A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
Taking to Twitter, AAP's Sanjay Singh shared a video of leaders greeting President Kovind at the farewell ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament.
Several states declared a holiday for schools, while government offices, other establishments and public sector banks remained closed for half a day.
Modi will accompany on July 25 from Rashtrapati Bhavan to 12 Janpath as a courtesy.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'...getting drenched in the rains, doing farm work, labour and sweating it out so that they can get their evening meals.' 'I want to tell them that this Ram Nath Kovind of Paraunkh village is going to Rashtrapati Bhavan as their representative.'
The Enforcement Directorate had last week arrested Chhagan Bhujbal's associate and chartered accountant Sunil Naik in connection with the case.
What are the political equations, the challenges, and the threats?
'You don't have any options within the BJP. You only have to follow the orders of the top leadership.'
In its first list for the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP has focused on seats it lost in 2018 and some of them even in 2013, and has reposed faith in 14 candidates, including three former ministers, who lost last time.
When Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Gujarat to cast his vote in the urban body polls, learnt of the poor voter, instead of heading home he went to the Motera stadium, organised a control room, and was on the phone with practically everybody assigned duty on the ground: MPs, MLAs and BJP office-bearers. His single commandment was to check the voter list and phone or personally get people to the booths, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The news of Shah joining the Cabinet came from Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani, who tweeted a congratulatory message. "Had a courtesy meeting with our mentor Amit Shah and gave my best wishes to him on his inclusion as a strong member of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers," he tweeted.
The Allahabad high court on Thursday dismissed as withdrawn Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah's petition challenging the first information reports lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh for alleged hate speeches after he stated that he wanted to reply to the Election Commission notice in the matter.
A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition. And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that. So, the Opposition must learn to convince people why the BJP must go. Else, it can count down to 2029, points out Shyam G Menon.
By changing the nation's name from India to Bharat, would this landmass overnight lose the emotional and cultural linkage that had been built over generations, centuries and millennia, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here's all you need to know about the man who could be India's next president.
Seventy-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manik Saha on Wednesday took oath as chief minister of the sensitive border state of Tripura.
Insiders say President Kovind has been told he will not be re-nominated, reveals R Rajagopalan.
The Congress president also hit out at BJP leader Kapil Mishra for making a statement that allegedly incited violence in the city. The CWC has passed a resolution on the situation in the city, she said, adding that the CWC believes that the situation is grave and an urgent action is required.
This year, eight eminent individuals are being given Padma Bhushan and 54 are being conferred with Padma Shri awards, besides the two Padma Vibhushan recipents.
'Revanth Reddy mounted a spirited campaign in Telangana which turned around the fortunes of the Congress in six months.'
These include key constituencies held by Opposition parties such as Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli (Sonia Gandhi, Congress) and Mainpuri (Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP); Maharashtra's Baramati (Supriya Sule, Nationalist Congress Party); West Bengal's Jadhavpur (Mimi Chakraborty, TMC); Telangana's Mahabubnagar (Srinivas Reddy, TRS) and Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara (Nakul Nath, Congress).
The 1984-batch IRS officer was otherwise to remain in office till November 18, 2023, according to the notification issued by the government.
'The judicial procedure was influenced which led to no convictions in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984'
"The Congress believes in the politics of appeasement and dynasty, whereas BJP follows politics of performance," Shah said.
Behind the BJP's astounding electoral success is a small army of dedicated lieutenants marshalled by Amit Shah.
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Two tribal men died after they were allegedly assaulted by a group of 15-20 people over suspicion of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, police said on Tuesday.
President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma awards to 73 individuals, some posthumously, at a ceremony held in the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Monday.
Political watchers are keen to see if the party will now opt for a more seasoned face from its ranks for the vice presidential candidate.
Modi knows how to turn Gujarati pride into an emotive issue at election time and a Gujarati President would have its own electoral resonance and significance, note Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Saturday as the new-found allies move towards constituting their council of ministers.
Shah attended a function on renaming of Mughalsarai junction after Pt Deendayal Upadhyay.
AAP organisational general secretary Sandeep Pathak cited the performance of the party in recent local bodies polls in MP and said it will form the next government.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Kalyan Singh, often termed as a Hindutva icon, and actor Victor Banerjee were among the 65 distinguished personalities who were conferred with Padma awards by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.
While the final list isn't out yet, Namrata Thakker brings you some names that have reportedly been doing the rounds and may perhaps enter the BB house.
The Tamil Nadu assembly bill seeking exemption to the state from the ambit of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test has been sent to the Centre for presidential assent by Governor R N Ravi, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Wednesday.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Shah, 55, stated on Twitter that he has tested positive for the infection and is getting admitted to a hospital on the advice of doctors.
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