest on 17 seats.
