Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
Was the decision taken by the Centre on August 5, 2019 to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, constitutionally valid? The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Monday on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.
Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the BJP will contest in 55 constituencies in its bid to return to power in the northeastern state which has a 60-member assembly for the second time in a row.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
In the election held earlier in the year, the AAP lost the sole seat it contested and the Congress won five out of 10 seats.
They also clarified that both the names Bharat and India, mentioned in Article 1 of the Constitution as "India, that is Bharat...", are part of the country's history and both names are "completely legitimate".
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
He did not elaborate on where he was for two days.
Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results. Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said. The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister. Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls. Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said. "The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said. During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader. Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion good and positive. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar's remarks on Monday virtually declaring new entrant Harshavardhan Patil's candidature for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra has irked a section of party leaders that was eyeing ticket from the Indapur seat.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Union home minister Amit Shah has met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
The Bahujan Vikas Aghadi supporters gheraoed Vinod Tawde and raised slogans.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
When it comes to the Congress and Wayanad, the only way the scepticism in the minds of some in Kerala may be addressed is by the Gandhi family proving that they are more than a passing caravan in town, reports Shyam G Menon.
A Hyderabad court granted bail to six people who were arrested for vandalizing the residence of Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The incident sparked a political slugfest with the BJP and the BRS criticizing the Congress government. Meanwhile, Allu Arjun has been issued a notice to appear before police on Tuesday as part of the ongoing probe into a stampede during the screening of 'Pushpa-2'. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, when the six people, claiming to be members of the Osmania University - Joint Action Committee (OU-JAC), damaged flower pots and threw tomatoes at Arjun's residence. They were arrested by police and produced before a local court, which granted them bail on Monday. The incident has been condemned by politicians from various parties, with some alleging a Congress conspiracy.
'There are differences over certain issues between the JD-U and BJP but we are in alliance and continuing.'
A group of villagers in Maharashtra's Malshiras assembly segment, who had insisted on a "re-election" with ballot papers, have relented after police intervention. The villagers, who claimed the NCP (SP) candidate, Uttam Jankar, had polled less votes in their village than the BJP candidate, Ram Satpute, had planned to hold their own "repoll" on December 3. However, police warned them of legal action, and Jankar, along with police officials, had a meeting with the villagers, who ultimately decided to drop their plan. Despite this, they plan to continue their protest by other means.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
Article 370 of the Constitution, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was a 'temporary provision' and any interpretation of the provision cannot postulate that integration of J-K with India was temporary, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party which had emerged victorious on 29 seats have 28 Hindus and one Sikh member as none of its Muslim candidates, including two former ministers, managed to win.
'If you are going to make undeserving MLAs as ministers, then why should sincere and hard-working people like us continue?'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
Officials said the polling went off peacefully in all segments including special polling stations along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) with no untoward incident reported from anywhere.
Ahead of assembly polls, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasahev Thackeray president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday declared he will support any chief ministerial candidate announced by allies Congress or Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar to 'save' Maharashtra, repeating a demand for the second time since August.
Maharashtra's outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will decide on the new CM and assured his full support while ruling out differences among Mahayuti allies over the government formation.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Sources said the leaders during the meeting discussed the possible reasons for the "unexpected" results in Haryana and decided to set up the team to ascertain the reasons behind such results and also look into complaints of "discrepancies" in EVMs, as alleged by party candidates.
The results for the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha assembly elections were declared on Tuesday.
'Crores of rupees have been spent on paper but nothing has actually happened on the ground.'
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
The strong statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office came after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah asked bureaucrats in the Union Territory to resist any pressure to "further disempower" the incoming elected government.
Nearly 88 per cent of voting was recorded in the one-day Tripura assembly elections, which were "largely peaceful', a senior EC official said on Friday.
The EC has removed returning officers of eight constituencies in Kolkata that will go to the polls in the last two phases of the West Bengal assembly elections on April 26 and 29, an official said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
What some of our politicians were up to on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
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