The 78-year-old Naveen is on the cusp of creating history. He must win the forthcoming Assembly polls to become India's longest-serving chief minister, a record held by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling.
The session, which is likely to have around 20 sittings, would conclude ahead of Christmas.
India is back on the diplomatic table pushing oil producing countries to raise production in a bid to cool down runaway oil prices. Brent crude oil prices traded above $90 a barrel, on Thursday, for the first time since 2014. Brent is the most popular marker for crude oil trade. It is used as a benchmark for two-thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil.
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Top Congress leaders held deliberations on Saturday at the first meeting of the new Congress Working Committee (CWC) focusing on preparing a comprehensive road map for ensuring the party's victory in the upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
"In the entire elections, there were massive crowds in my rallies. I did not expect such a thing will happen. I hope the next government will work better than SP government," he said.
Most exit polls have forecast gains for Congress in at least four states including a clear majority in Rajasthan.
Amid the ongoing festival season and ahead of the elections for five state assemblies, the Centre is closely monitoring inflation, particularly in food items, to enable it to take steps to increase their supplies. "There is a complete no-nonsense attitude when it comes to food inflation, and instructions have been issued at all levels to be very sensitive to any possible price movements in any commodity," a senior official explained. Sources have said that all departments dealing with food items have been instructed to keep a close eye on all commodities and maintain a weekly record of their price movements.
The EC had recently banned victory processions on the counting day to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier, only Azad was scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi.
Attacking the Modi government, Sonia said it has sought to erode our institutions.
The poll results will depend much on whether the caste and community coalition worked out by Akhilesh can withstand the onslaught of the Hindutva forces who have increased their efforts to polarise the electorate on communal lines.
The elections are being seen as a semi-final to the 2022 assembly election.
In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
'Whoever thought that building toilets and providing free rations to the poorest of poor Indians would give Modi a halo other political leaders would envy?' asks Sheela Bhatt.
In the unlikely event of the BJP-NDA losing all five states going to the polls in February-March, the Presidential electoral college numbers could be significantly altered, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Analysts say traders have been building long positions on expectations the BJP would sail through in the five Assembly elections
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
"You (lawyer) tell us what provisions have been violated. Tentatively speaking, we don't find any material in support of the petition," a bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud said.
In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session, Kovind said the Rs 64,000 crore PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission will prepare the country for a health crisis in the future.
With the counting for the high-stakes assembly elections is on in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, here's a look at some of the big names and where they stand.
Another meeting convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday with the floor leaders of the INDIA constituents in Parliament will, however, go ahead according to its schedule to formulate the opposition strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress Working Committee will meet on Sunday to discuss the outcome of the assembly elections in five states where the party received a drubbing, sources said.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has been sent as a special officer to oversee the counting process in Meerut and Bihar's CEO to Varanasi.
About 20 Punjab Congress leaders met in Ludhiana on Tuesday, with some of them batting for a key role for Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former state party unit chief who was among the participants.
After the resolution was passed, Chaudhary said being a president of the Delhi unit he has seen the sentiments of Delhi Congress workers and supporters for Rahul Gandhi that only he can fight against the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party.
Polling was by and large peaceful in the bypolls for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats spread across five states and Delhi on Thursday barring an incident of stabbing of a policeman in Tripura, where polling was the highest at 76.62 per cent.
Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Thursday claimed that the `G-23' group of Congress dissidents never demanded that a leader from outside the Gandhi family head the party.
Addressing the valedictory session of the BJP's national executive, Modi stressed that the BJP runs on the values of 'Sewa, Sanklap aur Samparan (service, resolution and commitment)' and 'does not revolve around a family', urging its members to work for people, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said quoting the prime minister.
State-owned oil companies are losing about Rs 4 per litre on petrol, industry officials said.
"We request and seek cooperation from all parties, including the Opposition, for smooth functioning of both Houses to make this session fruitful," Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said.
With the curtains finally set to go up on the results of the assembly elections across five states on Tuesday, news channels are lining up an array of special programmes to hook viewers on D-day.
From here till the next government is installed, political equations will play an increasing role in driving perceptions about India.
The results of assembly elections in five states have demonstrated that people now support regional parties because they represent regional aspirations, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Thursday.
The Congress on Tuesday made significant gains in the assembly elections, dealing a body blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Is it a case of poor targeting of a welfare scheme, or is it a reflection of the government's desire to expand the scope of this benefit to secure greater electoral dividends? asks A K Bhattacharya.
It said that Congress' strategy to pursue 'fringe and disruptive politics' in Parliament was only for political reasons and opposition to the development agenda of the BJP government, which has been rejected by the people in the four large states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala.
Headed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, the JD-S has long been a strong third player in the southern state where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties.
One of the G-23 leaders also pointed out that "we are not political tourists" and said the party leadership has to be conscious of "rumour-mongers and naradmunis".
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