In January, Nitish Kumar assured the Rajputs that he has been making efforts to release Anand Mohan from jail.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
With the second list, the total number of candidates declared by the Congress went up to 83 out of the total of 90.
Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav on Wednesday visited the native village of jailed criminal-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, a former MP serving life sentence in a murder case, to seek blessings of his mother for the Lok Sabha polls.
Several states declared a holiday for schools, while government offices, other establishments and public sector banks remained closed for half a day.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's controversial brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav has been given a pride of place in the publicity committee of the Congress in poll-bound Bihar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday picked first-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma as Rajasthan's new chief minister, ending days of speculation that followed its victory in the assembly polls.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dressed in traditional finery, Muslims across India offered prayers at mosques and eidgahs on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr on Thursday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramzan.
Addressing a rally in the Balpur area in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers' protest for his arrest and chose to target the Congress over the Emergency, Ram temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
Upset about being snubbed by INDIA, Nitish Kumar is weighing his political options. BJP would like him back knowing that it would jolt the Opposition alliance, perhaps irreversibly.
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).
The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Bhole Baba.
A mosque committee member said it is waiting for the Supreme Court ruling on the matter but till then it will cooperate with the district court.
'Divine experience and a proud moment' is how the 15 couples who were the 'mukhya yajman' for the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya described the grand event and said that the day will be forever etched in their memories.
The order for Mohan's release follows the cabinet nod for amending the prison rules under which, previously, those involved in serious cases like the killing of a government servant could not be released even after the elapse of 14 years.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has invited acclaimed mountaineer Santosh Yadav to be the chief guest at its annual Dussehra function in Nagpur.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
The court also directed for completion of the survey by May 17 and submission of its report, Abhay Nath Yadav, who is representing the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, said.
The Kirti Chakra awardees are Major Digvijay Singh Rawat of 21st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), Major Deependra Vikram Basnet from the Sikh Regiment's fourth battalion and Havildar Pawan Kumar Yadav from the 21st battalion of the Mahar Regiment, according to the defence ministry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
A revolt by 22 MLAs had led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in March 2020.
Roundup for Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday
A general knowledge competition based on the 'Ramayana' will be organised at national and international levels, an official statement on Sunday said quoting the minister.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
The home ministry on Thursday announced the Padma awards which included five Padma Bhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri.
'It's not really going to bring about purity in the election process.'
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
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.
Among the eight secretaries are Bansuri Swaraj, former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana's son Harish Khurana and Imprit Singh Bakshi.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
The Banaras Bar Association and Central Bar Association, Varanasi had decided to boycott work as they were upset over the remarks of a Special Secretary against lawyers because of which the hearing did not take place in the court, according to advocate Abhay Yadav, representing the Muslim side in the case.
It dropped sitting MP from Guna, Krishnapal Singh Yadav, to field Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from the seat.
Thakur's tenure as chief minister is best remembered for implementation of the recommendations of the Mungeri Lal Commission, whereby quotas for backward classes were introduced in the state in 1978. This panel was the forerunner of the Mandal Commission. Both Mungeri Lal and B P Mandal were from Bihar, which has a long history of socialist struggles.
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the deadly 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons on Wednesday jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouted slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the House.
