In the volatile international situation where 'nativism' is on the rise and immigrant communities are being targeted, the Leader of the Opposition's statement is like adding fuel to fire. If the Indian diaspora numbering 4 crores is threatened it will constitute a grave threat to national security, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
That he hasn't done so yet, has continued to be active on the political street, in public debate and on social media, signals an important change. It will give his party hope. Maybe the achievement of reducing Mr Modi well below the majority mark will now motivate him to stay committed, observes Shekhar Gupta
The Congress had fielded Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13.
'This can eventually start the end of the current market frenzy, which has lasted for a full year.'
The party's CM choice came as a surprise for many as the low-profile, first-time legislator was not seen to be among the top contenders for the post.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
In his absence, the party stares at uncertainty as many of its other senior leaders are either in jail or in political obscurity.
The prime minister has been unveiling a slew of development projects running into lakhs of crores of rupees at various places as he turns the spotlight on his government's development and welfare agenda in the run-up to the general elections expected to be held in April-May.
Though the election officials were yet to make formal announcement, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani informed the media about the victory.
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
Gandhi was reinstated as MP by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Monday, days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case.
When S Jaishankar became India's external affairs minister in May 2019, he was largely considered a political lightweight despite his undisputed mastery over foreign policy.
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar upheld the Special Metropolitan Magistrate's order rejecting Jafri's protest petition against the closure report filed by the SIT.
Brijesh Merja is the third Congress MLA to have resigned since Wednesday and the eight since March.
Several candidates, including Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP's Amritsar candidate, are promising resumption of India-Pakistan trade via the Attari-Wagah land route.
Uddhav said Modi lacks the self-confidence of 2014 and 2019.
The Congress is hopeful of soon finalising the Lok Sabha poll seat-sharing arrangements with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) allies Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, sources said on Friday, days after the principal opposition party arrived at an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a 'certificate of honesty'.
Few in Varanasi expect the result to be different from 2014 and 2019. The only point of interest is whether Narendra Modi will increase his winning margin against his rivals.
'The BJP will not win a single seat in Punjab.'
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gupta, along with some other leaders, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the party's national general secretary Vinod Tawde.
'The Karnataka government should be alert because in Gujarat during the same occasion, the Kar Sevaks were set on fire at Godhra'
Lakhs of voters will have to bear the searing heat when they step out to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
The BJP is far more prepared than the Congress as their pool of prospective candidates is much bigger, reports Prakash Bhandari.
Heatwave conditions are expected over northwest India during the next five days, with Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi predicted to bear the maximum impact, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.
The Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday after 19 sittings that saw the passage of 14 legislation while Rajya Sabha came to an end after passing nine bills.
Cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, whereas Kirti Aazd will fight from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency.
The Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to break the opposition party to win the Rajya Sabha polls.
'The 2020 assembly election was a Tejaswi Yadav election; whereas this is a Lalu Yadav election. It is his plan.'
Meet IAF Veteran Bhopinder Singh Saini from the Viro ke Vir Indian Party.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
"No MLAs will be going anywhere," DK Shivakumar said.
The party's prime mover in West Bengal and the state Pradesh Congress president was stunned by Trinamool Congress's star candidate and cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan who comprehensively defeated Chowdhury by a margin of over 85,000 votes.
Kejriwal was issued the ED summons last week for the fourth time after he skipped summons thrice earlier.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Lone, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla constituency, said one of the reasons he wants to go to Parliament is to strive and advocate for the same set of laws for the children of Kashmir and the rest of the country.
