In a pluralistic society like India it is imperative that religious fervour be tempered to suit the common good, say Vivek Gumaste.
With all 29 under its belt, the BJP became the first political party to achieve such a feat after 40 years in Madhya Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday attacked Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party for continuing their support to the "scamster" Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and said his party will not stake claim to form a government in case both withdrew support to it.
He is the fourth chief minister from the saffron party to head the northern state. Before Adityanath, Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh of the BJP had served as Uttar Pradesh chief ministers.
Post Nitish's exit, 17 parties plan to meet on Friday to formulate their future course of action. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has invited Sharad Yadav to join them, reports Archis Mohan.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Tuesday challenged the new chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's diktat, changing the names of each of the eight districts carved out by her as well as that of two institutions named after Dalit icons in the state.
Corporate donations to political parties are to be welcomed only if they are subject to full disclosure.
'I have joined the Congress to save the Constitution of the country'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday agreed to bring a Constitution amendment bill for reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs while responding to vociferous uproar in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.
Janata Dal Secular supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Monday did not rule out the possibility of his party emerging as a "king" in the May 5 Assembly elections in Karnataka, witnessing a multi-cornered contest also involving BJP, Congress and Karnataka Janatha Paksha.
Projecting a united face on the eve of vice presidential poll, all constituents of United Progressive Alliance and those supporting it from outside including arch rivals Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati attended a lunch hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Having alerted her partymen on Wednesday about the possibility of an early Lok Sabha poll, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is all set to plan her cards for the next electoral battle.
Holding s strong brief for her Rural Development Minister Daddu Prasad, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday dismissed the accusation of rape against him as "false and baseless."
According to sources, the Uttar Pradesh police had arrived in Ahmedabad most likely to take Ahmed, who is a key accused in a high-profile killing that took place in February, to their state.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi gave a candid and controversial interview to Shahid Siddiqui, editor of the Urdu weekly Nai Duniya, where he spoke about the Gujarat riots. For doing the interview Siddiqui was suspended from the Samajwadi Party, which he has joined recently after quitting the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Accusing opposition parties of anti-dalit mentality, ruling Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh today claimed that its president Mayawati's statues were installed as per the "written will" of party founder Kanshiram.
A day after a statue of Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was vandalised in Lucknow, a party delegation on Friday met Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi and submitted a memorandum to him urging imposition of President's rule in the state in view of the "jungle" and "goondaraj".
Hours after a statue of Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati was vandalised on Thursday afternoon, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav swung into action and ensured the re-erection of a new statue. Sharat Pradhan reports
The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of an early general election, but maintained that her party would continue to provide outside support to the UPA government despite its "anti-people" policies for keeping the communal forces at bay.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance on Saturday retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 50 seats.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta recommended his dismissal on charges of owning disproportionate assets, Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday sacked Secondary Education Minister Rangnath Misra and Labour Minister Badshah Singh, who too is under the scanner of the anti-graft ombudsmen. Cracking the whip, the chief minister has also ordered a vigilance inquiry against the two ministers. Both the ministers have been asked to fight the graft cases in court.
Delhi Police is investigating the role of a "spiritual guru" who is suspected to have hired shooters for Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore to kill local Bahujan Samaj Party leader Deepak Bhardwaj even as they are trying to unravel the "complex web of conspirators".
Two suspected killers of local Bahujan Samaj Party leader Deepak Bhardwaj were arrested on Monday amid high drama when they came to surrender with one of them being caught before he could enter a court in New Delhi.
Three persons were taken into custody on Thursday by a Delhi police team in Haryana's Jind district in connection with the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party leader and real estate tycoon Deepak Bhardwaj.
Welcoming the Supreme Court order quashing the disproportionate assets case against her, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Friday thanked party workers for standing behind her for the past nine years without getting perturbed by opposition forces.
In a major relief to Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed a nine-year-long disproportionate assets case against her and pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation for initiating the probe against her without specific directions from the court.
United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee spent the whole of Tuesday in Lucknow, meeting not only Congress legislators but also those belonging to the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan on Monday alleged that almost 90 per cent prime properties of the Waqf Board have been "sold to builders by previous Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi party governments" and vowed to bring a legislation to restore them back to the board.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pulling out of the United Progressive Alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the party is ready for the general elections as the continuation of the central government is not in the interest of the country.
After a year of docility, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav seems to be in an assertive mood once again. But will the newfound confidence sustain, wonders Sharat Pradhan
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Monday following uproar by Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party members on incidents of firing on lawyers by state revenue officials in Uttar Pradesh and the appointment of Lokayukta in Gujarat.
Facing strident demands for the arrest of Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya booked in the DSP murder case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday promised to take action against those found guilty.
With this, the ruling BJP has so far declared candidates for 136 seats. Earlier, the BJP had announced 79 candidates, including two lists of 39 each, and another list of one nominee.
BSP supremo Mayawati may have used her plan to nominate a Dalit candidate for the post of President as a bargaining tool with the Congress, reports Sheela Bhatt.
Unruly scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after the opposition members raised the issue of alleged phone tapping of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley, leading to a brief adjournment of the House.
The Opposition on slammed the Rail Budget for increasing the burden on the common man, with BJP terming it as "pedestrian" and "discriminatory" while Left said it does not give any hope on railways' future.
The Congress is working on "evolving a general consensus" for naming the candidate for the next president of India with sources in the party confirming that Pranab Mukherjee appears to be the only name doing the rounds.
With the Congress having announced is decision not to field anyone for the forthcoming Kannauj Lok Sabha bye-election, the Bahujan Samaj Party following course and a reluctant Bhartiya Janata Party still struggling to step into the fray, the seat is clearly available for Samajwadi Party's Dimple Yadav on a platter.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday voiced her prime ministerial ambitions by asking party workers to ensure a "big victory" for it in the next Lok Sabha elections so that she can deliver the Independence Day speech from the Red Fort.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's first innings in the state assembly began on a stormy note in Lucknow on Monday, when on the very opening day of the budget session, Bahujan Samaj Party created so much ruckus that forced UP Governor B L Joshi to abandon his joint address to the state legislature.
