'If people don't see you, they might be hesitant, but once they see you, they are confident that this is the person they will vote for,' says political debutant Shambhavi Choudhury, 25, alumnus of the Lady Sriram College and the Delhi School of Economics.
'So my question was, 'What is it that you are proud of? What have you achieved? What is your contribution?' 'He had no answer.'
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
'Rejection teaches you a lot of endurance, self-trust, and the ability to show up again.'
'The Congress has faded and fighting for survival.'
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
'Removing Nitish Kumar prematurely risks unsettling both the alliance balance and parts of the social coalition that delivered this victory.'
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The wife of an IPS officer who allegedly committed suicide has consented to an autopsy after receiving assurances of a fair investigation and action against erring officials.
'Both the DMK and ADMK are equally to blame.' 'When the question is violence against Dalits, they don't take measures to protect Dalits.'
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas leader Chirag Paswan is planning to convene a meeting of Scheduled Caste MPs of different parties as he works to mobilise support ahead of his party filing a review plea in the Supreme Court against its judgment allowing sub-categorisation of reservation within the community.
A Pune college refutes allegations of caste bias by a former student who claimed the college withheld job verification, leading to job loss. The college clarifies it sent the document and the student did not lose his job.
Police have registered a case against journalist Siddique Kappan and 10 others in connection with a solidarity event held in Kochi condemning the arrest of journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
A purported video showing the boy dancing to a song with four to five men sitting around surfaced online. In the video, the men were compelling the boy to dance with a smile.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
The power of Santosh hinges on the script, enhanced by Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar's performances, observes Deepa Gahlot.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Following the alleged molestation of two Australian women cricketers in Indore, a Madhya Pradesh minister advises players to inform local authorities when going out due to their popularity in India.
Following the alleged molestation of two Australian women cricketers in Indore, a Madhya Pradesh minister advises players to inform local authorities when going out due to their popularity in India.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
The cremation of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar took place in Chandigarh following an autopsy, with his wife seeking an impartial probe into his death.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
A committee formed to support the family of deceased Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the removal of state police chief Shatrujeet Kapur, who is accused of abetting Kumar's suicide. The family has refused to conduct the post-mortem and cremation until their demands are met.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
The Supreme Court on Monday came to the rescue of a Dalit youth, who had lost his seat in IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to deposit a fee, by asking the institute to admit him to the BTech course.
The Cyberabad police that investigated the case informed the court that Rohith Vemula did not belong to Scheduled Caste and that he was aware of it.
After a long time, here's a film that does justice to the people whose stories are never heard or written about, notes Divya Nair.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has called for Aligarh to be renamed 'Harigarh', drawing parallels with the renaming of Ayodhya and Prayagraj. He also paid tribute to former CM Kalyan Singh and criticized the Samajwadi Party.
Activist Manoj Jarange warns of political consequences if the Maratha community is 'betrayed' on quota promises, asserting that all Marathas will be included in the OBC category. He also addresses concerns from OBC leaders and the ongoing agitation.
The wife of a senior Haryana police officer who allegedly committed suicide has questioned the FIR filed in the case, citing incomplete information and seeking amendments to include all accused and reflect appropriate sections of the SC/ST Act.
A 14-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly tied up and beaten by a man on the outskirts of Hyderabad for plucking a pomegranate from his house, police said on Wednesday.
'Our politics is transparent -- it's about ensuring farmers don't die by suicide, about ensuring agriculture remains viable, about ensuring food security for the nation.' 'If that's politics, then yes, we do politics.'