Counting began at 8 am under multi-tier security cover. At first, postal ballots will be counted and then EVMs opened.
SS Randhawa mentioned Modi's statement 'ghar me ghus ke marenge' and asked how did the Pulwama terror attack take place then.
CM Amarinder Singh said the Centre would have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it had to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing it. He also made it clear that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old parameters and the new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the NPR would not be included.
By comparing I.N.D.IA. with banned terror outfits, Modi has exhibited the kind of nervousness never ever associated with him even at the height of the Gujarat riots, and certainly since his prime ministerial days, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's residence in New Delhi and extended 'complete support' to him in the Aam Aadmi Party government's ongoing tussle with the Centre over the control of administrative services.
An adverse outcome against the BJP in UP can well be taken into its stride by the ruling combine at the Centre, argues Virendra Kapoor.
'It will impact the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.'
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the National Democratic Alliance-ruled state and see the condition of farmers with his own eyes.
The Manipur violence issue rocked both houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Monsoon session on Thursday with opposition members creating uproar, demanding a discussion on the situation in the Northeastern state.
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
The BJP on the other hand is in power in 16 states in the country.
"The timing of the attack, methodology and location are all eerily similar to attacks in the border belt of Jammu," said Abdullah.
Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away in New Delhi on Wednesday. He was 92.
Prashant Kishor expressed the view that the recent 'chintan shivir' could not achieve "anything meaningful".
Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
Yet to come to terms with the poll drubbing, knives are out in the Congress state units against Prithviraj Chavan, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Tarun Gogoi and Partap Singh Bajwa as there's a gradual crescendo seeking their resignations. Anita Katyal reports.
Sidhu was in Patiala to take part in a protest against inflation when the Supreme Court verdict came in.
Ahead of the crucial third round of discussions, the opposition INDIA bloc on Wednesday exuded confidence that it would provide a formidable alternative to bring political change in the country and asserted that it has several prime ministerial faces against BJP's only one.
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
'It's not that the Opposition has to search for common ground.' 'The government is handing the common ground to the Opposition.'
A court in Varanasi on Monday convicted gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari in the murder of Congress leader Awadhesh Rai more than 30 years ago.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is Leader of the House, moved a resolution in the assembly saying that his state is facing "crisis of water" and does not have even one drop to share with others.
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.
The electoral fortunes of top leaders-- Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar and JD-S' H D Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.
"..I m resigning as a president of AAP Punjab...but my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an "Aam Aadmi" of Punjab (sic)," Bhagwant Mann said in a tweet.
Surjewala made the case for state-specific alliances while arguing for a larger coalition with like-minded parties in 'national interest'.
The young and suave candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Bhavya Bishnoi, looks to defend his 'family bastion' for five decades, while the main opposition Congress has placed its bet on veteran leader Jai Prakash in the Adampur bypoll in Haryana.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
The Congress's revival plan says it needs to bring back into its fold Hindus repelled by the Sangh Parivar, take its message to youth and women and sections upset at curbs on their personal freedoms.
A message from KCR on Thursday evening persuaded the Congress to take its MLAs to Hyderabad.
This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the new year arrives, what is clear is that the BJP's stars continue to shine the brightest while its rivals' search for a way to dim their glow go on.
The former Haryana chief minister also reiterated his demand for an impartial inquiry into the allegations levelled against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India.
Barring a brief lull in 2008 triggered by her standoff with Congress president Sonia Gandhi over the issue of family entitlement in ticket distribution, the suave and soft-spoken Alva's career has largely been a dream run.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, senior leaders K C Venugopal, P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid were among the party's top brass taking part in the satyagraha at Rajghat.
Faced with poll debacle in four states, the Congress is expected to hold a 'chintan shivir'.
The Congress, notwithstanding its depleted bench strength, failed to corner the government on a range of crucial issues during the just-concluded Parliament session, says Kavita Chowdhury
'In Punjab, disappointment among the people about the AAP government has already set in.'
