'Mamata wanted the Congress in alliance with the BJP in Bengal against the Left Front government.' 'Pranab Mukherjee opposed it, stating it would amount to compromising on secularism.' 'In 2021, Mamata defeats the BJP and becomes a champion of secularism.'
The next 10 days will tell you whether the United Progressive Alliance and its leading constituent, the Congress, have learnt the right lessons from their poor performance in the assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa.
Rediff.com's Priyanka narrates the different moods at the Bharatiya Janta Party's headquarters in New Delhi on election verdict day.
Team Anna on Monday asked the Congress to make public expenses incurred for hiring choppers for the just-concluded assembly elections to five states, particularly for party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul. Anna Hazare and his close aide Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the expenses should be made public.
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday asked people to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India in the coming assembly elections in five states and "reject" other parties which have failed to accept "genuine" issues of bringing back black money and corruption.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi stayed away conspicuously from campaigning for his party in the poll-bound Uttarakhand and Punjab.
'The SP-BSP have almost come to an understanding that the BSP will take the larger share of parliamentary seats and take care of national politics.' 'The SP in future assembly elections will take larger seats and take care of state politics.'
The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to consider listing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Constitutional validity of a provision of the Representation of People Act which had led to the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of ballot papers for polls in the country.
Azad said it was a good meeting with the Congress president with the discussion centred on how to prepare and fight unitedly the forthcoming assembly polls to take on rival parties.
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand made history registering unprecedented polling percentages. Manipur, however, remained an exception to the trend.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the newspaper's publisher Associated Journals Ltd and its holding company Young Indian, the central probe agency said in a statement.
The commission also directed political parties to adhere to the provisions of the model code of conduct and broader guidelines on Covid-19.
Polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Punjab and Goa will be held between February 4 and March 8.
'Victory and defeat are an integral part of life. Today's results will further our resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India,' Modi said.
Hammered by the courts, trapped by scams and corruption charges, battling constant postponement of decisions and facing assembly elections in five states, the Congress party is likely to hold its chintan shivir (brainstorming session) in Jaipur on March 26-27 to make itself battle ready for the next round of elections.
The Congress stalwart could not have asked for a better gift on his 75th birthday.
If the party is unable to do well in Gujarat and Karnataka polls, it could lose this status in the subsequent binneial elections to the upper House.
The Railway Budget will be presented on February 25 while the Union Budget will be presented on February 29.
The government is learnt to have described the Union Budget as an annual constitutional exercise covering the entire country and not just a few states.
Assembly elections in 288 seats in Maharashtra and 90 seats in Haryana will be held on October 15 and counting will take place on October 19, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
Ever since Nitish embarked on the slippery path of trying to unite the Opposition against the BJP, he has repeatedly rebutted suggestions that the exercise was aimed at bringing himself centre stage. The problem is: It is not enough if he says so. Others have to say so as well, especially Congress, observes Aditi Phadnis.
The BJP has many ruthless leaders with super-sharp political minds. But none has all this and Yogi's charisma and personal ambition, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Party sources said that she left for abroad on Wednesday night for a "routine medical check-up" and will return only after Holi on Monday.
'Wait for more action the day after (the Friday meeting).'
The EC again rubbished the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that EVMs could be tampered with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said elections keep happening but Parliament's Budget session is very important and urged all MPs to make it fruitful.
Political legacies seemed to have counted for little in the assembly elections in five states as the electorate rejected the kith and kin of politicians.
The Charanjit Singh Channi-led government selected the 1987 batch IPS officer out of a panel of three officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission.
'Today, after mustering courage, I am resigning from the party post and primary membership of the Congress'
Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday came out in strong defence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Supreme Court verdict cancelling 2G licenses was not an indictment of the government.
In the usual course, the Budget is presented in the Lok Sabha on last working day of February.
Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the second day in a row on Wednesday as state-owned fuel retailers resumed daily rate revision after a more than two-week long hiatus during assembly elections in states like West Bengal. Petrol price was increase ford by 19 paise per litre and diesel by 21 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Petrol in the national capital now costs Rs 90.74 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 81.12 per litre.
The seven-member grouping has seen two changes -- S Jaipal Reddy replacing Murli Deora after taking over as the Oil Ministry, while Kamal Nath has given away to the new Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi.
Continuing to mount pressure on the central leadership, Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka strongman B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday said he would wait for a "few more days" on the party's promise to reinstate him as chief minister.
Several exit polls on Monday forecast a clear majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab with some of them giving an edge to the saffron party in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
Highlighting corruption and financial scandals during the United Progressive Alliance regime and evolving strategies for the forthcoming assembly elections in five states across the country will be the focus of the two-day national executive body meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party to be held in Guwahati from Saturday.
This time, it might start between March 5 and 12 in view of polls, government sources said, citing that counting of votes is scheduled for March 4.
An adverse outcome against the BJP in UP can well be taken into its stride by the ruling combine at the Centre, argues Virendra Kapoor.
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