As many as seven retail shops on Lanka Road in Varanasi are owned and run by the extended family of the Kejriwals in the holy town.
The fight between Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for supremacy in this temple town has divided students of IIT, Varanasi into two camps who will campaign for their chosen candidate in their own ways.
The protesters who had gathered under the banner of the Joint Forum for Restoration of Old Pension Scheme and National Joint Council of Action said they were worried about their post-retirement future.
The CEO office said that the Returning Officer took such a long time due to the rush of candidates on the last day of filing nomination papers. The response came hours after a number of AAP leaders alleged that around 35 candidates with incomplete set of papers were insisting that they would not allow the CM to file his nomination unless their nominations were filed.
From his run-ins with the Centre to his political knack to sail through choppy waters, the Delhi CM has shown uncommon talent in running a 'common man's' government.
The Congress is hopeful of soon finalising the Lok Sabha poll seat-sharing arrangements with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) allies Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, sources said on Friday, days after the principal opposition party arrived at an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Embroiled in a controversy over his 'slip of the tongue' on Lord Jagannath, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and party's Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra apologised and announced he will undertake penance by observing fast for three days from Tuesday after being criticised from different quarters.
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
The people of Delhi are the victims, Gandhi alleged.
He said people want to know who would be the BJP's chief ministerial face, claiming that people are saying why they should vote for the BJP if it does not have the CM candidate.
The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19.
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday arrived in the holy city for a month-long campaign and was greeted with posters that accused him of being a 'deserter', an apparent reference to his resignation as Delhi chief minister within 49 days of taking charge.
Kejriwal said the government has set up 9 shelters for the riot-affected people and is distributing food among them.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said that three of its senior leaders -- Yogendra Yadav and Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan -- were working to ensure the party's defeat in the recently held assembly elections in Delhi, and therefore, this was justification enough to expel them from the Political Affairs Committee.
The government should hold extensive consultations on the proposal with all stakeholders, including political parties and non-political entities, AAP national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak said.
This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case.
'Like Robespierre,' argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf, 'Kejriwal too talks of virtue, and the ones who speak out against him will encounter the terror of Kejriwal's wrath in the Aam Aadmi Party.'
Ahead of Kejriwal's visit, drama ensued at the Ghazipur landfill site and roads leading to the area as scores of Bharatiya Janata Party supporters staged a protest, showed black flags and raised slogans against him.
AAP demanded that BJP leaders Parvesh Verma and Manoj Tiwari be barred from campaigning for their remarks against the Delhi CM. The EC later issued a notice to Verma for calling Kejriwal a 'terrorist'.
Tiwari also said, "I have identified the police officials who pushed me in connivance with AAP workers and I will show them within four days what police is."
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".
Kejriwal said the AAP would not have 'dreamt' of forming an alliance with the Congress but agreed to save the country.
Making an electrifying debut in high-profile Delhi Assembly polls in which it routed Congress, the Aam Admi Party on Sunday ruled out taking support of any political party to form the government, saying it will play the role of a "constructive opposition".
Rajesh Garg accused Kejriwal of trying to poach six Congress MLAs to form government last year.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday came out in support of full statehood for Delhi and said Janata Dal-United in coordination with other parties will raise the issue in the Parliament.
Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday said Arvind Kejriwal had no option but to resign after losing majority on the floor of the assembly.
A day after Arvind Kejriwal kicked off his Lok Sabha campaign in Maharashtra amid chaos, Mumbai Police on Thursday registered a case against the Aam Aadmi Party leader and his supporters on the charge of unlawful assembly outside the domestic airport.
'He is wily and has everything that a political leader needs to succeed at that level.' 'He would be outstanding as a counter to Modi in the Lok Sabha, if he had the Opposition benches behind him,' says Aakar Patel.
The Delhi CM's principal secretary has been described as quick, decisive, and quite unlike a 'babu'.
The Enforcement Directorate said it has no objection if the AAP leader Sanjay Singh is given bail in the case.
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, senior party leader Manish Sisodia, who was the deputy chief minister in the outgoing government, said the cabinet ministers will also take oath along with Kejriwal.
'The main reason being Kejriwal's working style is very centralised.' 'And if you don't form a team and work, take bureaucrats into confidence, take doctors and hospitals into confidence, this problem was surely going to evolve.'
'I was not really aware that this movement was slyly being propped up by the BJP and RSS.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday hit back at Arvind Kejriwal for his demand that Narendra Modi should make public his poll expenses, saying the Aam Aadmi Party leader should first divulge details of his party's funding by "foreign" donors.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
