Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
On May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
The North Eastern states of Mizoram and Meghalaya are making their colourful presence felt in markets across the country and abroad, thanks to the anthriums and roses produced by them. In Meghalaya, roses are cultivated by female gardeners who often belong to local self-help groups. The mass cultivation of roses and anthriums started in November 2002.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
The term of the Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura legislative assemblies is ending on March 6, March 13 and March 14 respectively.
In all there are 331 candidates from different political parties, including 73 Independents contesting election to 59 assembly constituencies. Election to constituency No 37 (Baghmara) has been postponed due to death of a candidate.
East Garo Hills deputy commissioner Pravin Bakshi said the army would move in shortly and curfew will remain in force in the affected areas. Curfew has also been clamped on areas in the Assam side by the Goalpara administration.
Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 25 seats in the 60-member assembly, has already elected Chief Minister D D Lapang as its Legislature Party leader and is expected to meet Governor S S Sidhu shortly to stake claim. The NCP, which won 14 seats, has combined with the 11-member United Democratic Party, a former ally of Congress, and the lone BJP member to form the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance to support its claim.
Defying a bandh called by militants in seven districts, 51 per cent of the over 15 lakh electorate cast their votes in the first five hours of polling to the 60-member Meghalaya assembly on Saturday. "Till 1:pm around 51 per cent of votes were cast out of the 15 lakh plus voters in the state," Chief Election Officer P Naik said.
An Indian Air Force transport carrier 'C-130J Super Hercules' with 20 Odisha Fire Services personnel onboard will provide help to the authorities in the East Jaintia Hills.
Here are some of the famous faces queued up to get ink mark on their fingers.
The data provided by the Association for Democratic Reforms states that out of thes 60 members of Legislative Assembly, 36 (or 60 per cent) are crorepatis.
Shortly after his predecessor J D Rymbai resigned earlier in the day, Lapang called on Governor M M Jacob and staked claim to form the ministry stating that he was elected the new Congress Legislature Party leader.
Two police constables in Meghalaya were forced to drink the urine of their fellow trainees by their instructor as punishment following a minor scuffle in the camp, official sources said today.
Sarma added that the oath-taking ceremony would take place on March 6.
In a retaliatory attack, the Border Security Force on Wednesday slammed the Meghalaya Government for not sharing information on movement of insurgents and also blamed it for poor progress of the Indo-Bangladesh border fencing.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma who is now out of the Nationalist Congress Party has formed Nationalist People's Party, a new political party in Meghalaya to contest the next round of Assembly elections in the northeastern hill State in early 2013.
Paving the way for formation of a popular government in Meghalaya, the Centre on Friday night decided to revoke the President's rule imposed in the state nearly two months back.
Gujarat has witnessed the steepest decline in the number of contestants in the fray for its 26 seats, from 371 five years ago to 266 in 2024.
Hours before the Nationalist Congress Party-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government faces a trust vote on the floor of the state assembly, Meghalaya Speaker B M Lanong on Monday night suspended five legislators, an action that is expected to help Chief Minister Donkupar Roy to win the trial of strength.
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
Government sources said Modi will also chair meetings to review the aftermath of the Cyclone Remal, especially in the north east region hit by natural disasters.
A high-level security review meeting held between senior police official of Assam and Meghalaya in Guwahati on Wednesday decided to launch joint operation against marauding Garo National Liberation Army militants. The ultras have killed 12 people, including five policemen and seven villagers on both sides of the inter-state boundary since Sunday.
The Solicitor General had told the bench that several members of the National Disaster Response Force were working at the site and instead of the army, the government has sent navy personnel there as the mine was submerged in water.
The rains after arriving over Kerala will quickly cover Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but then might slacken a bit, which could delay its arrival over Northwest India.
A 17-year-old soccer player from Shillong who returned from England last week, has been detected to be suffering from H1N1 virus infection, according to test report received by Shillong Civil Hospital authority from a Kolkata lab, on Tuesday.
If 74.9 per cent of NRI voters are from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh at 6.4 per cent, Maharashtra at 4.7 per cent, Tamil Nadu and Telangana at 2.9 per cent each follow way behind.
However, the National Disaster Response Force, which has been engaged in the rescue operation since the day of the tragedy on December 13 last, will continue with their services.
The Donkupar Roy-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government on Tuesday survived a trust vote with Speaker B M Lanong voting in its favour in the Meghalaya assembly. The Speaker cast his vote when there was a tie in the 60-member House. Four of the five legislators, who were suspended by the Speaker and barred from attending the house, were present and cast their votes. The Speaker announced that their votes were invalid as they had been suspended.
Nongriat, in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, is one of India's most challenging non-motorable polling stations.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar on Saturday met representatives from various NGOs in Meghalaya, in an attempt to acquire their consent for uranium mining in the state.In view of the opposition to uranium mining by various NGOs and at least two political parties the Hill State People's Democratic Party and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement the state government had earlier constituted two expert committees to study the possible impact of mining.
Meghalaya police on Wednesday handed over the body of 25-year-old Christina Reed, a tourist in India from the United Kingdom, to her father Scot Robert Reed. Reed was swept away while she was swimming in Umkynsan River at Sohra (Cherrapunjee) along with her two companions on Saturday.
Nearly 100 Raj Bhavan staff petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee, the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking their intervention to remove the Governor and restore the dignity of Raj Bhavan.
Pranati Deka had entered the country from Bangladesh by crossing the Brahmaputra River in a boat and was travelling to Mankachar in Dhubri district (in Assam) when she was nabbed along with her accomplice.
The two are Executive Engineer of State Public Works Department Jatrindra Bhattacharjee and Deputy Inspector of Schools P K Hajong.
The Left Front retained its bastion Tripura while the Naga People's Front in Nagaland and Congress in Meghalaya are set to return to power in the northeast states where counting of votes was taken up on Thursday.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
The latest extension will allow Bhalla to stay in the post during the general elections due early next year.
