Senior Janata Dal-United leader Dhananjay Singh pitched for Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said party workers in Uttar Pradesh want Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest the elections from the state's Phulpur constituency.
'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
The best-case scenario is that the BJP will top out at around 50 seats in UP -- a drop of 12 from the 62 it had won in 2019. Taken in tandem with Maharashtra and Karnataka, this is what is likely to put paid to the BJP's ambitions of a third term for Modi, argues Prem Panicker.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several central ministers and chief ministers and leaders cutting across party lines condoled the demise of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday and hailed his immense contributions to the state as well as the country.
The video in this regard was shared by Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on their social media accounts.
'If these two parties come together, there could be amalgamation of OBC, Dalits and Muslim votes.'
The Congress vice president has eyes on the larger objective of his partnership with Akhilesh, which may provide the template against the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday met ministers from the state at his residence in Lucknow to discuss the upcoming assembly bypolls in 10 constituencies.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday rebuked the supporters of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and state Cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav for taking to the streets over a dispute involving the two.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
The notification for the first phase of the seven-phase assembly elections in the state will be issued on Tuesday.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
'There was a strong undercurrent of deprivation, and also frustration against misuse of power and authority.' 'This election was an opportunity for the manifestation of this discontentment.'
He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to the commercialisation of education.
SP has fielded Shivpal from Jaswant Nagar seat in Etawah district.
Leaders of several Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties met on Saturday to take stock of the opposition's preparations leading up to the June 4 counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections, and claimed they will get more than 295 seats, enough for them to form the next government.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.
Three MLAs of Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, including Mahendra Singh who was arrested from a dance bar in Goa, were suspended from party membership for their alleged involvement in anti-party activites.
The Congress leadership is upset over Nath's remarks against many leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, over seat sharing.
Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, whom Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier gave a berth in the Rajya Sabha, was the surprise entry even for senior ministers who were seen asking each other about the background of the man from Punjab.
The SP chief said they will now "consult" the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Gondwana Gantantra Party for the Madhya Pradesh polls.
'Laluji is like my father and I am like his son.'
The Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Uttar Pradesh unit president Akhilesh have been put under "house arrest" to prevent them from leading a three-day agitation against the Bahujan Samaj Party government, a charge denied by the district administration.
Voting for the seventh and final round will be held on March 7 for Varanasi and its eight adjoining districts.
"The government is afraid of oath ceremony of a student leader and is stopping me at the airport to prevent me from visiting Allahabad," the SP chief claimed.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was an experienced leader and it would be great if a proposal came to make him the convenor of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), his deputy Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday.
Modi was addressing a rally after laying the foundation stone of 594-km-long Ganga Expressway in this Uttar Pradesh district.
What did Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav discuss at breakfast?
The BJP ally Nishad Party, which represents the OBC fisher communities "welcomed" the court order, saying that the state government's previous notifications on the issue were flawed and "unconstitutional".
The 77-year-old former Congress president is set to enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan.
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.
In a minor reshuffle, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has taken over the charge of 11 new departments. As per a notification issued in Lucknow, agriculture, foreign trade, export and marketing have been taken away from Agriculture Minister Anand Singh. Akhilesh has been given additional charge of Food and Drug Authority, AYUSH, non-conventional energy sources, infrastructure, coordination, public enterprises, political pension, language, agriculture, foreign trade
"I am a five-time legislator and it has been allotted to me as a senior member of the state assembly," he said.
Controversial Uttar Pradesh politician Raghuraj Pratap Singh -- better known as Raja Bhaiya -- who was dropped from the Akhilesh Yadav ministry, is all set to be re-inducted into the government on Friday.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
The outcome of the polls to the Rajya Sabha is likely to have an impact in the politically crucial state just ahead of the general elections in the country.
YSR Congress party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy will meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday evening in Lucknow, to garner political support for a united Andhra Pradesh.
Swara Bhasker's wedding reception in Delhi did not have the regular Bollywood faces.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances