Women, if addressed properly, have the potential to become a decisive factor in elections.
Priyanka Gandhi addressed 209 rallies and roadshows, the maximum by any top leader during the UP election campaign, followed closely by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who spoke at 203 poll events.
A handsome victory for the BJP in UP would act as confirmation of its recent political choices. The UP chief minister would be cemented in the popular mind as Mr Modi's chosen heir within the Hindutva fold, and presumably as his successor in New Delhi, observes Mihir S Sharma.
Chandrasekhar was reacting to the arrest of Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party leader S G Suryah under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology (IT) Act allegedly over a social media post.
Addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters, Modi also referred to the next Lok Sabha polls, scheduled for 2024, saying he hopes that political pundits will note that his party's win in the four states has also made clear the verdict for the next general election as they had linked its win in 2019 to its sweep of the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2017.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to nominate Ananta Rai 'Maharaj', who has been demanding a separate state of 'Greater Cooch Behar' to be carved out of West Bengal, as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from the state, has kicked off a fresh storm with the ruling Trinamool Congress accusing the saffron party of fanning separatism in the state.
Here are some of the glimpses.
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
Civic polls in Mumbai are to take place in late March or early April.
The best, wisest, and fairest next step in strengthening our own cause is to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and allow the resumption of robust political activity. That's a box that remains unchecked on the Modi government's report card as we approach the fourth anniversary of Kashmir's Constitutional shift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Despite the AAP cutting into its votes, the Congress still polled 27 per cent votes and won 17 seats.
Talking to reporters in Bhopal, Kharge said he believes in collective leadership and if elected president, will consult party leaders Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi on organisational matters.
The legendary Bhaichung Bhutia on Friday filed his nomination for the president's post in the upcoming AIFF elections but getting through won't be easy for the former footballer as several candidates with political affiliations have also thrown their hats in the ring.
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party is ready for virtual election rallies and the party will follow the Election Commission's guidelines.
Having twice betrayed the BJP -- and Arvind Kejriwal determined not to admit in AAP anyone who could question his authority -- Sidhu seems to have reached a dead-end in his political career, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
People lined up in large numbers on both sides of the road to greet Modi.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi cited a viral video on social media platforms, claiming that in it Modi's voice is heard in a call with BJP rebel Kripal Parmar.
PM Modi's remarks at the rally at Akbarpur come amid a row in Karnataka where schools have stopped Muslim girls from attending classes while wearing hijab.
"Former Chief Minister Mayawati and I will not contest the assembly elections," Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Satish Chandra Misra told ANI.
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.
The Election Commission is confident of holding the five assembly polls due early next year, including in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, on time as the poll panel has gained a lot of experience from the electoral exercise in Bihar, West Bengal and four other assemblies amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has asserted.
His remarks come amid BJP ministers and legislators quitting the party in UP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
A member of the 1983 cricket World Cup-winning squad, Azad was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party for openly targeting the then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over alleged irregularities and corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association in December 2015. He joined the Congress in 2018.
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
The National Democratic Alliance presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday consolidated her lead after the second round of counting by getting nearly 72 per cent votes of the total votes of all MPs and MLAs of 10 states counted so far.
Parrikar claimed that the denial of ticket to him is similar to the 1994 situation when attempts were made to throw his father out of the party.
According to sources, the filters were applied on Saturday night soon after the poll schedule was announced.
Amid opposition unity talks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the Trinamool Congress, alleging that it was fighting elections in Meghalaya to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power in the state, drawing a sharp reaction from the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
At least eight MLAs of the opposition Congress in BJP-ruled Gujarat appeared to have voted for Kovind.
After the Congress' poor performance in all five states where Assembly elections were held, party workers staged a protest outside the party's headquarters, alleging that democracy was being "murdered" through EVMs.
These officers will oversee the entire poll processes as eyes and ears of the commission on the ground to ensure free, fair and voter-friendly elections.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to explain why the political party (Aam Aadmi Party) which was allegedly the beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy 'scam', has not been made an accused in the money laundering case.
The Election Commission on Saturday cautioned political parties over hate speeches and said it is closely monitoring social media posts to ensure clean assembly polls in five states.
As part of the programme, 14 states have been identified in the first phase in which there are 64 districts.
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
'When the assembly elections happened in West Bengal, it was predicted that Mamata didi will win only by a thin margin but she won with a huge margin'
N Srinivasan will contest the election for presidentship of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in Chennai on September 29.
The Election Commission has added a new column in candidates' election expenditure returns to submit information on money spent on digital campaigning in the upcoming polls in five states.
