Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
Ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Thursday met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) is threatening people in the border areas of the state to cast their votes in favour of a particular political party.
Names of Hardik Patel, the face of the Patidar agitation ahead of the 2017 polls who quit the Congress to join the BJP, and Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, figure in the list.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a key BJP meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday as party leaders discussed the ongoing campaign for the state assembly polls ahead of the announcement of its candidates for the initial phases in a few days.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
In Kolkata, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the prime minister of "putting pressure" on the EC to delay its press conference. He also said the CEC's explanation is "preposterous" and wondered whether Bharatiya Janata Party is the "super EC".
"Early elections are possible. Technically it should be possible," Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh told NDTV 24x7.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
From Instagram to X, social media platforms, in the run-up to the polls have seen bitter poster wars and even bitter meme battles for political one-upmanship.
I had said that eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable to see the election process through instead of creating ill-timed controversies.
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rawat has a short tenure in his new role, but it is likely going to be an eventful one, reports Sahil Makkar.
The central election committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party will meet on Thursday to finalise its first list of candidates for five assembly polls, with top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expected to attend the meeting.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday night announced the 47 remaining candidates for Haryana assembly elections who include Union Minister Sushma Swaraj's younger sister Vandana Sharma and two former Congress MPs and a former minister in B S Hooda government in the state.
The party refuted reports that it will relinquish its claim over Guhagar Assembly seat in coastal Konkan region for ally Shiv Sena.
The Congress has pinned its hopes on many of the old-timers and also given representation to some new faces in its first list of candidates announced for the Chhattisgarh assembly polls scheduled next month.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said that the party has to fulfil its long-cherished mission of winning the state not only to expand its ideological footprint but also to secure India's eastern borders, which have turned into a 'transit point for terror elements' trying to create unrest in the country.
He, however, did not give any date for the proposed challenge which he announced in his opening remarks at the meeting.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday declared a list of 62 candidates out of a total of 70 for the February 7 Delhi assembly elections, with its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi contesting from Krishna Nagar and former Union Minister Krishna Tirath from Patel Nagar seat.
"The way my papa (Dharmendra) worked with and supported Atal ji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee), I am here today to work with and support Modi ji. My work will do the talking," Sunny said after joining the BJP in the presence of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal.
Amit Malviya, however, tweeted that he had only quoted a news channel.
The CEC said the commission would not allow any kind of violation that puts a particular political party at an advantage over another.
A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Pawan Kumar Bansal, Vivek Tankha and Ranjeet Ranjan met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum by Ajay Maken, its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll in the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday night released the first list of 43 candidates for the high-stakes Bihar polls, giving about 60 per cent representation to those from SC and backward castes in an apparent attempt to target the base of rival Janata Dal-United-Rashtriya Janata Dal combine.
Talking to reporters at a media briefing, 33-year-old Sreesanth said his name has been cleared by the court in a match-fixing case and he is, therefore, not worried about any Opposition attack on him regarding the controversy.
'A political party taking the law into its hands is objectionable, especially in the context of the 2002 incidents in Gujarat.'
'We are seeing an era where only what Modi wishes is going to happen.' 'A clear message has now been sent to others that if this fate could befall on Nitin Gadkari, then just think what could happen to lesser mortals.'
The Commission did not announce the elections for the Gujarat assembly, the term of which ends on February 18, 2023.
Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5 with the counting of votes on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced.
Rumblings within the Bharatiya Janata Party came to the fore on Wednesday night as the party decided to field L K Advani from Gandhinagar for Lok Sabha polls, angering the patriarch who wanted to shift to Bhopal in a reflection of his tensions with Narendra Modi.
Stepping up his attack on Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party rebel Jaswant Singh on Tuesday said "personality cult" was not good in a democracy and it would harm the party.
Rawat also said a legal framework is needed to be in place for holding simultaneous polls.
With Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending the removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded "firm action" on the issue saying the "credibility" of the poll panel is "at stake".
The Bharatiya Janata Party's office in Varanasi was raided on Sunday, a day before the constituency goes to poll. The police seized some campaign material from the office.
The Election Commission on Thursday said that there were 'multiple factors' leading to the delay in the announcement of the Gujarat assembly polls, adding that the recent Morbi bridge collapse tragedy was one of them.
Ending suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party has picked actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani to take on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
Strange that the Law Ministry acted as the legal adviser to Chawla who sought its opinion on the explanation sought by CEC N Gopalaswami and now its minister claims that the CEC has no powers to recommend an election commissioner's removal unless asked for by the President, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted. The Congress was, however, quick to rubbish the BJP charge of the nexus between Bhardwaj and Chawla.
Smriti Irani will reprise her electoral battle with Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
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