Three of the fence-sitters rule fairly large states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha that together send 63 members to Lok Sabha -- where the Congress or other opposition parties have been pushed to the margins.
Sarma, while responding to reporters' questions on high price of veggies in Guwahati, had said, "Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn't have fleeced their own people."
Amid different voices within the Congress and INDIA bloc on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the principal opposition party on Monday said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
On the eve of the meeting hosted by it, the Congress clarified that it will oppose the ordinance on Delhi services in Parliament, a key condition put by the AAP to attend the talks.
The Sena's remarks come in the wake of Mamata Banerjee's recent visit to Mumbai, in which she made a cryptic statement that 'there is no UPA now'.
The Trinamool Congress MP, considered number 2 in the party, also advised Shah to teach nationalism to his son and make sure that the law and order situation improves in Delhi.
Terming the Pegasus controversy a 'doctored motive', Patra alleged that the Opposition is giving more importance to it rather than COVID and accused it of "playing with the lives of people". Stating that the Congress boycotts all those meetings on important issues called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP spokesperson also accused the Congress of suppressing people's voices.
Will a caste census make tens of millions desert Mr Modi?, asks Shekhar Gupta.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said that during his tenure as the minority affairs minister he ensured there was no "symbolism" and asserted that going forward he would work to ensure that the party has acceptability in all sections of the society.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed his regret that the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota was not provided under the Bill brought by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2010.
'Corruption overshadowed Modi's roadshows.' 'As the BJP did not deliver any of their promises, people stopped believing him.'
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate Friday on an Ethics Committee report recommending Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's expulsion in the cash-for-query issue, with the Opposition demanding she be allowed to speak in the House, and the government contending her views were heard by the panel.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but rued that the plan did not materialise.
'If the minister does not resign, then it will be the darkest incident of Indian democracy where power prevailed over the people.'
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met the governor in Chandigarh on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the state's home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the prime minister's visit to Punjab.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday played down Wharton's cancellation of video address by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying he enjoys huge popularity in India and does not need an acceptance certificate from any international body.
The Congress in Maharashtra has a plan in place in the event of alliance with anti-Bharatiya Janata Party outfits doesn't materialise, state unit party president Nana Patole said on Wednesday amid buzz about the future of tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
If pandemic (mis)management threatened to dominate Goa's electoral discourse, the BJP is up against a deeper structural issue in its organisation, created by the fact that a majority of the legislature party and the ministerial council is made up of Congress defectors, disparagingly referred to by the Opposition as "imports". Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Secularism for India does not mean being non-religious but an equal respect to all faiths, but the "appeasement" government policies of the past made the biggest religion of the country feel like it had to be self-deprecatory in the name of equality, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
Neelam Gorhe, Shiv Sena spokesperson, debunks rumours that the tenuous alliance between the party and the Bharatiya Janata Party has come to an end, stating that 'no drastic step will be taken yet.
'Modiji has a vision for the country, not just to fight the elections but about achieving certain goals for the country.' 'Congress does not even have a vision for 25 days.'
The Singapore government on Wednesday conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner its strong objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's comments about a 'Singapore variant' of COVID-19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
'The Manipur government is a government now ruled by the mob.'
Virtually daring the Bharatiya Janata Party to snap links with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, former party ideologue K N Govindacharya has said the RSS can "walk straight without the crutches of the BJP".
Bommai said since Sudeep has announced that he would stand by him and extend him support, it means he will campaign for the BJP as well. "Sudeep doesn't belong to any party. He has come to support me, and the party I belong to".
The opposition on Tuesday termed as an 'election jumla' the women's reservation bill brought by the government with many leaders raising questions over the proposed legislation, contending it doesn't account for reservation for OBC communities and that it will be effective at the earliest by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
Following a debacle in the West Bengal assembly election, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said he does not want to contest any future election in an alliance which has the Indian Secular Front (ISF) as a partner.
'I have been trying for the past five years to get a government job.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday continued to target late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, saying that he helped the British rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear.
The War of the Tiranga is a metaphor for a new battle of ideas in national politics, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
Although the BRS is projecting supreme confidence, who will be able to tap anti-incumbency -- the BJP or Sharmila plus the Congress -- remains to be seen.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said that the party has to fulfil its long-cherished mission of winning the state not only to expand its ideological footprint but also to secure India's eastern borders, which have turned into a 'transit point for terror elements' trying to create unrest in the country.
The BJP has decided to revamp the organisation by rewarding efficient party workers and leaders and remove several turncoats from local and district levels.
By supporting Ranaut and through its stand in the Sushant case, the BJP wants to win Bihar polls, Raut said.
'More than losing Bengal, the worry for their national leadership is the current crisis.' 'If people perceive that the government does not do enough, then there's trouble.'
'The ISI doesn't trust the Kashmiris. They hate them...' 'We can never take Kashmir for granted, so there is that element of unpredictability. Anything can happen anytime.' 'The next chief minister will still be from the Valley. Even if a BJP chief minister or a BJP chosen candidate comes, he will be from the Valley. And he will be a Muslim.' A S Dulat, the former R&AW chief, on why he is perplexed by the BJP's Mission 44 plan for the J&K assembly election.
'The Congress today has lost contact with the Hindu clergy.' 'They go to to Hindu clergy only during the time of elections.'
The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Nilekani faces an uphill task in his bid to counter the massive anti-Congress wave, but that doesn't mean it will be a cake walk for BJP's Anath Kumar. Vicky Nanjappa discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of Nilekani, and also lists BJP's woes.
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