As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's tenure in the Rajya Sabha came to an end on Wednesday with Chairman Hamid Ansari accepting his fresh resignation letter.
The Indian Parliament is expected to extend its budget session to introduce a bill increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816, reserving 273 for women, and amending the women's reservation law.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has resigned, paving the way for a potential leadership change within the Congress party in the state. He and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar are in Delhi to discuss the formation of the new ministry with the Congress high command.
The House, which was briefly adjourned in the morning, will now meet at 11 am on March 13 after recess.
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
A Karnataka backward class federation has warned the Congress party against replacing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asserting that the party's power relies on the support of backward classes and AHINDA communities.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has alleged that the BJP's "real and ultimate target" in seeking a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha is to amend the Constitution to end reservation, rather than genuinely implement women's reservation.
The Shiv Sena-UBT is facing a significant internal crisis, with reports suggesting that 'six to seven' of its nine Lok Sabha MPs are preparing to form a separate group. MP Arvind Sawant has formally requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla not to recognise any such breakaway faction, emphasising the primacy of the political party over its legislative wing.
Rejecting these notices, the Chairman said, "I have not admitted (the notices) as there are other avenues to raise this matter in the House and some matters are local."
Kharge condemned the use of the "abodh balak" term for Gandhi and alleged that BJP MPs can't even speak their mind.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidates Dineshchamdra Jemalbhai Ananvadiya and Rambhai Harjibhai Mokariya won both Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat on Monday.
A complaint has been filed against Rajya Sabha member Anurag Sharma, alleging concealment of property details and violation of election rules during the nomination process.
Less than two months after ending the TMC's 15-year rule in the state, the BJP government is expected to table one of its most ambitious and politically sensitive promises, setting the stage for what could become the first major ideological confrontation of the post-election period.
Janata Dal-United MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh offered juice to Harivansh to help him break the fast.
Speculation is rife about a potential rebellion among MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), with ruling Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik hinting at welcoming dissidents. Despite a Sena (UBT) MP meeting a rival minister and several skipping a party meeting, senior leaders Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai have dismissed the defection rumours, asserting the unity of their parliamentarians.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has moved to an ashram on the outskirts of Patna to continue his political activities ahead of the next assembly elections. He criticised Nitish Kumar and urged voters to prioritise their own interests.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday re-nominated sitting MP M Kanimozhi, daughter of party president M Karunanidhi as its candidate for the June 27 Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, hoping to drum up support from other parties to ensure a second term for her.
A Congress Rajya Sabha member has made a sensational claim that berths in the Upper House are available for Rs 100 crore, triggering a controversy with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday slamming the ruling party at the Centre for bringing politics to "such a low level".
Former Union minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election in Maharashtra slated for June 19.
'Who among Opposition party MPs has so much power that they raise some issue and the government implements it? The answer is no one except Raghav Chadha.'
A draw of lots was held on Friday to allot Rajya Sabha members to Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh following division of the state.
He said that his primary goal would be to strengthen the political momentum to replace the Congress government with BJP rule in the coming assembly polls in Karnataka.
West Bengal's appointment of Manoj Agarwal, the former Chief Electoral Officer, as the new Chief Secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the state's electoral processes.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the state government of imposing arbitrary conditions on crop purchases, alleging anti-farmer policies and demanding compensation for weather-related crop damage.
'It was done with record speed. First, a revolt of the MLAs, which was obviously engineered.' ''No one believed me when I said the MLAs breaking away is not the real issue.' 'It is like a comet. The head doesn't matter, the tail matters.' 'And the tail is Parliament. Suvendu has gifted the prime minister 20 MPs.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaged in a brief conversation during an event commemorating Jyotirao Phule, drawing attention due to the rarity of such interactions between the two leaders.
A lot is riding on the Rajya sabha polls that are scheduled for Saturday. Major parties are whisking away candidates of other parties, while protecting their own, MLAs are being sent to 'camps' in the final countdown to the polls for 57 seats. Here is a state-by-state look:
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly condemned the arrest of Vinesh Chandel, co-founder of I-PAC, alleging it is a politically motivated act of "electoral sabotage" ahead of the West Bengal elections.
Megastar Chiranjeevi is likely to get elevated soon to the Rajya Sabha from a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. His candidature is almost certain for one of the four seats that the ruling Congress can win in the biennial elections to the Upper House of Parliament from the state, slated for March 30. The Congress, as part of his Praja Rajyam Party's merger deal last year, promised to induct Chiranjeevi into the Union Cabinet by nominating him to Rajya Sabha.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
With leaders of various opposition parties taking out a protest march in support of their demand for revoking the suspension of the 12 MPs, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pralhad Joshi took a swipe at them, saying the voters of the country have given them "marching orders" twice -- a reference to their back-to-back defeats in two Lok Sabha elections -- and will reduce their presence further.
In a bid to wrest control of the Trinamool Congress, its rebel faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday elected MLA Arup Roy as chairperson, marking the sharpest challenge yet to the authority of party founder Mamata Banerjee.
Opposition leaders have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, calling it politically motivated and a misuse of official platforms during ongoing elections.
On March 30, West Bengal will elect five new members to Rajya Sabha. The ruling Trinamool Congress with its 185 members of Legislative Assembly in the state legislative assembly is in a position to elect three members to Rajya Sabha with ease.
Singh claimed the ICCR chairmanship is not an office of profit and in the past, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and P V Narasimha Rao had occupied this post when they were external affairs ministers.
Amidst growing speculation about a potential leadership change in Karnataka, senior Congress leaders are meeting to discuss the future of the state government. The meeting follows months of rumours regarding a transition, with D K Shivakumar potentially succeeding Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.
This follows complaints from the Congress that nomination papers of two of its candidates were rejected "unconstitutionally."
Speaking to the reporters on Wednesday, Minister J P Dalal said that they have called all the MLAs to make the new MLAs understand on the polling procedure.
