A last-minute change in his travel plan saved Congress Member of Legislative Assembly from Kerala A P Abdullakutty from meeting the fate of 158 passengers who died when an Air India Express plane from Dubai crashed near Mangalore airport on Saturday morning. Abdullakutty initially planned to catch the ill-fated flight to Mangalore since he had to reach his home town Kannur urgently. But he was a bit late to reach the Dubai International Airport and changed his ticket.
Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and all Congress members in his cabinet figure in the party's first list of 22 candidates for the March 3 assembly polls, which was announced in Panaji on Saturday. The list contains two new faces, but the party has sprung a surprise by denying a ticket to Victoria Fernandes, the Congress' lone woman legislator. Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhash Shirodkar said the second and final list of 11 nominees will be announced on Sunday
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
'I wholeheartedly condemn the statement made earlier today by Sri K R Ramesh Kumar. It is inexplicable how anyone can ever utter such words, they are indefensible. Rape is a heinous crime. Full stop,' she said on Twitter.
Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) leader Lalduhoma was sworn in as the chief minister of Mizoram on Friday.
Even as his 79-year-old father is counting his days in active politics after a very long innings, Gaurav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is now all set to take a plunge in electoral politics. Gaurav has been nominated by the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha election from Kaliabor constituency in Assam.
In a major blow to Congress in Gujarat, influential leader Vitthal Radadia, who was embroiled in a gun-toting controversy, and his son Jayesh, on Monday resigned as members of Legislative Assembly and are set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Congress had governments in eight states in 2014, but now, the number might come down to five.
Also, the thin winning margins of his last two successful campaigns are proving to be thorns for the sitting MLA.
The Congress' strength in the 230-member MP assembly came down to 65 after Shah's exit.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his election rallies in Maharashtra and is returning to Delhi due to the volatile situation in Manipur. The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, where irate mobs have set fire to the residences of several BJP and Congress legislators. The incidents follow a series of killings and abductions by militants in the state.
The party has fielded Dr Charanjit Singh from Sri Chamkaur Sahib against Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
The assembly also saw the passage of four bills amidst the din, and Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri taking strong exception to Congress members "unnecessarily" bringing in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's name during their protest in the well of the House.
A local Congress leader said that the alliance would not have any bearing in Delhi or in the coming election to the assembly in the north eastern state.
Congress legislators in Maharashtra disrupted Governor Vidyasagar Rao's address to the joint session of the state legislature, protesting the manner in which the 13-day-old BJP government won the trust vote on Wednesday.
Earlier, BJP leader Ram Lal said the Goa government is stable and no demand has been made for a change in the leadership.
A protester was killed in firing during a clash between security forces and a mob vandalising properties in Manipur's Jiribam district. The incident occurred late on Sunday night when agitators were protesting the killing of women and children abducted by militants. The deceased has been identified as K Athouba, who was in his twenties. The offices of the Congress and BJP, and a house belonging to Jiribam's Independent MLA were ransacked by a group of agitators. Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed in Imphal Valley, where curfew remained enforced and internet services suspended after agitators vandalised and set ablaze properties belonging to several ministers and legislators.
Amid the pandemonium and chaos, which many senior members termed as a "black mark" and "unprecedented" in the House's century old history, it was adjourned sine-die within minutes after it met for the day.
No one from the Gandhi family was present at the All India Congress Committee headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed Thackeray had selected a candidate finalised by Congress for the Nashik Teachers' constituency without consulting coalition partners.
The resignation of Balwantsinh Rajput (who was also the chief whip), Tejashreeben Patel and Prahlad Patel reduced the Congress's tally to 54 in the 182-seat assembly.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has shifted its focus back to Hindutva after suffering significant losses in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. The party has been vocal about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and has taken a stance to "protect" a Hanuman Temple in Mumbai. Observers say this move is an attempt to regain its core voter base and counter the BJP's narrative on Hindutva, ahead of the upcoming civic polls. Analysts believe the party's "secular" stand may not be effective in the BMC elections and that its return to Hindutva is a sign of frustration from electoral setbacks.
Legislators of the ruling coalition partners in Jharkhand expressed solidarity with the Hemant Soren government on Wednesday and said the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader will continue as the chief minister.
There are critics who say the Bommai's government was not able to counter the Congress narrative to paint his administration as corrupt, a factor that helped the Congress surge in the May 10 assembly elections.
Chief minister-designate Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to present letters of support from coalition partners, shortly after the Congress officially extended its backing to the party.
The MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance exuded confidence of winning the floor test, while the opposition BJP asserted that the coalition would be defeated.
A Jodhpur police team visited sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha's official residence in Jaipur on Thursday in connection with the investigation of a rape case registered against two men under the POCSO Act, officials said.
Saket was among the nine members of Legislative Assembly who rebelled against the Harish Rawat government.
Senior YSR Congress party leader Shobha Nagi Reddy succumbed to multiple injuries after she met with an accident in the wee hours in Kurnool district.
The party desperate to retain power in the state will also prepare dossiers on opposition MLAs to assess the winability of prospective party nominees.
A list of legislators who have brought shame to Nitish in the last 6 months
Those who quit included deputy chief minister Y JoyKumar Singh.
Kumar had recently dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan', of which the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a key constituent, and returned to the NDA fold to form the government with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
BJP MLC C T Ravi was arrested in Karnataka, India, for allegedly using derogatory language against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. He was released on bail by the High Court of Karnataka, which observed that police failed to follow proper procedures during his arrest. The incident has sparked a political showdown between the BJP and the ruling Congress in the state.
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.
Wary of the possibility of cross-voting during the polling for two Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress is likely to take its Haryana MLAs to the party-ruled Chhattisgarh to protect them from poaching.
Within a week of assuming power, the Congress government in Karnataka has expanded its cabinet on Saturday, filling all posts.
The BJP in Himachal has its own problems. But it is not a party that sits around twiddling its thumbs.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar on Saturday won from his traditional Baramati assembly constituency by defeating his nephew and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar by more than one lakh votes.
Devendra Fadnavis, BJP legislature party leader, will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at a grand ceremony in Mumbai. NCP head Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are also expected to take oath as deputy chief ministers. This is for the third time that Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the CM of Maharashtra. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, where elaborate security arrangements have been made. The formation of the government under Fadnavis comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly polls. Fadnavis, joined by Shinde and Pawar, met with state Governor CP Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form the government. Following this meeting, the governor extended an invitation for Fadnavis to lead the new government. The swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with nearly 42,000 attendees, including PM Modi, several Union ministers, and chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states.
