Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
80-year-old Singh, who is the Leader of the Upper House, was recently elected a member of Rajya Sabha from Assam for the fifth consecutive term.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced the completion of "Operation Tiger" as six Lok Sabha members from the Shiv Sena (UBT) officially defected to the ruling Shiv Sena. This move further formalises a split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, strengthening Shinde's party and marking a significant political development in Maharashtra.
Opposition on Thursday forced deferment of consideration of the contentious Mines and Minerals Bill in Rajya Sabha till on Friday.
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Monday expelled its party leader and Lok Sabha candidate from Sheohar seat Shabir Ali for praising BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
The Indian government and opposition are preparing for a contentious Monsoon Session of Parliament, with key issues including the Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation and women's reservation, the alleged NEET paper leak, and a row over Ram temple donations set to spark heated debates.
The contentious bill will be tables in RS on Wednesday. The BJP hopes to get up to 130 votes in a 240-member upper house.
Despite recent gains, the BJP-led NDA is unlikely to achieve a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha in the near future, highlighting the challenges in passing key legislation requiring constitutional amendments.
The Congress-led Opposition is set to keep the pressure on the government in Parliament over the alleged police brutality against protesting students, demanding action against those responsible for the assault and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said on Sunday.
A group of rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs reportedly met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, claiming support of six members, while Uddhav Thackeray loyalists deny any defection. The party has issued a whip for a crucial meeting, and the anti-defection law's implications are being discussed amidst allegations of bribery.
Chairman of the Upper House Venkaiah Naidu Naidu clarified that the Triple Talaq Bill will not be taken up on Friday as a consensus has not yet been evolved on the issue.
The issue of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not being a directly elected member of Parliament came to the fore again today when Leader of theOpposition L K Advani said that in a democracy the head of government should be from the Lok Sabha.
Putting an end to his ten-year self-imposed 'exile' from electoral politics, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to amend the anti-paper leak law to introduce stricter punishments, with the government expressing its commitment to go the extra mile to safeguard the interests of students, who are the country's future.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it will vote against the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector in the Rajya Sabha, where the United Progressive Alliance does not have majority on its own. "We will vote against FDI in Rajya Sabha if the government brings it there," said SP's leader in the Upper House Ramgopal Yadav.
The government is keen to get the GST Bill approved during the Monsoon Session of Parliament ending on August 12.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
23 political parties of the INDIA bloc will meet on Monday to redraw their strategy to take on the BJP and iron out differences amid changed power dynamics after the defeat of regional anchors TMC and DMK in the recent assembly polls.
Kharge condemned the use of the "abodh balak" term for Gandhi and alleged that BJP MPs can't even speak their mind.
It will be tough for the Congress leader to return to the Upper House from either Telangana or Andhra, where the party's presence has dwindled. But neither House will forget her.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The Aam Aadmi Party has petitioned for the disqualification of seven Rajya Sabha MPs who defected to the BJP, citing violation of the anti-defection law and betrayal of the people's mandate.
'Those who have drained Mamata Banerjee's blood -- they are the ones calling us traitors.'
The Rajya Sabha on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the bail granted to Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and asked Pakistan to ensure that no perpetrator of any terrorist activity went unpunished.
Six of the nine Shiv Sena-UBT Lok Sabha MPs skipped a crucial parliamentary meeting, signalling a likely split and potential merger with the Eknath Shinde-led faction, which could trigger disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.
Continuing dynasty politics, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad on Friday nominated his daughter Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha, reports MI I Khan.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
A weak presence in the Rajya Sabha has forced the NDA to try and rope in 'weak links' in the Opposition ranks to pass key legislation in the Upper House.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil allegedly abused and threatened journalists, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to ask him to express regret. The incident occurred after journalists questioned Patil about a letter from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and his daughter's political stance, leading to a political controversy.
The bill was introduced following a division of votes, with 186 members supporting and 74 opposing it.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday nominated Rajan Vichare as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing MP Bhavana Gawali, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has issued an ultimatum to party chief Mamata Banerjee, asking her to choose between him and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, whom he blames for the party's recent turmoil. This comes as the TMC faces significant internal strife, including multiple Rajya Sabha MP resignations and claims of widespread defection among MLAs and MPs.
The Lokpal Bill will come up in Rajya Sabha on Friday and is a "priority" for the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday.
Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has appealed for peace and dialogue amid the nationwide protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, urging people to work towards an amicable solution.
Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has replaced Saayoni Ghosh as youth wing president and Mala Roy as women's wing president, amidst a significant rebellion within the party where dissident MPs claim to have the support of 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha members.
Vice Chairman Harivansh regretted that 78 hours of business were lost due to disruptions and that the House functioned for only 27 hours.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) remains optimistic that Osmanabad (Dharashiv) MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, one of six dissident parliamentarians, will not abandon the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, despite his recent statement about deciding his political future after consulting his constituents.
