Voting for by-elections to seven assembly constituencies of six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, started on Tuesday at 7 am.
Many issues dog the Mahagathbandhan of the Congress, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the most prominent of which is seat sharing.
Although the back-fence talk was that the AJSU would return to the BJP if the Jharkhand verdict was inconclusive, the AJSU's Deosharan Bhagat rejected the hearsay. 'Jharkhand was born out of a long agitation and we were one of the agitators. We won't allow people's hopes to die with short-term compromises. Our slogan is our rule, our government,' he said. Another Sena and Mahato as another Uddhav Thackeray, asks Radhika Ramaseshan.
Mr Pradhan's understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, notes Aditi Phadnis.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
Soren losing to Jharkhand Party candidate Gopal Krishna by a margin of 9000 votes clearly shows that the people of Jharkhand have rejected him to continue as the chief minister, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told media persons in New Delhi on Thursday.
For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
The party has fielded Parvati Das for the by-election to the Bageshwar assembly seat in Uttarakhand and Lijinlal G for the Puthuppally assembly seat in Kerala.
The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in the presidential poll scheduled for July 18 due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Jharkhand Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Arjun Munda on Thursday won the Kharsawan assembly by-poll, defeating his nearest Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantric) opponent Dasrath Gagrai by over 17,000 votes. The by-poll was necessitated as Munda has to enter the state assembly within the mandatory six months period after becoming the chief minister on September 11 last year. BJP sitting MLA Mangal Singh Soy had resigned two months ago.
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).
The meeting was attended by 26 participants including Chief Ministers and Lt Governors of UTs, he said while briefing the media.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
'There was a 77 per cent chance that electorates in India voted for the same party for both the state and Centre when elections were held simultaneously.'
The party's national executive meeting chaired by its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged price rise and unemployment as "burning issues"
Oraon confided he had learnt that proper education could be helpful in every aspect of life, from running a good administration to doing social work or looking after one's family.
Sources claimed 48-year-old Soren was "evasive" in his replies during his questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
UP's representation in the government could diminish, given the BJP's decreased seat count in that state.
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
Prime Minister Modi saw a reflection of himself -- she does not come from a political background, has no lineage, and had a lifetime of personal struggle and sacrifice.
About 75 percent of sitting Jharkhand legislators lost the assembly elections, while just 25 percent retained their seats.
Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
Congress on Friday called off its alliance with ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in poll-bound Jharkhand after sharing power for some 16 months in the tribal-dominated state.
AICC in-charge for Jharkhand, R P N Singh, said the party is happy for its best performance in the state since its creation in 2000.
Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who headed a coalition government of Bharatiya Janata Party/ Jharkhand Mukti Morcha /Ajsu party/Janata Dal-United since September 11, 2010, on Tuesday resigned for the third time as the saga of political instability continued in Jharkhand since its creation 12 years ago.
Leaders of the JD-U, which has two ministers in the Union government, insist that the resolution also spoke of "special package and other types of help" and that Bihar could still get a lot from Narendra Modi government.
Saturday's voting will mark the end to the marathon polling process that began on April 19 month and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories.
Where do the big guns stand as counting underway for the Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand elections?
Without a popular government for almost a year, Jharkhand will go to Assembly polls in November-December staggered over nearly a month with the first phase of polling scheduled for November 27.
NDA-MEETING-RESOLUTION PM Modi unanimously elected as NDA leader as he gets ready to form govt (Eds: With pics) New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) Leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance unanimously elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ruling bloc's leader on Wednesday, passing a resolution to underscore the government's commitment to serving the poor, women, youths, farmers and deprived sections of society. They met at Modi's residence here a day after the NDA won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for him to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962. TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan and NCP leader Praful Patel were among those who attended the meeting. The resolution said the NDA government will continue working to lift people's living standards for the country's all-round development while conserving its heritage. "We are all proud that the NDA fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls unitedly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and won. We all NDA leaders unanimously elect Narendra Modi as our leader," it added. The resolution also said that people have seen the country being developed in every sector in the last 10 years due to the pro-people policies of the NDA government under Modi. PTI KR
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she did not threaten junior doctors at state-run hospitals, who have been continuing cease-work for 21 days now to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic. Addressing a rally organised by the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, Banerjee had on Wednesday urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal to urgently consider returning to duty and said she doesn't want to lodge first information reports (FIRs) against the striking doctors in consideration of their future careers.
In a bid to pressurise the United Progressive Alliance government to hold early assembly elections in Jharkhand which is under President's Rule, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced that all its 22 Members of Legislative Assembly will submit their resignation to the governor on Wednesday.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha appear to be inching closer towards forming an alternative government in Jharkhand which has been under President's Rule imposed after fall of the Arjun Munda government on January 8.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda resigned from his post on Saturday. He handed over his resignation letter to Governor Syed Sibte Razi.Koda took the decision after consultations with senior leaders including United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and his mentor Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had on August 17 withdrawn support to the Jharkhand government, reducing the Koda government to a minority.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday struck an alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union for the upcoming polls to the 81-member state assembly for which it has given its new partner eight seats.
"The IAF played a vital role in five of the seven phases of the general elections, flying over 1,000 hours in over 1,750 sorties," it said.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren is all set to become the Jharkhand chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the All Jharkhand Students Union.
