Ramesh said the current limit of 50 percent is not explicitly mandated by the Constitution, but has been decided through various Supreme Court decisions.
The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is surging ahead of the Grand Alliance spearheaded by the Congress in Assam.
Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections will begin at 8 am on Saturday, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.
An electoral survey conducted by CNN IBN/IBN7-Axis in Bihar has given a clear edge to the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Janata Dal-United-led 'Mahagathbandhan', riding home the assembly elections with 137 seats (+/-8 seats) and a 46 per cent vote share.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said no one has the right to change the country's name, after the Congress claimed that a G20 dinner invite refers to the President as 'President of Bharat'.
Targeting Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party minister Nitesh Rane said as per the Supreme Court's past decisions, if a person is facing allegations of rape, he must be arrested.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, being organised in Ayodhya, in a grand manner in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are taking place today, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seeking to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hoping for a comeback. The campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra crisscrossing the state to garner votes. The Mahayuti is banking on popular schemes while the MVA focuses on issues like caste-based census and social justice. The elections have also seen a significant rise in the number of candidates and voters.
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav on Wednesday shared the dais with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on the inaugural day of SP's national convention in Lucknow, fuelling speculation about their joining hands.
The Congress has tried to inflict capital punishment on true secularism, he claimed, asserting that the Waqf law has no place in the Constitution.
New Delhi looks to be testing Omar's endurance with unconcealed glee, never feeling shy to bite whenever a moment comes its way. After all, ruling the country's only Muslim-majority UT/state has been the BJP's burning desire, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was surging ahead in two southern states -- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka -- while the respective blocs led by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and Congress in Kerala were on their way for another excellent show, going by the latest trends emerging from the counting of voted polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
The Biju Janata Dal will support the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance and oppose the no-confidence motion proposed by various opposition parties against the government, the party's Rajya Sabha member Sasmit Patra said on Tuesday.
In line with most of the exit poll predictions, bookies in Delhi feel the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will get more than 340 seats in the Lok Sabha polls while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) may secure around 200 seats.
Sarma, who heads the Bharatiya Janata Party-led North East Development Alliance (NEDA), met Sangma at a hotel in Guwahati on Tuesday night, they said.
Biju Janata Dal president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday appealed to all members of the Odisha assembly to support the National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu in the upcoming presidential election, describing her as the daughter of the state.
Hours after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Bhaskar Jadhav on Saturday claimed there is no provision in the law which talks about the appointment of the LoP in legislature merely on the strength of the party.
'Muslims in Bihar under Nitishji's rule are safest than anywhere else.'
Accompanied by his son Santosh Suman, Manjhi met Shah at his residence in New Delhi.
Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning the CM that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma added to the mystery by declaring only that the next CM would be from the BJP, without naming Sarbananda Sonowal, the CM of the outgoing government.
"Punjab and Maharashtra represent manliness and Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are the faces of that manliness," it said.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday vowed to shave his head if Narendra Modi retained the prime minister's post while his party's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would form a 'strong and stable' government at the Centre.
He said the RPI-A will also demand tickets to contest at least two Lok Sabha seats (out of the total 48 in Maharashtra) and 10 to 15 assembly segments in the 2024 elections from the NDA quota.
"If you see in the context of alliances and statistics, then this is the strongest alliance government," Modi said while addressing newly-elected MPs and leaders of the NDA from across the country following his election as leader of the ruling bloc ahead of his government's swearing-in on Sunday.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rahul Narwekar was on Monday elected unopposed as the speaker of the 15th Maharashtra legislative assembly.
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, who quit after his Lok Janshakti Party faction was not given any seat by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections, on Saturday announced his party's support to the ruling alliance, ending speculation over his next course of action.
'Logic, Research, Science Are Modi Government's Limitations.'
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
Training his guns at the ruling United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Congress was going through a "bad time" and his party-led alliance will capture power in the next Lok Sabha elections. The country was suffering due to rising prices, growing unemployment, declining exports, corruption and poverty, Gadkari said.
The MNF is deeply hurt over the condition of the Zo ethnic people in strife-torn Manipur, the MNF MP said.
Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said that after quitting the Sena will come back to power on its own strength.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended Mishra's tenure till the midnight of September 15 in larger "public and national interest", after the Centre asserted that his continuity is necessary in view of the ongoing FATF peer review and attempts by India's neighbours to ensure that the country gets into the "grey" list.
This is the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, she said.
The BRS, the AAP said that they are boycotting the address to protest against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Omar Abdullah will have to negotiate at every step with the lieutenant governor's office and the Modi government at the Centre.
On the announcement of his gurantees, Kejriwal said, "I have not discussed with my INDIA bloc partners about this. I will press upon my INDIA bloc partners to fulfill these guarantees."
