Besides the national capital, polling for the sixth round of the marathon seven-phase elections will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
He is learnt to have discussed the formulation of a joint opposition strategy on the issue of Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the detention of prominent leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Till 5 pm, Agra recorded 56.61 per cent polling, Aligarh 57.25 per cent, Baghpat 61.35 per cent, Bulandshahr 60,52 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 54.77 per cent, Ghaziabad 54.77 per cent, Hapur 60.50 per cent, Mathura 58.51 per cent, Meerut 58.52 cent, Muzaffarnagar 62.14 per cent and Shamli 61.78 per cent, an EC report said.
Top party leaders, including those from states, are likely to arrive at the BJP headquarters to file nominations in support of Nadda, who has long been seen as the choice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for the job.
To a question whether his party will not forge a coalition with any political party, Azad said, "If any political party is willing to accompany the Congress, and the Congress feels that it can fight the BJP, then it will be definitely accommodated."
"This conference was called for political discussions. But when our jawans have been killed in a terror attack in Pulwama, I feel it would not be right if we have political discussions at this time," Priyanka told reporters at the press conference venue in Lucknow.
With his "extravagant" birthday celebrations drawing flak and questions being raised on the source of funds, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday asserted that state money was not spent on the celebrations and dubbed those making it an issue as "ignorant".
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Wednesday dubbed the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party as "KASAB", adding yet another acronym in the Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, and said development will elude the state till "Kasab is laid to rest".
Several legislators in states on Monday said they have cross-voted in favour of National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu by not following their respective party lines in the presidential election.
Even as both the ruling Samajwadi Party and its bte noire, the Bahujan Samaj Party may swear in the name of secularism, neither of the two critical players in Uttar Pradesh politics is willing to go for a united nominee against their common political foe, Narendra Modi, who seemed cocking a snook at them from Varanasi. Sharat Pradhan reports
Cracks were visible in the Opposition unity ahead of Tuesday's meeting convened by Congress to ramp up attack on demonetisation and alleged "personal corruption" of the prime minister, with Left parties and the Janata Dal-United unlikely to attend it.
The road ahead is not smooth for the 25 Congress defectors to the BJP. They are seeking re-election on the BJP ticket, which they campaigned against less than two years ago, and are finding it difficult to explain to the voters why they "betrayed" their parent party. If political analysts are to be believed, the results may surprise many of them, reports Sandeep Kumar.
The current session of Parliament may be extended to enable the passage of bills, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Most of the holidays had been declared by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party governments apparently to keep certain sections of the society in good humour, often with an eye on the vote bank.
Party chief Chaudhary Ajit Singh and Jayant Chaudhary will decide on the number of seats the party will contest and the matter may be discussed during a meeting in the next few days
He was billed as the next big thing in Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh and a challenge for the Bahujan Samaj Party but Mayawati's party is least impressed by the exploits of Chandrasekhar Azad 'Ravan' let alone consider him a threat.
'If the Opposition does make a dent, it could encourage the efforts of regional parties to come together for the larger battle in 2024 and mark the beginning of a new anti-BJP politics.'
The lively lot of politicians at the helm of India's most important political province.
The share of candidates who were successful among the BJP was 56.5% in 2019. It was 5% for the Congress.
The five-day event, to appraise and train RSS volunteers on how to propagate nationalism and promote Swadeshi along with other such issues among the masses, is held every fifth year in different cities and states of the country.
All eyes are now on 13 Independents and 16 MLAs from smaller parties.
Its allies Apna Dal (S) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.
The CM added the BJP has learnt its "lessons" and exuded confidence it will perform better in future polls.
"I can say with confidence that the BJP will form the government in the state," he reiterated.
The Modi govt is continuously indulging in theatrics on issues related to Dalits and backwards and any more drama on the issue will not get them any political mileage, Mayawati said.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the future of the country should be better for all sections, including farmers and Muslims.
Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's demise might not have any direct political impact on the party, but its president Akhilesh Yadav will now have to work without his 'shield and shadow'.
The Varanasi mayor has issued orders making it mandatory for every municipal corporation member to sing 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana Gana Mana' after a Bharatiya Janata Party corporator's proposal for singing the songs triggered protests by Congress and Samajwadi Party members.
However, no one was injured in the incident.
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale met with the leadership of the UP BJP, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, state BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary and state BJP General Secretary (Organisation) Dharmapal.
For the Congress, the Janata Dal-United has made up for the numbers in case the Samajwadi Party discontinues its support to the UPA government, reports Renu Mittal
Mulayam in his address to party workers once again trained his guns at cousin Ramgopal accusing him of conspiring to break the party.
The BSP chief said Uttar Pradesh, which is India's largest state, will decide who will be the next prime minister.
A day after Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah called Azamgarh a 'base of terrorists', the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party have rallied together, demanding Shah's arrest and a ban by the Election Commission from campaigning in Uttar Pradesh.
Two men from her village have been arrested. National Security Act will be invoked against the accused.
'Nobody is speaking up for Muslims today.' 'Secular parties too have calmed down because they feel this will hurt the Hindu vote (bank).' 'In this scenario, where does a Muslim go?'
'The unusual aspect of this election is that this time there is a triangular fight.' 'Previously, the fight used to be between two parties.'
UP Power Minister Shrikant Sharma stirred up a hornet's nest with his tweet terming the Congress president a 'coward and impotent'.
51 constituencies across 7 states go to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election.
The first of the two-phase urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh will take place on Thursday, a major poll battle in the politically crucial state ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances