The RSS, which has been building pressure on BJP to end its internal bickerings and is favouring younger leadership, feels it was a blunder to project Advani as BJP's prime ministerial candidate and making the party's poll campaign Advani-centric.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will have an understanding with former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal-Secular for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Friday, an announcement that shot up political temperature in Karnataka.
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Delhi's ruling party is all set to tackle the Parliamentary polls in the desert state, says Shahnawaz Akhtar
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya has strongly criticized those who accused her of donating a 'filthy kidney' to her father and challenged them to an open debate. She also urged people to donate kidneys to those in need in Lalu Prasad's name.
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
The former Bihar minister, who lost the election from Mahua assembly seat, voiced his sentiments in support of his sister Rohini Acharya in a post on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya on Sunday charged cohorts of her brother Tejashwi Yadav with accusing her of donating a 'bad' kidney to her father, 'in exchange for crores of rupees and a party ticket'.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Nitish Kumar is poised to lead the NDA government in Bihar, with key political developments unfolding ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. The article covers the election of the NDA leader, cabinet allocation discussions, and reactions to the election results, including Prashant Kishor's claims and the family feud within Lalu Prasad's family.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the results of the assembly elections were historic, and they decided to whom the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena belong.
'Karyakartas felt we should have fought independently'
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday held a meeting of Nationalist Congress Party MLAs following his party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Opposition leaders in Punjab have claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls signals the beginning of its downfall in the state as well. They cited the party's inability to deliver on promises and allegations of corruption as reasons for the setback in Delhi and predicted a similar fate for the AAP in Punjab, where it is currently in power.
Babaria said he offered his resignation to the high command soon after the result of the Haryana assembly polls came out last week but no decision has been communicated to him over the matter.
For Adityanath, it's not just a chance to reaffirm his dominance in Uttar Pradesh, it's an opportunity to solidify his narrative as a vote-winner.
The nearly 13-minute speech, with a booming voice resembling that of Bal Thackeray, began with his trademark opening line Jamlelya majhya tamam Hindu bandhavanu, baghinino ani matano (greetings to my Hindu brothers, sisters and mothers who have gathered here).
The opposition party is likely to use this new-age technology to reach out to a wider section of people, specially youngsters who are tech-savvy.
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The former chief minister claimed that almost every advanced democracy uses paper ballots.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari attributed the party's poor performance in Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal to lack of support from the minority community, asserting that 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' was unnecessary and proposing instead 'Hum unke saath jo humare saath' (we are with those who are with us).
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Congress leadership is upset over Nath's remarks against many leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, over seat sharing.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday created a world record with processing 1,971 crore transactions in a single day, its MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said. "@nseindia handled the highest ever - world record - number of transactions in a single day today on June 5, 2024, in a 6 hours and 15 minutes (915 am to 330 pm) single trading day - 1,971 crore (19.71 billion) orders per day. 28.55 crore (280.55 million) trades per day," Chauhan said on X platform (formerly Twitter).
The Congress has often accused the media of being "biased" towards the Modi dispensation.
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
The sources said the opposition leaders would now plan joint rallies that were put on hold due to the assembly elections.
Taking responsibility of his party's debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Asom Gana Parishad leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Monday stepped down as party president.
In a dramatic development, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Minister C P Yogeeshwara on Wednesday quit his party and joined the Congress, which is now expected to field him in the November 13 assembly bypolls from Channapatna.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
The rebel leaders met in Jalandhar when SAD chief Badal was holding a meeting with the district presidents and other leaders in Chandigarh to review the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress may have reviewed its poll debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, but unease is growing in the party in crucial states such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which had returned spectacular results in the last two Lok Sabha elections.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Jitin Prasada was once considered as among Rahul Gandhi's 'young Turks' and was a minister in successive Manmohan Singh governments but defected from the Congress to the BJP in 2021, where he has again established himself as a prominent Brahmin face of Uttar Pradesh.
Strong demands for accountability for the Lok Sabha debacle were voiced on Saturday at the Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive meeting in which party President Rajnath Singh acknowledged a qualified responsibility on his part and announced a Committee to go into the defeat.