President of newly-formed Punjab People's Party, which is emerging as a third force in the state, Manpreet claims the results of Punjab elections would be quite different than expected.
Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday night suspended Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who is at loggerheads with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the Centre's reported conditional loan-waiver offer, from the party on the charge of anti-party activities.
Rebel Akali leader Barjinder Singh Makhan Brar resigns from Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), accusing party leaders of misleading the Sikh community and colluding with external agencies to weaken the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) has launched its 'vision document' outlining its ideological direction and commitment to the rise of the 'Panth' and the progress of Punjab. The 'Akali Declaration 2026' addresses issues concerning youth, farmers, women, and other sections of society, with a focus on education, health, and internal party reforms.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has strongly criticised Aam Aadmi Party members who defected to the BJP, labelling them as 'traitors' and accusing the BJP of attempting to destabilise the AAP government in Punjab.
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.
Badal's mortal remains were taken to the family's farmland, around a kilometer from his residence, on a flower-decked tractor-trolley with his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and other family members standing with folded hands as the vehicle moved past the mourners on the route.
Pronouncing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the 'mistakes' committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday directed the senior Akali leader to perform as a 'sewadar', and wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
This election will decide in what shape and form the Akali Dal will survive.
The Punjab government has declared a holiday on Thursday as a mark of respect to the former chief minister.
Amarinder would hold the portfolios of General Administration, Personnel, Home Affairs and Justice, Vigilance and other departments not assigned to any other minister.
The merger was sealed on Friday during a meeting between Badal and Rahul at the latter's residence here where Singh and All India Congress Committee General Secretary Shakeel Ahmad were also present, they said.
It will be for the first time in three decades that the Badal family will have no representation in the 117-member Punjab assembly.
A loud sound was heard at around 1 am outside Kalia's residence near Shastri Market in Jalandhar, police said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.
The family has refused to perform the girl's final rites till the bus owners are booked.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
Badal, who served as the finance minister in the previous Congress government, said, "Seven years ago, I merged the People's Party of Punjab with your party. I did so with immense hope and an expectation of being integrated into an organisation with a rich history that would allow me to serve both the people of Punjab and its interests to the best of my ability."
Sources said the Telangana chief minister was busy with preparations for the launch of his ambitious Rs 80,000 crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project that would end water woes in the state, while in a letter to Modi, the West Bengal chief minister had expressed her inability to attend the Niti Aayog meeting on June 15, saying it is "fruitless" as the body has no financial powers to support state plans.
An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.
Nothing exemplifies this Sikh khundak (revenge) better than the fact that all the tallest names in the state lost their election to novices fielded by AAP.
Punjab has around 19.7 million voters, of whom 53% are below the age of 40 years.
Party chief Rahul Gandhi formed a nine-member Core Group Committee, a 19-member Manifesto Committee and a committee comprising 19 top party leaders who will look after the publicity during the elections.
Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to again visit poll-bound Gujarat from Saturday, said the government can't break the back of small and medium businesses, crush the informal sector and destroy millions of jobs.
Two gangsters, who were arrested in connection with singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case and lodged in the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, were killed in a clash among inmates on Sunday, police said.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to the new ministers, keeping 14 departments with himself and giving home affairs to deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and health to other deputy O P Soni.
In a blow to Punjab Congress, two of its senior leader resigned from the party and joined the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday.
'They are completely corrupt and have introduced a mafia culture which has seen one family control the entire resources of the state.'
Congressmen are watching carefully how Rahul positions himself and manage the grand old party, reports Aditi Phadnis.
The WEF meeting is crucial because of its theme encompassing globalisation at the time of rising nationalism and trade war, and the fourth industrial revolution due to rapid strides being made in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Experts have flagged issues regarding the levying of new cess/tax, especially those related to complications in administering the cess.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
Simpler GST structure will be key poll plank, Congress sources tell Archis Mohan.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
The ruling Congress on Wednesday swept the urban body polls in Punjab, winning six municipal corporations, emerging as the largest party in the seventh and bagging most of the 109 municipal council and nagar panchayats.
The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs spent the night in the state legislative assembly building demanding copies of the Bill which the state's Congress government is now expected to introduce on Tuesday.
Sidhu in a press conference on Friday had questioned the Channi-led state government over the steps taken for the delivery of justice in the cases of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and drug trafficking.
The Congress leader told reporters that the Punjab government is 'preparing to challenge the Bills in the apex court on two counts'. "First, it is a state subject and the Union government has no right to enact a legislation on it. "Besides, the federal government cannot destroy the economy of states. Due to the Bills, losses will be too much for a small state like Punjab," he said.
Controversial Punjabi singer Sidhu Mussewala, who joined the Congress sometime ago will contest from Mansa and actor Sonu Sood's sister Malvika Sood from Moga.
Here are some day's snippets of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections:
From a comedian to Punjab chief minister, Bhagwant Mann has seen a phenomenal rise in a political career of just over a decade.
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