Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave Modi's aggressive campaign ahead of the assembly election for the party's performance.
In Karnataka, the BJP lost the elections because of multiple poles of power, a problem the central leadership could not sort out in time. Could the same happen to the Congress in Rajasthan? asks Aditi Phadnis.
In his recent speeches in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also targeted the Gehlot government over the incident.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Jairam Ramesh were among the 10 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Friday from Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana, while counting was underway in Maharashtra after an eight-hour delay due to wrangling by rival parties over alleged breach of voting rules.
'Every Congressman in Rajasthan is in Ashok Gehlot's pocket.'
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
The MLA tried to justify his decision but later removed it from his account.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The BJP is leading in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
The saffron party had realised after the first phase of the elections that it was "on the backfoot," Pilot said.
The police sub-inspector accused of raping a minor girl in Rajasthan's Dausa district has been arrested and a case registered against him under relevant sections, including Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act, officials said on Saturday.
Arvind Singh Mewar, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar and the chairman of the HRH group of hotels, died early Sunday in Udaipur after a prolonged illness. Mewar, 81, was a descendant of Rajput king Maharana Pratap and was ill for a long time. He is survived by his wife, son, and two daughters. The funeral will take place on Monday. Mewar was known for his career in the hospitality industry and for his involvement in sports, including cricket and polo. He was also an avid pilot and a philanthropist. He was the younger son of Bhagwant Singh Mewar and Sushila Kumari. His elder brother Mahendra Singh Mewar died in November last year. There have been conflicts and issues between his descendants regarding the leadership of the house of Mewar and a property dispute.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday called the Congress the "modern-day Muslim League" and accused it of committing atrocities against Hindus after he and his party leaders were stopped from visiting violence-hit Karauli in Rajasthan.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited the prime minister's speech made in Barmer on Wednesday and said the people of the state will surely respond to such "arrogance" of the prime minister.
The ISI strategy has been to use its proxies to target Hindus in India. They want an outrage and counter-targeting of India's minorities. Further, even the whiff of it restores the Pakistan army's popularity, especially when it's in the dumps, like now, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday sacked Rajendra Gudha as minister of state, hours after he cornered the state government in the assembly.
The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
The Jats are a political force in Rajasthan and the community's presence in 85 assembly constituencies may tilt the balance in electoral politics.
Shinde welcomed the former Rajasthan minister to the Shiv Sena and said Gudha left the ministerial position for the cause of people.
The party also promised reservation to minorities on basis of their population after the caste census.
A US plane carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is expected to land at Amritsar airport on February 15, the second such batch of Indians deported by the Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The plane is expected to land around 10 pm on Saturday. The 119 deportees include 67 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Another US plane carrying deportees is also expected to land on February 16. This development comes days after a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport last week. Most of the deportees hailing from Punjab said they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were shattered when they were caught at the US border and brought back in shackles. The Trump administration has launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants since taking office, leading to the deportation of many people who entered the US through illegal means. Several political leaders in Punjab have questioned the landing of US aircraft in Amritsar, with Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleging that the BJP-led Central government wants to defame Punjab. The Punjab government has formed a special investigation team to probe the issue of illegal human trafficking following the deportation of Indian citizens domiciled in Punjab from the US. The SIT has so far registered 10 FIRs against fraudulent immigration consultants based on statements from deportees.
Claiming a heavy transfer of cash to Jaipur, Gehlot said there were reports about the BJP's plan similar to that of Madhya Pradesh and some of the party MLAs were offered Rs 25 crore in cash with Rs 10 crore in advance.
'The biggest change that the BJP can initiate in the run-up to 2024 is appointing new faces as chief ministers.' 'In doing so, it will send a message well beyond 2024.'
The Election Commission on Wednesday changed the date of polling for the Rajasthan assembly elections from November 23 to November 25 in view of demands for a change given "large-scale" weddings in the state that day.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has criticized the Centre over the landing of US planes carrying illegal Indian immigrants at Amritsar airport, calling it a "deport centre." He stated that the holy city is known for its religious sites and should not be used for deportations. Mann has also questioned the choice of Amritsar as the landing site, suggesting that other airports in the country could have been used instead. The second US flight carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is slated to land in Amritsar on Saturday night. The Punjab government has made arrangements to take the residents of Punjab from among the second batch of deportees to their hometowns.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
As the race for Maharashtra chief minister enters the last lap, Hemant Waje looks at several scenarios which can play out.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Akhilesh Yadav's stock rose dramatically on Tuesday with his Samajwadi Party cutting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party down to size in Uttar Pradesh.
Saini's elevation as Haryana chief minister fits in with a pattern that has gathered pace in the BJP after the Congress and its allies like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar began making an aggressive bid to woo the largest group of communities and politically most significant, especially in Hindi-speaking states, by pushing for a caste census.
This negated the gain of more than a dozen seats in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
The poll panel has asked state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra to respond to the notices by 3 pm on Thursday and 7 pm on Friday, respectively.
The long-pending land dispute between Bahadur Gurjar and Atar Singh Gurjar, both residents of Adda village, was being investigated by Sadar police station, Director General of Police Umesh Mishra said.
Though the MLAs termed it a courtesy meeting, they said they will support Raje if the party leadership chooses her for the post in the state.
Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition. And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that. So, the Opposition must learn to convince people why the BJP must go. Else, it can count down to 2029, points out Shyam G Menon.
In eight districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur and Tonk, the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections had won 29 out of 42 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party got only six.
'... dividing society not just on religious lines, but also creating rift in families and among brothers and sisters.'
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.
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