'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
The BJP has the cadres, organisation, and extensive funding. But in the absence of a towering political personality like Manohar Parrikar, the Goa outcome is hard to predict.
Congress MLA Nana Patole was suspended from the Maharashtra assembly for a day on Tuesday after he climbed the speaker's podium, demanding action against Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Babanrao Lonikar and Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate for allegedly 'insulting' farmers.
The BJP's victory in the Delhi Assembly elections has sparked speculation over who will lead the next government. Several prominent leaders, including Pravesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, Vijender Gupta, and Satish Upadhyay, are in the running for the chief minister's post. The party's national leadership is expected to make the final decision, leaving the contenders in a state of anticipation.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
Both the BJP and the Congress said they will seek support of the MGP in case they fall short of the majority mark of 21.
The Congress legislators, led by Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, demanded that the governor should summon one-day session of the assembly for a floor test.
Chief Justice of India B R Gavai has said the 'trivial issue' of the protocol lapse during his visit to Mumbai on May 18 should not be blown out of proportion and the matter should be given 'quietus'.
Congress's South Goa candidate Viriato Fernandes has claimed the Indian Constitution was 'forced' on Goa after its liberation from the Portuguese rule in 1961.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it was not disappointed with the results of Goa Assembly elections though the outcome was not up to the expectations.
If pandemic (mis)management threatened to dominate Goa's electoral discourse, the BJP is up against a deeper structural issue in its organisation, created by the fact that a majority of the legislature party and the ministerial council is made up of Congress defectors, disparagingly referred to by the Opposition as "imports". Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Naik is apparently upset as his son Siddhesh was hopeful for a ticket from Cumbharjua constituency which was represented by Madkaikar before joining the BJP.
"In Pahalgam, terrorists not only shed the blood of Indians, but also attacked our culture. They tried to divide our society and the biggest thing is that the terrorists have challenged the women power of India," Modi said.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Speaking to reporters in Panaji, the BJP's Goa desk in-charge C T Ravi said there was no discontent among the eight MLAs who joined the party earlier this year.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa looks all set to score a hattrick in the coastal state with the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as vote counting trends of the February 14 elections indicated the BJP missing the majority mark by a whisker.
The district police said they were apprehended from Goa in a joint operation by the Haryana Police and the Delhi Police.
'There is no hard evidence, but our MLAs have been getting calls from industrialists and mining mafia in the state to quit the Congress and join the BJP.'
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
With this, the Congress's strength in the 40-member assembly reduced to 14 from 16.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manohar Parrikar is all set to become the chief minister of Goa for the third time after the BJP-MGP combine on Wednesday staked its claim to form the government with the support of 26 legislators and the swearing -in will be held on Friday.
On Thursday, the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 20 seats in the 40-member assembly, just one short of the majority mark, and later said it has secured support from regional outfit MGP, which bagged two seats.
A day after the exit polls predicted a hung assembly in Goa, hectic political activities have begun in the state with the Congress focusing on keeping its flock together and plans to shift all its candidates to a resort, a senior party leader said on Tuesday.
Goa minister and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Michael Lobo on Monday resigned from the Pramod Sawant-led ministry and also as member of the legislative assembly, ahead of the state polls scheduled next month.
Vishwajit Rane, who had unsuccessfully lobbied for the CM's post, has been given crucial Health and Town and Country Planning Portfolios along with Urban Development, Women and Child, and Forest departments.
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.
The controversial Silly Souls bar and restaurant operates from the same address -- House No. 452, Bouta Vaddo, Assagao -- from which a company controlled by Irani's husband and family, Eightall Food and Beverage, conducts its primary business, Chodankar said.
Seventeen BJP legislators arrived in Jaipur in a regular private airline and are put up in a resort on the outskirts of the city, party sources said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 'directly used' part of the alleged Rs 100 crore generated from the 'kickbacks' of the Delhi excise policy 'scam' by staying in a luxury hotel in Goa, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed in its charge sheet filed against the Aam Aadmi Party supremo.
"I am leaving for Delhi on a business trip. It is purely personal," Kamat said before boarding the flight.
After the assembly polls in 2017, the GFP, which had won three seats, had extended support for the formation of the then BJP-led state government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar.
The BJP is certain that the TMC will divide the Opposition votes, leaving it free to cruise through the polls.
Desai's comments came amidst speculation doing the rounds in the political circles that Sawant will again be the chief minister of Goa.
A Goa Bharatiya Janata Party legislator has been caught on camera allegedly leading a group of people that demolished two structures in Calangute-Baga coastal belt, claiming they housed dance bars and sex workers.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya on Sunday, became the first public representative to complete the Ironman 70.3 Challenge in Goa, which included 2 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling, and 21 km of running, the leader's office stated in a release.
The lowest victory margin of 76 was recorded in St Andre constituency in North Goa, where Revolutionary Goans Party, a new political outfit in the state, made its debut by defeating BJP candidate and sitting MLA Francis Silveira. RGP candidate Viresh Borkar won the contest.
A US plane carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is expected to land at Amritsar airport on February 15, the second such batch of Indians deported by the Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The plane is expected to land around 10 pm on Saturday. The 119 deportees include 67 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Another US plane carrying deportees is also expected to land on February 16. This development comes days after a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport last week. Most of the deportees hailing from Punjab said they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were shattered when they were caught at the US border and brought back in shackles. The Trump administration has launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants since taking office, leading to the deportation of many people who entered the US through illegal means. Several political leaders in Punjab have questioned the landing of US aircraft in Amritsar, with Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleging that the BJP-led Central government wants to defame Punjab. The Punjab government has formed a special investigation team to probe the issue of illegal human trafficking following the deportation of Indian citizens domiciled in Punjab from the US. The SIT has so far registered 10 FIRs against fraudulent immigration consultants based on statements from deportees.
In a similar move in July 2019, 10 Congress MLAs had switched over to the BJP.
With just over a month to go for assembly elections in Goa, political observers feel the Congress may upset the Bharatiya Janata Party's plans for retaining power in the coastal state, but appear less enthused about the Trinamool Congress, whose entry has added colour to the poll campaign.
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