The Model code of conduct has come into force immediately in the states.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Nemom was one of the segments where the BJP had pinned its hope the most in the present election to open its account in the assembly.
Banks may become more cautious in extending loans, as more and more farmers may take loans, relying on the assurance that a debt relief commission will back them in the event of default.
He's a serial entrepreneur, has delved into politics and a fitness freak.
Among the long queues of voters, there were some famous faces too who exercised their franchise.
The Centre has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his visit to Paris to support the Indian Hockey team at the Olympic Games, an official source said on Saturday.
'What authority has a secular government to administer Hindu temples? When Hindu temples are ruled by secular governments, what religious freedom do Hindus have?'
Accusing the Left parties of destroying the progress of West Bengal and Kerala during their rule, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said they were on the "wrong side" of history and pursuing policies not relevant to the changing times.
Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by Opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission.
'Those who are starving need not go to watch the match'
The rival fronts were locked in a fierce combat in most of the constituencies making it a close contest in the state, which had alternately voted for the LDF and UDF every five years and where even a small swing could be decisive.
The meeting with Antony comes days after an open rebellion by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot loyalists on a possible leadership change in the state
. Congress, on a high after clinching a deal with breakaway leader K Karunakaran's outfit, is contesting in 77 assembly segments, 17 less from last elections.
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 CPI-M leader was the chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2011.
The poll panel has convened a press conference at 4.30 pm.
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
As per the latest data available on the Election Commission's website, the BJP got 38.09 per cent votes while TMC which swept the assembly elections polled 47.97 per cent votes.
Refusing to produce the accused Ameerul Islam before media, Sandhya said police wanted to build a strong case against him.
The announcement of assembly elections has deprived the Congress-led United Democratic Front the political mileage that it was zeroing in on the development programmes.
While 67 per cent of India's population is 39 years old or younger, states are governed by chief ministers who are 70 or older.
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94) became the country's oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi on Monday.
With less than two weeks left for the April 13 assembly elections, the battle has warmed up for 30 seats in three southern districts of Kerala, seen crucial for both the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and Congress headed United Democratic Front.
With Malayalis immune to Modi's charms, the Pradhan Sevak must be quite unhappy today, surmises Dominic Xavier.
This is a brief background of the new Cabinet Ministers.
The first phase of polls to the six southern districts was on April 22 and the last phase for the remaining Kasargode and Kannur districts is scheduled for May 3.
Kerala has never witnessed such a close call in assembly elections in its history, as it did this year. It was indeed a photo finish between the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Communist party of India-Marxist led Left Democratic Front today. It was like a thrilling Twenty20 match with one batsman pitching in with a spectacular performance. The LDF has managed to win as many as 68 seats, against 72 of the UDF, only because of the goodwill of V S Achuthanandan.
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.
In the event that like in the 17th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again gets locked out of the House, the Congress needs a second-in-command who will keep the momentum going inside Parliament, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The CPI-M's allegations were termed a political conspiracy by the opposition Congress which accused the Left party of stooping low to target its political opponents.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday refuted the Congress charge as 'baseless' that her party had not fielded a candidate against Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in the April 13 assembly elections as part of a secret pact with the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Every passing day featuring parties within the INDIA alliance sniping at each other at state level is bad publicity for the alliance particularly given the proximity of the 2024 general elections, asserts Shyam G Menon.
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Modi hit out at the Congress for its president Mallikarjun Kharge's attempt to play down his party's poor show in the polls by describing it as "small state elections".
The Trinamool Congress registered a decisive victory in West Bengal on Sunday, contrary to results of most exit polls which predicted a tight race between the BJP and the TMC with an edge to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday took a veiled dig at the Congress by asking it to safeguard its newly elected Karnataka MLAs from being poached by the Bharatiya Janata Party as was allegedly done by the saffron party in Goa amidst the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The IMD has warned of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days.
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