As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav behaved entirely in character when he broke ranks with the Congress and backed the Bharatiya Janata Party in the monsoon session, says Aditi Phadnis
'Is this protest real or a manufactured one? Is this not a case of ideological intolerance?" the finance minister writes in a Facebook post.
The bill was passed with 165 voting in favour and 7 against it.
Various opposition parties like the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Communist Party of India, and the Communist Party of India-Marxist raised vociferous protests in the upper house while opposing the resolution and the bill.
With Rahul showing a significant lead over Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in opinion polls across southern India but lagging in the north, the Congress believes his contesting from the south will help galvanise cadres.
Speaker Om Birla he will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties and then take a decision.
The bills were passed by voice vote.
The high octane campaign marked by vitriolic attacks and counter-attacks by political leaders and use of derogatory language and objectionable remarks that forced the Election Commission to step in ended at 6 pm.
Rahul Gandhi said the meeting was very productive and everyone decided to stop the BJP from further assault of institutions and the Constitution.
Besides, the government would also undertake and promote steps for water conservation and curbing extraction of underground water, which is depleting the water table and is a matter of concern, the minister said.
The Congress on Tuesday termed as rhetoric and hollow on specifics the prime minister's address to the nation, saying there was no mention of a financial package or concrete steps to revive the economy.
Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
Countering the opposition claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three new laws, he said that those in just one state are being misinformed and instigated.
'This is possibly a long drawn battle and if the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are together in this long battle, a new political picture will emerge in the country.' 'In this battle if we have to sacrifice or give up anything, we are ready.' 'We have to remain cautious against the BJP's attempts to break our unity.' 'We want this alliance to stay.'
Coming as it does only months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chennai meet could provide the launch pad for a national alternative to the BJP-NDA, and MK Stalin may be given the credit for getting it going, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The two-member commission will be headed by former Calcutta high court Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya. Former Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur is its other member.
The Government on Friday managed to have its way in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam when the panel approved the draft report giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram with a 16-11 vote in its favour.
'Even the ruling party -- if it really respects the independence of the judiciary and democracy -- should support this impeachment motion.'
The Association for Democratic Reforms slams the Budget proposals on political funding, says they lack teeth and show the "lack of political will" in proposing real reforms.
Shiv Sena nominee Hemangi Worlikar romped home as the deputy Mayor of BMC.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
Responding to a discussion during Zero Hour in the Lower House, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was falling short of words to condemn the heinous crime.
As nominations for Rajya Sabha biennial polls closed on Tuesday, a contest is on the cards in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana even as Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram are among those set to be elected to the Upper House.
"The timing of the attack, methodology and location are all eerily similar to attacks in the border belt of Jammu," said Abdullah.
Bhim denotes Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar, while Mim denotes the letter 'M' in the Urdu alphabet; the party used the slogan effectively in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections
Firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Umar Bharti maintained on Monday that the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi does not have the oratorical skills of (former prime minister) Atal Bihar Vajpayee, but said the Gujarat chief minister was a "unique person" who draws massive crowd.
"Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart..." she said.
Maybe, the need for secrecy may have tied the government's hand from sharing details in Parliament. Still, it should consider the need of sharing the utmost within any consultative committee, so that relative secrecy is still maintained. But such a course should involve the prime minister or home minister, as it is much more serious than is being made out to be, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the AAP wins 20 to 40 Lok Sabha seats, which is conceivable unless it botches up on governance in Delhi, it will become a significant bloc comparable in influence to or even bigger than several major regional parties, feels Praful Bidwai.
After a week-long washout, Lok Sabha transacted some business on Monday as two bills were introduced and another taken up for consideration even as Congress and some other parties continued their vociferous protests, along with display of placards.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
Thursday was the penultimate day of the Budget Session of Parliament. The second half of the session which began on March 5 has been a washout with no legislative business being transacted due to stalling of proceedings by the opposition.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the "unfortunate" and "unprecedented" developments in West Bengal
By annoying potential allies ahead of the polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate is playing a dangerous game but if he wins, he gets it all, says Aditi Phadnis
Opposition members trooped into the Well, resorting to high-decibel sloganeering.
As the year 2014 draws to an end, we at Rediff.com take to look at some of the ridiculous remarks made by some blundering politicos.
The no-confidence motion against the government could not be introduced amid the din in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition is putting up a symbolic fight for the presidential polls as it knows that the BJP has the numbers to get its candidate elected to the top post.
