At many places, where the voters had entered booths before 6 pm and were standing in queues, they were allowed to cast their votes.
A day ahead of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's visit to Rajasthan to raise the voice of the farmers against the farm laws, he said that the Centre should withdraw the laws and after thorough consultation with farmers and states, come up with a new set of legislations which the tillers would themselves want and is not something that is forced upon them.
Poll-bound Delhi will witness star-studded election rallies on Sunday, organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which are trying their best to ensure impressive turnouts.Congress president Sonia Gandhi will sound the election bugle from Mangolpuri in outer Delhi while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati will address a rally in Trilokpuri in east Delhi.
A former chief minister of Punjab, Barnala has the ability to carry other parties with him, including Akali Dal from the National Democratic Alliance.
Here are how the numbers are stack up in the lower house if the no-confidence motion takes place.
Addressing mediamen at Wishvkarma Gurudwara at Mandi Dabwali, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (Panj-Pardhani) Daljit Singh Bittu said the Dera chief should be arrested and his activities should be stopped by the Union government. Protestors will pray at the Golden temple in Amritsar on July 19 before leaving for Delhi, Bittu added.
A special court in Roopnagar on Friday framed charges against Badal, his wife, son and seven others in connection with the case.
Polling to 115 of 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held amidst tight security.
The party's general secretary Arun Jaitley, who is in charge of the Punjab polls, will accompany Advani from Pathankot.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the second straight day on Wednesday without transacting any business as a determined Opposition stalled proceedings demanding action against those indicted by the Nanavati Commission.
Jalandhar is a stronghold of Dera Sach Khand, a Sikh sect comprised of mainly Dalits who took to the streets in protest against the death of one of their gurus Sant Raman Nand during a clash between rival Sikh communities in a Vienna Gurudwara.
The game intensified after Congress fielded Channi from a second seat and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia chose to take on Sidhu from the Amritsar East seat.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'There is a communication gap between the Modi government and the allies. During the last one year, the NDA has met only once and that was two hours before the land bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.' 'When Vajpayee was prime minister if any NDA chief minister asked for time , he was given it the next day. Modi is not doing it.' 'If there is tension on the streets, if there is insecurity amongst the minorities, then Make in India will remain a pipe dream.'
The meeting at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence was seen as very crucial in forging an Opposition unity with efforts on to reconcile differences between the Congress and some regional parties that have been at loggerheads traditionally.
The polls for 70-member assembly will be held on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11.
'This goes against the letter and spirit of Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966. Punjab will fight strongly for its rightful claim over Chandigarh'
Bibi Jagir Kaur is the first woman to occupy the post of SGPC chief, to which she has been elected for the second time.
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other areas have stayed put at various Delhi border points, protesting against the new farm laws, which they fear will dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporate firms.
the SAD president said that the Prakash Singh Badal government had failed to control the law and order situation in the state, arising out of the Dera Sacha Sauda controversy.
Atwal's protest came midway through the function in the historic Central Hall of Parliament, addressed by the President, the vice president, the prime minister and the Lok Sabha speaker.
Demanding an enquiry into the whole incident, Badal demanded exemplary punishment for the guilty.
In India, under the anti-defection law, a three-line whip can be violated only by more than one-third of a party's strength in the legislature
high level delegation led by Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal will visit Mumbai on Tuesday to meet the members of the family of Balkar Singh, who was killed in the incident of firing allegedly by private security guards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.
Repeated requests by Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal failed to restore normalcy forcing him to adjourn the House.
"My department is being singled out publicly. I always regard him as my elder I always listen to him."
"The SAD and BJP are united and there are no differences between us whatsoever and as far as the appointment of deputy chief ministership we would sort out the matter in a mutual consultations and not through the media," he said.
Sukhbir declared that there will be no political vendetta against the former chief minister and his colleagues, but if complaints are received they will certainly be looked into.
He asserted that the government purchase of farm produce will remain, adding that the mechanism of minimum support price will continue in the same way it always has.
Rajnath Singh, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has predicted two third majority for the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the Assembly polls in Punjab for which the voting will conclude at 5 pm on Tuesday.
DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, who defeated SAD for a second time in committee elections last month, also demanded in a statement that the SGPC, the top Sikh religious administration controlled by Badal's SAD, take action against Sidhu.
On sensitive matters, the manifesto said a relentless struggle would be waged to secure justice for the state on issues like river water and transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab.
Besides campaigning for SAD-BJP candidates in Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, Khanna will campaign extensively for his party colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is contesting the Amritsar parliamentary by-election
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday suspended the Question Hour and took up for discussion an Opposition-sponsored adjounment motion on the Nanavati Commission report.
After spending two nights in jail, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, convicted and sentenced for three years imprisonment in a road rage case, was released on Saturday on bail granted by the Supreme Court.
Ace Indian athlete Manjeet Kaur's preparations for the Beijing Olympics received a major boost when a New Delhi-based real estate group handed her Rs 34 lakh to train under an American coach in California. The cheque was presented to the 400 metres runner, a Punjab Police Inspector, by Rohtas Goyal, chairman of the Omaxe Group, in the presence Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal and state DGP N P S Aulakh.
Filing nomination from the Amritsar East seat, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday dared his bte noir Amarinder Singh to leave Patiala and take on him.
About 50 officers arrived at Parkash Singh Badal's residence in Chandigarh and began investigations.
Barnala, who is currently out on bail, was present in the Court. The SAD MLA from Dhuri was arrested on August 12 after his maid charged him with raping her.
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