It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
According to sources, the party has formed a committee comprising BJP's Rajya Sabha chief whip Shiv Pratap Shukla, party leader Abhijat Mishra, former national secretary and Gujarat MP Ram Bhai Mokariya and Mahesh Sharma to reach out to Brahmin members of the community.
Raut said they do not require the exit polls as they work on the field and know the "undercurrent".
Birj Bhushan loyalist Sanjay Singh becomes new WFI president
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
'Sehwag said he was not interested in politics or contesting elections'
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'.
A voter turnout of 10.82 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Bharadwaj said it has not rained in Delhi in the last 3-4 days, yet still the water level in Yamuna reached 208.66 metres.
The Congress on Sunday demanded a thorough probe into Siddique's murder and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, who holds home portfolio, should take moral responsibility for law and order "failure" and resign.
Hours after the Mohali court issued the arrest warrant in connection with a case registered against him by the Punjab Police last month, Bagga moved the high court challenging it.
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, would visit Parliament as a teenager to listen to her father Rajiv Gandhi speak as prime minister.
His fresh attack came a day after he said the government is coming up with 'excuses' to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which is currently in Haryana and will enter the national capital on Saturday.
A list of some prominent political families of the BJP.
Despite various political leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealing protesting Jats to maintain calm and peace, the incidents of violence and arson continued during the night in various parts of the state, crippling the normal life in worst affected places like Rohtak, Jind, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Hisar.
Taking note of a plea of an Aam Aadmi Party councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body.
'It's most unfortunate that people in power talk about morality, talk about doing the right thing well in fact the reality is just the opposite. The investigating agencies act on their (government) directions on what basis the police did not register an FIR? The law of the Supreme Court is very clear that if there are allegations and they make out a cognisable offence and this is a very serious offence.'
Delhi Water Minister Atishi ended her indefinite fast over the water scarcity in the national capital after she was hospitalised early Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.
Maharashtra registered over 64 per cent voter turnout while a record 76 pc polling in Haryana, which witnessed stray incidents of violence, in the first eight hours of polling on Wednesday in the riveting contest to elect assemblies in the two states.
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
Police have launched a probe into the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia walked out of Tihar Jail after 17 months behind bars on Friday and said he got bail due to the power of the Constitution and democracy, and this same power will ensure the release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Addressing a rally in the Balpur area in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers' protest for his arrest and chose to target the Congress over the Emergency, Ram temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
In a shot in the arm for the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of Punjab assembly polls, their alliance on Tuesday defeated Congress in the Chandigarh municipal corporation election in which demonetisation had emerged as a key issue.
'We accept EVMs cannot be hacked because it is not connected, but can they be manipulated?' 'Are you allowing us to check if EVMs can be manipulated?'
Factionalism has been made bitter by the level of personal attacks that warring senior leaders indulge in. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading fear, hatred and violence and said the country can not progress under these circumstances as he asked the government to be compassionate in handling farmers' problems to prevent suicides.
The Rajya Sabha elections have again highlighted dissension and lack of cohesion in the opposition ranks from Maharashtra to Karnataka and Haryana.
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.
Jailed Indian National Lok Dal leader Ajay Chautala's elder son Dushyant figured in the list of candidates declared by the party for all the ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.
'Ladakh has become a hollow UT.' 'Bureaucrats from Delhi rule Ladakh and there is no attention paid to the grievances of the people.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been claiming that "more than 100 people" have died. Most media reports have put the death toll to be more than 50.
BJP MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore alleged that the phone tapping of public representatives allegedly by CM Ashok Gehlot-led government has broken the trust of the people and extended an invite to all those with 'India first' ideology to join the BJP, fuelling speculations of Sachin Pilot joining the ruling party at the Centre.
"Birthday wishes to Delhi CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said in a tweet.
The governor also directed that the trust vote be held by division of votes and the process be recorded on video by the Vidhan Sabha through independent persons.
Rajasthan is all set to vote on Saturday to elect members of a new assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party aiming to unseat the ruling Congress, which is fighting hard to change the trend of alternate governments in the state.
In four seats in the coming Rajasthan assembly polls, relatives have been pitted against each other, which includes a husband contesting his wife and nieces up against their uncles.
Some 92 Khaps, a highly influential self-styled caste councils, in Haryana hold the key to the outcome of Assembly polls even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to them ahead of hustings.
Vinesh Phogat alleged on Sunday that the government is trying to protect Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
