In Phase 6, indications are that the BJP, which is defending 40 seats, will lose in double digits and gain in single digits. Not good, if you are the ruling party scrambling to earn a working majority, with just one phase left to go, argues Prem Panicker.
Exit polls, which had given a clear majority to the Congress in Haryana and an edge to National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, appear to have failed to feel the pulse of the voters once again.
'The level of violence that took place and also occurred at different points, the way stones were collected, the way weapons were brandished, the way shots were fired, it does not appear to have happened all of a sudden'
Prime Minister Modi will visit RSS headquarters in Nagpur on March 30.
The minister's remarks came a day after Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta wrote to chief secretary Dharmendra over Delhi government officials allegedly not responding to letters, phone calls or messages by the MLAs.
Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Saturday that they have not received any message from the Centre for talks to address their issues and said a group of 101 farmers will again begin their march to Delhi on December 8.
Jannayak Janta Party, which had emerged as the kingmaker last assembly polls, was decimated this time round, while the Indian National Lok Dal also failed to create much impact, with prominent leaders of both outfits Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala losing their seats.
In the election held earlier in the year, the AAP lost the sole seat it contested and the Congress won five out of 10 seats.
The birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, whose political influence has surged with the passage of time, on Monday was marked by bitter trading of charges between the ruling BJP and opposition parties as they fought for his legacy.
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
Once people throw out the Congress, they do not let it come back. They put 'no entry' boards for the Congress, he said. It always thought power was its birthright but it has now been exposed, the prime minister said
Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said no 'jatha' (group) of farmers will resume their foot march to Delhi on Tuesday. The farmers suspended their march after some were injured in teargas shelling by Haryana security personnel. Pandher accused the Centre of being confused on how the protesters should proceed to the national capital, citing contradictory statements from different ministers. He also criticized the government's lack of response to the hunger strike of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, which has entered its 14th day.
Rekha Gupta, a former DUSU president and a long-time member of the RSS, has been chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly and will become the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi. She won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Assembly polls, defeating her AAP rival Bandana Kumari. Gupta, a BCom graduate and lawyer, has a long history of working for women's welfare, having served as the national secretary of the BJP's youth wing and the national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha. The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
States like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had on Friday announced similar incentives.
Sports stars in Haryana stepped out to cast their vote on Saturday.
Preliminary reports suggest that the bus overturned while overtaking a vehicle in Kanina town.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mounted a blazing campaign in the hot summer after he was released from the Tihar jail on interim bail on May 10, drawing huge crowds at rallies and roadshows, but it proved insufficient to propel his Aam Aadmi Party past the Bharartiya Janata Party challenge in the national capital.
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.
'This fight was against the strongest oppressive forces in the country. And Vinesh emerged victorious.'
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
"If she wins by using my name, it means I am a great man. At least my name has enough power to help her sail through," he said.
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party's long-term commitment.
Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls scheduled to be held early next year, state Congress chief Devender Yadav said on Friday that the party will contest on all 70 seats and there would be no alliance.
The Aam Aadmi Party launched a scathing attack on the Congress on Thursday, accusing it of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls to harm the prospects of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
He served as the Union health minister in Modi's first term from November 9, 2014 to May 30, 2019.
An analysis of the results in Haryana reveals that caste-based voting is anything but dead. It could even help the Bharatiya Janata Party win a second successive term in the state in the forthcoming assembly polls, reports Nitin Kumar.
The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
"Strict action will be taken as per the law," Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said in Ambala, responding to a question about the incident.
Most exit polls have predicted a clear victory for the BJP both in Maharashtra and in Haryana, even though they have differed in their projection on the number of seats.
The polls have come at a time when opposition parties in Haryana are in a disarray.
Voters in Muslim-dominated Nuh in Haryana have made the Congress victorious in all three assembly seats in the district, with one of the contestants registering the highest victory margin.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance looked set to return to power in Maharashtra while Haryana could be a cliffhanger with no clear majority for the BJP or the Congress, Election Commission trends indicated.
Referring to Abdullah's comments, Saamana claimed that Congress actively contributed to AAP's defeat in at least 14 seats in Delhi, which could have been avoided.
Two days after Anil Vij denied having information about any intelligence input on a possible build-up of tension in Nuh, the Haryana Home Minister on Sunday said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar can update on the issue stressing that he has 'all the information'.
Letters purportedly written by some panchayat heads in Haryana's Mahendergarh, Rewari and Jhajjar districts "banning" Muslim traders from their villages have surfaced online, amid communal tension in parts of the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
The Sports Ministry on Tuesday lifted its suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India, paving the way for the organisation of domestic tournaments.
Daulatpuria, who had joined the party ahead of 2019 assembly polls after switching over from Indian National Lok Dal, announced his decision at a Panchayat held at his village Daulatpur. Talking to reporters later, he said the three agriculture laws "are anti-farmer which should be repealed immediately".
Instead of harvesting the wrath against the BJP and using it to their advantage by opting for a collective form of leadership, the Congress decided once again to bestow their trust in the Hooda family who were given a free hand in the distribution of tickets. This turned out to be the biggest blunder and this faulty selection was the single over riding factor in the Congress defeat, explains Rashme Sehgal.
Several prominent opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah will share the dais at a rally being organised by Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana's Fatehabad on Sunday.
