Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Rohit Pawar on Friday alleged 25-30 Bharatiya Janata Party workers at midnight tried to enter the strong room where electronic voting machines (EVMs) of Karjat-Jamkhed constituency, from where he contested, are kept.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are set to be a defining moment for several regional heavyweights, including Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The two Pawars, Shinde, and Thackeray are engaged in a fierce battle for political dominance, with the outcome potentially deciding the fate of their respective parties. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition alliance, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and the NCP (SP) 86. The election is also marked by intense factional fights, with the two claimants of Shiv Sena's legacy competing in over 50 seats and the two Pawars facing each other in nearly 37 constituencies.
Six Indian Americans have won the elections to the House of Representatives, increasing their number from five in the current Congress.
Beleaguered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's political credibility will be tested by the outcome of the three by-elections. And cries that he must resign will become shriller if the Congress loses them.
Of these 14, all but three won the election on Thursday.
Once people throw out the Congress, they do not let it come back. They put 'no entry' boards for the Congress, he said. It always thought power was its birthright but it has now been exposed, the prime minister said
'Once elected, you have to act like people's representative for the full five years or else people show you your place.'
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.
Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Atishi, the AAP candidate from Kalkaji, for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and obstructing public servants on duty. The FIR was registered at the Govindpuri Police Station based on allegations that Atishi was found with supporters and vehicles at Fateh Singh Marg, violating MCC guidelines. Atishi, however, alleged that BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and his family were engaging in hooliganism without any action from the Election Commission.
Sidhu stated that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu had been declared cancer-free, emphasizing the role of dietary and lifestyle changes in her recovery.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was defeated by Aam Aadmi Party's first-timer and an eye surgeon from Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib seats, respectively.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. He also criticizes the government's handling of the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the Commonwealth Games scandal, which he believes contributed to the party's downfall in the 2014 general elections.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has alleged misuse of power and money to control the election mechanism in Maharashtra, calling for a mass revolt. He cites claims of EVM manipulation by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and says that the situation was unprecedented, with money and power used to control the entire election process. Pawar also expressed concerns about the suppression of opposition voices in Parliament and the lack of response to concerns about EVM manipulation.
BIf you know this BJP, it will now go forward to Jharkhand and Maharashtra as if June 2024 never happened, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress top brass headed by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge held a review meeting on Thursday on the party's shock defeat in the Haryana assembly polls and discussed the possible reasons for the 'unexpected' results.
Months before the Haryana assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced its strongman Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister with low-profile OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini, a decision that surprised many.
The constituency is being represented by senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve, who has won this seat five times on the trot.
BJP leaders hit back at the DMK and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if he agreed with the insulting remarks of its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partner against the north Indians.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged people to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards former Union minister Smriti Irani or any other leader.
Shivakumar said, "Mahayuti leaders should visit my state to see how Congress' welfare guarantees are benefiting people."
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance which managed only 24 seats.
The Left-Congress alliance won 19 out of 19 seats which is significant ahead of the panchayat polls.
Former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured after stones were hurled at his car in Nagpur district on Monday night. The incident occurred as Deshmukh was returning to Katol after attending a meeting in Narkhed village. Police are investigating the attack, which occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
The BJP's victory in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections was largely attributed to the Yamuna pollution issue, with the party successfully capitalizing on the backlash from Haryanvi-origin voters who perceived AAP's narrative on the river's pollution as an attack on their home state. The BJP's campaign focused on presenting itself as both the protector of Haryana's honor and the party with a concrete vision for the Yamuna's revival, ultimately leading to AAP's significant decline in the Yamuna belt and rural areas.
Three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have threatened to contest as Independents from Jalna in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls after the seat went to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as part of the Mahayuti's seat-sharing arrangement.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Gandhi said the 5 'guarantees' promised by the party will be implemented within a few hours after the first Cabinet meeting.
Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
The bypolls were held in six constituencies - Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) - following the resignation of MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A renewed energy seems to have been infused into the 75-year old Congress leader Siddaramaiah's gait as he walked to address a packed press conference in Mysore on Saturday.
Opposition leaders on Saturday lauded the Congress for its victory in Karnataka and thanked the people of the state, saying that this win has showed that 'Modi is not invincible'.
Five months after a couple of Pawars jousted in an electoral battle in Baramati, two other Pawars will take on each other at the hustings on November 20, 2024.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its tally dwindling by less than half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar was on a roll, pocketing 30 of the 48 seats.
Dhanorkar was 47 years old and is survived by wife Pratibha, an MLA, and two sons.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
