The year-end assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram, the dates for which were announced by the Election Commission on Friday, have acquired a special significance as the results of these polls are expected to set the tone for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The government is learnt to have decided not to go ahead with the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre after facing strong opposition from non-Congress chief ministers.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday met the family members of farmers killed in the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri and promised them all assistance.
A single-member commission under retired judge Anita Jha was constituted on Firday to probe the botched sterilisation surgeries at Bilaspur's government-run medical camps, which have so far claimed lives of 13 young women and left nearly 138 ill, and asked to submit its report within three months.
'These poll results are not a reflection of the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Certainly not! These are state elections, which are fought on state issues, and there were no national issues involved.' A reflective Digvijaya Singh speaks to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday raked up "snoopgate" controversy to lash out at BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi saying the BJP's PM nominee is so desperate for power that he can even "divide the nation" to achieve his goal.
The police do not have it in them to confront the Hindutva groups in a country ruled by a Hindutva party. No wonder Munawar Faruqui feels this is the end for him, asserts Jyoti Punwani.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.
The first chief minister of Chhattisgarh, was known in the political circles as someone who never gave up despite defeats, controversies and debilitating health issues.
If the Congress manages to upset its dominant rival, the BJP, in these assembly polls, then it will be a big boost to the opposition for the Lok Sabha polls, while a good show by the BJP will energise its cadres and give a fillip to its hopes of retaining the power at the Centre in 2019.
The Naxals used over 50 kilogram of explosives in Chhattisgarh's Sukma, about a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district.
An injured jawan said around 10-12 Naxalites must have got killed in the 'befitting' retaliation by the CRPF contingent.
In a strong warning to those disrupting border peace, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said the country will not hesitate in retaliating if someone fires first and asserted the government is ready to talk to Pakistan over PoK and not Kashmir.
As the doctors at a Delhi hospital said the condition of tribal rights activist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Soni Sori was stable and there was no threat to her life, Chhattisgarh police here denied that they had any role in the attack on her.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra left for Lakhimpur Kheri Wednesday evening from a PAC guest house in Sitapur where she was kept in detention since Monday morning.
However,the exit polls got their forecast of a tight finish in Madhya Pradesh right.
Chhattisgarh's capital creates a caring environment for elderly people living in the city.
The monsoon session of Parliament beginning Tuesday is set to be stormy as Congress and several other Opposition parties appeared to be closing ranks to corner the government on a range of issues including Vyapam scam and Lalit Modi controversy.
Banned outfit Communist Party of India-Maoist Tuesday claimed responsibility for the massacre of Congress leaders in Bastar region and demanded immediate suspension of all operations against it across the country.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption and non-performance, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said there was a "severe anti-Congress wave" in the country and asserted that it would win in four poll-bound states, including Rajasthan.
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party members and ministers from the Cabinet reacted positively to the Budget. Here are some of the reactions.
Bastar Collector Amit Kataria, who last week was pulled up by the Chhattisgarh government for violation of dress code and protocol while receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the state on May 9, has reportedly explained his position on the issue.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called Maoists a 'national challenge' which he said the government has accepted and will fight it. On a day-long visit to Chhattisgarh, a day after Maoists killed 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Sukma district, he also announced a compensation of Rs 38 lakh each to the kin of victims of the Naxal ambush and Rs 65,000 each to the injured.
Chhattisgarh, popularly known as the rice bowl of central India, is witnessing politics over the foodgrain with ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party and main opposition the Congress trying to attract voters through it.
Seven policemen were on Saturday killed and 10 persons were injured in a gunbattle with Naxals in the Maoist hotbed of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in June dedicated the modernised and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant to the nation.
The Central Reserve Police Force on Thursday said it has ordered an inquiry into the shocking recovery of uniforms, suspected to be that of troopers martyred in a recent Naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh, in a garbage dump near a hospital in state capital Raipur.
Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief minister, 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state were allocated portfolios.
Rice at Re 1 per kg for poor families, bonus for farmers, interest-free loans for peasants, free laptops and tablets for students are the key promises made by the ruling BJP in its manifesto for the Assembly polls to be held in the state this month.
With all exit polls predicting a clean sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently-concluded assembly polls, several leaders have started working overtime to deny the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from walking away with credit for this victory, says Anita Katyal
Maoists took 250 villagers hostage in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to neighbouring Dantewada but freed all the captives late on Saturday night barring one who was beaten to death after being tried in a 'people's court'.
The new battalion, numbered 241, was named Bastariya because it included recruits from Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Sukma districts.
Meet Namrata Jain, the first UPSC topper from Naxal-affected Dantewada
Inability to take everyone along during his nearly four-year term led to Trivendra Singh Rawat's undoing. He tried to take control of all major departments by holding on to more than 40 of them, but still could not deliver.
'From 10 am on Tuesday to 3 am this morning, we must have made not less than a thousand phone calls.' 'We kept fighting till the end and we did not leave the room till we got 113 certificates.' 'Two-three losses would have changed the game and the BJP wanted to become the largest party which they did not become.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were enthused after they ousted the Left government in Tripura and scored positively in Nagaland too. Here are reactions from the party leaders.
Ahead of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is expected to address ten poll meetings to liven up the state poll campaign.
A list of some prominent political families of the BJP.
B L Agrawal, a principal secretary in the Chhattisgarh government, was arrested for allegedly bribing people to help him wriggle out of corruption cases pending against him, while J P Singh, a former joint director of in Enforcement Directorate, was held for accepting illegal gratification to favour the accused in the Indian Premiere League betting scam.
According to the notice, "The conduct (wearing sunglasses) is in violation of the India Services (Conduct) Rules, Section (3), 1968."
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