'He did something good. He did something bad. I don't think people will forget the good part altogether and as long as people remember the good part, Lalu remains a force.'
Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast.
If the Chirag Paswan-led LJP posts a good result, the young leader could become a formidable caste challenger in the years to come and a permanent fixture as a BJP ally, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'Why do sections of Muslims seem to prefer Lalu and Mulayam who symbolise wilful neglect of governance and development? In this election, secularism is less at stake. What is more at stake is the degenerative, cynical, opportunistic, and discredit-worthy misuse of secularism by the non-BJP leaders and their social constituencies,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday visited Garhwa Ghat Ashram in Varanasi, which has considerable following among the backward castes, and paid tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at his ancestral home.
With the second list, the total number of candidates declared by the Congress went up to 83 out of the total of 90.
The youngest in the CWC is 31-year-old Neeraj Kundan, who is an ex-officio member of the body as the president of the National Students Union of India, the students' wing of the party.
Less than half the ministers in Team Yogi are not long-term BJP members. Many old-timers have been dropped.
The Madras high court on Wednesday declined to grant a total stay against the 10.5 per cent Vanniyar quota but held that admission in higher educational institutions and appointment in government services will be subject to the outcome of the batch of petitions challenging the same.
Rajiv Ranjan, the Janata Dal-United legislator from Islampur assembly seat in Nalanda district, speaks to rediff.com's M I Khan about the circumstances that led to his suspension.
Ashok Gehlot may have the image of a politician with his ears to the ground but his populist policies and programmes have not yielded dividends in the elections in Rajasthan where the ruling Congress suffered a massive defeat.
'The main reason is 'they' do not want to see Dalits especially in the morning!'
Former Janata Dal-United president R C P Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after which he accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of "kursi" (chair).
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
The food security programme is not restricted to the poor and the population covered by it is about three times the number of people below the poverty line, Parliament was told on Thursday.
It's great to win election after election on the strength of Modi's charisma and voter appeal, but the larger the Modi myth grows, the more the BJP diminishes, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Modi wants the BJP to gets an additional 10% of the vote share from what it won in 2019. Plans are afoot to get new faces to replace MPs with poor chances of winning. Sources say more than 100 MPs are like to be axed, notes Modi biographer Ramesh Menon.
The Congress president during his year at the helm of the party has repaired the citadel for far more challenging years ahead, and played a crucial role in shaping the Opposition alliance.
Pressure from the Soren clan is only one of the challenges Champai faces as he readies himself to helm the predominantly tribal state.
The kisan is as integral a part of the BJP's master plan for the 2019 polls as the Dalit because it surmised that the farmers and Dalits were as restive in UP as in much of the country, and if it had to cut its losses, its reflexes must kick in fast. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
The agitation for the Other Backward Caste quota to Patels will intensify in the coming days, Hardik Patel who is leading the stir today said and blamed the police for the violence.
The economic muscle in the Mangalore region is generally sympathetic to the BJP, says Aditi Phadnis.
Ultimately quotas kill talent and true meritocracy, argues R Jagannathan.
'We can't underestimate future threats.'
The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of petitions, including the one filed by the Maharashtra government, seeking review of its 2021 judgment by which it had quashed the state law granting reservations to Marathas in admissions and government jobs.
Electioneering ended in Madhya Pradesh at 6 pm except in Naxalites-hit districts of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori, where campaigning drew to a close early at 3 pm.
The CBI recently filed an FIR against Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing the SRK's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case.
A constitutional amendment bill to restore the powers of the states to make their own OBC lists was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, with the opposition and treasury benches joining hands in the Rajya Sabha to approve the legislation.
With an eye on upcoming assembly elections after the drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra's Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government will take a decision next week on the Rane committee's recommendation for 20 per cent quota for Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions.
'In IIT, most faculty members have a bias against SC/ST students.' 'SC/ST and OBC students have no idea whom to approach for support.'
The complainant accused the Consulting Editor of spreading false news about the scheme offered by the corporation and trying to disturb communal harmony in the state.
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The Congress on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Narendra Modi, in the wake of a sting operation, which claims that it has "exposed" a plan by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to save the Gujarat chief minister's key aide Amit Shah in the Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday charged the NDA government with discriminating against Dalit icons like Kanshi Ram while awarding Bharat Ratna to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya.
State Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath has been fielded from his home-turf Chhindwara, from where he is currently the legislator.
An institution of national importance must reflect the "national structure", the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday while pointing out that around 70 to 80 per cent students studying at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) are Muslims even without reservation.
The opposition alliance that will take on the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and an 11-member committee will be set up for coordination, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced after a meeting of the parties in Bengaluru.
He held two massive roadshows in Rajasthan and one in Madhya Pradesh and his entries in many of rally venues were marked by a drive through cheering supporters.
Setting the tone for his 2024 re-election bid, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for waging a war against the 'three evils' of corruption, appeasement and dynastic politics, stepped up the OBC outreach with a mega scheme and exuded confidence he would return to address the nation from the Red Fort next year.
Once more women assume leadership roles and join the nation-building process, he said, adding they will become a guarantee of the country's bright future.
