Sarma, whose stock is high in Delhi had earlier captured eyeballs as the BJP's first star campaigner from the region in far away Gujarat and Delhi.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she is saddened at the loss of lives in "sporadic" incidents of violence during the panchayat elections.
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.
'Everything was sacrosanct when the BJP was led by Vajpayee and Advani.' 'That was a different culture. But with Modi and Amit Shah nothing is sacrosanct.'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider whether the pleas challenging the validity of the electoral bond scheme for political funding of parties can be referred to a Constitution bench for an "authoritative pronouncement".
Unless the anarchy in Manipur is brought under control quickly, we are sowing the seeds of a flare up in the entire North East and the end of our dream of checking China in South East Asia, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The North East is a sizeable success story for the Modi government politically and for the BJP electorally. It will be an unpleasant surprise if they choose to blow it, bowing to their basic, polarising instinct at any point, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Rumour-mongering has largely affected the process to calm down the situation and bring peace in troubled Manipur.
The unified AGP will now team up with Bharatiya Janata Party in the election to prevent division of anti-Congress votes in the state. The AGP and the BJP struck a poll pact during the recent visit of the BJP leader L K Advani to Assam.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal killing case in Udaipur were 'linked' to the Bharatiya Janata Party and should have been 'hanged by now' but the investigation by the National Investigation Agency was not progressing as it should.
An umbrella organization of several ethnic groups has decided to launch an agitation opposing the statehood demands raised by a number of ethnic groups in Assam. including Bodos, Karbis and Koch-Rajbongshis.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
The real brilliance of this RSS campaign, therefore, lies in building a dominant power base with, and for, a mostly non-RSS leadership. That is why the rise of the BJP in Assam is their stand-out victory, says Shekhar Gupta.
Leading the protest against 'India-Bangladesh Land Pact' that was signed on September 6 in Dhaka in presence of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the All Assam Students Union on Thursday brought out a protest rally in the city.
The CPI(ML) took out a protest march in Patna on Sunday. After the march the party demanded action against ULFA.
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
A high-level delegation of Union Home ministry is in Assam to prepare the ground for starting political negotiations with various militant outfits including the United Liberation Front of Asom, United People's Democratic Solidarity, Dima Halim Daoga-Jewel which have come forward for dialogue to resolve their problems.
In the 'supplementary list' of the NRC, over 10,000 names were either wrongly included or excluded and necessary orders have been issued to delete nearly 4,800 'ineligible persons' from the document, state coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma said in an affidavit to the high court.
In a first of a kind meeting, social crusader Anna Hazare and former Chief Minister of Assam, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta came together on Monday. Both the personalities discussed conditions in Assam, and in particular, the issue of Bangladeshi immigrants. Hazare asserted that the vote-bank politics has taken a toll on the life of common citizens and the government at the Centre has to mend its policies towards north-eastern states.
The party has forged ties with Bodo People's Front; continues talks with AGP.
The first election that the US and UK-trained Conrad Sangma, who now runs the National People's Party (NPP) formed by his father PA Sangma, fought in 2004 had resulted in a narrow defeat.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into a case related to two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying the approach of the government was of zero tolerance towards any crimes against women.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
'Conrad Sangma is an interesting mix of charisma, ability and has emerged as a capable leader.' 'Neiphiu Rio is very unassuming, quiet, subtle and stands out among all Naga leaders today.'
While main political parties especially Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaging in high-voltage campaign in Assam, young voters, especially the first timers, sound at a loss about which party or the candidate to choose, as they are hardly convinced about the poll promises and have not been swayed by histrionics of poll candidates.
Even as the government of India and the pro-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam are to sit for a dialogue to resolve the political problem, hardliners of the outfit, led by fugitive commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, are out to create fresh trouble in the state.
'BJP loses a democratic election, then buys MLAs from the ruling party's flock and rides to power in these states.' 'Do you think Atalji would have tolerated this?'
The JAAC also called for an indefinite economic blockade in Assam, Jharkhand and greater Jharkhand from January 27 to demand among others inclusion of the community in Assam and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The genesis of Assam's violence and the manner in which it has escalated are yet another reflection of government apathy and neglect compounded by political ambitions and interests, writes Seema Mustafa
'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.' Former NSG chief Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kokrajhar, speaks to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about last week's carnage in Assam.
The ULFA anti-talks faction triggered a blast at Assam Pradesh Congres Committee headquarter on March 14 in which three Congress leaders were injured. But Gogoi on Friday tried to make light of the ULFA threat saying that the threat had been there since a long time.
His remarks that some people suffer from diseases such as cancer because of sins committed in the past and that it is "divine justice" have sparked sharp reactions.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was on Thursday arrested by Assam Police in connection with a first information report (FIR) over alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the action coming soon after he was deplaned from a flight to Raipur where he was going to attend the party's plenary session.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam.
Amid political turmoil in Maharashtra following a revolt by Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde, six members of legislative assembly (MLAs) and a member of legislative council (MLC) from the neighbouring state arrived in Gujarat's Surat city on Thursday and were later flown to Guwahati in Assam, where party rebels are camping, in two chartered flights, sources said.
The Congress MP representing Barpeta Lok Sabha Constituency in Assam, AF Golam Osmani who is known for his running feud with the state party leadership, has dropped enough hints that he may abstain for casting his vote during the trust vote. It may prove disastrous for the UPA government if the MP plays truant on July 22.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said the petitions raise three separate issues and hence, the need to hear them separately.
'The unfolding events indicate a dangerous internal security situation in Manipur and the region. It can have external ramifications also.'
Assam's plight has originated in the fact that the Congress party, for its shortsighted political considerations, has refused to acknowledge that infiltrators are foreigners, says Sudheendra Kulkarni
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