The Himachal Pradesh government has ordered a fresh probe into alleged irregularities in the Chester Hills housing project following pressure from the BJP, who claim the government initially tried to suppress the case.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has vowed to take strict action against any police personnel found involved in the drug trade, addressing concerns raised by the opposition regarding the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Former chief secretary Vinit Chowdhary has criticised Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu over his handling of graft allegations in the Chester Hill housing project.
The Himachal Pradesh government has ordered a fresh inquiry into the Chester Hill land case in Solan, following opposition allegations of a 'benami' land deal and violations of land laws. This decision comes after the withdrawal of a previous order that had questioned the initial inquiry's legality.
Himachal Pradesh DGP Ashok Tiwari has recommended a detailed examination and action against the SDM of Solan for alleged misuse of official position, conflict of interest, and possible involvement in benami transactions related to land deals.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut on Monday, September 22, 2025, conducted a campaign in her Lok Sabha constituency Mandi in Himachal Pradesh to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi's of Swadeshi message and raise awareness about Next-Gen GST reforms.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday named its candidates for assembly bypolls in several states, fielding six disqualified MLAs of the Himachal Pradesh assembly in the state days after they joined the party after leaving the Congress.
The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
'The BJP, which did not stand with the people of the state during the natural disaster, now wants to push the state into political disaster'
The sources said that Priyanka Gandhi remained in constant touch with the party president, the chief minister, ministers and all important leaders, and did not allow any laxity.
'Things were not being heard. What we brought to the high command's notice. Had they taken any action at that time, then it would have not happened.'
"Time will also take account of those registering cases and those getting them registered. Stopping the business of MLAs and allowing friends to loot, is this a change in the system?" he posed.
The returnees also included three independent MLAs, who too had landed in Panchkula on Tuesday after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha election.
Later, Pratibha Singh said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.
Kharge, who was elected Congress president recently, arrived in Himachal Pradesh Tuesday evening and addressed his first public meeting in Banuti in support of party candidate from the Shimla Rural assembly constituency Vikramaditya Singh.
BJP MLA Vishal Nehria had claimed that Dravid will be participating in the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha's National Working Committee session in Dharamshala.
The leaders jumped the boat in the presence of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and BJP's Sudhan Singh, in-charge of BJP state elections. BJP candidate from Shimla, Sanjay Sood was also present on the occasion.
Prashant Kishor expressed the view that the recent 'chintan shivir' could not achieve "anything meaningful".
With the strategy working in its favour, the BJP could be encouraged to undertake similar steps in states, including Karnataka, where elections are due next year, to counter factors that might work against it.
In a jolt to the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, state party chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh on Wednesday announced that she has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections as the ground situation was "not favourable" and workers were disheartened.
The results of bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly seats spread across 13 states and a union territory have been a mixed bag for the BJP as its fortunes continue to nosedive in West Bengal against the might of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee while bad tidings have also come from states like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The Congress top brass on Wednesday rushed former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar to Shimla to parley with members of the party which is facing loss of support and risks losing power in the state.
The outgoing BJP government had 12 cabinet ministers, including Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Under the Eknath Shinde government's flagship 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', eligible women in the state will be given Rs 1,500 per month.
Some of Independents claimed that the Congress and the BJP have been in touch with them.
The result in Gujarat was not as grand as the saffron party had expected as the party did not even cross its 2012 tally.
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
Some leaders believe that the Mamata Banerjee-led party could tone down its shrillness in countering the saffron party whose win has given the BJP state leadership and cadres a strong footing to prepare ground for the next year's panchayat polls.
Five people were killed and about 50 missing following several incidents of cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh where rains washed away many houses, bridges and roads, officials said on Thursday.
On November 3, Negi had cast his vote for the state's assembly polls through postal ballot, the Election Commission said.
A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening which further said that these six MLAs ceased to be members of Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly with effect from February 29.
In a dramatic turn of events, the Ranji Trophy Group C match between Himachal Pradesh and Goa was cancelled but resumed later on Sunday after BCCI president N Srinivasan intervened to sort out a political tug of war.
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
Hailing the party's poll performance in Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday gave credit to Narendra Modi for the victory and said that had the organisation been similarly united in Himachal Pradesh, it would not have been voted out.
Modi said whenever Congress came back, all development works came to a standstill.
Former minister Roop Das Kashyap and former MLA Rakesh Pathania were suspended when they refused to withdraw their nominations from Kusumpti in Shimla district and Nurpur assembly constituencies on the last date of withdrawal today. Karan Singh, who served as the education minister in the P K Dhumal government in 1998-2003, left the party and decided to contest from Banjar seat for Mayawati's BSP after being denied the BJP ticket.
'If he loses Gujarat, then he has a major, major, problem coming up in 2024.'
Mishra, 78, had resigned from the Narendra Modi-led government as minister for micro, small and medium enterprises in 2017 after he crossed the age of 75, the BJP's unofficial age limit for holding an elected post.
Ever since Nitish embarked on the slippery path of trying to unite the Opposition against the BJP, he has repeatedly rebutted suggestions that the exercise was aimed at bringing himself centre stage. The problem is: It is not enough if he says so. Others have to say so as well, especially Congress, observes Aditi Phadnis.
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