The alliance captured civic bodies in Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Salem, and Tiruchirappalli.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has defended her support for teachers who were dismissed following a Supreme Court verdict, accusing the BJP and CPI(M) of "hatching a conspiracy" to influence the ruling. She dared the BJP to arrest her for supporting the affected candidates, while asserting that her government will abide by the verdict but explore all legal options. The development has triggered political reactions with the BJP demanding Banerjee's resignation, while the CPI(M) expressed concern over the impact on the education system. Banerjee also criticized the BJP's handling of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, drawing parallels to the school jobs scam in West Bengal.
Polling for the 144-seat Kolkata Municipal Corporation is underway amid tight security arrangements.
In a veiled attack on the United Progressive Alliance government, Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday alleged people in power want to make India act as a "junior partner" of the United States.
The Left parties have time and again drawn attention of the government to fulfill pro-people commitments of the UPA made in the Common Minimum Programme.
CPI leader D Raja says that the Left has nothing personal against either Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Congress President Sonai Gandhi.
In a huge embarrassment to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the special investigating team probing the murder of Marxist rebel T P Chandrasekharan has told a local court that party senior leaders were involved in the conspiracy to kill him.
Jaishankar briefed the leaders of all parties about the situation in the violence-hit nation and the steps taken by the Indian government.
The gherao of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Finance Minister Amit Mitra in Delhi on Tuesday by Communist Party of India-Marxist supporters was condemned unequivocally by political parties including the rival Marxist party, which said it was "undesirable".
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, on Tuesday asked the government to launch prosecution against those whose culpability had been indicated by the Nanavati Commission on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.\n
Inarguably the biggest gainer in the Grand Alliance, the CPI-ML, often working in the margins of mainstream politics, had 19 candidates in the fray, most of them students and youth leaders.
The KPCC made this decision simultaneously as Sarin announced a press conference in Palakkad, declaring his intention to work with the Left Democratic Front moving forward.
On Thursday, the opening day of the movie itself, the Sangh Parivar came out with vehement criticism against the film on social media, while the Congress and a section of the Left platforms celebrated the film for portraying the right-wing politics as "villainous".
The Left has said the amendments will make the RTI useless.
Seeking to downplay Communist Party of India's threat to pull out of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday said the ally could not take such a stand so long it is part of a "national political line."
The Left and the Congress may be at loggerheads at the Centre, but Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy does not rule out the possibility of a pre-poll alliance with the Left parties in the state.
In an editorial in the forthcoming issue of party organ People's Democracy, the CPI-M claimed that a 'disingenuous campaign' was on against it over the nuclear deal and sought to demolish the '1942, 1962 and 2007 syndrome.'
The Rampur assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh which fell vacant following the disqualification of SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan is one of the five seats going for the bypolls.
Soon after the panel vice chairman Sasmit Patra called for the start of the discussion amid slogan shouting, leaders of various opposition parties took to raising points of order frequently to get the discussion stalled.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
But they still have their reservations about economic issues and the proposal to carve out of new states
The Communist Party of India-Marxist said that it will field a candidate as those opposed to the TMC and BJP needed an alternative.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Election Commission has said it will allow suspected fake voters to cast their ballots in the Palakkad assembly by-poll, but will take action against them later. The CPI(M), Congress, and BJP have accused each other of enrolling fake voters. The by-poll is scheduled for November 20.
The committee headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar is meeting later on Thursday to adopt its draft report in what is likely to be hotly contested by opposition members of the panel.
The CPI(M) has said that India has caved in to US pressure.
Left leaders move privelege motions against Mamta
As BJP leaders went all out to project the event as a moment of national pride, some leaders were directly critical of the ceremony with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, slamming the state's role in the Ram Temple consecration, saying the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be 'getting thinner and thinner'.
CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said India needs to follow an independent foreign policy.
With the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) scheduled to meet Tuesday, intra-party consultations in Jammu and Kashmir continued for a second day Monday to discuss the Centre's invitation for an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The Opposition Congress alleged that the blast, which occurred around 1 am according to the police, happened during the manufacturing of country-made bombs by some CPI-M supporters.
The RJD said that it is boycotting the swearing-in ceremony of Kumar as the mandate is against the National Democratic Alliance.
The CPI, a senior partner in the state compared to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, is leading the charge.
In a huge embarrassment to the Communist Party of India-Marxist in Kerala, party's senior state leader P Jayarajan was on Wednesday arrested in connection with the murder of Indian Union Muslim League youth wing activist Abdul Shukkoor in February.
Ahead of the Winter Session in Parliament, leaders of 11 opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
The final round of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is taking place on Wednesday, with the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition seeking to retain power while the BJP-led NDA aims to take control. The election will decide the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife, and several other candidates. Key issues during the campaign included alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption, and Hindutva.
'We want reforms to end poverty, illiteracy and improve the health conditions of millions of people. We want reforms to ensure that there are jobs for the millions of unemployed youth,' says CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan.
"I will not be contesting for the post of president any longer. The elections for the post will be held on December 5. It is time for the new generation to take over the responsibilities," Abdullah told PTI.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties on Tuesday demanded separate debates with voting on Foreign Direct Investment in retail and related amendments in Foreign Exchange Management Act rules in Lok Sabha, but it was vociferously opposed by the government and rejected by Speaker Meira Kumar.
