Kovind may bag over 62 per cent votes but fall short of the 69 per cent votes polled by incumbent Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.
Thackeray said he has to undergo a surgery on June 1 and after recovering from it, he would again address a public meeting.
As the election approaches, the earthquake survivors and the scientists urge political parties to take note of warning signs before it's too late.
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 BJP chief also said there is no need to say 'Bharat Maata Ki Jai' under pressure from the RSS or the BJP.
The pleas, which were earlier heard by a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Jyoti Singh, have now been transferred to a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani through an administrative order of January 28.
Among the notable absentees were Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's M K Stalin, Telugu Desam Party chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Delhi chief minister and Aam Admi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
It said as and when the protestors tried to infringe the law and failed to obey directions of enforcement agencies, appropriate legal action was taken against the miscreants.
'Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session'
Notwithstanding exit polls giving a clear mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Friday said the party still prefers to support a Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
A car and some window panes were damaged in the attack that took place around 1.30 am when Jadhav, who is the son- in-law of state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Raosaheb Danve.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
A Muslim man's beard was allegedly shaved off in Gurugram.
A unanimous statement of the delegation appealed to the people of the state to shun the path of violence and resolve all the issues through dialogue and discussion.
Altogether 160 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion while no vote was cast against the same.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to appoint Hindutva hardliner Yogi Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister has drawn an avalanche of reactions from opposition parties.
Faculty members are also continuing in the administrative position.
Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai on Thursday took her movement for gender equality to the famous Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai but stopped short of going into the shrine.
"Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me. He died of his karma. I told him, he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased," Pragya said.
A father-son duo killed in the attack hailed from Vadodara and their family back home is shattered.
The plea filed by NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights and others also sought a direction to the Centre to refrain from preparing the National Register of Citizens.
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.
I am not here to play negative politics in the name of Muslims, says the leader of yet another electoral front in Bihar.
'They take each and every election with seriousness.' 'No other political party has that kind of cadre who is strongly aligned with the reason, motto and ideology of their party.'
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen seem to have dented the Congress's sway over the votes of minorities in Gujarat in the just concluded assembly polls, bringing down the main Opposition party's vote margin considerably in various seats across the state.
A magnificent display of India's cultural diversity through colourful parades across the length and breadth of the country marked the 71st Republic Day celebrations on Sunday which passed off peacefully, barring in Upper Assam, which was rocked by four explosions within a span of 10 minutes.
After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
Army chief says Assam's AIUDF has grown at a faster pace than the BJP.
The SC, however, rejected NIA's request for immediate stay to the order.
Former PM H D Deve Gowda on his party's prospects in the coming elections.
The Congress party on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues, latching on to the controversy surrounding newly-inducted minister of state for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria over his graduation marksheet.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
With most political parties failing to articulate the concerns of Muslims, who account for 15 per cent of the population and can swing the electoral outcome in 21 constituencies, the AIMIM hopes to make a mark in the ongoing assembly elections, says Shafeeq Rahman.
The Group of Minister, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, is all set to recommend special status to both the states under Article 371-D of the Constitution and examining a proposal to include two districts of Rayalseema in Telangana.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP from Hyderabad, chanted "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind", after members from the ruling side shouted slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided it would not adopt the path of appeasement and vote bank politics.
An estimated 47 per cent voters exercised their franchise on Sunday in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote.
Shiv Sena nominee Hemangi Worlikar romped home as the deputy Mayor of BMC.
