The challenges will be the real test of Mehbooba's leadership qualities and political acumen as she does not enjoy her father's stature and vast political experience.
The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly.
The biggest electoral upset in the state was witnessed in Anantnag with National Conference candidate and former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi defeating former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Development economist Jean Dreze said the Indian democracy is currently navigating a crisis that is not only limited to the 'recent wave of authoritarianism' but also suppression of opposition voices by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
A suitable non-Congress candidate from a regional party could help influence even some of the NDA allies like the Shiv Sena and the Janata Dal-United to vote for a consensus Opposition candidate, reports Archis Mohan.
In first signs of ending the over a month-long impasse with regard to government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Madhav on Wednesday held formal talks with Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti during a brief visit in Srinagar.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth are set to be invited to Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
Tharoor's social media post condoling Musharraf's demise evoked a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party which accused the Congress of "Pakistan parasti (worshipping)".
'If the Pawars are so powerful, then why are they scared of me?'
In financial year 2020-21, the BJP declared assets worth Rs 4,990 crore, up by 21.17 per cent to Rs 6,046.81 crore in 2021-22.
Addressing a gathering of around 6,000 in-charges of 'Shakti Kendras,' each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive, the prime minister said that Kerala has the potential to influence who will be in power in Delhi.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
Nadda also claimed that the opposition in Bihar as well as elsewhere has become a "spent force" and asserted that the BJP is the only party which is being looked at by people with hope.
'They were very vocal on the defence of the Constitution, reservation, SC/ST Act and democratic rights.'
As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
'Met him this morning and sought his blessings'
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
She defeated her nearest rival, Hilal Ahmad Shah of the Congress party by 12,085 votes. Mehbooba polled 17,701 votes.
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
A new theme song for the INDIA bloc will be released.
Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Monday said his party is ready for a "street fight and a legal battle", ahead of the crucial hearing in the Supreme Court against the disqualification notice issued by the Maharashtra Assembly's deputy speaker to rebel party MLAs.
'We have finished that fear.'
'I am shocked that the BJP makes so many commitments. What did they deliver as the NDA?'
The original suggestion was to call it 'Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance', but the word 'democratic' was replaced with 'developmental' after Kumar and Yechury raised some objections saying it sounded too similar to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sources said.
The editorial in Saamana said the "Wagner group" has shown dictatorship can be challenged.
"It (JK) is not a political issue as far as I can see. They have been barking up the wrong tree for the last 50 or 70 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in search for itself," Drabu had said at an event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on Friday.
He accused the Apni Party, led by former People's Democratic Party leader Altaf Bukhari, and the union territory administration of using coercive tactics to buy loyalties of newly elected DDC members.
The petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms alleged that two political parties -- Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have violated the Representation of People's Act, 1951 and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by taking donations from government companies and foreign sources, which is prohibited under both legislations.
The Shinde faction, which is now named as 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena', will be able to use the symbol for the Andheri East assembly bypoll, should it decide to contest the election scheduled for November 3.
The Congress has consciously contested on a lesser number of seats in this Lok Sabha election as part of a strategy to keep the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) together and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said.
Ahead of the Parliament session, beginning Monday, the government is apparently aiming to build a consensus to deal with its biggest neighbour as well on Kashmir issue.
'For politicians, winning the next election has become more important than economic stability of the country and broader national interest.'
A day after the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government assumed power in Jammu and Kashmir, a group of lawmakers from the Kashmiri party demanded that the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict be handed over to the family.
When it comes to the Congress and Wayanad, the only way the scepticism in the minds of some in Kerala may be addressed is by the Gandhi family proving that they are more than a passing caravan in town, reports Shyam G Menon.
Dominic Xavier wonders why the Bisht government in UP is so terrified of democratic protest that it has to resort to draconian measures at every turn.
Harivansh, a Janata Dal-United MP, is likely to get the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said.
Neglect of older dedicated workers who worked without the urge for recognition by the new age social media-aided selfie powered activists was also evident in the poll results, it said.
Veteran Congress leader and former Defence Minister A K Antony said on Tuesday that his son, Anil K Antony, who is contesting as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, should not win the election.
Taking a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had upped the pressure on National Democratic Alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party by asking for advance announcement of the prime ministerial candidate, party senior leader Yashwant Sinha on Thursday said those people playing caste politics cannot become flag bearers of secularism.
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