The Congress has been in the crosshairs after demeaning remarks on Ranaut and Mandi were posted on the social media handles of its leaders Supriya Shrinate and H S Ahir.
Ramoji Rao lived as the interface between business and politics and was an active participant in both for most of his remarkable life.
The campaign will reach a high decibel level next week when BJP state chief K Annamalai is expected to take up a blitzkrieg campaign against the ruling DMK.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were stopped by police on Friday from visiting the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, escalating the political tensions in the state as the leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of fostering a 'lawless situation' and attempting to 'communalise' the issue.
Kharge launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the Himachal Pradesh poll schedule was announced but not of Gujarat so that the PM can inaugurate many more bridges like the one that collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi.
Anand Sharma said weaponisation of laws and their use to target and humiliate people should not happen.
The decision taken about Kharge at the INDIA bloc meeting earlier this month had shocked the JD-U, which believed that its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be named as the convenor without being saddled with any chairperson, its leaders had then said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also slammed Kejriwal's continuation as the chief minister of Delhi despite being under arrest, saying it is the most unfortunate moment in the country's political journey and the worst kind of politics.
Irani said the show of strength by the Congress is aimed at putting pressure on the probe agency, and asserted that nobody is above the law "even Rahul Gandhi".
Asaduddin Owaisi, who was once the leader of a little-known outfit confined to the old city of Hyderabad, has emerged as a powerful voice of Muslims in the country in recent years.
Tharoor's remarks came after several BJP leaders accused the Congress of 'Pakistan parasti (worship)' and Union minister Jyoritiraditya Scindia asked if this was part of the 'Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan' with enemies.
Asking the Congress members, who were on their feet, to maintain the decorum of the House and not show placards, Birla said they should let the House function.
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
Questioning the team's authority headed by a former Patna high court judge, Banerjee pointed out that Ram Navami processions organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party had carried arms and driven tractors and deliberately taken routes where 'Namaz' was being offered.
'We should be mindful that the religious minority community in one country is the majority in another (and) so treatment of the minority community in our respective countries will be an important variable in our relationship'
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Several rebel Maharashtra MLAs are currently camping in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati.
The Odisha government told the assembly over 40,000 workers migrated from the state last year, with the highest number -- 26,151 -- from Balangir.
The former Congress president also tagged a post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in which he talked about eliminating EVMs.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
Congress leader Manvendra Singh's wife was killed and the former MP and his son were injured when their SUV met with an accident in Alwar on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, officials said.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
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.
Ajit Pawar asked in his speech at his faction's meeting when would Sharad Pawar, who is 82 years old, "going to stop".
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
"If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan," the Chief Minister told reporters.
Former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar, who had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year, rejoined his old party on Thursday.
More than 600 people, including Congress leaders and workers, were detained during the bandh call given by the party demanding the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over Indian Police Service officer D G Vanzara's letter.
Azad said the government uses north-east 'only for political purposes' and not to provide succour to flood-affected people.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
A three-member committee conducting inquiry into alleged manipulation of the blood samples of the juvenile driver involved in the Porsche car crash on Tuesday visited the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, and also met the police officials who are probing the case.
At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot to contain the situation.
The NCP chief was accompanied by his wife Pratibha Pawar, Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan, NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakde, party's Pune city unit president Prashant Jagtap and many other party workers.
'You need a leader whom India can identify with and I cannot think of any other leader except Sachin Pilot in the Congress party.'
On Tuesday, when trends indicated she was going to win her election, the four-time National Award winner said, 'Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust... This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi.'
The BJP attacked Kejriwal after he refused to comment on the Maliwal "assault" matter during a press conference in Lucknow. He was flanked by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
As Ae Watan Mere Watan and Swatantra Veer Savarkar release this week, Utkarsh Mishra takes us down history and reminds us about India's freedom struggle.
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