BJP leaders say Nitin Nabin's low-profile image has made him a favourite of Amit Shah, who was in search of such a leader to appoint to the top party position -- someone who follows the Modi-Shah line as BJP president without "ifs and buts".
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
Claiming that the government at the Centre is actually in a minority, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said mid-term general elections are a possibility for which her party is fully geared up for. "The politics of the country is changing every day and in view of the present situation, there is a possibility of mid-term Lok Sabha polls," said Swaraj, who was in Dewas to take part in the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee's meeting.
General elections are likely to be held in April next year, which has been emerging as the most acceptable option in the Congress camp as the party and its United Progressive Alliance government are apprehensive about the ripple effects of the global economic slowdown on India and want time to enable this to abate.
Given Modi's track record from the time he became Gujarat chief minister in October 2001, it is highly improbable that Nabin will get opportunities to display his individual capacity. Even the team of organisational leaders that he will 'appoint' in a few weeks or months, will unlikely to be his choice, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'We would do well to encourage all Indians to participate in democracy by contesting and laws that prevent or deter individuals and parties should be relooked at,' says Aakar Patel.
Rahul Gandhi's attack on Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots in his first-ever television interview indicates that the Congress will shift focus to 'contrasting ideologies' with the BJP before the general election.
Two individuals, including a woman, have been granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam, bringing the total number of recipients in the state to four. This marks the first instance of a woman receiving citizenship under the Act in Assam.
The National Democratic Alliance's vice presidential candidate C P Radhakrishnan was felicitated at a meeting of the ruling bloc's MPs in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union ministers. He is expected to file his nomination soon.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
BJP patriarch Vajpayee and Lok Sabha Speaker Chatterjee, the senior-most and the only two ten-term MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha, will not be contesting the general elections this time for different reasons.
Suresh Kalmadi brought several top-class events to India including the 2003 Afro Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Gandhi shared a video carrying the remarks of an eyewitness, who said timely action could have saved the man, and that of the deceased's father, who lamented that there were several people there with some of them making videos but did not act to save his son.
The Howrah Lok Sabha by-election to be held in the shadow of Saradha chitfund scam will be a test case for the Mamata Banerjee government's popularity and for the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist to gauge their standing in West Bengal prior to the 2014 general election.
With an eye on Lok Sabha polls, the Congress in Maharashtra is trying to rope in celebrities like superstar Shah Rukh Khan, former cricket captain Dilip Vengsarkar and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kisen to boost its electoral fortunes.
Rathwa was a Minister of State for Railways in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004, and lost to BJP candidate Ramsinh Rathwa in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Formally kicking off his party's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday paid obeisance at the dargah of renowned sufi saint Haji Waris Ali Shah and held a road show in Barabanki.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
Renu Mittal details the roadmap till June 1 when the new administration takes over.
Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad announced the party's intention to contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, signaling a potential strain within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the issue will be resolved after discussions with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, while deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed there is unity in the party.
Delhi's ruling party is all set to tackle the Parliamentary polls in the desert state, says Shahnawaz Akhtar
Whichever combination finally emerges, Malegaon could set a record for being a town run neither by Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti, nor by the Opposition MVA, but by a combination of two or three Muslim parties.
Perhaps Arvind Kejriwal got it right when he described the party as Shivji ki baraat. In other words, without the pejorative sense associated with it, a ragtag. New, and new to the business of government, it is faltering, notes Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Dr Manmohan Singh's meeting with the finance ministry team, led by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, has been deliberately fixed for two days after the results of the assembly elections in five states are declared (for Jammu and Kashmir, the counting is on December 28), as the Congress leadership as well as the United Progressive Alliance members would have by then decided on the timing of the Lok Sabha polls
The election for the post of Vice President will be held on September 9, with the notification being issued on August 7 and the last date for filing nominations on August 21.
The bill which seeks to put in place a mechanism to hold simultaneous elections in the country has a provision for situations when election to an assembly cannot be held with those of Parliament.
Bangladesh's newly-elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman pledged to strengthen the rule of law and ensure the country is a safe land for people of all faiths, while also addressing corruption and improving law and order.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam stated that his party would not allow any "Khan" to become the mayor of Mumbai, later clarifying that he was referring to an "anti-national mentality" and not a specific community. He cited concerns about radical elements and appeasement politics.
A recurring theme of the prime minister's election rallies was the reminder of the 'jungle raj' during the RJD rule under chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, and there were special efforts to ensure that the youth in the state does not get swayed by the promises made by Tejashwi Yadav.
The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated over Rs 1,400 crore to the law ministry to meet carry forward expenditure for holding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and purchase of new electronic voting machines for the Election Commission. The allocation includes Rs 500 crore for the elections, Rs 300 crore for voter identity cards, Rs 597.80 crore for "other election expenses", and Rs 18.72 crore for new EVMs. The law ministry is the nodal agency for the Election Commission, polls, electoral laws, and appointment of members to the poll panel.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
From 1952 to 1967, each of the three Lok Sabhas sat for an average of 600 days and more than 3,700 hours. In comparison, the 15th Lok Sabha -- from 2009 till 2013 -- has met for just 345 days and 1,331 hours, says Shreya Singh
Sunny Deol. Akshaye Khanna. Anil Kapoor. Madhuri Dixit. Saif Ali Khan. Manoj Bajaypee. Netflix's 2026 slate packs a starry punch.
The Monsoon session of Parliament concluded after facing disruptions and protests over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Despite the disruptions, the government managed to pass key legislations.
Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is an attempt to cover up "vote theft" and institutionalize it, claiming similar incidents occurred in other states.
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