'Many are saying that some significant announcement regarding Jammu and Kashmir or even separate statehoods might come; that possibility cannot be ruled out given today's date.'
Actor Vijay, founder of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, has declared that his party will challenge the ruling DMK in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. In a general council meeting, Vijay criticized the DMK's dynasty politics, their handling of law and order, and women's safety. He also targeted the BJP-led central government over issues like the Waqf Bill, delimitation, and the three-language policy. Vijay promised his party's support to working classes, government employees, and vowed to oppose projects harmful to natural resources and agriculture. He assured 100% safety for women and strict law and order if TVK forms the government. The party passed resolutions opposing the Waqf Bill, delimitation, and the three-language policy, and also voiced support for the two-language policy, finding a permanent solution for fishermen's issues, and opposing the Parandur airport project.
'Karyakartas felt we should have fought independently'
'I am alive, I have not died. Look, I am standing and speaking,' says Imarti Devi who is listed as deceased and whose name has been deleted from the voter's list. M I Khan reports from Dharaichak, a village in Bihar where 200 voters have been removed from the voter's list.
Dahi Handi celebrations in Mumbai were marked by fervor, injuries, and political campaigning ahead of local elections. One participant died, and several others were injured during the event.
This polling station in Ladakh's remote Warshi village is home to one family and five eligible voters.
The BJP has fielded as many as 10 turncoats, including those who joined the party from the JJP in recent weeks.
New Delhi looks to be testing Omar's endurance with unconcealed glee, never feeling shy to bite whenever a moment comes its way. After all, ruling the country's only Muslim-majority UT/state has been the BJP's burning desire, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, with Gadchiroli district logging more than 69 per cent voting, poll officials said.
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
'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.
The SC has sought a response from the Centre on a plea seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Will Mamata's bhasha andolan campaign sway Bengal's bhadralok before the 2026 election in the TMC's favour?
'They have no chance of winning if free and fair polls are conducted.'
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
Thackeray said that the MNS will contest more seats than any other party.
Among fresher job seekers, one in three believes AI will create more jobs.
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during the first day of review of poll preparedness of the state asked the district election officers and municipal commissioners to explain the steps taken by them to deal with 'urban apathy'.
One Rajya Sabha seat is a small price to pay for all the skills that Kamal Haasan brings to the table, points out Aditi Phadnis.
BJP strategists are missing something somewhere, and they have not acknowledged it, to be able to repair it in good time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, estranged cousins and leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS respectively, will share a public stage after two decades to celebrate the Maharashtra government's decision to roll back the three-language policy in primary schools.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, an Election Commission team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived in Srinagar to meet with representatives of political parties.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Polling for the 90 seats of the Haryana assembly will take place on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) reported encouraging results for the April-June quarter (Q1) of FY26. The net premium income of India's largest life insurer was Rs 1.2 trillion, up 5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), in Q1. Renewal premium grew 6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 59,900 crore, while first-year and single premium grew 1 per cent and 4 per cent Y-o-Y respectively to Rs 7,500 crore and Rs 51,900 crore.
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
CNG price in Mumbai as well as several other cities in the country has been hiked by Rs 2 per kg but users in poll-bound Delhi have been spared for the time being, according to city gas firms. Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the firm that retails CNG to automobiles and pipes natural gas to household kitchens for cooking in the national capital and adjoining cities, over the weekend raised CNG price by Rs 2 per kg.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Many students are now looking at opportunities in the UK, Australia, and Singapore due to lower cost of living and less interference from the government.
The BJP's constitution mandates that the party should complete the process of electing block, district and state chiefs before it elects its national president.
The ruling party MLA from Vijayanagara suggested that the election guarantees have made it difficult to provide houses to the poor in the state.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges the state government's three-language formula is a precursor to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, speaking at a rally with Uddhav Thackeray.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren -- the star campaigner in the state assembly election campaign -- chilled with a soothing head massage in Ranchi on Thursday the day after the votes were cast.
'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.'
Ahead of the impending assembly polls, the rising crime graph and poor law and order situation have led to demands being revived to adopt UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'bulldozer' and police encounter policy in Bihar to deal with criminals.
