With the four-day old Congress government in Uttarakhand facing a severe crisis, embattled Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Friday rushed to Delhi to seek party chief Sonia Gandhi's intervention.
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
Fissures surfaced among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state.
Sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna was on Friday grilled for the second day in Devi abduction case by the Central Bureau of Investigation which also questioned his wife and another Congress member of Legislative Assembly even as the agency filed a status report on its probe in the Rajasthan high court.
Congress demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting high court judge.
As the CBI tightens the net around Jagan Mohan Reddy over a corruption case, and the YSR Congress chief claims that he is a target of political vendetta, Rediff.com's Priyanka reviews the probe agency's case against the powerful Andhra leader
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi has died of gunshot injuries, with police saying on Saturday it could be a case of 'accidental fire' from his own licensed pistol.
The muscle-flexing by 140 Members of Legislative Assembly of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, demanding the appointment of late AP Chief Minister Y S Rajshekhara Reddy's son Jaganmohan Reddy as the next CM, has come as a rude jolt to the Congress leadership, according to highly placed sources in the party.The party has realised that the entire power structure in a state should not be handed over to one individual or faction.
Bypolls in three assembly constituencies in as many states passed off peacefully on Monday with around over 70 per cent voter turnout, though some technical glitches in electronic voting machine were reported in Tamil Nadu and the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal alleged that the Central Reserve Police Force was "influencing" voters.
Subramanyam's mother, who immigrated through Dulles Airport, watched her son being sworn-in on the Bhagavad Gita.
The ruling Congress suffered a setback in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday as three Members of the Legislative Assembly from the coastal region quit the party in protest against the bifurcation of the state.
Bhandari, a three-term Congress legislator who was also a minister in the state in the past, joined the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and the party's national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam.
Omar Abdullah was on Thursday unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference legislature party, party president Farooq Abdullah said in Srinagar.
The ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh is caught in a state of confusion on how to deal with the resignations of its 24 members of Legislative Assembly, who are loyal to YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. For the record, the party has been saying that by-elections are inevitable in those 24 constituencies and two others from where Telugu Desam Party rebel MLAs have also resigned in support of Jagan.
Senior Congress leader Donwa Dethwelson Lapang was on Wednesday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, where President's rule was lifted on Friday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday quizzed YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy in an alleged disproportionate assets case for the fourth day and questioned Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Dwarampudi Chandrasekhara Reddy in the same case for the second day.
Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Harsh Mahajan won the February 27 election through draw of lots after both candidates secured 34 votes each
Delhi assembly on Friday passed the Janlokpal Bill, incorporating suggestions of Anna Hazare, which provides for an ombudsman with powers to act against any government functionary.
In the 2017 state assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 seats.
In a major setback for the Congress ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who announced his resignation from the Congress party on Monday, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday.
President Pratibha Patil's son and Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Raosaheb Shekhawat was on Tuesfay questioned by the Amravati police in connection with the seizure of Rs one crore unaccounted cash ahead of the civic polls. Accompanied by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Ganesh Patil and a battery of lawyers, Shekhawat reached the police commissioner's office in Amravati on Tuesday morning, where his statement was recorded in the case.
ASJ Chander Jit Singh underscored he would first consider the issue of jurisdiction and whether or not to transfer the case to a special court meant to try lawmakers, considering Rashid was now an MP.
Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha Tuesday along with senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former minister Upendra Kushwaha.
The setback could derail Rao's ambitions to expand the BRS's influence beyond Telangana and establish a national presence.
The numbers game seems weighed against Pratapsinh Rane.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday directed Telangana Congress members of legislative assembly and Parliament to withdraw their resignations, paving way for United Progressive Alliance to come out with a package for Telangana.
The first session of the brand new Delhi assembly, during which newly-elected Members of Legislative Assembly took oath, will continue till January 7.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition's Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
Amid a row over change in stand over voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday asserted it is a secular regional outfit and maintains equal distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance bloc led by the Congress.
42 MLAs, including leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, went to the assembly and submitted their resignations.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel, and several others to himself. The Congress' Radhakrishna Kishore was given Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments. JMM's Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport. Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare). RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development. The Congress' Irfan Ansari got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone. Among the other ministers, JMM's Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments. Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department. Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh. The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM's Yogendra Prasad. JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments. Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out four seats.
The AIMIM leader said that the party "laid certain conditions related to the development of our MLAs constituencies in Dhulia and Malegaon".
Ending all speculation, Uttarakhand Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly Bhim Lal Arya on Monday night said he would never desert his party and was not joining the Congress.
Who will take over the mantle of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh? This is the big question in the event of the death of charismatic leader Dr Y S Rajashekhara Reddy.
Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Malkhan Singh and sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna's wife Lila Maderna were on Saturday grilled for the second day in the Bhanwari Devi missing case by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Jodhpur. Malkhan, who represents Luni constituency in Rajasthan assembly, was grilled along with Lila at the circuit house in Jodhpur.
Members of the Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
Contests in 13 seats would attract most attention during the Chhattisgarh assembly elections as they feature prominent leaders of the Congress and BJP.
