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The BJP-led alliance in Assam is all set to form the government for the second successive term winning 72 of the 102 seats declared so far and is leading in three others.
The senior JMM leader, who briefly held the chief minister's post after Hemant Soren's resignation, said only the saffron party seems serious over the issue of tribals, while others are indulging in vote bank politics.
The AGP, which has ruled the state on its own twice, will play the junior partner and contest 24 seats while the rest 126 will be divided among BJP and three smaller outfits, with the saffron party leading the alliance.
A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three persons in Assam's Nagaon district, triggering massive protests by people on the streets.
The BJP will not announce the chief ministerial candidate before the Assam polls and a decision in this regard will be taken by its Parliamentary Board at the time of forming the next government, the saffron party state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Monday.
The Congress leader said he had warned the people of Assam before the Assembly elections in 2016 that hard earned peace would be hampered if the BJP came to power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's tally in Rajya Sabha has dipped below 90 for the first time in several years but the party and its allies are expected to not only recoup the their losses but also make some gains when by-elections to fill the existing vacancies are held in the coming weeks.
Senior Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has filed a police complaint against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his alleged "hateful statement" such as Lok Sabha MP and former party president Sonia Gandhi's "residence should be burnt".
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
The BJP would need to contest more seats than it did in 2014 and 2019.
During the Zero Hour of the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Anurag Thakur tried to corner the Leader of Opposition and Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, by alleging that he has not spoken about ensuring the safety of minorities in Bangladesh.
'The Assam Rifles are supporting the Kuki-narco terrorists.'
Rahul Gandhi was booked on Tuesday for 'wanton acts of violence' by the Assam Police as the political confrontation between the Congress leader and state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma escalated on the tenth day of the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', with Gandhi asserting that he does not get 'intimidated' by such tactics.
The other three crore -- nearly 40 percent -- will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government may seek the help of agencies like the Interpol in investigating the alleged interference of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who allegedly has links with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's British wife, in India's internal affairs. Sarma said the probe is at an initial stage and he has informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the developments in the case.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
As the counting begins on Friday the public focus in Assam will be mainly on how helpful the 'Modi Wave' has been for the Bharatiya Janata Party to challenge a confident Congress in Assam. Both the parties have contested in 13 out of 14 parliamentary seats.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
Soren, who is scheduled to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 30, also resigned as an MLA of the state assembly and a minister in the Jharkhand Cabinet.
The protesters torched tyres and old furniture in the middle of the road in Kwakeithel and Uripok, demanding the release of the leader. The situation remained tense on Sunday morning.
The AGP had in January withdrew its support to the BJP government in Assam in protest against the Centre's decision to go ahead with the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government's move to provide refugee and citizenship status to Hindu Bangladeshi migrants, who came to India to escape persecution, has evoked sharp reactions in Assam where illegal migration is a burning problem.
'Akhilesh Yadav made voters think why is the BJP asking for 400 paar.' 'They understood his words and believed the BJP wanted 400 paar only to demolish the Constitution and end reservations.'
The results of bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly seats spread across 13 states and a union territory have been a mixed bag for the BJP as its fortunes continue to nosedive in West Bengal against the might of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee while bad tidings have also come from states like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The Assam government released full-page advertisements in newspapers claiming Bhimashankar as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the state, Mahesh Pathak, president of All India Tirth Purohit Mahasabha, told reporters in Mathura.
The stakes are significant for the BJP in this round as the party had in 2019 won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, that will go to polls on May 7.
'The BJP's tie-ups with the Bodoland People's Front and the Asom Gana Parishad have incurred the wrath of local party leaders and workers ahead of next month's assembly elections.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mounted a blazing campaign in the hot summer after he was released from the Tihar jail on interim bail on May 10, drawing huge crowds at rallies and roadshows, but it proved insufficient to propel his Aam Aadmi Party past the Bharartiya Janata Party challenge in the national capital.
The decision is expected to provide a push for their development in healthcare, cultural identity, education, financial matters, skill development and women empowerment among others, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement.
Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday night reacted to the viral video, with a post on X, saying, "... Not only Rahul Gandhi but the entire family could not make me eat that biscuit. I am a proud Assamese and Indian. I refused to eat and resign from the Congress."
He also lauded the efforts of the BJP workers in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, saying they put up a "spirited performance".
Dutta had accused Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas B V of causing mental agony to her after she levelled sexual harassment charges against former IYC president Keshav Kumar.
Four-time Odisha MP Pinaki Misra's wedding to firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a quiet, intimate ceremony that chose privacy and tradition over fanfare, was a reflection of his personal style.
A 12-hour Assam bandh called on Friday by the BJP, to protest the introduction of a Constitutional Amendment Bill to facilitate swapping of land enclaves with Bangladesh, evoked mixed response.
Almost every year, three to four waves of flood ravage Assam. The average annual loss due to the disaster is to the tune of Rs 200 crore, according to a state government website.
Senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said the government cannot implement the recommendations of the central panel on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, as those are "far from legal reality".
'The win in Assam is likely to have a ripple effect in other north-eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland which have been reluctant to embrace the BJP in the past,' says Nitin A Gokhale, the distinguished commentator on strategic affairs, who lived and reported from Assam between 1983 and 2006.
