Assam, which will have two-phased polls on April 3 and 10 ahead of the Bihu festival witnesses a multi-corner contest this time with Congress, BJP and a section of AGP along with Left slugging it out for the 126-seat Assembly.\n
The situation remained calm but tense in Manipur's Imphal Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended following violent protests after the discovery of the bodies of six persons, three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam.
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
Several social media users said that the red-bound Constitution is a coat pocket edition, which has been presented to top Indian leaders, including the President and the Union Home minister.
In fresh trouble for Congress leader Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed his petition challenging the Allahabad high court order refusing to quash criminal proceedings against him for making objectionable remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paving the way for his trial.
Even as his 79-year-old father is counting his days in active politics after a very long innings, Gaurav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is now all set to take a plunge in electoral politics. Gaurav has been nominated by the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha election from Kaliabor constituency in Assam.
Ten Manipur tribal MLAs Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from security duties in the violence-hit state, saying its personnel have been putting their lives at risks to create buffer zones between the two warring communities.
A case was registered against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Hyderabad for his alleged remarks on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the police said on Wednesday.
Once people throw out the Congress, they do not let it come back. They put 'no entry' boards for the Congress, he said. It always thought power was its birthright but it has now been exposed, the prime minister said
'If the BJP does not change its stand, we will hope that those who are in favour of protecting Ladakh come to power.'
Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said it is not participating in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam, a few hours after its state unit chief said TMC workers and leaders supported the east-west Congress rally.
Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Rupjyoti Kurmi was allegedly assaulted by Central Reserve Police Force personnel on Friday when he had gone to inquire about the kidnapping and subsequent release of two garden labourers in Assam's Jorhat district.
The party leadership also thanked the people of Assam and credited the victory there and increased vote share in other states to party workers, state leaders and PM Narendra Modi.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai figure in the Congress's list of 118 candidates for the Assam assembly elections. The Congress finalised the names of all 118 candidates of the 126-member state assembly at a meeting of the party's election committee chaired by Sonia Gandhi on Saturday. The party is seeking a third consecutive term in power in Assam. The state will witness polling in two phases with the first phase covering 62 assembly seats on April 4.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 others injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh early on Wednesday as crores of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of one of the most auspicious days of Mauni Amavasya, officials said.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
Amid protests in Barak Valley, Morigaon and Dhubri, the crackdown on child marriage in Assam entered the fourth day on Monday, with the number of arrests rising to 2,441.
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
Noting that the border disputes go back to the British era, Sarma in an said Assam has been holding talks with other states too and faulted the previous Congress governments for not clearly demarcating boundaries while carving out new states.
The Congress MP representing Barpeta Lok Sabha Constituency in Assam, AF Golam Osmani who is known for his running feud with the state party leadership, has dropped enough hints that he may abstain for casting his vote during the trust vote. It may prove disastrous for the UPA government if the MP plays truant on July 22.
10 vacancies in the Upper House after Rajya Sabha members were elected to the Lok Sabha.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
The Assam government is making preparations for around 1,000 people to attend the last rites of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, to be performed with full state honours at the Nabagraha cremation ground on Thursday, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The latest flare-up in Assam is a wake up call for the Congress governments at the state and the Centre that they cannot afford to ignore ethnic equations that generate cyclical clashes, writes Anirban Ganguly
In a press conference later in the day Sangma said that any resolution that is decided upon should be acceptable to the people.
The Assam government on Tuesday began clearing nearly 1,900 hectares of forest and government land in Sonitpur district, affecting 12,000-odd people who were allegedly staying there illegally for decades, a senior official said.
'The message has gone loud and clear (among the people of Assam) that the BJP is only interested in polarising (the country) and they are basically interested in (capturing votes in) the Hindi heartland and they don't bother much about rest of India.'
The rebel Congress leader said he expressed his desire to join BJP and work under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. He also discussed Assam's political and flood situation.
The BJP secured a runaway victory in the Municipal Board elections in Assam, pocketing 72 civic bodies out of 80. The Congress, the principal opposition party of the state, could not even win a single civic body.
Legal experts and opposition parties in Assam have slammed the police for arresting the teacher and the judiciary for sending her to jail as consumption of beef, even in public places, is not illegal in the state.
Gohain claimed that his discussions with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding the delimitation "did not bring any positive outcome".
The Assam Congress on Monday suspended its MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed with immediate effect for "repeatedly violating" the party's discipline, a senior leader said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said earlier that the Yatra would not be allowed to enter Guwahati in order to avoid traffic jams.
The drive met with opposition in Tinsukia in upper Assam leading to lathicharge by the security forces, while in Sonitpur the alleged illegal settlers claimed that it was launched about a week before the stipulated date.
Around 15 MLAs, who were lodged in a hotel in Gujarat's Surat, are being taken to Assam in a special flight.
Sources in the Special Cell said that now arrests are likely to follow across the country.
Rahul claimed that the Assam CM has taken land in Kaziranga National Park.
Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani, who was arrested by Assam police from the western state for a purported tweet, was on Thursday remanded to three days police custody by a court in Kokrajhar in the north eastern state.
The Congress leader compared Assam's BJP leadership with 'Dritarashtra' and 'Shakuni', characters in the epic Mahabharata, without naming whom she meant.
The woman has lodged a complaint in Damoh on Thursday evening against one Omar Farooq and a police team from Damoh is leaving for Karnataka immediately to probe the case, MP home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal.