'Mamata was more feared than loved, and in politics when people start fearing you then they start hating you.' 'So Mamata's comeback now is impossible.'
Veteran Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy has suggested that the rebellion within the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s legislative wing could extend to its Members of Parliament, following an unprecedented revolt by MLAs and the party's recent electoral defeat in West Bengal.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir asserts he will be a 'kingmaker' after the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, claiming no government can be formed without his support. He plans to announce a new political party on December 22 and contest in 135 seats.
Ideology is dead; long live the numbers game that is being played with the sole intention of securing a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha for the NDA, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'EPS exposed all the traitors. The DMK has given them political asylum. They are political orphans.'
'Those who have drained Mamata Banerjee's blood -- they are the ones calling us traitors.'
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held protests across Punjab against the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) action against state minister Sanjeev Arora, accusing the central government of misusing agencies against its leaders. The BJP criticised the AAP workers' behaviour during the protests.
'It is going to be a negative vote against the government rather than a positive vote for the UDF.'
The Sindhudurg police on Saturday registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane, an MLA of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, for "trespassing" into a BJP supporter's house. The Shiv Sena leader had 'raided' the BJP supporter's home and claimed to have found bags of cash meant for distribution to voters ahead of civic polls.
Maharashtra legislative council's privileges committee has summoned comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare for a hearing over alleged insulting remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The hearing has been rescheduled to February 17 after both expressed their inability to attend the initial date.
His remarks come after the Sindhudurg Police registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane on Friday on the charge of trespassing on a BJP supporter's house, days after the Shiv Sena MLA alleged that bags of cash meant for distribution to voters were found there during his "sting operation".
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday said the Maharashtra party leadership has been asked to ensure all rebels withdraw nominations and asserted there will be no friendly fights among the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies in the state assembly polls.
A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till on Monday, even as parties faced "rebel trouble" in several segments.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa got into the damage control mode on Saturday as he sent an emissary to New Delhi to pacify the 11 rebel Bharatiya Janata Party members of Legislative Assembly. The 11 rebel MLAs who got relief from the Supreme Court on Friday have demanded a change in the leadership, but have assured to stay loyal to the party.
The BJP has nominated Sanjay Upadhyay from the Borivali seat for the November 20 state assembly polls.
The Haryana BJP said its chief Mohan Lal Badoli has expelled these leaders for a period of six years with immediate effect.
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
Congress rebel Satish Sharma, who defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajeev Sharma by nearly 7,000 votes and relegated his former party's heavyweight Tara Chand to the third position in the Chhamb seat, has found a place in the Omar Abdullah government, representing the Jammu region in the dispensation.
Bharatiya Janata Party rebel leader Naveen Goyal, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from Gurgaon in the upcoming assembly polls, reacted to an ultimatum by Union minister Piyush Goyal, saying he was not going to withdraw his nomination.
BJP legislator Kanu Kalsaria first rebelled against Modi by dragging the state government to Supreme Court, that too successfully, in opposing, now cancelled Nirma Cement plant in coastal Mahuva area of Bhavnagar, from where he is an elected MLA.
Rebel leader B Sreeramulu, a close associate of jailed mining baron G Janardhana Reddy, on Monday announced plans to float a new political party in Karnataka, three days after Bharatiya Janata Party suspended six of its elected representatives including two MPs for anti-party activities.
Even if D K Shivakumar wanted to oust Siddaramaiah, whose support would he take?
The shrewd politician that he is, Siddaramaiah figured his rival had no option but to lump it, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Heart burn over ticket distributions may singe ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's hands in forming the next government in Chhattisgarh even as the party basks in the glory of the 'gentleman' image of its Chief Minister Raman Singh.In a veiled admission of the damage potential of the party rebels, National Vice President of the BJP and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Jangir in the state Karuna Shukla told PTI, "Rebels damage all political parties."
Justice VG Sabahith, who was appointed as the third judge after a division bench delivered a divided verdict, will pronounce the order at 1430 hours on Friday.
Nitin Nabin's selection is a bold political decision by the Two Gujaratis. When Rahul Gandhi has resurrected the issue of social justice, the BJP and the Two Gujaratis are sticking to their plan and agenda, explains Sheela Bhatt.
At the time of ticket distribution, the top BJP leadership preferred the turncoats over its loyal workers.
Cracking the whip, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat on Tuesday suspended 12 party leaders, including 6-term MLA Madhu Shrivastav and two former legislators, for filing nominations as independent candidates for the upcoming assembly elections after they were denied tickets.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
The 75-year-old Eshwarappa, had remained steadfast in his decision to contest, spurning efforts by party leaders to pacify him. He had even filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has ruled out the possibility of re-inducting expelled leaders like O Panneerselvam, stating that those who "betrayed" the party have no place in it. He also praised the BJP-led Centre for protecting the AIADMK government in 2017.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Himachal Pradesh is making efforts to mollify party leaders who are disgruntled over distribution of tickets to six Congress rebels for the assembly bypolls, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Tuesday.
Responding to a query on when will the political crisis in Maharashtra end, Shinde, a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state, said things will be clear after some time.
As per Joint Chief Electoral Officer Pratap Singh Shah, around 95 candidates from 70 assembly seats withdrew their names on the last date for withdrawal of nomination which was Monday.
The rebels, who contested as independents in the assembly polls, marred the prospects of BJP candidates in eight seats while Congress candidates were hit in four assembly segments.
Shortly after the Supreme Court pronounced its judgment on the Shiv Sena-centric political crisis in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray said if the top court has observed that Sunil Prabhu of Uddhav Thackeray faction of Sena remains the official whip, then as per its observation, 16 rebel MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, stand disqualified.
On the eve of the counting of votes in Rajasthan, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have started reaching out to independent candidates, including rebels, and smaller parties.
Shetty, who won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by margins of more than four lakh in 2014 and 2019, was denied a ticket in the 2024 general elections.
Six rebel Congress MLAs, including Rana, who were disqualified for defying the party whip asking them to be present in the assembly and vote in favour of the state government during cut motions and the budget, moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday against their disqualification.
"(Someone said) I have promised that I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister but then he himself became CM," Shinde said, taking a jibe at Uddhav Thackeray.
'This plan was never official. It was there secretly. It was by the high command.'
