'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' will also participate in Uttarakhand BJP legislative party meeting in Dehradun later on Wednesday.
Some of them have also endorsed Sachin Pilot as chief minister. However, they added that whatever decision the party high command takes in this regard, they will accept it.
Nayak had earlier resigned from the BJD and joined the BJP and got a nomination from the saffron party.
Gehlot and Pilot, however, dismissed suggestions that there was any infighting among the state leaders and asserted that they will unitedly take on the BJP.
The main reason for any consumer to buy an expensive smartphone is its camera.
Names of senior party leaders Kharge, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are now also doing the rounds for the post.
Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha Tuesday along with senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former minister Upendra Kushwaha.
After a controversy erupted over the alleged remarks of his father, the chief minister said he was pained by such comments and asserted that nobody was above the law in his government and police will take an appropriate action in the matter.
A renewed energy seems to have been infused into the 75-year old Congress leader Siddaramaiah's gait as he walked to address a packed press conference in Mysore on Saturday.
Several top Congress leaders from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in the hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.
Gandhi drove to Kharge's residence and held a closed-door meeting with the Congress chief.
The Indian promoters of the event, Fairstreet Sports, presented the UP CM, who has been instrumental in paving the way for MotoGP's smooth ride to make its maiden entry into the country, with the first ticket of the historic race.
At least half a dozen names have begun doing the rounds as Dhami's likely replacement, including Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Srinagar Garhwal MLA Dhan Singh Rawat, former chief minister Triveda Singh Rawat, who did not contest the polls this time, and Didihat legislator Bishan Singh Chufal.
Rane, 87, who has served as the chief minister of the coastal state for six times, had won from the Poriem assembly constituency as many as 11 consecutive times.
The Dhuri assembly seat is presently represented by Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy.
He also asserted that everything has gone smoothly for the party in the assembly polls and the government will be formed soon.
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, a minister in the outgoing cabinet of Amarinder Singh, is likely to be the state's new chief minister, Congress sources said on Sunday.
In total, 17 people, including Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader Revanth Reddy, have been issued notices to appear before the Delhi police's investigation officer (in connection with the case. Sources, however, said Reddy is "unlikely" to join the probe and may send his representative.
'The tide started to turn against the BJD when V K Pandian toured the districts gathering people's grievances last year.'
Legislative assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state are due next year.
In eight districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur and Tonk, the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections had won 29 out of 42 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party got only six.
Kumar, whose "national role" has become a matter of much speculation since his break-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party last month, however also sought to rule himself out, for the umpteenth time, of the Prime Ministerial race.
The deputy chief minister, he told his voters that their desire (to see him as chief minister) will never be false, and asked them to wait with patience.
The Congress leader, who resigned as the chief minister Sunday night, emerged victorious in the Patan assembly seat, defeating BJP candidate Vijay Baghel by 19,723 votes in the state assembly elections held last month.
The exit polls further pointed out that the northeastern state would have a hung house, with Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) emerging as the single-largest party.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the views of the newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh were being sought to bring out a consensus on who will be their leader.
Kejriwal then said that though he had wanted party MP Bhagwant Mann's name to be declared as the chief ministerial candidate, the latter insisted that the people of Punjab should make this decision.
The Congress MLAs who have been appointed advisers are Jitendra Singh, Rajkumar Sharma and Danish Abrar. Independent legislators Babu Lal Nagar, Sanyam Lodha and Ramkesh Meena have also been appointed advisers to Gehlot, according to a list released by the Chief Minister's Office.
A case has been registered against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar for allegedly making statements that promote enmity between different groups, police said on Tuesday.
Outgoing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he will 'rather die' than asking something for himself from his party.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, against whom the newly formed National Democratic Alliance government has moved a no-confidence motion, on Wednesday dug in his heels.
Speaking to the media, Gehlot, who is in Kerala to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said, "I said earlier that I will request him (Rahul Gandhi) to accept this post when all the Congress Committees are passing resolutions in this regard. He made it clear that no one from the Gandhi family will become the next chief. He said he has decided this due to some reasons, a non-Gandhi family member will become the party chief."
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the two aspiring CMs.
BJP leader Anil Vij on Tuesday skipped Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini's swearing-in ceremony where, according to the outgoing CM M L Khattar, he would also have been inducted in the cabinet.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also slammed Kejriwal's continuation as the chief minister of Delhi despite being under arrest, saying it is the most unfortunate moment in the country's political journey and the worst kind of politics.
According to some observers, the Congress gained ground by attracting votes from Telugu Desam Party sympathisers after the TDP opted out of the race due to its own reasons.
Development economist Jean Dreze said the Indian democracy is currently navigating a crisis that is not only limited to the 'recent wave of authoritarianism' but also suppression of opposition voices by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in Rajasthan on Sunday, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where assembly elections were held last week.
'The BJP is doing politics 24x365, but the Congress revs up only during elections.'
