The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday claimed that neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Congress would get a majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, while also dismissing the possibility of emergence of a Third Front.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav on Wednesday visited the native village of jailed criminal-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, a former MP serving life sentence in a murder case, to seek blessings of his mother for the Lok Sabha polls.
The issue of foreign direct investment in retail came to haunt the government again in Parliament with a united Opposition demanding an inquiry and reply from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on reports of Wal-Mart spending huge money to lobby for entry into the Indian market.
In renaming TRS and repositioning it as a 'national' party, KCR is also eyeing a pole position in opposition politics ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The ruling BJP-led coalition ended Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's over four-decade dominance in Rampur with its ally Apna Dal-Sonelal winning the Suar assembly by-election by a margin of 8,724 votes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
Unruly scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after the opposition members raised the issue of alleged phone tapping of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley, leading to a brief adjournment of the House.
The VP is supposed to be the President's 'voice'. But so far, he has been relegated to be the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, says BJP's vice presidential nominee Jaswant Singh
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
The Janata Dal-United on Friday virtually put its foot down on the issue of the National Democratic Alliance taking any stand on Abdul Kalam, projected as Presidential candidate by the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress, following which the opposition alliance deferred its decision.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Party and Samajwadi Party, came together in a show of unity on Thursday and accused the Modi government of getting the second half of the budget session washed out, while asserting that if this attitude continues, the country will move towards a "dictatorship".
The Opposition is also expected to target the Eknath Shinde-led government on shifting of mega projects like Foxconn to Gujarat, according to political observers.
Amendments moved by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left to the President's address against the National Counterterrorism Center was defeated in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
These meetings with Pawar has fuelled speculations about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to form a third front against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Khan, who is currently lodged in Sitapur jail, has been replaced by Mohibullah Nadvi, a cleric of a mosque located on Delhi's Parliament Street.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
Jeetega Bharat has selected 125 Lok Sabha seats across the country where it will assist the Opposition alliance.
Army Chief Gen V K Singh's leaked letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presenting a grim picture of the force's state of preparedness led to demands by Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal for his dismissal even as government and opposition were agreed his concerns should not have come out in the open.
A Muslim man used to work on the tandoor at my restaurant. But due to this issue, I asked him to leave. Because people can make an issue over it. We don't want such trouble here
The BJP-led NDA now has nearly 100 members in the 245-member House. If the support of friendly parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (9), Biju Janata Dal (9), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (6), and several allied nominated members and smaller parties is counted, then the Modi government is unlikely to face any serious numerical challenge there.
The government on Saturday assured agitating MPs that their concerns on salary hike would be addressed, National Democratic Alliance convenor Sharad Yadav said in the Lok Sabha, a day after several opposition parties conducted a 'mock' Parliament.
Parliament was on Wednesday adjourned till noon after ruckus over demand by Bahujan Samaj Party for dismissal of Karnataka government following allegations of illegal mining in the state and Rashtriya Janata Dal claims of a deal between the government and main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
Ruling constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Thursday joined the opposition in stalling proceedings in Lok Sabha and leading street protest in New Delhi on the issue of the new sugarcane policy and vowed to struggle till the ordinance to fix a uniform price is withdrawn.
Conceding that the RJS is the "big brother" in Bihar, the Congress said that Rahul was "the face of anti-NDA forces" in the country.
Janata Dal-United on Friday targeted ally Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh saying the saffron party like several of its political rivals had succumbed to the contagion of corruption.
Besides Mukherjee, who is leader of the Lok Sabha, the committee, headed by Speaker Meira Kumar, will have four other members from the Congress, three from Bharatiya Janata Party each from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India-Marxist.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday threatened to move court against Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari for his 'objectionable' comments against party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad. "Nitin Gadkari has used objectionable language against senior politicians like Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad. The kind of language used by him shows that though he represents a national party, he has a very narrow minded approach," said a SP leader.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed regret over his comments against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, claiming it was 'taken out of context'.On Wednesday, Gadkari reportedly said Lalu and Mulayam were 'like dogs who went back to (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi', referring to their decision to not vote against the United Progressive Alliance government during the cut motion in Parliament.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sought to re-unite the opposition by apologising on behalf of the seven Members of Parliament suspended for unruly behaviour and demanding that the government express regret for using marshals during the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill. Opposition parties and those supporting the United Progressive Alliance government from outside like Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were united against it.
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Five Honourable MPs must be brought from their jail cells to Parliament, television cameras recording every move. It shall be an unsavoury beginning to the new alliance.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The black bands were worn as a mark of protest against the alleged attack on the Constitution of India with the passage of the amended citizenship act by the government, leaders said.
On the issue of no-trust motion, Lalu Prasad, whose RJD has four members in the Lower House, said, "There is no such decision. It is wrong information. We have only four MPs and, therefore, where is the question of no-confidence motion."
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
Giving in to opposition parties' protests on withdrawal of National Security Guard cover, the government on Thursday announced that the security cover provided to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad will not be reduced.
While the Congress has not lost all hopes on ties with Trinamool Congress which announced the decision to withdraw from UPA, other parties like Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal-United blamed the government for putting itself in an embarrassing position.
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