Prolonged parleys with different power centers led to several hiccups before Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav could induct four new faces in his team in Lucknow on Thursday. The total tally of council of ministers is now 60.
Another meeting convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday with the floor leaders of the INDIA constituents in Parliament will, however, go ahead according to its schedule to formulate the opposition strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
For the first time, Akhilesh is leading the SP almost single-handed into a major election, but he is not the only one running the show Shikha Shalini reports.
He came to power with a huge mandate in 2012, but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has now forfeited the voters' trust.
Over 50 people have been arrested after the communal violence in Maharajgaj town, officials said on Tuesday, as markets remained shut and people stayed indoors for a second day in a row amid heavy deployment of police and other security personnel.
"Amar Singh will be chairing the closing session of the Saifai festival," Mulayam told reporters on Monday, shortly after inaugurating the 14-day cultural event at Saifai in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh.
A remark made by a Samajwadi Party leader on the use of the Hindi word 'hamara' by Mamata Banerjee on Friday triggered speculation whether Mulayam Singh Yadav's party was still with Trinamool Congress in putting up A P J Abdul Kalam as a Presidential candidate.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Quality of food served in Parliament canteen on Wednesday came under attack in Rajya Sabha as a member drew attention of the government towards MPs falling sick after consuming it.
In positive signals for the United Progressive Alliance, the Samajwadi Party today said it will not support any National Democratic Alliance Presidential candidate and did not want mid-term elections.
Yadav fought hard, but his party was well behind the BJP.
In a letter to his father and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief minister declared his intention to commence his yatra, which was put off last month after the open turf war with his uncle Shivpal Yadav.
Strongly opposed to quota for government job promotions, Samajwadi Party on Monday asked the government to rethink on the bill, warning that it could have a very serious fall-out and may be challenged in court.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
Babbar, who had of late launched a vitriolic attack against party General Secretary Amar Singh, was suspended from the parliamentary party on Tuesday.
Shivpal Yadav is campaigning for Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav in Mainpuri seat, which fell vacant due to the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
The Samajwadi Party on Saturday distanced itself from Shahid Siddiqui, saying he is no longer a part of the party two days after his interview with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made waves.
Reacting to the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday said that a war with the country would give it a "befitting" reply for its brutality.
The Samajwadi Party on Monday said it will continue to stall Rajya Sabha proceedings in case the bill providing for reservation to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in promotion in government job is passed. "We will disrupt the House and not allow it to function if the bill (for reservation to SC/ST in job promotions) is passed. We will continue to oppose the bill and we are ready for suspension," said SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.
Opposing Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday said that the move is not in the interest of the country.
Maintaining that it was opposed to FDI in retail, the Samajwadi Party on Thursday made it clear it was not keen to 'piggyback' on the Bharatiya Janata Party over its demand for discussion on the issue under a rule that entails voting.
The SP has slammed the government's ordinance and said it could impose an Emergency.
Monsoon's first spell in Delhi early Friday inundated the most posh areas of the city alike, including the Lutyens' Delhi which is home to several ministers and MPs, giving them a hard time reaching Parliament for the 18th Lok Sabha session.
The standing committee on agriculture has criticised the government's criteria of fixing the Minimum Support Price for the farmers
Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Ram Gopal Yadav met President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday. Amar Singh handed over to the President a list of Lok Sabha MPs who contested under the SP symbol.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and his party colleague Ram Gopal Yadav along with eight other new members of Parliament were administered oath by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday.
Sibal, whose exit from the Congress is another jolt for the electorally battered party, went to the Uttar Pradesh assembly premises to file his papers with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav and other senior leaders.
Panchayat Season 4 is watchable, mainly because of the wonderful actors, who, over the seasons have developed a warm rapport, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge has given his resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha as he is contesting the election for the post of party president.
Shah said that the BJP hoped the Dalit nominee would be unanimously selected as the President.
The party's constitution was amended to extend the tenure of the party chief to five years from the existing three years.
Opposition parties in India have criticized the imposition of President's rule in strife-torn Manipur, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of failing to address the ethnic violence and using the measure to cover up internal conflicts within the party. They demanded a clear roadmap for restoring peace and questioned the government's lack of transparency and inaction on the issue. The violence, which erupted in May 2023, has left over 250 people dead.
Samajwadi Party today sacked Kamal Farooqi as its Secretary in the wake of his controversial remarks that Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested as he was a Muslim.
Amid the raging feud in Samajwadi Party, its senior leader Shivpal Yadav reached Delhi on Wednesday evening to invite 'like-minded' socialists for the party's 25th anniversary celebrations on November 5, a move seen as an attempt to stitch an alliance for the state assembly polls.
The killings of Gopal Khemka and his son Gunjan, seven years apart, bear a striking resemblance, reports M I Khan.
Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda.
Ram Gopal Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party heads the UP government, accused BJP of using the incident as an excuse to spread communal tension.
