What is to be done to resist the twin thrusts of the BJP's ideology, majoritarian and a strong centripetal instinct against federalism? asks Aakar Patel.
JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony in Ranchi, amid the presence of a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders. This is Soren's fourth stint as chief minister. The JMM-led alliance won a majority in the recent assembly polls, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly.
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.
Delhi BJP vice president Kapil Mishra hailed people for defying the cracker ban.
A panel of Union ministers will hold a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including loan waiver and bringing an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Some candidates in these two states have been provided security till the poll process ends.
It was only last month that Ranaut faced backlash for advocating the return of the three farm laws repealed in 2021.
The Punjab cabinet has approved the summoning of a special session of the assembly on September 22 to bring a confidence motion.
The Supreme Court on Friday said the plea seeking a policy for verification of electronic voting machines should go before the same bench that delivered a verdict in April rejecting the demand for bringing back the old paper ballots.
The BJP is willing to offer two Lok Sabha seats, including Baghpat which is currently represented by its MP Satya Pal Singh, to the RLD and may also give it a Rajya Sabha seat, they added.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
"What are her qualifications? She is just Sonu Sood's sister," Harjot Kamal said.
As Parliament gears up for a stormy start next week over the Adani issue, the government has listed 16 bills, including one to amend the waqf law and five new ones, for the winter session.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
Last month, the Channi government replaced the state's advocate general A P S Deol after strong opposition from Sidhu.
The leaders of the saffron party also posted their wishes and religious prayers for Modi on Twitter, using the hashtag "LongLivePMModi".
'He only promotes those leaders who will never show any resistance to him in future.'
Some farmer outfits on Friday threw their weight behind the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) woman constable who allegedly slapped actor and Bharatiya Janata Party MP-elect Kangana Ranaut, saying the entire sequence leading to the incident needs to be properly investigated.
While the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates for the remaining three seats.
'This can eventually start the end of the current market frenzy, which has lasted for a full year.'
However, the Army, in a statement, said since Singh's cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot injury, no guard of honour or military funeral was provided, in accordance with the existing policy.
The actor-politician said she must remember that she is not only an artiste but also a BJP member now and her statements should be in line with her party's policies.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's unexpected announcement on Sunday that he will resign after two days drew mixed reactions from parties, with some saying it was a compulsion due to bail restrictions on his functioning and others hailing it as a right call to go back to the people.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
Singh, 80, had floated the PLC last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister, but his party failed to win any seat in the state assembly polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also slammed Kejriwal's continuation as the chief minister of Delhi despite being under arrest, saying it is the most unfortunate moment in the country's political journey and the worst kind of politics.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
Panthic politics came easily to Parkash Singh Badal. But he was quick to abandon it when it became a problem, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Around a dozen Bharatiya Janata Party leaders confined to a house in Patiala's Rajpura for nearly 12 hours allegedly by protesting farmers were rescued early Monday following a late night Punjab and Haryana high court order to the state police.
"Unlike in UP, the governments of Punjab and Rajasthan are not denying that the girl was raped, threatening her family and blocking the course of justice. If they do, I will go there to fight for justice," he tweeted.
Pardeep Singh was shot in his dairy shop at around 7 am in Kotkapura in Faridkot, the police said, adding that his security man and another person sustained bullet injuries in the incident.
Boxer-cum-politician Vijender Singh has said he has no qualms about admitting that he has paid an emotional price for the decision to make a political switch from the Congress to the BJP, but insisted that he had his reasons to do so.
This is a challenge India's political establishment will have to face unitedly, without looking for electoral benefit, warns Vir Sanghvi.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Wednesday filed a complaint with the state director general of police, seeking a thorough probe into allegations of an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple its government.
The incumbent Congress could win only 18 seats, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi losing both seats he contested -- Chamkaur Sahib as well as Bhadaur.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday vacated the 6, Flagstaff Road residence to move to his new address in the Lutyens' Zone.
BJP leaders Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Ravneet Singh Bittu may be among the new faces in the Union council of ministers which will be sworn on Sunday evening along with Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.
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