The Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the Madhya Pradesh assembly whose current effective strength is 228.
''The outcome of the state polls may lead to some strategy-related permutations and combinations and the markets may extrapolate it to the likely outcome in the general elections.'
Fissures have emerged in Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti over the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' with a Shiv Sena minister raising objection against ally Nationalist Congress Party and its president Ajit Pawar for 'omitting' Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's name from advertisements and promotional material of the scheme.
'...the Congress tally in 2028 would further plummet under 50.' 'A fresh face as CM would further strengthen the BJP and weaken the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.'
With this, the ruling BJP has so far declared candidates for 136 seats. Earlier, the BJP had announced 79 candidates, including two lists of 39 each, and another list of one nominee.
The stand-off between Speaker Ishwardas Rohani and the opposition Congress saw both sides flaunting rule books in support of their stand.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the outcome of the recent Maharashtra assembly elections and alleging hypocrisy in the BJP's stance on corruption. He also hinted at internal changes within the MNS, emphasizing the need for discipline and a renewed focus on the party's goals.
Chouhan's fate will be determined by the BJP central command's assessment of the implications of such a move ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Ministers' resignation accepted, portfolios farmed out
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly polls are due by 2023-end, are not attaching much importance to the presence of the AAP and the AIMIM citing the largely bipolar politics of the state.
Nadda claimed his party will form government in all the states with a big majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
Newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar on Thursday said he would want to pick talisman Virat Kohli's brains to learn the nuances of leadership and stressed on the importance of "standing with players" in all circumstances.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar were among the famous faces who queued up at the polling booths on Tuesday to caste their votes in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
'The Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution of India and all other powers enabling in this behalf, also bars Imarti Devi, from holding, anywhere in Madhya Pradesh, any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows and interviews, public utterances in media (electronic, print, social media) , in connection with ongoing elections for one day on 1 November,' the EC order said.
Pandey, who has worked in TV shows like Pavitra Bandhan and Hamari Bahu Silk, said she had been living in Mumbai for the last seven to eight years and working as an actor.
'Whether I turn 75 or 85, I will remain active in politics and contest the next election. I like politics very much'
A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of President-elect Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
With the assembly poll results in three states being a disappointment for the Congress, some rumblings have begun among the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of their meeting on December 6, with many leaders alleging that the grand old party ignored others, but was unable to win elections on its own.
More than 10 Congress legislators from Madhya Pradesh will reach Delhi to be the proposers for Digvijaya Singh, a party leader said.
Targeting the Congress, the PM said those who ruled Madhya Pradesh for a long time did nothing else other than corruption and crime.
With the assembly election results throwing up surprises, most exit polls got the outcome in Chhattisgarh and the scale of the Bharatiya Janata Party's win in Madhya Pradesh wrong.
'The BJP is doing politics 24x365, but the Congress revs up only during elections.'
The BJP is faced with the crucial question of who will lead the party in the four impending state polls this year: In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
The exercise will continue till 6 pm in all the polling stations except those in Maoist-affected areas of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts where it ended at 3 pm, an official said.
All schemes from Ladli Laxmi' to others being run by the previous government will continue and funds will be transferred to beneficiaries' accounts on the due date, Yadav said.
Sources said while the Congress units of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will hold separate discussions on May 26 on their preparations and actions to be taken, the party will also hold strategy meets on Chhattisgarh on May 27.
Senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath on Tuesday asked whether it is needed to say separately that India is a 'Hindu Rashtra' given the fact that 82 per cent of Hindus live in the country.
The data also showed that the state stood third in cases of murder (at 2,295) after Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 2022, and ranked fourth in rape cases (at 2,904) after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
He said the people of the state took a historic decision in 2003 by removing the government of "Mr Bantadhar", apparently referring to senior Congress leader and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh.
He took a swipe at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remark during a rally in MP on Monday that mobile phones in the people's pockets were "Made in China" and they should rather be "Made in Madhya Pradesh".
The Congress leadership on Friday held separate meetings to review its performances in the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and said its defeat in the two states at the hands of the BJP was unexpected.
Outgoing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he will 'rather die' than asking something for himself from his party.
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
Electioneering ended in Madhya Pradesh at 6 pm except in Naxalites-hit districts of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori, where campaigning drew to a close early at 3 pm.
There is a rise in the number of women elected to the state legislatures in 2023 compared to 2018, except in Rajasthan.
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