The results are being seen as a ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and a reflection of his unmatched popularity.
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports from Shivaji Park and the MMRDA ground to sense the mood of Shiv Sena workers -- from the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde camps.
Rising for the fourth straight day, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled marginally higher after a choppy session on Friday, tracking mixed global trends amid uncertainties on the geopolitical front. The BSE Sensex opened weak and declined 414.44 points to 55,049.95 in opening deals. But within minutes, it pared all its losses and jumped 369.56 points to 55,833.95. Facing volatility, the index finally settled at 55,550.30, higher by 85.91 points or 0.15 per cent.
"Former Chief Minister Mayawati and I will not contest the assembly elections," Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Satish Chandra Misra told ANI.
'The Congress don't have the zeal to fight the BJP. The party is so bogged down by infighting that it hardly has time or energy to build an opposition. The UPA does not exist'
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh and the party's senior leader Narendra Modi dodged all questions about the latter's possible projection as BJP's prime ministerial candidate, after they arrived for the party's national executive meeting in Panaji on Friday.
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is tipped to become the Union defence minister, on Saturday tendered his resignation from the post paving way for the appointment of his successor in the state.
Gadkari said we have taken note of issues raised by states and will prepare a report which will be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in ten days.
'It will impact the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.'
Punjab's 117 assembly seats are going to be a keenly-watched contest with the Congress, the AAP, the SAD-BSP alliance, and the BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt) battling to form the government in the state, with a probable entry of farmers' front in the form of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha.
Maurya made the revelation while favouring the expeditious implementation of the UCC both in the country and the state.
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Some leaders of the non-BJP ruled states also alleged that the exclusion was an "insult" by the Centre.
Earlier, only Azad was scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi.
The meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group was held at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi.
'You have done your best for the party, but the party has moved on. Bow out gracefully, quit politics and work on a one-point agenda -- to bring about an amicable solution to the Ayodhya issue.' Sajid Bhombal pens an open letter to BJP patriarch LK Advani
Pawar also said that the Eknath Shinde faction, which was camping in Guwahati after rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray government, had not expected that their leader would become anything more than a deputy CM.
'I had to submit my resignation from the BJP after just two weeks because they were very regressive.' 'There was no space for a free thinking individual.'
The seats identified are from Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Northeast.
Political observers say that except for a strong anti-incumbency sentiment, there is little that might go against the BJP.
The emphatic victory in all three municipal corporations in Delhi will enthuse the party to keep its winning trajectory for the next polls, reports Sahil Makkar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said that the Ayodhya issue was very much on the party's agenda and that the National Democratic Alliance coalition was a religion, not a compulsion, for the party for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Kumaraswamy made the stunning claim that the BJP offered the MLAs of his party Rs 100 crore and ministerial berths.
Informing about his decision, Maurya said in a tweet in Hindi, 'Due to the attitude of gross neglect towards Dalits, backwards, farmers, unemployed youth and small and medium-sized traders, I am resigning from the council of ministers of Yogi (Adityanath) of UP.'
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