Global rating agency Fitch on Thursday affirmed India's 'BBB-' rating with a stable outlook on strong growth outlook and fiscal credibility. Fitch said India is set to remain among the fastest-growing sovereigns globally with GDP growth of 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year and 6.5 per cent in FY26, down from 8.2 per cent in FY24. "Fitch Ratings has affirmed India's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook," the global rating agency said in a statement.
"I'm amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I'm ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass," Abdullah, a former chief minister, wrote on X.
Observing that the country was yet to mature to multi-party governance, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Saturday said it is impossible to eradicate corruption in a coalition government as "trade-offs" become necessary in such a dispensation.
With the recent strain with ally Trinamool Congress fresh in mind, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the Congress would respect "coalition dharma" in West Bengal, but would continue its 'legitimate' political activities without hurting any party.
'I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate.'
If the BJP gets only 200 seats and wants to remain in power, Modi will have to make way -- either for a proxy of his choice, or for an internal rival, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The new faces in the 12-member cabinet, which includes the chief minister, are Congress's Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari, Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh and JMM's Latehar MLA Baidynath Ram.
Manoj Tiwari is the only sitting MP whom the BJP has retained.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
'Any finality in such matters requires political views. We will review it closer to the full Budget.'
The strong message from the prime minister is of continuity of policies he considers right with strong emphasis on execution, points out T N C Rajagopalan.
Congress leader Kumari Selja ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the Haryana assembly polls.
The Coalition would continue the work begun by USIBC's Trade and Investment Initiative in 2007.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday turned down the Bharatiya Janata Party's offer to accommodate Praful Patel as a minister of state with independent charge in the new National Democratic Alliance government and said it was assured that 'remedial measures' would be taken.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
There was no progress in the formation of a new coalition government in Pakistan on Tuesday as top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) failed to agree on a power-sharing deal in their latest round of talks, indicating deepening fissures in the country's political landscape.
The record lies with first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who did the honours 17 times from 1947 to 1964.
Politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did to Manmohan Singh -- advises Krishna Prasad.
It is worth reconsidering if this fascination with either having a single party majority or Modi's leadership or, indeed, both, is such a great idea for India, says Udit Misra.
The Congress said that a chief minister "has to be always happy".
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
The legislators landed at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi in a chartered flight and were taken to the Circuit House in the city in two buses.
Former US President Donald Trump addressed his supporters on Wednesday, thanking them for giving Republicans an unprecedented and powerful mandate, and said this moment will help the country "heal".
All eyes are now on the Sena factions, led by CM Shinde, backed by the BJP, and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and their performance in the coastal belt in the November 20 polls.
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.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'China is struggling to get out of its property bubble.' 'Japan took 35 years to walk out of its equity bubble.' 'Bubbles can be difficult to forecast.'
Talking tough, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that being in a coalition does not mean the party sacrificing its independent political space forever. Sonia's observation comes in the backdrop of pulls and pressures within the United Progressive Alliance coalition on various issues, particularly the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
In a breakthrough that could end the political uncertainty in Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict.
Ajit Pawar also said he was "not interested" in contesting elections anymore.
'Nitish may take such a decision because he was the first person who was with the INDIA front.' 'He went back only because he did not get proper encouragement from the Congress.' 'Nitish will take a decision provided there is a strong alternative.' 'If he feels ours is a weak coalition, he will not come.' 'Then, this government will continue for five years.'
The Opposition on Tuesday termed the Union Budget as a 'kursi bachao budget' driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states in a bid to 'appease' Bharatiya Janata Party's allies.
"This turmoil is created by the media," Prasad told reporters.
The Sena-UB has fielded popular wrestler Chandrahar Patil from Sangli despite the Congress announcing Vishal Patil's name from the same seat.
India and Canada have mutually beneficial political and economic linkages. The two countries should get together and find a solution. The expulsion war should, in the meantime, be a guarantee against any deterioration of the situation, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the first Indian head of mission to be ever expelled by any country.
'Just think about it. She's a prosecutor, he's a convicted felon. I love that juxtaposition.' 'She's a woman, and she's black and South Asian. He's a white guy who grew up with enormous [wealth].' 'She grew up in a very average, lower middle class/middle class kind of setting with a single mother.'
According to the Election Commission data, 30 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats went to the BJP-led coalition in the latest elections, a sharp drop compared with 39 in 2019 and lower than the tallies of 2014 (31) and 2009 (32).
The Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party which won the third largest number of seats in the National Assembly in the elections appears to be split on whether to join a coalition government or sit on Opposition benches.
In a video statement, the Congress parliamentary party chief also asserted this Lok Sabha election is being fought on issues such as unemployment, inflation and attack on constitutional institutions.
