The full grant of OROP would raise annual military pensions to Rs 75,000 crore, only slightly less than the salary bill of Rs 93,216 crore.
The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, officials said.
The EC again rubbished the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that EVMs could be tampered with
'If the Modi government is successful in extraditing a high-profile fugitive such as Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi before the 2019 election, the government will be able to link demonetisation to this and turn it into a positive.'
The PM treaded sensitive ground by asking first-time voters to dedicate their first vote to those who carried out air strike in Balakot.
In the circumstances, an independent probe alone would establish the truth, starting from Koodangulam. It is more so in the case of Marina violence, which may even at this late hour hold a candle to the events and developments in Thoothukudi, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The perception that 'winnability' is based on gender is very strong, even though, if you break up the electoral success rate by sexes, the women who do win elections are proportionally far more successful than the men who win, given the huge number of men they have to beat.
Secularism as a principle and practice in India is in "danger", but "forces of hatred" cannot alter the country's secular character, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said during an interview on his new book 'The Battle of Belonging'. In the book, Tharoor makes a stinging critique of the Hindutva doctrine, asserting that it is a political doctrine, not a religious one.
The presence of a rebel Congress candidate Mani Kumar Subba, a former MP, in the fray has complicated equations in Assam's Tezpur parliamentary constituency where Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's choice Bhupen Kumar Borah is finding the going tough amid 'Modi wave' sweeping across the seat.
He was accompanied by his father, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, and mother Rashmi while filing nomination papers.
'The innate fascism of the RSS is overshadowing Modi's development programme,' says Amulya Ganguli.
In keeping with the trend seen elsewhere in the country so far, an all-time-high 76.82 percent of the voters exercised the franchise in the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Goa on Saturday.
He secured required 44 votes after votes of two Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP were rejected by EC.
Counting's underway and the fate of the candidates is awaited. As we wait for the results with bated breath, here's how your heavyweights are faring for now.
'The time has come to substitute the present Constitutional set-up with an alternative democratic framework,' argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Justice Chelameswar led three senior judges to an unprecedented press conference, mounting a virtual revolt against CJI Dipak Misra.
This is the first time in many years that the BJP has been elected to the gram panchayat level in every district of the state.
Calculated or otherwise, if Azhagiri's firing of the first salvo after Karunanidhi's death does not create some space for him to politico-electorally exploit at a later date, there may not be any space left for him at all, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Given the twin embarrassments of a TTV win and party nominee Karu Nagarajan losing his deposit, polling fewer votes than NOTA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP boss Amit Shah would be pushed to rethink their strategy. Tamil Nadu would thus become a part of the BJP's grander strategy for 2019 rather than a stand-alone affair, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Voting will be held in 55 seats on Sunday in the penultimate phase of Bihar election, with stakes high for the Bharatiya Janata Party as it had along with its then ally Janata Dal-United bagged majority of seats in last assembly polls.
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The man who could well have been a high-level corporate may have to content himself being deputy chief minister. But other challenges await.
Barmer, one of the most talked-about Lok Sabha constituencies in the run up to the 2014 general elections, registered 71.60 per cent turn out in the polls held on Thursday, one of the highest in Rajasthan.
The 41-year-old 'young gun' travelled the length and breadth of the state to strengthen the party at the grassroots level and ensure its comeback.
The poll holding exercise has witnessed a whopping jump by 80 times to Rs 846 crore since 1952 when it was mere Rs 10 crore.
Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will be held simultaneously in the first phase.
The schedule for Gujarat will be announced separately.
When it comes to the winning strike rate, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has emerged victorious on eight of every ten seats it contested while only one of the every three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates managed to win.
A red carpet will be rolled out to facilitate Shyam Saran Negi to cast his vote in the Himachal assembly elections without any hassle.
With Tamil Nadu's economy getting increasingly debt-ridden with each passing budget, any concession to the Centre on the tax front, the state government has argued, would only help forgotten 'minor parties' to start hoping of a revival, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Recommending statutory backup to the model code of conduct, a parliamentary committee has sought to take away certain powers vested with the Election Commission like de-recognising a political party.
The newly-elected National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, is meeting to elect the prime minister.
Two persons were injured in a clash which took place between AAP and Congress workers at Sultanpur village in Sangrur district.
Though it's been just five years at the helm, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is fighting severe internal dissidence and would crumble like a pack of cards if it loses, says Devanik Saha.
KCR will continue as caretaker chief minister until the new government is formed.
The next general election is more than three years away. Yet, the Centre appears to be reluctant to take any bold move that might annoy influential sections of the electorate.
Whenever they are announced, the bypolls to 20 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will be a mini referendum on the state government's performance. It will also be a do-or-die battle for the ruling AIADMK, opposition DMK, as well as the rebel AMMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Khan, who is believed to have the backing of the powerful military, has vowed to make a 'Naya Pakistan' which would be an Islamic welfare state.
'Mamata is synonymous with Bengal, its culture, language, traditions.'
Why did such a 'socially conscientious' people adapt to cash-for-votes and the like, as fish to water? N Sathiya Moorthy offers an explanation.
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