The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
A face-off between the government and the opposition was erupted on Wednesday after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution.
With the resignation of Nitish Kumar as Bihar's chief minister, here's a look at the numbers that matter and the possibility of a new political realignment in the state.
Ahead of a rally where he will share the dais with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh on Tuesday said it would be "extremely wrong" to add "political connotation" to his attending the programme.
Never before has the BJP faced such a crisis over the nomination of the Chief Minister as it is facing now, discovers Prakash Bhandari, veteran observer of Rajasthan politics.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
Opposition parties in India have demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a stampede at New Delhi railway station killed 18 people. They blamed the government for "gross mismanagement" and accused them of "covering up" the death toll. The stampede occurred on Saturday night as passengers rushed to board trains for the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj. The Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have all criticized the government's handling of the situation, while BJP leaders have defended the government. The incident has highlighted the failure of the Railways and the government to make adequate arrangements for the large number of devotees travelling to Prayagraj.
'The water crisis is so obvious that people see no point begging for it from politicians.'
Congress candidate Shafia Zubair won the Ramgarh assembly poll in Rajasthan, while BJP candidate Krishan Middha won over his nearest rival from the Jannayak Janata Party for the high-stakes Jind bypoll in Haryana.
The SBSP can impact around 10 Lok Sabha seats and 40 assembly seats in 7-8 districts in Uttar Pradesh, according to poll analysts.
He, however, expressed confidence that a series of state-specific alliances, where like-minded parties would come together on an anti-BJP platform, was likely for the 2019 general election.
He said he will not join any party but will work to unite all non-BJP parties.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties on Saturday announced that they will participate in the exit poll debates on television on Saturday evening after the grouping's top leaders met and deliberated on the issue at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
The country now has six national parties - Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, NPP and AAP.
'The BJP would like to build a 'rainbow' coalition of different castes and communities buttressed by the appeal of nationalism and Hindutva.'
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday described farmers, who have been protesting against three farm laws, as 'our own flesh and blood' and suggested that the government should re-engage with them in reaching common ground.
A win for SP could provide some consolation for Akhilesh Yadav after the defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections early this year and the loss of Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in June bypolls.
As many as 623 candidates, including 73 women are in the fray in the first phase and around 2.28 core voters, including 1.24 crore men and 1.04 crore women are eligible to caste their francise, election officials said.
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
Opposition parties in India, led by the Congress, have demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on alleged discrepancies in voter lists. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, highlighting concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The opposition alleges large-scale duplication of EPIC numbers, which they claim undermines voter integrity and the electoral process. They have also pointed out instances of inflated voter lists in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The Election Commission has acknowledged discrepancies but maintains that these are not widespread and that corrective measures are being taken. The opposition, however, insists on a comprehensive discussion on the matter to ensure the integrity of elections in India.
Saini, 54, a low profile OBC leader, rose through the ranks in the party and was unanimously elected as the leader of the state BJP's legislature group at a meeting held in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Dr Rohini Acharya -- the Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate from the Saran Lok Sabha constituency -- filed her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections, April 29, 2024, accompanied by her father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, mother Rabri Devi and younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
There is a strong possibility of opposition parties coming together to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday, stressing that he has had good talks with them and many will join hands gradually.
Mayawati said that the BSP and the SP would not ally with the Congress party in the upcoming elections.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
Kushwaha was referring to 'Luv Kush' rally in Patna, a veritable gathering of Kurmis and Koeris upset with supposed hegemony of numerically powerful Yadavs which Prasad, then helming Bihar, was seen as embodying.
The Sena also suggested that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should join Pawar's effort to unite the Opposition, only then can a consolidated front gain real strength.
Bharti accused the media of distorting her statement, attributing it to the BJP's agenda.
Both the BJP and the Congress have banked on new and young faces, some of whom have been nominated by the parties for the first time.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday snubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that he had forged alliances 'by mistake' with the opposition party which 'did nothing' while in power.
Most JD-U ministers favour a return to the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
He is not just under attack from his opponent Shiv Chandra Ram of the RJD, but also by his uncle Paras.
'The JD-U is my party and of thousands of leaders and workers.' 'It is certainly not Nitish Kumar's party.'
According to the Election Commission's website at 5.45 pm on Tuesday, the NOTA votes ranged as high as 2.1 per cent in Chhattisgarh to 0.5 per cent in Mizoram.
Several prominent opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah will share the dais at a rally being organised by Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana's Fatehabad on Sunday.
Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President's rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
Accompanied by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Chaudhary reached Uttar Pradesh assembly premises in the morning to file his nomination.
Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday filed his nomination papers for the July 18 election, with a host of leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Farooq Abdullah accompanying him.
"The Congress has failed despite ruling for so many years," she said.
However, the RLD leader gave a terse response. 'Invite those +700 farmer families which you have destroyed, not me,' he tweeted in Hindi.
