Speculations about a rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray are gathering steam, but leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) acknowledge that personal ties and organisational synergy are significant hurdles that need to be overcome. While both parties have expressed a willingness to put aside "trivial issues" and unite, the prospect of a reunion is complex, involving family dynamics, ideological differences, and the potential for internal conflicts. The reunion buzz has come at a time when both parties are experiencing a political nadir, with the Sena (UBT) winning 20 seats and the MNS drawing a blank in the 2024 assembly polls. The prospect of the two cousins coming together has enthused supporters of both parties, but it might not be the case with a section of cadres and party leaders. Key concerns include seat-sharing agreements, potential conflicts in areas with strong bases for both parties, and ideological differences.
Iltija said the PDP suffered defeat and could manage only three seats in the valley because there was an "assault" on the party.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
In a remarkable display of resilience and commitment to democracy, the residents of villages that had long been deprived of polling due to terrorist threats and separatist-sponsored boycott calls turned out in large numbers to cast ballots in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
Prime Minister Modi will visit RSS headquarters in Nagpur on March 30.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Whatever we do, the purpose will be to re-establish deterrence.'
The previous highest voter turnout in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency was witnessed in 1984 at 58.90 percent.
Investors' wealth jumped Rs 13.78 lakh crore on Monday as the benchmark equity index Sensex hit its lifetime high after exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 2,777.58 points or 3.75 per cent to hit a record peak of 76,738.89 in early trade. The benchmark finally ended at 76,468.78, registering a sharp rally of 2,507.47 points or 3.39 per cent.
The six constituencies of northeast Delhi affected by the 2020 riots saw a close contest between the BJP and AAP, with both parties winning three seats each. AAP's Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad won Seelampur by a margin of 42,477 votes, defeating BJP's Anil Kumar Sharma. AAP also won Babarpur and Gokalpur, while the BJP won Mustafabad, Karawal Nagar and Ghonda.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
In April this year, Umar's mother also issued an appeal to him to surrender before the forces.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded candidates in all 200 constituencies while the Congress has fielded 199 candidates.
The proportion of postal votes polled in the general elections has gradually risen since 2009.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
Kalpana Soren, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife, has retained the Gandey assembly seat that she had won in a by-poll earlier this year.
Glimpses from Milwaukee, Kalamazzoo and Marietta as votes are counted in America's presidential election.
Trump's tariffs, falling shrimp prices, and fears of additional US levies, spark a crisis in Andhra Pradesh's politically vital aquaculture sector.
"Religion should remain within the four walls of your home. A Hindu identifies as a Hindu only when Muslims take to the streets or during riots; otherwise, Hindus are divided by caste," he said.
Ahead of Holi, controversial statements by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Janata Dal-United in Bihar have heated up politics in the state which goes to the polls this winter.
Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has dismissed claims of a surge in voter turnout in the final hour of polling for the state assembly elections, calling it an "average " process. He clarified that the state's large size and the usual voting patterns in Maharashtra account for the apparent increase. Chockalingam also addressed concerns raised by opposition parties about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), assuring their reliability and transparency.
"The IAF played a vital role in five of the seven phases of the general elections, flying over 1,000 hours in over 1,750 sorties," it said.
Here is the sentiment meter for the state, created by Rediff Labs.
The election campaign was one of the most vitriolic in the state, but you would not have guessed it from the smiles and selfies from the politicians.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Glimpses from Sri Lanka's presidential election, the first polls since the island's economic crisis, in Colombo and Jaffna, September 21, 2024.
Misa Bharti's election office in a khatal is meant to symbolise an emotional connect with her parents Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi's caste, the Yadavs, who are considered traditional RJD voters.
Confronted by outrage in Greenland, the US has scaled down a proposed visit to the island.
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Phase II) go to the polls on Friday, November 17, 2023.
'It is not as if Hindus are not being touched at all, and only Muslims are.'
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the EC was very enthused by the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir during the Lok Sabha elections, which showed the eagerness of the people to participate in the democratic process.
'We used to discuss how image-conscious Nitish Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past.'
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The polling for 230 seats for Madhya Pradesh and 70 seats in the second phase of Chhattisgarh will be held on Friday, November 17, 2023.
787 candidates are in the 31 to 40 years age group.
Till 3 pm Mumbai and suburbs saw a muted 40 per cent voting, but for those who voted it was an occasion to remember.
The junior Abdullah would be banking heavily on Shia support as the constituency has many Shia dominated areas that include Budgam, Beerwah, Pattan, Sonawari and Bandipora, among other pockets.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
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