The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
Nitish slammed the opposition and expressed confidence that they will be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Days after he was booked for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls, popular Telugu actor Allu Arjun on Tuesday said he went to the Nandyal district to support his friend and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party constituency candidate S Ravi Chandra Kishore Reddy but isn't affiliated to any political party.
Even non-partisan observers are saying the Congress and INDI alliance are not making any significant effort to campaign on the ground, he said.
The chief contestants in the poll are the AINRC leader N Rangasamy heading the NDA in which the AINRC, AIADMK and BJP are the constituents.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by Opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission.
Beleaguered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's political credibility will be tested by the outcome of the three by-elections. And cries that he must resign will become shriller if the Congress loses them.
The future of this alliance would depend on the sacrifice and liberality of the Congress, he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was surging ahead in two southern states -- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka -- while the respective blocs led by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and Congress in Kerala were on their way for another excellent show, going by the latest trends emerging from the counting of voted polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Saturday maintained that 'there is no confusion' among the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) partners in Bihar.
They will, however, remain in the Congress, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ampareen Lyngdoh said.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party losing Biju Janata Dal as an ally in Orissa, the Congress on Monday gloated over the plight of its principal challenger alleging National Democratic Alliance was "virtually non-existent" and there was "no serious challenge" to the United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would soon form government at the Centre, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed on Wednesday as he predicted that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will not complete its five-year term.
Amid a simmering controversy over his remarks against Sanatan Dharma, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has once again justified his call stating that eliminating Sanatan will also lead to destroying untouchability.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
Buch, under a cloud over allegations of conflict of interest levelled by United States-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the PAC, which is reviewing the performance of the market regulator.
National Democratic Alliance on Saturday lambasted the United progressive Alliance government for its decision to hike diesel prices every month and said a meeting of alliance partners would be convened to chalk out a strategy to be adopted during the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament on price rise.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the ruling NDA defending it as beneficial for minorities while the opposition called it "anti-Muslim". All amendments moved by the opposition were rejected and the bill was passed with 288 votes in favor and 232 against. Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that India is the safest place in the world for minorities, refuting claims of their insecurity.
In line with most of the exit poll predictions, bookies in Delhi feel the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will get more than 340 seats in the Lok Sabha polls while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) may secure around 200 seats.
"We have enough human resource and a diplomat told me that 21st century's Saudia Arabia, with its rich human resource, is India," the Nerhu-Gandhi scion said in his eight-minute speech.
The Congress on Tuesday reiterated that the United Progressive Alliance government has taken firm steps to bring back black money stashed abroad in the last three years, and criticized leaders of the National Democratic Alliance for lending support to yoga guru Baba Ramdev's agitation.
Never a leader with a big base of his own, Sharad Yadav depended on state bigwigs like Lalu and Nitish to enter Parliament but enjoyed the aura and political weight which made him a strong presence at the high table of national politics in Delhi.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
The former CM is expected to sound the poll bugle for next year's Lok Sabha elections with the convention and rally.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
According to the National Democratic Alliance sources, the new government may allot five to six ministerial berths to the allies Janasena and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday asserted that 'something major' will take place, after Lok Sabha results are out, in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seemed to be 'not going along well' with ally Bharatiya Janata Party.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, being organised in Ayodhya, in a grand manner in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's tally in Rajya Sabha has dipped below 90 for the first time in several years but the party and its allies are expected to not only recoup the their losses but also make some gains when by-elections to fill the existing vacancies are held in the coming weeks.
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