The Haryana victory will be a morale booster for the Bharatiya Janata Party and increase its bargaining power in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, according to political analysts.
Sonia Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief, mourned the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling him a "friend, philosopher and guide." She described him as the epitome of wisdom, nobility and humility, whose contributions to India's progress and development are immeasurable. She also said that Singh's passing is a deeply personal loss and he was loved by the people of India for his pure heart and fine mind.
In a resolution adopted at the ongoing 20th Congress of the party in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the CPI strongly condemned 'the divisive anti-national agitation started by MNS and other forces' in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra.
However, the AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the SC committee has limited terms of reference and 'cannot bring out the deep nexus between' the prime minister and the billionaire businessman.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party are contesting the polls on a 40:20 seat-sharing basis.
Key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year, besides states from the North-East.
Even non-partisan observers are saying the Congress and INDI alliance are not making any significant effort to campaign on the ground, he said.
'We should be mindful that the religious minority community in one country is the majority in another (and) so treatment of the minority community in our respective countries will be an important variable in our relationship'
Both candidates have shifted from their traditional constituencies - Sadhotra from Marh and Sharma from Akhnoor - after these two segments were reserved for Scheduled Castes.
As the United States focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its 'downward trend of democratic values and institutions', said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service has come to an end.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused his successor, Narendra Modi, of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls, Singh asserted that only the Congress can ensure a growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and the Constitution will be safeguarded.
Donald Trump's exaggerated opinion of his dealmaking capacity can get him into trouble, observes R Sriram.
"If you see in the context of alliances and statistics, then this is the strongest alliance government," Modi said while addressing newly-elected MPs and leaders of the NDA from across the country following his election as leader of the ruling bloc ahead of his government's swearing-in on Sunday.
A heated debate erupted in the Rajya Sabha over the ongoing strike by ASHA workers in Kerala, with Congress and CPI(M) MPs trading accusations over responsibility for addressing their demands for a higher honorarium and post-retirement benefits. Congress MP Jebi Mather alleged that both the Kerala government and the Union government had ignored the workers' pleas, while CPI(M) MP John Brittas countered by claiming Kerala provides the highest honorarium to ASHA workers. The debate also saw demands for an AIIMS in Kerala and a hike in MBBS seats, as well as concerns over maternal health, elderly care, and mental health in India.
Dubey visited the party headquarters at Trikuta Nagar in Jammu this evening and posed with Sharma and other senior leaders of the party, which the BJP termed as a move to show the "unity and the strength of the organisation".
The vehicle, a Tavera, was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and it fell into a 300-foot gorge at the Battery Cheshma area of the district around 1.15 am, they said.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The opposition parties on Sunday slammed the move to hire public servants through lateral entry, claiming it will snatch reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, but the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back stating the National Democratic Alliance government was bringing transparency to this mode of recruitment started by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
There are states that could swing either way and change the results of the 2024 general election.
The Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan on Wednesday said there was room for a credible alternative of Left and secular parties in the country to fill the "political vacuum" created by people's rejection of the two alliances led by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent Assembly elections.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
Ahead of the crucial third round of discussions, the opposition INDIA bloc on Wednesday exuded confidence that it would provide a formidable alternative to bring political change in the country and asserted that it has several prime ministerial faces against BJP's only one.
Announcing that a district-wide bandh was being organised in protest against the killing, Chaudhary said that if no headway is made in the investigation within 48 hours, there will be a state-wide stir.
'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Maldives Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim called on Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu to formally apologize to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India, Voice of Maldives, a Maldivian digital news outlet, reported.
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister of State BL Verma expressed concern over the situation in Bangladesh and said the government is closely monitoring it. Addressing a Rozgar Mela in Jammu, he lauded the BSF for its role in safeguarding India's borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan. He also responded to questions on the Samajwadi Party's controversial statement labelling the BJP government as a "Hindu terrorist organisation", the Congress's allegations of EVM fraud, and Rahul Gandhi's call for a caste census.
'...he keeps his campaign promises, does what he said he will do which led to his huge victory.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
The senior Paswan sought an appointment and waited for more than three months but Rahul Gandhi did not relent, said Chirag Paswan, who at that time too was keen to leave the UPA and join the National Democratic Alliance.
Political pundits unanimously suggest that the state is not experiencing a discernible Gandhi wave this time around.
Harris, 59, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Thursday to take on Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the November 5 election.
They met at Modi's residence in New Delhi a day after the NDA won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for him to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.
While accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night, Biden said in Delaware that "united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America."
Regional parties currently outside the ambit of both United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance will hold the key to formation of next government at the Centre in 2014 with BJP-led alliance projected well ahead of the ruling UPA headed by Congress, an election survey has predicted.
