With challenges such as raising the legal age of marriage for women, combating malnutrition among women and children, and addressing women's safety issues, the new ministers face a formidable agenda.
Kerala had the highest number of average sitting days at 48 days a year, followed by Odisha (41) and Karnataka (35).
The Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly on Thursday passed a bill that provides for recovery of losses from the people and organisations responsible for damaging public and private properties during protests.
In Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, the share of legislators with college degrees increased over the past decade.
Congress member of parliament Kalpana Parulekar on Monday created ruckus in the Madhya Pradesh assembly during question hour by raising the issue of her arrest in the previous session.
With this, the Congress's strength in the house has come down to 89 now.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on a PIL that questioned the non-election of deputy speaker in Lok Sabha and several state assemblies, and observed that the issue is "very important".
Rekha Gupta, a former DUSU president and a long-time member of the RSS, has been chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly and will become the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi. She won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Assembly polls, defeating her AAP rival Bandana Kumari. Gupta, a BCom graduate and lawyer, has a long history of working for women's welfare, having served as the national secretary of the BJP's youth wing and the national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha. The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
Many in the party believe that as was the cases in Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the BJP leadership might put its bets on a "dark horse" among the newly-elected MLAs.
Freebies being doled out by the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments ahead of the assembly polls Friday came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court which sought responses from the two states, the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL alleging misuse of public money.
The electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha elections, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes including Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur.
The plea, mentioned before the mentioning officer of the apex court for urgent hearing, said the Speaker, the Chief Minister and the Principal Secretary of the Assembly be directed to 'hold the floor test in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly within 12 hours of the passing of the order by this court and as directions...issued by Governor'.
In the 230-member House, the BJP has 127 MLAs and the Congress 96.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The Congress' strength in the 230-member MP assembly came down to 65 after Shah's exit.
'This is my last election; hence, I need people's support and blessing to achieve and ensure victory.'
The notification will be issued on January 20, while January 27 will be the last date of filing nominations.
Springing a surprise, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday picked Mohan Yadav, a leader of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and a three-time MLA, as the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, state party president VD Sharma said.
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
In 2023, this number has dropped to 90, nearly 39 per cent of the 230-member House, an ADR report said.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding.
Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
There is a rise in the number of women elected to the state legislatures in 2023 compared to 2018, except in Rajasthan.
Chhattisgarh scores the highest among all four states with 21 per cent of its newly elected lawmakers women.
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.
As many as 28 legislators, including former Union minister Prahlad Patel and Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, were on Monday inducted into the Madhya Pradesh cabinet led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
The Congress has no love lost for Amar Singh's Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh despite the two striving for an electoral alliance in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
Though different voices are emerging from within the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh over the issue, several saffron party MLAs, including senior leaders, appeared worried about a possible repeat of the 'Gujarat formula' to overcome anti-incumbency in the central state, where Assembly elections are due in end-2023.
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.
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.
Newly-elected Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Legisative Assembly from Dholpur B L Kushwaha, wanted in a chit fund fraud case, was detained by police at the assembly here when he had gone to take oath.
The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Samaj said it will move the high court against the demolition at the house belonging to his father.
Delhi has emerged as the youngest assembly in terms of age of elected legislators from the four states, with an estimated average age of about 43 years for members of Legislative Assembly elected in the national capital.
The Congress legislator, who is a COVID-19 patient, was the last one to cast his ballot wearing a PPE suit. He came to the assembly complex in an ambulance, the official said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
The resolution 'earnestly' appealed to the Centre to withdraw and not carry out the whole exercise of NRC and NPR 'in the interest of the nation, particularly when the economy is witnessing the worst-ever downslide and unemployment is witnessing a terrifying growth, and with the threat of the corona pandemic looming large'.
More than ever before, women voters can make or mar a political party's electoral fortunes.
'You don't have any options within the BJP. You only have to follow the orders of the top leadership.'
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances