Attempting to form a "secular and democratic alternative" to dethrone the Congress from power at the Centre, the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and the Communist Party of India on Sunday announced their decision to enter into an alliance ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls.
The election for the post of Vice President will be held on September 9, with the notification being issued on August 7 and the last date for filing nominations on August 21.
Christmas was celebrated with devotion and festive gaiety across India, with churches decked in lights, midnight masses, and community events spreading cheer. Leaders extended greetings, and celebrations took place in various states with prayers for peace and harmony.
A police constable sustained injuries after falling near Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's vehicle during the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Nawada, Bihar. The incident sparked political reactions and accusations.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
Following their landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, NDA leaders have begun discussions on forming a new government. Key coalition partners visited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence, expressing support for his continued leadership. The article also touches on political developments within the RJD and reactions to the election results.
Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
'This calls for a very serious investigation, investigation and introspection both.' 'Wherever we went wrong needs proper introspection; but the results also need investigation.'
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Telangana issue rocked Parliament on Monday with Lok Sabha Speaker Meria Kumar taking the unprecedented step of suspending nine members -- four of Telugu Desam Party and five Congress -- from Andhra Pradesh for creating "grave disorder".
The BJP parliamentary party is scheduled to meet on June 1, on the eve of the Lok Sabha session, to decide on who will take up the position of Leader of Opposition in view of Vajpayee's reluctance to don the mantle.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned a Karnataka BJP worker who had petitioned the Allahabad High Court claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is a British citizen. The probe is related to alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Delhi Police has filed an FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others in the National Herald case based on a complaint by the ED, alleging money laundering and abuse of position for personal gains.
The Congress followed next with Rs 620 crore or 18.5 percent of the total expenses among the 32 national and regional parties whose records were analysed, the ADR said.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
Bharatiya Janata Party and other National Democratic Alliance members were on their feet demanding an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the spat, which they said was "very serious".
Election times in India are also Laddoo Times. Politics and laddoos have always gone together and laddoos really come into their own post chunavs.
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
Seventy-one parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states voted in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
A court in Bihar's Sheikhpura district has issued summonses to INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Mukesh Sahani in connection with alleged abuses hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Congress event in August.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
However, the BJP is sceptical about the SP-BSP alliance as they believe Mayawati and Akhilesh will "finish off after fighting among themselves."
Radhakrishnan defeated INDIA bloc nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections held between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday blocked in the Lok Sabha a bill to provide reservation for SCs and STs in government job promotions, delaying the measure which was seen as quid pro quo for Bahujan Samaj Party's support to United Progressive Alliance on Foreign Direct Investment in retail.
Delhi's ruling party is all set to tackle the Parliamentary polls in the desert state, says Shahnawaz Akhtar
The recent outbreak of violence in Mumbai had its echo in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party members storming the Well, protesting the "total failure" of the Maharashtra government to check it. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete condemned the incidents of "fanatic youths" attacking the police and the media and even damaging a martyrs' memorial in Azad Maidan.
Lok Sabha elections can take place in November, BJP President Rajnath Singh said and asked partymen to be prepared for them.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
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.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday announced the name of Vadodara deputy mayor Ranjan Ben Bhatta as its candidate for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expresses dwindling hope for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, citing delays and governance challenges in the Union Territory setup.
Even if D K Shivakumar wanted to oust Siddaramaiah, whose support would he take?
The shrewd politician that he is, Siddaramaiah figured his rival had no option but to lump it, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Festive atmosphere and bonhomie prevailed in Lok Sabha on Thursday with members donning traditional dress and head gears and many taking oath in their mother tongue.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the Election Commission of being complicit in 'vote theft' in Bihar, alleging manipulation of voter lists and preventing people from voting. He claims the EC officials are committing 'treachery against the Constitution'.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defends Parliament's inability to discuss the Election Commission's functioning, citing a former speaker's ruling. The Opposition's demand to discuss the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls continues to disrupt the Monsoon session.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav for alleged abuses directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother during a political rally in Bihar. The BJP accused the opposition leaders of crossing 'limits of insult' with their remarks.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday made it clear that he would not contest the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, slated to be held later this year, but could contest the Lok Sabha elections if the party permits him.
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