Congress leaders, on their part, are confident that the mobilisation of voters away from the BJP will gain more momentum in the state elections, scheduled for October 1, in the absence of national issues and the 'Modi factor'.
Amid suspense over Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s prime ministerial face for the 2024 general elections, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the 1977 Lok Sabha polls were fought by the opposition without projecting Morarji Desai as the PM candidate.
Former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh was on Tuesday expelled by the Bahujan Samaj Party for indulging in anti-party activities and was accused of indiscipline and lack of faith in the Bahujan samaj movement, four months after he joined Uttar Pradesh's ruling party. Announcing the expulsion, BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra said it was found that Singh had joined the BSP after leaving Congress in August with some "ulterior motives."
"We expect over five lakh people to attend the rally where Mayawati will outline Bahujan Samaj Party's agenda for Maharashtra," Maharashtra's BSP president Vilas Garud said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday cruised to a two-thirds majority in Madhya Pradesh assembly, winning as many as 163 of the 230 seats in the House, leaving the Congress a distant second at 66.
In the backdrop of the Muzaffarnagar police's order asking eateries on the Kanwar yatra route to display their owners' names, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said it may spread the 'disease of untouchability'.
A senior functionary of Naam Tamilar Katchi was hacked to death by an unidentified gang in Tamil Nadu's Madurai on Tuesday, and four persons were arrested in connection with the murder, police said.
Mayawati said it became necessary for her to make the announcement as the Congress and some other parties, as part of a "conspiracy", are allegedly trying to create an impression that they would be forging an alliance with the BSP.
The 13 who have been disqualified were the ones who first broke away from the BSP to lend support to the Mulayam Singh government.
Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
Announcing it on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said she has taken the decision in the interest of the party and the movement and till the time Anand gains "full maturity".
"The CEO has sought a report in this regard from the local administration," said official sources.
Karnataka has the highest number of medical seats in the country at 11,745, of which 3,750 seats were in government institutions and 7,995 seats were in private colleges.
On Tuesday, 49 opposition MPs were suspended for the remaining part of the session for disrupting proceedings, taking the total tally of suspended MPs in Lok Sabha to 95.
Several political parties had approached the EC to postpone the polls in the state in view of Ravidas Jayanti on February 16.
The broom, the hand or the kite, listen to the mind or the heart, 'tunnel vision voting' to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party or electing the 'right party'. With only two days to go for polling, the choice is anything but clear for Delhi's Muslims, say many voters.
Balwinder Singh alleged that no relative, including Ram's mother, was being allowed to meet the former party chief.
Yadav asserted that he has always maintained that seat distribution should be decided considering which alliance partner is the strongest in a particular state.
'BSP will remain a player, but only a marginal player, as long as the BJP is extremely dominant in North India politics.'
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, with Gadchiroli district logging more than 69 per cent voting, poll officials said.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary announced the tie-up on social media for the elections later this year.
The ruling BJP's income forms 76.73 percent of the total income of the six national parties during FY 2022-23, it said.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday alleged the entire Bharatiya Janata Party is "standing with" its MP Ramesh Bidhuri.
A day after 21 houses were set on fire in Bihar's Nawada district, a top state government official on Thursday said 15 people have been arrested in this connection.
The move, a first in the country after the Supreme Court order, is intended to consolidate the BJP's Dalit outreach in Haryana.
The BJP is leaning on Yogi's 'batenge to katenge' theme to weave a unifying narrative that transcends caste and communal lines.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Harsh Vardhan on Friday alleged that some people with vested interest have 'dragged' his name into a row over certain objectionable remarks made by his party colleague Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha.
The committee headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar is meeting later on Thursday to adopt its draft report in what is likely to be hotly contested by opposition members of the panel.
Bidhuri, the BJP MP from South Delhi, had faced strong criticism over his "derogatory" comments against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha.
According to the FIR, the tweet posted by the Twitter handle 'The Sajjad Mughal', said, "The breed is not over yet. Atiq's son Ali is still alive. Insha Allah condition - time - power will change. The city will be called Allahabad. The revenge will be taken."
Gearing up for the upcoming state assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Partyon Wednesday named its organisational spearheads for the elections, putting Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav in charge for the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur respectively.
After hearing, the high court dismissed the petition as the Speaker had passed the order on BJP MLA's complaint to disqualify the BSP legislators.
The BSP will contest 35 seats and the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh 55 in the 90-member assembly.
'I declared myself a Sikh. We want freedom from caste discrimination.'
While Justice Kant and Bhuyan delivered the majority verdict, Justice Datta dismissed Ansari's appeal against the Allahabad high court order.
A revolt by 22 MLAs had led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in March 2020.
On the eve of the counting of votes in Rajasthan, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have started reaching out to independent candidates, including rebels, and smaller parties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday traded barbs with her party dubbed as 'Behenji Sampatti Party' and she punning on his initials calling him 'Mr Negative Dalit Man'.
Shiv Sena will support National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, party president Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday.
