The Odisha government on Wednesday hoped Maoists would soon name their negotiators for talks for release of Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka, a day after it invited them for parleys, even as intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was sought by mediators in the Italian captive's case.
After day-long talks with Odisha government representatives for release of the second Italian hostage, Maoist mediators on Monday said they expect a positive outcome on Tuesday even as abductors of a ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA demanded an immediate halt to combing operations and release of jailed ultras.
'You may be an MP or an MLA; when we go to Bengal, we go as cadre.'
Three days after being freed by Maoists, Odisha Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Sunday said the ultras are likely to release a fresh audio message which could clear the air over his possible resignation as a legislator.
Counting of votes will be held on Thursday for 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states where by-elections were held two days ago.
'India may well be a religious country, but that is precisely why we need to avoid criminalising blasphemy,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
CBI has registered three FIRs in West Bengal against Saradha group and 44 FIRs in Odisha against chit fund companies allegedly operating on the lines of Saradha.
With Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, results for 51 assembly and two Lok Sabha bypolls spread across 18 states were declared on Thursday. Here are state-wise results of the bypolls.
Is there more than meets the eye to Kitex Garments, the world's second-largest children's garment producer, abandoning Kerala for Telangana?
The April 11 polling will decide the fate of several political bigwigs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Complaints of electronic voting machine malfunctioning poured in from several booths on Tuesday during the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha polls which saw voters turning out in large numbers to cast their vote in 116 seats, including all constituencies of Gujarat and Kerala.
Here's a list of the full first-time ministers in the second term of the Narendra Modi government.
Social worker Rouble Nagi through her initiative 'Misaal Mumbai', has given a coat of lively colours to around 24,000 hutments across these slums.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
The 71-year-old Dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.
Congress candidate Gabriel Denwang Wangsu won the Kanubari Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh in a close contest defeating his lone rival Rongnai Maham of BJP by 885 votes in the October 15 by-poll.
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that "social distancing" was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 283 after 60 new cases were detected on Saturday, the highest so far in a day, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
'It is a ticking time bomb if the authorities don't come forward to help these hapless people.'
The results will be declared on July 20 in New Delhi.
Names of CMs of Punjab and Karnataka along with a former CM found mention in the list.
'All the animals -- buffaloes and dogs -- in the proximity of the factory are dead.' 'The situation is so serious that almost one lakh people from nearby localities have moved to safer places fearing the after-effects of the gas leak.' 'There is lot of panic.'
In the Narendra Modi-Shah masterminded regime, organisational elections have acquired the gravity, authority and colour of a national or state poll, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Cross-voting by Left and Congress MLAs on Friday helped Trinamool Congress gain an extra seat in West Bengal while a similar action by Congress MLAs in Andhra Pradesh saw the Telangana Rashtra Samithi making its debut in Rajya Sabha as high drama marked the polls to the upper House in the two states.
Four new governors -- three of whom are Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Tathagata Roy for Tripura and Draupadi Murmu for Jharkhand - have been appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
Archis Mohan decodes Bharatiya Janata Party's pre-presidential poll manoeuvres.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
The BJP, which has two MLAs in the MDA government, backed the Cabinet decision.
Greetings from all quarters, including his political rivals, poured in on Monday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who celebrated his 68th birthday in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.
Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
This time however, the poll panel did not share the overall polling percentage at its briefing.
'The D K Adikesavulu clan is so wealthy, owns so many houses, and has so much jewellery,' notes T V R Shenoy, 'that it did not notice a servant stealing at the rate of Rs 66 lakh every year!'
These four entrepreneurs are motivated by a passion to make a difference in the society.
Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.
Modi and Shah can't afford to lose any of the 24 per cent Dalit vote of 2014, says Shekhar Gupta.
A total of 126 votes, including four of Congress and one of CPI, were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 24, including 22 of Lalu Prasad led RJD, voted against the motion as BJP members staged a walkout before the vote.
Assam minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma who on Monday quit from the Tarun Gogoi cabinet said that he had been forced to take the step after the Congress leadership had repeatedly ignored the representations made by the rebel MLAs about the 'inefficient' handling of affairs by the chief minister.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances