'Elections in Madhya Pradesh have so far largely avoided freebies.' 'But this time both the Congress and BJP are making such announcements.'
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra's statements that the gang-rape victim and her male friend should not have gone to the deserted place, and his claims that the opposition Congress was trying to "rape" him, by targeting him, following the incident has evoked sharp reactions from the Congress.
The minister said the objective behind setting up the special squad was to create communal harmony.
'The performance of any government is benchmarked on five parameters -- India's external security, the state of the economy, social cohesion, internal security, and India's relations with the world or its foreign policy. On each of the benchmarks in the past nine years, the NDA-BJP government has come up completely short'
The state's revenue receipts might not afford various freebies announced by the parties, unless revenue deficit and hence fiscal deficit is widened.
AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh next month to launch his party's foray into these states that are slated to go to polls later this year.
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda has appointed Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and party general secretary Vinod Tawde as central observers for the election of the leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly.
The state contributes 30-plus MPs -- a fatal number for the Congress to lose at the Centre, says Aditi Phadnis
The Congress is now gearing up to take on the BJP over alleged corruption, jobs and issues tied to tribals, farmers and women.
Behind its high-decibel campaign, powered by well-organised party machinery, the BJP also appears to have made a slight departure from its 'next generation' approach to stay ahead of an aggressive Congress and enhance its prospects of securing a majority of seats.
The single judge of the Karnataka high court hearing the case related to the 'hijab' ban in school-college campuses referred the matter to Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi on Wednesday with a view that the CJ may decide on constituting a larger bench to look into the case.
Citing violation of party discipline, the state BJP has issued a showcause notice to Munirathna and asked him to clarify the allegations before a disciplinary committee within five days.
The current public mood is that it will be a hung assembly. No one, not even in the BJP, is talking about even a simple majority for the party.
In Karnataka, the BJP lost the elections because of multiple poles of power, a problem the central leadership could not sort out in time. Could the same happen to the Congress in Rajasthan? asks Aditi Phadnis.
The Cabinet held a detailed discussion regarding the five guarantees and its implementation, and has arrived at decisions, Siddaramaiah who headed the meeting told reporters.
"...I would appeal to him (Prajwal Revanna) to come back to Karnataka and face this investigation... If you have not done anything then why are you afraid, why did you run away? You have to face this situation," Kumaraswamy told a reporter in Bengaluru.
Congress leader KC Venugopal said the opposition meeting is going to be a game changer for Indian political scenario
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday appeared to be warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that "a new chapter has to begin to control looters" as he targeted the Congress government alleging corruption.
Former BJP union Minister Taradevi Siddartha, former Kannada Paksha MP S B Sidnal and former Janata Parivar Karnataka Assembly Legislator Jayaprakash Hegde on Tuesday joined the Congress in the presence of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Mallikarjun Kharge. Speaking to newspersons, Kharge said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has approved their induction into the party.
There are 18 assembly constituencies in the border district which is a Lingayat stronghold and has been a BJP bastion in the last two decades.
Siddaramaiah is facing the Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.
Azad and Gehlot have reached Bengaluru and have met chief minister Siddharamaiah and other party leaders.
The government will introduce a bill in this regard in the upcoming legislature session, which starts on July 3.
Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday demanded that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state prove with evidence that there was 40 per cent commission during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party rule.
The council of ministers discussed the showcause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the constitutional office' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
Facing difficulty in procuring large quantities of rice required to fulfil its poll guarantee, the state government on Wednesday decided to pay cash into the beneficiaries' accounts at the rate of Rs 34 per kilo, for the additional 5kg of rice under the free rice scheme.
Several ministers of the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, and the assembly speaker, lost the elections, the results of which were declared on Saturday.
Asserting that his government will implement the five poll 'guarantees' promised ahead of the assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said officials have shared their inputs on financial implications, and the cabinet will meet on June 2 to decide on the implementation.
A three-time MP, Suresh is the brother of Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar and is the sitting member from Bangalore Rural. He was the only Congress candidate to win in the 2019 general elections in the state.
Mr Pradhan's understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Congress and RJD are single largest parties in Goa and Bihar respectively.
According to Gandhi's lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla, the Congress MP, who appeared before special judge Shubham Verma, said he never made a statement against anyone that could lead to a case of defamation.
The court remanded him to judicial custody for seven days till May 14.
For the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, the following are the 20 seats to watch out for.
'The BJP knows only one language, intimidation!'
Modi lashed out at the Siddaramaiah government over alleged corruption, saying there is not a single minister who is not facing allegations of financial wrongdoing.
The Kerala government on Saturday announced that a township will be established in a secure area to rehabilitate those displaced by the catastrophic landslide that occurred in the Mundakkai region of Wayanad district.
Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were involved in attempts to topple the JD-S-Congress government in Karnataka.
With only 65 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, do you think the Congress has suffered a big blow from Kumaraswamy's move?
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances