Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance would once again form the government at the Centre and refuted claims that the country had been swept up in a Modi wave.
Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.
Stalin has given due respect to seniority in the pecking order, but has also taken into consideration the demands of individual ministries and the suitability of individuals, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Just like China wants Trump to lose the US presidential poll, it may want Modi to lose the Lok Sabha polls. So months before the 2024 elections, China may take possession of an important area, say one of the Char Dhams, warns Sanjeev Nayyar.
Many in party believe that Advani will be left out as the group of veterans supporting him will not stick together for long.
Now, that's how desperately Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to win Bihar. M I Khan reports from Patna
'The so-called old guard is uneasy and resentful. These are the makings of a new Congress where there will be little or no role for them. And in their opinion, it is not a Congress that will win elections,' says Aditi Phadnis.
The scion of erstwhile Patiala Royal family refused to comment on the number of ministers who will be part of the new cabinet.
Voter turnout was 67.47 per cent in 2015 assembly election. The voting percentage was 57.04 till 6 pm deadline, and rose to 61.46 per cent as those in queues at polling stations were allowed to vote, poll officials said, adding it may increase further.
The President may not have agreed with the government on many occasions. Not once was this ever made public -- though he told off ministers in private.
Just in case the NDA is unable to reach 272 seats and is in the low range of 220 seats, then some novel ideas may spring up. Like a 'national government'. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports on the various scenarios that are being considered by the political parties, and by the President of India.
The statements made by the opposition parties after the preemptive air strike on terror camps have made only people of Pakistan happy, he claimed.
Rediff.com highlights the provisions of the controversial Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which was introduced by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst pandemonium.
"There will be no discrimination in name of caste, religion and sex. There will be overall development," Adityanath said in his address at the Maharana Pratap Inter College in Gorakhpur, his parliamentary constituency.
Much before Rashtrapati Bhavan confirmed the new ministers' portfolios, we had said who will get what in Narendra Modi's Union council of ministers!
Nine ministers of cabinet rank and four ministers of state were inducted at the swearing in ceremony at Raj Bhavan with Governor Vajubhai Vala administering the oath of office and secrecy.
'These people are not concerned about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian -- they are only concerned about being in power,' Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in his first interview after the election results.
Having reclaimed power in Uttar Pradesh after 15 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party will now turn its focus to the states where it has been traditionally weak but which are critical to determine its fortune in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as its national executive meet begins in Odisha on Saturday.
While the DMK fears that the Congress with its poor strike rate will pull it down in the 2021 state elections, like it did five years ago, the ruling AIADMK is worried that the BJP may ultimately do a Bihar on it, relegating it to second place in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With the Lok Sabha clearing the Telangana Bill, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will resign on Wednesday, his close aide said.
At 35 years, April 1981 born Anupriya Patel, who comes from electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh, is the youngest face to be inducted in the Modi government.
It seems that the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is leaving no stone unturned to make grand the October 31 oath-taking ceremony of its first chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, at the Wankhede stadium in South Mumbai.
29 years ago, Karnataka was hurled into a huge political crisis after MLAs withdrew support to S R Bommai's Janata Dal ministry. As the governor recommended that the chief minister be dismissed and President's Rule imposed in the state, then President R Venkataraman disagreed with Rajiv Gandhi's Cabinet and argued that 'the question whether a ministry commanded the confidence of the assembly should be tested in the House and not by the governor.' A fascinating excerpt from President Venkataraman's My Presidential Years, published with the kind permission of the publishers HarperCollins India.
'What are the circumstances at that time? Had you thought Modi will come after Vajpayee?'
Rama Rao's appointment was necessitated as Chandrasekhar Rao will have to concentrate on national politics and also focus on various developmental activities in the state, a release from the chief minister's office said.
The theme of the reshuffle is to fulfill Modi's earlier promise of 'maximum governance, minimum government.' Some key ministries are likely to be merged.
The Sangh has let it be known that a 'social' outfit called the Hindu Yuva Vahini, set up years ago by Yogi, did not have its approval.
Four junior ministers - Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjiv Kumar Balyan, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahendra Nath Pandey - have resigned ahead of the rejig.
'That the commandments to officialdom were issued by a BJP functionary and not a minister is a reflection of the Yogi government's work style.'
He also launched 70-lakh tree sapling planting drive to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of late Jayalalithaa.
Losing power after having come so close, Yediyurappa was determined to regain the reins of power from H D Kumaraswamy.
Speculation over Justice Gogoi's appointment as the next CJI arose after the court's four most senior judges, including Justice Gogoi, called a press conference in January and criticised Justice Misra on various issues.
BJP president Amit Shah had said during the campaign that the party was fighting the election under Rupani and Nitin Patel.
Series of controversies related to Dalit issues have come at a time when the BJP has launched a massive campaign to win back Uttar Pradesh.
'This updated NPR database along with Aadhaar Number would become the mother database and can be used by various government departments...' the home ministry declared in July 2015. 'UID/Aadhaar has been used as a fish bait to ensnare and entrap present and future generations of citizens,' warns Gopal Krishna.
'The governor has the discretion to appoint anybody as the chief minister.' 'The only condition is the person so appointed must be able to prove his majority on the floor of the House.'
In a shake up ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan resigned on Saturday from the Union Council of Ministers and more may be in line for being drafted into party work.
With these three recipients, 48 eminent people have been conferred the award so far.
The opposition on Friday created ruckus in Parliament over the issue of regional language aspirants having disadvantage in Civil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
He is starting to realise that an era is ending. And he is not ready to have a five-decade career besmirched by two alphabets -- AP -- that have cropped up in the AgustaWestland papers, says Aditi Phadnis.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances