Opposition MPs in India have moved notices in Parliament seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of bias, misconduct, and acting under the influence of the executive.
The previous Congress-NCP government had issued an ordinance to grant a 16 per cent quota to Marathas and five per cent to Muslims.
The move, a first in the country after the Supreme Court order, is intended to consolidate the BJP's Dalit outreach in Haryana.
A 16-year-old student's murder outside a Shivamogga school has ignited community tension, prompting a police investigation and raising concerns about school violence.
''Women are coming into public spaces in larger numbers than ever before. They are educated, capable, opinionated, and determined.' 'But the more women push for access to public space, the harder they are pushed back -- through attacks like this, through discrimination, through the glass ceiling, through the deliberate denial of recognition.'
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
The prime minister is now expected to speak on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha, where the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address has taken place without any disruption.
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy alleges 'horse-trading' within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, claiming MLAs are being offered bribes. He also accuses AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala of demanding money from ministerial aspirants and plans to write to the Enforcement Directorate.
'Removing Nitish Kumar prematurely risks unsettling both the alliance balance and parts of the social coalition that delivered this victory.'
The BJP is hopeful of improving its performance in Dalit-dominated constituencies in Delhi ahead of the February 5 assembly polls, following a sustained outreach campaign. The party failed to win any of the 12 SC reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 elections. The party has been out of power in the city since 1998.
In the fourth such instance, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Tuesday walked out of the state assembly without reading his customary address after alleging that the national anthem was insulted, evoking a sharp response from Chief Minister M K Stalin, who dubbed his action as an 'insult' to the House and the people of the state.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
'No political party can antagonise Ambedkarite voters, particularly the neo-Buddhists.'
Ahead of the 2019 elections, the race for consolidating the Dalit vote-bank has intensified among all the political parties, more so in Uttar Pradesh, where the community comprises almost 21 per cent of the population.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana by bucking anti-incumbency, managed to make significant inroads into the Dalit seats and Jat strongholds.
Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.
'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav likened Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to an infiltrator, saying he is from Uttarakhand and should be sent back to the state. Yadav also criticized the BJP's governance and alleged injustices against Dalits and backward communities.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
In embarrassment for the BJP, former Union minister Sanjay Paswan on Thursday accused Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya of showing "grave insensitivity".
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
The Congress party in India has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being "anti-Dalit" after a BJP leader sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan to "purify" it following the visit of a Dalit Congress leader. The incident has sparked outrage among the Congress, with party leaders calling it an insult to Dalits and a reflection of the BJP's alleged casteist ideology.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to register a landslide victory in Bihar, opening up impressive leads in more than 180 of the state's 243 assembly seats, with early trends also indicating that the saffron party was on track to post its biggest tally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
Here are 5 BJP MPs who have taken up cudgels against their party leadership for its handling of Dalit issues.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
The high court directed the petitioners to file a fresh petition to the district collectors along with the route of the march.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
The video is said to be of Mokama, which falls under Lalan's Munger Lok Sabha seat, where the former Janata Dal-United president's defence of party candidate Anant Singh in a murder case has already drawn flak from the Opposition.
This election is a thank you note to Nitish Babu from a grateful Bihari people, notes Sheela Bhatt.
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