Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.
The opposition is likely to submit a notice in both Houses of Parliament to remove Gyanesh Kumar as the chief election commissioner, marking a historic first. This article details the legal procedure for removing a CEC, including the roles of Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the investigation process.
Congress veteran Kapil Sibal had on Wednesday filed his nomination as an SP-backed Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.
After 47 years in electoral politics, Union minister Sharad Pawar on Monday became a member of the Rajya Sabha for the first time.
Rejecting these notices, the Chairman said, "I have not admitted (the notices) as there are other avenues to raise this matter in the House and some matters are local."
Seven members are retiring from Maharashtra followed by six each from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, five each from West Bengal and Bihar, four each from Orissa and Gujarat.
The Congress party has accused the government of scheduling a 'special session' to pass bills related to women's quota and delimitation with the intention of gaining political advantage in the upcoming West Bengal and Tamil Nadu elections, calling it a violation of the model code of conduct.
He said that his primary goal would be to strengthen the political momentum to replace the Congress government with BJP rule in the coming assembly polls in Karnataka.
According to sources, TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has zeroed in on the name of his brother-in-law and actor Harikrishna for a Rajya Sabha seat that the party can win on the basis of its strength in the present legislative assembly, which constitutes the electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections. He is expected to file his nomination papers on March 14.
The BJP-led government in Bihar secured a vote of confidence in the state assembly, with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary pledging economic development and significant investments. The motion was passed amidst heated debates and accusations between the ruling NDA and the opposition, highlighting political tensions and differing views on issues like women's reservation.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Union Minister Kumari Selja was named the Congress nominee for Rajya Sabha elections, putting an end to speculation that former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit could be brought to the Upper House from Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will initiate the debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha on Monday, which is expected to bring to light several important and previously unknown facets about the national song.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday led the Rajya Sabha in felicitating Hamid Ansari on his second term as vice president and chairman of the House, saying his re-election was a tribute to his qualities. When the House met for the day, the prime minister stood up to felicitate and congratulate Ansari, who took oath as the vice president for his second term on Saturday.
Government floor managers are busy talking to Opposition members to resolve the stand-off over Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's remarks, in the Rajya Sabha.
'Lakhs of transgender people's identities will get erased. Many of them will go into hiding and lead depressing lives.'
The Delhi services bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Monday with 131 MPs voting in its favour and helping the government complete the parliamentary procedure for the proposed legislation that saw the opposition parties join ranks.
This follows complaints from the Congress that nomination papers of two of its candidates were rejected "unconstitutionally."
All eleven Rajya Sabha candidates in the fray in Uttar Pradesh, including businessman Anil Ambani, actress Jaya Bachchan and hotelier Lalit Suri, were declared elected unopposed in the biennial elections on Saturday.
Election watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms also reported that Janata Dal-United's Mahendra Prasad was the richest with assets worth Rs 4,078 crore.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
Objections had been raised to Jaya holding an office of profit as the chairman of the UP film council while being a member of the upper house at the same time.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand faced embarrassment on Thursday when their candidate S S Ahluwalia lost the Rajya Sabha elections, which was held afresh after being countermanded earlier as the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bagged the two seats.
A draw of lots was held on Friday to allot Rajya Sabha members to Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh following division of the state.
The stage would be set for the elections with the issue of notification on Friday.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
There are two such seats in Tamil Nadu and one each in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Madhya Pradesh.
According to RS members, these polls distort the election process.
The Trinamool Congress MP said he is unable to bear various incidents that are happening in West Bengal.
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien was suspended from the Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday for the remaining part of the Winter session after he threw a Rajya Sabha rule book at the Chair.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
Among major engagements in 2026 is the visit of the European Union leadership, chief guests at the Republic Day parade.
Digvijaya Singh is no longer in Rahul's close circle of advisers. His move to the Upper House was to ensure that the senior leader does not meddle in Madhya Pradesh politics in the run up to the crucial Lok Sabha polls. Anita Katyal reports
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra that were on Friday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in the biennial polls in Mumbai.
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