The Election Commission on Saturday announced the dates for the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram assembly polls.
This will pave the way for emergence of 24,000 new panchayat-level leaders in Telangana, he said.
Bypolls to the Lok Sabha seats vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will be held on September 13, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
Issues ranging from fencing of the Indo-Bangla border to desilting of Hooghly river and spread of fluorosis among people in Telangana were among several issues raised in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour on Wednesday.
The two most iconic monuments in Telangana, the Charminar and the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam (built by the rulers of Andhra Pradesh the 12th and 13th centuries in Warangal) have been included in the logo, along with the Ashok Chakra.
TMC sources said their leaders Derek O' Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay are unlikely to attend the interaction.
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi high court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.
Asked about him sticking with the Congress since he got the parliamentary polls ticket from Moradabad in 2009, he said loyalty is very important to him since the beginning.
Hitting out at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for rejecting the AP Reorganisation Bill, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Thursday said the move cannot stop formation of Telangana.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
With the assembly election results throwing up surprises, most exit polls got the outcome in Chhattisgarh and the scale of the Bharatiya Janata Party's win in Madhya Pradesh wrong.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Top leaders of Opposition parties will brainstorm at a meeting in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with sources saying that they would look to avoid the prickly leadership question and emphasise on common ground.
The 'Group of 23' leaders who participated included Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, besides Sibal who hosted the post-birthday dinner for them.
While the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telangana by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by the Mizo National Front.
The Congress on Friday welcomed the statements of opposition leaders condemning Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha and said it was now time for the party to take on the job of building the opposition unity in a "systematic way".
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party's nationalism is "fake" and "they are not patriots".
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
Modi told the leaders that Tomar was just a phone call away for protesting farmers and the agriculture minister had conveyed the same to farmer leaders earlier this month.
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 contentious bill will be tables in RS on Wednesday. The BJP hopes to get up to 130 votes in a 240-member upper house.
He said the people are looking for an alternative and the Congress' victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka elections are clear proof of this.
'When the Congress tied up with Chandrababu Naidu, they helped trigger Telangana pride.'
Political analyst and former MLC Prof Nageshwar said that by frequently visiting the temple the BJP is trying to polarise votes which unfortunately MIM also wants.
The new chief minister, if from the Congress, will have little or no time for political administration, to ensure that he does not lose the voter's goodwill even before the Lok Sabha polls. He can count only on one thing. That the BJP may not want to upset him too early lest an early failure should become an added problem for the party in all the polls to follow, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
BRS spokesperson Sravan Dasoju, speaking to PTI, expressed confidence KCR would win from both the constituencies with a thumping majority.
The joint Opposition including the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamool Congress, the Left, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Aam Aadmi Party did not join the Question Hour of the session when the House reassembled after its first adjournment till noon.
In UP and Bengal, it is willing to sacrifice its interests to stop the BJP and would work towards ensuring the BJP did not win incremental seats in Odisha and Telangana.
Speaking at the meeting called by the central government, Modi said India is in a better position than many other countries in terms of the ratio of the population hit by the disease but underlined the need to remain vigilant as he cited the resurgence of the infection in some countries like the UK, sources said.
Bookies are betting big this election. In Andhra Pradesh, the stakes have touched nearly Rs 10,000 crore over who would form the government in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Seema-Andhra).
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also made a fervent appeal to the leaders of various parties at an all-party meeting to ensure smooth and effective functioning of the House during the Budget Session.
The BJP and Congress are the top two beneficiaries of the electoral bonds, followed by the Trinamool Congress.
Kavitha has spent around 18-19 hours at the ED headquarters in central Delhi during her two appearances on March 11 and March 20.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said he was neither a claimant for the prime minister's post nor desirous of it, his assertion coming amid speculation that his visit to the capital is to claim leadership of the opposition parties.
Mamata Banerjee's sights are not on the next month's Presidential election. She is focusing on another election that will take place in 2024.
According to sources, Kavitha was to be made to sit face-to-face with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who was arrested in connection with the liquor policy case on Monday night.
Chennamaneni, who was re-elected to Telangana Assembly from the Vemulawada constituency last year, said he would approach the high court for relief.
Protesting against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Congress MP from Rayalseema region Rayapati Samba Siwaa Rao resigned from the primary membership of the party on Friday while heaping praise on Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
"Mr Modi has utterly failed. It is clear by now that we (NDA) cannot deliver more than this (since 2014)," he said.
