Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that he would keep promises he had made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a statement seen as an oblique reference to the demand for restoration of statehood voiced strongly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Referring to Abdullah's comments, Saamana claimed that Congress actively contributed to AAP's defeat in at least 14 seats in Delhi, which could have been avoided.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonack, and Deputy Superintendent Humayun Bhat were killed in the gunfight with terrorists that ensued in Garol area of Anantnag district early Wednesday.
We have seen such scenes from legislatures in South Korea and Europe for instance, but who would have wagered that we would witness such tumult in India, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, no less, which only convened for legislative business days ago.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
Gandhi, who is seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala, in a video appeal said this election is to save democracy and the Constitution.
In the election held earlier in the year, the AAP lost the sole seat it contested and the Congress won five out of 10 seats.
Shah alleged that Congress was "hell-bent on snatching reservations from OBCs, tribals and Dalits and "planned to give it to minorities".
'Assam is not a dumping ground for Bangladeshi Hindu refugees,' says Assamese actor Ravi Sharma who joined the BJP in August and quit the party on December 10 in protest against the Citizenship Act.
Exit polls, which had given a clear majority to the Congress in Haryana and an edge to National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, appear to have failed to feel the pulse of the voters once again.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
The Congress is fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and has fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party. Additionally, the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have each been allocated one seat while both the Congress and NC had a 'friendly contest' on five seats.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
The sources said Misri reiterated the government's stand that the decision to stop military actions was taken at a bilateral level, as some opposition members questioned US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions about his administration's role in stopping the conflict.
Shah, 34, was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Police as a Special Police Officer and had been given an out-of-turn promotion and selected as a constable.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous statement, Abdullah said "we can change friends but we cannot change neighbours".
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said notifying the rules for the CAA days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections shows the Bharatiya Janata Party is not confident about winning 400 seats in the ensuing polls.
Mufti said her father Sayeed was not power hungry and wanted to deliver Jammu and Kashmir from its problems and troubles.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
The 'Overseas Friends of BJP' in the United States has made an elaborate plan to make more than 25 lakh calls to people across India urging them to vote and re-elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 while Haryana will go to polls in a single phase on October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
'Media reports have highlighted that hawala money is coming from Arab countries. And this money is used to create disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir.'
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
Rajnath came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370 and said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there.
"Give up arms and come for talks or our forces will hunt you down," the home minister said in election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Three civilians were killed in a remote area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, sparking protests and a shutdown. The killings, which are being investigated as a possible case of terrorism, have caused fear and anger in the community. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan is reviewing the security situation and has assured that such incidents will not be allowed to happen again. The incident has also raised concerns about the safety of local politicians, with one MLA being attacked by a group of protesters.
Sharada Kukreja, a Pakistani woman living in Odisha for 35 years after marrying an Indian citizen, has been served a notice to leave the country. She has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi to stop her deportation, citing her long-standing ties to India and family here. Sharada fled Pakistan to escape forced conversion and marriage, and despite having an Aadhaar card and participating in elections, she has not been granted Indian citizenship. The Odisha government has identified 12 Pakistani nationals residing in the state and asked them to leave by April 27. Another Pakistani woman in Bhubaneswar also received a country exit permit on Saturday.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hit the poll campaign trail in support of his party candidates on Saturday by addressing a mega rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, amid tight security arrangements.
'In a bid to polarise the people of India, the BJP govt went all out in promoting the movie, resulting in a huge embarrassment for India on the international scale'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that the Narendra Modi government has "almost all" completed its ideological tasks, including the abrogation of Article 370, and will continue on the same path in its third tenure. Shah, a senior BJP leader, was speaking at the Hindu Spiritual & Service Fair in Gujarat, where he highlighted the government's achievements in areas such as the Ram Temple construction, abolition of triple talaq, and the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand. He also emphasized the government's success in promoting Yoga internationally and repatriating stolen idols of Hindu deities. Shah lauded Hindu temples and organizations for their service to society, especially their contributions to education and healthcare for the poor.
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 12 municipal bodies, it has majority in five of these bodies.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
