The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
Polling for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 94 seats will take place today, covering 11 States and Union Territory.
'I have joined the Congress to save the Constitution of the country'
Delhi is set to get its third woman chief minister, after Congress' Sheila Dikshit and Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushma Swaraj, as Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi has been chosen to succeed Arvind Kejriwal.
'At no point did Kamal Nath and Digvijaya indicate that the Opposition bloc was formed only to fight the Lok Sabha polls.'
A 15-member delegation from the Samajwadi Party (SP) will travel to Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday to investigate violence that occurred following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid complex. The visit comes after tensions escalated in Sambhal due to the survey, which was ordered by a local court based on a petition claiming the mosque was built on the site of a demolished temple. The violence on November 24 resulted in four deaths and numerous injuries, prompting the SP to postpone its initial visit. The delegation, led by SP state president Shyam Lal Pal, includes prominent party figures, including the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council. The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders, barring outsiders from entering Sambhal until Saturday. However, the SP delegation is expected to proceed with its visit, aiming to gather information about the violence and submit a report to party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The broom, the hand or the kite, listen to the mind or the heart, 'tunnel vision voting' to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party or electing the 'right party'. With only two days to go for polling, the choice is anything but clear for Delhi's Muslims, say many voters.
An official source said the Delhi police had written to X and added a response from the social media company was still awaited.
A voter turnout of 10.82 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress on Wednesday criticized the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for a stampede at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh, blaming mismanagement and a focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees for the tragic incident. Rahul Gandhi called for reining in "VIP culture" and improving arrangements for devotees. Congress leaders expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and demanded action to prevent such incidents in the future.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
Robert Vadra indicated that he will also join politics and said there is an atmosphere of change in the country. His entire family is working diligently on this, he added.
Kharge also hit back at the BJP for criticising his party colleague Rahul Gandhi over a copy of the Constitution with a red cover. He showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.
The Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday said they have arrested six sevadars (volunteers), including two women, of the organising committee in connection with the Hathras stampede that killed 121 people.
Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the president was the "supreme authority' in the Congress and whoever got elected to the post would decide on the way forward (for the party).
The Congress on Friday said it will take a decision at an 'appropriate time' whether its senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi will attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
The police also mentioned that the accused had done recce of Baba Siddiqui's house and office premises and were in Mumbai for one and a half to two months and were keeping an eye on him.
The BJP, which won the Samajwadi Party strongholds of Rampur and Azamgarh in 2022 bypolls, hopes to wrest Mainpuri too.
More than 48 lakh candidates appeared in the examination conducted on February 17 and 18 across the state.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, the little-known Hyderabad-based firm that in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, was the second largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
The video in this regard was shared by Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on their social media accounts.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
The BJP got the benefit of a split in Muslim votes in some seats of western UP, and its candidates registered wins from Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Aligarh Lok Sabha seats.
Modi also alleged the opposition grouping will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC and give all of it to Muslims.
Poet, writer and former IPS officer Keki N Daruwalla, whose magic with words gained him national and international repute, has died at a Delhi hospital after prolonged illness and a spell of pneumonia. He was 87.
Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said in post on 'X' that an FIR has been registered in the matter at the Nayagaon police station in Etah district.
Some Congress leaders consider Kishor as an "overrated" person and argue that in 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, he led to the decline of the party.
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.
Vadra said that he will also be present with his mother-in-law Sonia Gandhi and brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi during their filing of nominations.
'The Congress's policy is it will take benefits from everybody, but when it gets an opportunity, it does not want to share it with others'
Yadav asserted that he has always maintained that seat distribution should be decided considering which alliance partner is the strongest in a particular state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The Mumbai police probing the Baba Siddique murder case have found that the five newly-arrested accused had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the killing, but backed out later due to disagreement over payment and also considering the Nationalist Congress Party leader's clout, officials said.
The stampede took place as people headed home after a satsang in the district's Phulrai village, conducted by a preacher known as Bhole Baba. Twenty-seven bodies were brought to a hospital in neighbouring Etah district. Senior Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Singh said 23 of them were women. And 89 lay dead in Hathras itself.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Telangana Minister J Krishna Rao told reporters that the chances of survival under the circumstances are "not that good."
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances