As Gujarat braces for an election this year, it would be interesting to see the donations received by the political parties in the state, and the list of candidates who have a criminal background, says Vicky Nanjappa
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
With some variations, all regional political formations, whether in power presently or out of it, share some common features: Tight family control of the political apparatus, key members in elected or appointed positions, obvious wealth but not quite known sources of income, and family factionalism, sometimes open and bitter, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Hoping that the 14th Prime Minister will provide clean and exemplary governance, the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms wrote to the Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, requesting him not to induct those who had criminal cases registered against them into Parliament and his Cabinet.
In an election where every seat will matter, micro-strategising is going to be the order of the day. And in such a situation, party infighting - in all parties --could lead to unpredictable results.
Tabled by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, the legislation will reverse the effect of the Supreme Court verdict in May that gave the Delhi government power over administrative services.
'...despite not being ideologically aligned with a vast section of the people of the north east.' 'But the results in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya show that no party, including the BJP, can say that it has really done well.'
'You know the kind of force involved in all of this. They are not good for the country where all of this will happen.'
His disqualification to participate in future elections may follow, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
'My friend scored higher than me in the 12th exam, but he could not clear NEET because his parents could not pay the fees for private coaching.'
Will the new Congress government implement the five 'guarantees' that helped it in part to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in toto or will they now add a "conditions apply" clause?
Check to see how!
'For the first time since I've been following Indian politics, one heard voters talking about India's role on the world stage and the fact that, due to Modi's leadership, India was once again a great power.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party chief also said that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months.
The rising pitch of road shows and long rallies with hectoring pitches seem to have exhausted and numbed the audiences, rather than motivating them to vote for the party, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
In winning a seventh term, the BJP also matched the Left Front's feat in West Bengal.
"Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton represent the values and ideals of America." "After long quarrels, it is finally getting close to being over." George Joseph hears from voters.
Will Annamalai's attacks on the DMK revert the anti-BJP feeling in Tamil Nadu, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Maoists want the tribals to boycott the election while the police think the election is a farce and do not want to risk going deeper in the conflict zone.' 'Newton (played with sincerity and deep felt passion by Rajkummar Rao) wants to make sure that the locals cast their vote, a right given to them by the Constitution.'
Dr Arsalan Khalid had worked as the focal person for Khan on the digital media team since 2019.
The DMK leadership may now have to deal with a demand for more seats from its Congress ally in the Lok Sabha polls, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Many times when Khalistan slogans are raised, it is from those who feel alienated, not because they want a separate state.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 30 of the total 50 seats in the region in the 2018 assembly polls, followed by Congress 17, Janata Dal-Secular 2, and others (KPJP-Shankar) 1.
The average assets of an MP are now 345.8 times that of an annual income of a tax-filing individual, reports Sachin P Mampatta.
'The number of candidates in Karnataka with a criminal background has come down by five per cent when compared to the 2004 election,' says Professor Trilochan Sastry of Karnataka Election Watch.
'I'm pitching India for the strengths we offer, including the English language, engineers, doctors, nurses, professionals, innovative talent of startups.'
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pakistan's Election Commission on Friday disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan for five years in the Toshakhana case for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders.
Indian Cricket Board feel that President-elect Sourav Ganguly's cordial relations with both players and officials in Bangladesh cricket might help in salvaging the situation.
'The great wheel of democracy has turned full circle, and it feels just like being back in 2014, but with less hope that someone out there is going to save us from ourselves,' points out Mitali Saran.
Pawar also announced a panel of senior party leaders to draw a future course of action. Party workers and leaders, however, demanded that Pawar withdraw his decision.
'It promises to get much, much darker before the dawn.' 'But at least dawn has a fighting chance,' says Mitali Saran.
Amid slogan shouting by MPs from the Trinamool Congress, the Congress and other opposition parties from the Well of the House, Modi began replying to the debate on the motion thanking the President for her address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session, and accused the Congress of adopting only 'tokenism' to solving problems the country faced.
As many as 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases of crime against women.
The coming year will be one that will test sabka vishwas to the utmost, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
The video sparked a debate on social media about the reporter's line of questioning.
'Teaching lessons is the objective behind every school.' 'For the moment, a state seems intent to teach a lesson -- that students of Classes 4, 5 and 6 can wage war against the mighty Indian nation,' says Krishna Prasad.
'Just because a subject is uncomfortable for some and doesn't suit their political ideology, should a film not be made?'
The BJP has the maximum number of such politicians.
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