Rajasthan is all set to vote on Saturday to elect members of a new assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party aiming to unseat the ruling Congress, which is fighting hard to change the trend of alternate governments in the state.
The ruling Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal combine swept the Zilla Panchayat chairmen polls, elections for which were held Saturday, winning 50 of the 65 seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has decided to cut short his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh by skipping western part of the state and saving five days, a party leader said on Monday while citing board exams.
Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal on Monday joined the NDA fold and announced that the "formidable alliance" would work towards a change in government in the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
Governor Vishnukant Shastri accepted their resignation on the recommendation of Mayawati.
In 2022 Nanaji Dembi pulled down the Hurriyat office board in Srinagar, an act of defiance that grabbed headlines. Despite such nationalistic bravado, the BJP has denied him a ticket for the assembly election.
UP bypolls: SP-RLD combine wins all 4 bypoll seats.
An eighth BJP candidate on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, setting the stage for a contest with the Samajwadi Party on February 27.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress and RLD members were up on their feet as soon as the governor rose to read his address and began shouting anti-government slogans.
However, the withdrawal of support would not make any difference to the state government. The Congress has only 15 members in the UP state assembly out of 403, while RLD has 15.
"Our government is prepared to prove its majority on the floor of the house if so warranted," Yadav said addressing a press conference in Lucknow.
The RLD Chief Ajit Singh, who announced his resignations at a press conference, said the alliance with Yadav-led SP and the government is over.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday appointed Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Bhupendra Chaudhary as the party's chief in the state.
Asked how many seats the Congress would fight on, Singh said they would be flexible in seat sharing.
The Left continued to reach out to other parties in its bid to topple the UPA Government with CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan meeting RLD chief Ajit Singh in New Delhi on Thursday.
Yadav was dismissed in 2017 after he posted a video online complaining about the food served to the troops.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra on Tuesday filed his nomination from Rajasthan for the elections to the Upper House of Parliament as an Independent backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Parties like the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Mahaan Dal, and Janvadi Party-Socialist had distanced themselves from the SP after its defeat in the 2022 state assembly elections.
The 14-member party has withdrawn support to the coalition government, which has been surviving on a simple majority.
They joined their nine colleagues, already in Srinagar, to foil any bid by the BSP-BJP coalition to break their party.\n\n
The meeting came a day after Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh met the Congress chief for a tie-up in Uttar Pradesh.
Opposition parties feel the need for a vote of confidence in the wake of Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Loktantrik Dal's decision to withdraw its ministers.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a virtual meeting on Friday evening with leaders of 19 Opposition parties, including the chief ministers of some Opposition-ruled states, amid efforts to boost Opposition unity and evolve a common strategy against the National Democratic Alliance government.
Despite Babbar being the local parliamentarian, he has failed to set Yamuna on fire and leaders from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party as also the Baharatiya Janata Party dubbed the party of the suspended SP leader as an 'also-ran.'
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
However, the BJP is sceptical about the SP-BSP alliance as they believe Mayawati and Akhilesh will "finish off after fighting among themselves."
Congress on Tuesday said it planned to go it alone in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and would consider tie-ups only on its "own conditions and interests", a development that could queer the pitch for parties like Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal.
A former protege of the JD-U de facto leader, Kushwaha, had revolted against Kumar in 2013, giving up his Rajya Sabha berth and floated his own outfit.
These meetings with Pawar has fuelled speculations about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to form a third front against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Pilot had claimed that the Ashok Gehlot government was in minority and more than 30 Congress and some independent legislators have pledged support to him.
Candidates contesting from Kunda (in Pratapgarh), Malhani (in Jaunpur), and Rasara (in Ballia) failed to secure enough votes to prevent forfeiture of their deposits.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members held protest in Parliament seeking a discussion on the issue.
While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Five ministerial berths, including two of Cabinet rank, have fallen vacant after the Ajit Singh-led RLD withdrew support to the Mayawati-led BJP-BSP coalition in Lucknow.
