An estimated 60.89 per cent polling was recorded in 17 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand where polling for the third of the five-phase took place on Tuesday.
It was a mixed bag for 11 seats with more than 35 percent Muslim voters, where six candidates of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi emerged victorious in the Maharashtra assembly polls on Saturday, while four seats went to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, two days after he resigned from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha citing dissatisfaction with the party's current style of functioning and 'bitter humiliation'.
Amid tight security, 62.60 per cent of 56,18,267 voters exercised their franchise in 17 to decide the fate of 309 candidates.
A new kind of history has been created in Maharashtra. Accept it. We need to give credit where it's due. Modi led this change... from the setback of June 4 to November 23, notes Sheela Bhatt.
The premises are alleged to be of the domestic help of Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam's personal secretary Sanjiv Lal.
The Jharkhand poll results also show that the caste equations against BJP are consolidating. Cong leaders feel that the BJP is not invincible and can be defeated if like-minded parties get together.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
The election campaign was one of the most vitriolic in the state, but you would not have guessed it from the smiles and selfies from the politicians.
Sita lamented and said she was feeling neglected and reluctantly decided to tender her resignation from the primary membership of the party.
The Jharkhand government has ordered a probe by the Anti-corruption Bureau into the alleged amassing of disproportionate assets by former ministers in the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
Polling in 15 constituencies of the state on Sunday ended with 61.08 per cent electorate exercising their franchise in the penultimate phase of the assembly elections in Jharkhand as the day passed off peacefully.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday sought answers from Narendra Modi on CNT/SPT Acts, starvation deaths and 'divisiveness',a day after the prime minister threw challenges to Congress on citizenship, Article 370 and triple talaq. She also attacked the prime minister on economic slowdown, Citizenship Act, National Register of Citizenship and alleged assaults on women in different parts of the country.
The new faces in the 12-member cabinet, which includes the chief minister, are Congress's Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari, Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh and JMM's Latehar MLA Baidynath Ram.
Kalpana said her husband is not with the family on their wedding anniversary but she will not be emotional as he will "defeat conspiracy and emerge as a winner".
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
The BJP's year has been marked by a remarkable ability to adapt its message and methods, rebounding from Lok Sabha election setbacks with improbable wins in Haryana and Maharashtra. The party's campaign machine, drawing on the strength of the RSS and its affiliates, has demonstrated a capacity to shift focus and respond to regional dynamics. While the BJP faces challenges, its adaptability and Modi's unchallenged leadership suggest a continued strong presence on the Indian political landscape.
Soren, who is scheduled to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 30, also resigned as an MLA of the state assembly and a minister in the Jharkhand Cabinet.
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.
The rout of Sharad Pawar-led faction has raised questions over his political future with a potential risk of a further slide in the party flock in future.
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
The BJP, the petitioner in the case, has sought Soren's disqualification under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 -- which deals with disqualification for government contracts -- for allegedly extending a mining lease to himself.
Chief ministers of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha on Wednesday evening condoled the demise of Tata Group's chairman emeritus and veteran industrialist Ratan Tata, and said his legacy will live on forever.
With challenges such as raising the legal age of marriage for women, combating malnutrition among women and children, and addressing women's safety issues, the new ministers face a formidable agenda.
'Undeniably, Modi's position has stabilised and he has staged a comeback of sorts from the weeks after the Lok Sabha results.' 'Coalition partners are likely to be more tolerant of Modi... The forthcoming elections in Delhi and Bihar will determine whether this continues or not.' 'To win Delhi and Bihar, Modi will have to work in conjunction with the RSS.' 'However, because of the 'truce' that has been worked out within the Sangh Parivar, Modi will have to be more consultative than he has been in the past ten years,' reveals Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
"I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide," Soren said while addressing JMM workers near his residence.
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
The Election Commission of India has released detailed statistical data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, revealing a record voter turnout of 64.64 crore, with women outnumbering men. The data also highlights the participation of women candidates and the use of postal ballots, along with insights into overseas Indian electors.
'The government does not want to be transparent or accountable. Therefore, they do not want to appoint information commissioners.'
India will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 to mark the 76th Republic Day. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at the event, which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia. The theme of the parade is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution. The parade will feature a number of cutting-edge defense platforms, including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash, as well as the Army's Battle Surveillance System 'Sanjay' and DRDO's surface-to-surface tactical missile 'Pralay'.
'If you stay out of power for long, you become irrelevant, your party members become restless and start looking to jump ship.'
Every student of Classes 9 and 10 will receive Rs 2,200 and that of Classes 11 and 12 Rs 7,500 as scholarships, said the manifesto, which was released by Prasad in Ranchi, in the presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Union Tribal Minister Arjun Munda and BJP's state unit president Laxman Gilua.
The BJP is leaning on Yogi's 'batenge to katenge' theme to weave a unifying narrative that transcends caste and communal lines.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday declared its first list of 58 candidates for the forthcoming Jharkhand assembly elections and said the remaining names would be finalised after details of seat-sharing with ally Janata Dal-United are completed.
Soren, addressing a rally in Bhognadih on the occasion of 'Hul Diwas', also claimed that the saffron party has turned 'jittery' after his release from jail and its leaders are 'conspiring' against him again.
Opposition parties on Wednesday opposed the 'one nation, one election' proposal by calling it impractical and a 'cheap stunt' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission on Tuesday deliberated on holding the assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir before or after Dussera.
Hitting out at the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said the ruling party has reached "height of appeasement politics," and alleged that it has in a way made appeasement of minorities its "goal."
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances