Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has criticized the Congress party's objections to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), echoing the BJP's stance that questioning the machines' integrity is only acceptable when losing elections. Abdullah argues that parties should not contest elections if they don't trust the voting process. His comments highlight the growing friction between the National Conference and the Congress, their recent alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir.
India's D. Gukesh and China's Ding Liren settled for a draw in the eighth round of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship remained deadlocked as the 10th game between Indian challenger D. Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China ended in yet another draw on Saturday in Singapore.
Asked if the party would approach the court for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, the NC leader said, "I do not want to get into that right now."
Omar Abdullah will have to negotiate at every step with the lieutenant governor's office and the Modi government at the Centre.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
The former chief minister said if there was any danger of his losing from Budgam, then his party colleagues would not have allowed him to contest from Budgam.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana, brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, died on Thursday at a private hospital in Haryana's Faridabad. He was 59.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday chose party leader Surender Choudhary from Nowshera in Jammu as his deputy, saying he did so to give a voice to people of the region and make his government inclusive.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
The National Conference on Sunday ruled out joining the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and dismissed as baseless a media report in this regard.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Amit Thackeray and his Shiv Sena rival Sada Sarvankar on Wednesday came face-to-face outside the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai where both of them shook hands.
Both candidates have shifted from their traditional constituencies - Sadhotra from Marh and Sharma from Akhnoor - after these two segments were reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Asserting that Article 370 is a thing of the past, Shah stated that no one can bring it back.
Once a trusted lieutenant of the former National Conference president Omar Abdullah and his political advisor during his tenure as chief minister, Rana holds considerable sway among Muslims, particularly the Gujjar community in Jammu.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
D Gukesh paid dearly for unwarranted complications in the middle game, allowing defending champion Ding Liren of China to clinch the opening game
"Give up arms and come for talks or our forces will hunt you down," the home minister said in election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last month, Dr Farooq Abdullah announced that he would step down as president of the National Conference in December, saying it is time to hand over the mantle to the new generation.
The Congress is fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and has fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party. Additionally, the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have each been allocated one seat while both the Congress and NC had a 'friendly contest' on five seats.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
The election campaign was one of the most vitriolic in the state, but you would not have guessed it from the smiles and selfies from the politicians.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
The second, fourth, fifth and sixth games had ended in draws.
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, the youngest player ever to qualify for the World Chess Championship, held defending champion Ding Liren to a draw in their fourth-round encounter in Singapore on Friday.
Abdullah issued a white paper on development undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of "Abdullah and Sons" -- as Shah referred the family in his speech at a rally in Baramulla district -- to counter the allegations of corruption.
At least three MLAs were marshalled out on the directions of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather but the brawl ensued due to resistance put up by the opposition members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of making attempts to snatch reservations meant for tribals and hand them over to its 'vote bank'.
Sawant, MP of Mumbai South, claimed that his remark was being misinterpreted, while Shaina, who is contesting from Mumbadevi assembly seat in the city, said it showed the mentality of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
The sixth game of the World Chess Championship between India's D Gukesh and China's Ding Liren ended in a draw.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's power to nominate five members to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was at the centre of a political and legal debate on the eve of vote count, with the Congress and regional parties the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party on Monday opposing any such move during government formation.
The second phase of the three phase Jammu and Kashmir elections will be held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
National Conference leader Mohammed Akbar Lone on Tuesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court reiterating his oath as Lok Sabha MP, saying he will preserve and uphold the Constitution and protect the country's territorial integrity, an undertaking that irked the Centre which claimed it added "insult to injury to the nation".
'I am happy that the people of north Kashmir burst the bubble of Modi's naya' Kashmir'
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday invited National Conference leader Omar Abdullah to take oath as first chief minister of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 16.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has cleared a resolution passed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led cabinet urging the Centre to restore the statehood to the Union territory, officials said on Saturday.
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