Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that Narendra Modi is the "best possible card" for the party in the Lok Sabha elections and dismissed media speculation that L K Advani was opposed to his elevation.
'Jaitley was one of the earliest politicians to sense the changing political scenario in Delhi. He had closely watched the rise of the BJP and declining fortunes of the Congress party during the L K Advani era. But it was between 2009 and 2014 as the Leader of the Opposition that he began to read the tea leaves. 'And thus it was that he introduced Modi-Amit Shah duo to Lutyens Delhi,' says senior journalist R Rajagopalan who had known Jaitley since 1975.
Jaitley will be cremated on Sunday afternoon at the Nigambodh Ghat, BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal said.
'The BJP's constitution promises allegiance to India's secularism and socialism.' 'This is the oath that it makes all its members sign,' observes Aakar Patel.
74-year-old Singh, whose candidature was declared by NDA on July 16, filed his papers before Returning Officer T K Viswanathan, who is the Lok Sabha Secretary General.
In a clear indication that the tussle between senior leader L K Advani and Narendra Modi is far from over, the patriarch's close aide Sudheendra Kulkarni has written an article dubbing the Gujarat chief Minister as an "autocrat" who cares "two hoots" for the party.
Notwithstanding L K Advani's resignation, BJP President Rajnath Singh made it clear that there will be no going back on the decision to appoint Narendra Modi as campaign committee chief.
Has the absence of a strong anti-terror law made India a soft target?
Advani told the PM that the Speaker carried on with House business amid din and did not allow the party to raise its objections over the arrest of its chief Rajnath Singh.
Leader of Opposition L K Advani and other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party did not discuss on a succession plan, as was being projected in the media, said a party spokesman on Saturday.
'There are certain issues and mistakes from which we all have to learn and I am sure that our party too will do so. These problems are short-lived,' says former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
It's high time the President intervened and saved the country, said Mamata.
A new Lokpal Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and the existing one withdrawn.
Referring to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP veteran L K Advani, Sinha said, "Today's BJP is not like the one in the days of Atalji and Advaniji."
The silence is specially deafening from three parties that symbolised hope for Muslims: The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party. 'What fear prevents these leaders from at least talking about the way our community is being targeted?' 'Will they really lose Hindu votes if they do so?'
BJP president Amit Shah on the party's foundation day asked partymen to vigorously counter the campaign of disinformation.
Standing firm behind its two "whistle-blower" ex-MPs and L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni in the cash-for-vote scam, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday claimed they were innocent and were only trying to "expose" use of money to save the United Progressive Alliance-I government during the 2008 trust vote.
'The BJP would like to capitalise on Yogi's tough image on criminals, law and order situation, and hands-on CM.' 'Modi will be an additional advantage, but it is primarily a contest between Yogi and Akhilesh.'
New Delhi is likely to experience a huge traffic jam on Wednesday, as the Bharatiya Janata Party holds a rally to protest against price rise.
Sushma Swaraj, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Jayalalithaa, Mulayam Singh or may be even Advani: positioning for prime ministership is the flavour of the current season, notes Neerja Chowdhury.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani has predicted that elections to the Lok Sabha would be held in October 2008, saying the UPA government cannot contain the price rise issue any longer. The Congress feels that the more they delay the elections, the more they will anger the voter, prompting elections in October, he said. Advani however added that if the Congress loses in the Karnataka elections, there is every chance of the Lok Sabha elections being postponed to early 2009.
The BJP will contest on 73 seats out of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections as per the seat-sharing agreement reached between the saffron party and the Ajit Singh-led RLD.
It seems clear that with Mayawati seizing the initiative and gaining momentum as the prime ministerial candidate, the BJP was not anxious to play into her hands and help in the toppling game for which the party would get little credit.
Top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday met the Election Commissioner to lodge their protest against the Centre's announcement of the direct cash transfer scheme ahead of Gujarat elections and demanded its withdrawal. Led by party leader L K Advani and Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, the BJP delegation questioned the timing of the announcement and demanded its withdrawal to ensure free and fair elections in Gujarat.
'When the BJP came into existence no party used to support it. When NDA was formed many leaders who are now holding posts in the present government were not holding any posts then and some of them were not even born,' the editorial said.
The BJP's remarks came a day after the Congress leaders, led by Sonia Gandhi, met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum demanding resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for "abdication of duty" during the communal violence in northeast Delhi. She had also reminded the Centre for its 'rajdharma' and protecting the people from all faiths in the country.
It was a changed scenario in the new Lok Sabha with the churning brought out by the elections throwing in contrasts.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition Lal Kishanchand Advani on Friday said that there could be no compromise on issues concerning national symbols notwithstanding the multi-ethnic nature of Indian society.
'This government is not cohesive. Earlier, the norm was to take a decision and then to announce it. Now what they are doing is to announce the decision first, before it is taken. When there is reaction, they say they will think about it. Then they set up a GoM and put the matter in cold storage. Perhaps there was pressure of showing something in the first 100 days.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it will support the government in passing the anti-rape Bill by voting in its favour.
The UP CM's visit comes a day after senior BJP leaders were charged with conspiracy in the Babri Masjid case.
'Politics is not a post for retired people to enjoy.'
The government on Tuesday conceded the opposition demand for having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sources said.
A road in Delhi was on Tuesday named after slain Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan on his 59th birth anniversary.
'Mr Modi's next challenger/s will need to invent a new politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
In a strong show of support for Arun Jaitley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the finance minister will come through "with flying colours" against charges of corruption levelled against him by the opposition in the same way L K Advani did in the Hawala case.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been under attack from the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, on Tuesday reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Parliament and walked with one hand on her shoulder, ostensibly to win support for the passage of crucial Bills.
In the course of his various tenures, Yediyurappa made many adversaries. Bommai, by contrast, knows the Opposition well and has many friends, cutting across parties -- he is, after all, only a 2008 BJP entrant.
Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh on Saturday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the latter's decision to nominate Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, saying the party has succumbed to threats from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and wondered if the Sangh could still call itself a "cultural organisation".
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