'They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities'
A senior SP leader requesting anonymity said that the party chief had called a meeting to brief the MLAs about the voting process of the Rajya Sabha elections.
Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday after taking the oath of the office said that Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting to win more than 75 seats out 80 from Uttar Pradesh in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Accepting demands of the aspirants, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Thursday postponed Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exams, and announced to hold the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary exam on the old pattern.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh elections, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have arrived in Bhopal as part of the ruling party's programme wherein every legislator will be allotted one assembly seat each that they are supposed to visit to take stock of the ground situation, party leaders said.
Yadav also pressed for the caste census which, he said, would be a major issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
From putting up a decent performance in the last Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 seats stitching an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party drew a blank in the current general elections, dealing a severe blow to its reputation of representing the voice of Dalits in the state.
Shah thanked the people of Uttarakhand for giving BJP a chance to serve again.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
Chaudhary's jibe comes in the wake of his allegations the BJP has been trying to woo RLD leaders as well as the party chief into the saffron fold ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a holy dip in the Sangam at Maha Kumbh on Sunday, urging the BJP to bathe with "patience." He criticized the BJP for splashing water on each other after bathing in the Sangam, saying people come to Kumbh for virtue and charity, not for water sports. Yadav, who had earlier taken a dip in the Ganga river in Haridwar on Makar Sankranti, said he had always visited the religious congregation. The latest official figures show that 1.17 crore people took a dip in the Sangam till late Sunday afternoon, bringing the total number of 'snan' (bath) in Maha Kumbh since its start to 11.47 crore.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party leaving its rivals comfortably behind in states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the initial rounds of vote counting, its leaders credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance model for the expected win and said "new history" is being created in UP.
Dominic Xavier is gobsmacked by the BJP's emphatic triumph in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra in a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order "state-sponsored bigotry".
A police officer in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has sparked outrage after suggesting that those uncomfortable with Holi colors should remain indoors, drawing criticism from opposition parties who accused him of bias and demanded action. The officer's remarks came during a peace committee meeting ahead of Holi, which coincides with Friday prayers during Ramzan. Opposition leaders condemned the statements, calling them "condemnable" and accusing the officer of acting as a "BJP agent." They demanded action against him for his "political statement." The incident comes after violence erupted in Sambhal last year during protests against a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque.
This has invited sharp reaction from the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party saying that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it moved the court for "stalling" polls on the assembly seat.
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The party had won 67 seats in the 2025 assembly polls and 62 in the 2020 elections.
Some candidates in these two states have been provided security till the poll process ends.
The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.
More than 100 senior leaders and functionaries have been deployed to work as district in-charges in 44 assembly segments in Western Uttar Pradesh to coordinate and streamline campaigning and booth management, BJP leaders in New Delhi said.
Sakshi Malik expresses anguish at Brij Bhushan's son getting BJP ticket for Lok Sabha polls
The government and opposition parties on Monday reached an agreement to break the impasse in Parliament with dates announced for discussions on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The core committee of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP met at the party headquarters in Lucknow in the presence of Nadda.
A war of words erupted in the Indian Parliament on Tuesday between Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs and BJP MP Hema Malini over the alleged mismanagement at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. SP leaders accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to provide adequate food, water, and fuel, leading to the deaths of devotees. Hema Malini, however, defended the event's organization, claiming it was well-managed despite a stampede that occurred on January 29th.
Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday said any decision on the opposition's candidate for the post of the country's next President will be taken collectively by leaders of various parties, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's name could be considered only if his party Janata Dal-United snaps ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP keeps taking dips till it appears good on the camera, he said.
Modi is on a two-day visit to his constituency, which began on Monday with the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
The Nishad Party also demanded 160 seats for the 2022 state elections.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday criticized the Uttar Pradesh government over the severe traffic congestion in Prayagraj, claiming it has led to a shortage of essential commodities and inconvenienced devotees visiting the Maha Kumbh Mela. He also posted a video on X with people sharing their experiences and pointing out at the chaos. Yadav alleged that the officials are giving orders sitting in their rooms but are not coming down to the ground and that residents of Prayagraj have got nothing except filth, traffic jams and price rise.
Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for "profit" in the situation will leave.
A purported video of former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat saying no work could be done in the state without paying commission has surfaced online.
During Emergency Indira Gandhi acquired absolute power. Lakhs of political opponents, students, activists were arrested.
His remarks come amid BJP ministers and legislators quitting the party in UP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state.
Vadra has been questioned multiple times by the federal probe agency in a different money laundering case.
The BJP appointed Sunil Bansal, one of the party's key election managers, as its national general secretary and in charge of three opposition-ruled states -- West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana -- in run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
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