President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several central ministers and chief ministers and leaders cutting across party lines condoled the demise of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday and hailed his immense contributions to the state as well as the country.
Meanwhile, Navjot Singh Sidhu again launched an attack on the former CM.
The Lakhimpur violence, in which the son of senior BJP leader and Union minister of state Ajay Mishra Teni are accused of trampling four protesting farmers to death, has opened another front for the CM to deal with, after the mysterious death of Akhara Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri last month and the death of a Kanpur-based trader in Gorakhpur recently.
An adverse outcome against the BJP in UP can well be taken into its stride by the ruling combine at the Centre, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Senior party leader P Chidambaram, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut expressed support to Priyanka, who has alleged that no notice or first information report (FIR) has been given to her even after her 38-hour detention and was not allowed to meet her legal counsel.
Sources said that Mann is likely to join the Aam Aadmi Party.
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met the governor in Chandigarh on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the state's home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the prime minister's visit to Punjab.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
Having twice betrayed the BJP -- and Arvind Kejriwal determined not to admit in AAP anyone who could question his authority -- Sidhu seems to have reached a dead-end in his political career, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Punjab visit was cut short on Wednesday after a "major security lapse" as he was stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by protesters, prompting the Union Home Ministry to seek an immediate report from the state government and strict action against those responsible.
After the Opposition, now Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and two MLAs of the party have questioned their government's decision of giving jobs to sons of two legislators and urged Chief Minister Amarinder Sigh to roll back the 'ill-advised' move.
'Change was very much needed for the Congress to win the 2022 assembly elections.'
Navjot Sidhu has been given power and new and renewable energy sources, and his tourism and cultural affairs portfolio has been given to Charanjit Singh Channi.
'That would be very bad for them and suicidal for both the Gandhis and the Congress party.'
Sidhu and Amarinder Singh has been at loggerheads for the past some time, with the Amritsar (East) MLA recently attacking the CM over the desecration cases.
Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Godse was Hindutvadi, the Congress leader said.
Amid the ongoing crisis within the Congress in Punjab, its national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Friday expressed the hope that its leaders "talk more in private and less in public."
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Uttar Pradesh government grappled on Monday with the aftermath of violence during a farmers protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, lodging a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, promising a probe by a retired high court judge and stopping opposition leaders from reaching the trouble spot.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
If the fear of ED could drive the powerful people of today to be honest or at least be minimally corrupt, will it not be a great thing for our nation?, asks Sudhir Bisht.
A dominant force in the country's politics for decades, the grand old party's free fall continued as it lost Punjab to AAP and finished with just two seats out of 403 in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma said a large number of buses and other vehicles carrying BJP workers and other people were prevented from reaching the rally site.
Nearly five years ago when he joined the Congress, ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu had said he is a 'born Congressman' now coming back to his roots.
Yogi Adityanath's aura is no longer limited to Uttar Pradesh. At the age of 49, his journey to the higher echelons in the BJP has well and truly begun, predicts Sudhir Bisht.
'The 10% increase in women voters was a determined bloc of voters.' 'They were willing to try this third party, specially because it seemed it had done something in Delhi.'
Western UP contributes nearly 70 seats to the 402-member UP assembly. In 2017, the BJP had swept the region. Every pre-2022 poll survey had suggested the party would face its biggest attrition from this region because of the farmers' groups.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
