The Election Commission on Friday directed officials for a review of the deletions and additions in the electoral rolls of three assembly seats in Karnataka and ordered the suspension of two additional district election officials after allegations of 'electoral fraud' in the state.
What will India look like if the colours of the parties ruling the various states were to be plotted on a map?
While the BJP and the Congress have always supported the bill, opposition by other parties and demands from some for quota for backward classes within the women's quota have been key sticking points.
The Congress victory in Karnataka, its first big state since 2018, puts the party back in the game for general elections as it re-establishes primacy in the opposition space that is currently vastly fragmented despite efforts to cobble up a united front against the BJP.
Dr K S Shetty from Udupi has been closely following the political developments in Karnataka for the past three decades or more. A passionate political analyst he predicts in an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the Congress-Janata Dal-Secular alliance will oust the current Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
Congress' good show was a "Janata Janardhana Victory", he said, crediting the people for the party's apparent return to power as it established a clear lead ahead of its rival BJP.
It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on an official visit to Bengaluru to attend various events, on Friday met Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party strongman and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, at his residence for breakfast and held discussions.
With 103 members belonging to the BJP, the Karnataka assembly will witness a balance it has never seen.
Shettar said he has not lost his hopes and would wait till the evening.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf lists seven states where the Grand Old Party suffered a severe setback.
Doddamani has maintained a low profile; he has always worked actively behind the scenes in managing and strategising for Kharge's successive electoral campaign.
Karnataka, by reposing its faith in BSY, remains a Hindutva stronghold, reports R Rajagopalan.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee S Selvaganapathy was declared elected unopposed to the lone seat in Rajya Sabha from Puducherry, the first time the saffron party has got representation in the Upper House from the Union Territory, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's two nominees, Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar, were elected without contest from Tamil Nadu.
'We have to change the Dravidian influence on the people.'
In its reply, the state government said reservation solely on the basis of religion is also contrary to the principles of social justice and the concept of social justice aims to protect those who are deprived and discriminated against within the society.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the 'BJP is staring at certain defeat', and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.
He also said the mandate given by the people is to give a pro-people administration and not for "enjoyment".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday named 14 candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls including former Union minister R P N Singh and Sudhanshu Trivedi -- the only outgoing MP renominated by the party.
Should the anti-defection law in India exist only to prevent democratically elected governments from being toppled?
Vellore is one of the two seats that the DMK alliance won by the narrowest of margins in 2019. For the DMK's vote-score to be so low in a constituency with a substantial Muslim population has not missed the BJP strategists' eyes, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Veteran Congress man and former chief minister of Karnataka Veerappa Moily believes that his party will win a comfortable majority.
The council of ministers discussed the showcause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the constitutional office' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are considered front-runners for the chief minister's post in the event of Congress coming to power after assembly elections, due in April-May next year.
He held two massive roadshows in Rajasthan and one in Madhya Pradesh and his entries in many of rally venues were marked by a drive through cheering supporters.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for the candidature of Yadav and Jabbar, the All India Congress Committee said in a release.
"We will do anything to keep the BJP out of power...In the interest of Karnataka, my father should become the chief minister," Yathindra Siddaramaiah said.
Congress and RJD are single largest parties in Goa and Bihar respectively.
The state has also been battered by administrative chaos due to political instability in the coalition era notwithstanding the Congress-Janata Dal Secular and JDS-BJP dispensations' claims of having ensured development.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Karnataka unit Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday hailed the party's victory in Gujarat assembly elections for a third successive term, describing the mandate as a "vote for development".
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said, he is not giving priority to such things and was concentrating on strengthening the party.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said from the records tabled before the court it appears that the Karnataka government's decision is based on "absolutely fallacious assumption".
He also said it will be difficult, as he is the lone Congress member in Lok Sabha from Karnataka.
In Vijayapura, Yediyurappa said neither he nor his son have made any such statements, and would not like to react to comments made by someone close to Vijayendra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Following the party's sweep of assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states against the odds, the BJP's brain trust is now busy game-planning as to how it can improve on its 2019 Lok Sabha election tally of 303 seats.
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