'I had to persuade him. I think he was a sceptic to begin with, but later on he was convinced that what we were doing was the right thing to do, that there was no other way out.'
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar appear to have got the maximum representation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new council of ministers, while assembly poll-bound Maharashtra also found a significant presence.
'The party is breaking stereotypes by not inviting senior leaders to become chief ministers.' 'No other party has had the guts to do this.'
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
Kailash Gahlot, a key minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, has resigned, potentially impacting the party's ambitious plan to roll out a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium scheme for women ahead of the Assembly polls in February. Gahlot, who represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi, cited several issues, including the "Sheeshmahal" controversy over his former official residence, the Delhi government's tussle with the Centre, and the failure to clean the Yamuna River, in his resignation letter. Delhi BJP leaders welcomed Gahlot's resignation, fueling speculation that he could join the party before the assembly polls. However, AAP leaders claimed Gahlot resigned due to pressure from central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, and that joining the BJP was his last option. Gahlot's resignation has sparked speculation about his future and the impact it will have on the AAP's electoral prospects.
Seven women, including two in the Cabinet role, have been inducted into the new council of ministers in the 18th Lok Sabha.
BJP sources said a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance is expected to take place soon to highlight its growing strength and to dispel the impression that the departure of some of its oldest allies such as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Janata Dal-United have the left the saffron party without a major partner.
All the Shiv Sena rebels who had resigned as ministers of the previous MVA government to join the Shinde camp were inducted into the new cabinet on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the United Progressive Alliance government which decided to withdraw the ordinance that sought to give protection to convicted lawmakers from disqualification, saying it has succumbed to "dynastic" pressure.
Atishi will have a brief tenure in office as assembly elections in the national capital are due in February.
BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term on Thursday.
Amid the political uncertainty in Himachal Pradesh, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Friday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party's work is better than that of the grand old party.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
'Since September 1, a senior cabinet minister has been to-ing and fro-ing between Jalna and Mumbai by chartered flight every single day with messages from the two deputy chief ministers and the chief minister to get Manoj Jarange-Patil to back down from his agitation.'
During his recent appearance on the show, Ranveer Allahbadia asked a contestant whether they would rather watch their parents have sex for the rest of their life or join them once and put a stop to it.
'BJP's ultimate ambition is to control Bihar independently.'
As the fate of the Maharashtra government hangs in balance, the state cabinet on Wednesday approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar, and that of Osmanabad city as Dharashiv.
Barring a few, such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (74), Union Minister C R Patil (69) and Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna (71), most other ministers attending the WEF represent the next generation of India's politicians.
Various constituents of the INDIA bloc condemned Kejriwal's arrest and claimed that the BJP is scared of the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and acting out of panic to create problems for the opposition.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday accorded sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', giving a major jolt to the nearly 15 month old Congress government.
Besides Hooda, his son Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala are also being seen as chief ministerial aspirants.
While leaders alleged wrongful rendition of the Tamil anthem and BJP said mother Tamil has taught the Dy CM a 'lesson', Udhayanidhi dismissed such claims and asserted the microphone did not function properly and that it was a technical fault.
Modi said he is seeking a third term not to enjoy power but to work for the nation. "If I had thought of my home, it would not have been possible to build homes for crores of people," he said.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
Congress rebel Satish Sharma, who defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajeev Sharma by nearly 7,000 votes and relegated his former party's heavyweight Tara Chand to the third position in the Chhamb seat, has found a place in the Omar Abdullah government, representing the Jammu region in the dispensation.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP national general Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, BJP state unit president B Y Vijayendra, and former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai were among those present at the legislature party meeting, where R Ashoka was picked as its leader.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda and several other leaders and prominent personalities were present at the ceremony.
'The CM's credibility is on the line.'
"He (Manjhi) was in constant touch with BJP leaders. He recently met several BJP leaders... He wanted to be part of the June 23 meeting of opposition leaders... but I had apprehensions that he might leak issues/matters that will be discussed on June 23.
Protesters in Imphal, Manipur stormed the residences of two ministers and three MLAs, demanding justice for the murder of three people in Jiribam district. The mob attacks prompted authorities to impose curfew in Imphal West district. The protests followed the discovery of three bodies, suspected to be of six missing people from Jiribam district, near the Manipur-Assam border.
Violence erupted in the central Maharashtra city of Parbhani after a replica of the Constitution was vandalized. Around 50 people have been detained for the protests, while a man with mental health issues has been arrested for allegedly damaging the replica. Opposition leaders condemned the incident, calling for strict action against those responsible. The situation is under control, but tensions remain high in the city.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
Telugu Desam Party leader Ram Mohan Naidu will be sworn in as a cabinet minister and another party MP, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, as a minister of state in the new Modi government, a party leader has confirmed.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who is under pressure to expand or rejig his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the assembly polls next year, on Friday said he would try to discuss in this regard with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on May 3.
FHe is the only one among 17 ministers from the outgoing council of ministers who lost the Lok Sabha polls to be reappointed minister.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The first session will commence in the third week of June with the oath-taking by the newly elected candidates as members of the House, the sources said, adding the oath-taking is likely to continue for two days, following which a new Speaker will be elected.
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