In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
United States House Democrats leading the prosecution of former president Donald Trump at his Senate impeachment trial have concluded their arguments, urging Republican Senators to not to acquit him for the second time if they don't want to set a "new, terrible standard" for presidential misconduct.
The PIL also seeks a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties.
'The relationship between India and the US, when Donald Trump was president, had been so much stronger.'
First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will be the new chief minister of Delhi, capping 11 days of suspense over who will get the top post after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
"We are the underdogs in this race. Level set, ok. We are the underdogs in this race, but this is a people-powered campaign," Vice President Harris said, addressing a group of 800 fundraisers in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Leader of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) Jagmeet Singh has announced that he is withdrawing support to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, claiming it was a "blatant intrusion" into the rights of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion. The plea, filed by Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, argues that the amendments would distort the religious character of Waqfs and irreversibly damage the democratic process in their administration. Several other petitions have been filed in the apex court challenging the validity of the bill, including those by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan.
Omar Abdullah lost by 204,142 votes; Mehbooba Mufti by 281, 794 votes.
The editorial, titled "Ahimsa Award for the Executioner?", criticized Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for praising the entrepreneurial growth of Kerala under the Left government. It argued that it was "suicidal" to weaken the party from within when the Congress was actively opposing the shortcomings of the LDF government. The editorial also criticized Tharoor's positive remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent US visit, calling it a mere gesture by two administrators to improve their image.
Former United States President Barack Obama and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have spoken to President Joe Biden and informed him that his path to victory against his Republican rival Donald Trump has greatly diminished and it might have an impact on other Congressional and Senatorial races as well, according to media reports on Thursday.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday dropped hints that the Mahagathbandhan helmed by his party might bring on board former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, whom the National Democratic Alliance has sidelined in favour of estranged nephew Chirag Paswan.
Trump spoke approvingly of his recent telephone conversation with Xi Jinping. This could indicate the possibility of America and China reaching some level of tactical accommodation, which would not be good news for India, points out Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
The Janata Dal-United state unit in Manipur has withdrawn support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Biren Singh government and the party has informed its decision to governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
'No military offensive by Pakistan will end the insurgency in Balochistan without simultaneous, concerted efforts toward political dialogue to de-escalate tensions.'
The government has moved to increase the strength of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections from 31 MPs to 39, giving representation to more parties.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is 'sociologically and politically' an 'idiot' who has never truly understood that the vast majority of Sikhs are quite secular in their outlook and want nothing to do with Khalistan, according to a former Canadian minister.
Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has stirred controversy by suggesting that members of the "upper castes" should handle the tribal affairs portfolio. Gopi, an actor-turned-politician, argued that true progress in tribal welfare would only be achieved under the leadership of individuals from "upper castes." His comments have been met with widespread criticism, including from CPI state secretary Benoy Viswam and prominent tribal leader C K Janu.
As pressure mounted, the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front seemed to be supporting Mukesh, taking a cautious wait-and-watch stance.
"More voters were added in Maharashtra in five months between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls than in five years," the former Congress president said.
The average age is 56, making the Lower House the oldest in India's parliamentary history and a year older than the previous Lok Sabha.
Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked that the figures are not high enough to know whether the people are happy or angry with the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Mehbooba Mufti said it is a message that the people have not accepted the Centre's decisions.
Kamala's role as vice president was more than just symbolic. Unlike her predecessors, she wielded considerable power during Biden's presidency.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted that the NDA government, led by him, put an end to frequent Hindu-Muslim clashes in the state by taking measures such as fencing graveyards and bringing to justice those involved in communal riots. He also criticized the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of lacking understanding and experience. Kumar's claims were met with anger and walkout by the opposition members.
'Trump's desire to withdraw the US from some arenas on the global stage will result in ceding space to China.'
The seven battleground states in this election cycle were Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.
With this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent a strong message to ally, Janata Dal-United President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, that their partnership remains intact and that they will be formidable partners at the hustings.
In a post on X, Khosla said that it is hard for him to support someone like Trump, a Republican, who has "no values, lies, cheats, rapes, demeans women", and "hates immigrants" like him.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the ruling NDA defending it as beneficial for minorities while the opposition called it "anti-Muslim". All amendments moved by the opposition were rejected and the bill was passed with 288 votes in favor and 232 against. Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that India is the safest place in the world for minorities, refuting claims of their insecurity.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi threatened to resign from the cabinet, alleging that his Hindustani Awam Morcha was not getting a fair deal in the NDA ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. Manjhi, the lone MP of his party, said he wanted 40 seats for his party in the upcoming elections, adding that he was not pursuing any personal ambitions but seeking a better deal for the "Bhuiyan-Musahar" Dalit community.
Exit polls conducted after the Delhi Assembly elections on February 5th predict a close race between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the BJP potentially securing a slight advantage. The polls suggest the Congress will not make any significant gains. However, it is important to note that exit polls are projections based on voter interviews and can vary significantly from the actual results, which will be announced on February 8th.
And voters could also be asked to participate in "referendums" on issues before the lawmakers in that particular state.
From the time he left office after his loss in the 2020 presidential election to his nomination as the Republican candidate in the 2024 race, Trump continued to dominate the American news cycle and the country's psyche.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
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