Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern about the lack of clarity regarding the INDIA bloc's leadership and agenda, suggesting the alliance should be dissolved if it was only formed for parliamentary elections. He called for a meeting of the alliance members after the Delhi Assembly elections to discuss the bloc's future and decide on a collective strategy. Abdullah also highlighted the need for a clear vision and leadership within the INDIA bloc. His remarks come amid speculation about the alliance's future and its ability to effectively challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
It is believed that Gehlot allegedly likened Pilot to coronavirus.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party candidates Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki on Friday won Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Union Environment Minister and senior Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan on Friday met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai, a day after he said his party would consult others on fielding a candidate in the Rajya Sabha biennial polls.
Nationalist Congress Party-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday turned 84 and celebrated his birthday with members of his family and well-wishers, including estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The desertion of MLAs is worrying for the party which has fielded its senior leader Ahmed Patel for the Rajya Sabha election.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak said on Tuesday night that all the eight candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party have won in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state.
The BJP on Wednesday approached the Election Commission seeking removal of the None Of The Above or NOTA option in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, a day after the Congress made a similar demand.
''The outcome of the state polls may lead to some strategy-related permutations and combinations and the markets may extrapolate it to the likely outcome in the general elections.'
Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari and Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore are among the seven BJP parliamentarians who will contest the Rajasthan Assembly polls, according to the first list of 41 candidates issued by the party on Monday.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.
However, the saffron party's hold of the landmark may be tenuous as polls to around 52 more seats will be held soon, and it is expected to suffer reverses in states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand.
Election to fill up 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament was to be held on March 26, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking initiation of breach of privilege proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "blatant lies and vilification campaign" during his speech in the House. Dubey alleged that Gandhi used his parliamentary privilege to spread canards without authenticating his charges and distorted historical facts during his speech. Gandhi had claimed that mobile phones were not made in India but only assembled here, China has captured the Indian territory, and India had sent Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony. He also made allegations related to the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the law for the appointment of the elections commissioner. Dubey accused Gandhi of misusing the Constitution's Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He urged the Speaker to initiate proceedings against Gandhi, alleging that Parliament's records and proceedings are a testimony to his irresponsible attitude.
Many senior AAP leaders, including Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bila, ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain attended the day-long 'Samuhik Upwas' at Jantar Mantar in the national capital from 11 am.
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
With his three-week temporary bail for poll campaign ending, Aam Aadmi Party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be back in Tihar Jail on Sunday as a court here put off till June 5 its order on his plea seeking interim bail on medical grounds.
The Congress had 31 MLA and needed as many votes to win the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana, but one of its legislators cross-voted and another's vote was cancelled.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Moderate to high turnout was recorded in 13 assembly constituencies across seven states where bypolls were held on Wednesday amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
With the second list, the total number of candidates declared by the Congress went up to 83 out of the total of 90.
