The third phase of Lok Sabha elections scheduled for Tuesday will see the maximum number of seats going to the polls in a single phase -- 117 across 15 states and Union Territories. It will also be a test for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party which will aim to defend the maximum number of seats at 62. This time the BJP will be tested in its bastion Gujarat -- where polling will be held for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state -- apart from Karanataka, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, where the party had done well in 2014. Here are some of the big political leaders' who await their fate on Tuesday.
Maratha outfits have announced that a mega rally will be held in Mumbai on August 9 in support of their quota demand.
A lot is riding on the Rajya sabha polls that are scheduled for Saturday. Major parties are whisking away candidates of other parties, while protecting their own, MLAs are being sent to 'camps' in the final countdown to the polls for 57 seats. Here is a state-by-state look:
In the dangal of UP politics, much as Muzaffarnagar wants to leave its past behind, the shadows are never be far behind.
Bukhari also backs Trinamool Congress but says no support to SP and BSP. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
With transfer of 23 police and administrative officials by the EC ahead of Thursday's Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suspected Congress and CPM hand behind their removal by the poll panel.
'How can the BJP give Muslim candidates tickets if they don't have any good Muslim candidates?'
In more trouble for former Health Minister Shabir Khan, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly speaker on Monday gave his nod to police for the members of arrest on molestation charges, saying they should act according to law.
A fidayeen squad of terrorists in army fatigues stormed a police station in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, killing three security personnel and leaving 11 others, including a deputy superintendent of police injured, in the wee hours on Friday.
While a nine-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh's Etah, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed by a guest at a wedding in Chhattisgarh.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in Delhi and parts of Karnataka. Police kept tight vigil in Kerala. In Gujarat, 50 people were arrested for Thursday's violence.
Prolonged parleys with different power centers led to several hiccups before Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav could induct four new faces in his team in Lucknow on Thursday. The total tally of council of ministers is now 60.
The West Bengal CM also said that she wasn't averse to working with the Congress and expressed confidence that a grand alliance of opposition parties is possible.
The Samajwadi Party is headed for yet another father-son showdown.
'When Yogi took over, in the first few months he went after the criminals.' 'Everybody thought he will do it, cutting across party, caste divisions.' 'Gradually, the situation started slipping out of his hand.'
The elections in this phase are seen as a big test for the Bharatiya Janata Party
'The Mallahs may remain divided between the two competing coalitions in Bihar,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Get lost from here, you scoundrel. Nobody in this administration will help you,' the CM shouted at me.
Advocating for Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, yoga guru Ramdev on Monday accused the Congress of creating economic and social anarchy, and said only Modi can save the country from corruption.
Facing criticism over his remarks about deaths at riot relief camps in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Narad Rai on Sunday said death cannot be averted and people died at the camp despite all arrangements by the government.
Forget India, UP won't accept Rahul's leadership, says Rita Bahuguna Joshi while joining the BJP
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia were on Friday released along with 957 fellow cadres, a day after nearly 2,500 activists were arrested in a massive crackdown by Uttar Pradesh authorities to foil its yatra which also led to protests by its workers.
"Party's central observers -- Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav -- will be present at the meeting on Saturday at 5 pm," UP BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
Grand alliance leaders accuse their rivals of having engineered electoral tactics to confuse its voters.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the director general of police to instruct all the superintendents of police to take strong action against those who carried arms in the rallies.
The Rajput Karni Sena, the Sarv Samaj Sangathan and some other outfits have a problem with the movie -- calling it disrespectful.
The BJP on Thursday lent its support to the chief minister even as both houses of Bihar legislature recognised JD-U as their principal opposition party.
'Slaughter of cows will be opposed by all parties in UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, etc while it is different in Kerala, Goa and the north east.' 'Every national party adapts and take a view on various issues depending on the local situation and the feelings of the local people.' 'So, the Kerala BJP will look at each issue from the Kerala perspective, and not that of UP.'
A down-to-the-wire contest is likely in some of the seats in the high-stakes Rajya Sabha elections in seven states, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, where the fate of candidates including senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and senior lawyer R K Anand is being decided on Saturday.
Claiming there was nothing religious about Vishwa Hindu Parishad's 84 Kosi Yatra, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today described it as a "political drama" which his government had not allowed to be staged.
'Muslims may turn to the BJP or may not come out to vote in great numbers like they have in the past.' 'Anything can happen.' 'They can feel an increased sense of alienation, but that depends on the BJP -- on how it includes them.'
Targeting the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, the PM said the two never see eye-to-eye on any issue but are now together demanding his removal as he is working to root out blackmoney.
Formidable challenges including funds for the farm loan-waiver, and law and order stare him at his face, with the opposition claiming the misses have outnumbered the hits.
A one-man judicial commission headed by former high court judge Vishnu Sahai is understood to have indicted government officials more than politicians for the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and four adjoining districts in 2013.
Violence has struck Uttar Pradesh again, this time in Meerut, where clashes between locals and the police has left 20 wounded.
'Compared to other social groups, managing the Muslim constituency has always been easier for the secularists.' 'Just some symbolic measures and window-dressing would keep the Muslim flock together.' 'Having been betrayed by all the supposedly 'secular' political parties, Muslims should turn into citizens without any ascriptive identity marks,'says Mohammad Sajjad.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday suspended five policemen for their alleged role in the killing of Shahjahanpur-based journalist Jagendra Singh.
The clue to the what lies ahead for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, following the Karnataka government appealing in the Supreme Court her acquittal in a disproportionate assets case, may lie in a 2001 court case, writes R Ramasubramanian.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
'Forming cults around Lalus, Nitishes, Mulayams, Mayawatis and Mamatas will do as much harm to the Republic as the bhakti of the Hindus for Modi will do,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
