The West Bengal state Election Commission on Monday moved the Calcutta high court appealing that the Panchayat election date notified by the state government be rejected.
Murshidabad district alone accounted for 18 deaths, mostly in clashes and bomb attacks between Congress and CPI-M supporters on Sunday, with Chief Medical Officer (Health) M G Mondal confirming 11 deaths at Domkol, two each in Raninagar, Lalgola and Kandi and one at Sagardighi. District Magistrate Subir Bhadra said one CPI-M activist was killed and another injured in an armed clash with Congress workers at Rezinagar, 40 km off Berhampore, on Monday morning.
The party, which gained the most in the polls, was the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Ignoring the separatists' call for boycott, residents of Qoimoh block in south Kashmir on Wednesday turned out in numbers to cast votes in the first phase of panchayat elections, which are being held in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 10 years.
The first phase of the multi-phased Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir is set to get underway on Wednesday morning, offering another opportunity to the electorate of the state to choose their representatives at the local level.
The top court also directed the SEC not to declare those candidates who have won unopposed as winners.
Kerala on Monday became the first state to adopt a water budget in a bid to come up with a solution to water scarcity in certain regions there. The first phase of the project would cover 94 gram panchayats and 15 block panchayats. The Public Water Budget was released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, along with the launch of the third phase of the Ini Njan Ozhukatte (Let me flow now) project, for the rehabilitation of irrigation networks in the Western Ghats.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
'Everyone knows there is no point in contesting elections from Gujarat as a Congress candidate because they know they will be wiped out.'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and the West Bengal government seeking their response on how to meet the requirement of security personnel for conduct of panchayat elections in the state.
The Left-Congress alliance won 19 out of 19 seats which is significant ahead of the panchayat polls.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said there was no battle going on between him and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on security for sarpanches and empowering of panchayats.
If the government can act against sympathisers of Naxalites, it should act against khap sympathisers too, Supreme Court advocate Kamini Jaiswal tells Sreelatha Menon
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the committee as a special invitee, while legal affairs secretary Niten Chandra will be secretary to the panel.
Polling will be held on November 17, 20, 24, 27 and 29 and December 1, 4, 8 and 11 from 8 am to 2 pm.
Jarange had also claimed that a poisoning attempt was made against him through saline, though he did not elaborate on it.
Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com travels to Pullampara to discover how it became India's first digital literate village.
As the final five phases of polls draw closer, rift among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners, Congress-Left combine and the Trinamool Congress, which are fighting separately has intensified, triggering a fierce contest across half of the remaining 36 constituencies in West Bengal driven by local issues such as Sandeshkhali and the SSC scam.
The party also promised reservation to minorities on basis of their population after the caste census.
Two persons were killed and nearly 30 others injured in incidents of violence during the second phase of panchayat elections in Rajasthan, the police said on Sunday. In Kot village, old rivalry led two communities to clash and open fire, killing one man and injuring at least 15 people.
'India has the largest slate of local original content outside the US.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has made a "solemn promise" for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and will stand by it, adding the Centre was working very hard to create the right conditions.
With many of his close associates leaving his side, it is virtually a lone battle for Congress stalwart Kamal Nath to help his parliamentarian son Nakul Nath win from Chhindwara for a second time amid the Bharatiya Janata Party's aggressive push to wrest the seat.
'Wrong feedback was given against Parasji to the top BJP leadership in New Delhi by a senior BJP leader, who is also a Union minister from Bihar.' 'He deliberately provided wrong information about the RLJP to the BJP leadership to help Chirag Paswan.'
Fourteen priests, including 'sevaks' (assistants), were injured in a fire that broke out in the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Monday during 'bhasma aarti', an official said.
A record number of 634 sportspersons were on Friday cleared by the Sports Ministry to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, surpassing the 572 athletes in the last edition of continental showpiece in Jakarta in 2018.
However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government.
The former chief minister was speaking at 'Vidhik Vimarsh 2023', a gathering of lawyers organised by the state Congress's Legal and Human Rights Cell in Bhopal.
Bajrang Punia along with the protesting wrestlers are stepping up their efforts to gather support in their fight against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan.
The first phase of the crucial panchayat polls in West Bengal will begin on Thursday even as the ruling Trinamool Congress kept up its attack against the State E1lection Commission.
A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
The All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference on Monday threatened to stage a sit-in outside the prime minister's residence if the state government failed to provide security to panches and sarpanches who are facing threats.
Bajrang Punia said they were ready to sacrifice medals as delivering justice to the victims would be their biggest medal.
Saifuddin Laskar (47), TMC area president of Bamungachi area in Joynagar was shot dead from close range near his house by miscreants when he went out to offer prayers in the morning, the police said.
BRS spokesperson Sravan Dasoju, speaking to PTI, expressed confidence KCR would win from both the constituencies with a thumping majority.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, state BJP president C P Joshi and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav welcomed them into the party at its state headquarters in Jaipur.
Hundreds of rural women who gathered to collect forms for a newly announced government scheme in Jorhat district of Assam left their queues to greet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was leading the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' through the area on Thursday.
The heinous rape of a 10-year old Dalit girl in Jharkhand allegedly on the diktat of a panchayat head had its echo in Rajya Sabha on Friday with the entire House demanding stringent punishment to the culprits, forcing the government to promise necessary action.
Nineteen people have been killed so far and a central minister attacked in pre-poll violence.
