With the controversy over 'love and narcotic jihad' remark by Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt refusing to die down, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday engaged in a fresh round of verbal sparring.
Going by Himachal Pradesh's "riwaj", or tradition, it should be the Congress' turn to form the next government.
'Voters did not turn up in large numbers in Bangalore.' 'If more voters of Bangalore had come to vote, we would definitely have reached the magic figure.'
Governments in most of the world saw their approval ratings dip as they struggled to contain the raging virus, which hit economy hard everywhere, but Indian politics followed a different script, with the outgoing year marking further shrinking of a rudderless Congress while the ruling BJP soared riding on Modi's enduring appeal.
The top guns of all the major political parties were on a campaign blitz across the state in the past few days, even as the ruling BJP has been striving to break the 38-year-old pattern of alternating governments and retain its southern citadel.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
Once implemented, Uttarakhand will be the second state after Goa in the country to implement it .
'If they call themselves a Hindutva party, then they must sever the alliance with the PDP in Kashmir.'
Kejriwal said that it has been alleged that a bribe of Rs 100 crore was taken, but he asked where was the money.
The two rival Senas took over each other a day after the party's 57th foundation day celebrations which saw Thackeray and Shinde holding separate events in Mumbai and trading charges.
'You (Modi) come here and don't even take the name of your Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and (B S) Yediyurappa (former CM). Your speeches are all about Narendra Modi'
The Goa-based marine engineer booked for anti-Narendra Modi remarks on Facebook on Saturday said his post was a reaction to BJP inducting controversial right wing leader Pramod Muthalik into the party, and maintained the issue had been blown out of proportion.
People lined up in large numbers on both sides of the road to greet Modi.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
The BJP's rediscovery of its allies, including the PM touching the feet of Parakash Singh Badal, would be interpreted as the party's efforts to keep its flock together if it falls short of the majority mark on May 23.
As people queued up across these states to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who had once courted controversy by indicating that politicians should retire at the age of 65, on Sunday said there was nothing called as era in BJP and it was time for younger generation to take over the party's reins.
Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik has said that he would try to join Bharatiya Janata Party, from where he was unceremoniously removed only a few hours after his inclusion in Karnataka.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday hit out at the Congress for blaming the anti-incumbency of his four-and-half-years tenure for the poor show in assembly polls, saying the party's leadership will never learn.
After the Congress' poor performance in all five states where Assembly elections were held, party workers staged a protest outside the party's headquarters, alleging that democracy was being "murdered" through EVMs.
The two parties, however, are in a neck-and-neck race in Manipur and Goa.
Despite the AAP cutting into its votes, the Congress still polled 27 per cent votes and won 17 seats.
With the Pradesh Congress committees passing resolution seeking Rahul Gandhi at the helm of All India Congress Committee, party General Secretary, Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said such measures have no binding effect.
The party said it is for the states to take a decision on it keeping in mind the "sentiments of the people".
'The BJP capitalised on the Left Front's failure and inaction and the Congress' deliberate retreat in Tripura.'
Governors must be impartial, fair, and above narrow politics to uphold the values and spirit of the Constitution. But in a rapidly changing political culture where the unstated rule is to crush the Opposition, such values have no meaning. At stake are Constitutional values, federalism and governance, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'We get the opportunity for new recruitment and the chance to introspect.'
In a dramatic turn of events, the Ranji Trophy Group C match between Himachal Pradesh and Goa was cancelled but resumed later on Sunday after BCCI president N Srinivasan intervened to sort out a political tug of war.
Campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections to be held on December 1 ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.
Shiv Sena said that the party has no intention to change its political line of contesting all future polls independently.
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
Modi said at a time when people are about to vote for the future of the state, "I want to offer you gratitude for your blessings and affections."
In the brief history of the hill state of Uttarakhand, there has not been a single instance where a chief minister has lost a by-election, reports Shishir Prashant.
He was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on August 10; the comedian had collapsed after experiencing chest pain while working out at the gym.
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
A member of the 1983 cricket World Cup-winning squad, Azad was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party for openly targeting the then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over alleged irregularities and corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association in December 2015. He joined the Congress in 2018.
One of the ministers said they are going back to Ranchi for a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Thursday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the assembly polls on Thursday has put the party on a stronger wicket for the election for the post of President expected later this year.
