The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
A 7-hr debate was held over the contentious bill. Oppn amendments rejected.
'If Nitish Kumar is given more seats, then no one can stop the NDA from losing, even the BJP will be wiped out.'
Half-way through the polls, the fight has become more personal.
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 11.
Counting's underway and the fate of the candidates is awaited. As we wait for the results with bated breath, here's how your heavyweights are faring for now.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
Governments in most of the world saw their approval ratings dip as they struggled to contain the raging virus, which hit economy hard everywhere, but Indian politics followed a different script, with the outgoing year marking further shrinking of a rudderless Congress while the ruling BJP soared riding on Modi's enduring appeal.
Unless controlled and contained, given the untested belief that the north Indian labour support and follow the Hindutva kind of political ideology, there is a potential in terms of ideological clashes with their Dravidian brethren in the local neighbourhoods, and it all escalating into violence, especially during election time, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The rising price of pulses has become a hot issue during the Bihar assembly polls.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
Opposition members tried to corner the government in both the Houses over the Supreme Court decision that states are not bound to provide reserved seats for the SCs, STs and OBCs in appointments and promotions.
Senior BJP leaders had offered the veteran politician the Lok Sabha Speaker's post after he went into a sulk over displeasure to contest from the Gandhinagar seat. However, it is yet to be known whether he has accepted the offer or not, reports Anita Katyal.
All of V R College's 1,007 students secured a first class in the Class 12 exam! 222 of them got identical marks!
The Congress on Tuesday termed as rhetoric and hollow on specifics the prime minister's address to the nation, saying there was no mention of a financial package or concrete steps to revive the economy.
Other NDA allies, including the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, will get due representation in the seat sharing formula, Shah said.
While P Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary, says, 'Digital electioneering is here to stay until the elections in 2021,' the BJP's rallies in Bihar will not be confined to cyberspace. Its strategists have devised other ways of getting around the hygiene protocol that Covid-19 has entailed.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
A group of first time voters who run 10 km everyday to prepare for fauji recruitment rallies, tell Rediff.com's Archana Masih they need two things: quality education and jobs.
'The main characteristic of Bihar politics is that it has always affected Delhi.'
'Was an NDA meeting held to decide if the Shiv Sena has to be removed from the NDA?'
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
The term of the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly comes to an end on November 29.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar is in trouble ahead of the upcoming state assembly polls as two of its ally the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party on Sunday played pressure game to bargain for more seats.
While Congress is focusing on its commitment to the aam aadmi through its slogans, its arch rival BJP has built its campaign around its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for the 16th Lok Sabha elections.
The Bihar CM may be in the Opposition but his endorsement of Ram Nath Kovind, the NDA's presidential candidate, is among the many recent decisions that puts him apart from the others.
In this COVID-19 phase, the BJP leveraged its pre-eminence again to tip the power scales in its favour and relegate its allies in the National Democratic Alliance to a lesser position. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Its governing allies are not happy on the economy and complain of ignored concerns but find themselves unable to be assertive.
The second half of the budget session of Parliament, beginning on Monday, is all set to be a stormy affair with opposition parties closing ranks over the imposition of Presidents' rule in Uttarakhand.
The men and women in Modi's revamped council of ministers have been carefully selected and a delicate balance between administrative experience and balance of power has been maintained.
Sharad Yadav says that reports about disquiet among the factions are 'sponsored'.
A day after taking the oath of office, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday held a marathon meeting on the law and order situation and stressed to senior civil and police officials that "there shall be no compromise on the rule of law".
Counting of votes is underway for four Lok Sabha and eight assembly Constituencies, spread across six states and one Union Territory where by-elections were held on Saturday.
"The era of 'lalten' is gone. In the last six years consumption of electricity has increased 3 fold in Bihar," PM Modi said. "Voters of Bihar have taken a resolve that they won't let those who have a history of making the state 'Bimaru' come near them," he added.
Shiv Sena said that Dalit Prez candidate has been chosen for vote-bank politics.
'Chirag Paswan's game plan would be to push out Nitish Kumar from this alliance, but that is only possible if the BJP wins about 90 seats and the LJP wins between 25-30 seats.'
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
From President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
'The BJP has the torch and with that same torch, the BJP is trying to light up its house in Bihar.' 'The BJP is trying to burn Nitish Kumar's house with that torch.'
