The Maharashtra government is set to expand its cabinet on December 15 with 30-32 ministers taking the oath of office at a ceremony in Nagpur. The week-long winter session of the state legislature is scheduled to begin in Nagpur on December 16. The BJP-led government, which came to power after the November 20 assembly polls, has seen its fair share of twists and turns in the cabinet formation process. The BJP is likely to get 20-21 ministerial berths, followed by 11-12 for the Sena and 9-10 for the NCP.
Congress legislators will spend Thursday night inside the Karnataka legislative assembly and council, demanding the sacking of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and also that he be booked for sedition for his statement about the national flag.
An excerpt from a new book reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how Rabri Devi unexpectedly became the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1997, replacing Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted that the NDA government, led by him, put an end to frequent Hindu-Muslim clashes in the state by taking measures such as fencing graveyards and bringing to justice those involved in communal riots. He also criticized the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of lacking understanding and experience. Kumar's claims were met with anger and walkout by the opposition members.
The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament is likely to go down to 700 from 708 in the presidential polls scheduled in July due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kavinder Gupta was elected unanimously as Speaker of the 12th Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.
After an overnight dharna held by Bharatiya Janata Party members, the Rajasthan assembly was adjourned on Friday after scores of marshals grappled with opposition Members of Legislative Assembly, while trying to evict a suspended BJP legislator. As marshals jostled with opposition members to evict BJP chief whip R S Rathore, party MLA Bahadur Singh Koli got injured while his colleague Gulab Chand Kataria complained of chest pain.
This comes after 10 Kuki MLAs, cutting across party affiliations, had expressed their inability to attend the assembly session as violence in the northeastern state continued.
Veteran party leader Anil Vij will seek re-election from his Ambala Cantt stronghold.
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
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.
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.
Veteran Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Awadh Bihari Chaudhary was on Friday unanimously elected as speaker of the Bihar legislative assembly.
The Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first preference votes for its candidate Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to its ally Sena (UBT)'s nominee Narvekar, party sources said. Eventually, Satav got 25 and Narvekar 22 first preference votes, which meant at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted.
Taking cognizance of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's attack on Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi for taking his oath in Hindi, a local court has issued notices against party chief Raj Thackeray and four suspended party Members of Legislative Assembly.Chief Judicial Magistrate R R Badodiya issued notices on Wednesday against Raj Thackeray and four other MLAs -- Shishir Shinde, Ramesh Wanjale, Vasant Gite and Ram Kadam -- and asked them to appear before the court.
The vote value of an MLA is calculated on the basis of the total population of the state, based on the 1971 census.
Two Opposition Dravida Munettra Kazhagam members of Legislative Assembly were evicted from Tamil Nadu Assembly following a heated exchange of words with rival All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam legislators.
Veteran legislator Kodela Sivaprasada Rao has been unanimously elected as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation of the state.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
'This plan was never official. It was there secretly. It was by the high command.'
The Congress had on Saturday shifted its 14 MLAs to Jaipur fearing horse-trading by the ruling BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.
The last time when more than 200 MLAs were part of the state government was in 1972, but at that time all the 222 legislators belonged to Congress. Also, the strength of the House was 270 at that time, a former state legislature official said on Monday citing data.
The Assam Assembly on Thursday witnessed a noisy scene after Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rama Kanta Dewri alleged that women school teachers in Morigaon district are harassed by 'Bangladeshi Miya Muslims', leading to adjournment of the House. All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam objected to the ruling legislator's tone and language. The Speaker repeatedly asked Dewri to stick to the point and directly ask the supplementary question instead of raking up controversial issues.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured the newly elected legislative assembly on Monday that the Omar Abdullah government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state.
Opposition MLAs on Wednesday held a parallel assembly session chaired by RJD leader Bhudev Choudhary in the lawns of the Bihar Assembly, even as proceedings went on in the state legislature.
In a blistering attack on the BJP, Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the opposition party's 'Operation Lotus' to topple his government failed as it could not poach any of the AAP MLAs.
Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday.
Key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year, besides states from the North-East.
After Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram would go for polls this year.
The BJP, the AAP and the Congress had fielded six, five and three women candidates, but only Reena Kashyap of the BJP won the election.
They were suspended for misbehaviour and shouting slogans in the House.
Sarma said his government was looking forward to the legislation on the Uniform Civil Code, which will be considered during a special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly that is starting from February 5.
An alleged attack on a Marathi-speaking family by a government employee in Thane district sparked outrage in the Maharashtra Assembly, where the BJP-led government assured justice and condemned the incident. Opposition parties demanded immediate action against the accused, Akhilesh Shukla, and his wife, who have been arrested. The incident has raised concerns about discrimination against Marathi people and fueled tensions in the state.
The end of the last session of the 12th Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly on Thursday was as stormy as most of its tenure. Almost the entire opposition stormed the well of the House to disrupt the last statement of the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on the issue of separate Telangana state.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
In a shocking incident, a group of Members of Legislative Assembly on Tuesday beat up a policeman who had allegedly stopped the vehicle of Vasai MLA Kshitij Thakur on the Bandra-Worli sealink on Monday.The melee occurred outside the House at noon -- when a group of MLAs led by Thakur caught hold of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Suryavanshi and roughed him up.
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on December 5. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is considered the frontrunner for the chief minister's post, with the BJP having recorded its best-ever electoral performance in the state. The Mahayuti coalition includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011, was passed by voice vote along with some amendments brought by the government.
