'Sonia did not visit this place once since she won. Who's to say they won't lose this one, too?'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday continued to target late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, saying that he helped the British rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear.
For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, an act coming in the backdrop of a huge row over the crash which provided ammunition to the opposition to target the Mahayuti government ahead of assembly polls.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
Nitish also reiterated that he was "not a claimant" for the top post.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
While the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates for the remaining three seats.
Sharad Pawar expressed surprise over the PM taking a "different stand" now.
A 17-year-old boy, who allegedly crashed his high-end car into a motorbike killing two persons in Pune, was granted bail on a surety of Rs 7,500 and an assurance from his grandfather to keep him away from bad company, as per the order.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
'Amit Shah had promised Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel that even if there were only one third of MLAs with them, they would be given the party symbol.' 'He promised them that the Election Commission would not take a decision against them and that they would get the party name and symbol.'
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
Chavan's aide also said police security has been increased for the senior Congress leader.
'Can you believe Ashok Chavan was with me in the senior leaders' meeting one day, and next day morning, he switched sides!'
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Nidhi Chaudhari has also been issued a show-cause notice by the Maharashtra government for the 'sarcastic' tweet.
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.
Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.
Thackeray had addressed the audience as his deshbhakt and deshpremi brothers and sisters" instead of the traditional invocation of "Hindu brothers and sisters" at the Shivaji Park gathering in Mumbai.
'These betrayers don't realise that their exit opens up vast new opportunities to those whose growth they have always stunted'
Electioneering ended in Madhya Pradesh at 6 pm except in Naxalites-hit districts of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori, where campaigning drew to a close early at 3 pm.
Freedom fighter Dr G G Parikh, activists Tushar Gandhi and Teesta Setalvad were prevented from reaching the August Kranti Maidan on Wednesday morning by the Mumbai police.
'They said that my leaving for the Quit India Movement event would be a threat to law and order so I should not leave the police station and to be stationed there till the time they do not get permission.'
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
'Many are coming hungry and thirsty.' 'Some told us they were stopped from filling water at roadside village handpumps because villagers told them 'tum Carona ho'.'
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
Karim Lala was one of the three top underworld dons of Mumbai for over two decades, from the sixties to the early eighties, the other two being Mastan Mirza alias Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers.
Polling is underway to elect 119 members of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, with voters queuing up to exercise their franchise amid tight security on Thursday.
"Be it Delhi or Maharashtra, the atmosphere should be fear-free. It is the responsibility of the rulers to create such an atmosphere that those in public life can work fearlessly. There is no objection to withdrawing the security cover when such atmosphere prevails," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
Dismissing speculation that he was about to be replaced as chief minister, Shinde said these were baseless rumours which cause him no "tension", and the "higher ups" will take appropriate decision.
Addressing a rally at Nanded as a part of the BJP's outreach campaign to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Shah said the BJP didn't bring down the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last year.
The unexpected split in the Nationalist Congress Party set off a mini earthquake in not only Maharashtra politics but also sent aftershocks at a national level.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Friday said she was planning to take a break for "one or two months" as she was anguished at her integrity being questioned time and again.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday received a grand welcome in Baramati, which is his assembly constituency and also the pocket borough of party chief Sharad Pawar, on his first visit after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra and parting ways with his uncle.
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