The Telugu Desam has decided to abstain from voting in the July 19 Presidential election, a statement from party president N Chandrababu Naidu said on Tuesday night.
Union Agriculture Minister and key United Progressive Alliance leader Sharad Pawar on Sunday favoured a non-political candidate as the next President in view of the fact that UPA and National Democratic Alliance did not have the strength to elect their own nominee.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused his successor, Narendra Modi, of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls, Singh asserted that only the Congress can ensure a growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and the Constitution will be safeguarded.
The Congress on Sunday said other National Democratic Alliance partners need to take cue from Janata Dal-United which has insisted on a prime ministerial candidate having a "secular credibility beyond doubt"
The Janata Dal-United leader maintained that having taken the initiative to bring parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, he desired nothing for himself but admitted having stressed at the meeting the need to expedite seat-sharing arrangements.
Congress leaders paid their tributes to India's first woman prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 98th birth anniversary.
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Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation to target political opponents, Narendra Modi on Wednesday said it will be the agency that will fight the coming assembly and Lok Sabha elections and not the Congress party.
The old alliance between the BJP and the SAD broke last year when the Shiromani Akali Dal quit the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws.
The 2014 Lok Sabha election saw the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Narendra Modi storm to power at the Centre with a "triple century", giving the National Democratic Alliance an unexpected 336 seats in the Lok Sabha .
Rediff.com's Reuben NV captures the contrast in moods from the party headquarters in the national capital.
Seeking to capitalise on the poor performance of the Congress in the assembly polls, the National Democratic Alliance on Sunday decided to add another partner to the alliance by taking in its fold Janata Party headed by Subramnian Swamy.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was in the grip of a crisis on Saturday with the Janata Dal-United saying the alliance was collapsing amid indications that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will switch back to the National Democratic Alliance, prompting the Congress to allege that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing its best to cause a 'mini implosion' in the coalition.
In the morning, he offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday started probe against 24 companies and public officials in connection with alleged irregularities in coal block allocations between 1993 and 2004, including during the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance regime.
However, a majority in the Council of States will continue to elude the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Congress leader K C Venugopal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla without being offered the Deputy Speaker's position.
As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.
The INDIA bloc is also likely to announce a secretariat for smooth coordination between the constituents and it is likely to be set up in the national capital. Besides, the members will also discuss the issue of having a coordinator or a chairperson to head the alliance.
Pawar will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.
Chautala said that the loss/gain of the break-up with the BJP would also be known only after the polls.
Majority of these constituencies are in Uttar Pradesh and the party that is on the third slot even as the counting is still underway on several seats is the Bahujan Samaj Party, a party neither with the National Democratic Alliance nor the opposition INDIA bloc.
The Indian National Lok Dal on Sunday rejoined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and announced that it will contest the coming Lok Sabha elections in Haryana in alliance with the BJP.
'If his health was good he would have become CM again after polls.' 'Those who are with Nitish Babu today will remain with him till the elections to use his name for votes and would definitely play games with him after the polls.'
At the meeting, many parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the ordinance but the Congress refused to do so, claimed AAP, adding that the grand old party's "silence raises suspicions about its real intentions".
The political row had erupted after the National Democratic Alliance government inked the Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, against whom the newly formed National Democratic Alliance government has moved a no-confidence motion, on Wednesday dug in his heels.
The simple 1,500 square feet house will be in some contrast to the spacious 12, Tughlaq Lane Lutyens Delhi bungalow that was Rahul Gandhi's home for 19 years.
Union Minister of State BL Verma expressed concern over the situation in Bangladesh and said the government is closely monitoring it. Addressing a Rozgar Mela in Jammu, he lauded the BSF for its role in safeguarding India's borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan. He also responded to questions on the Samajwadi Party's controversial statement labelling the BJP government as a "Hindu terrorist organisation", the Congress's allegations of EVM fraud, and Rahul Gandhi's call for a caste census.
Accompanied by his son Santosh Suman, Manjhi met Shah at his residence in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the situation in Jammu and Kashmir which is witnessing violent clashes between security forces and protesters in the aftermath of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani.
The road to Raisina Hills appears to be smooth for United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee with the veteran Congress leader assured of support from parties, which have a vote value of at least 6.29 lakh, much above the requisite figure.
It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Former National Security Adviser Brajesha Mishra in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government has said both the BJP and Congress were indulging in "petty" electoral politics on terror attacks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
Former chief minister Lal Thanhawla beat his nearest rival, United Democratic Alliance nominee J Lalchhuana by a margin of 96 votes in South Tuipui and UDA candidate C Lalramzauva, an advocate, by 736 votes in Serchhip.
'The BJP's use of nationalism was a major factor in its likely victory,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
What are the political equations, the challenges, and the threats?
The BJP is focusing determinedly on the seats it lost in 2019, with the hope of winning these either independently or with the aid of its allies.
Reacting sharply to reports that the Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to name late Pramod Mahajan in the spectrum scam, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said this shows how the Congress has taken the 'misuse' of official agencies to the 'lowest ebb for its political vendetta'.
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