At least six people were killed and 30 injured in a stampede during a temple festival in North Goa, India. The incident occurred at the Sree Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao village, around 40 km from Panaji, as thousands of devotees thronged the narrow lanes to the temple for the annual festival.
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.
Goa assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Friday dismissed the disqualification petition filed by the Congress against eight of its MLAs who defected to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022.
The Calcutta High Court has cancelled the membership of senior leader Mukul Roy in the West Bengal assembly under the anti-defection law, marking a significant moment in Indian jurisprudence.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Christmas was celebrated with devotion and festive gaiety across India, with churches decked in lights, midnight masses, and community events spreading cheer. Leaders extended greetings, and celebrations took place in various states with prayers for peace and harmony.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
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.
Parliament is set to debate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and election reforms, with key discussions led by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah.
With this, the Congress's strength in the 40-member assembly reduced to 14 from 16.
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.
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
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.
BJP-ruled states argued in the Supreme Court that governors and the President have autonomy in assenting to bills passed by state assemblies, asserting that courts cannot mandate assent.
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.
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.
'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.'
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
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.
'His dismissal could backfire -- not just as a PR problem, but as a crack in the BJP's coalition of castes and communities.'
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.
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.
Veteran politician Satyapal Malik, who served as governor of multiple states and later became a vocal critic of the government, has died at the age of 79.
"I am leaving for Delhi on a business trip. It is purely personal," Kamat said before boarding the flight.
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.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
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.
Does voter deletion controversy expose critical gaps in ECI verification procedures and safeguards protecting electoral roll integrity?
The BJP is certain that the TMC will divide the Opposition votes, leaving it free to cruise through the polls.
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'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.
A timeline of key events that shaped the RSS' journey, including the various highs and lows, as the organization approaches its 100th anniversary.
Many of the Congress stalwarts including four from Churchill Alemao family and state party chief Subhas Shirodkar bit the dust as the Bharatiya Janata Party-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party alliance on Tuesday managed to bag majority of seats in Goa assembly elections.
Desai's comments came amidst speculation doing the rounds in the political circles that Sawant will again be the chief minister of Goa.
The district police said they were apprehended from Goa in a joint operation by the Haryana Police and the Delhi Police.
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.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
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.
