There is more at stake on the outcome of the two-phased election than the state of Gujarat. Only after the polls, the Left parties and the Congress party will decide their future strategy and the fate of the India-United States nuclear deal. Also, on the basis of the election results, the Congress will assess the advantages of going in for parliamentary elections around April 2008, a year before schedule
'We will discuss it with an open mind,' the former PM said.
While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the tricolour at Patan, the Congress organised a parallel function at Gandhinagar.
A democratic set-up is a necessary instrument to choose rulers, but it cannot always provide a roadmap to a good society. That needs a moral compass, which is prominent by its absence in the current campaign, says Dr Shreekant Sambrani.
Election campaigning in India can never be complete without promises, abuses, allegations and counter-allegations flying about thick and fast. The growing popularity of the social media platforms and electronic paraphernalia has made the parties even more excited.
Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission seeking to bar ousted Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi from entering the state following his allegedly provocative utterances against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
There is also talk on the chances of Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, R C Faldu and Kaushik Patel, senior ministers in the Rupani cabinet, being retained.
'Modi has to lead the BJP. There is no alternative,' a senior BJP leader tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Former ministers have either maintained silence or supported the `no-repeat' formula adopted by the top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly polls are due by 2023-end, are not attaching much importance to the presence of the AAP and the AIMIM citing the largely bipolar politics of the state.
Among the major parties, out of the 25 BJP candidates, four, or 15 percent, have criminal cases against them, with two facing serious charges, as per the data of ADR.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the state assembly elections, saying that it is a blueprint for development of all sections of the society.
A total of 87 constituencies spread over 15 districts from Saurashtra and south regions of the state will go for poll on December 13.
He also denied any links with the marble lobby of Rajasthan.
Campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections to be held on December 1 ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.
Former Gujarat chief minister Suresh Mehta quit the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday after several decades of association with the party.
As Gujarat braces for an election this year, it would be interesting to see the donations received by the political parties in the state, and the list of candidates who have a criminal background, says Vicky Nanjappa
The BJP hopes to highlight the "insulting" Congress meme on social media that had described the PM as a 'chaiwala', reports Archis Mohan.
Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party will not only return to power in Gujarat but also perform better in the recently-concluded elections than what has been projected by various exit polls, says a senior party leader.
The appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta created turmoil in Parliament on Friday with Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party forcing several adjournments of both the Houses demanding recall of Governor Kamala Beniwal for what they alleged was a "dictatorial" act.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday started his three-day fast at the Gujarat University Convention Centre for "peace, harmony and unity in the state".
There's nothing that Bharatiya Janata Party Supremo Narendra Damodardas Modi appears to like better than hitting the campaign trail, addressing countless meetings on the same day with a verve that is unprecedented in India's electoral history.
'Undeniably, Modi's position has stabilised and he has staged a comeback of sorts from the weeks after the Lok Sabha results.' 'Coalition partners are likely to be more tolerant of Modi... The forthcoming elections in Delhi and Bihar will determine whether this continues or not.' 'To win Delhi and Bihar, Modi will have to work in conjunction with the RSS.' 'However, because of the 'truce' that has been worked out within the Sangh Parivar, Modi will have to be more consultative than he has been in the past ten years,' reveals Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
He also expressed gratitude to the people of the two states for the love they showered on him.
Kejriwal asked whether the BJP-led central government was waiting for the Lok Sabha elections to make a move in this direction.
Celebrations had already begun at BJP headquarters before the full announcement of results.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
'Modi has to lead the BJP. There is no alternative,' a senior BJP leader tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh for the first time, drew a blank securing just 1.10 per cent of the total votes cast.
Elated over the hat-trick by Narendra Modi in the Gujarat Assembly elections, the supporters of Bharatiya Janata party in Washington on Thursday hoped that the impressive victory would pave the way for his larger role at the national level.
Solanki first submitted his resignation to the leaders of his community at his official residence in Gandhinagar amidst hundreds of people of the community.
Karnataka unit Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday hailed the party's victory in Gujarat assembly elections for a third successive term, describing the mandate as a "vote for development".
Ahead of the crucial legislature party meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis met with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
BJP legislator Kanu Kalsaria first rebelled against Modi by dragging the state government to Supreme Court, that too successfully, in opposing, now cancelled Nirma Cement plant in coastal Mahuva area of Bhavnagar, from where he is an elected MLA.
About 5,000 voters, with dual registration in the electoral lists in Mumbai and Gujarat's Sidhpur assembly segment, are all set to vote against Bharatiya Janata Party's Jay Narayan Vyas in the second phase of polling in Gujarat on December 17, claimed Dilipbhai Patel, a BJP corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
Better living conditions must be an integral part of all political campaigns. But this will only happen if the public pressures the political class to understand the irreversibility of climate change and make the environment a crucial part of their manifestos.
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