A full majority might be difficult, but Mayawati is in a commanding position this time.
Aspiring to contest Lok Sabha polls from Baghpat in UP, former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh on Tuesday said the riot taint on some BJP MLAs will not affect his chances and he will fight polls on the development agenda in Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh's stronghold.
Manohar Lal Khattar, who is stated to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was unanimously elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party, paving the way for his becoming the first chief minister of the saffron party in Haryana.
In the couple of hours that you spend in the riot-hit city you find it is not the BJP that is asking for the votes of an excited section of Hindus, but it is the people who are clinging to Narendra Modi. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reports on the sentiment on the ground in Muzaffarnagar, whose Hindu-Muslim fracture is a long way from being mended.
From carrying portraits of their sons and husbands who have committed suicide due to agrarian distress to picketing to doing sewa 24x7 at langars, women have shown a rare determination not to capitulate before the government.
Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Hayde was awarded the Mahavir Chakra, the second highest honour in battle, for winning an epic battle in Pakistan. In a brilliant and gruesome assault, what he and his men achieved that September 50 years ago had never been seen before.
Two technocrats, two hard-boiled politicians are India's new Cabinet ministers...
A large number of Muslims have been evacuated by security forces to a relief camp, while some have themselves moved out of their native villages fearing the onslaught of Hindu Jats in the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Two days of unabated communal violence claimed 30 lives.
Former Union minister and Haryana Congress leader Kumari Selja decries former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's style of functioning, his inability to carry everybody with him and pitches for a fresh leadership in Haryana after the poll debacle, in an interview with Anita Katyal.
What makes Dhankar so outspoken? Could it because as governor he will be in the driver's seat if the Trinamool Congress performs below par in the elections next year? Shikha Shalini reports.
The daughter of a tea-shop owner, Sudiksha Bhati died on Monday morning near Aurangabad when she was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her younger brother, a minor, they said. The two were en route to their maternal uncle's home in Bulandshahr's Khanpur area from their house at Deri Scanar village in Gautam Buddh Nagar's Dadri tehsil, the officials said.
'The people, media and politicians are ready to listen to the troubles of Kangana Ranaut, but we are unwanted lives in the heart of Delhi.' Shine Jacob reports.
Two other Rajasthan ministers Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked from the state cabinet after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, its second in the last two days. The meeting was billed as a 'second chance' for Pilot, who had turned down appeals from the party's top leadership -- including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi -- to return to the fold.
'The Rajputs feel they are being left behind.'
Check out the complete schedule of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
The Muslim card played heavily by the Congress party will be at test on Tuesday, when the 67-state assembly constituencies go to poll during Phase VI of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh election.
Colonel Anil Athale (retd) recalls how the Battle of Panipat, 258 years ago, changed the history of India for the next century and half.
Chaudhuri Charan Singh was both a politically ambitious man and a man with dear policy proposals. An extract from Paul R Brass's fascinating, new, biography.
The Parliamentary by-polls in Hisar, Haryana, have made headlines thanks to the war of words between Team Anna activists and Congress leaders. But the different communities which inhabit Hisar have other issues on their mind. The most important issue for the Jat community is reservation in government jobs under the Other Backward Classes quota. Members of the community had paralysed rail and road traffic in many parts of northern India for several days.
With the Jat agitation paralysing rail traffic in parts of northern India, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Haryana government to immediately get the rail tracks cleared of protesters to restore normal movement of trains.
'There is a strong possibility that the BJP's seats are going to be much higher compared to the JD-U and this would be the turning point for the BJP.'
After his party formally joined the United Progressive Alliance on Monday, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh is likely to be sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister this week with civil aviation being mentioned as the possible portfolio.
The proposed reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, taking the total reservation to 60 per cent.
While 15 candidates are in the fray from this Jat-dominated constituency that has a voter strength of over 1.60 lakh, the main contest is seen between Phogat and 51-year-old Bishnoi.
cution' of the Brahmins in the regime of Adityanath, a Rajput, accused of pandering to his caste's interests. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Before hitting the campaign trail, Sunny Deol offered prayers at the Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak and also had a glimpse of historic Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan through binoculars installed at the 'darshan sthal'.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh will be inducted as a Union Cabinet minister on Sunday in a minor expansion of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a 20-year-old man Sumit died of gunshot wounds when a mob went on rampage over alleged cow slaughter.
Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and three others were on Sunday inducted into the Union Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers, bringing in 21 new ministers as Shiv Sena kept away from the exercise.
A profile of Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
In yet another controversy ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, a group of Indian cyclists has alleged that the selection trial for the event was not transparent and some worthy riders were ignored.
In a special series, we will put YOU to the test everyday!
Social Justice Minister Thaavarchand Gehlot sought to allay doubts raised by several opposition members about the legislation's fate if challenged in the Supreme Court, saying he can say with confidence that the apex court will accept it.
The cremation of Bhajan Lal, who was chief minister three times, will take place on Saturday.
Manohar Lal Khattar took oath as Haryana chief minister for the second time on Sunday and will lead the Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janta Party coalition government in the state. JJP leader Dushyant Chautala took oath as the deputy chief minister.
'The last ten months show that India is not going to trust China.' 'Our military commanders are not going to believe that all is well till it actually is.'
Curfew was on Tuesday clamped in Mayyar village and its surrounding areas in Hisar district in Haryana after In view of the volatile situation, district authorities have sought the help of the Army, officials said, adding that additional police forces have been deployed in the violence-hit areas. Hisar's Deputy Commissioner Yudhvir Khaliya said curfew had been clamped in Mayyar and other sensitive villages to maintain law and order and help restore peace.
'In UP, the CM actually announced that his administration would 'take revenge' against rioters.' 'That must have been music to his police force's ears for it substantiated what the police always do: Take revenge on an entire community for the violence of a few,' points out Jyoti Punwani.
Missed out on the major national news this week? Don't worry. Rediff.com brings you a round-up of major stories this week.
Kin of jailed leaders Mahipal Maderna, Malkhan Singh Bishnoi and Babulal Nagar -- accused in cases like rape and murder -- have found place in the third list of Congress hopefuls for the Assembly elections along with two other party leaders who are facing criminal charges.
