These Congress rebels, who had voted in favour of the BJP nominee in the Rajya Sabha polls, later abstained from voting on the Budget, defying a party whip.
The crime branch named 29 accused in the 4,590-page charge sheet, including 26 already arrested and three wanted persons, including Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
With the Yogi Adityanath government taking credit for cracking down on criminals and making it an election issue, political parties are now having a rethink on aligning with those who have a criminal background but also enjoy influence in their areas.
The electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha elections, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes including Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur.
The Congress had fielded Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13.
Eknath Shinde, a former auto-rickshaw driver, has emerged as a key leader in Maharashtra, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister. His journey from a Shiv Sena rebel to a dominant figure in the state's politics is a testament to his resilience and political acumen. He gained popularity for his pro-people stance and his contributions to infrastructure projects and social welfare schemes, solidifying his position as a powerful player in the Mahayuti alliance.
More than Rs 8 crore unaccounted cash has been seized in subsequent raids at various locations by Lokayukta. The arrested officer's father is Madal Virupakshappa, the MLA representing Channagiri constituency in Davangere district of the state.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
The bodies of a teenager and his two relatives were found near a waterfall in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district three days after they went missing. The Jammu and Kashmir Congress has demanded a high-level investigation into the incident. The police have ruled out any terror angle, but the exact cause of death is unknown and will be determined by a postmortem.
I will help, 100 per cent. Come (to me) with your parents, the MLA said.
The BJP, which won the Samajwadi Party strongholds of Rampur and Azamgarh in 2022 bypolls, hopes to wrest Mainpuri too.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
While the Congress currently has 14 MLAs, down from 16 after Sopte and Shirodkar left it to join the BJP, the latter has 13 MLAs.
Jitesh Antapurkar, who won a bypoll in 2021 on a Congress ticket and is considered close to former chief minister Ashok Chavan, has been nominated from Deglur.
The Assam Assembly has discontinued the decades-old practice of a two-hour break on Fridays to allow Muslim legislators to offer 'namaz'. The decision, which was made in August but implemented this session, has been met with criticism from opposition MLAs who argue that it was imposed by the ruling BJP. The decision was taken by the House's Rules Committee, which was headed by the Speaker, and was justified as a move to promote secularism and productivity.
The indecision of the then Maharashtra governor on the state government's recommendation to appoint 12 persons as MLCs is 'quite disturbing', the Bombay high court has said.
From all indications, Sunil Kanugolu is here to stay, though whether his magic will help the Congress in the northern states in the Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen, wonders Aditi Phadnis.
Some analysts also pointed out that "outsourcing" political management to regional satraps such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana may have proven counterproductive and micromanagement by the Gandhi family was needed.
On Monday, former state health minister Rustam Singh quit the Bharatiya Janata Party after being denied a ticket from Morena and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party, which has fielded his son from the seat.
The raids are understood to be linked to a probe related to alleged irregularities in the operations of some sugar mills based in the state that are linked to Mushrif.
Bharatiya Janarta Party candidate Ramesh Bidhuri on Wednesday again targeted Delhi chief minister and his rival from Kalkaji seat Atishi, saying she was running around like a 'hirni' (doe) in the streets of the constituency ahead of assembly polls after doing little for the people for years.
Sources said that Mann is likely to join the Aam Aadmi Party.
Moderate to high turnout was recorded in 13 assembly constituencies across seven states where bypolls were held on Wednesday amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which has sparked controversy and legal challenges. The Bill, passed by Parliament after heated debates, has been criticized by opposition parties as "anti-Muslim" and "unconstitutional". The government, however, maintains that the reform will benefit the Muslim community. Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Bill, alleging discrimination against Muslims and undermining their religious autonomy. The Bill repeals the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, and introduces restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, which have raised concerns about the impact on the Muslim community.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier talked to the MLAs over the phone ahead of the meeting of the AICC panel on Punjab.
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Three private gunmen hired by Rathee for security also suffered injuries in the attack.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear that it will not campaign for ally Nationalist Congress Party's candidate Nawab Malik in the assembly polls due to his alleged links with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, but has no objection to his daughter's candidature.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Anil Kumar and two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were sworn in on Tuesday as Yogi Adityanath expanded his council of ministers, weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh suffered yet another blow with its Kakinada MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy formally joining the YSR Congress on Thursday.
'The BJP had a big threat from the Congress in J&K, therefore they were threatened by us.'
"Sonia ji has approved the application of the two senior leaders seeking to join the Congress," state Congress Chief Spokesperson Premchandra Mishra said.
Though Sukhu has been putting up a brave face and there appears to be no immediate threat to his government, the BJP is looking to bring down his dispensation with bypoll wins amid a view that it may draw more legislators of the ruling party into its fold.
Arora will have to resign from the Rajya Sabha if he wins the bypoll, the date for which is yet to be announced.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
An alleged attack on a Marathi-speaking family by a government employee in Thane district sparked outrage in the Maharashtra Assembly, where the BJP-led government assured justice and condemned the incident. Opposition parties demanded immediate action against the accused, Akhilesh Shukla, and his wife, who have been arrested. The incident has raised concerns about discrimination against Marathi people and fueled tensions in the state.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel, and several others to himself. The Congress' Radhakrishna Kishore was given Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments. JMM's Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport. Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare). RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development. The Congress' Irfan Ansari got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone. Among the other ministers, JMM's Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments. Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department. Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh. The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM's Yogendra Prasad. JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments. Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Chhattisgarh and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal has stoked a controversy as he said that those who call inflation a national calamity should stop eating food and using petrol.
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