The highest polling of 72.35 per cent was recorded in Sirmour district followed by 68.48 per cent in Solan and 67.67 per cent in Una and 67.5 per cent in Lahaul and Spiti. The high-altitude district of Lahaul and Spiti had recorded 21.95 per cent, the lowest, till 1 pm, but polling was brisk as the sun came out.
On the implementation of the old pension scheme, Baghel said Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have written to the Central government to return the people's money with the National Pension System to implement the old pension scheme, but they refused.
When Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Tomar arrived in Shimla, they could not have anticipated the scene that awaited them.
He further added that the people of India respect different languages, religion, food and customs which varies from region to region. "That's the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises little bit," he said.
The Congress secured 43.90 per cent vote share as it wrested Himachal Pradesh from the Bharatiya Janata Party, winning 40 seats in the 68-member assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of voting the incumbent government out of power since 1985.
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
Sukhu, the 58-year-old MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur district, was elected the the CLP leader and will take oath as chief minister Sunday, the party said.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 25 seats in the Himachal Pradesh elections, suffered a setback in the assembly segments falling under Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra parliamentary constituencies in the hill state.
Going by Himachal Pradesh's "riwaj", or tradition, it should be the Congress' turn to form the next government.
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
"Birthday wishes to Delhi CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said in a tweet.
On poll eve, both the BJP and the Congress claimed they were headed towards a majority and would form the government.
Modi said at a time when people are about to vote for the future of the state, "I want to offer you gratitude for your blessings and affections."
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
The BJP, whose campaign was focussed more on issues related to nationalism and Shaheen Bagh, failed to find support among voters.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
Ramesh said he would file a case against Thakur in the apex court as the police in Karnataka would not act against the BJP MP.
The Bharat Nyay Yatra will be mostly covered by bus along with short stretches of walking.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the 'BJP is staring at certain defeat', and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.
The political war of words over Manipur intensified on Saturday with the BJP raising the incidents of atrocities against women in West Bengal and Rajasthan and questioning the 'silence' of the opposition, which termed it as a diversionary tactic to avoid debate on the situation in the north-eastern state.
Modi said whenever Congress came back, all development works came to a standstill.
The Congress on Thursday said it firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy, remarks that came after the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the opposition party for its leader Digvijaya Singh thanking Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
Seventeen former leaders of the Democratic Azad Party (DAP), including ex-deputy chief minister Tara Chand and ex-Pradesh Congress Committee chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, on Friday returned to the Congress fold and were welcomed back by the party which said they were on a 'leave of two months'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country is proud and elated with "Naatu Naatu" winning an Oscar and hailed the song as one that will be remembered for years to come.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
Ramesh said the local leadership and admitted there were shortcomings in the party's campaign there.
The RSS, the political fountainhead of the ruling BJP, has been criticised by the Congress and other Opposition over its stand on the national flag.
'The Sports Minister (Anurag Thakur) should speak out. The Prime Minister should speak out, there should be resignations, and heads should roll immediately.'
The counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections was delayed on Friday in Maharashtra and Haryana over alleged violation of rules, officials said.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
The Congress on Monday stepped up its attack on the BJP-led Centre over the issue of price rise with Rahul Gandhi saying the biggest problems facing the country were unemployment, inflation and growing hatred.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Jairam Ramesh were among the 10 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Friday from Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana, while counting was underway in Maharashtra after an eight-hour delay due to wrangling by rival parties over alleged breach of voting rules.
Some analysts also pointed out that "outsourcing" political management to regional satraps such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana may have proven counterproductive and micromanagement by the Gandhi family was needed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Sunday paid homage to those who lost their lives during the Partition as the Congress accused the ruling party of using the traumatic events as a 'fodder' for its political battles.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said they will pose three questions a day to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.
The road to AICC headquarters in New Delhi was blocked on Wednesday with the Congress alleging the party was "under siege" while the police said barricades have been erected and its personnel deputed to avoid any untoward situation.
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
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