'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
At least ten people, including a journalist, were injured in clashes between supporters of Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti in Warangal district on Friday. The violence broke out when pro-Telangana demonstrators tried to block the convoy of Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu while it was entering Warangal district at Janagaon on Friday morning.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
After being questioned about his wealth in the wake of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, the Telugu Desam Party President and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday declared his assets and those of his family members.
Narendra Modi will take oath as the prime minister for a third consecutive term on Sunday evening as President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form the government.
In the morning, he offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said only BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi could bring about overall development in the country.
The list of guests included celebrities from across the globe, politicians, the who's who of Hindi and south Indian cinema world and almost all the top cricketers of the country.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
But as voters gear up for crucial assembly and parliamentary polls on May 13, all eyes are on the high-stakes battle in Pulivendula, an assembly constituency that has been a Reddy family stronghold for over four decades.
This is the second such incident occurring in the TDP chief's public meeting in a week. Eight people had died in a stampede on December 28 last year in Nellore.
Muslims' share in the reservation will keep on increasing also because of "conversion and infiltration because they are having a secular cover from them (the Congress)", he added.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Monday suffered a major blow in the urban civic body polls in the Seemandhra region, where opposition Telugu Desam Party put up a stellar performance, but stole the show in Telangana for whose statehood the party claims credit.
Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu's only son Nara Lokesh will soon follow in his father's footsteps and may contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The delegation marched from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented a memorandum to the President with 18 demands, including the Bifurcation Act promises and special status to the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and leaders of political parties in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the problem of division in New Delhi Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana state.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on June 8
With the United Progressive Alliance announcing the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee for the President's post, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Finance Minister have reached out to Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar for support but he was non-committal.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged disproportionate assets owned by Andhra Pradesh's former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu has welcomed the "cash transfer" initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but reminded him that it was his brainchild as the TDP had promised direct cash transfer to beneficiaries in its 2009 election manifesto.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
In a major relief to Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh high court in its interim orders on Tuesday stayed the preliminary probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations into his alleged disproportionate assets.
"The matter should be inquired by a team of three chief ministers, including Buddhadeb Battacharjee (West Bengal), Nitish Kumar (Bihar) and J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu)," he said.
Sanjay Jha's importance lies in his connections to senior BJP and RSS leaders to maintain a smooth relationship within the NDA government in Bihar and at the Centre and to contest the 2025 Bihar assembly elections together under Nitish Kumar's leadership.
Y S Sharmila's message to voters in Kadapa is brief: 'I am YSR's daughter, my brother Jagan has ruined Andhra, vote for me, vote for Congress.' A Ganesh Nadar listens in.
Three different invitations were sent out for the wedding and the receptions with top-run guests being sent a large red box that contained an intricate chest incorporating a mini silver temple featuring gold idols of various Hindu deities, including Lord Ganesh, Radha-Krishna, and Goddess Durga.
Chandrababu Naidu is very upbeat after pulling off a victory in the Seema-Andhra region. All set to take over as the first chief minister of the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, he told reporters that his victory showed that people had voted for development and against corruption.
In a major setback to Telegu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh high court on Monday ordered an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation against him. The court, while disposing off a petition, ordered the CBI to conduct a detailed probe into the assets and wealth owned by him. The petition was filed by Vijayamma, wife of late chief minister Y S Rajasekara Reddy.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
