'When the prime minister and home minister promised their full support for the development of Kerala, why should we not be a part of them?'
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
A section of BLOs in West Bengal protested excessive workload during the SIR process, leading to clashes with BJP supporters outside the CEO's office. The protest highlights concerns over the enumeration exercise and accusations of political interference.
'It is clear they have accepted that the next two elections belong to the BJP.'
Intense lobbying continues among NDA partners in Bihar to finalize cabinet berths and the Assembly Speaker post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Consensus is being sought between BJP and JD(U) for the Speaker's position, while new faces are expected in the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for November 20.
On reports of the BJP opposing the NCP merger, Fadnavis asserted that his party hasn't opposed anyone.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar accuses the BJP of politicizing the Dharmasthala 'multiple murders and burials' case, criticizing their protests and questioning their motives.
He said a volcano is waiting to erupt in Cong-JD(S) alliance.
Led by the leader of the Opposition Kameng Dolo, the eight of the nine BJP MLAs resigned from the party and sought Speaker Setong Sena's recognition, which he quickly gave.
The Jammu and Kashmir legislative Assembly was disrupted after a BJP MLA alleged the government was neglecting some Kishtwar areas because "nationalist Hindus" reside there. The remarks were deemed communal by other members, leading to a heated debate.
'I will present them before you (media) when Kamal Nath asks me to do so'
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
The BJP retained power in MP in the November 17 polls emphatically winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, leaving the Congress a distant second with 66 seats.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
With 'dafli' beats in the background, AAP leaders held placards with photos of Ambedkar and raised slogans against the ruling party -- "BJP sun le, Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim" ... "BJP ki tanashahi nahin chalegi (BJP's dictatorship won't work)".
Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde and other legislators of the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena visited the memorial of RSS founder K B Hedgewar in Nagpur. NCP legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, skipped the visit.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs will continue their overnight protest at the Delhi assembly for the second consecutive day on Tuesday to demand the sacking of Aam Aadmi Party ministers over alleged corruption charges.
The NCP and NCP (SP), led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar respectively, have formed an alliance for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections. This development follows a similar alliance for the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections and aims to consolidate their position in the region.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal announced the Congress party's goal to win 100 seats in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. He highlighted the party's strategy, including early candidate selection, opportunities for youth, and addressing alleged alliances between CPI(M) and BJP.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprang surprises with its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, denying a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.
MLAs cutting across party lines spoke about Thursday's clash, and expressed concern over overcrowding in the legislature premises.
'Both Rahul and Modi are the same in the way they run their parties. Modi too wants faceless people and so does Rahul Gandhi.'
The Supreme Court Tuesday said suspension from legislative assembly for one year should be linked with some purpose and there has to be an 'overpowering' reason that the member should not be allowed to even attend the next session.
'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.'
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
The newly-elected MLAs of Telangana would take oath during the first session of the Legislative Assembly scheduled to be held on Saturday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led Union government of compromising India's prestige before foreign powers, alleging a 'dictatorial mindset' and attempts to turn West Bengal into a 'colony'.
Kumaraswamy rejected a charge by the saffron party that he was trying to poach their lawmakers.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
NDA partners engage in intense lobbying to finalize cabinet berths ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. The new cabinet is expected to include fresh faces from BJP and JD(U), along with representation from smaller alliance partners.
Former Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, has been chosen as the new Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. Gupta, a BJP MLA from Rohini, vowed to immediately table 14 CAG reports allegedly withheld by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government upon taking charge. His election is a foregone conclusion due to the BJP's majority in the Assembly.
The two-judge bench had divergent views in respect to the order disqualifying the MLAs. While the chief justice upheld the order of the Speaker, Justice N Kumar found the Speaker's order to be wrong.
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.
'This plan was never official. It was there secretly. It was by the high command.'
They were suspended from the assembly after the state government had accused them of "misbehaving" with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the speaker's chamber.
While Chief Justice Kehar Singh ruled that the Speaker was right in passing the order disqualifying the MLAs, Justice N Kumar held that the Speaker had not followed procedure 102A of the Constitution (which deals with disqualification).
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances