With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
Hours after the Congress party released its first list of 144 candidates for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Vice President of Congress Media Department Ajay Singh Yadav resigned from his post as fewer candidates from backward classes have been fielded by the party.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his vote theft allegations and criticized the Election Commission for demanding an affidavit to support his claims. He alleged collusion between the EC and BJP to steal the Lok Sabha election and called for investigation into election irregularities.
Priti Kinnar, a transgender social worker, is set to contest the Bihar assembly elections from Bhorey seat on a Jan Suraaj ticket, challenging the incumbent Education Minister. Her entry into politics has sparked mixed reactions, with some seeing it as a potential boost for the transgender community and others questioning its impact on the election outcome.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has ordered strict action against those responsible for the death of an ASI who was killed while trying to rescue a man from an attack by a group of tribals in Mauganj district. The incident has sparked outrage and raised concerns about the law and order situation in the state. The opposition Congress has criticized the government, alleging that law and order has collapsed in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress is now gearing up to take on the BJP over alleged corruption, jobs and issues tied to tribals, farmers and women.
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
During a Congress protest in Indore on Tuesday, Verma said TV news channels are reporting that the people of Bangladesh entered the Prime Minister's official residence during the civil unrest in the neighbouring country because of the wrong policies of deposed PM Sheikh Hasina and her government.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.
"The truth is that the election system in India is already dead. Please remember one thing that the prime minister of India enjoys a very slim majority. If 10-15 seats were rigged, and we suspect the actual figures to be closer to 70-80 to 100, he would not have been the prime minister of the country," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha claimed.
The BJP won 28 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Congress was able to hold on to just one seat -- Chhindwara.
Incumbent Ajay Singh was on Thursday re-elected President of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for a third consecutive term after his comprehensive victory over Jaslal Pradhan in the long-overdue polls.
Two newborn babies were bitten by rats at a government hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, leading to an investigation and demands for accountability.
On Monday, former state health minister Rustam Singh quit the Bharatiya Janata Party after being denied a ticket from Morena and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party, which has fielded his son from the seat.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
'If the RJD loses it would be out of power for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, the JD-U will have survival issues if it gets less number of seats.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other UDF MPs protest the arrest of Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh, alleging religious persecution by the BJP government and demanding their immediate release.
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.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India of engaging in "vote chori" (vote theft) to benefit the BJP, claiming his party possesses substantial evidence of electoral irregularities.
The sources said the Congress is the binding force for the opposition bloc and the stronger the Congress emerges the better for the alliance.
The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh will hold a three-day training camp for its leaders from June 14 in Pachmarhi in Narmadapuram. The move comes amid the party facing flak for some statements from its leaders post Operation Sindoor. BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been invited to the camp to lecture the party cadre. The BJP said the event was pre-planned and was a routine affair, but the camp is seen as an attempt to discipline party leaders who have been making controversial statements.
'All these people who came from the Congress -- all outsiders -- have been given complete control of the party.' 'Today, we get no response or protection from the central leadership.' 'You can't run a party thinking only your people matter and nobody else should remain.'
It is clear that Kamal Nath is gearing up for the 2023 assembly polls, reports Sandeep Kumar.
Verma said Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath are both not crossing over to the BJP and asserted that the latter will contest the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May, from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh as the Congress candidate.
Asked why Nath was not himself putting forth his side, Patwari said that the MP chief minister would speak at the right time. "What I said was on his behalf," he claimed.
A group of people, allegedly led by the son of a BJP MLA, forcibly entered the Mata Tekri temple in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, after it had closed for the night and assaulted the priest who refused to let them in. Police have registered an FIR and are investigating the incident.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Nath's resignation was accepted by party president Sonia Gandhi keeping in view the party's 'one person-one post' policy.
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
Modi and Chouhan have visited Mahakoshal multiple times and reached out to tribals to shore up support for the BJP.
The letter claimed that the contractors in the state are being asked to pay 50 percent commission.
A 26-year-old groom, identified as Pradeep Jat, collapsed and died on a horse during his wedding procession in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district. The incident occurred on Friday night and a video capturing the man's last moments surfaced on social media. The groom, a former district president of the National Student Union of India (NSUI), possibly died due to a heart attack.
Of these, 200 are fielded by the BJP, 196 by the Congress and the rest belong to other political parties.
Lodhi, who represented the Bada Malhera assembly seat in Chhatarpur district, joined the BJP at the ruling party's state headquarters in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The Congress had fielded Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13.
Gaurav Gogoi will head the screening committee for Rajasthan with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot included among the ex-officio members of the panel.
A man killed during a recent anti-Naxal operation in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district was a tribal and not a Maoist, an official said on Saturday. The opposition Congress claimed he was innocent and demanded a high-level probe and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
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.
The decision is being seen as a balancing act in the faction-ridden party in the state.
