The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
Continuing his campaign of reaching out to less privileged sections, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Mhow in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar around whose work and ideology struggles of the suppressed classes are centred.
'It is difficult to imagine the BJP becoming the legatee of Ambedkar. Whichever way one looks at it, Ambedkar's thought and Hindu nationalism are not easy to reconcile.'
In spite of his trying hard he is unable to connect not only with ordinary voters but with most party colleagues as well, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Action will be taken against such MLAs, he said.
'Young Dalits are looking for better educational opportunities, more job avenues in the private sector, which need not necessarily mean job quotas, but a more welcoming corporate world that offers a liberated social environment, essentially a new India.'
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said that only his visits to Dalit houses across the country were highlighted although he went to places inhabited by people of all the classes.
In this video, Hardik is seen appealing to Gujarat's Dalits who have been violently protesting thrashing of four young Dalit men in Gujarat's Una by 'gau rakshaks' for engaging in cow slaughter.
The former Congress chief accused Modi of 'diverting public attention' through various means.
When a similar incident had taken place last year in another village, Priyanka Vadra had helped the victim, a dalit, register a case with the police.
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday made serious allegations against the Congress and said the grand old party has in its election manifesto expressed its intention to implement the 'Sharia law' in the country and redistribute people's property.
Rajnath says incidents of atrocities against Dalits have come down since the Modi government took over.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
'There is a huge constituency that upholds this ideology.' 'Hindutva will remain relevant in our public life in the near future as an ideology and in politics as well.'
Ahead of the 2019 elections, the race for consolidating the Dalit vote-bank has intensified among all the political parties, more so in Uttar Pradesh, where the community comprises almost 21 per cent of the population.
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
Facing protests from a section of the Rajput community over Union Minister Parshottam Rupala's remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh -- a Rajput-dominated seat -- is hoping that the 'Modi factor' and the development work undertaken by his government will help it retain the Lok Sabha constituency.
The Communist Party of India on Thursday said it favoured a Dalit woman as the next President of India, but did not spell out any name for the top Constitutional post.
'The Dalits have always asserted themselves, but there has never been any gain for Dalits.' 'But now the most significant thing that has emerged, and which has got all the political parties in denial mode, is the assertion of smaller OBCs along with the Dalits.' 'I accept that the Dalits by themselves are not in a position to make a Mumbai bandh successful.' 'It was only because of the participation of the smaller OBCs that the bandh has become a success.'
The remark came at an event in Lucknow where he accused Narendra Modi of being a monarch and not a prime minister, calling him a front for 'two-three financiers'.
Pictures of the well laid out dining table with an assortment of dishes and cutlery went viral on the social media.
'People of the state who bless me will give a befitting replay to the Congress.'
Chirag Paswan said he believes two classes of people -- rich and poor -- exist in the society and persons of different castes and religions fall in both categories.
Yoga guru Ramdev was on Saturday booked by Uttar Pradesh police for his controversial remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi that drew flak from various quarters with Congress demanding that he give a public apology as he had insulted Dalits.
BJP leader Kailash Vijaywargiya said Rohith did not commit suicide due to expulsion from hostel.
'The 16th and 17th Lok Sabha and the 2017 assembly election show that Dalits and OBCs are moving towards the BJP.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress over party president Mallikarjun Kharge's recent remark on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, and accused the opposition party of trying to divide Hindus for its appeasement politics.
Cutting across party lines, members in Lok Sabha highlighted the cases of atrocities being committed on Dalits in various parts of the country and demanded steps to prevent them.
The Congress on Saturday appointed 50-year-old Jitu Patwari, who belongs to the Other Backward Classes, as president of the party's Madhya Pradesh unit replacing veteran Kamal Nath.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was on Thursday poised for a landslide victory in Gujarat to retain power for a record seventh straight term but was behind the Congress in Himachal Pradesh which could go with the trend of alternative governments in the hill state.
It will launch the 'Mhow Declaration' during its Schedule Caste Cell's two-day national convention.
'I won't be surprised if a third alternative to Badal and the Congress is swept to power in Punjab in 2022.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said his party's alliance with the Congress is 'off to a good start' with 11 'strong' Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.
The Dalits are protesting against the brutal assault on fellow community members on July 11 for allegedly skinning a cow in Una in Gir-Somnath district.
Kejriwal on Friday accused the state administration of colluding in the incident of attack on Dalit men by cow vigilantes as he met the victims and their families.
Giving a clarion call to defeat the Mamata Banerjee-led party in West Bengal, the prime minister while addressing a mega rally in Siliguri said, "The road to oust the corrupt TMC government from West Bengal will open from the Lok Sabha polls."
