Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
Rekha Gupta, a former DUSU president and a long-time member of the RSS, has been chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly and will become the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi. She won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Assembly polls, defeating her AAP rival Bandana Kumari. Gupta, a BCom graduate and lawyer, has a long history of working for women's welfare, having served as the national secretary of the BJP's youth wing and the national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha. The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
The event was also attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Former Supreme Court judge B Sudhershan Reddy is the joint candidate of the Opposition parties for the Vice-Presidential polls, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced.
There are unconfirmed reports that the BJP has offered to appoint Paras as governor and a berth in the Bihar cabinet to his nephew Prince Raj. M I Khan reports.
A careful calculation of the BJP's support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party's national president chaired a meeting of the "core group" here.
'Reports of the JD-U joining hands with the BJP again is baseless.'
'I gave enough evidence and proof to punish corrupt officials.' 'But my own government has not filed any FIR against such officials.'
The political uproar continues in Bihar, as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to make R C P Singh the Eknath Shinde of Bihar and isolate the Janata Dal-United party.
'They should be given a strong message that they are not the ones who decide the rule of the land, and they are not the ones who decide what justice is.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party will now hold its national convention in New Delhi. Earlier, it was scheduled to be held in Bangalore. A formal announcement is expected later.
Led by Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule, Group 7 will engage with key countries in Africa -- Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia -- and Qatar to present India's position on Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
'The message is loud and clear: "If you're not falling in line, we will open a line of understanding with the MNS, and then the Shiv Sena will be in trouble".'
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Going by political tradition, another formation will likely come to power in Karnataka in the next assembly election, due 2028. And if that happens, Mr Shivakumar will have to sit it out till 2033, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Hema Malini and Shaina NC have also been omitted from the group.
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.
BJP's National Council meeting in Haryana on September 27 and 28 will clear the decks for a second consecutive term to Nitin Gadkari as party President after it gives a nod to the amendment in the party Constitution.
The Sena (UBT) chief and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday met with Fadnavis and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar at Vidhan Bhavan premises in Nagpur. Aaditya said they extended good wishes to the two and talked about taking a step towards showing political maturity and working together in the interest of the people.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
The three seats fell vacant following the resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi to contest the assembly elections.
With an eye on next year's general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday projected itself as the sole alternative to Congress, vowing to move ahead with unity and expand the National Democratic Alliance to oust the United Progressive Alliance, which it termed a "coalition of the corrupt".
Earlier, there were speculations that the party may nominate Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, for the MLC polls, to be held on June 20.
'They know Sharad Pawar will be playing a huge role in unifying the Opposition.'
The BJP said this had led to disruption of growth momentum in the economy.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal-United national president Lalan Singh arrived together at the party's office in New Delhi on Thursday to attend its office-bearers meeting amid intense buzz about changes within the organisation.
'Knowing that a no-confidence motion would succeed, the BJP central leadership forced N Biren Singh to resign.' 'If he had lost on the floor of the House, it would have been a major setback for the BJP.'
Shourie said the BJP opposed the deal because it went against Indian interests and, if signed, it would allow intense inspection of nuclear sites in the country. He said the US could take back nuclear fuel and equipments supplied if India conducted a nuclear test. India would also have to report to the US President all the details regarding nuclear installations, he added.
Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation to the Americas during his Bogota visit, had expressed dismay over the South American country's stance during a press conference on Thursday.
A combative Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha for trying to belittle United Progressive Alliance government's achievements saying the party will fail at the hustings next year like it did in 2004 and 2009.
'Earlier, we used to talk about a deficit economy. There is a deficit in democracy' 'If you read superficially Gandhi and Ambedkar and Nehru, some misconceptions and misunderstanding come to mind, as if they were at loggerheads and they differed radically in their views' 'India is one nation. There is only one citizenship. No citizenship for South India and no citizenship for North India and another for the Northeast'
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
But minutes after the amendment was adopted, senior male leaders were heard making scathing comments on the so-called progressive step of the party.
Bandyopadhyay told PTI that he received a call from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and the external affairs ministry, and was asked to go to the US but he informed them that he would not be able to go due to health reasons.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
With battle lines between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls firmly drawn, the principal opposition party has decided to hold its strategy meet on January 17, the day when the All India Congress Committee is holding a session on the issue.
Exuding confidence, Kejriwal said, "Our government will be formed in Gujarat in 2027."
'We put the seed of BJP's ideology in Jammu, watered it, nurtured it for four decades and when it was time to reap the fruits of those efforts, the fruits are being sold out to the very same people who worked hard to uproot this tree.' 'Shockingly, our own people are letting this happen and nobody from Delhi bothers to even listen to us.'
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