In a significant move, the Centre on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence hailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies as a historic step to help design truly equitable and focused policies.
The ruling Mahayuti is poised to retain power in Maharashtra with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) also putting up a strong show in assembly polls, most exit polls predicted on Wednesday after conclusion of polling on 288 seats in the state. Jharkhand is likely to see a change of government with BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coming to power in the state, three exit polls said on Wednesday with one poll giving majority to the ruling JMM-led alliance.
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
Calling former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led party "communal" following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal-Secular, to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.
Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha Tuesday along with senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former minister Upendra Kushwaha.
Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday night, official sources said.
Kushwaha was referring to 'Luv Kush' rally in Patna, a veritable gathering of Kurmis and Koeris upset with supposed hegemony of numerically powerful Yadavs which Prasad, then helming Bihar, was seen as embodying.
The name of Mahto, the party's former Jharkhand unit chief, was announced here by national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan.
However, the national party count has gone down to six from 14 in over seven decades.
Several leaders of the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have given a privilege notice against leader of the house in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal over his certain remarks against some opposition leaders.
Jaishankar briefed the leaders of all parties about the situation in the violence-hit nation and the steps taken by the Indian government.
'The government is actively engaging with EU to ensure that concerns of Indian companies and hard-to-abate sectors are adequately addressed under CBAM'
Chirag Paswan said he believes two classes of people -- rich and poor -- exist in the society and persons of different castes and religions fall in both categories.
Four times more liquor has been seized in the 2024 election than during the 2019 polls.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said the decision of the merger has already been taken and there was no question of going back on it.
With Nitish Kumar on its side, a BJP-led government may feel increased pressure to conduct a nationwide caste-based census.
Upset about being snubbed by INDIA, Nitish Kumar is weighing his political options. BJP would like him back knowing that it would jolt the Opposition alliance, perhaps irreversibly.
RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav said on Sunday that the merger of six Janata Parivar parties to counter the BJP has already "happened".
Questions are being raised on the future of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as differences among its constituents come to the fore and several parties call for serious introspection by the Congress after a string of debilitating electoral losses.
Modi earned his spurs as a doughty leader of the Opposition in the assembly, a post he held till 2004 when he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur.
The padyatra concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag but the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar, amid snowfall.
The Kerala BJP has contradicted the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's justification of the arrest of two Keralite Catholic nuns, stating they were not involved in human trafficking or forced conversion attempts and promising to help them.
Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha of the Bharatiya Janaat Party, sat next to Choudhary and he was seen exchanging pleasantries with Kumar.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat called for unification between Communists and Socialists to forge a "viable political alternative". Karat, who was participating in a function to mark the centenary celebrations of late socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, said on Tuesday, "the Communists are ready to forge a third force in the country in which socialists should also join and share a common platform."
A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar formed the government in Bihar in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance, hectic lobbying started for the post of assembly speaker, and other legislators to be included in the council of ministers.
Narendra Modi will take oath as the prime minister for a third consecutive term on Sunday evening as President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form the government.
Their shared brief: To assert India's case with clarity, rebut hostile narratives, and secure enduring partnerships for global counter-terror cooperation.
The NDA has retained Bihar with a wafer-thin majority of 125 seats in the 243-member assembly, paving the way for a fourth term for CM Nitish Kumar.
'When he was sidelined in the INDIA bloc, it was was the turning point because it badly hurt Nitish's ambition.' 'After that, he decided to damage INDIA by changing sides.'
In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance which managed only 24 seats.
There are states that could swing either way and change the results of the 2024 general election.
The BJP cited the amendments to the Representation of People Act, 1951 and the relevant portions of the Reserve Bank of India Act and the Income Tax Act for not revealing its donors.
Celebrations broke out as the Grand Alliance was all set for a thumping victory in the Bihar polls.
Predictably, many RJD leaders, including its spokesperson Sarika Paswan, shared the video of Kumar who had lambasted the party's president Lalu Prasad and the latter's wife Rabri Devi for their alleged dismal performance as chief ministers of Bihar.
'We will be happy if Nitishji becomes convenor of INDIA.'
Sushil said Nitish has insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of Bihar.
Sanjay Jha's importance lies in his connections to senior BJP and RSS leaders to maintain a smooth relationship within the NDA government in Bihar and at the Centre and to contest the 2025 Bihar assembly elections together under Nitish Kumar's leadership.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal-United national president Lalan Singh arrived together at the party's office in New Delhi on Thursday to attend its office-bearers meeting amid intense buzz about changes within the organisation.
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