When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
Rana, who currently represents the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, joined the ruling BJP at the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's residence in Nagpur along with her supporters late Wednesday night.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were a 'blueprint for rigging democracy' and this 'match-fixing' would next happen in Bihar and 'anywhere the Bharatiya Janata Party is losing'.
The land pooling policy aims to kick-start a new wave of urbanisation in the predominantly rural state.
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
With all 29 under its belt, the BJP became the first political party to achieve such a feat after 40 years in Madhya Pradesh.
Surprisingly, the BJP's nearest rival in ad spend was not the Congress, but the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have criticised the government for issuing the order to control communal tension in Dhubri town.
'Party workers sit outside polling booths and they know everything that is happening.' 'Besides, as a voter when you push the EVM button to vote there is a paper slip that comes out showing you who you voted for.'
Ministers will not be allowed to hold official meetings and meet visitors in the legislature complex during the session. They will have to conduct their official briefings and meetings in Mantralaya, the state secretariat, he said.
While naming him as the NDA candidate for the Vice President's post, the BJP had described him as 'Kisan putra', a move seen in the political circles aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in huge numbers in the year-long farmers' protests against agriculture reform measures unveiled in June 2020.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
The minister also said one can bring his or her blood pressure down by stroking the back of a cow.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
'BJP has risen to second spot, ahead of the BSP, as the political party of choice for Muslims in UP.' 'Only the BJP government has worked tirelessly to usher in the minorities to the mainstream of society'
'Elections are fought to win.' 'In our party, the leadership takes the final decision, and our leaders are very clear about it.'
Hailing the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi assembly polls victory as 'historic', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, saying the country needs a serious political transformation and not politics of 'dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)'.
The notable names in the BJP's first list include Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Hema Malini from Mathura, Ajay Mishra Teni from Kheri, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Lallu Singh from Faizabad (Ayodhya) and Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli among others.
In a letter to Raosaheb Danve, chairman of the party's state election campaign committee, the former Mumbai MP termed the treatment given to him as 'insulting'.
Both candidates have shifted from their traditional constituencies - Sadhotra from Marh and Sharma from Akhnoor - after these two segments were reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Unidentified persons vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in Mumbai after he challenged MNS chief Raj Thackeray to make him learn Marathi.
Yadav further accused the BJP of "using distractions" to avoid addressing real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, lack of investment in Uttar Pradesh, and failing healthcare facilities.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat has demanded that the party be given the crucial home department in the new Maharashtra government, indicating fissures among the Mahayuti allies. He also alleged attempts to sideline caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is reportedly upset with the BJP's decision to claim the chief minister's post.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress' hopes of a comeback while the National Conference-Congress combine pulled off a spectacular victory in maiden elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has nominated Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora from Worli for the upcoming assembly elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Karamjit Anmol, while the BJP has named North West Delhi MP Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, a reserved parliamentary constituency.
The BJP is in power at the Centre and Maharashtra, while there is infighting in Chandrapur, she said.
'The BJP alliance needs to handle the Maratha quota issue skilfully and address its root cause, which is agrarian distress. Then there is stalled industrialisation. If these issues are addressed, caste fault lines would wither away. But, this is next to impossible in a short span of three-four months.'
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak said on Tuesday night that all the eight candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party have won in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
'Raj Thackeray is not coming to Ayodhya to seek Ram's blessings.' 'He is coming to seek political gain in the name of Ram.'
The youth -- their dreams of government jobs unfulfilled -- are voicing their frustration.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the Bharatiya Janata Party has been a party with a difference and that is why it has repeatedly won the trust of voters, but cautioned against the saffron outfit repeating mistakes committed by the Congress in the past which saw its exit from power.
As Rose Valley resurfaces, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal's arrests marks the end of the bonhomie between the TMC and BJP.
Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said no 'jatha' (group) of farmers will resume their foot march to Delhi on Tuesday. The farmers suspended their march after some were injured in teargas shelling by Haryana security personnel. Pandher accused the Centre of being confused on how the protesters should proceed to the national capital, citing contradictory statements from different ministers. He also criticized the government's lack of response to the hunger strike of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, which has entered its 14th day.
Though Sukhu has been putting up a brave face and there appears to be no immediate threat to his government, the BJP is looking to bring down his dispensation with bypoll wins amid a view that it may draw more legislators of the ruling party into its fold.
