CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat discuss his party's future, the coming battles in Bengal and Kerala, and the Maoists in an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
'The situation in India is much more grave and serious than all of us think.' 'That's why it's important to defeat the BJP in 2024.'
The clash between the rival parties broke out on Monday night and the situation is under control now.
'The prime minister has not yet expressed anything regarding Manipur. Is Manipur a part of India or not? If it is, why hasn't the Prime Minister of India spoken about it'
Suresh Gopi registered a historic win for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala by winning the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, wearing a garland of vegetables, joined Communist Party of India & Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders in protest against the price hike at Indira Park in Hyderabad.
Janakrosh, hunkar and khabardar rallies will be brought out by the Communist Party of India, Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India-(Marxist-Leninist) in Patna in the next few days. M I Khan reports
Opposition MLAs on Wednesday held a parallel assembly session chaired by RJD leader Bhudev Choudhary in the lawns of the Bihar Assembly, even as proceedings went on in the state legislature.
Acting Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, in his first visit to the national capital after leading his ruling alliance to an unprecedented second straight term in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.
There is no confusion or dispute in the 'Mahagathbandhan' over Tejashwi Yadav being the main face for the Bihar chief minister's post, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said on Friday while asserting that the CM will be from the Rashtriya Janata Dal if the alliance gets a majority in the upcoming polls.
The actor-politician however, said they should not try to destroy such a huge industry like cinema.
10 vacancies in the Upper House after Rajya Sabha members were elected to the Lok Sabha.
India has seven recognised national parties - Congress, BJP, BSP, CPI, CPI-M, NCP and AITC.
Miffed over the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's "approach" towards finalising a seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, the Communist Party of India - Marxist and the Communist Party of India on Thursday called off their month-old alliance with the Jayalalithaa-led party.
The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued later.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of entering into a pact with the Communist Party India-Marxist to divide votes of the Trinamool-Congress alliance.
The commission has, over a period of time, identified various parties which have not contested polls since 2005 and has 'delisted' over 200 of them.
Even as the grand old party seeks to promote opposition unity ahead of the hustings next year, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however, would be conspicuous by her absence at the event at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
Condemning BJP president Amit Shah's statement on 'exodus' of Hindus in Kairana, the opposition parties alleged that the statement has created anxiety and tension in Western Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000. The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions - a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
On April 3, Gandhi's roadshow, on the way to filing his nomination in Wayanad was visibly different from that of 2019 in the hill constituency when the green flags of ally IUML outnumbered the Congress's in the crowd. There were no flags of any party or affiliated organisations.
With Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front government in West Bengal not readily implementing the ban imposed on Communist Party of India-Maoist, Congress on Wednesday accused the Marxist party of "double speak" and warned if state governments implement Central laws "selectively", it would lead to "constitutional chaos."
Chowdhury said that the visiting MPs will present their observations on Manipur in Parliament.
The meeting of the 14-member all-important panel of the opposition will take place at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar in New Delhi on September 13 evening.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has complained against six major political parties for not appointing Public Information Officers.
The caste survey in Bihar was conducted in two rounds between January 7-21, and April 15-May 15.
Even the United Progressive Alliance constituent Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday rubbished the Planning Panel's claim that the number of poor people had declined to 21.9 per cent.
JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony in Ranchi, amid the presence of a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders. This is Soren's fourth stint as chief minister. The JMM-led alliance won a majority in the recent assembly polls, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly.
Opposition leaders on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments made at an elections rally in Rajasthan, with some leaders also appealing to people to reach out to the Election Commission of India.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday cruised to her maiden electoral victory, from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, with a margin of over 4.1 lakh votes against Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front's Sathyan Mokeri, according to figures released by the Election Commission.
The DYFI has been organising numerous challenges and festivals across the state as part of its various fund-raising events to help the rehabilitation efforts for the survivors of the devastating landslides in Wayanad district on July 30.
The "unknown" sources are income declared in the annual audit report by these parties but without giving the source of income, according to the ADR.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
The PDP led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has decided to stay away from the delimitation process, saying the body lacks 'constitutional and legal mandate' and is part of the overall process of political disempowerment of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
