Over one crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the political fate of 342 candidates.
Voting began on Thursday in the by-election to seven assembly constituencies in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
'The BJP's modus operandi is not just to be intolerant of dissent, it is to create mistrust and doubt between communities and the electoral process itself.'
The Congress, a responsible political party, has never cast unwarranted aspersions on the actions of Constitutional bodies, Surjewala said.
The new chief minister, if from the Congress, will have little or no time for political administration, to ensure that he does not lose the voter's goodwill even before the Lok Sabha polls. He can count only on one thing. That the BJP may not want to upset him too early lest an early failure should become an added problem for the party in all the polls to follow, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Some major events that occurred from 1885, when the Indian National Congress was formed, till August 15, 1947, when India achieved Independence.
EPS' real test will commence with a decision whether or not to patch up with OPS and on what terms -- and then, to decide whether or not to have the BJP for an electoral ally, come 2024, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
If a local court in Mumbai allows former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and minister Nawab Malik to cast their votes in the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections, the two leaders will be brought to the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai, at a specific time to take part in the voting process, an official said on Wednesday.
The future belongs to the young; not the old, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Sibal also said the present dispensation wants an 'Opposition-mukt Bharat' not just a 'Congress-mukt Bharat'.
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
Polling for three parliamentary seats and 29 assembly constituencies were held on October 30, an exercise being seen as a barometer of the political mood in the country ahead of assembly elections in politically critical Uttar Pradesh as well as other states.
"We don't agree with the ideology of the Congress. But we will support it to keep the BJP out of power," Mayawati said.
Mamata Banerjee's party won 132 seats and was all set to pocket two more to post a hat-trick of wins, decimating a frail challenge from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left Front and the Congress, officials said.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud acknowledged that the Madras high court's remarks were 'harsh', but did not expunge them, saying they do not form part of the judicial order.
Sharad Pawar reckons that the NCP has value as a united, going concern, not as a gaggle of leaders in search of followers, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
There is a sudden realisation in party circles that prolonged court cases could damage its standing, both among the cadres and voters, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A flop Bharat Jodo Yatra could unleash more resignations from a party which under its current leadership is dying a slow death, warns Virendra Kapoor.
The focus now shifts to smaller parties and Independents who will play an important role in government formation.
The constituency fell vacant after the death of sitting member and then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5 last.
Voters can be relied on to punish a party which makes reckless promises without actually implementing them, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
This year promises to offer ample opportunities on the electoral turf to the SP, BSP and Congress to get their act together and play the "semi-final" of sorts before the "final match" two years later, reports Virendra Singh Rawat
'I do not want to get into the number game. This time, the BJP will get unprecedented seats and vote percentage in Gujarat.'
'A robust electoral democracy provides the institutional basis for the generation and regeneration of political hope.'
"The cause of action has not arisen within the jurisdiction of this court... We find no grounds to entertain the petition," it said.
Alleging that an "unannounced emergency" has been clamped in Delhi to manipulate poll outcome, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday slammed the removal of Narendra Modi's hoarding and transfer of station house officers in the city and charged the police with being hand in glove with Sheila Dikshit government in harassing opposition workers.
There is nothing to suggest that the DMK stands to gain from the AIADMK split nor is there anything indicative of an extraordinary advantage for the BJP, independently or in the company of the AIADMK, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission said July 18 is the last date to file nomination paper.
Making the electoral process inclusive and giving voting rights to the maximum number of citizens is worthy cause to make our democracy better, says Col Anil Athale.
The caste census has already become a hot-button issue. Unless settled earlier, it will echo loudly in the coming assembly elections and eventually in the 2024 parliamentary poll, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the single-day election in Uttarakhand and Goa, two states known for political volatility where the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting to retain power, and for the second phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on February 14.
"I don't want Z category security. I want to be an A-category citizen, at par with you all. Why was UAPA not invoked against those who fired at me? ...I want to live, to speak. My life will be safe when the poor are safe. I will not get scared of those who shot at my car," he said in Parliament.
After some recent events that turned against the party, including the Congress' G-23 Group asking for a revamp in the party, Congress leader and MP Manish Tiwari has been included in the star campaigners list of Congress for Assam and West Bengal Assembly polls.
Polling began on Wednesday morning for by-elections to Adampur and Ratia assembly constituencies in Haryana, Bellary (rural) in Karnataka and for the Lok Sabha seat of Kolkata Dakshin in West Bengal.
Sixty-six former bureaucrats in a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind said that the 'polling body's independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are perceived to be compromised today'.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
The incumbent Congress could win only 18 seats, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi losing both seats he contested -- Chamkaur Sahib as well as Bhadaur.
On a day Ashok Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and 'related matters'.
All elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronised manner to ensure minimum "campaign mode" disruption to governance, the government think tank said in its report released recently.
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