The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance released its manifesto for the February 20 Punjab polls on Saturday, promising a slew of sops for various sections, including 75 per cent reservation in all government jobs for youngsters from the state, an unemployment allowance, 35 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and massive infrastructure development.
She alleged that the ED has become a "political tool" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress won one seat each in the bypolls to Patiala (urban) and Talwandi Sabo Assembly seats on Monday but the Aam Aadmi Party finished a poor third.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
There are reports that the government may try to physically prevent opposition members and nearly two dozen PTI dissidents from reaching the Parliament House through protestors.
Amid cross-voting, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, defeating ruling Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi, officials said.
Gearing up for the upcoming state assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Partyon Wednesday named its organisational spearheads for the elections, putting Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav in charge for the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur respectively.
A special session of the Kerala Assembly is being convened on Wednesday to discuss the three contentious central farm laws and pass a resolution against the acts, whose repeal is being insisted by farmers agitating at the borders of Delhi for nearly a month.
Some media reports claimed he may meet some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Delhi after which Amarinder Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral sought to clarify the reason for his visit.
If the party is unable to do well in Gujarat and Karnataka polls, it could lose this status in the subsequent binneial elections to the upper House.
A resurgent Delhi Capitals will look to exploit Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling vulnerabilities and ascend to top-four in the table during their Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on Monday.
Justice BV Nagarathna said she had to dissent against the demonetisation move by the central government as in 2016, when the decision was announced, the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes comprised 86 per cent of the total currency notes in circulation, and 98 per cent of it came back after they were banned.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who have not been on the same page over certain appointments, Tuesday said they will work with each other and fight the upcoming polls together, according to party MLAs.
A large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf candidates had contested as independents after the ECP had snatched the former prime minister Imran Khan-led party of its iconic cricket bat symbol.
A senior party leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that there is a possibility of a reshuffle in the Punjab cabinet 'to reduce the impact of anti-incumbency'.
The bypolls were conducted for two Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, one each in Meghalaya and Odisha and the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab.
Navjot Singh Sidhu quit as the Punjab PCC chief, triggering other resignations and plunging the party into a fresh crisis just months ahead of the assembly elections.
Kumar has denied arranging any meeting between former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and the Dera Sacha Sauda sect head.
Addressing public rallies at Barnala chowk and Bhawanigarh in Sangrur, the chief minister vowed to do whatever it takes to protect the farmers and the state from the 'devastating' effects of the 'black laws'.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley while releasing the document said BJP's manifesto is particularly aimed at improving the social infrastructure in Punjab, even as he slammed Congress for its policies which he alleged paved way for militancy in Punjab in 1980s and termed its 2002-2007 tenure in power as "most dishonest and corrupt".
A case was registered against Sood under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code on Sunday in Moga district, according to an FIR.
Often credited with his party's victory in the 2012 assembly polls, now 59, he became the youngest chief of the Shiromani Akali Dal, when he was elevated to the post in 2008.
The decision to roll back the farm laws will go a long way in placating the community, which had backed the saffron party wholeheartedly in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls besides the 2017 assembly polls, and may queer the opposition's pitch for forging a social alliance of Jats and several smaller communities with Muslims, another numerically strong group in the region, against the BJP, its leaders hope.
The latest parole to the Dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping his two disciples, comes three months after he was granted a similar parole.
The Supreme Court, examining whether states can sub-classify Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for grant of quota inside quota, on Wednesday said all SCs and STs may not be homogeneous in terms of their sociological, economic, education and social status.
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.
Mann said he took the decision after learning that the minister was allegedly demanding one percent commission for tenders.
The Congress national general secretary was responding to a question on Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanath remarks that there might be a rift between Priyanka and Rahul.
'I have faced 18 hours of darkness daily all my life.'
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday night could not have come at a worse time for the Aam Aadmi Party, which is already grappling with the absence of its top leadership from action.
Creating a positive reform that does away with an official who constitutes a flawed aspect of Indian democracy will allow the BJP to rightfully claim this as one of its positive legacies, suggests Karan P Shah.
Such is the situation of the government in Punjab, the prime minister said while hitting out the Congress, and asserted that he will come to Jalandhar again and pay obeisance at the Devi Talab Mandir.
As state-level leaders tried to placate Sidhu, he made it clear through the video that he was in no mood to budge on his 'principles'.
The National Conference is a part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and will continue to be, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said it is in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
With the Sharif family set to return to power in Pakistan amid the fast-deteriorating economic situations and political instability, it is to be seen if Shehbaz Sharif infuses fresh energy into the system, or the much-tainted family continues to resort to its old ways.
Slogans of 'Shaheed Amar Rahe' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' rent the air as military vehicles carrying the mortal remains of the three soldiers reached their respective villages. Anti-Pakistan slogans were also raised.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
Top Punjabi singers have descended into the electoral scene in Punjab, courtesy political parties seeking to cash in on their popularity to woo voters.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday adopted a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw three contentious farm laws, against which farmers have been holding protests outside Delhi for months.
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