Announcing the first list of candidates, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that of the 16 names announced, 14 are new, of whom three are women.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
Experts said the direction is meant to maintain party unity.
Rao's history includes arrests in 2000 by Sahadha police of Nandurbar district and subsequent releases, as well as an underground stint in 2002, leading to his arrest by Malkanoor PS police of Karnataka in 2005.
As the final five phases of polls draw closer, rift among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners, Congress-Left combine and the Trinamool Congress, which are fighting separately has intensified, triggering a fierce contest across half of the remaining 36 constituencies in West Bengal driven by local issues such as Sandeshkhali and the SSC scam.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a rare honour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit and address China's ruling Communist Party's Central School during his visit in Beijing next week besides holding in-depth talks with Chinese leaders.
Kissinger's approach of balance of power, secret diplomacy and moderating ideology are the need of the hour. That is the greatest tribute to an intellectual who had a major impact on the world in his lifetime, notes Colonel Anil A Athale.
Dong, whose age is not known, has served in all major naval divisions in the PLAN.
Over a million officials are said to have been punished in Xi's anti-corruption campaign according to the official media accounts. The intensity of the campaign also attracted criticism that Xi made effective use of it to silence his critics and rivals within the party.
'Today, the BJP is using power in such a manner that they not only crush the Opposition, but even their own supporters can't rebel.'
The Chinese Communist Party Congress -- that will undertake the once-in-a-decade leadership change -- opened in Beijing on Thursday with outgoing President Hu Jintao issuing a stark warning against corruption in the party ranks. In his work report outlining the decade-long achievement of the party under his leadership, Hu said the Party must make unremitting efforts to combat corruption, promote integrity and stay vigilant against degeneration.
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
'The PM who is first among equals, who has to listen to others, take their point of view into account and who would have to be a good manager'
All parties in Jammu and Kashmir said the assembly election should be held with the parliamentary polls, but the entire administrative machinery said it cannot be done simultaneously
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked various state governments to apprise it in six weeks on the action taken in incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism.
Ahead of the visit by Premier Wen Jiabao, senior Chinese Communist Party leader Zhou You Kang will be in India from Sunday on a two-day trip during which the bilateral relations will be discussed.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, agreed to examine the constitutional validity of Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowering the Election Commission to undertake the delimitation of constituencies.
Local women with sticks and brooms in their hands took out processions in different areas of Sandeshkhali as the protests intensified on the second day on Friday.
Bracing for the once-in-a-decade leadership change, China's ruling Communist elite on Sunday expelled disgraced leader Bo Xilai, accused of corruption, sex and sleaze, in a scandal that has thrown the party into its biggest crisis in decades.
China's ruling Communist Party on Monday unveiled a new generation of leadership, including Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, as members of the key Central Committee of CPC to lead the party and country for the next five years.
Two Nepalese expeditions to the Mt. Everest will be carrying the red flag of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to plant on the peak if they are able to make it to the top.
About 82 per cent of the total income from unknown sources declared by national political parties in 2022-23 came from electoral bonds, according to a poll rights body.
'I have nostalgia for Ladakhi culture, which is common to both Muslims and Buddhists.' 'It is kind of a Buddhist way of life. You are compassionate and nice to each other.' 'You are good human beings.'
The Naxal movement has such a complex history that several books have been written to understand it. Bastar: The Naxal Story seeks to reduce it to bullet points and stereotypes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Trinamool Congress sources on Wednesday claimed the Congress delayed the talks and made unreasonable demands on seat-sharing without acknowledging the ground reality.
This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
Deva recently replaced Hidma as commander of the Maoists' battalion no. 1, the IG added.
Each time an Indian minister visits Arunachal Pradesh, the tinpot Communists in Beijing's Zhongnanhai get worked up and mutter threats.
A police complaint has been lodged at Barakhamba police station in Delhi, against 26 Opposition parties "for improper use of the name of INDIA and use of the said name for the undue influence and personation at elections."
The judge refused to comment on it, stating that he would address all inquiries after submitting his resignation.
BJP workers depend on Annamalai's popularity to emerge victorious. He has has made 100 promises to be fulfilled in 500 days and assurances include cleaning up rivers, an international airport and food vans named after former Chief Minister K Kamaraj.
'Laluji is like my father and I am like his son.'
'Modi must see how we live, what we have to do to educate our children.'
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
Reports of a factional feud in China's powerful ruling Communist Party over the purge of charismatic leader Bo Xilai, known for his radical Maoist views, have been discounted by the state-run media which said "stir" over his ouster will fade soon.
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'.
The stakes are significant for the BJP in this round as the party had in 2019 won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, that will go to polls on May 7.
The IUML is a major ally of the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and an influential political party among the Muslim community.
The university has also directed security agencies to deploy ex-Army personnel to strengthen the security of its hostel blocks, the official said.
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