A beaming Amarinder Singh thanked the people of the state for their overwhelming support, saying he was committed to good governance and tackling the drug menace.
In the past, the House has passed a number of resolutions urging the Central government to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab, Mann said.
The incumbent Congress could win only 18 seats, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi losing both seats he contested -- Chamkaur Sahib as well as Bhadaur.
With the talks between the Centre and the agitating farmer unions stalled since January, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday expressed readiness to resume the dialogue to resolve their objections to the three new agri laws, but the unions remained adamant on their demands for a repeal of the legislations and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance released its manifesto for the February 20 Punjab polls on Saturday, promising a slew of sops for various sections, including 75 per cent reservation in all government jobs for youngsters from the state, an unemployment allowance, 35 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and massive infrastructure development.
Making the announcement at a press conference in Chandigarh, Sidhu, however, said he will assume charge the day Punjab will get a new advocate general.
Behind the movement are shock-workers functioning quietly to ensure that a seemingly spontaneous, apolitical, grassroots mobilisation sustains itself without dribbling into chaos or violence. Sai Manish lists some of them.
He had along with three other ministers rebelled against Amarinder Singh while choosing to side with the camp of state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, facing arrest in an NDPS case, involving sale, purchase and manufacturing of drugs among other offences, was on Monday granted anticipatory bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
There are instances -- both from national and state elections -- of economic under-performers being returned to power, and also of parties being thrown out despite good performance, observes T N Ninan.
Talking to reporters Khatkar Kalan, he also suggested that Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence will use farmers' unrest over the new farm laws and will try to foment trouble in the border state of Punjab.
The party also promised to end the mafia raj by creating corporations for the sale of liquor and sand mining.
The MPs criticised the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership for being in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA even after these bills were proposed by the government.
Political analysts say the road to the 2024 polls for the Congress is going to get tougher as it is a party that is 'in the ICU' and cannot be revived with quick-fix solutions.
On Sunday, Rajya Sabha passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.
The two leaders also discussed the special category status promised to the southern state.
The BJP can't be sure if it should celebrate that the old rival is fading or worry that new ones are rising. Because the last thing the BJP wants to see is alternatives rising, if only to the Congress, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Even as there is a strong anti-incumbency mood in Punjab, the multi-cornered contest has made the 2017 assembly polls prediction more difficult.
Sidhu made the sharp retort amid speculation that the former cricketer is himself eyeing the top post if the Congress wins next month's assembly polls.
His tweet pressing the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government to change the director general of police and state's advocate general appears to indicate that he continues to remain unhappy over certain key appointments.
He has no challenger in the Congress, the Akali Dal is in disarray. Will he call a snap election?
'My fight is issue-based and I have stood by it for a long time. There can't be any compromise on a pro-Punjab agenda'
Law and order has worsened in Punjab which is on the decline economically and socially, making the state a fit case for bringing it under President's rule, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said in Amritsar on Tuesday.
The BJP has many ruthless leaders with super-sharp political minds. But none has all this and Yogi's charisma and personal ambition, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs spent the night in the state legislative assembly building demanding copies of the Bill which the state's Congress government is now expected to introduce on Tuesday.
New entrant Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as the leading party winning 13 of 35 wards so far as the counting of votes in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls is in progress here on Monday.
Sibal said the BJP always tries to gain a foothold in states where its presence is limited and afterwards "dumps" its allies.
Claiming that the BJP's government's works in the three holy cities are only follow-ups of her government's initiatives, Mayawati went on to promise, in what is being seen as a subtle shift towards soft Hindutva ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, to complete all those work on time.
The numbers, however, appear to be in favour of the ruling dispensation to get these bills passed from Rajya Sabha, while the lower house has already cleared them despite a key NDA member Shiromani Akali Dal vehemently opposing them.
Dividing people in the name of religion, engineering riots and committing atrocities on Dalits is not Hindutva but to unite one human being with another is, he said in a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party while replying to a question at a summit organised by news channel Times Now.
'We felt it is our responsibility to stand by the farmers' and extend support of the whole of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray saahab'
The series of meetings are being seen as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to reach out to allies who have either been criticising or expressing their dissent with the party and also to strengthen the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Modi told the leaders that Tomar was just a phone call away for protesting farmers and the agriculture minister had conveyed the same to farmer leaders earlier this month.
The leaders of some Sikh outfits and hardline groups were taken into preventive custody early Wednesday in apprehension of breach of peace after a call that the newly-appointed jathedars would address the community from the Akal Takht.
In spite of his trying hard he is unable to connect not only with ordinary voters but with most party colleagues as well, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The Haryana Police closed the Ambala-Patiala highway after protesters gathered at the Shambhu border point with adjoining Punjab. The ruling Congress also held protests in Punjab, with the state unit chief Sunil Jakhar participating in one near the Shambhu border.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul asked how could he stand with the Akali Dal when he always talks about eliminating corruption.
There is anti-incumbency in urban areas. Rural Punjab, the Akali base, will hold the key.
The dinner was followed by a meeting in which nearly two dozen allies facilitated Prime Minister Modi.
"They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.
